Layla Ashtar on Etsy

So good at feeling not so good at expressing

snowy tree ☺

You ever see something innocuous, minding its own business on the clearance shelf at Michael’s and before you know it, it takes over your life for a few weeks?

So it was with this desktop greenhouse.

I took it home and after taking an appropriate time to “season” my idea in my mind (read: a month or two) I set to make my vision of a mini botanical garden a reality.

I started by removing the heavy glass panels and building a raised floor above the latch. I wanted to use the base as a foundation on the building.

I wrapped the foundation in plastic stone textured flooring (meant for Christmas villages) and built a pond at one end of the same. I then gave it a more realistic paint job and designed a rough layout for my plants and displays.

I also knew I wanted to make the ironwork significantly more intricate, but I wasn’t sure how just yet…

Up next - PLANTS! I went wild making all kinds of plants. Some were specific species and some were more conceptual.

I made several trees with polymer clay and moss, cacti out of beads and flocking, cattails out of raffia, hot glue and coffee grounds, and giant monstera leaves out of paper and wire.

This part should have taken me a long time, but it really came together fast. I loved finding ways to replicate natural shapes and patterns using bits of this and that.

I did make adjustments to my plans as I went like eliminating benches in favor of a simpler overall design.

Then I needed to fill my pond with water. For this I used resin. Lily pads were added to the top layer, and I wired in simple LED fairy lights. The batteries are kept in the box under the foundation.

In a weekend frenzy I added more plants, metal (paper) steps, new (plexi)glass windows, a roof, wrought-iron vines (paper again), doors that open, and a hose reel disguising the latch. Suddenly, a project I thought would take months was finished…

I love my desktop botanical garden. Right now it sits on a simple lazy Susan in my office. But I’d love to get it a proper display box to protect from dust.

Thank you for coming on this little journey with me. This piece packs a lot of joy into a tiny space. I always love building miniatures, and I’ll be doing more in the future I’m sure.

@1kittynoir1 replied to your post:

It's not done yet, but it's the facing, collar, and cuffs for the patchwork dressing gown I'm working on! It was less than half a metre of silk/rayon velvet that I dyed in college because the sample we did of that colour was so nice I wanted a bigger piece. (It was PRO MX fibre reactive dye in the colour Marine, and I don't have my dye sample book with me right now but I think it was at 4%. It shows up more green on some fibres and more blue on others, but is always gorgeous.)

I had no specific plans for it at the time, but eventually the perfect project came along, and there was just enough!

I've been working on this thing (intermittently, in short busts) for a few years now, and am finally done the patchwork and on to the construction. I've posted occasional updates on @vincentbriggs and will post photos there when I'm done.

I've also been filming the whole process, so I'll have a video about it up on my youtube channel eventually, but that'll be a while after it's finished because I have so so so many clips and it's going to take a horrifyingly large amount of editing.

It's based on this c. 1835 original, which is a good 50-100 years later than what I usually sew, but I like it and I wanted one.

If anyone's wondering how many triangles mine has, it's 6,957.

Since I've got the time consuming part out of the way I'm hoping I can get the construction done before winter officially ends.

Edit: Why does everyone think I had a bad time working on the triangles?? I loved working on them, it was so satisfying to put lots of little bits of colour together. The reason I worked on it intermittently is because I could not put it down once I got working on it, and would work on it all day for several days straight until I was very tired and sore, and then I had to put it away to stop myself, and then I'd forget about it for a few months.

Also, they're machine sewn. Most of the actual garment construction will be by hand, but the patchwork is all by machine.

I finished my dressing gown.

And besides the velvet, it of course used up a lot of other little bits of fabric!

(Once again, my sewing and other non-dinosaur works are mainly posted on @vincentbriggs)

Video finished :)

It's an hour and 13 minutes long and I say 11,785 words in it.

Thank you!! Good luck on your sewing! And I'm glad my Very Correct nipple observations were appreciated

This post is getting notes again, and I just wanna add some pictures of other things I've made videos of.

Stripey painted leather gloves.

Velvet mite brooch.

Leaf for head.

Leaf for torso, a leaf sequel, now with added slime mould beading.

Very very long and detailed shirt tutorial, which I also did a written version of. You should make one, it's all rectangles.

and Normal Fabric Waistcoat.

I am very slow at making youtube videos but I post monthly updates on the video stuff I've been working on over on patreon, along with 4 extra dinosaurs a month. (and aaghh I know I've been really really sparse with the dinosaurs here lately, I'm sorry!! It's not intentional, there are just a lot of other things to do and also it's been over 9 years and every year I get a little more tired of drawing dinosaurs!)

Right now I'm editing a video for a thing I finished sewing almost 2 months ago, and it's not even one of my longer videos, I've just been doing other things and stuff.

Oh hey I made another one recently and it actually is a Normal Fabric Waistcoat, unlike the previous one which was candy wrappers.

not to make a long post even longer but I just finished another one about some fancy aprons

well yes!

I’m sorry, you don’t know WHY??

this tag is too glorious not to include

Woodrow Wilson Crumbo (Native American Potawatomi, 1912 - 1989)

Translation: Person behind camera; *knock down one card* “Go.” Other person;“Is your character mentally stable?” Person behind Camera; *Looks at card* “Yes” Other person; *Slaps down all but one card* “IT’S MOMO”

I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS.  THERE WERE ONLY A FEW DOZEN NOTES WHEN I SAW IT LAST.

OH boy, I just got caught up on @https://ask-whitepearl-and-steven.tumblr.com/ and holy cow, what a comic! If you haven’t checked it out, it’s really worth a read for the gorgeous art and original story! 

Oh this is amazing! Just like a storybook. What an incredible amount of emotions in their faces– and their POSES! And their shadows. C: What a treat to find this!! 

Woodrow Wilson Crumbo (Native American Potawatomi, 1912 - 1989)

my dad (Maori) works on a ship with all Maori/Tongan/Samoan fisherman- and one Aussie guy called Jake.

And that wasn't done on purpose just sort of how it ended up, but Jake recently got an injury so they put him on a Different boat just for a little bit (a sit in the wheelhouse and scout type of boat, instead of the main fishing one) and he only got back to my dad's ship today and he was apparently like Shaking. He was Traumatised.

Dad said Jake kept pulling him aside and going "They were all yelling on there, but in a MEAN way" "They didn't clean... Like at ALL"

Jake experienced what a boat full of old school Aussie fisherman is like. That is the norm Jake. You just happened to be on the all Island boy boat on your first go out. "It was time for dinner and they had FROZEN nuggets" Jake that's what they have on ships that are out at sea for months at a time.

On my dad's boat they are eating fresh fish and coconut milk Ceviche. They're grilling steaks on an open bbq on the deck that probably is not regulation. All the guys have their own special knives to prepare sashimi every couple days. Everyone is happily doing their own work so they can clock out early and set up a movie on the deck. Jake did you genuinely believe that's what every boat was doing.

Local Australian man is fed fresh juices and smoked fish for first time- refuses to go back to beef jerky boat life

jake that first night when they served a freezer tray tv dinner and not an overflowing plate of fish that's probably going for conservatively like $40-$80 bucks a kilo but the guys decided Eh we'll catch more let's just fry it up:

literally everything is unisex if u stop giving a fuck

When I worked at Target, it was during the winter, and this guy comes up to my register with a neutral-colored beanie with a fake fur pompom on top. All embarrassed and cringing, asking me if it was a woman’s hat and if it would be weird for him to get it.

I was like, “It’s just a hat. If you like it and you wear it, it’s not a woman’s hat, it’s just your hat. You don’t need to follow what the tag says if you don’t want to.” And it was like I gave him some kind of awe-inspiring wisdom he’d never considered, and he left with that hat on his head.

More cishets need to hear and internalize this message because so many of them are avoiding things that would make them happy just because of it having a label on it for whatever gender.

there's this phenomenon i've noticed on youtube which i dub "man math" which is when men STEM-ify hobbies/activities/art forms in order to make them more masculine. it's very noticeable in the cooking video sphere where there's an endless stream of videos made by men along the lines of "the SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN best way to cook an egg" (and dgmw, i watch them and find them helpful, but the observation stands), but i notice it also in the way men approach ceramics (a lot of focus on mold-making and slip-casting to perfection, basically reinventing one man mass-production rather than play and discovery), tailoring/sewing/knitting/textile art, gardening and other nature-oriented hobbies, interior decor, furniture making and woodworking, journaling/planning/productivity, even drawing and painting, there's always some man math angle to it that although interesting it often strikes me as some sort of overcompensation to move away from the inherent vulnerability that comes with art making and once you notice it it's literally everywhere

This haunts me.

Someone in Glasgow please go see this for me pls. I will be there in spirit 🙏

Brief report from the flute accompaniment:

It went well! At least 100 people attended, families dogs a solid portion of Glasgow's trans community. There was a really lovely atmosphere, nice weather and a very cheerful celebratory vibe.

After short speeches from the ballhaver and the large dyke (my wife), the ballhaver was given a chupa chup and blindfolded (execution style). The balls were then duly kicked; it made a surprisingly loud dull thumping sound. She fell to the ground to loud cheers and there was a moment of silence while Taps played on the flute. The large dyke wore solovair urban hikers.

Account from the Large Dyke.

Arrived early to find the crowd already gathering, so the kick got off to a prompt start. Following some introductions from everybody and some cheery folk music from our flautist (my wife!) we got on with the kick.

I think we got good contact, the top of my boot making a good solid noise on impact. Very good atmosphere all round, people stayed to chat for a while. Were it not January it would have been an excellent opportunity for a picnic.

10/10 queer event, would happily kick anybody in the balls in the name of community.

Account from the ball haver

7am: the pressure is getting to me; I wake up and drink half a bottle of diet iron bru from my bedside table; roll out of bed, and psych myself up in the mirror - "you can do this my little pogchamp" I say to myself over and over until I decend into a stupor.

8am: I play an hour of Okami on steam to replenish my chi levels

9am: I look at my balls for a while

10am: I spend 20 or so minutes trying to decide what to wear before realising it's the subartic in midwinter and I'm going to have to dress for -2C° regardless of what I choose and opt of my trusty black Schott thermal padded winter flight jacket and a pair of loose, warm Uniqlo trousers to give my testicles room to breathe.

11am: crashing out, texting my friends to arange a substitute kickee, an understudy, anybody so I can just become one with the crowd and not go through with it

12am: the homies have arrived, I'm drinking redbush tea in a small cafe by the park; god is in his heaven and all is right with the world

12.15: "you must be here to watch me get kicked in the balls?"

12.40: a circle emerges, from within the circle a palpable energy focuses like a lens down unto me and I feel like I'm gonna pee my pants a little

12.50: cheers begin, several complete families with dogs arrive - more friends appear and assort themselves into a gathering of 'real heads' ready to watch my groin be dessicated by the firm lace of a women for woman woman with a foot loosed through the gates of war as Augustus saw fit the dispatch and return of his troops from far corners through the blessings of Janus.

12.55: I think I left the stove on

1pm: Short introductions are made, grace is shown, beautiful flute music accompanies the gathering

1.03pm: what is left of my dignity disappears up my inguinal canal; I fall to the ground and languish a moment. I can feel it more in my lower chest than I can in my groin but the humour and adrenaline lift me and I'm laughing on my feet again soon. I kneel for the last post.

Favorite moments of this post:

It's slow going but The Pile CAN be smallened!

Today's revelation is that I watch hockey exactly the same as a teenaged streamer's mom.

"Oh no, that guy fell! I hope he's okay!

-oh, well, he's okay enough to hit that guy, I guess he's fine then. Yay team!"

The thing I've actually been invested in for the entire game is 'when Bob's Discount Furniture will show up again'. It is displayed behind at least one team bench. Boyfriend's got the World's Nicest Friend, who used to play hockey at an extremely high level, and he was gracious enough to start the "Show Us The Bench" chant with me.

Someday, when I'm a billionaire, I'm going to make an anonymous donation to a for-profit company and pay for a bench sponsorship for Bianca Amor's Liquidation Supercentre.

They are doing Replays now, which is apparently to fill the 15 minutes or so that the zamboni cleans the ice. I have decided that, when I am Supreme Hockey Ruler, the zamboni will be the uncontested best part of the hockey game. It will have jugglers standing on the back of it as it drives around. Couturists will fight for the right to drape the zamboni for particularly high-profile games. One of the richer host cities will have Cirque du Soleil on the zamboni. Do you see my vision?

The first hockey game I ever went to was a themed Star Wars night and Boba Fett was riding the Zamboni, it was great