• Art - Blog - Crafts

    T Tuesday: stacking and painting edition

    Today’s version of T stands for Tuesday will be short and sweet…hopefully.

    healthy bfast

    I’m continuing my effort to eat a good healthy breakfast in hopes of making better choices throughout the day. Especially now that I’m finally. *knock on wood* better…with the exception of a little cough.

    I made a few more of my button pendants…

    button pendants

    Now if I’d only get around to listing some in my etsy store. As much as I love creating, I hate the time and effort the listing process takes.

    I’ve also been working on painting a set of tiles for Settlers of Catan. Here’s a sneak at the work in progress.

    catan tile peek

    I’m trying really hard to remember to take photos as I go with my phone…there will definitely be more to come.

    I haven’t forgotten about art journalling either…

    Never doubt your instinct | Halle's Hobbies

    You can see the entire post here.

    That’s it for today! Time to go shovel. This time I’m determined not to fall. Yikes! My knee is still slightly off colored and that was 2 weeks ago. At least my brain didn’t get scrabbled as well…although I did see stars. ? ? ?

    What are you doing today?

  • 3D printing - Blog - Tabletop gaming

    Jamaica, mon!

    Our family enjoys board games especially slightly out of the ordinary board games not made by the typical sources such as Hasbro and Milton Bradley.  Most are titles you won’t find at your local discount department store like Target. Heck we’ve even played a game that was totally in German. We borrowed the game from a hobby shop owner who gave us a rough translation of the rules. But I digress…

    Recently we played a game from our collection called Jamaica.

    Jamaica mon | Halle's Hobbies

    It’s basically a racing game that you manage your cargo and occasionally get to battle another player. Strategy and luck both play into the equation.

    Jamaica mon | Halle's Hobbies

    You keep track of who is “captain” for the turn with this compass piece.

    Jamaica mon | Halle's Hobbies

    Mr. G found this model of a ships wheel on Thingiverse and thought it might make a great custom edition to the game in place of the chipboard compass. Looks cool but not exactly the right color.

    Jamaica mon | Halle's Hobbies

    Here’s the wheel in progress, extremely wet with paint. After this completely dried, I sprayed it with walnut ink. I wasn’t sure this was a good choice but what the heck…I live dangerously.

    Jamaica mon | Halle's Hobbies

    Here’s the completed wheel in play. I sprayed it with a matte spray sealer to protect it from chips and scratches. I tested the durability of it by rubbing it together with the Hand of the King piece I had previously completed. There is no way either object will be as roughly abused as that during regular game play and storage so I think we are good.

    Jamaica mon | Halle's Hobbies

    I love how the walnut ink settled into the layers of the print giving the appearance of wood grain.  So fun!

    Currently I’m working on another board game. I had always wanted to make a set of custom tiles for this game but assumed that I’d be scratch building each tiles like I do for miniature terrain pieces. Since the game has 19 tiles…the task was a little daunting. Mr. G is printing the board pieces from files shared on Thingiverse. I am adding custom paint jobs to each piece. More on that project to come…

  • Art - Blog

    Never doubt your instinct

    My focus as of late has shifted from art journals and papercraft to 3D items such as button stack pendants and of course, all the 3D printed goodies that just keep on coming.  As much as this variety feeds my art ADD, I find myself missing paper and mixed-media.  I start to second guess myself…will I still be able to create? What if I fall out of practice? Self doubt is an evil thing.

    Never doubt your instinct | Halle's Hobbies

    So a few weeks ago I dropped in at one of the bigger libraries in the system and got myself an armload of inspiration.  Nope still didn’t do it for me. My altered books, journals and one off paper crafts sat idle.  I even enlisted Mini-me to help clean and organize our art space. Notice I said our art space. She is taking 2 art classes this trimester. One required and one elective.

    After finishing painting a couple 3D printed models, I had extra paint brown and gold on the palette. Not being wasteful I grabbed a journal and wiped it on to a random page. I guess that was all it took. The simple act of doing and not thinking to much about it.

    Never doubt your instinct | Halle's Hobbies

    The page quickly came together.  As I went looking for words I found this series that really spoke to what I felt at that moment.

    Never doubt your instinct | Halle's Hobbies

     Do you hear or listen to that little voice inside? Is it the evil one or the one that lifts you up? Or do you just try to shut her up with cookies?