Casey (otherwise known as hot.glue.burns on Instagram) made a Native American variant of Captain America’s costume for the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. And the cosplay is both inventive and gorgeous!
“I originally brainstormed this costume in late 2015, but I really started rolling on production this last year, once I committed to this years SDCC… My main goal was to make a Native American variant of a fan-favorite character. I was immediately drawn to Captain America because of everything he symbolizes as basically the poster boy of a nation. To me it was the perfect parallel. And once I visualized the red and white bone breastplate on my abdomen, I knew this was something I had to see through.
“A lot of old school leather work with the awl! The majority of the armor was made from a base of 6mm EVA foam with 3 oz deer hide glued over it. The pieces were then stitched together with sinew or leather lace. Using this technique allowed me to form curves and build the necessary bulk of the armor pieces while also getting the suede textures I was looking for. And a whole lot of beading!”
During the covid-19 pandemic, many people in my social bubble and beyond have turned not just to handcrafts but to video projects as a way to pass the time and provide comfort. I’ve seen a wide spread of projects and inspiration as a consequence, and enjoyed every one. Here’s an example.
Since I last posted, Runa has moved to Lisbon, Portugal. She also published a book, Quilling Art, and a second one, Quilling: 20 Beautiful Designs, will be out this summer. Congrats on both!
Like before, I’m only posting three of my favorites, but Runa is so productive it really is difficult to pick only from among her recent work.
It’s almost time for the release of the new Emma production written by Eleanor Catton and directed by Autumn de Wilde that I blogged about earlier this year. Here’s the trailer:
Judging by the trailer only (which I know to be a precarious business), I’m not sure what to think, except that Bill Nighy’s Mr. Woodhouse might completely steal the show. And this looks to be a tonally very different reading of Emma than the previous screen adaptations.
It’s hard to say anything about Emma and Mr. Knightley from these super-short glimpses; furthermore, I haven’t seen either actor before (Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn). On the other hand, I know Miranda Hart as Miss Bates is going to shine! The music-making looks lovely, and what we can see of the propping and costuming seems great.
Emma will be released on February 14, 2020, in the UK and February 21, 2020, in the U.S.
I am excite! 🙂 😀
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
It’s time to update my planning calendar for 2020. In fact, I’m running a little late on this, and my collection of notepapers with scribbles is getting out of hand… Thankfully, Julia Groves has updated her lovely watercolor designs.
I just should’ve remembered to click the ink-saving option off when printing. Ohwell. 🙂
Thank you for sharing, Julia!
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
Isn’t this rainbow ribbon wreath pretty? It would make a great addition to a party to celebrate the LGBT History Month or any occasion where bright colors are welcome.
Amy C at CatchMyParty
It’s by Amy C at CatchMyParty. Making one is easy, too; it only takes a wire coat hanger turned into a wreath form (or a ready-made form), plenty of ribbons, scissors and tin snips plus some crafting time.
If the latter is a problem, you might consider an easy ribbon backdrop instead:
Amy C at CatchMyParty
The backdrop takes just long lenghts of ribbon (this one has two per color) tied onto a pole or a curtain rod and hung up, so it’s much faster to make.
Just to give one example, on Sunday (my dedicated social media day), my brain refused to brain blog work. Tumblr I was able to do, but blogging was like drinking tar. (Something being like drinking tar is an expression from my native Finnish.)
Ohwell. At least the funny Muppet video made me smile – and, after all, I got a blog post out of it, too. 🙂
P.S. Happy Lunar New Year!
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
Back in the day when you had to make the puff pastry from scratch they must’ve taken a good while to produce. These days, with store-bought puff pastry, they really are a cinch to make:
cut thawed puff pastry sheets into 9 evenly-sized squares
separately for each square, cut every corner in half as if you’re cutting a line diagonally from each corner to the center BUT leave about 1” in the center intact
fill centers with about a teaspoon of plum jam
make a pinwheel shapes by bringing every other half-corner together in the center
if desired, brush beaten egg on exposed puff pastry surfaces
bake about 10 minutes in a preheated oven (400 degrees F / 200 C or according to package) or until golden brown
let cool and dust with confectioners sugar
(These instructions fit U.S pastry sheets and measurements.)
Since I haven’t found plum jam in stores here, I’ve developed a super-duper easy way: I soak prunes in hot water until soft (approx. as long as the pastry takes to thaw) and use them to fill the tartlet, one prune per square. I also use toothpicks to skewer through both the pinwheel corners and prune in the center so that the tartlet won’t open while baking (the tips will burn easily if they do). And since I’m not terribly fond of confectioners sugar, I usually skip it.
While flipping through a back issue of Country Living magazine, I spotted the very same pastries except with a summery filling: jam and cream cheese.