Still alive!

I'm still here and kickin, just busy as all get out! I got the girls back to school today, though I've been back for two weeks already, so yeah, fun. I am working on very few projects right now, trying to adjust to being a mom and a student, working on my terrible time managing skills. :o) If anyone needs to contact me for any reason, please use my e-mail mrsmelissage (at) msn (dot) com Thanks so much for your support!

NAN wins to report!

Woot! Ok, sorry...lol, but I am so excited! Last weekend was NAN as I am sure you guys know, and it went rather well! I was able to get a top 10 in CM Saddleseat on Friday with my Knightly Cadence resin, ( painted by myself) in his Jennifer Buxton tack, he looked great!

I left kind of early on Friday, but Saturday I was there for most of the show, and took home some more pretty ribbons...and TWO Championships! Woot!

I was thrilled to hear my name come up for the top 10 in the Arabian Costume class, and almost hit the floor when I heard My horse's name as the Champion of the class! The set (red EDH set) he was wearing was finished in Portland on Thursday at my Dad's kitchen table, I am so glad I got it done in time. The other set (black and gold costume) I had entered in the class placed on two judge's cards, so I must be doing something right, the class was HUGE!

I floated around for a while, so happy with my results so far, then put my Dressage entry up later in the afternoon. I was so happy again to have my name called for the top ten, and, wonder of wonders I was eventually called for Champion again! The spectacular dressage set was made by Jennifer Buxton as well, her blog can be found here: http://braymere.blogspot.com/ The props were by me, though the heat on the drive back killed my rail, arrrgh. I need to put it back together this week so I can get some better win pictures. :0)

Towards the end of the day, without performance showing and sticky wax on my mind, I was able to take pictures of a few of the AR halter classes, including one that I had my final piece of the day entered in. The AR Paint class was chock full of eye candy, so much that I had myself all packed up ready to leave when it was called, not expecting to place, and then I heard my name again! I couldn't believe it, the Matriarch I painted had made it into the top 10! I was so shocked I didn't even have my camera with me so I had to hustle back to my table to get it so I could snap a pic of my girl winning her pretty purple ribbon! So far, in the three shows she has been to, she has placed second, first plus a Reserve champ of stock breeds, and has taken a top 10 at the biggest show of them all... so far so good! She even got to wear her little stock halter that I made special for her to match her blue eye, OK, I'm a dork, but it looks nice on her, lol. (the head shot shows her coloring way better then I was able to swing at the show)

Overall I am so happy and proud, and glad I was able to go. I hope I will get to attend the Kentucky NAN next year, it was so much fun, and I met so many nice people whom I had only known from the internet, it was great. (*waves to Angela, Lauren, Erin and Wendy*)The link for the entire album is below, there are 370 or so pictures, and I got most of the performance entries I was present (or not running around like a headless chicken while they were on the table) for, and a few classes like AR appaloosa, Paint and some of the Mustangs too. Enjoy, and have a great week!

http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n74/sagecreations/NAN%202009%20Portland/

Posting Two Costumes for sale today...

Just a quick post, as I need to (try to ) get to bed at a better hour tonight, but I am posting two sets for sale this evening! I will be able to ship as soon as I return from NAN, postage is included in the prices, and I accept time payments gladly! :0)

The first is the Black and Gold Hollywood/Showring style set, its ad can be found here: http://modelhorsesalespages.com/sales/view_details.asp?id=699049

And the second is the Turquoise and Black set, it can be found here:

http://modelhorsesalespages.com/sales/view_details.asp?path=Gallery&id=699155

Thanks so much! Goodnight!

Show report!

A few weeks late, but better than never, right?

I went to Sarah Tregay's Appy Country Live show in Boise a few weeks ago (the 4th), and it was great! Sarah runs a tight ship, we did performance and OF and CM (mini and trad. ) halter in ONE day! Whew! The class lists were condensed a bit, but still varied enough to let me show lots of ponehs and tack.

I am pleased to announce that my Mindy resin, painted by myself, took another championship home, this time an Overall Grand Championship of CM mini, she's on a roll! I am so proud of that little gal, she has so many subtle details that are hard to capture on the camera properly, I am so glad she's doing so well. She'll be off to NAN for sure, with or without me, lol. My matriarch resin did very well at this show also, winning second in her paint class and reserve champ of stock breeds too! She is painted by myself, and is featured (and more properly photographed) in another blog post around here somewhere!

I also got the chance to experiment a bit in Dressage, using the new doll (and horse) from the Elegance Dressage set, she is really easy to pose, and she actually stays where you put her! I'd like some flexion in her heels, but overall she sits nicely and her clothes are pretty nice too! Not sure if I will use her at NAN, I'll be enough of a wreck already, but I may. My English entries both took first in their classes, in their amazing Jennifer Buxton tack, with my dressage entry placing as Champion of English perf., and my English pleasure (Saddleseat) entry taking Reserve Champion, on its debut showing! The Knightly Cadence is finished by myself as well.

As far as my work goes, I was not able to pull my Arabian costume entries together well enough to place over third in that class, we got lost on our way to the show hall (only about 10 minutes out from home too, grr.) as hubby tried an 'alternate route' so I arrived with about 5 minutes to unpack and get my English pleasure entry as well as the two costumes up, I was a wreck!

I did do well with my green EDH costume once more though, it took a first place in Other perf. and a Championship of Other performance as well, so yay!

One of the greatest things about the day, is, that Sarah was also running a youth show during our show, so I brought my two (very sleepy, lol) kiddos along with some of their horses, they had a great time and did really well too! My littlest one showed mostly her schleich horses that she plays with, but Madison, my oldest has a pretty nice show string for a 9 year old. She won a few division championships along with winning the overall reserve Champ, after that I'd say she's hooked! (the shot on the top is of the models of hers that went to final callbacks) So here's to spreading the hobby to our younger generation, it's such a great thing to be able to show together with my girls, we had a ball.

I'll be back with some goodies to share next week!

"Look mom, my butt fits!"

The last one for a few days, I promise, mostly because I have company coming in the next few days and I probably ought to tend to my house a little... :0D

The red dancing horse saddle is done (save the lining), and the girth, bridle and collar still need attention, but I should have them wrapped in another week or two, and I still owe you guys some pics of the other native set in progress, hopefully by the weekend I'll have those!

The main purpose of tonight's pictures is to illustrate how important fit is in the model saddle. I can't even begin to count the teensy weensy little seats I have seen on costume after costume, and it really makes me wonder what happens when the buyer gets a really cool doll for their set, only to find the seat is built for a person roughly little bit size!

That reason is why I keep my trusty doll "Ron" (who has a very strong resemblance to my little brother...hence the name, lol) handy, to test out my seats before they even begin to get covered in fabric (or suede as it is in this example), just a little added touch that I hope helps the buyer have more flexibility when showing my work...with the added bonus that it adds to the realism as well.

Oh, and please excuse Ron's lack of shirt, I am working on making an actual robe for him, like the guys at the Egyptian event wear to show their horses, wish me luck, I *hate* the sewing machine, almost as much as it hates me I'm sure!

I'll try to post pics this weekend of the other set in progress...if I get time!

Picture update...

Just a quickie to clear up any confusion on the saddle seat of the red costume! It is red, not red and white, though I will be trying a red and green two toned set soon, so stay tuned... :0)

I'm also sneaking in a *little* something, just to see how far I can take it...my eyes are hating me already!

Working working working!

I figure with spring trying to pop it's head out up here in Idaho, I had better get a few things started and hopefully done, so I have some new stuff for NAN, or I just might not have time, (or energy) and that would be bad.

So anyway, here's the latest set on my desk, it's a Red Dancing horse set, and it's much further along than this pic, taken a few days ago, it's turning out really nice, so nice I don't really want to part ways wth it, lol. The pieces are just kind of laid on each other in the pic, nothing had been glued as of yet! It will have a row of tiny tassels along the drape edge, and the collar will have a double row, and I think I will go ahead and do the tie down for this one too, as it adds a bit more realism, and three more buckles, but who's counting? ;0)

I am also still working on the hand embroidered native costume, as well as one more native style set, made with a mini rug though for sanity's sake. I'll try and get snaps of the rug based set in a few days! Off for bed, I'm wiped today for some reason!

More EDH pictures

This was a sneak peek a few weeks ago, just wanted to share the full picture album with you guys! I went a little further than normal for this set, I added a tie down to it, which is often seen in Dancing Horse exhibitions to keep them from tossing their heads too much (which they probably do because of all the dangly things in their nostrils, lol) And the result is pretty cool! It makes the buckle total hit 19, which is crazy, but worth it for that added adjustability!

Well, that's it for me. :0) I need to get to bed!

Back home, with some additional shiny things in my hands!

Wow, what a weekend! I am still pretty wiped out, as the bed I was in wasn't the most comfy, and not to mention late night tack changing to prepare for the next day...but all in all I am feeling good! I am so glad I had the chance to test out some of my new pieces, and I got some great tips from a very well respected and tough judge, it was fabulous! I have a few more shows I would like to get to this spring, and I am hoping and praying that NAN is in my future as well, I want to make my work's debut at NAN in person, I can't wait!

My overall win list:

Saturday (Judge Lauren Wood)

1st place Modern Arabian Costume-Khaotic-wearing the gold and black number

1st place Historical Arabian Costume-Mehdi-wearing the turquoise native set

2nd place Other Costume (apparently a rein popped off its wax, grrr.) -Khaotic in the green EDH

Champion of CM Other Performance-Khaotic

Reserve Champion of CM other Perf.-Mehdi

Overall Reserve Champion of CM Performance- Khaotic (he is painted by me as well)

Sunday: (judge Lauren Wood)

1st place Modern Arabian Costume-Maxximum Output wearing the gold and black costume

1st place Historical costume-Darkh Knight wearing the Turquoise Native set

1st place Other Costume-Darkh Knight wearing the green EDH costume

1st place other performance- Noisy Rio wearing the carousel costume

Champion of Other Performance: Darkh Knight

1st place Dressage-Pierino

Champion of English-Pierino

(the English classes were quite sparse, Lauren said she thought my entry was very nice and everything was done correctly, though she would have tucked the excess rein I left hanging to the right, so a good entry nonetheless! )

Overall OF Performance Champion-Darkh Knight

AR Minis(all painted by me) Judge Caroline Boydston

1st place TWH, MFT-Cougar's Pride-Mindy resin

Champion of Light breeds

Overall Reserve Champion of AR mini

1st place in Warmbloods-Ricochet-Dinky duke resin

2nd in American Ponies-Gimli-Flitwick resin

3rd place Paint horse-Apache Clouds-Cheveyo

3rd place Other Stock-Butternut-Doodlebug resin

4th place British pony-Silvermist-Netzky resin

5th place Arabian-Sadeek-Mini Nahar

AR Traditional and classic size: (painted by me too!)

2nd place Paint horse- Sierra Skies-Matriarch resin

So all in all a great list of results for my work, I am very proud. I am so pleased my Mindy did as well as she did, and under Caroline as a judge! She had me shaking so hard after the light breed champ pinning that I could hardly manipulate my tack, but I was able to compose myself and get the green Dancing Horse costume all put on properly, and it kicked butt! Woot!

I've included a few pictures of the show, I couldn't snap many because I was running around with tack changes and such, but I managed a few! Here is the rest of the album in case anyone is interested! http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n74/sagecreations/Las%20Vegas%20Live%202009/

Thanks for reading!

Hey Baby let's go to Vegas!

How ironic was it when that song came on yesterday, as I was finishing up the reins on the double bridle for my gold/black Arabian costume!

Well, like any other LVL year, I have been busy working my fingers to the bone. I have super glue and exacto injuries on nearly all of my fingers, (maybe I should super glue the cuts...it could be a sign, lol.) and my eyes and neck have been strained to the max, but I am so close! The gold and Black costume is DONE, and boy am I proud! It was my first ever attempt at a double bridle, and it is as detailed as anything I have ever made before, 5 tiny working buckles and a slip buckle for the throatlatch, it's so cool! The bit is from TWMHC/Allison Bennish on ebay, very cool stuff if you haven't ordered from them before! The rings swing just like on the real horse bits, which to me is so neat.

The green EDH will be done by tomorrow I hope, just the bridle standing in my way at this point, I'm a bit burned out on strap goods at the moment, but it will get done in time. I'll put some pics up of it when I have it finished.

I finally got around to painting the Matriarch who has been sitting on my shelf for two birthdays, she's turning out so much nicer than I hoped, I hope she does well this next week, she is a BLAST to paint! She is quite the demanding thing though, she said she needs a halter of her own, so she got one, it has 5 buckels for adjustment on it, and turned out quite lovely also, in my unbiased opinion! :0)

I also just wrapped up a customer commission for a simple cable style halter, the throatlatch is removable, and is done in super fine cable, just like the real deal!

Well, need to roll for now, my daughter just got hit on the head in a Pinata incident at the neighbor's house...off to tend to her! Hope to see some of you in Vegas next week!

Sneak peeks!

Two more things that are to be done in the near future, though one (the green EDH) will be much more near than the other. The pics are clickable as always, but do remember, the embroidered piece is in the picture with a quarter for scale, blown up it's probably gonna look a bit messy. It's also my first try at a hand embroidered set, and holy buckets is that a lot of stitching!

Here's hoping to have at least one model Q'd for NAN who can wear it...it just may take that long to finish!

Enjoy the pics!

Building a small stockpile...

Of Tack! This is the first of four pieces I hope to get finished by Las Vegas Live in another month. I know I will at least have three of them done, the fourth, my first hand embroidered piece is driving me nuts. I am not a very patient person, I like results, at least in a reasonable time frame, so spending 3 hours putting tiny little dots of color around a rectangular piece of cloth is not my idea of progress. I would be a lot faster if I was not so darn anal about spacing, size, etc. but I guess that's OK, and probably preferred in the long run. :0)

So anyhow, here is number one in my little tack arsenal, an 'El Badia' beaded style costume, complete with separate bridle and halter, so the halter and chestpiece could be used without the rest of the set. It fits a few different sizes of Arabians, so I am hoping to use it for the OF and CM classes, and then again at another show in April. This is the first Traditional costume (not EDH or anything else) since LVL '07, so I am so excited to have one done!

Enjoy the pics!

Carousel Costumes, for models?

Yes! I finished my first Carousel Horse costume this week, and wanted to share a few pictures here, and a little backstory I guess too!

When I first started cruising ebay, in early 2003, I ran across a seller Chey Ann Silver Fox (and I may have just butchered the first name, sorry, it's been a long time!) who was selling the coolest thing I had ever seen, Model Horse Carousel Costumes, all made out of leather, tooled and painted, and just awesome. I thought I would love to buy one one day, but I waited too long, as she dropped out of the hobby and no longer makes these lovely costumes! I managed to contact her though ebay (can't for the life of me recall her user ID anymore, gah.) about 2 years ago, and she was very nice, but said she probably won't be doing any more for now, but maybe some time in the distant future.

Fast forward to a few months back, one of the bead stores I buy from online was having a clearance on some really cool Swarovski crystals so I bought some, not knowing what I 'd be doing with them. So I get the crystals and begin to think of what I could use them for, and then I looked at my monitor and the wallpaper I currently was using,...pictures of Carousel horses from the Idaho State Fair I took the summer before last! Click!

So to make a long story kind of shorter, here it is, the first Carousel costume from my studio...but not the last, these things are fun!