A Very Merry Magical Girl Gingerbread House

...and a Cthulhu Tree! 

 

My Hubby and I bought this pre-built ginger bread house a few months ago and I finally put it together last night. I'll admit that even as an artist that sugar and pastry arts are not my thing! I have no idea how my best friend of 20+ years, who is also music a teacher and lacks any real visual arts training outside of a few pastry clssses, rocks out at cake decorating. (Which reminds me I'll be tapping someone for a Birthday cake someone's 2nd birthday in Feb......)

Why Am I Not an Angry Pile of Goo is beyond Me...

If only the Doctor could save me... 

My week so far....

Get up and get the hubby ready for work with his lunch.

Try to fall back asleep for 30 minutes.

Get woken up by kid banging on her door for potty help

Make breakfast for kid and wait for sleep haze to fade

Run Errands between 10 and 3

Find time to eat and get the kid and nap

Make Dinner

Spend time with Hubby

Work on Items for shop and up coming shows

Rinse

Repeat

I also was sick as a dog Friday and worked at the Pop Up Saturday instead of Friday like usual because I didn't have childcare set up for the kiddo. I

So it Sunday... I'm exhausted and I have to work tonight for one of my usual places for their  Candle Light Service in the nursery. I need to clean and bake still but uuughh - so tired.

What... we've only got a few days left?

My last custom order of the season for a friend for one of her daugthers, a custom set of Derpy Hooves and Doctor Whooves Pins.

Downing water and Odwalla's C Monster while working on new horns arrangements while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

More demon horns.

I can't believe its only a few more days until the big bad holiday! I just worked my last day at the Memshop Pop Up in Overton Square and Sunday is our last day and then its Christmas! I cannot believe how this month has flown by this and after this week I only have a few weeks until the next show! I am so tired but its not too overwhelming at this point but I wish my little assistant could do more then just destroy at times. 

Katie Wants - Han Solo Business Card Holder

Covet Covert. Covet. I so need this for when I galavant around in costume so I can hand out business cards in style like a boss. 

 My husband for my holiday, that I can lay under my Hanukkah Bush, present is making me my very own light saber so we can form our own jedi family eventually over the next few years.  I so need this business card holder for our costuming adventures. Last year the husband made his own lightsaber to accompany his costume I made him last year for our favorite local con last year.

The hubs in his costume last year with his costume I made him and the saber he made. 

The kiddo is getting her own saber next year, you know 3 years old is a mature age for a light saber, right?

Kid, Prep, Work, Holiday

another custom fuku! This time it is not a solid on solid color!
(happy dance inserted here)

Things have been really hectic around the Jones homestead in the last few weeks. My husband and I decided that the kiddo should be home more with me while I'll working from home but over the last few months there was drastic staff changes. The final straw came when they tried to pull strings and violate my parental rights by not allowing me to bring healthy alternative snacks and sides for my daughter to eat instead of the food they served at the daycare. I called the department of human services and my pediatrician to determine their legitimacy of the ban and all signs pointed to "BS" which were confirmed by DHS and the Doctor's Office.  I have no luck with daycare for my child, but luckily I will be in a wonderful part of town next semester which means I have access to some wonderful places for her to go to school to when I am there.

Other then the kiddo things, I am working hard prepping for the next show on Jan 19th, Anime Blues Con Winterfest Remix at the Memphis Botanical Gardens, (I got married there),  by making tons of fuku collars, earrings, unicorn horns (and I keep selling out of them at MempShop ;-;) , and other little tid bits...

   ...but you know I need to find time to do other things like apply to school districts, make baked goods, wrap gifts, go gift shopping, not any more crazy then I already am....

Anyways... I hope everyone is having a happy holiday.

More My Little Pony

From left to right: Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie

Left to Right: Twilight Sparkle, Flutter Shy, and Apple Jack

Grand Galloping Gala inspired earrings for each of the 6 ponies.

 I've been doing a lot of My Little Pony themed items lately because 2013 will be the year of MLP at the local conventions in Memphis and I have to prepare. There is even a hint of one of them using my items for some of their prizes which means I have my work cut out for me in the next few weeks but luckily I know what needs to be done.

Make sure if you are in Memphis to stop by the Indie Style Market to check out my table and everyone else's items during the month of December for the Holiday Pop-Up Shop!

My Little Pony madness...

Derpy Hooves - She's actually a commissioned piece in addition to a Doctor Whooves someone has requested from me.
(I adore the innocent look I gave her)

Rainbow Dash!

Fluttershy. I really adore make the wings for the pin version of these babies!

Rarity got some fabulous hair. 

Applejack and my only bobby pin pony so far! 

Princess Celestia and she is much bigger then the regular pin ponies by leaps and bounds. I have a special project I'm using her for in the near future. 

I plan on making a Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon next in the series of these massive versions .

It is no secret that around my house that we watch a lot of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic because it is the only shop my daughter will sit down and watch consistently. I'll also admit that I'm just as much in love with the show as she is and possibly more. I've taken an older idea of my unicorn pins and made my little pony pins and bobby pins. They took a bit of time to sculpt and I ended up hand painting a majority of the pieces to get the colors even more accurate then with the hand mixed clay I developed. I plan on making more of these once I get school wrapped up this week and all of the preps for the next show.

Cyber Monday Shop Update

 New Insta-Fuku Collars, Fairy Dust Potion Necklaces, and cosplay bows are up for sale in the shop. 

Click here to shop at Tiny Little Magic

Use the code CyberMonday2012 to get 15% off your entire purchase at check out.

Thanksgiving, Trees, and Old Memories

I prep my oh so sweet and should really be a dessert sweet potatoes the night before so I have one less thing to worry about.  I also grind my own cinnamon in a coffee grinder and cinnamon sticks I purchase from a local Korean market.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it!

 We normally don't celebrate Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving day in our house really even though we go down to my father-in-law's house and eat in the early afternoon it just doesn't beat eating the meal in your own home with your Mom. My husband and I stared a second thanksgiving meal the day after to give both of our Mom's a thanksgiving with us, since neither are married and don't participate in the thanksgiving day meal we go to.

I usually set up my tree the week of thanksgiving and this year I had help from a little someone. That same little helper helped even more this morning by tearing off all of the ornaments from the bottom of the tree.

Another thing from over the break is this building. This was one of the busiest stores in my neighborhood before suburban sprawl killed it and the mall it was attached to over the course of less then 10 years.  It was the first to go when things started to go down hill but it has turned into blight after sitting empty for so long. Hopefully by tearing it down will attract someone new to the lot.

A Custom Fuku Collar

I had someone request my first custom fuku the other day and I have to say I am very proud of it. They wanted a navy on navy color scheme with the standard white stripe I use in most of my designs. I believe with this design I have come up with a good technique for making bows more and an even better idea of what to do with the scraps. (can we say mini fuku collars?)

It's like the Blue Dog

My husband has said to me tonight, and in the past, that my work based in nerdom/geekery will be my Blue Dog. The blue dog is a reference to George Rodrigue's famous Blue Dog paintings and how one simple thing has propelled him through out his life. Over the last few years I've slowly evolved a style that reflects my love of all things nerdy from cosplay self portraits to the unicorn horn I'm wearing in the picture above. This past weekend and the last few years have really proved to me the direction I need to take my work and the husband is really encouraging it after he saw the numbers I've pulled out of two shows in two weeks.

Maybe I can pull this off ....

the Holiday Bazaar 2012

Tonight starts the 2012 Holiday Bazaar at the Memphis College of Art. I've been doing this show since I first started at the college back in 2004, and every year has been different for me. I snapped pictures this morning of the show before everyone was set up and the hub-bub started later this afternoon with the 1 hour special preview party before it opened to the public in the evening.

The show runs at the Memphis College of Art tonight from 6 to 9 pm, and then again on Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm.

Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention

Here are the few pics I captured last weekend at the Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention at the Hilton Hotel and Convention Center. I had a pretty sweet spot right near the first door you come to when entering the dealer's room which meant I had lot of students visiting me, such as the lovely young girl who is modeling one of my unicorn headbands, during the school field trips.

 It was a unique experience compared to most standard comic book conventions (con/s). Normally a con doesn't start until much later in the afternoon on the first day but, this is the only one in the region that offers students a special field trip, started at 9 am. It made for a very long weekend with the early Friday start time but the entire event was success for me and the shop.

What's next? This weekend, 16th and 17th, the  is the Memphis College of Art's Holiday Bazaar. I've been doing this show since my undergraduate years at the college and I always have both my actual art work and a table set up for it but it's not like standard shows where you man your own table. The college runs the entire show and you pick up your art work at the end of it.

Hope to see you there!

Fat Cat Coffee Break

Fat Cat Coffee Break

I've just finished my first convention of the Fall/Winter Season and I'm using today as a coffee break the best I can with the kid home due to the holiday. I'm really surprised with how well I did at my first show of the season and even though it was a relatively small convention which included a field trip for school kids the first day of the con, it turned out to be a good experience. I know for sure I will be back next year with more key chains, unicorn horn headbands (I'll post a preview of these soon), and small zippered bags.

What's next?

The Memphis College of Art's Holiday Bazaar is this Friday and runs through 5pm on Saturday. This means I've got another show to prepare for in less then a week again and I need to fill out labels, create new inventory, and do a new inventory list. I've placed a large, okay more like a ridiculous, number of paintings in the art section and I've gotten a full table for my jewelry and cosplay items.

....and I really need to clean up the house today before it gets any later plus get a presentation ready for school.

Back to the grind...

I need new glasses

I was really trying to avoid having to get new glasses until the end of next year but it looks like that won't happen now. When I was getting my daughter out of the car this morning to teach at the Green Sunday lesson at the church I work at most of the year when my glasses fell off and hit the pavement. Normally when this happens they do not get scratched but, this time they hit the ground just right. A pretty good chunk of the special coating they put on glasses for people with astigmatism, like myself, was torn off and made worse by me thinking that it was a smudge and trying to clean my glasses. 

Now I need new glasses.

My husband's insurance will hopefully cover a good portion of the cost of my lenses but I know it won't cover everything I need. 

I'm offering up a coupon code for 15% off everything in my store Tiny Little Magic. 

At check out use the code: 

NEWGLASSES

 for 15% off your entire purchase at Tiny Little Magic. I'll also throw in an extra gift to every one who makes a purchase during this time.

I normally don't ask for help but the show season hasn't started yet and I need to be able to see clearly to drive, work, and go to school.

Happy Halloween

No Jabberwockies were hurt in the making of this picture except a few bags of gummies had to be sacrificed to keep the peace. 

Happy Halloween everyone! 

I hope every has had a good holiday so far! The kiddo had a halloween party at her daycare (we call it school at home) and went as Alice from Wonderland. I cannot believe the haul of candy that was given to her from school! My husband and I will be testing it for "poison" later this evening after she's gone to bed - i.e. eating it ourselves. 

My own candy testing duties won't happen until later this evening since I will be in class this evening until 9 pm but hopefully we'll get out early. 

Anyways its time for dinner before the candy-ocolypse begins. 

Chicago Style

The dear husband had to go to Chicago for work for a few days and he returned this evening with this lovely gift of Chicago Style Pizza. There were originally three slices of this wonderful deep dish delight but I've already eaten one. 

I'm so stuffed. 

Once Upon a Time

I've been obsessed with the show Once Upon a Time since it first showed up on Netflix a few weeks ago. I was a fan of disney movies as a kid and the new take on Disney princesses and other characters is absolutely fantastic and so much more of a story line I can love. 

So I've started to make some small pieces based upon the show.

Mr. Gold's Gift.
When Rumpelstiltskin turned Gaston into the rose when he tried to rescue Bell.
(I've love the goldish tint of his skin .)

The Queen's Heart.
Mayor, Queen, Mother with the best intentions. The queen is possibly one of the most complex characters in the show and I wanted to reflect her heart and how it's been twisted by the best intentions.

Since the story line is so complex and elegant I wanted to make more sophisticated pieces that reflect the show.
Expect these pieces to show up in the store soon so check back often.

Dragon's Fire Enameled Necklaces

One year ago I took my first course in small metals and I fell in love with the process of enameling copper. It's actually a really simple process but it takes time to complete and clean all of the metal. I sell these pieces across Memphis at a few different shops and they look like dragon's fire when if you do your enameling correctly. 

Thus I present to you - Dragon's Fire. 

Find them in the shop now for only $8 + shipping and handling. 

Around the House

Around the house with my entry way and studio mate Enid the anti-social fat cat plus a ton of work covering my work area. 

Adventures in cookie making

During the weekend I try to do something interesting with the kid and this weekend was her first adventure in cookie making with my Mom at her house.I really wanted to make Halloween cookies so she could take with her to 'school' (daycare but its actually more structured then your average daycare) this week for her class' Halloween party in addition to the fruit tray I'm providing. Anyways, after much  sampling of cookie dough and the kid practicing her cookie cutter abilities we ended up with almost 2 dozen cookies. It was a pretty good haul for a toddler's first foray into cookie making. My mom and I can't wait for the winter holidays to start to do it again with her.