Faeries Under A Fabric Moon

Good Morning All!
Hope your week has been productive and pleasurable. :)

It's been a really hectic week. I've been on 'vacation' this past week. My wife had foot surgery -actually two different ones - this past Monday and I've been home helping her out. Making sure she does what she's supposed to! LOL! She had a bone spur in her heel, so they cut the muscle, which is what actually causes the pain. And she had a titanium screw put in her big toe. The bone at that joint had turned to mush. It would have eventually collapsed if she hadn't had the surgery. She's doing well, bored out of her mind. She's pretty much been in bed all week. She managed to get out on the back porch the other day to visit with the neighbors - Amy managed to break her arm in four places this past week. The two of them make quite the pair. And yesterday we had to drive for over an hour to get her prescription refilled. It took a lot out of her. So she's back in bed today. Once this is healed it will hopefully take care of the pain she's been dealing with for months. *Fingers crossed*

BC & P update:
The broom corn is doing well. The one side is thriving while the other....well, not so much. The ridiculous heat we've been having has literally fried the smaller plants (the plants on my porch steps are struggling too).
The pumpkins have been producing a boat load of flowers.....no actual pumpkins yet. I've been having to soak the crap out of them due to the heat. There have been some amazing large flowers so far. Which is surprising since the plants themselves aren't really all that big. They don't seem to be branching out as much as they did last year. They seem to be healthy, just not large. Hopefully that won't keep the pumpkins from growing big though.

flowers! YAY!

you can see how many flowers despite the size of the plants

While I had the dogs out the other night I noticed the moon between the house. It was absolutely gorgeous! Just thought I'd share that with you. :)

framed by all the trees  :)

Since my wife is laid up and my studio is downstairs, I did the only thing I could. I took over the dinning room table. And boy is it a mess. Body parts, paint, brushes......wow, who knew I could create such a disaster is such a short period of time. LOL!!

I've been working on 'Moxie' this past week, seeing as how it was one of the smaller pieces that I could easily move upstairs. It's coming along very well....but....I...well...kinda, sorta deviated from the kit instructions. But, everyone knew that was coming. :)  I will have to say that I am very happy with the way it is progressing. It's only been a little work here and a little work there. I've been focusing on the 'faerie' version this past week. The 'doll' version will be next - after my wife can move around more freely.  I did find the material I will be using for both of them (last weekend before my wife's surgery). I came across some material for the doll that just jumped out and said 'pick me'. Anyway, here are some of the pictures so you can see for yourself.......

'Moxie' materials - the ones on the left are for the 'faerie'

and the ones on the right are for the 'doll' - except for the

'fur', that's for a totally different project

wing test - no veining yet

Moxie faces with gesso applied

faces being applied to bodies - this is where i

deviated - I painted the bodies, i wasn't

happy with the way the cloth looked at this point

beginning the 'faerie' face

'beads in a bottle' - what a wonderful idea :)

the 'faerie' Moxie so far....far from complete though

I haven't had much time to work on anything else. I still have to get the burlap for my Scare-Me-Crows so that I can strengthen the arms to compensate for the larger hands. My Wee Stuffies are still waiting for me - impatiently. The suede is waiting to be cut out for the vest for DragonCon....however, I did begin working on the hat from the leather. I got the brim cut out and stamped. Wow, about two hours worth of stamping, I think my wife thought I was tearing the house down. It was last Sunday before her surgery. So things are progressing, at a much slower pace than planned, but still moving along.

the brim cut and stamped

the darker areas are from the leather still being wet -

you have to dampen the leather to stamp it

the stamp i used produces a 'pebble' look

a closer shot so you can see the stamping - this stamp is

about the size of a penny. whoever thought that was a

good size should be slapped - repeatedly!

I guess that's all the news for now. Looks like I will be staying home this coming week as well to help (wait on, hand and foot) my wife. :)

Hope your upcoming week will be fantastic! Until then, enjoy your weekend!

We have two new members as well!

YAY!! I just love it when new people stop by to visit.  :)

Say hello to Teresa over at A Magical Whimsy

and to

October Boy over at The Deadwood Cemetery

Welcome to my world! LOL!

til next time...

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!

TTFN

p.s. ~ only 115 days til Halloween! OMG that's too soon!! HA!



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. :)