Icky Dog Creations - The Blog!

A Study in Sparrows

2012-02-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

I have an idea for an art series featuring sparrows. Why sparrows? They're my totem animal and favorite bird!! I have no idea how many pieces I'm going to do. A lot, maybe. Digital art, traditional art, plush, sculpture, who knows?!
I'll be posting each piece here, so stay tuned!

I've Done It

2012-02-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

I've moved my "personal" journal stuff to a new blog:
Confessions of a Coffee Addict.

This is where all my personal stuff will be. My rants, raves, my musing on mental illness. Feel free to follow, if you like.

Long Time no Post

2012-02-09T07:51:00.002-07:00

Yes, it's been awhile. I haven't had the muse to really write anything. Not that that's bad, I think. I've been feeling quite a bit better. Not perfect, no, but better.
Saw my therapist yesterday. We're working on figuring out my cycles and patterns to identify what triggers my depression. Sure to be a daunting task. I see both him and my psychiatrist next week.
I had toyed with the idea of starting a new blog - one just to be my online journal - and switch this one back to solely being my art blog. But that seems so . . . . time consuming. I don't know. I may or may not do it. I'd need a good blog title. And I just can't think of anything.
Suggestions?

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas bitches!

New in my Shop!

2011-12-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Zombie cat! He's so cuddly and just wants your brains for Christmas!

And an adorable albino zombie squirrel! Both are available in my Etsy Shop!

Found it Friday

2011-12-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

This Victorian inspired collar from Black Mirror Designs is to die for! I'd wear it around the house with black heels.

This.

2011-12-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

I had to share it.

Big Bang Theory

2011-12-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

I hopped on the Big Bang Theory bandwagon a little late, I know this. And I wish I had watched it sooner!
I love me some Sheldon . . . .

Weight loss

2011-12-20T05:00:00.001-07:00

It's been 4 weeks since my hubby and I started our weight loss competition. I'm happy to say I've lost 4.5 pounds. :)
But the whole "eating healthy" is getting harder to stick with. I did exceedingly well the first 3 weeks, but this past week . . . .ugh. I'd rather not talk about it.
This tends to be my pattern with eating though. I do really good and then have a hard time keeping it up over the long run. Of course, it didn't help that we started our competition right before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sooooo much temptation!!
However, I'm doing AWESOME at the gym and have gotten into a regular routine there. I'm proud of that. We'll see how it goes over the next 4 weeks!

It's been awhile . . .and TUMBLR!

2011-12-18T17:26:00.002-07:00

Yeah, I've been ignoring my blog again. For several reasons. Here, I'll share them with you.
1. I'm lazy
2. No one comments
3. Views are down (yes, partly because I haven't been posting regularly)
4. I'm lazy
5. TUMBLR!!!!!

Yes. I have a tumblr.
And it is AWESOME.
If any of y'all have a tumblr, I'd love to know!

Photo Shoot Time!

2011-12-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

Christmas is coming and that means it's time for Christmas photos! Now, being us, we can't just do normal photos. Nooooooo, we have to do theme shoots!!
And what screams Christmas more than ugly sweaters circa 1986?
NOTHING! That's what!!

Behind the scenes candid shot of Ayden and I. We got the hideous glasses and sweaters at a thrift store. Because we're awesome.

And here's Jer and I. We make an attractive couple, yes?
I can't wait to see the edited shots our friend took. I'll be sure to share them!

Found it Friday

2011-12-02T06:00:00.001-07:00

I found this adorable amigurumi Rudolph browsing Etsy the other night!! So cute!

Damn Perverts . . . .

2011-12-01T05:41:00.000-07:00

This is good advice. I suggest you heed it . . .

More Awesomeness

2011-11-30T17:34:00.002-07:00

Yes. More Nathan Barnatt awesomeness. Because I love him.

You're welcome.

Do you know this man?

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

If not, you should. His name is Nathan Barnatt and he is hilarious. My hubby and I stumbled upon him of You Tube and it was love at first site.

Seriously.

Nathan is a comedian and actor and nerd. He has several personas he uses in his videos including Keith Apicary, Trale Lewous, and Ray Amsley. And all are awesome (though I have a soft spot for Keith and Trale).

His comedy is very physical and surprisingly clean. He does sketch comedy, songs, dance . . .everything, I swear. He's been in commercials, was on Auction Hunters and Community.

His SKITTLES SONG! One of the first videos we saw. I laughed so hard!

One of my favorite videos of his where he shows of his epic dance skills. Nathan dancing to Pop Culture by Madeon. Nathan correographed and edited the video. And it's full of win!

Now, I'm not gonna lie, but nerdy was never so sexy. Yes. I said it. I'm sure my hubby will think I'm crazy when he reads this, but I don't care. Nathan Barnatt has a nerdy sexiness that people need to recognize.

It's hard not to find someone with his energy and sense of humor attractive. He's now in my five.

And yes, his hair in the videos is how his hair is. And it just adds to his nerdy charm.

Subscribe to his You Tube channel and prepare to laugh!

It's back again . . .

2011-11-18T16:27:00.002-07:00

The depression, I mean. Not fully. Not crippling. Not yet, anyway. It's starting as it always does, with the anger. The rage. Little things that shouldn't bother me send me into a flury of curses, of teeth grinding, of tears. I feel like screaming and putting my fists through walls. Like destroying everything in my house. I feel hopeless, worthless, pointless.
And after this . . .after the anger . . .comes the profound depression. The lack of motivation, will power. Sadness so deep I can't function. A disconnection with my life and everything in it. I watch from the sidelines, powerless. I would rather cease to exsist than to deal with my thoughts and emotions.
The downward spiral is starting. I see it, I feel it, I don't know how to stop it. I'm tired of the pills that only bring months of relief. I'm tired of the pills that ruin my body. I'm tired of keeping up the ruse that I'm okay and of hearing people say that I'll get better. You don't know that.
I need to stop the spiral before it starts. How am I supposed to do that when I can't see a psychiatrist without attempting suicide? How long can I keep up the charade? How do I tell my family that it's happening again? That I need their help. What do I say to my son when he asks why I'm sad?

Found it Friday

2011-11-18T08:08:00.005-07:00

Thanksgiving Edition! Because I like turkey.

Turkey Cake Pops!!

Amigurumi turkey FTW!

Everyone needs these epic turkey earrings!

A Belated Happy Halloween

2011-11-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is me in my Halloween costume!!!! I was a dark nurse from Silent Hill. And I was creepy. This shot was taken at the Denver Zombie Crawl. I'll share more photos later . . .

Have some more deer art!

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

These are all character requests from The Endless Forest.

Things Are Going To Change

2011-11-14T11:52:00.002-07:00

Not on my blog, necessarily, but in my life. I've made a promise to myself to get in shape and be healthy. No more excuses.
I'll make a very long story short - the last 2 years have been craptastic as far as my health is concerned. Depression, thyroid issues, injuries . . . all have done their part to keep me out of the gym. Couple that with laziness and, well, you get the idea.
However, I have my motivation back. My desire. My will to lose the weight and be healthy once again. And I will succeed.
How? By eating healthy. By making small changes. By getting my ass back in the gym.

. . . . . . and by beating my hubby in a weight loss competition.

Yep. My hubby and I are having a weight loss competition. It started yesterday and will run 8 weeks. The one who loses the highest percentage of weight loss, wins. And it's not a true competition without prizes!
My prize, if I win, is to do an all night ghost hunting tour (yes, I'm a Ghost Hunters junkie). And I WILL win.
So I will keep you, faithful readers, updated on my progress. I have before pictures and measurements, which I plan on sharing with the after ones.
My starting weight, my weight taken at the gym this morning, is 162.5. I don't have a target weight I'm trying to reach. Before I was pregnant with my son, I weighed 143 and it was a perfect, healthy weight for my size. Somewhere around there would be lovely. But I'm more interested in how I feel and how I look.
I'll update at least once a week. Some weeks maybe more often, who knows.
Wish me luck, though I know I won't need it. :)

Look at me! I'm sporatic!

2011-11-13T20:45:00.003-07:00

Well. It's been over a month since my last post. I'd call that pretty sporatic. Or lazy. Or both. All I know is that right now I'm enjoying a delicious honeycrisp apple.

And I chose the apple over chocolate.

Iphea and Roe

2011-10-11T09:10:00.001-06:00

More Endless Forest fan art. This time it's my doe, Roe, and her mate Iphea.

Found it Friday

2011-10-07T07:33:00.002-06:00

This adorable sterling silver moose pendant is from Destiny's Creations. There are TONS of wonderful pendants, but I'm partial to the moose.

New Tattoo

2011-10-06T07:39:00.002-06:00

I got my new tattoo yesterday! YAY!
It's based on a drawing I did. (If you can't tell, I love deer).
3 hours. The pic kinda kills the detail . . . .

More Durrs . . .

2011-10-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

More deer character requests from The Endless Forest. I love me some durrs!

Things I want . . .

2011-10-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

A wish list of sorts . . . . from Etsy!

From CustomCreature!

Also from CustomCreature. I love that shop . . .

From AfterLifeAnatomy.

Sensing a theme . . . .yes?

I LOVE taxidermy!!!!!

Ayden Goes Horseback Riding

2011-10-03T06:00:00.001-06:00

Ayden has been asking us to go horseback riding for a while now, so this past Saturday we took a trip to Estes Park (my favorite place EVER!) and went riding.

Ayden got to ride his own horse (we were actually thinking he'd have to ride with one of us).

When we told him we were going, all he kept saying was that he wanted to ride a black horse. Enter Shadow, Ayden's all black horse!

He rode like a pro! Leaning forward to go up steep hills, and leaning back going down.

He had a blast!! Now I think we'll have to go every year!

Found it Friday!

2011-09-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

I found this.
And it is awesome.

Who the hell doesn't need this Christmas ornament???

Check out Creepy Doll's whole shop, too. It's pretty awesome.

I bought this . . . .

2011-09-29T06:00:00.000-06:00

Yes I did. Because it's awesome.
I purchased it from Coffin Hunter 13 on Etsy. Amazing stuff there!!
Anyway, I LOVE rogue taxidermy. And this . . . .spoke to me. I mean come on - it's a DEER!!! I LOVE deer!!!! And he has FANGS!!! And pink eyes!!!
I love him. I'll post pictures when he arrives.
*excited dance*

MOAR DEERS!

2011-09-28T06:00:00.000-06:00

More characters from The Endless Forest.

Zombies

2011-09-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

Lookit the zombie owl! He has intestines! How cute!

And a cute zombie giraffe! Awwww . . .

Both of these are sold, but thought you might enjoy!

Some Deer Art

2011-09-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

Ahhhh, yes! I LOVE deer.

Sooooo much!

Have some deer art!

These are all characters from the game The Endless Forest.

Happy Birthday!

2011-09-25T06:55:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to me,
I turned 33. . . .

. . . .and I can't think of anything else to rhyme with that.
Ahhhhh, well.
It is my birthday today! Gonna have some CAKE bitches!

Holy Crap

2011-09-24T20:48:00.002-06:00

Wow! My last post was on August 3rd. I can't believe how inactive I've been on here.Been spending too much time with the family, on deviant art, and making things.
Yeah . . . .
So I guess I'll get back into blogging. I've got tons of art and critters to post, so . . . .

Here! Have some deer art.

2011-08-03T21:14:00.006-06:00

I've been on a roll with deer art lately. So here! Have some deer art.

These are people's characters from a game called The Endless Forest.

I like deer.

I made a zombie BUFFALO

2011-07-29T05:57:00.000-06:00

This guy was for a custom order. He was quite fun to make.

Zombie buffalo for the win!

Kobal Sauce

2011-07-21T04:57:00.000-06:00

My character Kobal Sauce. Done in a new style of coloring!

Drawn in Paint Tool SAI.

OMG Antelope!!

2011-07-20T04:45:00.000-06:00

This is Scraggy. I named her that because, well, she's pretty scraggy.

That's a pretty smug grin you have there.

She hangs out in and around my neighborhood and is quite the character.

This is Scraggy and her boyfriend Boy George. Yes. I name all the antelope around my house.

And this is Scraggy and her TWINS!!!! How freaking awesome is that??

Ayden Loves Popcicles!

2011-07-19T04:44:00.000-06:00

Really. Who doesn't???

New Zombie

2011-07-18T16:40:00.004-06:00

Oh yes. A new zombie from me! His brains are showing.

How unfortunate.

He's in my Etsy shop!! Go, go, GO!

Mule Deer WIP

2011-07-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

My latest piece of digital art!! It's still a work in progress . . . . .

Wanna see it bigger? Check out my Deviant Art site!

Probably the most scared I've ever been . . .

2011-07-01T21:44:00.003-06:00

I woke suddenly to the ear splitting sound of an alarm. Not the alarm clock with it's familiar, if not insessant beep, but the shrill siren call that could only be our house alarm. I sat up groggily, heart pounding, realizing that it was still dark out. The room was black. My husband was next to me, sitting by this point as well.
"What the hell is that?" I asked. We had no idea. The sound was deafening. A constant squee, squee, squee that made my head spin. Jeremy jumped out of bed and turned on the light. He fumbled in the nightstand drawer and pulled out our night stick. No time to grab the gun, which was in the closet and unloaded. My adrenaline surged knowing what could happen if someone was in the house, and my thoughts turned to Ayden. He's in his room, which is on the other side of the house.
Panic set in. I had to get to him, bring him in our bedroom and get the gun. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, almost stepping on my son. Some time during the night he must have snuck in and fell asleep on the floor. I felt relief until I heard Jeremy call out
"Is there anyone down there?" he asked. He was at the top of the stairs. The alarm was still blaring but sounded like it was coming from several sources. I was confused. Half asleep, adrenaline pumping, and confused as to what was happening. I quickly made my way to our alarm panel, to see where the breech had occured.
System Armed
What? What the hell did that mean? If the system is armed, if there's no breech, then what the hell is that alarm??
I heard Jeremy in the kitchen.
"What's going on?!"
He was getting batteries.
"The smoke alarms. One is malfuntioning," he replied.
Smoke alarm? I was more confused than ever. The screech was coming from everywhere.
Then suddenly, it stopped.
Apparently, the battery in one of the smoke alarms went out. It alarmed and set off every other smoke alarm in the house (they are all wired together). Which is awesome if there's a fire.
Not so much when it's 4AM, you're groggy, half-asleep, and have adrenaline pumping through you because you think someone has broken in and set off your house alarm.

This situation has taught me two things:
1. It's a good idea to change out all of your smoke alarm batteries at least yearly.
2. We are woefully unprepared for the zombie appocolypse. Seriously. If it had been zombies, we would have been dead.

I drew a DURR!!!

2011-06-28T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hurr hurr, I'm a durr!!!

You know you're a nurse when . . .

2011-06-24T10:10:00.002-06:00

These are all true . . .

1. The front of your scrubs reads ‘Nurses… here to save your ass, not kiss it!’
2. You occasionally park in the space with the “physicians only” sign… and knock it over.
3. You believe some patients are alive only because it’s illegal to kill them.
4. You recognize that you can’t cure stupid.
5. You own at least three pens with the names of prescription medications on them.
6. You believe there’s a special place in hell for the inventor of the call light.
7. You believe that saying ‘it can’t get any worse’ causes it to get worse just to show you it can.
8. You wash your hands BEFORE you go to the bathroom.
9. You believe that any job where you can drive to work in your pajamas is a cool one.
10. You consider a tongue depressor an eating utensil.
11. Eating microwave popcorn out of a clean bedpan is perfectly natural.
12. You’ve been exposed to so many x-rays that you consider it a form of birth control.
13. You’ve ever heard a patient with a nose ring, a brow ring, and twelve earrings say “I’m afraid of shots.”
14. You’ve ever placed a bet on someone’s blood alcohol level.
15. You’ve told a confused patient that your name is that of a coworker and to call if they need help.
16. Your bladder can expand to the size of a Winnebago’s water tank.
17. You have seen more penises than any prostitute could dream of.
18. You believe that not all patients are annoying… some are unconscious.
19. Your family and friends refuse to watch medical sitcoms with you because you spend the whole time correcting everyone and pointing out upside down x-rays.
20. You don’t get excited about blood, unless it’s your own.
21. You’ve sworn to have “do not resuscitate” tattooed on your chest. Soon.
22. Discussing dismemberment over a gourmet meal is perfectly normal to you.
23. Your idea of fine dining is anywhere you can sit down to eat.
24. Your idea of a good time is a cardiac arrest at shift change.
25. You believe in the aerial spraying of Prozac.
26. You believe that ‘shallow gene pool’ should be a recognized diagnosis.
27. You believe that the government should require permits to reproduce.
28. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall anyone who utters the phrase “Wow, it’s really quiet, isn’t it?”
29. You have ever wanted to write a book entitled “Suicide: getting it right the first time.”
30. You have ever had a patient look you straight in the eye and say “I have no idea how that got stuck in there.”
31. You’ve had to leave a patient’s room before you begin to laugh uncontrollably

Blaaaaaaaaaah!

2011-06-22T06:14:00.000-06:00

I've been lazy with posting again.
I like lazy.
I'm working on a corpse skull for this Halloween. I'll have a tutorial in the coming weeks . . . . once I get around to loading/editing pictures!
I'm also finishing reading Day By Day Armageddon by J.L. Bourne. It's a zombie book. And it is awesome. (which is part of the reason I don't have any new plushies or artwork to share).

Deer

2011-06-15T08:07:00.002-06:00

Thought I'd share my latest speed paint with y'all. I play a game called The Endless Forest, where your characters are deer. This is one of my characters, Roe.

Around an hour or 2, in SAI.

Still can't comment

2011-06-13T21:33:00.003-06:00

So yeah. I still can't comment on ANY blog. It's getting extremely annoying.
All I wanna do is comment!!!!!!
To my bloggy buddies, as soon as I'm able to do so, I WILL COMMENT!!

Blue Hair Bitches!!

2011-06-13T06:05:00.000-06:00

Darkened my hair and added PEACOCK BLUE!!

Oh yes.

It's awesome.

Tattoo Concept

2011-06-09T08:58:00.001-06:00

A quick colored sketch of my next tattoo possibility. I like the concept, but, we'll see.

I would love to tell you . . .

2011-06-06T21:18:00.002-06:00

There are things I would love to tell you. I would love to tell you how your actions have cheated your daughter. How it's not fair for her to suffer at the hand of your addiction. How your lies will hurt your family when they finally release the denial.
I would love for you to take a step back and see the pain you caused in your wake.
But you are too far gone.
You are lost and consumed by your addiction.
And you no longer care.

I can only hope your daughter finds a loving family.

(not about my family - don't worry. But I see things in my profession)

New Zombie Bunny

2011-06-03T08:01:00.005-06:00

This guy is quite creepy. Check out those chompers.

His chompers and jaw bits are made with polymer clay. His smile is a bit unearving.

And he's available in my Etsy shop!

Ayden has croup. Again.

2011-06-01T10:06:00.002-06:00

My son has this thing with croup. For some reason, he seems to get it often. What's croup, you ask? It's an upper respiratory infection that makes him sound like a hoarse, barking sea lion. No exaggeration there - my kid sounds like a sea lion. I almost wanna throw fish at him.

But some might consider that bad parenting.

It's much worse at night. He gets terribly congested and has trouble breathing. So my hubby and I get to stay up with him to make sure he's okay.

And throw fish at him.

My son, the sea lion.

What the FUCK, blogger???????

2011-05-31T09:20:00.002-06:00

****STRONG LANGUAGE WARNING****

Okay blogger, WHAT THE FUCK?????
Why are you being such a bitch right now??
Seriously. I can't post comments on anyone's blog, and it's really starting to piss me off. When I try to post, I get stuck in a cycle of having to constantly put in my user name and password, then a captcha, then user name and password, then captcha, etc, etc, etc. And I can never post the comment.
I'm having other issues with blogger as well - like logging in sometimes. Or being able to even go to the blogger website. And not only on my home computer.
I fucking hate you right now blogger.
Anyone else having any problems? I'm about to stab my fucking screen.

This is how I draw

2011-05-30T06:19:00.001-06:00

I'm always interested in how other people draw or sculpt. I love seeing the creative processes. So I thought, why not share an example of my own?

I'll show you the process of this drawing. It's of two of my deer on The Endless Forest, Fae and Roe.

First, the sketch. It's a little hard to see, sorry. I typically sketch pretty light.

Next, line art. I do all my lines with a fine point sharpie pen.

On to color!! I start with the lightest colors first. It's easy to add dark over light, but very difficult to go the other way.

Added more color and details.

More color and details.

Adding more dark and shadow and different colors.

More details and color added. Fae, the butterfly colored doe, has around 9 different colors. Several browns, oranges, yellows, peach, white, grey and black. Roe has grey, black, 3 blues, white, beige, and 2 greens. Lots of colors! After I'm finished coloring, I go back and re-line everything.
This drawing took around 2 hours from start to finish. I use Prismacolor colored pencils. This is the technique I use on most of my artwork - traditional that is. My process is a bit different with digital.

I love Trannies - and so should you!

2011-05-27T06:25:00.000-06:00

Is there anything more fabulous than a tranny? The correct answer is no.

I love cross-dressers/transvestites sooooooo much!

Not all trannies mind you. But flamboyant, over-the-top trannies.

That's Prince Poppycock - one of my heros.

Eddie Izzard. My idol.

And I can't leave out Adam Lambert. While not a true tranny, he IS glamtastic!

My son is not gay . . . .maybe.

2011-05-26T06:08:00.000-06:00

Strange title, yeah?

We all know my son Ayden. He's a ladies man.

Proof

He's all boy. He loves super heros, trucks, guns and bugs. He loves being dirty.

But, sometimes, I wonder.

See, I was shopping for shoes for a friend's wedding. Ayden picked out a pair and said "Mommy! You should get these. They would look so elegant on you!" Um, thanks?

Two weeks ago he was playing with a Transformer. He asked me "Mom! Isn't he cool?" To which I responded Yes! He's fantastic. Ayden got a very stern look on his face and told me "Mommy, he can't be fantastic. He doesn't go to fashion shows - he's not that stylish." I laughed. He responded (very seriously, mind you) "What? He's not stylish." No, I . . .I guess he's not.

I told my hubby (and everyone at work) that if he's going to be gay, he sure as hell better not half-ass it. He better be all-the-way GAY!!! I'm talking flamboyant fabulous gay. If you're gonna do it, do it right.

I was told by several people I was going to hell for that.

Only if I get to drive the bus. :D

My house smells of sunscreen

2011-05-25T09:33:00.003-06:00

My hubby is doing security today for the Air Force Academy graduation here in Colorado Springs. He put on sunscreen before he left this morning, and now the house smells like an island oasis.
And Doritos. An island oasis mixed with Doritos.
Damn you Zan, for smelling so icky.
On an unrelated note, I get to go talk to a therapist. Yay. Apparently my regular doc thinks that suicidal ideation warrants a talk with a professional. I think it warrants a piece of pie. Chocolate cream, preferably. But, whatever.
Here, I'll elaborate. Mainly because I've decided that I don't really care what people think about me any more. I'm weird, I'm messed up, I believe strange things, and if you don't like it, then fuck you. Go away. I switched my meds up again - mainly because of the whole "suicidal ideation thing". And because I'm honest with how I feel, I get to go see a therapist. Which to me, is more depressing than depression. See, I don't have any family issues, no big secrets or skeletons in my closet causing me pain, no traumatic childhood.
Nope. So I don't see how a therapist will help. I'm not going to talk and spill my guts and feel magically better. Not going to happen. What will help is getting my brain chemistry balanced. And talking ain't gonna do that.
So I guess this was kinda a rant. Just a little frustrated at the moment.
And now I have to go to the gym and work off the chocolate pie.

This is random . . . .

2011-05-21T09:55:00.002-06:00

But I'm thinking of trying to write a book.
Yep. You read that right.
Not to publish in the hopes of making millions of dollars (though that would be nice). But more as a therapeutic purge of thoughts, ideas, my life and observations . . . .musings from the mind of a bipolar, zombie-loving nutcase.
I think it might be a good read.
Who knows, if I ever finish it, maybe someone would actually publish it.

What have I been up to?

2011-05-17T07:24:00.003-06:00

I've had quite a few custom orders as of late. Mostly from people on Deviant Art. This latest plush I finished is one of the most difficult plushies I've done. Not necessarily because of a difficult, technical pattern, but because for some reason I just found making a hyena hard.

It took me awhile to draft the pattern. I looked at sooooooo many reference pictures of hyenas. After I had the pattern drafted, and the basic plush sewn up, I had to zombify him. See, the hyena is a character named Vosha - a zombie hyena with bat wings. He has just bones for the front legs, muscle showing on his rear right leg, and empty eye sockets. The front legs were the most difficult. I started with all fabric - and hated the look. Then, I did all pipe cleaners but the legs couldn't support the weight of the plush. So I settled on a combo of both fabric and pipe cleaners.

Next, the markings. I did them with markers. Yay! And yes, that's totally a maggot in his eye socket. Just for good measure.

It's been awhile . . . . .

2011-05-16T08:32:00.002-06:00

Wow. It's been slmost a month since my last post. Which is both depressing and awesome. I needed the break from blogging. Needed to see if I still wanted to blog at all.

And you know something? I missed it. Missed just getting my thoughts out, sharing my art and plushies here. And missed reading my favorite blogs as well.

I will slowly get back into blogging. Maybe only a couple of posts each week to start. I may even overhaul my blog. Redo the layout . . . . . I'm not sure yet.

I'm sure I will have vent posts, my artwork, plushies, Etsy stuff, and musings on life. I've been doing more creative writing as of late, and it's quite enjoyable. Who knows, maybe I'll share a short story or some poetry.

Or maybe a picture of crabs.

Not the STD crabs. But, like, a real crab.

Here - have some art

2011-04-20T08:03:00.003-06:00

Sleeping fawns. Nothing cuter!

On an unrelated note, my blood sugars continue to get higher, despite me trying to cut out more sugar. It's prety awesome. I have the pre-diabetic symptoms again.

All thanks to my stupid meds. Which aren't helping all that great with the depression. Which means you can probably expect vent art. Yay.

Stupid fucking brain chemistry.

Artwork!!!

2011-04-15T06:00:00.001-06:00

Some of my latest artwork. Deer related, of course!! Drew this after I hurt my ankle. Vent art of sorts :)

And a laying deer!!!

I LOVE deer!!

Yep. More new zombies from me.

2011-04-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

Been productive lately! A zombie dog!

Zombie Easter chicks!! And a zombie ermine!! Aka weasel! All available in my shop!

ZOMBIE Deer Plush!!

2011-04-12T06:00:00.000-06:00

You read that right. Yesterday I showed you my new deer. And today, you get to see zombie deer!!! This is my first zombdeer! He sold in 20 minutes!

Zombdeer number 2 . . . .

And an albino zombdeer!!!

The second 2 are available in my shop!

I Made Plush Deer!!

2011-04-11T08:41:00.004-06:00

Yes I did. And they are epic.

This one is the prototype. He's named Shalaco and belongs to Ayden! Ayden LOVES this deer :)

My second deer is Fae. She's mine.

And tomorrow I'll show you my other deer . . .

Huh . . . . .

2011-04-09T20:09:00.002-06:00

So I took like, another week and a half off from blogging and then did 3 posts in a row - boom boom boom!! And I got no comments. And looking through my blog list, I noticed that the blogs I tend to read religiously had no new posts. Are we all getting spring fever? Well, I know I am!!

Grrrrrr.

2011-04-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

Really? Is this an appropriate picture of me?

New Zombies!

2011-04-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

I haven't been blogging, but I HAVE been making things!!

New zombie bunnies!! Yay!!!

I've been lazy.

2011-04-05T09:58:00.003-06:00

When it comes to my blog, at least. Long story short: I was feeling depressed and didn't feel like blogging. OH!!! And I'm clumsy and fell at work on Sunday! I didn't even trip on anything. I was walking and turning a little to set something on the counter at the nurse's station and I must have turned strange. My ankle rolled and gave out and I heard a crack. So I got to go down to the ER and have x-rays. No break thank goodness, but I tore a ligament. Here's my new air cast!!! This is while I was in the ER. See? Got my scrubs on!! I had only been at work 20 minutes before I fell. I'm clumsy.

2011-03-28T11:19:00.001-06:00

Today . . . . . . . is a crappy day. The end.

Feature Friday

2011-03-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

Remember on Wednesday I said I would show you what I want to spend my money on? Well, yeah. All of this!

From BagEnvy:

From ModDiva:

From tanneicasey:

It would appear that I'm on an adorable bag kick . . . . .

Throne

2011-03-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

Yep. Dis mah throne. Of pillows.

2 New Zombies

2011-03-16T07:49:00.006-06:00

I'm on a roll!!!!

Well, really I'm just trying to get my shop filled. I need money in my paypal so I can blow it all on Etsy stuff!!

A grey zombie bunny, with a nommed ear and dangly eye.

And a zombie squirrel. Who happens to be missing one of his arms.

On Friday, I'll showcase what it is I wanna blow my money on ;)

OMG Antelope Butts!

2011-03-15T09:02:00.003-06:00

Yep. Those are pronghorn antelope butts. Hard to sneak up on antelope when you have a 4-year old and an icky dog with you . . . .

Before they took off. I love the antelopes by our house :)

A new Zombie Bunny!

2011-03-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

My newest little zombie critter. Another zombie bunny full of WIN and undead AWESOMENESS!!

You can see more of him in my shop!

OMG Cottage Cheese!

2011-03-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

OMG!!! The boy is giving me cottage cheese!!!

Of course he has to make me dance for it.

It's so good . . . . . .

Gotta get it all!!!

The Endless Forest

2011-03-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

I play this AWESOME game called the Endless Forest. It's simple, serene, and fun.
And you're a deer.
How awesome is that??
This is my deer, Shalaco. The little symbol is my pictogram in the game.
Deer=win.

Happy Birthday Ayden!

2011-03-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

My little man is 4 today!!! Holy crap!

We took him to the aquarium in Denver and he loved it!!!

Love you lots turkey butt!

My Little Pony

2011-03-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

OMG!!! I totally made my own My Little Ponies!!!!

Yep. This is Scuzbucket and Derpface. And they are full of win!

Till death do us part . . . .

2011-03-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

I found a dead female house sparrow in my yard. I don't know how she died, but even in death she was beautiful.

I took a break!!

2011-02-28T06:00:00.001-07:00

Ahhhhhh. I took last week off from blogging.
And it felt good. :D

MY fabric!

2011-02-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Dis mine! Gimmie! I shoot you with my lazer eyes!

Pew pew!

I climbed a tree . . . .

2011-02-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yes I did.

Kobal Sauce

2011-02-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is my demon Kobal. I like drawing him. He's full of awesome-sauce.

He's super cute!! And likes eating bunnies.

You can see more of him on my DeviantArt page.

New Rats!

2011-02-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Made 2 new ratties for my shop! Yay!!

This little gal is Kiwi. She likes pie.

And Kevin. He's terribly cute!

You can see them both in my shop!

I got nothin'

2011-02-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Strut

2011-02-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

I be struttin'. They be hatin'.

I made MYSELF a plushie!

2011-02-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yes I did.

This is Bug. My voodoo bunny. I draw him too.

He's too freaking cute to NOT be a plush!!!!

And he's soft. I wuvs him.

My Logo

2011-02-07T06:09:00.000-07:00

This is my Icky Dog logo. Because I'm awesome.

Done in Paint Tool SAI.

Elken . . . . .

2011-02-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Happy elk is happy . . . .

In Estes Park this past fall.
Elken are cute!

Deer . . . . .

2011-02-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've been quite smitten with them lately. You can expect to see more artwork and plushies that are deer related . . . . .

And this is my own pic. Took it this past summer. Antlers are in velvet, getting ready for the rut!

Taxidermy Plush FINISHED!!!

2011-01-31T09:31:00.009-07:00

That's the last WIP pic! Below, the finished ones . . . . .

Taxidermy is a character created by Roman Dirge. He's kind of a man/taxidermied deer-head . . . .thing.

He was really fun to make, and I made up the pattern as I went along. I made the "skull" first, and added the fur on over that. I think it lends itself to a more loose, this-fur-is-just-hanging-on, look.

This plush is rather big. 12 inches tall sitting, 19 inches overall (not including his antlers). His antlers are wired so they're posable. He has plastic pellets in his tummy for added weight. And yes, his suit does come off. I made it seperate. :D

A Work in Progress

2011-01-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

These are sneak peeks of a plushie work in progress. :)

I'll post the finished pics on Monday . . . .

His face is only part-way done here.

Fans of Roman Dirge may recognize him . . . . . :D

. . . . . .

2011-01-27T12:34:00.003-07:00

I don't know why mom finds my sleeping positions so amusing . . . .

Ayden loves Garden of the Gods

2011-01-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

In Colorado Springs, we have a gorgeous park called Garden of the Gods. It has fabulous trails and the most amazing and HUGE red rock formations.

And Ayden loves playing on the rocks!

Look at that cheeky grin. He's a ham for the camera.

Look! There's a zombie over there!!!! (yes, he actually said that)

Shoot it!!!! Yep. He started "shooting" at the zombie. See? Can't you picture him making pew pew noises?

My son, zombie hunter.

I'm tired of being tired . . . . .

2011-01-24T09:41:00.002-07:00

I've been taking my new thyroid medication for 8 days now - I'm on Armour instead of Synthroid. I'm hypothyroid and my body soes an excellent job of storing thyroid hormone. But it can't convert it to the active form for my body to use.
An issue with your thyroid can affect every system in your body. Without going into great detail, the thyroid controls cellular metabolism, hormone sensitivity, and your body's "thermostat". Common symptoms of hypothyroidism include: cold intolerance, tiredness, fatigue, muscle soreness, dry skin, brittle hair, hair loss, constipation, and depression.
I have all of those symptoms.
Yay.
My problems started last spring when I was diagnosed as being bipolar and was started on Lamictal. It started with a constant headache. And by constant I mean, 24 hours a day, EVERY day with no relief. And then I developed the early symptoms of being diabetic. I started testing my blood sugars (fasting, random, and 2 hour post pyrandial). They were almost high enough to classify me as pre-diabetic - I'm considered borderline pre-diabetic. This was big, considering I've been hypoglycemic my entire life.
Next, I was diagnosed as hypothyroid and started the game of taking Synthroid for 4-6 weeks, getting blood work done, adjusting the dose, more blood work . . . . . . .
The fatigue started to become crippling. To the point I was so tired I hurt. I was having trouble focusing and concentrating. My hair started breaking off and falling out (it's definitely thinner). My skin is so dry it's flakey and my nose bleeds every time I blow it.
So my doc switched me to Armour.
And I stopped taking the Lamictal. It seems to be what started the cascade.
It's terribly frustrating.
/end rant

Custom Plush

2011-01-18T06:00:00.001-07:00

Some of you may know that I have a Deviant Art page (yep, I do). And I do some custom plushies there that never see my Etsy store.

Most of the time they're plushies of people's characters or pets.

Thought I'd share a couple!

Two very different and interesting characters. I have another one that I'm working on, as well as a custom order from Etsy. :)

Oh Monday, how I loathe thee . . . .

2011-01-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Well, not completely I guess.
I was actually looking forward to today. Mainly because I can now switch my thyroid medication!!!!! Hooray!!
I'm hypothyroid and I was started on Synthroid about 11 weeks ago. Been tweaking the dose and having blood work done, but it hasn't been helping (still ridiculously tired, fatigued, cold all the time, dry, itchy skin, no appetite . . . . .).
Apparently, my body is doing a terrific job storing thyroid hormone, but has no idea how to utilize it. My body isn't converting it to the active form that my body can use. So, I've got plenty of T4, but I'm not converting to T3.
Which means Synthroid (which provides T4), isn't doing me a lick of good! Except giving me a big 'ol store of T4.
So now I'm on Armour. What's the difference? Armour supplies both T4 and T3. So I'll have active hormone for my body to use. Yay!! Which should mean that my energy level will go up and my other annoying symptoms will slowly go away.
So today, Monday, you're okay.

Damn my spicy lips . . .

2011-01-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

So yeah. Mom and Dad had some delicious food. I think they called it . . . posole. I wanted some. They made me stand for it.

It was yummy. And spicy as HELL!!!

So I had to lick the kitchen floor. To get the spice off.

And the carpet. (they wouldn't let me bring in mulch)

And then I chewed some fabric. With my evil lazer eyes. To show how disgruntled I was about the spice.

I'm LAZY!! And a FEATURE!

2011-01-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! I've been so LAZY when it's come to my blog!! Ahhhh well. I'll get back in the swing of things.

Anyway, on to a feature :D

I stumbled upon this shop by accident. But now I NEED to order something from her!!

The shop is Angel Gnome, and it's fantastic! She has the most adorable zippered pouches and artwork.

See????? Look at this little pouch!!! It's AWESOME!!!!

And an adorable hand painted bookmark.

OMG skulls!!

I may just have to purchase something from her . . . .