Happy Holidays!

Merry 

Christmas

to one and all!

Here's hoping that

Father Chirstmas

is good to you...

and that you haven't 

been naughty. 

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!

TTFN

Warmest Season Greetings!

Have a 

Merry

YULE!

wishing you the best the season has to offer!

May your new year be fruitful and bountiful!

Here's hoping your fire burns bright!

PEACE and JOY

to You and Yours!

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!

TTFN

Slushy Silicone Projects

Good Morning All!
I hope you all have been well since our last visit.
I, alas, have been sick. Still fighting off this BLECK! It's been a week and a half now. Co-workers are sick, grand children are sick - just surrounded by coughing, hacking and just general blahs!
I was going to post last Sunday, but did not feel up to the task. Then on Monday I saw all the people that had visited my blog and felt really bad about not posting. Which was followed by a few days of 'OMG, why didn't I post something. Yes, I feel bad when I realize that people are actually reading my posts and I have nothing there...Sorry to all of you who stopped by and found nothing new. :(

Let's get started, shall we?

About a week ago, Georgia got a snap of the cold and wet that most of the country has gotten. Yes, I can hear you groaning and rolling your eyes. Georgia cold? yeah right. Well, it happens, occasionally.
But when it's cold, it's really cold because we are so used to it being warm. Especially when a few days prior to this it was almost 70 degrees - in December. I do have to say that I really don't miss the snow and ice. Granted, it wasn't a foot of snow or anything like that. In fact, by most standards it was simply a cold, wet day. But when I opened the door and found slush and ice it was quite a surprise. I even had to force my dogs to go out. They both looked at me like 'what the hell is this?'

Georgia's awful day of cold   LOL!

A couple of weekends ago we had our get together - the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad everyone got to come. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos. I know, 'What?' 'Why?'....well, I really don't have any excuse. All I can say is that I had a house full of people and my brain was elsewhere. My daughter and her family were here. My son and his family were here. The neighbors, Amy and Barry were here. And Eddy and Yvonne made the trip as well. Amy made a 'pizza ring' for an appetizer. Yummy! I made a vegetarian dish for Stephen. Stuffed squash. Peppers and mushrooms, onions, etc. It turned out very well. It was supposed to have black beans as well, but I forgot to add them. Stephen and my daughter seemed to enjoy it, so I'm counting it as a 'good' dish. And then, Eddy and Yvonne started cooking...let me just say it was really, really difficult to stay out of the kitchen and out of the way. I am normally the one who cooks. Having someone else in my kitchen, without my fingers in things, was strange and totally abnormal. I hoovered like an old lady. We joked about it and things got done. They made pico de gallo, black bean dip and several other things that aren't coming to mind at the moment. Every thing was great. Then my son and daughter-in-law made chicken balls. Which was really good and was gone very quickly. My grandson, Lawton, had 5 of them. We also celebrated my grandson's, Preston, first birthday. He was so cute. He devoured the black bean dip. He opened his gifts and had a blast. He didn't get his cake until the following day though. Which he promptly spread all over everything...blue icing from head to toe. We then spent time outside around the fire. It was cool but not cold, which worked out well. Everyone seemed to have a good time and I am thankful that everyone got to come. The dogs were even well behaved. I didn't have to lock them down the hall. They must have known to be on their best behavior. I got to hang onto Rylee for most of the night, which was wonderful. He was having a really good day. 

Preston opening his BD gifts

mmmmmm....black beans and rice

We put out the Christmas lights and tree for the get together. Got my nutcrackers out and Sally put out some of her Christmas town. We set these up on the mantle/fireplace. I got replacement bulbs for my mother's C9 lights. The day after it rained and blew my lights out. It has been raining (and I've been sick) since. So none of my outside lights are working. Apparently, on top of this, my neighbors were waiting for my lights. They all seemed disappointed that I didn't put out everything. And of course, my wife wasn't happy that I didn't put out everything as well. Can't win for losing.

mantle all lit up

The Christmas gifts are all but done. Just a couple more and they will be completed. YAY! They've all come out well and I'm happy (as I can be) with them. Unfortunately, it will still be a few weeks before I can share any of them with you. :(  Patience is a virtue...not sure what that says about me, since I have none. HA! 

I have been working on the doll from the Ankie Daanan class. I am still so far behind. Being sick really sucks! I have been making progress though. So it's not a total disaster. Got the hips, thighs and calves built up. I've had to repair a crack over the knee three times now though. Hopefully this last fix will take care of it. I've been happy with the progress so far. Trying really hard to get caught up...

working at getting caught up...

progress as of this post...

I started a separate project about a week ago. I got some Monster Clay to work with. So far it's been great. I really like this clay. It has a wax base and has been great working with. I have sculpted a brooch. It's a special project that I will have to give details on later. I got the Monster Clay for my Ichabod project. I thought the brooch would be a good test for the clay. I was right. :)  I also got some Dragon Skin for the Ichabod project and I used it for the brooch as well. I managed to get the brooch sculpted, molded and a test pour done. I had some ice resin that I used for the pour. I added 5 drops of ice blue and some metallic white glitter to the ice resin. The pour came out great. The Dragon Skin picked up all of the details in the sculpt. I can't wait to get the rest of the materials to finish this project. Hopefully the recipient will be pleased with the outcome. I will post pictures of the final outcome when it's done. In the meantime, here are some of the progress pics....

basic shape started

face building up...

the dark on the right eye is from heating 

the clay with a lighter. didn't expect it to

brown

Swirls and textures being added

building up the WED clay wall

mixing the Dragon Skin silicone rubber

demolding the sculpt

mold detail...hard to see due to the

transparency of the Dragon Skin

ICE resin and white glitter

discovered that my table is not completely

level. had to trim the flash 

mold and test pour (prior to trimming flash)

hard to see how transparent this is from this photo

MORE TO COME....

This past week I got a video from my wife while she was babysitting Kennedy. It's so cute. If you listen you will hear her say 'OMG'. All I could do was grin. My daughter has no idea what's coming her way. :)

Kennedy is going to be ready to go! She already doesn't like sitting still. And she will talk your ear off if given the chance. I've never loaded a video to my blog...so hopefully this works like it's supposed to...

Well...apparently not. Can't get the video to load. DAMN! I will have to figure out why and then post it later. Bummer!

I guess that's all for this post. Looking forward to seeing you all next time! Have a great week and a Happy Season! 

Be Good, Be Happy, Be Safe!

TTFN

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

To You All!!!

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!

TTFN

Sneaky Holiday Gathering

Hello All!
Hope your days away have been productive and happy!
Can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving? Man, that went fast! Busy, Busy, Busy!

This post, along with the next few, will be a tad short and secretive. Due to working on Christmas gifts. Can't give too much away! LOL  My wife and I have been working diligently on this years gifts - next year I think we need to start in June. I'll show you a sneak peek...

how's this for a sneak? HA!

I've been working on the doll from Ankie's class as well. Not as much as I would like but there's just so much being crammed into this time of year. She's coming along very well and I'm really happy with her so far. There's a lot of talented people taking the class with me. Wonderful versions of this doll being made! When they are done I will ask if I can post some of their pieces for you to see.

body sanded smooth - I am so far behind!

My wife and I both got new vehicles recently. She got a Camry and I got a Tacoma. They are both Metallic Grey. I needed something with a backseat - with all my grand kids I needed more room. Imagine that! They're all getting so big, so fast! Just thinking about how fast they're growing makes me feel old! :)

my new truck - still with the window sticker

I was online the other day and came across an advertisement for Jolie's new movie - How The Hell Did I Miss This? It looks really good and she fits the character. It's called Maleficent, in case you haven't seen the ads for it. I love the makeup and the story line looks pretty good too. I must be slacking because I heard absolutely nothing about this - even though it's been in the works for over a year. Can't wait to see it!

My daughter got the opportunity to go and see Steve Harvey at the university this past week as well. She had a great time and said he was 'very motivational'. From the photos it looked like she had some pretty good seats too.

The new portrait is coming along fantastic. I have been very pleased with the progress so far. It appears that the client has been as well - That's Always A Good Thing! LOL! I haven't gotten permission to post progress pics yet, so I can't show the whole thing...maybe a peek. ;)

This coming week is going to be frantic! So much to do and so little time. Thanksgiving is going to be fairly quiet, but then we have a get together on Saturday. Lots of people, lots of children...just LOTS! So there will be plenty of prepping, cleaning and general cussing I'm sure. :) I will have to move all the gifts that we are working on into a room I can lock to keep out all the 'looky-lou's'. Have to work on the yard this week too. Gotta get the fire pit ready for a bonfire...marshmallows and all. Apparently there will be enough food for 200 people. I have three people cooking, I will have to cook nothing! It will be nice but extremely odd - since I usually do a lot of cooking and baking at this time of the year. I might even break out some of the mead I made. Only time will time.

I think that's all for now...I'm sure I've forgotten something. I have no doubt that I will remember it as soon as I post this.

Anyway, Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!

And if I don't see you before then........HAVE A FANTASTIC THANKSGIVING!!

TTFN

slowing going back to the earth

Running Baby Portraits!

Good Morning Everyone!
Hope you've all had a productive week!
It's been a hectic (I know, that's not abnormal!) one in my little corner of the world.

We have started working on holiday gifts. The place looks like a bomb went off. There are various projects taking place in my studio, the living room and of course the dinning room table is completely inaccessible at the moment. Unfortunately, I can't show any photos at this moment. Don't want to give away any secrets! LOL! My wife and daughters began their Christmas shopping this past week. They spent the day together. I'm glad they all got the time to spend together. :)

just a tease - pieces cut for one of the holiday projects

I realized after I posted last week that I forgot to show you the goodies I got after Halloween. I always go shopping afterwards. It's the 50-75% off that gets me. :)

post Halloween goodies!

tea towels, skelly garland, ornaments, pumpkin bells,

black tea-light owl and new doormat

The online class that I'm taking from Ankie Daanen is going well. The doll looks good so far. And believe it or not I'm only a week behind. I seemed to have run out of hours this past week. Nothing new, never seems to be enough of it! 

does this photo make my butt look big?

LOL!

front side - lesson one

lesson two - paper clay being applied

We are also gearing up for a holiday gathering. I think it's going to be the weekend after Thanksgiving. I guess that means I'm going to have to move all the projects to the spare bedroom and padlock the door!

This past Tuesday began my babysitting adventures! I get to watch over Kennedy while my daughter goes to school. She started back (post baby) on Tuesday. I had a blast with little miss Kennedy. We sat and talked (ok, she listened, mostly). She's gonna be hell on wheels when she gets her balance. You would swear she's running a marathon the way she kicks and wiggles. Remember all the exercise videos of 'the bicycle'? Where you lay on your back and 'ride' a bike....well, imagine a little, tiny person doing it. That's Kennedy! She just goes to town riding her bike! LOL!

Got to spend some time with my grand daughter Shaylor this past week as well. She was in my studio with me. That girl can talk! I don't think she took a breath the whole time she was with me! She likes to 'paint' when she's "working in my studio" with me. She put all her drawings on my door. She went and got the magnets from the fridge so she could stick them on my downstairs door. She's so sweet! And I got Lawton's school picture too! Lord they wear me out! Love em all!!

miss Kennedy after her exercise routine

my oldest grand son, Lawton

And just when I thought I couldn't possibly squeeze any more into 24 hours - Looks like I may have a New Portrait Client! I'm so excited. We've begun choosing the image to be used and all the initial information for the portrait! I have to remember to get permission to post progress pictures on my blog. It's a Christmas gift, so I may not be able to post anything until after he's given his wife the painting. I will keep you all posted on the progress!

Well, I do believe that's all the news that fits.

Have a great week! See you all soon!

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!

TTFN

Soggy, Wet Weenie!

Good Post Halloween Day To You All!!

I hope you all had a Fantastic Halloween this year!
Mine started out really...crappy!
I had plans to use a projector. Made a photo folder to run with lots of great Halloween images. But, I guess it wasn't meant to be. The projector blew the fuse three separate times. Finally I gave up and put it away. :(
We then had two groups of kids show up - just as it was getting dark. And of course it began to rain. I was not happy. As it began to rain harder, I started unplugging things. Which was no small feat. I had enough electrical cords and multi-plugs to light up the entire neighborhood! And then it rained harder...so I pulled everything back to the garage door. In addition, I made a dry ice fogger, that I didn't get to use. Just as my spirit was crushed and I was ready to call it quits...it stopped raining!! YAY!! Halloween was saved! The Halloween Spirits must have heard my heart break! Within ten minutes of the rain stopping the kids started coming. We had 83 kids this year! I know that's not a lot compared to some places. But in my little neck of the woods that's a pretty good number. I had a blast and the kids seemed to as well. I got lots of compliments on the lights and decorations. Several comments on how they remember my house - and of course the full size candy bars! :)
I even had neighbors tell me how they look forward to seeing my house lit up and the hot apple cider. It's always a great pleasure to know that all the work is appreciated. I also started taking pictures this year. That in itself was a major chore due to the rain. I wanted to take pictures in front of the scarecrow but had to settle for taking them from just inside the garage door. Trying to take pictures in the dark, without my glasses on a 2 inch screen was something of a spectacle in and of itself. Because of that, not all my photos came out. What I thought I had turned out to be blurry or completely dark. :(  So, if you are looking for your photo and don't see it that is the reason. I promise I will be better set up for pictures next year. With that being said, here are the pictures......

Jack smoking.

testing the dry ice that i didn't get to use

Jack was happy, he doesn't normally do Halloween

festivities...he usually pulls office duty

2013 set up - prior to the rain

our neighbor Amy, being witchy

closer view of the table set up

this years selection - plus gummy's for 

the younger kids

my dry ice fogger that never saw the light of day

:(

after the rain - reduced to the garage door

2013's first Trick or Treater

nieces and nephews!

this is when it started raining...

niece and her friend

this is me waving goodbye til next year!

Happy Halloween!

My daughter took my grand daughter, 

Shaylor, trick or treating in Tallapoosa

more Shaylor

decorations my daughter took pictures

of while they were beggin'

creepy porch decor

tiny ghost makes me smile  :)

Perry, Jenifer and Kennedy

all ready for their Halloween Party

last Saturday

lil' Miss Kennedy in her kitty-cat costume

me and my son, Ryan

aren't our costumes scary?

Miss Shaylor hamming it up 

before they left for the Halloween party

just one question...

can you tell this is my grand child?

pink Skelly's - ready for Halloween!

Last post I showed you a peek at the claws I was working on. They turned out great! I literally finished them Halloween morning. The picture showed the quick mold I did of my hands...well, that didn't work. I wound up doing a free sculpt and pouring each one separately. You can see me wearing them in the photo above (the one of my waving goodbye). 

styrofoam cups - quick mold container

(forgot to get photos of the sculpt)

first pour of the neoprene

first and second pours...

prior to trimming and painting

painted black and glossy

I think somewhere in the midst of Halloween, sculpting claws, working on Ichabod (no new photos yet), children and grand children I lost my mind. I am taking an online class from Ankie Daanen. Yes, I know...another project! I couldn't help it. It's called 'The Perfect Body'. And I must say that so far it is coming along freaking great! It's being offered from A for Artistic. This past Thursday was the second class...I haven't even had time to open the instructions for this week yet. I think I need an additional 5 or 6 hours in the day. Due to this being a paid class I won't show the pictures of the pattern but I will show you the progress so far....

***HOLY RED HERRING, BATMAN!!!! (No, those were not the expletives coming out of my mouth)

GOOGLE CRAPPED OUT ON ME IN THE PROCESS OF THIS POST. WTH?!? THAT WAS AN HOUR AND A HALF AGO. AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!

and now the photos...

waiting to be sewn....yes, three of them

sewed and arms and legs...

stuffed!

butt implants...

baby's got back!  LOL

Ok, now that I'm completely frustrated with the internet...

I think that will be all for this post. 

Again, I would like to say sorry for the delay (Friday was a blur...hours and hours and hours purchasing a new car for my wife). And thanks for your patience! I would also like to say a 'BIG THANK YOU' for all the page views (well over 500 in the last couple of days)!

Til Next Time...

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!

TTFN

oh yeah....

minus a day or two  :)