Well, I’ve returned from the high temperature hell that is home to the Universal Islands of Adventure theme park.  Orlando was H-O-T.  Did I mention it was hot?

Not only was it hot, but also the park was teeming with scores of kids on their summer vacation.  I’d definitely only entertain visiting again if it was winter and school was in session.

The Wizarding World itself was gorgeous.  The buildings are laid out to perfectly give you the illusion that you’re in a town — without the rest of the park intruding.  Even the vegetation is accurate.  They planted a small pine forest.  (It’s across from Jurassic Park, so you have the odd sight of pines on one side of the creek with bamboo and lush rain forest-like foliage on the other.)  The buildings have snow and icicles hanging from them, but that does nothing to mitigate the Orlando heat.

Slideshow and more after the jump.

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Heading to Inconjunction this weekend. I’ll have several pieces in the art show, so do stop by!

Last year I purchased a Rosback perforator from eBay.  In simplest terms, a perforator is just a row of pins that can be pushed down as a single unit into a piece of paper.   Of course, there’s much more to this machine than that.  Weighing over 300 pounds, it took three people to unload it into my garage.   Although my perforator was relatively rust free, many of the pins had been bent and broken (I still cannot figure out how).  The working parts of the perforator consist of a bar to push down the pins and three parts with holes in them for the pins:  a punch holder, a stripper, and a die.  After removing the punch holder, I removed all the pins.  I then used bio degreaser on all the metal parts.  Then each individual pin was rubbed with lubricant and test fit into the punch holder, stripper, and die.   I thought about counting the holes, but I figure at some point I’ll gather more information (as in the size of the pins, etc.).  I need to replace the spring and the 2×4 being used as a pedal, but for now it works pretty nicely.  I could refinish the tabletop, but I think the dents and dings give it character.

More photos after the jump.

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I’m working on a project at present that involves making a box look as if it was a century old.  I came across this site http://www.xrestore.com/ and his tutorial on aging wood some time ago and was just waiting for the right project to come along.  (I actually ended up buy his book.  Although it addresses restoration or the reversing of age, the techniques and discussion of how things age has been very helpful.)

I mixed up a batch of pickling solution and applied it to different types of wood.  Rather than just use tea prior to the pickling, I put walnut ink (W) on one side and the tea (T) on the other.

And here it is post-pickling:

A little dusting with some sandpaper really brought the grain up and made the wood look ancient.

It is at last complete!  The sixth black vial from Dragon Age: Origins is complete.  I hope you enjoyed all the teases, now you can learn more about the finished piece.  (Be sure to scroll to the end to see a video of the revenant in action.  As the barista at Starbucks said, “Freaky!”

Those who follow me on Twitter have seen the in-progress shots of this.  I really need to tie all my social media together, but that’s soooo boring.

Has it been that long since I’ve updated?  All apologies (especially to folks who have e-mailed but not received a reply), I’ve been under water, under the weather, or under excited about making for some time.  A new project?  Just what the doctor ordered.  My friend Steph came to me with an idea for a collaborative replica and it’s really come together. Here’s a bit of teaser, I’m still waiting for some supplies to arrive.

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I’m preparing to leave for Chicago tomorrow morning (yay for another visit to the Potter exhibit), staring down a monster load of laundry, and nursing a bit of a cold.  Yet I couldn’t let the day end without making SOMETHING.  These little bags are for a project I’ll post about on Wednesday.  I made them on the Print Gocco I bought months ago.  It’s a fun bit of machinery, but I must confess it’s just as easy to use the PhotoEZ products I’ve used in the past.  Plus the PhotoEZ screen can be cleaned with water when you’re done.  (The Gocco results are a lot cleaner, but I really do like a messy and uneven print.  I had to work to make these look worn.)

My friend HogwartsPaladin noticed that my potions label is being used on an exploding frog soap sold by HowardsHome.   I’m proud to have my potions label adorn Howard’s frog boxes.  The exploding frogs (they don’t quite explode — more like ooze) are exactly the kind of thing I’d expect to see in a wizarding universe.   Of course, I wish the frogs looked more realistic, but I think the belly of the frog has to be round in order for the “guts” to leak out.   Plus, the more realistic you get the grosser the concept becomes.  Still, there’s something deliciously disgusting and decadent about washing up with frog guts.   I also love that the box is reminiscent of the Harry Potter chocolate frog box.

I finally bit the bullet. I created an Etsy store. There isn’t much in it right now, but what IS in it will be getting full write-ups in the next couple of days. These all came about due to a package I wanted to create for my friend Alex. Of course the package needed a story, so I dipped into the well of Potter-lore and came up with the Order of Merlin. You can download the stationary and learn more about it here.