In the Studio #10: Springtime Hummingbirds (and a Bonus!)

This year's Blab Spring Swap was done a little differently. This time we knew who our victims were, as we were also their victim! It was actually a fun experience, though I do love a surprise. 

My partner is a fan of bays, appaloosas, hummingbirds, and Tennessee Walking Horses. So I combined them!

Meet Kolibri! (koh-lee-bree, with a rolled 'r') I wasn't able to incorporate many hummingbird elements this time around, hence his nickname, the Swedish word meaning 'hummingbird'. (I'm taking Swedish lessons.) I was inspired by an old custom of mine, who was a cherry bay blanket appy. I redid a similar pattern on Kolibri, only better. His spots and whites came out much nicer, and for the first time, I did a gradient tail!

It was time-consuming to get it just right, but it was fun, and the result was beautiful. I did it in the same way I did Orlando's dapples, by blending two wet paints together with a stippling motion from a harder-bristled brush.

Wanting to add a hummingbird element to him, I painted his ribbons metallic green (Folk Art's 'Christmas Green', which I bought long ago for Crispy Bacon.

(Sorry about my feet)

He's such a handsome boy, and his owner loves him.

But he wasn't alone in the sealing box!

As you can see, Taskin has been finished. He's now hanging out on my shelf, plotting the destruction of Lego Moria.

More horses to come!

Customs for a Cause #2: Our Mims Retirement Haven

It's been more than six months since I blogged. I apologize for that. I've been so busy with commissions and other things, I just keep forgetting. I have a ton of updates though, so I will be writing this week. And I will be writing a lot.

Back in April, a friend was holding a live show. The proceeds from the show benefitted a charity that hits very close to home for me - Our Mims.

In the year 1974, a beautiful bay thoroughbred was born by the name of Our Mims. She went on to become the Eclipse champion of '77, and won four more races out of a total of eighteen. In 1990, she was sold, and bought by a woman by the name of Jeanne Mirabito, who was her loving owner for thirteen years. 

Our Mims died in late 2003. Shortly after, in May 2004, Jeanne created a Our Mims Retirement Haven - a safe place where retired thoroughbred broodmares and retired racehorses could live out their lives peacefully and happily. 

My first horse was a racehorse. She had broken her leg during a race and was being sold. My parents and their friend purchased her and nursed her back to health. We gave her the name "Jessariah". My parents tried racing her when she had recovered, but she lost. Not wanting to push her, she became a Western pleasure horse. She taught me how to love horses. She was a beautiful, gentle horse (until one of the boarder's mares got too close with ill intent for me - then there was some violence). We were forced to sell her when I was only a few years old, and she died tragically not long after.

Having had a racehorse mare, I really love what Our Mims does. So when Leeann of Misty Star Studios was looking for show donations, I piped up. I decided to do a portrait of one of their horses. The beautiful Ms. Royal Flagship stuck out for me.

(Photo not mine)

As she is the descendant of Native Dancer, I chose that mold.

I almost wish I had taken more photos, but I was in a hurry to finish her in time for the show.

I was extremely happy with the result (and so was Leeann!).

She's not as dark or grainy in person. My camera did not want to cooperate that day.

She has the most gentle, sweet face, and I adore her. 

She was raffled off at Pocono Ponies Live (not sure who won her, but whoever you are, congratulations!). Every dollar spent on raffle tickets went to Our Mims, and I'm proud of that. If my work can help real horses or people, it fills me with joy. Giving them as gifts or doing commissions is one thing, but knowing I made a difference, no matter how small, fills me with proud. 

I do plan on working on more charity ponies. (Remember Na3na3? She had to be stripped. Glitter in the paint.) Stay tuned to see who else I've worked on in the past few months!

Busy, busy, busy...

I can't recall the last time I blogged...

Okay. It's been three months. Life gets in the way, as we all know, and I haven't had any work I've needed to do, custom-wise. This winter has been brutally cold, and I don't remember the last time it was warm enough for me to even prime a horse or go outside to strip one. Most of this season's been spent inside, sometimes writing, sometimes sculpting things for friends, sometimes lying in bed with yet ANOTHER sinus infection. I've been painting and drawing. There are days I'm in a complete rut and I lie in bed watching cooking competitions or cartoons from my youth.But does that mean I haven't been active in the hobby? It most certainly does not!

November and December were mostly dedicated to Christmas. Blab held their annual Secret Santa, and I had the most fun in the world working on my victim's gifts. I didn't do a custom this year, but I was still working.

Shopping, crafting, baking, writing letters... I was busy as a little bee. I made over 100 cookies for Christmastime for various people - my mom's work was having an anniversary, we had a charity dinner, and of course, Secret Santa. I also wound up making bread, and, as you can see in the photo above, several bows. And, on top of that, this new year has been spent working on a little surprise...

Hmm... what could it be? You'll have to wait and see! On top of all of that, I've been looking to dip my toes into the waters of the showing world, so I've been working hard on documentation, breed assignment... you name it. 

 I'm going to write a Christmas related post today, with some tutorials. I'm also going to be working on the MHB Spring Swap, which begins tomorrow, so stay tuned!

In the Mail #4: Christmas 2014 Edition

Salutations! It's me, Skeletor!!!

Okay it's... it's not. I'm not Skeletor. That'd be cool though. Nope, just little old Cyra here, with a new segment of "In the Mail". Or am I..?

Anyway! It's been a while. Secret Santa has been upon us on Blab, which I will make a post about later. I didn't do any customizing, but I have a couple things I'm willing to share, so it will have its own post. As of today (November 28), there are ten days until the main shipping date. I'm mostly done, but my Secret Santa got done a lot faster! On what we consider in this house to be the very first day of Christmastime, my box arrived!

Today was a grand mail day for yours truly. I received a card from my friend in Australia, a 15 dollar gift card to Sephora, and a wig I'd ordered for a cosplay (yes, I cosplay on the side sometimes), as well as my Secret Santa. I finally got the "Okay" from Mrs Claus to open my box.

I say it every year - I get the best Santas. They always spoil me, and I'm always so excited and in love with what I receive. This year was no different. I was actually on the verge of tears opening some presents!

First order of business - candy! I got some Dove and, as per Blab tradition, Lindor, both of which I love. Now to resist eating everything... Hm...

Next up was this little Cob! I pressed my thumb against the wrapping paper trying to pick him up, so he was first out of the packaging. I do already have this guy, but I plan to keep him. I love these little fellas!

Mrs Claus knows I love Tolkien, and this year I finally got around to making a list of the books I have. She got me this beautiful copy of "Tolkien: A Dictionary". I flipped through it and I adore it. The pictures are spectacular, and the cover is a very soft leather. Now to find a place for it amongst my "shelving" (which consists of a full bookshelf and the top of a box).

Tequila, as usual, was not left out! Here he has some very fancy horse muffins. I plan to see him again soon - he's going to looooooove me for bringing so many goodies!

Next was a bigger package, containing...

Montana Harvest!!! I've wanted this guy for so long... I remember when I was a kid, my mom would get State Line Tack magazines around Christmas, and I'd go through and circle all the horses I wanted. He was always one of them. And now I finally have him. I began tearing up when I unwrapped him.

The last package said "Open Me Last"... And it certainly wasn't the least.

Behold, my second portrait of Tequila. How I didn't start sobbing when I was holding him is beyond me. Customs of Tequila are grails, and this guy is no exception. 

Tequila doesn't live with me. He's boarded, so I don't see him every day. In fact, I haven't seen him in quite some time due to my health. I hate it. He's my pride and joy, my guardian angel. So having this little stablemate and the medallion from last year makes being away from him a little easier.

I'm so happy with all that Mrs Claus got for me, I can't even explain it. (I'm also kind of kicking myself for not waiting until Christmas... goodness knows it would have been worth it!) Now to send out my package for a special someone...

In the Mail #3: A bit behind

Before I post I look at my past entries on this blog to make sure I'm getting the numbers right for everything. I just realized that my last "In the Mail" was for Christmas! So, we'll hop in the time machine and slowly inch our way forward, because I've had quite a bit of mail since then.

We'll start with the Spring Swap. Spring was rough for me. Very, very rough. But it seems that in bad times, something always comes in the mail to cheer me up. Usually it's a letter or care package from my penpal, sometimes it's something else. This time it was a package frooooom...

...Australia! I was excited just to have a package come from Down Under (I've never gotten anything from Australia before), but Mel really spoiled me with this one!

First was an eraser that slightly shocked me. Only because it's a Kiwi. Kiwis are from New Zealand, and if there's anything I've learned in my time on the internet and watching Flight of the Conchords it's that there's an ongoing sorta-war between New Zealanders and Aussies. He now hangs with my Japanese-style erasers. She also sent me two pen/highlighters which are now among my favorite pens in the world.

Next came candy. I had enough candy to choke a horse here. She sent me lots of Cadbury (including bars with Australian animals on them), Aero, and... Tim Tams!!! I'd heard amazing things about Tim Tams, but we don't have them in the States, so until recently I'd never had one. I don't know how I lived this long.

And finally, the ponies. I had a creeping suspicion watching the Swap thread that these guys might come here but didn't get my hopes up in case. But here they are! I'm in love.

Tolkien ponies!!!

First up is the Paso. On his left side, he has "All that is gold does not glitter" written in Tengwar, the Elvish script. (It's the English form of Tengwar - yes, I know all these things, I study Sindarin Elvish!) 

On his right side, he has Tengwar again, reading "Not all those who wander are lost." The lines on him are the first two from a poem Bilbo wrote about Aragorn in the books. He also has Smaug the Dragon coming out of his mane.

Next is the Friesian! On his left side, the quote "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future" is written.

And on his right... The Fellowship! Gandalf lead the march on his chest, followed by Frodo, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, Pippin, Boromir, Sam, Bill the Pony, and Aragorn. He also has a white star-like flower on his back near his flanks. The detail on both of them is wonderful.

(My proud Tolkien collector would like to point out that photos were taken in front of the 1977 movie tie-in copy of The Hobbit. Very rare.)

Next we head on into June. June 1st was my birthday, and I had asked my mom via Facebook messages for GVF Sjokolade. Somehow that message didn't go through, but I was given an Amazon gift card, so it all worked out. At long last, after years of pining, I have a Fjord.

(I promise I'm not trying to show off my Tolkien collection. My bookshelf was the only place I could make room for him. Also photobombing Legolas.) He's beautiful. He's even more gorgeous in person than in photos and has the sweetest face. 

Next stop - July! Breyerfest was coming up and I had a bit of money. I had my eyes on a few horses and, thanks to a friend and a very sweet person I knew from Blab, I was able to get pickups for the first time! I wound up getting Athos and Birthday Cake.

Athos is gorgeous. I'm absolutely in love with him. He does have staining, but I've been talking to my dad about bleaching him. (Bleach and I don't get along, so I have to have him do it for me.) Stains or no, he's beautiful, and is now gleefully stomping over my Legos like an equine Godzilla proudly displayed on my dresser until I can make some room for him to go next to his black Friesian brother.

And we can't forget little Birthday Cake! She's absolutely adorable, and very glossy. These horses arrived in wonderful condition (again, save for Athos' staining), and I want to thank Heather for the umpteenth time, even though she's probably sick of me thanking her by now.

And finally, we come to yesterday, known better as October 2nd. As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been "sick" lately. But as I also mentioned earlier in this post, whenever I'm going through a rough time, the mail has a way of cheering me up. Yesterday I received my Spring Swap from Ann, and it's lifted my spirits after a very rough three weeks.

First thing I got out of the box - this adorable, ridiculous bird pen. He's supposed to be a flamingo, I think, but violet, with a witch hat. I can't get over how stinkin' adorable this thing is. He looks like a muppet. 

Next up - candy! What's Halloween without candy? The candy wasn't packed in the little Franken-basket, but I've put it there for safe-keeping (hopefully it's family-proofed). I was treated to Kit-Kats, Jolly Ranchers, Caramel apple taffy, candy corn, and Baby Ruths. This will soon be gone.

Next was the pony! Another Friesian for my conga and collection of customs, and my first ever flockie! I'm absolutely in love with him and love rubbing my fingers over him. I refer to him as His Fuzziness. Ann mentioned in the card he was afraid to travel alone so... he has a buddy! 

It's the little pink para-dressage SM! I'm in love with him too. I've never seen the new translucent Stablemates in person before, and I have to say I adore them. (It's also fun to remind my glitter-phobic boyfriend of the glitter on his mane and tail :D ) 

I also got a baggy of vampire teeth and fake mustaches. I also made the mistake of showing them to my boyfriend...

But anyway...

As always, I'm beyond grateful to my swap partners. I'm always the victim of the most amazing people. But receiving is only half the fun! Orlando will be going out very soon (I FINALLY finished that blasted costume!), and as usual I'll be waiting with bated breath to see what his new mom thinks of him. Until next time!