A Christmas Carol

What’s Christmas with the perennial favorite: A Christmas Carol? I’d been eying this one for eons now, having the tale told to me numerous times growing up, so imaging my joy when someone requested one! This is the George C. Scott version. I’ve only ever seen him in “Patton” and “The Firestarter,” the former being one of my Dad’s favorite. I never thought I would ever paint George C. Scott, especially a version wherein he sports mutton chop sideburns!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Outlander Past and Present

Even though the Outlander sets are one of the more difficult ones to paint, I readily agreed to knock out another one for the annual Outlander SoCal Third Anniversary Gathering raffle. If I can’t be there in person, I might as well send one of my minions over!

This one is the most complicated one yet, largely because I was to depict Jamie and Claire in their wedding garbs, and believe you me, that was a lot of paid! Still, it was good fun and since my health issues have been resolved, I couldn’t complain!

In addition to Jamie and Claire as well as a mini version of its creator Diana Gabaldon, I got to paint Brianna and Roger for the first time in their modern costumes!

Henry VIII Variant

Henry VIII is one of those sets I don’t mind repeating. It’s not based on the TV show or any of the movie versions so I can go hog wild on the costumes. The recipients of these sets can expect something different each time.

Now that I Have a grander collection of bling, I get even more extravagant with the jewelry and embellishments on the costumes. The construction of this set did not come at a timely manner though. For over a month I’ve been suffering from the kind of headache that makes you wish someone would come along with two bricks and put you out of your misery. Focusing on the minute details didn’t help but hey, the show must go on, right? I did do the responsible thing by going to see a doctor about the headaches and after a stern talking to about not coming to see him sooner, I was given a prescription that simultaneously eased the pains considerably and made me feel very very old indeed for being on the same medication as my Dad.

But the meds kicked in almost immediately and I was able to happily paint the rest of this set with glee and pain free for the first time in ages!

I should have been listening to “Wolf Hall” while painting this set, but instead I decided on “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” which was great fun, especially now that I’m officially out of the cloud of pain. It took a lot of self control not to paint the ladies wielding katanas and daggers and muskets.

Henry VIII Double Deluxe Sets

Oh this? Just two jumbo Henry VIII set I did a few weeks ago.

My Outlander Dolls Met Diana Gabaldon

I hate to admit it, but some sets takes a lot more out of me than others, and Outlander happens to be one of them. It could be the plaid motif that makes me a bit more cross eyed than usual at the end of the long work day. Still, I cheerfully agreed to paint a mega set of eight for a fan because she was so sweet and I am such a big fan of both the book series and the show. I was told to take my time with this set but then she revealed that she’s going to an event in which the author Diana Gabaldon was to be present and she thought it would be neat to bring the dolls with her.

“I’ll get it to you before the event if you promise to get her to autograph it,” I said and went right to work. Since it’s such a big set, it took about a week to paint, but I got it done and it was shipped off to the US and I actually forgotten all about it until I got the nicest surprise in my inbox this weekend.

I think I squealed and then wrote an incoherent reply to the sender of this delightful set of photos and then squealed some more.

Here’s a closeup of the Outlander set featuring Diana Gabaldon as the main doll:

In her hand I painted my cherished copy of the first volume of the series:

I’m so glad that even though I can’t be there in person to meet her, my dolls did!

Outlander

My husband would be the first to tell you that I’m the least romantic person in the world. He’s not wrong. But it does save him from having to remember anniversaries and he can spend money meant for roses and candies on beer and bangers. But I do enjoy reading a historical romance or two, most notably the “Outlander” series by Diana Gabaldon, Queen of my Universe. The tomes she produce are vast and meaty with all sorts of goodies. It more or less ruined all historical fictions for me after reading one of hers.

It was why I was really reluctant to watch the “Outlander” TV series even though I had heard nothing but good stuff about it. The cast was amazing, the script fabulous. I have the entire season 1 on my tablet but I sort of wanted to savor it like a tasty treat you hide under your pillows, away from prying eyes, until you can greedily gobble it up. What with one thing or another, I never got around to watching it until a request for it came and then I had no choice.

It turned out to be a fabulous experience. I cleared a week in my schedule to really focus on the details whilst watching the show in the meanwhile.

Here we have (from largest to smallest) Jamie Fraser (yum!), Claire, Black Jack Randall, Frank Randall, Dougal Mackenzie, Geillis Duncan (who is still by far my favorite secondary character in any literature. She ought to get her own book!), and of course, the jolly Mrs. Fitz.

To add icing to the cake, this is the 700th set I’ve painted!

The Real Housewives of Henry VIII

Here’s a whole new version of Henry VIII, one of my favorite sets to paint so I can pull out my majestic collection of metallic pens and really bling things out.

Some details:

I’m just a little bummed that this set is done and dusted. Perhaps it’s time to do another version of Marie Antoinette…?

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

My brother and I pretty much learned English from watching He-Man and Monty Python. This might explain the Chinglish accent that plagued me for years before it finally diluted itself to an unflattering Queens twang. Needless to say, Monty Python holds a special place in my heart, and I’m pretty sure my brother’s also since we still quote the lines from the ingenious Holy Grail from time to time. This is why homeboy’s getting his own set of Monty Python Knights of the Round Table for his birthday this year.

Clockwise from top: King Arthur, Sir Bedevere the Wise, Sir Galahad the Pure, Sir Robin the Not Quite So Brave as Sir Lancelot, and Sir Lancelot the Brave—the silly English K-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-niggits!

The Man With Six Wives

What was his name again? Oh, that’s right…it’s Henry VIII

I like to think that, when I revisit a set a dolls, I have improved enough as a painter to see the difference in the execution. This one was a real eye-opener since this is a huge set of 7 (what with Henry VIII being about, well, eight inches tall!). The one thing I would do all over again is my choice of glue to put Henry’s hat on. With only Krazy Glue on hand and me not familiar with its insta-bond properties, I managed to fuse two fingers and a feather together. Hey, origins of a new specie has to begin somewhere, right? Might as well be from my studio nook!

Catherine of Aragon (divorced) and Anne Boleyn (beheaded)

Jane Seymour (dead) and Anne of Cleves (divorced)

Kathryn Howard (executed) and Katherine Parr (widowed).

And…the big man himself:

Good ol’ Henry VIII.

The Blackadder

…the best historic sitcom ever to come out of Great Britain…or anywhere else, for that matter.

The Blackadder cast from series II (I was really sorry that Lord Chamberlain Melchett didn’t make it into this set).

“The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the Devil’s own Satanic herd!” –Blackadder

“I do love it when you get cross. Sometimes I think about having you executed, just to see the expression on your face!” –Queenie

“It’s the latest fashion actually and as a matter of fact it makes me look rather sexy!” –Lord Percy Percy

“You’re so clever today, you better be careful your foot doesn’t fall off.” –Nursie

“To you, Baldrick, the Renaissance was just something that happened to other people, wasn’t it?” –Blackadder to his servant.

If you haven’t done so already…check out The Blackadder—all four series!