haylanmakesstuff

[haylanmakesstuff]

Tonight is the Night

A two-part acrylic and marker painting from 2007. Getting photos/scans of paintings was difficult back then. I could do it by camera and get the inconsistent coloring you see in these pictures, or could pay $50-80 bucks to get it professionally scanned, which tanked any profits I’d make selling paintings back then. 

#haylan makes stuff #tonight is the night #galactastica #acrylic painting #pop art #sharpie art #throwback #monocromatic #monocarpic #lilly

[haylanmakesstuff]

Portraits of My Friend

'Portraits of My Friend' is wood colored with acrylic paint and colored pencil, from 2023. It will probably always remain one of my favorite things I have ever created. Each side of the octagonal box has a different portrait.

The 3D effect is very thick layered white acrylic.

'Portraits of my Friend' is SOLD.

#portraits of my friend #ghost art #galactastica #haylan makes stuff #sheet ghost #halloween ghost #hand painted #acrylic art #dark art #halloween art #vintage halloween #spooktober #halloween decor #handmade halloween

[haylanmakesstuff]

Old Painting Dump

Here are some old various acrylic paintings done prior to 2008. I’ve loved looking back at these old paintings and realizing how far I’ve come, even though I don’t paint as much any more. Enjoy!

Trou, (2006):

The Lovers (Tori Amos 2007):

The Chenin, (2007):

Sweet Oliver being very important:

#pop art #galactastica #acrylic paintings #throwback art #throwback paintings #siamese cats #cats of tumblr #sweet oliver

[haylanmakesstuff]

Shark Attack & Lost Cakes

I had forgotten about this one. I made this for someone a long time ago in high school. This was the first “real” cake I ever made. Shark Attack cake! 

A few years later, I made a friend a Lost themed cake. 

Simple, terrible, amazing. 

#Lost #Lost cake #Lost party #shark attack #shar attack cake #throwback #terrible cakes #amazing cakes #novice cakes

[haylanmakesstuff]

Hall-O-Ween sign

There was a big bachelorette party I threw a few years ago, all Halloween themed, for my best friend. I made so many different crafts for it, it’s about time I started showing a few of them! 

First, this was an imitation park sign I made with the event name on it, ‘Hall-O-Ween’, (as the bride’s maiden name was Hall). 

This was made out of a piece of wood, drawn on, and dremmeled to an inch of its life. 

xx

Then it was painted to match the typical brown and yellow of Texas Parks and Wildlife, USFS and some NPS sites. The bride loves Halloween and Parks both, so this was given to her after the event, of course. 

#halloween #halloween bachelorette party #bachelorette party #halloween party #park halloween #outdoor halloween #park signs #park sign #dremmel #spooky bachelorette #spooky bachelorette party #bride to be #wood carving

[haylanmakesstuff]

Throwback Paintings

A throwback to some of my old paintings and days spent hustling the gallery and show circuit.

Above: Sold a whole $0.00 at this gallery show! But my hair looks GREAT!

Above: 'Scary, Scary Night" was an acrylic reproduction of a vintage image. Acrlyic on matte board. SOLD.

'Dear Abby' was one of my first paintings in 2005. Acrylic and news paper on matte board. SOLD.

Above: 'Deathwish', acrylic on matte board, GIFTED.

#galactastica #traditional painting #popart #acrylic art #texas artist #vintage halloween #scary night #pop art portraits #gallery show #straving artist #austin texas #austin artist #deathwish #dear abby

[haylanmakesstuff]

Happy Holidays

Tis the season, so here are a collection of felt goodies I've made over the years. If you are interested in a stocking or ornaments, please contact me for commissions or have a look in my Etsy shop. Happy Holidays!

Above: Flynn and Tree Trunks were hand made from scratch.

Above: Tessa's stocking is made from a Bucilla kit.

Above: Dorothy's stocking was the first full stocking I made from scratch, and definitely the most personal.

Above: A stocking commission.

#merry stockings #bucilla felt stocking #bucilla kit #merry xmas #merry christmas #christmas stocking #handmade stocking #adventure time christmas #felt artwork #embroidery #fancy christmas #home town christmas #home town xmas #felt work

[haylanmakesstuff]

Gaming Table

This customized gaming table was probably one of the more challenging things I've ever taken on; I had no experience doing anything similar and there was A LOT to learn during this process. It was made as my BFF's wedding gift.

Finished Product:

It functions as a normal coffee table until you take the top off. Inside is a fully felt lined gaming table, complete with the tabletop becoming a giant chalkboard.

First, this required thrifting a suitable table that met my needs. Here is the as-is table before any alterations:

First, we had to take the top off. Wooooo, Spring Break!

Next, and the worst and longest part, was sanding. Sanding, sanding, sanding. and more sanding.

What's happening here? I have no idea. I apparently felt it was necessary to take 6 similar pictures posing like this though.

You can see we have now built in the new bottom of the table, and added the sides. This took a lot of math that I have wiped from my memory.

Of course, the paintjob was my jam. Emerald green and black are her favorite colors.

The felt gaming surface was the last piece added, after a good protective coating. Now a shot of the finished table with the top off you saw earlier!

#custome gaming table #gaming table #gamer #role playing games #d&d #game night #game knight #handpainted furniture #haylan makes stuff

[haylanmakesstuff]

A Call to Arms

My most recent painting, a commission called 'A Call to Arms'.

Acrylic, 2023.

Detail:

I was given absolutely no parameters for this commission (isn't that the best kind??). Instead, I thought about the person commissioning it and found them inspiring. I'm not one to break down my paintings with a meaning and pigeon-hole them, but while painting my thoughts centered on overcoming trauma and growing around and above it.

#haylan makes stuff #acrylic art #hand painted #physical art #call to arms #feminist art #trauma art #disability art #feminist #disability #trauma #stainglass #rainbow #galactastica #commission #no parameters #inspire #dark art

[haylanmakesstuff]

Halloween Dresser

I love getting little dressers and boxes from thrift stores and giving them a Vintage Halloween make over! I found this little white jewelry box/dresser at my local shop. It was all white before I sanded it. This is still for sale on Etsy if you are interested! Link at bottom of the post. 

I gave it a Halloween gradient paint job:

Started to add some details:

And finished it off with the famous vintage witch painted on either side:

This design came off of a vintage greeting card, so I put the greeting on the back of the dresser:

I lined the little drawers with black felt:

This item has SOLD. 

#halloween #vintage halloween #halloween furniture #halloween home #home goods halloween #halloween decor #handmade halloween #vintage #handmade vintage #holiday #handmade holiday #bewitching #bewithing halloween #vintage holiday #for sale

[haylanmakesstuff]

Real Life Howler

This one is less effective without video, but my best friend makes the most amazing birthday cards for me every year. I always look forward to seeing her creativity and talent. 

One year, I decided to try to return the favor best I could, so I made her a real life Howler from Harry Potter. It even screamed Mrs. Weasley’s voice when you opened it. 

Thanks to one of these little card recorders I found online:

I’m not great with technology, so this was a real test of my hermit abilities. But it worked! The rest was just simple origami. 

#harry potter #howler #real life howler #harry potter birthday #origami #origami howler #ronald weasley #happy birthday #card craft #birthday card

[haylanmakesstuff]

Love It or Leave It, 2009

‘Love It or Leave It’ is an acrylic portrait on matte board from 2009 (I think). 

#love it or leave it #galactastica #haylan makes stuff #texas artist #portrait artist #pop art #vegan #love it #leave it #black and white art #black and white #acrylic art #acrylic paint #straight edge art #straight edge #throwback #throwback art

[haylanmakesstuff]

Jem and The Holograms film: Synergy

for three years and 5 days I spear headed a ridiculous project; a Jem and The Holograms fan film. I edited, directed, made music, designed costumes, did make up, made props, kinda sorta everything, along with the help of my amazing novice movie making coop, Homespun Horror, who all donated their time for free so graciously for this and all of our other projects. I’ll share props and pieces of this film and others over time. Today, let’s look at Synergy, a mastermind AI who makes Jem who she is.

Here is the original machine from the cartoon:

Here is a look of the no-secrets, flash on one I made for our movie. It’s probably the roughest prop we’ve ever used that wasn’t literally a can of Bean with Bacon Soup from the cabinet. It was just me and some old carboard boxes and a steak knife in the garage. 

Of course, it looked a lot better in its intended lighting of near total darkness, so she can light up.

Synergy was made pretty quickly from spray painted cardboard, an old keyboard, LED lights, scraps of whatever worked. It was placed in front of a TV that played the previously recorded footage of our actor.

This was the only crowd funded project we ever made, and even what we raised didn’t cover the costs of filming/completing the movie. We were on a super tight budget, as we always were, so we made do. But honestly, we’ve always made B-Movies gorilla style, and it was really part of what made it so fun.

I’ll be posting more stuff from this fan film over time. You can always check out the finished film and the bloopers on youtube: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RoBuU3uGsY&t=6s

#jem and the holograms #jem #80s cartoons #80's cartoons #hasbro #jem fan film #synergy #it's showtime #jem and the holograms fan film #live action jem #live action jem and the holograms #homespun horror #haylan makes stuff #AI

[haylanmakesstuff]

Old Tricks

This isn’t normal art, this is the art of trickery. A long time ago in high school, I decided to go to my senior portraits in disguise. Normally, I looked like a weirdo. No regrets! I’m still a weirdo. I looked like these two pictures throughout school:

I thought it would be really funny to disguise myself as someone else when I went into to take my senior yearbook photo (I had a shaved head at the time). The photographer was very suspicious of my wig and even rubbed the texture between her fingers when she “needed to adjust my collar”.

When the yearbook came out, I heard some jock bullies of mine talking about how they didn’t know the girl in the picture, but she was HOT. Jokes on you, losers! So many friends and teachers came up to me worried my picture had been mixed up and replaced with whoever this girl was. Just took a wig, fake boobs, contacts, make up I never wore - The drama! 

Ironically, a while later as an adult when I got laser surgery to get rid of my glasses, let my hair grow out dark, and grew boobs, I didn’t look unlike these disguised photos. Trick’s on me! 

#master of disguise #yearbook photo #yearbook picture #senior photo #senior picture #class of 2003 #trick or treat #tomfoolery #haylan makes stuff

[haylanmakesstuff]

Haylan Makes Adventure

I know this space is called Haylan Makes Stuff, but Stuff isn’t the only thing you can make; I’ve also made plenty of adventures and memories. I work as a seasonal park ranger, and go to as many sites as I can. Where available, I do two things; buy a sew-on patch, and complete the Junior Ranger program where it’s available. When you do, you get a free wood/plastic badge or patch, and that’s the only way you can get those items. 

To show off my badges and patches of both kinds, I sew them onto flags every January. Junior Ranger programs usually consist of a workbook to complete, sometimes an activity or ranger talk. 

When I work as a park ranger one of my favorite things to do is Junior Ranger for kids, and I’ve been lucky enough to create a full program for one Forest. I have a few of my earnings on a Junior Ranger vest, which is fun to wear during activities with the kids. 

Anyone can do Junior Ranger, no matter your age. On duty, my oldest Junior Ranger was 88, and the youngest was 11 months old. Some places have different books/badges available, like Senior Ranger for adults, or Junior Angler, Night Sky, etc. Screw Pokemon, I gotta collect all these. 

The hardest program goes to Bandelier; it took two adults to do it and we still struggled! Did you know about Junior Ranger? Do you have a favorite? Do you collect anything while you travel?

#national park service #NPS #US Forest Service #USFS #forest service #park ranger #junior ranger #patch collection #park patches #travel collection #make adventure #make memories #national parks #find your park

[haylanmakesstuff]

Craft Dump!

A selection of random crafts for your viewing pleasure!

Not all crafts have to take a lot of time; this was literally just electrical tape on a street sign and I adore it! Featuring a family of quails born in my back yard.

A painting used as a flyer for a drag show. I love doing rock art/poster art and wish it was something I got to do more often! 

This was a drawing I did of Tori Amos back in high school, maybe 2002? just pencil on paper. 

This was a Natalie Dee drawing I made come to life on my living room wall back in 2004. It says, “The day I can’t draw one dog riding another dog past the world trade center, the terrorists have won.” 

#tori amos #natalie dee #after dark #rock art #poster art #quails #hiker #backpacker #craft dump #arts and crafts

[haylanmakesstuff]

Golden Goddess Headdress

This is the first iteration of this Golden Goddess Headdress. This was inspired by Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones originally, and made for the Lady Gaga Artpop ball. 

This is made from scratch with a felt base, fake hair, and various golden bits, bobbles, flowers, etc. in 2015.

The make up here was inspired by Gaga’s GUY video, and the blue lips suggested by my fancy ketchup-mustard bird, GUY. 

The second iteration of this head dress for another event goes through a big change. Look for that post in the future!

I also created the finger jewelry and hand sewed the simple flesh dress.

#lady gaga #artpop ball #artpop #little monster #head dress #golden goddess #handmade #handmade head dress #sansa stark #game of thrones #sith sansa #sith sansa stark