It Is A Small Beautiful World

The last 2 weeks have been such an emotional rollercoaster ride for me and my husband. The great dane we had raised since he was 2½ weeks old was hospitalized and very ill. Until his first blood tests came back it was thought perhaps it was his age. General life expectancy for a great dane is 7 years. He turned 8 last november 18th. Then the lab results came in and he was going into kidney and liver failure.



I was an emotional mess. George was all I could think about. I neglected this blog and my work. I spent my days at the clinic with George as tried to get him to eat and walk. I mentioned it on Twitter, Plurk and Creative Living. I was not expecting what happened next. So many people from all over Earth in many different countries offering well wishes and emotional support. It was so amazing that people who did not really know me reached out to me and let me cyber cry on their shoulders about a dog they didn't know.



George got to come home Monday and is continuing to recover. The latest lab results show that he is on his way to a full recovery. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful veterinarian who worked tirelessly at helping my baby.
I do not even know where to begin thanking all of those wonderful people out there scattered by miles yet brought together by the world wide web who helped me get through this. Their words meant more to me than I could ever express.
It really is a small and beautiful world.

Mica Shift mini tutorial

mica shift
Originally uploaded by coltpixy

These polymer clay pieces looks 3 dimensional but they are not. It is actually flat and smooth like glass.

To achieve this you use a metallic clay. These are made from Premo Pearl, Premo Blue Pearl and Premo Green Pearl.
First condition the clay. Then run it through a pasta machine in one direction at least 20 times. This is to get the mica flakes in the metallic clay to run in one direction.
You can either draw in a design or push in a rubber stamp. This forces the mica flakes in the design into another direction.

Very carefully slice the top off of the clay with a tissue blade. Do this until the surface is completely flat as possible. You will be able to see the design that was created by pushing the mica in the clay in two directions. Bake according to manufacturers directions.

After the piece is cured and cooled the real work begins. Sanding brings out the design even more. You don't have to go as far as I do but you do need to sand it. I I start with 200 grit wet/dry sandpaper and then work my way down 400 grit, 1500 grit and finally 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Finally polishing on old denim.
The result is perfectly smooth and shiny like glass.

If you decide to do this I do hope that you show me photos.

cat nap

cat nap-pola
Originally uploaded by coltpixy

Poladroid (not misspelled) photo of one of my cats taking a nap about 12 feet up a tree in my yard.

My blog buddy over at Mulberry And Main (blog link on the left) blogged about poladroid so I Googled it. Boy am I ever glad that I did! It is the coolest little tool that turns your digital photos into a polaroid. You just drag and drop an image onto it and after you wait... and wait for it to develop it puts your poladroid into your My Pictures folder.

It is a fun and very cool toy! They even have their own Flickr group. Well don't take my word for it. Head to http://www.poladroid.net/ and check it out. Don't forget to show me your poladroids.

http://www.poladroid.net/

Wishing For Spring

Wishing For Spring
Originally uploaded by coltpixy

Last week we were in short sleeves. This morning the blooming daffodils are covered in snow and it is still snowing. Gotta love the South. It is normal for huge swings in temperature in this part of the country. The daffodils will be alright. My lilacs and other flowering bushes will not be blooming this Spring though. Oh well, there is always next year.