Making the site

Oct 25, 2017

3 min read

I recently left a job I was at for the past 12 years. I had mixed feelings about leaving, I thought that I would miss some of the people or miss going to the same place every day. In reality the people I want to keep in touch with I will, and I don't miss having somewhere to go at all. Aside from job hunting and having the worst flu I've had in years I have spent the last few weeks working on a couple of projects.

I made a light box for my mum from a piece of acrylic I got from my old job, a piece of plywood from a recycle yard and some LED strips. I haven't done woodwork like that for years, I have carved items but not built anything. I made my design and carefully marked out the pieces on the not quite flat plywood and cut them out. I pinned and glued all the pieces together and fitted the lid, the sides were too high so I had to cut them down, no idea how I managed that. The sanding took forever, and the layers of varnish took an age to dry. I was really pleased with the finished result, it was really quite square and level and it works pretty well.

I also made the Blue Demon bag. I had the glass eyes on my wish list last Christmas, I got the leather at a local LARP fair. I'm not a LARPer, but they have nice supplies if you like making things. I designed the bag to be a little larger than my other handbags to use at fairs and events for small purchases. I made a pattern of the shape and cut out a piece of leather from a hide I don't like much. I marked out areas where I wanted features with felt and hot glued the eyes on. I cut out a piece of blue leather and cut slits where the eyes would go and glued the edges of the slits back. Starting at the left eye I hot glued the leather in place creasing and moulding as I went. There is a rough ball of felt under the point of the nose. I trimmed the blue leather to around 8cm larger than the base leather. I cut a piece of leather for the base and sides and stitched it by hand to the base leather, then i folded the excess blue leather over the join and riveted it in place leaving the raw edge visible. Next I stitched in the back side and riveted the strap rings to the side with tabs of leather. I cut a piece of leather for the top and set a zip into it before stitching that into place. I made a lining to the same pattern, each piece of cotton was backed with sheeting stuck with iron on glue. I added a pocket on each side, made a tidy gap for the zip in the top and stitched the pieces together using the machine. I zigzagged round the seams and trimmed it back. I put the lining into the bag and stitched it around the zip. I fitted an adjustable strap to the strap rings and the bag was finished. Mum thinks it's creepy, which is good.

One of the reasons I decided to make this website is to have something to work on whilst I wasn't working. Another reason is to have something to show potential employers if I go for a more creative job as I don't have any art or design qualifications aside from GCSE Art. It's also a good place for people who are just interested in my hobbies to come and have a look at my work.