IIIIIIIII'M BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Hey everyone (or anyone who still randomly reads internet posts from a while back). 

So many life changes have happened over this last year it's been very hard to keep up a perky blog post. That was until I realized something very important: I hadn't stopped crafting, I hadn't stopped cosplaying, taking photos, I was learning how to do many new projects and techniques. You see when I am upset, depressed, frustrated...I turn to crafts of some kind. I guess it's my mind's own way of working through whatever it is I am going through, and if I started this blog for tutorials and crafts, then by god, tutorials and crafts should happen on it, and maybe show others how to do something, or even just inspire them to make things, instead of just wallowing in my own frustrations.

I thought starting this blog a while back was a great idea to help me through what I knew would be a hard year, and instead it just frustrated me that I couldn't seem to work up the nerve to write for weeks at a time. I felt guilty, "I should be doing this, I should be going over that, I should be working on something else."

For most of my life, from my first memory forth, I didn't know what was outside my house's walls. I believe I may have written a post about this before, that I didn't even know what conventions were until a few years ago. I was crafty, normal art type crafty that is. I thought I had to give that up a few times, first based on some rotten family members telling me I should stop frivolous endeavors and concentrate on lucrative subjects in college. I worked up the courage to pick a pencil back up a few years later and had lost all of what I could do with it. I was forced  (or thought I was forced) to put the pencil back down soon after as my nerve damage limited the amount of detail work I could do without shaking and ruining a piece. Then I discovered so many forms of crafting. SO MANY!!!! I even discovered different techniques of sketching and painting which allowed for my aching hands without completely destroying the piece. (Big shout out to the internet for teaching me all this.)

I still ruin a lot of projects I am working on, because I haven't quite learned to quit while I am ahead and put the rest away for the next day. My head is still willing to work, my hands on the other...hand....But I don't stop. I don't give up on art altogether for months or years at a time anymore, which has been very beneficial to my brain.

So, here I am again, and even though I can't go to Comikaze this weekend (BECAUSE KEVIN CONROY, and other amazeballs people will be there) I'm planning for Wondercon. And if you are going to comikaze, please run over to my instapal "Alexandria_theGeek" and get a picture with her in one of her amazing cosplays, on Halloween she'll have candy for trick-or-treators.

I have a few tutorials I am tidying up, as well as a few outlined for future projects. There will still be a delay/drag time in between posts. I am still in the process of renovating a house, but that just means I get to nerd theme an entire building and have more post material once it is done.

Enjoy Comikaze/the weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stranger! Also Wondercon 2014 Update (Winter Soldier Rule 63 Cosplay update)

I haven't posted in a while and here are some of my excuses:

• I am a Maid of Honor (or my version "Best Woman") in a completely DIY wedding yeah...everything is being designed and made here at nerd land. (If you guys want a little sample of those projects I just might make a post for it.)
• One of the dogs decided to have diabeetus.
• Someone in the family was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia and is still in all the testing phase.
• $$$$$ Cosplay projects take mula! ETC.

I do apologize as I haven't even been on here to say that I'd be in the shadows for a while, and I wasn't 100% sure I'd even get to go to Wondercon this year for those reasons above. BUT, I am PUSHING to go at least one day, because like many of you this is my free time, my fun time, my favorite place outside of DISNEYLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many of you follow my instagram (nerdrendezvous) or facebook page and know that I have been working on a special new cosplay from materials I had laying around. For a few months I had delusions of grandeur that I could sew this magical looking arm for Bucky (SPOILER for those of you who don't read the comics, or watch the movies...) who is Winter Soldier. Funny story, you can't just fall asleep and wake up with magical sewing powers. So the project got scrapped until I saw the movie a few times and decided to rack my brain and figure out how to do it. The rest of the costume is done, so two weeks would be plenty of time to do one lousy arm right? I'm sometimes better under a time line anyways.No...that's a lie. I become desperate and sleep deprived and the end results are usually crap. I'm going for it anyways! WOOHOO! Here are the photo's from my facebook/instagram if you do not see them:

beginnings of the lower arm

Miscellaneous pieces of the costume

OH! If you do follow my facebook, you'll know I started what I could for Abbey Bominable cosplay, and was thinking of doing a few Monster High inspired make up looks for here. The first of which, of course, was Abbey nails!

I wanted a sparkly snowflake effect, but if you stop @ step 2 they look like Cinderella nails! And of course true yeti nails would be a little more oval shaped, but mine weren't long enough!

Here is the border for Abbey's dress, cable knit crocheted, by me!

So, if you are going to Wondercon, I hope to say hi! I hope to be on here a little more often once a few things calm down a little!

Confessional

Hey guys, It's been a while. <insert excuse which is really just a cover up for being a busy adult with many important things to do>
I'm about to get real people. I'm not sure how a confessional starts because I don't believe in that business....but I did want to confess a realization I stumbled upon while getting out the ol' animation series to watch this evening.
You know how once boys and girls get to the "crushing" stage they have minor or serious crushes on other people in their schools, or even actors/actresses they watch, etc? I didn't.
After a conversation with a close friend I stopped to think about my schooling. I was not interested in a single person there.
My first crush was Batman (duh...you should've guessed that by now) followed closely by Goliath (yep...the Gargoyle) Girls will talk of Prince Charming or Prince Philip... I chose Beast. Now I'm not talking that pansy, feminine blonde prince guy he was. I'm talking hulking were-monster. I was devastated when he got turned back in the end of the movie. I won't even watch it anymore.
I would look around at the people at school and they were NOT interesting to me. How was I supposed to crush on the local boys when they were not my cup of tea?
 I was way past 18 when I honest to god had a crush on a person. Don't get me wrong, I had had relationships, but I had them because I was trying to do what was considered "normal". Dating for dating's sake. Nothing wrong with that people...I'm just saying I realized it is not for me. I was bored. SO BORED. They'd blather on about things I had zero interest in, take time away from my true loves, and I stayed for no reason other than I thought I was supposed to. Once those relationships ended I was relieved. Happy. I'd make that mistake over and over until I put my foot down some time later. (Which I really want to erase ALL of those relationships because I really didn't learn anything except that I may have been a masochistic moron.) I do not miss being that ignorant.
Anyways, good night ya'll I will try to get some posts up this month.

Batman Themed Bathroom ( Batman Curtains / Wayne Enterprises Candles DIY Tutorial)

Okay, for those of  you who follow my Facebook or my Instagram @nerdrendezvous you'd know I've made progress on my Batman/Batgirl themed bathroom. Mostly DIY with some altered store-bought stuff, it's going along pretty well. I thought curtains would be easy to make myself, and I was right! For once a prject that didn't turn out to be harder than I thought. So....let's begin with some SUPER EASY DIY stuff for any room, not just bathrooms!

Wayne Enterprises Decor

What you will need:
Flameless Candles (preferably wax coated)
Pencil
Printed out Wayne Enterprises logo
Scissors
Tape
Paint & Paintbrush

Cut out your logos to fit/center easily on the candle. Cover the backside of the logo paper in graphite (basically scribble all over it, nice & thick.)

Tape the logo where you'd like it on the candle, and trace over the logo with a sharp pencil.

On the left you see the taped on logo after being traced, and on the right you see what it should look like after trace.

Fill in your traced logo with paint and wait for it to dry. Make a mistake? if you have the wax coated flameless candle, you can very gently scrape off the oopsies.

Batman Logo Curtains

What you will need:

Fabric

Pins

Thread

Sewing machine

Iron-on transfer sheets you can print on with your own printer

Iron

You will need to measure out the length of the curtain rod/space you are putting the curtains.  I added a little extra so the curtain would be frilly.  You also need to measure how long you want the curtain (how far it needs to hang down) and add 3 inches to that number (you will fold that over to create the loop to slide the rod through. Here's my pithy sketch version of that sentence:

As you can see (you probably can't but I am pretending my scribbles were actually legible) I used 2.5 yards of cotton fabric that was 44 in. wide to make both curtains. Yay for planning and saving money.

You'll have to lay out your fabric right side down, mark all this out and carefully cut the two pieces out. If you did it like I did, where both curtains were cut out from the bottoms of the fabric, you won't need to put seams on the bottom of each, because the bolt of fabric they cut your material from should have sealed edges.  Fold in both smaller sides, the "ends" if you will (using mine as an example, the sides that measured 15&18.5) 1/4" and hem them.

With the right side facing down, fold the raw edge (the top, or on mine the 2.5&1.5 yrd side, you cut) over the top 2.5-3". The 2.5-3 inches will be the right side of the fabric, you will pin/sew a line 1/4" from the bottom of that edge (3" from the top of the curtain) and then sew another line 1-1.5" from the top depending on how wide your curtain rod is.

If you squint, you can see the two sewed lines on the left hand side of the picture which is the top of the curtain. I flipped the fabric over to show the right side in this pic.

Mark the center line(s) for where you want your bat(s) to go.

Iron on your bat(s) according to the iron-on sheets instructions. 

Since I had scrap I used it to make some strips for bows. Just sew the rectangular strips on to both sides of the curtain (4 pieces for two bows) and then tie them into bows.

Presto chango normal boring curtains are now gone! Also Ignore the hideous wallpaper in these pics...this is one of the reasons I decided to change my bathroom around, and will be gone as soon as I figure out what is behind it.

Custom Towel Rack

Paint

Mod Podge

Comics

Scissors

Clear Coat (Waterproof)

I simply painted my existing towel rack black and purple, used some mod podge/comics to add a few details, and then clear coated it a few times to make sure no water could harm it. Wait for it to seriously dry before exposing it to the damp bathroom conditions. I waited three days before I put it together and hung it in the bathroom. Again...ignore the wallpaper.

Tadaaaa.....another detail I added was my Haunted Arkham Asylum print by artist Abe Lopez which can be found here: http://artistabe.deviantart.com/art/Haunted-Arkham-Asylum-367228568

I am currently designing some drawer pulls and other little touches to make it a little more batty in my bathroom. Not to mention.....my newest cosplay is almost complete. I hope to release it next week or so....;)

Realizations/Star of Batman / Batgirl Bathroom Begins!

Howdy ya'll. I know I have been really quite as of late. I am a bit of an introvert. Shocking, right? I love to cosplay, it pushes me to the limits of my human interaction quotas, in fact it was at my first convention that I broke out of my shell and learned to "be cool" and calm in a crowd.

As Nerd Rendezvous will be changing around some to include other topics, like gaming and other fun goodies, I'd like to start writing more, not just photos and tutorials. I decided to begin posting on a few of my favorite things :D

Let's start with my earliest memory of comic-related things, shall we?

I was a teeny tiny tot of no more than 3 at the time, and Gerard Christopher was in a little show called, "The Adventures of Superboy." I grew up in a house where the kids were not allowed to change the channels or choose the channels, however that little half an hour show was right during an hour that no one else had claimed the tube. I am told I would run in five minutes ahead of the show, regardless of daylight savings or broken clocks, it was just an internal knowledge that Superboy was saving the world again. We didn't have chairs in the "TV room" so I would always sit directly in front of the dinosaur box and nearly go cross-eyed each time.

I didn't get excited about much as a kid, I didn't act like other children my age in preschool and was always informed by my teachers that I was the most disciplined child in their class. Justice, and a sense of right vs. wrong made me so happy, I'd hold my breath the entire scene, waiting for those commercials to breathe again. I'd pull my hair and freak out EVERY time the crooks, villains, and miscellaneous bad dudes got the best of Clark. My mother thought it so cute she wrote in to the show and scored me autographed photos of the stars. She also tried one of those, "guess what...superman brought a present for you" wool over the eyes trick that parents are wont to do. It worked for a day or so. The present? A pair of boys pj's that looked like the Superman costume, complete with flowy cape. I lie. The cape wasn't flowy. it was however, full of static electricity ALL the time. Which brings me to an important point. There were next to NO things for girls who liked comics back then. You bought boys t-shirts, pj's, shoes, etc. Unless you wanted to get stuck with princess Ariel everything.

Skip ahead a few years, I didn't get to continue watching Superboy. I stopped getting comic inspired clothes, and did not have the option of getting actual comics. I did happen upon a little series called Batman: The Animated Series a little while later, perhaps you've heard of it? (You should have heard of it....if you haven't re-evaluate your life.) I fell head over heels for Batman. I never saw anything like him. A bright beam of hope for me, that a human could be SO much. Do SO much. Save SO much. Have such a strong sense of justice...just like me...only I was little. I still didn't have the ability to get comics. I was scared around regular people. I got to see the live-action Batman movies, and that was a BIG deal for me. I was given a Batman vs. Joker collection and that was even bigger.

I LOVED Darkwing Duck and Goliath from Gargoyles, I would only watch shows with a sense of righting wrongs and criminal justice, now that I think about it. I never got to see all the episodes from my favorite shows, but now as an adult I think it's absolutely wonderful that we can get the dvds and a: fall in love all over again (Goliath, I'm talking about you, you big lug) and b: see those episodes we missed.

I only just found Justice League and JLU near the beginning of this year when I got a netflix. Holy cow. If only I hand known about these/it was possible for me to see them back then....eh, c'est la vie.

Now I am old enough, and able to go and do things related to what I love. And even though I can be a hermit sometimes, I promise to try to work out a schedule for writing here. Side Note: I started work on my Batman/Batgirl themed bathroom. I was going to wait until I pulled up the floor, and took down the one wall of wallpaper. I then saw about how long it'd be before that occurred so I took the liberty of starting to do what I can, like this re-purposed comic towel holder! Tomorrow I am getting the fabric for my above the shower/window curtains. Stay tuned for that and the changes here. Also...I post more frequently on our Nerd Rendezvous' page.

See what I mean about the wallpaper? UGH!

Sorry I've been silent lately...lots of work to get done, and went to C4....for right now...let's just do a quick photo relay of C4! Also, thanks to Stunt Man Justin/Project Cosplay, I'm finally in a video! @ 2:36 beware the hawk! https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8zE3M3w1E60

 All photo's courtesy Madame Erica (Mrs. Foster from Killing Floor) For the full effect of our day, visit her Flickr account! http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahnassi/with/9698036202/

I will get back to posting soon! I'm planning out some things and changing it up! Meanwhile, I'm on the Nerd Rendezvous Facebook quite often!

Chay-Ara Hol Hawkgirl Cosplay Update 2 (Mace Tutorial)

Well...Chay-Ara is proving much more difficult that I originally thought. The way I decided to do the wings....I don't even want to get started on explaining it right now, but I promise I will, and I will refer you to an easier wing tutorial!
Here's what I've done so far:

WINGS

 MACE TUTORIAL

Styrofoam ball, meet dowel, dowel, meet styrofoam ball.

Take a piece of card stock, roll it into a cone and glue it together with hot glue.

Probably a better visual for that step. Fill the cone tip with hot glue to make it sturdy, let it dry.

Glue those B******* in place.

VERY IMPORTANT: Cover the styrofoam in plaster putty/drywall repair paste. Otherwise when you try to paint it, your styrofoam will melt.

Paint that sucker, and add detail with dry brush!

Chay-Ara's top, yes I know..."it's different than the cartoon AND the comics" Well...I'm claiming artists privilege here. I love Ancient Egypt, and I wanted to look like a mummy! Yes...I know it's a crude dummy/helmet stand...but hey..I work with what I have.

My Stargate gauntlet...errr...Chay-Ara Hol gauntlet is coming along very nicely. I had to find the proper sized gems!

Scarab detail. It may be "Stargate" but it fits quite nicely into my Egyptian Chay-Ara Hol, quite nicely indeed.

PS! Don't forget about the Central Coast Comic Con, I will be BLACK CANARY on Saturday the 7th!!!! I will be a surprise on Sunday (That just means I haven't decided between HYDRA, Spoiler, and Zatanna)

As far as Chay-Ara Hol goes, I ran out of white shirts to rip up and soak in tea to make the skirt so I must get back to it soon!