A Puppy Portrait Plea and a Lederhosen Update

Proposed Formal Portrait of Otto

Now, how funny is that?  Bernie took some really great photos of our Rottweiler puppies the other day, and I just couldn't help myself...  I found some photos of oil portraits from my trip to the Louvre and used my design software to stick my puppies' heads in place of the people.



Proposed Formal Portrait of Lulu

This one is Lulu, my Puppy Princess Extraordinaire.  I think the hands would need to be replaced with paws, and the background might need to be lightened up a little so she doesn't blend into it and disappear.

My mother does some oil painting, and she painted a fantastic portrait of my sister's dog once from a photo.  If she loves me as much as she loves Janice, don't you think she should whip up these paintings of my sweet doggies as well?  After all, they are her grandpuppies.

I think it would be hysterical to hang large oil paintings of my dogs like this, in matching ornate frames, in my living room.  Did you hear that, Mother?  I would hang them in a PLACE OF HONOR IN MY HOME, where everyone would see them and marvel at your mastery.  Please please please please please...

And now, back to the lederhosen, which are almost actually finished.  I just need to sew on seven buttons and three buttonholes.  If I have time, I'll add that little knife pocket to the right side seam and maybe some decorations to make them extra-snazzy.  But even at this point, they are wearable with safety pins.  I think that all the top stitching with jeans thread helps to make them look more like leather, don't you?

Lederhosen Costume In Progress

These need to be finished TODAY, in time for rehearsal at 3:30 PM.  And they had just better fit the boy, because I can't really make any adjustments at this point and there isn't enough time to start over.  I used a strip of drapery buckram, trimmed to 2" wide, to stiffen the waistband, and I found some jute ribbon at Michael's to simulate the leather lacings at the sides.  I have some red and green felt that I'm thinking of using to recreate the effect of the oak leaf pocket design on Bernie's authentic lederhosen, as well:

Bernie's Real Lederhosen

We need to use the real lederhosen straps with our costume, and they are a hunter green embossed leather with red leather trim, like the decorative pockets, so I think that adding those red and green leaf pockets would help to make our brown lederhosen coordinate with the straps better.

Of course, nothing is getting done AT ALL as long as I sit at the computer, clickety-clacking away...