Part three in the illustrious series of the Mermaid moped.
I began this tale on Joel’s blog, as I had yet to acquire a blarg of mine own. Parts one and two.
Last April I got the bug to build my own moped with speed capabilities. I know that if you make a moped go fast it certainly behooves you to learn the basics of moped mechanics and tuning so when it blows up in your face you can at least make an educated guess as to what just went horribly wrong. I thought, what better way to learn than to build the bike yourself. So I’ve been learning and tuning and acquiring parts. I have most everything I need now, and have since this summer. But the next most important part of this bike that I am building is the awesome way it’s going to look. So, I’ve been waiting patiently for our friend of the Responsible Jon DeLuxe Powdercoat fame to get his operation up and running. He’s one of those people who doesn’t just talk sideways out of his mouth about the cool things he’s going to do. He actually does them. So I was not afraid to be patient.
Well, he’s got his shop set up now. And today he powdercoated the tank for my moped. I can’t even describe how freaking awesome it is. In my mind I’ve been picturing the color combination I wanted. But I couldn’t quite describe it, and I couldn’t quite get the feel of what I wanted by looking at my pantone chips. But this tank turned out exactly like I’ve been picturing in my little brain. I’m pumped.
Next step: My friend Rosa is going to paint the mermaids onto the tank. Phil will powdercoat the rest of the bike. And the bike will then be almost ready to go. I can’t wait.
As I explored the sacred sanctuary of architecture books yesterday, I stumbled upon some small bound gems from UK artist Nigel Peake. You can see more of his fabulous work here. I would like to collect some of his small publications so that I can pet them from time to time and stare at their fine detailed beauty.
My friend bo broke his collar bone.
1 This post is tagged with: awkward encounters
Where are you going?
O, I’m just going to school.
Is that a TABLE on your back?
Why yes, it is. Look at me gooooo!
Aunt Rosanna, big sister Marilouise, and baby Evelyn.
She apparently likes to stick her tongue out when the flash goes off.
Look how tiny she is. Can it be for real?
This kid is one of my favorites. She loves her uncle dole and her nan nanana. I used to think she was a pretty tiny kid, but she now seems like a giant.
In case you’ve just been dying to learn how to line your envelopes (I know you’ve been keeping up at night just thiiiiinking about how it’s done) here is a simple tutorial on the process.
Assemble all your ingredients.
a) envelope (you’ll actually need two, one for the template and one for the finished product)
b) thick card stock (for template making)
c) pretty paper of your choice
d) scissors
e) pencil
f) glue stick
g) bone folder (sort of optional, but they are very helpful)
Tear the envelope gently apart along the seams.
See how gently I’m tearing.
Yay! All apart.
Take your pencil and trace along the top flap and the main rectangle of the envelope.
Cut along your line.
So you have your cute little envelope cut-out. Trace it again onto the thicker card stock so you can trace and trace onto fancy paper ad infinitum.
Trace the envelope shape thing onto your fancy paper.
Slide the fancy paper into the envelope.
Put some glue on the back of the fancy paper.
Press the fancy paper onto the envelope.
Use your handy dandy bone folder to crease the envelope shut, therefore folding the liner as well.
Voila! How purty is that?
(these beautiful photos taken by Joel)
