A message from Nurse Chance

"Meow and hello to all of you. I'm Chance, Ally's nurse. She asked me to let all of her visitors in JLand know that she is doing well (well enough to make this silly hat and stick it on my head). She is so overwhelmed by the warm wishes that she received, she wants you to know that words can not describe how happy that makes her feel. She also wanted me to tell you that she's feeling a little loopy, but she'll be back when her head clears up a little more. I promise to take purrrrrr-fect care of her, I'm just so happy that she is home now.  >^..^<"

Hi this is Allyson's SIL

 

Hi everyone my SIL went to the doctors today because she had been in alot of pain since yesterday and found out she had Appendicitis. They did a CT on her at 5:45 to make sure that is what was going on and admitted her immediately and took her Apendix out. She was out of surgery around 9:15 and in recovery. We got to go up and see her a little after 10 once they got her into her room. She is doing good all things considering. Everyone wish her a speedy recovery :) She will love to see all the well wishes when she gets home!

Hugs, Robyn

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

One could say that this piece was inspired by the classic "The Wizard of Oz." Of course that movie has a special place in all of our hearts. Even I find myself watching the movie every now and then.

But, no, this piece was not inspired by the movie. This piece was inspired and created for JLands own RobinNGabster. It was her journal, The Yellow Brick Road, that was my inspiration. Robin came here and has left me some very nice comments. Her first comment was left on the "Pay it Forward" entry that I posted a few weeks ago.

When I make a special gift for someone, I want to make it something truly special. Not knowing someone makes that task rather difficult. You don't know what that person is like, what their interests are, or even what their favorite colors are. When I took a look at Robin's journal, I knew instantly where I wanted to go with this gift, The Yellow Brick Road.

Robin just received her pen. She wrote me a wonderful email that really put a smile on my face.

Robin, I'm so happy that you like your pen. You're a sweet lady, you deserve that special gift.

History of Dragons

I love Dragons. They are second only to white tigers. So, of course I'd want to sculpt them with my clay. Here are a few of my dragons.

"Dragon of Flames"


This guy I gave to my brother as a Christmas present. He isn't the first dragon I ever made, although, he is the first one that I ever got a photo of. When I made him, I noticed that his horns were VERY delicate, so I decided to get the dome for him. Funny story, I looked online for the dome, and X-mas was approaching fast. There would have been a very slim chance that I'd get one ordered in time. On top of that, the prices for the domes were a little out of my range, and I wasn't absolutely sure that I'd get the size I needed. I looked around at the local craft stores for anything that would suit my needs. Alas, nothing quite right. One day, out of the blue, Mom and I went to a thrift store. Let's say I wasn't very hopeful that I'd find what I needed, but on the slim chance....

The store isn't all that organized. There are 5-6 isles of household merchandise and knick-knacks. We searched high and low, by the 4th isle, all I had was one of those domed clocks that was made of plastic and was too short. I was losing hope fast! By the second half of the 4th isle, I saw it!! I weaved my was through the crowd of people and snatched it up. The dome was perfect, no scratches, no cracks, and the height and width were perfect. I had expected that I would have to make a few more trips to the store before I found the dome I needed. All I have to say....That was fate :)

I used 2 candle holders to construct the base and I sealed it with some black clay and hot glue. Bill loves it. They have since moved into corporate housing, and have had to store most of their belongings into storage while they search for a house. Yet, my "Dragon of Flames," still sits proudly on a shelf in their home.

"The Hatchling"


You know this little guy. I finished him in February. He answered the question of what came first, the dragon or the egg. I intended to just cover the egg. However, things don't always happen as they are intended. (Am I right or what?!) After baking the egg a second time, I dropped it into some ice water (that helps translucent clay become more translucent.) Science alluded me that day, and the egg imploded. My cute little egg had a gaping hole in it!!! "Darn it," I thought, "now what?!?" "Well, it looks like a dragon egg, why not make a dragon for it." That's what I did, I even constructed a nest for him to sit in.

And now, My most Favorite piece to date.

"Azreth of the Rock Pond"

Here he is!!! Azreth!!

Remember when I told you about going over to Robyn's? I created him then. I bought a polymer clay book, "Dragons" by Christi Friesen. That book inspired me to make him.
It took me a while to come up with his name. Finally I went over to Rum and Monkey and used their dragon name generator. I remember how many combinations I went through before I found a fitting name. But I do remember what the final combination was, "Seth walk underfoot." My brother gave that to my cat Seth when he was a kitten :)

Once he was done, I realized that he needed a home. So, I gave him his own island. Robyn and I went out to Micheal's a mere hour before closing and I bought the rocks and wooden base. I made the island and tree out of aluminum foil before covering it with clay.

Azreth looked lonely, so I added a mouse. One can only guess why that little mouse would dare to approach Azreth, lol. Then, I looked closer at the tree. What better animal to perch himself upon a dead tree than an owl. Lol, that little mouse really has some guts.

I finished off the piece at home, I added the water and the rocks. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! It truly is my most favorite piece to date!

NEW Camera!!!

(I love white tigers.)

So, I talked to my dad about a new camera last week. He told me that he would help me out! He said that we would go out one of these weekends together and camera shop. Well, we didn't go together :( But he and his wife, Connie, gave me some money to go out and find one. :)

I ran out right away to Best Buy and started shopping. I looked at some of the newer, more pricey cameras. Tho they were really nice, I was on a budget and I needed to be able to get a case and memory card as well. So, I asked the sales lady to show me a step down in price ($200 to $180). So, she showed me the Nikon Coolpix S200. She told me that BB just lowered the price from $200 to $180, so I tinkered around with it for a while. She was explaining all of it to me, granted, she told me that she was a Canon girl, so she didn't know that much. I saw right next to the price tag was another ad that there was another $30, making the camera $150. That pretty much sold me. I liked what I saw, and the price was right! So, now I have a new camera. I got myself a case and I've ordered, online, a 4 GB SD card. (I think I paid less for the 4GB then BB wanted for a 2GB card, lol)

I've been playing around with it a little here and there this week. Mostly when I take a break from organizing my room. Which I have been doing for the last 3-4 days. The tiger picture above is actually a panoramic pic of a towel Bill and Robyn got me from FL a few years back.

This is me showing off:


This is my Maine Coon, Chance. You can't tell from this pic, but he is 42 inches long from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. yep, he is one big kitty.


Here is our Irish Terrier, Baxter. I had to pinch him today, cuz he just wouldn't keep his green jacket on, lol.

Seth, unfortunately, couldn't be bothered to pose for a nice picture. The rule in this house is that "Seth gets what Seth wants." Well, he didn't wanna pose.

Another Panoramic view:


This is my work space/Supply storage area. The Panoramic function on my camera is AWESOME!!! I was playing around with it tonight some. I did take a 360° view of my room, but I deleted it because I didn't have the flash on and I'm not sure how it will show up on here. If I get a good 360, I'll see about posting it on here later. (if any one wants to see my room, lol)

Any way, my work room is approx. 10ft X 13ft. (I have another room to sleep in.) My work room has to accommodate my art, play, entertainment and clothes. I've got my TV, PC and my PS2 in there. I can't really do more than one thing at a time in there. When I have my poly clay stuff set up, it gets messy in there fast. The work space and supplies take up 85% of the remaining space in there. (Poor Tyler doesn't fit in the room with me when he comes to visit, lol) So, as I said before, the last few days have been spent to me completely overhauling my space. I think I can fit another person in there with me now. (Maybe I'll go snag a niece or nephew if I'm home this weekend.) As you can tell, I'm really proud of myself. I'm not necessarily the most organized person in the world, so this was a MAJOR accomplishment. I hope to keep it this way for more than 3 days, but time will tell.

Well thanks again for stopping by. I've got another project that I HAVE to post about soon. I love it so much. so check back soon ;)

G'night

Ally

February's Creations Pt. 2

As I promised, here are the rest of the things I made in February.

These  two treasure chests were Valentines for Robyn's daughters, Ray and Lexi. I bought them each a charm bracelet, cause every treasure chest needs a treasure. :)




I found an online tutorial for the bamboo pen and I decided to make my first polymer pen. The kanji symbol on it the one for beauty. The girls saw the pen, and they each wanted one for their own. I also stamped their names on the back of one of the charms.




Robyn came by tonight with Rayanna and my nephew Josh. She also brought along her camera. Ray brought her chest as well so I could get some pics. I haven't been able to see Lexi yet, so I still have her chest and pen. Hopefully I'll see her next time she's in town.

I'm gonna play too :)

I got this from Robyn, who got it from Linda, who got it from kathy, who got it from Kelly who got it from Bernie, Sounds like fun :) 

Who wants to play along...be quick there are only three winners! 

Here are the rules:

1. ~Leave a comment on my blog that says you want to play.  The First three folks to comment will get a gift from ME. I'll create something special, just for you.

(Email me to Let me know how I can contact you. SilverShivaZero@comcast.net)

2. ~Do the same thing on your blog. The first three folks who leave a comment and commit to doing this on their blog, too, will get a surprise from YOU at a surprise time in the next 365 days.

 

Hugs, Ally

Coral Reef Pitcher

Visitors from Robyn's journal may remember that at the end of 2006 that my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Don't worry, she's doing well, all the latest tests show that the cancer has not returned.

During her radiation therapy, she has to go everyday for a few weeks. Money was tight, and with gas prices being so high, you can guess that we could use a little help. Thanks to our wonderful neighbors, we got just that. Nearly everyday Jan, our neighbor, gave my mom a ride to the clinic. If I'm not mistaken, mom offered to pay her for gas, but she declined, saying that she enjoyed the company, and was happy to help.

After Christmas, mom brought me this pitcher that she got from a garage sale, and asked me to do something special to it.


(Sorry about the poor picture quality, I really need a new camera)

Every year Jan and her husband take a cruise in the Bahamas, so I went with a coral reef theme.

This was the longest, most painstaking project I have done to date. So many "technical difficulties." All of the little bubbles kept falling off, my attempts at a clown fish "cane" kept failing miserably. I put in about 5-8 hours a day for two weeks before I was finally happy with it.

Mom and I brought it over to her house with a bottle of wine to share with her and her husband. They really loved it. They found a spot on a shelf to display it right away.

It seems to me that everything I make these days has a story to go with it.

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February's Creations Pt. 1

So, here is the creations of February. I did make a few other things, but I didn't get photos of them yet. Once I do get them, I'll add them to this slide show.

Thank you all for your wonderful comments. I love hearing what people think, so keep 'em coming ;)