Category: Links - Molly's Corner

Eskimo Hobbiton

2/19/2011

Or, otherwise known as What Country Kids/Young Adults Do When We Have A Blizzard.

DIG TUNNELS, OF COURSE!! 8D

Okay. So I was asked by some very good friends of mine if I wanted to go out to their place and tunnel last week. Since they live out in the country, the blizzard that dropped almost 2 feet of snow had the perfect opportunity to blow and form wonderful drifts and piles.

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This was Brandy Hall. But since it was in the driveway, Brandy Hall was a lost venture from the start and eventually was collapsed after the driveway was plowed.

Poor Brandy Hall...what might have been. *places hand over heart*

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They had a pretty good start on it, too. Sigh.

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We did not carve into this drift...it seemed much too sculpted and lovely to do that. So we just looked at it. XD

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I brought my dog along, because he was going stir-crazy in the house, and he had an absolute blast racing around with my friends' dogs.

Then he discovered chickens and nearly killed one.

Twice.

Then he was tied up to a tree and barked his fool head off for the remainder of the visit. -.-

Someday he will be taught not to chase/attempt to murder chickens. But not on a blizzard day.

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My friend E is about 5'2". (Feel free to correct me, E.) So the drifts were pretty massive, all things considered.

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Ladybug...*sigh* She didn't understand the concept of staying off the roof. XD

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E's tunnel...

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...my tunnel...

(I would like to clarify that this picture does not do it justice. It went back at least 5 feet, and had the beginnings of two tunnels going off to the left and right that made it about 8 feet across. Such a lovely tunnel... *sniff*)

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...and the beginnings of E's momma's tunnel!

These were going to be highly elaborate affairs, with 'painted' walls (using dyed water to spray the walls to color them AND make a layer of ice for solidity), tunnels running parallel to the drift wall, windows, the whole nine yards. But I was never able to get back out there, and the snow has long since melted.

Oh, what might have been... *sadness*

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The dogs are sitting on my friends' driveway...there was about 3 feet of snow just there. Fortunately the wind slicing across the prairie made some sort of crust on the snow, and we were able to walk on top of it for the most part. I felt like a well-bundled Legolas.

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Freshly plowed streets....

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I would like to apologize for the lack of updates recently, by the way. Between work, friends, Skyping with Mr. G, and planning for spring/gardening I haven't had much time to work on anything picture- or blog-related. But I'm hoping to change that presently...

Your hostess,

The Fox

A Drawing Challenge

12/15/2010

Since I haven't been drawing hardly at all lately, I am starting a little personal challenge where I take friends and draw their portrait. So far I've got a list of about 13 people that may or may not get completed...

These are not in order of favoritism or whatever. I'm literally drawing names out of a hat to see who I do next--makes it more interesting that way. :P

If you would like the finished product I am more than willing to ship the original. They aren't for sale unless you insist on buying them. ;) Anyway...enjoy the challenge and feel free to suggest yourself or someone...and crack the whip occasionally to keep me going. XD

First challenge: Miss Jean Marie!

Her hair is amazing and insanely time-consuming to draw. There are several things I'm not real happy with here, but I do like how her eyes and hair came out. Nose is a bit too small, mouth seems a bit stark...but oh well. It's just practice. :P

I'm working on the next person now too, but it'll be a surprise. I'm drawing the names out of a hat to keep it more interesting....anyhoo. Have a great night, ya'll, and I'll come back with a 'life' update tomorrow.

Your hostess,

The Fox

In Eight Days

10/27/2010

On November 4th, we are going to be in Florida, seeing my brother's fiancee and our new in-laws for the first time. To say that I am psyched is one of the biggest understatements of the year--at the thought of finally getting to meet everyone, the excitement within reaches exploding point and I'm pretty sure that I'll leave messy excitement explosion all over the place.

...okay, strange analogy/description, but it's also pretty accurate. XD I can't WAIT to meet these people.

And! And, and, here's Isaac and Lydi again!

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The little 'burn' around the edge shaped like a heart makes me happeh. ^-^

Oh! AND I'm psyched to meet her brothers...mwahahaha...

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There's Gabi (holding the fiddle), and Obi (holding the banjo). I've been talking back and forth via Facebook with them for the past few weeks, and they are a LOT of fun.

(On a side note, Gabi looks like Jerry Lewis in the profile, and Obi looks a bit like Wolverine. I told them that while Skyping with Isaac a couple of days ago and got some laughs. XD)

They have their own band called Loner's Junction, and Gabi has a blog called The Fiddler's Blog. But while I've found out some of the bare facts from the respective websites, and Skyped once, that's not quite the same as actually MEETING them. So...I'm really, really, REALLY excited to meet my siblings-in-law. (There goes another understatement. XD)

And on a random note, NaNoWriMo starts on the 1st...so here's to hoping that I'll have a bit of a word buffer up before we leave. O.o

Your hostess,

~The Fox

Weekly 'Things For Sale' Update: October 6

10/6/2010

Maybe I'll keep that promise of keeping this weekly after all...hmm...

So! This week's line-up is a bit eclectic, but I'll try to keep it categorized as well as I can.

First, I sold three books and two antique jars last week (through Etsy), so I've taken them off of the website here in order to keep things as easy to navigate as possible.

First off, I have one more antique jar:

{Pint Quick Seal Jar}

A lovely little clear pint jar, with a matching clear glass lid. I have no idea who made this jar, or what its date of manufacture is, but I found another one that looked exactly like it that had been made in 1908. I'm thinking this one may be even older because it doesn't have a date (the 1908 one did)...but who knows?

This is for sale for $8 in the Antiques section.

{Wolverine Toy Company: African Jungle Hunt}

This is actually a rather fun game--it's a table-top pinball game, very simple but weirdly satisfying to play. It has a tin back with metal 'feet' to prop it up, and except for some cloudiness on the front plastic it's in great condition. It has 5 marbles, 4 white and 1 black, and the black is worth double point.

This is for sale for $25 in the Antiques section.

{Gypsy Scarf Multifaceted}

Yes, it's ANOTHER scarf, folks! XD I went through my yarn stash (the 'opened' or 'started' balls of yarn, anyway) and made one circle from each color to make this...it's a little shorter than my previous scarves, but still plenty long.

This is for sale in my Apparel section for $20.

Now THIS is a little less typical...I was going through my tack in the barn and collected all the bits that I was not and will never use to create this heap of bits. They're castoffs by dint of being the wrong kind (I don't use solid curbs or snaffles with shanks anymore--I've become a firm believer of the O-ring or full-cheek snaffle). There's nothing WRONG with them...they're just un-needed.

These are for sale for $12 (for all three) in the Accessories section.

So there's my line-up...if you're interested in any of these, but don't want to go through my website there are two other choices: you can go through my Etsy account and purchase off of there, or email me for shipping and check-related information.

Thanks for bearing with my incessant attempts at entrepenuralship (tell me if that's spelled right), and keep watching for pictures of the Renne faire. My last attempt to put them on here resulted in my losing my entire post. There was much fuming and stomping away from the computer.

Your hostess,

The Fox

Ramble

9/14/2010

My mind...it turneth to mush. But I shall try to overcome it in time to put up a post.

So I've been working on a new page, where I'll be putting up the things I make in order to sell them. Format is what has me thwarted at the moment (too much stuff on one page, so it'll have to be divided somehow), but I hope to have it up by the end of the week. If you, my dear readers, have anything that you'd like to see in the Store, then let me know. I've got scarves, fingerless gloves, skirts, and comfrey salve so far, but other ideas are percolating...

In other news, the place where ideas do NOT percolate is in class. Something about the sterile, 'follow the book word-for-word' atmosphere makes the creative sector of my brain shut down and go into hibernation. Sheesh. Must be why I can't seem to think of anything to write about.

Um...umm...Will and I were asked to play music for Isaac and Lydie's wedding in November. I just got the chords/tabs for the music today, whee. 8D Time for frantic practicing of the piano! I haven't practiced the piano in AGES...seems like I haven't been inclined to do so for a while. It's kinda sad. But anyway, back to this wedding. It's a country wedding, so all the music is country. (Except for Canon in D, but that's a different story.) And, quite ironically, I never listen to country. (Except for Josh Turner, but that's because he's awesome.) So this will certainly be an interesting endeavour.

Aside from piano, I haven't done much art lately, either...I'm still working on that digital painting, but the sheer mass of detail (I can be rather OCD about it) has me paranoid and it's resting for a while. XD Concerning art, however: I have Doctor Who on the brain, but for some reason I can't seem to figure out any fanart...I mean, I could go the normal route where I draw/paint the Doctor and a companion, but I like making up funny scenarios and doing something out of the ordinary. And if I can't, I just don't draw anything. It's rather frustrating... (Doesn't help that my favorite Doctor has some CRAZY hair, too. The failure to capture its essence of messy craziness has me thwarted.)

Anyhoodle...Mom and I are riding tonight--wait, let me reiterate. I'm riding tonight, and Mom is running. She wants to run 3 miles, so I'm going to tag along and get some hard-core trotting in. (My legs are already sore--they're going to be DYING by tonight. XD)

Considering that class is basically over and I'm just killing time here, I suppose I'd better go...maybe I can get a bit more work done on that digital painting tonight...create some bug bite spray...work on my Doctor Who scarf (which will look something like this, when it's finished)...edit pictures...I dunno. SOMETHING.

Your (admittedly lame) hostess,

The Fox

Today's Project: Padded Wacom Tablet Sleeve

9/1/2010

A few hours before my Photoshop class on Thursday, I was struck with inspiration.

(It hurt.)

But seriously--I had been needing a way to transport my precious Wacom tablet from point A to point B. This need has actually been present for quite a while (I bought the silly thing a year ago, for goodness' sake), but once I found out that I could use my Wacom in Photoshop class I was spurred into action.

I always look around to see what other people have done to satisfy their needs, be it clothing, bags, training horses, etc, and this time was no different. I looked around at a few different websites (notably www.etsy.com and www.deviantart.com) to get some ideas, and once the creative juices were flowing I went about collecting materials.

I was given 2 1/2 trash bags of old jeans about a week ago by a well-meaning friend (she heard that I was making a denim quilt and needed blocks), so my medium was rather fixed. It's a good thing I like working with denim.

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So! Four 12"x10" blocks of denim, two pieces of quilt batting (cut slightly smaller than 12"x10"), an errant back pocket, two straps (about 1" wide by 4" long), and buttons.

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Originally I was torn between which buttons I wanted to use. OCD tendencies that I have, my buttons HAVE to match, or else it drives me crazy.

At one point I may or may not have dumped out the entire button jar in search of other matching choices.

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(You didn't see a thing.)

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Anyway. I sandwiched the quilt batting between two pieces of denim, pinned the lot, and sewed about 1/4 of an inch around the edges. (That little hole to the right of my presser foot measures 1/2" from the needle, for reference.)

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The flaps were pinned on...

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...and sewn on, using a box-and-X shape for reinforcement.

(I actually don't know if it's really THAT much more reinforced. I just thought it looked cool. XD)

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The pocket is for my pen and cord...I almost didn't put it on there, because I figured that the inside might be big enough to squeeze them in there. But it's a good thing I ended up doing so. XD

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Because the raw edges looked kinda sloppy, I snipped the edges to speed up a fraying process; after a little wear (and perhaps a wash or two) the edges should look frayed enough to look interesting rather than mediocre. XD

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I haven't sewn around the button-holes yet to prevent fraying. I've also heard of using regular Elmer's glue, thinning it down with a bit of water, and carefully soaking the denim to keep it from fraying. I have yet to try that out, but in theory it should work (and be a LOT easier than sewing).

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I marked a hole for the buttons...

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...sewed them on...

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...and voila! A padded sleeve for my Wacom tablet!

Because I don't like doing things by halves if I can help it I went around the edges with a scissors and snipped them for speedy fraying. In a couple of washes' time they should look a bit more worn.

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(The lighting in this photo was brought to you by A Handy South-Facing Window. Thank you, AHSFW, for being there to exposed my work area with light.)

I've taken my Wacom to class every chance I get (we're working on a digital painting that's taken about 4 hours of blending so far. Eeesh.) and the sleeve is VERY handy. I can just slip it in my backpack and not worry about being too gentle (it's usually on top of a stack of larger books, so there's no chance of it getting broken by the backpack bending). Now that I can take my Wacom pretty much anywhere my little heart desires, that makes classes and painting in Photoshop that much enjoyable. :D

Speaking of painting in Photoshop: I'm working on another digital painting. This one is over a photograph (NOT as easy as it sounds, believe you me) and turning out to be LOTS of fun. I just did the eyes last night...I love eyes...but not a peek shall you get until it's done. Mwahahaha.

Your hostess,

The Fox

New Art Page

8/31/2010

Yes, it has been an obscene amount of time since I last updated a piece of artwork. I've been very busy.

With this new picture comes a new art page! The last one spanned well over a years' worth of art, and it was getting very, very long. *sweatdrop*

And on this new art page, I have my very first completely digital painting.

Female Mechanic

She took me forever to paint...or at least, much much longer than I'm used to devoting to painting. (Something like 7 hours. Which is REALLY long for me.) However, I am very pleased with how it turned out, so I don't mind all that much. XD

Your arty hostess,

The Fox

Some Projects

8/18/2010

Lately I've been feverishly collecting jeans for the purpose of making them into my biggest project to date: a block quilt.

I've never made a quilt of any kind before. So I started out simple (8" by 8" squares), using legs, back pockets, and just about every scrap of denim I could get my paws on. It helps that the Salvation Army was having a sale (a bag of clothing for a dollar), so I was able to get a TON of jeans for refashioning purposes.

This is what I've got so far:

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5 squares by 5 squares, with more waiting to be added.

(The cat thinks she's helping me, by the way, and I hate to dissuade her.)

At this point I've got a TON of blocks--hopefully enough to make this quilt, some matching pillows, a reversible scarf...

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(With the flash it's a bit brighter)

Suffice to say that even with a surplus of denim I've got plans for it. And there's 5 or 6 jean cut-offs waiting to be turned into purses/bags of some sort eventually, once I figure out how to line 'em.

The only downside is that I don't have a permanent area to set up my sewing machine, and I'm tired of lugging it out of its resting place against the wall...so below is my temporary working spot.

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Piano bench...stool...I'm set. XD

I used to have it set up on the dining room table, but when people are looking for a place to sit and eat they get miffed to find a sewing machine in their way.

By the way: that sewing machine may look innocuous enough, but it weighs 15 tons and is supposedly 'portable'.

HAH! I laugh in scorn at its so-called portability. Feh.

Ahem. Anyway. On to other projects...

I've been reading tutorials on how to make things out of t-shirts lately, and I decided to tackle this halter top pattern.

It was a little more involved than I originally thought...by cutting off the bottom hem and the neck all of the tension went out of the shirt and it was really, really, REALLY loose. So a little altering was necessary (took it in about 5 inches total on the sides)...but as for now I'm rather pleased with it.

Mom thought I had bought it at the second-hand store...which is a pretty big compliment towards my (usually) mediocre sewing skillz. XD

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Apologies for the lighting, by the way. These were taken at 8:30 at night, long after the sun had set. >.<

I'd show off a picture of my latest skirt too, but I haven't gotten around to getting a picture of that yet. Sigh.

Oh! A note on the skirts--I'm working on another one for a girl I know and Mom and a friend of hers have also asked for one. XD I might actually be able to make money on these things...hmmm....

Anyway. It's late and I'm starting to ramble...so I shall ever remain,

Your crafting hostess,

The fox

Weight Difference

7/21/2010

...this should kinda speak for itself. XD But since I'm an explaining sort of person I'll expound.

So on Sunday, after the cast party, several of us went to the park and teeter-tottered for a while. The person opposite me was Zach, a 6'2" 190-lb guy (as opposed to 5'4" 135-lb me)...and I think I touched the ground twice the whole time. XD At one point we actually got it balanced, by him leaning way forward and putting his feet on the bar and me leaning as far back as I could go without actually falling off. It was pretty epic.

Sketched on paper, inked with my Wacom in Photoshop, this is up in Doodle-art, yada yada, you know the drill.

Your hostess,

The Fox

Okay! Let's Do This Thing!!

7/21/2010

By that I mean that hopefully I'll be back to updating-every-day-or-so--sorry for the unprecedented hiatus there! And starting next Wednesday things will be back to sporadic updating--my two friends from Texas, Christa and Ashlee, are coming to visit! I've never actually met them except via Skyping, which is NOT the same as real-life...I'm so freakin' excited you have NO idea. And after they visit I'm flying back with them to Texas to stay for six days with their family. EEEEEEEEEE.....

*ahem* Anyway. Pictures will be taken, doodles may be drawn...it's going to be fabulous. To tide you over until then, I have pictures from The Pajama Game. Enjoy!

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This is our narrator/time-study-man, Zach. Normally his hair is very fluffy and 'fro-like, but for the part they were going for the slicked-back look.