A little more fun with Droids

Play on the cheap. A week or so ago I made another diorama out of some CPAP trash and used it for my Legos which are tiny. I have a 4" droid made by Kenner that I thought would be fun to make a diorama for also.

What better time to do it when it is 100+ degrees out? 

I gathered a chunk of cardboard that wrapped around some meds in a box and spray painted it slightly, then I glued a hose washer, bottle cap, hair tie, and bit and pieces of random things together. I made a box of of cardboard and pipes out of straws. The mesh in front is from a potato bag that was destined for the trash.

The base was the top of a cardboard box and then I just ripped pieces to make them ragged looking.

As it is presented here on the table, it really doesn't look like much. So I closed the curtains in a way to let in light as I wanted it ....

and took some shots...

this was the result.

I think the process of 'creating' the scene was most of the fun. I just went at it, adding bits and pieces and shading it with colors. I wanted a textured background but not so textured as to take away what was happening in the photo.

One of the things I like about this method is that fact that it is simple and it doesn't have to be Perfect to give one a sense of mood. The other thing that tickled me is that it cost nothing as I had all the items on hand in the trash pile. 

What is also very important here is paying attention to the depth of focus. The items behind the droid and slightly in front shouldn't be in clear focus unless the intent is on highlighting those items.

I lucked out with good light simply by moving curtains. No magic there! The photo was shot for highlight drama. That means it was exposed to bring out the lighter areas and leave the other areas a bit dark.

Of course Peazy can't do all of her work alone. She needs to have her deliveries....

NED-B apparently has volunteered to help.

And there is generally some time during the day for tea...

Even Droids get a break. 

Now if I can get a Droid to do my cooking. 

The weather is finally breaking so I leave my droids and toys and head outside to chase insects and find hiking adventures.

Thank goodness! Oh wait, the Droids will probably come along....

Around the house

I am happy that I decided to purchase fresh veggies at the local Farmer's Market and some of the local folks who raise produce this year.

Old Garden:

I have a bit more time on my hands which means I can spend more time making my flower gardens look a bit more tidy. 

As this new heat wave bears down on us, I am finding things to do on the porch outside. It stays fairly nice in the shade and generally there is a nice breeze that flows through. 

This old table was given to me a few years ago. It is in a sad state of disrepair so I cut pieces of wood and did what I could to stabilize it enough as I figure out what I am going to do with it. It sat under the pine trees for a couple of years with pots of begonias on it.

The table should be tossed. But I figure if I can brace it up enough and cut down the legs [or not], I could use it as a coffee/craft table on the porch. [What I wouldn't do for a nice gate leg table!]

The project table is on the porch along with paints. I spray painted a coffee can and a Gatorade bottle for Porch Vases. Maybe it is tacky too, but I like flowers on the porch as well as in the house. I don't like broken glass!

I've always loved the idea of a Fairy Garden. I am constantly moving little things around so that I can be amused at what I have put together.

I love this little Zen Dragon. 

I move him/her around quite often. 

Morning light on a 'Fairy Garden' made 
out of an old pie dish.
It sits on a rickety old chair I
gussied up.

My pallet garden is doing as expected. The tomatoes are doing great and I've used old fence posts and twine to stabilize the plants. I know, tacky, but it was on hand and easier than trying to use a cage. 

The plants that are coming up in the slats are doing fair too. They are coming along a bit slower than those flowers on the east side of the house. The west side has good sun but good afternoon shade too from the locust trees. I think with the heat wave, those plants will do better than the ones exposed to the sun and wind all day.

Other surprises in my garden.
There are the gargoyles who resided in the Forest Garden last year. Right now they are in the growing flower garden. They look happy there! 
Last year the raccoon kept knocking over the gargoyles! This poor fella had his wings chipped.

This fellow sits on another stump and is the Welcome Gargoyle. [Yeah, I like dragons and gargoyles and I am weird.]

This is the porch in the morning. Many of my plants are in old Maple Syrup buckets that Rich's Grandfather used. It is handy to grab the buckets and move them around. 

More Fairy/Dragon/Gardens. I keep changing things up as it suits me. 

Things are going to be hot and muggly. I hope all my friends and their animals do well for the next few days.

I let my mules out to the forest where they can get down into the creek area. I walked there this morning and it was definitely about 10 degrees cooler than in the meadow!

Stay cool!

DIY fall wall hanging

I saw something on YouTube that was suggested by another person and I browsed some DIY decoration ideas.

I found one that was perfect for a rainy day and since I had all of the materials, I thought I'd try it myself.

Note...I am NOT a painter. I am not really an expert at all, so here was my 'go' at the project.
It would have looked better if I'd had a stick or stencil to make the 'pot' for the flowers.

So

I made a brown backround. And blue looking sky.

 Then my not so great attempt at making a pot for my fall flowers.

So I added some color just because...

So now that I am feeling like an awkward kid again, I decided to go to the next step. Really, I was going to toss this out but decided to follow it through.

Cut an opening in the canvas. This is a framed canvas so it worked for this project.

Stick flowers into the cut and arrange.

Hang on the wall and move the flowers around.

I forgot to show the step where you hot glue the stems on the back of the canvas...

When it is surrounded by other photos and a wreath, it actually looks pretty decent on the wall and really adds some 'fall' color.

I was going to toss it, but it grew a bit on me. And I'm thinking of how to decoupage some fall leaves on a canvas and do the same sort of thing with a Christmas and Thanksgiving theme. Sort of adds dimension to a wall hanging.

Um...what I saw and what I wanted to do are far different...here is a shot of one done expertly.

And...I can't find the link to the DIY video I watched but you can figure this out yourself.

I like mine mainly because I did it. Now to have some fun with some more ideas when November comes around and it is just plain icky and dull outside.

I may even try something different tomorrow as it is supposed to rain buckets and we have up to 3" of rain forecast.
Sigh.
We do not need it.
If it spits outside, it will flash flood.

Break Time!

Late Thursday night/early Friday morning my son Ed showed up with his dog Teslin.
Teslin and Morris have known each other since they were pups and are about the same age.

Ed wanted to come and visit and help me clear some brush back from the fence on the Merry Meadow Pasture.
He brought his brush cutter and very powerful weed wacker.

He worked on Friday from his laptop and as the day heated up, I turned the air on. What a temperature change! It went from cool and nice to HOT.

When he finished work, we went at the berry briers and multiflora rose which seems to creep in from the forest.

The dogs had gone with us. Morris wore his bell which has really helped me figure out where he is all of the time without having to look. The dogs tongues were hanging out and they kept trying to get comfortable in the shade. Teslin thought that she should dip into the thick underbrush for shade.

We stopped for a rest. I looked at what we had done in such a short time. I was impressed. Without Ed's brush cutter, I wouldn't have gotten far on my own.

I thought it was too hot to continue. Besides, it was my birthday and I'd planned a nice meal for us.

Ed and Rich visited while I made supper. I looked at the forecast for Saturday and decided that we really wouldn't do much then either. The forecast was for very hot conditions again. However the humidity would be very low.
I figured that this weather with no rain and good breezes would make the farmers very happy. A lot of farming would get done in hopes of catching up to a cold wet May.

And as expected. The heat was on for Saturday. LaCrosse, Wisconsin broke a heat record of 97 degrees.

However after breakfast Saturday we were out on the porch waiting for the neighbors to come down and visit when a red Mini Cooper drove into the yard.
Ed's wife had come to surprise us!

The look on Rich's face was priceless and I'm sure that I was surprised also. I ran across the yard and gave Joy a huge hug. She'd been on duty as a firefighter the previous 24 hours and had left work to drive up and surprise us.

Sunday came too early. Ed and Joy helped me finish up some much needed work that I hadn't attended to as I'd been too busy with doctor appointments and other errands.

Finally things were just starting to feel like they were getting pulled together.

After the kids left, Rich went to lay down and I sat on the porch and "Painted some cheer" on some of the wood blocks left over from last year's house remodel.

I pondered my upcoming week as I picked colors out and swiped them onto the wood.
Appointments, phone calls, taking the car in for maintenance work, garden, fencing, ads for sale, hay, ...
A day away from the farm would be nice too. A day hiking by myself with my camera would work out perfect.  Okay, maybe just a few hours.