If I wanted a more historic visit to Austin, I should have selected another museum to visit, but that would require a lot more walking or trying to find a place to park. The Museum of Weird was only a short walk, and it is weird. Upstairs features a wax museum. The people the operate the museum are awesome. There is a gift shop where you can purchase your own weird merchandise.
When driving into Austin, TX, you see it’s downtown skyline and you notice all the cranes. There is a crane on top of almost every single building in downtown Austin. Except for the State Capitol building, it has scaffolding around it.
Every day I was in Austin, it had beautiful days with blue skies and 100+ temperatures.
The first day I was there, I walked over 8 miles exploring the downtown area. The State Capitol Building was easy to find, it was at the end of Congress Blvd.
I was not permitted to tour the Governor’s Mansion grounds. I was only allowed to take a picture from the other side of the iron bars.
This was the most interesting building I found in Austin was the Open-Air Rotunda. It is located behind the State Capitol Building. It was below grade and had a railing up top for viewing.
Here are a few more images around downtown Austin.
Recently, Sharpie, you know the company that is famous for making permanent markers, released acrylic markers they claimed would “Boldly Mark on Most Surfaces.” I thought it was very interesting and decided to give the Sharpie Creative Color Markers a workout. I purchased both sets, the brush set and bullet set.
My first attempts were on black and white paper. The colors were brilliant and look good on both colors of paper and did not bleed through. The markers would probably look good on any color of paper, because the provide good coverage.
I did not try it on glass. Being water based acrylic markers, they would wash off of glass.
My second, third, and fourth attempts were on wood.
Puzzle One: This design used the both the bullet and brush markers. I was able to obtain blending effects by either painting areas white on the background or blending two colors before they completely dried.
Notice how well the black markers went over the other colors. I did not have to go over the black multiple times to get the effect. The white stars were placed by gentle touching the surface after it dried.
Wind Spinner: Another project using only the Sharpies Creative Color Markers. On this project, after the paint had dried, I noticed that purple color for the brush marker was slightly lighter than the bullet marker. I was able to go over the bullet marker purple with the brush marker purple to get a uniform color.
Every yellow paint I have ever encountered has done a very poor job of covering other colors. The Creative Color Marker yellow also did a poor job of covering other colors. I have an easy solution; I just cover it with white first then go over it in yellow.
Tree Puzzle: For the base of the tree puzzle, with the exception of the tree, I did not use the Creative Color Markers. I used acrylic paint. The surface was large, and I did not like the idea of having the paint the entire surface with the markers. The tree and flowers were made with the markers.
The background and the tree on the puzzle were all done with the Creative Color Markers. The blending of multiple colors provided the tree with a brown look.
Heart Puzzle: Can you see where I messed up? Probably not because the markers were able to hide my mistakes well. The first design I placed on the heart puzzle I did not like. So, I covered the entire puzzle with Gesso and started a new design. The white marker and the Gesso were almost the same shade. I used the white marker to cover up small mistakes on the white background.
The red and pink marker when placed next to each made it difficult to tell where one color ended, and the other color started. Once touches of purple and black was placed around them, they pop off the canvas.
The edge of the base and the back of the base was covered using red acrylic paint.
All the projects were varnished using the Polyacrylic. Some were sprayed and other were brushed. My only desires concerning these markers are: I would like more colors; and I would like to some fine point markers.
I do not see using the markers every day, but they will definitely fit in with some of my projects.
I painted these ornaments in 2023 around Christmas. However, they have been hanging for months, and months, and months waiting to be varnished. The ornaments got a coat of varnish when I varnished every other project I was working on.
Last year, I planned some daylilies in my yard. Why daylilies? Because they are very low maintenance, and they produce beautiful flowers. I purchased them from Oakley Daylilies because their website allowed me to purchase the correct ones for my region. Last year, they were beautiful. This year, they are gorgeous.
Last year, I also planted a one-gallon Crape Mrytle, and it was a wimp. It hasn’t grown much in a year, but the blooms this year are fantastic. I have a lot of fond memories of climbing the crape mrytle in my backyard, including falling out of the tree. Once I caught my breath, after falling out of the tree, I gave it a dirty look, and climbed in again.
Yes, Roses are beautiful. But, I am developing an extreme dislike for rose bushes, especially the ones in my yard. There is nothing you can do to stop the thrones from sticking you. It doesn’t matter what gloves you have on, or how careful you are. If you attempt to trim them, they will attack.
If you would like to know the name of them flowers, check out Up Close to Flower blog.
I turned around and boom it was Thanksgiving time. This year, I decided to make some designs in Tinkercad to celebrate the holiday. I stared with the wheelbarrow to fill with crops from the field. Next, I designed the turkey. It took the longest time. The feathers were not the problem, I couldn’t decide on how I wanted to create the neck and head.
Filling the cart with food was simple. All the food was created in separate design files and entire saved as a shape or copied into the Thanksgiving Harvest design file.
Below are the links to the food designs I used in Thanksgiving Harvest:
All these designs are available to copy. All I asked, if you use one of my designs, that you give me some type of credit for using the design. A shootout in the Designs Description is acceptable.
It is here! The long-awaited post of an outside adventure with beautiful pictures. I finally had the opportunity to visit Palo Duro Canyon, which is in Canyon, Texas. It is the second largest canyon in the United States. I was told it is a lot greener this year because of all the rain. While reviewing the pictures I took, I believe they all can out beautiful especially because of the blue, blue sky.
Here are twelve of the pictures I took.
I plan to explore the canyon again, there is so many trails and many adventures available.
Dr Pepper was created by Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas and first served in 1885. Today, it is sold worldwide. It has a long history; it started in a Pharmacy and was first manufactured in this building.
These are the people credited with making the tasty soda.
Typically, Dr. Pepper is either the first or second choice when someone wants a soda. Their bottles are recognizable, but not nearly as iconic as the Coke-a-cola bottles.
The museum is located in downtown Waco and was able to withstand the F5 tornado that stuck Waco on May 11, 1953.
There is a well on the property that was used to supply the water for making the beverages.
Advertisement has always been a large part of selling a product. Besides the ads, advertising included the packaging and the placement of the trademark on coolers, displays, and delivery vehicles.
If you are in Waco, it is worth a visit to the Dr. Pepper Museum.
Another park in Georgetown, TX. This was behind the hotel I was staying in. It was a gloomy day and I capture these photos between sprinkles of rain. The area where the park resides was owned by the Shell family in the 1800’s. On the outskirts of the park, there is a large condominium development, with decent architecture. Tree limbs were down around Georgetown and the Austin area, because a week before an ice storm hit that area breaking limbs and powerlines.
Blue Hole Park is located in Georgetown, TX, which is north of Austin. These pictures were taken in February, before May rains and before everything started to bloom.
Sarah Cath's Adventures 