The Best of Dragon Con 2016, Pt 5 - Last One!

Time for my final DCon roundup of 2016!

Of course I COULD go on forever with these, but with another big convention this weekend, believe me, I'll have plenty more cosplay for you guys soon enough.

So let's gallop on with... IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE!!

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee! 

 

 For those of you unschooled in the ways of Despicable Me 2, this is little Agnes' Unicorn Princess dress:

... but note how the cosplayer went the extra mile by turning the unicorn into the plush from the first movie:

YESSSS. And you guys, that pony fur was the softest thing ever. 

(I *did* ask before petting her skirt, promise.)

Raise your hand if you want a unicorn plush this size now. [raises both hands]

Despicable Me 2 got me through one of the most panic-stricken weeks of my life, so it has a special place in my heart. Especially Pharrell's song "Happy." I watched that part of the movie on a loop an embarrassing number of times that week, and I'm still not sick of it. So, yeah, seeing this made me happy. :)

Oh hey, speaking of ear worms:

Who's singing it? You know you want to!

Took me a while to chase down these Fallout power suits for John:

I think I mentioned before, but the pink suit is John's favorite in the game. 

Such great detailing, and I love the paint jobs:

In case you were wondering, elaborate headdresses and light-up skirts are the way to this fangirl's heart:

The Hufflepuff Common Room Is My Jam

I may be the last one on the bandwagon here, but have you guys heard of Ambient Mixer? It's a website that allows users to create and listen to custom "audio atmospheres," like summer storms, creepy castles, etc.

Except here's the thing: the fans have invaded, and created a nirvana of geeky soundscapes like the Hogwarts common rooms, the Winchesters' car, Sherlock's apartment, etc.

Can we pause to Kermit flail a moment, please?

[ALL THE FLAILS]

I confess I haven't explored too much, because once I found the Hogwarts common rooms (thanks, FoE!) I pretty much parked it right there.

I mostly hang out in Hufflepuff, with regular forays into Gryffindor, and the occasional visit to Slytherin. (Which is an accurate breakdown of my House tendencies, so make of that what you will.)

The best thing - other than this being completely free to stream on your computer - is you can customize each atmosphere with easy-to-use sliders:

So if the footsteps or page turning or whatever is too loud or too often, you can change that, or turn it off completely. (I like to tweak each one so there's nothing too jarring or repetitive.)

I keep these playing in the background while I work. It's a step above white noise, but not as distracting as music. In other words: PERFECTION.

Now, go! Browse! Listen! I think I might grab some headphones next, since the directional sounds are super cool already, just on my mini stereo speakers. (I'm listening to Captains' Hook Quarters right now, and it's ocean wavey goodness.) Then tell me what your favorites are in the comments!

***

Oh, but before you go, let's announce some art winners:

The winner of "Discord With A Q" is Jeanna Hensley

The winner of Beauty & the Beast is Jennifer Suchman

And my wild card winner is Katie with the blog Katie & Kevin Get Married!

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

October Art Roundup: Treat Yo' Self With Ice Cream, Mermaids, & Cuckoo Clocks!

Time for my monthly roundup of favorite art finds!

The artist known simply as "Jesi" calls her work "quirky art for happy hearts." And is it ever:

Even her prints are on real wood!

Did I mention most of her art is based on puns?

 Then there's this Stranger Things inspired pin:

Ermergosh so many favorites.  Head to Jesi's Etsy shop for loads more, and follow her on Instagram for give-aways and lots of behind-the-scenes eye candy.

 Next up, these stunners by Nen Chang:

 

 Lady Mechanika!

 

My New Halloween Wreath! (AKA, YAY GLOWING SKULLS)

Not since my Eyeball Flower Wreath from last year have so many of you jumped on a craft tutorial, and I am LOVING all your Glowing Skull photos!

 A rainbow of skulls!

I'm dubbing Emily G.'s "the Portal pair":
 
 ("This is a triumph.")

Spooky even with the lights off!

There were several epic quests to round up supplies:

And some forced improvisations when that frame proved elusive:


Meg T. made a mini version!

 Jen H. wins "Most Creepy" with her horrifically fabulous red-lit skull:

I swear I can see eyes in there. [shudder]

She sponged some gold paint on the frame, too, which looks awwwwesome.

Jen made another one with a flickering tea light in the skull, too, and oh dang:

 THAT IS COOL.


But what really got my gears cranking was when a couple of you went the extra EXTRA mile:

DIY Pensieve Punch: A Glowing, Shimmering, DRINKABLE Potter Potion!

If you follow me on FB and Instagram then you may have guessed John and I are planning a Potter party soon. I mean, if the Treacle Tart experiments didn't give it away, then this video of our "Pensive Punch" certainly did:

Experimenting with drinkable potions tonight for a Potter-themed Pensieve Punch. 🍹⚡️💙 #HarryPotterDrinks #pensieve #potions #shimmerydrink #funwithdryice

A video posted by Jen Yates (@epbot) on Oct 13, 2016 at 4:27pm PDT

Watch 'til the end.

And yes, the punch is safe to drink!

It took a little more tweaking, but now I'm pretty happy with how the punch tastes AND looks. Here it is in our illuminated stand:

This is one of those projects that has a HUGE "bang for your buck" factor, and you'll be surprised how easy and inexpensive it is. The dry ice brings the drama, of course, but the Pensieve is actually quite stunning even without it:

This pic is straight off my camera, no photo-editing whatsoever.

And if you turn on the overhead lights and look down into the punch - or ladle it into a drinking glass -  it looks like this:

 

MAGIC.

So, want to make your own? 

OF COURSE YOU DO. Even if you're not into Harry Potter, this punch is cool as heck!

So here's what you'll need:

- A clear plastic punch bowl:

This one is from our local Dollar Tree and cost - you guessed it - a dollar.

- A smaller bowl - preferably footed - that your punch bowl can fit into, like this:

His Daughter Wanted To Fly The Millenium Falcon For Halloween, So...

LOOK WHAT THIS AWESOME DAD DID:

 D'awwww.

That's right, as if this little Rey wasn't already too cute for words:

 

 Now she gets to fly her own Millenium Falcon!

 ... which her dad made out of foam board and paper cups.

 And, you guys?

IT LIGHTS UP.

Facebot Smile Roundup

More goodies from the Epbot & Fans of Epbot Facebook pages!

Brittany P.'s Doctor Who bath makeover made me do a double-take. Here's her "Before"

 And the "After:"

Really digging the teal and that grey tile! Only, look closer:

 

 The "tile" is actually painted brick paneling! Brittney tells me she was inspired by our painted brick tutorial for the steampunk room. I can't get over how much it looks like glass subway tile!

Remember when I talked about all the Rainbow Brite stuff at Hallmark? 

Haha! Awwww. DO GO ON.

 Speaking of rainbows, prepare to squee over Cheryl G's rainbow Toothless mobile!

Cheryl's mom sewed these for her using this PDF pattern from Etsy.

In fact, her whole nursery is dragon themed, and she has a print of the baby Toothless John commissioned from our friend Nathan, right behind the crib!

This picture makes me so happy.

More Doctor Who goodness: Kari Ann salvaged the backing from a broken dresser mirror, and turned it into a TARDIS headboard!

It even lights up!

I'll let her explain the deets:

Check out the fab details in her paint job:

WOWIE. And I love that the windows glow in the dark.

Here's a shiny ray gun I forgot to post last time:

And Erin's Stay Puft baby, because the world needs more Stay Puft babies:

Yes, Erin, yes she is.

And since this post already has a Doctor Who theme going, let's end with Debra here:

You guys, she was inspired by my mom!
You better believe I sent this over to Mom the second I saw it.

I get e-mails and letters from Epbot fans ranging from ages 9-90, and I'm not sure anything makes me prouder than knowing our geeky community welcomes them all. In fact, just a few days after Debra posted that, another reader named Donna posted a message on Fans of Epbot that included this snippet:

YES.

Our little Fans of Epbot tribe is growing, btw (I think they've settled on "Facebots?"), and I'm impressed with how thoroughly you guys distract me from getting any work done through the week. The discussions and silliness and pictures and advice and general cheering-each-other-on - plus now there's a plush "Squee-bot" traveling the globe visiting readers?! - is like a virtual version of the geeky commune I once wished for. Good stuff. Gold medals for everyone.

Finally, regarding the things I share here: if it's posted on Fans of Epbot - which is a private group to facilitate real talk - I ask permission first. If you share on the public Epbot page, though, then I'll take that as tacit permission to share your project pics and whatnot here on the blog. (Don't worry; if it's something super personal I'll still double check, though.)

And please DO keep sharing your stories and projects, peeps! They make me happy. :D

The Best of Dragon Con 2016, Pt 4

Who's ready for more Dragon Con cosplay?! 

I know, you've been having withdrawals. Me, too.

Kicking off with a hilariously epic IT Crowd trio:

Moss, Roy, and Richmond!

Sorry that shot's so terrible; in fact, consider this my blanket apology for ALL the bad shots here on out, k?

And I'll make it up to you with...

 

FALCOOOR!!

The Luck Dragon isn't actually a costume, he's an enormous puppet:

I'm sad I didn't see him in action, but at least I got better photos this way.
(Don't you just want him to be a giant bean bag pillow, for snuggles?)

From luck dragons to spider queens:

Really clever build here, though you guys will have to tell me what she's from!

Update: Thanks, guys! Looks like she's Arachne from Smite:

 

Kylo Ren/Slave Leia and Ballgown Rey:

Not gonna lie: Kylo/Leia made my brain hurt while I figured it out. It's like if you saw a Greedo-themed BB-8.

...which I bet someone will do now.

I'm guessing this Snow White and Aurora are based on an art piece, because DANG are these sweet re-designs:

I love the thorny brambles in Aurora's hair, and Snow's poofy skirt and apple core necklace. And note that Aurora's gown is both pink *and* blue. YES.

More prettiness: Pirate Poison Ivy!

Continuing this year's Labyrinth theme, here's THE most screen-accurate Firey costume you'll ever see: