International Doll Expo~IDEX~2012

I was almost certain that this year I was not going to be able to make it to IDEX but with a slight turn of events I will be attending IDEX 2012!

That makes me VERY happy! This will be my 6th year going.

IDEX is held in Orlando Florida each year and this time will find itself at the Renaissance Resort near SeaWorld. It's excited to go to a new place as it's been at the Rosen Shingle Creek for the last 5 years.

Oh Dollies and Friends and FUN!

Joylynne will be taking the trip with me, as will Billy.

She's all ready in her running clothes in the event that Mommy gets to take her out on a walk/run...and poor baby is already packed into my carry-on. I had to do some pre-packing as our family will be gone on an overnight trip right before I have to pack and leave.

Billy is not dressed yet because he is not put together yet. I am waiting for some supplies to arrive for him.

There is still time to sign up to attend IDEX 2012~just go to the link above.

See you there??

XXOO

Friday Funnies~Maybe they DO walk!

A while ago I wrote this story, and you need to read it to understand the story that follows:

~They got up and Walked~

Maybe my husband is onto something!
I was changing my personal babies the other night when I remember a pair of shoes that Nablina was wearing that I thought would look great with another baby's outfit.

These are the shoes I was after. I really like the fuzz on the inside and the suede on the outside.
So I walked over to fetch the shoes and the first thing that I noticed was that the edge of one shoe was tipped up. "That is odd" I thought.

Upon removing the shoes, OMG you won't believe what I found!!!

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A squished SPIDER!
EEEEeeeeeeKKKKKkkkkkkkkk!

I kid you not, I did not stage that spider! I had NOTHING to do with it!

Maybe they really DO get up and walk in the night!

Shivers.....

New kits by Jessica Schenk! And...MOHAIR!

Oh my goodness, Jessica Schenk has a set of triplets coming out! I adore each one of them and think that I MUST have them for the Down East Doll Show in North Carolina in June!!


~JESSICA's NEW TRIPLETS~


I've been busy working up some gorgeous mohair and it's ready to go:


~TNGUN MOHAIR AVAILABLE~

And a new baby has been begun! I will share her on Sunday.
Tomorrow is Friday and I have a picture story to share! Be sure to check in!

Hugs for Thursday XXOO

Final evaluation and prognosis on Ultra Matte Gel

Well, I applied the Ultra Matte Gel full strength to Billy but I don't see that it really did that much and someone wrote to me and said that after about two weeks one of her dolls coated with UMG got sticky. Of course, this is why I chose to do this with a doll I am keeping.

I do like how the UMG medium carries the paints and wow...do the reds stay red! I may have overdone his reds! LOL At night he looks really red. Interesting huh?

I did try to make the paint thicker to create the textured lines on the nails and that didn't work but, the nails are a very nice translucent color, just like I've achieved with my LDC products. I like using the Genesis Glazing gel on the nail beds before I paint and can still do that if I choose to use the UMG in the future. This test was to see if I could get the same effect. The brows are nice but not really textured either.

So, do I like the stuff or not? Well, yes, I do but not for my Master Artist Series babies. It is great for Simple Treasures Series and Kids Corner! dolls. I feel that the paints cured faster and that they are durable.

The true test comes now when I pack Billy around and see if he becomes more shiny.

TNGUN Reborning Tutorial Video update

I am so very excited I can hardly breathe!

The tutorial video is edited!

Dianna Effner has commissioned a local musician to write some soft background music for the video and once that is done, it will be ready for production!

The tutorial is 5 hours long and will be placed on 3 DVDs. It takes one through all of the stages of reborning from preparation of the vinyl to assembling your reborn.

On this happy note I must share a youtube video of our own Dianna Effner and her family. Did YOU know how musically inclined they are??

~WILDFLOWERS~

Oh happy day!

Mixing the Ultra Matte Gel and LDC paints

It occurred to me that I've not really given very clear instructions on how to mix and use the Ultra Matte Gel with the LDC paints so here is a mini tutorial:

Mixing a blush color that I call burnt orange/red. I have used this color as my second blush on Billy, the reborn I am making as I try out the Ultra Matte Gel with the LDC paints.

Using a craft stick, place a dime sized portion of red paint into a one ounce jar:

With a toothpick, add a touch or two of brown (I actually added more brown than is shown here as I mixed to get the color I was looking for) As you can see, my brown color is marked "new brown" because I still have an old jar of the first brown that LDC came out with. That brown was more purple and I love it for nail beds! It's no longer available so I treasure that jar of "old brown".

With another craft stick, add a good sized blog of the Ultra Matte Gel. I am using about as much gel as my total paint:

Mix this well before adding the water. You an add water before mixing but it does not blend as well and takes longer to stir:

Using an eye dropper, fill the jar up to 1/4 full with water. This is less water than I use with the LDC paints and LDC retarder. Usually I fill the jar 1/2 full with the LDC retarder.
I want my paints thick in my jar as to not dilute the pigments. I can add water later to my pallet.

The paint on my pallet is a bit thick/rich. It's been lingering on the side of the plate too long:

I've added about 5 drops of water and it's just right. The way to test the "just right" is by applying it to the back of your reborns head to test it. This way, if it dries too fast and makes a mess, it will be covered up with hair later and your doll will just have an extra blushy spot under the hair:

I have applied all my colors in the same fashion that I always do, using a combination of sponges and brushes.

And here is how Billy is looking after all his coloring is done:

He is still sheeny/shiny in some places so today I am going to go over all his parts with full strength Ultra Matte Gel applied with a wedge and pounced in with clean wedges.

I've talked myself out of doing the custom portrait doll using the new gel and then I talked myself back into it after doing a little test on that vinyl yesterday. The vinyl on the Linde Scherer kit is very rubbery and I was concerned on how the paint would adhere without the Genesis Matte Varnish applied first. Upon the test, I like how it went on so I'll do the brows and nail bed textured with the Genesis Matte Varnish and then carry on with the UMG/LDC mixture.

I'm back to my wild days again as I process mohair and birth babies.
Does anyone have a maid I could borrow???

Happy day to you!

They tell me this is not normal

Yesterday my family and horses spent the afternoon surrounded by our horse loving friends who told me that they have NEVER been to, or thrown, a birthday party for a horse. They say it's not been a common or "NORMAL" thing in their lives.

WHAT??? Huh, how odd! LOL

I have to admit that this is the first horse party we have had where we invited guests and decorated the round pen with helium balloons, but we do have horse birthday parties.

But this was a very special event because my horse, Toby, has turned 30 years old. Although horses do live to be into their 30's, it's more common that they pass in their mid 20's.

My Toby has been my best friend. He has always been patient, kind and gentle. He has heart and strength, and he will protect me at all times. I almost lost him in 2007 to colic. But once again, he endured through it with heart and strength. It was then and after last winter when he did not winter very well due to a miscalculation in our feeding amount that I determined to have a real birthday party for him when he turned 30.

Here is the beloved birthday boy all decked out for his party:

Is that hat not just the greatest??? It's actually a pinata I found at WalMart! I simply cut the bottom out of it and attached festive birthday ribbon~perfect!

I put helium balloons around the round pen, a birthday banner on the round pen gate and made him a special horse birthday cake that he could share with his pasture pals.

Guests brought gifts and Toby's vet sent him a gift and card in the mail.

With the video camera running, we all sang happy birthday. There were 11 people present.

Then we directed them to eat the cake:

Ohhh...they loved it!
From L-R are Ruger, Toby and Scout.

Here I am with my best boy!

And of course look who else showed up! Matthew!
Matthew loves Toby as much as I do and his face shows his excitement to be on Toby's back on his 30th birthday!

Matthew got down to wish Toby a very happy birthday...

pat his warm muzzle....

And give him a kiss. Awe!
Toby looks as if he is saying, "Awe gawsh, the boy loves me!"

I made a Toby look-a-like cupcake cake for our guests and served peppermint hot cocoa.

After the guests left, Toby got down in the dirt and rolled....GLORIOUS!

What a great, GREAT day!
I am so thankful for our friends coming out in the cold to celebrate this special horse on his special day. XXOO

Oh. This is Alan. He is our farrier and has been for a lot of years. Today was the first time he met Matthew~although he has heard a lot about him. He was a bit taken to the little man and there is rumor that Matthew might need to travel around with Alan taking some farrier lessons. I can see it now...a tiny anvil, a tiny hammer, a tiny baby doll holding up a giant horses foot!