WIP: "Balcony" Decor; My New Bistro Table Set & 'Garden'

Work-In-Progress: 
"Balcony" Decor; My New Bistro Table Set & Garden

I generally say: My so-called "balcony" (in quotes) because my property documents call it that.... but.... I'm on the first floor... }:-/

I've been wishing & wanting to actually comfortably use this space, but there's a number of issues with it, besides being stuck living in Boston.... which is cold... and this specific angle means I only get sunlight at the summer solstice period from about mid June to mid July... add on top of that the bushes that grow, and the rude upper neighbors that dump litter on me frequently, the condominium office personnel, the squirrels,  and.... I'm broke. All of those are very long complicated stories... and I'd RATHER NOT think about it, or I'll be in a not-good mood....

So, I'll just focus on the positive side (and suppress the bad... far-far-far, and deep-deep-deep within for some therapist to MAYBE dig out someday... or perhaps in nightmares, or meditative trances gone wrong... but I digress).

Where to start.... hmmm.....


Oh yes:

I used to have a charcoal grill, and some really old lawn furniture... but, due to a stupid story of some idiot in a different town that's NOT mine whom burned down the side of a poorly built apartment building, the following year some idiots in my town forced through some idiotic legislation about no fire grills with charcoal or gas at all EVER.... also, I used to have some old lawn furniture... but they were always dirty, and my spouse wouldn't allow me to clean them in the shower, because his imagination would be aware the outside dirt had once passed through the tub/shower even tho' it was washed & cleaned away, but the ideas bothered his imagination of his ego, ergo I was NEVER allowed to wash them... and also hoses DO NOT EXIST IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.
So, you also cannot hose them down, and spray cleaners also couldn't get the dirt off either... and if I sat on them using a towel, my spouses' imagination would be bothered again, even if the towels were washed, and he would throw away the towels, and we'd have no more towels, and couldn't afford to constantly buy new ones... so, about the time when we were legally forced against our will and without due process to throw away our high end grill, those chairs went with them... }:-(

So, around 2012... our store closed down, and we had some left-over stuff... and since then, the only thing I had to sit on was a Taoist Porcelain  Chinese Stool.

Also.... trying to get anything to grow out there was quite a challenge... and then I stumbled onto permaculture... so, I've been experimenting and learning since then...

By summer 2013, I used to sit outside with my tiny somewhat pathetic piddly "garden" (just some pots with barely anything growing in them, and my wind-chimes and listen to philosophy or zen stuff, like by the late Alan Watts, or music, or out in the rain... contemplating my situation, or journalling, or playing music, or drinking hot tea whilest it rained, and rained, and rained some more...

And, In the winter, I started to notice balcony decor & Boho decor popularity on Pinterest, so I actually have my own Pinboard there now. So.... I started wishing for my own style, or something to happen... I dunno... *shrugs*

Anyways, I actually DID get stuff to grow. ^_^ Permaculture FTW! W00t! :D



Greens, Blueberries, lentils.... the only problem was pests: squirrels, thieving neighbors, aphids, and slugs.  But, I'm making major progress! The aloe did better than expected!


I assumed for sure the chives would grow easily... Nope! Totally wrong!















My Greens: Mustard Spinach









I spent about 2 weeks in New Jersey this month (August 2014), and when I came back, my so-called "balcony" got power-washed by pricks. Making it covered in debris, and busting up one of my wind-chimes, which I JUST refurbished. Check the other blog HERE of that.

And, they FINALLY trimmed up the bush... but it's TOO LATE, because all the good sunlight is past the correct angles... but... somehow, the parsley managed to burst into some kinda major growth!

Gonna have to make a salad with those parslys this week!
And, I dunno what kinda crazy growth happened with those celery stalks. I might have to just pluck them out in the fall.

Anyways.... My step-mother, Libby, bought me a LOVELY wooden Bistro Table set, that folds up, so I can take it back inside in the winter, or if it rains! ^_^


Here's the view from my favorite spot sitting at my new bistro table, where I can drink my tea or coffee, and journal, check my smartphone news, twitter, do knitting, eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner, meditate, pontificate, sketch, or do whatever the heck I want! Drink rum or wine! Whatever!

 The herb pot was also a gift from Libby, which I will try to transfer my herbs into WHENEVER I CAN GET A BAG OF ORGANIC POTTING SOIL. In these shots, it has freshly cut Sunflowers from New Jersey, also a gift from Libby, that were drying outside...
However, the infamous squirrels discovered the sunflowers when I moved them onto those chairs in the corner (that Libby found) and made a big mess all over the place!
The sunflowers have since then, been moved indoors....

If you'd like to see what these sunflowers looked like BEFORE they got cut down check out my album from My Flickr Gallery (which is STILL in the process of being updated daily, since I took lots of photos.)

 Those chairs have also been mended, and ALSO moved indoors...

And, here's my lil' Boho Party Spot at My Father's Pig Roast Picnic a few weeks ago where I parties & got rather drunk with my friends, including my buddy Pirate Pebbs.You can see THIS table set up there, with some other bohemian stuffs... I figured Boho-chic was the other end of the spectrum of yuppy fads... sorta faux Hippie-ish.

It was my lil' mini haven under a tree from the the yuppies that got all into the recent trendy fad of pretending to be a faux hick or redneck and blast so-called "Country Music". I wonder what the next NJ fad will be! Fear not! I'll surely bee there with my camera! ^_^

I was near the giant water-slide, so my daughter could find me.

 The chairs are mingling!
Well... as of now... as I stated earlier, these chairs are inside the house... but the Chinese one is still out there... 

Wow!!!! Is that it? 
Yay!!!! I think I'm done! 
Typing this entry too FOREVER! 

I'll see if I can add an update to my so-called "balcony" decor... because it's changed, yet again...
And, let's hope that NO MORE S.N.A.F.U.s, nor random problems, just up & occur! OK?

WIP Trials & Errors: My Little Pony Decorate Your Own Blank Pony

W.I.P. Trials & Errors: 

My Little Pony Decorate Your Own Blank Pony

So, in my first blog entry, I wrote about my unboxing of my blank My Little Pony that  purchased from Hasbro's website, the Grape Kool-aid hair dying, and that's pretty much it...

Protecting the hair with curlers, masking tape, plastic zipper bags, and staples.

Close-up of the main from the back of the "scalp" after separating it into 2 sections.

 Better close-up.

Now, I gotta remove the head for a while... This is the back of the head again.

The head from the side, after removing it from the body.

Here's the body & the head separated.












However, I've been working on this, (weather permitting) for nearly a month now. I'm up in New England (Greater Boston) so we are prone to the local humidity, which is especially vicious in the summer...

Unfortunately, my first paint I chose, hoping to match with the burgundy hair, went disastrously wrong! 

The paint & the colors REALLY won't show in the photo!

 Disaster!
You can find more disastrous ml paint jobs HERE.  
D-: }

If your pony paint job looks bad like this: START OVER! 
Like I did! ;)

 Usually, when you're painting a figure especially a white one, you need to add a darker color if you want to use metalic paints, or if you want to use a light metalic color, you can use a base color similar to your metalic color first...

however, this paint was just awful! after the 8th coat I was REALLY troubled because it still looked like a 1st coat of paint, would show up on the photos because the camera couldn't see the neon colors, and was very low in pigments. It also kept being gloppy, or would rub off.

So, I had no choice but to grab the paint remover (ethyl acetate like nail polish remover) and remove it all!Despite how easily it rubbed off when working with it, the paint removal took almost an hour because it was so thick & gloppy!







Finally, I started a test paint with a different purple paint, that was glossy. Much better result and only required about 3 coats! THAT'S what I'm looking for!

MUCH BETTER!

This was my test paint coat #1 with a light purple that was the glossy paint.












 You will need masking fluid for the eyes.

 You must apply the masking fluid to the eyes, which you can remove later to reveal the blank white eyes, so you can add the details, like eyeballs.

 Be careful when using this, it's latex (which I'm technically allergic to... mildly) but, it can DESTROY your paint brushes. So, get "Goo Gone", or a paint thinner, to help you remove it from the brush bristles immediately!

 This was just my 1st coat, so you can still see the white through it. I had to paint 1 side, and let it dry AND SET for a few hours before I could paint the other side.

 If you want to have a somewhat good, or better, project, then you must learn to be patient. 

pay attention to the paint on the brush. If it's gloppy, sloppy, clumpy, or leaves streaks, just take a moment to WASH THE BRUSH OFF, and start over. It WON'T KILL YOU! 

Be sure your paint isn't too tacky, too wet, too dry, but JUST the right consistency!

Also, learn how to use your fingers to squeeze off the excess water. You don't want the water you just used to rinse it off to water-down the paint that you need to work with. 

Rushing will make an ugly project. Be patient. 

But, also, LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES. Just like me. I had to START ALL OVER. BUT, it was WORTH IT! See?

 THE BOX:

Let's face it, the box is so plain & white, and BLANK, that it is JUST SCREAMING to be decorated!

From the get-go, I've been wanting to do a simple paisley design, but also include my logo. 

So, that's exactly what I did!

But, also I wanted to make this a simple process, because... let's face it! Other than the typical My Little pony customized ponies, they're pretty much all the vintage ponies that are usually all beat up, and have the hair redone... I want to STICK with the hair it already has, and this is a specifically brand named product made by Hasbro JUST for being decorated... so, it could be done by the serious professional artist/craftsman/artisan doll-maker/toymaker/customizer, or let's face it: KIDS!

When I first started doing my research, I was noticing that what started by adults years ago (usually by my generation that grew up with the original ponies in the 80s) has naturally caught onto kids...
Well, of course! Duh! It's toys! It's ponies! And, people like doing crafts, regardless of age...

However, I was dumbfounded that so many kids were entirely clueless as to what they were doing... I found countless videos of so-called "tutorials" of children video recording themselves "customizing" a pony, but it turned out that they'd NEVER done it before, had NO TRAINING in art, let alone anything decent in even crafts, or painting... also didn't cite any sources (but they're kids, and most likely don't know what that means, let alone how, nor that that ought to) and would openly admit "I have never done this before", "I don't know what exactly I'm doing", "This is my first try", or "I don;t know why, but I read that I should do this somewhere.". 

*face-palm*

My heart really goes out to you kids. I realize you're very innocent, and really don't know much about it, and also don't have any sort of mentor figure. And, I'm sure that some of the stuff published by adults, might at times be a bit above the level you can understand yet... so, don't beat yourself up. 

But, I'm sure deep down inside, you'd rather do something much nicer that you won't regret sometimes, and toss out as junk, when your hormones start to influence your mind later on... 

So, I must emphasize that it might behoove you to start taking a basic painting class, and learn how to really use paintbrushes. Learn about paint consistently, brush strokes, blending, etc. Just this simple basic stuff will make your projects that much better once you have the better fundamentals of how to use paints. I've helped so many kids since I was a kid, and even adults when I was still a kid, so I get it.

But, that is my point. I'm doing this very simple, as an example for especially children, young people, and those new to this (since I know that My Little pony is so popular).

Markers:

For starters, I'm using my vintage Professional graphic art markers. They can blend, and they can be used to blend colors TOGETHER in gradients or shades, and even in highlights. Now, these are incredibly expensive markers! They are worth EVERY penny, but they won't be a good choice for a child.

But, you can use regular markers, colored pencils, paints, pastels, mixed media, etc.

If you a a kid reading this, I would urge you to take some real design & painting classes, learn blending, layout, negative space, French curves, inking, professional comic book art or pro manga art, or Gongbi Chinese painting. It's all basic fundamentals, but if you are new to this, just experiment with your regular markers, pencils, etc.

 Now, I also am doing a mixed media. That means I'm using multiple tools for coloring. After these markers dry, I will go over with some "highlighting" using either colored pencils, or pastels.

But, like I said, I'm keeping it VERY simple.

A shot of my vintage Pantone TRIA makers. I got mine in 1999 at the art college I went to (Art Institute of Philadelphia).

These were manufactured in England, and they blend fantastically! You can let them dry, and ad more color, or blend them with other colors. They also look different when wet than dry.

 These are called TRIA PANTONE by Latraset
(in case you wanted to know).

These markers last so long, and if you can find someone selling an old vintage set, you will be surprised at how well they keep. You know the phrase:
They don't make them like they used to!"

There are newer ones of them for sale as well.

Either way, they will cost a lot of money.

But, you needn't be a pro to decorate this stuff.

Like I was saying, I wanted a basic paisley design, like mehndi. I figure most kids these days know what mehndi are, and have most likely done those. If you haven't look up both paisley & mehndi in your favorite search engine, like Yahoo or Google, and really research some examples.

Now, I must admit, I'm rather out of practice with sketching lately, so to me my logo isn't my best, obviously... I've done several variations on my logo... but, like I was saying, I wanted it to be simple anyway. So, I did. This is what you would call a silhouette. But, I also did this to show how easy it was to use DESIGN to incorporate the paisley designs with my logo, the pony logo, etc. I also have my signature on it. You can see I used simple lotus blossoms, dots, teardrops, chilly peppers, and colors.

It's not very hard at all. Just simple.

I started to draw my basic shapes or designs on first using a 3H graphite pencil. You can buy those very cheaply in art art supply store. It's a VERY light led.

The 2nd design I made on a blank side of the box incorporates hearts, loutus blossoms, paisley, rain drops motif, and a peppermint candy design.

Very very simple! See?

Anybody can do this.

you just need to be patient, don't rush, and ENJOY YOURSELF in the profess!

Here is my 3rd side of the box DESIGN I made.

You will notice that it's a paisley that looks like a ponytail!

But, I made the shapes & designs of it to resemble that of a rooster tail (tail feathers).

You can see a solar motif with clouds & a rainbow, and more lotus blossoms, raindrops, and dots.

Even tho' I'm using a more professional grade of art tools, doesn't mean that you can't do this with regular stuff.

If you want to decorate your box, it's entirely up to you how to do that. Also, keep in mind that there is a stamped number on the back of the box.

This is all the work I have done on mine so far.

If you would like to follow the progress of this work please see my Google+ profile's gallery here.

I am also on Deviant Art.

I have a fanpage on FaceBook, and you can follow me on Twitter.

And, I will be uploading some videos about this project on my YouTube channel.


If you have any legitimate questions about art, you can write them here on the blog, or address them to me on Deviant Art.

If you're just a troll-brony, obviously you're just gonna do whatever... so, whatever... comment, boast, gripe, criticize, whatever... If you're a jerk, whatever... I don't care... I wrote this to help artists, newbies, and kids...