I've been feeling really crafty, lately. ("Crafty" as in "arts and crafts", not "crafty" as in planning evil schemes. Although...) I've got a bunch of furniture that will be moving up to Oxford with me, including a very large and massively ugly desk and an entertainment centre, both of which I would like to do some work on. The entertainment centre, I'd like to paint or stain (probably stain) a pretty yellow colour, and it won't be too much work. The desk is another story. It needs to be sanded down to nothing before I can do anything to it, and whatever I
do do to it has to match (at least nominally) my antique bed set and my cedar wardrobe (yes, I own a wardrobe. shut up).
In any case, instead of just straight up painting it, I'd kind of like to do a design, and I've got a few ideas. One idea, because I'm a nerd, is to do a steampunk kind of feel to it. Maybe stain the wood to a dark cedar and do the edges in a (glossy?) brass or bronze colour, maybe with some kind of gilt design on the sides of the piece. The problem with this is that it would be really involved and would require a lot of planning. On the other hand, I could do something a little more basic with solid colours and use a harlequin pattern (in whatever colours I want) for accent or use a faded harlequin all over. The problem with this is that I worry about having a large piece painted with a repetitive pattern, although no significant flat space of the desk would face outward. I could also just paint/stain it a basic colour and do some simple edge designs. The headboard of my bed actually has a sort of star pattern in it, so that might be a neat thing to work with.
Thoughts?
I've also been thinking about modding my laptop case. Just a basic paint job on the lid, but I don't know if I'd have to take the case apart to do that or if paint will even stick to this material since nothing else (including permanent marker) will. Anybody have a clue?
Another potential project is a pair of rainboots. Sure you can get all kinds of cute designs already on them, but who wants flowers when you can have buckles and snaps? Totally ripping off this idea from
copperbadge's steampunk boot, but no one ever said functional crafts had to be original. I also don't know if crackle paint is waterproof.
Been thinking, too, about making masks, but I don't have the resources, spare time, or a reason to devote myself to what is, ultimately, a uselessly self-indulgent pursuit. That's what writing a novel is for!
Of course, now I'm thinking about an entire furniture set done steampunk style, and... yeah. *is lame*