Purdy Horse Farm

Feeding the Addiction, again

2012-01-24T13:35:00.000-08:00

Its no secret I have a slight tack addiction problem.....and another goal this year is to expand my tack collection. Scary as that may be...First off is I did need one horse for myself to wear some of this new tack. This is Khemonahari, the counterpart to Naharasabi. He will be a sooty buckskin Morab and will be wearing some of my new pretties......
I am happy to say that despite being busy with the Scholastic Bowl season, I am working away on getting these trade pieces done to start off the year!

This little drafter was traded for a super cool trad sized plow. I don't know who made it, but the detail is incredible.

This pebbles mule got a bit of a neck lift and some smoothing, and she is feeding my new mini tack addiction, hope you like her Rachel!

This big walking mule was a tricky one. Somebody had a Duncan buckboard I really wanted, and she wanted a walking mule, but I didn't want to copy the custom one I have done before....so this guy is the RESIN version! That way they would never compete with each other, and they will be in totally different areas of the country. The PS TWH resin has some differences to the plastic, and this guy is a more pleasure type. lower action than the custom plastic version. The buckboard is stunning by the way!

You know, Schmitterling, the warmblood mare, isn't sold, any body got some stuff to trade????

This guy is going to Jen for,,,,,uh,,,,,hmmmm, oh who am I kidding I have totally lost track at this point!

This eberl was a nightmare to prep and sports a new tail. He an another paint job are going to get a Paso set that I have always wanted....if only I had a Paso horse...oh well, so I put the tack before the horse, tack happens!

And finally a baby update. This is the colt, at 3 months he is 12.2 hands, only about 2 hands smaller than mom! He is a total sweetheart and looks like a polar bear doesn't he?

Show Report

2012-01-08T07:01:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, after a hectic holiday season, I had a great time at the Milwaukee County 4H Live Show. This is a great show that not only offers a full, NAN qualifying open show, but a HUGE class list for 4H showers as well. The new WB mare was fantastic to show, not only did she win in halter and get reserve breed champ, but she was awesome in performance. She got English champ, then got overall since she did so well in her division. This is one of my favorite Buxton huntseat sets.

This is her Handy Hunter entry, special thanks to Jen's reference sheet! She won this class.

She looks so elegant under saddle!

She is still offered for sale at $575ppd, sale price, I do have a lot of Christmas bills to pay...LOL okay okay, I maybe bought a few too many Mieka dresses.

I am still suprised at how pretty this Memphis Belle head is on the Keltic body. I did resculpt the head a lot, but it really gives a feminine appearance to the horse.

Spotted Assets was reserve overall custom champ.

Freedom Generator was overall custom champ.

Moonpie won her pony class and got division champ. I didn't get her qualified in costume yet since I didn't get her doll or circus ring done....thats for the next show!

Silverado Alibey really is proving to be a top notch show horse. I still need to go back and layer some more grey over his body, but he did qualify in halter and get Other Performance champ. He won the showmanship class in his amazing Buxton halter!

Then there is the Potato Head.....first I showed my favorite Shannon tack piece. This costume is the very first thing Shannon made for me, and this is where it all started (downhill giggle).

Whoa, me showing an OF????? Yep, Shannon asked me to show this OOAK to get some performance cards on it, and I have to say, it was fun! He won the other performance class...

And won western champ with my dark brown Shannon set, so thats five cards, two divisions, if only I had a light oil oak leaf set..........

Resolutions

2012-01-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year Resolutions was to sort through my multiple boxes of clutter I have accumulated over the years....old tack and props that I just don't use anymore. One thing I found was this old circus costume from years ago. I don't remember who made it, but with some simple resizing I got it to fit "Moonpie" (thank you Kate!). It doesn't really fit her great and I am dying to see what a certain favorite tack maker of mine is going to make to truly fit her, but I couldn't resist taking a picture with Gizmo. Gizmo is my amazing French Bulldog sculpted by D'Arry that I hold very dear to my heart. I do plan to sell a lot of old tack, but things that I have that were made by my friends I will never part with and are my favorite thing about this hobby. Being able to trade horses for such incredible pieces of artwork is a great blessing.

Now Gizmo is amazing, but she is a carriage dog, don't you think Moonpie needs a little Mieka to be her performance companion?

This is where Gizmo normally sits, on the lap of the Tiffany Portrait that Kathy Wiggins made, another very special, very talented, best friend of mine that I am so lucky to have in my life. Kathy also remade the Harley to look more "Tiffany". These guys sit in the curio I have that belonged to my beloved grandmother that passed away years ago. My first Jen Buxton saddle, the endurance one with its NAN cookie and my first Sheridan Shannon saddle sit in there too.

So I want to clean out the clutter, get some cool new pieces done, and especially get some super special pieces done for my horsie buddies, so yes Jen, a Purdy pony is coming your way! Kathy's Marwari is the next one to be done this month, wait till you see the costume Kathy is making for it!

First Customs of 2012

2012-01-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

A new year and some new customs to start it off! These are the first customs with a 2012 label. The circus pony is finally done, horray! This little gal took a lot of hours to paint, let alone sculpt, but I love how she turned out. Here she is from a bunch of angles..

Okay, okay, I couldn't resist. My poor husband drowning in estrogen....he doesn't want to admit it but he loves his Barbie princess pillow...almost as much as Mieka's pink satin leopard print dress...giggle

Back to the pony. I know its a shock to see what color her mane accents are right? I think she really needs a circus costume, don't you all agree?

I changed the background color for the blog photos to what I was told was the only correct color for my blog. The pink sheet was rather full of cat hairs so it was gone getting a bath, I apologize for the blah beige, it really wasn't Purdy.....

The hardest think about a black horse is not using a lot of true black. She is actually highly shaded and her white areas are pinked in the right places. The mane and tail get the hair appearance by going back and forth with black and white paint with a very fine long haired "script" brush.

Now she really needs a little dog to go with her....wouldn't a little Mieka in a pink tutu be perfect?

What a show off!

The warmblood mare turned out very soft and feminine looking as I hoped. I plan to show her in performance and halter this coming weekend.

I love these resin bases, so much nicer than those little plastic disks.

I left the Hanovarian brand on the mold, I thought it fit the head profile of the Memphis Belle head. She just needs a good German name. The pony needs a name too, any suggestions?

An elegant, lady like expression

This dappled, blood bay color was done using layers of pastels over airbrushed acrylics. She is available for sale for $600ppd to the lower 48 states.

And lastly the haired Eberl after her mane and tail were properly shaped. I used a high quality mousse and fine spray to set the hair. I do'nt do a lot of hairing, but I do like the appearance of a haired model with a styled mane and tail. I think she will look great in costume!

Happy New Year

2011-12-30T14:39:00.000-08:00

Well you had to see this coming.......Mieka in Pink! Actually she loves clothes and gets all excited when you hold something out for her. So needless to say I love buying the outfits! She is doing super after a trip to my vet. She had developed an upper respiratory infection (probably a reaction to the Kennel cough shot she got at the shelter) and she was a bit constipated, but she recovered well from that and we had a wonderful first Christmas together. She is still underweight and her skin is slowly recovering, but considering this is her third home in couple weeks time she is adjusting really well.

She and the kittens (they were dropped off with their mother this past summer, mom was too dehydrated to save but the three siblings are wonderful, anyone need a house cat?) have decided being Purdy rescue cases isn't such a bad life!

Mieka loves laps, if you sit, she will cuddle! Payton has more fun dressing her than I do, if you can believe that.

Okay okay, horse stuff! This one is a trade order for a wonderful tack piece I can't wait to get. I have to really want something to willingly hair a model. I swear it looks like I skinned a raccoon by the time I am done and more hair is glued to me than the horse.

This next one (sorry for the repeat photo) is one that I am just loving...the new Eberl pony remade to a bowing circus pony mare! She isn't done yet so the Zombie blue eyes are a bit creepy, but I think she will be a blast to show. And yes, she has a bow in her forelock...hmmmm wonder what color it will be?????

Her mane was something new. I decided to fishnet the roots for the mane to have a polished, ready for the center ring look. I will have colored bands on it when its done, again, what color???

An encore bow....no not really, just added the picture twice....

Wonder what ever happens to all those Keltic headless bodies I have? I used that Memphis Belle head I had and it fit the body perfectly, for something you rarely see, a warmblood mare from the Keltic mold. I am very happy with how she really looks like a mare, and a great performance prospect at that! She still has detail work needed, but I liked the blood bay color for a change.

If you are interested in the warmblood or the pony I am open to offers until they are completed, just email me at purdyhorsefarm@yahoo.com

Happy New Year to all!

A Christmas Story

2011-12-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

I have already had the best Christmas surprise, and its all Jen's fault.....
I know many of you that read this blog read Jen's, and know how her family lost their beloved pet Basil. Losing a loved one, two legged or four, is never easy. I lost my dog Mieko two years ago now. I loved him so much that every time I tried to get a new dog, all I could do is cry. My girls have been dying for a house dog (Mieko was a Husky/Malamute cross, not a lap dog) and I kept promising we would get one. It just never felt right. Every time I looked at a puppy all I could do was cry about how much I missed Mieko. It probably didn't help that right after I lost him my parents split up after 33 years (my step father adopted me). It been a very difficult past two years. Well yesterday, I got a reminder that when sometimes it seems like things are just being taken away, that if you keep strong the world finds a way to give back, and its all Jen's fault....
I drove down to a Petco (about an hour) to get Jen's boys a gift card to spend on a new pet's supplies. We only have a Petsmart here in town. I dropped the girls off at Mom's and was going to do a little Christmas shopping too. I walk in and there is this darling little dog. Perfectly trained, just looking at everyone walking by as she sat patiently on a leash next to a table. I knelt down and she crawled in my lap. I just assumed she was the lady's pet. The lady said she was up for adoption.....what? It was the local animal shelter that happened to be visiting the Petco. The dog had just been dropped off two days before. The family, also with two young girls, lost their home and had no choice. I can't explain it, but looking at that face I felt rescued......

So many hours later, a cell call to my vet for references, paperwork, trips to multiple stores for supplies, I came home with Avika, now Mieka. She is three years old, perfectly trained, a non stop cuddle bug, even trained not to bark. I still can't get over the fate of this little angle ending up in our home, thank you Jen, this is all your fault!
Merry Christmas to all!

Show Report

2011-12-04T06:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got to go to one of my favorite shows of the year, the December "Pot Luck" No Frills show. A wonderful day of showing, good friends, and eating, who could ask for more? These "little" shows have gotten to the point where they are packed and the competition is at the same high level you would see at any live show. This picture was a true highlight of the day. Chris was there with all of her Purdy ponies...does anyone else see a disturbing trend here?

All I can say is thats what happens to you after years of being a middle school band teacher!

I am loving this Indian Silver remake. "Silverado Alibey" is so much fun to show in performance. Here he is showing of the stunning dark brown Shannon WP set

Then he won the incredible harness class with his Buxton harness. The entries in this class were amazing. I have rarely been to a live show with so many nice harness entries! I was honored to win it.

This endurance set is one of my favorite Buxton tack pieces.. Its amazing and so realistic looking! I feel so lucky to have it. I do need a better doll for my late fall endurance ride, but thats coming soon.

He looks stunning in his arabian costume too! He won this class, was champ in this division, reserve in western, and was Overall Reserve Performance Champion.

And the new "Waseeka's Purdy Rouge"? Watch out for him and Rachel at NAN, he is going to be a performance star!

More new goodies!

2011-12-01T19:45:00.000-08:00

SQUEAL!!!!!! I am finally getting more into mini performance, and look at what I picked up at the post office today!!! This AMAZING set done by Rachel Pierce, and its PINK!!! I did the pebbles pleasure morgan wearing the tack (CM from the arab mare), in exchange for this to die for tack!!! I have another set from her I will photograph at the show. Rachel, you truly have a gift for this, this mini tack is as detailed and stunning as any tradition tack out there!

Okay, so here is where everyone is at, the mini 3 gaiter is done excet for her base, $325ppd

The Scarlet stallion is already on his way to his new home....finished pictures will go up later

The Fjords are sold, and will be showing this weekend

And I finally painted that remade Indian Silver, I am thinking he will be a great performance arabian. It took me a couple of days just to do his flea bites, and his mane, tail, eyes and hooves are not done yet but will be tomorrow!

More tomorrow night...off to bed!

Thanksgiving Sale!

2011-11-26T16:55:00.001-08:00

I can't even say how happy I was to finally get those orders in the mail this past week, whoo hoo! Finally, I am working on getting some remakes done on the endless supply of bodies in my scary basement. First is a mini scarlet remade with a whole new studdy neck and checks (and privates) into a flashy Belgian show stallion! He still needs his fine details painted, but his preview price is $400ppd in the lower 48.

This one is the very limited Carlee Balding (sp?) I think morgan mare originally re sculpted with a neck neckline, roached mane, new tail, hoof pads and long toes into a 3 gaited ASB mare. Her details and base are not done yet (she is removable from base) and her tail still has to be shaded and highlighted, but her preview price is $325ppd

This is a wonderful show saddle by Eric Corbett that I never use. Comes with a leather cinch and fancy breast strap. Totally LSQ, I just never use it and its a waste sitting here. No bridle, (that piece I use all the time ;)) $160ppd.

This is another awesome set I don't use. I never sell my Shannon tack, but again, its a waste just sitting here. I got this set paired with another of hers that I do use, so I hope someone will get is and show it like it deserves. It has cool saddle bags and breast collar, and I am throwing in a cool braided bridle to go with it. It does need a cinch and reins. $150ppd

This last two may or may not be available, right now they are on hold, but let me know if you are interested in the uber cute Fjord set. Baby isn't done yet, I think she needs to be silver grulla, don't you think?

Progress!

2011-11-17T16:26:00.000-08:00

I am sooooooo happy to get some long overdue things done! First, some good pictures of the ranch type rabicano stallion. I am very happy with how his color turned out. He is still available for $550 plus postage.

His mane and forelock are all tack friendly, I think he will be a blast to show in performance too!

Some close ups of the hair details.....

These guys have been in the works for forever it seems! The big saddlebred is going to Germany and the custom PS warmblood is going to Cristina Brown in England in exchange for the most amazing harnesses. I can't wait to get my latest piece of Tiny Tack!

Show Report

2011-11-13T08:25:00.001-08:00

In the midst of Scholastic Bowl kickoff month, I did go to the GLC No Frills yesterday for an awesome day with great friends. I finally delivered Chris's long awaited Historical Spanish stallion...with bows of course!

I got the great pleasure of seeing Karen Beeson's new dapple grey she just finished. The paint work on this horse is amazing, he really looks like a real grey horse. I wish I had the talent to paint something like this, I go cross eyed just looking at the detail work! He was overall resin champ, a very well deserved win.

I did get this new guy done. He was on my blog a while ago unpainted. I wanted him to look like an older stud horse, something that could really work on the ranch. I decided on a dappled bay rabicano....*bad flash drowns out the color

I like the way the rabicano turned out. I will be showing this guy in halter and performance at the December show, and he is available for sale at $550 plus postage.

I did have photos of my CM champs, but for some reason they were all rather blurry. This week I am mailing off some long awaited oversees horses and look forward to getting more sales pieces done for the holidays. Stay tuned for more!

Still Alive

2011-10-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

This school year is turning out to be quite the task....no new models this post, but just wanted to let people know that I am working on things, but my day job and kids have kinda taken over right now. Payton is in Kindergarden this year and had her first Halloween school party. Thats the little diva in the wedding dress. Needless to say, Dad just growled when she picked it out!

This year I am the head coach for my school's Scholastic Bowl team. We had our first tournament this past week and won. I hope this is the first of many victories for Purdy's Nerdies!

Then there were teacher conferences the past two weeks as well. Thankfully all Chemistry students are in one piece so far......knock on wood.....

Ira is getting bigger by the day. I put Sassy back in with Lumi to rebreed her and obviously he is the better parent. He is the one that stays next to her when she naps. You can see mother is no where to be found...

A bit later....still no mom around.....there was a faint drizzle so Her Royal Highness was probably in the barn leaving Ira with her father.

Can't you hear her say....."Do you know where my mommy is?". She is such a chunky monkey for a month old!

New models next week! Included is a warmblood mare made from a Keltic Salinero and a totally new head, she will be a stunning performance horse!

Quarter Horse Congress

2011-10-16T15:06:00.001-07:00

This weekend at the Quarter Horse Congress show I got to compete for an overall performance award which I haven't done since Breyerfest....and it went well! Thank you Shannon for this stunning western set which helped Plaudit Princess to her big win! This little gal is going to be owned by Shannon and me until after NAN when she will go home with Shannon to stay. After all, her head did come from Shannon's Flash model......

With work I haven't gotten much of a chance to show, but this past weekend I managed to tie work into a show weekend. I was at University of Illinois this Friday doing a leadership program with a former student, and then traveled onto Columbus, Ohio for the Quarter Horse Congress Live show. If you ever get a chance to go to this show its AMAZING to see the level of the Quarter Horse show world and get to show models while watching the best of the Quarter horse world walk by the door. This Lusitano is a CM I did from and ISH and was one of the few new beasties I managed to get done the past few months. He won both halter and workmanship (NANd) for his breed. He is for sale at $750.

The halter day was great, with Mole Bait getting overall Grand and my big walker Freedom Generator getting overall reserve. The awards were beautiful custom glazed mugs from Pour Horse with the Congress Show logo.

My walkers cleaned up their division, little Pushin the Moon held her own against the big guys!

A close up of Plaudit Princess in the amazing tack Shannon made. The carving on this saddle is so stunning!

Well I didn't mean to do this twice, but really, the set is incredible. The Congress Queen stopped by and she actually pick it out of all my tack and went on and on about how much it looked like a real saddle, and she is right! The show got over late and it was a full day with halter and performance, but I am sure pictures will be up on the web from other showers. If you can be in Columbus next year for this show you won't be disappointed!

Purdy Spectacular

2011-10-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

Needless to say, these are way better than model photos! I do have a couple new customs I will put up this weekend, but I have been rather distracted the past 10 days. First, my beloved Morab mare, Jericho's Royal Secret (Sassy) foaled a stunning cremello filly last Saturday! What is amazing, is even though she is cremello with ice blue eyes and all, she is still dark enough to see her cool sabino markings and zig zag blaze. Her name is "Royal Iridesence" aka. Ira

Nope, not the same baby! My quarab mare, a great grand-daughter of Doc O Lena, "Docs Purdy Diana" had a cremello colt! Diana get her name from my mother, Diana, since she was born on my mom's birthday, November 17th.....

Now thats cool enough, but her colt was born on October 4th, which is Julia, my oldest daughter's birthday!!!!!! Hows that for Karma??????? Poor Diana, she is just 14.2 and he is huge!

These were taken today so he is just two days old. His name "Julianesence". aka Julian

And the girls from last year....Dee Dee looks just like her Aunt Sassy at a year

Cee cee is quite the pretty young thing but soooo full of herself. She is pale palomino, and you can see, Ira is just as dark as she is!

My wonderful Lumi, Amberfields Luminesence, sure earns his keep!

Blankity Blank Bows

2011-09-18T06:01:00.000-07:00

I am alive! My day job has totally consumed my life the last month and a half. I changed from teaching Physics to all Chemistry classes (Chemistry is my real passion and what I did professionally before the whole education adventure). Its been a huge transition, I redid the lab and all the curriculum, but I love it! The models haven't gotten to far, but I did manage to completely hose myself with the few I have done since Breyerfest. I got one of the tent ponies and was ever so gently told if I did one with bows this person had to have it. So I said sure, I could do that.....well that was before she was done and I really really really wanted to keep her! But this person is a middle school band teacher, so she isn't the most stable person and knows where I live..........giggle. I mean what kind of person wants me to sculpt bows on the mustang stallion she is having me paint?????? No, I am not kidding on that either!

Princess Buttercup! And yes Jen, I do realize if one doesn't show up in Colorado my tack supply is cut off! Lets just say I was practicing this color for a portrait of a certain palomino in your life!

I am working hard to get this warmblood done so he can go off to England and I can hit Christina up for a new harness!

I have decided to start showing some Pebbles sized stuff, and I finished "Pushin the Moon" a couple of weeks ago. She is a Pebbles ASB with a WB head remade into a Spotted Saddle Horse. She won overall grand at Meows and Minis last week and got a Performance Championship this week with the absolutely adorable kid rider made by D'Arry! I need to make a walker bridle for her (I showed this in walk trot to get away with the snaffle) but its so cute I squealed when I saw it!

I did get this Little Lonestar remake done. I only showed in a few performance classes all day since I was judging a halter division, but he did get two first and a second and is NANd now in English and western. He is for sale at $400 postage paid.

I had my last inspection/evaluation last week till spring at work, and my classes are going smoothly now and my year is planned for curriculum, so I am looking forward to "getting back in the saddle!"

Breyerfest Sales

2011-07-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

As promised, I am posting the horses that didn't sell at Breyerfest to the public. The first is the Roxy remade to a backing pose. I was a bit thrown off by the order of performance classes not being what I planned, so she only went in a few classes and didn't get to do halter. However, she is NAN qualified in Western Performance for the NAN 2012-2013. My sparkly Buxton halter doesn't come with, but she just looked so Purdy in it....giggle

A super fun pose that could be shown in anything! $650

The guy I love, and I think will be a blast to show in performance, the morgan reiner remade from the Alborozo

His head came from a PAM, the mane from Esprit, and the tail from a Huck! $700

The last is Encore Ali, a proven Live Show Champ and NAN qualified in halter for 2012-2013

$425

Time payments and certain trades for tack or Duncan carts can be arranged, just ask!

All about Friendship

2011-07-18T05:44:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Breyerfest yesterday, and what a year it was! I had put a lot of effort into my customs and performance this year since I may not get to show next year. I am entering a Masters program in Chemistry (the Masters I have is in Education) and it goes over the summer term. So I figured I needed to go for broke this year, and it worked! I got several custom division champs and the Overall Reserve Custom Champ with my Zenyatta model (on right), but the highlight of the weekend was winning the Overall Grand Performance Championship at the Breyerfest Show! Darrit, the walking mule on the left, was the winner. The championship models are in the middle. That's Kathy Wiggins (tack goddess and BFF) in the background.....giggle, I don't think she realized she was in it!

The win was great, but the best part of the win was the fact I couldn't have done it without my friends. Everything that made my entries special was made by special friends I hold dear to my heart. Not only is Darrit named after D'Arry's brother, but he couldn't have won the pleasure driving class without Gizmo the adorable French Bulldog made for me by D'Arry.

This entry, the final class that secured his championship, was so special to me since every piece in this was part of a friendship tax trade
The pack set and jumping mules bridle was made by Jen, the incredible plantation "Bayonne" (I have no idea how to spell that) saddle, accessories, even that cool leather cowboy hat was made by Kathy, there are little pieces hanging from the pack set from Shannon, the stick flooding the bridge were even from Idaho! You can't hear the cool sound box made by Kevin..the diorama itself was made by Mom and Kim Haymond (honestly, I call her mom mom) and it wowed people every time I got it out. This hobby is suppose to be about fun and friendship, and this entry, this whole championship proves it.

This dog trophy picture wasn't from Breyerfest, but it just shows how talented D'Arry is that she can make these amazing dog from the Breyer dogs, I will treasure Gizmo forever, she even has a pink stunned collar!

Close up of the champs

Spotted Assets won reserve English champ by 2 points, and that as without going in pleasure! Next year if I can show I plan to beef up his entries even more to see if he can win champ even without a class. I had to post this since he won dressage with his Prix Caprilli entry and that was all Jen's fault!

I didn't get many pictures, I was running around showing customs and performance, hopefully people out there have some they can send me of my class entries, Purdy Please???

I big hug to all my hobby friends out there, this was such a good weekend and reminded me of why I am so lucky to have my friends!

Breyerfest Preview 2011

2011-07-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

I love the older apps, like what was seen back in the 50s and 60s.......

Finally an update! I plan to put finished pictures up in a few days before I leave, but thought I would put some teaser pictures up. No eyeballs yet or mapping, but at least you can see what I have been up to. First the walking pony in red roan sabino

The sooty palomino morgan reiner

A grulla paint Roxy remade to a gently backing mare, performance her she comes!

The dapply grey tobiano Pintabian Flash/weather girl combo

My jumping mule, the color is so unusual I had to put a picture of the real mule up so no one thought I was too crazy....not a word Shannon

The andalusian colt in bay going grey, isn't he a doll??

All of these except the mule are sales pieces, ever since I did the coon jumping mule I wanted a preformance mule for myself, so that little piece of "donkey" is staying with me...giggle

More in the next few days, I also have a few proven show horses that will be offer for sale as well
If you want em, come to the Artisan Hall in just a few days!

Eureka!

2011-06-22T17:28:00.001-07:00

I finally figured out what happened to Shannon..low level radiation exposure! It explains everything, so for you nerds out there this latest friendship tax payment is named
"Polonium 210"

Now this guy may have to stay with me. I did the coon jumping mule and other jumping models before, but not one that is jumping a smaller fence in stride. I wanted to be able to use him in everything, not just english classes or the more restrictive coon jump (they jump from almost a standstill so they take off in a more crouched position)

Can you guess what he is?

Moosearabi

2011-06-19T06:58:00.000-07:00

In a couple of weeks the crazies up north are holding a show that I can't go to, sigh, so I wanted to send a piece of Illinois up there to help them out. This is "Moosearabi" a CM weather girl with a stretched out head and redone tail in a soft, fawn buckskin. Contact Bobbie at
bobbieluvscorgis@gmail.com for details

Shannon is going, and she rubs it in on a daily basis.........One of these days I want to go up there. I went to the Yukon Territory years ago and it was beautiful, I have never seen the part of Canada where the show is.

My real horses??? Well I was hoping to get Lumi going under saddle, but this is what my arena has looked like for the past 6 weeks. Yes, those are out pet ducks and thats marsh grass growing where I should be riding.

Here is another Breyerfest sneak peak. I am really trying to do different things...this is an American Walking Pony gelding, can you guess what he was made from?

Won't this be a fun guy to show????? He is a trad scale pony if that helps!

NAN raffle!

2011-06-04T12:45:00.001-07:00

At first I wasn't going to donate to NAN this year, but when Jen gave my name and agreed to make some tack to go with it, I couldn't say no. With the house I really didn't have time for another new piece, so I thought this mare that I did last year for myself would be a fun piece. This is a nahar body with a khemosabi head, sounds crazy, but both parts came from damaged resins so this gal is proof that you can save anything you put your mind to!

Now in a alert walking turn, she should be a blast for performance! Jen is going to make a showmanship halter for her.

Wonder who this is for, and its not Jen, its for Mrs. Potato Head! This Keltic has been redone to a more forward trot (medium trot/collected instead of passage) so he can be shown in more events, along with a traditional USA style braided mane and all new tail. Wonder why he has an all new tail.....well that story is on Shannon's blog!

He can still be shown with the plastic dish but he will come with a nice resin base as well. Too bad Shannon never posted the pictures of the base she made for this guy at NAN 2009 (when he was an OF), lets just say it was quite the flop! Did you know how soft cured sculpy can get when heated??????

Breyerfest Preview 2011

2011-06-02T06:29:00.001-07:00

This year I am really trying to come up with some unique remakes for Breyerfest. One thing I have often noticed is that there are few morgans out there, and the morgan customs that are out there are almost all the english, show ring type. So I thought I would do a western working morgan for a change. Morgans do very well in open competition and many of the working lines look very similar to the same lines the produce the best cutting and working western QHs. In fact, years ago there was cross breeding between the two breeds and you can still see it in today's horses.

This remake is made from four different molds....any guesses? Using parts from different molds not only saves on time, but the finished remake is way lighter than if the mane and tail were sculpted entirely from scratch.

Okay, the mane is easy, Esprit, the tail is Huck Bey's upside down, a PAM head, and an alborozo body! The mane and forelock are away from the body so he turned out very tack friendly. If you look at models like the rose reiner, you can see both breeds have the same round outline. The western morgans will have a bit more cresty neck,dishy heads (but I have seem some baby doll head QHs that I would swear are part morgan or arab), and big morgan eyes.

Here are a couple of the real morgan's I used for reference. Won't this be a fun, different, morgan to show in performance?

People have asked about pre-purchasing the remakes I am doing for Breyerfest...I am still trying to figure out how to do this, I really want the artisan hall to be something special this year, but stay tuned I am still working on it!

Stormy Days

2011-05-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

The school year is almost over, and it can't come soon enough. This has been a rough week in my little community, a shooting right by one of our grade schools(thank god not involving students) another in a nearby town, and a student's parent missing assuming drowned in high water.....whew. Time to take a moment and be grateful for all the amazing friends I have been blessed with. "Khompounded Interest" (that interest on the friendship tax I owe) can finally go home tomorrow!
I like to joke about friendship tax, but I really do believe its a tax we should all try to pay a little more of......

So many people have been devastated by the terrible storms this weekend in the midwest, knock on wood, but so far all we have lost is the one of our little lean-tos. Thankfully our apple tree caught the roof before it could do too much more damage

Just when things look gloomy, a wonderful surprise shows up. These beautiful personalized blankets for my girls showed up from my wonderful Canadian friends, handmade with squares that go along with each girls favorite things. I am so lucky to have such incredible people in my life THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

The pink moose princess I was hoping to keep for myself, but Payton got a hold of her...I might get her back when she goes to college eh?

Paint makes all the difference, Khompounded Interest (love those Khemo bloodlines) is all shod up and can't wait to show this weekend! Hope her new owner is happy with her, she should be a great little performance horse!

Cool Discovery

2011-05-19T18:31:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while my husband does something right....(okay, quite often he does when mycology is involved).Yesterday he found some Morel mushrooms in the woods behind our pasture and man were they delicious! So there is your proof Shannon, drugs no but schrooms yes!

Remember all those pink halters? Well now its my turn to pay friendship tax. I forgot to put this winning photo of the lunging set being used in a lesson horse set up.

Can you imagine how cute this one will be all tacked up?

But there are still a few bridles I need for Breyerfest...sniff sniff wink wink ya know what I mean?

I have had a few people ask if I was worried about showing off customs before Breyerfest....and the answer is yes and no. I have had it happen the past few years where customs I did and featured had look alikes show up in the ring. Honestly, I care more about sharing ideas than worrying about "copies" showing up.

I think we all benefit from the free flow of information. This guy was created with a flash body, weather girl head, mane, and tail. Now a great little part bred arabian gelding. I am thinking dapple grey tobiano.

Stay tuned to the blog for purchase details!

Talking Heads

2011-05-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

No one is happier that I am now spending tons of hours in the studio than Pixel. I keep the door shut when I am not in there so she can't sit on her throne. Is the pink bobble jem collar too much?

So on to the breyerfest remakes. This first head swap isn't going to be at breyerfest this year, but better show up next year.....any guesses who this rockin english performance arab will belong to?

This next one will be a breyerfest sales horse. I love showing my youth dolls, and wanted a cute little part bred gelding youth horse that could do it all. Here is a classic extended canter pose you see in the show ring version of arabian costume...

And here is the model version! Poor flash lost his head, and it would have been way too easy to put the palomino head back on the palomino body...no worries, that arab body won't go to waste either. Can you say braided up sport pony????
This is a great example of how you can get a drastic looking remake without a lot of work. The heads are removed then two soft armature wires are inserted into apoxy stuffed in the head. Once that dries, you can stick the head into the neck or the foil filled body of choice. Don't waste tails, switching tails is another great way to get a whole new look without having to sculpt the tail from scratch.

With all the chaos of the house remodel and model chaos itself, I totally forgot about getting this medallion painted. A thousand apologies for this Heather! Here is the real kitty Jade

And her almost finished portrait. Before you know it, Meows and Minis will be back this fall! I love to donate to shows with such wonderful causes behind them, and to make up for my tardiness on this, her portrait will come with a pretty stand to display it on. Thanks again Heather for your wonderful donation to the show!

Countdown!

2011-05-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

It is now officially two months before I leave for Breyerfest, and I want the show string I put together this year to be extra special. In addition, I plan post some more "how to" posts and progress remaking posts for all of you that like to follow along. I have been so busy this spring with the house that I haven't been posted as much as I would like. Its gotten so bad that Shannon threated to have her arm eaten off by a shark if I didn't get more stuff done.

Shannon and I spotted these metal sculptures along the road when we drove to Portland together in 2009. She almost rolled the car pulling over to get some pictures. What can I say...she has issues....high latitude radiation exposure I would suspect.....
This morning I worked a little on some projects that need to go out in the next few weeks, and found these two guys I started last year, think I should finish these guys up eh?

These are now at the bottow of the breyer remake basket.....Help I've lost my head and I can't get up!!!!!

But again, I want to stress that Shannon is the one with issues!

Big Thank You!

2011-05-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

I went to the Stones Country Fair yesterday, and can honestly say it was a total slack fest as far as showing. I was way more concerned with buying all kinds of new stuff for the house! For all of you that were there I did manage to get that mirror home and it looks great!
I had to leave the show early to get ready for my first "Open House". My hubby worked like a maniac and the landscaping is really starting to take shape. The family just left, and I wanted to post the few pictures I managed to take yesterday. The performance division was full with two tough harness classes. This amazing competitive driving harness was made for me by the super talented Christina Brown of the UK. This isn't even the horse it was made for but its so adjustable and user friendly it worked great. The coolest thing, there is another harness to hook up in pairs with it!

Leonardo Lena won the only two classes he entered all day, this one included. I would have liked to stay for the whole performance division and wish I had gotten pictures of my halter champions.

Now its time to concentrate on Breyerfest! I am putting together a NEW showstring for the show and there will be some truly unique pieces. Next week, remaking a true english heavy hunter from the Breyer CB. Stay tuned for some tutorials on customizing and painting the next two months!

Show Report

2011-05-01T07:38:00.001-07:00

The best thing about the show yesterday was coming home....I have been wanted to post a picture of the house redo, but that wonderful teal blue foundation color was still there. But yesterday (thanks to a bunch of post a note reminders) my wonderful hubby got to work on that. This is what the front of the house looked like last November

And this is now!!!!!! Still have all the landscaping and the porch ceiling to finish, but I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Best of all, with the new porch and gutters, no more wet basement despite all the rain we have had!

The best thing at the show by far wasn't mine at all. This is the most beautiful cart I have ever seen. Stupid me didn't write down the name of the woman that made this and drove all the way from Nebraska to show it, but those of you going to NAN are in for a real treat! Its modeled after one of the painted carts of Sicily, and honestly, the detail on this is spectacular! Please someone post her name, I feel rotten I didn't think to write it down.

As for the new canter arab "Khemorabah" took the performance ring by storm. Here she is in her Buxton endurance tack (with the awesome pink leopard saddle bags) and her overall performance awards. She NANd in all three divisions.....

Here she is as the patient youth horse.....

And I had to show Glory Ali Lujia in showmanship. She won Overall CM champ too, I am so glad no one decided to buy her and her foal (Encore Ali won his foal class too)

Khemorabah cleaned up in western too. Once this mold is moved around, she is a great size that fits normal traditional sized tack fits perfectly. She looks like the typical arab height of under 15 hands. Granted, there are more and more 15+ arabs these days, but they are not the majority.
Shannon Granger made this western set. I was planning on showing her in a light oil set, but I don't have one...cough cough

I did get the flash working, but I still need a new camera, and to learn how to use it. I am sure Jen cries when she sees these over flashed shots! On the plus side, if you want to buy a horse and like it in my pictures, you will love it in person!!!!

Reference Photos

2011-04-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

One thing I have noticed with my pintos is that I have been in a homozygous phase....in other words the patterns were starting to look too much alike. So I went on line and found a picture of a pintabian with a neat and different pattern. I can't wait to show this little mare this weekend!

This colt is 31/32 arabian, and is a bay pinto, but I really liked the neat front leg marking and balance of white front to back. I made the two disjointed spots on the barrel a little bigger just to add a bit more flash.

Would anyone be interested in a haired weather girl???? I really want to do one....any takers?

If only all the countries of the world could come up with a peace accord like Pixel and A, can you imagine what a world it would be?

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

I am still determine to have all orders done by the end of May, and its looking good! This request was for a super snotty snorty liberty arab. I just love weather girls! With this one I have to do a whole new neck with a metal armature for the mane and tail.

Easter is suppose to be about sharing love with family and friends, I don't think Pixel loves sharing her pink princess bed with A......

This was the inspiration for the remake, but she wanted her head and nose up a bit more for an ultra snotty look.

This should be a fun liberty class and showmanship entrant! She hasn't been sanded much yet, and her pegs are covered, but she is coming along!

Four Day Week!

2011-04-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

As a teacher, I live for four day weeks! Tomorrow is "Friday" and I am looking forward to three works days in the studio. Granted Easter Day I won't get a lot of time, but it makes the end of the school year go that much faster. This is the next project I am clicking off my trade list. Christina Brown from England made me an incredible set of competition harnesses I will feature soon, and this is my end of the trade. "Mistral Hojris", a Danish warmblood gelding, is her favorite British dressage champion. She wanted a PS side passing warmblood as a portrait of this great horse. One thing I have learned about portraits, the head is everything. In this case, the real horse is always braided in traditional European "button" braids. He would look silly with smaller, American style braids. I went on line and got as many performance pictures of him as possible.

I turned the models ears, squared up the muzzle with new nostrils, added to the forehead and this is where he is at. To get his glowing chestnut coat right he will be finished off with oil pastel powder over an acrylic basecoat.

And these two got mailed off today! That list is getting smaller and smaller!

This little appy looks just like Dee Dee if you want to pet her while she is eating...its "Oh who do you think you are??????"

Karma

2011-04-17T16:16:00.001-07:00

Remember the crazy moose stories from NAN 2009? It all started with Shannon and I getting bored, some pink foam board, and some duct tape borrowed from the Canadians (yes, they all really do have duct tape at all times!). That is where I met Lisa Salamandick for the first time. I did last year's NAN donation in her honor (see past blogs) but never shared the wonderful Pink Moose Live picture I was given. Thats Lisa in the middle holding those same pink foam antlers...hard to believe she lost her battle with cancer shortly after this picture was taken. I recieved the nicest email from one of her friends telling me how much the whole thing meant to her. Now I am not a preaching type, but I truly believe in karma. Give from the heart, love your friends and family, and good things will come to you regardless of what church you do or do not attend. This belief was again proven to me. Lisa's friend sent me these two presentation sets. They were amongst the last things Lisa ever made....I am crying just typing this

They are not both mine to keep. I never could have put "The Journey" together if it hadn't been for my BFF Kathy Wiggins. She gets first choice, I am tickled with either one. This type of moments makes me realize how lucky I am to have my friends and family. My family has taken a terrible hit this year with my parents divorce (after 30+) years and the fallout from that, but just when I am feeling frustrated with all that a wonderful moment like this comes.

My goal for this next month is to spoil friends, these next two pieces are getting mailed out to good friends this week. I want to finish all my little friend trades and continues with good vibes.

So give someone a hug today, it makes everyone feel better!

Show Report

2011-04-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to my good friend Brenda Metcalf's show, IL-IA live. Its held in the upper northwest corner of Illinois, which is really a beautiful place. The flash on my camera was dead, so these are all studio pictures taken later, but if you ever get the chance to go to Debuque Illinois you won't be dissapointed. I took this chance to not only go over results, but to show off my Buxton pink beauties! The first is Anateke showing of the stock halter. This halter was really made for smaller models, but I squeezed it on his head. This guy took overall workmanship champ at the show. This was a big honor for me, not only because this special piece was created by me and the uber talented and uber friend D'Arry Jone Frank, but because with all the incredible Carol Williams pieces there, you couldn't ask for stiffer competition. The next is the cool stable halter shown off by Freedom Generator. He was reserve custom champion at the show. He did beat his wife, Lady Liberty, bad wife beater (had to put that in there to give Linda a hard time...giggle)! But just wait till you see baby!!!! She will be at the Breyer show and then eventually I suppose Linda gets to keep her with momma...gotta be careful Linda does know where I live!

This was another treat. Leonardo Lena didn't win the paint class, he got second, but will all the Carol Williams amazing paint pieces in there I was happy! Halter competition is at the highest level in the midwest, and I am grateful for that since it really pushes me to always strive for improvement on my work. Carol is an incredible talent, I could only hope for a fraction of that ability.

This halter is a bit big for dainty Gizette, but she is so cute. I have been performance showing her for slacker Jen so she can compete in a bunch at NAN this year......oh on, better not tease a tack goddess she might cut me off!

The new arabian customs both won their classes so they are NAN qualified for this year. I won't break up the set before Breyerfest, and frankly, I don't want to part with them at all! I will honor the $1200 price for the set now, and plan to sell them individually at the Artisian Hall at Breyerfest, but I really don't want to see them go!

I need to show this gal in showmanship, doesn't she look awesome in her Buxton halter???!!!

Okay I should have taken her show tag off.....whoops

Feeding the Addiction

2011-04-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

Its no secret I have a serious tack addition problem. Well not just tack, I love props, especially vehicles, too (oh and dolls!). The mare and foal set will be the last sales pieces I have for a month or so. My goal for the next month is to finish some cool pieces for my tack pushers that keep my addiction fed. This first one is a PS weanling redone to a paint filly for my BFF Kathy Wiggins. I am fortunate enough to worship three tack goddesses, Kathy, Shannon (even with that whole potato nonsense) and Jen Buxton. To be fair, Kathy insisted on buying this one when we were paying for the bathroom fixtures for the addition. She still needs eyeballs and little details but she will be going to the show this weekend. If you remember the head down matriarch from a while back, this is her baby. Daddy will be a rose reiner done in a similar overo to the baby. Wait till you see the wagon Kathy feed the addiction with to get daddy done! I can't say enough how lucky I am to have not only great trade deals with these wonderful tack artists, but to have also forged wonderful friendships with them all. I am truly lucky!

Kathy also spoils me with the most awesome surprises. I really do love rocks, and she has given me the coolest collection of rock skulls. The dragon one is my favorite.

And people have asked for the mare and foal from the other direction. Just a few more layers of paint and these guys can get their final details before the show this weekend.

I also have a few trade deals I want to settle up on and the weather girl customs, so the next sales bunch won't be for a while. I will post pictures of the different projects I am doing for these deals, and don't miss out on Jemez Kohl's makeover!

Remaking Progress

2011-04-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

I had wanted to post last night, but thanks to a whopper of a lightning storm we wisely unplugged everything last night. No worse for the wear, here are the progress photos on the mare and foal set. The mare is a flashy super dappled liver chestnut, so she can be a purebred. But she fooled around with someone outside the breed and her colt is a elaborate tobiano. The mare is on pegs which are covered in tape still and the foal is mounted on a small base. Still a lot of work to go but you can get the idea of how they will turn out. The set is available for $1200ppd for the pair. For now I am not going to split them up, if they don't sell I may at a later date

When I do a performance horse, I always go from photos. Here is one of the photos I used to model the performance arabian. This real horse is turning a bit and the model is straight, so the legs are a bit different but the idea and phase of the gait is the same.

She is also on pegs which are tape covered for now. I made the model's headset a tad higher than the show ring extreme broken neck set you see, I just can't bring myself to set a model's head that low, and I did want this little mare to go junior huntset and endurance as well.

I got the best April Fool's joke. I have said many times of what a rip off it is that all the Idaho Potatoes are grown in Washington....so Shannon actually sent me a bag of real Idaho potatoes for April Fool's, and here when I got the heavy box I thought it was some rocks! No really, I love to bring rocks home from places I visit! Until I got this box, the guy with the hat was the only Idaho potato I had seen!

Spring Break????

2011-03-31T12:48:00.001-07:00

This past weekend marked my spring break from teaching, and it started off with a fantastic trip out to Shannon Granger's show in North Idaho. Only one problem with going north....Canadians. Ha ha! I can't say enough how much fun that whole group is. If you ever get a chance to go to a show in Idaho or that area, you will be hard pressed to find a nicer bunch of people. This is the fine piece of Canadian....well, hmmmmmm, I suppose artwork that I was able to bring home with me. The theme for the show was 70s tie dye and did the Canucks know how to party it up! I will truly treasure this always! But on to work, we are finishing up the house and go figure, found out a few days ago we are a bit over budget (well thats an understatement, but wait till you see the porch!) So I really need to get to work. These guys are just in first primer coat, still lots of sanding to do, but heres a sneak peek! THe windblown ISH will be a cool paint of some sort

And look what you can do with a weather girl! She really is full trad sized, and what a performance horse this one will be!

Another weather girl and her snotty son!

The mares have clear pegs, and the foal will be on a little base

These guys are available for sale, ask for details

This is one of my full sized western saddles on this gal, won't she be awesome, she can do it all!

Show for the Cure

2011-03-20T17:08:00.001-07:00

Sadly, if you want to see a lot of good pictures from the Show for the Cure, check out Jen Buxton's blog since I didnt get very many! I did get a picture of the girls all done before we left. They did both sell at the show, but I will be offering more. The next one will be a more drastic neck movement into performance prospect!

I did get a picture of these two with some of their overall awards and division awards. I have decided to keep the Sorraia, thank you so much to all that asked about her! The big Lusitano is sold as well. He also got champs at the show, but apparantly I didn't get a picture, but I know Jen did!

Whoops, didn't mean to do this twice...but I can't say enough of how much I love this mold!!!

Updates! Storming like mad!

2011-03-17T17:44:00.001-07:00

The response to these guys has been so great I thought I should put out one blog update for everyone to read. Both of these gals got fully detailed paint jobs, including detailing like hand painted mane and tails, layers of paint and pastels, so these are not scrimpy finishwork pieces by any means, just very little sleep for the past week.

They still need eyes and face details, and the pegs uncovered from their tape masks, but you can see their finished colors, first is "Warm Front"

Then cold front (a part arab, inspired by a 75% arabian morab I so want to own) That why I made her neck appear a bit crestier than the purebred Warm Front. Whoops, should have smooted out the sheet a bit.....

So are they for sale, yes! I want to show them this weekend and test the market live first, unless a blog reader had to have them and made a good paid in full offer before tomorrow night (when I pack up to leave). Stay tuned for Sunday's show results!

Eberl Arabs!

2011-03-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

These guys are amazing! The first is "Cold Front" now with a head tucked, both ears back, flipped tail and up on clear pegs so she really floats

And "Warm Front" with a stretched and turned head, flipped tail the other way, and also on clear pegs for that big floaty trot!!!

Tomorrow they get paint, and man there is a lot of painting to do!

Progress Photos

2011-03-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

Just so more info tonight, if you would like to bid on "Chasing Hope" contact bellboots@att.net

If you want to bid on "Joker B Nospuds" contact modelhorseperformance@yahoo.com

Oh these are just some angle shots for everyone to see how the Esprit mane and tail can be used for good!

Tomorrow night, EBERL NEW ARABS REMADE!!!!!!!

Show Donations!

2011-03-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post today with more pictures to follow tomorrow! We finally got the computer hooked up on the new office desk (will post a pic later) and I have to say this monitor looks embarrassing on it. Reminds me of that commercial where everything is stolen in the house except the computer.......
I wanted to share the two show donations I am working on. I try to give back as much as I can, and the first set is called "Chasing Hope". A remade breyer eberl WB foal chasing after this adorable dog sculpture that I set on a custom base. The foal will be a pretty, soft, baby bay. If you are interested contact Jenna Nejman through the Show for the Cure website.

This guy will soon be a bay roan semi leopard appy. For Shannon's show it had to be an appaloose that was performance friendly, so here he is! An ISH with a tucked, straighten head and new wispy appy mane and tail. His name.....Joker B Nospuds

More on the name story to follow! If you are interested in this guy, contact Shannon Granger for North Idaho (land of no potatoes) Live.

And I wanted to share some progress photos on hte two new customs. I went with buckskin going grey for the spanish guy...I just thought he looked more lusitano than andalusian

And of course the silver grulla for the Sorraia. Both of these colors are done with acrylic base coats and bare minerals eye shadows for shading. Sounds weird, but really they are just like pastels except ground super fine. I get bare minerals products since they don't contain oils at all that may hinder the fixing spray.

More soon! Gotta get back to painting!

Resin Rehab

2011-03-06T08:58:00.000-08:00

Another week of having rooms torn apart to put the last of the new floors in..sigh, but its almost done! My studio is still filled with the trim for the kitchen area, but at least I got this guy done and for the next couple of weeks will be just painting. This Indian Silver came to me with a finish issue. The sealer on the horse was yellowing all over and the paint was even coming off in some places. On further inspection I believe acetone based paint was used (like for graphic arts) and due to thin primer underneath it was reaction with the resin itself.

Be careful stripping model, usually you are better off just sanding smooth and priming over it. Since these are "plastic" (hydrocarbon based) most strippers could cause long term damage and may result in leaching. For this guy I lightly brushed him with acetone, let it dry, and then sanded all over. I wanted this set to be special, so I reset his head and ear, gave him a new tail, and remade the dog so they seem to be checking each other out.

I am planning on dark bay rabicano for the horse and a black with tan points saluki..and the set is open to offers as well!

More tomorrow, gotta trim out the girls bathroom, guess what color I repainted it????

Artsy Remakes

2011-02-27T08:07:00.000-08:00

I love to remake, but have a bad habit trying to make everything a performance horse...so with the new studio my goal is to unleash the artsy beast and make some horses that are just Purdy to look at...giggle
So something totally new, a Salinero with an Esprit based mane and tail! This is just with a rough sand and light primer coat.

So what should he be, andalusian or lusitano and what color??????

And its no secret I love the new Eberl breyer. The palomino is for a customer and this is the ultimate performance horse, the other is a snotty Sorraia mare inspired off the picture below

This is the color I am planning on too, get ready for eyeshadow attack!

She will have a peg in that front foot. I just love how you can do anything with this mold!

Both are available for sale, inquire for details and make an offer if you like!

Show Report

2011-02-20T06:23:00.000-08:00

Due to bad weather this year, I didn't get to show at all in December and January, so despite a bad cold I was happy to get to a show yesterday. This pictures are all out of order, so I will explain each of them myself. First is Anateke, the Nez Perce horse, who was saved from being put down with a new paint job. Here he is waiting for his class.....

Now anyone that know me should realize if not given a name for a horse, my creative twisted mind is going to come up with something...so the stock foal class was huge and I was wondering how this little gal would do against some of the more flashy marked foals. But, she was the only one customized and it paid off. So she is going to NAN with the name...

MOOSETRACKS!!!!!!!! giggle, rather proud of myself for that one!

Anateke was his division champ and overall resin champ, not bad for a horse back from the dead! He is sold, that you to all the people that asked about him! I can't take all the credit, its D'Arry super cool remaking that really causes him to turn heads.

This little gal is sold as well, and she is going to her new home with a performance champ and a halter champ! Her owner is planning on going to NAN, so her cards in halter and performance should be a happy bonus.

Here she is in some of my Buxton tack and Joan Yount doll, with her cards for the day. Below is my awesome Buxton endurance saddle that Jen had thrown in a box and I begged for which I think she let me have just to shut me up......;) Now I take full responsibility for the pink leopard saddle packs! I don't make a lot of tack but I was rather proud of them.

Leonardo Lena (had to get a famous art name in there) proved himself to be an awesome performance horse. He won all of his western classes, and won the other performance class so he was overall performance champion for the day! With his tweaked position and neck set, he can do just about everything. I had Skipperkay, the jumping pony, in english so he didn't go in there, but no reason he couldn't. He had a great day, and won his halter class too.

This last picture was suppose to be first...With my big studio window you can see right through at night, so I had to get some curtains....But not just any curtains, FURRY leopard ones! THEY'RE SO FLUFFY!!!!!!

Hairspray!

2011-02-15T13:50:00.001-08:00

I am still decorating the Purdy Place, next this I knew there were moose staring down at me from my precious collection of Duncan carts. The little pink moose just blends into the wall, scary eh?

I had to laugh at Jen's post about the puppies and the photo box. I splurged and bought big soft box lights so I could expand to just about any size photo frame, and it seems to be universal that all pets are attracted to cameras.

I was able to work on the arab mare. I cover the wire with soft skiver. That way the tail is flexible when finished.

The hair turned out perfect for her! Still needs some styling, but it nice to have something different in the herd.

The Lucas arab head has beautiful expression and tons of detail.

You can see all the different colors of hair in the mane and tail in the last photo, now to clean up the mess on the floor!

Purdy Hospital

2011-02-13T11:12:00.001-08:00

Help Doctor, I am seeing spots! No really, this is the first of what I like to call "Purdy Hospital". These post will be about how to retouch, repair, and give face lifts to finished pieces. These two are not meant to go together. The weanling is a redone Still Dreamin I am working on for one of those crazy moose people (giggle, you know who you are). The valor is the topic of today's post. D'Arry did this guy a couple years ago when the valor resin was first released. Originally he was a flaxen chestnut appy, he is now a dunalino appy due to him having an accident.....

He was traded to me by a good friend in exchange for my mule custom. As you can see, his original paint job had suffered greatly due to having a costume left on him and being exposed to a high temp/high humidity environment

The first step is to wash the piece in warm soapy water lightly, and let dry. Then coat with Testors dull coat and buff down any rough spots. The dull coat will give the new paint something to stick to. I wanted him still to have that fantastic appy outline D'Arry is so famous for, but be able to cover up the parts when is paint had been removed and the black rubs he had all over his legs and in his mane and tail.

Whoops....the jumper pony was suppose to be last..this pattern has been taking forever!

Some close ups of the worst areas. There was no way to paint just the barrel. The colors wouldn't look right unless blended all over the body. So I chose a similar paint job with enough contrast in shading to blend in the areas of repair. After each few layers of new paint, I applied more dull cote to make sure the paint would adhere well to the existing paint and be durable.

And here he is so far! Since he is suppose to be an Nez Perce, I added in metallic powder to his coat to give him that unique Teke golden sheen. Once all the body color was done I still have to go back over the while markings that got partially covered, reshade the mane and tail, and new striped hooves. He will be available for sale at $1200 obo postage paid, this is less that what he originally sold for in the height of the new valor craze. I will be showing him starting this next weekend

And Padrons Mystique....she really needs some hair doesn't she??

This got thrown in on accident, the pony jumper before she got painted. This was the Justa Dream mold and I am looking forward to showing her in performance for her new owner.

The Studio is Open!

2011-02-12T13:10:00.001-08:00

I am now officially opening the new studio! This morning after a crazy week trying to move stuff in around all the chaos everywhere else I finally sat down and worked a bit. I can express how much it means having my own little space to do this in! The walls and trim are a bit lighter than this picture seems...but you can get the idea! Thats my new spray hood just for the clear sprays I use. I do a series of different sprays to make horses very performance durable, and man do they smell. This hood is amazing, it sucks everything to the outside.

Here is what it looks like just as you walk in. Not everything is in here yet, still need to install some more shelves and get a glass case for the show horses, but its still heaven!

The view out my wonderful window can't be beat! The window measures 5'x6' and its what I always dreamed of having...a place to work and look at the babies I have raised! They have been snowed in the barn for a week so they are super happy to be out and playing for a change

And look, studio pictures! I have a new area with soft box lights and does it ever make a difference!!! The reiner has been sold, and I do get to show him for a while so I will have plenty more pics of him under tack soon as well.

Here is what the custom dyed mohair looks like for the halter arab mare. She will be quite the show pieces, and is available for $550 ppd in lower 48

I have others I am finishing up that are orders, all new horses in 2011 will come with new studio certificates....The Purdy Place is finally open!

Stay turned for more, now that I can work I will be turning more pieces out that are truly unique and I can not thank my customers enough for helping making this studio dream come true!

Hugs to all!

Really??????

2011-02-06T12:02:00.001-08:00

So a few days after Snowpocalypse here in the Midwest, and I wake up this morning to this.....
More on the way tomorrow, honestly we get snow all the time, but this is just getting silly!

So the contractors didn't come at all last week, I worked on markings and such but I have to get the reiner and arab done in addition to the ones I am putting finishing touches on. This is what has been my studio for the past two years and its always been cramped. However, all the materials for our new bathroom and such is taking up a lot of room, and all the stuff they have out on the table their just isn't much free space. So I pushed some stuff out of the way last week while we were trapped at home and got some work done.

Here is where the reiner is at, this is a sooty buckskin with most of his layers on, still needs the really dark highlights to make the color pop but you can get an idea of what he looks like. I want to make is clear that I remade this horse for performance reasons, I could never sculpt anything this amazing to start with, I just tweak things to my own tastes. I think its awesome that so many super talents sculpting artists allow free rein when it comes to remaking unpainted pieces. Just always be sure to make clear what you have resculpted and what is original. I wish I could have a dozen of these heads alone to work with, oh what fun that would be!

I have real studio photography lights on order, they should have been here last Thursday, but for some reason the UPS tracking says "emergency conditions beyond UPS's control" Wimps!

For something special I remade a Herden cow to go with him for those working cowhorse events. I wanted the cow to look like she was being pushed to turn by the horse

I thought the original turning cow looks like she would run away from the horse in the smooth turn so I remade the running straight cow with a saucy head turn

A head shot, you can see the mane and points are fully shaded yet, but I am liking the overall look of the color. Can't wait to get him done, almost hate to put paint marking on him at this point!

Gotta get to work on mane and tails for some pieces I have been needing to finish up and then back to this guy. He is currently up for offers on salespages!

Dying to get out!

2011-02-03T14:01:00.001-08:00

Day Two of being snowed in.....they finally cleared our road about 5 last night, but with the drifting and low temps outside we are out of school again! I can't really paint thanks to the temporary studio filled with all the materials the contractors were suppose to be working with these past two days. So I decided to work on the custom dyed mohair for the PS halter mare remake.

She is going to be a flaxen liver chestnut, but I hate uni colored manes and tails. I start with bulk fine natural mohair I buy off ebay in bulk.

Since it a natural hair, human hair dyes work great! I buy colors whenever I see them on sale. I try to do as much as I can and save the extra hair once its dyed. Its not safe to save the hair dye itself once its mixed.

I pull out hunks of hair and coat the dye on them. Let sit for a half hour then rinse in warm water..tomorrow you can see the finished shades of blond!

Snow Day!

2011-02-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

What a night! We have had snow storms in the past, but this was the worst in the past few years. We are at home with over 14" on snow so far and the wind is brutal! But at least I can get some work done. With all this chaos in the house I feel like I am losing my head!
One of my new years goals is to complete a ton of projects that I have been wanting to do, and had buried away. We had to completely clean out the basement during this whole process, and did I find a lot of stuff I had forgotten about! This is a old PS arab body I used the head for something, and a Kristina Lucas head. You can see how I always put long wires into the head for attachement.

This is why I had to stop painting again for a bit. My dining room studio is again a hopeless wreck..but there is light at the end of the tunnel, they are suppose to get all this stuff cleared out this week and I can start painting in the studio!

I suppose it could be worse, I could be outside trying to tackle the ridiculous drifts around the house. Poor husband, I suppose I need to make some sort of nice meal for him today!

here is the arabian, in the new studio! Eventually I will have a real photography booth set up, and yes, I won't use the pink background of my walls! She will have a custom dyed mohair mane and tail when finished. I am planning on a dappled liver chestnut with all kinds of colors in the hair. Her tail will be posable as well.

The lucas head. I love this head, very soft and feminine. I made new metal ears so they would be more delicate than the ones that come with the head.

And finally my rose reiner! This model had a couple things that really bothered me. I didn't like the way he was bent the wrong way through his legs. He is turning right but his right leg is crossed over to the left, looked like he would trip himself to me. I lengthed the neck, corrected the turn which meant moving three legs, and a new tail that flowed with the motion. I also changed the mane a bit to make it more tack friendly.

Here is the front before

The new look.......

And a front view, it make a big difference with the legs moved and no base! More pictures with him in gesso later! I am thinking dappled buckskin frame overo....

Both of these guys will be for sale!

Coming Soon!

2011-01-26T16:47:00.000-08:00

They are starting to pink...anyone what to guess what color the studio is going to be?

Several people have asked for more pictures of Zips Painted Chic, here are some I took in the studio. She has a banded mane, braided forelock, and show sheened mane and tail for that show ring look. Again she is multi NAN qualified in halter, workmanship, and performance!

Whoops, didn't mean to do this one again, but wanted to offer a special price of $900ppd for blog readers! This price won't be posted anywhere else, so you have to mention the blog to get it!

And coming up, a step by step doing a new head and neck on a Arabian...and a hair job to boot!

Shes so FLUFFY! SALES!!

2011-01-22T06:54:00.001-08:00

SHES SO FLUFFY!!!!!

Nature is amazing to me. You would think that the cold is hard on little ones, but these two don't feel the cold, they really are half teddy bear!

Will the house remodel being way more than I thought with all the little improvements we have made, I am forced to sell off some of my personal show string. I have to get caught up on orders, so its really not fair to make anything new to sell this month, so here goes...I took some of these pictures in the new studio and had to use the flash, so the horses are more shaded and not shiny in person, sorry! Its so darn cold here I don't see me getting outside to take any other ones for a while!

First a sales piece for a friend, Nefertiri is a mulit NAN winner in halter and workmanship, qualified for 2011-2012. Her owner never showed her in performance, but I am sure she would be awesome! $700ppd

Wap Diva, already a live show champ in halter and workmanship, I haven't had the chance to show her in performance. She is a memphis belle resin with a whole new head, remade by me and painted my D'arry, sale price $800 ppd

Ouch this hurts...the amazing Zips Painted Chic...she has been all over my blog and is NAN qualified in halter, workmanship, and performance for 2011-2012. Lady Phase will a whole new head remade by me and painted by D'arry $1100ppd

And Darrit, he has won all over, including a championship at Breyerfest in performance. NAN qualified in halter, performance, and workmanship for 2011-2012. These two really need to go to NAN this year! Have more pictures of them if you like, these guys are proven winners in the biggest competition! Darrit is $1100ppd

Once I get caught up I will have some new sales pieces, but I hope some of you out there going to NAN this year will take these guys out there and kick some butt

Back On Line!!!

2011-01-16T09:14:00.000-08:00

Sorry I have been gone so long! With the house redo we had to disconnect our satallite cables for a while, so I haven't been able to upload pictures or work at all in the house! But I finally have a little work space back and we have extensions running out to the living room now..so finally back to making some Purdy cool stuff!
Look my dream came true, a PINK HOUSE!!

Just kidding! If you ever choose to remodel an old house, be prepared for all kinds of surprises. False walls and ceilings, bizarre or non existant insulation, no square corners...but Kevin Wolf and Sons, the contractor we are working with, are doing an amazing job despite the crappy weather. The porch won't go on for a while yet, but you can see the shape of the new addition. The master bedroom is the room to the left.

This is my little bit of space I reclaimed. I have been sculpting in the basement and painting upstairs since the basement is too cold and dusty since we redid the floor due to flooding a year ago. But this dining room was the only entry way into the addition once the walls went up. We had to empty it for them to bring materials in to turn the corner into the new addition. They have everything in place now and the drywall is being finished, so I finally got my table back up last week. All my new bathroom fixtures and lights are still in here, but its better than nothing. Now its time to catch up!

Here is what the studio look like from the outside. That window is five feet tall and I have an amazing view of my horses in the pasture, my dream is almost here!

The studio isn't lit up yet, but its 200 sq feet, complete with a spot special to take pictures in!

This was the old laudry room and the entry into the studio. I decided to move the laundry downstairs so I wouldn't have to squeeze past it to go through the door. Once we took the washer dryer out, we found that it was a false wall behind them! So we opened it up and I know have a 50 sq foot prep room that will have its own work skin and storage!

I am finishing up some orders the next few weeks, then stay tuned for some amazing pieces that I will show this spring and can be purchased and taken to NAN 2011!

Tomorrow new baby pictures, the girls are getting weaned, should be fun.......hope the fences hold

Working Away Sky is Gray

2010-11-14T13:36:00.000-08:00

So much for the beautiful fall weather here. Today it is damp and gray. Yesterday I was gone all day at my first Scholastic Bowl meet of the season (I am the Fresh/Soph coach) and I thought it would be a short day since all my kids are neubies except one and out of 32 teams we were the 2nd smallest school. BUT my kids did awesome and we brought home a trophy, and sent a lot of big suburban schools home!
You can see that Pixel, A,( and B think its horribly cold. Pixel loves to lay in front on the heat vent and has taught her two little minions the trick. What a life eh?

This is step one of the house redo. We are adding on a total of 600 square feet, my studio will be 200 of that! The whole house will be resided as well. The studio will be off the end where my husband did a great job of letting the guys know where the barn power came off the house.

This is what the front looks like now after we cut all the trees away. There will be a full wrap around porch going on, and a new decorative window in that big empty space...I am so thrilled that its actually happening!

I am trying to work, after all there is a lot of flooring that has to be done in addition to the furniture. I am planning on painting the china Esprit, (which is way better than the OF plastic), that same fawn buckskin as the big remake but with flashy white markings. The little scarlet is a portrait model that I am way behind on, go figure! I didn't get a whole lot done with the models since the big TN show.

And I want to finish this neat arab filly remake I started. If anyone is interested they can pick a custom solid color for $350 postage paid.

I plan to go to the CCR show this weekend, but just found out that the hauler that was suppose to be here two weeks ago may be coming that day! Horse haulers are worse than doctors as far as time goes I think.

Busy Days

2010-11-07T09:59:00.000-08:00

No I havn't been slacking, just busy with the real horses and the house. I actually sold 3 of my real horses in the past three weeks. I am so happy with my new foals that I made the decision to get rid of anything that didn't fit into my morab plans. So my champagne half friesian, my true roan NSH, and the palomino morab gelding are all going to new homes. Its hard to let them go, but that way I only have a couple to worry about over the winter while we are busy with the house. Its a beautiful sunny day here, hard to believe winter is coming. They have all been so happy growing up together, next week when they all start leaving I am sure I will be shedding a tear or two.

Now on a lighter note....is this wrong? Better than letting old eggs go to waste I suppose.....;)

Stamping Type!

2010-11-04T12:35:00.001-07:00

I know I know more baby pictures, but look at this! The first is a purebred palomino morgan filly my stallion sired before he left for my place from his breeder.

And this is Deedee, two totally different mares that are different breeds!!! Apparently he is going to be quite the producer. I took down all his ads, I just can't let him go he is too sweet. I did sell all my young ones just so Lumi can stay a few more years till his girls are old enough to breed. I am so looking forward to riding him!

Baby pictures!!!!

2010-11-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

The babies are just so damn cute! I have been busy getting stuff done with the house and my real horse herd reduction, but wanted to share some new ones. My husband thinks Deedee looks like she has a deer crossed with a bunny rabbit tail!

All I can say is She's so FLUFFY!!!!!!!!!!

Lumi loves the babies. He is in with both mares and foals and watches over them like a good daddy. Yesterday they were both passed out in the sun and he was standing next to them while the deat beat moms were across the pasture. If only he would stay clean just for a few minutes, the horse just loves dirt!

Ceecee will be much more araby looking than Deedee, but I just love them both to pieces and such faces on them! Hopefully I can catch some pictures of them playing together before the typical nasty Illinois winter comes, grrrrrrrr.

New Purdy D'Arry Work!

2010-10-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest Purdy D'Arry creation, Wap Diva! This is the memphis belle resin with a whole new head and a new mud tail. She won in halter and workmanship lying down at Cookeville Classic...literally. D'Arry forgot the base so we have to show her lying down but she still did great!
Look at that blanket, no one does butts like D'Arry!

This new head is more in proportion for a mare of her size, its one of Lucas's warmblood heads

Sure to be a winner in performance too!

She is priced at $975 postage paid in lower 48 states, extra for oversees.

Surprise!

2010-10-21T16:52:00.001-07:00

So this week after the show I have been slammed at work with quarter finals and teacher conferences. I ran home today after school to get the girls ready for the sitter since I had to come back into work tonight for conferences......I get home and look whats there! My palomino morab foaled, and its a chocolate palomino! This filly is so dark, darker than her mother and a snow white mane and tail already! I am just tickled silly, and the same matching blaze as CC

So of course, this is Dee Dee!!!!!!
Don't worry, no more foals this year and EE just doesn't have a ring to it. It would sound like a couple of nerds naming a foal after the exponetial key on the calculator
wait, we are a couple of nerds.......and if you don't know what that is, that means you are not a nerd so breath easy!

Purdy New Baby!

2010-10-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

Will all the craziness with the show last week and getting ready for the contractor to start, I didn't post the extra excitement at the Purdy Farm! My purebred arabian mare had her first baby, and Lumi's first baby, a stunning minimal sabino filly! This is at 10 hours old. I don't remember seeing such a young palomino where the body is so gold and the mane and tail so white already, she is just perfect and doing great. The name, well, be careful what you ask your child to do. So we have A, and B, now we have CC!
It actually works well, mom's barn name is Gigi, so now we have Gigi and CC together.

Here is daddy, I can't wait to see what my palomino mare give me! With the wettness we have had the last three years in the spring and most of the summer, I decided to do fall foals, and its really perfect around here.

I will try and get some new pictures of her this week, she has already filled out so much, they grow so fast. I am selling many of the real horses though, including Lumi. I just don't ride as much anymore and have enjoy getting to travel with the models, so in a couple of months I will be down to just three.

Anyone want a cremello morgan stallion????

Show Report Cookeville Classic Pictures

2010-10-18T16:16:00.000-07:00

Okay I am a bad show photographer, I really didn't get a chance to take pictures during performance, I was too busy getting this little gal into everything I could, and it paid off! Gizella, with all my Buxton and Granger tack, won overall performance champ. At a show this size, I was thrilled! And these were the first pink ribbons of the day!
She sold already........I am going to miss her in the performance ring, Breyer need to get this little mold out in the regular run soon!

Next the esprit custom got a workmanship reserve champ, he is still available for sale. The halter classes were double judged for workmanship and halter.

Jonker, the Dutch Harness horse, was double champ for breed and workmanship in his division, he is also sold.

Cornelia Marie was double champ and then took overall reserve honors.

Freedom Generator, my new favorite personal horse took double champ honors as well!

There are more pictures to come tomorrow, and wait till you see the gifts you get just for going to this show!!! I can't stress this enough, this show won Show of the Year last year and I plan to vote for it this year as well, it was so well done and so worth the trip, and best of all, the ribbons were PINK!!!!!!!!

Show Report Cookeville Classic

2010-10-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Tennessee and I am wiped from the drive, BUT

This is the most amazing live show I have been to in years! I will tell you all about it the next few days, but look at all the pink I got to bring home!

Just what to do with those weird OF thingys......LOL

Remaking 101, Reference Photos

2010-10-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

One thing I can not stress enough to remakers out there is the use of reference photos. I always try as much as possible to model every remake and its position off of a photo. Its not that it has to be exact, but having something real to look at helps me tremendously. So here are two recent remakes and their photo counterparts. The first is Freedom Generator, a Big Lick walker I modeled after the real world champion, The Whole Nine Yards. In real like the model's color looks way more like the real horse. It was so nice earlier today but when I took these photos it had clouded up.

The hardest thing on this guy was getting the stacks right in front and then the hip lines to follow. The stacks are the accepted 50% of natural hoof length, and will eventually have their straps on as well. He will also have trailer shoes behind.

Then for a breed you don't see often, a Dutch Harness horse. This is a huck body with a lonesome glory head. He is complete with the shaved tail top, and plaited mane. The trick on him was to get the plaits to stand away from the neck like they do on a real Dutch Harness horse groomed for show.

I actually took the right hind off completely to move it forward to get that look of him reaching way under himself. This overreach with the hind is a breed standard that they must show.

I hope to have finished photos on Thursday before I leave for the show Friday morning. For all those have asked I have decided on these prices for blog readers

Esprit Custom $550

Gizelle Custom $600

Dutch Harness horse $625

Prices do NOT include postage!

These are lower than what I was planning, but really, have I mentioned how much I want new furniture to go in the new addition?

TWH...dont ask, if I ever sold him Linda would hunt me down.......;)

Just think, real photos you could see the real colors in...whoo hoo!

Remaking Progress

2010-10-10T14:06:00.001-07:00

The hubby and I took the girls to an indoor water park hotel last night, and as you can see, not only is Daddy wore out, B was a little stressed being by herself last night. The night off was well spent, since I have a feeling I will be up on foal watch tonight. My purebred arabian mare is waxed up and hopefully Lumi's first baby (my cremello stallion) will be here soon!

So only a week till the show, and I am down to markings and details. Here is the gizelle in her silver dapple pinto. I plan to show her as a morgan/paint cross.

The Esprit is my favorite. This fawn buckskin paint is so strange looking in the cups, and it takes about 30 layers of different colors to get this final result, but I am so glad I did this instead of the apricot dun going grey. I love that color too, but I want to always try new things and strive to improve on technique.

Here you can kinda see how I curled the lip a bit, can't wait to get his eyeballs and mouth detailed for the final effect! The hardest thing with this remake was keeping the flowing mane intact yet moving the neck and head. The shoulder was the easy part, I just cut the whole top of the right shoulder out and replaced it. I know it seems like a lot of work and Esprits out there have sold for a ton without having it corrected, but I just couldn't stand it! I also filled in the deep muscle grooves in places to give them not such a harsh look.

Tomorrow I will post the pictures of the Dutch Harness and the Big Lick, thankfully I have a day off from school to get all this painting done, can't wait till next weekend and Cookeville Classic Live!

Remaking progress

2010-10-07T04:21:00.000-07:00

I will be so glad when I finally have a place to take decent indoor photos, but here is the new fawn sooty buckskin. The flash really kills the shading, but I loved how the warm, almost doeskin tones came out. Eventually I will get a close up picture of his face, his lip has the slightest snarl to it so there will be a tooth or two showing. Not a lot of white for this guy planned

On the other hand, the same base colors from above where altered to make this silver dapple, but she looks rather strange with those bare legs, pinto markings are coming!

Remaking Progress

2010-10-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

Well after some thought, I decided on a really soft, light dappled buckskin pinto for gizelle, here is the base coat

The Esprit is going to be a totally new color I am going to try, but the base coat is the same. I always try to paint horses in the same tone at once. Saves time and paint, while one dries the you can work on the other. I do a lot of hand painting anymore for dapples and highlights, but for base color I use and Iwata with a jar attachment, soooooo much faster!

And remakes are always being tinkered with, I changed the crest on this guy so it wasn't lumpy, and refined and shortened his pads. He is still wet here, but I like his neck better. I may have to file the pads more since they still need their rubber grips sole at the end. He is more turned towards the side than his wifey

More pics tomorrow night!

Working Like Mad!

2010-10-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted, but I have been working like crazy for a very good reason! With a lot of extra work, I am finally going to get my 100+ year old house redone, that means a master bedroom and bath away from the children, and a real studio!!!!! No more working in the dungeon of my basement sculpting and painting in my dining room!!! So for the next few months I will be doing my best to get cool sales stuff done to help pay for the remodel. Now this first one is the only one for me, this is Lady Liberty's husband, Freedom Generator! He won't get his block straps and hind shoes till the very end, but here he finally is!

This is what happens when you don't have a real studio, you need to hang the work out to dry....

But here is a Dutch Harness horse, complete with correct little plaits that stand away from the neck, top of tail is pulled and bottom is banged...but since his base isn't done he is being held up my diet coke cans for now....dappled bay with socks I think....

This little mare is going to get shown in every performance event I can at Cookeville Classic in TN in a couple of weeks. This mold with a new headset should be fantastic in everything! I am thinking a cute morgan/paint cross in buckskin tobiano

And I rarely do all halter horses, but how bout this snarky Esprit???? Not only did I lift and turn the head, but I totally redid that scary shoulder and cleaned up the raised front leg. Apricot dun going grey anyone?

Best of all, in this studio I will have a real place to take pictures! Can you imagine, no more dark basement overflashed pictures!!! We are looking to start at the end of this month, and I will post all kinds of pictures for all to see the transformation, WHOO HOOO

Other than the Big Lick Walker, these horses will all be sales pieces, email for info and more pictures will be coming this week.

Show Report, new QH mare

2010-09-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to a local all halter show. I really am a performance person, but halter shows sometimes are fun, and man is it way less stress! Mole Bait was overall reserve custom champ. He only has a few shows left in his career, then he will be retired. I really need to get his wife, Rat Poison done!

This was by far the coolest horse at the show. He was painted by the amazing Carol Williams. The details in this paint job are unreal. Liz Larose owns this guy and he will be a force to be dealt with in the resin show ring.

My mini andalusian won the spanish class against the big guys. After my show in October in Tennessee, he will have to leave to go to his new home with out West.

And this is Sonny Bar Babe, my new QH mare. She is an ISH with a whole new neck, longer back, resculpted pasterns, and redone head and eyes to give her a soft mare look. The light isn't great today, but I wanted to display her. I had to redo her color a bit last night, in the flourescent lights she was too yellow, but I like her red liver color now.

Sadly you can't see all the dapples along her barrel and flanks in this light, but they are there.

She has details like eyelashes, veining, even little muzzle bumps!

She is for sale as long as I can take her with to my show in October. She is already NAN qualified for 2011-2012 in halter.

Her price is $700 plus postage, time payments are fine as well!

Frackenbohz!!!!

2010-09-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago, I got the idea to do a cute little pony with bows in its hair. I got the idea from the neighbor girls that love to come over and brush the real horses. Little did I know that it would start a stalking case with my dear friend, Chris Wallbruch. Now Chris is obsessed with bows. Little Belle started it. A netsky I did in 2009 which has top tenned at NAN in workmanship and halter.

Then came Aberdale Sunspell, a remade bouncer I did with yellow bows in its hair in honor of Show for the Cure. They were recognizing Childhood Cancers that year, so thats why the ribbons are yellow instead of pink. Chris bought her at the benefit auction for Show for the Cure

So then Chris wanted a new mini. I can't ever say no to her because she might hit me with a tuba....(she is a middle school band teacher, so when you see her, give her a hug and your sympathies) but she wanted it to have bows in its hair. I had a Fenwick I was working into a cute hunter pony, but I said "I am not putting fracking bows in it's hair!"

Well, you can see how strong my will is, so here he is, Frackenbohz, the German bred pony. At least the little bows are pink as all things should be!

I really need to work on what I preach to my students....Just Say No!

Actually, I couldn't be happier than to have the opportunity to do a special piece for a great friend and fellow teacher!

Meows and Minis Show report

2010-09-12T07:30:00.001-07:00

The show went great yesterday! I am not sure how all the auctions went, I do know that the mini Patty and Pixel set raised $250 for the shelter, which means so much to me. Its always extra special to take part in a show that is for such a great cause. Unfortunatly, almost all my pictures were blurring since I didn't have the micro setting correct on my camera. At the end of the day I figured it out and got this one. That El Salvadoro, my new custom Andalusian, taking overall reserve custom champ to D'Arry great custom appy. Can't complain about getting reserve to that! If you ever get a chance to come to this show its worth the trip. The classes are usually huge, I know that arabian class had over 20 horses in it, the spanish class had close to that number, so wins here mean a lot. All the big mini showers come to this show and the quality of horses is unreal.

The little Fjord pony won is big pony class

This little guy is actually a remade Breyer classic arab foal! Kim Haymond, mini shower crazy person, wanted a remade breyer in Pebbles scale to show. That was a project! This little gal has interchangable manes and tails, and has won overall performance grand champion at Breyerwest. So it was great to see that she keeps on winning for such a great friend.

Hopefully I can gather some more pictures from other people, I have to tell you the story of Frackenbohz!!!

Meows and Minis A and B

2010-09-06T12:25:00.001-07:00

Finally, my donation for Meows and Minis is done. This is Patty, a naughty silver dapple pony mare that just rolled in the flower bed, only to brag about it to her pal, Pixel! This is the Breyer mini Highland pony mold with a whole new neck, mane and tail with wild Primrose in her mane and tail. The are not attached to each other, and come with a leopard print and pink pony pouch!
Remember, this is a 100% donation to the no kill cat shelter that Meows and Minis supports. Bids will be taken through the Meows and Minis website, email Chris Wallbruch at wombats@earthlink.net

The off side of the pair, please donate to the show, either by bidding on one of the awesome auction lots or just donate, times are tough for all and the shelters are overrun with animals that can't help themselves.

How about "B"? Whats with the name??? Well this summer a feral mom cat showed up and had kittens in our woodpile. We couldn't get anywhere near her, and the kittens all disappeared except this little calico. She is also very tiny, and follow Payton all over outside just desperate for attention, so we brought her into our home. This was right after I got back from Idaho and kept saying "Eh" talking about all my great Canuck friends, so Payton liked it and named her "A". So its only natural that the next outcast was "B". What so cute, somehow Pixel knows that they are just like she was, and she helpts take care of them both. Everyone is doing great!

Here are the minis I am trying to get done for the show, thank goodness I have today off!

lastly I thought I would throw this out there. This is the Breyer new arab mold that I remade to a jumping sport pony. Since I am not planning on NAN this year, I am offering her up for a custom paint job order. I could redo the mane and tail as well, contact me for details if interested.

Back to work, will have more pictures of the minis as they get more done!

Meows and Minis, "B"

2010-09-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

Hopefully everyone has gotten a chance to read about Pixel, my family's rescue kitty and the star of my donation medallion to Meows and Minis live show. But tonight, I have another heart wrencher story about abandoned felines. After school I got home and was getting stuff ready for the farrier to come out and trim some of the weanlings. My husband was helping me, and together we heard this crying from under the tractor...and look what was there! This darling, TINY girl kitten. A total sweetheart, starving but seems to be healthy, and purred the minute we picked her up. We are too isolated for something this little to make it so far, so she must be another abandoned pet someone didn't want any more. Can you believe it?????

Payton has named her "B"...look at that face!!! How can this happen? Times are tough and shelters are overrun, so please, please try to donate to shelters like the one Meows and Minis is support (check ads on www.modelhorsesalespages.com search Meows and Minis)
Here is one of the things I am donating, a portrait of Pixel. You can also bid on a blank medallion which I will paint to look like your favorite kitty!

The real Pixel and B, Pixel is so sweet, she accepts all little ones. This little kitty is so darling, playful, full of life..how can something like this just be abandoned??? She is even litter trained, just like Pixel was. Hopefully she is as healthy as she seems so far. We will watch her closely the next week.

What a face!!! And blue eyes to boot! Not sure if they will stay this blue but who cares????

My horse donation for the show will be done soon, its a mini with a friend....and flowers in the mane! Thats the only hint I will give so far! It will be a 100% donation to the show as well.

Thanks for reading!

Show Report

2010-08-30T08:09:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite models right now. Zips Painted Chic, a lady phase remade by me and painted by D'Arry. She really is suppose to be a sales horse, but unless its a good offer I plan to show her to death! She won in halter, english, and in the other performance division. There was a gentleman there interviewing people for an article on the Bentlys (of Bently's Sale Co) and he took a bunch of pictures of her, so I hope she gets into the article! One thing I noted is that stock horses show with the point of the shafts much further back than other breeds. I could have slid them back further but it looks strange to me. Any of you stock horse people know why this is? I assume it has something to do with headset and shoulders.....look on google images of stock horse pleasure driving to see what I mean.

A bunch of performance winners. It was a busy day!

These are all mine, granted it was a small performance show but I am still happy with the wins!

I know I already posted plenty of pictures of Gizette, but can you believe that Jen isn't going to get a pink doll to go with her???? really is there any other color?????

Okay enough silliness, here is the QH custom. This is SUCH a fun horse to show. She is a mirror (opposite direction) of Oktopussy, which is also, a great performance horse. I had made her just to campaign to take to NAN in 2011, but there is no way I am going, so she is for sale. She is NANd in halter, western, and other performance if anyone is interested please email me. Price $600 postage paid. Here she is with her extreme cowboy shooting set up, minus the targets

Here she is in barrels. I showed this as a ranch horse versatility entrant since she has her heavier work saddle on.

Okay the last few are from the other show, sorry I reloaded them by accident and can't get them to delete! I will be posting some neat mini customs for sale in the next two weeks that I am taking to the Meows and Minis show, so tune back in for details!

Show Report: Buxton Best

2010-08-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

After getting to spend an amazing weekend in Denver, with weather and scenery like this, I needed to earn my Buxton keep a bit more. Living in Illinois, seeing something like this is awe inspiring, just what are those bumby rock things called??? Can't see them through the corn here..........

Soo enter Gizette. Gizette is a remade Gizelle (obviously, Jen didn't use a lot of creativity on the name here). The irony is that I made Gizette FOR performance for Jen, then find out the poor thing had been only tripsing about the halter ring. Jen is planning on NAN next year, so I was determined this little mare got to show in some performance events. So I horse napped her (well really its that Jen doesn't have much chance to show performance before next year). Here she is in western pleasure with my new Yount doll. I think she looks amazing under saddle, not that I am biased at all!

In showmanship waiting for the judge to signal the backing part of the pattern....

And lastly costume. Now costume is the performance event Gizette was made for (see Jen's blog about her arabian costume) , but Jen hasn't had the chance. I have the costume and am going to make a youth doll for her, but for now she can wear my "Purdy" costume!

Ironically, she got second to my Haute Ecole costume (they were all mixed together at this show)

Next up is Jennibray. Jennibray didn't get to go to this past NAN thanks to having an ear accident while loading in the car to go (I was beyond upset needless to say). BUT Jen is taking her home and showing her at NAN, or else!!!

or else what good question, not like I could even go without my tack pusher in my life.....LOL

The amazing jump was done by Kim Haymond, all the tack except for the bumper girth was done by Jen. I am obsessed with Jen's saddles, that goes without saying, but let me tell you her boots are just as amazing! My Buxton bumper girth is russet colored which is the only reason I didn't have that one on. I so love my Buxton tack, I seriously can't get over how lucky I am that she has as bad as a model addiciton as I have a tack addiction. Just please, let her never find a model horse rehab! Jen you are so my tack pusher hero!!!!!

More show pictures tomorrow!

Meows and Minis, the story of Pixel

2010-08-26T07:55:00.001-07:00

I have a small farm in Northwest Illnois. We have a bit of everything, and a small herd of farm cats. Sadly over the years, with shelters filled all around, so many have been dropped off left to fend for themselves. Last June, my husband and I were outside and we heard a car stopped in front of our house. Thinking nothing of it since many people like to stop and look at the horses, we kept working. Then our cats were freaking out at something in the tree. There was this tiny, terrified kitten. We brought her in the house and she was starved, ate great and went straight to the litter box. So we figured this was someones pet that they decided they couldn't kept. She was so sweet! After a couple of hours I could tell she was actually quite sick. So I took her to the vet and after days of treatment she was doing great and quickly became the house favorite. We named her Pixel because of her unique coloration being all little spots of color. She has grown into the sweetest, most loving pet.

I am sharing this story because I was given the special opportunity to help support the upcoming Meows and Minis show, which is a benefit for a local no kill shelter. Pixel so easily could have ended up fox or coyote food, hit by a car, or die of starvation and illness. We love her in our family, but too often stories like her's do NOT have happy endings. This medallion will be up for auction on the Meows and Minis website, along with another donation I am doing, so please, please donate to worthy cause.

Pixel is not a long hair, but she does have the most shiney, soft fur. I will take more pictures of this medallion in the sun so you can see all the details in her fur and eyes

Thank you again for your support!

Show Report

2010-08-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

I know I still need to give a report on my Denver trip, which was AMAZING, but wanted to post pictures of the show I went to yesterday. Midwest Model Mania is a big all halter show that is help each year by Mary Lou Mol just outside of Galsburg, Illinois. Now what am I doing at an all halter show...simple, I only live an hour away and its a great chance to visit with my friends all day!
Here are some of the highlights from the day. These Purdy horses were division champs. I didn't paint the little Swaps, just customize him, but the coloring on this guy is something way beyond my ability!
Good Ol Mole Bait, he will be retired once I finish out his Merit Award, and will live in the case my husband made for him. He is the only model my husband has ever paid attention to, which earns him a forever home here.

What an awesome CM day! Sassy got overall champ, and Lady Liberty got reserve! The only kicker on that is Lady Liberty is at Linda's house now. She was always meant to Linda's horse since she came up with the original idea...BUT the whole plan is to have a family, and I get BIG DADDY. I am working on him now, so watch out for Freedom Generator, coming soon!

This is a Smarty Jones I redid into a QH cutting mare. My Oktopussy resin went home to Kathy (well it was her horse....) and I have lots of cool props for a horse in that position, so I did a CM to show, in the opposite direction. Next weekend I plan to show her in performance, and she will be for sale for anyone going to NAN next year, I would like to see her shown there.

A new favorite, this is a lady phase I did with a new head and neck. Zips Painted Chick....can you guess who painted her?

D'Arry did an amazing job on this color. No one else can paint that soft buckskin pinto like she can, I am just thrilled to have this mare to show, watch for her in performance coming soon!

This horse is a remade silver, and was designed to replace a stolen resin for a friend oversees. He has a cool open mouth and is bucking up a storm....and he flys to his new home next week, hope you like him Ann!

I need to win the flash argument with this new camera, sorry the pictures are a little dark.

I am back in school now, so I plan to start posting on a much more regular basis. Since I am not going to NAN next year I am hoping to have many more CMs for sale throughout the show season, so stay tuned!

Darcy Done!

2010-08-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

I am so looking forward to this weekend! I finally get to meet Jen Buxton in person...it no fun to have a best bud that you never get to hang with! And I get to deliver Darcy to the "other" Jen, although I am sad I don't get to show her at all. I redid the head and ear set on her, and she is a rich dappled bay. I did something different on her, she has a velvet finish with a glossed up mane and tail to really look like a show ring star. Her hooves are "hoof blacked" so that why you can't see nail heads. I also added veins and muzzle bumbs to her. I didn't redo the hind leg, I wanted her to look like my mare often did when shown at halter, all stretch out and feeling full of herself!

Her head from the sise, you can see the neck details I put in

Her show ring "I am it!" look, I even wrinkled the skin around her ear.

Her off side

I think she will be a blast to show! For purchase details, please email me, I am not totally sure what Jen plans, but if you have an offer let me know and I will tell her this weekend. I assume she will be selling her, since this is the copy I finished in exchange for my own copy

Let me know what you think!

Training Barn WOW

2010-08-06T08:43:00.001-07:00

More years ago than I care to admit, I went to my first model horse show in Champagne, Illinois. There I met D'arry and was amazed at the customs she had. I had been do my own customs growing up, and loved to make costumes for them, but had no idea how drastic customs could be. She had this awesome warmblood custom, Player, that I could not get out of my head. That show and D'arry's work really was the kick in the butt for me to expand on my remaking attempts.
So flash forward....turns out she only live a few hours from me, and we thought it would be cool to do some pieces together. So here is the first one "Dream of Me", a show stopping TB stallion! I took the Breyer Idocus, thinned down the legs, and but a whole new neck and Lonesome Glory head on it. Then D'arry did one of her amazing braid and paint jobs on him. He already is a live show champ in halter and workmanship, and is NANd for 2011 and 2012 in halter and workmanship. He is available for $900 postage paid, and I can continue to show him if the new owner wishes (including performance if you wanted him qualified in performance).
This is a stunning piece, with a soft chestnut color only D'arry can paint.

A cose up of him braids, they are super detailed!

What an expression, doesn't he look like he knows he is the shiznet?

Softly dappled on his barrel and hindquarters, with an awesome pinwheel tail braid

Sure to be a great show horse for years to come!

I have another piece we did, but you will have to wait a bit for that one, she needs some performance showing in my opinion....stock horse people watch out!

NAN 2010

2010-07-30T10:53:00.001-07:00

I miss out on getting a lot of pictures, I showed in way too much performance (which I always do) and totally forgot my camera on the second day. But here are a couple I got. This one was a favorite. The model is a Zara that was missing a leg that I redid to look like my real morab mare, Jericho's Royal Secret (see real horses, this is Sassy).
This costume was made by my BFF Kathy Wiggins as a bit of a joke at my ridiculous leopard print and pink fetish. She took a Lisa Salamandick halter and breastcollar set and went crazy. Its so cool and sparkly! I did the doll. This was a huge class but a great example of how something a little different thats well documented can do well. The documentation has real "Hollywood" style half arab youth entrants pictured. If you want to see amazing though, check out the NAN website and see what won champ, that set up that won is a true piece of art. But I was so happy to have my "real" horse and something made by a dear friend do so well. To me silver was gold on this one! AND Sassy got reserve champ in breed! Turns out she is a great show mare just like her namesake!

Remember Anne Nicole? She won champ in parade last year (yes the flag in the wrong hand, the doll broke the right hand right before the class and the laminated reference pic had the flag in it, but it was a rodeo setup, not a formal parade class but still, I did know better, I just didn't know what to do with that reference sheet, that why I don't laminate them anymore, something you need to make last minute changes!)
But anyway, Anne Nicole lives with her new owner now, who shows her to death and does great with her, which to me is a great compliment! Shannon thought it was funny that I beat myself in this class (Lady Liberty top tenned) but really, Colette won this all on her own. This brown parade set looks amazing with her.

I love this set up! Kathy Wiggins made the tack, I made the bull (from the Herden steer) and the horse (remade Keltic Salinero), Joan Yount made the doll, and Kevin McFarland made the wall.

Lastly, a real highlight from the halter day. The American Gaited class was so crazy big, ASBs and TWH did NOT get split like in previous years, and there were over 40 horses listed for the class (not sure how many were there in the end). Champ was Lady Liberty, and reserve was Sultana Santana, a rejoice with a ruffian head I did four years ago now owned by Beth Lamm, whoo hooo!

Thanks to Karen Meekma for the pic, I didn't have my camera this day!

Showstring 2010

2010-07-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

My model year goes from Breyerfest to Breyerfest, and I often sell much of my showstring at the end of the show year. But this one is just for me. Three years ago my oldest daughter wanted this poster book. While much of it was kinda corny, this one picture jumped out at me. I thought this was make a really neat model horse. When the Breyer Wintersong model came out, I knew I had my victim! It just took me a while to get to her

Many people ask how I do drastic repositions, the key is to know when to cut. If leg has to be moved drastically from the stifle/hip area, its usually easier to cut it off completely and replace with wire. If you don't, you end up with really bulky joints and my pet peeve, rubber band legs (legs without joints)

So here is the body minus the head, and you can see the one hind leg was okay to move, but the other had to be cut off. I use soft aluminum wire for this.

Here is a butt shot of the finished Cornelia Marie. Named in honor of the late Captain Phil from Deadliest Catch (a favorite show)

I added some cute flowers and butterflies to the base, I wanted her to look like a mare just out having fun in the pasture

Her face, I only did minor remaking of the nostrils and eye sockets to make her look feminine. She won her class at the Breyer show...still want to do some more details in her feathers but look forward to showing her for a long time!

I have very few pieces left that I am doing "on orders" and can't wait to have the time to do more pieces that I come up with. Some will be for sale, but some like her will stay at the Purdy Farm.

More NAN pics tomorrow!

NAN 2010

2010-07-28T13:16:00.001-07:00

Well not to stick my tounge out...but several people have asked what I have still for sale, so here is Paint My Cash...a multi live show halter winner. This year at NAN he top tenned in breed, won the breyerfest paint halter class, and got reserve of his division! He has cards for 2011 in halter and western performance, and a new halter card for 2012-2013. He has a reference sheet that shows how racehorses often have their tounges tied to the side to aid in breathing.

The sun was a little bright, but I customized the bridle path area and forelock to make him tack friendly

A great show proven show horse, $550 plus postage. I can try for better light later on in the week.

Ok now on to NAN, those pictures were suppose to be last!

It is going to take a while to sort through all the pictures, and I didn't get any on halter day, but I can say NAN 2010 went great! Not only for my horses but for many horses I did that are now owned by others. This is the first one I found, little Docs Diana winning non speed games. This is a favorite set up, since the saddle is made by one BFF, Kathy Wiggins, and guess who made the super cute WESTERN bridle??? The goddess of English Tack herself, Jen Buxton! I get to go out to Denver in a couple weeks, so though since she is picking me up, I better put her pics up first! LOL

Here is Quiver, getting Top Ten in dressage with is Buxton set. This set has all gold hardware and is to DIE for stunning!

Now that the chaos is over I hope to begin regular postings. I didn't want to post the new breyer customs I did for the show since I wanted them to be a surprise, but really want to show up the latest drastic custom, Cornelia Marie!

Tune in tomorrow!

Imafam II, the camel at NAN

2010-06-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

So how did this camel come to be? Well this one is all Danielle's fault. Over a year ago she had one of the awesome Herden camels up for sale and I really wanted it, but she had to go and sell it to someone else (okay to be honest I had my shot at it) and when I whined she said " Well its not like you couldn't make one yourself"
True, but where to start? Ready for a shocker????
This first pic is the original Imafam in the foreground, with her poor broken leg from demolding, and Imafam II, the NAN camel, is the background. Imafam II has a different tail, and from the molding the head position comes out a little different

This is the original in primer.....

And here she is in progress! YES that is the breyer FAM!!!! Amazing what you can do with some apoxy and aluminum foil isn't it???? I purposely left her feet so you can see the original FAM hooves on the bottom. The only other thing not covered are the eyes, the finished camel has the same breyer eyes.

The whole reason I made a mold and wanted some cast copies is what you can see here. She is quite the frankenstein thing, and I worry how stable the piece it. That and just think of the camel remakes I can do!

NAN auction, why the wait?

2010-06-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more pictures I forgot, and if there are any angles you want to see, I can take more of either the horse or the camel. Once the new rider is done I will post pictures of just him

I am really happy with the Dancing Horse, why is it this one has to go?

Well one of the reasons it took so long was damn Mountie the Moose. I got Mountie last weekend at the show in Spokane, WA that was invaded by the Canucks. The is absolutly no border control up north at all! First thing he did was dive into the garden....now I have been to Idaho twice and there are no such plants in that state...so don't believe the hype! In fact, the potatoes I ate there were grown in Washington! Whats next, Illinois apples??????

Then he jumped up on Sassy....oh I wish I had gotten her face in frame!

Then over into the corn field and started eating up the crop...as if we don't have enough deer doing this already!

Okay seriously, what a crazy Canuck he ate all the pig's food!

Then he tried to climb one of our maples and broke it....or what that the storm???

Moral of the story, we need a fence up North!

But really, if you ever get a chance to go to a show in the Northwest and get the pleasure of a Canadian invasion, you will never have more fun! They are a FANTASTIC bunch, duct tape and all, and the BEST FRIENDS!

AND they helped my Blackhawks get the Cup! WHOO HOO

NAN auction, all done!

2010-06-20T15:28:00.000-07:00

WOW what a two weeks! Between the storms, sick horses, a trip out to the Potato Head's house (oh don't worry you know who you are) that I have a bunch of pictures to post too, Mountie the Moose tearing up my farm, but look! Its finally done!

This set is the most hours I have ever put into a NAN piece, but I want the set in Lisa's memory to be something special. All the colors were focused around the breastcollar set. Which again, I can't thank Kathy Wiggins enough to donating the halter and breastcollar set. The camel mold was way more work than I expected, but it does work (they are rough though) and the camel in this set is the very first cast. Well technically second, wait till you see the first one! These pics have to go off to the auction coordinator today, but I wanted to post them here first.

This is not the final doll though, his clothes were still tacky and we have more storms moving in so I wanted to take pictures before we got hit again.

The arabian dancing stallion should be a ton of fun in performance. This caramel chestnut color is a personal favorite, since its similar to my real purebred Gold N Ali daughter!

Okay so just imagine the spruce trees are palms....what can I say we don't have too many palm trees in Northwest Illinois!

Tomorrow will post pictures of the camel, the original Imafam, the remake of the breyer FAM is a little beat up from the mold making process, but she will be back at breyerfest this year...please let me know what you all think!

NAN auction

2010-06-04T09:46:00.001-07:00

Well I wanted to do more this week, but thanks to a nasty electrical storm my satellite connection wasn't working! But wanted to show off the NAN piece I am finishing up this next week. This set is called "The Journey" and is a tribute to a dear lost friend of the hobby, Lisa Salamandick. Lisa lost her battle with cancer last year, and I will go into the full story of how I got to know her later....but she so loved arabians, especially dancing horses. So the horse of the set is a drastically remade breyer lonesome glory into a fiery dancing stallion. The set comes complete with halter and breastcollar set made by Lisa herself...generously donated my uber gal pal Kathy Wiggins (who I would be lost without!)
Here is the head, its a remade PAM head and I did a mane and tail full of action to really make him dramatic

Full body shot, he is doing a correct spanish walk, think of all the fun he will be to show!

And the matching camel, this is a remake of a breyer FAM, no joke! I showed her at Breyerfest last year and she was a huge hit! Now the set comes with a resin copy, the only copy that will be sold to the public!

Here is the poor thing under rubber, casting next week! Gotta run for today, its getting ready to storm again I have to unplug everything so it doesn't get fried again, let me know what you think!

Carnage!

2010-05-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

Yes I did survive the school year, so where have I been? Well my husband qualified several of his relay teams for the state track meet (he won a state title last year) so its been just me to handle the two girls and the farm....crazy! During the day the little one goes to daycare and the oldest likes to go the TMCA camp, so I get a few hours to work. Tuesday I got back in the studio to tackle this pile of carnage.....wanna see more????? Starting tuesday I will go through how to drastic remake leg position, when cutting just isn't enough.
I worked on the camel mold, ran out of mold material, it should be here tuesday, the NAN piece will be getting its own press next week.

And I gave Lumi a bath! Cremellos are NOT easy, especially him. He really is a male pig. Except the pigs I have raised were actually cleaner. SO I took some pictures before he rolled. He is still a little damp, and you can clearly see the color difference between the body and the mane and tail, but not nearly as much as you see on many models. His pink skin is freckled too, a lot like my champagne horses. Champagne has not been found in morgans, but with new finds like Bar link and the pearl gene (not necessarily in morgans) I am sending his DNA off to UC Davis. Mainly I want to know what he carries at the Agouti locus (don't want smoky blacks), but am really curious about what else he carries.

He is just shy of three, and stands 15.3 hands and is built like a truck. He is heavily Flyhawk bred, and has a wonderful neck which should only get better with age. I loved my arabian stallion I had, but I have to admit the baroque look to Lumi's neck is really want I want my horses to have. In a couple years he will be bred to my morab filly from my arabian stallion, whom I still have a breeding contract with his new owners (the arabian that is)

If only he wasn't backlit in this (above) pciture! Below he is chilly with his woman. I have always raised my stallion to breed only with a certain halter on, and they are always kept with bred mares, never isolated. The mares keep him in line and Lumi is a kitten to handle. He is totally submissive to female authority, if only we could do that to all men eh?

Then I went and got Payton, Julia was at grandma's...Payton loves to help do chores, and she found Lumi's bridle path hair very entertaining! His hair is really neat, completely different than palomino white hair. His hair is really wavy and will rope up if left uncombed. Its not hard to imagine that Morgans have some Friesian in there somewhere.

See ya tuesday!

I survived!

2010-05-24T05:38:00.000-07:00

This has been a crazy year (I live by the school year). I can even express how relieved I was to finish grading all those senior projects and officially begin my summer "off". I have so many cool project in mind, first of all finishing the NAN piece. But I take this newest edition to our farm a sign of good things to come. Little Joe was born Sunday morning. This is the first calving I have done, and it was so special. Way easier than a horse! He is so friendly, and weighed 83 pounds, not bad for mamma's first calf. He is a purebred Angus, so just plain chestnut I'm afraid....LOL

This is one I am finishing up, didn't mean to put this one in there, whoops! She is going home with the new owner of the matriarch...there is some tack involved go figure!

Jen Buxton didn't wimp out of showing like I did this weekend, here is Khemotigre, a horse I did for her last year, if only I knew which saddle it was for.......he was overall reserve breed champ at her show

And I finished up some old projects that are getting mailed today, here is the American Creme draft mare I did for Sophie, I tried an tried but just couldnt get the light right so you could see the subtle shading and dapples she has. Cremello is tough, Lumi, my real cremello, has never been this clean in his life!

Tomorrow the camel gets molded, and will begin the whole slew of new customs that are going to the breyer show, whoo hoo. And requests, already have a drafter in the mix.....

End of the Year

2010-05-20T07:44:00.001-07:00

Sorry that I haven't posted, its the end of the school year at good Ol Rock Falls High School so been swamped with grades, seniors turning in last minute stuff, and other fun stuff. I did manage to get Jen's Scarlet to her for her show, but that was about it. I do have one more palomino to show, this is Sassy's filly from two years ago, at her new home where she is beginning training.

And the best, with the weather warming up here we get the joy of watching a fox family grow up at out farm. There are four kits in all, they run around like crazy but did manage to get one good shot in.

So next week I begin my summer and plan to work on many many things! Have two old horses that MUST get out the door, then watch out, it will be a Purdy Parade

other than dapples, any requests of what you would like to see?

Blonds have more fun!

2010-05-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

After seeing Jen's post about her hopefully new morab mare, I thought I would try and get some pictures of my real horses for a change. Now its rained the past 6 days here, with over 6 inches of rain and the horses were going crazy locked up. So it finally stopped raining yesterday, it was still cloudy so the light isn't the best, but here are my babies. My friends laugh that I am a collector, which is true, I love color genetics! And I am really biased towards the golden end of the rainbow, and it all started with Jericho's Royal Secret, aka Sassy, aka B^%%$. She is trained through second level, has done some beginning level eventing, and at almost 15.2 is a pretty big morab. Her arabian side goes back to Raffles, her morgan mom is an Upwey Ben Don bred mare. Look familar Jen?

No this isn't the same horse! This is Gypsy, Sassy's sister, scary isn't it? But they are half siblings, Gypsy is 50/50 arab/morgan, where are Sassy is 75% morgan, 25% arabian

This is Sassy's colt from last year by my purebred arabian stallion Khemos Desperate Echo

Whats this????? Well the darker one is Ambriel, my half friesian classic champagne mare (she is just two)

And this is a real prize! "Pig Pen" was born in a puddle weeks early and almost drowned! His mother is one of the very rare true headed roan ASBs out there, Winter Mist. His sire is my arabian stallion, so according to the NSH registry he is the only true headed roan they have on record! His color is so cool! His mom was much darker throughout, more chestnut hairs than white on the body, but he is just the extreme true headed roan I wanted! He will be staying here forever!

What that white thing????? Well that is Amberfields Luminesence, my cremello registered Morgan stallion. Someday when he is clean (which is a challange because he is a PIG!) I will do a whole post on him. Not quite three and stands just over 15.3 hands, and he really looks all morgan too! The liver chestnut is my purebred arabian mare, who is in foal to him for this fall

oh and ya, this scarlet thing....giggle

bad light so you can't see all the shading well, but Jen, what markings should she have????? I need to finish her up this weekend for you! It was so windy bout had a heart attack getting this one picture, But hey, there is the really bright thing in the sky today, not sure what it is but think it will let me get better pictures this weekend