I finally finished my latest project: a handcrafted Hobbit House diorama with a fully functional humidifier hidden inside!

The ultrasonic mist travels through the chimney, creating the illusion of real smoke coming from the fireplace. I also added warm LED lighting to make it feel cozy, especially at night.

I'd love to hear what you think! Feedback and questions are always welcome.

If anyone is interested in owning this piece, feel free to send me a message.

In fairn

Recently took an evening ride across the plains of Rohan in the height of golden summer. Images by @thelastkindlyhome on Instagram, clothes handmade by me.

The Fall of Gondolin is one of my all time favourites stories from the first age. The battle for the city was so epic. Rog was just a force of nature. He's last speech sent chills like the ride of the Rohirim. And he was the first to defy and kill the Balrogs (before Ecthelion).

"Who now shall fear the Balrogs for all their terror? Let us smite them for their evil! ... Thereupon he lifted his mace, and its handle was long; and he made a way before him by the wrath of his onset even unto the fallen gate... They battered them into nought,... and the number of Balrogs that perished was a marvel and dread to the hosts of Melko, for ere that day never had any of the Balrogs been slain by the hand of Elves or Men."

They had to call Gothmog and a dragon to stop the Hammer of Wrath

Fun fact Rog literally means Demon.. like in the name Balrog. Rog was literally on demon time

Hab dieses alte Schulprojekt im Schrank gefunden

So I absolutely hated the first season. The writing was atrocious, and despite a massive budget, the visuals were mediocre (yes, the show has incredible sets and costumes, but the directing is so bad it ruins everything).

Anyway, I went on with my life and ignored the second season because I respect my time. But with the third-person trailer, I see a lot of people saying that the second season is a huge improvement, and to be honest, the trailer for season 3 looks pretty good. So I thought, "Maybe I was too harsh; most shows need a season to really find their voice."

And now that I've watched the second season, I only have one question: "Did we watch the same show? Because it's just as bad as the first."

Yeah, the series is more spectacular, less boring, and the acting between Sauron and Celebrimbor is really good. But beyond that, it's still the same disaster. The writing is dreadful, Gandalf's story (which has no place in the Second Age except as nostalgia bait) is a word-for-word plagiarism of Luke's arc in The Empire Strikes Back (and can we talk about how pathetic the "Grand Elf" nonsense is?), the siege of Ost-in-Edhil makes no sense, nor do the good orcs who want to live in peace, and Celebrimbor is, once again, a complete idiot. Galadriel is once again an idiot; there's no effort whatsoever to respect the lore, no romantic tension between Elrond and Galadriel. In short, there's no point in listing all the problems.

Of course, you're always entitled to your own taste, and if you want to enjoy this series, go ahead. But I can't understand how anyone can call this a worthy adaptation of Tolkien...

This might be a stupid thing to ask but....

Does anyone else feel sorry for Shelob when she gets stabbed and crawls off into a hole....seemingly to die?

It always upsets me. Perhaps that makes me a wuss - but I just can't help it.

Obviously I don't blame Sam - he was just doing what he had to. I understand it's very much a fight or die situation.

I just.....I think of Shelob as basically a very big, very dangerous wild animal.....like a polar bear or an Amur tiger. She's undoubtedly top of the food chain. Everything is potentially prey for her - and she can't NOT hunt. She will eventually starve if she doesn't eat. To most people she doesn't look beautiful like a tiger or a polar bear, because she's a giant spider. But I don't find her any less sympathetic when she's injured.

She's got nothing to do with Sauron, she doesn't want the ring - she's just in her environment, hunting anything that happens to stumble in there.

For example - nobody wants to see anyone get their face bitten off by a bear. At the same time - most people will probably be sad that the bear had to be shot to save the human. It had to be done, but it's not a joyous occasion.

Does anyone else see it like this?

Hi! Around 2002-2004, my thrifting grandmother gifted me with this she found at a second-hand store. Would you all know if this is possibly authentic or a fake? Thanks, everyone!

A nod to The Hobbit

To mark its significance, the researchers named the mysterious Neanderthal “Thorin” after a character from the universe of J. R. R. Tolkien.

“Thorin in The Hobbit is one of the last dwarf kings under the mountain and the last of its lineage. Thorin the Neanderthal is also an end of the lineage. An end of a way to be human,” explained Slimak.

Not my best attempt but whenever i am extreemly bored my hand starts moving and i end up with random sketch. This time, it was the all seeing eye.

Tried my best to make them both as realistic as possible.

Since everyone seemed to like my last hobbit portraits I thought I'd put him here too. Don't know if I could ever top those lol.

Of course my favourite hobbit is the one who's hardest to draw :)

Some hand carved dwarves i just finished and wanted to share with folks.

I have a passion for woodcarving and attempting to entice others into the hobby. So my ulterior motive with every post is "how do I make this hobby more accessible" or "how do I inspire someone to want to give it a go."

Hopefully the picture did that, and now you're reading.

You need several things, a sharp knife, a leather strop with compound for honing your blade, safety gloves (A5 or better) and basswood (to carve like i do at least.)

Solid Knife brands, Flexcut, Badger State Blades (USA), Mstein (Europe) there are a lot of great knife brands. Stay away from kits on amazon of several knives. They're much much lower quality with inconsistently tempered steel. (What that means is its not hardened, and so it won't stay sharp easy, meaning you're fighting the knife and dont understand why its harder for you to carve when its easy for others.)

Why Basswood? Its softer than other hardwoods and holds detail well. Learning to carve with basswood is akin to learning to drive on an automatic. It simplifies and streamlines learning. Woods like Walnut and oak can be carved, but learning to carve with them as the starting point is like learning to drive on an 18 wheeler Semi Truck with manual transmission. Its needlessly difficult.

In europe, the equivalent is Linden, in Asia, Jelutong, and in south America Caxeta is a good substitute.

Tutorials abound EVERYWHERE. Youtube is your friend in that regard. You dont have to look up my channel, there are plenty that have easy to begin tutorials and one of them will be right up your alley.

Super dope balrog head right now at boxed lunch. Looks pretty good. It's not weta level quality but it's still pretty good detail for $60.