Ladybug Reindeer

What do you get when you

cross a ladybug with two cacti?

A reindeer, of course!
Well, a reindeer made from
pre-cut wooden shapes, anyway.
;)

For this reindeer ornament,

you'll need (1) 2" ladybug shape,

(2) 1.25" cacti shapes,

(1) 4" length of ribbon,

acrylic paints in Honey Brown,

Chocolate, Tuscan Red, Black, White,

One Step Crackle,

Gel Stain, a Multi-Purpose Sealer,

and Extreme Glitter Hologram.

(or Extreme Glitter Red, but I was out).

Paint the following:

Cacti - Honey Brown

Ladybug Body - Chocolate

Ladybug Head - Tuscan Red

Brush a generous coat of

One Step Crackle onto the cacti

and allow to dry thoroughly.

Apply Gel Stain and wipe off with

a clean, dry rag.

The gel stain works its way into

the tiny little cracks made

by the One Step Crackle ...

See the tiny crackles??

I Love it!!

Apply Extreme Glitter Hologram

generously over the Reindeer nose.

(Previously referred to as the "Ladybug Head")

Next, cross ribbon ends to form

a loop for hanging.

Attach the ribbon to the back

of the reindeer head with

a hot glue gun:

Attach the two cacti to the

back of the reindeer head;

it's fine if the cacti overlap the

ribbon, that will help keep it in place.

I dipped a paintbrush handle into

white paint to dot the eyes.

Once it was completely dry, I

added black dots to the eyes.

I brushed Multi-Purpose Sealer

over the entire piece.

NOTE: I almost always paint the backs

of my ornaments, but since I was

going to use hot glue to attach the antlers,

I wanted a good adhesion so I

left the back of this ornament unpainted.

Just keepin it real.

Sometimes those boogers fall off,

and we don't want any of that going on,

am I right??

Up next: I have eighty ornaments

to make for classrooms this year.

(that's an 8 and a 0

it's also 10 times 8, or

8 times 10, or 20 times 4, or

4 kids times 20 students per

classroom.  And, I should probably do

a recount before I get started.

Cuz I'm pretty sure I heard about

new students somewhere).

What kind of ornament do I want to

make in bulk?  I want the ornament to

be special for the kids, something to bring back

(hopefully!) fond memories of elementary school.

So I'll use the school name and/or

their mascot somehow ... but, hmm ...

 Here's my 2010 design:

 Here's my design from last year:

Oh, wait! Do you hear that?

Yeah, that's Hobby Lobby calling my

name.  I'm going to have to make a trip.

No, wait.  That's my studio calling

reminding me that I have enough supplies

to make ornaments for the entire town

and I shouldn't be buying more "stuff".

Christmas Inspiration, HERE I COME!!

And I think I might just challenge myself

to make all these ornaments

with supplies I already own.

What d'ya think of that??

  

~ Peace and Lots of Christmas Ornaments ~

 

Just Some Pics ...

I have so many projects

that I should be working on, I thought

I'd use my typical escape route:

Procrastination.

Sometimes Kitty Blu is an excellent reason

to put things off ...

in this pic, I think I am nearly finished

with the laundry, and then I realize -

wait!  First Kitty takes a nap,

THEN I re-wash all the socks and underwear.

Bah!!!

Here is Kitty Blue.

When she realized I left the linen drawer

open, she nearly broke her neck

leaping out of the sink (where she'd been

drinking water from a soaking pot),

scrambling across the countertop

(displacing all sorts of items like draining tupperware

lids and the vegetable peeler),

and throwing herself haphazardly into the drawer,

then recovering and looking not-quite innocent.

And like she had every right to be there.

And then she saw me with another stack of

kitchen towels.

Foiled again!!!

But best of all,

I nearly broke my neck leaping

(okay, just running) across the slick floor,

scrambling to my camera bag,

fumbling with the zipper that has

never given me trouble before,

and racing back to the window 

(removing the lens cap while I ran)

just for this shot:

Wow!  What a buck!!

Peace and Merry Christmas

Oh, Deer ...

I've been in the studio all morning;

just had to run back to the house to make

my sick boy some soup.

 

 

I was listening to the Who's greatest hits,

and here is the view from my window:

 

 

 

I thought she might have been drawn

to the bright green grass that has grown

up out of the decaying piles of trees and leaves

left behind by May's tornado,

but instead she wanted to eat bark.

Quite a large, rough, and uncomfortable 

looking sliver of bark.

bleh

On another note,

I'm participating in a craft show

this weekend!  Yay!!

I'm super excited!

The kids have been home sick all week

and I'm getting that feeling like

I'm way behind where I should be ...

so I'm headed back out to the studio to paint.

The little ones are back in school

and my big boy is snuggled up and sitting

at the bar doing homework.

 (The pic below is NOT of my big boy).

Peace & Painting

Will a Deer Eat a Day Old Dinner Roll??

Well, will she?

I can tell you with confidence,

that YES, she definitely will eat a

day old dinner roll.

Will a deer eat a tomato? 

Well, will she??

YES!!!  Again, with confidence,
I tell you that she will indeed, eat a tomato.


Will a deer eat a small child??


I can't really say.
I'm out of photo space, anyway.


I can tell you she'd rather have a second
day old dinner roll than a second
tomato.


True story.


You'll just have to trust me!


Peace Out

Let it Snow!!!

More Snowy Nature Pics

Where the snow is as high as a deer's ...

left back thigh???

Even with my Extreme Zoom lens, I can't tell

whether this is an owl or a hawk.

Ha!!!  Forget about wrapping the 

tree trunks so the deer won't strip off the bark!

They can reach the actual greenery now!!

And I was worried about RACCOONS stealing

all the birdseed!!!