The Shabby Shak – Faux Dragon Head

I was just browsing Etsy (a dangerous thing to do) when I decided to search for “shabby chic” ..  I love vintage home decor and Etsy has some really imaginative sellers. During my search I found a cool shop called The Shabby Shak. Some items they have for sale are coat racks and hangers, cast iron decor, and knobs and handles. Definitely some interesting baubles! But my favorite item is the Faux Taxidermy Dragon Head!!!

I mean look at that!! It’s SO awesome!! It’s “resin compound , refinished in a bright chrome” and “heavily detailed” and available in custom colors! I am disappointed it says great for a “boy’s room” .. Because I think that’d look great in my room!!! 😛

I’ve always loved mythological creatures, and one fun thing on EverQuest 2 is the ability to decorate your house. They have numerous wall mounts of different animal/monster heads. So this dragon head from Etsy is right up my alley! She also has a T-Rex, rhino, giraffe and many others!

Would you want a dragon staring back at you when you wake up? Would you tell your friends you slayed it in a frenzy battle?! I would!

DIY Lightsaber Hilt Tutorial

As promised, I have a very geeky Star Wars tutorial! I will be dressing up as Asajj Ventress for Sci Fi Expo and decided to make the hilt because the Force FX version was way expensive and mostly sold out everywhere I looked. This is a cheap, easy, and quick way to make Asajj Ventress’ lightsaber. It could also be used to make Count Dooku’s.

www.501st.com

Pixie always has to be in the middle of what’s going on. She claimed the trash bag as hers and rolled around on it the whole time I was crafting, lol.

Items needed: 

Duct Tape

Electrical Tape

Glue Gun

Scissors

Red Beads

 PVC pipe

(My friend Andrew suggested PVC pipe and using a heat gun to bend it slightly to make the curve. Since I wasn’t sure I could bend one with my blow dryer I decided to just put these pieces together using my glue gun)

Once I glued the pieces together I wrapped the whole thing in duct tape.

Then I used the electrical tape to add the black lines and red beads for the On/Off switch.

I looked into adding a blade to it but was unsure if it could hold up a wooden dowel. And I couldn’t find any long enough styrofoam. So I’m probably going to attach velcro to the back of the hilts and onto my costume so I can just wear them on my belt.

This project cost me about $25, all purchased from Lowe’s, and only took about 30-45 minutes to make! I realize it’s not perfect but sometimes handmade items are more fun 🙂

So what do you think? Don’t you wish lightsabers were real?!

If you had to be a Sith or a Jedi which would you pick?

2013 Convention Schedule

Ever since I drove 6 hours by myself to go to a Twilight Convention in 2009 I’ve been kind of addicted to them! There’s a thrill about the chance to meet your favorite TV hero or movie superstar even it’s just for a few minutes. The hours you spend in line to get those few minutes sometimes means just as much! You get to make some awesome friends and chat with other fans that are just as crazy as you are. I feel very much at home when I am at conventions. So I am already counting down the days to each one. Here’s a peek at some I hope to attend!

Dallas Sci Fi Expo**

February 9-10

All-Con

March 8-10

Scarborough Renaissance Faire**

April 6 – May 27

Dallas Comic Con**

May 17-19

A-Kon**
May 31- June 2

San Diego Comic Con

July 18-21

AnimeFest

August 30 – Sept 2

DragonCon
August 30 – Sept 2

Vampire Diaries Tour**

August 17-18

Salute to Supernatural

September 20-22

Dallas Fan Days

October 4-6

Texas Renaissance Festival
October 6 – November 25

** Indicates I will definitely be there!

Have you ever been to any of these conventions before? Do you go in costume? I do! Did I miss any that I need to check out? One reader suggested the ATX Televison Fest in Austin. And on a musical note, I’d really like to go to SXSW someday.

A trip to the mall!

This is more of a “glitzy” post but fear not fellow geeks! I have a very “geeky” post coming up soon that involves Star Wars and prop making!

So on to the glitz! I was able to go to the mall the other day with my Momma! We had plans to spend our $40 giftcard to Godiva. I saw this super cute bear in their magazine and just had to get him! While we were there we actually found a few other goodies. It was a fun trip!

We don’t usually have this many sacks so we were kinda excited 😛

My free piece of the month from Godiva was “Cookie Dough”

I probably won’t get it again .. It didn’t really taste like cookie dough. My fav is still red velvet or the strawberry truffle.

This is Pierre! Isn’t he cute?! His tag says his name is Valentino, but as Doctor Who knows, not everyone likes their given name. Remember Stormageddon?

These were just too pretty to pass up! And we had a little extra money from our giftcard.

I found these two awesome sweaters at Macy’s for only $9.99 each! I love long sweaters since I am taller and they’re hard to find sometimes. The bottom one is a really cool bright yellow/green color. The photo didn’t capture it’s greatness!

This beautiful eyeshadow is called Amethyst by MAC. It’s got a lovely shimmer to it!

Aw what a poor fella! It’s like a Greek statue gone wrong!

That day I also went by Toys R Us and found this cute little salon vanity! If I was a kid I would LOVE this! 

And although this wasn’t included in our trip to the mall, I just had to share the cute “fairy bread” my dad made me for breakfast one morning. It’s wheat bread, butter and sprinkles! So easy! Not very healthy but fairies don’t care 🙂

The Hobbit

When The Hobbit was released, I was kinda bummed I couldn’t make it to the midnight premiere.. I usually like to dress up for those! So it’s been on my to-do list to go see the movie .. Last night I finally got to!! The theater was still pretty packed, and it’s funny to see mostly males rather than females (since I usually go to chick flicks) in the seats. I haven’t read the book yet – that’s on another to-do list – but I still really enjoyed the movie. I’ve been told they changed it up some compared to the book. I’d like to see it one more time in theaters and this will definitely be one I want to own! It had just enough humor, magic, action and great great music. My favorite part is the beautiful costumes.

Lady Galadriel’s hair!!! Omg!! 😛 I am definitely going to cosplay her or Arwen soon.

She’s so magical. I wish I was an elf!!

The song the dwarves sing at Bilbo’s house gave me goosebumps, too.

Thorin was a truly emotional character.. I really enjoyed his performance throughout the whole movie.

This is “Song of The Lonely Mountain” performed by Neil Finn.

He’s an outstanding singer from New Zealand. 

When this song played during the credits I couldn’t leave until it was finished. 

There was no stinger after the credits, but I recommend staying for the music 🙂

And for a cool look at The Hobbit sets by Lego check out MTV Geek!

So today I’m going to listen to The Hobbit soundtrack on repeat, wear my elf crown around the house, and slay some orcs on EverQuest II ! 😀

Have you seen The Hobbit yet? If so, what did you think?? And don’t forget to read my review of The Hobbit menu from Denny’s!

Wizard Wand Tutorial

Thanks to DeviantArt User *Majann for posting this SUPER COOL tutorial to make wands like from Harry Potter!! I totally plan on cosplaying Luna Lovegood one of these days.. and I ALMOST bought her wand when I visited Wizarding World in Florida.

I made a wand once but it didn’t turn out nearly as cool as these! For mine (pictured above from 2010), I just bought a wooden dowel and an X-acto knife, carved it until it was kinda pointy at the end, then painted it brown and gold. But I am DEFINITELY going to try this tutorial for a more authentic looking wand.

 

Hello 2013!

Happy New Year to all!!!

Can you believe it’s 2013 already?! I mean this is the FUTURE!! Where the heck are all the hovercrafts?!

Seriously, though, we survived the end of the world so this is kind of a big deal. I wonder how silly we looked to the Mayan’s watching down on us.. hehehe

Looking back at 2012 I realized I had a pretty great year!

1. I went to DISNEY WORLD!! OMG!!
2. I started this blog. Woot!
3. I opened my own salon!!!
4. I got to see Coldplay live.
5. I met a sweet new kitty. And shared good times with Pixie.
6. I went to some amazing comic and anime conventions.
7. I became an aunt – twice!
8. I turned 27 years young 🙂
9. I changed my hair color A LOT.

My top 10 played songs of the year were:

1. Jason Mraz – I Won’t Give Up
2. Paramore – The Only Exception
3. Florence + The Machine  – Shake It Out
4. Christina Perri – A Thousand Years
5. Taylor Swift – Safe and Sound
6. Fun. – We Are Young
7. Birdy – Just A Game
8. Steel Train – Bullet
9. The Gaslight Anthem – She Loves You
10. Sleeping at Last – Turning Page

Books I read this year:

1. The Hungers Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay
2. The Great Gatsby
3. 50 Shades of Grey
4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
5. Beautiful Creatures

My favorite games I played:

1. Everquest 2 (this was a given)
2. Guild Wars 2
3. Draw Something for iPhone
4. Hello Kitty World for iPad

Favorite movies I saw:

1. Twilight: Breaking Dawn Pt. 2
2. The Hunger Games
3. Snow White and the Huntsman
4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
5. Brave

Top read blogs I checked out:

1. The Dainty Squid
2. Geeky Glamorous
3. Bubble My Licorice
4. Love Elycia
5. San Smith

What I am most excited about in 2013:

1. Conventions!!! I have a HUGE list made of all the cons I hope to attend this year!!
2. New cosplays for all the conventions 😀
3. Seeing more of Dallas… Like the Arboretum, Aquarium, Six Flags, etc’
4. Attend some hair shows or take some cut/color classes.
5. The Boy Meets World spinoff show – omg!
6. Catching Fire  – the movie!
7. Spending lots of time with my family and Pixie kitty 🙂
8. I hope I get a new tattoo this year! I can’t believe I went a WHOLE year without getting one!!!

So happy happy happy new year to all my readers and friends! Thanks for all the good times and here’s to MANY MORE!! 🙂

What are YOU looking forward to in 2013???