Sometimes the gourd you pick is too soft or thin.  Or, one is distracted by the ginormous laundry pile caused by the inclination to wash every stinkin’ curtain in the house.

And it can be darn frustrating when you are thiiiiiiis close to having all your carving finished.   It’s a good thing there weren’t children present.  The grumbling reached quite epic heights of cussing.

So, I banged my way back into the depths of the Lair and found another piece of gourd to start again.

I was pleased when it was finished and that I managed not to put a hole through it.  That was until I set it next to the first wing.

I think it needs a bit more carving so it matches the first wing better.  *sigh*  Yes, you can call me picky-pants.  Just the thought of carving on the dang thing makes me squirm.  I believe carving can wait a day or two.  Besides, it’s not like I haven’t anything else to work on.

So today I shall work on Dot, the Dish Fairy Gourdarella™.

Dot with a shenanigan filled Minion.

Yesterday, I gave her dress a coat of red paint and today I’ll apply the crackle medium.    I liked the look on Euphemia’s corset so much and it’s perfect for the busy dish fairy.  They put their whole body into the process of dish magic so it makes sense that they would suffer from dish pan dress vs. dish pan hands.  The red peeking through the white top coat will match her doo-rag and flounce perfectly!

Fabric for Dot's doo-rag and Minion again.

Now take a look at these…..

Is she? Oh for Pete's Sake she IS!

To the untrained eye these are merely pretty purple flowers.  You would be incorrect.  These are Minion Knickers.  It’s high time she wore some underpants.  I caught her yesterday making copies of her butt on my printer.  She claims no knowledge of how pictures of her rear-end, labeled with the names of our precious puddin’ tats and “You Are the Cat’s Patoot” scrawled on the top ended up plastered around the house.  Right…  Nice try blaming it on the dogs.

I give up....

Before I make her knickers though, I’ll decoupage the above pictured fabric onto her skirt. She’ll have to sit still while that dries.  That ought to keep her out of trouble for a little bit.

Have a Wonder-Filled day and enjoy YOUR creativity!

It’s Wednesday!

It’s time to peek at what’s happening here in the former black swamp (and flat lands) of NW Ohio’s infamous Lair…

It’s What’s on Your Workdesk, Wednesday hosted by the one and only Julia Dunnit at Stamping Ground. The once a week peeksie at what other creative beasties are up to and the state of their work spaces.

I had this cleaned up yesterday just in time to mess it up again! Yes, you see a sock. I use old socks to hold my cameras. No, I don't find that strange at all!

I'm glad the Lair has windows!

It has been so sunny and warm that I took my work space outside to sand and carve!

I started out in the sunshine and decided that I'm not ready to give up my ghostly white complexion yet. Plus this was the closet shady spot with a plug.

Minion! Minion! Zoom in for the nice people please.

Uhmmmm… I did not mean zoom in on yourself. You’re still nekkid! Now zoom in on the other things please.

Downward Facing Clauses

Bet you didn’t know that Mr. and Mrs. Claus do yoga. They’ve been in that position for over twenty-fours hours. It puts the pink in their cheeks. There have been complaints filed with Lair management regarding a certain minion pinching the Claus’s bottoms.

Jeepers Creepers look at them Peepers!

This is what I was working on outside…

The top wing is finished and the bottom needs to be carved and sanded.

My North American Wild Wubba Cat was on hand for me to admire his royal furriness, to supervise, and offer doses of human hooey. Minion stop hissing at the picture. I promise I won’t use you as a cat toy again. Sheesh…

Prince JimJim, the North American Wild Wubba Cat

Thank you Minion. You can go now. Off you go now. Go on shoo… Minion! How RUDE is that?! I take it back! I am tying you to a dowel rod and dangling you in front of the cats!

Sorry about that. Minion has been running amok ever since I reattached her arms and legs. Have you ever tried to catch a minion? They are fast and slippery little gourdlings.

You can visit HERE to see other work spaces!

Have a Wonder-Filled day and ENJOY your creativity!

I had great results following the chocolate chip trail left by my creative muses last week. I assumed this week’s theme of “fruit” would prove easy-peasy.

That’s what I get for assuming.

My idea of attaching Mr. Potato Head parts to the pineapple sitting on the counter never came to fruition.

Here I sit on the couch, laptop on the lap, toothpicks holding up my eyelids due to lack of sleep without a fruity thought in mind.

tick… tick… tick… tick….

My to-do list would flicker like shadowy car lights through the fog that was formerly my fully functioning brain. That’s not helping. Talk to me muses! Help a woman out!

Gourds….. technically….. are a fruit.

Really?

Really!

Yesterday I played with something new to me; glaze and pearl pigment powders.

On a gourd….

and gourds are a fruit…

and this week’s theme…

is fruit…. so it counts.

©2012 Tracy Swartz, Madam Dragonfly Gourdess In Progress,
Dried Hard Shell Gourd (a.k.a. fruit)

I got the idea to try this from gourd artist, Nikki Ogle. Click on her name and you can see the wondrous things she creates.

I created this look by layering glaze, pearl pigment powders, and alcohol dyes in green, blue, and purple.  Since this picture I added another layer of glaze. I took a peek at her this morning and noticed a few spots need a bit purpling up. Once that’s done I’ll add one last layer of glaze. I love how the color shimmers and changes depending upon the light.

Here’s a close-up:

I find it’s quite satisfying to stretch myself creatively with each new doll. This one is living up to that personal challenge quite nicely. The next step will be segmenting her dress like a dragonfly’s body and making dragonfly wings out of gourd pieces.

Like to join in the fun? Or you can stop by and see what my fellow artists created for this weeks challenge at Jennifer McLean’s (the hostest with the mostest) blog Just Add Water, Silly.

Have a Wonder-Filled day and enjoy YOUR creativity!