Off sick

Apologies, but I won't be updating this week as I am recovering from food poisoning.and just don't feel like pushing myself to get a post done.  Instead, I will share a few pictures of odds and ends in my collections:

My Pretty Pony, an aquisition from last year's MLP Fair

I'm a merch hound, and this mirror is one of my fave pieces right now

My G3 oven mitt, from Etsy, a Christmas gift from a friend

Arguably my favourite MLP set of all time: the original unicorns

I'll be back next week with a custom pony update.

Elf

Guest Blogger: Roomy Author Marie Bilodeau

My Roomate the lovely and talented Marie Bilodeau, most often referred to on this blog as "Roomy" is doing a blog tour to promote her new novel Destiny's Fall.  Most of her posts will be on blogs related to writing and storytelling, but Roomy has been dragged to four My Little Pony Fairs now so she's got something to say on the topic of Ponies too.  This week I interviewed her on what it's like living with a Pony-mad Roommate...

Roomy, in the midst of a writing spree, or something

What’s it like living with a customizer?

At times magical and at times horrifying.  Seriously.  Sometimes, there are sparkling, happy ponies prancing about our living room with their bouncy curls because they’re all purdy and made up.  That’s fun (although, thankfully, the ponies don’t actually prance).

                                             

Other times, however, it’s a veritable house of horrors.  Beheaded ponies line the kitchen sink, their head looking at me imploringly, or I’m sure they would, anyway, if they still had eyes, but they DON’T because they’ve been BURNED off with ACETONE!  I once peaked into a pot of boiling water thinking it was going to be soup, but it wasn’t. It was ponies. Boiling ponies to remove their “glue.”

The memories, they’re horrible, just… horrible… excuse me a moment. I need a drink.

Whatever. You’re exaggerating.  Again.  So… put that bottle down.  Now. Down.  Good.  Discuss your role at the Fair as a booth bunny (as you're so fond of calling yourself).

According to the “MLP Fair Booth Bunny Guide 101,” I’m supposed to sit there cheerfully and sell ponies, preferably while wearing something pink and cute. 

Two years ago, I got through a whole fantasy trilogy, which was awesome, but apparently that impacted our sales.  Go fig. 

It did.

So I’m not supposed to do that anymore.

You’re not.

Do you want me to answer this question or not?  Yes.  Okay.

But even with a book ban, I still love it because the collectors are quite fun to chat with, and I can keep an eye out for two-year-olds trying to make off with Spike (caught one last year!)  

 I also love working on the diorama display.  For Kentucky, it was the Winner’s Circle, which was lots of fun and showcased cellophane windows (!)  Last year it was a merry-go-round, which was cute until it was totally crushed under a luggage on our way back home.  And this year… oh… this year will be AWESOME!  BWA HA HAHA!

Um, yes. 

What did I say about drinking during interviews?  Is that my chocolate milk?  Oh, for the love of...give me that.  Aren’t you lactose intolerant?  Sheesh. Okay, now what’s day-to-day life like with a collector?

Unpredictable. 

“OMG, a garage sale with pink toys, TURN NOW!”

“OMG, your cats broke into my room and licked my award-winning pony all to hell!”

“OMG, TRU has new ponies, we have to go nooooooowwwww, can we go nooooowwwww, pleeeaaassseeeeeee!?!?”

“OMG, Roomy, the Fair is only a 24-hour drive away this year, we go???”

 See?  A veritable emotional roller coaster.

Right.  Well, thanks for coming today.

Wait, I thought I could talk about my books, and my newest one, Destiny’s Fall, and…

You drank my chocolate milk. No deal!

Aw.

The great Pony Room Reorg - volume 14

Finally, one part of the Pony Room is fully and completely organized.  May I proudly present: my G1 Pony collection:

7 shelves of G1 Pony goodness

Elfpony shelf and many, many G1s

Many, many more G1s

The G1s were the generation I grew up with, and so of course they're my favourite gen.  They probably always will be.

Elf

Midli Medley - a Brony custom

 Meet Midli Medley - a custom commissioned by friend, fellow Pony enthusiast, and Brony, DJ Midli.

Midli Medley was created using a Twilight Sparkle base.  The face, hair on hooves, chest, and back legs were all carefully sculpted with Apoxie Clay.  This is not the most elaborate sculpt I've done, but it is probably the one I'm most proud of since the join on the face is very smooth and nearly undetectible.

He was fully repainted, including eyes and symbol, and his hair is a blend of Dollyhair Golden Delicious and Mango Tango (I also added a third line of plugs to give him a thicker mane.

 His headphones were custom made from Sculpey Bake & Bend, so it's not only removeable, but flexible and he can wear them on his neck or his ears.  The rainbow lightening bolt on the headphones was also painted.

Unusually for commissions, I was lucky enough to be able to hand-deliver this custom to his new owner, so I got to see DJ Midli's initial reaction when he saw him for the first time.  It definitely made the work done on this custom well worth the while!

Elf

MLP Fair prep! Pony Cleaning 101

OK, it's only April, and the Fair is still three months away, but some of us just aren't that organized and need to start preparing early.  :P

Today, being the first day in about a month where I've had a whole weekend without work, and having the house to myself, I decided to clean the last wave of sales/trade ponies.  I thought this would also be a good time to do a post about the techniques I use to clean ponies.

Grungy Ponies

Most of these are thrift store finds, so they're not exactly pristine.  The first thing I do is to clean each pony with shampoo and an old toothbrush to get the light surface dirt off  (I usually clean several ponies at a time.)  Then I condition the hair.  I'll leave them sitting with the conditioner in for at least five minutes, assuming someone isn't really tangled and frizzy.  Then I'll comb the hair carefully, starting at the ends and working my way toward the pony, to get the tangles out.

Bath time!

No more frizzy Ponies

At this point, I'll look the Pony over to see if there are any marks or more ingrained dirt (there usually is.)  If the Pony is a G1 or G2, I'll use a Magic Eraser to remove these marks and dirt.  I've never had any problem with the Magic Eraser removing symbols or other paint from a G1 or G2, but I have seen it happen on a G3, so I try to avoid using one on G3s.  If there are still marks, it's time to bring out the big guns...

Acetone is a serious chemical (it has two danger symbols on the can!) so it should always be handled carefully.  It can remove factory paint in a second, but it can also remove some paint, scuffs, and other tough marks that second-hand Ponies are prone to.

Big black mark on leg

No more big black mark on leg.  Thank you, Acetone!

That's about where things end up for the sales/trade ponies.  Now it's just time to dry, then packed away into a box to await the trip to Florida.

Of course, there are a lot of other cleaning techniques.  Bleach for mold inside, whitening toothpaste for rust, sunfading for ink marks and some discolourations.  But these have a hightened risk of damaging the pony as well, so they're not something I'm going to try on ponies that will be leaving my hands.  That's something for a Pony's owner to try, if they feel it's warranted.
 

Elf

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Pony Fans!

 For those of you unable to get the MLP Easter egg, here are some pics.

Mmmm...chocolate Ponies...

Elf

The great Pony Room Reorg - volume 13

 Clearly, I still haven't tackled the pile of backcards and boxes that need organizing.  I think there's actually a playset in there, somewhere.

 I have been putting some of my other Ikea purchases to good use, though.  I've been organizing my G1 accessories and Pony Wear.  G2s are next on the list, but you can see them creeping in a bit here.

I've finally got all the G1 Pony Wear organized and in one place.  It's about time, for the last year I've been finding random Pony Wear bits and pieces everywhere in the Ponyroom.  Now I finally know what I have (and what I need.)  I'll be on the lookout for more Pony Wear at the Fair this year.

Elf