Haunter Earring

Yup, I like pokemon, a lot.  So now I have a little Haunter that follows me around on the ear at all times.  

Above is the template for the 3 piece earring I designed.  Video as to how I did it available on the youtube channel.

Batgirl Utility Belt Part 2

Yup I'm going to be honest here.  This project kicked my butt.  It took way more time than I thought and it was so complex that it felt really difficult to explain each piece.  But it's done, and everyone falls down sometime, and in the near future I am sticking to the easier projects.

Below are all the patterns if you're trying this project, good luck! Feel free to ask me questions, I'll do my best to help!

The final pattern piece for the large pocket body should be 12 inches by 12 inches.  The whole image, the pocket is slightly smaller.

Good luck, and I'll see you this wednesday for an ON TIME EPISODE!  And blog posts... first ones in a while I know.  SORRY!  I fell down, I am back up and not planning on falling down again any time soon.

Batgirl Utility Belt Part 1

It's hard to not love the new batgirl costume.  From the snaps on the capes, to the fact that they specified no spandex.  Batgirl still looks like Batgirl, just a more possible Batgirl.  Mostly she looks like she's in a costume that I would actually enjoy wearing.  I also love the militaristic elements, cargo pockets on the belt and combat boots.

Above is the belt and leg holster pattern, the belt should be 2.75" and the leg holster should 2.5".  You're going to have to mark the pattern on the fabric and then move it down the fabric marking as you go until the piece is 1.5" x the circumference of the waist and leg.  They have a seam allowance of .5"

Then we have the belt end pattern and the two belt loops.  Ignore the belt loops until the second episode is up.  The belt end you want to put over the end of the straps once you have them the length that you want, make sure they're centered and staying nice and straight, they should be the same size as the belt patterns (2.5" and 2.75").  They also have a seam allowance of .5"

Alright on to the yoke pattern.  So this image should be 13" x 13", not the yoke itself the whole image.  You'll have to print it out in pieces an then tape it together once it's all out.  Make sure you cut out two of them and sew them together with a .5" seam allowance.

Come back next week to see the pockets, the belt loops, and the snaps.

Changing the Schedule

For those that don't know I got a job working at Instructables.com  They so far have been amazing employers who have given wonderful feedback to ensure I can properly do my job.

The one down side, and it's not a big one, is that they are having me work Saturday-Tuesday.  This is not a problem except they are 8 hour days.  The day I have normally been uploading my videos is on Sunday, right in the middle.  I tried to do it this week but unfortunately I just couldn't find the time to finish editing my video.  Therefore I am changing the uploading schedule to wednesday, and the blog schedule to wednesday and saturday.

Sorry for the late video, but my schedule changed and there's not much I can do about it but adapt.  Hopefully you'll adapt with me :)

Pokemon makes Bio majors, and Wishbone makes English majors.

Just about every biology major I knew in college remembers Pokemon fondly.  While people who loved Wishbone ended up in the humanities.  I have always found that concept interesting.

Whether the exposure the Pokemon causes people's interest in real world animals, or if possibly they're already inclined and therefore seek things like Pokemon out, it's undeniable that children's media has a huge impact on individuals the children will become.  For me personally, I loved both Pokemon and Wishbone, I ended up graduating with a major in English and minors in Biology and Theater.

So today I would like to talk about three pieces of children's television that I think had the biggest effect on me, and why.

The Magic School Bus:  This show might be my quintessential children's media.  Ms. Frizzle explained so many aspects of science, but she did it in a theatrical way.  It was hard to not become enthralled, not that I put up much a of a fight.  In fact when I was in biology classes as an adult, before a test while we were studying we would often find a relevant episode of The Magic School Bus.  Perhaps the best part was that while we had it on typically other people would wonder into our study zone and would then sit down to watch it with us.  No motivation of a test in the morning just the love for the fun antics of the yellow bus and it's crazy redheaded owner.

The Powerpuff Girls:  For me this isn't the whole show as much as one particular episode.  "Equal Fights" is an episode that involves a woman villain called Femme Fatale who only steal Susan B. Anthony coins.  She convinces the Powerpuff girls to not arrest her under the umbrella of feminism.  The Powerpuff girls go through a period where they oppress men, again under the umbrella of feminism, before eventually explaining the story of Susan B. Anthony in the most brutal way possible.  Enforcing upon a young me that feminism could go wrong, you can oppress men, and real feminism is about the taking the good with the bad in terms of equal rights.

Batman The Animated Series:  This is kind of hard to explain, I just loved the show.  For me it is the only accurate version of Batman in existence.  However, I think what had the most impact was how human everyone in the show was.  Villain and hero a like everyone had bad days, and had days where they had victories.  I remember feeling sorry for Harley Quin and feeling such joy from the friendship between her and Poison Ivy.  I also remember the sibling like interactions between Batgirl and the young Robin.  While at the same time seeing them as the tough crime fighters they were.  Everyone had a personality and everyone was believable in who they were.

I am hugely grateful to the creators of these shows.  I'm sure they are a large part of why I see the world in the way that I do.  As the next generations starts to appear in my life I know what I want to share with them, what I view as valuable lessons and valuable lesson vehicles.  In part it's all thanks to a group of people who like to draw cartoons.

And then life happened...

Sorry about the lack of blog posts.  It turns out my wisdom teeth are really bad at their job, and we're figuring out how bad they are after they've been out of my gums for quite some time.  So there will surgery eventually, but the way this was determined was contracted a nasty infection in my gums.  There was a lack of sleep and a good deal of pain.  Unfortunately the blog post fell through, sorry about that.  They'll be a real blog post tomorrow because I am currently recovering and no longer in pain.  YAY!

Steampunkifying

I've seen steampunk versions of more characters than I think I can count.  Above is a really awesome Rogue cosplay from Dragoncon 2009.  As more and more steampunk version of characters crop up there is an interesting resistance also formulating.

One person even had a such a huge resistance to it that he made a complete fool out of himself.  That's a whole lot of condescending exclusiveness to over look this awesome Duela Dent cosplay.

What I want to talk about though is why I like steampunk versions of characters.  There's a lot to be said for replicating a character.  It's difficult and so amazing when done well.  However steampunkifying a character I think uses a different set of skills that are just as impressive.

When doing a steampunk cosplay there's a matter of making a distinctively steampunk costume while still distinctively a particular character.  There's a lot of design skills involved, there's also the matter that in some sense your start more from scratch because there's usually not an image you're entirely going off of.

Here's what I love about steampunkifying though, it's an amazing equalizer.  Check out the lovely lady on the left in the picture above.  She's dressed as a steampunk batgirl, and although distinctively having more body than the comic original does't look any less authentic.  Or check out the Robin in the middle, she's wearing so much more clothing in non-tight fitting way than the original Robin.  Yet again, does not look any less authentic.

Steampunkifying is challenging in a different way than normal cosplay.  It also allows you to wear more covering clothing while still being accurate.  Lastly those who have a different body type than the original characters still can look amazing because victorian style often involved larger body types being hailed as attractive.

So to those who are resisting it, stop.  It's another way for people to express there love for a particular character, or fandom.  Steampunkifying isn't a bad thing, it's an amazing thing that brings more people into our community.  Let's make sure our community is actually awesome enough to deserve these amazing people.