Sunday, June 14, 2009

Two non-contenders for the ALQS3 swap.
Don’t you just hate it when you waste most of the weekend doing something that hasn’t quite worked?
This is the first one:Very dull and boring and very little stitch either!

And the second one just wasn’t right from the offset. Don’t really know why I persevered as I had no intention of submitting it but I wanted to try something out with this one – and in the end I’m glad I did.
I knew it wouldn’t be going anywhere once I put the layer of gesso on as the fabric lifted and puckered right in the centre and there would have been no way to disguise it.
You can get away with a lot of mishaps with a coat of acrylic paint, but not this time.
Reluctant to show the whole piece as it is just far too ‘busy’ – but would like to share the close ups.
I really like the colours I ended up with and the design reminded me of something industrial, machinery, cogs (rusty, of course) etc.
I Thermofax printed the cogs with heavy body black acrylic into the circles. My laser printer has run out of yellow and because of that it won’t even print in black. So I used a Koh-I-Nor charcoal pencil to fill in the shape before I run it through the machine – and it worked perfectly. (That tip thanks to Guenther
here.) I then painted on Metallic Iron paint and when that was dry spritzed it with Rust Activator.





Just as a by-the-by. I bought the HP Laser printer, new, several months ago for around £130. It has four toner cartridges. A well know PC store wants £85 just to replace the yellow cartridge alone!!!
And there was me thinking I had got a bargain. I might just as well buy another printer.
I shall order online where I know I can get the toners for far less than that.

13 comments:

CAROLYN SAXBY said...

Even the ones you "reject" are beautiful!

Sandy said...

I like both pieces. Remember we are our own worst critic. Printers are cheap. They make their money on the ink.

Ashley said...

You can buy injectable ink refills, for printers. I have used these before with some success, it is a lot cheaper than buying the new cartridges.

Heather said...

I would be delighted to have made either of them. The first one is tranquil and makes me think of the moon over a calm sea. The second one is definitely more exciting and I love the cog shapes and the colours you have achieved. Don't know anything about printers YET! I shall have to learn quickly as I am getting one in the near future.

Susan D said...

Even your rejects are lovelly.

Ouch!!! That is a lot for refills, I've had to get compatible for my inkjet far too much to buy the originals.

Julie said...

I like the details you have shown, especially the first piece which appeals to my love of gold and turquoise. The second piece has some interesting textures and shapes too.

Doreen G said...

I only wish that I could have successful pieces as good as your failures.

Ruth said...

Maybe you could cut the second piece up and put it back together again as you like parts of it but not the whole. And it looks like from the comments that your first piece would be well liked whether you do or not.

neki desu said...

i like what i see in nÂș 2!
warning, unsolicited suggestion ahead!!!!!
can't you just crop it and re assemble those pieces together?with perhaps a solid color to unify it?

neki desu

TracyB said...

Don't be so hard on yourself. The colors in the first are beautiful (but then those are the colors I tend to work in, well except that yellow, that's a color I tend to stay WAY clear of) lol :)

Wendy said...

I get my toner cartridges from www.euroffice.co.uk they are the cheapest I have found and they send next day delivery free of charge.
All three pieces look magical to me :)

Becky Mairi Farrell said...

Love the industrial details, and glad to see you've stopped being wary of the thermofax! I also have problems with abandoning my "lost cause" pieces. Sometimes I spend hours trying to make something come right and just know it won't, but can't leave it alone. I guess because sometimes the hours of trying do make it come right. But how to know which is which?

Jackie said...

I think a big craft persons discussion about printers would be very useful. I want one I can put card through just to make business cardsa and labels but one of them just sends it straight through without printing and the other jams it after printing half a sheet.