Cthulu-ments

Ah the joys of Lovecraft, and what could be better on your tree than some Cthulument.  I do like the way Lovecraft has created the Cthulu mythos that has spread to so much of our lives.  Most recent spotting for me was of course Warehouse 13 episode with the tentacle monster.  So I decided I needed some ornaments for my tree with a Cthulu theme.

I took ye old angel cookie cutter, since he does have wings, and created my ceramic lovelies.  I did not particularly care for how the Jade Moss glaze flowed, the two on the bottom.  The blue gray stoneware did a bit better with black in the accent areas.  I think I will try again and create some with arms and use a green glaze next.  Of course while photographing my creations for etsy I did receive some help from my cat.

Gotta love the critters.  Currently it is thundering so one of my dogs is cowering under the desk.

So don't forget to celebrate the holidays with the Elder Gods, or they might eat you. For sale at my Etsy shop Gryphonwyck

Disney Princess Half Marathon

Continuing the training for the half marathon.  Still running about 3 miles at a time.  It is so hot here it is harder for me to go further.  My full time job and karate take up so much time I need to squeeze in some more running time.  Once it gets cooler than I can run after work, right now its just to hot.  Made my hotel reservations, staying off site where it is cheaper so will see how that works.  Hubby is going so he can drive and cheer since he is not running (to many knee issues).  The next phase is COSTUME. Once it gets closer to Halloween I should be able to find some ideas.  Still planning on being Maleficent, so far most people are princesses, I wanna be a fairy princess, whee.

Disney Princess Half Marathon 2013

Yes I did it, I am officially registered for the princess half marathon. 

Step 1: get off my lazy derriere and jog more.  I admit I am doing around 2 miles at time right now so I really need to step it up.  Lets see if I can do at least 3-5 this weekend.  I did a half in 2011 and one in 2010 so I know I can do it, just need to stop being lazy.

Step 2: get my outfit, I still plan to be Maleficent so black and purple are the way to go.  Should be able to find some ideas around Halloween.

Step 3: Enjoy Disney and all the fun people, whee.

Karate Pisces aka Fish of Fury

While wandering through Barnes & Noble came across a felt zodiac book, Zodiac Felties.  It had some really cute ideas so today I did the pisces one.  My friends who were shopping with me that day happen to be pisces and are some of my karate buds.  So I decided to make some "Fish of Fury"

As with all projects the first thing you do is move the cat out of the work space.  I copied the fish page and cut out my patterns in black and white instead of the recommended liliac and tangerine.  My fish are fighting, not fruity.  Originally I was going to use some leaf sequins that I had on hand but that didn't look to good so I went with black netting.
Mine don't look quite as good as the illustration but they are a nice group of fighting fish, fishermen beware.  I would recommend if you have the paperbck version to blow up the pattern a bit, these ended up a bit small.
Overall a cute book with a nice take on the zodiacs. 

Blessing Dolls

Recently a friend of mine and her partner had a bouncing baby boy.  She asked that I do a blessing for them so I decided to create some blessing dolls.  1st you have to have a pattern.  I picked a Russian doll type pattern for felt I found on line at Dragon & Phoenix.  This is a site about a Mom with twins and she made hers into a tooth fairy pillow so this pattern fits many uses.

Print the parts of the pattern you like and expand/contract to the sizes you need.  Using the pattern cut out the felt.  I had some leftover felt from when I made my owlements.  My friend is a big Alabama fan so her doll is in red and white.  I cut the faces and the holes in the hair wrap the same size with my cuttlebug, next time I will cut the face part larger so it sits better behind the hair portion.

For the blessing packet that goes in each doll I gathered herbs relevant to what I wished for each person.  Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs was my resource.  I pulled a rune thinking of each person and re-created that rune with felt.  I then surfed the wonderful Internet for blessing poems, I can't write poetry so I had to go surfing.  Printed each poem real smalled and rolled them into little scrolls. The blessing items were placed in scrap of silk and sewn into a pouch.

I then added the decorations to the dolls with fabric paint and iron on flowers.  My sewing skills aren't all that great but you can add embroidered embellishments if you are more accomplished in that area.  You can also sew runes or other symbols on the dolls if you so desire.

Once they are ready sew the backs on, stuff with fiberfill, add the blessing pouch while praying to your deity.  And they are now ready to be gifted.  One happy littly doll family.

Children's Five Fold Kiss

Blessed be your eyes, that you may see clearly.
Blessed be your ears, that you may hear with compassion.
Blessed be your lips, that you might speak the truth.
Blessed be your hands, that you might help others.
And Blessed be your feet that you might

walk the path of Beauty and Spirit all the days of your life

Maleficent Marathon Set

Maleficent Marathon Set

I plan to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon in 2013, assuming I can afford the trip.  I'm not much of a princess person so I designed a Maleficent set, she is my favorite villain.  I would put my hair in pigtails with black/purple wrapping at the base to mimic the horns.  Must be comfortable for 13+ miles. So we shall see how my training goes.  I completed a half marathon in 2011 and 2010.  Need to find one for this year, maybe Chattanooga's bridges run.  So time to start packing on the miles and get myself in gear.

Where have all the fantasy books gone

A couple of years ago I found Goodreads.com.  A lovely site that allows me to track the many books I read.  Over the past two years I have read around 100 books each year.  I am a bit of an addict when it comes to reading.  The problem I have had lately is I love fantasy books.  And by fantasy I mean wizards, magic, and evil sorcerer's.  When I query for fantasy all I get are Paranormal Romance and Young Adult.  They didn't even have young adult fantasy when I was that age.  Now I love a good PR just like everyone else (just finished Lover Reborn) but I can't live off candy alone.  I need MEAT.  So to all you fantasy novelist out there keep writing the hearty stuff.  I truly appreciate it.