I did it!

I did it! This was my first NaMoPaiMo and I did fairly good. This is my first time painting a model horse ever, unless you count the unicorn painting kit I got for my birthday a LONG time ago.

The biggest problem I had was with the primer, and the pastels. When I first primed my horse, I sprayed the paint on too thick. So now I know to spray in thin, even layers. The pastels were really grainy when I brushed them on. Any tips for grainy pastels that I can try next time?

Oh, and by the way, Macaroon got adopted today! I’m going to miss him, but he went to a great family.

Digital Horse Drawings

These days I’ve been drawing a lot on my I pad. I just wanted to share my drawings.

 

Macaroon

Say hello to Macaroon! He is a month old, male guinea pig. I’m fostering him right now and I just wanted to talk about him.

He’s a TINY guinea pig with a big personality! He is super soft, in fact when I was petting him, he fell asleep in my lap! His favorite vegetable is lettuce, and he loves to cuddle up in a nice, dark place. He is a bit shy, and nervous, but that should improve with daily handling.

 

If you live near Arlington VA, and you are interested in adopting him, here is a link.by the way, I’m almost done with my NaMoPaiMo horse!

Embroidered Saddle Pads

Today I embroidered three saddle pads! 

There will hopefully be a listing on my Etsy page tomorrow for customized saddle pads. ( The ones that I sewed are just examples). 

I can’t wait to sew/embroider new things! I’m thinking horse blankets, saddle bags, haversacks, and more?

 

Embroidery Machine

A week ago I bought an embroidery machine. It came yesterday and I had so much fun learning how to use it! In case your wondering, this is the Brother SE 600 embroidery and sewing machine.

The first thing that I HAD to try out was custom saddle pads! First I quilted some fabric,

... then after a bit of trial and error I managed to embroider a name! It took trial and error to line up the fabric with the lettering but now that i've got it, I can't wait to embroider more things!

 

Priming

So, since I’ve decided to paint a different horse, today I primed another one of my Breyer horses. 

 I used this spray paint primer that I bought from Home Depot, although you can also buy spray paint at craft stores. I wish I had more photos, but it’s hard to take photos while holding a spray can.

Basically what I learned is that you should spray in thin layers, about 8 inches away. Spraying in thin layers reduces the chance of drips. You should also try not to drop your model, like I did. To fix this I took a super fine sandpaper and lightly sanded the parts that got smudged. Then I sprayed it over again.

That’s much better!

Tomorrow I’m going to pull out my PanPastels and add some color! By the way, I’m going to paint her a bay, pinto.

 

Big Mistake

So... I made a big mistake.... well not that big. But my NaMoPaiMo horse is a bit messed up. I primed it, but when I started to pastel I noticed these wired bumps on the barrel of my model. I tried sanding, and priming over, but that just made it worse. Any ideas on how to fix this?

A Broken Tail

Ok, so one of my model horses broke today. Luckily it was one that I didn’t care that much about, but still Malik’s tail broke clean off. I was playing in the snow all day, and when I came back in, he was in pieces on the floor. I wonder how Malik fell off the shelf...

It looks pretty funny to see a horse with no tail.

I can’t decide if I should try and repair it...

Or just toss him. I think that I might try and repair him for practice. By the was NaMoPaiMo has started! I can’t wait to paint my horse! Unfortunately my PanPastels aren’t coming until a few days, but until then I can prime my model.

 

Valentine’s Day Halters

Valentine’s Day halters are here! These halters are Valentine’s Day themed, with a striped lead rope!

You can see them on my Etsy page here.