how a control freak does something random
Today I have been struggling with my freakishly iron grip on control...and trying to be "random".
buttons for dots of color
colorful floss
ACK -- decisions on choosing color combinations and placement -- while trying to achieve a "random" look...this is SO difficult for the triple-Capricorn.
You would not believe how stressful this has been -- don't let the blue floss be next to another blue floss...but it looks good with the button color -- but don't put another pink button there. Juana is usually my randomizer/helper but today I am going it alone (like a repo man). The actual sewing on of the buttons was relaxing, but the choosing/placing/"randomizing" was so exhausting. (Waaaaaah, poor Took...I realized I have been gritting my teeth for most of the day...not grinding, just gritting.)
Also today ...
Strengthening/decorating the seams/joints of the sections of the tail.
I started out trying to make it a more solid color all the way around but it started to get pulled out of shape and getting bulky at the joints. I like the look of the rough stitches.
Overall...not too bad!
and ...
These two buttons might end up being the foundation of the eyes.
and one other thing ...
I might give this guy teefs...not teeth...teefs. I think my creatures probably have teefs vs teeth.
But the white glove thumbs and fingers are too fuzzy with black fuzz from other glove parts in their bin(s). They aren't dirty, just contact fuzzy. I am not going to try to un-fuzz them...I will try to select something else for possible teefs.
What I came up with -- beige OR variegated gray camouflage OR variegated green/gray camouflage.
I got them mostly pointy, but I think they may need to be flatter rather than round.
As possible teefs (and a first try) they aren't too bad -- but I will keep thinking about it. I am not totally sure this guy needs/wants teefs.
okay, I admit it -- now I am totally beat!
Today I put all of the labels on the boxes, faced the monumental (for me) task of randomizing 300 coloring cards, assigned a main block to the random cards, packed all the boxes with a block with a transfer, three coloring cards, three teensy colored pencils, an information insert sheet and wrapped all of that in a piece of colored tissue paper...then folded open the boxes and put the stuff inside. I also assigned numbers to each character 1-10 and marked the boxes per the MDF block image. I am SO done for tonight!
I realize there are a lot of photos to document all of this...but at some point I am going to want to look back at what exactly took all of that time today. I have been at this for roughly 10 hours (not including a short lunch break and a short dinner break). Noon to eleven p.m. I glued all of the labels with a glue stick -- I am out of Xyron sticky backing.
Two other items of note:
1. I tried using Leann's magical/mystical/amazingly wonderful way of pulling cards with no repeats, but I just couldn't work it out. I understand how to do it and I could probably do it with ATCs and 5 traders...but I could NOT figure it out for this application. It ended up being less frustrating to just lay out one hundred cards and then just start dropping other cards onto the piles and not repeating a pile when possible...adding the MDF blocks with the transfers was easy after that!
2. I usually do all of this assembling on a lap table while sitting in my chair in front of tv. Today I worked at the dining room table and although it did quite a number on my back, shoulders, neck, arms and ankles...I DID discover a really cool method for getting the end labels to come out pretty darn straight AND with little effort.
