Halloween 2014

It took forever to post this because the kids took off with my camera, and I just found it.
 
We had such a fun Halloween! 


Ash from Pokémon
Our oldest really wanted to be Ash, so we hit the thrift store, hand-painted a hat, raided the toy bin and closet, and came up with a costume he loved.




A "princess cat"
Our daughter really wanted to be a cat but couldn't pass up this princess dress, so we ended up with a cat princess.

A Star Wars clone trooper
Our youngest has been wearing this costume almost non-stop since I found it months ago!


Cinderella Bear's ride to the ball
We always dress up the dog too, but our daughter misplaced Daisy's Batman costume (probably after trying to put it on the cat...) and this is what we came up with in the few minutes we had before trick-or-treating.

The Elusive List of Colors From Perler 11,000-22,000 Jars

For beginners, I've always recommended getting the 11,000 or 22,000 count Perler bead jars from Amazon. Like I've said before, these jars come with a great variety of colors (30 colors, to be precise), and the price is cheaper than I've found anywhere else. (Please comment if you've found a better deal--I go through beads insanely fast, so I'd love to know!!!)

What's always bugged me is that a list of included colors don't seem to be anywhere, and believe me I've looked! I finally broke down and emailed ES Success Brands (the manufacturer) and asked them, not expecting anything but an automated reply. They actually emailed me back with the list, so I must share!!



Not pictured: Transparent Green, Transparent Pink, Transparent Orange, and Transparent Yellow



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Costumes, Art, Opera, Torture, and Comics

We had an amazing weekend that started with an exhibit of amazing costumes! These were my favorites.

 
Angelica Houston's gown in Ever After 
 
 
Jack Sparrow's costume from Pirates #1

 
Keira Knightly's from The Dutchess 

 
Kate Winslet's from Sense and Sensibility


Emmy Rossum's from the Masquerade in Phantom of the Opera

 
The gorgeous red gown from Land of the Blind!
 
Next, we were off to the BYU Harris Fine Arts Center

 
The kids especially loved the interactive pieces like walking this floor maze and ringing a huge selection of very loud hand bells. 
 
There, we got to enjoy our first opera experience, a special family presentation of
The Marriage if Figaro.


 
The kids LOVED it (shocking because they were dragging their feet saying how opera was boring.)

 
The amazing performers even came out for a meet and greet afterwards.



 
Our youngest was pouting because we tried to make him take a picture with "yucky girls." Apparently, we love to torture him... 
 
 
 
We topped off our fun weekend with a trip to the comic book store (Dragons Keep in Provo),
where we met Captain America!

Perler vs. Hama

You guys asked, so here it is: Hama vs. Perler Beads..

I'd never tried Hama Beads before (they're not as easy to find in the USA), and I was very surprised by what I found.

Hama beads have a much different feel to them than any bead I've used. They are actually a bit smaller than other beads (making it difficult to handle them with the perler tweeze tool, and they didn't want to stay in place on the pegboard!) The plastic feels almost soft, and when they're fused, they become almost spongy--they still retain their shape, but they're much more flexible than any other beads so far. This flexibility might be helpful when crafting items that will be handled by children who tend to bend them. They will break if handled too much, but they'd probably withstand more than other beads. ***Please remember that ALL small items can be potential choking hazards for babies and small children!***


(Pictured above, Hama Beads: Dark blue, light blue, yellow, white, and red.
Perler Beads: Pastel blue, light yellow, pink, black, green, purple, and orange.)

Hama beads have a lower melting point than perler beads, and you can see from this picture that they look quite a bit different when melted. The hama beads ended up being noticeably shorter and more rounded at the top (like nabbi beads) than perler beads. They also have a bit more gloss to them than perlers.



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Crafting The Guardians

I finally got to work on my Guardians of the Galaxy inspired bead sprites! Here's a bit of an inside look at how I designed them.




I always start by looking at a picture of my subject and creating a color pallet for each project. 



Designing Starlord


 Had to make one with and without a mask, of course! 


Gamora


Nebula
Nebula was difficult. When you have a huge block of one color, it's hard to make it look good. Adding details like the stripes in her clothes helps break it up. 


Rocket
The basic outline that I did for Rocket was based off my Teemo pattern, 
but I altered it quite a bit to make it work for him. 
I started with a different color pallet to see the design more clearly, 
then incorporated the real colors later. 


Baby Groot
Believe it or not, Groot was actually the hardest to make. 
I started with a design that was much bigger and more complex, 
but wanted to keep it simple and cute. 



Drax
I put the basic design together, then add details.


And here's the final product! Find these cuties in my Etsy shop or Storenvy. 

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The Watchers

The Watchers Book 1: Knight of Light







In England, 1270 A.D., Auriella (pronounced yurr-ee-ella) flees her village after being accused of witchcraft. Pursued by nightmarish creatures, she struggles to accept the truth about her humanity. Filled with fairies, dwarves, pixies, dragons, and monsters, Knight of Light is an enthralling tale that will capture the imaginations of readers young and old.
The Watchers Series has been described as Braveheart meets Supernatural. The mythology for the series is based on many theological texts from dozens of sects with correlating themes. Ancient writings include The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Traditional Apocrypha, The Pearl of Great Price, and The Kabbalah.



“The Watchers” are supernatural beings in human form whose duty it is to protect and guard mankind from the armies of darkness. Unfortunately, as the Book of Enoch mentions, some of these Watchers go bad. Although the mythology is based on these texts, Deirdra Eden’s The Watchers Series is written in a traditional fairytale style with a young girl’s discovery of incredible, but dangerous powers within herself, a cast of humorous side-kicks, a quest for greater self-discovery and purpose, and villains of epic proportions.




About the Author


 "My goal in writing is to saturate my books with intrigue, mystery, romance, and plot twists that will keep my readers in suspense. I want to see fingerprints on the front and back covers where readers have gripped the novel with white knuckles! Aside from writing, I enjoy jousting in arenas, planning invasions, horseback riding through open meadows, swimming in the ocean, hiking up mountains, camping in cool shady woods, climbing trees barefoot, and going on adventures."
-Deirdra Eden

Find Deirdra Eden and The Watchers Series online on Amazon, Deirdra's website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Wattpad, and Pinterest.


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Perler Bead Obsession


I've been on another perler bead kick the last two weeks. Here's what I've come up with so far.


It started when I decided to make a Princess Peach to match Princess Daisy.


Before I knew it, I'd made a History of Princess Peach Collection!



I promised my friend's daughter a Princess Luna.. had to deliver!


And of course I needed a Princess Celestia for my MLP collection.


Which, of course, meant I needed a Doctor Whooves! 


And Zecora!


So, here's my current collection.


 Then I decided to go big. My kids LOVE Frozen, so I made a huge Elsa and Anna wall hanging.


And you can't do Frozen without Olaf...



And I ended up starting a giant MLP wall decor collection. More to come! :)

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Batman Day!




Today, for Batman's 75th anniversary, bookstores and comic shops are giving away free Batman comic books! Details and locations here.

Then, this Saturday, July 26th, libraries across the US are celebrating with Batman activities and giveaways, including a free comic book! Details here. Follow my blog with Bloglovin
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