The :Lazy Way of Doing Things

Katie, just for you. I put a blue dragonfly on either side of the chest. You may have to poke the picture to see him. He's just a little below the snail on this side.

I finished the marble top this morning. I covered the whole surface with white and then, while it was wet, I put in veins with my 18/0 liner brush. While it was still wet, I smeared parts with my fingers.

I used black and just a touch of brown here and there. After I was happy with the smudges, I went back and put in very fine veins. If you try doing marble, it is pretty simple. Just keep in mind that marble usually has a grain just like wood does.If you keep things going pretty much in the same direction, with a shaky hand.....Drink lots of coffee before trying this....

It does go off in branches here and there. If you can find a sample piece on the net, it is a good idea to have something to look at. Preferably, it should be the same color marble that you are reproducing. Different marbles have differnt graining patterns.

After I was done, I sprayed the whole thing with a coat of Deft satin. I will sand it very gently and then do it again.

Now about doing it the lazy way....

I painted the desk black and white. Then I hired Zar to cut patterns for the area that I wanted to cover with fabric or paper.

He took a piece of typing paper and fitted it to the area in question. Then he taped it down. He bent the paper to the exact size of the area. Then he ran the side of a pencil along the bend, so that I could see clearly where to cut.

I dug through a lot of different papers and fabrics before settling on black and white....Again.

This time I used a fabric print with architectural elements and one with lines of dots. It kind of looks like roofing, if you squint at it hard enough....

I cut pieces of buildings to fit the sides of the desk. Then I used the dots for the desk fold out and the top.

Lastly, I went through the first fabric with a fine tooth comb to find a pattern that would exactly fit the front of the drawers.

Right now I am waiting for the white glue to dry. Then I will put Deft satin on that piece too.

About all I will have left to do to the two pieces after that is knobs. At last! Tomorrow I can do something else!

By the way....You aren't seeing double. The Mad Peruvian Bunny and Tessie thought it would be hilarious if he had four ears. Spike was done with them anyway.

See you then.