SHARK ATTACK

It was time to finish the shark plaque!  I covered my work space, gatheredd all my supplies and began to pour resin!

Most of the pieces went down well--I did get a bit sticky but a package of wipes sure helps keep that from getting out of hand!  I then finished adding the resin around the design and let it self-level and flow down the sides, too.

You can't tell, but the wood is sitting up on spacers so that the resin won't harden onto the work surface. 

You can see the depth the resin gives to the paint and the riser underneath the wood in this photo. 

 I set a large plastic bin over the top and let it dry for 24 hours.

After drying I added a picture hanger on the back and will let it dry  for another 5 days before I ship it out to my oldest grandson! Some crafts that I try I think, "There, I've done that!" but this one is not the last of the shark teeth art work!

BITTEN!

I painted the background for this shark teeth art a few days ago;  today I played with filling in an outline of a shark with teeth!

The plaque is 14" long but for some reason the angle of the photo has foreshortened it!  

I added a step this time-I used a piece of contact paper laid over the silhouettee I had drawn and then I could retain the placement of the teeth when I use the resin this time,

 I won't have to start over again!

I spent a lot of time doing this --sock yarn blanket knitting; 

 I just haven't had any oomph to stand at the quilting frame!  

 

WRAP IT UP!

I love to clear my slate in January-you know, get a project you started weeks ago off of your sewing table so you can do some sewing!  I had hit the creative block of how to get the shark's teeth to stay put on the mandala design and make the painted wooden background look 'finished'!  It finally came to me to use resin to take care of both of these criteria.  Unfortunately, I ran out of a good chunk of time in December but I got to it finally!

I ended up mixing up 3-4 oz of resin working in just a small area at a time.  This resin gave me plenty of time to work each area, one right next to other to build it seamlessly.  This resin is self-leveling so I did have to work to keep the board level.  I tried to use a pair of tweezers since my pointer/thumb combo on each hand is impaired  but it was impossible since the tooth shot right out of its grip over and over again!  I became resigned that I was going to drop them, that I was going to get sticky and that if I kept my hand over the board, there was no harm done!

I tried to get the sheen in the photo for you to see how the resin brings depth to this piece!  I am so happy with the results!   

What will I find to work on next....? 

 

Beach Overnighter!

 We took a trip to Fernandina Beach!

  The boys are not the happiest travelers but we made the two hour trip mostly intact!  A visit to the beach calmed all of us!

                           The bigger cousins ran and played in the surf...

                     ...while the youngest kept a good patrol of the beach!

 The grown-ups were on the hunt for sharks' teeth!!!!  

The top of the photo are bits of petrified wood. 

 The bottom row , second in from the left is my first find of a 'palate' of the puffer fish!  

  

 It doesn't look like much in this photo 

but it is shiny like ebony

 and has very specific markings to identify it as such.

 Thank you for the lovely visit beach.....see you at low tide tomorrow!

 We saw this on the walk over the boardwalk.....a gopher tortoise.

 The older kids all climbed up to see him digging...

...... little guy took the easy peek!

 After dinner, the sky looked like this as we prepared for a  campfire.

It looked like a wildfire but it was only the brilliance of a sunset to the west.

Marshmallows over the campfire was the perfect ending to our day!

The best thought as we dozed off.....we are going  back to the beach!

Non-fiber Pursuits

I used a dab of school glue to adhere the shark collection to this 5 x 7 frame.  I used some fabric that looked like sand for the background!  It is hanging in my studio to remind me of the great visit to Fernandina Beach! 

I've been watching YouTube to teach me how to water color.  It is very satisfying to see the different results just a little bit of water can make!  It is waking a part of my brain that has been waiting a long time to awaken!