Technical Difficulties!!!

WOW....I can not believe I have let TWO weeks slip by. I must confess that it's due to technical difficulties and not with my computer..HAHA...it's with this dang old body!!  I'm not one to be sad (goes against my laid back hippie spirit) or one that likes to complain (that goes against my mermaid soul) but I must say that I'm not sure just what is going on. I was very proud that at 54 I was not on any type of medication...thought I was in good health (need to lose about 100 lbs) and would live to be as old and as happy as my great grandmother (101 and that's what she would admit to). How wrong was I!!! A visit to the doctor with a simple rash and POW...I'm hit with finding out that I am diabetic (and probably have been for some time..already affecting my vision) and have high blood pressure (of course, who wouldn't when they thought they were healthy and get hit with that kinda news..ri iight?) Right now I feel as though I am a blind woman walking dizzily through a fogbank BUT I WILL get this under control and I WILL be able to live a good long, long life. Now....you know why I have been missing and I'm hoping to not be gone that long again. Thank you for sticking with me....I love all of my friends I have made with this blog. So many wonderful, wonderful friends!!

I'm having a time sculpting at the moment due to my eyes but I have been twisting and twisting a lot!!! Ya know, twisting the hemp rope...making bracelets. I even had an order to make two special ones from my Boho rose hemp one I did awhile back. Do you remember it? Here it is as a refresher...hehe

Ms Ricki loved this and bought it...YEA!!! She asked if I could make two more but using black roping in place of the rose. She wanted to get them and give as gifts. That made my heart sing....I love when folks buy my pieces but it really makes me feel special when they buy them to give to someone else.

Both look like this one. I think the black really looks good with the pansy and pearls. I hope that whoever she gives them to likes them as much as she does hers. I asked if she would like me to make some of my simple paper boxes to put them in since they were going to be gifts. OH OH OHHH, I will do that for anyone that buys from me with my small items....just ask!! ^_^   She said that would be wonderful. So, here's the gift boxes.

Pretty butterflies are bringing them for delivery. The boxes are made from card stock (Click here to see a tut I did awhile back on how to make one yourself) I laced some of my multicolored cording through the back of the butterfly and then tied it off near the head so that it just makes them even more pretty.

I'm working on some more bracelets since I can twist with my eyes shut..hehe...so I hope you will come back to visit and see how they turned out.

Until next time.........HUGS and tons of love,
Regi

Cordelia....Mermaid in the Bathtub.

The skies had been grey and stormy for quite some time and the pounding waves on a sand bar far off the shore uncovered an ancient shipwreck. A wooden hulled beauty at one time for sure and surrounding her after the storm were many treasures that made you want to learn more about this long lost sailing vessel. No human would ever find this wreck since it was far off from the beautiful Irish shores but one tiny mermaid did happen upon it and ohh the treasures Cordelia discovered.

Among the items laying close to the wreck was a strange object. One that was still beautiful after being submerged for so long and one that apparently still held water inside it's hollowed out shell. Water that had been warmed by the sun and was just tempting Cordelia to sit in.  She slowly slide herself inside and stretched out her tail as far as it would allow. How wonderful the warmed water felt against her...so much so that she started to giggle and wiggle. Sitting next to this strange but amazing container was a metal box. Cordelia leaned over and opened it. Inside she found a beautiful pink, plush towel and a wash cloth. She knew about humans and some of the items they had for she loved sitting on the rocks and watching them from afar as they enjoyed the shores and the marvelous sea she called home. She pulled out a tiny glass vial that she didn't know what in the world it could be and all of a sudden it slipped from her hands and the stopper popped out and the contents landed in her warm water. For some reason this made her giggle and wiggle again but this time something spectacular happened. Bubbles...tons and tons of bubbles began forming all around Cordelia.

Cordelia is one of my Southern ooaks in my mermaid series. Since she is from the waters off Ireland's coast then I felt it befitting to give her a true Celtic name....Cordelia..meaning "of the Sea". She has a strong wire armature underneath a fully sculpted clay body. She sits at just 4 1/2 inches and is 7 inches long. (from the tip of her head to the tip of her tail) Her face was detailed using acrylic paints...her eyes hand painted on bone beads. Her tail was detailed with tiny scales and then covered in several hues of green, purple and blue MICA powders before baking. The baking process gave it a beautiful mermaid tail cast. Her tail in several places has German glass to give it a wet look. Her crown is made from clay and covered in MICA powders and her hair is dyed pulled wool yarn. Her treasure she discovered that holds water warmed by the sun is a vintage glass claw foot tub. Vintage pearls, faux pearls and crystals make up the bubbles. Vintage cloth made the perfect towel and wash cloth. (The wash cloth is made from the same material as the towel...I just clipped the fringe)

Cordelia has already been adopted and is going to be living in Germany with her new family. I hope they put her in a place that it's alright if water spills because I'm sure she will keep giggling and wiggling to make more bubbles for a very long time.

Until next time...........Hugs,
Regi

Excuse my late posting..it was LAUNDRY day...YEA!!!

WOW....what is it about going out of town for just a few days that seems to make the laundry monster GROW more so than on a normal weekend?  I have been doing laundry today (ALL DAY I might add) as well as working on my newest mermaid sculpt. Six loads of laundry...SIX and one is still in the washer waiting for the Hubbikins to get out of the bath so I can add his underclothes. That's alright though because it was good to see family this weekend and meet our newest little great nephew. YES....I said GREAT nephew and it's not that we are that old....our niece just started early...hehe!!

I wanted to show you where I am on the newest piece I'm doing. Hopefully, I will get  her finished by Wednesday at the latest. I'm also still working on her story that will go with her....love writing my whimsical lil characters stories. I think it helps make them a tad bit more real believable.

Her face is detailed with the exception of her lips....can't forget those now. Her hair will hide her ta-ta's if she is feeling shy but if not...then she will let them be seen. I mean...I have always heard "if ya got em..flaunt em". I'm going to seal her tail and then add some German glass in places to look like water. I love how the green, blue and purple MICA powders blended together. I have some vintage pearls that I'm going to fill the bathtub with to take the place of real bubbles..hehe!! I'm taking my time with her and thank goodness I won't be doing laundry tomorrow...at least I hope I won't be. Fingers crossed!!

Until next time........Hugs,
Regi

I would like to take old age and kick it...right outa tha door!!

WOW.....I knew that in numbers I was getting older but I so didn't realize that the old saying "Once you get over 50 everything breaks or falls off" was actually true. I had a doctors appointment yesterday and well, let's just say that it wasn't a good one and I have been scheduled for another one on the 17th. You won't hear me whine or complain because I'm one of those that believe you shouldn't panic until some words a doctor uses are taken from "it could be this" to a firm diagnosis of "it is this". I am going to ask that you keep me in your prayers please!!

I have been working on the Mermaid in the Bath tub piece and have some WIP photos to show you. I'm going to try and get her detailed this afternoon....we will see.

Until next time...........Hugs,
Regi

Back to routine again...

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend. Last week and the weekend seemed to go by to fast. I love having my Chazman at home with me and well...it's back to a routine again.

Those that have been following along here under the old Southern ooaks tree know that starting in the spring and all the way through to the end of summer, we clean condos and beach houses. I rather enjoy this part time job. I mean where else can you open up a sliding glass door and hear the ocean lapping onto the shore, or smell the salt air and even get to hear the seagulls "LAUGHING".  Oh yes...I'm sure they are laughing at us. Listen to them the next time you are walking on the beach. ^_^

Even with cleaning..we still found time to take one of our beach walkabouts. We actually took two this weekend. Saturday was a day just to walk and look for shells. Some very pretty ones found too like auger shells, moon shells, scallops (fan) shells, whelks and olives.  Since Sunday was Easter and we still had a house to clean we thought it would be nice to enjoy the afternoon sitting on the beach and watching all the crazy *ahem* people getting into the water. However, I never figured my son would be one of THOSE people...HAHA!! He tried to talk me into getting in...which most the time I do. (I'm such a water person) but there was no way once my feet got wet. Good Golly Miss Molly...that water was soooo COLD my heart actually skipped a beat. Chaz said that I would get use to it. Ohhh nooo I wouldn't!! I made it in as far as my knees and that was it. That was it mostly because my feet were frozen and wouldn't move. ^_^  So I stood were I was and watched him have a blast falling into the waves. My muse decided to take the opportunity of a captive audience and whisper in my eat. She had as I told you on an earlier visit found a small glass tub in my art stash. That's all it took....her to remind me of that and for me to feel just how cold the ocean was this time of year. Wouldn't a salt water WARM bath feel so good....even to a mermaid???

This is what I'm working on now. A mermaid and her bath!! This one will take a bit longer to complete than my tea cup faeres as I'm thinking that I'm going to use some of my vintage pearls as bubbles in her bath with parts of her underwater (so to speak). I think this little gal is going to love her bath so much that I might not ever get her out of the tub and back into the ocean..hehe

Until next time.............Hugs,
Regi