A first for me... gourd sale...

I made a commissioned gourd for sale, to customer order. I've made special requests as gifts but this one was my first "made to order for money". No pictures because it is going to be a gift (maybe after the holidays I will use it as a portfolio picture for stirring up business making more commissioned work).


What I learned from making this commissioned gourd: I can make a gourd using my own design for something other than a horse as long as I can find decent reference pictures. I can get work done in a reasonable time frame as long as I have all the tools I need. Shipping items out freaks me OUT because I worry so much about the items getting damaged in transit.

Now I am going to work on some dippers. I have them cleaned and cut and they just needed sanded and then burned.No clue what designs I am going to put on them. Probably some with just simple tribal style markings, some with horses, maybe one with a horse skull on the back or something morbid like that, lol. Then wax the inside and it's all good. I have not listed anything new on my etsy account in ages. So those will be nice to toss up there.

I'm not looking forward to next years dearth of gourds though. Right now my commissions start at $45. But if I have to buy the gourds I will have to raise that to $55 and go from there. *sigh* I had so much fun growing gourds last year, I missed it so much... watching the baby fuzzy gourds grow and ripen and get big and round and then harvesting them and watching them dry over winter.... I planted 50 plants total and they are still out there the same size as when I planted them. I should have had hundreds of gourds out there right now and I got NOTHIN'!!

I fell off twice today, lol.

Wrenched my right middle finger pretty good and bounced my noggin off the ground (thank goodness I wear a helmet and the ground is kinda soft). Both times it was purely my fault. He decided to try and trot today. It is cool, a bit breezy, and he was full of himself. My plan was when he tried going faster to just stick with him and let him go until he slowed down. What I did not count on is that he heads right towards a fence and turns at the last second. I over correct trying not to get flung off the outside and end up on my back on the inside of his spin. Twice. The second time I landed on the fence and blew a wire off (thankfully I didn't get zapped on top of it).

I'm fine, and oh so glad I have a short horse. LOL. He scared the crap out of himself both times. MAN, I wish I had a ROUND PEN! Or someone with more riding skill than I have to ride him through this.

Please excuse the tiny saddle. It fits him but not me, it was my daughter's when she was 7. I try to stay up off of it so it won't hurt his back.

Good start:



Nice walk, turning both ways:



Heading over to visit Tiff:



The exact moment when it started to go wrong (I am pleased to see I was actually doing everything I wanted to do here, up off the saddle, just enough contact with the rein to try and direct him where I wanted him to go without trying to make him stop, riding position still looks like a sack of potatoes on crack but what ya gonna do? lol.) :



After flopping off of him twice, getting back on to end on a good note but taking it slow since he was freaked out:



And getting cuddles from Tiff while he calmed down so he wouldn't end the day with a bad experience in his mind:



Note to self: When you come off a very green horse and you are in a pen where he can't get away, let go of the the dang reins, moron. That is the whole reason I wrenched my finger, i didn't let go when I came off.

The when I was fixing the broken fence wire I stuck my left hand smack dab into the middle of stinging nettle. lol. What a day.


Tiff said he never tried to buck or anything, just started to run then I flopped off when he turned. *rolls eyes*

And people say dressage is boring. PFTTHTT!!!

I mean... wow. Look at that horse move. *shivers up my spine*