Mainlining Christmas

I'm getting more interpretive with the angel motif around here. Isn't she pretty? Here's what she started out like: I added Kneadatite over the word "Faith", and then I added some extra flames to her hair and wings: A light sanding, then plenty of paint, and she's evoking a very different look. I didn't manage to get in all the cracks as much as I'd like, but maybe I'll do a little touch-up when I have more time. I went over all the non-flesh colored parts with white first, then chose the best bright colors I could mix. The fire wings are many layers of oranges, reds and gold. Here's a shot for scale: I thought about going back in with a symbol or something, but I like that it's not completely obvious who she is. She came out pretty nice, and she's probably not going to eat your planet today. 

My first angel project is complete! (Well, she technically needs a coat of sealant, but it hasn't been dry enough to take her outside to spray her.) And yes, she's not currently hiding her face, but her eyes are closed, and I liked the Weeping Angels best when they were about implied danger. I bought three shiny angels this year for nefarious purposes: Here's a closer shot of the one for this project: I bought it very cheap on sale at a craft store. First I gave her a decent sanding, but didn't go overboard, since the dust created by the resin she's made of couldn't be good to breathe in. She got sprayed down with plastic-friendly primer next. I could still see "Hope" a little too clearly on her banner, so a little Kneadatite epoxy putty took care of that: And all that was left to do was paint. I first painted her all over a sort of medium gray, and then just kept going over her, adding darker grays to the inset p

I bought this kit last year, really cheap: And then I forgot to take a picture of the pieces in progress. Oops. The kit came with a bunch of red and clear glass beads, a long piece of wire and some silver thread, I suppose for making ornament loops.  The instructions were slightly confusing, but boiled down to:  Cut two long pieces of wire. Thread one with red beads and one with clear. Fold them in half and twist together at the half-way point. Twist all the way along so it looks pretty. Use pliers to bend the ends of the wire under. Bend into cane shape. So I made a bunch of canes: And they were fun to make, but they actually look kind of tiny and lame on the tree: And then I thought, I have all these beads and wire left over. So I cut two really long pieces of wire, and added beads and twisted them together as though I were making a giant, ill-proportioned candy cane. Only this time I left some wire on each side and added jump rin

Okay, I think we can all agree that Hallmark makes some cool Christmas ornaments. If you don't agree with this statement, then you probably haven't been to a Hallmark store in a while, which really isn't something you need to be embarrassed about (in fact, it's a sign of good character). But, like it or not, Hallmark produces some extremely awesome pop-culture ornaments. Unfortunately, they charge a crap load of money for the things. We're talking $17 for the "cheap" ones and $35 if you want something with lights and music. Or you could make your own, in just three easy steps. 1. Go to Toys R Us (or Walmart, Target, or any other large, corporate owned superstore) and buy some toys. It doesn't really matter what you buy, so long as it's small, from a recognizable property, and isn't too expensive. Here are several examples I found lying around my apartment. You don't have to worry about being consistent in terms of style, size,