Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas 

From all of us at TiMe Stables and Studios!

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent and we light the fourth and last candle.

This time I'll give you a more traditional song :)

Third Sunday of Advent

Today it's the third Sunday of Advent and we light the third candle.

And of course, here's today's Christmas song. A really good duet by two Swedish singers. I do like the original as well but I decided on this version :)

I was struck...

... by an unexpected inspiration today so for the first time in quite a while I took out my acrylic paints, my brushes (which was way more than I remember, I'll explain why) and a willing victim.

I brought out my old, trusty paintbrushes...

Old and well used.

And they looked just as terrible as I remembered them... Luckily I knew that I bought new paintbrushes. I knew I bought 3 brushes before school began, two tiny, round brushes and 1 larger flat brush. Somehow I've forgotten that I'd actually bought a total of 7(!) new brushes. Not a day to late and even though I now have more brushes than I thought I would, they will be put to good use.

They look so much better than the old ones.

For the willing victim I took out my old Schleich Arabian mare that have been in my bodybox for quite a long time. This is what she originally looked like.

I honestly liked her colour the way it was, but she was one of my first Schleich horses and she was well-loved and played with so her colour got scratched and rubbed of at some spots. I decided years ago that I wanted to repaint her to a palomino. She was actually on her way to become bay at one point as a friend of mine started to repaint her but it wasn't quite smooth so when my friend lost interest in her I striped and reprimed her and started on her palomino coat. The thing is that she got too yellow and I had to redo her.

So this is Serenity, in her current state of base coat. I usually do the base coat in acrylics (sometimes I do a little shading in acrylics as well) and the shading and highlighting in pastels.

The light in my room is really bad for photographing so I apologize for that but the colour of the horse looks true to reality (at least on my screen). 

I know base coating one model isn't much for most people but to me this is a great step in the right direction as I've finally picked up the paintbrushes again :) I just wish the weather could be a little bit more co-operative so that I could prime and seal the ones who need that.

Hopefully I will be able to keep this up so that Serenity finally will be finished, my painting skills can improve and hopefully I'll be able to write you some interesting in-progress posts :)

Second Sunday of Advent

Today is the second Sunday of Advent and we light the second candle.

Another Christmas song for you, that might not be the most traditional :)

First Sunday of Advent

I love Christmas and have always done, but just as last year, I'm not home and I've once again decided that I will not decorate the room I'm living in but I can at least get some Christmas feel by doing some Christmas-y posts :)

Today is the first Sunday of Advent and we light the first candle.

I'll also give you one, little less traditional, Christmas song which have been a favourite of mine for several years now :)

The story behind the model

Today's post will give you a closer introduction to one of my favourite models in my collection.

Let me introduce Athame:

Athame is an Animal Artistry Sabiha resin painted by Animal Artistry. I've mentioned her in some blog posts every now and then but here is her story.

I first laid eyes on the model back in early 2005 I believe. I saw a beautifully painted liver chestnut Sabiha at a fellow model horse collectors website and fell in love. The only problem for me was that it was a stallion. I really thought that Sabiha would make a wonderful arabian mare and what I didn't know by then was that I had seen one of the few stallion versions of the mold.

I did some more research and found the Animal Artistry website and from there I found out that Sabiha was produced as a mare and that she was still available. I decided then and there that I wanted her. I had found a beautiful example of a bay Sabiha in the Animal Artistry gallery and knew immediately that that's what I wanted (I'm normally not a huge fan of bay horses so when I fall for a bay horse I consider it very special).

I started to save all the money I got. I didn't have any particular income (except for a monthly allowance from my parents) which meant that it would take ALOT of time to save up for her. I did my best and tried to do extra chores and help out as much as possible to try and earn a few extra bucks. I did my best to stay away from any temptations (aka other models I would love to own) and it worked out quite well until I in 2006 found a Sucesion and Le Fire set that I'd been looking for for quite some time (Breyers were quite hard to come by in Sweden back then) and they had been recently retired so I just couldn't pass them up. 

That purchase put my savings back a bit but I tried really, really hard and managed to save up enough money to buy here by fall 2006, which means that I saved well over a year to be able to get her. I got in touch with Donna of Animal Artistry, and she was a delight to work with. This was my first model horse buy outside of Sweden (and also my first purchase from someone other than a retailer) so I was unsure on pretty much anything regarding model horse purchases but Donna was very nice and understanding so the whole process went very smoothly.

My Sabiha resin arrived at December 22, 2006 and I couldn't be more happy with her. She was carefully packed and I unpacked her slowly and in awe of her beauty. She looked even better than I would've ever thought she would. I was so happy and probably walked on clouds for days.

 

At the time I was a big fan of the tv-series Charmed and that's were I got her name from. An Athame is ceremonial dagger with a double-edged blade. It's frequently used and mentioned in some episodes of the series and I always thought that the name sounded cool and for some reason I always imagined it on an arabian mare so when I got my Sabiha the name was just right.

Athame has been with me for several years now and she's been on liveshows and entered in photoshows several times. She's never won any of the bigger titles on liveshows (I think that her best results have been a few seconds and maybe even one or two firsts in her classes) but she's been excelling in photoshows with everything from first places to champion titles and Best In Show Reserve titles. I even think she actually managed to be Best In Show in one photoshow.

Unfortunately in 2012, she was in an accident when we were unpacking my car at a liveshow. The box she was in fell out of hands and she suffered a broken tail, her croup shattered at the base of her tail and both her ears was broken, of which one was completely shattered. I was devastated and had to leave her with the showholder who promised to do her best to restore her. Unfortunately it wasn't possible to fix her and keep her as she was so at the next show I went to she had gotten me an almost exact replica of my Athame, the only thing different is that the "new" Athame is a slightly darker shade but it doesn't matter, I still love her and she is just as gorgeous as ever.

So that's the story of my first resin and holy grail and to this day, one of my absolute favourite models of my collection.

Does any of your models have a special story?

Please share, I'd love to here about it!

10 years of collecting

I just realised that the middle of July marked my 10 year anniversary of collecting models. Next fall will mark my 10 year anniversary as an active model horse hobby member (showing, pedigree assigning, painting and buying models from other collectors instead of just retailers). But like I said, that is for next year.

This year it's my 10th year of collecting! Yay :)

My collection started out small, and it all began with a Schleich Fjordhorse Gelding. My Schleich collection grew and after a while Breyers followed. My collection grew to big to store on my desk or other shelf so I got a bookshelf for my models, It wasn't very big and not the most stable one either but it worked.

I knitted blankets and leg protection for all of my collection and my mother crocheted halters for them in the same colour as their blankets and leg protection. That was mostly to keep them protected and to keep the dust away.

Soon my collection outgrew my bookshelf and I wanted a cabinet with glass doors to keep them in. I got one very cheap and moved my collection into it.

Top shelves

Middle shelves

Lower shelves

That was good enough for a while but later on I had to keep models in the closed half cabinet as well and my Schleich models had to move into my CD shelf.

CD shelf, glass door cabinet and closed half cabinet

A better picture showing the CD shelf and the glass cabinet

I felt like my cabinets started to be a bit too full after a while and wanted to have another glass cabinet. When I was buying furniture for my apartment where I was going to study I got a great deal on some much needed bookshelves (for the apartment) and a glass cabinet, much like the one I already had. I couldn't turn that down so my collection moved into another glass cabinet and this is what it looks like today:

My newest models, the Justin Tyme resin, Elsa resin and Tivoli resin are still not in there but I hope that I will have time to make room for them when I'm home for Christmas.

10 years have made quite a difference in the collection. From only collecting Schleich to move on to OF Breyers and now getting more and more into resins :)

9 Lives

My dear little cat must have 9 lives. 

Thankfully he's found his way home again (after being missing for 4-5 days) and I am so relieved to hear that.

He's lost quite a bit of weight so he's probably been locked in somewhere. Anyway we are all glad to have him home again and we won't let him out for a few days so that we can be sure that he is okay.

Missing, again

Here we are, once again Svante is missing. And the worst part of it all is that I'm not home to look for him. I was lucky enough to find him. Unfortunately I don't think we will have the same luck twice. I'm afraid that something bad has happened and that he won't come back this time...

It's hard to be 400 miles away and powerless when your dear animals are missing. I can't really stand the thought of him not being there when I get home for Christmas.

My trusty little, sweet cat who even trusted me enough to help him swim in our pool without even being scared.

Even though a little bit skeptic at first when we let him outside he adapted very well and soon grew to like the outdoors. 

He got more and more comfortable and hes not afraid of any of the dogs. He loves to play with them and they like him too.

I hate being helpless and even though I know that my family do what they can to find him it doesn't feel good not to be able to go out and try to find him myself.

Once again I'll have to pray for his safe return and hope that it's enough to bring him home.

I'm sure even Liten wants his friend back!

I'm still here!

I want to apologize for the radio silence that has been on my blog for some time now. I've been extremely busy in school and recently my computer decided to strike. Fortunately the computer issue is now resolved (at least until it decides to strike again, because I'm certain it will...)

Unfortunately there haven't been much progress on the modelhorse front lately. The weather has been lousy so I haven't been able to prime any models and I haven't painted anything in a while because the little free time I've had I have tried to spend with my friends, boyfriend and family (and most of them live more than 400 miles away) which means that I haven't had a whole lot of time to do anything hobby related. Being a full-time student also means that money is tight so I haven't bought any new models lately and I haven't been able to attend any liveshows

So from a hobby point of view my life has been very slow and non-progressive for quite some time now (the rest of my life sure hasn't!).

I do have some posts planed for the near future and I hope to get back into things soon as I miss it dearly.

I hope I still have some readers and hopefully I will have something worth reading soon! :)

And because I don't want this post to be all text and boring, I'll give you a little picture :)

Imperia and Laura
An old picture of my Breyer Sidesaddle Set

The Saddle Club Project

After my idea to do the Silver Brumby Project I realised that there was another childhood favourite that I would love to make a model horse project; The Saddle Club. This project won't be as extensive as the Silver Brumby Project. I've only seen the first two series of the Saddle Club and I will only recreate some of my absolute favourite horses from the series.

I plan to use the CollectA model horses for this project and this is the list of characters and models I want to create to their likeness.

Comanche - CollectA Appaloosa Stallion
Starlight - CollectA Hanoverian Stallion
Patch - CollectA Andalusian Stallion
Prancer - CollectA Thoroughbred Mare
Cobalt - CollectA Lippizaner Stallion
Garnet - CollectA Akhal-Teke Mare
Belle - CollectA Mustang Mare
Delilah - CollectA Pinto Mare
Samson - CollectA Thoroughbred Standing Foal
Hugo - CollectA Lusitano Stallion

This girl is still waiting for her last coat of primer before I can start painting her to the likeness of Prancer of The Saddle Club series,

The Silver Brumby Character list

I've finally managed to read all of the 6 Silver Brumby books that I will base my Silver Brumby Project on and I have a complete list of all the characters that I want to create. I've also decided what models that I want for the different characters and I can't wait to get started! :)

Here is my "to-do-list" of all the characters:

Character	Model	Colour	Customization	Status
Thowra/Windy	Sm. G3 Rearing Andalusian	Very Light Palomino	None	Stripping
Yarraman	Sm. G2 Morgan	Flaxen Chestnut	None	No body yet
Bel-Bel	Sm. G1 Thoroughbred	Very Light Palomino	Resculpted to scratching	No body yet
Mirri	Sm. G1 Thoroughbred	Bay	Resculpted to scratching	No body yet
Brownie	Sm. G1 Quarter Horse Mare	Brown	Ears back	No body yet
Arrow	Sm. G3 Jumping Warmblood	Walnutcoloured chestnut	Ears back	No body yet
The Brolga	Sm. Rivet	Grey	None	No body yet
Storm	Sm. G1 Quarter Horse Stallion	Dark Bay	None	No body yet
Lubra "Highland Lass"	Sm. G2 Thoroughbred Mare	Jetblack	None	Primed
Tambo	Sm. G2 Rearing Arabian	Black Overo	None or slight face resculpt	No body yet
Boon-Boon	Sm. G1 Citation	Grey	Gender change, new mane/tail	No body yet
Golden	Sm. G2 Appaloosa	Golden Palomino	Gender change, new mane/tail	No body yet
Kunama/Ritza	Sm. G4 Dressage	Very Light Palomino	Gender change, new mane/tail	No body yet
Lightning/Blixt	Sm. G3 Arabian	Very Light Palomino	Not decided	No body yet
Spear/Santo	Sm. G4 Reining	Walnutcoloured chestnut	Ears back, mouth opened	No body yet
Jillamatong/Jilla	Sm. G4 Endurance	Light Buckskin	New mane/tail	No body yet
Wanga	Sm. G4 Endurance	Light Buckskin/Palomino	New mane/tail	No body yet
Baringa/Barro	Sm. Chrome	Very Light Palomino	None	No body yet
Whiteface/Spökis	Sm. G4 Para-Dressage	Blue Roan Overo	Gender change, face resculpt	No body yet
Goonda	Sm. G4 Driving	Red Roan	New mane/tail	No body yet
Son of Storm/Bris	Sm. G3 Standing Thoroughbred	Bay	New mane/tail	No body yet
Cloud	Sm. G2 Andalusian	Light Grey	New mane/tail	No body yet
Mist	Sm. G3 Standing Stockhorse	Light Grey	None	No body yet
Cirrus	Sm. G2 ASB	Very Light Grey	New mane/tail	No body yet
Dawn	Sm. G1 Swaps	Very Light Palomino/Cremello	Gender change, New mane/tail	No body yet
Steel	Sm. G3 Mustang	Grey	None	No body yet
The Ugly One/Stark	Sm. G4 Vaulting	Bay	New mane/tail	No body yet
Moon	Sm. G1 Native Dancer	Light Palomino/Cremello	Gender change, New mane/tail	No body yet
Koora	Sm. G3 Cantering Warmblood	Red Roan	None	No body yet
Dilkara/Rainbow	Sm. G2 Trotting Foal	Light Palomino Roan	None	Primed
Kalari	Sm. G1 Seabiscuit	Bay/Brown	Gender Change, New mane/tail	No body yet
Yarolala/Yarrala	Sm. G2 Paso Fino	Flaxen Chestnut	None, maybe new mane/tail	No body yet
Bolder	Sm. G3 Mustang	Chestnut	Ears Back, New mane/tail	No body yet
Grey	Sm. G3 Peruvian Paso	Blue Roan	Leg repositioning, new mane/tail	No body yet
Darkie	Sm. G3 Standing Stockhorse	Dark Grey Roan	New mane/tail	No body yet
Black	Sm. G3 Belgian	Black	Gender Change, New mane/tail	No body yet
Pert/Fatty	Sm. G1 Arabian Mare	White Grey	Ears Forward	No body yet
Kalina/Komet	Sm. G2 Cantering Foal	Very Light Palomino	None	No body yet
Yuri	Sm. G1 Silky Sullivan	Silver Dapple Bay/Black	New mane/tail	No body yet
Wurring	Sm. G1 Morgan Stallion	Golden Chestnut	None	No body yet
Ilinga	Sm. G1 Morgan Mare	Bay, perhaps Silver	New mane/tail	No body yet
Bläs	Sm. Dungaree	Dirt Grey with a blaze	None	No body yet
Dusty	Sm. G2 Warmblood	Dirt Grey	New mane/tail	No body yet
Kulali/Sky	Sm. G1 Arabian	Dark Bay/Brown	Face resculpt, New mane/tail	No body yet
Wirramirra/Mirro	Sm. G3 Standing Foal	Very Light Palomino	None	No body yet
Benni	Original Sculpture	Grey Kangaroo	Original Sculpture	Not Started
Silky	Original Sculpture	Grey Kangaroo	Original Sculpture	Not Started

Some models will take a little longer than others since they'll need resculpting and I don't have any materials for that at the moment, some bodies might be harder to find as well but I'm in no rush finishing this project :)

What's in the bodybox/studio

I just realised that this is my 100th blogpost! That's quite awesome, if you ask me, since I've never, ever, been a particularly good blogger. Thank you to all who reads my blog and I hope you'll follow me through another 100 posts! =)

A thing that I had not realised is that my bodybox has expanded the way it has. I knew there were quite a few bodies but I wasn't expecting this when I lined them up!

I counted 35 and was expecting about half of that. Bottom line: I really need to get started painting!

The models in the bodybox range from those needing repairs,

To those who needs to be striped, re-primed and repainted,

To those needing prepping and a little more priming,

To those (really few) that are ready to paint,

Those needing a few updates,

Those who've been started painting but still has quite the way to go before they're finished

And last but not least the few who only needs some smaller details to be finished.

Atleast I don't have to worry about not having anything to paint in the nearest future! =)

Becoming Thowra

I got all of the six books in the series about Thowra and I've read three of them. This means that I have a quite comprehensive, although not complete, list of characters from the books.

I'll have lots and lots to do when it comes to the Silver Brumby Project.

Since I have three more books to read I haven't started figuring out which molds to use for most characters but there is one I'm already sure of.

And that is Thowra.

The one model that will become Thowra, started it's life as a G3 Rearing Andalusian, then he became a Vampire horse.

With cape and all!

Red snake eyes, blod splatter on his chest and white, bloody fangs.

He was mostly made because I needed to try something other than realistic colours and it was fun to do but now he will be striped, re-primed and repainted into a light palomino, representing Thowra.

Of course you'll be able to follow his progress on this blog!

There is just so much...

... that I want to do right now.

I really, really, really want to catch up on the World Equestrian Games as I haven't been able to see much of it.

I wouldn't mind doing some pedigrees for my horses so that I can make my goal of having pedigrees for all of my horses on my hard drive by the end of the year.

I just got the last photos for my scrapbook so I'd love to keep up the work as I've been working on this album for quite some time.

To be able to continue with my Silver Brumby project I need to read the books, and I want to do that too.

And last but not least I want to turn this bunch into finished horses!

As you can see I've lots to do and really have no idea where to begin. (Un)fortunately I don't have to worry about that just quit yet. Because I am kind of stuck with these:

Although very interesting and useful, I'm not quite up to studying and writing the paper I need to have finished by Monday when there is so much more I want to do...