Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Star Wars Ornament Update - 2011 Ornaments Added

Every year I design (at least) 6 Star Wars ornaments to use as gifts for the Spokantina's White Bantha gift exchange and every year one design unintentionally ends up working for two different characters. [Please note - all Star Wars characters belong to George Lucas.]

2009 Designs:








Santa Yoda (technically I made him while in high school for a friend)










Leia



















Rebel Luke [LEGO based]



















Darth Vader






















Boba Fett






















Stormtrooper
























Shadowtrooper (completely unintentional - my Mother, who cuts all these guys out, forgot the color scheme for the Stormtooper and painted several all black)





















2010 Designs:



Veractyl (since my SW group thinks that I sound like one when I laugh)













Luke on a Tauntaun (because I am making a Tauntaun costume) [LEGO based]


















Han on a Tauntaun (the un-intentional one because a friend pointed out that altering the paint job will change the character) [LEGO based]

















R2-D2



















Jawa






















Snowtrooper (because a friend of mine finished his Snowtrooper armor this year)













Ahsoka Tano

















2011 Designs:

C3PO

Acklay

TIE Fighter


LEGO Chewbacca

Millennium Falcon (Bottom View)

Millennium Falcon (Top View)

LEGO Han Solo

Aayla Secura (painting is not finished)














Saturday, November 19, 2011

Filk, NaNoWriMo and 8.5 years of love.

Just got back from a filking event.  Had a blast!  I love geeking out!  And last night was the all-night write for the local NaNoWriMos - also a blast, I even won a word war!  So I've had two nights in a row of geeking out and I am just loving it.  I'm behind on my word count but determined to catch up.

Tomorrow hubby and I plan on digging out the Christmas decorations.  I'm excited to be able to decorate this year!  Normally, I'd wait until after Thanksgiving, but with hubby in retail, next weekend will be exhausting for him and we are hosting an open board gaming night on Friday night and I'm excited to have it all decorated for that.  So we're decorating early!  It's probably my brains way of making up for having all our Christmas stuff in boxes for the last two years.

Today is also a super awesome day because it marks 8.5 years since hubby and I started dating all thanks to a dare on a Star Wars message site.  I love him!  He's my hero.  Today he rescued my car from a broken windshield wiper - since this morning half of it decided to stick to the ice on the window instead of staying properly attached.  I didn't realize there was such a variety of windshield wipers - I don't remember that many choices the last time I had to replace one.  Anyway, he saved the day.  Hopefully this will be the last car related day saving for a few years.  A few weeks ago he had to come rescue me on the side of the freeway when my tire blew (I've never had a flat tire - my tires are either good or dead).  I learned how to remove a hubcap improperly and properly that day :p - I'd never had to deal with hubcaps before).


Anyway, this is just a quick update on what's been going on as I'm tired and I have rehearsal early tomorrow.


The following is part of an introduction I posted on the filk forums.  I'm posting it here because I thought it would be nice to preserve this snapshot into my life.


My fandoms:
Star Wars (I'm a founding member of the Spokantina - the local Star Wars Fan Force; I had a lightsaber fight during my wedding reception; I met my husband on a Star Wars message board...)
Harry Potter (I've participated in several House Cup competitions [Go Gryffindor!] - out of which I've written a few Harry Potter parody songs and a couple original tunes as well - it's a great creative challenge)
Zelda
Amber
Lord of the Rings
Firefly
Star Trek
Avatar: The Last Airbender (I was the fire bender at SpoCon 2011)
Steampunk [newbie in this one]
...and I'm probably forgetting a few. :)

Hobbies:
Costuming (Current costume list: Lethan Twi'lek, Orange Castle Crasher, Fire Bender; In-progress costume: Tauntaun; In-planning: Steampunk Dress and many others)
Crocheting (Current Projects: Star Wars Amigurumi and Roxas pixel art blanket)
Writing (currently working on a novel expanding upon a short story I wrote earlier this year)
Wood Burning (making a Pai Sho set)
Music (I'm a singer on Garland's Worship Team; I am at various stages in the learning process on the following instruments: Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Trumpet, Piano, Guitar, Bamboo Flute, Otamatone, Ocarina, Drums, Omnichord, Jaw Harp, Didgeridoo, Recorder, and Violin; the list of instruments I'd love to learn keeps growing as well; I also know a plethora of camp songs from my time as a Counselor and song leader)
Reading (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Historical Fiction, etc...)

Monday, October 31, 2011

Calvin and Hobbes Meet Harry Potter

Calvin and Hobbes gets Potterized


This was another outcome of the House Cup competition.  My buddy, Joe, did the art.  I had fun with the quote boxes.  Poor Ron learning how to ride a broom...

The original three strips had Calvin learning to ride a bike.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

House Cup Has Ended

Here is some fun I've been having lately: Harry Potter Themed Altered or Original Art [the altered art was arranged by me - the original art was done by my friend Joe].

Monday, October 24, 2011

Harry Potter Crossword Puzzle

So the JC House Cup has ended.  This means that I spent a few weeks immersed in Harry Potter based tasks.  I thought I'd share one with you.  If you are an Harry Potter fan, now is the time to test your HP knowledge.  See if you can complete my crossword.

Across
1. least popular Headmaster of Hogwarts
3. to turn a wand into a light
5. to summon
8. founder of S.P.E.W.
10. the spell Lockhart used to become famous
11. Luna's roaring hat
15. turns an object into a Portkey
18. The Boy Who Lived
25. useful in healing minor injuries
27. Headmaster when Chamber of Secrets first opened
28. SNEAK
29. Disarming Charm
35. ghost of Gryffindor tower
39. talking to snakes
41. Severing Charm
44. lost an ear
45. before he sparkled
46. the club made up of Slughorn's favorite students
47. Royal
48. sock lover
50. from Rodent to Rapier
Down
2. an Unforgivable Curse granting control
4. spell created by Snape and used by Harry on Draco
6. lost his son in the Triwizard Tournament
7. gave Professor Slughorn Francis
9. to open that which is locked
12. Avada Kedavra does this
13. mother of seven
14. incarnation of caster's innermost positive feelings
16. Padfoot was which Sirius Black
17. retired in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs
19. Hagrid's dragon
20. listened only to Albus Dumbledore and the Bloody Baron
21. River
22. Hagrid's half-Giant love interest
23. wizard born muggle
24. a spell used to duplicate
26. disguised himself as an armchair
30. hated his R sweater
31. for hours of stair sliding fun
32. non-magical human
33. blasting curse
34. an easy way to move a Christmas tree
36. Harry's first crush
37. worst memory is calling the girl he loved a Mudblood
38. Muggle-born witch or wizard
39. result of Wizard inbreeding
40. Hagrid's first name
42. punched by Granger
43. Romulus
49. inflicts unbearable pain on the recipient



















































Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Bevan's Portal Birthday Cookies

My husband finally caught up to me in age (he's 22 days younger than me) on Sept. 28th.  To celebrate his birthday I made him cookies (because he doesn't like cake).  While discussing what to make, he had suggested Portal cookies.  So that I what I made him.





Stick figure Chell.



Makes her first portal.



Add it looks delicious.



Time to make the second one.


Remember: Portals only stick to surfaces coated in moon dust.



Time to test the portals.


Well, the gun seems intact.




That must mean she'll be safe.



It works!


More portals.




They were delicious!  The blue cookies are chocolate chip cookies and the orange ones are butterscotch chip cookies.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Baby Blanket For My Niece

Project Name: Kalia's Star Blanket
Status: Complete
Pattern Source: Crochet Super Star
Project Type: Crochet, Blanket
I finally finished the baby blanket for my adorable niece, Kalia.
Here is the finished star.
  
This is my adorable Kaylee inspecting my work.

 Here are some close up shots of the blanket.  I had so much fun making it.  I can't wait to give it to her.


I'm very happy with how my first star shaped blanket turned out.


Monday, September 26, 2011

Doughnut & Butter Pudding

Another recipe to continue my tradition of trying new things in the kitchen.

The following recipe is slightly altered from the one found here.  A new friend of mine, Sam, suggested that I use it for the doughnuts I had left over after game night.

Prep Time: 15 minutes 

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • Butter or margarine
  • 8-10 doughnuts
  • 4 cups milk
  • 4 eggs
Preparation: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add cinnamon to sugar in cup and mix well. Set aside.

Slice each doughnut in half and scrape off frosting (glaze is fine to leave) or remove filling.  Generously spread one side of each piece of doughnut with butter or margarine. Arrange doughnut slices in pan, slightly overlapping, with butter-side up. As you add the doughnuts, sprinkle with sugar,  and cinnamon.

Put milk in small bowl, add eggs, and using whisk or fork, mix to blend well. Pour milk mixture over doughnuts in baking pan. Set aside for about 15 minutes for doughnuts to absorb liquid.

Bake in oven for about 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Serve the pudding while still warm in individual dessert bowls. It is eaten plain or with cream poured over it.

Yield: 8 to 12 servings

I must say that it is delicious!  Thanks Sam!