So - I'm going with Red Riding Hood's wolf solution.
Back to waiting on glue to dry...
An Aimless Life |
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I've made some decent progress. Still need to edge the wings... and he has to get fatter. One problem.... he refuses to do any tricks other than a barrel roll. So - I'm going with Red Riding Hood's wolf solution. I made a packet of stones that will be attached to his belly to improve balance.
Back to waiting on glue to dry...
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A dragon with one wing. Poor guy just flops around spittin' sparks. As usual, wire coat hangers never last long. I need to get more... Chopped one of the last ones up to attach the wing to the body. Currently held on by tape and the paper mache goop. It will be reinforced a bit more...
I'm going to use yarn or heavy twine to form the 'bones' of the wing then use full pages of newspaper to coat the wings. I'm hoping that will give it a better texture. I've got the other wing cut but not assembled yet. By the end of the day they should look right(ish)! I've gotten four or five layers of paper down all around. I will avoid adding much more tot he body so it will remain weak enough to break with a good hit. The head needs more so it can withstand a good hit.
Today - I begin work on the wings! Also - in a bit of sad news - inexperience has struck a blow. The stick I was going to keep for myself has cracked. In three places. I'm still in the 'bargaining' stage of mourning, trying to figure out a way to fix or work with it. But I don't think I can. -_- Not enough progress for pictures - but more layers on the dragon and I trimmed/filed on the sticks. Still have a ways to go, but they are smoother. Both have a knot where I want it to be smooth (the most logical place for the hand to hold). Ugh.
I think I know what to do with the smaller of the two. One of our excellent bards has a granddaughter that will no doubt get in to music. She's still very young - but by the time I'm done with it, she should be about the right size to carry it. I'll be attaching a bell to make it easier to find her LOL While FAR from done, you can at least identify it as a dragon now! After some thought, I'm going to make the heads very strong with a weak point in the neck. Each one will be a different color and I will keep up (best I can) with who 'kills' which dragon. If I remember to take red paint, I can snap the necks, paint the inner parts red and present the severed heads as trophies ^_^ We also made a trip to a friends house yesterday! She's needing word done around the place, it's a big old house and there are a lot of little things needing done. While my husband helped add a layer of tar to the balcony, I helped cut down some saplings growing in bad places. Quite a few of the resulting sticks wouldn't fit in the car, but I have a couple here! These two were from the same plant - it was trying to grow up under and through a cement retaining wall.
While they were fresh, we stripped the bark off. MUCH easier and more fun than scraping bark away with a knife after it dries! This was more akin to peeling a banana. LOL The one on the left will be mine! They are both closer to a tall cane than a staff. I'll trim and sand down the branches in a bit. (My hands hurt a bit right now. Between using clippers on a lot of smaller branches and stripping one of them with more stubborn bark and a very rough bark, my fingers are rebelling at TYPING.) That reminds me... need to find out what that tree WAS. Very cool looking - had berries and warty bark. . . . searching . . . Hackberry tree. http://www.foragingtexas.com/2007/07/hackberry.html 90% sure that's what it was. There are a few more in the yard so I don't feel too bad about cutting it down (that and it was trying to grow down in to their storm cellar.) Well, past time to stop procrastinating on this project. I always put off starting on this stuff because there is such a high chance of failure. It's hard to be satisfied with my own work... Anyway - This will be a dragon. Pinata. I hope. Inside is one of those Chinese medicine balls and a lot of peat moss. There is heavy twine wrapped around it and I'm using shredded phone books instead of newspaper (the phone books are plentiful around here - and free. Can't argue that logic!) I'm just going to get the head, neck and tail up to snuff for now. I'll worry about head and wings once I've done the trial/error thing.
The difficult part is that I need 3-5 of these done before June and there are a few other projects to do on top of that. I was originally hoping to get five done but at this point I'm thinking just three may be best. However, depending on how this goes I can work on the other four at the same time. The worst part is waiting for it to dry - but I have my lovely workshop now and this table is set up under a ceiling fan. ^_^ Constant air flow should help and if nothing else I have a regular fan I can train on it. Future reference : Size 12 paper bag and three bags of peat moss from the dollar store. Do prep work outside - that's a LOT of dust! Once again, didn't take pictures in time.
I used the previously mentioned recipe with Angry Orchard hard cider instead of beer - the results were fabulous. Next time, though, I will be adding chunks of spiced apple before baking. It would be incredible with honey butter! Other than that, I have been working on adding names to the Big Book of Russian Names since my husband is considering changing his persona in our re-enactment group. I need to have a reference for him! Today was all about food! My friend Joyce came over and we cooked. We made a MASSIVE batch of baked chicken strips to be frozen for future meals (Some days neither of us cares to cook) and made beer bread. She hadn't gotten to try the chili beer bread I started this kick with and I've been curious as to how much difference a beer can make. From left to right: Chili cerveza (with a bit of garlic added, none of the hot spices I usually add since Joyce doesn't care for food that bites back); Guiness extra stout; Coors original; and Blue Moon spring blonde wheat ale.
The decision - Chili beer bread remains the best! The Guiness was as good as ever (we've had it before and it is always a delight!) and the last two... well... I absolutely adore the Blue Moon. The citrus flavor really comes through and it is pleasantly sweet. She doesn't care for citrus so was not as fond of it. The Coors... to me the beer flavor was not as strong. To her it was VERY strong. When the husbands got their mitts on the bread, it was likewise split. Her husband agreed with me, mine agreed with her. But we all agreed that it was a very neutral flavor that would lend itself well to the inclusion of spices and herbs. My husband insists that the absolute best one yet is Shiner Bock. I did not make a loaf of that today but it has a lovely flavor and is VERY sweet. For your own wonderful beer bread: 3 cups self-rising flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 12 oz. bottle/can beer Mix until no longer dry, bake at 350 for 55 minutes. In the last 3 minutes, brush with melted butter. So far this recipe is 100% fool-proof and wonderful! So pretty!! Once it finishes drying I will start burnishing ^_^ Time to pick a movie.... Granted, compared to the previous picture you can't see much difference. In person, it went from pale wood to a more classy medium shade.
(Some day I will invest in a better camera) At this moment.... I am taking a break. I'm touching up the curls, deepening them a bit. Not more than an hour left before burning is complete. I will have the stain completed by the end of the day and from there it will be a matter of burnishing. ^_^
For that, I have a tiger's eye that was originally meant for massaging, I think. Pointed on one end, rounded on the other with wide facets on the sides. I have worked with it as well as a few other things (smaller chunks of stick, metal, glass....) but of all the sizes and types of instrument, it is the only one that is effective, comfortable and does not heat up to unbearable levels if I get in to a good movie and work on auto-pilot. I love the part of a project when you are past the area where you can REALLY screw things up! There is only one noticeable mar in the burning (I was working on it past midnight a few days ago and really should have set it down and gone to bed) but in this case.... I don't know.... I think it adds a little personality and will not stand out like a sore thumb once the stain has soaked in. |