HandArt Design Studios

If Life gives you too much tile. . .Make a Mosaic!!

July 2, 2010
Many times we think of recycling as saving our cans, plastic bags, bottles, etc., because often times that is what we are familiar with.  But we don't realize that there's plenty of recycling, reducing and re-using that we can do right at home, with what we have been putting away or storing away.  Many of us who are "do-it-your-selfers" inevitably end up with a lot of left over materials from projects.  There's always some new material that must be bought in order to complete a new project.  Often times we have some amount of material that is left over.  Those of us who feel guilty every time we put something in the trash will understand this, there's always the feeling that I bet I can use this at some point in the future.  So, we keep it, store it away in the garage, a closet, what have you, and we then quickly proceed to forget all about it, or just never get around to using it again.  Next time we have a similar project we go ahead and get more material, perhaps because we don't remember what we have or if we do the material that we have is not really the right color, shape, what have you, for the next project.  So the cycle repeats itself again.  We end up with more left over material that just lives "somewhere" in the garage or closet.

Well, I must say I'm one of the guilty ones in this respect.  My goal as of lately is to try to do projects without buying anything new at all, or at the very least, very little.  I like the challenge of trying to see if I can accomplish this and see how far I can push myself to make what I have work.  My latest venture in this arena was a tiling project in my front porch.  Through the years we had accumulated tile from several projects around the house including the bathroom, the kitchen, the foyer, etc.  The result was a bucket of broken tile pieces, remnants and some whole pieces of tile as well.  There was not enough of any one type of tile to make a whole project but putting them all together there was enough to make something.  Fortunately the colors coordinated well together and could be combined.  In this case the easiest thing to do was to do a broken tile project.  By combining all the tile together I could be better assured that I would have an even distribution of all the different colors and variations in the tile.

As you can see by the picture the project ended up well at the end, but it sure had its challenges along the way.

First of all, I thought I had gathered all the tile we had around the house and I was really hoping that it would be enough.  When you are dealing with left overs it is hard to really measure how much you have.  I even asked my husband if he knew of any other tile pieces we had that I had not found.  He said no so I proceeded.  As luck would have it, nearing the end of the project I realized I would not have enough but I was so close!  So I had to go to the hardware store and find 3 more tiles that were as close as possible to what I had been using.  Thank God, that this type of project is so forgiving.  There are so many variations in the tiles I was working with,  that my choices did not have to be an exact match.  Just after I had placed all the new tile, trying to combine it with the small batch I had of my old pieces to help with the "blend", my husband found another bucket of left over tile!!  If I had known this earlier it would have saved me having to buy some more. . .but oh well...

First step was to come up with a design and then draw it on the floor.  Fortunately I did have enough of 2 types of mortar to place down first, so I did not have to buy any of that.  When all the tile was mortared in place, and it came time to grouting it got trickier.  I had a lot of a very light grout and some smaller amounts of dark colored grouts.  I thought of combining everything, but once again my husband convinced me not to do so, and just use the white.  I did not like the idea of using white grout for an exterior project so I opted to combine the dark grout I had and again hoped for the best!  I figured I could use it on the outside part of the design and keep the medallion with only the white grout, which would also help it to stand apart from the rest.  That way also, if we ever needed the white grout again, it was still usable.  As luck would have it once again, I almost made it but ended up not having enough grout.  I ran through the house (since my grout was still wet, decisions had to be made quickly!!) to see if I had forgotten any possible grout bag.  I found black and grey which were just not going to work, but also found a bag of a camel colored non sanded grout.  I figured it was as close as I could come, but since the color was so much lighter than the previous one I ended up having to re-grout the entire area again, to make sure the color was even throughout.

It turned out better than expected, and it looked pretty good once it dried.  The front step was a problem though and looked unfinished.  And although it violated my requirement of not buying anything new, I decided it was worth it.  Since by then then I was totally out of grout,  I bought yet a different color of grout (since of course I could not find an exact match) and grouted the front step.  At least I did have enough tile so I didn't have to buy any more and was able to complete the step.  Finally once the project was completed it all looked quite even, and if I didn't tell anyone, they would never know there are about 5 different colors of grout!!

It just goes to show you that you can make a treasure out of trash. . .and that if you remember where you put what you put away. . . .it can come in handy, and you can make something beautiful out of what otherwise would have been discarded.  So I hope this inspires all of you to go searching through your garages, closets etc. and see what you can make with all those little scraps of materials that you have laying around.  You may surprise yourself. . .I sure did.
 

Finding a new Advertising Venue

July 2, 2010
The Interior Design and Drafting subdivision of HandArt Design Studio, HandArt Drafting and Rendering Services, has launched a new advertising campaign through Thumbtack.com, which also allows it to advertise through Craig's List for a limited period of time. We are hoping this new venture will help in getting the word out and also expanding what the business has to offer.

We are hoping to expand and try to help small business and homes make small changes in the design/decor of their spaces wh...
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What to do with all that old stuff?

April 25, 2010
In honor of Earth Day, which just happened, here are some very ingenious ways in which one can recycle and have fun at the same time.  The Bay Area Garden Railway society created this Garden Railway for the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.  The level of creativity is amazing.  Check out all the pictures at:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051314&id=1013775476&l=b0db4a3e49

Man's creativity is timeless!

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Jewelry For Sale For A Good Cause!!

April 24, 2010
Help support my niece's school by buying this very well made and nicely priced fun jewelry.  Please check it out at:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1013775476&ref=profile#!/album.php?aid=2051227&id=1013775476

If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask!!



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Inspiration can come from all sorts of places. . .

April 2, 2010
Walking through the city on a sunny beautiful Spring day is a perfect way to get inspiration.




This water feature is in San Francisco.

This one is in the Palacio del Generalife in La Alhambra in Granada, Spain.  You can sort of figure out where the SF fountain might have gotten its inspiration from, don't you?


Nice ironwork at a Mexican restaurant.

A nice sculpture on the street.  And hey, it looks like the same artist also did the sconces on the same building.

And finally where else are you ...
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Sunny Days Can be Sometimes Over Rated...

March 27, 2010
I grew up in the small Caribbean island of Puerto Rico.  Puerto Rico is a very small island, measuring roughly 100 miles long and 35 miles wide.  Being that it is such a small island, one cannot escape the effects of the salt air, the heat and the humidity.   Also, since it is only 18 degrees above the equator the temperature does not change much seasonally, staying usually around a balmy 71 to 88 degrees all year round.  The leeward winds come from the east and provide some relief on those ...
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The Accidental Recyclist

March 10, 2010
I guess, if I were to be honest, I didn't come to realize the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling on my own.  I guess you could say that fate led me to it, sort of accidentally in a way.  

My first exposure to the importance of the 3 R's came from my mother.  Looking back  I now feel she was quite a revolutionary in this regard.   She was of the school of never-throw-anything-away-because-we-might-use- it-later.  To this day if she sees an aluminum container of any kind, she can’t ...
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What a Wonderful World It Would Be. . .

March 3, 2010

Have you ever thought what a wonderful world it would be if we could indeed live as green as possible?  What would need to happen for this to be possible?  Is it a really feasible, reachable goal for us to have?  For me the list would be quite long.  First of all, utilizing the principle, “if you build it, they will come”, laws all around the world would have to be changed to mandate and give incentives  to companies to create and label products which would be 100 % recyclable, and which ...


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That Which is Beautiful Tends to Be Preserved

February 27, 2010

I believe that including aesthetics as part of the considerations for green design is essential for several reasons.  First of all, aesthetics are one of the many important considerations for design in general.  A well design space is aesthetically pleasing because it follows the principles of design and integrates them into a cohesive plan.  Because of this, a well-designed space is not only beautiful and functional, but it is also pleasant to be in.  It beckons others to come and relax an...


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Anatomy of a Bathroom Facelift

February 25, 2010
Creating a new look in the bathroom does not have to cost an arm and a leg.  It can be done inexpensively, with a few well thought out changes.  First of all, think of a concept or theme.  What is this room going to say about you?  What do you want it to do for you, functionally and aesthetically?  Is there a particular feel you are trying to accomplish?  

Secondly, you have to think about what colors and color scheme will go with your concept.  Try to not have more than 2-3 colors in order to...
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