Before and after...

 I was at Michael's the other day, with a 40% off coupon burning a hole in my sad and worn out jeans when I spotted this:

For a mere $1.99! He was in a bin with other vinyl dudes: pumpkin men, scarecrows, frankensteins. He's about three inches tall (about the same size as one of those troll dolls). This one is supposed to be a vampire, I think. He has little fangs and bat wings.

But I didn't see a vampire. Or fangs.

I saw this!

A skelly angel devil!

I think this might be the inner me.

Part angel, part devil.

Nice teeth.

If you want to tackle one of these guys yourself, I discovered it's much easier if you first cover the surface of the doll with gel medium. It gives the surface more 'tooth' and the acrylic paint something to stick to. I also happen to like seeing the surface brush strokes from the gel - but then, I am not, nor will I ever be, one of those people that like perfection in art. Too much precision makes me nervous. Which explains my life.

When I was done painting Mr. Skelly Angel Devil, I gave him several coats of varnish. He was almost as much fun as Scary Barbie.

Remember Scary Barbie? She watches me paint now. Trust me, she's still scary.

Happy Almost Fall!

New work and County Fair pics

I finished a few little Halloweenies that have been patiently waiting for heads and faces and such.

Effie, a little skelly doll

Gwendolyn

Erda

And guess what? We went to the Montgomery County Fair! Yehaw!

We saw amazing things - like pig racing. (Kind of. They actually only did one lap, and it was pretty short lap, but still, they did run, so I guess that counts.)

 We saw the Midway. And all its strangeness.

We saw lots and lots of bunnies and chickens.

 Fried dough! WOW!

We saw a man with a small flock of dressed up geese. They were very well-behaved.

 And we saw toilet art. Yes, indeed, art made from toilets.

Made me proud to be an American.

That's the report from this end. Hope your end-of-summer is just as exciting! :)

Winner, winner, chicken dinner...

Hey all!

Just popping in to say that Mim won Chester!

I'll be back with some WIPs mañana.

Mim, send me your address and I'll get him in the mail to you!

Happiest place on EARTH and a giveaway!

 BOO! This is Chester. More on him in a minute. First, some minor whining:

I feel like I have been running a weird, un-Olympics-worthy marathon through a swamp.
Wait. I was just on vacation in DisneyWorld. That explains it.

Let me just say this: no one can complain about the humidity unless they live in FLORIDA. The humidity and heat combined are stunning. As in - you walk out the door of your hotel and you are stunned.

Maybe there should be a word for that combo.
Stunned + heat + humidity = Steamidity.

In spite the steamidity, we had a great time (this is the part where the whining ends). Here are some highlights:

Food from different countries that are only feet apart!
Twinkling lights.
Fireworks.
Thunderstorms that send you running for cover.
Rides with your now-grown kids that you remember riding when you were a kid and when they were kids (Peter Pan!).
The car ride from hell (16 hours) that let us all 'reconnect'. For better or worse.
People watching. Especially little kids.
Food stands that sell wine and beer (go Epcot!).
Pirates!
The Haunted Mansion!
Realizing that we don't have to grow up if we don't want to.
Time with my family.


Now, for the GIVEAWAY! Yippeee skippeee! (Sorry, I have some hangover Disney enthusiasm). Just keep swimming...I mean scrolling.

I've made this little Halloween guy. His name is Chester. He would look great hanging from your Halloween tree this year. If you'd like a chance to win him, just leave me a comment. I'll pick the winner after 6pm (ish) EST on Wednesday, August 15th.

Keep thinking cool thoughts. Fall is on the way!