BIPBC #6: Epic Puddle Splashing + Random Pics
Howdy, and welcome to Allison’s BIBPC entry #6! XD The theme this time was “Action”! Behold, action! (I’m entering the first picture.)
Ha ha, isn’t that great!
Story behind the picture: I took this a couple of years ago after there was a flash flood which resulted in ginormous puddles near our creek! (Another time, I don’t know if it was that time, we floated down the flash-flood-swollen creek in an inner tube. Which proceeded to pop. XD XD XD ) My siblings thought it would be neat if I could take pictures of them splooshing through the water, and they were right! In the picture I’m entering, Megan and Jefferson are glorying in mud-puddle bliss. Look at the expression on Jeff’s face! (If you can see it.) Pure joy. 😀 Oh, and I think it was this same flash-flood when the boys drove our three-wheeler through the water. XD Ahh, good times.
Since this is a pretty short post, I thought I’d add a few more random photos I took recently.
Which picture was your favorite?
Have a good great amazing STUPENDOUS day! 😀 ♥
***Allison***
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Some Clayations :)
Today I shall show you some of my many polymer clay creations (or “clayations” XD ).
First up, I started a little collectible series on my Etsy shop called Tiny Turtle Collectibles. They are mini turtles with unique and fun shells. The only collection I have up so far is the Sweet Treat collection. Here they all are:
Little cuties. 🙂 From left to right: Sprinkles, Cocoa Cupcake, Chippy, and Sundae Monday. (Sundae Monday, Sundae Monday, Sunday Monday… it’s so fun to say. XD ) Here’s a close-up of Chippy:
If you’d like to see more pictures of the teeny-tiny turtles, take a peek at my Etsy shop! The link is up there ↑ somewhere… aw, I’ll just give it to you again. 🙂 Wee Little Crafts
I made this lil’ cardinal for my grandma for her birthday:
And I made this bluebird pencil pal for my cousin’s birthday:
I put this birdie pencil pal in my shop. (It’s a blue bird but not a bluebird. XD )
Yet another bird. (Wow, I didn’t realize I made so many birds. XD ) This guy’s name is Oliver.
A mini fairy-village:
I’m kind of proud of the next thing. 😛 This is a little Noah’s Ark. I was so excited when someone bought it the same night I listed it on my shop! 😀
And lastly, my current masterpiece. XD XP After seeing this adorable doll made by Julia, I decided to try my own. I was going to make it a baby doll, but… as you can, see, it didn’t turn out like that. Although she’s not nearly as cute as Julia’s, I still really like how she turned out. 🙂 I want to do a photoshoot of her sometime. When I do that post, I’ll show more detailed photos and tell about her a bit more. (If you’re wondering why, in the last picture, she has a hole in her ear, it’s because I’m still working on earrings for her. 😉 )
If you’d like to see more of my clayations, check out this post, and/or type “polymer clay” in the search box on my blog sidebar.
I hope you enjoyed this clayish post. 😀 Which thing was your favorite?
***Allison***
P. S. I just listened to “Camp Granada” by Allan Sherman and “Ebay” by Weird Al. They are hilarious songs, especially “Ebay.” XD Have you ever heard them? If not, you should. XD
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AAWC #5, CWWC #1, and BIBPC #5!
As you can see by the monstrous title, this post will be a conglomeration of contest entries. I combined the AAWC and CWWC prompts into one story, which I think turned out really well! (If you wonder what all of these acronyms stand for, click on their linked names to find out. 😀 )
First, the story. Misty, I used the word prompt (“Fade”) and my team mascot (“Swan”) in this story. Loren, I used all three prompts. (Click here to see the prompts for CWWC #1.) I had a lot of fun writing this, and incorporating some poem-ish things into the prose.
Duh-duh dun! I present…
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Beyond the Looking Glass
Tonight rain and moonlight are tap-dancing together on the roof. Mademoiselle Trumente hates the rain because it will not obey her rule of absolute quiet. I slip out of bed in bare feet and steal silently over to the mirror. I have had much practice in being silent, for if I make a noise, Mademoiselle Trumente will be up the stairs in a moment, a silent apparition of doom. She will stand there in her threadbare slippers, strands of her greasy hair trembling and quaking about her thick red face as if they too, are afraid of her wrath. Her anger is a fierce fury, hotter than any fire, sharper than any sword, and deathly quiet. Everything in this house is deathly quiet. Even her punishments are quiet.
Down to the cellar for a day and a night;
No food; stale water; darkness; silence.
But tonight Mademoiselle does not appear at my door. I carefully avoid the third floorboard which always heaves a long groan of sorrow if I so much as touch it with a toe. I snatch up the lit candle and hold it in front of me as I gaze into the mirror. A girl’s face stares back at me from the gilded frame on the wall.
Long tangles of wavy, red-brown hair.
Pale face; drawn and thin and colorless.
Chocolate brown eyes with flecks of gold.
Small nose. Thin lips. Sharp chin. Black dress.
Me.
The mirror is unforgiving, but I want it to forgive. It will not show me what I need it to show. I have to know who I am.
I gaze far down into the depths of the dark eyes, pulling with all my might, willing secrets to come to the surface. There! Far down in my eyes, something moves. I concentrate, grasping the thought with my mind until the picture fills the eyes of my reflection, then my face, then the whole mirror. It is a beautiful scene. Torrents of water tumble over boulders, crashing into milky froth where they leap into the lake below. Pearly swans glide on the lake by the dozens, preening, eating, swimming. Graceful willow ladies and strong, ancient gentlemen trees stand shoulder to shoulder by the river. And… there it is. The familiar picture of two silhouettes sitting on a log-bridge. One of the figures is a young girl reading a book. The other figure is strange and fantastical: a cross between a dragon and an enormous bird crested with swirling plumes. The dragon-bird is listening intently to the girl as she reads aloud.
My mirror is a window to another world, a world guarded by strange dragon-birds called Ferrymen. How do I know what the dragon-birds are called? How can I see this land behind the looking glass? I do not know. I only know that I belong there. The girl swinging her legs on the log-bridge is me, I just know it. And the dragon-bird… I strain my mind, rifling through memory files that stretch back 16 years. As always, I come so close to solving the mystery. My mind clenches the memory, but cannot rip it open.
Why, why, why am I here?
Why do I live in this dark, old house?
Why must I always be quiet?
Who is Mademoiselle Trumente,
And why must I obey her?
What is the spell hanging over this house,
And how do I shatter it forever?
But mind is too weak. It lets go of the memory, and the picture in the mirror begins to fade. But this time I will not let it go. I cannot live like this, with my life shrouded in heavy clouds of mystery and loneliness and silence. I squint my eyes hard and force my mind to keep the picture before me. But it is no use. My legs are weak, and my mind is weaker. I cannot hold the picture. Wait! I need you to give me the answers! Don’t go…
Suddenly, I am angry. Angrier even than Mademoiselle is when I drop something and it clashes to the floor. I will not let the picture go until it answers my question. I will not let my mind give up until it finds the memory.
I.
Will.
Find.
The.
Answer.
The picture comes nearer and nearer. I can hear the faint roar of the waterfall reaching me through the glass. I can hear the murmur of the girl as she reads to the Ferryman. What is she saying? Will it solve the mystery? Why, why, why am I here? My brain is churning. The picture is fading again. No!
If my mirror is a window to another world, I will break the window-panes and crawl over the windowsill. In desperation I pick up the wooden chest on my dresser and hurl it at the mirror. The glass shatters with a tremendous explosion. All I can think is Mademoiselle Trumente will be up the stairs now. How long will I stay in the cellar this time? Three days? A week? The rest of my life? I close my eyes and crumple to the ground. I give up. I wait wearily for Mademoiselle to glide over to me, outraged. I don’t care what she does. I give up. I have never been so tired in my life. Still Mademoiselle’s shadow does not fall on my face. With an effort, I open my eyes.
Broken shards lay scattered on the ground beside me, but I pay no attention to them. My eyes are fixed on something much more interesting.
What happened?
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CLIFF HANGER! 😀 I’m probably going to continue this story later. Somehow I tend to write in the first-person point of view for contest entries. What do you think – which POV is your favorite to read?
Okay, now for my BIBPC entry:
Story behind the picture: These strange flowers are called Dutchman’s Breeches. Don’t they look like puffy pairs of pants hanging on a clothesline? 😀 I took this picture when we made a trip to the Arboretum. There were SO MANY pretty flowers there! (See my flower overload posts here and here.) Did you know Dutchman’s Breeches are related to bleeding hearts? (I mean the flower bleeding hearts, not literal bleeding hearts. XD That would be funny if the flower names were literal: pants are related to bleeding hearts. XD XD )
Phew! I hope you enjoyed that super long post! It’s really, really fun to do these contests, but next time I might not do so many at a time. 😉
***Allison***
P. S. And before you go, you absotutely posolutely MUST check out Hayley’s amazing ATC trade if you like art! (And maybe even if you don’t. 😀 ) Basically, it’s a way to trade mini works of art with bloggers and people all across the country. I’m so excited to be a part of it!
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Flower Overload, Part 2
(See part 1 here.) I’m ready to unload some more of my gazillions of flower pictures! (And I took even more today. *Sniff* Oh wait! That’s not sad, that’s good! XD )
First I’ll show you a photo I took today. We went hiking with my aunt who kindly offered to show us where some lady’s slippers were growing. (No, we didn’t take pictures of shoes growing out of the ground. XD Lady’s slippers are unusual, pretty, and rare flowers that grow in the woods. 😉 😀 ) We had lots of fun! I’ll devote a whole post to it later, but for now…
And an edited version:
One day I just sat down and took lots of dandelion pictures. I just love the petal-design of the mature dandelion when all of the seeds have flown away.
Which one of those was your favorite?
For some reason a few of our tulips bloomed like this. Weird, but neat!
The next several pictures aren’t exactly flowers I suppose… But they’re so pretty I couldn’t leave them out!
And all the rest of these pictures were taken at the Arboretum.
And that’s about it! Whew, I hope you’re not flowered out. XD What is your favorite kind of flower? Which of these pictures was your favorite?
Have a gorgeous spring day!
***Allison***
P. S. I made up a riddle: What word contains all five vowels? Hints: This isn’t a trick-riddle, it’s just a knowledge-riddle. It’s not even a long word or anything. But I’ll bet it will take a while for you to figure out! (Unless, like my sister, I’ve already told you. No telling, Megan! XD ) I shall tell you the answer… eh, sometime in the future. XD
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Tutorial: Cardboard Roll Organizer + BIBPC # 4
Today I have a little crafty tutorial for you, my friends. Bring out your scrapbook paper and that huge stash of cardboard rolls you have tucked away in the closet, and… um, read this tutorial! XD
We are going to make this handy-dandy organizer. It’s perfect for organizing those stray but important knickknacks, or showing off a collection.
What you’ll need:
- Toilet paper rolls or similar cardboard rolls
- Pretty scrapbook paper
- Cutting tools: an X-acto knife and scissors
- Glue stick
- Hot glue gun (with hot glue, of course 😉 ), or super glue might also work
- Pencil
- Cut the cardboard rolls into even lengths. It is quite tiring to measure each tube, so I found a much easier and faster way! First, make a template. You will have to measure this one: make marks all the way around the tube using a pencil and ruler, then connect the dots. 😀 I made my template roll about 2 inches long. The longer the knickknacks, the longer the template should be. (As you can see, most of my knickknacks are small, so a shallow organizer worked perfectly.) Use an X-acto knife (and scissors if need be) to cut around the line. Trim the top rough edge with a scissors, and cut a slit all the way down one side, like so:
Ta-daa! You have made a template. Now slip it on to the tubes you want to cut, and simply trace around the top with a pencil. No measuring needed! 
I cut 10 lengths for my organizer, which used about 5 tubes (not counting the template tube).
- Cut strips of paper to cover the rolls. Choose a pretty pattern or color of scrapbook paper to decorate your organizer. Cut the strips as wide as your tubes are – if your tube lengths are 2 inches, cut 2-inch wide paper strips. (Yes, you’ll have to measure this time. 😦 ) Glue a strip around each tube and neatly cut off the excess if your strip is too long.
- Hot glue your paper-covered tubes into a pyramid shape. Arrange the tubes so the paper seams don’t show on the outside, and hot glue them. I think it works best to glue one row at a time – glue the bottom row of four tubes together first, etc., then glue the rows to each other. Also, don’t glue them vertically on top of each other like it shows here. 😉 You can stand it up like this after you’re done.
- Use it! You are done! Give yourself a pat on the back, then go put the organizer to good use. Congratulations on a craft well done!
By the way, the little critters and food in the organizer are polymer clay miniatures made by my sister Megan and me. I made all of the miniatures except some in the last picture, where Megan added some of hers to help fill it up. Which knickknack is your favorite? Of mine I might like the peacock best, and of Megan’s I think I like the cute little crab. 🙂
I hope you enjoyed crafting along with me!
Oh, oops! I almost forgot the BIBPC photo. BIBPC is fun photo contest that my sister Megan is doing. (Read about it here.)The prompt this time was “Funny.” Here’s my entry!
Story behind the picture: This is a hilarious photo of Diamond, my little sister’s rabbit. We sometimes bring our rabbits in the house for a bit, and here Diamond is just hangin’ out like a cool dude with sunglasses. XD You can see more funny bunny pictures in this post.
***Allison***
P. S. I made the white background of some of the photos with FotoFuze. It’s a really neat program! I made the poster with PicMonkey, which I also LOVE. 😀
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Art Lab, Episode #4: Rainbow Puzzles
*Announcer’s voice* Hello, and welcome to the fourth episode of Art Lab! XD
If you recall (and even if you don’t), Hayley and I are doing a collaborative series called The Art Lab wherein we hope to inspire you to make fun and beautiful art. 😉 Click on Hayley’s name up there to visit her blog and see her beautiful entries and other lovely posts!
Recently I’ve been having fun arranging simple rainbow patterns in interesting ways. This is pretty much no-fail art. As long as you can wield a marker and a pair of scissors without dying yourself blue or hacking off a finger, you’re in good shape. XD
Word Prompt: Rainbow
Rainbow is kind of boring, and unoriginal, right? Wrong! Here is how to spruce up a plain rainbow drawing (or any drawing, really):
Start by covering your paper in rainbow stripes, splotches, swirls, or pretty much any pattern you can think of. Here is a pattern I drew: (Note: Your pattern can be super simple – plain rainbow stripes work wonderfully.)
Now, cut it up! (Although if you really like your art so far, you should save it and make another piece to cut up.) You may cut it up into nice even strips, but it’s much more fun to go wild. Cut it up into big pieces and small pieces, jagged and smooth, circles and stripes. Now place your “puzzle pieces” on a paper, but leave spaces between each of them. This is what makes it neat. The white space distorts your picture while still letting the pretty design show through. Like so…
For this one I cut a circle from the above design, then hacked it to pieces and re-glued it onto an ATC with spaces between each of the jigsaw pieces. The circle spread into a sort of Easter-eggish shape.
This one started as a simple rainbow-striped square. You can see how all of the pieces fit back together.
The background of the next one came from a marker-testing swatch. 😀 It makes things more interesting if you cut out shapes, like I did with the circle here. Just make sure that the inner circle is small enough to be glued on with space to spare.
Oh, and I almost forgot: rainbow stripes make bright and fun envelope art too, especially if you have several different shades of each color:
So there you are! A simple way to make beautiful art. Now break out those rainbow markers, colored pencils, or watercolors, and get drawing!
***Allison***
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AAWC Challenge 4: Blue Eyes, Part 2
Hola, amiga! (Or amigo.) XD
I’m participating in Misty’s really fun writing challenge, Aspiring Authors Writing Challenge, or AAWC for short. (Read about it here.) (And see my other entries here.) The word prompt for this challenge was “Bright.” I can collect two extra points for my team if I work my team mascot into the story, so I did (I’m on Team Swan)!
So for this entry I decided to make a sequel to “Blue Eyes” as Jaclynn suggested. 😀 (Click here to read the first part of “Blue Eyes.”) I also drew a picture to go along with the story.
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I began my journey alone. No child of gray could enter that colorful paradise beyond the mountains. Only my blue eyes would gain me passage. I trudged over the colorless rocky road for miles while the white sun slowly climbed the invisible hill in the sky. My thoughts were centered on one subject: what would a colorful world look like? I couldn’t even imagine. I walked faster.
After hours of walking, I arrived at the glowering mountains and crept nervously down a trail between them. I was coming closer and closer to the last corner, closer to a world of color. My heart thumped like my father’s drum in my chest. I closed my eyes and felt my way toward the corner. Even through my closed eyes I could feel the warm sun on my face, and something else – something bright and beautiful that I had never felt before.
I opened my eyes. I was blinded at first by the staggering brightness of the scene before me, but then…
“Oh my.”
A tiny whisper was all that I could manage. One thousand tints and hues of color clung to everything. The grass was brilliantly lush and the hundreds of flowers beneath my feet were an astounding array of bright and soft, light and dark, streaked and solid color. The lake in front of me reflected every nuance of color and threw it back in fantastic glinting shades. And the sky! What my grandparents had said was true – the cloudless sky was the bluest blue of all, bluer even than my sky-blue eyes. I just stood there in astonishment. There was nothing I could do but fill my color-starved self with great gulps of color.
My first thought was, I will never leave this place. I could never make that long, gray trek home through our colorless land. Now that I had seen this, I could never live without color. All I wanted was to stay here forever.
Then I heard a splash and a swan landed in the lake in front of me. It was pure white with a black beak. No color. My mind rushed back to a lake near my house where we fed the lone swan that lived there. It too was pure white with a black beak. No color.
The spell was broken. I shook myself out of my trance. The colorless swan, so like the one at home, had jerked my mind sharply back to my mission. I gritted my teeth. I must. I resolutely pushed the thought of the long gray journey out of my head and set about collecting color. I plucked flowers of every hue, grass and leaves of every brilliant shade, dull sticks and twigs, and even a richly colored butterfly. I filled my little pouch with the precious objects; then, with one last longing look, I turned and hurried down the mountain path. All throughout the long journey home, I cradled the colors gently in my hand, a treasure more valuable than a chest filled with jewels and gold.
Finally, as the white sun puffed slowly down the side of the invisible hill, I was home. My family rushed out to greet me. I stood there tired but triumphant, light streaming from the pouch in my hands. They didn’t speak a word, but I could tell from the joy on their faces just what they were thinking.
My hands trembled as I gently poured the precious contents of my pouch onto the ground. The colors lay there almost living and breathing. My family gathered around me with shining faces.
We all held our breath as the colors of the bits of flowers and leaves grew brighter and brighter. They were a blazing fire of brilliant shades, a heatless flame of tremendous beauty. At last, color was living in our land!
And then… nothing. The color suddenly drained out like the ebbing tide, and we were left staring at nothing but grays and blacks and whites.
Nothing. My whole mission had come to nothing. I wanted to fling myself on the ground and wail, or better yet, to rush back to the land beyond the mountains. But I didn’t. I just stood there heartbroken. I knew my family was too.
But then something began to happen. A faint blush of color came into the ground beneath the wilted pieces and slowly strengthened. Then, as if it was a flower that had suddenly taken root, the pool of color blossomed upward and outward in glorious swirling tendrils. The color was surging over the ground now, a churning rainbow whirlpool. It reached out with eager fingers and clung to every blade of grass and every spot of earth, every tree and every house. It flew over the ground, faster and faster, a blur of rainbow covering everything in its path. When it had spread out as far as we could see, the color flashed into intense brilliancy, so bright that it nearly blinded us. Finally the show ended in a spectacular whirling rainbow tornado. The whirlwind flung itself into the sky and disappeared.
My family and I looked around us in a daze. For the first time we could see the color of our hair and eyes; for the first time we could see the magnificent colors of the sun resting in sunset splendor from his long climb. I danced and laughed with overflowing joy. My mission was completed. Our once dull and colorless land was now dazzlingly bright with color. Our broken world was whole once more.
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My favorite part is definitely the second to last paragraph. 🙂 Thanks for reading!
***Allison***
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BIBPC #3: Doggie Nose
I know we were supposed to post our BIBPC pictures by yesterday, but Megan gave us a sort of bonus day because she thought the deadline was the 27th instead of the 26th. 😀 Yesss!
In case you’re wondering what BIBPC is, it’s a fun photo contest that my sister Megan is doing. BIBPC stands for Boring Into Beautiful Photography Contest. (Read about it here.)
The theme this time was Textures. Here’s my picture:
Story behind the picture: This is a photo of our friends’ dog, Snoopy. They recently got an ADORABLE Miniature Schnauzer puppy! I took this picture while he was resting on my friend’s lap during an Arboretum trip. This picture kind of has two textures: his nose and his fur. Such a cute wittle nosy-wosy, yes it is! XD XD Dogs’ noses have a really neat texture, don’t they?
Sorry this was such a short post. 😦 I have an AAWC post, Flower Overload Part 2, and a craft post planned for later. Until then!
***Allison***
Allison Marie 