Nittany Lion: Carving is done. Next step is...

Thanks for checking out my blog.

I know I have several things in progress.  But, today I finished the carving part of the Nittany Lion bust.
At the end, there is always lots more sanding than I plan.  This project was no exception. 

 

















The photos show the bust just needing a lot of sanding.

After sanding and finishing with Natural MinWax Stain, I added the blue and white stripes of Penn State.  The blue is a blue stain and the white is a brilliant white acrylic.

I sanded down to a 600 level.  The surface is very smooth.  If you touch your finger on the display over the lion you can feel that it almost feels like stone! 
But seriously, since oak is so hard, the surface gets very smooth.

What is next"  The bust will be mounted on an oak rod attached to a black marble/slate foundation.  I'll tilt it forward a bit so it gives the impression of looking down at you... as in a tasty morsel?

I will put the finished project on my Etsy shop at:
https:\\www.youwoodlikethis.etsy.com

I plan to have it ready by June 15th for the Maker Faire in Raleigh.

The Deep Blue Sea. Serendipity Rules.

Thank you for checking out my blog.

In making the deep blue sea for the mermaid cane, my intention was to use a single step using a blue dye. Woodworkers use Rit Dye to stain wood.  It is better than paint because it leaves the grain of the wood visible.  Also, it soaks into the wood rather than sitting on top of it.  A ding to the wood shows less if the color is not removed. 

One problem with using dye is that it doesn't always soak in evenly.  When I used the blue dye on the cane, there were some places that didn't take the stain.  I thought of a solution.  I would put a coat of polyurethane on the cane and then use a blue Sharpie to touch up.  The blue Sharpie is definitely blue. 

Why did it turn the beautiful shade of purple?   Is it a Ph thing?  What chemical reaction turned the color of the blue sharpie to a gorgeous shiny purple?

It is a color I want to use if I do another dragon.  But, it was not the color of the deep blue sea.

For no particular reason, I decided to give the purple a coat of polyurethane.

Amazingly to me, the purple turned a deep sea blue.  You can see the differences in the colors between the two pictures.  The deep sea blue had another interesting quality, it appeared to have depth.  So, when you look at it, it looks very much like you are looking into the deep blue sea.  It looks like the water you see in the Southern Caribbean.

Serendipity Rules.