Mask On A Stick

It worked. That's right, I did not destroy the mask, not at all. The mask was just flexible enough for me to further shape it yesterday morning. I get the impression that if I had dipped the tatting into the fa-brick stuff, as is one suggestion on the bottle, that it would have been rock hard. I painted it on either side using a dabbing motion to really get it into the lace. I am quite pleased with the results. There was no discoloration of the lace once it was dry and it gave it a nice shine without taking away the texture and as a bonus when I placed it on my face, it wasn't scratchy at all. This means I can stiffen a mask meant to be worn on the face with it should I need to. I do still prefer my lace soft though.

I also got photos of it and got it listed yesterday. The only hitch was figuring out the shipping cost. It is barely heavier than my other pieces, but that stick is kind of a game changer. Not to mention the shape of the mask requires that I not put it in an envelope. I admit I got a bit frustrated with trying to work out the international shipping costs so I left them off the listing entirely. I made a note at the end of the listing that I would ship anywhere, I would just offer a quote to prospective out of country buyers. That way I can be more specific and won't accidentally undercharge. These are the times I wish I wasn't every department of my micro business, but that's was way it is.

I did begin work on a second mask with this pattern with the intention of lightly stiffening it to be worn on the face. However,  I also discovered with the stiffened mask that it would be easier to wear it over glasses that way. So it may get fully stiffened after all. I'll get that finished today and figure it out when it's done I suppose. The shop has been as quiet as a ghost for days now...again, so I don't have any other tasks on tap. I might still play with that hat I was writing about yesterday. Yeah, I still don't know, but the mask on a stick is done and I'm at least happy with that.

New Mask!

Good Monday morning world or the small segment of it that reads this. I really tried to have a pointless weekend, but I needed to do something new. To that end I first tried something only slightly new on Friday. I added crystals to the extra wide ring design, mostly to see how it would feel and work. It gave me something to do and talk about online for a spell and I think that's what I really needed, you know, some point to babbling online. It did turn out comfortable by the way. The crystals sit on the outside of the lace so it's really no different to wear than the other version on the wide ring.

After doing our normal Saturday errands and an extra walk around the creek I had a bit of an epiphany regarding the potential mask on a stick. Since it will be on a stick and doesn't have to sit perfectly on a face, I have more leeway with design. So I started with a completely new eye shape and then started working on a new design. I know I've said that I generally make up designs as I tat, but usually I at least have an idea of where I'm going with it before I start up. This was completely off the cuff the entire time. With the new eye shape I had no idea where to begin or what I wanted. I just started, made it up as I went, unmade it a few times around the first eye and then attempted to recreate the same thing on the second side. The center was another drama as I still needed to get a bridge wire in there, but I didn't plan for one in advance. So, I guess what I'm saying is I'm truly shocked that this seemed to have worked out.

Next up was the truly frightening task of stiffening the mask so I can put the sucker on an stick. Those details still have yet to be fully worked out either, but I did know that I wanted the mask stiff first so that what I started on last night. I used the 'Amazing fa-brick' and painted it on straight while the mask was shaped on a cheap plastic mask base. This stuff dries to the touch pretty fast except that I did both sides so by bedtime it was still sticky. I still wasn't certain that I wasn't really just destroying the mask, but nothing ventured nothing gained. It seems okay this morning upon a cursory examination, but later I'll really get to play with and see if it was a success and what else needs to be done to finish the piece. Once that's done I may make this design up again as a wearable mask because I'm kind of in love with the shape. Don't worry, you'll get all the details on the success or failure of the stiffening as soon as I've formed an opinion.

So the mask is the plan for today though I also ran across my tatted hat yesterday. It was the first project I shared on this blog and it never sold, so I'm thinking about getting new pictures and listing it again or if the stiffening works, maybe turning it into a sculpted bowl, maybe paint it or something crazy and artistic...who knows. The hat is shown here and I'd love your opinion on the subject if you have the time. Alright, off to it then.

Congrats Kid

It's not hard to guess that today brings another 'nothing' sort of post. But I will start with a little congratulations of my first offspring. This is my oldest. Here you see her in her element after schooling with a cat on her lap and a nintendo ds in her hands. What you don't see in this picture is how flippin' happy she was for most of the day after she passed her tests. She has officially been approved to begin third grade work in math, science and history. This has got to be one of the best parts of the home school experience. She doesn't have to skip a whole grade to move forward, she just does the work at her own pace, getting all the knowledge and keeps moving when she's ready. I'm very proud of her.

What did I do with the rest of the day? Well, I decided that as long as I was remaking things and in production mode that I would get one of the masks listed as a custom order made and bump it back to the ready to ship list. That was about as much as I got done for the day though. I did think some more on the idea of the stiffened stick mask. I'm trying to decided whether I should use an existing design or design something entirely new to take advantage of the stiffening and the fact that it won't need to sit as perfectly on the face. Obviously the lazy part of me, and it's a big part, is leaning toward using something existing. The creative part of me really likes the new idea, but it is still half asleep. So the question becomes, when will creative me wake up and can I wait that long to try the idea out?

So today I vow to at least run the black thread stiffener test in anticipation of trying this mask business out at some point. The rest of the weekend, who knows?

Nope, I Got Nothing

Goodness, I have even less to share today than yesterday. Early in the morning I got an order for a custom colored ring, so I worked on that, then I got back to the gauntlet that I needed to finish remaking. When it was done I was truly fortunate to get an order for a necklace and I spent the rest of the day remaking that one. So, I suppose I was pretty busy all day, but with nothing of any real interest worth sharing and unfortunately I start today with no tatting projects on tap either.

I do have some schooling business to attend to though. The child has been going through some of her lessons so quickly that she has an online meeting with her teacher today to see if she's learned enough of her science and history to start the next grades curriculum. She already has the next grades math on the way. What's silly is I'm a little nervous for her to take a test with the teacher even though I know she's absorbed most if not all the information given to her. Oh, well...she'll be fine.

So that's pretty much all I have for you today. Again, I shall hope for something interesting to happen to keep me busy and engaged. I'll also try to remember to take a picture of something to brighten up the post tomorrow. All this pointless text is super boring. At least with a kitten picture you could have distracted yourself from the fact that I just wasted five minutes of your live. Forgive me.

On Tumblr

After a bit of comment consulting I dove headlong into the tumblr world. I decided if I was going to do this, I was going to figure out how to make it look like I wanted it to. After much searching and trial and error I sussed out several details and got it to work like I wanted. As I shared my struggles on twitter, I got my first followers and after I followed a few people back I began to understand. I think it shall be a meeting of my worlds. I shall post tatting, listings, twitter things and wunderkammer posts. I'll use it for other things I run across that before had no proper place to be shared. So basically it's not nearly as time consuming as twitter, but closer to that than this. If you're interested my tumblr is here. I also added a link button in the sidebar too.

Let's see what else? Well, after I was satisfied with the tumblr project, I decided to buckle down and get some stuff remade that I've been ignoring for some time. I got one pair of barefoot sandals remade and began work on one of my gauntlet type bracelets. That one has only begun and shall be today's project as well. I also played with camera apps too...can you tell?  I've been very fickle with my time lately, taking breaks at odd times to do odd things, but it's left me less stressed than usual so I'm not going to break the bad habit quite yet. I'm going to revel in the oddness.

I don't have anything else on the agenda for today, but remaking. I need to feel a little more inspired or motivated before I get back to the sculpture project or the mask on the stick project. The slowness of sales lately has begun to rob me of my sense of urgency with projects. Usually I rush not only because I need to, but also because that sense invigorates me to. Now, I feel a bit like the tortoise, I'll get there, when I get there. Don't worry...I'm still moving.