By Casey R. Smartt

 Outdoorsmen use glue.  We like glue.  Glue holds together the stuff we build and fixes the stuff we break.  It binds flies, repairs broken tackle, mends tears in tents and waders, and prevents leaks in watercraft.  In fact, I haven’t met an angler yet who doesn’t appreciate really good glue (come to think of it… good tape too).  The problem though is there are a lot of different glues and adhesives out there, and selecting the right one for a specific job can be confusing.  So this month, let’s take a closer look at a few proven glues and when/where you should use them.

Epoxies

Epoxies are 2-part resins that, when mixed together, “cure.”  Unlike conventional adhesives that harden through a process of evaporation, epoxies undergo a catalytic reaction causing the 2 mixed resins to harden.  This reaction occurs over a manner of minutes and produces heat as a byproduct.  Epoxies form a very hard, almost glass-like bond.  Because no evaporation of solvents occurs as epoxies cure, the start-to-finish volume of epoxy does not shrink.    Epoxies are suitable for use as protective coatings on the bodies and heads of flies and are often used on spoonflies.  Epoxies are also good for gluing ferrules together, repairing tackle and general construction where a strong, rigid, gap-filling bond is required.  There are a variety of epoxies on the market.  The most common are those labeled as “5-minute” and “2-ton.”  The 5-minute epoxies catalyze quickly and have a working time of around 3-4 minutes, while the 2-ton epoxies allow for a working time of approximately 15 minutes and form a more durable bond.  Most epoxies will yellow quickly from exposure to UV light and although cured epoxy is glassy-hard, it’s brittle and can crack or break under impact.  Uncured epoxy resins are hazardous so users should follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully when using them.  Widely available brands include Devcon, Gorilla, and Loctite.

Light-Activated Resins

Light-Activated Resins have been used in dentistry and other industries for many years.  They have recently become available to the public for use as specialty adhesives.  Light-activated resins are applied to a surface (such as a fly or tackle component) and cured by exposure to intense rays emitted by a special flashlight. The intense light catalyzes the resins, curing them in approximately 15-20 seconds. Light-activated resins are available in both thick and thin viscosities and are applied with either a syringe or a small brush.

Cured finishes range from flexible to hard.  They do not yellow over time and are resistant to degradation by water, fuels, and solvents.  These resins have become extremely popular with fly tyers because their rapid cure times make it possible to quickly and cleanly build fly parts and patterns with exceedingly durable finishes.  Two of the most widely used brands are Tuffleye and Clear Cure Goo.  Users of light-activated resins should follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully  and avoid directly exposing their eyes to the powerful light and their skin/eyes to the uncured resins.

CA Adhesives (superglues)

Cyanoacrylate (CA) adhesives have been around for many years.  These are commonly known as superglues.   They will instantly bond together a wide variety of materials (including fingers) and are often used in fly tying to attach eyes and secure thread and materials to the hook shank.  CA adhesives are also used to repair fly lines, secure knots in leaders, and other misc. applications where an instant ready-to-go bond is required.  The gel CA adhesives are perhaps the most user-friendly and easy to work with.  Cured CA adhesive is fairly strong, but will become yellow and chalky quickly after exposure to light and water.  The fumes from CA adhesives are toxic, and some users (including yours truly) are allergic to them.  If you plan to use these adhesives be extremely careful not to get them on your skin.  Also, use very good ventilation to avoid respiratory complications.  Due to my personal experience with CA adhesives, I am hesitant to recommend them, but they are widely popular and highly useful for a few applications.  The most common brands are Loctite and Zap-a-Gap.

Dap Kwik Seal

Dap Kwik Seal is a clear, flexible, waterproof bathroom caulking/adhesive that forms a very strong, flexible, almost indestructible bond.  The texture of Kwik Seal is similar to standard caulking (paste-like) and it can be a little difficult to work with, but the results are very good.  I have used Kwik Seal to coat the heads of flies, form waterproof gaskets around kayak fasteners and accessories, and to repair waders and camping gear.  It is good stuff.  Kwik Seal requires 36 hours to cure and will become milky and weak if exposed to moisture sooner than 36 hours after application.  Kwik Seal comes out of the tube white and becomes clear as it cures.  It also shrinks slightly as it cures.  Although many-a-tile setter has applied Kwik Seal by bare hand, it contains ethylene glycol and formaldehyde.  DAP recommends using gloves and adequate ventilation with this product.  Kwik Seal is available in most hardware and department stores.

Aleene’s Fabric Fusion

Aleene’s Fabric Fusion (AFF) is one of the best adhesive products I have come across in a long time.  This non-toxic water-based adhesive has a syrupy texture when wet and a finished appearance similar to cured epoxy.  Once it completely dries (72 hours), AFF forms a very strong, durable, clear, waterproof bond.  Although AFF shrinks substantially as it dries, it is an alternative for fly tying applications that typically required epoxy.  AFF cleans up with water and because it is non-toxic it’s safe for kids to use.  I have used AFF as a protective coating on spoonflies and Deceivers, as a body-builder for Surf Candies, and as a clear-coat for shrimp and baitfish eyes.   It also makes a great adhesive coating for thread wraps and barbell eyes and can be used to repair luggage and clothing.  Aleene’s Fabric Fusion is available in a 4-oz. squeeze bottle for broad applications or a small squeeze pen for fine applications.  It is sold in most craft and department stores.

Sally Hansen’s Hard-as-Nails  

No article on glues would be complete without mentioning Sally Hansen’s Hard-as-Nails (even though it technically is a lacquer).  This ubiquitous nail polish product with a familiar acetone aroma has been  used by fly tyers for everything from head cement to clear coat.  Hard-as-Nails dries quickly to a wonderfully reliable crystal clear finish and is perfect for coating thread wraps or polishing epoxy patterns.  I have used Hard-as-Nails to secure materials on flies, freshen up old lures, coat fly line end-loops, and for a variety of other applications where a quick strong clear coat is required.  Hard-as-Nails is available in small 4.5 oz. bottles red/white bottles in nearly all grocery stores, department stores, and pharmacies.  If you can’t find it there, just swipe some from your spouses’ makeup bag!

So I set out to finish my pretty jewelry display trays in matching colors.  Well, the exact same color, really, which I guess could also be construed as matching.  A couple more coats and all was golden, quite literally.  Since I was doing this in the evening after work, I had taken advantage of the last remaining sunlight and left them out to dry overnight so as not to suffocate my family with paint fumes.

BAD IDEA.

Turns out, and this we already knew:  DEER ARE JERKS.

What Robin Williams says is true.  And this I now know because of this:

Crap.

That, my friends.  That is where the deer hopped the OMG deer fence after eating my parents’ decorative backyard foliage and stepped his hoof right on through not one, but TWO of my trays.  While I know, or at least think, that this was not a spiteful deer of vengeance and wrath, I can’t help but feel slightly as though this project was not fated to be.  I mean,  how many outside disasters must a project go to before a crafter decides “hm. This might not be fated to happen.  Perhaps the devil is involved in my jewelry trays?”

Anyway, now I’m going to attempt to superglue them back together.  I’m sure my next blog will occur once I’ve unglued myself from… most likely myself.  I have a poor track record with superglue.

This week, we learn that AMT is the name of a legal high. Seeing as legal highs are usually just brain-liquifying chemical syntheses that haven’t been made illegal yet, we cannot recommend trying it. We can, however, recommend AMT214, which is fully legal and will only have mildly detrimental effects upon your brain:

Today we contemplate:

facial fuzz as feminist issue
The Beggar’s Opera
Ziggy Stardust
‘club dancing’
crowd control
Häagen-Dazs vs. Cadbury’s Flake
death by tinned peaches
Kodak’s adventures in weapon development
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
transposed to Durham
stuffed vine leaves
a night of creamy indulgence
and
watching Alien stoned.

Plus: Olly doesn’t think Mila Kunis should be doing a desk job, even in these times of scarce employment; Helen wonders what Kim Kardashian would look like without the intervention of depilators; and Martin the Sound Man can pronounce ‘cyanoacrylate’, because he speaks industrial adhesive fluently.

This week’s Bit of Crap on the App (available for iDevices or Android) goes further than today’s question about Downing Street and wonders what is behind the famous door of Number 10. According to Olly, it is our nation’s leaders attending to their itchy arses.

If your own itchy arse ever allows you to use your hands for something else for a moment, use them to send us a QUESTION, either by writing an email to answermethispodcast@googlemail.com or picking up the phone and leaving a voicemail on the Question Line (dial 0208 123 5877 or Skype answermethis).

And finally: if we’ve ever made anyone puke through the podcast, we would like to take this opportunity to apologise.

See you next week!

Helen & Olly

• iTUNES • ALBUMS • AMT BOOK • QUESTION ARCHIVE • EPISODES • FAQ •
iPHONE APP • ANDROID APP • FACEBOOK • TWITTER • YOUTUBE • MERCH

Last Tuesday I had a batch-errand day. When I do shop I try to do all the purchases in one outing. This keeps the mind focused on what I need rather than browsing and being tempted to buy things I want.

I don’t allow a huge amount of time for such shopping trips. Last Tuesday I had approximately 90 minutes. So list in hand off I set, and was very successful.

Rather varied? Shall I explain?

Superglue

I’m a self-confessed superglue fan. As someone who likes to make do and mend superglue can solve a barrage of breakages. Currently we have a few things waiting to be super-glued.

Above is the Hubby’s mobile phone case/protector. Time to get sticking rather than replacing.

Liquid Glucose

I make Birthday cakes, and spent a large proportion of Friday and Saturday making my Nephew one for his 21st Birthday!

Sugarpaste/Fondant icing isn’t cheap. It easily drives up the cost of a cake, particularly when buying coloured ready to roll. The icing for the cake above cost over £5. I believe I could make my own using normal icing sugar (confectioners sugar) for approximately half the price. Always up for a challenge (particularly one that saves money) I’m trying it out. Hence the liquid glucose. Should I become proficient, I’ll post how to make sugarpaste here for those interested.

Lavender Oil

I don’t ‘buy’ expensive skin care. My opinion is that the cost is 95% marketing/PR/advertising. We do have shower gel etc… mainly own-brands. However I like to use lavender oil in the bath.

(add a drop of tea-tree oil as well for the benefits of a mild antiseptic)

At Chez Wright showers are for the morning and bath’s are for night-time. The aroma is very relaxing, and as our bathroom is linked to our bedroom the aroma lingers. A little bit of natural luxury.

White Vinegar

I lurve white vinegar! What an amazing liquid. There’s a future post on vinegar planned.

Let’s just say there are a million things you can use white vinegar for. Well at least 1001…

Leather Tack Cleaning Spray

No, I don’t own a horse.

Remember the boot saga? Well it’s ongoing. I’ve taken it on as a personal challenge to extend the life of my old faithfuls as long as I possibly can. After a recent trip to muddy/wet Wales and an adventure walk to the top of a waterfall I thought that it may be time to reluctantly part ways. Then a comment from Sabine came through my Facebook page and VOILA!

I absolutely love the idea of using a cleaner and moisturiser on leather items. It makes perfect sense to me. Leather is dry, so why not add as much moisture as possible? Sabine even suggested rubbing in Nivea. Since acquiring my tack spray, I’ve been enjoying cleaning all types of leather footwear, our shoes have never been so clean!

I’m intrigued, what do you buy and why? Please share…

Don’t forget I now post most days on Facebook, why not pop on over and join the conversation?

- In yet another amazing feat of toddler-madness, Addie superglued her fingers together on Sunday.  I had retrieved the glue from my hiding place, unaware that Addie was paying very close attention to where this was located.  Later, when I went to the bathroom for all of 30 seconds, Addie climbed up, retrieved the glue, and managed to glue her fingers together.  I ran to her, hoping to keep her fingers apart at least, but this only caused me to get glue all over my own fingers.  After many Q-tips of nail polish remover and multiple soaks in soapy water, we got it all off and the fingers apart.  I swear, I have had to look up more “how-tos” on Google for Addie than the other two girls combined.  Someday, we’ll laugh about it, right?

- I got to volunteer in Lorelei’s preschool classroom today.  I helped with crafts, sat in for songs and daily helper tasks, ate snack with Lorelei and her friends, and Lorelei got to show off her mom.    It was so great to actually see all the things she tells me about, since her description is sometimes lost on me.  I was also very proud to see that Lorelei listens really well, plays quietly, and is kind to everyone.  I smiled a lot in those 3 hours.

- this week has been and will continue to be all about getting necessary things done, because they have to be done but also because it is my last week of the sublet for Addie at the CDC.  Needless to say, more things are accomplished without dragging Addie around for them.  Therefore, I have no time this week!

- I have figured out how healthcare and insurance industries stay in business.  I am still trying to get a bill resolved from last year for Andy.  He had to see a doctor for his ears (what else?) while we were moving from Korea, to Iowa, to here.  I have been back and forth with the insurance claims and the doctor, back and forth constantly, and I am still not resolved.  At this point, I almost want to just pay the bill and give up, and this is only one bill for me.  Imagine if you had to do this all the time? I just need another day and more coffee though.  I’ll be tackling this again tomorrow.

- Addie is doing very well with all her therapy appointments.  We had a speech therapy session last week, and her therapist was very impressed with her progress.  She noticed that she is able to focus better, albeit still needing redirection, and she is speaking more and more clearly.  Yay for progress!

Now unfortunately, I must dive into textbooks now.  Sorry to keep it short and sweet, but a little is better than nothing, right?  Until next time….

I have, however, managed to break my bicycle (the handlebars turned upside-down, inside-out, what?!), write two short stories, put my feet behind my head in yoga, fix my favorite kicks with superglue, and find a couple of new bands that I like. I also taught myself how to make eggs Sunny Side Up, read Nadja, Fitzgerald’s The Crack-Up, Nabokov’s Transparent Things, and started drawing again. I’ve been working a lot, too. HOWEVER, travel is possible even when you’re standing still. You just gotta hop on that brain train and dive into the deep end of your mind.

Here we are again. I didn’t think I’d be writing you again after my last letter. But sometimes life surprises us. Oh dear, I just realized I suppose I should begin this letter again with the customary pleasantries:

Dear Madonna,

Hello again. How are you? I’ve been doing well, mostly working. I took a trip out to Los Angeles about a month ago.  I should have looked you up; we could have gotten together, good friends that we are by now.  I saw you do the Super Bowl.  Well done. (I won’t mention that you fell.) You are surprisingly spry for being just six months younger than my mother.

Back to business.

When I was in high school, I learned about a thing called “planned obsolescence” in my history class.  Apparently they coined the term in the 1920s or 1950s (can’t remember–but it was some decade that had cute dresses and when you look back on the decade, you almost always end up saying to yourself, Hmmmm. Well I probably would have gone about things a bit differently.).  I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept: things are designed and produced with the intention that they will become obsolete in the near-ish future to prompt the consumer to buy a newer version of the product.

For example, let’s say a woman wore a dress like this:

This dress is broken.  And she’s not even done wearing it yet. This outfit was obviously designed with planned obsolescence in mind. And so, unable to don this dress beyond this single occasion, she is forced to purchase a different outfit, to make up for this first dress’s inadequacies:

Much better. There now, understand what I’m talking about?

After my experience with your Material Girl line of boots, I feel like planned obsolescence was what you scrawled across the top of the whiteboard as you brainstormed ideas for your shoe line.  (Material Girl execs: “And remember–always remember–that above all things, we must plan for their near instantaneous obsolescence.)

The heel is now falling off of my boot.  I refrained from wearing them for a while after I had to find the proper adhesive to glue the sole of the shoe back in place. But when I did wear them again, I found that the heel was shifting.  They’re still wearable–I will give you that–but the heel is most definitely no longer connected to the pleather shaft.  If I lived in a dangerous neighborhood,* I would probably store my cash in there when walking home at night; I could wedge it in quite nicely so that there would be no threat of it falling out inadvertently.

Madonna, I bought these boots last fall, remember?  For eighty dollars ($80).  I realize planned obsolescence may work out well for you, but, may I remind you, I am an intern who earns minimum wage and gets her kicks by organizing a supply closet and dusting binders.  This extreme form of planned obsolescence that you are practicing benefits only you.  And Kelly Osbourne who, I saw on a recent episode of America’s Next Top Model (cycle 18 now–will it never end?), is the spokesperson for your Material Girl line.  I suppose I should CC her on this letter.

I just thought I’d let you know about my lingering (perhaps continuing would be more apt?) issues with your Material Girl boots.  Feel free to continue designing with planned obsolescence as your number one priority.  But might I make the suggestion that you plan the obsolescence to occur a bit later?  Or at least for a cheaper price.

Oh, and Madonna?  Thanks for listening.  I do enjoy your early stuff.

Best,

Lily.

*A Brief Dialogue which Occurred the Night Aunt D Moved Me into the Mary Tyler Moore House
Aunt D: What’s that big building right there? [pointing across the street]
Me: That’s a synagogue.
Aunt D: Oh good! A safe neighborhood.  A religious neighborhood! If you ever have any problems, just pray to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Me: I think in this case it would probably be just the Father and Holy Ghost.

Never wolf down your food.

(2002) Horror (Artisan) Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby, Liam Cunningham, Thomas Lockyer, Darren Morfitt, Chris Robson, Leslie Simpson, Tina Landini, Craig Conway, Bryn Walters, Brian Claxton Payne, Ben Wright. Directed by Neil Marshall

If you were in the woods far away from civilization, where would the safest place to be? You would think among a troop of soldiers on training exercises. There are some things though an entire army wouldn’t even be able to protect you from.

Private Cooper (McKidd) looks to join the elite SAS unit and looks to have the skills to do it. However when he is ordered to kill a dog, he refuses. The commanding officer, Captain Ryan (Cunningham) shoots the dog himself and sends Cooper back to his unit.

A month later, Cooper’s squad, commanded by Sgt. Wells (Pertwee), is dropped into the Scottish highlands for training exercises. They’re supposed to attack a squad of SAS commandos but when they reach their encampment, the place has been torn to shreds. There are no bodies but plenty of bodies and bits of flesh and organ strew about. It looks like the scene of a massacre. There is just one survivor – Captain Ryan, who is grievously wounded and keeps muttering “there was only supposed to be one.”

Right about then the soldiers are attacked by unknown assailants. Corporal Bruce Campbell (Lockyer) is impaled on a tree branch and the rest of the squad make their way to an abandoned farmhouse with the help of a zoologist they encounter on the road, Maggie (Cleasby). They hole up there, thinking if they can hold out until morning the werewolves will revert to human form and they’d be safe.

Soon it appears that won’t be happening. One of the soldiers, Private Terry Milburn (Simpson) is abducted and their ammo is running low. It becomes obvious that they will need to find a way to escape before dawn or they just won’t survive.

Marshall has crafted an old-school kind of werewolf movie that eschews CGI for practical effects and with a script clever in its references to all sorts of movies, from Zulu to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan to Night of the Living Dead. That sounds like a bit of a mishmash (and it is in a way) but it actually works really well. The movie has a clever sense of humor that is going to appeal to not just the fanboy but the casual horror fan as well.

Marshall apparently has a pretty good sense of how military units operate – he’s gotten praise for getting that aspect right. He also has a good sense of how soldiers talk – not like cliché machines but with a wide swagger, a hefty dose of macho but also a sense of precision. Military units thrive on precise communications; they would be pretty unsuccessful if they weren’t efficient that way.

The movie was produced on the cheap; in that sense from time to time the lack of a budget shows through although for the most part the movie looks more expensive than it was. The cast is solid and talented (although Jason Statham was offered a part in the movie he had to decline to commitments to other films) and gets the military jargon down, not to mention the swagger. There are a few twists and turns (although you should be able to guess what the “mission” of the SAS really was, what the significance of the farmhouse is and what the secret of the werewolf clan is) and even better, plenty of visceral thrills to deliver the discerning horror film fan to hog heaven.

The movie failed to get theatrical distribution in the United States as distributors labeled it as “too British” which just goes to show you how stupid distributors can be (just check the box office receipts for Shaun of the Dead if you don’t believe me). It was initially shown on the SyFy Channel (and it still turns up on cable regularly) before getting a home video release, including a bare-bones Blu-Ray release a couple of years ago. That’s a shame; I think someday this will be recognized as a classic in the genre and given the respect and treatment it deserves. Until then, it can be our little hidden gem.

WHY RENT THIS: One of the best werewolf films of recent years. Practical-effect werewolves rock. Reminiscent of Evil Dead and An American Werewolf in London in tone. 

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: Cheap production values sometimes show through.

FAMILY VALUES: Lots of violence, lots of gore and lots of bad words.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Although the movie is set in Scotland it was actually filmed in Luxembourg.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: None listed.

BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE: $5.5M on an unreported production budget; my guess is that the movie was slightly profitable.

FINAL RATING: 7.5/10

NEXT: The Ledge

I love the holidays! I lead a pretty busy life. This drive comes my family, we all do, which makes it hard to see each other. Thankfully when it comes to the holidays we all believe family is the most important thing and we all make a huge effort to get together. Yes, with some of us working in the healthcare, hotel and restaurant industries, there is usually at least one person missing, Christmas we all make it together at some point over the holidays for dinner. This year at easter we were not so lucky! My mom and my brother both had to work so I was feeling pretty bummed that I wouldn’t get to see them. Especially my brother. I have not got to see him since Christmas. However My Aunt Donna as usual would not let me spend the holidays alone so I got to spend friday night having Easter dinner with the other people I consider my immediate family. It was such a great time. The only person in my family I had seen since Christmas was my mom and so it was wonderful to see everyone again. My cousin Steph is getting married soon and so it was awesome to catch up on the wedding details. We all ate way too much food, told stories, laughed until we couldn’t breathe and then a bunch of us took naps. Can’t wait until the next holiday or birthday!

After a crazy day at work yesterday (insanely busy, not enough cashiers), the wife and I hit up Junxion. Well getting ready was quite the event. Work basically fried my brain. I had been dropping and frankly accidentally throwing things all day. So I notice that my heel inserts seem to now be 1 time use. Such fucking bullshit since they cost $10. Well I decided it was a great idea to superglue them into my shoes… after I started drinking and was half drunk. The above picture is me with my fingers superglued together! It was absolutely hilarious! The wife and I could not stop laughing. I got it on my leg both my hands and superglued my fingers together. This was bound to happen to me at some point in my life, so after half an hour of soaking my fingers in nail polish remover I was finally able to pry my fingers apart but I could not get it off my hands or leg so I went to the bar with it on me. Honestly because I tried to get it off it turned kinda white and looked a bit like cum. Not cute.. but when you tell people you were dumb enough to superglue your fingers together they cut you some slack. We had a great time dancing. Me flirting my buns off haha DF is just so damn sexy I can’t help myself. However CJ was looking pretty good too and he gave me his number. Oh and DH holy shit I am not usually into guys like that but he is a sweetheart and damn sexy. Oh the possibilities. I love spring and summer! So much fun.

The wife and I hit up McDonald’s afterwards. Of course I have to make friends in the lineup to pass the time. I am not too sure how impressed DB was but I was having a great time and too drunk to care.

Now I am just laying in bed, nursing my hangover and thinking I am due for some breakfast. Bacon and eggs it is! I think I’ll even eat it on my balcony because it is absolutely beautiful out!

xo

Yep. You’re right.  Piper chose to grab her money from her cash register and dig through our neighbor’s castaways. First, she raided her allowance stash.

Then she ran out the door with her Nana.

Don’t worry.  She brought us all back treasures.  And that’s the thing about a Piper. She loves to give gifts. She’s especially generous with the unwanted knickknacks of complete strangers. You won’t believe her fortune.

I know you have your eye on the holiday snow globe, but that’s for me. Isn’t it gorgeous? Santa is dancing with Mrs. Claus while that charming little family looks on. I’m already looking forward to Christmas. The plastic red bird ornament is for Piper’s dad.  She says he’ll hang it on our tree this year.  The cool cat statue have sustained some minor ear damage but they’re good as new. Meow. Who could resist a Disney globe with all those princesses?  Not Sissy.  And the bracelet? Well, Piper even got a little something for herself. A girl deserves a treat after all that haggling.  But the real find? The super-duper-coolest-yard-sale-find ever? Roller skates.

Complete with knee pads and elbow pads.  A Piper falls, you know. I’ll have the super glue ready.

I cut myself fairly deeply on a burr on one of the bits of RHS. Protip: Fuck bandaids; if it’s bleeding slowly enough that they actually work, you can just suck it up and deal with it. In the event that you’re bleeding bad enough that you want to do something about it, they get soaked in blood and don’t freakin’ stick! In the end, I went back out to the garage and superglued the cut shut. Worked great. According to urban legend that I can’t be bothered verifying, superglue was actually designed for this purpose during the Vietnam war. Also, this proves that there’s nothing worth having or knowing about outside of a garage.

I also turned down some nolathane ARB bushings to act as bumper mounts. I had to use a mill bit to cut the stuff, because the usual tungsten carbide tools don’t have enough rake to cut something so soft… the nolathane just deflects out of the way. Another thing you need to do to get this stuff to cut is take a fairly deep cut, and feed it very slowly.

Found the flat pad posts!
4 pairs of posts later… my fingers are covered with superglue.
Again.
*sigh*
At least I didn’t glue a post TO my finger, this time.
Note to self: WEAR GLOVES WHILE GLUING. Idiot.

Given that I was never a boy scout or sailor, and am thusly limited in my knowledge of knots, most of my floss jewelry has its final fastening made with superglue, or krazy glue, or some unbranded cyanoacrylate glue to bond the floss instantly.  And also my fingers.  This is something you’ll learn whilst following this blog for the rest of your life:

I ALWAYS superglue my fingers together. Or to the object I’m gluing.  Invariably.

I just superglued my fingernail to my embroidery floss.  I have glued a needle in between my fingers while I was trying to unclog the bottle of glue.  I have glued fabric to my finger.  I have had a superglue topcoat on my thumbnail. I have glued my fingernail to the nail bed below it.  I have never gotten superglue in my eye, though – that talent is reserved for a coworker I once had.  The same coworker who told me she didn’t like my aura.

ANYWAY. I was just noting, as I was picking little pieces of cotton and dried glue off my fingers, that even though I have been blogging for a few years now, and have moved across the state and back, I am still the same crafter as ever.  I still glue my fingers together regularly. I still am mildly obsessed with T-Rexes and beads.  I still can’t sew very well.  All that’s changed is that I’m no longer using a bead loom to create pictures of 80′s pixelated game characters, and my craft space is WAYYYY bigger and more awesome now.

But now that I think of that awesome pacman bracelet I once made… maybe busting out the bead loom isn’t such a bad idea.

Recently, I found a craft store in Madison called the Artist and Craftsman Supply Store. It has everything. I mean, really, everything you could want, and for less than the list price. Today, I went in and bought

-A 16×16 stretched canvas ($18)

-Super glue ($4.39)

-Black acrylic paint ($4.59)

-Three 64-packs of Crayola crayons (3 @ $9)

-Pack of 3 paint brushes ($2.15)

To start, I picked out all the blue/turquoise/silver/grey/white/black crayons, because I wanted them to look like rain. I then sketched out an umbrella on the middle of the canvas, and painted over it with the black acrylic paint. I thought about trying to paint the silhouettes of two people under the umbrella, but decided not to rock the boat for fear of making this artwork look even more kindergarten-esque.

After letting the umbrella dry briefly (only about ten minutes) I superglued the crayons along the top of the canvas, letting the superglue dry for about ten minutes more. Then came the fun part.

Tilting the canvas at about a 45 degree angle, I began blow drying the crayons on high heat. They begin melting almost immediately, and you can move the stream of the blow dryer however you want to control the stream of the melting crayons. Be sure to put some newspaper down to catch any dripping wax.

That’s all it takes! It didn’t turn out quite as I’d hoped, but now that I know what I’m doing, I’ll probably use an even bigger canvas next time. You’d be surprised how impressed people are by something so easy!

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I can’t stress enough how much I love Hobbycraft – It’s such a brilliant shop! Every time I go in there I’m always getting inspired to do something artsy and creative! Yet another annual trip there down, and Alex (http://mrteaandcreamcrumpets.wordpress.com/) and I came back with lots of goodies to create our new armatures with!

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All of the different materials which we bought include:

• Hardened Cotton Balls
• Aluminium Wire
• Super Glue
• Blu Tack
• White Air Drying Clay
• Acrylic Paint

We got started on making the armatures after each of us decided what we were going to make – in my case it was a bear, in Alex’s case it was a person. I started off, first and foremost, with creating the head for my character, which consisted of three hardened cotton balls, glued together. Unfortunately, this material only came in three different size, but nontheless, I managed to work around this and come up with a few solutions to modelling various body-parts. I used the superglue to stick them all together, and ensure that no pieces would fall off or move whilst animating. The head joins to the body via aluminium wire, and a wad of Blu Tack just so it doesn’t side about too much when I’m animating.

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My original intention with this characters legs, was to have them as singular spheres, cut into halves, on which it could balance. I originally did make this part of the model, and glue it on, and it was only later on when I realised that it would create a problem with balance. Rectifying this mistake, I decided to go with my original sketchbook design, and add extra semi-circles to the front of the feet, so that they looked and acted much more like actual feet (in a more geometric form).

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The arms are made of essentially the same materials as the head. Like the head, I carved a hole into the hardened cotton ball where the aluminium wire would be fixed into, and the same went for the hand piece. I used a relatively thick wire for this model’s limbs and joints, as I originally thought it would be much sturdier. As it turned out, a thinner choice of wire would have probably been much more beneficial to the model’s articulation. The type of aluminium wire that I used, was slightly too heavy, and the arms kept drooping ever so slightly whenever I positioned them during a practice animation test. Becuase it was intended to be a simple model with a basic gemoetric design, I didn’t really bother with giving him fingers or claws, as they would only really be for aesthetic use anyway. Yet again, I tried to use Blu Tack as a means of keeping the arm movements static.

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After creating the rest of the body, I had a look over my armature to see if there was anything that I needed to add on or re-evaluate. I decided that, seeing as this is a bear (in a quite similar design to my original character Bearscak) it needed a tiny little stubby tail on his lower body. Using one of the smallest sized hardened cotton balls, I cut one in half, and compressed the spherical shape inbetween my fingers, to mould it. Once it was formed into a shape somewhat like a rounded-off triangle, I chose a position on the body for it to be placed onto, and used the superglue to stick it down. I like how it has a slightly stylised shape, and that you can tell, despite its odd form, that it’s supposed to be a tail.

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Here is a front and side view of the completed model. Due to the fact that one leg was glued on at a slightly off angle, and that because of this, the character seems hunchbacked, I have decided to call him: “Stumpy”. After creating yet another model armature, this time round, I have much more of an appreciation for the notion of balance within a figures design. With this model, the fact that the legs are glued straight on without any wire joints, and are static because of it, I have to be very careful in positioning the arms, so that it won’t fall over. Nevertheless, this was another fun model making process which I will no doubt try again in the future, for future projects!

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Finally, here is a size comparison between my model, and the model that Alex made with the supplies he bought from Hobbycraft. his is much taller, and honestly a lot better constructed than mine. His is more stable, to say the least! We both opted for the same technique when creating the feet, as well as using Blu Tack as a means of stuffening the joints of the models. We worked hard, and we were pelased with the outcomes we both came to in the end!

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Total cost :
$18 for my fill with pink polish
$3 for gold polish from Ulta
$6 for 3 packs of $2 stones
$3 top coat clear
( plus needle nose pliers and superglue I had in my junk drawer )
$30!!! Plus plenty materials left to do it all over again!!!