Garden Gnome Update - Sculpting Continues

Not a lot of progress this week. I have been prepping for the rest of the sculpting(primarily, the caterpillar and spray of cards), inking all my drawings and drawing the Mad Hatter scene. Hope to be finished, or darn close, by next Monday's update.

Alice's right leg needs a little more shape in her calf but I had to wait for this application to dry.

Caterpillar armature. The styrofoam will be covered by clay and sculpted.

Closeup of Alice At the Mad Hatter's tea party.

In the Garden

Violas are blooming in the garden. A pesky squirrel dug up the ones that were in the planter with the peony. Speaking of, the peony is coming back to life. I was a bit nervous because it lives in a planter and this winter was so cold that there was that outside chance it may freeze. As you can see below by the little pink nub, it did not.

Daylilies are popping up in every garden bed. I haven't located some of the newer ones but I also haven't had a chance to weed and remove dead leaves. I'm sure as soon as I clear the beds, they will reappear. I love daylilies because they are so resilient.

I have iris scattered here and there. They aren't doing as well would have liked or expected. We will see when spring really kicks in how they are going to do. In the one flower bed, the squirrels appear to have had some fun digging them up.

Besides dead matter and sprouts, if you look closely you can find quite a bit of bunny and deer droppings. Free fertilizer I guess.

Labrador violets are popping up all over my main garden bed. Since I'm a huge violet fan, I don't mind. I consider it a pretty ground cover.

These are the two strongest poppy plants but there are more interspersed throughout the beds. These are closer to the house and therefore warmer. That's my guess for why they are looking so great :o)

My mom buys me primrose every year so I keep them alive until spring and plant them by the front door. I'm not sure how many I have now but they love their little home. They also bloom throughout most of the winter!

I have four hyacinth coming up. Can't wait to see these guys in all their splendor.

Both my lavender and pink phlox are coming up. Phlox isn't my favorite flower but for some reason, I get really excited when these guys come back. I've had the pink since I lived in Columbus (about 5 years) and the lavender since we lived in Cleveland (3 years). Every time we move, I dig them up and bring them with us.

Garden Mums.

Another mum below in the jungle of weeds that exists in my small, front garden bed. I had my bird feeder over there so I could watch my birds while doing the dishes. Needless to say, the weeds are very hardy.

Finally, some plants that need to be planted ASAP. They just arrived this week but with a cold snap they have to wait a bit before they can be introduced to their new home. Temps are due to go up next week so I'll try to get them in then. In the meantime, I will keep them in the cool mudroom and water them occasionally.

WIP Wednesday

Since I am doing a Monday Gnome update I am going to show you my "other" projects on Wednesday.

Two reasons for this:
1) I don't make that much progress on the gnome between Monday and Wednesday.
2) It forces me to work on the other things I have been neglecting.

So this week I have update photos on Patches the bunny rabbit. He is slowly transforming. I still need to put another coat of paint on his backside, repaint his plaid patch, seal and antique him(oh, and add a little chenille tail) Then he will be finished and I will list him in my Etsy shop. Hopefully all of this will happen before the weekend.

On the gnome front, was suppose to go do a promo event for Gnome and Garden on Sunday but will be working from home instead. (I think I may be coming down with something, could be the weather change but just in case, it's better I'm not around little ones anyway)

Garden Gnome Update - Sculpting Continues

The sculpting continues and, for the most part, the bulk of the surface sculpting is complete. I have one more rose to sculpt and some books and book shelves, a clock and Alice's ankles, feet and underskirt.

And then there is the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, I am redrawing it today and hope to have it sculpted quickly.

I am still waiting for my Magic Smooth to arrive so I can work on the spray of playing cards on the back and the cards that are tucked into Sir Gnome's beard. I also will be working on the caterpillar and playing card rose painter in the next few days. As always, more photos of the ongoing progress will be available on my Facebook page.

In the Garden

It's that time of the year!

The weather has been very good to my garden over the past couple of weeks and I was able to spend some time out there. I actually have my first blooms of the year, violas that survived from last year.

hollyhocks (year 2) will have terracotta shades of flowers.

My hyacinth that I don't remember planting.
I think they are purple but I guess we'll find out soon enough :o)

My poppies!(year 2) There will be blossoms this year and I am totally stoked. If I remember correctly they are all salmon or coral pink
(I am planting red poppies this year.How can I not have at least a few red poppies?)

Garden Gnome Update - Sculpting Begins

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Here are some photos of the sculpting taking place on the garden gnome. It's been a pretty steep learning curve for me with the new materials but as soon as I get something, I get it. I'll be trying Magic Smooth for my playing cards, fingers crossed on how that will go, and debating on if I can get the Magic Sculpt detailed enough. So far so good but I still need to build a caterpillar and card person which will be more entailed than the surface sculpts. (More photos are posted on my Facebook page)

Train Wrecks and Natural Disasters

"Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message." ~Malcolm Muggeridge

I have a friend who is a rubbernecker. You know the one that enjoys watching televised surgical procedures on cable TV and drives slowly past car accidents hoping to see the devastation up close and in person. I've always found it rather odd since I am the opposite. Seeing people in pain affects me deeply to the core. I literally feel other people's pain, physical or emotional. It is very difficult for me to go to hospitals and funerals because I am so sensitive.

And yet, I am drawn to natural disasters. They scare the hell out of me. Tsunamis and tornadoes in particular scare me the most (the later due to the Wizard of Oz, I'm sure).I hate to see the devastation and yet I can't stop watching the coverage. I feel helpless, because I am. Let's face it, we all are, I don't care who you are and how much money or power you have, you can't win against Mother Nature. You can mitigate the damage perhaps and overcome the setbacks but you can't beat her.

The sheer power behind these disasters fascinate me. How the earth can just suddenly heave up without notice and destroy lives and communities is mind blowing. Perhaps the only reason I can watch the footage of the devastation is because we are detached, you don't directly see the lives of the people impacted. But I know they are there. As soon as I hear of something like the earthquake in Japan, I immediately start sending prayers and healing energy to the areas affected. ( and I usually shed a few tears because I can feel the intense pain of the people) Of course, I also send a prayer when I pass an ambulance or police car en route to a call. I wouldn't follow them to see what happened though and rarely follow up to see what happened.

I am fascinated with the science behind natural disasters. How the earth causes earthquakes or tsunamis is fascinating, even the immense devastation of it's power and yet the devastation it leaves behind is heartbreaking.There is no way you can prevent being involved in a natural disaster, it occurs where it occurs and God bless you if that happens to be where you are. I often wish you could harness Mother Earth's power and direct it to the political and corporate powers that cause so much havoc and unrest instead of the residents of earth that are just living their lives the best they can. It seems rather unfair sometimes.

I must have a superhero complex. I guess Mother Nature is the ultimate power, more powerful than any politician or corporate mogul could ever be.

I woke up this morning and heard the news of the catastrophic earthquake that hit Japan. It was 4 am and I haven't slept much since. I was glued to the news and now to the internet. I wish there was something more I could do but, alas, I am half a world away. The most I can do is say that my prayers and healing thoughts are with the people of Japan and any others that have been or will be affected by the earthquake and ensuing tsunamis. May God Bless and hold them in his hands through this difficult time.


"I believe in the sun even if it isn't shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe in God even when He is silent." ~Author Unknown