121
The Coffee Shop / Balancing act...
« on: June 07, 2013, 10:16:36 pm »
Only a cat!
News: Had a couple issues with the forum today. 1/19/2017. I believe I have them corrected now. Let me know if you have any trouble. Thanks.
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122
Brag Forum / "Cougar" - redone
« on: June 07, 2013, 11:40:53 am »
One I did last December and have redone for ME!
1/8" BB, 11 X 14, light oak stain, brown felt backer, framed with Aspen, pattern by Charlie Dearing, stack cut 2-1/8" + 1-1/4", blades - FD New Spiral 2/0 & 3/0.
1/8" BB, 11 X 14, light oak stain, brown felt backer, framed with Aspen, pattern by Charlie Dearing, stack cut 2-1/8" + 1-1/4", blades - FD New Spiral 2/0 & 3/0.
123
General Scroll Saw Talk / Thoughts on cutting detailed "portraits".....
« on: June 07, 2013, 11:07:34 am »
From Charlie D. - "Some are intimidated by the detail of my patterns"
From Julie F. - "Yes, some patterns have several hundred to even thousand holes. Oh, well. The time you invest will come back to you in the beauty of the piece. I personally love the details in these patterns."
As many of you know I tend to do more 'portraits' than any other projects. I made the jump to spiral blades early on and enjoy the details I am able to bring out in a project. Once I learned the limitations of my earlier saw and acquired the skills I needed to make the project workable I learned that the time and effort required was well spent in doing a project that satisfied ME. I do scrolling as a HOBBY and not as a career or money making endeavor...so I only have to worry about making the piece look good to me. Several times I have reached a point in a project and felt it just wasn't going to work to my satisfaction and just dumped it.
Now getting to the heart of my 'thoughts'...
In another thread Julie F suggested that if the pattern you select looks intimidating, enlarge it until you feel comfortable with it. This is right on and most of the patterns I get are blown up to 130 to 145% so I have to make a trip to the 'copy shop' since I am limited by the size of my printer. We have a networked printer here that will only do up to 8 1/2 X 11 and I am saving my nickels to get a new printer that will do 11 X 17.
Also taking a pattern that is in black & white and converting it to a light color in "Paint.net" makes following the blade much easier! A 2/0 spiral blade against a black background is almost impossible to see no matter how much light you have and is tough even with a magnifier. Hence the enlargement helps greatly.
Details...not every single tiny detail is absolutely essential to make the finished piece look right. I often will run two or even three small details together to get the effect I want. The only place this usually won't work is in the area of "eyes" of either an animal or human, those details are essential. Other times I will just skip over a detail area if I feel it is not necessary to maintain the integrity of the design. It is a judgement call and I suspect that the designer of the pattern would be hard pressed to look at a finished piece and notice that it has been altered slightly.
Mounting the finished piece....most of my portraits are cut, finished sanded and then I will draw a light pencil outline around the outer edge and cut off all the excess. This allows me to mount the piece on a backer of a contrasting or complementary color to really highlight the cutting. The lady at the nearby fabric store thinks I sew since I am in there buying different colors of heavy felt so often.
So, to wrap up this long dissertation, get yourself some spiral blades, a relatively simple portrait pattern and set out with intention to satisfy yourself, take a few deep breaths and RELAX!
No hobby I have ever tried has given me as much pleasure as Scrolling and believe me I have tried many, many other hobbies.
Enjoy!!!
~~~GrayBeard~~~
From Julie F. - "Yes, some patterns have several hundred to even thousand holes. Oh, well. The time you invest will come back to you in the beauty of the piece. I personally love the details in these patterns."
As many of you know I tend to do more 'portraits' than any other projects. I made the jump to spiral blades early on and enjoy the details I am able to bring out in a project. Once I learned the limitations of my earlier saw and acquired the skills I needed to make the project workable I learned that the time and effort required was well spent in doing a project that satisfied ME. I do scrolling as a HOBBY and not as a career or money making endeavor...so I only have to worry about making the piece look good to me. Several times I have reached a point in a project and felt it just wasn't going to work to my satisfaction and just dumped it.
Now getting to the heart of my 'thoughts'...
In another thread Julie F suggested that if the pattern you select looks intimidating, enlarge it until you feel comfortable with it. This is right on and most of the patterns I get are blown up to 130 to 145% so I have to make a trip to the 'copy shop' since I am limited by the size of my printer. We have a networked printer here that will only do up to 8 1/2 X 11 and I am saving my nickels to get a new printer that will do 11 X 17.
Also taking a pattern that is in black & white and converting it to a light color in "Paint.net" makes following the blade much easier! A 2/0 spiral blade against a black background is almost impossible to see no matter how much light you have and is tough even with a magnifier. Hence the enlargement helps greatly.
Details...not every single tiny detail is absolutely essential to make the finished piece look right. I often will run two or even three small details together to get the effect I want. The only place this usually won't work is in the area of "eyes" of either an animal or human, those details are essential. Other times I will just skip over a detail area if I feel it is not necessary to maintain the integrity of the design. It is a judgement call and I suspect that the designer of the pattern would be hard pressed to look at a finished piece and notice that it has been altered slightly.
Mounting the finished piece....most of my portraits are cut, finished sanded and then I will draw a light pencil outline around the outer edge and cut off all the excess. This allows me to mount the piece on a backer of a contrasting or complementary color to really highlight the cutting. The lady at the nearby fabric store thinks I sew since I am in there buying different colors of heavy felt so often.
So, to wrap up this long dissertation, get yourself some spiral blades, a relatively simple portrait pattern and set out with intention to satisfy yourself, take a few deep breaths and RELAX!
No hobby I have ever tried has given me as much pleasure as Scrolling and believe me I have tried many, many other hobbies.
Enjoy!!!
~~~GrayBeard~~~
124
General Scroll Saw Talk / PeachTree...Father's Day Sale!!! plus HF has Sidewalk Sale!
« on: June 07, 2013, 10:09:14 am »
http://www.ptreeusa.com/edirect_060713.htm
Good Stuff if you need something....
Harbor Freight Sidewalk Sale this weekend!
~~~GB~~~
Good Stuff if you need something....
Harbor Freight Sidewalk Sale this weekend!
~~~GB~~~
125
The Coffee Shop / Something to remember!
« on: June 05, 2013, 06:23:30 pm »
Take care when planting!
126
Computer questions / Photo Tip!!!
« on: June 05, 2013, 11:57:32 am »
I just tried a new online photo editing service and it seems to work very well!
I took the .jpg of "Splinter framed and did some alterations and her are the results.
RE-Sizing is a snap!
Here is the scoop on it...
FOTOR. Resize your photos, crop them, adjust the lighting curve, rotate them, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, and sharpness, adjust the tone and colors, or just straighten a crooked shot. You can also add a photo effect, photo frame, clip art, text; and, use color splash, mosaic, and big aperture tools. Download free at http://www.fotor.com/ .
Fotor
You can also download the program for free....
~~~GB~~~
I took the .jpg of "Splinter framed and did some alterations and her are the results.
RE-Sizing is a snap!
Here is the scoop on it...
FOTOR. Resize your photos, crop them, adjust the lighting curve, rotate them, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, and sharpness, adjust the tone and colors, or just straighten a crooked shot. You can also add a photo effect, photo frame, clip art, text; and, use color splash, mosaic, and big aperture tools. Download free at http://www.fotor.com/ .
Fotor
You can also download the program for free....
~~~GB~~~
127
The Coffee Shop / Could this be........
« on: June 04, 2013, 03:11:14 pm »
Charlie Dearing's baby picture?
?
?129
General Scroll Saw Talk / So...You think you can make something out of wood.....
« on: June 03, 2013, 03:56:13 pm »
Try this baby!
131
The Coffee Shop / The "Encounter"....
« on: June 01, 2013, 03:15:47 pm »
I always wonder what goes through their little minds!
132
The Coffee Shop / "Stormy Weather".....
« on: May 31, 2013, 10:02:35 pm »
I used to love hearing Lena Horne sing that song but this weather crap is getting kinda old!
We just dodged the bullet again here in St. Peters but areas all around St. Louis got hit yet again.
Have not heard any fatality reports but one of the Casinos got hit and a Holiday Inn about 8 miles east of me also.
It must be my nasty nature but the thing got 10 miles west of me and split in two and went around us.
Of course I had two cats snuggled in my lap during the whole thing.
AND there is another line about 100 mis. west headed our way about midnight!
Welcome to "Tornado Alley"!
~~~GB~~~
We just dodged the bullet again here in St. Peters but areas all around St. Louis got hit yet again.
Have not heard any fatality reports but one of the Casinos got hit and a Holiday Inn about 8 miles east of me also.
It must be my nasty nature but the thing got 10 miles west of me and split in two and went around us.
Of course I had two cats snuggled in my lap during the whole thing.
AND there is another line about 100 mis. west headed our way about midnight!
Welcome to "Tornado Alley"!
~~~GB~~~
133
Brag Forum / Remember "Splinter"???
« on: May 31, 2013, 05:28:53 pm »
My adopted kitten that only lived with me for 4 months before her untimely demise due to FIP...
134
The Coffee Shop / "God grant me patience!"
« on: May 28, 2013, 11:15:15 am »
...and I need it NOW!!!!!!!
135
The Coffee Shop / "Welcome" to West Virginia....
« on: May 24, 2013, 04:07:19 pm »
I didn't see this when I was there last month....
