Flowers, Orcids, Rhino's, and The Crowning Achievement: Ancient Dragon!

So it has been a while since I have blogged and I have been folding things without posting them...so, as always, I have decided to cram them all into one post.    Probably not much to say, other than much has happened and I have probably forgotten most of it.    Oh!   Cheryl's parents came last weekend!  It was fun-ish. 

  That is to say, it rained,  we spent most of the time in the car, and it ended too quickly to do or say much.   Sometimes I forget just how far from civilization we are!

Other than that,  the Ancient Dragon has to be the most difficult pattern I have ever completed up to this date.  

 It was fun and I think it turned out pretty well.   I can't wait to try it again,  however, it took me almost 4 days to complete!  I had to glue the horns and toes together because the paper wanted to come unwrapped.  

Anyway,   I also have been working on my Origami Banzai trying to get the flowers to look real and cute.   Enjoy the pics....I can't say much as the time is limited on this post and I have to hurry...Cheryl is in a rush to get out of here.   Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Say Goodbye To the MCAT

That is right!   It is over!  Fini!  Kaput!   The Last paper for Mcat was officially graded a couple of weeks ago, but now we are on an English thing where we do this range finding stuff.   I know,  great lingo there,  but these high school papers bring out the worst in writing skills. 

  Anyway, I have not posted anything in a while and until I get a few more pics,  I thought I would refresh the blog a bit just to push it along.  In other news,  Stockings are beginning to pic up a bit, and Cheryl's parents are coming in a week or two.   So  big events are coming down the alley!   For all those MCAT-ers,   I'm not sure what they have planned for you in the future,  but, for now at least,  all those books are worthless for the written essay part now.   At least that is what I'm guessing....I really don't know because I try to stay an uninformed as possible.   Hope everyone is having a great week so far! 

Adventures in Baking..MACARONS! With the Great Ethan Allen

So this weekend Cheryl and I attempted to make some Macarons.   Not to be confused with macaroons,   (Even the BOOK spelled it wrong!) 

Macarons are a delicate French concoction that costs a fortune in the store,  provided you have a store in your STATE that sells them.  ( Iowa lacks these little gems, BTW)

So,  the recipe is quite simple, calling for crushed almonds and meringue with sugar.   Then add the flavor of your choice.   The first few did not turn out as well as we had liked.  The paper curled up and messed up the tops.  Also,  It took me two attempts to get the meringue to turn out correctly.   There is additionally this little trick to allow the domes to form by leaving them out for almost an hour before baking them.  

In the end,  they looked bad, but tasted great!   Our second attempt was much more successful, but we forgot to take pictures of those. 

Anyway,  we also made some BLT's with fish bread.   Similar to a pita bread,  the goldfish bread was quite yummy!  Even the cats thought so!

 

 I'm not sure what our plans are for this weekend,  as sales have begun to trickle in, but Cheryl wants to bring Macaron happiness to the people at ACT on the last day of the MCAT.  I'm sure we will be perfecting out baking skills on Sunday...and perhaps we will post better pics of them then.   We shall see.

Origami Phoenix, Pegasus, and Another Dragon.

What can I say,  I'm having fun with the paper.   I received a request from one of my benefactors for an origami Phoenix,  so I wanted to change things up a bit.   Since I could not make up my mind,  I made two.   It's unfortunate that I didn't have more time to take better photos,  but I was on my way out the door when I snapped the pics.  

Anyway,  this blog is pretty much for my own recall,  so I will remember it long after this computer dies with all the pictures on it.   Not to mention I will most likely fold a better one later on.   In other news,   I have found a new way of making paper, and a new art store that carries  some very interesting papers.

  I can't wait to try them out,  but for now, I'll  continue making my own.   Hope everyone is having a great week so far.   This day has been very nice to us.   it's one of those days where things just go "right".   Which is a pleasant change as of late,  and ultimately bound to happen eventually.   so...for now...We will sit back and enjoy it as it continues.  

New Paper, More Dragons.

As our time at ACT winds down,   I have been working on a few new designs with some different paper.   I'm pleased with the gold dragon,  but the red paper has issues that need to be solved yet.   Although I think the scorpion turned out ok,  it still managed to strain the paper to the tear point.   Even after dampening it,  it lost even more integrity.   Ah well,  the design was not that complicated,  but it will require a little more experimentation. 

we have several days off this weekend,  so I'm looking forward to making some more paper and folding something a little more complex...we shall see.....Cheryl and I have been back to sewing stockings once again, and we have made a few more sales so hopefully,  things will start picking up on the business end...Hope everyone is having a great week so far,   and now the weekend begins!

YEAR OF THE ORIGAMI DRAGON!

So I have been working on an origami dragon lately, and I was fairly pleased with the results. It was a new-ish paper and the folding was a little challenging at times.  I liked it so well,  I attempted another with a slightly smaller piece of paper. I still see all the flaws, but as my 4th attempt, I think I’m getting better. And that is what it is all about after all, right? I work on my folding while I give away my mistake/ prototypes, and even successes away. So, enjoy the pics of the dragons, I have to say that I’m relieved to get them out of the house as they bother me every time I look at them….it’s a quirk. 

 

In other news, we sold a couple more stockings! YEAH! Money makes life happy! I hope everyone is having a great week so far, and just remember that it is over half way over now. Friday is just around the corner.

Origami Matador!

Just a quick post to show off the latest origami.   A bull and a matador...I'm quite pleased with the matador as I had to make up the design on my own.   I basically used the "girl in a dress" model with a rectangle piece of red and gold paper.   I even pulled off the color change on my own!    Anyway,  it got snapped up right away at the ACT so I didn't get much of a chance to show it off.    I can always make another one.    Currently I'm working on a opera singer and another Chinese dragon version.    I still have to work on the European dragon.....Ah  the time!   

 

We will be finding ourselves with more time off, however,  as we are zipping through the project and it is beginning to wind down.    The kids are now back at school so Barns and Nobels is rather peaceful at the moment.    Oh!  And we made a sale!   On ETSY!   YEAH!  Money is always welcome at our doorstep!  Hopefully  the drought is over and the rain will start back up again....just like here in Iowa.  Hope everyone is having a great week...and has a great weekend.