Diary of a Foggy Mad Scientist: July 2015

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Skyrim Bathroom 002: wall art

So I really like the idea of signs/art made from old reclaimed wood, weathered and used looking. So I figured I could do that with a Skyrim logo for the bathroom..

Now, I had enough to do a door sign too... But I was so mean, and ignored the request from my kin to use daedric, and instead crossed universes and totally used the neo-Khuzdul type runes for my alphabet and since there is no bro-Khuzdul word for toilet or bathroom ( really? I figured it would be an essential term.. But I guess I either missed it when searching in the 4k pages of neo-Khuzdul dictionary or it doesn't exist because Dwarrows don't pee LOL)

But I digress.. Here's what I wound up with:

I started out by making a template if the dragon, printed on regular paper, and then I put a layer of clear tape over it for stability, like so:

Then I cut it out with an exact knife:

Voila, template made.

Next I gathered up everything to use-

-wood

-saw

-template

-pencil

- pins to hold template on (mine are sewing pins)

( not shown)

-staples/staple gun

-sandpaper

-woven ribbon

-black and grey paints

-paintbrush

Then I cut the wood to size, and sanded the back and edges:

I used woven ribbon and staples on the back to bind the wood slays together, and to create a hanger:

The front side is nice and tight, looks like this:

Next I traced the template on with a pencil for an outline to paint ( I freehand a lot of stuff but I didn't think I'd tamper with this, plus I was able to scale it just right on the computer):

Then, painting commences!

And there you have it:

And of course, runic sign for the door with translation for the not so saavy ;)

It's done exactly the same way..

Next up, the mural of the throat of the world, and aye, there will be dragons!

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Built in spice rack: part 3

Wow.. Done and done. Turned out well, but not enough shelves. I need moooooore! LOL I think I might have a spice/herb/tea collecting issue here..

Most of the mural painted now.. The green splotch is now joined by other rainbow splotches ( not really splotches LOL the girls helped paint butterflies)

The right branch looks a little odd, but it has purpose: there are picture hangers in the long branch for 3 8x10 school photo frames that hang exactly spaced across that wall.

It looks slightly cockeyed, but it's not.. It's my camera angle..

The shelves are all adjustable, bored with 1" gap between peg holes. I used metal shelf pegs, and voila.

Done and done.

I don't suppose anyone is actually reading this or has questions.. But if you do, just drop a comment. It's not a super impressive build but it's pretty neat and really functional for me ( I use it daily) I need to cut a couple more shelves to add to it since I've a little space at the top, stain em up, but I'm quite pleased with it :)

Skyrim bathroom 001: concept info

So the girls asked for a Skyrim theme and Chris has given the thumbs up too.. I've started the design, layout, all the ground work blah blah. Going to try for as much reclaimed stuff, green stuff as I can.

Aaryn already made an Alduin in her potter class this year, so awesome! How could I NOT be inspired? Probably won't go in there but inspiration is good!

Photos of idea sketches to come.. I've been banking some pix of 'throat of the world' to use for the mural..

Big parts will be:

-New vanity/mirror

-New fixtures ( light, faucet)

-Paint job

-Mural: Throat of the World

-Mural: Alduin OR Paarthurnax

- Storage shelving

-New graphics for walls (maps, etc)

-Possibly logo for the wall-wood? Dunno.

I can stick with our current toilet- it's a retro 40 year old classic, we changed the working out in for high efficiency, all good there. Might go with a soft close seat tho- 3 teenage girls, yeah.. Might be worth it.

I like my fabric shower curtain. It's pale green leafish, I love it. Too bad. It will still work with this theme, and we've glass doors any whoo.. It's mostly decorative, and, well, I love it.

Everything will be sort of a cool blue/grey/green color, Java tone wood, brushed nickle motif. The tile is grey marbled, or white, and does NOT go with the light sagey green it was painted before we bought it. Pretty but I'm ready to redo!

Slowly, we'll get there. Paint first.

Pix for inspiration, throat of the world:

Good distance shot:

My favorite I think:

Diggin' the trees.. I think this will be my guide photo, really- imagine the door in the center of the base of the mountain.. The trees can stretch out well enough on either side low to the shower on the left, round the wall to the vanity on the right.

Better view of the peak

Not bad shots too:

Alduin

Paarthurnax

Love this- props and visit her deviant art for awesomeness!!

http://saph-y.deviantart.com/art/At-the-Throat-of-the-World-401343480

I won't say that this will be fantabulous, because, well, I'm not a brilliant awesome artist. But I'm decently skilled with abstracts, and I've got some mad kid style cartooning going on. Cough. Cough. Okay, well, *I* think it's pretty good ;) So we'll just have to see..

Besides, they've nixed letting me paint the Shire. I'm going to paint THAT in the solarium I think. HA. All mine.

Wish list: Northwest gardeners handbook

This is looking like a nice basic guide.. Would like to have this one:

Lowes, $22.49

Isbn 978-1-59186-606-0

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Blueberry lime coffee cake

This was a recipe for lemon/blueberry cake, but I like lime better so I subbed it out. I also dumped in some scratch black and blueberry lime jam I made to pie filling ( because I don't use canned, I make it myself- it's super easy)

It's also good with apples in it :)

Ingredients

for the cake:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons of lactaid/milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil
1 large egg
Blueberry pie Filling ( make this with 2c fresh blueberries, 1c sugar, juice of 1 lime, 1/4 c juice like cranberry or apple or you can use water. reduce down on the stove) or you can use a pre made canned pie filling

for the topping:

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions

Grease and flour an 8" round or square baking pan. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

to make the topping:

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, salt and flour. Add melted butter and fluff with fork until mixtures creates crumbs. Set aside.

to make the cake:

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lime zest. In a large measuring cup, mix together lactaid/milk, vanilla, juice of 1 lime, oil and egg. Whisk until smooth.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon. Do not over mix. Few lumps in the batter are okay.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
Spoon the pie filling over the cake layer.
Sprinkle crumb topping over the filling.
Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.
Let cool completely in the pan.
Transfer onto a serving plate or stand. Slice and serve.
Keep in a covered container for up to 4 days.

Salted Carmel pumpkin oatmeal cake

Soft pumpkin oatmeal cake topped with a salted caramel frosting.

Ingredients

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 cups quick oats

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup marshmallow cream

1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping + 1 teaspoon, divided

1/4 -1/2 teaspoon coarse ground sea salt (add to taste)

2 cups powdered sugar