Not quite a plumber yet.....

Take two...yesterday I put the toilet in, this morning I took it out again. I had to smash out the concrete before it set too hard. Seems the leak fairy came back again for there were some drips. I think I need a plumber.....

Carpentry and cement

Quite a productive weekend yippeee! So it was a month or so ago that I smashed up our ugly leaking upstairs toilet. I decided to have a go at putting a new one in myself as we expect to renovate the whole bathroom in another eighteen months or so and I couldn't justify spending a few hundred calling a plumber. Taking it out was easy and boosted my confidence for the install. That was until I joined it up for a test run and it started leaking. Lucky I didn't just jump right in and cement it down. So after another couple weeks of pondering, much Googling and another trip for plumbing supplies I finally mixed up the mortar and set it down today. Never having worked with concrete before it was a bit of a guessing game but I think it is going to be ok. The real test will be tomorrow when I get Mr Smith to sit on it!
Next on the list was a picture shelf for my bedroom. I'd seen them at Ikea but I'd need to spend $40 for the length I wanted so with $10 of timber from Bunnings, some glue, a few nails and a little bit of left over paint from the garage I finally made one. Thanks to Ana White for reminding me that I can make anything if I just pull my finger out!!!

Not quite a sculptor yet!

So I've spent a lot of time reading about cold porcelain and finally got my act together to give it a try.  I've had a book lying around for years on cute bread dough characters but I wasn't keen on using the oven for 2 hours (Mr Smith would have had something to say about the electricity) so I searched for an air drying alternative and that's how I discovered cold porcelain.  I made the boy this morning after I tried mixing in molasses to get a skin tone colour (soy sauce didn't really work). I think I have some more prototyping to do before I'd be really happy with the dough consistency, colours and figurines but it is fun and considering that I was scared of sculpting anything (I think I once had a bad clay experience at school!) I feel a great sense of achievement already.

A slow beginning..

As if I need another distraction from my goals I've decided to start this blog.  Mostly it begins as a repository of evidence, to prove that some of my projects actually DO get started (and sometimes finished!).  Lately though, I've also been inspired by all the amazing blogs that consume so much of my time.  I'm not sure I'll remain as committed to this one but let's just take a chance shall we.......