Crap I Have Made For Gaby

This is what Gaby got for Xmas last year:

It started off as a lovely painting of a Great Dane (I think?) until the little guy started running around with a very materialistic crowd. Suddenly he found himself wearing a grill, a medallion, and bootleg NBA gear, and getting tattooed. He also became the proud owner of a gold-plated Hummer. Bad dog!

Her birthday present was a little more involved. It started with this poster and a dream:


I bought a blank wooden plaque and a clock kit at Hobby Lobby. For some reason there was a box of acrylic epoxy in my garage. I've had it for years and never used it - EnviroTex Lite Pour On High Gloss Finish, 16 oz package. Luckily, all the new-fangled craft shows on DIY and whatever that other home channel is have all been pouring this type of acrylic lately, so I had all the steps pretty much memorized and knew all the tricks.

I decided what part of Tupac I wanted to show on the plaque, and traced around the plaque. I cut him out, then decoupaged him to the wooden board. I sprayed the back of the poster with water first, which one of the craft shows said would keep it from bubbling, but it really didn't. I might not have used enough water. In retrospect I should have used a brayer. But I had purchased two posters and two plaques just in case I screwed it up, so I kept going.

After he dried I trimmed closer to the board with an exacto knife. I decided I wanted the sides of the plaque to be gold, but I know from experience that the gold paint I have is pretty watery and transparent no matter how thickly I put it on. So I first painted the sides with black acrylic paint. This also served to cover up any messy bits of bad trimming.

Trimming Tupac out to look his best left some bits of his name where I didn't want them. I had "AC" and a big squiggle to cover up, so I used a wash of white acrylic paint. The wash didn't work very well - oil is much better for washes - so I ended up really just painting and trying to blur the edges.

After all that business was dry, it was time to mix up the acrylic. Talk about paranoia - this was the serious point of no return. I read the directions about a million times, used a level to make sure Tupac was lying flat on the raised blocks I was using, and mixed up the proper amount of acrylic coating. It pours on really thick, so there was no need to shore up the sides with tape or anything. I smeared it around to make sure it coated the whole plaque. Then it was time to monitor for drips. It did pretty well, but there was one area of the plaque that would not stop dripping, despite the fact that I babysat it for an hour and half. Ultimately I was forced to go on with my life and just let it do its thing. It had to cure for 72 hours.

On Sunday I wrangled the husband into the garage to get ready to drill the hole for my clock kit. First of all the clock kit I purchased had a stem that was too short to make it all the way through the clock and the acrylic coating, so I had to go to Joanne's. (I would have gone to Hobby Lobby, but they're home with their "families and their God" on Sundays.) I returned with the correct size, and we began planning for the hole.

I was absolutely terrified that the acrylic would shatter, so I didn't make it very easy for my husband to do his job. I put some tape over Tupac's eyes so he didn't have to watch, and I went inside the house to sob and rock back and forth in the corner. A few seconds later my husband called out, "It's done." I ran out madly to check the hole, and it was perfect. He also put a hanger on the back and sanded off the few drips I didn't catch. Thanks, Honey.

The clock stem was a very close fit and almost too short again, so I glued the base to the back with E6000, and I cannot say enough good things about E6000. I attached the hands, put the battery in, set the time, and here he is:


I think he turned out pretty damned good.

Here's the back:

I gave Gaby the extra poster to do with as she wishes. I have not decided what to do with the extra plaque, but I do believe another clock is in order. I have just enough acrylic coating to do another plaque that size, and I love the result.

My goal is to fill Gaby's entire house with shit that I made for her, so her house becomes a living shrine to our love.

Up next: Etching