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For updates on my ongoing Halloween props and special effect, read my post at HalloweenForum.com. If you’re a Halloween buff, HalloweenForum.com is an awesome place to get ideas, tips, and how-tos.

On July 20, Tor.com will launch. It will be a hub of fantasy & sci-fi activity, focusing mostly on books, short-stories, artists/artwork, and public events. Main events, like the upcoming San Diego Comic Con (Jul 23-27) and World Science Fiction Convention (August 6-10), will be headlined. Other little niches will be covered, too, like gaming and paper models.

Yes, I said paper models. Mine, to be specific. I’ve been invited to become a guest blogger on Tor.com, posting here and there about any new Disney paper models that I will release or have released. I’m still waiting on the details, but look for me on Tor.com within the coming weeks . . . hopefully.

Several months ago, I helped design a badge for the Banning Police Department’s Honor Guard. The design is loosely based on the regular officer’s badge, and was originally to have the rays in the center be free-floating so that the uniform would been seen through the badge. I guess the see-through feature was a bit too much for the manufacturer to handle, so the area has been filled in with a flat, black enamel.

The badges returned from the manufacturer yesterday, and from what I’ve been told, they look awesome. I’ve also been told that as far as anybody knows, this is the first instance in which any police department in California has custom-designed a badge for their honor guard. Most departments either use a pre-designed badge or simply use their officers’ badge.

As an added bonus, there just happens to be an extra badge. With the help of my Dad, I’ve been able to get my mitts on it! Now, a regular Joe is not allowed to have a police badge because it could be used to impersonate an officer—which is well against the law and not taken lightly. So, tomorrow it will be sent off to be encased in a block of solid acrylic. One of the guys at the station is also talking with the Chief to possibly give it to me for free! Woo-hoo! The badge alone costs $100 or more, and I have no idea how much the acrylic casing costs.

I still haven’t seen the finished badge (I’d at least accept a bad cell phone picture), but I’m looking forward to having my own.

My nephew came for a visit this afternoon. To fill the time (and keep him occupied), we had some fun with Shrinky Dinks. I remembered that I had a few blank sheets left over from a couple of years ago, still in pristine condition. I did little doodles of Disney characters. My nephew just scribbled little blobs for the sake of having something to shrink. “Make more! Draw, Robert!” It was fun to see him get giddy watching shrinking plastic.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links—as an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying products.

My Stepmother is always hassling me for my “Building a Dream” painting. Of course, I’ll never give it to her; she’s always a little careless when it comes to artwork if it’s not properly protected. There have been many times that she accidentally damaged my work when she used to drive me to my art classes.

Instead of giving her the original painting, I decided to do the next best thing: order a poster print from my CafePress store.

The print came in this afternoon, and I’m pretty pleased. It arrived in a mailing tube which is insanely thick and durable. It’s a good thing, too, because it looks like the tube took quite a beating. The 31″ x 23″ glossy print is beautiful, and I’m eager to get one of my new “Treasure’s Curse” painting.

I’ve always enjoyed CafePress‘ products; I like to order mouse pads and calendars. The mouse pads usually have one of my artworks printed on them, and the calendars are always made from my Disneyland photos.