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Thursday, December 20, 2018

Dead Horse Marsh Mistletoe

 
Have I totally confused you? Did you think the name of the upcoming book was Dead Mule Swamp Mistletoe. It is.

But the name is a parody of the real place called Dead Horse Marsh. I've been working to get the pieces together to make the fake mistletoe ball that has a role in the book. Needed leatherleaf. OK, it didn't come exactly from Dead Horse Marsh, but nearby.

leatherleaf twigs

Needed gray dogwood berries. Nope. The birds have eaten them all. I should have been collecting them in late summer. So I had to go to a number of stores to find fake berries that would work, and then I had to paint them white.

plastic berries painted white

Wanted nice velvet gold ribbon. Nope. Found red velvet ribbon, either too wide or not wide enough. If I had found the right width I could have changed its color on the computer. Used cheap wimpy ribbon. Guess it will have to do, but it's the right color.

gold ribbon

Discovered when I began making it that I needed about twice as much plant material as the directions said, but since it's only for the book cover, I got by with covering half the ball.

What do you think? I need to remove the background so it can be used on the book. That will be later tonight or tomorrow.

fake mistletoe ball made with leatherleaf

In other news: It's all other news. Except for a walk to the post office to mail books, I spent the entire day editing. Got through the MS once, and now it can simmer for a day or so. I had one plucky person volunteer to edit this close to Christmas. I sure wasn't going to ask anyone. It's my own fault I'm so late, so I'll deal with it. But barring major accidents or illness or another computer crash, at least the e-book of Dead Mule Swamp Mistletoe will be available for Christmas!

See Previous Cover Mock-up
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1 comment:

Ann said...

It looks good. You did well with your substitutions.