All Steam Ahead 2021 – Belt Up Part 2

 All Steam Ahead 2021 – Belt Up Part 2

Now I have my Belt the correct Colour I have to tackle my next problem.

Measure Up

 

There are only a few Holes in the Belt. However for what I have in mind I need Holes all the way around. As I do not have a tool for making Belt Holes I have had to Improvise.

My friend Laura suggested using a Dremel but after trying that I changed to a Hook. I used the Ruler to get the Holes evenly spaced.

Fold Back

 

Well that didn’t work out to well! It was so tough to get through and not only that I didn’t seem to be getting the Holes even.

On top of everything else when I looked closer I saw that the Holes already in the Belt weren’t actually round they were more Oval in Shape. I had to rethink.

Scratch and Snip

 

I decided to Fold the Belt over until the Holes matched up. I then Scratched the Shape by using a pair of Scissors. I then Unfolded the Belt.

Using the Scratched Shape as a guide I then Pushed the Scissors through. I carried on doing this back and forth until I had a decent sized Hole. Once the Hole was large enough I had to trip the Back so it was nice and neat.

All Steam Ahead 2021 – Belt Up Part 1

 All Steam Ahead 2021 – Belt Up Part 1

This is following on from my Out of Zone Series. I had my Mask and Jewellery but now I came up with another daft last minute idea. – A Belt and Hat.

I would like to point out to any Purists that this is not supposed to be Steam Punk but like my previous efforts it is Steam Punk Esque

Brown Belt

 

First I needed a Belt that I could Embellish. My boyfriend had bought a pair of jeans but he didn’t like the Belt. So hey presto one Belt ready to be Upcycled.

Permanent Marker

 

There was a slight snag. This Belt was Brown and I needed it to be Black. Using a Tip I got from my friend Laura I decided to colour it in using a Permanent Black Marker Pen.

I started Colouring the Belt. It was coming up pretty good. I then realised that doing the Front was not enough because when Fastened the Belt would Dangle and show the Back.

Black Belt

 

It took several Colourings until I was satisfied that the Belt was completely Covered both Back and Front. I nearly forgot to do the Buckle area.

One tip when doing this sort of thing. Make sure that you put it on some paper or cardboard before Colouring in. Otherwise you will have to try and shift Permanent Marker off your surfaces.

Pyramid Power 2021 Part 2

 Pyramid Power 2021 Part 2

I was finding Cutting these Matchsticks very Time Consuming.

Clever Clippers

 

I remembered a Tip whilst I had been doing some Researching on the Internet. One suggest was to Clip Matchsticks with a pair of Nail Clippers.

Due to lack of Instructions I had decided what I was calling the Base would actually be the final Top part of the overall Pyramid. I would have to work out how to do the Hollow part later.

First Layer

I found using the Nail Clippers made things a little better and was soon ready to add my First Layer to the Base. In order to strengthen it I decided to put the Matchsticks the Opposite Direction.

It wasn’t just the Length of the Matchsticks that had been giving me problems. If you look at the above photograph you can see that many of them were Warped. This meant they didn’t lay snuggly together.

Two Short Planks

 

After the First Layer was dry I began to Add the Second. However this Time I was one Matchstick Minus at either End.

Pyramid Steps

 

I continued to Add a Layer at a time. Each Layer was 2 Matchsticks Fewer than the Previous Layer. Not only that I was Clipping the Matchsticks I was Adding Shorter each time.

 

Poly Cement

I was finding the Sticking very hard work. Half the time the Matchsticks were coming off again in my hand. Not only that the whole thing seemed extremely Brittle.

Since this part of the Pyramid was going to be the Top I was going to need something far better than the PVC Glue I had been using for the Main Structure. I decided to seek professional advice from Heaps our local Art shop. He recommended Poly Cement.

Pyramid Power 2021 Part 1

Pyramid Power 2021 Part 1

This project started as a Joke. During Lip Reading class we had to pretend we were making a Building out of Matchsticks. As a Joke the tutor said we could while off for two weeks build whatever we had thought of.

A splendid notion. I am always up for a New Challenge. I don’t think I have ever made anything out of Matchsticks before. Certainly not as an adult anyway. So off I go and get some Matchsticks.

 New Challenge

 

Obviously the Instructions didn’t include making Pyramids. I did try and Google Making Pyramids but they didn’t have what I wanted. Naturally I always do things the hard way and what I wanted wasn’t just a Pyramid which was difficult enough. I wanted a Hollow Pyramid!

Counting Matchsticks

 

It didn’t say how many Matchsticks were in the bag so I thought it would be a good idea to count them. That way I would know how many I am using up.

Beginning Base

 

My first problem was the Base. I soon realised that if I put 2 Across and 2 Down I would have a Rectangle. Therefore I had to come up with a solution. This was to add End to End. It is easier to see than describe so look at the above photograph.

Tri-Angles

 

It took a while for the Glue to set. Once it had I tried working out the next step. If it was Paper it would be easy. You just have Triangles on all 4 sides.

Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that with Matchsticks. I tried putting the Points together so I could Glue them but they kept moving. I really wish I had some of those knobbly things they had in science when you were making atoms.

Sticky Situation

After more attempts than I would like to remember I gave up on the Triangle idea completely. I decided to start filling in the Base. At least that way I would have something to work from and it would make the Square more stable.

Of course now I had another problem. The Matchsticks were too big to go inside the Square. I found a knife and started cutting away at some. I popped a few inside and added some Glue.