Oops! (or, how I waited 'till last minute to finish up my entry for the local Iron Painter contest)

For those of you who don't know, one of the FLGSs (GameTheory, to be exact) and the Grand Gunbunny, PG_bjorkgnu himself, are running a local version of the Iron Painter contest. There are only 5 of us left (out of an original 9), and the theme due this Saturday is "Oops!"  Immediately, I knew what I was going to do.

I had been looking through the Reaper miniatures catalog just the week before. I recalled Brigitte, the Naughty French Maid (WARNING: Boobs!), and thought, for Oops!, I should do something involving a careless maid. I know it's been done, but I wanted a chance to expand (and show off) my conversion skills, to showcase my faux-finishing technique, and to display my Sculpey skills.

So, I cut out a hunk of the back of Brigitte's thighs, just under the end of her skirt (about where her stockings end), and did some additional cutting from under her apron flap in front. I then bent her at the hips (as would be required when wearing a corset), and, in doing so, accidentally broke her waist straight through. I glued her torso back to her legs, and proceeded to do the naughtiest bit of sculpting I've ever had to do: I gave her a new butt. Always looking for opinions (from non-judges, of course), I asked a couple of folks if it was an "anatomically correct hiney".

Additionally, I gave Brigitte a pedastal to knock over with said tush, complete with expensive-looking vase on top. It's almost ready to get pinned to the base, mid-topple. The base itself is a small square of blue insulation foam that's been painted and finished to look like polished marble (tutorial coming next week). I plan to add a satin ribbon around the edge to cover the raw blue foam, and I may make a pretty silver medallion to cover the seam in the ribbon.

I may get pics up tonight. But, I'm not certain. I do need to finish her up by Saturday night.

Round-Up: Where Have I been?

It's been a while, I know. But, I've been busy.

Since my last entry, I ran my first tourneys ever. With mixed results. I had zero player turnout for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Made me a little sad, and somewhat annoyed, but it's okay. Greenmachine was a huge fail on my part. The most recent tourney I ran? A Steamroller that someone else was to have run. But, I stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the ballpark, if I can toot my own horn.

I also ran a rather successful event at Game Theory, Bring-a-Friend night. The long and the short of it is this: a player, we'll call him Bob, brings a friend, we'll call her Jane. Bob gets open play, Jane gets a 10-minute demo. Bob gets entered into a raffle amongst other "bringers" for a gift card, and Jane gets entered into an equivalent raffle for the friends. After the gift cards are given away, the remaining names are shuffled together and additional prizes are drawn. All told, I gave away about 8 prizes that night.

I've been working on a new homepage for the NC Gunbunnies (what's up now looks horrible), and it's almost ready to go up. I've also been at Endless Games (a new store in Raleigh) on most Mondays since the beginning of March to run open play and demos. Endless is a nice, cozy store with some gorgeous terrain. I've also continued doing demos and open play at Game Theory.

Wedding Report: Let's Talk About Themes.

So, I've been perusing Offbeat Bride (OBB) to the point where it's almost an obsession. That site and The Knot are my wedding crack cocaine, and it's not a bad thing. The Knot keeps me organized and OBB keeps me inspired.

I've started re-working the models for the cake topper. I need to chat with the awesome Auntie J about the cake, though, and to get back in touch in general.

I've also realized that I need to pick a theme/concept and stick with it. We're doing a kinda modern take on beachy with the colors, decor, and flowers. But it doesn't feel like "Whoa! Awesome!" I mean, I see what people do with things on a budget and I can't help but think "How can I have that impact?"

Problem: We definitely are geeks of the gaming variety, but how do we turn it into a theme without it getting kitschy?

Solution: Uh, let's make a list.

Thoughts. Mostly About WikiLeaks.

I've been neglecting you, dear reader(s?). I apologize.

Now, I also apologize for the rest of this post if you dislike political commentary.  Don't click the "read more" link if you don't want to read my perspective on the WikiLeaks/Julian Assange scandal.

Cataclysmic-ly Epic, Part 2

The story continues, timestamped and short.

23:31: I take some pictures of the in-store crowd. The line is getting long. The manager is cool with it, lets me take a few before he tells me that there's no photo-taking allowed in the store. Right before I woulda nabbed a pic of the four or five Collectors' Editions behind the counter, too. But, hey, I'm happy with what I've got.

23:40: Jimmy John's shows up. Mmmmm, free subs. Mini-subs, but they were free, so, hey, I'm not passing one up.

23:50: People are still filing in, getting pre-rung and getting in line. For the umpteenth time, I tell the two college or high school kids that just came in, yes, I'm at the front. Get pre-rung first. I'm starting to get giddy and antsy all at once. Then I realize: I have to pee. Well, nuts.

23:52: Two high school or college kids look to bypass the line, first trying to get in front of me without getting pre-rung, then, after getting pre-rung, while the store's filled to capacity, after they've been told to wait outside a half dozen times, by trying to get in the back of the line in the store. Durok and I both agree: d-bags. Seriously? I waited outside for over an hour before they let me in. You can wait 10-15 minutes. Don't give me that male version of the pouty "I'm going to cry" face. I'm a woman, we invented that face.

23:54: Durok takes my phone, and the timer that he thinks is responsible for my excitement. No, it's not the timer. It's anxiety. Good anxiety, but anxiety

Cataclysmic-ly Epic, Part 1

So, last night was the midnight release of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. What am I doing awake and not playing it right now? I'll take things that pay the bills for 1000, Alex.

Anywho, I was determined to be first in line last night. Determined. I got to GameStop at 8:40 local time. Yeah, that means I waited 3 hours, 20 minutes for Cataclysm. But I was first in line. First! For once, I was first at something. The employees and manager at the Brier Creek Gamestop were awesome, letting me stay inside until the last customer (other than me) left. Then came das boot at roughly 21:00 (that's 9 pm for you non-military time folks). So I stood outside. Had I still been in Rhode Island for that, I would have said "Eff this" and waited in the car. But, this is North Carolina, how bad can it be? Uh, below freezing and windy. OK. I can deal. Wool pea coat? Check. Wool hat? Check. Gloves? Check. Snuggly scarf? Check. Sub-zero rated hiking boots? Check. A way to operate my Droid? Uh...

The next line-waiters didn't show until about 21:20. They were awesome. Their names elude me, but I remember them being awesome. They both play Horde, though she has a Night Elf Druid (doesn't like "Cow People", which Durok was a sad panda about when he finally showed). Durok arrived shortly thereafter, and promptly took my coffee order. Mint mocha. Delicious. That' when people started filing in. The line was getting deeper and deeper. And my excitement was growing and growing. Apparently, most of the Northeast Raleigh/Morrisville crowd plays Horde, as there were few folks with even Alliance alts. This made the little Undead Warlock inside me cackle with joy. MWAHAHA! We sat out in the cold together, our little makeshift family of geeks, counting down the minutes until 22:30 when they would open the doors for pre-ringing.

More after the cut.

Lots of Little Thoughts About Big Things

It still feels like winter here in Raleigh, and I hope it will for a while. Fires in the fireplace, and homemade hot cocoa on the stove are happy things.

I'm working diligently to get the NC Gunbunnies' web site up. I've got the forum and blog working, now just to set up the main page and get everything to look the same. Unfortunately, some of the email is grumpy. I have to work on that.

I'm trying to budget my time better...there's so much to do and not enough time to do it all! I need to budget free time, and cleaning time, and exercise, and minis painting, and... I think you get the idea.

I need to finish up the wedding planning. less than 6 months out, now, and I have heaps I need to do! The good news is, we're still well within budget!

I found out about Katie and the hashtag #maytheforcebewithKatie. It's totally awesome that there was even a Facebook event in her honor on Friday. Wear something Star Wars, and show Katie she isn't alone! (And don't listen to the people who say "it's just a lucasfilm event to get you to buy stuff". The point isn't to buy stuff, it's to show support for Katie, and show her that lots of cool people, young and old, like Star Wars.)