The Aloe Odyssey Part II: Enter the Dremel

     When we last met, I told you about my week-long battle to find an aloe plant. I finally completed my quest at a local Garden Center, and ended up with a behemoth that just wasn't going to fit in my kitchen. He needed to be an outside plant, and he was outgrowing his tiny, plastic house at a scary rate. So, to keep him from strangling us like the vines in Jumanji, I decided to make him a new place to live.

     It took awhile to figure out the design I wanted for this project. To be honest, I can't even remember what my original idea was before I went with my ode to a Grecian urn. I wanted to pay tribute to Athena, the original VelociCrafter, so I found a picture of an Athenian owl to make a stencil for the base. I used Microsoft Word to make the pattern for the top. It's three rectangles stuck together. I know, it's terrifying how comfortable I am with modern technology.

     Since it's made up completely of straight lines, you'd think the top pattern would be the easiest part of the project.

     You would be wrong.

What do we say to sensible patterns? Not today.

   
     I used painter's tape in hopes of creating some beautiful, crisp lines. Sadly, that did not happen. I'm not sure if I didn't give the paint enough time to dry or if I was being exceptionally wild while I was painting - it was Spring Break in Ohio, you know how crazy that can get - but my lines were definitely far from pristine. I pondered for awhile, and decided two things:

1) I could just make the whole thing look old and beat up. Poorly drawn lines? Nope, authenticity.

2) If I was going to compare my attempt at straight lines to a civilization that was famous for mind blowingly good architecture, I might as well let the aloe plant eat me.

      After that little crisis of faith, I painted the base black and traced my owl stencil. This part actually went how it was supposed to.

     After that, I was ready to try out the Dremel! I painted an old terra cotta base first to give myself some room to practice. The Dremel website has a project like this where it recommends a 191 attachment. I do not. It made really rough lines when I tried to use it, and I think that more than a few minutes on terra cotta and it would have been ruined. I decided to run to Lowe's and get a Diamond Wheel attachment instead. It was way easier to use and it saved me from having to explain how I destroyed an expensive tool in a matter of minutes.

     I used the flex attachment for the Dremel, which is basically a pen-sized attachment for clumsy people like me. I did one run over the lines to check how much pressure I should use, and then went over it a few more times to try and clean up the lines. It definitely seems like it's an acquired skill, so I'm very happy that I picked something basic to start with. Anything more detailed and I would've ended up dropkicking the pot into the parking lot. Patience has never been my strong suit.

     Since I'm trying to keep it authentic (messy), I didn't spray a clear coat on it. I just filled it full of potting soil and set the behemoth up in his new home.

We're hoping that he takes on some of Groot's pacifistic tendencies. 

     Was this project perfect? Lolz. Not even a little. But it's done, I can start to implement the Dremel into my other projects, and we aren't going to end up plant food in the middle of the night.

     Silver linings, clever girls (& boys), silver linings.

XO

VelociCrafter