Motorcycle Cover

I have a fabulous client, Sarah, who wants to give her husband a motorcycle cover for his cruiser-style motorbike.

A while ago, I would have said this kind of thing is not possible because vinyl covers for boats, barbeques and motorcycle covers typically have a fabric lining underneath.

But this time, I thought that if I could successfully glue some fabric onto the underside, then recycled billboards could be used without scratching or sticking to the item that they are covering.

I did an experiment where I glued an old T-shirt to a section of tarp with Vynabond. It adhered well, so now I am going ahead with the design.

I asked my client for some measurements so I could get the geometry of the cover. I used TouchDraw on the iPad to make a scale model.  With this scale model I can easily determine the length of the outside edge and the angles over the handlebars and seatrest.  (The picture doesn't show the actual model of the client's motorbike, I just put it in for reference.)

I'm going to use some flannel sheets for the fabric lining.

Hockey Game Crowd Sign

My husband and son found themselves on the Jumbotron at a recent hockey game. After that, the plan was to see if they could have a "camera-catching" sign when the Edmonton Oilers came to town. So this was the happy result! Go Flames! The presence of the letters "CBC" is to promote the broadcaster. They get a crowd shot AND some promotion. So fans put those letters in to make the signs more attractive.  Edmonton has the sign "City of Champions" at the edge of town, so that's why the "City of Chump-ions" reference.

I'm actually from Edmonton, and I enjoyed many seasons of cheering for the Oilers.  But family trumps hockey loyalty!  So here it is. It would have worked better if the flames were in adhesive vinyl instead of glued-on foam from the dollar store. The large amount of Vynabond glue I used caused the tarp to warp.

Cut out using a Cricut Expressions, with Sure Cuts A Lot software, which is now vintage due to the lawsuit. (If I ever get another vinyl cutter I'm going to make sure I get one where I can design and print my own designs.)

Ipad case design

Since we got an Ipad at the beginning of summer, it is growing indispensable. I have drawing, cartooning, and svg software on it. I can read articles while lying on my side thanks to the aspect lock, and I listen to bedtime stories from various content suppliers.

I've been looking at Ipad cases that seem to start at $45 and go up from there. I've been waiting for our city's municipal election to score some used coroplast. Thanks to the Wayne Stewart campaign for their generous donation.

The design I'm pursuing has a few layers of coroplast built up to make a snug-fitting frame. Here's my work-in-progress. I'm using Vynabond to built up the layers.

I'm also planning to offer my Ipad cases with a stylus if I can get metal pencil extenders at a reasonable price.

Vinyl Vase Adhesive

Here I am experimenting with a product called Vynabond. It works pretty well. It might be the same adhesive as the one by LePage that I blogged about earlier. The prototype vase here is designed so that it will stand up on its own when filled with water. Now to come up with some variations on the vase design.

Update: well, I have hit a roadblock. I think I might need some expensive seam sealer device because I can't get the glue on the edges just right to avoid leaks. Maybe I'll revisit this project again sometime.