Handy Work

So a little more about me, I love arts and crafts. I always have, I am quite the ‘handy man’ when it comes to things around the house. I always seem to think out side the square. Some people say that I have a gift for this sort of stuff, I don’t know whether to believe them or not, I do have a passion for wood work design. So maybe that’s what motivates me. Anyways I plan to post my completed and almost completed projects that I am doing, So I guess I will keep you updated!

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DESK DESIGN-

by Amy Lewis

This desk, was a dream of mine. I had always looked back at the olden days and noticed the old school desks. Remember the 45 degree lift top desks. So in year 12 at school, I studied technology studies where you study design in today’s world. You get to apply your knowledge of design into a design of your own. So here is my dream desk, functional and all. It doesn’t have the traditional 45 degree angled desk top either, rather having a flat desk top. This desk is about 1.5 meters long and .5 meters deep. The highlights of building this desk was the Cabriole legs. These taking the longest to construct. This is merely half of the finished product, yet to come is the hutch that goes on top. This is still under construction.

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MARBLE BOX

by Amy Lewis

This design was a rather simple design with a feature on the lid. In addition to this the dovetail joint was used to create style. It was constructed out of Meranti timber that was stained. On the lid there is a pine strip that was bent and clamped to create a focal point. A wave type feature. The lid of the box wasn’t stained it was left as its natural

look. This box can be used for marbles, bracelets and other accessories.

I constructed this box as apart of a year 10 assignment. Much to my surprise the teacher that was instructing us wanted to use the simple pin joint. I had refused to use such an easy joint. I went about designing and constructing this box to my own desire and I even ended up getting an A+ for it. So it goes to show where you can be creative stick to what your heart tells you.

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PRESENTATION

by Amy Lewis

So apart of my studies of Interior Design, require me to study a subject called presentation. So pretty much what that means is that they teach you how to draw and colour render and make things look realistic and three dimensional etcetera. So I thought I would post a picture of my last assessment that was a two point prospective image, the wall colours didn’t come out the way that I was hoping but overall I am happy with the product. Lets just hope for a high distinction!

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Restoration

by Amy Lewis

As I mentioned in my blog, I have been restoring my old furniture so that I can sell it. So the history of this furniture: it was bought for my older sister Cathy 22 years ago and since then it has been in running condition the whole time. I would say these drawers were an amazing buy to last that long, and who knows even longer yet! So anyways what had happened was the pink decorative strip along the edge had started chipping away. The paint that is, so it was starting to look really tacky. I figured that if I was going to sell it anyway I wouldn’t need to fix it up. But then I thought if I was someone buying furniture I would want it to look its best. So I went down to Mitre 10 and got some primer and coloured paint along with some sanding paper. I sanded the existing paint off down to the white board that covered the MDF board. After this was finished there was pink dust everywhere, it felt like I was in a pink dust storm. So I cleaned all the surfaces and then got the primer out and painted that surface. I only needed to apply one coat, it said that it needed 30 minutes to dry but with all this heat and humidity in the air I left it for a bit longer. I then re-applied my chosen pink taubmans ‘blushing orient’ which I think was a perfect match but we will have to see when it dries. Two hours later I added the last coat and waited for the final product.

The drawers before

Corner before Restoration

Getting ready to apply the primer The Primer

after I’d sanded it down

Applying the new pink paint The finished product

The finished product as a whole

Tadda it was a perfect match, for all these years of wear and tear I think I did pretty well at matching the colour. I just need to clean some of the finger print stains off of the drawers and we are all ready for sale.

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WATER COLOUR

by Amy Lewis

Here is a sample of one of my watercolour paintings that I submitted for an assignment. I had a lot of fun with this assessment.

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DESIGN

by Amy Lewis

This is my Stratco Office Re-fit Model of the reception area. The scale is 1:20 wow it was an attention to detail assignment.