I am entirely too satisfied with myself today.

[merimask]

Oh...my god people.  Remember that lion mask I was talking about?  Look!

I totally nailed the look of old bronze, don't you think?  These pictures are pretty good but the mask in person is even more stunning.  It really looks exactly like an old bronze mask!

 

I am so freaking happy with this mask...

I really hope Mikka is happy with this mask...I'm so crazy about it that I want to do more!  Oh, it really energizes me when I make something I really like.  ^__^

Also, since I am a busy little bee (and I am running out of big pieces of leather) I made a handfull of these charming ginkgo leaf keychains...

They are up in my Etsy shop, of course.

Meanwhile, I am really enjoying the news this weekend, for a change.  It's so uplifting!  Watching Obama move closer towards his presidency...it's a really happy news cycle to be sure.  So many hundreds and thousands of hopeful faces, you can't help but feel good about it!  I'm watching the concert on the Mall in DC (on TV...I was going to take Char but decided not to & now I'm sorry we didn't make the trip)...U2 and Bruce Springstein woo!  How cool is that? 

I took a break and took Kiba out for a long hike in the woods.  We havern't done that much this winter (three feet of snow is no fun to walk in...& then it got too cold).  Today was a balmy 22 degrees which is still cold but really, over 30 degrees warmer than it's been here all week!  I didn't even wear a hat.  It was about a 3 mile walk and I really enjoyed getting out in the fresh air.  Kiba had so much fun, too.  I wish I'd brought my camera; it was snowing lightly and the woods were just beautiful.   Kiba's all pooped out now & frankly so am I...walking in foot-deep snow is a workout! 
 

Anyway, it's back to work for me.  I have cut all the remaining leather into big projects (more cool dragons) and I'm nearly through with those.  Pictures soon!

Comments

[merimask.livejournal.com]

LOL...you are so funny! Okay...

"Yeah."

;-)

But seriously, yes it IS good when it turns out cool, and this one was actually a pleasant surprise because I wasn't "seeing" it (it was a very clever commission). Then, as I perfected the effect with layers of paint (it's pretty cool: dark green underdye, then dark pine green paint, then a hand-mixed aqua shade drybrushed atop that, then bright metallic bronze strategically drybrushed over that, then a layer of black antique stain...)it slowly became clear to me how perfectly "old bronze" the mask looked. As I wiped off the antique stain all I could say was WOW. It's kinda rare when I'm surprised by my own work. :-)

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Oh, THAT's it. I see, you didn't know how it would turn out to start...that's awesome! That happens only rarely to me, that I start something with a very VAGUE idea and it just takes on its own life and ends out way better than I'd actually hoped for.

But on the one-word response note...I did actually mean it. :) See, I write SB fan fiction (big shock, right) and I have a few times gotten reviews like...well here, I will paste one EXACTLY.

cute

Yep, that was the whole review. And I appreciate even that, as it is confirmation that my story was read (and liked, too, which is even better) by someone, but what do I say in reply? Basically just 'thanks'. If I want to be really wordy I can stretch it out and say "thank you". Sometimes certain replies/messages/etc just don't lend themselves to being replied to. :)