Just wanted to check in with folks.
I’m still having to baby my eye and so far the serious limits on the computer & use of the eye is helping a lot (one hour on one hour off minimum) The flashes are stabilizing at about 1-2 per day and maybe, with hope & luck they’ll taper off/ be gone.

In the meantime I’m waiting for my referral to the Retinal specialists and will have to wait to see what happens. I’m really keeping my fingers crossed that if it is a retinal tear (like the ophthalmologist thinks) in progress that it’ll be semi arrested by the change in eye habits. Failing that, I hope that the referral gets here before the retina tears (more).

Wish me luck (all good vibes are greatly appreciated)

Welcome to Friday Monologue #3 !!

Thanks for being patient with me re: the delay!

Here’s FM#3 featuring Balthazar…he had more to say but I ran out of time!
Please take a moment to answer the poll question in the side column, will you? It’s anonymous!! (there is more information below about the potential interviewees) 

Please if you do actually read it — comment in this post. I’d appreciate it.

*As promised above–here’s a bit more info about the potential interviewees*

Seth Melbourne

Vivienne Marcelle

Jillian Carmichael

Morgan Renfield

Tara Lynhurst

Thanks for taking the time to check them out and vote!! ;)

Ok folks, all 11 of you voted (LOL) and the winner for today’s interview is Mr. Balthazar Black.

Balthazar got 3 votes, everyone else got 2 votes or less (poor Jeremy & Paloma!) I’ll be putting up the next poll tonight or tomorrow–please vote sooner rather than later!!!

Thanks for taking the time to vote!

So, after I rest my eyes I’ll begin shooting his Friday Monologue. And just an FYI, it may not be ontime tonight since I’ve got this eye problem & can’t do more than an hour on the computer without breaks. But I’ll do my best & if it’s not done tonight I promise it’ll be done by Sat am at the latest.

Welcome to Friday Monologue #2 !!
(I owe everyone lots of emails & return comments–I promise I’ll catch up with y’all tomorrow am!–I’m only 15 minutes from missing my Friday deadline!) Please take a moment to answer the poll question in the side column, will you? It’ll decide who get’s interviewed next Friday!!

Here’s FM#2 featuring Shayna.

Please if you do actually read it — comment in this post. I’d appreciate it.

*PS: the ending is abrupt again. I need to work on endings….*

Yes, at long last I finished the project!!!  I’ve managed to make 4 “Valentine’s Gift” sets in 1:6 scale.  

They’ve definitely taken a lot of work & time to make and I can’t pretend to be sad to have finished! IMO they’re very nice to look at (I made all the chocolate / candy pieces to be removable) but I’m not sure that I’ll be making any more this year. Or next.  I dunno.

Anyway, here’s what a couple of them look like: (there are more pics on my etsy)

Check out Balthazar doing the Valentine’s Day thing below! :happy:  I’m so glad I got that Hot Toys sniper  headsculpt when I could! (I do really need to repaint those hands though. And de-shine his body…maybe this weekend!

Each box of chocolates has a different combination & selection of candies  and each bouquet is slightly different as well. It’s pretty much a case of WYSIWYG.

Anyway feel free to check them out—and as always, comment! ;)

Mark & I went to Leamington Spa on Monday as he needed some wood glue and the only shop that sold the brand he was looking for was there. I had a bout of car-sickness but after we walked around in the cold & snow for a while it kind of disapated.  Anyway…..On the way back from the store we passed a thrift shop (they call them charity shops here) and in the window I saw the most marvelous little cat for just £1.oo

How could I resist?

I popped into the shop–all but certain someone else was going to come along and snatch it out of my grasp! (I sound like a nut, don’t I?) 

Anyway here are a few quick pics: Classic Egyptian-esque cat

The cat appears to be made out of cast bronze (or maybe copper coated bronze?) and pretty heavy. It’d got some wear & tear on it but over all I think it was a fantastic find & will end up in someone’s office or home in The Quinlan Chronicles.

I just had to share!!! :)

Top 10 toys of 2009 … #1

So at last, we’re at the top of the list!

Doing this list has been a really good exercise for me…It’s forced me to take stock of what I have and what I really use–and why I use it.  I’ve gotten a lot of little nifty pieces (mostly props & the like) and some cool bigger pieces (many of which are here on the previous list entries) and the ones that have made the list have in common the following attributes:

• They’re cool
• I use them more often than not (pretty useful)
• They inspire me in some way

Anyway I know you just want to see what number one is!

#1

Customized 1:6 kitchen set

The customized kitchen (view one)

Description of Toy/Toyline:

This kitchen is made up of multiple parts. The counters & oven are from an old set of Pedigree Sindy furniture, the refrigerator (not visible in the above shot) and the table & chair set are from mattel for Barbie (from the barbie my house series).  The floor was made by hand staining the wood & hand laying & varnishing it. (Technically the kitchen isn’t finished yet–I still need to make the exhaust fan/over the stove unit, and some “hanging shelves” for the wall next to it).

So why did it make my list?

• I love it! It’s sort of funky & retro and of course it’s actually part of one of the sets for The Quinlan Chronicles. Eventually it’ll interlock to other pieces of Cass’s apartment.
• It fits all of my dolls nicely from my Momoko & Volks dollfies to my Hot toys Guys & CG Takara girls & Fashion Royalty dolls. That usefulness is key!

• It’s been a combined effort between my husband and I.  It’s got the best of both of us in it ;)

• It’s probably the most in-depth prop-project I worked on this year from start to (almost) finish.  And I’ve gotten a lot of use out of it.

If you want to find out more about the process of making the kitchen custom please search my blog using the keyword kitchen.  There are a couple of posts with photos of the furniture in progress.

Ok so….that’s about it! Thanks again to  Shaun Wong over at the Fortress of Testicular Fortitude for initiating the whole Top 10 List idea and inspiring me to actually do it (albeit a bit late). ;)

Just in case you missed one here’s a run down of the previous 9 items on the top 10 list!

#10

#9

#8

#7

#6

#5

#4

#3

#2

Hope you’ve had fun reading! 

This weekend I spent most of my time working on goodies for Etsy. I’m Really glad to say that I got a lot done and I’m going to be happy to share pics of them soon. They’re all valentines day themed (not very exciting I know) but I think they are cute nonetheless.

I’ve also decided that tomorrow is probably the day I’ll finally finish off my top-10 list of 2009 (I know I procrastinate too much)! So stay tuned & see what shows up in the blog!

Friday Monologues  (I know that these aren’t true monologues–but just bear with me for now, ok?)

Here’s FM#1 featuring Thom.

Please if you do actually read it — comment in this post. I’d appreciate it.

*PS: the ending is rather abrupt but seeing as it’s less than an hour before midnight I chose abrupt rather than deciding to put off ending it for another day—or 2…or…3….you get the idea?*

*PPS: I just realized there are some typos in it–I’m aware they’re there. If I can find time tomorrow I’ll fix them then *

About my expectations for my photostories in 2010:

My long talked about, long planned, long scripted photostories…

My point: Making changes in my plans for my photostories.

I’m in a kind of tough situation at the moment.

We’re trying to get the house ready & up for sale (which means getting rid of as much stuff as we can, and packing up much of my belongings & so on).  It also means that I’m really really limited in what I can do  work on with regard to my photostories.

This bothers me because I’m still scripting & planning. I have such a lot I want to do. And I’m frustrated that I can’t do much of anything because of my current (perceived) limitations.

So what do I do??

• Do I put all the dolls & roomsets away (the ones that won’t get taken apart & discarded) and just stick to writing the scripts? And hope that in a year from now when we’re settled *fingers crossed for luck* and I’ll want to make the sets & shoot the stories then?

• Do I try to do them now and end up doing what I’ll feel is a half-assed job?

I say that because I have a really definite idea & vision in my mind of how I want the Chronicles to be.

I don’t want them to suck (The stories don’t. However,  I feel like I’m letting myself down by not making the settings the best I can.) I’m caught between a rock & a hard place because I can’t work on any sets.  I want to make them. To share them with people.  But I want to share something I can be proud of–or at least semi-satisfied with

I do know I don’t want to shoot them & then  re-shoot them again in the future (I’ve tried that once and it was like all the magic of it left with the first shoot & the second was just “oh I gotta do this again!”).

So where does that leave me and  The Chronicles?

They’ve been stuck in a holding pattern for so long now.  It’s unspeakably frustrating…and I get tired of thinking about the “someday” aspect of it.

So what can I do?

I’ve been giving it a good deal of thought.  I want to feel productive about the Chronicles on some level, even if I can’t produce whole episodes.  I want to continue to explore characters & see if I can develop them more.  So I’ve come up with the following (probably very lame) idea:

Do a weekly photostory/ interview with a character from The Chronicles.

I know it’s not the same as doing an episode, and that whatever it is will likely be a monologue delivered by said character.  It’ll all be done in 1 room. The plan is to do them once a week and post them up on Fridays. Hopefully folks might feel like suggesting characters they want to learn more about (from the main profile site).

This Friday’s will focus on Thom Tazzo.

So there it is.

That’s the plan.

Please don’t laugh me out the door……

Top 10 toys of 2009 … #2

So at last, we’re down to the big 2!

It’s been a hard decision to make. Cool toys & props–all of them are interesting or useful or just cool in their own way.

2

Schwinn Black Phantom Bicycle (not xonex version)

Description of Toy/Toyline:

This is something of a mystery.  The only 1:6 Schwinn bicycles I’ve been able to find reference to online are those made by Xonex.  Mark bought one of those on ebay and was gutted to find that the quality of it varied greatly from my version.  Someone suggested to me that it might be an ex-salesman’s sample that was brought around to show clients.  I don’t know?

So why did it make my list?

• It’s amazingly detailed   :love:   (leather seat, chain, key, on/off switch for the headlight, the tires have their size & type on them, there’s a linked chain,  etc)

• It’s shiny & pretty (It’s just asking to be caressed it’s that nice!)

• It works! (yes if I had a 1:6 automaton/animatronic doll It could literally ride the bike around!) How cool is that? Functional and in scale!

What didn’t I like–or why isn’t it no.1 on the list?

That’s pretty hard to say.  I’ve been swinging back-and-forth all week about whether this should be number 1 or not.  It’s got a lot on it’s side.  It’s 1:6 scale, it’s cool, it’s pretty…..As far as cost goes it wasn’t that bad– only about 37 bucks (not including postage). Well worth it in my opinion. I guess the reason it’s in the number 2 slot is that I don’t get to use it as much as I’d like…as in it’s a great prop (fantastic) but I don’t build a lot of photostories around it at this point.

Ok folks! That’s number 2 down!

Maybe tomorrow I’ll do number one?

Top 10 toys of 2009 … #3  (almost to the end here! oh no!)  :woot:

3

Wong Ka Kui -1993 Album version

Description of Toy/Toyline:

Wong Ka Kui was made by Hot Toys. They made 2 (maybe 3) different versions of him (I liked this one best due to the shorter hair). I don’t know much about the actual guy it’s supposed to be other than that he was born in Hong Kong & was a pretty popular musician with an eye towards philanthropy. He’s got the usual Hot Toys body.

So why did he make my list?
He looked good. No. He looked better than good–he looked interesting!  :woot:   I didn’t see his action figure face plastered all over various doll & action figure forums. He was different.  I liked the sculpt & I liked the fact that he was on a hot toys body = good articulation.  His skin is something nifty (and nicely enough it’s a good match to the actual body he’s on). He also had some nifty accessories of a guitar, picks, mic. jewelry, extra hands (with rings on them) and high top sneakers. Gotta love it!

What I didn’t like AKA why he isn’t number 1 on the list:
Ah. Well to be fair it was a difficult decision. He’s a nice figure, and the sculpting is up there for me. He looks interesting & is going to make a great character in my photostories.
I guess if I had to give a reason his price would be why he’s not in the top 2. I’m not rich & money spent on figures is something I think, re-think and then think again before actually doing. (and I usually have to justify 8 ways to sunday). Wong Ka Kui was expensive–he is without a doubt the most expensive figure in my collection. He cost me 155.00 + shipping and I sat on the fence about it at the time.  Still, I don’t regret buying him & enjoy having him as part of the 1:6 crew.

As always, this post is sparked by Shaun Wong’s invite over at the Fortress of Testicular Fortitude.
And here are some other folks I know who are taking part in the Top 10 Toys of 2009 (please check em out as we all have different tastes in our toys!)

D7ana http://phillycollector.blogspot.com/
Mick http://mickbaltes.de/blog/
And C —whose list is up and finished! Check out her blog!  http://smidgehouse.blogspot.com/

Just a quick update–I’ve spent the last week or so trying to work on valentines goodies for Etsy.

I’m not sure how good the things are but I’m trying.  I’m making cupcakes & sweets & some smaller props to use.  Valentines has never been a holiday I paid a lot of attention to–but this year I think my dolls may demand a set of  goodies for themselves to keep. (that’s fair, isn’t it? I can keep some of the stuff I make….right?)

I’m being treated to a trip to Birmingham today! I’m going to the quilt shop there to pick up some more fabric for my in process 1:6 quilt. I started it with some various pieces I had lying around but am running out quickly & know there won’t be enough for all the additional blocks I have yet to make.

So here’s to a morning getting lost in Birmingham!

I’ll  check in later & update the Top 10 list with number 3 (and maybe number 2 also)

Here we are hitting number 4 on the list of my 2009 top 10 toys!  :D

Read on (and eventually–maybe even soon–I’ll get to number one!)

#4

Guitars
Stratocaster, Jazz Bass & Violin Bass & Amp

Description of Toy/Toyline:
The two Fender guitars are were produced by SD Toys with exclusive U.S. distribution by Dark Horse Comics. They  also included miniature accessories: three guitar picks, a strap, a shielded cable, a remote transmitter and a guitar stand.

The Violin Bass was produced by Media Factory and is actually 1:8 scale though it works as 1:6 with the Volks dollfies. Media Factory also produced an 8thscale amp (which I have but didn’t dig out for the photos).

So why did these make my list?
Oh, c’mon! These are cool!   :woot:   And seeing as I have a few musically inclined characters it seemed only fair that I splash out the money and get them some decent instruments. (I will need to justify in the photostories how these kids can afford such expensive instruments…but I will, I promise!)

The detailing on all 3 guitars is particularly nice & well done. I’m particularly appreciative of the violin bass (Paul McCartney used one of these) and think it will be good when I manage to paint the female musician-student.

What I didn’t like (if anything) why didn’t it make number one on the list:
They’re nice props.  Nice.
Not spectacular…
The 2 Fenders were over priced IMO but still nice. So basically they scored lower than #1 because of the pricing. That’s just me, a frugal *cough cheap cough* collector.

As always, this post is sparked by Shaun Wong’s invite over at the Fortress of Testicular Fortitude.
And here are some other folks I know who are taking part in the Top 10 Toys of 2009 (please check em out as we all have different tastes in our toys!)

D7ana http://phillycollector.blogspot.com/
Mick http://mickbaltes.de/blog/
And C – make sure to check out her blog!  http://smidgehouse.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year & Welcome to 2010~ Following my usual guidelines I had no intention of wrapping up the top 10 before the new year (why? because!) :P

#5

Lori & Stella Vanderhoff

Description of Toy/Toyline: Stella & Lori are made using Volks Dollfies & the older C type head pre-rooted with platinum blond hair. Lori is on a Volks Excellent Base J Body & Stella is on an excellent B type body.

So why did they make my list?
They made my list because they filled my requirements as characters. Also, I was particularly proud of myself for being able to paint them and capture at least some hint of a family resemblance.  Stella’s personality is one that I’m having a lot of fun thinking about–while Lori….Lori is quick to becoming the Bad girl everyone hates (or wants to know). Yes, they’re fun characters for me.

What I didn’t like AKA why they aren’t number 1 on the list:
Well, part of it is the painting. I still feel I could have done better in a technical sense. They’re both successes as I think their personalities are pretty clear from their faces, but as an artist I find certain aspects lacking. And in Lori’s case there is a more pronounced skin tone difference between her head & body than I like.

As always, this post is sparked by Shaun Wong’s invite over at the Fortress of Testicular Fortitude.
And here are some other folks I know who are taking part in the Top 10 Toys of 2009 (please check em out as we all have different tastes in our toys!)

D7ana http://phillycollector.blogspot.com/
Mick http://mickbaltes.de/blog/
And C —whose list is up and finished! Check out her blog!  http://smidgehouse.blogspot.com/