Having fun with acrylic paints.

 I started playing with acrylic pours when we lived in NS. Tyler (my son) and I redid the countertops in a acrylic pour and then rosined over them.

It was a great project and my introduction to acrylic cup pours.

I hadn't ventured very far from the typical cup pour and over the years made a few impressive canvases.  

Peaches and Cream

As all things must progress so must I.  As of late I have been trying out a few new technics and pouring tools. 

This is a acrylic swipe using moistened paper towel to drag the paint across the canvas.  I was fun and so cool to do that I did a series in different colors.  Blue, black, green and pink.  The pink is awful (not my favorite color) but kind of cool too!  They look like a side view of the milky way.

Since moving to Shaunavon SK. I have had the opportunity to expand my rapporteur and use a few new tools.  I has helped that the winter here has been cold enough that I don't want to go outside, -32c. yikes!  

My favorite has been the lazy susan.  Being able to spin the pictures creates all kinds of cool effects.

But there have been a few epic fails as well.  Here is my attempt at using a pot scrubber to make wheat like flowers.

Yikes!!

I'll leave you with a blown acrylic pour.  Tyler modified a hair drier for me so it only blows cool air.  That and a small water balloon to create this beauty.

Kelp

Needless to say I've been having fun and keeping busy; although I have no idea what I am going to do with all these pictures.  For some reason they keep stacking up, lol.

New Year in Shaunavon.

 I know that it has been for ever that I have updated the bog.  Lots has happened since we left Saint John in July.

We traveled across Canada with the thought of staying at a many Harvest Host and free spots but found that we needed AC more than free.  Gas was atrocious and our main cost.  Having said that it was wonderful to visit our own country. 

Tyler enjoying the farm land in Quebec.

We made it home to Creston BC to visit with mom and Keith for a week before heading out to see if we could buy a RV park in southeastern Saskatchewan.  Very disappointed when they took the sale off the market the same day we made our offer.

We ended up bumming around SK for a few weeks and found a lovely spot in Eastend.  Then a house in Shaunavon that was perfect for our budget.  It was perfect timing as fall was quickly turning into winter.

Our cute little house with its new roof!!

Our little house needs a few renos, waterlines, electrical replaced in places (its missing) and I'm slowly (very slowly) getting it painted.  Speaking of painting I've taken up acrylic pours and been having a ball.  

I'll get back in the swing of blogging and show you some of the pieces I've been having fun with.  But back to Saskatchewan. 

Beautiful sun dogs taken Dec 16.

Woke up to -32 c this morning.  We actually had to start the little heater to take the chill off the living room which was only 12c .  The weather says that it is -44 c with the wind chill but I think I will stay in today and not test it.

Yesterday it was a little foggy and all the trees were covered in hoar frost.  I took this pic of our big tree in the front yard.  It might be cold but it is very beautiful.  

Tyler is busy getting everything in order to start his own business this spring.  He is opening up a CNC shop called Prairie Matter Workshop and Studio. He has even created a idea book if you would like to check it out. 

https://prairiematter.ca/IdeaBook/

Keep warm, stay safe and enjoy the beauty of winter.

Terry

Christmas Market

Tyler and I had fun at the Cerdarcrest Christmas Market over the past weekend.  Saturday was very busy with everyone checking out all the amazing hand made crafts.  From woodworkers to fancy aprons and everything else in-between.

 Jewelry was not the way to go as there were a lot  of jewelry booths.  We did manage to sell a few pieces and it was surprising that it was a few of the older necklaces that sold.

The big hit of the day were the jewelry totes as we sold quite a few of them.

But the best was the amount of Seriously Pinned brochures that we gave out.  Quite a few younger ladies that were interested in learning how to sew and quilt as well as interest in the longarm.   I think we gave out about 70 brochures....yea, I look forward to seeing those 10% off on your quilt coupons in the next few months.

One of my favorite things about markets is visiting with your neighbor marketeers.  We met folks from all over the place, even a nice couple from Campbell River , BC.

So although we did not clean off our tables we did have a lot of fun.  A big thanks to all the everyone that stopped in to supporting us.

Halloween

It has been a busy week.  We had about 60 kids even though it was ugly out there.  It poured and the wind blew but those little kids were persistent.  We also had a Marco Polo pot luck on Halloween and you could not have believed the food.  It was nice to see a few dress up and I'm sorry that I did not have Tyler take a picture of me to show you.

Only one of 3 tables loaded with goodies ant the pot luck.

 Having salvaged a bit of wood going to the dump from my neighbors, Tyler and I spent one afternoon cutting pieces into smaller pieces.  They need another coat of paint or two but I think will work  quite well as a display to show off all the jewelry at the Xmas market.

Lots of little pieces.

Once they are finished being painted, I will attach them in groups to a base, add a bead to the top and a small screw on the back and instant necklace display.  Don't worry I'll make sure to post a photo after they are assembled.

Work in progress.

I did also manage to get the final coats of polyurethane onto the acrylic pours.  It never ceases to amaze me the formations and cells that appear as they are drying.  Very cool.

Peach Pie.

And of course you have to have a kitty in the works.  Carl is my watcher and protector all through work and play.

Making sure I'm doing it right.

Resin Pour Table 2

I decided to be a little more accurate with the next accent table resin pour.  This time taking the time to sand, primer paint and do a individual cup pour rather than a dirty pour.

This is the little stool I started with.  Unsanded and rough.

I removed the awful vinyl cover and removed the top from the legs.  Gave the wooden top a good sanding and scrubbed the legs with steel wool and cleaner.

What a difference it made. A bit of muscle but necessary. 

Priming the wood with primer paint made all the difference in the world.  It brightened the resin after drying.

All primed and elevated with a few
 little cups.

The hardest thing is waiting for the primer to dry.  Patience has never been one of my best virtues.

After a few hours it was fun time.  Mixing the resin and deciding on colors and best of all doing the pour.

Mixed more green this time to change it up just a bit.

I added a spray of 3-1 silicone lubricant to the main color as well.  This should create a few nice cells in the resin.  So I've read.

Instead of a dirty pour (all colors poured into one cup) I poured the colors individually onto the table top. 

Base color a beautiful sea green.

Starting with the base or primary color I poured trying to be a bit random and leaving white areas.  ( Just a note: I would pour a thinner  pour next time as the base color kind of blobbed)

Then tricked the next color on top and around.

Trying to be random 

And trickled the remainder colors randomly over the top again.

Already looks cool.

Then picking up and tilting the table top around and around until the top was all covered.  Making sure that the pour ran down the edges to finish the piece.

Covered the piece with a clean plastic bin and let it harden.

About 20 minutes into the hardening stage I used a paint stick to clean off the underside drip and because the edges where so thin I used the overflow to re-coat the edges. 

Another 20 minutes and I repeated the process even though the resin was getting very thick.  I was glad I did this as the finished result is beautiful.

Very cool.  You can see small cells but next time I will try for larger ones.

Even going back twice to add to the edges they did not
come out as thick or colorful as I would have liked.

Very happy with the end result of my second resin experiment.

I'm back

Life has been good and very busy the last few months.  I finally finished painting and cleaning the apartment and it looks great.  It took 3 weeks to finish the kitchen.   Ceilings were the hardest though and boy did they need it.  I'm not sure that they had ever been painted before.

Painting the ceiling.

I had to be careful with the first coat of paint as to much back and forth with the roller and the stucco started coming off.  Oh well, 6 rooms and 3 coats later and all done.

Next came the kitchen; only able to sand, clean and paint 3 cupboard doors at a time; just not enough space. So in between paint drying on the doors I was able to get 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, and the hallway finished.  All hard work but total worth the stiff and sore muscles, occasional bruise ( a bit of a klutz sometimes) and sore feet (my own fault from not putting on shoes to climb the ladder).

Doors off getting painted

Nice clean and painted.

The light grey of the walls turned out beautiful and amazingly change color with the light.  Paired with a bright white trim and accessories, the rooms look classic and clean. 

We also changed out the bathroom vanity making them a lot more modern and updated, even the faucets, which are so cool.  They have LED lights in them that change color according to the temperature of the water.  How cool is that.  

our faucets

The condo goes up for sale tomorrow and a new chapter of the 'life of Terry' begins.  I am so excited. 

So... stay tuned, I promise to try and post on a regular basis for updates.  Besides we have a lot of crafty things to do and try. 

Longarm Retired

After 8 years of working on the longarm, I decided to sell it.  It was a hard decision but one that I had been thinking about for quite some time.  I am so glad that a very nice quilter from Mission bought it and is excited to be starting a new passion for herself.

I'm also excited that I am on a new aspect of discovery for myself and have a huge list of things to try out over the next while.  A little wire work, a bit of glass fusing, a bit of bead work, add some painting, learning to use the serger and maybe a course or two should keep me busy for a while.  Quilting is still on the list as well and I am still enjoying volunteering at Century House quilting a few times a week.  I'm also hoping to hone my skills at machine quilting and creating a few fiber arts pieces that I have had designed and not had the time to get to.

My son picked up a video camera the other day so I am hoping to make a few "how to" videos to post on this blog as well as You Tube.  So keep tuned and check in from time to time to see what's on the board.

Terry

The little (big) grey paint

I have been up to my elbows and knees and cats in grey paint.  With nothing else to do in life I decided to get started on the walls of our new condo.  Pretty sure that the ceilings have not been painted in 20 years they are dingy and definitely could use a tune-up.

painting and cutting in

As always start with the ceilings and work your way down.  When changing the color of the walls I always run the ceiling paint down onto the walls for at least a half inch.  Remembering to feather the paint so not to leave a paint line.  This way you will not have to deal with having to cut in twice and dealing with left over little dabs of yesterdays color.

The past painters had colored the hallway ceilings the same color as the walls.....basic dull, dark beige.  It took 4 coats of ceiling white to cover.  Wow what a difference.

So in-between the hall painting I painted the main bathroom as well.  Giving myself only 4 hours a day as I decided I did not have to be a mad woman and get it all painted overnight.  4 hours of stiff and soreness is much better than 8.  And I have the time....right.

Just wait until the little details are added.

The bathroom turned out beautiful.  The grey turned a little more blue in the small space but what a huge difference.  Once the ladder (a wonderful quilt display ladder my friend Ron made) is finished drying (I painted it a very dark black/brown for contrast) it will replace the towel rack.  Finish siliconing the shower (what an ugly job cleaning out the old mildewy silicon; please people use the anti mold and mildew kind), add a few photos and replace the vanity at some point......brand new bathroom.

quilt hanger to towel ladder

After my 4 coats on the ceiling came the walls.  As I was not that fond of the blue hue in the bathroom, I added a half gallon of white to the grey kitchen and bathroom paint I was using and painted the hall walls.  I had thought at the time; if I did not like it it would make a good base color.....I love it.  A nice classy looking grey and once the closet doors are sanded and repainted in a bright white with the trim is going to look stunning.

just the closet doors left to do

I love it when a plan comes together.  Now I have to paint a cardboard sample to get color matched as I do not need to paint Kitchen and Bathroom paint in the bedrooms and living room.

There is a bit of time for that though.. still have a kitchen and the remainder of a hallway to paint.

But today is cleanup day.  Put things back in order and clean off the kitchen counters so I can see them again for the weekend.

I also wanted to give a big thank-you to Carl and Sam for all the help they gave and the very kitty concern they showed.  They watched and gave meow support the whole time.  Carl was such a trooper even when he sneezed in the drywall dust and had to sit to get his face cleaned. lol