First Steve's collar and tie.  I just couldn't get the black ribbon to wrap nicely around his neck, or tie it in a bow, and it kept riding up over the top of his collar, so was always dissatisfied with how it looked.  Like in this recent photo....

So I wondered how it would look if I made a separate, stand alone collar with the necktie attached, that could be worn over his shirt collar. So I drew up a pattern to give it a try....

The ribbon was sewn on along the bottom edge, and it looks a bit 'lumpy' when it's laid out flat because I stitched it on with the collar curved over my fingers. I sewed a small black snap under the bow.  I think the new collar looks much more elegant, like a proper Victorian gentleman.

Then there's the Fantasy photos I'm in the process of taking.  I always use doll stands to support my dolls in photos, and have gotten creative at making them disappear. So far I've managed to mostly hide the big black bases of the guy's stands, either under the edge of a carpet, or behind a lady's skirt.

But I need to shoot a scene with just the guys, so there was no way to hide all their bases.  I had been using a brown paper circle to cover Lawrence's base, but I didn't want three of them in the photo. They would stand out way too much.  So I got the idea to cut a bit off the corners of the big sheet of upholstery fabric that I use for the castle flooring.

I traced the base onto paper, added about an inch all the way around, made a paper pattern to determine where the vertical support should go, drew where the hole should go, smeared the back side with white glue, and cut the 'U' shape out after it had dried. I also used FrayCheck around the outer edges.....

Then I took a photo of two guys, one with the base covered, and one without, with the vertical supports hidden behind their legs....

Even though there is no bothering to try match the woven pattern, the fabric circle is barely noticeable.  A bit of Photoshop afterwards will make it completely invisible.

Back inside, it was time for the birthday cake....

"Happy Birthday David!!"

All in pink....

David ripped open his gift...

"It's a sword!"

"Yes. I had it made specially for you.."

"Wow!  I love it!"

And he strapped it on right away....

David felt so proud....

"Our son is growing up so fast..."

David pulled his sword from the scabbard....

His Dad and uncles did the same...

"We have a new, young knight in the family!"

'I' is for Indian girl sharing her Ice cream with an Iguana....

After the dinner, everyone gathered out on the terrace, so the staff could clear the table, and set up inside the great hall for dessert and dancing. Then Lawrence presented his son with a gift...

"We have a special gift for you..."

David was all excited....

Everyone was watching...

"It's from your Mother and me..."

"Oh wow!  Thank you!'

David wondered what it could be...

He was almost too excited to open it.....

Elin drawing a portrait of her bunny....

*During the art series, I'd get our granddaughters to do the various artworks for me, so they'd look appropriately 'childlike'.  This one was done by Natty, who was normally amazing at drawing, but she had broken her wrist and was using her wrong hand.

Beautiful Hazy....

She has an Elfdoll head on a Soom SuperGem body.  I had purchased a Soom Cuprit as a costume model, but really didn't like her, so Charie suggested I could order an Elfdoll head I liked to replace it, and then she modified the neck so it would fit.

Flying kites in Killarney........*More Here

I'm still working on doll cakes.  Of course it didn't help that I decided to add four more to the six I initially started with.  Anyways, this is what my workspace looked like this morning.  Six are finished and ready to be varnished....

The chocolate one still needs most of the 'chocolate' pieces glued on....

I'm rather disappointed by the thick 'drip' lines - even though I did the best I could - but I did make some cool decorations, including ever so small sliced almonds, textured Ferrero Rocher chocolate balls, and tiny Oreo cookies. I used a metal filagree bead to press the impressions into them.

The one I plan to finish next will be the pale green one which will get covered in pink roses. Then there's more details to sculpt for the final two, one of which will get cute 3-D animal pillars, and the final one which needs some sculpted blackberries.  Then I'll be able to clean up and get my kitchen table back again.