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Mushy the Mushroom

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  2. Mushy the Mushroom
    Lesson learned: 
    If you find some front yard mushrooms, adorn them in various styles and photograph them, people are going to stare...
     
    ...But if you do all that and it begins to rain, causing you to build a terribly improvised hut, they will think you’ve gone wholly mad.
     
    ...Which might not be absolutely inaccurate.

     

    Apparently crabapples can be used as miniature props.
     
    Also, if anyone can identify what type of mushrooms these are, please let me know.
    BEHOLD THE HUT OF SHAME.

     
     
  3. Mushy the Mushroom

    SHOEMAKING ADVENTURES

    By Mushy the Mushroom,


    cinnamon toast?
    First try at leather shoes + shoemaking with my lasts. Started them about five months ago but didn’t have the time/supplies to complete them until last week. Ballet flats don’t normally use welted sole construction, but I wanted to try the technique. Used the narrow German welt method.

    Made from a 20ish year old suede jacket (outer and lining), ¼” thick veg tan leather (insoles, outsoles, welt), faux leather (stiffener), ¼” wide leather reinforcement tape, ⅛ in thick cork (filler), bamboo shanks, Barbours 6 unwaxed cord (welting), coad/shoemaker’s wax/pitch, contact cement, neoprene glue, beeswax, shellac, and tiny wire nails.

     
     
    First, I completely covered the lasts in masking tape, drew the design on, cut and pulled the tape portions off and stuck them to paper. Then added seam allowances and tested a paper version. Then cut the uppers, sewed together and applied reinforcement tape at the seams. Then cut the veg tan insoles, marked and skived, and poked the awl through the feather/holdfast, marking the holes.(Attached with rubber bands- didn’t want to nail into the last until steel protector plates were added.)Next, dry lasted/stretched the leather with pincers, contact glued the lining layer around the feather/holdfast, glued in faux leather toe and heel stabilizers, smoothed out with the rasp, and lasted, glued and rasped the outer layer in place.Then made coad/shoemaker’s wax/pitch by melting pine rosin with beeswax, dropping the hot mixture into a water bucket and kneading it into little blobs (Recipe in sources). Made skived welts out of strips of veg tan. Waxed the thread with the coad/pitch/waxand started saddle stitching. Was initially painful and time consuming because of neglecting to wet the welt, and lack of a proper, sharpened awl needle.  Ordered an 1840s curved awl needle which worked in a comparatively magical manner.
    (Excessive progress photos feat. my parched, lotion-hating fingers. XD )

    I couldn’t find any suitable shoemaker’s bristles or needles online, but read that some used guitar strings instead. So I thought I’d try to use these floss threaders, which surprisingly worked. Then skived the wet welt a bit to smooth the fuzzies out. Added the cut-down bamboo shanks +leather covers and contact glued in. Then took the ⅛” thick cork sheets and contact glued and rasped two layers on. Then contact glued and hammered the rough-cut veg tan sole on. Trimmed excess off with the skive knife, Dremel sanded, and smoothed with a glass shard (Sorry mayo jar, you were a lovely sacrifice).

    Marked and cut the angled slits for stitching and saddle stitched through. Then closed the slits with neoprene glue (AKA Shoe Goo. Same stuff, just cheaper.) and hammered.

    Neoprene glued the heel layers on, cutting the excess off of each individual layer and rasping down. Then wet sanded the sole edges with the Dremel. (That protective masking tape was a terrible mistake. Had to remove the sticky residue with a freezer, a brush, a pencil eraser and suede cleaner. #fail ._.) Then made shellac for the soles from dewaxed orange shellac flakes and denatured alcohol. Sticks to skin very well. Should’ve worn gloves. (Recipe in sources) Applied the shellac to the soles, two coats. Then rubbed melted beeswax to the sole edges. For lack of a better system, I used the Sterno inferno to heat the heel edge iron and melted the wax to seal. Lastly, added little nails in the heel for extra security (Probably used too many, got excited.) 

    Pretty rough, I have no idea what I’m doing, but I guess that failing = learning. Should hopefully be easier next time. I’m ecstatic about all the online tutorials for this stuff! *Tries to contain the INTENSE EXCITEMENT*
    Also so thankful my dad’s around more, so I can hassle him about tools and garagestuff. XD He gave me this old leather welding apron to prevent unintentional stab wounds, and I’m fan-girling over it. He also refinished and painted the rusty Cobbler’s anvil from my grandmother’s barn, and made the "heel edge iron". I couldn't find the latter for sale in the US, showed him a photo, and he was able to make it from an old mallet head and the end of a walking stick. Best. Gift. Ever.  ;_;

    Here are source links in case anyone else desires to pursue a fading trade with wild abandonment.
    ...And also so I can remember this stuff next time.
     
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITiyKmYnL-0&feature=youtu.be
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LsE4nsEOJk&feature=youtu.be
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2lCXlGp_GA&feature=youtu.be
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7L6nPNNPBc
    https://shoesandcraft.com/2011/01/13/german-welt-tutorial-2/
    https://shoesandcraft.com/2011/01/21/a-little-more-about-german-welt/
    http://carreducker.blogspot.com/2012/05/threads.html?m=1
    https://medium.com/@mbliskavka/shoemaking-school-pt-3-making-thread-and-welting-25e157bc7f5a
    https://www.ianatkinson.net/leather/leatherguide.htm
    http://aands.org/raisedheels/Techniques/coad.php
    https://www.shellac.net/shellac-mixing-application.html
    https://shoesandcraft.com/2012/12/05/heel-edge-finishing/
     
  4. Mushy the Mushroom
    It appears as though it’s maybe time to resume aimlessly cluttering the region with creations...
    4x5.75” Beta fish, acrylic on watercolor paper, done for greeting cards. 
    Brain: A small painting will be faster....Reality: Spends 22 hours gleefully obsessing over the details. 

    And a few somewhat recent 9x12 pencil drawings that I remembered to scan but forgot to watermark...oh well...

    (French seams)  Went to Walmart to buy a shirt...then realized the 3yrd. indigo fabric roll was cheaper and could make a spiral ruffle skirt also.  And some old things—> New things. Print pajama pants = new shirt and mesh lace scraps + Rolled hem presser foot = scarf.

    A simple fleece lined hat from tee shirt, made to complete an outfit. My dad is now happily living as a human bottle of Sriracha...
    .
    Noticed that the giant bag of my family’s semi-destroyed jeans was nearly overflowing. ‘Twas a nice excuse for a little challenge + drafting a new pattern. Used the inner side of the denim to avoid stains, cut strips around the holes and alternated the light and dark denim panels. Interfaced and stuff. First try at a method of construction that replaces zippers with button pockets. I am baffled as to why I had "coat of arms of New Jersey" buttons, but yay, they were the right size.

    (Why does the dress form look so weird? Because it’s made of a chopped up wooden hanger, a tennis ball, drop cloths, wood glue, stuffing, a copper pipe, and a punching bag stand. Very professional. XD )
    Finally drafted some patterns for these dolls. Hopefully will be able to get back to actual worksewing soon...

    (The mischievous Muscovies had a glorious time trying to photobomb these..)
    Things for the Child. (Is it wrong to have a Child without watching the show?) Snap-on hair bows and test subject dresses, made from old dyed sheets/pillowcases. The sleeve cap shape was shamefully off on these, redrafted the pattern with paper towels later. 


    Window Child backpack, made from a drop cloth, leather, foam, clear fabric, and metallic faux leather. Partially sewn with the Needle-Launching-Monster. Messed up the window a little with the wrinkles. Only realized it looked like a portable clothes dryer afterwards...It’s ridiculously wide, but had to be to accommodate his ears. XD

    I can not contain my joy over the fact that alien dolls aren’t that peculiar anymore. I used to drag my beloved Figrin D’an, Admiral Ackbar and Greedo dolls around everywhere.
    The tragically disproportionate outcome of trying to make a Child cake topper out of peanut butter + powdered sugar at 3 am:
    :
    Just beaded masks.

    And daisy flower crown from a while ago. Green base band is from elastic strips covered in velvet, “woven” and sewn together. Daisies made by shaping wet leather and centers made from stamping and painting. 

    Do you ever just go outside for a fast photo then somehow end up frolicking into the welcoming woods for the next hour?

    (Dress made a few years ago, not remotely recent.) (Not pictured:  Very awkwardly trying to hide from passing neighbors, trying to hide the camera remote, laser level tripod, many NSAIDs, dark underlying fear of tick bites. )
    “There’s nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend.” -Bob Ross
    ...Or maybe even a tree frog.?
     
    May spring bring you as much happiness as this daffodil brought Pops~

     
  5. Mushy the Mushroom
    Recent chipmunk, 9X12 acrylic + pencil on watercolor paper. Drawing time: ? Painting time: 42 hours.
    The drawing was from last year and not heavily detailed (done with a flashlight during a road trip).

     
    Drawings from the past few months, 9x12s. I lacked access to a reference photo for one of them, so that accidentally resulted in a drawing of me as a mere primordial mush’. The last two are smaller, old/not very good (2018-2019, flashlight car art) ones with some newly added details.

    My dear, tolerant brother visited and confusedly agreed to be in a five minute forest photoshoot!
    Him: “I didn’t know what I was walking into. I still don’t.” 

    Lantern: Was gifted to our great grandparents by a conductor after his train derailed and partially destroyed their yard. (It works, but fire is scary so the flame is tissue paper).  Binoculars: From another grandfather. 
    Brother’s costume: Russian hat: Our grandfather apparently fancied one after spotting it in a magazine. Coat: Too big, temporarily swiped from our dad, pinned to cover the Star Wars shirt underneath. 
    Mine: Dress: Actually our great grandmother’s coat with an added belt. Cape: A tattered tablecloth secured with safety pins and a rubber band. 
    Bear: Still frightens our mom.  I regret not bringing string to make it look like it was climbing a tree.
    Merry times. Had a flowery stump funeral for a trio of poor fishies who had perished in a park, finally watched Rise of Skywalker, and maybe even put braids in his quarantine hair to prove it was possible.
    If life gives you straw flowers, why not wear them as straw hats?

     
    Noticed an abundance of teal things and decided to make an utter goof of myself by playing dress up with it all in the backyard.  

    Swashbuckling sword: My dad’s. From 1913/WW1. Apparently sword length is based on one’s height? The sheath unceremoniously dragged the ground.
    Lantern: Possibly stolen from the garden. 
    Dress: Made 3 years ago from my mom’s old bridesmaid gown + new lace. 
    Gloves: Made from velveteen some years ago.
    Cape: Really just my grandmother’s coat with the sleeves pulled outside-in. 
    Kakama: Pattern
    Random story because the content below will sound like the senseless babble that it is without it:
     
    -The Antics of Nannerpus-
    Once upon a time my brother and I saw a commercial starring a majestic Nannerpus and adored it more than we should have.
    Years later, my grandmother gifted me a massive amount of acrylic yellow felt. 
    And later my mom gave me an old tan sheet.
    My x year old brain: *IDEA*
    Nannerpus then became our homeschool mascot.
    2017: Took Nannerpus to the hospital with me, somehow got other patients to wear it. 
    2018: Discovered a compilation clip contest. Taped black plastic to the side of our house, asked my mom to shower balloons from an upper window, and a strange second of spinning Nannerpus ended up in that indie band’s video.

    2021: My dad:

    Me: ??? *Assumes it’s a random joke because it wasn’t mentioned again*
    Four days later: 
    My dad, 5:30 pm:
    “So, I need a Twinkie costume for work tomorrow (in 12 hours)...”
    "...Okay? Yeah? Sure?"
    ...Two hours later:

    (Temporarily stitched oversized additions to cover the mustache)....I’ve created a terrible monster...O_O 
    Sewing pins have always looked like baby balloons to me. 

    *Gets carried away by the concept like these cotton clouds literally did in the wind*
     
  6. Mushy the Mushroom

    Baby Ducks with Swords Flying Airplanes to Dollar General?

    By Mushy the Mushroom,


    nothing more mortifying that reading your own content
    [Translation: Lacked a quality title.]
    A little art. 9x12's, Ticonderogas, and mechanical on watercolor paper. Not much blog material this time (mid painting, big project and also just staring at the ceiling). 

    Ninja-inspired outfit made from scraps of unwanted tee shirts (slapdash tired sewing). French seams, mitered corners, six-panel skirt and first try at drafting a twist top. Swordthing from grandmother #2. Apparently she would go to fields and use it to cut hay for her horses. (It’s a hypermobility brace (turns out flexibility can become crippling) and I didn’t make it- just felt ninja enough to leave on. )

    Hat drafted for my dad, an avid headwear enthusiast. Maybe it was meant to be, as our surname shuffled can spell the name of a certain hat?
      Reused a bill/front stiffener from baseball cap. Made from the surviving areas of his new pants that were ruined by bleach on the first day of being worn, lined with the pocket material.

    (Unfortunately no available siblings to bribe (with baked goods) to be in photoshoots, so making a goof of myself for the sake of pictures yet again. )
    My family has acquired a lot of antique stuff we’re not sure what to do with, So yay for props!  Toy airplanes from grandfather #3 (adopted parent = many bonus grandparents). Drafted the aviator hat for my dad, made from a leather jacket. For go kart riding. It’s a glorious “Is this madman trying to get us killed because this is a rad way to go(?)” experience to go ~35-40 mph in it without seatbelts. (Overalls +dress made years ago so kindofcheating.) 

    Got her to be in one photo though!  Pops+props. Outfit also made from tee shirts a while ago.

    Iphone attached to short tripod, attached to laser level tripod, precariously chained on top of a swing set and ladder. Delicious(?) drink from the 1996 Olympics + Sign-thermometer-thing from grandmother #2’s barn. Cheating again, outfit was made years ago. 

    ^Became a weird foreshadow of a “CT enterography.”
     
    *Rewind*
    It’s been a weird nine months of trying to get a doctor to help, dozens of blood draws, bouncing between referrals I had to fight for, and kind of wanting to run from my own body as it all falls apart. 
    I thought I knew pain. I was wrong.
    The only way I can describe it: The handle of a shovel, stabbing into the stomach all the way through to the back. Makes it angry if one drinks, but can’t compare to its fury if one tries to eat.  Stays for hours, stabbing one awake during sleep.
    It’s an awkward predicament  of “Any sane person would go to the ER..But I can’t. They will say they don’t know or brush me off.” 
    Begged specialist #3 to order a CT. Because, after nine months of not being able to eat enough to support human life (yet somehow surviving), living on pickle juice to prevent death by electrolyte imbalance, crawling up stairs, and losing the ability to lift my arms high enough to brush my own hair, I don’t have much left to lose.
    CTs are much louder than I expected. Iodine IVs are rather peculiar. Results:

    Transiently telescoping intestines/intussusception Guess that’s why no painkiller will work.
    “Extremely rare”...until it happens to you.
    Doctor: I’m ordering another scan, CT enterography. 
    For this, they asked me to chug 48 oz of unexpectedly palatable sprite-like contrast in 45 minutes, and then injected the iodine. The warmth  of it flowing through the veins. The imaging donut device above. The robot voice saying “Breathe! Hold your breath! Breathe!”...
    They weren’t telescoping in this image. Apparently it keeps doing and undoing it, whenever it fancies. Stoked about another clue, so close to the knowing!  Cannot say I’m enthusiastic about an upcoming EGD, a camera tube shoved down the throat, to chop off biopsy bits, but hey, should be an enlightening experience? Chose the full anesthesia knockout option because I’m afraid I’d laugh at the horror of the situation and choke on the scope.
    Okay done describing that now, kind of gory. Sorry.
    Random curiosity: Were the Dots bracelets actually inspired by hospital wristbands? They appear eerily similar to me but this is the tainted viewpoint of somebody who lived in hospitals for three months. 

     
     Farewell from these fake flowers.

    (Also happy ice cream season and merry exactly-six-months-until-Christmas!)
  7. Mushy the Mushroom
    Then recreated some scenes from Tangled. I didn’t have much else planned between two and five in the morning, needed purpose. Taken over six days with laser level tripod contraption and iPhone shutter remote, straining to see the thumbnail of the movie screenshot for pose reference. Then I thought  “Took extra rubbish photos, could be low quality stop motion?” (Was going to anonymize, but was convinced not to this time for the sake of the recreations. So here’s the unfiltered goofery of attempting to imitate Rapunzel’s expressions.)  Starring Shasta Alien as Pascal Chameleon.
    ~~~AcTiOn~~~
     
    https://youtu.be/4qPsmBdJAS8
    *Begs it to embed*
    (Wasted 23+hrs learning to use video apps, trashed around five versions of this, the sound is still off, but ‘twas a fun endeavor.)
    Because growing up sounds like giving up? And maybe there’s no gain in trying to refrain from twinning with an alien friend?
    Also because the story is a little similar to how my own has been?
    (Poor health and severe food allergies have been/apparently still are my form of Mother Gothel. I’ve seldom left my home for the past 9 years ( homeschool)  Aside from briefly thinking I was fully well and trying to restart life, meaning painfully shy church attendance.). But that's quite okay because with art and such I’ve filled the days (and nights)! And I have been blessed with three lovely family humans. And some pet snuggly ducklings! And this precious alien Child!).

    2013~~>present. Can't believe he's eight now and has twin sons!
    *Tangled inspired, new design*
    113.5hrs making/drafting, 30 minutes for the design plan. Made over 45 days. 
    This happened thanks to an indescribably kind lady from a local lace outlet. The factory was shutting down, they were discarding the fabric, and she sent me home with a load too heavy to carry.
    Cost of project: $0. Had the other stuff already.

    Plan/draft:

    The making process:       Petal tests, as some materials have the undesirable habit of bursting into flames instead of becoming melty. Faux flowers, because you know, why cut the flowers when they’re trying to grow? The gold ones made from kimono scraps had that obstacle, so sewing for them. The rest were from grandma #1’s basement ribbons and taffeta scraps.
    Centers are beaded knit yo-yos gathered over leather.
      The under layers: 12hr assembly petticoat featuring lace cut off of my mom’s old prom dress. Blanket Stitching and French seams on the shirt. Elastic belt with ten loops to hold the ten skirt length adjuster ties.   The finished dress and belt: First attempt at a 10 gore dress, only had done 6 gores before. Tried some couture techniques. Specifically thread tracing before cutting, which I realized was not a good idea when doing French seams. That took five hours. Hand basted (temp stitched) all the seams together, machine sewed French seams, then hand-prick stitched down every gore, sleeve and neckline. The square neckline is made of elastic casings. Then hand sewed all the ribbon skirt extender ties. The back lacing is made from tubes of lace. The lacing loops are made with steam-a-seam then hand sewn on. The belt is a patterned ribbon fused and hand sewn together with beads from grandmother #2. The sparkle beadthings on the tie are from gutted earrings. ( Inside out photos first):

     
     
     

    Crowns + necklaces: The crown body is made from ~1/4” wide barn rope with wired ribbon sewn around it. Then sewed flowers on it + the flower ribbon strands.
    Leaf necklaces using grandma #2’s beads. The cord on the human size one is actually made of braided metallic sewing thread then covered in glue, as I lacked a chain.
     
     
    The baby’s outfit: Fully lined and finished with gold hand prick stitches.The tie is made from kimono scraps and fusible web. 


      Time for the recreations! “[...] and by then it's like 7:15...” Shower curtain, tablecloth, sheet, temporarily stolen clock from my dad, oil lamp from my grandmother. “And so I'll read a book. Or maybe two or three....”

    The doll was taped to the wall, and the baby precariously attached to a shoulder strap using rubber wire. Chalk markers will not exactly come off of satin paint.... Throwback to repeatedly pencil graffitiing our hallways as a wildchild and telling my dad we could "clean it up with paint"...
    “I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery...”
     
    Just 3M taped a mirror to my paint basket and drew the designs. Baffles me as to why a paint box would have a mirror.   “[...] and knit...” Jammed a scarf made four years ago back on the needle.   “And cook [....]”   The baby was perching thanks to a rubber wire around his neck that was attached to my headband. Froze the pie and shoved it in a cake pan because the other was too wide.
    "Then after lunch it's puzzles..." Would have been more accurate with Legos. Shower curtain floors.   “[...] and baking” The baby is rubber wired to the elbow. These are fake cookies, bad biscuits, much deception. I ran out of sugar.   “[...] Ventriloquy...” Tablecloth and rubber wire. “Candle making...”

    Shower curtain, my mom’s Dutch oven on a pie cutter with battery powered flames, and that box of 72 “emergency” candles. (Thoughts during that photo: I've absolutely lost my mind. Absolutely. It's just gone. This was the sixth scene setup/photo within two hours. Costume overheating. It was 4 am. Tylenol lapse, subsequent collapse.)   “Then I'll stretch..” (Not a song accurate recreation...) Untethered perching on the side of a chair stacked on a bench, for the pose that makes no sense. At 4 am. Much safety. #world'sworstbabysitter “Maybe sketch....”
    (Also low effort, not song-accurate..)

    Foam core fraud pallete, transformed with a paper lunch bag. “[...] Sew a dress!”   Highlighters, mirror with wrapping paper and rubber wires. This is the scene that inspired this project that uncontrollably snowballed.  
    “And I'll reread the books, If I have time to spare...” Halfheartedly arranged sheets, mirror made from CDs, light from watercolor paper, handmade pillows that give the odd illusion of morphing into the dress, wax paper plant, pouf from spray painted, knitted-together tee shirts, and Dulcimer made by my dad.   “I'll paint the walls some more, I'm sure there's room somewhere....” The phone was ~2" below ceiling height, attached to the tripod that sat upon a milk crate and basket...And maybe a puzzle box. “And then I'll brush and brush, And brush and brush my hair..” Faking it. Should have put that extra doll wig on the baby. “[...]Tell that to my frying pan!” Wrinkley sheet push pinned to wall, one thrown over the closet door, mirror teetering on paint basket and milk crate for correct height, and most importantly, the iPhone edge making an unsightly reflection appearance. The baby!

    The satchel is some kind of antique camera from my grandfather. Terribly grateful about my mom’s affinity for cast iron cookware. "Crown” made from crystal lace and elastic.   "Just smell the grass! The dirt! Just like I dreamed they'd be! Just feel that summer breeze the way it's calling me [...]I could go running. And racing. And dancing. And chasing. and leaping. and bounding. Hair flying. Heart pounding!.."     Awake 23 hours~> four hours sleep~> joy over perfect sunrise light~> frolicking, joints subluxation-ing~> barefoot stepping on a pine cone~> too tired to move for three hrs~> not noticing the pine cone spikes until nine hours later~> NO REGRETS. If you can’t yet beat it, why not dance to the beat of it?   “And at last I see the light And it's like the fog has lifted” Lantern is a battery candle in an extra ikea lampshade. Just drew the designs with a gold gel pen.  Ripped the sticky-back solar string lights off of a shelf and sewed gold ribbon around them. The boat? It’s an inflatable raft covered in a fitted sheet.  Getting outdoor photos with a twisted sleep schedule is quite the adventure! I staggered off the couch at eight pm after staying up 24+ then sleeping four hrs and started fervently racing sunset. Thanks, mom, for inflating the raft and braiding the hair with zero warning! “And at last I see the light
    And it's like the sky is new” You may spot background ducks if you look closely (at least in the video). We were actually on the bank in every photo where the front of the raft isn’t visible.   “And it's warm and real and bright And the world has somehow shifted” ISFPinsanity kicked in, tossed it all in the water with the poor child clinging on for dear life. “All at once everything looks different Now that I see you”....Precious Baby Yoda, that is! Such a happy little weirdo!

    Thanks to my mom for catching the baby as I threw him to shore...And the shutter remote.  My bare feet were trudging mud, but miraculously, only the leggings got dirty. But a sizable pine cone did get temporarily lodged in the petticoat. BUT WHERE'S FLYNN?   *tears of joy* The end!  Thanks for dropping in! ~I like you, just the way you ART~            
  8. Mushy the Mushroom

    Koi, Cake and Holiday Makes

    By Mushy the Mushroom,


    Life is balloons
    Greetings!
     
    My brother visited on his exact birthday, a merry, now rare, treat.
    Skyline Lemon Cheesecake, design haphazardly generated using what I could find about two hours before baking it. Based on his city. Engulfed in lemon butter-mint dough and brush painted with gel food coloring and charcoal powder. Used an X-acto to cut out the window lights and filled them with yellow. Two hours decorating time, but I feel like the colorful clouds resemble a toxic explosion a little more than a sunset. And the cream cheese frosting blob border...oh well.
    I wonder how he likes living in the clouds? Hard to believe he’s thirty-three floors up and hundreds of miles away. It’s easy to pretend people are still around, when one can mercilessly GIF text-spam them so they feel loved.

     
    Also created a butterfly Koi shirt, because there was his one Japan trip and I’m grasping for themes. It’s a struggle to concoct gift ideas, as his interests are so focused. Dear INTP people, what things do you fancy (besides Chess, coffee, computers and cats)? Is using MBTI as a gift-guide a flawed plan? Especially if one hasn't adequately studied it...and mostly likes the type character pictures?
     
    In light of barely completing the cheertime gifts last (…and each past) year, I decided to start in August and attempt to abandon all the other projects until they were finished. Timed the hours, a first for the gifties. I should be making cards instead of typing this right now. Might make some small neighb-ornaments and maybe dog-gifts if possible. I should be a good mush’ and wait until the end of the season, but my family doesn’t inhabit these regions…Bro, if you’re a silent sleuth in these lands, look away! 
     
    Hand painted AquaKoi shirt for my boy. I’d never made him any jersey knit/tee shirts before...Akin to neglect.
    4.5 hrs to paint + 3.5 hrs to cut/sew = 8 hrs.
    Another one, a Pagoda for Christmas.
    9.5 hrs to paint + 3.5 hrs to sew =13 hrs.
    Done with diluted acrylics, french seams and new pattern draft. Drew the designs on parchment paper first, then outlined and pressure  indented on the fabric using red thing. Painted on front panels prior to assembly, heat set with iron, then prewashed to prevent paint bleeds. French seams throughout and done with a lightning-bolt stitch to accommodate the stretch.
    Apparently forgot to crop that one collage photo. Oops.

     

    Yep, wrinkles. XD
     
    Belt-attachable leather phone case for my dad. Contact-glue parts and wet-lasted/hammered the front while clamping it onto a phone-sized block of wood. Sewed what I could with the Needle-Launching-Monster, cracked some needles, then awl punched the dampened veg tan seams and saddle stitched with dental floss-threaders. Velcro pads.
    8 hrs on this one.
    *Unsuccessful attempts to hide my callus art-hands from societal scrutiny while including for size reference*

     
    “What shall I make for Granny? What can be a new gift at 93(I think?)?
    To ask, or go with masks..?
    5 hours to cut/sew both. 
    Pencil plus diluted acrylics on the bunny, so extra 30 minutes for that.

     
    A messenger boho bag for my mom. Her linen ones made before are getting a tad threadbare and she’s too nice to say it. 
    First time using proper bag interfacing, last one was underlined with a trusty “sham-wow” towel.
    Used outer fabric from my dad’s old khakis, leather scrap lower reinforcements, and six-strand straps braided from suede cord. Designs done prior to assembly with washable marker, diluted acrylic, then heat set +prewashed.
    7 hrs to paint, 16.5 total with assembly. 

     
    And lastly, leetle lighthouses! 
    My lighthouse-loving grandma once mentioned unsuccessfully searching for some mini ornaments of them.
    A few years lagging, *lightbulb*, a set could perhaps be done in felt?
    Seed beads, blanket stitch and sequins. 
    21.5 hrs total. 

     

    Newly learned that a plastic shower curtain placed over a white cotton sheet makes for a less linty large backdrop?
    Guess that chips out 64.5 assembly hours. Slow, but I get there...?
     
    Off to sprinkle some oldish stuff on top.
    My mom informed me that someone on Nextdoor needed Halloween fairy wings and couldn’t find any at the store. And it's somehow thrilling to heedlessly drop everything, when you really shouldn't , and try to create for people if the chance arises? This has gotten me into a lot of trouble, yet, again, off we go!? Someone please stop me Yay! Tried to make a quick pair from jewelry wire braided around rope string, spray adhesive, a cellophane roll, clear plastic fabric, ribbon, elastic lace straps and jewels.
    Too bad there’s no “It’s three in the morning and we’re out of garage glue” hotline. The pink tint is from the drywall spray adhesive, it was the only can in the store. 
    The fairy who initially needed the wings had already found some, so they ended up going to a nice Nextdoor grandma instead. She had a teddy bear buckled up and riding in the back of her car. Like a boss. 

    Being a temporary fairy was far funner than I expected. Hard not to frolic.
     
    Junkbot 
    A tad ago a kind member of the BZPower discord (TuragaNuva) related the origins of the server’s :trashbot: emoji (https://en.brickimedia.org/wiki/Junkbot#:~:text=Junkbot%20is%20a%20LEGO%20robot,descend%20to%20a%20different%20area ) 
    Unbridled adoration for the creature spawned a trash-quality photo collage of making him. + [unofficial] baby sister Bowbot. 
     

     
    I wish he were an official emoticon here. 
     
    Dalu, oldish, but might as well invite her too, for organization. Also forgot to pose her with size-ref-friends. Tutorial

    She turned out taller than the reference Dalu set, because I forgot and sewed the head without torso overhang.
    Guess I’m retrying LEGO projects done poorly in prior years?
    -Me, Gluey, Sharpie-stained stiff felt Jala topic *Places a rose on unmarked grave and retakes photos*
    spamdom stuff
    When you’re gifted an ornament but no quickthankscard ideas erupt:

    When you have a delightful dream that your dear old bear plush, Mum, is “More than just a bear ( and is exceedingly special)” and that prospect stays in mind the entire afternoon.

    When the ‘Scov’es get a grain-cut and ferociously bite the feet whilst one is swinging. (I’ve unintentionally stubbed the poor boys, yet they tarry on with those tiny fictitious teeth.)
    My mom esteems the birds unsightly.
    I think their cherry-red-caruncle masks look mighty. 
    What are your opinions on the Muscovy complexion? 

    [tensely-waiting-an-hour-for-Dr.-to-join-Zoom-visit moth, hoped she’d munch the wait away]]
     

     
    May your winterdays be far from gray, happy holidays!
     
  10. Mushy the Mushroom

    280.7hrs: Painting My Brother.

    By Mushy the Mushroom,


    Life is balloons
    “The Move”
    18x24” 140lb watercolor paper. Drawn a long while ago with pencil, started the painting with acrylics in May, taking long breaks until around September, when mania began. Finished December 6th, 2021.
    Drawing time:? Painting time: About 280.7 hours/11.66 days. The longest time prior poured into a painting was 56 hours.
    Reference was my brother at a Chess tournament in December 2019. Wanted the board in the painting, so MS paint spliced this facepalming player’s board in, stolen from the same FB tournament album. Random coffee cup ref. from Google. I don’t know how to play Chess, once the thing was done, I showed my bro, and thankfully he said it wasn’t a losing position(?). Is it true?
    (photo)

    If life gives pain, why not turn it into a painting?
    Done in short burst style, about an hour at time at most. Much done while transient GI intussusceptions occur/resolve (the feel becomes familiar, the ER would be weary of seeing me, so I wait, wait, paint, paint..) Working those tiny details while gnashing gum has been a perfect pastime through the nights. And audiobooks, it never occurred to me that one could consume them while creating. Twirled through some Bionicle Adventures books and The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, my now-favorite book!

    First try at getting something scanned at Staples. I got it mildly stuck in the scanner, never having done this before, but all turned out well (Thanks, Mr. Moe!). First time using a USB. *fuuuture*
    The scan kind of bleached out the details, tried to edit but have no idea how. Hid my sig on the score sheet.

    The subject, who generously didn’t mind me neglecting a model consent form! Better figure out how to get a print made for him, as atonement. 

    We cannot cope with shutter photos, so grainy ones from video. Faceless photo, maybe our awkward won’t show?
    He’s smart…and uh, I sort of try the art? 

    But maybe we’re all mess-terpieces? 



     
    Creating confessions:
    Only the second big drawing, 9x12s are my main.  I only just realized I should wear my jackets/shirts inside out so it's harder to paintruin them. This is one of my first done mainly/partially in art acrylics. For years, I’d only used Plaid Apple Barrel craft paints (the allergies). I still like them for their smooth/thin finish, but some of the reds are dull. I had to fine-grit-paper sand some of the art acrylic rough spots down. Seemed barbarically effective, Quora said it was fine.  I haven’t ever used a real palette before. I use plates covered in plastic wrap or parchment paper, with a cake cover lid to keep them fresh. Easy to clean up! It took me quite a while to learn to cover the portion of the painting that rested under my hand with a piece of paper (bye, smudgies!) The angles are off-especially on my brother’s face. Hopefully it matches his current features more so than the two-year-old photo? Never painted a relative before, dear bro, please forgive! How I time my projects:
    I wondered if I'd live to finish this. I am numb. (Like, brain-numb. Not physically numb, but that does happen to my limbs a lot now, haha.) Eeekyay! Little Po' in the window. Outfit might truly be a new knitted six-side star borrowed from my mom. 

     
    What does one do for fun?
    Sometimes switching out mom's phone contacts to LEGO lookalikes.

    And seeing things are easily fairytales, if you please.

    And that life is just better with cookies.

    Wishing all an exuberant new year!
    (Also, thanks a million to BZP for putting up with me. I cannot express how much this place, and people have brightened a medically dark year!)
     
  11. Mushy the Mushroom

    108+ Hours: Snow Leopard

    By Mushy the Mushroom,


    fairytale ramblings
    Hello! A scan of Snow. Audiobooks and art do jolly the heart!
    9x12, watercolor paper, pencil and acrylic.
    Drawing time: unknown, very undetailed sketch from years ago.
    Painting time: 108 hours.
    My scanner also has snipped off the edges here and no time to splice it.
    *afraid to upload higher quality due to uncertainty about the current content size limits.*

     
     
    Done in 30 minute to one hour bursts (Gauze and braces to control the hand swelling/protests).
     

     
     
    The wacky way my mind apparently sees fit to document time...please no one check my addition.
    *cringing at the crude sketch*
     

     
     Finished in May before things went to utter dismay for a way. I won’t miss that wicked week of sleeping on shifts for safety. Hopefully legalthings will be settling, it’s so much bettering! Court ordered support, food is good, and using the window AC because it was in the 90s inside. My soul does sing, secret projecting, for such joy comes with rejecting all other things, for fast progress it brings! 
    In fairytales it somehow seems easy, you see. It seems such villains only dare to disown stepdaughters and such, for it’s much more merciful to believe that blood is stronger than water. And the betrayers of trust seem nearly always blown away as little gusts of dust. Instead of the reality looking over one’s shoulder, but that’s when one can believe they’re surrounded by an army of invisible soldiers! 
    I so do miss this dear dreamland of clockwork composed castles in the beaches of blog sand, but I understand that if I get writing, it’s absolutely igniting and I’m afraid I’d better wait just to be extra safe! (The predicament of being a happy hermit who hardly speaks a bit, this is my outlet. Those fairytale-fumblings, photo-fueled written fits. And can I use my words at all, if without some rhythm they fall? I often wonder if it gets on the nerves, if anyone might observe. If so, I apologize for any anguish over my singsong language. 
     
    *imaginary frolicking and bursting at the seams with a continual project photoverload of Things I Shouldn’t Be Doing piling up* 
     
    Thankfully right before bolting I did get another diagnosis(ish), autoimmune UTCD, due to positive ANA combined with all the other abnormal blood antibodies, so two connective tissue diseases now it seems. *Relief mingled with flashbacks of “Yay, it’s a true thing and nobody is furious for it and telling me it’s not real?!” What a wonderful world where weakness won’t be weaponized. I think I’m in that world now? At least safe in our own house! Successfully made the first eight hour, four appointment doctor daytrip at three different hospital locations in our 18 year old car the other day. Overwhelmed with gratitude that my mom is willing to wake & take me at three in the morning. And it’s lovely to get to do some art in the car, because the obsessive new-not-yet-allowed-to-talk-about projecting I am delightedly taking too far. We even remembered to pack the wheelchair! A treat because anymore the wheels get stuck on the stray nails in the “floor”, but hopefully staggering about is…strengthening? I wondered how bad the bloodwork would be, given the …haha.. uh…living conditions life's thrust upon us. But I promise now it’s at the level where it wouldn’t be condemned! Merely multiplying Monocytes. It may have been far worse! Neurology was…interesting. They think the problems are small fiber neuropathy, and are planning to do an EMG and muscle biopsy. Hoping Gabapentin will not make me a sloth, but sleeping more than four to six hours every 20 sounds miraculous. Also learned I cannot lift my toes which is odd to process. ENT dr.  #1 did reference eye scans at last to ensure Plaquenil doesn’t destroy my vision (escape equaled canceled appointment.) ENT dr. #2 was much more skilled at using the nasoscope than the prior person. Tip-top when terror goes to waste! They plan to take my tonsils and the adenoids because of infection. Antibiotics again. So strange, antibiotics all about lately. I have another dentist now and they prescribe pre meds every time to prevent endocarditis/infection? Now wondering if it was slightly scary that the swelling tooth infections weren't medicated at my old dentist, rather mysterious.
     
    Okay, done rambling, real reason for beloved blogging is because I recklessly worked to the point where I couldn't walk again and resting was dull I have another 8hr drive daytrip for the fifth diagnostic GI procedure where they’re putting me under again is approaching. A tad precarious given the weirdness various, so a bit of art to show before I go! 
     
    New friend groundhog must visit the blogs!
    He has a hole there, just stands and stares.
    *terrible tablet pic*

    And a little oldhouse frog!

    🎶Just Thinking About Tomorrow
    Clears Away The Cobwebs And The Sorrow 'Til There's None
    The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow
    So You Gotta Hang On 'Til Tomorrow, Come What May 🎶
  12. Mushy the Mushroom

    Gobbles, Graphite and Gratitude!

    By Mushy the Mushroom,


    still alive somehow!
    Oh how blessed to be blogging! Even for a slight scrap of an entry, for it feels as though it’s been a century. Six months have slipped by in this adventure, under six more and current content shall be censored no more. In light of upcoming bird-day, I simply couldn’t shy away!  
    Little, tired scrapbook styled cards. Drawn ink doodle original, then the printed b&w and filled with colored pencil. Only 4. Sewn on chicken feather.


     
    I haven’t a smidge of insight on what exactly this copper hollow object was originally. I found it in the crooked creekside green barn, naturally befriended it as a prospective pumpkin. 
    Sanded, Barkeeper’s Friend shiny scrub, sewing machine sewn stemish stuff.

     
    And might grab the low-light graphite scans! Well, actually some are photos because no scanner access then.
    Done in May during definitely the worst week of my life, in someone’s shadowy basement. Guilt inherent, couldn’t pay rent, nor could my parent, nor would any take it. So, “Art, must make it!”.
    Rushed art crushed my detailing ideals. I would say I’m ashamed, but hey, at this point I cannot believe we’re still at all sane. 
    9x12”
    1967 Chevelle, apparently. Thanks, Deputy. Seriously.

    Minis, 4x6’s
    Convenient when portraits are publicly hanging around houses. Reference from tablet photos of photographs. 

     
    From a weathered wallet size fauna photo set.
    Bear baby- I now see I scanned in in too-low res, will redo eventually.

     
    Deer- Looks like maybe too low quality scanned too? RIP if so, gave it to a helper.

     
    Owl- This one was actually done at pasthome in April. First discovery work of “I can sharpen the mechanical pencil graphite bit finer in an open regular pencil sharpener?!”   

    I completely forgot these existed until sorting out my costume and art trunk the other day. Is existential amnesia a thing? Six months, the number of our identities slumber. I’ve role-called in as the ragamuffin renovation & rat carcass removal robot, and given its continuation, it pervades my every thought. But the projects, to my ability, are vehemently vanishing. I can honestly say it's almost done and we somehow survived. I do apologize for the mandatory vagueness of all this, words are so powerless with no pictures to go with. Feebly, in disbelief, I’m rejoicing, starting to remember me, it feels so happy. Much more importantly to me, that same personhood phenomenon blazes in the eyes of someone who had absolutely lost her illusion of life. I truly like it, humanity. It’s beautiful, being alive. 
    And I give a great gratitude to this dear old site. The raffles/contests here have literally made my year. It always felt comforting to me, here. So often my circumstances have uncontrollably crashed, but here stands this little relic of a community, rather unchanged. Virtual hugs, dear life, and what is left of BZP. Thanks to thee!
    “ ‘Dear old world', she murmured, 'you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you.’ ” — L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables.
  14. Mushy the Mushroom
    And wrappings, wildlife, & celebrating life!
    Yes, yay,  hello, some yellow! 
    I missed May , June’s come so soon! 
    I absolutely forgot to bright/lighting edit lots of these photos, oh no!
     
     
    Speedy little something for my 95(?) year old  *granny’s birthday - *She rented a house to my parents in prehistoric times, and pseudo-adopted my mom, bro and I.  Odd to think we haven’t seen her in-person in centuries due to moves and medical crises on behalf of both parties. Like magic, mail and modern communications! 
    *mortified by my exposed stitching on its back*
    4hrs on the first try. Felt Baby duck drafted, buoy bubbles, envelope content hint! 

     

     
    Bigger bunch of babies!
    Because it’s uncanny how many times a small gift seems needed, so stashed some up for their season. 
    2.5 hrs each
     

     
    Bonnet baby, a brain-vacation creation. Hummel figurine & “what style would my mom fancy” inspired. Stashed for Christmas, currently. 
    6.5hr doll, 7hr outfit. All handsewn.


     
    Scribble edits for dear decency! 
    *the downfalls of dollmaking* 
    Now feeling so silly for realizing center-folding pencil drawn half patterns and running my fingernails along it results in perfectly easy symmetry. 
     
     

    If people knew that I cut up zip lock bags for the plastic on these, would it be frowned upon? 
     

    Homeschool at Harvest- 8x10” -122hrs total, drawing hrs: ? (written down somewhere and I’ve forgotten).
    Acrylic, colored pencil, pencil, workable fixatif on watercolor paper.
    For my mom, her 51st birthday. And her first-in-ages birthday of being free! Inspired by her art style…and her giving up her whole entire being to do everything for the family.

    I learned lapdesk painting! I don’t think I can ever be satisfied with any of my art-always could use just a few more details and I never know when to end!
    Only spilled my paint jug once and had one weird one-week episode of hyper swollen index finger. 

     
    Baby fruits & wrappings sponsored by Stuff I Scavenged.
     
     

     
    Original very rough/scary sketch because planned to paint:

    And a little flower child for her, too. 4x6(?)” 12hrs.
    In truth I was quite ashamed of my slow, rough work here, I was having a severe episode of spine pain and was barely able to sit upright to do this. Propped the lapdesk on pillows because I couldn’t look down. Because of those tears and begging my mom to call a doctor, fortunately neurology saw me unplanned the next day, and I got the right referrals at last
    .
     
    Appointments allabout, a bit of a burnout from exhaustion and writing a 60+ page long medical timeline (More specialists at this point than my memory cells!). I actually found a forgotten, very important note from my allergist (who I owe my life to, as he diagnosed me with Alpha-Gal initially) last year about steps after the Celiac disease debacle was ruled out! Which means back to endocrinology again for Carcinoid/Neuroendocrine tumor evaluation/hunt… just like nearly 3 years ago when I asked for that referral myself for that highly suspect/fitting thing, after turning scientific papers and DDXs inside out trying to survive. It’s the only thing I’ve found that could explain the idiopathic anaphylaxis that worsens and is actually triggered by epinephrine. Even the new dental Epi reactions. Countless matches. That’s why endocrine did the PET scan in 2021, because they did later find high pancreatic polypeptide in my blood. But then the tTG/celiac elevation threw the Duke doctors into the clear error of Celiac. So close now, narrowing it down at least! And the doctors are listening at last. Grateful to say I also had a surprise genetics cancellation last Wednesday! It was initially in late August and I questioned if I could make it. Apparently this clinic orders their tests through the Invitae site which surprised me.  Wonder if we’ll ever figure out why my blood type is “impossible”/wrong based on my parent’s types? (Yes, my exdad is sadly my true biological father. B+ plus  O+ equals me, the A+ mutant. Bro is afraid of the needlestab so doesn’t know his type.) . First experience with sample collection from mouth swab instead of blood draw. Duke draws dozens of vials.   
    I tried to eat a few days ago after nothing for four extra nausea weeks. Ow. Brain badly wants food but the body rejects. I’m quite bad at this Human thing, I’m afraid. 
    My vitamin B12 is now skyrocketing without any supplements & inadequate nutrition, so yay for more clues.  And the cardiac MRI the other day saw that my GI arteries were “crimped”. Surprising that it even visualized so low. I now need a repeat ultrasound of that situation apparently the next appointment slot is next month. Always pleasantly surprised when unexpected answers arrive! And glad that repeatedly falling asleep (while headphone hearing PTX Christmas songs) in the MRI tunnel (when I was supposed to be holding my breath) didn’t ruin the imaging!
     
    Wish I could post the other mombirthday gifts and cake, but waiting as it reveals the renovated/decorated room, and I am unsure of whether the parent legal stuff is fully signed yet, so staying on the safe side (..and the restraining order + law enforcement custody of the weapons runs out tomorrow as well.)
     
    Meanwhile, baby walnut waffs:
     

    And a neighbor from our old life visited, I got very much excited and made a little party feast. Flaky pastry cheddar drenched baby quiches, roasted sweet potatoes, flatbread chips and cream cheese Italian dip, and a colony of cookies! Lemon oatmeal + ginger crisps. 

    my enthusiasm always outweighs my judgment…crash, cripple, crawl up, continue! 
     
    Very grateful my mom has for many years let me cook all the things. So therapeutic. Trying to learn better wheelchair setup methods & recipes now. I don’t really know what typical North Americans enjoy eating due to my hectic health and food allergy history. I need to study the eating habits of humans further. 
     
    *Run-on sentence timeline* Gluten & dairy free (non celiac, my mom thought it may help) for 2 years, then peanut free also (with negative peanut bloodwork, skin prick & assurances from allergist… then I almost suffocated in a six hour long anaphylactic reaction.. 30 minutes post- peanut ingestion) we resumed dairy, 1 more year passed then my mom started gluten again but only fermented/sourdough, 2.5 years passed and then I got Alpha-Gal tick bite mammalian product allergy-and as a biproduct I alone became gluten free again due to cross contamination (and only could eat around 10-15 raw ingredients. Made myself coconut milk from hull-on raw coconuts, ground raw rice for “flour” through a coffee grinder. )  2.5 years passed then I had outgrown both peanut and Alpha-Gal allergy and had negative labs, then about 2.5-3 years of getting to eat anything, then 2020 brought worsening illness with the whole “body rejecting all food, inability to digest, GI telescoping, bleeding intestines , SIBO, transient gastroparesis, idiopathic anaphylaxis and no hunger” era that I’m still in. 
     
    So grateful I can touch/cook all the foods safely now! Oh my gosh, glutenous flour is baking dream. Also so nice to not need to basically bolt mid-recipe when an angry/hungry person terrifyingly invades the personal space. A lot of years of that. And having the foods I was severely (even airborne) allergic to grabbed/waved over my head and the allergen-free foods/kitchen space. Trying not to be terrified of being in the kitchen with others. Or apologize excessively for being in the room. Or being afraid of cooking for others because of a very…selective? eater. I’m not as scared to bake for people as sugary stuffs were never rejected so much. 
    Progress! It’s unimaginably peaceful and safefeeling to exist now.
     
    Freshly learned a more comfy foot free sewing setup. My lapdesk has adjusty legs. Now I can use the wall as a back support and stretch out the legs and sew with nearly zero body movement! (Photo 2 is leather patcher feeling aptly neglected.)

    I’d been longing to make a leather bag and wallet for my mom for ages now. The opportunity arrived at the acquisition of a generous octogenarian’s leather jacket + some old blue swatches I had from a local market. Lining doesn’t match so well but it’s my mom’s favorite color and what I had. Kind of dubbing this a “flop” because imperfections, some of which were from limited materials. 
    Wow, these photos are dark, apologies 
     

     
    Leather patcher was too difficult for me to operate when this tired, and the leather was just thin enough to machine sew with an 18 needle. Basting because slippy. 
    Hammerable leather tape to stick together prior to sewing. Used to press open seams on bag as well.  Tis a bit challenging as the needle will gum up and jam if it punctures the tape. No energy to tangle with leather patcher and crying from spine pain, so I fashioned a makeshift mini awl from exacto knife &  needle for pre punching hand sewing holes. Hands were too weak to saddlestitch so I ran two lines of running stitches along it, and sewed decor embroidery to hide any messy stitches. Hand punched and sewn blanket stitching on bag top as it was too thick for regular machine there. Fun thing about leather is getting to hammer it instead of ironing as you would with fabric. Very blessed to be surrounded by people who do not hear or care if I’m hammering at 1-4 am. 

    18hrs on wallet,
    13hrs on bag.
    Slow..but I get there! 
     
     
    Grandchild of the lapdesk giver. No online image is 100% safe from my reference craving clutches…if either public domain or justified theft for art gifts…
    8x10”, 8.5hrs. Pencil, mechanical pencil + workable fixative. 

     
    Same size and supplies, 23hrs this time. My bro! Slow + scratchy, done post-party cooking crash. 
    Loved a good leafpile. forgot to crop this, oops!
     
     

    Fauna frolics at the forest fairy farmhouse:
    (May contain fragments of broken English FB broadcast-bother to a brother)
     
    • 13+ baby bears ruling the kingdom, many about about the leaning green barn:
    My mom is officially car chauffeuring caught groundhogs. And perhaps future-abandoning that method as they’ve figured out how to unlock the cage. Seducing them with strawberries! And cantaloupe rinds, wholesome fare for the adorable masterminds. Many mountainfolk here call them "whistle pigs” and eat their meat..we’ve opted to instead set ours free. The only form of whole animal cleaning I’ve done is baby octopus (for Takoyaki). 

     
    •Danger noodles are in no short supply:

    A mirthful neighbor even stopped to observe the dark character’s inexplicable reserve during its bath. 
     
    •Something was chirping melodiously in our chimney.
     
    •The wacky window woodpecker:

    I hit the bay window 12 ft from me, screaming and beating its wings on it again ….and I might have screamed too.
     
    Love these children. Need to make more fashions for them. Made a big ridiculous thing for them a few days ago. Soon to picture that happymess. Bandana bibs may have once been made for doggy stroller walk wear. 

     

     
    Better backlog the new, never know how many or few. 
     
    May your day be easy peasy, if you so please! Thanks again for dropping in! 


    (Also, sorry for nonsensical notes as is my normal now!)
    ( & for some reason it's throwing dupe images down here and I don't know how I managed to break my blog...my apologies..)

  16. Mushy the Mushroom

    Bambi! Bugs! Bow Ties! Pies!

    By Mushy the Mushroom,


    Life is balloons
    -Bambi, October 5, 2021.
    In your honor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Csjb9HWCk8

    I just left the lighter there?
    But also: 
    *DUN DUN* [sur]P[r]IES 
    Complete life cycle condensed in 30 seconds. (AKA: Fast version of maunderings below)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLWBw0BzM48

    Set sail at three am, a glorious distraction XD 90 minutes carving after sketch, 60 film/setup. Done with porcelain fill marker, carving tool, Xacto, electric bread knife, and my drill bits (prior sanitized). Is this how people ordinarily carve these things? I’ve never done a pumpkin/squash before. Was I supposed to use the Dremel? Didn’t seem prudent to simply decapitate Acorn Child/Fairy Gourdfather (We’ve bonded, had grand times… too soon) so boom, balloon brain. Turned inside out as it was what I had. Swing suspended out of the way by luggage straps and a bungee. Needed ambient lighting, fire hazard time. Grocery bag blobs. 

    Cam off, baked squash. Pies for my peoples. Faintly fancier than usual (finished the next day, fell over).  FullFallFestivityFeels instead of Sprinkles+ShapesThatAreEasyToCramInAFreezer. Chocolate X Cookie crust. Accidental upside-down rose pies thanks to the silicone pan, painted edible red with dyed almonds as leaves. Few frozen for Thanksgiving, maybe? Perhaps then I’ll be able to eat some like a realgirlhuman?! Without throat constriction? Please?

    -Bambi, October 5, 2021.
    Done, yes, - The frosting foam, that is! 
    Thanks for the amusement, Bambi. Has greatly enriched my life. XD
     
    Cringe content repository:
    Me as a florist:

    Look closely. 

    Cicada shells, cheery fellows! Used to glean gallon-size bags of them off our trees and set up armies of them all about the house. Trails down every stairwell. Mini captains of boats. Great toys. Grand that people are Cicada cooking now?! I researched so hard about whether or not the shells were poisonous four years ago. My ducks loved to eat them, they looked and felt like crisp potato chips, I wanted to join them! Couldn’t get a straight answer online, sadly never dared. Have you tried them, or the shells? Still rather tempting.

    ^They send their love to all~
    Bow ties are cool, but we aren’t.

    Well, I was admittedly terrified to ask my dad to dress up. XD Not sure why, he happily obliged. I think he’d agree to any genre of absurdity, being a former masked pro wrestler. ._. 
    Why this atrocity?
    https://youtu.be/dYQ-VURstig
    Well...in 2015 the spontaneous idea of “MUST create a GIANT Adipose plush/blobchair for my brother” somehow materialized. Went feral and free-cut without a pattern. It took a mighty quantity of poly-fil. The floored grin on his face that Christmas-bahaha! I've no recollection of where I hid the thing before wrapping it, It’s exactly 4.5 feet tall!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJaeIPJEbNo
    Then, in 2016, he hoped to acquire a purple Dalek, but without luck. Got some felt and some plush-toy eyes and attempted to fix that up (and BB8, more robots to exterminate/celebrate.). (Oldugly watermark due to an IP theft thing, I lack the original here.)

     Time jump to present,this monstrosity, Adi’ wanted a horsecart ride, I, Sara, made an attachable Clara collar (olddress made 2yrs ago as I’m slacking), voltage tester and tape became the Sonic, The Child repped the Tardis, and my dad, volunteering as a tribute pony, actually agreed to this? Thanks?  CRINGE. [Brought to you by poor judgement and low quality editing tools.]

    Happy scare season from my family to yours, I guess? [We are not celebrants of Halloween. This is our typical aberrancy]
     
    *Slinks back into bushes lowkey questioning life choices while chilling with the Cicada crew* 

    Ooh might as well re-drop this little dude over here also:

    Edit: Oops, got the quote date wrong. Fixed. Sorry Bambi.  
     
  20. Mushy the Mushroom
    Ho ho...oh?
    How can it be already the season of snow? Here, a whole year, where did it go? But quite ready to wrap up a broken year with a bow!  
    Perhaps court again for fuzzy reasons won't be so bad if I pretend it's like Miracle on 34th street. At least it's the 15th, not the Eve.
    Edit, Oh dear, just in, we don’t have to go in person?
    Well, this is good news!
    [Sorry for some dark and grainy Fire tablet photos mixed in below. It's a mess here, I'm afraid.]
    Anyway, Let it Snow leopard cards, (sadly not a special seasonal scene) made just like last year's.

     
    (last year making process here)
    And some from the accident order photo prints of a 9x12” (wait, perhaps smaller?) bird painting from 2019. Embarrassed to post my old art always. For my mom’s workpeople because they’ve not seen it before.
    13 of berry bird. 12, I think, of the cat.





     

    Coffee jar sweater because dark car, hands needed task. Also because this is the only form of to-go cups we own, so at least it feels loved. One day we will own more than four forks! Wish I could buy my mom all the forks. Fifty-year-olds deserve forks. Didn’t plan to be domestic refugees. That being said, I cannot count the miracles we’re in the midst of and I plan to make a list of!

     
    Drafted some new little ornament gift designs. Made from the longlasting stack of stiff felt sheets, some normal felt, permanent glue stick, beads and embroidery threads. I was fortunate enough to have the insomnia exacerbated during a two-day hotel stay for doctor visits, so got time to sew! Apparently the hotel wasn't wonderous by normal people standards, but it was such an event for me who hadn't stayed in a hotel since a vacation 8 years ago! Weird to come to the realization of being considered medically "homebound", pretty much how most of my memorable life has been but the health issues kept changing.
     
     
    About three or four hours each for these, dividing time totals.
    100 minutes to make (excluding cutting/design time) each rooster.



     
     
    Bee for my mom, an untimed anesthesia incapacitation creation.
     

     

     
    Got to make a few other littlegifts, but  haven’t edited the photos yet. It’s a brainshattering luxury to get to create things again, things I choose, things that aren’t for any need or practical reason. In September I finished a small drawing that was frozen unfinished from basementfloor and airbed boarding. After all the various unusual  life threatening experiences over the years, I was amazed to find grinding graphite lines into paper throwing me into irrational panic. “Are my hands too damaged? Did I forget how to do this?”. Glad to be wrong. Gratefully growing the graphite garden again. Finally slowly working on one of my three unfinished LEGO projects that got abandoned. Painting from tubes, not buckets, such a privilege!
     

    Festive food feels photoworthy after months of an almost empty pantry. I feel guilty in this area as I wasn’t personally suffering due to the absent appetite from medical metabolic mess.

     
    *The I Had No Supplies But Still Tried Collection*
     

     
    Remade the dynamite barnbox...

     
     
     It was originally for Pops, but she is afraid to use her own feet to hop over things still. Four years ago she was a circling-swimming-pool-piranha pup, in this very room. Being eaten alive by a brigade of fleas.
    What a blessing to be back in our hometown!
     

    *sneak peek of painted floors… because you find a way if you’re presently poor, even if it’s crawling and falling with paintbrushes galore*
    And real wrapping paper, in honor of friends and momcoworkers. 

    *more painted floors*
    Because for our little family, now three in total you see, I had only the Amazon shipping paper and some butcher string that was free, haha. Lots more than these, but paper was wrinkly!
     

    🎶Brown paper packages tied up with strings 🎶
    Basically this is just an entry to wish ye merriness and try to um remember how to do this !
    😊
    PS
    The Baby is alive and well, being extremely busy.  Poor thing has been neglected!

    Oh! And, it sat to rest in the sawdust and was polite enough to allow a picking up!

    Hi from Sir Willis, who I want to believe is an Axolotl .

     
     
     
     
  21. Mushy the Mushroom
    …Salutations, sitefolk! Below is an essentially unedited (aside from forgotten fobs and photographs) Saturday write that was delayed due to a hectic hospital health fright the same night. I beg pardon for this whole nonsensical note. Numb, mumbling meager sentences, but I am mostly the master of my own muscles once more! Beyond brilliant to be back!
    (Also I forgot How To Blog and realized these images may be offensively oversized? I ordinarily email them to myself to auto-resize, my brain is fried. And I assembled it in Docs and plopped it over here..Will fix it if it is problematic! I absolutely should not be online in this condition and am struggling to speak in full sentences.) 
     
     
    A cautionary cue: 
    The following content contains more than traces of cognitive impairment. And cortisol. I relate to Oxley from Indiana Jones, incoherently rambling over his wall drawings with the utmost deranged zeal at this point. I must apologize for your eyes. 
    Some pencil drawings….that I’m not particularly proud of. Out-of-practice and trying to relearn/draw during weird new weakness episodes. Wheelchairs are wonderful, as is being able to use mine on these floors now, basically bedridden without it now.
    Owl as my brother’s gift. Started doing 8x10’s (my scanner is small) and sealing them with Art fixatif pre-scan. 

     
    And my brother (as a baby) for my mother’s gift! 3x5”?/standard small print photo size
    .
    And my mother, I never thought to draw her before!  8x10”
    At Duke Chapel during a doctor day. Living locally we’d never been, but I guess moving made it more of an event? 


     
    Little bun’ for fun. 4x6”.

    Thank you cards too!



    This one was for a salt-block rock lamp starring itself in felt because… uncreative!


     
    And hook-handle bags, a refresher in cotton construction.



     
    When the mind finds a fish out of fabric.



    Oh, and small squiddy embroidery decor for my bro. Absolute spontaneity, as the stitching may reveal to thee! 
     


    A glow and a gleam of seams, gold threads fit for a dainty dryad!
    A bare-bones with a bear stop motion attempt. No interesting bits but a vivacious brain vacation. 
    Feathers of fur, a wee winter outfit for her.
    But perhaps if the season does lapse, immortalized ice queen to dance in a dream. Not nearly so nightly as the Narnian nightmare, I daresay.
    Harp and harmonious hums so heavenly.



     
    A little locket, my people in a pocket! I longed for one but never out loud. Lo and behold, an acquaintance of my mother bestowed this trinket gold.


     

     
    Balloon snowballs, fur for wings and flooring from an old dancing Santa decoration’s coat.
    Blanket stitch bead border, braided embroidery threads straps.
    .

     

     
    Gold lame from my mom's prom dress, that became my random gut-and-patch-together dress (Long ago! I added about 3” length from another scrap to it after this picture. This fabric was an unraveling atrocity hahaha) and I still had some left. 

    The problem with “fancy” human clothes is never using them because being at home. And home is the dreamland of deconstructing old things, crawl mopping (It’s easier!), delicious messes, and many a graphite demise of a good garment. But the toys are tidy. The idea of pinafores delights me. I hope to try this because why not create one’s own fairytale reality?
    Concept art carried upon perhaps the smollest stack of sticky’s. Online ordering and the adorable Alice-in-Wonderlandian accidents!

    Lace and ceramic church from my late grandma's basement. A distant cousin's social media post was how I discovered this, as a freak instinct to check Facebook that day swept over me. I'm sorry for them, for me it was not soaking in. My sensible sibling was stalling on calling.
    The last time I saw her was in court. The first I was in the wheelchair in her presence. I couldn't speak to her. On some shelf in the back of my mind, I ponder if the family-fall-apart cut short her time. I am grateful to have visited her and that pleasant peachtree place for the last time in 2019. The distance, health deterioration, long hospitalization and high risk of food allergy shock locked us out of her life. She taught me a lot in spite of it, and I hope to see her again without the weight of the world's burdens.

    *Old-art oh-no* 

    Then our pug, aged 14 died within the following two weeks, and my ENT surgery crescendo couch ridden comatose was sandwiched in between. 
    Pug was a parking lot pup my family scooped up, seemingly a holiday-gift stray. With our band of misfits he nicely fit! I don't think the drywall dust was good for his lungs given his trachea issues, but nothing could be done. I didn't have a mask either, but there are so many things one only must do once. Like that not-so-long-ago midnight-thirty mess.  My mom came home horrified from work to find me collapsed in a cloud of drywall dust with my electric sander in hand, too weak to stand up. At the base of a six foot ladder with smothered smoke alarms sounding off . Sometimes I just have to laugh at the horror..and sleep on the floor because insufficient energy to shower. But that carpentry chapter is over!
     
    I couldn't cry over the departures though, a perplexing personal paralysis that began years ago. To mechanically throw the bad feelings out the window.
    At Thanksgiving I feasted on tears. All of them, all day, somehow triggered by the parade? 
    Life has been better since, as though reality is balanced. That perfect pendulum inevitably must rise and fall even if it feels like you've lost it all. An avalanche of uplifting events are occurring, but it’s still too rushed. So hard to hush!
    In the midst of this, my medical madness has merged into multiple diagnoses. Two years of major tests later, grateful to be getting a grasp. 
     
    2022 was a tad like tumbling down the rabbit hole to arrive at a better end. Convalescence in every sense?   
    2023 has started with a deep and proper happy for me, and I wish the genuine same for any reader who came!

    *ignores pile of unedited artthings, drags out old photo of baby ducks instead*

    *Imaginary effect of the Maytime Muscovy coos of my cherished children*






     
  22. Mushy the Mushroom
    (So, it seems as though blogging is allowed for all users now….If the rumors are true….My apologies for trying this if it is actually not permitted...)
     
    This was the result of a random idea and illness-induced sleep deprivation. Very messy due to limited bricks. I haven’t watched “My Neighbor Totoro” in years, but this scene really seemed fun to build. I must admit, I am very disappointed in myself for forgetting to make the black umbrella to hang on the sign....frantically ran outside to take photos...While laying In the middle of our street….at dusk. Thanks to the help of my mom, none of our neighbors ran me over. But a flip-flop was harmed in the making of these photographs.
    Topic: http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/29628-my-lego-totoro-bus-stop-scene/
     

     
     
     
     
  23. Mushy the Mushroom

    Maybe a human-sized bird nest...

    By Mushy the Mushroom,


    behold the bush babies
    Hatched another wildly random idea...
    A human-sized Robin's egg bird nest bed/lounge chair.
    It's made of foam crib mattresses, sheets, poly-fill, offensively-strong glue, paint and elastic.
    Because I have always wanted one of these....since this idea popped into my head two months ago.
    ..Can I use the excuse that Porg demanded it?


     You can make one too, if you want. I've made photo instructions on Flickr. For some reason it shows the last steps in the album first, but they're numbered. (I hope it's okay to link to this, I'm still scared of breaking the linked content rules. I"m sorry if not.. I was going to directly link to the photos, but there were like 21 steps and I was lazy.
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/189713610@N04/albums/72157715698039033
    ...I suppose I see a blog as a magical place to post random art content, instead of using it to actually write anything useful or intelligent....words simply have never been my thing. SO YAY PICTURES.

  24. Mushy the Mushroom
    Or maybe blocks of wood turned into my feet. 

    After three years of making inferior-quality fabric shoes (with some slippers, some flat shoes, and ballet slippers being the only not-absolutely-weird-looking exceptions)  the realization that a shoe last is a necessary thing has soaked in...Thanks to the discovery of some new, enthralling shoemaking tutorials on Youtube!
    Apparently one needs a last before they can make leather shoes. I couldn’t find a wooden shoe last in my size anywhere online, so I tried a thing..a crazy thing...a “This is so not going to work, but I can always burn the evidence once it disastrously fails!” thing.
    So I glued scraps of free-roaming garage wood together and started chopping.
    Then Dremel sawing, measuring, obsessively comparing the block to my foot, Dremel sanding, measuring again, and then trying to replicate the same shape on the other last.
    Treated them with paste wax after taking the photos, so they’re a bit shiner now. The weird dark spots are where I accidentally roasted the wood with the Dremel.
     

     
    I’ll probably have to add some type of ferrule in the top of each last. Decided not to make steel sole plates for now, because my parents found an antique, cast-iron sole last in an old barn at my grandmother's house. It’s made for nailing the leather down during lasting, I think..(?)...That’s what I'll try to use it for, anyway. Here’s a stock photo of it, because it is currently bathing in vinegar to remove the rust. 

    Also recently got my Needle-Launching-Monster (China Leather Shoe Patcher, hand-crank sewing machine) to work properly. It’s been my non-functioning roommate since February. It’s only working now thanks to resources found in a Facebook group...And some electrical tape, until I can get one part sodered/welded. Just made a little leather pup charm on it for now, as I’m out of leather and the local market is still closed..(not a good excuse, just haven’t gotten around to it).
     
    So, yeah.. I suppose it’s time to get some cork, shanks, a skive knife, tiny nails and stuff to begin this adventure… Also, there are different shapes of shoe lasts for various shoe styles, but I just made a random, basic replica of my feet (+one cm in length, the last is supposed to be slightly longer than the foot).. .ihavenoideawhatimdoing…..I’m really just thankful to have unlimited access to an overwhelming amount of tools…especially MAGICAL POWER TOOLS. Those are fun. My dad’s kind of a hoarder collector. What’s also fun is unintentionally frightening mail delivery people when using the power tools on the wooden feet outside. That FedEx dude was rather shaken.
     
    Wow, this was uncharacteristically long, sorry.
    Also sorry if this entry has too many pictures, I wasn't sure if there was a limit.
     
    Anyone else on here into shoemaking or leatherworking? 
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