A friend recently requested for a white colored Citizen of Gigglesville. Now I have never done a white one as the end result because white is always the base before any colors are added.
But I obliged her for special reasons and voila! I now have what I call the Trophy Owl. This could be the beginning of something new or a whole new category by itself. Hmm…
After that creative run to carve up 36 Citizens of Gigglesville, I now find myself suddenly stuck for ideas. I have been staring at this two-piece glued Meranti block for some time already but just cannot figure out what to carve. Another Gandalf-like Gnome? Or perhaps a Gnome abode, something totally different? Hmm…
Actually I am caught in between wanting to start a new piece on a Meranti and wanting to play more golf. Knowing that working on big Meranti pieces will aggravate my tennis elbow will inadvertently affect my golf, the balance is tough.
Then again the itch to carve is strong. That’s why I have continued with more Citizens on soft balsa to preserve the elbow after the 36 Citizens was done.
The block beckoned again. In the end, I opted for a one piece Meranti and started on Monument 11. The block would have to wait.
I seem to be losing to hubby as far as our battle of the boxes is concerned. I have stopped my online shopping for the time being because there’s nothing more for me to buy to enhance my carving tools while just about every week, he’d received a box or package at the office and it’s usually an air plant, what else? Haha.
This latest package came and for once, it’s not an air plant but a dozen plastic garden pots that are not available at the regular nursery.
This is it! All 36 Citizens of Gigglesville are finally packed and ready for their mass migration tomorrow. I hope the recipients will treasure and love these Citizens as much as I do. It has been very therapeutic and satisfying for me carving and painting each and every one up.
Goodbye my Citizens, be good, behave and be happy in your new homes!
Out of the blue, I decided to change the colors of two Monuments. I felt the original colors were not contrasting enough. Also the fluorescent green on the smaller Monument was patchy, I didn’t like it.
The new Martha Stewart Granny Smith green color beckoned and lo and behold, I painted it over the fluorescent green. But I couldn’t do the same for the blue on the bigger Monument because there’s green already. So I used Fire Engine red instead.
I like both the Monuments much better now. All they need is just a final gloss varnish for the finishing touch.
I don’t normally do mass migration for the Citizens of Gigglesville. Every now and then, only one or two would leave with the max being five. The last big migration was back in January when M1 brought nine Citizens and one Friend (Spiny Lumpsucker) of Gigglesville with her back to the US. Thankfully, all passports issued had no problems.
This latest mass migration, a huge one with 36 Citizens, had been very challenging. First, to meet the deadline, all Citizens were carved almost daily. Then they were prepped just about every other night. However, I encountered a major hiccup at the last hurdle.
Sixteen Citizens have no clearance to migrate just yet because the passports issued for them had control issues. The numbers did not tally in other words. The immigration officer must have be sleeping on the job to cause such a boo-boo. The affected Citizens are the orange, red and purple species.
Luckily the next day the problem was resolved and they are ready to join the 20 to migrate. Thank goodness.
I had to try the new Martha Stewart’s Granny Smith green. But there were no new Citizens carved up, so Apeach gave me a hand on this with the platform that it is standing on. A perfect setting to see the glory of the green.
Isn’t it just a lovely and refreshing color? Apeach certainly looks happy.
The three dozen Citizens of Gigglesville are completed and ready for migration. All they need now is just their passports which I am working on in between preparing for my design presentation. One has to multi-task when the situation calls for it.
I am so proud of this time-based effort. Mission will be accomplished once I meet up with my friend to hand over the Citizens who will go out there to spread their love and giggles.
The carving is at a bullet train pace. The month of June is not even up yet and like a person possessed, I have carved up 26 new Citizens plus a Gnome and a Baby Whale for the township!
There is a reason behind this sudden burst…
A girlfriend was very impressed with my efforts and have ordered some from me. I was reluctant to sell them initially because I felt the storyline for Gigglesville is not perfected yet. I believe there’s still some nitty gritty that I have to iron out.
But she managed to convince me and after much thought to iron out certain details, I agreed. Hence the sudden burst to carve three dozen for delivery! I should remind myself from the perspective that my three dozen Citizens of Gigglesville are mass migrating like the rest who have left and as always spreading their love and giggles, much needed in this sometimes troubled world.
They can’t fit the tray!
From a different perspective
Carving was in full swing two weeks ago. I created a record of sorts when on that Saturday, I carved up seven Citizens of Gigglesville in one seating. Yes, seven! Quite a feat I must say.
And when the tail end of the foot long balsa has an odd height to be a Citizen, it didn’t go to waste because a Gnome was carved out of it.
So after a couple of giant Gnomes, Gnome 13 stands the shortest among the lot. A cute little chappy.
Angieneering 
Remarks