Moving on out.....

Last week we found a little house that would suit us pretty much perfectly, put in an offer, got it accepted and now we are officially in escrow.

These last couple of weeks have been manic. I have spent my days looking at houses on the internet, viewing the ones I didn’t immediately discount, putting in offers only to be outbid…blah blah blah. I am glad the madness is about to end….hopefully…I know it isn’t over till the fat lady sings and won’t stop stressing until those keys are in my hands.

The market here is insane right now. It appears there are loads for sale but many of them are short sales which we have no interest in. One house round the corner from us went up for sale on a Friday afternoon and by Monday morning had 75 offers…insanity. And of course now the buyers are getting into bidding wars and pushing the prices up. The sellers aren’t offering to help with closing costs or even doing repairs….if you aren’t interested that that’s fine they’ll just go to the next offer. In some cases people are just driving by and putting an offer in on the strength of the neighborhood and exterior of the house. Told ya it was crazy.

One of the biggest problems we encountered is that we just aren’t a big fan of the typical Californian house. I have no desire for arched windows, floor to ceiling windows, cathedral ceilings or granite countertops.

But, the chances of me finding a little cottage in all of these McMansions was slim.

Our realtor was probably tearing his hair out as he said we were the total opposite from his ‘normal’ client. Most say the homes aren’t big enough….we kept saying they were too big. He laughed that I had more interest in birds nests or hummingbirds in the garden than I did in the kitchen.

But hey, that is us….sure our priorities might be different than a lot of people but, when you are paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars, I wanted to be sure it was the house for us.

The one we are buying appealed to me immediately from the few internet pictures I saw.

It is a lovely little house, described by the selling agent as a Cape Cod, although I am not entirely sure that is what I’d call it. I am tempted to believe that, as it was so different from the norm here, it was just a bit of realtor BS to help sell it.

Still, I don’t care what the style is or isn’t, I love it.

Mainly because it has brick….a lot of brick which is so uncommon down here. The garden definitely reminds me of an English home with all its raised brick flower beds.

It is still bigger than what we were looking for but as it is only 1 story it doesn’t feel huge and it doesn’t have cathedral ceilings.

It does have 4 bedrooms so that means Mick and I will get a workroom each…yay…a room of my own to do whatever I want in.

It also has lots of rooms. There is the living room, a family room, a dining room and a bonus room…what the heck is a bonus room anyhow. We certainly don’t’ have enough furniture to fill it that’s for sure.

And it needs work. The yard hasn’t been watered in forever so most of that will have to be pulled up. Inside it is mainly cosmetic but they seem to have started a number of jobs and not finished them so some floor tiling to be finished there as well. The kitchen cabinets were painted and not in a style I would like so that will have to be done again.

So that is about it for the moment. I am madly packing away…bleh. I started the workroom yesterday and boy what a job that is. I wanted to list a few plants I made on etsy but I don’t think I’ll have time to now. Maybe I’ll get chance for a blog post soon and I’ll show them on there.

The home inspector is going in tomorrow so fingers crossed there isn’t anything major wrong with the place.

I’ll be back as soon as I can…in the meantime keep your fingers crossed it all goes though fine.

Bye bye for a bit :-(

Well life has taken an unexpected turn for us of late.

We are currently renting our home here but have been talking about buying a home for some time now.

When we moved to Minnesota the plan was to only stay 1 year so we rented a 1 bed apartment. Then we decided to stay a little longer and I needed more space for a workroom so we moved to a 2 bed apartment.

Then, when we moved back to California, we had no idea which area was a good place to live so we rented the house where we are now.

Because we knew we'd be moving about so much in the last 5 years renting was the sensible way to go. So, although we kept saying we ought to buy a house, it has never been the right time....until now.


This house has a huge yard....and it is all grass. Not very sensible when you live in the desert huh. We didn't want the responsibility of a huge yard but part of the deal with this house was that the water bill and a gardener were included in the rent.

Until now ! Our lease is up shortly and the new terms are not only a rent increase but also that we pay the water bill. As you can imagine keeping a big lawn green in the desert is not cheap.

So...this has finally been the kick up the backside we needed to buy somewhere. We don't plan on leaving Southern California in the near future so it is insane to pay more in rent that we'd pay in a mortgage payment on a house of our own.

So that's where I've been the last couple of weeks. We found ourselves a wonderful realtor and he has been driving me round looking at homes.

Most of which, unfortunately, looked nothing like the online pictures.

We did find one we liked very much this weekend and put an offer yesterday but was pipped to the post by an offer that was put last in Friday :-(

The market in California right now is extremely tough. There are lots of buyers but very few homes available which means that any house we've seen has already had multiple offers..... even the not so nice ones.

So for the next few weeks I am going to be at the realtors beck and call and going to view places at a minutes notice. Luckily with me being at home all the time I have the advantage of being able to do this.

And I'll be packing. One way or another we'll be moving somewhere shortly, even if it is only temporary rented accommodation while we keep looking so I need to get moving on boxing everything up. A task I am not looking forward to one bit..... in situations like this living so far away from people we know, and help from them, really hits home.

So blogging with be intermittent at best. I won't have time for sculpting or flowers. I will be putting somethings on etsy shortly though as I plan on having a clear out at the same time so I'll let you know when I do that.

In the meantime, I'll be saying bye bye.....but I'll be back :-)

My gast has never been so flabbered !

There are many awards floating around the blogosphere and I have been the proud recipient of many of them.

But, as much as I appreciate each and every award that I have received, none of these awards bought tears to my eyes. Until now.

I have just discovered that I am the very first recipient of the...

Jodi & Richard Creager Extreme Sculpting award.

Jodi says....

LOVE your New Doll by the way...actually your first doll. I would strong encourage each and everyone to pop over to see it... just GREAT for your first attempt...I am amazed...

As a Matter of fact.... my dear friend Marie Segal from 'Art from my Heart' ...created a special 'Creager Award' for me...and she said it was one that I should bestow on any individual I felt was deeply connected with their work and showed signs of growth and talent... So I would like to for the first time...pass this award onto you Jayne...as I feel your heart is true, your focus is clear and your desires direction is determined. I hope you will accept this award with friendship and with knowledge that I believe in your talents.

Hugs,
Jodi

* * * * * * * * * *

What can I say ? Truly I am lost for words.

To me this is so much more than an award. This is pure motivation and gives me the encouragement to forge ahead and be the best sculptor I can be.

I am gobsmacked to say the least. Jodi & Richard I cannot thank you enough.

All throughout this journey into sculpting I have been privileged to have their support.

Every time I hit a roadblock Jodi would be there with encouragement, tips and most importantly, reminding me of the need to keep practicing.

Well it worked....I want to do this and I know I can do this...with practice :-)

To have such talented artists believe in you is just mind blowing.....I never thought I could be more motivated than I was but this has pushed me to a level I never knew existed.


It was many years ago when I came across Jodi & Richards work...long before my venture into blogging. And as much as I love their whimsical, spooky and Harry Potter sculpts, what I really fell in love with was their realistic sculpts.....the Apache Scout, the Shinto Nun, the Monk, Georgia O Keefe, the Grandmothers and Grandfathers and my favorite piece of theirs....the Japanese woodcarver.

I was, and still am, amazed at how a lump of clay could become a real person full of life and character and personality and I knew that I wanted to sculpt more than anything else.

So for years I kept a journal full of ideas. My favorite saying was 'That would make a marvelous sculpt'. Followed, more often than not, by 'oh I wish I could do it'.

Well I guess Mick got a little tired of my whining because one day he told me to quit whining and go buy some clay and give it a go :-)

So I did.

I played with it a little, made a couple of very bad heads and realized that it was as hard as I expected. So I carried on with my flower making but always there was this little voice in the back of my head telling me to stop messing around and give it another go.

Then I started blogging and discovered there were many sculptors who also blogged and my desire flared right up again. But this time I wasn't going to give up when it got hard and, no matter what, I'd sculpt a doll right through to the end.

And I did. Kendo may be rough around the edges but he came from my own hands and I am so proud of him.

I didn't find it easy and there were been many moments of pure frustration when things weren't going the way I planned but, with much support from my all blogging friends, I kept going......I thank each and every one of you for being with me along the way.


I must also offer special thanks to Julie, Debie and Marsha....all splendid doll makers who have offered encouragement and helpful tips....thank you all.


And a big thank you to my friend Patti. Although she lives on the other side of the country and we've never met, I feel like we have known each other all our lives.

Patti is also a sculptor and she has been a huge help to me all along this path.

There has been many a time I've had to reach for the phone to ask her questions. The one time I was so proud Kendo's head was finished and in the oven I called to tell her. She asked me how I'd gotten on with the ears. EARS ???? In my excitement over my finished head I had forgotten them and had to pull him out quickly and add them :-)

She understands what it is like to have the desire to sculpt, we share supplies and she makes me laugh...what more could a friend ask for.


Well that felt like I was writing an Oscar acceptance speech...but honestly, an Oscar wouldn't make me half as happy as this :-)

Jodi & Richard....thank you again, I am truly honored.

Where's Me Shirt......

For those who don't know, the B side of the track I used in the video a couple of posts back is called..... "You expect me to wear this cr@p"

So, my dear friends, here is the jacket....pretty bad huh ! Dire is a word that comes to mind.




But, hey ho, I learned a lot with this little jacket.

I knew it was bad pretty much from the get go, but I decided to continue with it to see what other pitfalls awaited me

Figuring there'd be many problems I had yet to encounter I thought I'd have a go at dealing with them on this jacket rather than the next one.....forewarned is forearmed right ?

Probably the biggest thing I learned was not to use fabritac glue on clothing....it dries really stiff and horrible.

I also learned that I should wash the fabric first to soften it up somewhat.

Also, every sculpt I go on to make will be jointed. Kendo is jointed and it was hard enough getting the clothing on and off him...I can't imagine dressing a non jointed sculpt.

The main problems on this jacket are....

The seams on the shoulders and the hems are too stiff....fabritac !

The sleeves are too wide....I wanted them wide but not this much.

The back piece is too wide....now if I hadn't put the collar on already I could have narrowed this but the collar is too stiff from the fabritac which stops me doing it.

The collar....well that is supposed to be a Nehru collar.....dismal failure there.


I am sure it needs darts...but where and how to do them...I have no idea. I do remember from the sewing classes I did take that darts were difficult.

Ah, sewing class...how I wish I'd paid attention. Sewing class was obligatory, along with cooking classes, when I was at school. How I hated them both.

I campaigned to be allowed to do metalwork and woodwork with the boys.....and failed. I did manage to get them to allow us to play rugby (similar to American football but without protection) instead of netball (similar to basketball) but they wouldn't budge on anything else.

Nowadays, thankfully, it is different. Boys and girls have to learn to sew and cook. Aydn can do both much better than I can.

So I did my 2 years of sewing and cooking and dropped them like a hot brick once I was deemed old enough to know what classes I wanted to take...well, as much as anyone knows at 13.

And now, not only can I not sew but I can't cook either :-)

So, what's next. I really want to get onto my next sculpt, the flute player. But, I also really could do with putting some things in my etsy shop though....it has been so long since I made flowers for general sale so I am thinking of maybe taking a week or so to do that.

However, the pull of the clay is so strong.....so we'll see :-)

Things I've learned this week.....

When you are about to sculpt the first pair of hands you have ever done.....pick something considerably more simple than hands that need to appear to be playing a guitar lol....boy was that ever difficult.

And I hate sewing...hate it with an absolute passion. I don't mind the stitching part....that is easy enough as the clothes are small.

But the rest of it....well I think I have some kind of sewing dyslexia.....I could not for the life of me figure out how this jacket was supposed to go together

I wish you were here....for some very amusing entertainment....you would be laughing you head off at me

I eventually kind of figured out what shapes the parts of the jacket were meant to be and start to tack it together.

• sew sleeve hole shut...check

• have front inside out and back outside out...check

• reverse what you just did and it is still wrong....check

• sew front and back up first then wonder how the sleeve fits in....check

• sew sleeve up first then wonder how you sew the front and back ...check

• draw hieroglyphics on the fabric to help and find it doesn't work....check.

I was tearing my hair out but I am so pathetic I was just cracking myself up.

Really how can this be so hard...feels like a bloody IQ test :-)

Anyhow, that's where I've been....I finally managed to get the sleeves attached at the shoulders, so it should only take me say another 2 weeks to figure out the rest....seriously I hope to have piccies of the finished Kendo by Friday....if I don't come back send out the search party.....you'll find me rocking back and forth in the corner surrounded by sewing paraphernalia.

Ladies and Gentlemen......

.........Please put your hands together
and give a warm welcome to..........

KENDO DIDMONI

p.s I apologize upfront to all you Brits who had managed to forget this little tune :-)

Next.......Rock Star # 2 !

Well what an horrendous week computer wise this has been.

Aside from Google thinking I am a robot I have had internet connection problems you wouldn't believe.

I don't know how much of this is our router or how much blame I can put on Time Warner. TW's stock excuse is that I live in LA and what do I expect with so many people trying to get through the server. Well hello...I don't live in LA (intentionally) and besides, if that is the problem then sort it out so it can deal with this many people.

I am still having problems with the blogs I am following list....it is rarely there so if I don't appear to visit your new posts it is because I don't know about them :-(

In other news, I had my interview with the immigration people and am now 'officially' half American. I ate my first sweet potato yesterday so I am working on being authentic :-)

* * * * * * * * * *

I am still working on the 'newly named'....Kendo Didmoni...AKA Rock Star the guitarist.

I started a new pair of jeans as the skinny ones really looked stupid with boots on. It has made me realize just how much I don't like sewing...although maybe if I was better at it, and actually had a clue what I was doing, then it wouldn't be such a chore :-)

I hope to have some new photos by the end of this week but if not by the beginning of next.

In the meantime here are some photographs that are my inspiration for rock star # 2...the flautist.

This is Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull, whose photo appears to be doing the rounds of Facebook at the moment as a one legged flute player !

The photo below is how I shall hopefully dress him. I have found the fabric for the jacket but can't seem to find anything suitable for the pants he is wearing....looks very much like the popular bedsheets of 1970's England to be honest and I am sure many of you Brits will remember striped flannel sheets like this :-)

If anyone has ever seen any fabric that is similar please let me know :-)

And this is how he looks now....still a one legged flute player....just less hair :-)

I love Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson has always been a favorite character of mine. For many years now I've planned on having a go at painting this silhouette of him on one of my walls....one day I'll do it .

I don't intend to (or have no hope of) making my sculpt look like him but it gives me great inspiration as to what kind of person I want him to be. And an excuse to listen to Tull all day to get me in the mood :-)

They're at it again

Thought I'd post this while I still could.

I can get into and view my blog fine..but, when I try and look at other peoples I am getting the 'Google thinks I am a robot and has blocked me' message again.

I have no idea how long it will allow me access to my own blog but I suspect not much longer.

I just wanted to get this message out in case this happens to anyone else. It isn't you and someone has got into the system again :-(

I know last time many of us were freaking out and wondering what was going on or what they'd done...hopefully most of you know about it now anyhow.

Rock star clothing

Who knew how hard it could be to dress a sculpt....I didn't that's for sure.

I have been ruminating over this guys clothes all week now and just can't make my mind up.

I got as far as deciding he'd be wearing jeans so started to sew some up. I am not a seamstress or anything even remotely like it. I ditched sewing in school at the earliest opportunity....and it shows :-)

These actually came out better than I expected for me although they are too high waisted and maybe a little narrow in the legs....not sure of that yet. Jeans do come this skinny but I am not sure they suit him.

The high waist might not be a problem depending on what kind of shirt I make for him....or maybe I'll just name him Simon :-)

He has no lower legs as yet....shan't do those until I am sure of his pose. That's why they jeans look funny at the bottom. Same with his hands. I was waiting for his guitar to arrive before I posed him and sculpted his hands.

Here is his guitar...isnt' it too cool !

As for the top you can see here...well that is just a cover for the wadding....a very dirty cover.

In my infinite wisdom, and laziness, I decided to glue it over the wadding. Hmm...fluffy stuff and super sticky, stringy fabritac glue...what a mess...won't be doing that again. So that is why it is so grubby....good job you won't see it :-)


I have no idea what to have him wear as a top. I took him to JoAnns with me and he sat in the cart like a good boy while I draped fabric over him looking for inspiration. Got me some right funny looks....so I played along and made a point of talking to him...loudly !

Nothing seems to suit him at all and, as I am getting rather irritated with him now, I might just put him aside for a little bit and start another head.

Oh and next time...I'll dress the doll before I wig it...his hair is really getting in the way...hence it being put up :-)

Problems

I am having some serious computer problems here...for some reason Google believes that I am a robot and am flooding the system with automated queries......whatever they are. It won't allow me to connect to G Mail or my blog.

I managed to get in here now by going from a link in a hotmail email somehow.

But that didn't' work a few minutes ago and I don't even know if this will post.

So if I vanish or appear to be ignoring comments this is why.

Hopefully I can figure it out...goodness knows how long it will take goggle to respond to my question.