Matthew Raines' Arts, Crafts and Hobbies Class

Got an art, craft or hobby you love doing? Are you into scrapbooking, quilting, photography or anything that you have fun doing in your spare? Then this forum is for you. Show and tell us about the art, craft or hobby you are interested. You can post photos, links to your work or start a discussion with like-minded members about techniques or projects. Your art, craft or hobby does not have to be related to Bonanza.

Hanging kitchen towels. All embroidery is via machine, not by hand. Still need to sew the tops to these two.

I know it's hot where many of you are and perhaps you're not doing any needlework, but I have two blankets on my crochet hooks, and two shawls on my knitting needles. :-) Not to mention about 18 other unfinished projects, but those were packed away before I moved and they're still in that state. :-) Here are the two blankets, in-progress pix. Is anyone else working on crochet, needlework or needlepoint, quilting, etc. that they'd like to share? I always love seeing others' work! I'm still gathering my skills with PCStitch to try to recreate that pattern for the Ponderosa Map. :-) So far I've not had the time to really sit and play with it …

This is my first acrylic pour on a 5x7 canvas. The paints I used are Apple Barrel. The colors are New Shamrock, Fruit Punch, Bahama Blue, White. I used black as the base. I set the canvas on an old Igloo beverage container. Knowing how messy this type of acrylic painting can get, I put the container in the sink, upside down, used 4 medicine cups to hold the canvas up off the container, layered the paints in a small, plastic cup, and poured. I moved the cup around as I poured. Then I tipped it to make sure the edges were covered. Now all I have to do is to spray it with some clear acrylic sealer when it's dry. I got the sealer when I got my basic painting supp…

For those who are into arts and crafts, sewing, etc, Hobby Lobby has a great sale on whatever you need/want. Here's the link to this week's ad: https://www.hobbylobby.com/weekly-ad?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=13234025952&gbraid=0AAAAAC-IqNykE8xy-HPg58YdcMY14bawb&gclid=Cj0KCQjwm93DBhD_ARIsADR_DjEHTGKURhomfZRcr5-E1jYI_i06PMRuA-Yr7m5slXraSSF0XO11DxMaAuFBEALw_wcB

I've been thinking about doing an acrylic pour on my phone cover or gluing an acrylic skin on it. f I do a pour, I would have to let it set for at least 24 hours, before putting the cover back on my phone. If I do a skin, then I can glue the skin on. I tried finding a photo of a phone cover with an acrylic skin, but couldn't.

I've found out some very things during my research. More techniques, methods, etc. BUT, I came across one important thing about the canvas panels and why some of them warp. Mainly, its how they are made. Here's a link that will explain it. https://youtu.be/0dp7AEASsbo?si=c1mpW_ZONgXSyaqX After watching it, I've decided to stop getting the panels at Walmart and Dollar Tree and spend a couple extra dollars at either Michael's or Hobby Lobby.

Here's something I'm thinking of trying. I'll have to see if Hobby Lobby has what's needed to make them. I don't like ordering anything online. https://youtu.be/lNniWQLz-6U?si=dT1HuzjVb-DCYPEn

I know it's hot where many of you are and perhaps you're not doing any needlework, but I have two blankets on my crochet hooks, and two shawls on my knitting needles. :-) Not to mention about 18 other unfinished projects, but those were packed away before I moved and they're still in that state. :-) Here are the two blankets, in-progress pix.

I am finding more methods to doing acrylic pour paintings. Using an egg carton, a marble, a comb, a toothbrush, a seive, and various other methods. The videos show how they're done and I can't wait to try them. Here's one that was done using a marble and the link to see how's it done: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gfgBBCd7QNY&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD

I'm not sure if I want to try making acrylic pour wrapping paper. I'll have to think about it. https://youtu.be/2Ialtre9Oh0?si=phX9glBcqurRYg35

I'm DEFINITELY going to make a few of these, if I can find smaller sizes. Our tree is only about 4' tall. https://youtu.be/4DzCnnxf2yg?si=8bpe8-wptpgSfAqy

I found a source for a few colors of acrylic paints, different size canvases, tools, etc. believe it or not, Dollar Tree. Me and hubby went there just to look around and see what they had that we needed/wanted. Some time next, I'm going to try to go by myself. That way I can my time getting what I need/want to get started.

Going to get back into outdoor photography. At least try to. I haven't taken any outdoor pix in months. So, I don't know if I still have the passion for it or not. There are 3 parks that I'm going to check out. One is walking distance from where we live, another is on a bus route we use to go to the VA med center, and the third I have to take a bus to Wal Mart and then take uber from there. There is another park, in the next county over, that I'm going to try to get to. The bus that goes to the mall there only runs on Saturday and then take the bus from there to the park. So I have to plan that trip wisely as the Saturday bus only makes very few trips to the mall. …

Many years ago I started to cross-stitch a large replica of the Ponderosa Map. In the move prep, I found the floss and the partially completed stitching, but the pattern is nowhere to be found. A friend had a high-resolution image of the map and from that, using cross-stitch pattern creation software, I'd created the pattern. It means starting over, since with this kind of software, things will not be perfectly aligned with the older, partially stitched piece. So, my question is this. Does anyone own a high-res, fairly good-sized copy of the Ponderosa Map image? (I want to be sure we're respecting any copyright laws). If you would be willing to allow me use it …

It's been awhile since I posted any of my Zentangle pieces. Here are a few I've done for charity auctions in the last year.

I'll put the topic here. In Ben POD / The Lady From Baltimore, @janet the wicked feels angry about stupid dvd cases. I sort my dvds into cheap sandwich paper bags. The dvd is protected, outside I can note informations about the ep. At Bonanza, I actually sorted each dvd individually in a paper bag, all them together in the original cardboard box. The five plastic cases are empty on the shelf. With other series, I often summarize a season in a paper bag. The plastic case is terrible. I am often afraid of breaking dvds. You can also do handicrafts very well with these sandwich paper bags. There are beautiful stars, flowers…

When I have enough confidence to do it, I'm going to try this with acrylic paints and a vase from Dollar Tree. https://youtu.be/PsGboH5mATc?si=gT2JYIufrFo25s1

After I have enough confidence to try it, I want to try acrylic painting on wooden frames. These are soooooooo gorgeous. I've included the links with the pictures so that you can see how they're done https://youtu.be/D4rtt6hKuAY?si=bi1Xf4aDbZZRUf-n (This link shows two wooden frames being acrylic painted.) https://youtu.be/p10jmYRplOc?si=hHFBGWLwCruKb-LQ (Doesn't show how the paints are combined before pouring onto the frame)

Have acrylic paints and a kitchen sieve? https://youtu.be/Kirj758zXtQ?si=_ap-j1WViX_7T0BO

This type of painting is so easy, even I could it https://youtube.com/shorts/rri3W1f71vI?si=V91C8HUwmfky_h3a

Do you enjoy playing chess and have always wanted one of those elegant chess sets? Make this set and your friends and family will think you spent a small fortune to get it. https://youtu.be/1ylAZNDVEPk?si=McgNWPmTm-2PyGmw

Have any leftover acrylic paint you don't know what to do with? Here's what this person made with theirs: https://youtu.be/7mm_ap1xxmY?si=u7oLNf-NNsZ2jVht

Need a paper weight, door stop, or colorful rocks for your garden? https://youtu.be/PE-_5mVtt2Y?si=M-esmqDQ0tqxvlGf

Okay. That does it. After watching the acrylic painting videos, I'm going to take up acrylic painting. The upstairs to our apartment is currently being used for storage, so this weekend, I'm going to start sorting it out and turn part of it into my personal space for various hobbies and crafts. Hubby rarely, if ever, goes up there as he sometimes has difficulty on stairs. https://youtu.be/cuxyfVNtFPA?si=1IrAvNkh0cvs6hBI