Rock Painting

I have found a new art project! Another paintable surface! ROCKS! It seems there are Facebook pages for circulating painted rocks by hiding them in the community and posting their approximate location. People search, find (or not), then post the painted rock.

I'm not really clear how this works. Some people say the rocks are then supposed to be recirculated after posting. This would be really fun if that is actually what people do, but some people keep the ones they want. I would hope they would then donate their own rocks to be found to keep the game going. I can see keeping the rocks for a short, cherished time, but I think it's better to give than to receive and I think it's more fun to hide and search than keep and hoard. Our society is far too materialistic. Share the love, pass it on. Just my opinion...

Some of the painted rocks shown online are absolutely magnificent and detailed. I'm amazed and humbled by the talent.

My local library did a rock painting activity. The participants were fairly nontoxic. The polyurethane sprays used to coat the finished rocks were toxic, but I learned quickly to sit far away from the door.

The above photo is the first one I painted. I wasn't sure how this was going to go so it's very tiny, maybe an inch and a half in diameter. On the back I painted a tiny pink flower:

For the Facebook rock groups, on the backs one should put which FB group it's from so people will share when they found it.

Then I got excited and did the sun face below. This rock is about five inches in diameter so much bigger.

On the back is rain:

Then I did a matching moon:

Stars on the back:

I have a lot of flat, round rocks in my garden. I'm inspired to paint faces on each one.

FUN!!!

Happiness is a Twirly Thing

I dug an old laminated map out of my teaching archives, spent $20 on beads, and perfected the fine art of pinwheel construction! The key is light-weight laminated paper, no bigger than 9 x 9, slippery (glass) beads with big holes, three inch nails, and a post that is sturdy enough to not sway in the wind. Oh, and taller the better to reach above my fence.

It was a challenge finding beads with holes large enough to accommodate a nail. I went to a bead warehouse that must have had a million different beads to select from, and maybe ten varieties were suitable.

So I've gone crazy. At this point I don't even care if they drive the moles/voles crazy, although that would be nice. When they start twirling it makes me so happy!

It took some adjustment to get used to the noise. I kept thinking an animal was in the yard running through the garden, or a bird flying nearby.

I especially like the double ones. This one can be seen from my kitchen window:

I made a double one for the front yard.

This one seems to twirl non-stop:

I now have five in the backyard, two on the east side, one double on the west side, and five in the front yard. Next I think I'll paint some designs on paper, laminate it, and see how that works. I'm thinking I should hang them all over my house and fence, too, like a crazy person.

I've also ordered some red fox urine...I figure it'll keep everything out of my yard.

Freecycle: Changing the World One Gift at a Time

 

For anyone interested in living a more sustainable, non-materialistic lifestyle, Freecycle is the place where you can practice the three R's: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE. It's a wonderful system where people can give their junk to people who want their junk, or for people who need something, but would rather not buy it either because they don't have the money, don't want to contribute to the over consumerism of the world, or in my case and like many of us dealing with chemical sensitivity, want items that are not treated or made with chemicals. Free is good, too!

I started using Freecycle eight years ago when I moved into this big, old house of mine. It needed a lot of repairs and I didn't want to spend lots of money on tools and supplies. I also needed some furniture since I moved from a tiny one bedroom apartment into a house. There was too much echo. And then there were the projects I needed to do to keep me busy and entertained out in the isolation of the country. I've been given solid wood antique furniture, arts and crafts supplies, office supplies, kitchen appliances, and house repair materials, just to name a few categories.

There are times I've post for something and received no response, but that's just part of the game. Sometimes you win; sometimes you lose. And there have been MANY times I respond to an offer and didn't get chosen as the  recipient because I'm in a long list of others who wanted it as well. Many times the giver selects the first responder rather than judge who should get it or not. I was really disappointed once not to get a wicker couch and what made it worse was the person offering it to me emailed to tell me I was the first responder, but my email ended up in his spam folder for some reason. Did he really need to tell me that? I was so disappointed.

My latest acquisition was a post entitled: "Antique Spool Bed Needs TLC". I was the first responder early one morning. Lucky timing. The woman emailed and said it was the childhood bed she received as a gift from her father around 1940 so it has a lot of sentimental value making it difficult to part with. When she received it, it was already considered antique. Although I was excited, I was also skeptical. If it's a children's bed, it might be very small, and if it's that old, what is wrong with it and why is it in her storage shed. She asked me if I was sure I wanted it because the second responder claimed to have woodworking experience. I did. I figured I could use the headboards for some project, make a bench out of it, use it for a decorative feature or railing in my future cob house. If it's a real spool bed, the carvings alone should be fun. But one never knows. She didn't have a photograph of it. The giver said it had been in storage for about 30 years, but it worked back then and she has all the parts. It fits a smaller than normal mattress, something between a twin bed and a full bed which may be problematic for most people. Old-style mattress sizing. That's fine with me as I'd never buy a new mattress and have been thinking of trying to make a mattress out of mattress pads.

Freecycle also warns people to meet strangers in public for safety reasons, so of course I go right to her house. I think with our email communications we had a good feeling about each other. Either that or we are both naïve and too trusting. Yep, probably, but strangers who share childhood memories give me a good vibe.

A second concern always is will the person I meet be wearing perfume or will the freebie stink? I carefully assess the situation one step at a time.

She opens her storage shed and there it is. It's not a children's bed and it's solid wood. It's dusty and dirty, but cleaning an antique is part of the fun. It's like bringing it back to life.




In the garage, ready for its transformation! Even the railings are wood. Love it.

She did have all the pieces including the two sculpted ends on the foot board that were removed in order to fit a full size mattress years ago. The woman kept looking like she was mourning the loss, but assured me giving it away was fine. For a moment I asked myself, Aren't you always saying you need to downsize like this woman is doing? Why do you keep gathering more STUFF? I like having projects to keep me busy. If anything, I can fix it up and sell it at my next garage sale for a huge profit.

Love the carvings.

 

 

It's really awesome. At first I thought I would paint it turquoise but I fear it won't match anything in my house except my pantry. It won't fit in the pantry, unfortunately! Too bad as it would go well in my shrine. It'll probably end up white. Maybe I should paint it wild? Oh, the decisions! So much fun.

I love antiques. This one is now on its third life, at least. Who knows, maybe it has had many more lives? I wonder what experiences it had? Where it's from? How old it is? The stories it could tell!

The Pantry Shrine

Taking a photo of my dehydrator next to the opening to my pantry reminded me to show the beaded curtain I finally finished!

 After working on making even more beads to add to my collection from last winter, I finally had enough, but barely. That door frame is very tall! It could still stand to be another foot longer, but I'm too tired of beading. Such a long process demanding much patience which I am lacking. My beaded partition is good enough for now. I'll take a break and perhaps at another time I'll attempt to make another hundred beads.

Love the turquoise beads. Actually, I love all the colors. There are three different purples, four different pinks, two blues, two greens, only one, lovely turquoise color, and about ten white beads thrown in to match the white trim of the room plus the off-white bamboo tube beads that match the off-white trim of the kitchen. Close ups:

The pantry is still being used as a shrine. I have no desire to get it dirty or scratch it up. I've made art for it, in matching colors. HA! This is The Bunnysattva of Binkies:

A "binky" is what they call it when a rabbit jumps straight up in the air and twists. It's how they play when they are happy. A "half binky" is when they shake their head like a mini-twist and sometimes they will raise up a little, but they are sitting or standing still. Peter does that all the time. It means he's happy to see me, but he's too fat to jump. He didn't start doing it until I had him about six months. At first I thought something was wrong with him, like ear mites or an ear infection. I got online and discovered the world of bunny binkies. Such a happy thing. I wanted something happy in my pantry shrine.

...And something needed to hang from those pegs, but because I have such an aversion to putting anything in this room that isn't part of the color scheme and design, I decided to custom create it. I used a piece of scrap wood for the base because I didn't have any small canvases. I have lots of these little scrap wood pieces. The dimensions are 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 1 so it has a three-dimensional quality which prompted me to give the sides some design.

 

It's different, but the cool thing is it can stand up on a shelf or counter. This inspires me.

I think I just found my new winter project!

Hornets' Nests!!

 

 

Do you see the hornets' nest hanging off my shed? Does it strike terror in the very depths of your soul?

 

I hope so. At least if you are a hornet.

 

 

The summer I moved here I could see traces of old hornets' nests under the eaves of my house. Someone knocked them down before I moved in. Then as I'm landscaping the yard I found a massive nest about the size of a basketball behind a bush. It still had hornets in it! The next spring the hornets were at it again and managed to make a little nest before I found it. Trying to whack it down, spray it with water, and run like mad before the hornets organize themselves for an attack is not my idea of a good time. I don't use pesticides because they are toxic, and also hornets are actually really good for gardens. I still don't relish the thought of getting stung so I'd rather discourage the nest building. So every spring through summer I'm on watch. I constantly walk around inspecting the under-eaves of my house, shed and garage. This year I managed to find the start of a nest with only one hornet working hard to build it.

 

Shortly after destroying all that hornet's hard work, I saw an article online on natural pest control methods and one of their ideas was how to keep hornets from making nests. It seems a hornet will not start a nest if it's within 200 feet of another. It's a territorial thing.  The remedy? Psych them out with fake ones! That calls for a papier mache project!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used balloons I blew up about halfway, strips of old newspaper coated with papier mache mix, or flour and water the poor-person's papier mache. Since I'm gluten-free I bought a small amount of bulk flour and used gloves when applying it to the paper strips.

 

 

 

 

I hung them to dry so they wouldn't be flat on one side. It's summer so I can do this out in my garage, unlike winter art projects which I have to do in the house.

 

 

 

 

The next layer of papier mache I used paper towels in hopes of giving it a little texture so it looks more like a hornets' nest.

 

 

 

 

 

Then I painted them with gray paint made with exterior latex house paint tinted with acrylic black.



 

 

I hung one on the garage, on the side of the house, and on the shed.

 

 

 

This one looks the most realistic because it's not so perfectly round. I think the balloon popped inside before it dried. I like it the best.

 

 

 

I'm also back to making beads only now I can do it out in the garage so it's not so messy. The set up is much more efficient:

 

 

Summer projects!!

Winter Project...Done and Over!

Well, I downsized the winter project just to stay sane. Making thousands of beads could drive a person crazy. This is one bowl. I had about four bowls worth of beads.

 

Instead of making a door archway bead partition, I made a "where-the-dishwasher-would-go-if-I-had-one" curtain. It's always been kind of ugly and unfinished looking. Eventually I had planned to remodel the whole kitchen so I waited. But I hate dishwashers. Besides the toxic detergents one must use with them, I prefer the relaxation of my hands in warm water sudsy with Planet Dishwashing Liquid the Miracle Soap. I keep my garbage can and the plastic bag receptacle in the space. If I put the house up for sale, I need to camouflage the ugliness. Isn't it odd I didn't finish painting this until I was ready to get rid of the house? You'd think I would want to beautify it for ME!

So rather than bead enough beads to cover an archway which would take me until the next millennium to complete, I made a bead wall to cover the dishwasher space. I painted the inner walls so they are prettier and currently have a raging headache from the fumes. It reminds me why I wanted a non-toxic winter project this year!

Now I want to buy a new, brightly-colored rug to match. My old one looks faded and worn when next to these shiny, bright beads.

Now the fun begins. I get to clean up and put the house back in order....



 

 

The Bead Production Center formally known as "the Desk". What you can't see is the dried glue all over those white desk protectors. Icky. "The Desk" reborn:




 

 

The Varnishing Center

 

 

 

 

I love having winter projects to keep me busy, but they are always so messy. By the end of it I am so glad it's over. With the varnishing table gone, I have my aquariums ready to plant my indoor starts for the garden. (See the archway to the right in the photo below? Yes, it would have taken me years to finish enough beads to cover it. I tried.)

 

 



The Stringing Center



 

Stringing sounds very easy. Maybe it is for a patient person. I had to re-string nearly every one of these strands because I kept making them the wrong lengths. In addition, one must make very good knots in the fishing line so the beads stay put. 

 

 

I used 50 lb. fishing line for this. The heavier weight line helps the beads hang almost straight although the end of the strand wants to curve from the weight and the elasticity. Damn fish tails. Why can't they just hang straight like a $20 beaded partition? I tried thinner line, but they hung very crooked with the weight of every bead bending the line. 

The dining table is back to normal.

 

 



 

 

After four months of production, it's so nice to have the house back to normal! Now with indoor gardening starts, I'll mess it all up again and feel very relieved when the plants are finally transplanted outside in June. I'll enjoy the clean and wait a few days before messing it up again.



Winter Project Woes: Update

THESE BEADS ARE NEVER-ENDING!

 

I have made thousands of beads. It's going much slower than anticipated. After two months and hundreds of beads I thought I'd take a break and start stringing them. All that time and after making all those beads, it came to...six strands. Since I need about fifty strands to complete one room partition, this was very discouraging.

 

Still, I trudged onward. Bead after bead after bead.

 

Then I started running out of construction paper! It's hard to imagine I used a whole box of old construction paper to make beads. When I first looked at my supply I didn't think I would need all of it nor get through it all.

It's very difficult to find packages of single colors to match my selected color scheme. I searched art stores, novelty shops, online supply warehouses and even requested colors on Freecycle in hopes someone such as myself had a box of colored paper not being used. "Hey, I'll trade my putrid brown, dirty-looking tan, and gaudy gold for your blue!?" No takers.

PURPLE BEADS!

I did find one office supply store that sold a package of blue and white sheets together. For some reason the company's marketing department thought blue and white should go together in the same package. But what about the other colors? Even if I purchased a pack of 100 sheets of multiple colors I might only get one or two sheets of the color I need. If I could even find separate packages of colors, it was going to get very expensive.

FUSCHIA BEADS!

 

So I got creative. I just bought a whole lot of white construction paper knowing I wouldn't need all of it for the beads. I figured I could always use it for some kind of art. Why not paint it the colors I need? Of course, that defeats the purpose of a toxic-free winter project, but it's either stick to my principles or finish the project. I'd rather finish the project. The great thing about painted construction paper is the color doesn't come off on your hands like it does with the dyed construction paper.

 

TURQUOISE BEADS!

 

In attempt to match the colors to the beads already made, I now have a healthy supply of fuchsia, light blue, light green, purple and pink, with turquoise beads just for fun in case I decide to change my wall colors later. (I think I'd really like turquoise walls!)

Now I'm running out of black and red. Damn. And I might end up running out of those bamboo beads, too, and I have no idea where to get a supply of those. A case of poor planning, I think, but onward I trudge, bead after bead after bead...  I've gone through five bottles of Elmer's Glue!

Bamboo Beads That Are Quickly Running Out

I WILL get this done!

Winter Project: Meatballs

The second recipe for making paper beads involves using mushed up newspaper. After nearly slicing my thumb off with the exacto knife while cutting the paper strips for the paper beads, I was hoping this recipe might be less dangerous and as non-toxic as the paper beads.

Directions:

First, take some sheets of old newspapers, not glossing advertising pages, but regular newsprint newspaper. The glossy pages have an added coating that makes the fibers hard to break down.

 

 

Tear the sheets into small pieces or if you have a paper shredder, use that. If you do it by hand, wear some latex or vinyl gloves. As you can see above, the ink gets all over your skin which is fairly gross and somewhat toxic.

Place the pieces in a crock pot and add enough boiling water to cover. Let sit for at least an hour stirring occasionally which helps break down the fibers. When the fibers are completely broken down, it will look mushy without defined pieces.

This is much messier than the other paper recipe. Also, the ink on the paper makes it a little more toxic as the hot water will make it smell.

 

Once the paper is mush, drain and squeeze out the excess water. Again, wear gloves or the ink will get all over your hands. You can see the ring of ink in the above photo.

Add some Elmer's glue so the paper will stick together. If you've ever done papier mache this is the same concept. Traditional papier mache recipes call for flour as the adhesive, but since we'll be making beads (balls) using this mixture thickly, I'd be afraid the flour would rot before it dried completely.

Then start rolling...and rolling...and rolling. As you begin each bead, determine how big you want it, squeeze out excess water, press together, then roll in the palms of your hands for an even spherical shape. Try to smooth out any rough edges which will save you sanding time later. Again, if you don't wear gloves, the ink will end up all over your hands.

 

Set on a non-stick surface to dry. I used plates. Make sure the bead-balls don't touch.

Over the next few days as they dry, reposition each ball so it dries evenly and not just on the top or bottom.

It takes about four days for the beads to dry, but give it a few extra days so you are certain the centers are also dry and not just the surface. They turn almost white when completely dry. Little white meatballs.

Once they are dry, if there are any rough edges, sand them down for a smooth surface. This is a hassle. I'm not sure how one is to hold a tiny little meatball and keep it still while sanding.

Then using a small drill bit, drill a hole into each bead. This is also a hassle. Not sure how one holds a tiny very hard little meatball while trying to drill a hole in it. I nearly drilled a hole through my hand a few times.

 

Paint each bead. I thought painting them bright colors would make them look less like meatballs, but I was wrong. They look like meatballs that have been painted. They are, however, very lightweight which might be advantageous for something. This process might be fun for a three-dimensional sculpture project of some kind.

The photos I've seen online of these beads painted in earthy colors and varnished are beautiful, but I realized I don't have the patience for this project. Besides the rolling, sanding, and drilling, with the ink smell, paint and varnish it's not  non-toxic at all which was the point.

I still like the paper beads better. I just need to be more watchful when using an exacto knife! I've been making about twenty paper beads a night. They are adding up!

Winter Project: Beads (Paper Recipe)

Living in the middle of no where is a challenge after spending most of my life in cities. Lots to do in a city. Not so much in the country. During the summer months, I garden, do house repairs, and lots of outdoor activities to stay busy and engaged. Then winter sets in making even the most active person want to hibernate. My first few winters in the country I thought I would go insane with boredom, so now I plan indoor projects in advance to keep me busy during the cold months. Previous years I have painted walls, furniture, and canvases, and built furniture. This year I wanted to something less toxic, less paint and less construction-oriented.



I'm making beads!! Long ago I decided I needed some room partitions for archways. The previous owner of my house used plastic slider doors that were in pretty bad shape...and UGLY. Gross. I removed them and instead envisioned colorful beaded partitions, like hippie chicks used to hang. I love the textures and patterns of beads and thought this would be a fun, playful, artsy look for rooms.

I have three, maybe four, archways that might benefit from a curtain of colorful beads. Two are off my kitchen between the kitchen and the pantry and the kitchen and the office so they will need to be blue, red, yellow, green, and white. Another is off the laundry room which is yellow, blue, purple, and green. The fourth is between two bedrooms so pink, blue, purple and white. I'll also make some black beads and maybe use them as accents and I have some white tubular beads that I think are made from bamboo that I can add in. I'll need at least a 1,000 beads for each, maybe more. We'll see how many beads I can make before I get tired of the process.

I found several bead recipes online using recycled paper. Paper is lightweight and durable. I wanted a material that wouldn't break every time someone would walk through the bead curtain. The first recipe was making beads from magazine covers, but the paper seemed too thin and the beads too tiny. I liked the idea, but it wasn't my vision. I have a whole box of unused construction paper in a closet that I've had for years and rarely gets used for anything so I experimented. I love the colors! Here's how to make paper beads whether you use magazine covers or construction paper:

 

First, cut the paper in triangular shapes. The longer the piece the thicker the bead. I use an Exacto knife and don't measure, but the measurements are about 1/4th inch on one end and 1 inch on the other.

 

Run a bead of Elmer's glue (or any glue that dries clear) along one side. Elmer's glue has a bit of smell, but it doesn't seem to bother me. Also, because it's so very non-toxic, getting it on my hands doesn't affect my skin either.

 

Roll the paper, glue side out, on a toothpick starting at the thick end. I'm using a bag of kabob sticks I bought at a yard sale for this very purpose. As you roll, try to keep the paper centered, but this is really difficult. If it's off center, you'll get a variation of shapes and as you can see, mine are all off centered! I don't care. I think it makes the beads look interesting. Do try to keep the paper tight so it's not loopy.

 

 

Position the sticks with the wet beads so they aren't touching. Let the glue dry.

Because I don't want the colors to fade in the sunlight, I've chosen to varnish each bead. This IS toxic, but I'm doing it in a separate room while wearing a mask, gloves, and opening a window. I've used this varnish on furniture and find it relatively non-toxic. It also dries fast leaving no smell. It makes the beads shiny, pretty and a little stronger than they would be without.

 

I place like colors on one stick and varnish them all at once. Before they are allowed to dry I make sure the beads aren't touching. After they dry, I'm storing them in egg cartons.

 

I plan to hang them using fishing wire from a piece of wood.

It's going to take a lot of beads, but I have all winter!

In another post, I'll show how to make beads from newspapers which is a much different process.