A Welcome BreyerFest Update

Why was I crying last night? This is why. Breyer have announced shipping rates for BF items and they are charging a blanket $25 for international!!!! TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS!

Do you know how much we normally pay for models from Breyer? $70. I was so worried about this. Conscious that I was going to be paying hundreds of dollars for shipping. Upset about everything and about that and about all the things.

And so last night I was crying with relief and joy. This is incredibly generous of Breyer and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I'm literally so happy right now!

If you haven't read the latest update about tickets you can do so here: https://www.breyerhorses.com/blogs/breyerfest-blog/more-info-on-this-years-virtual-celtic-fling

(I'm looking forward to interviewing a horse)

Anyway to celebrate I thought I would do my special run wishlist round up! I have four tickets (obviously Brendon was coming with me to BF so technically two are his, I may be forced to get a cow, at least he won't actually be showing any interest and I won't have to work out how to get twenty million moose into my suitcase after he goes round the Clarion 'shopping')

So here are my BF special run wants, in order:

1. Surprise Model



2. Brighid & Beltane



3. Lugh



4. Oak



5. Boudicca



6. Hamish



7. Ash



8. Thorn



9. Epona



What I would like is 3x Surprise models and then: Brighid, Lugh, Boudicca, Oak and Hamish. But I'm honestly happy with anything. If I can't get the ones I want I can't get the ones I want. I'm just so happy I'll only be paying $25 shipping.

Also I'm mega excited about the store specials and swag! I WANT ANOTHER PLUSHIE! Also I really really really potato want a Breyer travel mug to take to school. Because the unicorn one just isn't cutting it anymore. I'm the coolest teacher ever and you all know it.

Fabio

Remember at BF last year the Collector's Club members got the chance to choose between three different splash models?

Well the winner is....Duende!

Collector's Club members can now head along to Breyer's website and purchase the latest Collector's Club release.

I really love him but I'm going to hold off for now. I doubt he'll still be around when the next vintage club model is released in June but a girl can dream :p If he is then we will test how well my travel card actually works online and spend some of those BF savings.

Facebook Live Seminars - Schedule!

Hello everyone :) So starting tomorrow we are going to be running some live seminars through Facebook live.

To view them you will need to be on our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/chestnutridgemodels/

The full schedule is below. Seminars will run every Saturday. Hopefully I will also be able to save and upload the videos onto YouTube after but sometimes my phone is a bit funny about doing this. So no promises! I will add them to the pages story for 24 hours after though x

If you want to work along with the seminar I've added some supplies you will need. However, you don't have to and can just watch!

I will go live five minutes prior to start time to give people time to get settled.

Schedule

Saturday 18th April - 17:00 BST (UK Time)

Breed Allocation & Breed Card Creation

Supplies Needed: None!

Friday 24th April - 11:00 BST (UK Time)

Simple Tack Making - Make Your Own Headcollar!

Supplies Needed: Ribbon/Leather Lace; 4x 6mm Jump Rings OR 2x Halter Slot Rings & 2x 6mm Jump Rings; 1x 5mm Jump Ring; 1x 1/8" Buckle; Glue; Scissors; Sharp Knife/Scalpel/Xacto Knife

Friday 1st May - 13:00 BST (UK Time)

Cataloguing Your Models

Supplies Needed: Microsoft Excel or Similar

Friday 8th May - 15:00 BST (UK Time)

Airbrushing for Beginners

Supplies Needed: Airbrush; Compressor/Air Can; Paint; Water; Pipette; Prepped Model Horse; Airbrush Cleaner; Face Mask

Friday 15th May - 19:00 BST (UK Time)

Add Some Sparkle!

Supplies Needed: Crystals/Gems; Glue; Something to Sparkle (tack, model horse, doll, you)

Friday 22nd May - 17:00 BST (UK Time)

Preparing Your Horses for Showing

Supplies Needed: None! 

Minis Minis Minis!

These little Breyer mini whinnie unicorns are so much fun to paint I've just ordered several more boxes full just so I have some more to play with! They are just so adorable!

Also I changed the settings on my camera today and look at the difference in the first photo! Go team me!

The first model is a bay on the new Arabian (Rose) mould. This model has been painted to a lovely rich red bay with two white socks. I wasn't sure about this mould at first but it is definitely growing on me.

Secondly we have a chestnut on the Firebird mould. This guy has two white socks and a white star. He has a lovely subtle colour.

This one is one of my favourites. As you can see he also has a nice subtle chestnut colour but I have given him a little snowcap blanket, two white socks and a white stripe. Such a cute little fuzz ball!

This little girl refused to stand up. So I added a base to help her be nice and steady on her feet. She has been painted to a lovely dark bay with a white star. The base is purple with glitter on! Because she needed to be nice and fabulous.

Boudicca

I told you I always got the guesses wrong!

The decorator model has been revealed. One of my favourite moulds, am I in love, I'm not sure. I think I'm going to have to get my thinking hat on about the order in which I want the models!



Boudicca is the latest BF special run release.

BreyerFest

I am not going to say too much on here about this. Yesterday I was really upset, you know when you know something is going to happen but until it does there is a tiny glimmer of hope? But we all knew it would happen. The plus side is that I've already got a refund on one hotel and the car hire! Just two hotels and flights left to go. But today I am feeling a bit more positive. OK so it wasn't the two week holiday of a lifetime to the USA that I wanted. But that means I can put that money towards going on pilgrimage to Israel next year which is something both of us are desperate to do. It also means that literally all the money I've saved can be spent on ponies (and shipping urgh) if I want to, no pesky food or activities! Just ponies ponies ponies. On that note I've just ordered four RubberNedz. But don't tell Brendon. I only admitted to two. I should probably be saving for the customs fees. Some poor HMRC officer is going to get the shock of their life when they receive like seven million boxes of Breyers in August!

So stream of consciousness over!

Just in case you have been living in a hole for the last 24 hours (I recommend you do this actually, sounds fun) you can read the full announcement from Breyer here: https://www.breyerhorses.com/blogs/breyerfest-blog/breyerfest-2020-announcement

But today there was a better announcement. Another sneak peak! Of a hoof. Who is that hoof? Who knows. Maybe valegro? It's at quite an angle. But my guesses have all been wrong so far so don't listen to me!



Stay safe out there potatoes! Or in there. Seriously stay inside. It's much better, outside is a BAD PLACE.

Showmanship Halters

Long time followers of this blog will know that I have a particular obsession with making showmanship halters, usually in bright colourful leather with lots of added sparkle.

So it was only a matter of time before my new re-found love for tack making subsided into obsessive making of showmanship halters. 

Firstly it is very clear to me that I need to order more hobby supplies. I have a distinct lack of decorative plates and had to just order a load more coloured leather lace as I only have black, brown, natural, blue and pink left! 

But that hasn't stopped me from getting my sparkles out and creating a selection of new pieces. All of these are for sale on our website so if you want a bit of sparkle in your life why not add one to your collection?

First up is this lovely blue leather one. This has a working buckle and decorative plates. This was the last of my metal buckle keepers!

Second is a black leather one. This one has slip buckles (much easier to use but less fancy) and three decorative plates. It also has Swarovski crystals on the plates and halter. Photographs always make these look so plain but they are beautiful and sparkly!

Finally is the one that I completed today. This is a natural leather halter with decorative plates. On this halter the side plates have been placed on a leather backing which raises them slightly. This makes them stand out a lot more. It also has slip buckles (as I said no buckle keepers) and Swarovski crystals, I used a slightly different crystal on this one that has more of a pink tone. It sparkles beautifully in the light.

If you want to make your own showmanship halters they are great fun and really easy to do. You can buy leather lace from a variety of places but my favourite is Kangaroo leather lace, I get this from Australia. The plates I use come from Rio Rondo but a few places sell decorative plates. You can get sparkles from generic places such as eBay or other hobby shops. I recommend spending a bit more from proper Swarovski ones as nothing quite beats their sparkle!

Then you just make a standard leather halter and add on the decoration. If you get one of the Rio Rondo halter sets they also include things like buckles and halter slots that are all fancy and make the entire halter look completely OTT and awesome. Here is an example of one I made a couple of years ago that takes OTT sparkle to a whole new level: