Mermaid Lily's First Silicone Tail

**OceanWhisper** · 02-22-2015, 09:15 AM

that color scheme collage is super stunning! good luck

**Mermaid Neri Elvina** · 02-22-2015, 04:22 PM

Gorgeous colors Lily!

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**Mermaid Leira** · 02-22-2015, 06:27 PM

Heeey cute tattoo's I have wings on my back too

**Little_Orca** · 02-22-2015, 06:32 PM

Lovely work so far, and that dog is adorable!

**Lily** · 02-23-2015, 02:29 AM

Aww thanks everyone! I just realized that this color scheme (dark blue, silver, pearl, and coral) is the same color palette I had at my wedding lol. At least I'm consistent!

@Amy - I saw yours in your tailmaking thread. Gorgeous! I love having them on my back because I frequently forget they're there, so when I catch a glimpse of them in the mirror, I fall in love with the image all over again. I'm considering getting another tattoo soon, a mermaid on my side, combining the art styles of Audrey Kawasaki and Chiara Bautista. Might look a little weird with my tail on... or I could paint the tail so it looks like the tattoo continues onto the scales... OOOH IDEAS!!!!

@Little_Orca - I'll pass your compliment on to Phoebe. She's been on a downslide these last few days and it's not looking so good, so she can use all the good thoughts she can get.

My fiberglass mold failed miserably. My wax scales apparently had too many gaps and undercuts, so fiberglass leaked in and got under a fair number of the scales and I can't dig it out! I tried Amy's advice of filling in the holes in the Shell Shock molds with clay, but there were SO MANY of them that, even with careful clay applications, my test cast came out full of icky little bumps. I posted a thread in the Tailmaking Questions board and got some good advice, so tomorrow I'm going to try a fiberglass & body filler combo to see if that works. I only have a few inches left on my big scale sheet, and I really want to be able to mold it ASAP after it's finished. I'm am not a patient mer!

**Trident True** · 02-23-2015, 08:19 AM

When you fill in your holes in your mold MAKE sure it 100% flat if there is the slightest bump or lump or its not flat it will show up in your silicone when you pull it from the mold. only fill in the hole, do not have clay outside of the holes perimeter. this is personal experience.

**Lily** · 02-24-2015, 01:15 PM

Phoebe passed away yesterday. We're all heartbroken. My big brother found this video of her learning how to play as a wee pup (when we first brought her home, she didn't know how to play fetch)! Don't worry, she learned quickly. We'll miss you, Phoebelicious.

**MermaidAmestris** · 02-24-2015, 01:44 PM

Oh no! I know it doesn't mean anything, but I'm so sorry to hear about Phoebe! I've had my pit for about 7 months and already can't imagine what I would do without her, so I can't imagine how painful this must be for you. Sending prayers and good waves your way.

**PearlieMae** · 02-24-2015, 02:06 PM

I am so sorry for your loss!

**Echidna** · 02-24-2015, 02:43 PM

That's an adorable little dog!
I feel for you

Remember, she's just over on the other side of the rainbow where we all will be one day.

**Mermaid Galene** · 02-24-2015, 05:13 PM

I'm so sorry for your loss, Lily. It's terribly hard to lose a furchild. She will always be there in your heart and memories.

**Mermaid Leira** · 02-24-2015, 05:27 PM

so sorry to hear of your loss, big hugs xoxo

**Atlantisblue** · 02-24-2015, 05:56 PM

Sorry to hear about phoebe

**Lily** · 02-25-2015, 01:56 AM

Thank you, everyone. It's been really hard. Harder than I thought it would be. I feel silly, y'know? I mean, she was a pet. We know when we adopt an animal that it's not going to live as long as we do, but there's always some little part that thinks maybe this one is immortal... or maybe she'll recover and we'll have her a few more years. My big brother (who has always prided himself on being a big strong manly man tough guy) called me this afternoon in tears - the first time he's cried since our grandmother died over 3 years ago. Mmy mom cried when she broke the news to me yesterday, and my dad sounded almost sick with grief when I spoke to him. My sister and her husband are both devastated. We all just loved that dog so much. It's going to be hard going home to visit and not having her come running up to me, stumpy little tail wiggling so hard it shakes her whole back end. (Phoebe took her duty of guest-greeting very seriously). She helped me get through some rough times. When we got her, I was in a really dark place, struggling with an eating disorder and depression that nearly claimed my life several times. She would always snuggle me and lick my nose when I was having a bad day. I used to hang her picture in my hospital room, and she came to visit me while I was in treatment and the whole center fell in love with her. My therapists even advised me that I should try and learn treat myself the way I treat Phoebe - with love, kindness, and understanding. When I left for college, I found one of her toys in my suitcase while I was unpacking. I didn't know if she thought she was coming with me (oh, better pack pink ball!) or if she wanted me to have it to remember her by (Liwl's leaving, better give her pink ball!). She was a great judge of character; she liked most people, but those she didn't like you KNEW were bad news. She approved of my husband the moment she met him, and we joke that she loved him before I did.

I spent a long time today snuggling my cat and telling her how much I love her.

**Mermaid Neri Elvina** · 02-25-2015, 04:39 PM

Oh gosh, Lily that's awful news! So sorry, such a sad time for you all, keeping you in my thoughts. xx

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**Merperson Danny** · 02-25-2015, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by Lily

Thank you, everyone. It's been really hard. Harder than I thought it would be. I feel silly, y'know? I mean, she was a pet. We know when we adopt an animal that it's not going to live as long as we do, but there's always some little part that thinks maybe this one is immortal... or maybe she'll recover and we'll have her a few more years. My big brother (who has always prided himself on being a big strong manly man tough guy) called me this afternoon in tears - the first time he's cried since our grandmother died over 3 years ago. Mmy mom cried when she broke the news to me yesterday, and my dad sounded almost sick with grief when I spoke to him. My sister and her husband are both devastated. We all just loved that dog so much. It's going to be hard going home to visit and not having her come running up to me, stumpy little tail wiggling so hard it shakes her whole back end. (Phoebe took her duty of guest-greeting very seriously). She helped me get through some rough times. When we got her, I was in a really dark place, struggling with an eating disorder and depression that nearly claimed my life several times. She would always snuggle me and lick my nose when I was having a bad day. I used to hang her picture in my hospital room, and she came to visit me while I was in treatment and the whole center fell in love with her. My therapists even advised me that I should try and learn treat myself the way I treat Phoebe - with love, kindness, and understanding. When I left for college, I found one of her toys in my suitcase while I was unpacking. I didn't know if she thought she was coming with me (oh, better pack pink ball!) or if she wanted me to have it to remember her by (Liwl's leaving, better give her pink ball!). She was a great judge of character; she liked most people, but those she didn't like you KNEW were bad news. She approved of my husband the moment she met him, and we joke that she loved him before I did.

I spent a long time today snuggling my cat and telling her how much I love her.

You just made me cry! ಥ_ಥ I've never had a pet die, but I love my dog, Ozzy, so much, I can't even imagine when he's gone. Luckily, he's only three, so it will (hopefully) be years 'til then. But I miss him so much when I'm at my mum's house. I feel for ya. So sorry she's gone, but she's probably happier now <

She was an adorable little puppy

**Lily** · 02-28-2015, 02:30 PM

Aw Cadhla, you're so sweet. Give your doggy some extra love from me!

So many things have just SUCKED ASS this week. Phoebe passing, I have strep throat, Shark Week has started, and yesterday I ruined over $100 worth of inventory for my indie yarn business and wound up having to do some last-minute dyeing to make sure I can fill orders. I want to cry, but my throat hurts so much I can't!

The one thing that did go right, though, was my test silicone scales! Pulling them out of the mold was terrifying, I was so worried something would go wrong, but they're PERFECT.

I didn't put power mesh in the silicone for this one because I wanted to see how strong it would be without any reinforcement. So far so good! I've pulled on it pretty much as hard as I can and had no tearing. There are one or two slightly thin spots right where the scales meet, so it will definitely worth it to reinforce for the full tail, but since I'm going to turn this into a bracer it should be fine.

My pigments arrived this week, so as soon as my airbrush gets here, I'm going to start testing colors. Assuming I feel up to it, of course. Strep blows. Ugh.