Easter surprise & more "bots"

Happy Easter to all. I'm working at the hospital, so won't get a chance this year to do anything with my family. We are all pretty spread out, so it is very difficult for all of us to get together in one place at one time. We usually try to have a picnic at my brother Vic's house once a Summer, but the other holidays are usually a hit/miss. But I thought I'd let you all see my Bead Journal project for April.

His name is Leonard. He was a bunny that I bought three years ago at a shop in downtown Worthington. I just liked how he looked in all his painted muslin. I remember telling the clerk that I was going to bead him...she laughed. I told her, no I'm serious. I decided to use fibers with this project to give him a different textural feel & look. I picked beads that matched the original paints. He's going to work with me tomorrow to make my other co-workers smile.

Also, here is Chris' latest "bot". He is Wizard 99. He started out as a bear beanie baby. We removed the head & Chris inserted the radio tube. I needle sculpted the body to a sitting position, then Chris painted it with gesso. I think he had to give it 3-4 layers to get it stiff enough. He really wanted hair for the "bot" & we were looking everywhere. Then my eyes say a hair wig from the thrift store doll that I'd made Ruby out of. I stitch it all into a scrunchie, Chris plopped it on Wizard's head & WahhLaaa...hair! His teeth are bugle beads, and the staff is actually a piece of wood that I use for gluing. All in all, he's pretty darn cute. BTW, I think I've created a monster...Chris is really getting into making his "bots".

Dotee Dollz

I've seen these done everywhere on the Internet. They are wee little dolls called Dotee Dolls. I'd never made up one until Doll Street Dreamers had a swap challenge. The rules were they had to be 3-6 inches long, with a loop and a tail that was to be homemade bead/s. I still have some of the fabric faces that Chris printed up for my class two years ago at AFIC, so I used them for these. One is called "chicken or egg?". I made this square stitch chicken from a chart on a Jill Oxton magazine & never could figure out what to do with it. The other is from material I made in the Embellisher class from Janet Clarke's class. The last was some left over beads from my BFAC 2010 kit. I had fun making them. Hardest part was NOT encrusting them with beads
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Another Robot boy

This is Chris' new robot. He is hilarious! Yes, he definitely is a BOY robot. I'm happy that Chris is getting into making these robots. I think he has a fine eye for detail & since he has all those components left over from his hobby, he's got it made. His hobby is repairing old vintage radios. Right now I think we have over 40 table tops in our basement in various stages of repair. He goes up to Northern Ohio to buy them at an auction with his friend. If they aren't cheap, he doesn't buy them. Plus he likes the challenge of taking something that is on the dump pile & getting them to work. Usually he gets them for a dollar a piece or even less. I love watching him taking a junker and after hours of work not only does it sound wonderful, but he'll then clean it up & it looks almost new. If he can't get the radio to work, then he strips it for the parts, but he really hates to do that. It has to be a real basket case before he calls it quits. Now, sometimes I hear him say "fire test" warning me that they might blow, but that is rare. He has such patience for repair. I told him that if we were in the past, I think he would have owned a Fix It shop. Remember those? I do! We'd never throw away appliances. You always took it down the street to the Fix It Right Shop. I use to go into the store admit the piles of toasters, radios, and you name it while waiting for my Dad to either pick up a repaired appliance or drop one off. I especially remember back in 1971, when my Dad gave me their old record player because they couldn't afford to buy me a new one. The arm on it had wires hanging out because my Dad tried to fix it. I took it to the shop, and had to wait three weeks to get it back. I think I paid a whole 5 dollars to get it repaired. That doesn't seem like alot now days in our throw away economy, but it was when I was only making $1.50 an hour at the YMCA. Also, new record player were almost a hundred dollars & when you are looking at 1971 wages, that was tons of money. Now days you buy an electrical appliance, use it for oh about two to three years until it breaks, then throw it away to buy another one. NO WONDER, our landfills are getting out of control. Wouldn't it be nice if there were more people like Chris who would "rescue" appliances & get them working again. But even he says it isn't worth while to repair modern appliances as they are all made so cheap & not worth fixing. He said they are made to wear out or break down just so we are forced to buy more. I believe it! Oh well, it is nice to think that things can be repaired like in the past. I guess I'm lucky to have my Mr. FixIt. He does actually fix somethings. I was all upset that my food steamer was broke & didn't want to buy another one for $40. Chris found the problem which was just a tiny wire & component. Jumped online & found the "fix" for less than three dollars. Ditto problem with my toaster that I love. Guess I'll keep him!

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