FAMulous: Friday

Good night and boy howdy, I am exhausted! Worn out! Dead on my feet! And every other description you can think of to say,

 I. Am. Tired.

But, it is a happy tired, the kind you get when things have gone well and you can step back and enjoy the experience.

Hosting a model show is a lot of work, but a good friend as a co-host makes it easier and a lot more fun. (Thanks, Allison!)

Originally we were not going to be able to set up the hall Friday evening, and both Allison and I were feeling very stressed about that. But things suddenly changed (thanks, Stan!) and we got in late in the afternoon.

The GLC crew of Liz Cory, Liz LaRose, and Jamie Rott were coming from Chicago and since I live just a few miles from one of the I-65 exits, they swung around and picked me up. They all kindly pitched in and helped with set-up. (Thanks, ladies!)

Allison painted the golden FAMs and FAF that were set on the awards table for the division champions

and our racing FASs were on their wheels and ready to be tacked up.

Jamie Rott did the herculean task of setting up the raffle on the stage (thanks, Jamie!)

and because of many generous folks, we needed THREE long tables to display everything! (Thanks, folks!)

After set-up, we went to our hotel and checked in. 

There was the coolest cupboard in my room

that held the fridge and microwave. I took several pictures for Craig - he loves woodworking and this was so unusual, I knew he'd enjoy seeing it.

At 7:00 and with Steff Bodamer and Ellen Vogel joining us, we headed out to dinner. It was so much fun, but it wasn't until I got back to the hotel that I realized I hadn't taken a single photo of anyone. Drat!!

I fell into bed and with the worry of a Saturday morning set-up gone, I was able to sleep well before a very busy show day.

Show highlights tomorrow - stay 'tooned!

FAMulous: From Tongue in Cheek to Reality

 Yesterday I sent an email out to all the entrants to FAMulous  and made this tongue in cheek comment:

Even though the show is just four days away, Allison and I are as cool as cucumbers and think we may go get mani-pedis today since everything is done... Haha, we are in good shape, but not THAT good of shape!

In reality, I really was planning on getting a pedicure that day. (I can't do my own toes due to joint issues.)

What I did not know was that Allison had had the same idea in mind. I sent her a photo of my freshly painted nails and said, "So I did go get a pedicure. Love that FAMulous blue!"

Allison responded with this photo and said,

"We match! I have the lighter shade of FAMulous blue on!" 

She may not have gotten her toes done that very day like me, but clearly we both intended a nod to our show.

From tongue in cheek to reality!

BreyerFest Week: BreyerFest Opens

The first day of BreyerFest is in the books! 

I jumped on the computer a bit before the 9:00 AM opening time - social media had been showing people in line at the park, some of whom had been there since 5:30 that morning. (And most likely even earlier than that.)

But I was a little disappointed. While the virtual site had opened,

that was about it. The live feed wasn't running (I heard later that they'd had tech issues) and opening exercises in the covered arena did not begin until later.

The on-line shopping sites did not open until 11:00, so I browsed through the program waiting for things to start. (Fun to see Liz in the program!)

And really fun to see myself in the online store (bottom left.)

I took some screen shots and sent them to our family chat feed. 

Both Jessica and Cole attended live shows with me when they were kids, so they had some understanding about how much it meant to me to be a presenter.

Word got out almost immediately about the Rotating Draft Surprise model - the Cleveland Bay!

I'm not a fan of the mold so I will pass. (Photo by eBay seller alexe24e30.)

Friends at BreyerFest texted throughout the day - Liz sent me photos from both her seminars. 

Checking the condition of a model by using a flashlight. (The flashlight shows dust and dirt as well as flaws on the model.) 

Her other seminar was about photo showing model horses. You can see now why Blue was packed to the roof when Liz and I met at Wendy's last Monday! Look at all the things she had to bring for her seminars!

I also heard from Allison. She texted me later in the day with an intriguing, "Oh my gosh... Today was INSANE. NEVER had a day like this."

Wowza!! Not only did she win a slew of ribbons at the Breyer Open Show,

She took Overall Reserve Grand Champion of Show! Way to go, Allison!

Of course, like all the other BreyerFestees, I went out to the "horse park." There is a special section that few know about - Hobby Friends Hill.

Kelsey is at BreyerFest and Tim is traveling, so I am in charge of Hobby Friends Hill.

Which I don't mind a bit.

I ended the day by watching the Celebration of Horses show from the comfort of my couch. Overall, I enjoyed the day's experience. 

Today's plans are to watch the live feed more and to see if Breyer has restocked anything in the virtual shop. Oh, and visit the "horse park" again.

Looking forward to another good day at virtual BreyerFest!

The Mares in Black Podcast is Up!

If you are a patreon listener to the Mares in Black podcasts, then you can listen now to Episode 89, the episode that Allison Pareis and I participated in. If you are not, then it should drop very soon, and possibly even today.

 Another blog post is coming later this morning, so stay 'tooned!

Friends Helping Friends

Last September, Anne Field generously loaned me a bunch of dolls and tack so that I could take some performance photos. Included in the box was Elecktra, Anne's portrait doll of her daughter.

When I finished my photos, I did a Flat Stanley project with Elecktra and took her out to the barn to meet Abby. I had her spend time at the circus with Circus Girl and do other things, and then I wrote a series of "Dear Anne" letters from Elecktra to her mama.

Well, one thing led to another and soon Elecktra was traveling the country. I sent her to Jennifer Buxton in Colorado, and then she visited Corina Roberts in California. Corina sent her back to Indiana for a visit with Allison Pareis and Action Stan.

During her travels, someone popped an autograph horse in with her. I think that it was Jennifer. But since it was after Elecktra had left my home, I had not gotten to sign it.

Enter Allison Pareis, master doll maker, master painter, master friend, and now she has added master forger to her resume.

Concerned that my signature wasn't on the horse, Allison explained the situation in a text and offered to add my name to Anne's autograph horse if I sent her a copy of my signature. I was glad to do so.

Allison practiced a bit, then penciled it lightly onto the horse, and finally went over the pencil in marker.

Because Anne wanted to redo Elecktra's hair before she traveled to the next place on her list, she asked Allison to send Elecktra to her and then she will send it to Stephanie. She plans to send the autograph horse with her and I think it will be fun to see where Elecktra goes and who hosts her.

Anne posted on her blog about receiving the autograph horse and other goodies we'd all tucked in with Elecktra when we sent her on. That is why I was finally able to spill the beans about Allison doing forgery being such a good friend to me and making sure my name was on the horse. 

Stay 'tooned for more on autograph horses coming soon.

The FAMulous Collectibility Show - First Pictures

It has been a hectic but wonderful weekend! The FAMulous Collectibility Show was a huge success and I have plenty of photos to share. Having said that, I have to take two of our judges down to Indianapolis to catch a plane in just a bit, so my fingers are flying over the keyboard as I try to get a blog post up before we leave.

 I could not have had a better co-host. Creative, hard working, and just plain fun to work with, Allison Pareis is terrific. (That's Customs judge Tara Oliver up on the stage helping set up our raffle.)

Allison is fond of the Family Arabian Mare (hence the name of the show) and Liz Cory helped me gift her with the entire Family Arabian Family in a color matching our show logo. (Liz found these while out antiquing.)

As you might imagine, that made Allison very happy.

Our show crew was fantastic and they all pitched in to help us get the show set up and rolling! Allison's husband, Stan Sollars, is a professor at Ball State University and hosts the morning show on NPR in that part of the state of Indiana. He was our announcer throughout the day and kept the showers laughing with his quick wit, remarks, and attention getting noisemakers.

 China judge Nancy Kelly, Stan, and me.

Our judges were top notch and very experienced.

Nancy Kelly, who has written four or five books on collecting Hagen Renakers (and more recently, Exploring the Model Horse Hobby) knows her stuff and did an excellent job judging a very tough China division.

Mother/daughter pair Cristine Holt and Tara Oliver, long time customs lovers, flew all the way out from Utah to judge our Customs classes.

You would not believe the pieces that came to the show! So many lovely models were there that never get off the shelves (or out of tubs) because they are not competitive in traditional halter classes. But when it comes to collectibility, they wowed everyone.

Hobby veteran Liz Cory judged the Critters and Things division. She has been in the hobby since the 1960s and is the treasurer for Great Lakes Congress. She, too, knew her stuff when it came to judging.

Liz had a hand held mini light that she used as she judged. This was the Breyer Dogs and Cats class. Clearly she was having fun as she judged, too!

Tonya Clapp tackled the largest division, Just About the Horses. She did a phenomenal job not only in judging, but in keeping her long list of classes moving along at a reasonable pace.

Judges were allowed to show in the divisions they were not judging, and Tonya brought some real goodies like this vintage flocked PAS and buggy.

Feedback from the show was very positive, and we have already posted the date for next year's show (August 8, 2020) so that people can begin planning for it.

More show photos coming tomorrow, but I need to get Cristine and Tara to Indy and the airport!

FAMulous Prizes!

Allison, who is co-hosting The FAMulous Collectibility Show with me tomorrow, used her creative chops to pull out the stops on prizes for the show.

 What an assortment! The rosettes and flats are gorgeous, but look at the prizes, all made by Allison.

 She sculpted a special medallion for our show! Naturally it features the Family Arabian Mare.

Allison did several different colors and every entrant and judge will receive one as a gift from us.

She surprised me by making me a special one in pearlized orange - my favorite color.

Did you notice the line up of FAMs and the FAS and FAF?

 Several days were spent spray painting those in her backyard. 

Here is a close-up of the paint - it's a special sparkle paint.

(Apparently that sparkle is quite attractive to twitterpating butterflies....)

The FAMs will be given to the division champions, while the FAS and FAF are prizes for a fun class and a special game that entrants have the option of playing.

I think our entrants are going to be very happy when they see all these wonderful prizes. Way to go, Allison!

More FAMulous Show Prep

The FAMulous Collectibility Show is this Saturday and Allison and I are very busy doing the final prep work to get ready for it. We've divvied up the jobs between us and are almost ready to go.

I put together the ring signs this morning - Allison designed our logo and made the signs for me to print.

 We liked the idea of mismatched frames to hold the signs for the show tables.

The ring signs are 5x7 but the raffle ticket sign is 8x10 as it is print intensive and this makes it easier to read.

Allison has been sorting the ribbons into stacks of first through sixth so that they're ready to go for our judges.

We have several surprises for our judges and entrants that I don't want to reveal until the day of the show, and those will continue to keep us busy, but we are close to being ready.

I still don't feel 100% yet (I am drooping over my keyboard now as I type - time to lie down for a bit) but I am getting better. I think I'll be able to hold up my end on Saturday. I can't wait!