Post Category → 15 minute posts

Phew! We’re back.

Picture 1

As you can see we had a pretty good time at the lake. I don’t think I’m going to back-blog it like I have other years but I did sketch the whole time so after I dig my scanner out from under the pile of un-opened mail, I might scan those and put them up.

Picture 4

If I had to pick a theme for this year’s trip it would NOT be fishing like it was last year. We did fish but we only caught bluegills. I would probably have to say that getting a kick-ass tan would be this year’s theme. It wasn’t intentional…I do have to worry about skin cancer and all but when you spend all day out on a lake basking in the sun, a few rays are bound to break through the 50 SPF sunblock. I think I have FINALLY gotten rid of my usual all-year-around farmer’s tan.

Picture 5

And Bug got stung by a hornet. But other than that it was just pretty much your average fun family trip at the lake!

It’s good to be back. Now if only I could figure out a way to ignore all these dishes, the pesky deadlines, an empty refrigerator, two hungry mouths that need to be fed and all the other thousands of household chores that need my attention…

Sculpya the ugly ballerina

hand-me-down jewelry box

The kids I babysit have wonderful things and every once in a while they hand-me-down them to Bug. We end up with all sorts of designer clothes, board games with missing pieces, half worked-through workbooks, knick knacks and odds and ends. It’s a nice perk.

Some of the things are junk like a plastic crown that says “Irish Princess” with tacky green clovers all over it. Bug wore that silly crown every day for a week until she finally broke it while trying to wear it on her leg for some reason. Another treasure is an old music box that is covered in stickers and the ballerina is missing from inside it. Normal people would probably drop these gently-worn gifts off at a thrift store but Bug fell in love with it and begged me to make a new ballerina for it.

I hemmed and hawed over how to make a tiny ballerina. I thought maybe a pipe-cleaner and some tulle would do the trick but I couldn’t quite work it out. Then I remembered this book we read a while back about a cat who wouldn’t come inside. I was quite inspired by the Super Sculpy figurines and at the back of the book the artist has a nice write up explaining how she created the scenes. It’s brilliant.

I thought I might try this with a ballerina!

Princess Sculpya

It was a little rough-going. Obviously I need to work on my fine-sculpting skills. But it was fun and delightfully easy to paint. Her face needs some lip reduction but Bug loves her.

twirling

And best of all, she twirls to the music when wound up. We haven’t quite figured out how to get the box to close without cracking her in half yet but we’re working on it. I’m thinking there might be a series of Sculpy ballerinas in my future.