April 28, 2015

Frozen Coronation Anna & Anna's Accessories Tutorial!

I haven't really had the time to make full costumes in a while, as I am working as a party performer in the weekends nowadays. The parties are (still) all about Frozen, so I have purchased an Anna and Elsa costume. Anna is my favourite of the two! She's a fun, goofy and loud character, and it is more fun to play her than a serious character. I have to say that her plaits and freckles are pretty adorable as well.

Me as Coronation Anna

I prefer this gown over her "normal" dress!

Although I didn't have the time to make the costume itself, I wanted to make something, so the accessories for her coronation dress were a quick and fun project to pick. If anyone is interested in how I made them, here is a quick tutorial! (Sorry about the lack of WIP photos - in a goofy Anna manner, I only thought of a tutorial after I had finished!)

Frozen Anna's Coronation Accessories Tutorial




Anna's haircomb


Time to make: 45 min - 1.5 hours including oven baking and drying time
Level: Easy

Supplies

A packet of Fimo or Cernit modelling clay (any light colour)
Gold acrylic paint
About 40 cm of 10mm or 15mm wide satin ribbon in 3 different shades of green
A small plain haircomb
PVA (craft) glue
Hot glue gun
Modeling tools, knife
Optional: Glossy varnish

1. Massage the Fimo in your hands to make it soft. Create the base shape by flattening the clay evenly over the surface you're working on, then cut around it with a sharp knife. Smoothen edges with the tips of your fingers.

2. Make a thin tube out of the clay by rolling the palm of your hand over a ball of clay on the table top. It needs to be really thin. Then wrap this around the outside of the base shape, trim to right size with a knife and press around it evenly to attach. This will form a nice edge around the shape.

3. Create the patterns on the top of the haircomb by cutting several small shapes out of the clay and pressing them on to the main piece.

4. Heat in an oven according to instructions on the packaging of the clay.

5. Paint with gold acrylic paint and finish with a glossy varnish (optional)

6. Glue the 3 green ribbons at the back of the shape you made using a PVA glue. Add hot glue on top and quickly press on the comb, taking care to attach the right side.

7. Trim the green ribbons to the desired length and seal from fraying using a lit up match stick. (Gently touch the tip of the ribbon with the flame.)



Anna's necklace


Time to make: 45 min - 1.5 hours including oven baking and drying time
Level: Easy

Supplies

A packet of Fimo or Cernit (any light colour)
Gold acrylic paint
About 50 cm of 6-10mm wide black ribbon
Gold metal ring (for jewelery making) with opening, diameter about 7mm
Black snaps (or a necklace closing mechanism)
Small round tipped pliers (jewelery making)
Small flat tipped pliers
Modeling tools, knife
A sharp tipped object such as a grill stick
Optional: Glossy varnish

1. Massage the Fimo in your hands to make it soft. Create the base shape by making a ball of clay and flattening it evenly in a circle shape over the surface you're working on. The diameter of the pendant should be about 30mm.

2. Make a thin tube out of the clay by rolling the palm of your hand over a ball of clay on the table top. It needs to be really thin. Then wrap this around the outside of the base shape, trim to right size with a knife and press around it evenly to attach. This will form a nice edge around the shape.

3. Create the patterns on the top of the pendant by cutting several small shapes out of the clay and pressing them on to the main piece.

4. Use a sharp round tipped object (ie. a grill stick) to push a hole near the top edge of the pendant.

5. Heat in an oven according to instructions on the packaging of the clay.

6. Paint with gold acrylic paint and finish with a glossy varnish (optional).

7. Use the round pliers to open up the metal ring, Put it through the hole you made on the pendant. Insert black ribbon and close with flat tipped pliers.

8. Wear it to determine the right length of the black ribbon, then trim to desired length and seal edges from fraying.

10. Sew black snaps to the ends (easy way) or if you are very perfectionist, find a jewelery closing mechanism to attach.


That's it!  Hope the tutorials help somebody. Feel free to post comments and questions!


Me with my beautiful sister, Snow Queen Elsa played by Kirsty P.

April 19, 2015

Disney Magical World 3DS Review

Disney Magical World is one of my favourite games on 3DS these days, and for this reason I thought I would write a quick review. Not a detailed analysis, and maybe a little bit biased (considering I'm a huge Disney fan!), but if that's OK with you, then read on!



Explore a world of Disney and do what you please


In this game, the main character is your Mii, so you can play as yourself. You start in the main plaza and do a short introductory sequence, but don't worry - it's not long and boring. The best part starts soon enough - actual gameplay, where you can choose to do whatever you want. One of your goals is to obtain stickers which unlock new areas and features in the game, and to obtain stickers you get to do a whole lot of fun stuff: complete quests, get new outfits for your character, run your cafe, go fishing, grown plants and so on. You choose what you want to do and when you want to do!




There's a lot to love in this game


I love this game for many reasons. To me, it is like being in a virtual version of Disneyland. The atmosphere is bright and cheerful, and all the characters are very animated and true to the originals. It is a lot of fun to engage with them by going on themed quests or taking photos with them. 

I also love the versatility that the game offers. The quests are great when you're in the mood for simple slaying of monsters, whereas Winnie the Pooh's world offers tranquil activities such as growing your own herbs and flowers, or playing hide and seek with Pooh and his friends. Cinderella's ball offers a fun rhythmic mini-game. And if you're anything like me you'll love going shopping and getting cute outfits for your character! (Yes, you can dress up as a Disney princess or prince!)



Summary


What's good
  • A truly magical world!
  • Versatility - a combination of action, role play, simulation and more
  • Getting to choose what to do and in which order
  • Meeting all the favourite Disney characters and exploring their worlds
  • Cute outfits and other customisation options
  • Additional downloadable content
What's bad
  • You do get forced to re-play the same quests which can get boring
  • You have to pay for some downloadable content
  • The game doesn't save the photos you take on to the SD card, so it's difficult to export them to your computer (hence the bad photos on my review!)

April 5, 2015

Easter = Cute baby animals

Happy Easter!

I'm spending the holidays driving around Scotland with my husband and some friends. The scenery is stunning, but one special thing that really made it feel like an Easter trip was when I saw some lambs. They were just too cute, I almost melted. Cute animal babies are essential in Easter. I hope I will see some baby chicks also!

Lambs I saw in Scotland. Too cute.

Can I take these guys home??