Tag: paint

Highland coo

On By CarynIn art, Craft

I went to a painting class at our new local Hobby Hut to do an interchangeable shelf sitter. Very cute design, there is a “bird house” base and the door and central design can be changed out. I painted the base at the studio but took the highland coo in the honey home to paint.

Photo description: interchangeable parts painted by me of a highland coo in a honey pot with three bees

The original design had antenna on the highland coo, which I didn’t care for, so I cut them off before painting.

Photo description: original laser cut wood highland coo bass with antenna
Photo description: antenna removed with a band saw and the horns smoothed down with sand paper

I did have to fill the space on the next layer where the antenna were supposed to go, but some cutoff bits of wood and a heavy layer of paint did the trick.

I will post the glued together finished project once I’ve done a clear UV protectant spray coat. It has been raining almost every day, so I haven’t had the chance yet.

Better late than never

On By CarynIn Wildlife

Last year my youngest and I assembled and painted a small wood birdhouse. I sprayed a clear coat of UV protection on it and left it in the garage to dry, for a year. The year was not intentional, life got busy, and whenever I would see it in the garage I was on a different mission. Then iNaturalist popped up a message that it is chickadee breeding season and showed a bird house the same size as the one we had in the garage. That was my sign.

Photo description: small blue and green bird house hung on ropes running under the tree branches

I found a length of chain and a spring hook and attached the bird house about 7 feet above the ground at the back side of the yard. I can just barely see the small house from my kitchen table, so now we wait and see if any birds find it acceptable.

Throwback Thursday: lure

On By CarynIn Craft

In March of 2017 I hand carved and painted a fishing lure for my Dad.

Photo description: carving a basswood lure blank with a pocket knife and cut resistant glove
Photo description: sanding down the blank, started with 100 grit, 220 grit shown
Photo description: air brush setup with lure mounted on a wire for control
Photo description: base coats of paints applied
Photo description: fishnet stocking pulled tight over the lure blank to mask for painting scales
Photo description: finished airbrush painting

I did coat the lure in a water proof gloss finish, but didn’t take a picture at the time. Below is a picture of the lure in 2026.

Photo description: gloss coated hand carved and painted wood fishing lure, approximately 4” long, 9 years old

Throwback Thursday: paint lines

On By CarynIn Life Hack

In September of 2013, I was repainting the rooms of our house and discovered liquid paint block. Essentially it is clear latex paint that you apply over the edge of the painter’s tape so that it sucks down into the cracks and crevices not blocked by the tape, rather than the colored paint. It makes for much crisper color changes, especially for inside corners.

Photo description: inside corner with blue paint on the left, and yellow on the right, with my hand holding a bottle of Frogtape liquid paint block

This has become a Throwback Thursday post not only to share the trick, but so that I have it documented in a different place and will perhaps remember it when it comes time to paint again.

And because it is May Day, and I can’t make it to get flowers to everyone’s porch, here is a picture of white bearded iris blooming in my current front yard.

Zelda Cosplay part 3

On By CarynIn Craft

The next part of the Zonai banner was a graphic on the silk panel. The silk was recycled from my grandmother’s swing jacket. It has a beautiful blue/green shimmer, but the jacket doesn’t fit anyone in the family anymore. I used a section for this cosplay banner, and I plan on parting out the rest of the silk for other long-term projects.

For the graphic, I replicated the design in Adobe Illustrator, then cut a card stock stencil using my laser cutter.

Photo description: graphic stencil cut into card stock

I did a test of the stencil before applying it to the silk, then “bounced” the acrylic paint onto the surface of the fabric.

Photo description: painted stencil

The method did not work as well as I hoped, and left a rough edge that I didn’t care for.

Photo description: stencil painted banner with rough edges and uneven application of paint

I went over the stenciled image with a paint brush and more acrylic paint to clean up the edges.

Photo description: brush painted graphic on silk

I was able to fix the graphic, and I would still use a stencil if doing a similar project, but would make sure I was using a stiff stencil brush and I would thin the paint before pouncing it on.