C4 go Boom???

So I am off to the Central Canadian Comic Convention! Or more fun to say... C4!

I wont be around for the weekend, and I most likely wont have a post in till monday or tuesday. with monday being halloween I would assume tuesday!

Any ways good luck all.

Phy

when will we be home?

So as many of you know I have been working my arse off to get my daughters costume done. Well really... not that much. I could have put this together in an hour if I wanted to. I just am way to lazy to do it that fast. So here I sit half way done today and about to start the final parts of it. The never ending skirt fabric. But first here is a photo of where I was this morning when I started to work. This is just before the sleeves we put on!

As you see I do drink a lot of slurpee when I work on projects like this. (blue cup in the background) it is my one bad habit. But at least it is not smoking! lol.

SO back to the grind. As tomorrow it is Fur suit, tail, and a whole bunch of other things.... I also need to prep things for the printers. Oi.... I love the end of convention season.

Misa on Wheels

When I woke up late for my daughters football game this morning something told me to check DA, I wont ever forgot what I saw. And I am happy I did. This girl is not new on DA,or new to cosplaying. She has a lovely collection of some of the most ICONIC costumes in peoples minds.

I was enjoying her gallery and all the photos she took with everyone around her that I didn't notice one thing that NEVER changed outfit. Her wheel Chair. This woman is cosplaying some of the most able body people in the anime and game world. And not once did she let her wheel chair define her character!

I am so happy to see that she didn't let this define the cosplays she could play. I hope to see more from her. She is a strong woman. Check out her Deviant art here: http://spawn-of-jenova.deviantart.com/

Fuzzy Tails

So I had the most fun working on a coon tail, not just any coon tail, one that was blue, pink, and grey! It was such a joy to work on it.

So here was the tail before I started to work on it this week! It had a flat tip and looked funny and just didn't work well with it's self. So I had to fix it. Also It really didn't sit to well on the person who was wearing it so I had to do something about it.

This flat tipped bulging mess turned into a fuzzy slick tail!

The tip of it is so fluffy and fuzzy now and it is super soft! I brushed it out and fluffed up the cotton baton in it so it was softer to snuggle too. It is super soft and snugly. I shit you not! I now need to make more tails for people. I should go buy some fun fur and work with that first, this was such a fun project this year.

I hope to get photos of the person this tail is for! FUZZY TAIL!!! *pets it* okay now that I have had my furry fun. I need to mention that I wont be posting on Sunday's and Tuesdays might be out as well. My daughter's sports are taking up a good bit of time. So she is more important then completing projects.

So that is your heads up!

Magnetic personality

So recently I started to work on crafts that my daughter could help with and do herself. And this is what I came up with. Each one of these cost me less then 0.05 cents to make and take only a few seconds each! They are half clear marbles, a small magnet and a bit of glue with paper. These are actually made from the information booklets from my daughters DS games! And from scraps of fabric I own for the others. They are really cool and she enjoys playing with them on the fridge now.

I would give a tutorial but really not much to say! White school glue, Half marbles, paper, and a magnet. When the marbles are done and dry you hot glue the magnet on let stand a few seconds and they are ready to use.

Great fun for the whole family and as snow here any child, and child like person, can make them!

One smart Cookie

So this is less about art, and more about Child Care tactics. My Daughter is 8 and she is a sly one. On Friday she was told her room had to be clean to my standards by Monday! (My standards are kinda strict! All toys have a place, and all books should be on the shelf, and clothes away! I should be able to get under the other bed, and in the closet!) So Monday I got mad at her and told her it wasn't done right she had another chance to do it before I cleaned it and she wouldn't like how I cleaned it. So she did. And she almost had it PERFECT! But I still cleaned it.

Smart kid! Lets get is close and mom will finish it! And on top of that she pulled the "Mom I want!" thing today and I went... if I paid you to do chores you think you can do them to moms likes? MY GODDESS SHE CAN! I put a dollar value to chores I thought she could do, and today she made 10 Bucks! WHAT THE HELL? She has been sharking me all this time! Today she went through her drawers and re folded her clothes and got rid of the ones she didn't like or were too small, Swept and mopped her room (we use swiffer super easy for kids!) Then she put away dishes as I washed them, and she cleaned the living room and swept it... and helped to fold laundry and put it away! WHAT THE HELL! Seriously if you want anything done in the house. PAY THE KIDS! They know how to do it! They just don't want too!

Any ways updated on crafty things.... My daughters shoes are DONE! they are just drying from this coat of sealer. Then tomorrow morning I give it a few more coats and she can wear them. She even picked out the perfect socks.

Friday I hope to get a photo of her in them with the socks she picked out, we are also going to pick up the Fabrics for the dress, the basket to put Little Starr in. I can't believe how excited she is to help me out for this costume! She is the one doing ALL the research into the shoes she needed, the fabric, the socks, basket and even found her own stuffed toy to use as toto! I am so impressed.

She is my cosplayer in the making!

Find her at Central Canadian Comic Con the last weekend of October! She will be in the artist alley with me!

No place like home!

So I am finally up to making posts again as I have been doing crafts and art like none stop for the past two weeks. I am so happy and having such a great time I am looking forward to posting these on ebay, etsy, and the likes. So watch for items from the Desk of Phynix! I am so happy about it.

On other news my daughter picked one of the most iconic characters to dress as for Halloween this year! She is going as Dorothy! Ever since I was a little girl I loved the Wizard of Oz, and thought it was just a wonderful world, and story! I loved Dorothy, and her little dog Toto!

Even my Step dad loves this movie, he named his truck Toto, and my mother has a small dog that looks like Toto! So we are happy to be making this costume for my daughter this year!

Yes we are making it. I have pulled out my sewing machine and dusted it off and have been working non stop on it for about a week. I am so happy with what is coming out of it. I have made pony outfits for sale at an up coming convention I am going to, and I have household items. But the thing I am most proud of is the little red ridding hood costume for my daughters doll, and a pirates costume for a doll on Den of Angels (more about these in another journal)

But the reason for this journal post is these!

As you can see from the inside of these shoes, they were once white! These were my daughters shoes from my brothers wedding two years ago that were too big for her then. They fit this year and we were happy to give them a new life as the shoes she will wear to her party at school.

This was not easy I couldn't figure out how to get this look, so I tried to mix a lovely snow glitter (the most tiny glitter I have EVER seen) into red ruby paint I own and painted these shoes. (you can see it on the frill and bow) it didn't work so well. So taking a break between coats I started to look at painting and making shoes glittery on youtube, and found this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Cx37Px1eQ

8 minutes later and I had my jacket on and off to the craft store I went!

A bit of fabric glue, glitter, and a large mess later and we are 99% done with this project! The shoes are sitting to dry for now before I tackle the little frilly part at the top and the bow!

I am very happy with this and I am hoping that when my daughter gets up in the morning she too will love them.

On the agenda for tomorrow....? Finishing these shoes, and maybe sewing the rest of little red ridding hood costume for my daughter.

absence

so you all know I have been away due to medical issues. As soon as I am recovered at least 50% I will be back to working on things here. Sorry all!

American Girls a cult that is growing?

So with all the art on the net I have a rough time picking what to talk about so I decided... Why not let Rebecca pick the topic today. Well Rebecca is my American Girl, Canadian Football Playing 8 year old. Funny she would pick American girl.

So here we sat going through the zillions of images on Deviant trying to find something to talk about. We discovered a whole new side to American Girl we never thought we would find.

In many peoples galleries there were not only lovely art (Like above) but tutorials on making clothing, Putting new wigs on the dolls, and cleaning. It is a huge community that sticks together a lot over these dolls. I was so happy to see that. Made me feel better about my daughters own love for these dolls and stories.

So here we are featuring a few of the more amazing artists we have found while looking through all of this.

The piece above was made by http://acaciathorn.deviantart.com/ I am very impressed with it, in fact my daughter has it as a backdrop on her laptop. So that shows just how amazing of a piece we all think it is.

We also discovered http://protectorkorii.deviantart.com/ who makes outfits for these dolls based off of the outfits worn by the Disney Princess'. As someone who makes outfits for my daughter's own doll I know how time consuming designing for this doll can be. More so when you are working with a pattern that is older then yourself to get the base idea. The dresses are simply stunning.

There is also tutorials on Youtube for these dolls. I strongly recommend. http://www.youtube.com/user/stephenswodadancer she not only makes items of clothing and shows you how to make them yourself, she also shows you how to get rid of that old wig on your dolls head, and where to order a new one and how to put it on! Amazingly helpful for parents of little girls who need repairs done.

And for parents not willing to pay major money for the american girl brand for new clothes for the doll check out Etsy.com! Just search American Girl and watch the items appear. A few of my own personal favorites (and possible Yule presents for Rebecca)

Lovely Orange Sweater http://www.etsy.com/listing/82292840/18-inch-doll-clothes-orange-fall-hoodie?ref=sc_1

The cutest summer dress http://www.etsy.com/listing/73073811/american-girl-doll-clothes-summer-dress?ref=sr_gallery_4&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=American+Girl+&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

And so stunning http://www.etsy.com/listing/74198266/russian-sarafan-and-kokoshnik-paper?ref=sr_gallery_21&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=American+Girl+&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

So many things out there for american girl dolls.

Dust Bunny Army

So as you all know my life has been revolved around cleaning the mess that is the office! I haven't been able to find a few things in the office due to me finally cleaning out my bed room. So here I am trying to take back the office.

You all might remember this photo from another earlier blog...

Well I have been working on it a bit. I love moving things around it makes the place feel like new so I have been working on getting this office to open up a bit in size. I know I got rid of the mattress that was on the floor for my guest who visited over a month ago now.

Just getting rid of that piece of furniture helped a lot. It is coming back in here though but I will be leaning it against the wall there under the ROCK PRINCESS sign. That will allow me to have a place for guests to camp out.

Oh look my fabric bin! That thing is PURE love to me. Any ways this is the mess as it stands this second. I am done for a bit, the dust bunnies plus my asthma = hate!

The right corner is low!

So with doing this blog I started to look for awesome works of art and I came across this youtube link called "Honey, can you make something for that big wall?"

I started with that link and was so impressed with what it is I saw. The art is amazing, so many hours went into this piece and it would be something I would be pleased to hang in my own house.

Watch the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB7kn010Okc&feature=related

Now as impressive as that link is! I was more impressed with many of his other pieces of work he has done over the years. I enjoyed watching the video's of him building these paper crafts. I am jealous of his skills with paper and glue. The amount of hours he must have put in to each piece!

One made me cry, he had make a lovely 4" tall version of Freedom Gundam and then burned it. But I guess when they are that large you need to do something with them so you do what you can as you can.

For amazing works please check out Taras Lesko of http://visualspicer.com/

You will be happy you did! Make sure to watch 65 Roses! You will be touched with it!

Spelling errors and typos

So as it is Sunday and not Saturday now I thought I would mention a few concerns people have. I have typos. YES! lots of them more so when I am not paying attention and just posting so I can go to bed as it happened the past few days.

I am sorry I try to re read everything I post here but days like Friday it just isn't possible. With my mother being injured I just wanted to get to bed and get a bit of sleep before she woke me to take her to the hospital. I am worried about her. The damage my need surgery and in typical Canadian style, her doctor will call her Monday with the appointment. So as typical as it is for Canada, it doesn't mean I need to like at all.

So this post is here to say, yes there will be days missed, yes there will be things I should mention and don't, and no all posts will not be error free. In fact I am sure if you read and re read some of my things that I did edit you will still find spelling errors, run on sentences, and bad grammar.

Monday is around the corner. I hope to be back to posting on a more regular schedule then!

Till then, Blessed Be!

There is no such thing as Thursday!

So for them of you who noticed, there was not thursday post. My mother got crushed big a large sow (female pig she works at a pherrn) so I spent the day in the hospital with her. The good news she is not dead, the bad news she is in for a long treatment and is on works comp.

So in better news today is art around the interwebs... and I am going to cop out a bit on this and revert back to my happy place. My best friends art... this is a bit of a self plug too.

Recently Mausu and I decided to do these themed ponies together. My fave to make is ponies, her fave thing to do is just art! So it works well. This is matty the first of the set we want to do.

So go check out her deviant art and tell her we need the next one, and who it should be!

http://mausuz.deviantart.com/

Benny Cosplay epic!

So this is not new to me I have known of this cosplay for year but it doesn't mean that it is still not one of the most epic pieces I have ever seen.

For them of you who are not savvy on who Benny is, she is a troll cleric from the online comic Looking for Group. http://www.lfgcomic.com/

Serenity-sama did a wonderful job of staying true to this wonderful character! Go check out her deviant art here... http://serenity-sama.deviantart.com/

Crime scene *DO NOT CROSS*

Thought my days of working with ponies, and Asian Ball Jointed Dolls, my friends and family assume I love the show CSI (well I do but that is not the point)! I always have decapitated ponies all over the place. The newest being a baby duck, Jarreth, A time lord or two, and a few customs for the up coming C4.

Then there is this.....

This is the second side of my office, the part behind the door that no one gets to see. As of two days ago this was clean but I couldn't find something! So this is what happens. So on the desk for today? Cleaning and working on the horns for my cuprit.

Then on the tattoo for another doll as soon as I learn how to control the airbrush properly! So that is what is on Phynix's desk.

Calling the doctor.

So with it being Monday and the second season of My Little Pony, Friendship is magic I thought I would report on some Pony arts and crafts from the inter-webs.

I saw this originally on Derpyhooves.com and thought it was amazing!

He is made by high quality fleeces and must have taken the artist HOURS! I love how he looks like he walked right out of the show onto a table in the real world. Just amazing!

More photos on the Ebay page where he happened to have been for sale.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/320756383407

I am hoping to find the artist one day and give you her/his website link. But for now check out how epic this pony is!

This is Sunday!!!

So I came to the conclusion today that Sunday is a horribly busy day for me. Between my daughters football games, dinner with friends and family, and other events there will be no posts on sundays!

But for them who want to come around on certain days here is the game plan, if the ball game works that way then I will be happy.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday = Art around the Inter-webs.

Tuesday, Thursday = Phynix's Desk

Saturday = news, reviews, and general discussions.

And Sunday is a break day.... so see you in a few hours when I get up for Monday's Art from the Inter-webs.

=^_^=

Double standard much?

So I know I said this would be about arts and crafts, but the day I started this blog something interesting came to my attention. A double standard in the Artist Community. Why can an artist who draws and paint sell fan art, but a writer can not sell fan fiction?

This double standard is wrong. They are artist too, just in a different medium.

I know many of you are thinking. "What brought this up?"

So here is what brought it to my attention. Recently someone posted on a Anime Fandom group that s/he was willing to sell there skills as a writer to write custom made to order fiction (note here not FAN fiction, just fiction). They don't mention fan fiction until they list what they are comfortable doing.

They then post one of the already short fan fictions that they wrote in that anime fandom genre to show off there skills in writing. There was also a mention that they love this show and would really enjoy writing fan fiction in it.

Now here is where I came in. The add meant little to me originally, it was a standard. "Look at me and what I can do for you for a small fee" advertisement. I have written many of them in my life showing off my own art and my ability to draw on command.

I was going to let it be when one of the fans decided that they would point out, rudely I might add, that this is illegal. Your right selling other peoples property is illegal, and down right wrong. But as I am an artist and I draw fan art and sell commission as well this got me thinking, are we really selling the characters or our skills? It is not there characters we are selling it is our skill set that you are buying! We don't care if you ask for Joe Blow from Idaho (if there is a Joe Blow in Idaho, I apologize, but it is one of my more favorite sayings I use! I love you man!) or some famous character from some famous show. We are selling you our style, our skills, our time, not the character. You have no right to call that character your own. I want to mention I prefer to draw original characters they are fun and creative.

So what is the true difference for paying $1.00 for 100 words, or $10.00 for a sketch? Honestly nothing is different aside from the artistic skills needed.

What you order is your choice, not ours. We just give you what you wanted! So really be it a writer, or a artist that draws there is NO difference in us selling commissions.

In fact I am truly sad that more and more writers don't take commissions. I would love to give a few writers some of the plot bunnies running round in my head! I don't have room with them, with the photo gremlins I deal with!

As an end note I also wanted to mention, I said this earlier "selling other peoples property is illegal, and down right wrong. " Yes I also said I do sell fan art! Here is the thing, as a customer I want to buy what I know! So I want to buy my favorite characters. It is proven again and again.

Also many companies allow it now as long as we are not making enough to make a living off of it fully. I am allowed to sell the print I made of character XYZ as long as I am covering just the cost of me making that product. So that is the hard part, making money but not making a profit.

And a small mention of this. Did you know a lot of the product you buy online that is "official" merchandise, often is not! =^_~= Things you learn when you do the research for a store you worked for. I often was the one responsible for bringing in new merchandise, it is not always official, so many knock offs that look real.

Just a bit of food for thought. Tomorrows article will be something a bit more fun!

Welcome to "From the Desk of Phynix"

So through my years of being online I have watched and read through many different blogs over the years. And I love seeing people's opinions on there favorite things. So I wanted in on that. So many people know of me, and about me, but so few get a peek into my world.

So here is a nice little way to enjoy that peek. Starting tomorrow we will be posting something new daily! (I say we yes.... wait you will get it one day!)

So please come enjoy and look forward to what I discover and post here.

=^_~=

Phynix