Too much, yet STILL not enough

OK, so... reborning, as with everything else, is trickier than it sounds. Sigh...

Actually, this doll is turning out FANTASTIC. I had NO idea my first attempt (Ok, 3rd attempt -- but the first 2 never got this far) would turn out so well.

The difference lies in the paints. I am using Genesis heat set oils instead of acrylics on this doll, the I am so impressed with how easy they are to paint with. No -- how easy they are to CONTROL!

Paints that have their own "personalities" -- aka watercolors and acrylics -- are just too hard for a control freak like myself to work with. I still love my watercolors, but now I can't wait to try a real painting with these Genesis paints.

I sound like a commercial, don't I... sigh...

It's the hair that is making me nuts with this baby. He/she already has too much hair for a newborn, and yet I still have at least 25% of the skull left to cover.

Live and learn... I still have 5 Goodwill babies left in "rehab", LOL. Rooting hair properly is already getting easier. However...

I am SOOOooooo bored with the Absolute Realism of "newborning". What skin tones do you think Fantasy Reborns might have??? Tattoos?? Gold? Glitter? Costumes?

(I have enough of Realism in Real Life. I'd rather make Fairies!)

They are only Goodwill babies after all. I do believe I feel some experimenting coming on!

Challenges

No pictures today... I haven't had the motivation to create lately. Between daughter's dance team activities, workouts, menu planning, and (*%#!@^* TAXES... well, even the fun stuff has just seemed like too much WORK!

Sigh...

Plus, I spend too darned much time in front of this computer. Lately it's been tracking calories eaten and burned, and browsing online diet boards. What can I say -- it keeps me focused on just *why* I am hungry. I have already eaten my calories allowed into next year! So, I am working on letting my body catch up. I started the Sonoma Diet after the holidays when I couldn't zip my "fat jeans". Since January 9 I have lost 23 pounds. Only 2 pounds to go to meet my goal for Easter.

12 pounds to go until I can classify myself as merely "overweight" instead of obese.

65 pounds to go until I reach my goal weight.

I only wish it didn't take as much mental and emotional energy as it has lately. The workouts are actually becoming kind of fun (did I actually write that??!) but I WISH I didn't obsess about this so much. Hopefully writing it down will purge some of the garbage thinking and make some room to let in thoughts of something else for a while.

Arghhhhh...! Well, on the upside, I am *definitely* learning how to work with HTML code. Still, I really REALLY wish I could figure out how to get these photos to upload in the order in which I want them to appear... THE FIRST TIME. grumblegrumblegrumble...

This is the color scheme I have chosen for painting the dragon. I am using Genesis heat set paints for the first time. This stuff is very interesting. I look forward to learning more about using it.


(Gads, this is a horrible photo...)

This what I have gotten done so far. The work has been spread out over the last 4 days, and the paint is still as creamy and spreadable as when I squeezed it out of its little tube. Fabulous stuff, and very easy to control once I mixed it with some thinning medium. I am really loving the way the colors of the crystals and pearls "pop" against the pale blue. I will highlight the scales later with some white, perhaps a little Pearl-Ex too...


And, last but NOT least, I have to share my beautiful birthday gift from my internet friend Kai. This little gal practically vibrates with energy. I love holding her in my hand and just looking at her.

Living so far out in the country makes it tough to have friends. I am thankful every day of my life for the connections if have through the internet, especially the fact that they are all as into "stuff" as I am!

There are more of "Us" out there than I ever thought. Hooray for fiber artists!