Full Moons and Scare-Me-Crows!

Good Sunday To You All!
Hope your week was great! And the new one promises to be fantastic!

As you may know (or may not) Forrest was completed and listed on Etsy 8 days ago. In my exuberance to get him posted and inform everyone I inadvertently blew up some of my friends FaceBook pages. Opps. When I sent out the message that Forrest was done it grouped everyone together. Which means that every time someone responds to the post - and there were many responses, I thank you all for the positive comments - it posts to every one's page that was one the list. I do apologize to those of you who were inundated with comments. Next time I'll know better. :)
Speaking of Forrest, and Harley, in the ten days that my Etsy shop has been open for business I have had 125 views. I am very happy with the number of people who have stopped by and given me feedback on Forrest and Harley. It's GREAT!! I'm kind of curious about the 'numbers game' now. Of those of you who have Etsy shops, has any one noticed the amount of views before a sale is made? There is a direct correlation between views and sales. I was just curious if anyone has been tracking this number? Ok, be honest, how many of you just went and looked to see? I know you did! :)

Did anyone get to see the 'super moon' last night? I did, it was gorgeous. My camera takes excellent photos, of everything, except the moon. I can't seem to get one 'clear' shot of the surface. It makes me crazy(er). I've tried different settings, different angles, telephoto crops.....no friggin' luck! Oh well, at least I got to see the moon at it's closest pass to Earth....
I was taking pictures off my front porch. I'm sure my neighbor thought I was taking pictures of his house.....his porch & garage lights came on suddenly. :)

Super Moon 5-05-2012

I did mange to get some work done on my doublet. YAY! I had to take in over an inch on the side seams and another inch and a half on the back. I know it wasn't that big when I started this. Yesterday was the first time back to the gym in two weeks....I was amazed that I only gained 3 pounds. Anyway, the doublet is coming along well. I have until May 18th to be ready. That's the weekend we are going. I can't wait! I still have to get some trim for the doublet. I will have to go and look to see what I want. I tried on my Ren (poet) shirt that I got a couple years ago. It's huge. The sleeve seam is half way down my arm. Don't yet know what I'm going to do about that one.

back view - the front one was so blurry you

couldn't make out anything. i'll have to take

another one. and no, i will not be wearing

the shorts to the RenFest   :)

I got a bug-up-my-butt this past week too....I decided that my Scare-me-crows needed new hands. The one on my skeleton crow are made from canned expanding foam. They have turned an orange-y  color. They are bulky and I wasn't happy with them. So......I'm making new ones. So far they are freaking fantastic. I saw an article on making hands from rolled up newspaper and tape. Then they were paper mache'-ed. Then I added my own touch....Neoprene! They look great but I wish you could feel them. They feel like rubber gloves. And they are huge! They are approximately 22 inches from the bottom of the palm to the top of the bent fingers. They would probably be closer to 28 inches if the fingers were extended. I still have to 'white wash' them so they will match the skull. I have to give them a few more days before I do the white wash so the neoprene has a chance to fully dry and set. Then I have to do surgery and remove the old hands and then add the new ones. Can't wait! They're gonna look awesome!

cardboard, newspaper and masking tape

first pass of paper mache' - just newspaper

if you look in the background you will see the hands

that are being replaced. it's the orange blob in the

center towards the top of the photo

next pass paper mache' - brown 'wrapping' paper

this is the third pass of neoprene applied with a brush.

the first one was a thin coat and the following two were

heavier to thoroughly coat the paper mache'.

and yes, they are shinny and wet looking.

I do believe that is all for this installment. I will continue working on my doublet, hopefully it will be completed by next weekend. Hey - I can dream, can't I? :)  I will probably white was the scare-me-crow's hands this week sometime as well. My Wee Stuffies are sitting on the shelf whining and whimpering every time I walk past. I have assured them that they are next on my list. I had a great idea for my give away...unfortunately my corel draw/paint decided to crash and not save anything that I had been working on....time to start over. I'll keep you posted on that one.

til next time...

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!

TTFN

 





Ladies & Gentlemen...Drumroll Please!.....

FORREST IS COMPLETE!

Yippee, Yay! Hurray! (had to put it in bold....didn't think it was ever gonna happen. you too? wow, imagine that. LOL)

He's actually done! Photos and all. I feel...so...accomplished. :)

I'm only a week behind....not too terribly horrible. considering. So, I now have my Etsy shop open, Harley and Forrest listed. That feels good. Here's a shot of the two of them...

 

 

Forrest didn't get his liripipe. I did not like the way it looked. It made him look like 'granny'. But he had to have something to keep him warm. So we decided on a scarf made from 'eye lash' yarn. Orange, yellow, brown and black. Looks really good on him too. He's ready to make someone a life long friend! (Harley too!)

Today was kinda ruff....it is my daughter's 20th birthday. She was having a really hard time with it. But family and friends showed up and helped her through it. I'm really glad everyone came. Hopefully it sank in that she is surrounded by people that love her. Started out this morning with her dog (yes, she con-ed me into a dog) finding a tiny hole in the fence and taking off. We spent an hour (by 'we' i mean my wife, Connie, Amy, Barry and myself) looking for him. I didn't want to tell her. I finally found him about 8 houses down in someone's backyard. It worked out for the best and he's home again. I had to patch the hole in the fence. Hopefully he won't try to dig for another one......the hole was a quarter of his size. I have no idea how he squeezed through it. I made her a red velvet cake with double chocolate frosting. And sprinkles, of course! I made bar-b-q chicken and ribs, baked beans and corn on the cob. They were supposed to be grilled but my grill didn't want to cooperate. So I put them in the oven. Came out very tasty! 

Next up......I have to finish my doublet. I have two weeks left to get it completed. I swear it was only yesterday that I had two months. Wow, that went by fast. Have to sew the side seams and try it on for adjustments. Hopefully it will be minor ones. 

And then....on to the Wee Stuffies! Need to do some sculpting on them. I haven't decided how exactly I want to go about them yet. Plenty of ideas, just have to pick one. Or two. Wish me luck!

Back to Etsy......I really, really appreciate all the advice from everyone. I have been surprised at how many people have stopped to look at Harley. I would like to wish all a heart-felt Thank You!

A couple of really good friends have added me to their circles and 'favorite-ed' Harley. Thank You!! 

Susie & Summer....please explain 'circles' to me. It looks like it's the equivalent of 'friends' on FaceBook. Is that correct? I see your circles and your 'circlers' circles....wow, I'm getting dizzy. LOL. All my artist friends are inspiring my to move forward....I have no idea how you keep up with it all. Creating art, Etsy, Ebay, Blogger, FaceBook. I still swear y'all have three hands. :)

I guess that's all for now. Wow, that's really weird....I have only one pic posted. Doesn't seem right. Maybe it's just me...? Til next time....

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!

TTFN

this is post 109, members seem to be stalled again. Hhhhmmmmmm. :)

now that Forrest is done I'll have to work on the member thing. LOL

Hairy Forrest and little Black Bunnies!

Good Monday Evening All!
Hope the world has been treating you all well since the last time we spoke.....

Guess what I've been doing since we last chatted?......

one little corner of my backyard....seeded

Yep, tilling the backyard.....planting grass.....and spreading hay. OMG, lots and lots of hay! LOL!  It's taken much more time than I thought it would. But I'm hoping that I will get some grass out of all the work. I'm still not sure why, cause then I'm going to have to mow it. Yippee! The above picture is approximately 1/3 of what I've done. I still have another area (the far end in the pic) to do and then I can start on the side and front. Lots of work. When I got done for the day it looked like I had been working in the mines....I was covered head to toe in dirt. It's been dry so the tiller kicks up A LOT of dirt.  :)

Let's see, what else?.........Oh Yeah....
FORREST HAS HAIR!
I was beginning to wonder if this day was ever going to happen...as I'm sure you were too. LOL! He looks pretty damn good! It's the same black semi-curly hair that is around his hooves. He looks like he has a 'fro'.......nothing racist, I grew up in the 70's and that's what they were called! Isn't that ridiculous that I think I have to clarify that? What has the world come to? Anyway, Forrest is now waiting for his liripipe to be completed. It's fitted, I simply have to sew it around his huge hair. :) Wanna see???

ain't he cute? :)

side view....i should have given him some 'chops' - HA!

Forrest and his liripipe.....the last piece of the puzzle!

In the midst of the yard work and Forrest I managed to squeeze in two more projects. Both of which were for my daughter.....really crappy news this week. I was trying to make her feel better. I hope it helped a little. I made her some paper roses. I was going to make a hair bow from them but couldn't get it to work the way I wanted to....so, she just got paper roses. They made her smile for a bit. And then, I gave her 'The Bunny'!  She seemed to really like him a lot. I hope it brings her a little comfort. At the very least I hope it reminds her of how much I love her. :)  The bunny was a recycle or an up-cycle or whatever it is they are calling it this month. I cut him from an old shirt. I had two 'thermal' shirts, one black, one dark purple. They were starting to fall apart - I guess 4 or 5 years of wear will do that. Just some little holes. I had put them aside in hopes of using them for something (other than rags). It worked out rather well. The material is stretchy and was perfect for the bunny!

paper roses! I printed a color design on one side and

a b&w on the other.

cut and waiting for the sewing machine

stuffed! too many carrots!  :)

button eyes, pink nose and a lil' heart!

fuzzy pic, but i wanted you to see his lil' white tail

I've squeezed some time in for my doublet as well. Man, I don't know how you all make 10 / 15 / 20 or more dolls at a time. It's exhausting! Maybe I'm not focused enough? Or maybe some of my craft / artist friends have more than two hands - LOL!! Anyway, as you can see I am easily side tracked, comes with age I guess. I have gotten the material cut and placed on the manikin. I hope to work on it more this coming weekend after I get Forrest and Harley listed on Etsy.

not much to look at right now...but here it is

Speaking of Etsy....I've been doing some research on the 'hows and whys'. Wow, there's a lot to read over. Got my work cut out for me in the next couple of days. Have to have it set up by Wednesday or Thursday!

Have too! I see that you can use their 'payment' or you can use something like PayPal. I have a paypal account. Anyone out there using Etsy please give me some insight on how you manage your account. Which option do you use? And why? I really appreciate the help and input I've gotten from everyone!!

What else? Hhhhmmmmm.....

the Wee Stuffies have been temporarily set aside so that Forrest could be focused on. However, the ideas are still flowing for the Wee's. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze some time in for their sculpting this weekend too. Wow, I've got a lot of time to squeeze in! Positive thoughts! The little engine that could has made it to the front of my brain. :)

The 'sneak peek' from the last post is sitting and waiting along side of the Wee Stuffies.

I guess that's all for now. I'm sure I've forgotten something....as soon as I hit 'post' I'll remember it. LOL

I see I have another member. YAY!

Hi Pamela! I didn't see a blog. :( 

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!

TTFN

p.s. - that brings me too 30 members and 107 posts. Getting closer!  :)







Full Moons and Horror Stories

Good Friday Evening To You!
Hope everyone has been well, been productive and been..well.....Fabulous!
I can't believe it's been three weeks (well, almost) since I posted last. My how time flies! Ssshhhoooowwsss....and it's gone. I feel like that little pig on the geico commercials. WWWWEEEEEEEEEEE! LOL!

Do you know what tonight is? It's a Full Moon! But we'll get to that in a minute...or two. :)

You know my head was full of things to write....until I sat down in front of the computer. Now it's all jumbled up and squished together.....

I guess we'll start with the doctor's visit. I was just about out of my blood pressure medication. Which I've had to start up again. Not sure why - stress? nah, that couldn't be it. It was only a half a pill, so it wasn't too bad. Anyway, I went to the doctor and of course my blood pressure was up. I don't like going to the doctor, so he kind of takes that into account when he sees my readings. When I went the last time he told me to keep track of my blood pressure and my sodium and my weight. So I did. I had it all written down so he could see the last six months worth of readings. He looked at my 'book' and simply said 'holy shit'. I guess people don't do what he asks them to very often. He looked over everything and said that it all looked good. He then said 'I guess you don't need me'. So I was very happy....which is a really weird feeling when leaving the doctor's office. He wrote me a prescription for a years worth of blood pressure medication. And said to continue to monitor it. And that I didn't need to come back unless there was a problem........that I would obviously notice, with all my notes. YAY!

This past week, my wife and daughter (with my daughter's friend and our neighbor) went to Florida for a vacation. No, I didn't get to go, I had to work. Somebody has to pay the bills. They had a great time on their 'girls vacation'. It was only four days but they crammed a lot into it. They spent time on the beach (my wife is really, really tan) ate out, partied, went dolphin watching (and saw lots of them) and my daughter and her friend went parasailing. They took video while they were up in the air and saw a mantaray. He was pretty big too! My daughter said 'Dad, you should go!'  To which I replied 'yeah, sure....I'm afraid of heights and I can't swim...that would be a wonderful experience'. They were 500 feet up and over the ocean. I don't think so. LOL

 

Shark Attack!

 During the time they were in Florida, I was really bad. I had pizza - twice and ate tortilla chips and nacho cheese and didn't go to the gym once. AND believe it or not I managed somehow to lose a whole pound. I was really shocked. I figured I would have gained weight. A couple weeks ago I got some new shorts (seeing as how my old are huge now). They're still a 36 but they are loose. :)

not too shabby for an old man. LOL!

I've been working on Forrest...I am in the process of gluing his hair in place. It's taking longer than I thought it would. I have been doing sections at a time and allowing them to dry so that I can get it 'tight'. I've also made him a liripipe (a medieval hoodie). But he wanted (badly) hair. So now he's getting his hair and I think I'm going to use the liripipe too. 

The Wee Stuffies are all put together - well, their bodies anyway. I will begin their faces shortly. Or at least that's the plan at the present moment.

I've been working on a couple of other 'surprises' as well. Those will just have to wait until I get a little further along. 

I was going to post a bunch of pictures of the progress of all these things but I think I will just give you a shot of my 'god awful messy work area'. What do you think? A couple of photos or a whole slew of 'in process' shots? Let me know which you would prefer.....

If you look close you can see Forrest, the Wee Stuffies and the newest projects in the first photo...

 

my messy, messy work table. I won't show you the

other half....it looks like a bomb went off...plaster, clay,

paint, neoprene. what a mess!  :)

 

*sneek peek*

 

this is the material for the doll on the left in the first photo.

I absolutely love the way this material looks (changes color)

and feels (silky) but OMG what a nightmare to sew!

Now on to the Full Moon....I had told myself that I wanted to have my Etsy shop set up with Forrest and Harley by the full moon. Man, I almost blew that one. I had my thoughts backwards....the full moon is a time when you cast out the negative. To get away from the 'bad'. To remove obstacles and clear a path. It would have been a bad time to start a new venture. The new moon is when you focus on the positive. On things that you want to accomplish. A 'new start' if you will. So, I am setting my goals on the 21st when the new moon rises and gives me an added push for my 'new start'! I hope you will all be there for the opening of my Etsy store! Wish me luck and send me some good vibes! Lord knows I could use them. :)

Guess what I saw the other day? 

 

looking forward to season 2!

 Let's see...what else...

The RenFest opens next weekend.....guess what isn't done. Give up? My doublet. But we aren't going until May 19/20th. That's the new 'fantasy weekend'. They have themed weekends....Highland Fling, Pirates and a Pet's weekend too. The Fantasy Weekend was added this year. We thought we'd give it a try as we've been to some of the others. It will be interesting to see if the costumes are 'more out-there' on this weekend. So, I have a short time to get my doublet finished. Six weeks....just have to stay focused on it and it should be fine. I will keep you posted on this en devour. I have the material and the half the pattern, just have to put them together now. I guess first I have to clean up my work area and make some room to spread this stuff out on. I found a shirt that I really like but I'm not sure it will go with a doublet. It's more of a stand alone design. It ties with a rope (where the buttons would be) and has rope on the seams of the arms that allow you to tie it to fit. Got to decide this weekend....so I can get it ordered if I want it. Just not 100% sure. 

My son and his family will be over on Sunday for Easter. Haven't got to see him in a while...it will be nice. Not a clue what I'm going to cook. Not sure if I want to cook ham or not. Yet one more thing to decide on. However, yams do sound good...hhhmmmmmm. :)

 

my son and my grand daughter....think

she loves her daddy much?  :)

Throw in working all the time (issues, issues, issues), trying to squeeze time in for the gym and dealing with the day to day stuff and all the projects - home, car and crafts - and you can see how three weeks went by in a flash. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

I guess that's all for now.....I will try very hard to keep you updated on the progress of Forrest, the Wee Stuffies and the newest ones before I open my Etsy store. So until then......

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!

TTFN

p.s. - seems I've stalled out at 29......then again maybe not. :)

 

 

Seeing Green!

HAPPY DAY AFTER ST. PATRICK'S DAY! 

Good Morning Everyone. Hope your week was great and that your weekend was even better!

Been fairly busy this past week......

Forrest is almost (tired of hearing that yet? I am) complete. All that's left for him now is the hair on his head. YAY! He's looking damn good! :) His face has been painted and sealed and epoxied to his noggin. I must say that I am THRILLED with how he is coming along.
Ok, let's see now....
I did a flat, all over color of Lemon Lime. Then I dry brushed Chromium Oxide Green. Then I dry brushed Metallic Aquamarine. From there I 'splattered' (old school - used a toothbrush) a mixture of Titan Buff and Taupe (little brown spots). And for the finale, I 'splattered' Halo Blue-Gold. I then did two coats of matte Mod Podge to seal it. He looks extremely forest-y! LOL! You can see his progression in the following photos....

 

Forrest's skin tone colors

 

Lemon Lime base coat

 

dry brushed Chromium Oxide Green

 

dry brushed Metallic Aquamarine

 

'splattered' mixture of Titan Buff and Taupe (hard to see)

and 'splattered' Halo Blue-Gold

 

Forrest - waiting on his hair   :)

 

 I have picked out the materials for the newest project (the giveaway). I'm doing "Wee Stuffies". I will be adding them to my Etsy (as soon as I get it going) along with Harley and Forrest. I have gotten some of the bodies for the Wee Folk done. They are looking really cute. :) I want to finish the bodies and then I will begin working on their heads. Not quite sure of how I want to accomplish the heads yet.....have a few ideas running thru my head. Lots of collisions and mash ups there. LOL! Want a peek? Awww, come on now, you know you do! :)

 

this one.....

 

and this one were the first two I put together

 

I liked them so much I pulled more material to make more

 

headless Wee Stuffies! Oh, the carnage of it all! LOL!

We had dinner with the neighbors yesterday. It was nice. Amy made stew and pulled pork, beans and chips. And bread - THAT FREAKIN' BREAD! It is so good! She brought it out all warm and toasty. They even broke out the real butter to slather on top. I ate far too much again!  This was a welcome dinner for her brother, Albert and his girlfriend, Janet. They drove in from Pennsylvania. We hung out and enjoyed the wonderful weather. A fire was made and then Sally and Amy decided to play 'quarters'. Which quickly evolved into 'pong'. I had a few Sprite and Strawberry Schnapps. Yummy! It's nice being able to enjoy ourselves and not having to worry about driving anywhere. :) My daughter and her friend even hung out for a while. Connie B came too. It was a really nice evening. 

I was reading this past week that people prefer reading black on white. So, I change the blog to be black letters on a white background. This was not easy. Being that I am a visual artist it was a hard decision to change the look of my blog. Since the beginning of my blog I have used a black background as part of 'the look' of my blog. I liked the aesthetics of the flow......but I didn't want everyone to not be able to read my posts...so, there you have it. What do think of the new white window? Does it make it easier to read? Let me know if it helped or not. 

I'm also thinking of doing a daily post (on a certain day) of a specific topic. Kind of breaking things up a little. Like doing updates of Forrest on Tuesdays or the Wee Stuffies on Saturdays. Something along those lines. Let me know what you think about this idea or if you think I should just continue to post everything in one lump sum like I've been doing. 

I am currently thinking about 'the rules' for the next giveaway. Since the last one didn't go quite the way I had it in my head. I will post them shortly so that everyone can get involved. Keep your eye out - wouldn't want anyone to miss it!  :)

I see we have a new member too! 

Hello and Welcome to Veronika! You can see her creations here. She has some really cool critters! 

Well, my friends, I do believe that's all the news that fits. Time to make a grocery list and go shopping. yippee. Can you tell how excited I am to go grocery shopping? BLAH!

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!

TTFN

p.s. - 29 members and 105 posts. The momentum is building!

 

 

 

 

I Feel So.......

Accomplished!
Well, kinda, sorta, maybe. Almost.
Nah, it's been a good weekend!
I hope yours has been good too!

Worked in the yard. Got the fence completed! Yay! Yippee! Hurray!
Looks pretty damn good too! Put up pickets to go with the arbor that I had built. Added a 4x6 post in the middle for the bird feeder. I am really happy with the way it turned out. Got the brick in place across the front...to keep the rain from washing away the dirt underneath. I can let my 'buppies' out without them leaving the yard or all the neighborhood dogs coming into my yard. It's really nice! The only thing that is left to do is..... power wash it and seal it. That will be done when the porch gets done. It will all match. I just have to wait for it to get warm and stay warm. Finished it not a minute too soon....it's supposed to rain tomorrow. So it will now be full of all that wonderful red Georgia clay. I'm excited....yeah, right.

 

gotta pressure wash and seal it and hopefully get some grass to grow

I worked on Forrest too! I am really excited about how he's looking. I got his eyes and horns painted. And I must say they look great! For his eyes I used Primary Yellow, Chromium Oxide Green, Yellow Ochre and Halo Blue-Gold. Little lines over a base of black. Then for the pupil I used Copper Beads in a Bottle. It's a paint that beads up and 'domes' over. For his horns I used Titan Buff and then dry brushed Taupe over it. I painted #2's horns while I was waiting for #1's to dry. I used Titan Buff and then dry brushed Yellow Ochre and Taupe over the top. Then I sealed his eyes and horns with two coats of gloss varnish. Now I have to decide the color scheme for his face. I think I'm going to stay with the greens. Maybe some browns....a few blues and yellows I think. Gotta stay in the Forest Faun theme. Anyway, here's some photos so you can see for yourselves.....

 

first coats of gesso...white and black (still wet)

 

eye colors - Primary Yellow, Chromium Oxide Green, Yellow Ochre and Halo Blue-Gold

 

the two of them together...you can see both of their horns

 

a close up of Forrest's eyes. you can see the 'bead' and the gloss 

This afternoon my neighbors brought me trees! There are two out front. And then I planted three more on the side. For the life of me I can't remember what kind they are. They're just little bitty things right now. But they will look nice when the grow. Too bad that doesn't happen faster. LOL! I have some pretty damn good neighbors.

And....I got my plants repotted today too! They needed larger pots. They are doing so well and growing so fast. My Mom would be proud of me. I haven't manged to kill them off. My Mom didn't have a green thumb... she was just green. She could walk into a room and all the plants would perk up. Don't laugh, it's true. The women in our neighborhood used to bring their dying plants to my mother and she would bring them back a week later looking better than they ever did. My Mom was the woman who passed out clippings to everyone that visited the house. You'd never know she had cut any of her plants. The house always looked like a terrarium. I miss her an awful lot. Here's a photo of the bay window with the birdhouse terrarium and the newly potted plants....

 

the two big ones on the floor were in the pots above them...a little cramped

 I didn't get anything done on my doublet this weekend. I did manage to get some more muslin while I was out. So I guess that counts for something. :) I also picked up the material I'm going to use for Forrest #2. Ssshhhh.....it's a secret. I have some plans for him! I think I may pour one more of each....white and black. Then I will destroy the mold (sniff, sniff. boo-boo lip). I am certain that the two I have will make it to Etsy. But I want them to be OOAKS. Wish me luck! Harley is sitting in the corner starring at me now......I think he's ready for Etsy. I just have to sit down (find the time) and create an account and get everything set up. By the way, thank you to those of you who helped me decide between Etsy and Ebay. 

I do believe that's everything for now. 

Have a fantastic week! Hope it's creative!

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!

TTFN

p.s. - 28 members (nobody new this time. bummer!) and 104 posts. It's creeping along. :)

 

 

 

Mid week crisis....or not.

Good Evening All!

Hope you are having a pleasant week......
Now that 'Humpday' is here (and just about gone) it can only get better. Right? I hope so! The last couple of days have been truly trying days. My resolve, my sleep pattern and my patience have all been tested. I am hoping that tomorrow will prove to be a better day, since I don't think that any of the previous can stand much more. :) Whew! That was a help. Letting it out seems to have helped some what. Thanks for listening! LOL!

Well, I was going to wait until this coming weekend for an update but I think I will share now....
Even though there's not a whole lot to share. I've managed to get a little work done on Forrest and started on the doublet (manikin) in between working on the fence. I've had to put in two posts (4 x4's) with cement and am working on the third one now. Need more materials but have been at work late due to issues with our new phone system. Came home in the dark tonight....no outside work today. Blah!

I've gotten Forrest poured and pulled. Two versions. One white (cream) and one black. I have worked on cleaning them up, best I can with scissors and x-acto knives. In the process of moving from the garage to the basement room I have managed to misplace the utility box with all the attachments to my dremel. I am so irritated with myself right now.  I haven't been able to clean up all the fine lines and the edges on Forrest and it is driving me crazy! I did a 'test fit' and it's quite amusing. :) On to the photos....

 

the two sides of Forrest....i have plans for both of them

 

test fit of the black head....not too shabby!

 

then i slapped some fur on his head, just to get an 

idea.....LOL!!! he looks like a lil' ol' balding man.

he made me giggle!

I have been asked what I am planning for my manikin.....even been told I should sell it as 'art'. Hhhhhmmm.

But that was not the purpose for this poor thing. However, I will have to say that it is working out wonderfully for it's intended purpose.......I started to lay out the pattern for my doublet earlier this week as well......and after getting the front quarter panel done realized that I was out of muslin. Not a good thing. So now I have to make a trip to the fabric store (as well as the home improvement store). This is as far as I have managed to get with the doublet....

 

my manikin supporting the front quarter panel of 

my doublet. April is racing towards me at blinding speed

My daughter came home from California this past Friday. What a freaking day that was.....

As we were getting ready to go to the airport to pick her up (her flight was three hours late) we had storms hit that produced tornadoes.  So I went to the airport by myself while my wife drove into the storm to get our daughter-in-law and grandchildren. Half way to the airport my daughter texted me to say they were still sitting on the runway. I was overjoyed. yippee. Got to the airport and waited for about an hour for her plane to get in. Then had to wait almost another hour for them to finally get her luggage up the conveyor. Four planes, all late, on one carousel. What a mess! I had to take the truck (since my wife had the car) to pick her up. No sooner did we get on the highway then it started raining. With her luggage in the back of the truck. Again...yippee. Finally got home just after midnight. I was so glad to be home. All things considered it could have been a lot worse....glad it wasn't and that everyone was safe. Found out the following morning that the tornado had hit less then 10 minutes up the road from my son's house. On top of that they spotted one from the grocery store that he was working at. Again, I am glad that no one got hurt. Needless to say, it was a long night. 

Well, I guess that's all the updates.....Forrest, manikin and fowl weather. Hopefully the remainder of the week will be not so dramatic. :)

Seems I have a new member as well this week....

Welcome to Siwari. You can visit her blog here. She has really adorable animals! I am glad you stopped by!

Til next time....

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!

TTFN

p.s. that's 103 for the posts and 28 members. Closer and closer. :)

 

 

Thursday ramblings....

Hello All!
Hope you are having a great week! It's been a really weird one this week.....

I got Forrest de-molded. And for the most part the mold came out well. Won't know for sure until I pour the neoprene. The outside of the mold cracked in one spot. Fortunately it doesn't affect the face. The crack is on the outer rim. :(   Not as bad as it could have been. I'm really getting impatient.....I don't have my neoprene yet. I do have a small amount of latex though...I may do a test run. Just to make sure that it 'grabbed' all the details.
I'm not positive I have enough for the mold though. I'll have to go and investigate further. :)

looking down into the mold. see the big crack in the upper right corner?

this is whats left of Forrest's sculpt and pieces of plaster. 

what a mess!

Tuesday night's full moon was accompanied by something I haven't heard in the 10 years I've lived in my house....an OWL! I was letting out the dogs and I heard a 'noise'. At first I thought it was one of the neighborhood dogs (I was glad it wasn't, because I thought they may have been hurt). But then he hooted again. I searched the woods behind my house to no avail....then he hooted again. That was when I realized that the moon was full. What a wonderful night for an owl. Owls are at the top of my favorite list. They are simply 'Royal'. They're beautiful, intelligent, graceful and one of the best hunters on the planet. When I was a kid I always wanted a barn owl to take roost in our barn. But it never happened. I checked all the time but they must not have liked our barn. Either that or our cats got to all the mice before they did. :)

And then yesterday while I was continuing to work on the fence, I heard something I haven't heard in a while...a woodpecker. He was loud too! A couple of years ago we had a really large one. He was about 2 feet tall. Absolutely beautiful bird. And then he just stopped showing up. I heard the bang, bang, bang again today and went looking for him. He's a tiny little thing for all the noise he was making. He couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 inches tall. I think he must be a 'baby'. I love my woods! 

I came across a post where they were talking about Johnny Depp's new movie. What? New movie? Really? How did I not hear about this? He's doing a version of Dark Shadows. He plays the vampire. The makeup is fabulous (like I'd expect anything less). Of course this is a Burton collaboration. There is no trailer yet. I think it's going to be released in May. So we should start seeing something soon. :) 

Johnny the vampire

And I came across the trailer for Paranorman. This looks cute. It's from Laika. It's supposed to be out soon too. It's from the makers of Coraline. It's an animated film but the premise looks good. Maybe I'll take the grandkids to see it. Hhhhmmmmm. You never know, stranger things have happened. LOL!

from the makers of Coraline

Not a bad week so far, right? Wrong! Wednesday morning I realized that I forgot to make my chicken salad to take for lunch (all the sodium ya-ya). So, being very bad, very bad, I went to McDonald's for lunch. That doesn't sound too terrible, does it? When I got done eating and pulled back into the parking lot my boss called me and said 'Can I talk you into going to get me something to eat?" - he was on a service call with an outside tech. I said 'sure - what do you want?' Guess where I made another trip to......yep, McDonald's. Again, that doesn't sound too bad. Well, on the way back to McDonald's, I managed to run over something in the road. I think it was a piece of metal pipe. The tire caught it and threw it into the wheel well. Made an awful noise. And I freaked out about it. But it seemed to not have done anything. So, back through the drive-thru and headed back to work. Half way back my little yellow light comes on saying 'low tire pressure'. Then I noticed that my truck was kinda leaning towards the left. Pulled into my parking space and got out.......it was half way flat. And I could clearly hear the air escaping the tire. DAMN!! About an hour later my boss comes to me and says 'you gonna change that?' The whole time I wasn't even sure there was a spare up under the truck. But there was! So I proceeded to change the tire. Yeah, right. Had a hell of a time getting the spare down. It was tucked waaaayyyyy up underneath. Got the lugs busted loose and started jacking up the truck....the jack didn't take the truck up high enough. Really? Are you kidding me? Off to the maintenance department to get the big jack. Then realized that there wasn't enough room to put both jacks on the little 'jack bumper thing'. I had to cram the spare up underneath and take the small jack down. Finally got the tire changed.

Then I left for the tire place.....a couple miles up the road some clown in a van pulled out in front of me, he was less than a car length away from me when he gunned it. Which really just infuriated me, then whatever he had on his roof came off and straight into the front of my truck. Really? Why me? Fortunately it was empty cardboard boxes. If there had been a policeman around they would have hauled me off for road rage. I was fit to be tied! Then when I got to the tire place they were swamped....couldn't do it today. Of course not, whThy would I expect anything else. So I left the tire to be repaired. I picked it up today and was promptly told that it would be 2-3 hours before they could put it on for me. Ummmmmm, no thanks, just give it to me. I will do it myself. Whew! Came home to change the tire....that's when I heard the woodpecker. Funny how a little bird can change your whole outlook on the day. :)

I did get a pleasant surprise today though. A couple of days ago I left a response to a post. It was for an article written about a well known doll artist. To my wonderful surprise she responded and told me that she liked my blog and would have to make time to read more of it. I was blown away. Then a short time later I was checking my facebook page and she had found me and requested that we be friends. I was overwhelmed that she would do that. :) Who is it? None other than Marlaine Verhelst. If you don't know who this is I encourage you to go and see her dolls. Here's the link to her blog. I have always loved her work. I think you will to (if you don't already). Well don't just sit there...go look! LOL!

I have just realized that I have two more new followers! YAY! It would seem that I am some how gathering steam! LOL!

Welcome to Nina, you can see her blog here. Her dolls are just too cute!

And welcome to Louisa at Needful Friends. Some wonderful bears! 

Thank you both for being part of my little corner of the world! 

I really appreciate all the people who pop in to visit. I just have to figure out how to server coffee or tea through the computer now.....hahaha. It's like having people stop by for a visit at the kitchen table. :)

I guess that's all for now. I will look and see if I have enough latex to do a test on Forrest. I'm sure I'll 'see' you all before the weekend is out. Until then...

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!

TTFN

Full Plate!

Hi All!
Hope you are having a fantastic weekend! Been busy, busy, busy. Only gonna be more so in the next couple months. :)  Can't wait!

Let's see....hhhhmmmmmm.....
Work was hectic this past week (and the week before). We switched over from regular phones to VoIP. That's voice over IP. They're all network phones now. So I've been running around prepping things and then testing and checking. And testing and checking. And testing and checking. PHEW! Fortunately, it seems we have most of the issues worked out. Now it's just a matter of getting the users used to the phones. You would think that the phones came from Mars the way some people act. I mean, the are just phones. They work the same way. They just connect differently. I figure by the time we get everyone set with them...they'll change something else. HA!

Went to see the tax lady this weekend. WOW! I was expecting her to be busy, she always is, but there was already people in the parking lot when we got there. I was there at 7:30. She doesn't open til 9. There was at least a half a dozen cars there and people pulling in right behind us. By the time she got there I would say there was a good 30 people waiting for her. BUT, she's really good at what she does. Been going to her for four years now and she never ceases to amaze me. :)  So that's one chore down. YAY!!

Got my new glasses on Saturday too. Man do I feel old. My last pair were 'progressives'. That three different lenses crammed into a pair of glasses. This time I opted to not get the distance since it's so small I really don't need it. So the tech talked me into getting split line bifocals. Talk about getting used to it. It's gonna take a while. The line in the middle is still making me crazy. I know....it's only been a day. What can I say? I'm impatient. I am getting used to it though. I'm starting to 'look' where I need to in order to see. My new ones are for mid-range (computer work) and close up. It is nice to be able to clearly see things again. :)

And then, Hobby Lobby called me. My manikin heads came in. Yippee!! I went to pick some up at the store but the ones they had looked like someone played hockey with them. Big chunks missing, no noses, the sides caved in....they were bad. So they ordered me two and promised me they wouldn't look like the ones on the shelves. And they didn't!
What do I need manikin heads for? Masks of course. I think I'm going to sculpt my mask for DragonCon. I think it's going to be a half mask...just above the lower lip. Horns and all. Along the lines of a masquerade mask. And I believe I'm opting for the 'Marquee' dress. Big cuffs, lots of ruffles, obnoxious colors, etc.....

two heads are better than one. soon to be covered in clay

I've been working on Forrest as well. He's is progressing nicely! I got all his sculpting done. Finished that up on Friday night. And tonight, after working in the yard - getting things ready to finish my fence, I did his mold. Wow did I forget how much of a mess I make with potter's plaster. No, you don't understand....I make a MESS! Good thing I had a slab of wood on my table. I got plaster everywhere....on the floor, on the chair, all over the table. It's going to take me another day just to clean it up. I am waiting for it to completely set...right now....while I'm writing this! I'm excited...and nervous! It's not the first time I've done a mold but I'm always scared something will happen. Bubbles, scratches, who knows what else. I've got another 15 minutes or so before it's ready to be de-molded. Keep your fingers crossed! In the mean time, here's some photos to bring you up to date....

Forrest getting some 'texture'

eyeballs, horns and all. ready for the mold process

i used more clay for the mold walls then for Forrest

plaster of choice. No. 1 Pottery Plaster

looks like a cake i made when i was 8.  LOL!!

Well, I guess that's all for now....about to go release Forrest from his mold. Wish me luck!

I see I have another follower! YAY!! 

Hi LuLu! Welcome to my blog!! Glad you could stop by. :)

Go check out LuLu's blog....good stuff! LuLu's Apple Sauce.

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!

TTFN