Fatcat Studio Blog

British Flag Dresser Paint Job

2011-08-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

This project was so fun! I got this old dresser that needed a LOT of help. It had about 6 layers of paint. This was the good dry up paint. OH NO! It was gross yucky mushy paint. The worst kind! But hey that's what you get sometimes, right.

I was stupid this time and didn't get photos of the before. So let me paint this photo for you. Imagine a bright orange box with little bits of bright blue peaking through the pealing paint. Most of the draw pulls were missing and those that where left were broken.

First thing I did was remove ALL the paint. Right down to the wood. I did leave little bits of paint here and there. Due to the HIGH HEAT the paint melt under the sander. I had to break out the big guns and go with the drill attachments! It worked...finally. I now had a nice smooth surface to start the repaint.

First step was to put on a thin primer. Next step was to put on the design. Let me just say this, I'm a designer by trade and it did NOT come in handy this time. I really needed to think through all the color placement. It was not easy to be totally honest. Then comes the distressing...

Distressing to me has to be done with a purpose and not just messed up. Yes, true, there is some randomness that goes into distressing. But I like to go at it with a vision in mind. For me it works better than blind going at a piece with the sander. :-)

Once all my painting and vintage-ing was done I could work on my drawer pulls. I had a clear picture of what I wanted to do with these pulls. I LOVE LOVE making my own. At first I was going to cut them out with scroll saw but then I came across a old subway train sign. That inspired me to switch gears and create four famous "subway sign" words.

Final step is seal everything up. I HATE sticky latex paint. I hate it. Why because it's sticky. I truly believe in using a good quality paint. I also believe in sealing a project with a good quality clear. So that's what I did here. Nothing will keep a project from being "tacky proof" but these things do help a lot!

Here is the final project. You can see more images here.

NEW PRODUCT MONDAY: Overview of the DIY Party Kits

2011-06-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

SITE UPDATE:
I've been away from my blog for a long, long time. Sorry! I needed to take a step back and rethink some things. Now I'm back and I have a new...hmmm...creative effort. I have no idea how it will go...if it will go at all but I'm going to give it my best shot.

NEW PRODUCT MONDAYS: Overview of the Party Kits
I've reopened my Etsy store. No more Lil Fatty dolls. The thought of picking up a brush and painting another one makes me sick. Literally! I made over 250 of those little guys in a very short period of time. I saw great success. It was a lot of fun. But I just can't do it any more...at least not yet! :-)

So my new Etsy store currently has DIY Party Kits, DIY Digital Scrapbook Paper, DIY Clip Art and other forms of Do-It-Yourself products.

Today I thought I'd post a little bit about the kits and what goes into them. If you want ALL the details...are want to buy a kit...head on over to my Etsy store.

Basically you get every thing you need to create a FATCATistic and stylish party. You print it...you trim it...you put it all together. It's one low cost. Which means if you need 8 cupcake toppers...print 8. If you need 800 print 800. The cost is always the same because you bought the art for your party.

Pretty simple, hey? Get ready to get your trim on though. I've printed and trim ALL the kits so far and let me tell you it can be work. However, it's great when it's done! So much fun.

Carbucks - Hauler Decals

2010-08-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

And here are the decals for the trailer of the hauler. I have to come up with a good name for him OR her. :-)

Carbucks - Pit Crew and Chief

2010-08-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

I started on the Pit Crew and Crew Chief (car version) this weekend. I bought the Leakless Pit Crew set so I could get 3 different styles of Pit Crew guys. PLUS I like the box background because it's blank (no cars printed on it)...which means I can scan it an use later.

I got all 4 of them apart. Took them outside to start the paint removal. Put the chemical on it then I realized that that the Pit Crew's had plastic faces. But it was TOO late. The chemical had already burned their little smiles away. :-(

WHAT TO DO!

I managed to remove the little pitty faces from the body, wash them off and save MOST of the shape. I then sanded it down to a semi smooth surface. Later I had to make little smile decals to recover their face. BUT I almost had a major problem!!

Here's a few images of the work in progress. Once every thing has dried for 24 hours, I'll put it all back together and I will have a Carbucks Pit Crew! :-D

NEXT UP....THE HAULER!

Part 1 - Customizing A Cars Car

2010-07-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

Part 1

First things first. I had to work out 2 important things. The logo and the theme of the car. I decided to take a play on my FAVORITE thing in the whole world...STARBUCKS! YUM! I ended up with Carbucks: Regular or Unleaded. The fuel for the expresso lane! DeCARfinated. CARpuccino! I could go on but you get the idea!

I don't there there is a number 75 in the set yet. I hope not because I like 75. It was the year I was born! :-) (and today is my bday!)

Here is the very rough 'comp' of the car I'm making:

Now to prepare the car.

I found some racers on sale at Kmart for $1.99. I picked up a few. First I had to bust the car apart by drilling out the little bolts.

Once the bolts were cut free I could take it apart. I had to be very careful not to break the plastic when I took out the windshield.

Next comes the paint removal. I used some paint stripper I had on hand. It worked like a charm! In about 10 mins it was bubbling and ready to be washed clean.

Now cleaned and very lightly sanded it was ready for priming. The smoother the surface the better the paint job!

It's going to dry over night so that the primer can really set up nicely. I'll lightly sand it so it's even more smooth for the final base coat of white paint. Then comes the detail painting and finally the decals.

It's been drying for a long time now and I've gone in with the first base coat. I'm going to have to let it dry 100%. Cure all the way through. Then I think I need to give it a slight sand in a few areas. It's starting to "pitt" on me! BLAH!

More to come....I CAN'T WAIT!

Bento 3: How to keep up with my Cars Toys

2010-07-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know I'm a little old to be collecting Cars toys. GET OVER IT! :-)

Since I'm a super nerd I decided to use Bento 3 to organize all the toys as I hunt them down in the stores. This way I don't end up buying two of the same car.

Here's how I'm doing it using BOTH Bento 3 for Mac and for iPhone.

On my Mac I went into and creating the Library. From there I populated it on my computer then sync to my iPhone. The cool part of Bento for iPhone is that when I'm out at the stores I can not only check my inventory but make or modify new entries. When I get home I can re-sync on my computer. NICE!

Here's how its done:

1) After creating the page (or database) in Bento 3 just add entries. Simple.

2) Add more detail to the entry including an image.

3) On the iPhone I can view listings

4) Update, View, or Create a new listing.

If any one is interested in more detail just contact me at: jbfatcats@cox.net . I'd be happy to share more details.

Noah's Little Photo Shoot

2010-01-25T16:14:00.000-08:00

I'm using the term photoshoot lightly! It was anything but in all honesty. First of all, I don't know much what I'm doing. Secondly, Noah was ALL over the place. I had too much to do in order to think about my camera settings and chase after him. But, I think I ended up with a few good images in the end.

I thought I would walk you through the steps I took to get one of my favorite moments and pics of the day. So here we go...

I had my 50mm/1.8 lens on my camera. Looking back I probably should have use another lens since his quick little movements created a lot problems with getting him in the sharp 'in focus' area long enough to push the shutter. Oh well, what did I expect from a 15 month old!

I was in manual mode on my camera at ISO 100, f/3.5 and 60th of a second. My flash was off to my right and not really in position, yet. But it was enough to, at least, cut the gray clouds and give me a little shadowing.

Here is the picture as shot:

Normally I go straight to Lightroom first. This time I went to Photoshop. The first thing I did was adjust the skin tone. I noticed two things in the skin.

1) It was slightly cold out so his nose, lips, cheeks and hands were getting red.

2) The reflection of the bright yellow toy creates a really green/blue shadow.

After deciding I was okay with those problems I moved on to fixing his little bags under his eyes. The cold wasn't helping them this morning (but he is still CUTE!).

Here is the picture with the skin tone fixed and the eyes shadows slightly toned back:

Next I moved on to brightening his eyes. I pushed the blue color a bit more than probably 'real life' eyes in cloud gray weather. But I wanted them to sparkle! I did a layer of sharpening and one for color.

Then I decided I wanted to warm the image up a little. The blue/green "correction" wasn't working for me. I added a solid color layer over top (sort of like a CTO gel color) and set that layers blend mode to COLOR. I pulled the opacity way back to 10%.

Finally, after this final color adjustment was made I felt like I wanted to do some work on the shadow/hightlights. It was getting too contrasty for me. It brought out some more detail hiding in the blacks.

I darken up the edges a little. I'm NOT one to really go hog-wild with my edge burning. I think people do WAY too much of that these days. If you go too far with it, it just ends up looking yuck. There is a place for going really far and having dark edges! But generally, I don't like it. That's just my opinion.

Here is the final image.

Mr Spock Custom Star Trek Doll

2009-10-04T20:14:00.001-07:00

Mr Spock Custom Star Trek Doll, originally uploaded by jbfatcat.

So I thought I would post a quick entry about my newest Lil Fatty member. It's a modification of my Star Trek series. Check him out here or at my etsy store

jbfatcatstudio.etsy.com

Kitty Bed Project

2009-05-24T19:02:00.000-07:00

So Friday Mom sent me a link to a website that had a kitty bed project that she thought I would enjoy making. Well she was right. I went out after work on Friday and got all my stuff including the end table that I picked up at our local Restore.

Here is the table before I did any thing to it:

First thing I did was take it all apart. I wasn't able to just flip the table over because it had a glass top originally. So I took it all apart to figure out what parts I needed.

I took the bottom panel and flipped it over so the real bottom was facing up. Then I took the little feet and placed them back in the holes with a little wood glue.

I reassembled the legs and side panels. At that point I realized I need to screw the legs back on the feet posts. Luckily the glue on the feet hadn't setup. I was able to pull them off and reassemble the legs, side panels, lower panel and feet.

I purchased 4 finals for the ends of my legs. I thought they would work with the holes from where the old table panels were screwed on. But they didn't. So I cut off the square block end of the legs. I drilled new holes and screw the finals into with some glue.

I also cut down a small piece of wood for the "headboard". I planned on painting something on it like, "Cat Naps". But I don't know now that it's all together!

Next came the primer, paint and clear coat. I went with a light baby blue since I have a lot of light blue through the house. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to sand down the edges to antique it a little or not. I kind of like it solid but I do like the antique look, too.

Finally I bought a pillow because it seemed to fit almost perfectly. I got a real fluffy one since the cats are only a LITTLE spoiled. :-) I found some fabric that I liked at Wally World. There you go!

It didn't take Socks long to realize it was HER new bed. She's already brought some toys over to it. I hung her most fav toy off one of the posts. I think I'll probably string some play things off the posts.

2009-05-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a LONG time. Here's the first and maybe only Supersocks installment. :-)

Supersocks Part 1 from Jenny Brown on Vimeo.

The Cat Happening Trailer

2008-08-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

Just a little video I made of Socks staring in her very own "The Happening" movie.

Socks Gets A Bike

2008-04-19T19:07:00.001-07:00

Socks Gets A Bike, originally uploaded by jbfatcat.

Well sorta. Actually I got a bike and got her a trailer so she could go with me. BUT I'm not totally sure that she's ready to ride behind me in it. So for her first ride I pushed her. She seemed to do okay. We came across some dogs and that was pretty much the end of her fun. I could tell she was done! I'll just keep working with her on...or in...it and hopefully she can be my little riding buddy.

Socks the Bubble Killer

2008-04-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

Socks and the Disappearing Ball

2008-04-03T07:31:00.001-07:00

Socks First Time Outside

2008-03-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

I think I was more nervous than she was because she stills her wild
hairs and run through the house! Lucky for me and her she did good.
She even made friends with dog next door. She almost slipped away from
me through the fence to go check Mr. Doggie out!

Happy REAL birthday mom!

2008-02-29T10:17:00.000-08:00

How old are? About 12?

Landscaping

2008-02-23T19:50:00.000-08:00

Chick babies

2008-02-21T19:49:00.001-08:00

While I was out t looking for the LitterMaid I stopped by Atwoods. They had new chick babies! So cute! I snapped this and realize there was dead on in the shot. Just about the time I going to get someone to get it out one of his brothers pecked his head. He was just asleep! He was sure laid like he was dead but he wasn't thank goodness!

Two kitty cats napping

2008-02-17T14:51:00.001-08:00

Two kitty cats napping, originally uploaded by jbfatcat.

Well they were worn out from a big day of...well napping. LOL! They
look cute.

Socks on the potty

2008-02-17T14:48:00.001-08:00

Socks on the potty, originally uploaded by jbfatcat.

So everytime I take a bath or shower Socks likes to get in or play
with the water. She is oddest kitty I've ever had or been around. She
loves the water! I guess if she ever needed a bath I could give her one.

Socks under my desk

2008-02-17T14:43:00.001-08:00

Socks under my desk, originally uploaded by jbfatcat.

I was working on my computer and kept feeling something on my foot. I
looked down and found a little kitty!

Socks and Snow

2008-02-07T19:54:00.001-08:00

Socks and Snow, originally uploaded by jbfatcat.

This was taken at Christmas. Poor little Snowy can't go out of the
room her kitty cousin Cesle (however) you spell his name attacks her!
He is a sweet cat he is just on the bratty side. Sorry Jess! LOL!

So Sock is around 8 months or so here and already as big or bigger
than Snow! She is huge!

Socks helps me get ready to paint!

2008-02-07T19:24:00.001-08:00

Socks helps me get ready to paint!, originally uploaded by jbfatcat.

So I decide to paint my diningroom a few weekends ago. I got
everything out of the bags and Socks decides to help by carrying off
the paint brushes, tearing up the drop clothe, getting in the bags and
generally being a pest! But we love her anyway!

>

Random Kitty Pics

2007-09-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

Recently I went home for a few days and took the kitties with me. Snow doesn't mind riding in the car as long as she can get out of her cage and ride in the front seat. So I decided to let Socks out too. She did a GREAT job. At first she snuggled up with Snow. AWW!! Then got in the back and laid down for a nap. She pretty much slept the whole 2 hour trip.

Socks LOVES to get a drink out of cups. She is real sneaky about it too. You have to watch her because she will have her head or a paw in your glass as soon as you turn away. I have to say she is pretty smart. If she can't fit her head in your glass she will dip her paw in and lick the drink off.

Socks and her Feather Stick

2007-08-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

She loves this stick with a feather on the end. She has pretty much torn it up and there's only a little bit of feather left on the end. She still plays with it though. I have to take it away when I'm gone because I'm worried she'll ram it down her throat. Just watch the video you'll see why. :-)

Socks is a menace!

2007-08-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

But she is a cute menace! This is some video from the first couple of days I got her. She was, and still is, into EVERYTHING! As I'm writing this she is under a blanket over the sofa. Having a big time with her self. This evening I was eating, minding my own business and the next thing I know...WHAM!...she jumped onto my back. And this morning she saw me putting on a necklace and made a flying leap onto and up my legs! Now she's trying to eat the cords behind the computer!

Meet Socks

2007-08-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

Last week I finally decided it was time for a new kitty addition to my little family. I've held off getting a new kitty because I wasn't sure I or Snow were ready for another member of the fam. So I just avoided pet stores or Walmart parking lots on Saturday morning so that I didn't have to see any kittens. But, then I just HAD to go in PetsMart Monday. This little face is what did me in! When Fats was alive it was easy to say NO to more kittens because I had two and I was happy with two. But now that she is gone there's just room to love another one! I'll never REPLACE Fats, she was just too special, but an addition is, so far, nice.

She was SO playful too. She reached out and would grab at me wanting to play. Some of the others did that too. I have to just not think about them because it hurts my heart. But there was something super cute about her.

I put my application to adopt her and had to wait. That was hard because I really wanted her badly. They called me yesterday afternoon to let me know that I could get her or any other kitten. But I had already fallen for this one! She got to get out of her cage while I did the paperwork on her. She chased flies and hissed at the other cats.

After we got home and made our first introductions to Snow she explored the house a little bit. She found the treat/food draw RIGHT away!

Snow and her didn't get along really at all. Snow didn't really know what to think about this THING being in her house. But after a while and a few knock down drag outs she started to be more interested in the kitten than wanting to eat it! The kitten however really isn't sure about Snow. Any time she gets too close she hisses which normally sets Snow off too. I think after a week or so they will be best buds...least I hope!

Finally she got all played out. Took a 3 minute kitty nap and then went back to bouncing off the walls!

Washington D.C. 2007 Trip

2007-07-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a YouTube player for mine and Jessica's Washington D.C. videos. It's not all the video but a few. I'll post more as I finish making them.