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Olympics 2012
Posted On 2012-07-27 , 11:08 PM
This is my first time ever watching the Olympics Opening Ceremonies on the night they happened (and only the second Opening Ceremonies I've ever seen at all). In honor of that, and in honor of the amazing athletes that are even now prepairing to compete, I've spent some time gathering and putting together a small photo listing of memorable moments:
As you may be able to tell, I definitely had a favorite moment during the ceremonies: the lighted, bicycle-riding doves. This creation was beautiful and extremely well done. Despite the news casters comparison to E.T. when the doves were lifted into the air, I truly thought this was one of the most specacular moments of the night.
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Fabric Tufted Headboard
Posted On 2011-03-11 , 8:09 PM
I've been wanting a headboard for my bed for a long time. Unfortunately, all the cute ones are hugely expensive. But, with a little bit of creativity (and some help from a friend) I was able to make my own for just under $100. Note: I did manage to find a few of the items on sale, which greatly helped with the price. It might be a little more to make a custom fabric tufted headboard, which is the type of headboard I made, if you don't take the time to find the sales.
I'm going to include the directions below, but click on the image to see the basic tutorial in full size.
Supplies:
- 1/2" Plywood Board
- Two 1x4s (or 1 cut in half)
- 2" thick Foam
- Polyester Upholstery Batting
- Upholstry Fabric
- Spray Adhesive
- Buttons (10 or more)
- Upholstery Thread
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- Upholstery Needle
- Drill
- Staple Gun
- 1/2" Staples
- Scissors
- Wood Screws
- Bolts
- Tape Measure
- Carpet Protector
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Measurements:
Every bed will be slightly different, but I thought I'd post my measurements to give you an idea. I have a standard queen size bed, which is 60" wide. Because I didn't want my headboard to be wider than the bed, I made is 60" wide by 24" tall. This is relatively small for a headboard, because I like them a little smaller. The legs (which attach the headboard to the bed) should go from the floor to 5" from the top of the headboard. In my case, this was 40" tall (that measurement allowed the bottom of the headboard to start right where the top of the mattress ends).
Because I made a shorter headboard, I decided on 2 rows of 5 buttons. I measured these in 10" from the edge of the headboard and did one button every 10" across the board. I started these two rows a little closer to the top of the headboard, rather than having them in the middle, so that they were visible above my pillows on the bed.
Your measurements will likely be slightly different than mine, depending on your own headboard preferences.
Instructions:
- Measure where you want your buttons to sit and drill small holes through the board at each button location
- Spray the board with the adhesive and carefully position foam against the board. Allow a few minutes time for the glue to dry and trim excess foam (the amount of foam you need will vary depending on your headboard measurements. You can buy this by the yard, but if your headboard is taller than 24", you will need to buy at least two yards, as the height of the foam is 24")
- Note: The spray adhesive is very messy. Make sure to put down a carpet protector and spray in a well ventilated area. You may also want to consider goggles, as I got the glue all over my glasses.
- Spray the top of the foam with more adhesive and cover with the batting. Make sure to do this carefully, so there are no folds that will clump the fabric when it is finished.
- Note: You may want to remove the carpet protector and throw it away / recycle it at this time
- Turn the board over and staple the batting in place. See "Corner Instructions" in image tutorial for detailed instructions on stapling the corners of the batting. Trim excess batting (no closer than 1" from the staples)
- Slide fabric under the board, pull tight and staple in place (corners done same as with batting). Trim excess material no cloer than 1" from staples.
- Buttons: This is where it really helps to have two people:
- Double thread your upholstery needle with upholstery thread and push the needle through the hole you drilled (have your partner hold the thread so it is not pulled completely through)
- Thread the needle through the button end and tie the thread to the button, cut thread to remove the needle (at this point, the thread is very loose. Your partner should be holding one end at the back of the headboard and the other end should be tied to the button)
- Have your partner pull the thread until the button is tight against the headboard. With him holding the thread tight, staple the thread against the board. Pull the thread tight the other direction and staple again (so the thread is wrapped around the first staple...See Image).
- Hammer staples in place to hold thread tightly, if needed.
- Repeat with each button.
- Position the legs on either side of the headboard, ending 5" from the top, and screw in place
- Position the finished headboard against your frame and bolt the legs to the frame, if desired
Notes:
- I didn't have to bolt my headboard to the frame, as the bed is right against the corner of my room, but it's definitely something that I would do if I rearranged my room a little.
- I also made my legs a little long. They should have been 40" tall (as I stated at the top) but I made mine 45" inches by mistake. This isn't a major problem. The legs simply go up higher than is recommended, but it seems to work just fine
- You may also want to consider putting some padding on the back of the legs. I didn't, yet, but plan to go back and do this at some point soon as everytime I get on or off the bed I can hear the legs of the headboard hitting the wall.
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Abducted!
Posted On 2011-02-03 , 12:28 PM
I love it when I learn new tools in Photoshop, it makes my day go all shiny and happy. So imagine my bliss when I learned THREE new tools today?
What did I learn?
Well, a coworker, who shall remain nameless in his fabulousness, taught me about two new plugins and a spotlight creator. One plugin creates a grid, a major time saver for anyone who has attempted to make one themselves. The other removes all black from a photo, great for when you want to use only a light section of a picture and don't have the time or patience to select it all out. Finally, the spotlight creator creates the most awesome and unique spotlights (way better than lighting effects).
What did I do with these new tricks once I learned them? Created a completely lame, yet amusing Polaroid:
I used the spotlight creator to create a beam of light, then removed the black from that beam and duplicated it. I found a picture of a spaceship, adjusted the levels to really bring out the shadows and highlights, and removed the black from that. I then positioned the ship right above the abductor beam of DOOM. Then I found a cow, selected it out and positioned it in the beam. I moved the duplicated beam over the cow, so the light expands where it touches the cow. I then used an old Polaroid action to age and frame the piece.
Not the most original or interesting piece, but it was fun and a good test run for learning the new program and plugins. And hey, I only had 10 minutes to kill.
P.S. I'll see about creating a tutorial on these tools once I really get the hang of them.
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Niece!
Posted On 2011-01-31 , 2:02 PM
Been a bit since I've posted. It's always hectic around Christmas time for me, and this year more so than usual. However, things have started calming down and I'm back with pencil in hand. In fact, I present you my newest piece of artwork:
This was done in oil pastels last weekend as a gift for the newest member of my family, my niece who was born this morning.
The piece didn't come out quite the way I wanted. The eyebrows are a little high and the skirt doesn't seem as ruffle-filled as I waned, but all in all, I am pleased. My favorite part, by far, is the tree though. The leaves just came together so nicely and the coloring in the tree worked really well after I sprayed it with fixative (before I sprayed it, the tree was a little too light and red, but fixative always brings out the darker colors in a project).
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Happy December
Posted On 2010-11-26 , 9:29 PM
Almost two months ago I posted an entry called "Happy October" featuring an October Nights scene complete with fence, street lamp, cat, and pumpkins. After the image was complete, I thought it would make a pretty decent greeting card, though I never got around to using it for that.
Anyway, the thought came to me today to do a series of these "greeting card-like" images (the original intent of the images, which will still be in effect, was use as web graphics on another site...but I don't see why things can't have more than one purpose). I'm planning on doing one for each of the major holidays. I completed one for Halloween (the "October Nights" image mentioned above) and am now showcasing one for Christmas:
I know this is a bit early, but it is the next major holiday and therefore was the next on my list. I intend to create one for New Years, Valentines, Easter, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving as well (bit too late for that one this month, but it will happen). Maybe I'll even go back and create the other holidays, like Memorial Day and Mother's/Father's Day, at some point, but right now I'm only planning on the major holidays.
Any feedback would be appreciated! ^.^
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