CS First

As part of the R&R (Rewards & Recognition not Rest & Recreation) program at Lynda's place of work, the winner of the CS First Campaign will be given a special chair to use for a month. Lynda wanted to dress up the chair a bit to highlight the importance of the winner. There were plans to print out CS First on Self Adhesive paper which would then be affixed to the back of the chair!!!!! Sorry. Not in my lifetime.

This is what I came up with. I conceptualised a shield which obviously stood for a winning - and then the letters C & S entwined around a 1. I used Open Office 'Draw' to create the 1, C & S and I downloaded a simple shield pattern from the net. I used Poster Razor to blow up the Shield and the 1. The C & S were printed as they were.

This is the mock up that I made to show Lynda.

And here is the final product. I made the entire unit from material that I had lying around the house. The Shield is cut from 1/4" Birch Veneered MDF and the C, S & 1 are cut from 1/8" hardboard. I cut them using my new Craftsman Scroll Saw that I scored off Craigslist. The last time I used a Scroll Saw was when I resurrected, renewed & repaired a unit that my first employer Bosco had found. I then proceeded to cut 250 house profiles out of aluminium that he plated and used as give-aways at his wedding.

The colors were corporate colors where Lynda works and the black was chosen as it grounds everything else. I had a bit of an incident with the red and the black as they bubbled when I lay on the 4th coat. I then re sanded down to bare wood and repainted. Sometimes things just do not work to plan.

An angle shot showing the relief of the letters. I used 5 minute rapid set two component epoxy to affix the letters to each other and then finally to the shield.

The chair with the shield affixed to the rear. I used plate hangers that I glued to the rear of the shield. The bottom point is held to the chair with industrial Velcro (which is incidentally made in Brampton!!!)

Chest What We've Always Wanted

I was passing by the Goodwill store yesterday and decided to pop in for a look-see. I normally shy away from the Goodwill stores as they tend to be quite disorganised, but I was on the lookout for No. 9 in the series of Magic Tree House for Aaliyah to complete her collection. I did find it (talk about luck) but I also found out that there was a 50% sale on everything in the store across all the Goodwill stores in the GTA.

Now the Goodwill stores are really disorganised, unlike the Value Village stores (especially the one in Vaughan where the books and the clothes are color co-ordinated!!!!!) and Salvation Army's Thrift Stores which tend to smell so good thanks to the pillar mounted atomisers. Anyhooo - by the nature of the Goodwill stores being disorganised, one tends to find hidden gems if you look hard enough.

And this is what we found. For CAD 12.00!!! A Mucking Fazing!!!!

A Footlocker that was used by someone who once went to Assumption University of Windsor inWindsor, Ontario. The Assumption University is a Roman Catholic College and at one time was a private boarding school for male students only.

The Footlocker is in great condition for it's vintage. The chest had no dings, scratches or tears. The brass plated hardware is tarnished which just adds to the look and charm of the piece. The only issue is that someone broke off the latch, but this is not noticeable when the trunk is closed. This can easily be rectified with a replacement latch from Lee Valley. However the replacement unit is brand new and shiny and will not match the existing tarnished items.

So here she is

The inside will be worked on by my father (he does not know this as yet). It is currently covered in paper, but we are leaning towards having the inside covered in velvet. The outside will be untouched

So. Probable uses. As a coffee table when we redo our living room. As a side table in said living room. As a Footlocker at the base of Aaliyah's bed to house her growing collection of junk. Or finally as a coffee table in our Cabana!

Cabana???? What's that you say??? - Without revealing much....... I won't reveal anything!!!!!

Books, Books, Books

2009 Fall is a time to look forward to - as far as books are concerned..... For me at least.....

Indiana Jones Adventures - Volume 2 - Release Date - September 30th 2009

This book is really aimed at kids... but it's Indiana Jones... So who cares!!!!

The Cartoon History of the Modern World - Part 2 - Volume 2 - Release Date - October 6th 2009

I'm really waiting for this one. Larry Gonick is a great author and it's in cartoon form!!!! Fun....

Indiana Jones Omnibus - The Further Adventures - Volume 2 - Release Date - October 28th 2009

Always a great read. Cannot wait.

And this summer when the folks come over I get the next four Commando anthologies that I ordered from Sify Shopping in India.

So very sweet. Got to get a hammock rigged up in the backyard soon!!!!