Molding ideas

Some idea for using scrap moldings. I love the shapes and profile of moldings. They come in so many shapes and weights and profiles. but all of them have potential beyond trimming a ceiling or doorway.
these ideas are either ones I have seen or tried or just thought of and I can not vouch for any results anybody gets in trying them. For the most part a miter saw and some small nails and glue are all you need to create cool things with moldings.

Picture frames: they make molding just for this but you can still use any of them though you may have to add strips of flat wood on the back to make the recess for the canvass, photo or glass.
Small shelves: I did make these and they came out really nice. Use 3 pieces of molding for the front and sides and then use a flat piece of wood for the shelf itself. You can use different kinds of molding and get an effect like a collection of architectural style.
If you can wrap your mind around compound miter cuts you can create triangular shelves that look like part of a box corner poking through the wall.
Small boxes: use the moldings for the sides of the box. if you want a lid you can create one with the same molding by using triangles and effect making a frame with no opening. then use a small square of wood that fits inside the opening glued to the bottom of the lid. Considering the weight of some crown moldings I have seen this could be a pretty good size box.
On a similar note
Display trays for jewelry: This is one I need to try. using short 1.5-2 inch wide moldings make a box that is whatever size I need to fit into my transport container. I would use wood for the bottom of the box. I would paint it shiny black and then line the bottom inside with a velvet covered pad that I can display my jewelry on. the hope would be I could transport everything without having to pack it all away into small boxes or bags anytime I was done with showing it.
Bead rolling planks: Some molding have interesting grooves that mike make interesting polymer clay beads.

Since molding come in all kinds of materials from PVC to foam to wood to composits it important that you make sure you are consistent within each project as I have found that the same profile can vary in dimension between different materials. Molding can be bought fairly cheap, but in my reuse and recycle mode I come across used and scrap molding all the time that I have made a small collection of. When I have more room and my workshop reestablished I will collect more and put some of these ideas into play.

creativity and motivation

888888Selling ourselves the dream:777777777
Does everyone see grandiose potential in their creative endeavors? I suppose we must or why rewrite every chapter in a novel 5 or six times to get the wording just right. Surely we could not go to such efforts if we did not dare to dream of best seller lists and book clubs. No one would take pen or chisel or brush to hand if they did not harbor some dream of a masterpiece to be admired and cherished by an audience of some kind. No one could devote hours to following these dreams if the hope did not at least hover at the edges and whisper of fortunes to be made from the result.
Perhaps the fortunes to be made will not be ours. The antiques shows give us the perspective of time on the efforts of the creative mind. The hand carved chest made by a father for his newborn child may carry the same value as the great landscape painting done by an artist to earn his bread and butter. So I console myself with the thought that even if they are not recognized as highly prized objects now my works some day will indeed bring that high price to someone else.

odds and ends or bits and pieces

I was thinking about this the other day as I carefully swept the small wire ends I had accumulated into a little plastic baggie. I had no idea why I was saving them. Maybe because I know to the inch how much I had paid for that wire so every inch had value. A few weeks later, I had an idea and I started winding the ends of the short wires into spirals that I could use in my jewelry making. Some are long enough for a couple of beads and other will only be a spiral with a loop to attach it to ---something. I haven't gotten that far yet.
I know many folks like that, they save the cut off ends of boards because sometimes a 2x3x1 inch board is just what they need. No plan, but keep the materials close at hand.
Fabric scraps are another fine example. I know that the 4x6 inch scrap of bright green in a slightly irregular shape will be just what I or someone else might be looking for in a quilt square or two. Odd bits of string or yarn, old panty hose, that moth eaten wool sweater can all become starting points for the next project or the solution to some pesky problem.

My Husband calls it raw material. Pieces of wood, metal, fabric, paper, paint, all have potential to become more than the left overs from some bigger project. Of course it also takes the creativity of an open mind to see their potential and it takes the skills and tools to make that vision a reality. Sometimes it starts with the plans and fits the bits into it and other times it starts with the bits and becomes a plan.

But do to a change in space I have to let go of many of these bit and pieces. I have given away bags and bags of scrap fabric and many bits of wood that are just too small have gone into the trash can. (I am gonna hang onto the wire though, as I can see a plan coming together)

Passions: the myth of discovery

We all have heard the phrase “I was just at the right place at the right time.” Usually uttered by some dewy eyed starlet in telling the story of her “overnight” success.
Riiight, Pull the other one. Sure world class ice skaters are discovered in the park skating with little brother. First time novelists do not have a drawerful of rejected or aborted manuscripts. The best pitchers just happen to be on the mound the day there is a scout in the bleachers.
No one was ever at just the right place at the right time by chance.
There is homework involved in figuring out those two factors.
You don’t go to the hardware store to find a sexy nighty.
Knowing your passion is only the first step. Where and how you get to express it is another. Even the most avid Greenpeace member still pays annual dues.
Put yourself in association with the people you want to be a part of.
Even though hanging out near the popular crowd did not work in high school it can work in real life.
One of the coolest things about the internet is that there are all sorts of ways to hang out near the popular kids.
Joining groups, creating web pages, you tube, face book, my space, blogs, forums can all be tools to get you to the right place at the right time.
But you still need to know where and when.
Do the research.
If you are looking for a job find out; who is hiring? What positions? What industries are growing? What skills do you need? Is there someone who can teach you? Are there people of similar interest in your area so you can meet face to face?
If you are looking for someone to go jogging with or builds model rc aircraft, or has a book club in your area, you can use the same tools.
Are you looking for a personal relationship? The same research standard applies.
Little passions like reading mystery novels, making quilts or developing the perfect pot luck dish are as valid as the big life passions I spoke of earlier. They may not be the things that become the road map and definition of your life, but they are some of the opportunities for interactions that keeps us in the area near the cool kids. That way we can be in the right place at the right time when we figure out our passion.

First glass ideas

As promised some of my ideas, spilled onto a place where anyone who wants them can pick them up and use them. I make no claims that these are original with me. Some may be modifications of something I saw or read about.

Uses for glass bottles:

Glass mosaics

Use pieces of broken bottles to create mosaic on a glass background so light can shine through.
Because bottle pieces are not flat they may need to be fairly small pieces in order to make it work. Use a clear adhesive and makes sure the whole piece is well glued.
Limiting factors will be colors as glass bottles have a fairly limited range of colors for the most part, but any glass can be used including old chipped or cracked vases and dishes.
For an opaque mosaic use wood or other back ground for tiling.
Can also use old tiles, dishes, stones and possibly even bits of old sinks and toilets.

Other bottle things.

Back to an old 70’s favorite of cutting the tops off bottles and using them for glasses of vases.
To make a fancy vase drill 4 holes near the top of a cut off bottle. Create a circlet with wire, beads, charms, and other stuff then wire the circlet to the top of the vase.

Run pieces of bottle glass through a tumbler to create “beach Glass”. They sell this stuff by the pound at the craft stores so you know someone is doing something with it. The surface is frosted looking and the sharp edges are knocked off
Fill the bottom of a clear vase with the tumbled glass to anchor flowers, use it to decorate picture frames and mirror frames.
Drill pieces (use water to cool as you drill, check web for more info) to use as beads.

Use a saw or cutter to slice rings from the bottle necks.
use these in mosaics, jewelry, or window ornaments. Maybe slumped in a kiln. but I do not know if they would stay round.

Create three dimensional “stained glass” decorations. use larger pieces of bottles where curves and angles lend to the 3 d effects.

Bottle glass can be used as the aggregate in concrete. Poured and polished as counter tops they become quite beautiful. Could also be done on a smaller scale for pathways and stepping stones.
Small pieces can be mixed into polyester resin. when shaped and polished they would be very interesting. crushed or small pieces could be swirled in and cast in poured resin table tops.

Slumping and melting:

bottles are slumped in kiln molds all the time, but what about pieces of bottle glass. This would lead to flatter pieces, but in random shapes to be used for mosaics and stained glass.
I also saw a program once where scraps of stained glass were put into a clay flower pot in a kiln with a clay saucer under it so when the glass melted and ran out of the hole it created a swirled glass disc in the bottom dish. Can this be done with bottle glass?
Dark amber and bright green with clear pieces could result in some great color combos.
I know some of the limitations on melting bottle glass is the temperature and mixing issues, but it could be an interesting experiment.

These are my glass reuse ideas for right now, but you never know what might spring into my head tomorrow.
Kat

Finding Passion

I heard a talk many years ago about reintroducing the wolves to Yellowstone. I was more impressed by the passion of the woman giving the talk than the subject itself. I knew someone who had spent a year in Costa Rica saving sea turtles. The way her eyes lit up and her whole body expressed her desire and joy in this project also impressed me. I have known people who live to climb mountains, ride horses, teach children, travel, etc.
I have seen many people who throw themselves full tilt into the outlet they have found. I have seen them and wondered, "where is my passion?" How much easier if I had a driving need to do a particular something. I would know where I wanted to be and what I wanted to be doing and I could give my whole being to the project, program, cause, issue, ...
But that soul grabbing, heart pounding passion has eluded me.
I have found many things I really like doing, but none has become my center of being.
Thats not to say it can't happen as long as I keep an open mind and try new things and give myself the opportunities I may yet find it or it may find me.

finding creativity

I have an idea.
Now what do I do?

It seems like everyday I wake up with another idea. Many of them are related to my art or crafts, but others are on a grander scale. Sometimes I manage to get the skeleton of the idea jotted down somewhere with the promise I will come back to it. But like many things they fade over time and I do not always remember or even have a clue about what my notes hint at.
I used to fill many notebooks with story plots and essays and observations. Then I started keeping my notes and writings on my computer. Now I think the next step is to start sharing some of them. Many of my ideas are beyond my ability to bring them to fruition or even explore them adequately. Other ones are just not something I will ever get around to doing. So here they will be available to any and all who want them.

Where do I find my creativity?
Everywhere and anywhere.

I think an important aspect of the process is to keep taking in information. Its also important that what you know doesn't come from a single perspective. If you only hear the news from one channel and only read one opinion page and never take a look beyond what floats in front of you with minimum bidding you will have trouble becoming creative.
"Google it" is the stock answer for almost any question now, but creativity demands more from us than that.
Being creative is the act of going outside the typical parameters and finding a new path.
So my ideas are available for anyone, but the journey to bring them to fulfillment lies with those who use their own creativity to make them happen.

Good luck to all who visit.
May your life's journey be fulfilling.
---Kat