Fun with Star Wars

I’ve been a bad blogger, I know.  But this less than ideal summer is over and I’m recharged and ready to create again.  A few projects are underway and several more are swirling around my brain.  The most important task, however, was my nephew’s birthday gift.

He saw the princesses I made for his sister and I asked him if would like superhero or Mario brothers figures, or if he was too old for that.  He considered the matter for a few moments and very solemnly answered, “I think I would like some Star Wars figures.”  I have a feeling that boy will always be able to melt my heart.

I spent a few days searching websites for images of Star Wars figures.  Narrowing the selection just to a handful of characters was very difficult.  I stuck with the main characters this time, but see myself creating another set for Christmas.  That set will have lots of fun characters – Jabba the Hutt painted on a block of wood, the Cantina band, ewoks, Jar Jar Binks, Watto . . . and I need to try Yoda again.

First, I sketched the characters on the wooden figures.  I knew I wanted to make R2 D2 and originally planned on lopping the head off a wooden doll.  Given my propensity for self-inflicted wounds, however, that idea was less than appealing.  Fortunately, the crafting gods were smiling down on me and I found little wooden knobs not far from the wooden doll figures.  Perfect.

After a few hours, the figures started coming together.

Can you spot the difference between the two images?

My nephew likes Anakin Skywalker and I started by creating one figure for Anakin and one for Darth Vader.  Then I did some thinking and decided to make a two-sided figure.  My nephew’s response when he saw it was, “Oh my gosh, that is so cool!” 

The hand cramps from painting all those tiny details, the paint spilled on the rug (told you I was a klutz), the late nights to get the project done – all worth it!

box o' princesses

This past weekend, I let the flaky artist loose.  And she had a blast. 

While I wish I could take credit for this idea, the project is the brain child of Lil Blue Boo and Stephanie Corfee.  I found these adorable dolls on Pinterest and immediately thought of my princess-loving niece, who turns five on Wednesday.

First, I did a little princess searching on the Internet.  The DisneyWiki is a fantastic site covering all things Disney, including descriptions of each characters’ personality, physical appearance, and background, as well as trivia.   Did you know Snow White is the youngest Disney princess and Cinderella, the oldest princess, has the most animal friends?

I used the site to help me sketch the princesses’ clothes, hair, and accessories on the wooden dolls.

Using a small brush, I painted princess outfits and hair.

With the help of a drill, a couple wooden beads, some wood putty and glue, I gave Cinderella and Tiana hair buns.

Using a teeny, tiny brush, I added details – eyelashes, hair highlights and low lights, jewelry. 

Then I printed out the background on cardstock (I’ll let my niece do the coloring) and attached the label to the box o’ princesses.

 Everything fit inside perfectly.

 A few more princess items, and my niece’s gift is ready for the party this weekend.

Happy Birthday, Jules!

One of my nephews has a birthday at the end of August, but I’m afraid he might be a little too old for the figures.  I’ll have to keep this in mind for his baby brother in a few years.  Star Wars, super heroes, Mario Brothers - the possibilities are endless.  My niece might be getting some more dolls at Christmas.  I just didn’t have time to include everyone – Alice in Wonderland, Mulan, Pocahontas, Tinker Bell.  I’d better stock up on wooden dolls.

back on (CD) tracks

It's official.  I've been a baaaad blogger.

But never fear, now that the warm weather has arrived, I plan to stop hibernating and start organizing/crafting/blogging.

Project 1 - organize all those music CDs

I had music stashed all over the houses -in baskets and cases and boxes - oh my!

To clear the clutter, I tossed all my plastic CD cases and moved my music to double-sided sleeves.  The booklet fits in one side and the disc goes in the other.

Now everything fits in one box.

The control freak is quite pleased.  There's even room to expand.

Freeze!

It’s week 1 and I’m off to an okay start.  With the help of Crockpot Weight Watchers Recipes, I was able to turn this 

 

into a freezer full of healthy meals.  The Santa Fe chicken and turkey lasagna are particularly tasty.  

While I enjoy cooking, there’s just something about spending a few minutes dumping ingredients in a crockpot, walking away to enjoy the rest of the day, and then returning to delicious dinner, that can’t be beat.

I also made a big pot of soup, another minimal effort, high reward undertaking.  Let’s hear it for laziness.

Black bean, sweet potato, and kielbasa soup – thanks for the recipe, mom!

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

13 oz turkey kielbasa, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 large sweet potato, cut into bite-sized pieces

3 oz diced green chilies

32 oz fat-free chicken broth

Spray the bottom of a large pot with cooking spray (I used olive oil).  Over medium high heat, sauté garlic and onion for about 5 minutes, until the onion begins to soften.  Add the kielbasa and cook, stirring frequently, for another five minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients and reduce heat to low.  Cover and let simmer about 3 hours, until the sweet potatoes are cooked.  Easy peasy!

Makes 5 big servings.

Now it’s time to tackle exercise.

Launch

Well, it’s Leap Day. Figured I might as well mark the occasion by starting a new blog. 

My goal here is to find a way to get two conflicting parts of myself, the Control Freak and the Flaky Artist (There's a story behind "flaky artist," which I'll share with you later.), to work together. Generally, I let the Control Freak run free at work. She thrives on meticulously copyediting medical articles, painstakingly tracking the progress of new books (I have lists and charts for everything), and performing sundry other fascinating tasks. At home, I let the Flaky Artist loose. She bakes, sews, knits, decorates cakes, scrap books, and all kinds of fun, creative stuff. Oh, and spends waaaay too much time on Pinterest.

While this is generally a good system, the Flaky Artist isn’t the neatest, most organized person around. She gets caught up in projects and forgets to let the Control Freak out every now and then to do laundry, clean the house, pay bills, go to the supermarket, etc. Before I know it, cookie cutters, skeins of yarn, and half-finished projects are scattered all over the house and the grumpy, tired Control Freak has to take over and attempt to re-establish order.

So, what would happen if I could get these two part of myself to cooperate? With the Artist's creativity, tempered with the Control Freak's discipline, I wonder how much I can accomplish by next Leap Year?

I’m starting with these general goals.

1. Lose the weight 

Control Freak – Take the time to have plenty of healthy food in the house so I’ll be less tempted to eat junk.

Flaky Artist – Have a fun project or two in the works to keep me distracted, thus avoiding boredom eating and mindless TV watching & snacking.

2. Exercise

Control Freak – Make a chart to keep track of my progress and plan rewards for goals met.

Flaky Artist – Check out the library and Internet for new ways to keep moving so I don’t get bored.

3. Organize the house

Control Freak – Let the fun begin and decluttering commence.

Flaky Artist – Find creative (and inexpensive) ways to create a place for all my junk important papers, art supplies, baking materials, etc. It’s time to do something with all those Pinterest pins.