Collection Update

Ben found Cheerilee and Lily Blossom at a Target the other day, whereas I nabbed the last G4 calendar from my local Dollar Tree.

I also got some old ponies from my co-worker. Her family is moving to the UK and her daughter didn't wish to keep her G3 ponies. I got a handful of G3's but none are too terribly interesting. (I'm grateful for free ponies though, now I can do a G3 custom swap if I want!)

What was surprising though are the G4 McDonald toys! I didn't really pursue them and then regretted it a bit, considering a set on ebay is more than I would like to pay. Imagine my surprise to get these unicorns. Twilight has her base but Rarity does not.

Luna

The Canterlot exclusives at target include three different versions of Luna. (A styling form, posable form, and brushable form) I don't really have room for the styling ponies and I dislike the posable ponies so I have been searching for brushable Luna since the canterlot promotion began. Finally, last weekend I found her!

I hadn't paid much attention to the releases of Luna as I was just glad there was one, so I was a little surprised by the inaccuracies, though given the state of Celestia, I don't know why I should be. I've just put in my first order to dollyhair, so maybe if I have the correct colors and I'm feeling brave enough to tackle clay I'll try to do a more show accurate version of Luna.

Those eyes....

G4 Powder for Tiella

G4 Powder was made for Tiella in the G1>G4 Swap at the MLP Arena

Remember the line in Winter Wrap Up when Spike asks why they don't use magic to change the seasons like they do in Canterlot? As soon as I saw Tiella's list I knew Powder must be the pony that welcomes winter.



Here's Powder in her packaging. And I think this is the closest pic I have of the cutie mark/symbol of doom.

And Here she is out of the package.

Powder comes with a necklace, that I thought looked a little like a crystal of snow but also like a flower. And to bring her closer to her G1 counterpart I found some antique ribbon at a lace museum near my house. Oh, and you can see her little animal friend, my first FBR.

Unfortunately, when I was creating Powder I accidentally snapped her neck plug, so her head is glued on in a permanent position. Also the glitter I got was the "super fine" kind from the craft store but it still seemed too big! Also, I think I need some higher quality acrylics. I'll hit up the Pat Catans when I go home for Christmas. My favorite thing is the little bit of blush I got on her cheeks :)

Moar ATC art

Here's another pony AC I drew for a trade. I still have a few more to go, but I haven't been feeling very artsy lately. The person it is for likes carousel ponies so I tried to give it a little carousel feel without doing any kind of pole or trappings.

Art for me!

I got two ATCs from my trading partner in Finland yesterday. Isn't the art gorgeous?!


ATC Wind Whistler by ~Haawan on deviantART


ATC Fluttershy by ~Haawan on deviantART

How not to make a custom pony

 Hooray! It's my very first custom pony. Can we say can we say "learning experience". So originally I said I would never get into custom ponies. I know the hobby would be expensive, time consuming, etc. That and honestly I don't LIKE a majority of the customs I see. I can tell that a lot are artful, but I just personally don't like non-pony colors on ponies, or non-removable clothing, or makeup on baby ponies. Okay, I don't like makeup on any ponies honestly. Except the blush, which I don't think of as makeup.

So I saw some custom stuff cheap and got it for fun and Ben called saying he was at Target and I said bring me home a Rarity or a Fluttershy I want to try customizing. I knew from the very beginning Starflower was what I wanted to do. There are some bushes I walk by on my way to work and I loved the colors and the teeny tiny flowers. Fluttershy had a bit of a gash in her body on her nds so I figured this really was the best thing to play with first.

Here is the mane I've started rehairing. Ooops, you can see where the hair plugs are a bit crooked.  I think the rehairing took about an hour and a half. Not bad considering I had no clue what I was doing. I did however learn that if you can't find glue you go to the store and get some. I put diamond glaze in the head and apparently too much because it seeped through the holes and about a quarter of an inch into the hair! I soaked it in some peroxide and ran it under hot water to get most of it out.

Next is the tail and the symbol/cutie mark.  I wanted that nice flat painting other customizers get and did not achieve it at all. Also realized I had no sealant and diamond glaze could be cool. I think this might have worked if I applied wish a brush, but I didn't and it kind of got all over. Then I accidentally stuck my thumb on it and messed it up even more.

Finally I tried several different things with the hair. I was trying for a wave, but I kept getting a crazy pink pie poofy mess. Then I stopped with this because I really liked it. It may not be "traditional" and no where near what I've seen other people do with hair, but I still like it a lot. 

So no, I would not consider my first custom a success by a long shot (I also messed up the neck and the head is glued on) but it was fun and I think I've learned a lot for next time.

ATC Swap Again