Arts and Crafts Thread

[Tom Hendricks]

So, this is where I'm at now. I didn't make my goal of making the bag for my wifes birthday. Our Anniversary is coming up in May and that's the new goal. I wanted to test out somethings with the Laser Cutter at the Library but it was closed for two weeks for remodel. I needed to test out dying leather and then cutting it with the laser. So I bought some low quality leather, dyed it and designed a Wallet for myself. Here are a few pics of the wallet, cut with the laser.

Right out of the Laser Cutter

Cleaned up

Here it is all cut out. I didn't have the settings correct, so the laser didn't cut all the way through. So I had to finish cutting everything out by hand.

I'm also working on two other projects and here are some prototypes done for them.

My sister is about to graduate from Graduate School. Her favorite Disney Villain is Maleficent. So I'm going to be making her a messenger bag with this image on the outside for her. This is on Mat Board to see how it would come out.

A very good friend is turning 40 in a few months and she is a huge Firefly fan, so I wanted to make her something that had to do with Firefly. She also loves wood burning and carving, so I thought I would meld the two together. I'm thinking about redesigning it a bit, put the ship above the character and facing up and adding the Firefly title to it. What do you think?

So I'm going to do this on wood, just havent figured out what kind of wood yet. I'm thinking about going with Cherry or Maple, but I think Maple maybe a little too dark. The Shiny is actually a reproduction of a tattoo she has, here check it out.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

I "finished" the wallet today, mostly. Since this was more of an exercise, I decided to just make the wallet with the single pocket. I made a few mistakes but considering this is my first designed project, I'm still pretty happy.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

I was able to get to the library today and use the laser for the gift for my friends birthday. I think it came out pretty awesome. I used 12"x12" and 1" thick Red Oak, it's what they had at Home Depot.

Here is the back

 

[thestrangequark]

It's not perfect because it was my first time doing something like this, and I kind of winged it, but I made an oven mitt! It goes with my owl-themed kitchen:

 

[Tom Hendricks]

It's not perfect because it was my first time doing something like this, and I kind of winged it, but I made an oven mitt! It goes with my owl-themed kitchen:

That design is very much your aesthetic, like you could have drawn it. Nice job!

 

[thestrangequark]

Thanks! I got a bin of scrap fabrics of eBay for a couple bucks! I read that you can use old towels for the insulation. It was my first time quilting, and was super fun! I need to make the other one now.

 

[Astra]

I also really love that oven mitt. It looks very colorful and artsy. Well done, especially for the first try!

 

[Venardhi]

Last bit of non-digital craft I did as far as I can recall (other than beer) was some drunk painting with my brother over the holidays. Neither are what I would consider "finished" but I'm pretty keen on how they turned out. I really need the space to be able to work on this kind of stuff more consistently.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

I like them! They are very dynamic and the colours are exciting =)

tsq, beware of the quilting virus. There's no known cure been there, done that and got half a wardrobe of quilts (and atm 5 unfinished quilting projects..).
The sceptical look of the owls is priceless. I think I couldn't have withstood that bit of cloth either.

Tom, this wallet is awesome for a first try!

 

[Tom Hendricks]

I was able to get to the library today and use the laser for the gift for my friends birthday. I think it came out pretty awesome. I used 12"x12" and 1" thick Red Oak, it's what they had at Home Depot.

Here is a little update, I got to sand it down to make it more smooth. I also wanted to test out using paint to highlight the burnt section more, so I tested it out on the back. I think I'm happy, I'm going to sand it one more time and then seal it with Shellac.

What do you think? Do you like it better natural or with the black paint?

 

[tharpdevenport]

I like the previous one; it has more of a worn-out charm look to it.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

I like them! They are very dynamic and the colours are exciting =)

Tom, this wallet is awesome for a first try!

Thank you, I have another prototype coming up soon

I like the previous one; it has more of a worn-out charm look to it.

I agree with you. So I'm just going to seal the front, no paint.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

I finalized my design for the baseball wristband and I'm very pleased with it. I've done a bunch of prototypes and this is the best design and configuration I could get. I plan on doing a slightly smaller version and one that's almost double the width with two rows of stitching.
Here is a short video of the laser cutter in action.

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A pic of the final cutting.

I'll post another pic when I'm done stitching them all.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Here is one all sewn and finished up, it's for my brother. He likes the Atlanta Braves for some reason, I'll finish mine tomorrow.

 

[Venardhi]

Very cool. Would make a pretty snazzy watch band too.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Very cool. Would make a pretty snazzy watch band too.

I have one in the works. I just finalized my designs for 3 other versions of this. A kids version, a slightly shorter & skinnier version called the Skinny Mini and a double the size called the Double Wide. It's almost double the size with two rows of stitching. I'm very excited about it. I'm also going to do a wallet in this style, offering fully customizable from the color of the thread to the color of the inside, to match your favorite team. I'm also going to offer personalization, i.e. Name and Sports number on the bigger ones and Initals and Sports number on smaller ones. I'm very excited about this and hope to have my Etsy store open next week.

 

[Venardhi]

Awesome. Looking forward to seeing them. I know a few Giants fans I could gift something like that to.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Awesome. Looking forward to seeing them. I know a few Giants fans I could gift something like that to.

@Venardhi I do have a question for you, what would you consider Giants colors for a wallet. The interior color of Orange with Black stitching or interior color of Black with Orange stitching?

 

[Venardhi]

I'd need to see an example or diagram for what you mean by that, but on instinct I'd go with orange stitching on black over the alternative.

 

[Astra]

I've upgraded some more Barbie stuff. Repainting, and also more of the fabric tape which is really awesome:







I really don't understand why they insist in making everything pink...