Archives for posts with tag: halloween

Get into the spirit…

October 31, 2017 //
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…of Halloween!

I like to make the most of this occasion, because on no other day can you go around wearing a costume without anyone thinking you’ve gone a bit batty. I do sometimes wish the UK were a little less traditional (like the US) though. Americans are a lot more flexible when it comes to the characters they portray, but over here, most people don’t really deviate from horror themes.

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No Face isn’t exactly scary (unless you’re a toddler, like in the pic above!), but it’s still a supernatural entity and definitely meets Halloween criteria!

It wasn’t until last week that work confirmed we could dress up for this event, so I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. Although I am a Studio Ghibli fan, and Spirited Away is one of my favourite animated films, the main reason I picked No Face was partly down to expedience.

All I needed was a black hooded poncho, a black headband, and white card to make the mask. The interweb is full of templates for No Face’s…erm…face, but I will save you the trouble of looking for one by posting mine here!

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The mask will print onto an A4 sheet, and is a little large, but you can easily size it down. If you need it even bigger, please feel free to DM me. 🙂

I had no intention of wearing the mask over my face all day, but wanted it to stay attached to me so I’d still be recognisable as No Face. A few other female cosplayers have been wearing it on the side of their heads, and I wondered if I could devise a way for the mask to also double up as hair accessory.

This is where adhesive velcro strips come in, and they were fangtastic for this little project. You can get them in craft or fabric stores, or if you prefer to shop online, I bet Amazon and eBay will have them too.

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As you can see here, my headpiece can also be turned into a visor-mask…and it is soooo easy to do. After printing and cutting out the mask, work out how you want it positioned when on face and side of head, then stick on bits of velcro respectively. And there you have it, a fully-adjustable disguise that can be worn in two ways!

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Some girls opt to paint their faces, but that’s optional. I did it as a test run when trying on my costume, but didn’t bother with it today as I’m really not a morning person. No force on earth can motivate me out of bed early enough to coat my skin in layers of slap.

I did, however, notice that with my hood up and facepaint on, I looked like I’d gone over to the dark side in full Sith mode!

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What a truly versatile costume this has turned out to be…Now all I need is a lightsaber, and this time next year, I will be a dark lord of the empire!

Update 01/11/17 – Much as I love snacks and chocolate, Halloween treats have never held great drawing power where I’m concerned. It’s not like I don’t already stuff my face the other 364 days of the year. That said, I was inordinately chuffed to receive this little package of goodies the next day.

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These were gifts for the few who dressed up for Halloween at work, so yay us! Eye can’t see why the treats pleased me so much…Perhaps it’s because I wasn’t expecting it, or perhaps some of the sweets were old school and I can be a bit of a retrophile at times. Either case, it made me happy enough to blog it. 😀

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Categories Craft, Lifestyle

Lofty ideals…

April 16, 2017 //
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…on a tight budget!

At long last, our loft conversion is complete, and just in time for the Easter hols! Work on it actually started last summer, but because it was mostly DIY (apart from rewiring, reinforcements, and boarding), progress was slow.

Not taking into account the metal edging (not sure of correct terminology?!) which still needs to be installed on the carpet around the trapdoor thingy, I now have my own personal sanctuary and craft space, not to mention extra capacity for storage and (maybe-not-so-secret) snack stash. I am beyond chuffed! 😀

Even before we started building the loft, I had factored in an area for a mini photo booth with chalkboard wall. It wasn’t too difficult to set up, and the outcome was more or less what I pictured in my head. I’m now also thinking I should get a thin plank of wood to slide over the blackboard, painted white, just so I can have another background option…But perhaps that is a job for another day.

This month has also seen us celebrate our wedding anniversary, and although David and I agreed in advance to keep our expenditure to a minimum (due to the loft!), I couldn’t resist getting him a little something, complete with cheesy homemade card featuring puns related to a common interest of ours – Astronomy.

If I’m honest, it was more of an excuse to show off a gift topper rose I’d made using a few of the remaining pipe-cleaners from last year’s Halloween Spider Bun.

 

Using this helpful video, a friend put my hair up in a bun and pinned to it a pair of googly eyes that I’d stuck on a bit of cardboard the night before. I know it’s not really a costume, but still a spookily acceptable (and cute) low-cost, last minute alternative in the spirit of the occasion.

 

Although I haven’t really been experimenting on the culinary front, I did make more of an effort on this year’s Pancake Day. As it’s normally close to dinner time when we get home from work, I didn’t fancy anything too dessert-like, so I decided to make us savoury pancakes with Stilton spinach and mushrooms, topped with bacon and egg. It didn’t look like much after I made it, but was quite rich and thus, more filling than I expected.

What I am particularly proud of, however, is a classic dish that’s also one of David’s favourites. He likes to call it ‘red stuff’ (which we usually get from the takeaway), but is more traditionally known by its Cantonese name Gou Lou Yuk, or over here in the UK as Sweet and Sour Pork. That night’s meal was met with much satisfaction, with only one complaint. Apparently, I’d left the kitchen looking “like an industrial accident” had occurred in there! Luckily for me, our family has a rule I am not above exploiting, and that is…whoever cooks is spared from doing the washing up!

Whilst essentially not all that difficult to master, Gou Lou Yuk does require a lot of prep work, and some of that includes deep frying. Was having our home smell like the local chippy worth every mouthful? Yes. Would I be making it again anytime soon? Probably not! 😀

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Categories Craft, Decor, Food, Gifts, Lifestyle

Office Horrors

November 1, 2015 //
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As an introvert, I’ve never been one for parties, yet my passion for cosplay equals my distaste for social interaction, which presents a bit of a paradoxical situation since there’s hardly any point dressing up if there isn’t an audience.

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Most previous attempts were unambitious, and included ideas such as a witch and a vampire (I was in a hurry!), though I’d count Faith Connors from Mirror’s Edge a success…in large part due to my husband’s steady hand in replicating the tattoos!

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So imagine my delight when an opportunity arrived to organise a Halloween charity event at work. For a small donation, a member of staff could materialise on the day as any spooky character of their choice, with cakes or other yummy goodness a bonus.

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I did consider turning up as Gogo Yubari, but due to time constraints, decided that Sadako Yamamura from Ringu would be more realistic since less prop-making would be involved. Plus, I have the hair for it! So one long victorian nightdress and a huge sheet of cardboard later, and the result was freaky enough to unnerve even colleagues taking the photos on this page.

All in all, it was a pretty good Halloween…lots of great pics, and we got to stuff our faces. I doubt a lot of work was done that day, but it made a change to be haunted by something other than deadlines!

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Categories Craft, Lifestyle