Candle Making Again

I am returning to candle making.  It is only for a project for someone else.  I didn't expected to do candles again now.  I thought I would do it farther in the future.  It isn't the first time that I return to a craft.  It is just that this time, I feel the period between last time and now is quite short.  It is the impression that I have.  It feel like yesterday that I was doing some candles.

I will have to get my material out again.  I haven't used it since last time I made candles.  I think it was three to four years ago that was the last time I had done candles.  It will be a simple task this time.  There won't be any colour.  My biggest dilemma will be if I will put some scent in it or not.  I didn't really missed doing candles.  Strangely, I don't really like making candles for myself.  It is  what I discovered when I started doing them.  What I really miss doing is the candles maded from wax sheets.  It was fun to make.  I didn't made much and I don't remember if it smelled good.  I have to test it again.

I don't know how much it will take to make the whole project.  It is one of the thing that I don't remember from last time I had done it.  I just hope there won't be any problem.  It is not always fun to be in a problem solving mode while being in the heat of crafting.  It is particularly true while dealing with melted wax.  The wax have to be kept under watchful eyes while under heat.  Once the time had come to pour them in the various container, it must be done quickly before it start to cool down.  Spills tend to go cold quite quickly.  I think I will put a good period of time for that project.  I don't want to have bad surprise.

Tye dyes and results

Finally, I experimented with tye dyes on t-shirts.  Above is the first best result I had.  I like the final products.  Just above, an interesting result.  It ain't bad.  I think it was a good idea to add the blue to the pink.  There is also small area that look a bit orangish but the t-shirt have a nice look.

This one above was fun to make but it was the longest to make of the bunch.  I wrapped pieces of the t-shirt with rubber band (the pink spots) and put the dye.  I had to take two color of green and I find the result fine.  It look like flowers on a patch of green.  I thought it would be worst than currently is.  Sometimes, when not expecting a favorable result have surprising better result than thought!

This one is the faulty one of the bunch (my opinion anyway).  I wanted to do a 3 colored t-shirt.  I missed up with the dye.  The child wearing it is happy with the result so, I guess I can say it was my first try with the dye.  Next time I will do this kind of design, I will take a old or cheap rolling pin to roll the t-shirt on.  For this one, I took the cardboard of a scott towel roll.  The cardboard had soaked up the watery content and was mushy at the end of the process.  I guess I can put the error on that cardboard.

Another error I made was not washing the t-shirt first hand and applying the dye directly on the t-shirt.  I won't repeat that error and next time, I will try on wet t-shirts!  A precaution I would add to the steps to do: put also protection on the floor!   So, now, I feel that I have a better knowledge in doing tye dyes t-shirts!

Evidences in the creative field

Last night, I discovered that embroidery is better done during the day.  Natural light seems to be easier on the eyes than crude artificial light.  Maybe my lighting isn't the best but I have to go with what I have.  I don't really invest in the halogen lamps used for crafting.  It would be more a hindrance than anything else.  I don't really have a fixed working area.  I have a few area where I have projects, finished or not.  Having the lamp wouldn't help me.  I would have to set a place for the light too.  So, embroidery won't be an evening activity.

Another evidence I discovered over the weekend, is patience and time.  Patience is a vertue, as the saying goes.  I had done some projects that involved some patience.  I thought doing those projects would be completed a bit faster.  It was not the case.  I have to better evaluate time for each kind of projects.  I would be more fatal is it were in a professional setting.  I am not a professional artist but if I were, I would have deadline to meet.  If I would have a commission, I would have to know how to set my own deadline.  I will have to explore that further on.

Last evidence: working on something that demand a lot of details and concentration doesn't do well with a headhache.  Both in the same time does not have good result.  The projects seems to go even more slowly. I even questionned myself if I should stop and take a rest from creativity.  My body was doing fine except the head.  I wonder if there is a art that can alleviate the effects of headache.  It would be something to look for and do some experimentation.

Donating

Last week, I had done a donation to a local organism.  It was two painted woodburning pieces.  It was quickly done anyway.  The hardes was the design.  Of course, I am not totally satisfied with the drawing and how I did the woodburning.  Next time, I am thinking of doing just the woodburning and no painting.  It would be a good occasion to show how it look like without the painting.  I am used of the woodburning without the painting but it is not the case with everybody.

For the drawing, I should find a solution.  I would like to have better skills when it comes to draw.  There was a small period of my life where I draw a lot.  I was able to do a few things.  I had my way to draw birds.  I had also learned how to draw faces.  I had a few basic knowledge but I forgot a lot.  I stop practice the little I knew.  It is the kind of skill that need to keep practicing.

Giving the two pieces was nice.  I don't know if it is really appreciated because I know it is far from perfection.  I doubt it will give me more requests for this kind of art.  Well, in the end, anything goes.  i wanted to show something really different.  It gives me the desire to do another piece but without painting.  It would show how it look without the colours.

Ebroidery

With the heat waves, I decided to to some embroidery.  Here is the two projects I had done lately:

This one is the first one I have done.  It is where I learned to do embroidery, not long ago:

This one was the second one that I made.  I decided to have a few variation on it.  The border line is green.  This one was quicker to make.  I guess it was because I knew what I was doing:

Now, I cam concentrationg on three baseball caps.  Two of them will be for me and the third one will be a gift to a child.  I had already done one for someone else and I forgot to take a photo of it.  It was nice to do those two little bags.  I am thinking of doing a third one with an owl on a branch, just to make different.  I also start considering trying cross stitch.  The confidence have built up enough for me to consider getting a step further in difficulty.  If I don't try, I won't know if I have the potential of adding another string to my arc.

The ugly tree trunk have returned!

Last week, there was the returned of the ugly tree trunk.  The leaves covering the trunks had been cut.

 It had leaved a lot of branches on both side of the trees:

I don't know if there is something that can be done to those poor tree trunks.  They aren't totally dead yet because there is still leaves that grow on them.  Something have to be done to hide the trunks, at least.  The leaves were doing the job until they were cut.  Would be nice to have a creative solution that would hide the distorted bark but not hide the leaves.  First thing I think is a crinoline attached to the trees with a frame.  The frame would be wooden hoops with a water proof fabric.  I don't know if it could be done.

Inventing a device

I am not really a morning person.  I am not totally a summer person.  I don't like when it become too hot, this is my main complaint when it come to summer.  I also don't like being under the sun in summer.  It makes me feel heavier.  It is as if the sun's heat didn't suit my body.

As the saying goes: a need is the mother of invention.  What would be nice is a device I could have to keep cool outside, a kind of portable pool or a portabie shower.  Would be nice.  What would be nicer is at home.  Beside the usual cooling devices, I would like to be cool but not being in a bath tub nor in a room with a cooling unit.  A bath tub is inconvenient when trying to cool and doing something artsy.  Both water and crafting materials aren't always go well together.  A cooling unit had to be install and removed during the summer.  I want to have something practical and small.

I still have my fantasy of being is a cool pool of water with some ice in it.  But it is just a fantasy.  I haven't found the solution or the invention that could be of any help for me.  I didn't have any ah-ha yet.  I want to be able to stay at home, be refreshed and be able to work on my various projects.  I will have to find an idea or make some research for the perfect solution.