iseecerulean

Now that I've redone three of the five dishes, I'm happy with how the main course table is coming along. 

I need some more condiments bottles/jars/somethings yet, and I need bread crumbs (sand?). 

What's really fun for me about the miniature projects is the little details...the cracker that got knocked off the plate onto the table, the piece of lettuce on the floor, a bit of bessketti and eyeball on the table, bread crumbs...that's the fun part.

What else is fun is missing my deadline.  I had wanted to get this done by the end of September and I'm not going to...now I can relax and enjoy myself again.

The white snowman looking "bottle" is some floral pin thing I scavenged from the hairpiece Kate wore at her Dad's wedding last year...the salt and pepper shakers are gold spacers, crystal beads and sewing pins...and the other bottle is a bead with oriental writing on it and a sewing pin. 

I went through my entire bead stash and didn't find anything else I liked...I tried a few other things on the table but it always looked like beads stacked together instead of something that could pass semi-realistically as a container.  I'm going to go shopping on my lunch hour today for mini condiments of some sort.  I know you told me, Susan, not to spend any more money on the project, but you can just bite me...it's my project and I'll do it how I want to.  (Besides which, I do think you think I've spent way more than I actually have.)

It's not as good as Bessie's bessketti, but it's more to scale...which was a lot easier for me, since I had all the other food sitting in front of me, while Bessie was working blind, so to speak.

Looking at the picture I can tell I've got to scrape some sauce off a couple of the eyeballs though...

I also remade the hors d'vours tray...the color of the crossiant wrapped hot dogs just wasn't right.  I knew it wasn't right when I made it, but thought it was close enough to use anyway.  Since the color was still really bothering me a week later, I junked it and made a tray of cheese and crackers instead.

Speaking of Bessie...I think she gave me the heebie jeebies she came to work with last week...I'm not feeling too good.

Susan made me a wall hanging, a bracelet, and a gypsy box...

 



I'm still in awe...it's all so incredible.

And this is her idea of packing material...

I kept pulling stuff out of the box saying "no way!", "incredible!", "wow!", "there's more!?!"...

I like the new roast spider better than the old roast spider, but I'm not sure I'm quite happy yet.  I wanted it to be iridescent black, but it turned out iridescent purple.  The purple is cool looking, I like the color, but I don't like that the body and the legs are different colors.  I haven't decided yet if I'm going to repaint it or not.

I got some other things done in my quest to avoid having to clean my studio...I got the stenciling on the outside of the box done, then got Imelda, Ichabod, Mr. Skeleton, and Frankie posed (holding what I want them to hold) and touched up (had to repaint Icky and Imelda's arms and hands after I moved them around), so they're now ready to be glued into place in the box.  Poor Mummy is going to need some repair work because his arms unraveled a bit...which takes me full circle back to having to clean my studio, so that I can find the yarn I made him with.

In the background you'll see four attempts at Bessketti...making Bessketti is really hard.

I'm all inspired and motivated by the box of incredible art and Halloween presents (and presents, and presents, and more presents) I got in the mail yesterday from Susan.

Susan, do you care if I post pictures so my mom and Bessie and Jenn can see?  They don't post comments, but they do read the blog.

I've got the roast spider re-make started.  I'm going to color the skin iridescent black...but what color is spider meat?  I'm thinking orange....

Bessie talked to me yesterday about the Bessketti...she said it's too big in comparison to the other things on the table and that I shouldn't use it.  I'm bummed out, but she's right.  I really like her idea though, so I'm going to try to make a smaller version today.  (I'm going to make it myself instead of asking the expert because not only is Bessie really sick, but she's got to go out of town for a few days due to a death in her family.)

I've got things laid out on the table. 

I'm not satisfied...not at all.

I'm not happy (again) with the roast spider...I envisioned him as a plump, juicy, big breasted, thanksgiving turkey kind of spider, with his legs drawn up next to him...not as a flat, skinny spider with legs sprawled out all over.  I think I'm going to have to make my own spider.

I'm not sure about the Bessketti now that's on the table with everything else...it looks out of proportion.  I love the whole eyeball spaghetti idea, and it turned out really cool...it's just big.

The table needs little stuff...some condiments...salt and pepper, butter, maybe spaghetti cheese.  I wonder what kind of sauce you serve with spider...ketchup, au jus, hot sauce?

  I think I've got the dessert/drink table arranged the way I want it...though I think I need to move the wineglass to the left, in front of the candelabra.

It's funny that you suggested wine to fill the empty spot behind the punchbowl.  I ordered two filled white wine glasses when I started the project, to go on the two dining tables I ended up not having room for...but the shop was out, so upgraded me to a bottle of wine and two glasses on a gold tray.  I was going to use that, but the tray brought in too much gold.  Finally I decided to see if I could get the bottle and glasses unstuck from the tray, since I'm not going to use it for anything else anyway.  I only broke one of the wine glasses prying them off...and I think I'll use that upside down on a shelf in the studio as some kind of cloche.

I broke the other cup off the side of the punchbowl, so just yanked the rest of the s-hooks off...and stomped all over them until they were dust (not literally, just in my head).  Now I'm really pissed about ruining the punchbowl with superglue.  I was going to buy another one, but the green set was discontinued some time ago...I'm still thinking about replacing it with a clear one.

I went into my studio last night with a glass of Kahlua and cream and good intentions...but didn't clean a thing.

I made a pitcher of purple cow...it was easy coloring the resin with a drop of acrylic paint.  I figured it could dry while I cleaned.

Then I picked up the punchbowl and starting fussing with it.  I pulled off three of the S hooks on the side I wanted to face out originally, then wet sanded the superglue spots with acetone and an emery board.  The bowl looks better...not back to what it looked like before I ruined it, but better.

I had thought about just buying a new punch set, but the green sets were discontinued quite a while ago, and a clear set just wouldn't be the same.  I also thought about buying a clear set and using glass paint to make it green...but what are the odds I'd get it a consistent shade of the right shade of green?

In the process of trying to fix the bowl I broke off one of the cups that was hanging from the side...not only did the S hook it was hanging on break, but the handle broke off the cup too.  I found a little orange slice and ice cube that really looks like a marshmallow, and doctored up the cup...it looks good now and is still usable.  I was going to have Imelda hold a cup anyway, she might just as well hold one without a handle...no one will ever be able to tell.

I also embedded a fingerprint in the top of the punch.  It's there forever, there's no buffing it out...but as long as Frankie doesn't go nutso and whack Mum little miniature policemen will never dust for prints and then haul me in for questioning. 

Seriously...no one will be able to see directly down into the punchbowl, so it won't be noticeable.  I'd notice it though, if I kept the box at my house, so it's a good thing it's going to Susan's.

I was going to take a picture of the punchbowl, but on the shelf where my camera should be is four AA batteries instead.  I'm assuming my husband ran off with it...I wonder what he wanted to take pictures of.

Maybe tonight I'll actually get some cleaning done...provided I don't get sidetracked again.

No work last night or this morning...my studio is a mess.  I've got to clean again....which means I'll have to stop for another bottle of Kahlua on my way home from work tonight.

I bought a glass pitcher with two glasses, a pewter tea set, and some glass jars yesterday.  One of them ought to work in the blank spot on the dessert table...whatever I've got left will go in the studio miniature.

I wonder if I can mix paint in with some resin to color it?  First I have to google Purple Cow...I'm assuming it's purple, but I've never seen it before and don't know what it is...and if it is purple, how purple is it?