Category : Around home

219 posts

201602/15

3D printer..let the fun begin

As soon as 3D printers came out Mr. G has been wanting one. Here it is…fresh from the box. It came with a little yellow octopus that they print with your particular machine before shipping it. And enough filament and the necessary software to print a second slightly varied model.

***FYI–photo heavy post***

I present the finished “roctopus” which it this particular company’s logo/mascot.

It was such a fascinating process to watch.

Next Mr. G moved to the garage and went about printing some calibration units to fine tune the machine…I didn’t document any of that…I got bored. After that process was complete he went about printing a case for the tiny RapsberryPi computer that he has running the machine.

This is the bottom of the case. Amazing isn’t it!!! How a spool of plastic filament can become a 3D object. There is a CAD program involved and a slicing program… I know some of you may be thinking “blah,blah..techie…blah..” but it is a very cool process.

In my next couple posts I’ll be sharing how all this plays into things of an artsy manner as well as super practical things such as….

…gears for the machine itself. All the plastic parts for this 3D printer are…you guessed it….3D printed. WHA?? Super cool. They give the files to create replacement parts with the machine. They recommend that you print certain ones that wear the quickest.

Mr. G also has ideas for household uses…such as the air compressor was in need of a new filter for the air intake…he wanted something more high performance to prolong the life of the compressor itself. He designed this new fitting in a CAD program then printed it out.

Perfect fit for the filter he prefers.

How cool is that!

Okay…I’m sure you’ve had enough of me bragging about my husband.

I’m working on painting some cool pieces for a couple board games and thinking up fun crafty things as well…more to come…I promise!

3D printing | Around home | Blog

3D printer

2 Comments

halleday

201602/10

Wall imperfection solution

So what’s a girl to do when she doesn’t want to repaint a wall quite yet…hide the imperfections, of course.

This first one is were my dustbuster hand vacuum formerly hung. It finally “bit the dust” so to speak. Oh man that was bad.

My solution is not too shabby. Totally hides the wall anchors. It’s an awkward little section of wall anyway…might as well try to dress it up.

This UGLY phone jack was truly an eye sore in the kitchen when I took down the wall phone. Just the simple hanging of the painting over the jack gave that wall a fresh new look. I didn’t even have to pound in a nail!

Big J says the painting makes him of cells….and that’s from the kid who says he doesn’t like biology. Me…I just like the colors. LOL

Around home | Art | Blog

frugal living, home decor, painting

3 Comments

halleday

201602/09

T Tuesday: pattern making edition

Good morning and welcome to T stands for Tuesday.

I finally caught the cold/virus that Big J was suffering with all last week. Bummer! Hopefully we won’t continue to pass it along to the rest of the family.

Before I started feeling cruddy I was asked by Mr. G to make a cover for his new gadget…a 3D printer.

T Tuesday: Winter garden edition

Welcome to a chilly edition of T stands for Tuesday!

All summer I had been giving you garden updates so today I thought I’d show you my winter garden. Maybe I should rephrase that….my garden in winter.

Last week before the temps dropped into the negative°F, we had a little snow that gave everything a lovely coat of white. Since I had to go out to shovel anyway, I grabbed the camera for a little photo tour.

winter garden

You can see my rosemary, sage and horseradish covered in snow. I have no idea of the herbs will make it but I’m not terribly concerned. I harvested a bunch for smudge sticks late in the season.
winter garden

I love how the snow rests on the fencing and flags.

winter garden

I decided to leave the flags up this year as they are quite faded and worn. I want to replace them next summer.

winter garden

winter garden
How do you think the worms are doing in their tower? I hope they dug deep enough to survive the winter. Only time will tell.

winter garden tea

As for me…I’m drinking lots of hot tea trying to keep warm. The cocoa is for Mr. G…he’s taking a vacation day. Good day to do it too when it’s so dang cold! Especially since he works both inside and out.

What are you doing today?

T Tuesday: two posts collide edition

It’s a two for one deal here at Halle’s Hobbies… I’m linking up with both Art Journal Journey and T stands for Tuesday today.

Why you say? I decided to embrace my word of the year and enjoy the meeting of two worlds instead of stressing over it. Technically they’ve met. :) This is one of the things about the blogging community that I really enjoy. So much crossover and one blog leads to another and soon you’ve went down the rabbit hole but learned so much along the way.

The Winter wonderland theme this month on AJJ gave me the opportunity to play with a new supply.

It came in a box of paint from a garage sale. I wasn’t sure that I’d ever use it. Since I was using my sturdy board book heART journal, I knew it would hold up to the weight and wetness factor of the paste.

I am certainly glad I kept it. Look at the texture it provides. And the sparkle! The photo capture of the sparkle is nothing compared to the real deal. It really does look like snow glistening in the sunlight on a crisp Winter day.

Winter Wonderland art journal page | Halle's Hobbies

I used this stencil with a palette knife to create the snowman.

I wish you could feel this page. So much texture on the background and the snow is soft. A really unexpected result for me even with the jars claim.

I hope my T stands for Tuesday friends have enjoyed my latest journal page.

In keeping with the ~~rules~~ spirit of T day, I’m sharing my beverage as well as the healthy breakfast I enjoyed yesterday.

What else does the day have in store?

For starters, the transfer of important dates from one calendar to the next. Sometimes I wonder why I continue to keep a paper calendar since most everything is kept electronically now. But a hard copy is always good. When I rely on technology, that’s when it fails me.

I’m also going to tackle taking down Christmas decor, get in a little exercise and sort paperwork for taxes. I actually started our taxes yesterday. I hate waiting on this. I really like to know where we stand.

What are you doing today?

Art | Blog | Kitchen

Art Journal Journey, challenge, heART journal, T Tuesday, WOTY

16 Comments

halleday

201601/02

A second look: My favorite quilt

To start out the year we are looking back…wait…didn’t I say I was looking ahead in the previous post?

We are looking back because it’s Second on the 2nd hosted my my dear friend Elizabeth. Each month on the second she asks that we dig into our blog and reshare a post that deserves a second look.

Sewing is a passion of mine as well as recycling. In this post from August 2008 I share my favorite quilt and a little about it’s creation.

We still use the quilt today. It’s now 15 years old and is very well loved.

Take a look…

This denim quilt was my very first large scale recycling project.

I carry it in my van for picnics, beach days, a stop at the park or one of those dreaded winter emergencies. After the latest trip to the beach I hung it on the deck rail to dry. I was taken aback by how many memories this quilt holds for me. I love how it has frayed over time. Maybe others would think of this as a flaw but to me, it shows it has been throughly loved.

I made it when my first born was an infant. Oh, to have that much time on my hands again! I wanted to make something that he could lay and play on, that would be durable, washable, textural and colorful.

I had a ton of jeans that were never going to fit again plus my hubby’s worn out ones to cut into circles. I used a plate to trace each and every circle by hand then carefully trim with scissors.

The colorful squares (trust me there are squares under there) were from a stash of fabric I had gotten as a teen when my “grandma” across the street moved from her home to her daughters in CA. She knew I loved sewing and crafting more than her own granddaughter.

My mom had somehow collected tons of small spools of thread in various colors, not sure why since she didn’t sew but did own a machine. Maybe just wishful thinking on her part. Anyway, I figured that I could make the quilt even more colorful by using different spools of thread throughout the quilt. Generally the bobbin thread and the spool didn’t match as I sewed.

If you’re curious how I made it check out this tutorial. I think I got my instructions from a magazine but the tutorial has excellent instructions.

Around home | Blog | Crafts

quilt, Second on the 2nd, sewing

8 Comments

halleday

201601/01

2016 Word: Enjoy

After reflection on last year and thinking of what is to come…I decided that enjoy would be my best choice of words.

Enjoy the process of creating and blogging. Enjoy and embrace the fact that I am a stay-at-home mom of teenagers and enjoy the time I have left with them. Enjoy more time with Mr. G since the kids aren’t needing or wanting our undivided attention. Enjoy being driven around by my son. Find a healthy lifestyle we can enjoy. Dig in the dirt for enjoyment of gardening and the nourishment it provides our family. Enjoy friends, good books, wine and walks. Enjoy the little things in life.

I think this should be a pretty easy word to keep in mind this year.

You could do it too… ENJOY