Progress

       I get a lot of post views when I write things that are potentially controversial. Today I don't have anything controversial to talk about. I have dolls, school, and miniatures. Let's start with miniatures. 

       Tuesday I got a miniature bicycle in the mail. I ordered this from eBay and was only mostly sure that it would work for the dolls. The measurements seemed like they would work and often 1:10 scale  items work in 1:9 scale. Though not always. This time it all worked out. Calling this bike "pink" is sort of charitable. It is sort of a peachy color. If you squint at it maybe it's pink. But I like it anyway. This casual western lady went for a ride. Though not really, since the kickstand is down. But unless you are looking for it, maybe it's not too noticeable. This is a really detailed little bike. Even the brakes work! The back brake doesn't really move much, but the front brake sure does. Model horse rider dolls are not the best bicycle riders, but this still amused me a lot. As a fun tip, anyone who is looking for ideas for the miniatures class in my online show might just think about ALL the miniatures. Props are miniatures after all. 

     I had a couple of really excellent days at school to start my week off. Other than having almost no sleep Sunday night (could NOT turn my brain off! So many irrelevant thoughts at 11:30 at night!) I actually got to help a kid. Then Tuesday I got to help a whole group of kids. It was great! Breakout (virtual) rooms where I can just stay in and help prod the kids, or give them more help as needed, seem to be the way I can do the most. I impressed one of the teachers I work with. She has never really gotten to watch me work. In a large inclusion class it is actually sort of hard to watch what I do. But it was just us two in the classroom. She was in several breakout rooms at once, but I went into one where I knew a couple of my kids would likely need more help. And I prodded them to talk, got them going and kept them moving. They had a nice discussion, got their questions done, worked together, and I got to actually be useful. It was really nice. 

     When I got home I decided it really was time to get back into making armor. It is a tricky thing to do, and very time consuming, so I have put it off a bit. But Tuesday I got the helmet made, which was the last piece I needed to get done. Helmets are so challenging! I think this one turned out better than any others I have done. 

      The next step in making armor is the base coat. I usually do black, though dark brown can work too. After these are nice and dry I will put on a coat of silver and then wait for that to dry and so on and so on. Silver takes a ton of layers. And waiting for paint to dry is an exercise in extreme patience. Or in my case, it will be painting a layer and going to work on different dolls. This guy will be done eventually. Hopefully by the end of the week, but I do still have a lot left on him. I am past the helmet construction though and that makes me incredibly happy. 

     Time for another show reminder! The Field of Dolls Online show opens for entries and photo uploading on November 1st. Entries close on November 22 and judging begins on the 23rd. There will be a livestream of the results (champs at the very least) on December 5th. I will have lots of prizes, dolls for overall prizes, miniatures for class prizes and lots more! I am open to any and all donations, I would definitely love to be able to give everyone who enters a prize. I will have more detailed posts about the show as we move closer to it.