April Art Roundup: Twu Wuv, Bookish Mario, and Squee-Worthy Sad Robots

Time again for my favorite geeky art finds of the month!

Starting with the Princess Bride piece, "True Love" by Janna Bock:

Although I'll admit to being a little disappointed she didn't call it, "Twu Wuv." :D

 Bock only has a few pieces listed for sale, but I'm also digging her "French Hair:"

Both prints are $15 in Bock's Etsy shop.

I fell hard for the colors in Jenna Brown's new "Lollipop:"

And over at Brown's brand-spankin' new store, she also has this lovely:

"Bubblegum"

Check out Brown's shop for more!


A super sweet Link & Zelda set by Fort Awesome Studios:

I like how s/he painted the originals on vintage book pages!

There are also some great Mario sets available:

Check out the Fort Awesome Studios Etsy shop for more!


Jessica Robinson of The Sticker Alley has done something quite clever with her art: she's turned her characters into magnetic bookmarks!

Labyrinth-Themed Ball Coming To Dragon Con This Year!

I just shared this on Facebook, and the Facebook algorithm was all, "Hey, cool, I think I'll let like 6 people see this," but this is IMPORTANT, so...

 LOOKIE!!!

The ball will be held at Atlanta's Center for Puppetry Arts, NOT one of the Dragon Con hotels, but since it's happening the first night of Dragon Con the two have partnered together.

Here's the official blurb:

A magical, exclusive night to celebrate the opening a new special exhibit - Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Journey to Goblin City at Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts.

 Be the first to see this spellbinding collection of goblins and gowns, with behind-the-scenes artwork, photos, and video to guide you on your journey into the world of the Goblin King! Wear your Labyrinth or masquerade costumes and masks to participate in a costume contest judged by Brian Henson, Co-CEO of the Jim Henson company! Pose for photos on the Goblin King’s throne and dance to the music from the film and other dance favorites from the ‘80s. 

Changing room and bag check provided. Beer and wine cash bar. Complimentary heavy hors d'oeuvres. Free Dragon Con shuttle service to and from the Center for Puppetry Arts. Tickets go on sale May 21st at noon and will be limited.

Aaand this is me:

(ALL THE KERMIT FLAILS)

Last night John and I watched the film and all 2 hours of behind-the-scenes featurettes again, so I. am. PUMPED. 

I'm especially delighted that the Center is providing changing rooms and a bag check for cosplayers, because you KNOW these costumes are going to be amaaaaaazing. Heck, John and I are brainstorming dream-options right now. Because, you know, we don't have enough stuff to do... :D

Who else will we see there?

The Cosplayers Who Say... NI!

It's been a while since John and I had a new cosplay to show you guys, so I think it's time for a new Sneak Peek! (... which you Instagram followers have already had a few sneak peeks of. Heh.)

BEHOLD!!

And if that isn't ringing any bells, here, watch this:

Heck, watch it anyway; The Knights Who Say Ni never get old. :D

For those who can't watch a video right now, here's the shot that matters:

 NI!

This is a project John and I thought would be super fast and super easy, buuuut....

... not so much.

So something like 15 prototypes later, we FINALLY have what we *think* is the correct helmet shape:

This is our first time working with EVA foam, and even the horns are a thinner craft foam. The horns are held on with magnets, too, for easy transport and storage. The paint job is still a work in progress, but I think we're getting pretty close.

The goal is to have a bunch of these done in time for Dragon Con this year - and ultimately, to even have a template I can share with you guys, in case you want to join our merry band of shrubbery collectors. :) (John also plans to be the big tall guy on stilts, but one helmet at a time!)

We're a bit stumped on something, though, so maybe one of you can help:

See that trim around the eye slit on the right helmet?

That's also foam - a type of insulation trim cut in half - and the shape and size are perfect, but the texture is way too rough to pass for metal.

Spackle and caulk won't stick to it - it's spongey, so they just crack off - but we need to smooth out that texture. Any ideas? Right now my only thought is Worbla, but we've never worked with that before, and it's quite pricey.

Alternatively, any ideas for something *else* we could use to make that trim? It has to flex a little, so no clay or wood.

Anyhoo, suggestions and/or Much Rejoicing are welcome in the comments!

*****

Now, let's announce the winners of my Prince tribute pendants!

So, the winner of the white dove pendant is: Melanie Wood

And the winner of the 5-bead pendant is: Renee (of The Crown Of Beauty)

Congrats, ladies, and please e-mail me your mailing addresses!

WDW's Spring Dapper Day 2016, Pt 3 - last one!

OK, Dizgeeks, let's wrap up Orlando's latest Dapper Day with my final batch of favorites!

(Did you miss one? Then here's Part 1 and Part 2!)

Starting with this oh-so-dapper Disneybounding family: Han, Kylo, and Leia:

Han & Leia had just finished smothering Kylo with hugs, and I love that sulky little pout going on. ("Mooo-ooom!") Ha! Also, please note Kylo's GENIUS umbrella lightsaber. Because genius.

An adorable Donald & Daisy:

The cutest Tink (her bow is her wings!) and spunkiest Peter Pan & Hook:

These two were about to put their backpacks away for the photo, but I was like, "OH HECK NO THOSE GO IN THE PHOTO:"

Right? So cute!

More dapper Rebels:

And here's my new friend May, an Epbot reader I recognized by that faaabulous Haunted Mansion necklace:

She shared a pic of that necklace (which she made!) on the Epbot Facebook page last week, and I recognized it, then awkwardly said hi, and we geeked out on each other and spent the rest of the day together. See, I love that you readers make it so easy to be friends. :D (Go see May's jewelry page, btw; she's taking pre-orders for more of those necklaces!)

A gentleman Mary Poppins:

DIY Prince Tribute Necklace: When Doves Cry Purple Rain

We lost another member of rock n' roll royalty this week, and all the Prince stories and celebrations and mourning flooding my feed the past few days gave me an idea. An idea that made me put off my final Dapper Day post and do a little crafting, instead.

Someone told me I was the first to use the term "sad crafting" for my Alan Rickman tribute a few months back, but I think we've all had times when just *doing* something helps us process. So crank up Raspberry Beret, my friends, and let's go crazy making a "When Doves Cry Purple Rain" pendant:

Here's what you'll need:

- guitar pick metal blanks

- dove charm

- small purple tear-drop beads (these were the best I could find)

- thin silver chain

- silver head pins & O rings

- (optional) silver bail for hanging

1) Use small nippers to cut off the hanging ring from your dove charm, then file the leftover bumps smooth with a metal file.

2) Cover the metal guitar pick with painter's tape to protect it from scratches, then mark and drill 3 or 5 evenly spaced holes. I did a few variations, so here's what it looks like with 5 hanging beads:

 

 Personally I like it better with just 3, but that's up to you.

3) Insert & loop the head pins into your beads. (I use a 1-step looper for this, which is amazeballs.)

4) Now hang your beads with the thin chain and O rings, arranging the heights in a nice tapered effect.

5) Glue down your dove charm with a small dot of E-6000. (Let it tack up a minute before pressing it down, so the glue doesn't seep out underneath.)

6) Add the bail to the guitar pick if you're using one, or if not, just use a large O ring for hanging.

 

 Done!

I like that this is a subtle design you could wear everyday, but still one I bet a lot of Prince fans will pick up on.

Oh, and here's one more variation I did using a white dove charm:

WDW's Spring Dapper Day 2016, Pt 2

[Here's part 1, in case you missed it!]

Let's dive right in with everyone's favorite Frozen sisters:

Anna & Elsa are sporting their Spring Fling dresses for Spring Dapper Day. Perfect!

(And only on Dapper Day do you get the world's most elegant photo bomb. RESPECT, SIR.)

A Dole Whip fascinator:

 [whisper screaming] A DOLE. WHIP. FASCINATOOOOR!

This Wendy Darling is living up to her last name:

 And here's one of my favorite groups of the day:

Do you recognize them? The daughter is Roger Rabbit, dad is Eddie (and they're handcuffed together!!), mom is Dolores, and the son? The son is Benny the cab, with checkered suspenders! YESSSS. So good.

Speaking of which, the Main Street vehicles were out in full force:

 

Which was especially impressive considering the Dappers kept having group photos smack in the middle of the street. Hee.

This is the dapper Star Wars group. I'll show you the vast sea of people that was the Dapper Day group photo in my next post.

Loooove the colors in this one:

That's a classic Goofy, Minnie, & Donald, of course.

These two flappers begged me, "Not the feet!"

WDW's Spring Dapper Day 2016, Pt 1

The forecast promised rain - and lots of it - for Dapper Day last Saturday at the Magic Kingdom, but John and I made the 11th hour decision to go anyway. And I am so glad we did.

Not only did we escape even the slightest drop of rain, the heavy cloud cover gave me the perfect environment for photos. Usually I have to give my Dapper Day pics a heavy vintage filter to counteract the heavy shadows and bleached out tones, but this time? This time we get ALL THE COLORS:

So prepare your eyeballs for a candy-coated feast.

That's Disneybounding Cap' and Bucky up there, btw. Check out the red star & silver cuff bracelet for Bucky's silver arm!

If you're not familiar with Disneybounding, think of it as an extremely subtle cosplay, usually accomplished with everyday clothes and accessories. I'd guess that around 30-40% of DD participants DisneyBound, so half the fun of Dapper Day is figuring out who's dressed as who!

Half of this next group is Disneybounding - let's see if you can spot the characters:

(Did you guess? That's a dapper Ariel on the far left, and Han Solo on the far right.)

Of course, some groups are less subtle: 

 

Mouseketeers!

While others let fly the most amazing designer fashions:

 

[Here's their Instagram, if you want to see more.]

Dapper Day emphasizes vintage clothing and/or bright colors, so this is easily the most beautiful day to stroll through the park.

These gentlemen even sported tailed tuxedos and top hats:

That's no mean feat in 80 degrees!

I spotted 3 or 4 different couples 'bounding as Nick & Judy from Zootopia:

I love "Nick's" sly side-eye in that close-up.

Princesses still lead the pack for Most Disneybounded, but Star Wars was a close second again this year. And as a lover of all things orange, I am thrilled by all the BB-8 dresses:

Hogwarts And The Steampunk Chocolate Factory

Last week my parents were in town for a few days, so we headed out to Wizarding World to give Mom's new wand a spin. I didn't bring my camera this round, but happily my iPhone doesn't do half bad:

A cozy corner of Knockturn Alley. This one is completely unedited, with one exception: I had John photoshop out the glaring EXIT sign that's directly underneath the Embalmers sign.

Pretty Phoenix necklace spotted in the shops:

On the way in to the park we passed by the future site of The Toothsome Chocolate Factory, and lemme tell you: I am excited.

It's a steampunk chocolate restaurant, you guys. Which sounds a lot like JEN HEAVEN.

Here's what the outside will look like:

 

Diggin' the giant gears they have out front:

 You can bet I'll have a full photo tour when this thing opens.

Speaking of food, I tricked convinced my parents into trying the Fishy Green Ale at the Leaky Cauldron, then took pictures of their very first sips:

GOOD TIMES.

And yes, I totally lucked out in the parent department. Did I mention they drove all the way down here from Williamsburg... on a Harley? They just got it last year, so I'm still adjusting to my nerderiffic parents turning into bikers. I mean, my mom bought leather chaps, you guys. LEATHER CHAPS. (But look how cute she is in that biker hat. I mean, c'mon.)

Moving on...

Flight of the Hippogriff is known as a kiddy ride, so a lot of folks tend to skip it.

 

DON'T SKIP IT.

I can't speak for the ride itself (since I've never been on it), but the queue is fantastic: