Collaboration Circa NOW : Holiday Raffle!!

That's right - another collaboration plus you guys get another raffle! 

The holiday's just make me very thankful and nostalgic.

This year, those two things make for an interesting combination.

This past summer I had the fantastic opportunity to travel to Oleleshwa, Kenya, with Free the Children to build a dormitory for a girl's Secondary School. 

The trip was something I'll never forget, and something I'm so thankful for in many ways.

I'm thankful I got to take the trip, but now I'm also so thankful for everything I realize we're privileged enough to have here.

With the true holiday spirit of giving back, I'm embracing that gratitude with a touch of nostalgia for the trip and all the wonderful people I got to meet there: a raffle to benefit Free the Children!!

But I'm not going the course alone. This time I have help from my best friend and well known hobby partner, Grace!

Together we've created another collaboration of sorts. She's created a wonderful hunter set, while I've put together a western pleasure one. Both come with two pad options and fit the G4 Driving mold. (pictured)

100% of the proceeds from ticket sales will go to Free the Children. We're aiming for at least $50, which will let us purchase a goat for a family. The goat provides nutrition in the form of milk, as well as an alternative income. 

While we're enjoying our fantastic holiday, let's take a little time to help others, too. By spending a couple bucks you can help someone and be entered to win one of this cool sets! Two winners will be chosen - aka double the chance to win. 

Now the details: 

• Ticket prices:
• 1 for $1
• 6 for $5
• 12 for $10
• 25 for $20
• Each ticket counts as one entry and will be assigned a unique number based on the order we receive payments.
• For example, if the first person to enter buys 6 tickets, they have tickets number 1 through 6. Then if the second person buys three, they have tickets 7 through 9, and so on. (I'll be keeping a running list to keep track of which numbers belong to whom.)
• We'll use a random number generator to pick two numbers between 1 and the total number of tickets sold between now and December 24th.
• The first number drawn will be the first winner and will get first pick of which set they would like, and the second number drawn will get whichever set the first winner didn't pick.
• All ticket sales will count as entries between now and December 24th at 11:59pm (USA Pacific Time).
• Paypal is the only method of payment we're accepting for ticket sales, and make sure you designate the payment as a donation/gift! I realize that not everyone has a Paypal and I apologize if this is a disappointment for you!
• The winners will be picked on December 25th, and announced here and on Grace's blog sometime that day, along with screencaps of the random numbers generated. A screencap of the donation receipt from Free the Children will be posted by the 27th.
• Shipping to the winners is on us.

How to enter:

1. Email Grace at stageleftstudioss@gmail.com with the following filled out:

Name:

Number of tickets:

Shipping address:

(Letting her know your shipping address when you're entering is totally optional- We'd love to send every entrant a little thank-you in the mail, but if you'd rather not provide it, no problem! Of course, if you end up winning, you can always get her your address at that point.)

You can read some additional tidbits on the tack/Free the Children over at Grace's blog.

We'll both be keeping you updated throughout the month of December with some more info.

Stay tuned!

Collaboration - Circa Sept 2014

The little things are so important. 

Which is why this guy, another partial-I-guess collaboration, has his name.

He was painted by me, but I acquired him OF over the summer through a friend.

This friend again actually, Grace Ledoux.

When I say acquired she really just did one of her famous "just-take-it-I-don't-want-it" 's from the body box (remember "body drawer perks") that make going to her house worth it (kidding, kidding). I frequently leave her place a few items heavier. 

After I gave him a new look (he was an awful original PS paint job) so he needed a new name, but I couldn't think of anything that really suited him.

Then it struck me just how lucky I was to have such an amazing person in my life, mainly especially one who is great enough to give me free ponies. I decided everything that came from this little guy I really owed to her, and thus his name was born.

"Ledoux It Again"

We managed to make yet another wonderful and successful little collab pony, so lets do it again!

Once again: I'm truly lucky to have you - You're the absolute best!

Collaboration - Circa 2011

Thanksgiving time always puts me in such a thankful mood toward my friends and family, and my hobby life just cannot escape it. 

It's no secret that Grace Ledoux and I are very close, both in and out of the hobby. Knowing someone that well can lead to some very great things, namely "body drawer perks."

We both used to be dead set on becoming huge hobby name customizers, which meant practicing, which meant lots and lots of useless, mangled stablemate bodies we no longer wanted. Whenever we would visit (and still today), it's like a huge swap meet of "oh yeah sure just take that" "nah he's too melted I don't want it" "are you sure you can even use that??" 

This was exactly how Ellie was born.

(At the time she didn't have ears yet)

She was a project I had started months ago and promptly given up on - She was supposed to be a mini version of the Jasmine Resin, which we'd decided was the best most versatile gift to the performance world ever. 

Grace saw her and knew she had to get done, and since I was maxed out on my "bring em back from the dead" customizing capabilities, she took over. 

The **plumbing epoxy mess slowly and surely got ears, a tail, hit the sandpaper, and became a mule. 

After a coat of paint Ellie was truly Ellie! 

Finally she could give us (Grace really, as I hadn't started making tack) a do it all performance horse equine.  

She was outfitted with some of Stage Left Studio's earliest and often forgotten tack

and hit the ring! I have no recollection of which or how many shows she attended, but I like to think she put a few good ones under her belt. 

Please be gentle on her. We were both so blissfully unaware of anatomy back then.

She was and actually still is considered our little baby, whom we love despite some obvious confirmation flaws. Maybe it's because she's almost a little 1:32 scale symbol for our continued work and friendship together. Or maybe that's thanksgiving talking. Either way, I appreciate you, Miss Grace, and here's to many more collabs in our future!

**horrifically, when we first started customizing we knew we needed epoxy, but were not fans of shipping, so we marched on down to the hardware store together and each got ourselves a nice package of plumbers epoxy. Yes. The green tube with white in the middle that cracked and never quite blended right and was supposed to be used on toilets. Simpler days 

Yes. We literally made horses out of this.

Another One Down And Another One Down

Today has been busy!! I picked the Facebook raffle winner, it's the last day to buy tickets for the wonderful breast cancer raffle, and to top it all off I've finished the third commission of the month! 

Here's a photo dump to celebrate:

(Only after I untacked and packed everything away did I see that little white fuzz that's along for the ride! Grr!)

Pretty rarely do I every seriously struggle about keeping a commission piece, but this one definitely put up a fight!

I can't keep it, of course.

It has a new home to go to! 

 The shape of my saddles is really starting to find it's way, and this saddle shows it. 

Another one off to it's new owner. Only one more to go! 

"Thank You!" Facebook 1 Year Celebration Raffle

November 3rd marked the one year anniversary of the Ebb&Flow Studios Facebook page. To celebrate the occasion and all of the wonderful people who have made it a great year, I decided to do a give away of a little pony parade set I've had sitting on my desk for over a year a little while. 

Pony and handler were not included

It's super cute

Someone commented he looked like Mr. Rogers - It's very true!!

and was received very positively!

To all those who follow the page, you guys really outdid yourselves! So many likes and wonderful comments. Unfortunately I could only have one winner... Tia Ossenkop!!!

Congrats Tia!! You've always been a fantastic reader and commenter, and I know it's going to a great new home. 

Hooray!! 

Working through

I have a lot of school stuff becoming due, so I'll have to ask people with commissions to keep on hanging in there with me. I am making progress though!! I put the pommel on the pleasure saddle today and tooled the fenders. 

And for the english commission I have now I not only finished the bridle last night 

but I also got the running martingale done and added panels and stirrups to the saddle!

(It does still need training so kindly ignore how it sticks out)

It feels good to really get things done!