Holiday Cheer!

Good Morning
and
HAPPY NEW YEAR to each and everyone of you!

Seems I've been absent (yet again).
No excuses...just re-evaluating and lack of time.
Yes, I know - LAME. But it's the only answer I have.
and now that I've checked the stats on my blog...I feel really neglectful. Seems I am getting well over 300 views a day. Wow! That's humbling. :)

I do believe I will start where I left off - Halloween!
Nothing major, just a catch up of sorts....
It was cold and wet on Halloween night. It rained, then stopped, then rained, then stopped...this went on for about an hour and a half. All in all, we had about 55 kids come by. It was a low number but not terrible when the weather was taken into account.

it was so cold that the lens on my phone

was foggy...gave a really cool effect though

and a shot of the table set up...bbrrrrr!

Thanksgiving was a wash this year. It was quiet, just Sally and me. Which was fine - means I didn't have to cook. :)

Amy (our friend and neighbor) brought me a poinsettia. Wonderful little plant! Nice, vibrant red - all holiday cheery! And Amy also re-potted a couple of my plants for me. She was doing some for herself - and working on her business - and remembered that I had one that was living in a coffee can. Nothing terrible, the plant loved the water and was doing great. It just bothered some people that I never took it out of the coffee can. What can I say, my mother had plants in everything...glasses, cups, jars. It was never a second thought to me. Anyway, Thanks Amy, I appreciate the effort!

ain't it pretty?

the center right is the 'coffee can' plant.

Amy also gave me a new plant, the center left

Christmas was...full. 

LOL. 

The kids and grand kids were all at the house. Lots of gifts to open. Everyone was happy (no grumpy gus' this year). I am really glad that everyone got to come. I'm glad my kids live here and that I can see them regularly! I know a lot of people don't have that - kids out of state and all - I can only imagine how hard that must be. So, to my children - I Love You! We got together with family (Dennis and Shirley) and with friends (Amy, Barry and Al). It was a great holiday. Thank you all for being in my little world. And for all of you that I didn't get to see - know that you are in my thoughts!

Ok, enough of the mushy/gooey....

Christmas lights...not a lot this year

but festive and bright!

the tree (you can kind of see it behind all the presents)

and this was a good week before Christmas - there was

more added before the 25th

the mess that was...

full to the brim...

Roxxy's new toy...

and Pixie's too

And we learned that my daughter, Jenifer, is working on another grandchild!

This will bring the grand total to six! Her second. 

I'm going to be broke for the rest of my life! LOL!!

But lots of love - and that's all that matters!

Well, I believe that will do it for this post. Yes, I know, I didn't post any artwork or projects. That will have to wait for another post - wouldn't want any of you nodding off. ;)

To all my family and friends, be you close or far, may the new year bring you joy, peace and love!

til next time...

Be Good, Be Happy, Be Safe!

TTFN

Black Panties And The Emergency Room - 2014

Happy 2014 To You!!
I hope you all had a splendid new year's celebration!
We spent the evening with our neighbors. Had a bonfire, that Barry kept stoked very well. Would have never known it was in the 30's...until you walked away from the fire. :)
We had a great evening, Barry grilled and we had a few (wink, wink) drinks.
Got home and in bed around 1am. And...at 4am my phone rang.
My youngest grandson, Preston, had a fever of 104.7. So off to the emergency room I went. We spent four hours at the ER and it turned out to be a virus. After x-rays and drawing blood, which he was not happy about (and screamed like it was the end of the world), they gave him some medication and sent us home after his fever came down.
It would appear that 2014 will be filled with the 'never a dull moment' as the previous years have.
But, my kids and grand kids come first. That will never change.
I thought they said that as you got older things slowed down. Yeah, ok. Mine seems to be picking up speed. HA!

Now that the holidays have passed, I guess it's safe to show you what we were working on. Lots of handmade stuff for friends and family. There were glass ornaments, quilted ornaments and an array of other things. So, onward with the photos...

some of the quilted ornaments...

these take over an hour each to make

i just realized that i have not one photo of these 

completed...aaarrrggghhh!

glass initial ornaments, set one

and set 2

glass glitter balls

the glitter is on the inside 

no mess, at least that was the

lie that was being told

made with floor polish

a few of the first glitter balls that 

we made...

snowmen

socks and rice

with handmade hats and scarfs

hard lotion for soft skin

bath teas

relaxation in a bag

and i made scarfs to keep everyone warm...

good thing, the high today is supposed to be 37  :)

Remember the 'tease' from a few posts back? (link) It was a gift for our daughter-in-law. My wife and Amanda had been out to the 'junk shops' and came across a set of manikin legs. For what ever reason, my daughter-in-law just had to have them. Sally came home and told me about them and then we decided to make a table out of them. After going back and picking them up things got really fun (not). Let me say that walking into Victoria's Secret and asking a room full of women for black panties and lace tights will get you some really odd looks. I'm still not convinced that they don't think they were for me. HAHA. Sally and our neighbor Amy painted the legs and got them ready for me. Aren't I lucky? Of course, nothing went as planned. Am I surprised? Not in the slightest. After many attempts and a lot of adhesives, I finally got some epoxy that grabbed the material that the legs were made out of. I did a round bottom (chair blanks) and did a double top. The manikin has multicolored leopard tights and black panties with pink bows. The skirt is made from black lace. Amanda seemed to be really pleased with it, so all the work was worth the effort. Oh, did I tell you that I got it finished the night before? Yep, last minute, that appears to be when my best work comes out. 

trying on the tights and panties

on our way...

waiting for the epoxy to dry

the finished piece

and this is what the tree looked like 

this year. lots and lots and lots

of stuff

think they're spoiled? NAH, not at all

In a previous post (link) I showed you the brooch I was working on. I did the sculpt and made the mold with Dragon Skin. I did a test pour with Ice Resin and was really happy with the outcome. Well, after getting all the Christmas projects completed I went back to work on the brooch. I used Smooth Cast 300 (white) and Smooth Cast Onyx to pour the molds. All of the pieces came out great - very little clean up. The first pour I attempted to paint the mold with a silver acrylic. It looked horrible. I absolutely hated it. Fortunately I was able to fix it with several layers of paint. Hopefully my friends will be happy with the finished piece (which is not the silver one). I poured two white ones and a black one. The black one is the piece that I created for my friends wedding. I was trying for a 'pewter' look. I think I achieved what I was after. Only time will tell. 

the painted mold and Smooth Cast 300

the Smooth Cast setting up...

this is so cool to watch this solidify

pulled from the mold

HATE this!

Smooth Cast Onyx

the mold setting up...

the SC300 set up in 30 minutes...

the Onyx had to be left overnight,

took forever for this to not be 

'rubbery'

the finished pull...24 hours later

the three pulls...

the squares above them are the 'waste'

I quickly learned how much the mold

would hold...this stuff ain't cheap!

the pieces painted and adorned

the top one is the wedding gift

it's sitting on popsicle sticks due to

the clasp on the back.

I use iridescent copper and silver 

on the other two which do not have

any beads as of yet.

I finished the custom portrait on the 23rd. And of course the client was out of town until late on the 24th. So we made arrangements to meet on the 26th. He seemed pleased with the outcome. I have not heard a response from him yet. I am hoping that his wife was thrilled with the portrait. I will wait until I hear from him before I post a finished picture, just in case she hasn't seen it yet. 

I have decided that since everyone is doing a 'top of the best' list that I would do one as well. The following are the top five viewed posts of my blog...

Number 5, with 228 views

     http://artisticanger.blogspot.com/2012/12/krampus-christmas-goat.html

Number 4, with 443 views

     http://artisticanger.blogspot.com/2012/01/nc-17-magic.html

Number 3, with 455 views

     http://artisticanger.blogspot.com/2013/09/parade-of-masked-babies.html

Number 2, with 503 views

     http://artisticanger.blogspot.com/2012/01/sad-little-friday.html

and the Number 1 post...with 582 views...

     http://artisticanger.blogspot.com/2012/02/happy-valentines-day-to-you-all-its.html

there you have it...the top five posts. And they continue to grow. Thanks to all the folks that show up and read my little rants about life and art! Your support is greatly appreciated! I can only hope that you will continue to stop by and visit with me in the coming year. I look forward to seeing and hearing from you all! I'll be sure and keep the tea hot for when you stop by. 

Here's to the best year yet! May all your dreams and wishes come true. May life grab you by the chin hairs and show you how many amazing things await you. 

  

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!

TTFN

can't wait to see what 2014 holds!

52 hours and a-countin'...

Hey All!
Happy Thursday!

Well, here we are about 52 hours away from a new year...a new beginning...a fresh start...ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES.
It doesn't quite seem possible that another year has gone by. Where did it go? I think I missed it. :)
Any exciting plans? Me?
Well, we've been invited to dinner at our neighbors (Amy & Barry) and then we're gonna go down to the Mill for Mainstreet's Gold Nugget drop....
According to the weather (so far) it's gonna be in the mid 40's. Bbbrrrrrrr! It ought to be interesting to say the least. They (Mainstreet) are selling chairs - around tables, for the night. The math doesn't make sense to me but  what the hey. They want $10 a chair, minimum of 4. However, there are six to a table. What are they gonna do with the other two? I guess they must be hoping that people will get six just to reserve the table? I wish them luck...I won't be sitting there all day. I'm sure they're gonna have entertainment (as long as it's NOT Elvis. HA!) but I haven't had the chance to check and see. Maybe when I'm done here.
Let me be the first to say HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2012 be Great!! I'm sure I won't post again until after the 1st. So I'm getting it in now. :)

Now on to the updates.....
I have been diligently working on Harley. And he is coming along wonderfully. He now has his harlequin squares, his wings and as of last night, his face paint. Not his face, just his face paint. Confused yet? LOL!
Here's some pictures to clear up the confusion....I'm going with the harlequin / mime image that is in my head....

Harley's face paint

He's looking pretty good so far. His face is in my head...now I just have to get it out. He has been cooperating though, so I'm hoping it's not going to be too difficult. :)

And in the middle of trying to get Harley completed...well, Forrest just would not let me be. Yes, that's his name and yes, he has been a royal pain in the arse. I had to stop working on Harley long enough to get Forrest's pattern designed. Now you're thinking that would be enough until Harley was done, right? Wrong. The design turned into cutting out the material. And the cutting out the material turned into sewing him up. And sewing him up turned into stuffing him. As of this writing, he is sitting on my table waiting for his head to be attached....that's it, that's all that's left (besides sculpting his face and hooves). And the lil' bugger is still taunting me. He has been the most impatient little critter I have done to date. Harley has been extremely patient. But he is getting antsy now. Maybe if I show you his progress he'll let me be long enough to get Harley done.....

Forrest all cut out and waiting for the sewing machine...

Forrest, waiting for his head. Harley quietly waiting his turn

Forrest...headed(?) Just sitting on top, not sewn

I had to sit his head back on the table. he was more impatient

with it sitting on his shoulders. :)

That's where I am at the present moment. As you can see, I have my hands full. I have a feeling that Forrest is well on his way to becoming a mischieveous little wood spirit. Harley and Forrest will be my first two completed dollies of 2012. YAY! I'm thinking Etsy (or maybe Ebay). What do you think? Any advice on either would be greatly appreciated. Seriously, I would like to hear what you all have to say about either or both. 

Oh yeah...I forgot to show you what I found when I went to the grocery store for last Friday's get together...

i was looking for Egg Nog...and found PUMPKIN EGG NOG

It was Yummmmmmmmy! :)

I've also been online looking at patterns for April (RenFest) and for September (DragonCon). I've got so many ideas running through my head. I have to make a decision by the end of January...or I will never be able to get anything accomplished. I know that sounds like a long time away, but if this past year was any indication, it will be on me before I know it. Wish me luck, I'll need it in order to focus on my projects. :)

That's all the news that fits.

TTFN

Have a GREAT NEW YEARS!

Be good, Be safe!

And before I forget (or they disappear) I want to say hello to McNally School and to Enchanted Legacy! Thanks for looking. McNally has some really cute dolls. I don't see a site (blog) for Enchanted Legacy. :( 

Anyway, Welcome!!

And anyone else who is on my member's list that I haven't mentioned, let me know....I am still having issues seeing everyone. I swear each time I log in the numbers change - up, down, up, down. I don't want anyone to think I've missed them because my member list is acting up.

bye all!!