WWII Costumes that are MARVELous

So it is no secret that I am not the best at keeping up with social media. So, better late than never, right??? Here are the builds my husband and I did for Phoenix Comic Con 2013.
Each year we pick a couples costume to make and wear. For 2012/2013, my husband chose to make a historically accurate WWII Captain America cosplay. He was driven by his disappointment of Marvel's "Captain America: The First Avenger" 


and decided he could do a better job then the movie. I tossed around the idea of doing Peggy Carter, a generic officer in the military, or a HYDRA agent, but on a creative design whim, I had the idea to create an outfit for Black Widow (if you didn't know,she is my favorite) I thought it would be a fun challenge to create my own concept for her. 






 



Paul began researching WWII American paratroopers while I looked at Russian winter uniforms from that era. It was fun reading up on fabrics, accessories, weaponry and more. I am a bit of a history buff and I always  like to have a good knowledge of my character and the environment she/he came from so I just dug in! I also asked the amazing Meredith McClaren for help and she translated my ideas into art!

We wanted to make the bulk of the costume ourselves, but at the same time, we purchased quite a bit of the accessories though, to add a real world feel; vintage gear from that time period, as well as some replicas (Paul has an aversion to taking an antique and spray painting it if he can avoid it, he prefers to use them in their natural state).

So, after researching, and figuring out what would be bought and made, we began building patterns for jackets and pants. I wore my wonderful Ushanka for inspiration. It also kept me warm in the cold Phoenix spring lol. (I just really liked it) For Paul, we used a men's khaki pant pattern, adding the pockets, the tuxedo stripes, and the knee pads. For the jacket we used a  shirt pattern, going up in sizes and added the panel on the front and striping the bottom half. For Black Widow, I used a basic women's pant pattern adding on the tuxedo stripe and for the top I found a "British invasion" jacket pattern that I altered the collar on. My wonderful husband sewed almost everything on his own, only needing my help for a few things. I being the amazing seamstress I am, was rushing to get everything done the days before con. I am such a procrastinator. Listen up everyone, do not be like me. Get it done early so you are not stressing right before. Something I need to learn, and soon!

So after much bleeding, screaming, laughing, and fun we finished. The process was educational and as always was a lesson in enduring. We had a wonderful time at con and learned that our hard work was to be inspirations for some attending artists. So, if you see the likes, of us in comics or pictures, it is just an exciting and fun adventure that is my life with my amazing husband.

If anyone is interested in a commission, please feel free to contact me via  Facebook.
We do costume commissions as well as make props and more!
For more of our work check us out in our Arizona non-profit, Project Hero

30 in 30 Finale

So, this was a bit harder than I thought but it has been done haha! Luckily there are new things you are introduced to each day that are a bit unexpected. (if not I probably would not have made it)
 
Best part of Week 4? The unexpected success of my Fantana costume and my anniversary gifts from my amazing husband.
 

Day 24
 
New Yum yums
 
This Thursday I had the wonderful joy of closing. No surprise, I close every Thursday, but the big surprise was that Paul packed me a dinner. So sweet. He made chicken and jalapeno rice with squash and zucchini. It was so good. One of my new favorite meals! Just enough spice to jazz it up. It was cute all bagged up in my Storm Trooper bag with a healthy desert. I also had the Strawberry Cheesecake Greek Yoplait, which was not as good as the dinner. Not much flavor, mainly just tasted the Greek yogurt. I definitely like the tropical one much better.


Day 25
 
New tea time
 
Organic Raspberry Leaf by Traditional Medicinals. It is really good. I think I had 4 cups before work while I worked on my Fantana pants which were a huge pain in the rear. Who new restructuring and fitting a size 34 / 34 men's pants down to a women's size 5 would be such a bad experience haha. I made it worse by cutting off too much fabric and then having to make it work. Tea was really good though.

 

 

 

Day 26 and Day 27

 

Halloween Shenanigans

We threw our Halloween Party this night and had so much fun haha. The Anchorman costumes were a hit. Who new I would have that much fun in a mustache and acting as a man. Our friend Danny was Burgandy, I am next in my Fantana, Paul was a little too smart to be Brick, but he tried, and then we had our very Champ, Champ. The night was full of good friends, games, and more. the more included a late night that went in to the early morning. Our Champ was kind enough to introduce some Apple Pie Whiskey to the party goers.  It is a very sweet tasting alcohol. Very sweet. It smelled a bit of old apple juice left out to long which has begun to crystalize. We mixed it with a few other concoctions, none of which were successful. Let's just say I don't think I will be buying more anytime soon.

I also had lots more of the Raspberry Tea later Sunday because I lost my voice and felt slightly worse for wear.

 

 

 

Day 28

 

Funny Movie? 

 We went with our friends Matt and Megan to the Esplenade Dine-In Theater to watch Bad Grandpa on Monday night. It was okay. Not exactly my type of humor. I did laugh a couple of times, but, yeah, more of a guy movie I think. Paul seemed to really like it. Best part of the night was when I luckily had to use the ladies room, therefore missing the "joke" involving pooping on a wall. Man... Let's just say fart jokes and naked old men don't make me roll over giggling.
 


Day 29
 
Not so good new experience.

So, I had my second crown put in in September. That alone was an adventure because of errors made by the dental office, it took 6 visits in all to make it happen. So my new experience was that for the first time, I had a crown break in half. Yep, one month old, and while I was eating soup and cracker, snap, there it went. Luckily the fit me in pulled the old one of and gave me a temporary until the new one comes in. Kind of crazy. Let's just hope that the new one lasts longer than a month.



Day 30

Fun Times

One of my gifts that I was planning on giving Paul for our anniversary was to make a League of Legends of character that we could play together. (Funny thing was that he thought the same thing and was trying to download the game for me while I was at work and couldn't figure out why my computer was saying it already had the version.) Great minds think alike I guess. So on Wednesday I played my first game. I tried out Vayne, a Night Hunter who uses ranged weapons to attack with. She is okay... I am going to try a tank next.  After a few hours of that we, or I should say I watch a new movie on Netflix, to prepare for Halloween A Haunting at Silver Falls it was pretty bad haha, I didn't even jump once and I guessed the ending half way through. Definitely not recommending to anyone else :)

 Day 31 (1 extra)

Halloween Anniversary




Paul and I had a great Halloween. We woke up to gifts form each other. Just a few small items to brings smiles and laughs. Our big gift was a Brock Samson statue to go with my Molotov.
We went to lunch at Logan's which neither of us has had in years, and then we came home and started getting ready for Project Hero's Trick or Treating event. After that we went to Jackie and G's and hung out with friends, ending the night at Angel's Trumpet trying their October 31st special, a giant chicken biscuit with gravy and cheese. Delicious, especially the tater tots.

This blog series was an adventure in itself.

30 in 30 Week Three

Another week down and one more to go. My favorite day of the week was Saturday, I had a great time at the Best Halloween Party Ever!

Day 16
Continued from last post...

So the shellac turned out good, and I learned that a dog won't get sick if she eats a shellacked waffle, because that is what happened. I left it out to dry and the next thing I know its gone...
So on my second try, I put it up high. It took about 10 coats, 1 every half hour. I hope it doesn't mold a week or two from now.
But didn't Toast Princess come out so cute. I love her :)



Day 17
Tried new food

Decided to try this organic yogurt. I have been wanting to, a few girls at work tell me how good it is, but the sugar content is a bit high. It was delicious. Not as much like a yogurt as like cream cheese whipped with strawberry and rhubarb. I wish I hadn't liked it because I know I walk by it and want to get it. It will be my splurge at work once a month.

Day 18
New Comics!!

Went to Hero Comics and picked up our comics, woot. Was excited for the new Guardians of the Galaxy. Not sure how I am feeling about the introduction of Angela but we will wait it out. I really like Gamora and am itching to Cosplay her, but I have never been one for body paint and she is all green.




Day 19 
Halloween Party Time!!

Much fun was had. Tried a few new drinks. Wore my new costume, Breakfast Princess, took lots of pics in a photo booth. The only downer of the evening was a lost my glove. So now I am in search of a new set. Dark Yellow or Mustard Yellow, if you seen them, let me know, they were my favorite's!!
Our theme was Adventure Time. We had Garrick as Finn, Paul is Susan Strong (eating Peppermint Butler), I am Breakfast Princess wielding Toast Princess, to my left is Shannon as Princess Bubblegum and last but not least is the beautiful Jackie as Marcelline.

Day 20
Relaxation!!

So after staying up until the wee hours of the early morn we took Sunday pretty easy. We vegged out and not once left the house. Poor Bowie didn't even get a walk. I did fit in something new though, Paul on Saturday downloaded Pacific Rim: the Video Game, for the PS3 and I made my first character on Sunday and we played. Its not too bad for a $10 download. There are tons of customization options. That is normally my favorite part of a game, I could change lip color and hair styles all day, but even I began to just pick the default on a few options haha, but not too many.
I created Olympus Bombshell, she was the name of my Jaeger after taking a "Whats' your Jaeger Name" quiz. She is Teal, Blue, and pumpkin orange.

Day 21
We are having another Halloween Party

So Paul broke the news to me during our mini vacation this weekend that we are going to host a Halloween Party at our house on Saturday. I have to work most of the day so I that was fine if he was going to be responsible for getting everything ready (which is usually is because I always have to work on the day of our parties). He also sprung the news on me that we would be throwing together new costumes for the event. Yep a whole nother costume with 8 days notice. Fantastic. I was so close to saying no to me making a new costume, but....
who can say no to Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 News Team. I am going to be Brian Fantana - Field Reporter.
We went to the Goodwill in Surprise on Monday and I picked out some sweet polyester plaid pants and a striped tie. I plan on wearing these with a jacket and a sweet 'stache.
I also want to make sure I have some Sex Panther cologne on me. I mean, come on, it works 60% of the time it works every time.
Here's a clip for the new movie you can enjoy .

 

 
 Day 22
Costume Fun

Paul and I were asked to be apart of a Kids Need To Read video they are making to promote the organization. It was fun. We put WWII Cap and the Widow on and drove down to spend the morning with Denise. Not sure if this counts as new, but it was the first time I was ever interviewed for KNTR.

 Day 23
New Series on Lifetime
 
 

I started recording this series on my DVR but haven't had a chance to watch it yet, so as I worked on Paul's Thor wig, I devoured the first 2 episodes. I like it. Part of that might be because of Julia Ormond, the other part is I just really like each of the ladies. The Sister/Aunt, Madchen Amick. I mean who wouldn't like a person who turns into a cat, has nine lives, and embraces and loves her unusual self .
Well, that is what I am doing right now and I still have one more episode to go so I am going to wrap this up and get to watching. Maybe have some tea and a cookie while do it. Hope everyone has a good evening! 

Chilly Time

Chilly Time by ariabelle featuring diamond jewelry

Long sleeve sweater
$29 - fashionunion.com

Vero Moda cotton trousers
$29 - veromoda.com

Aquatalia by Marvin K. black boots
bergdorfgoodman.com

Diamond jewelry
karenlondon.com

Pom beanie hat
$72 - pret-a-beaute.com

30 in 30 Week Two

Another week down and 8 new experiences since my last blog. My favorite was I actually tried a snakebite utilizing Woodchucks Pumpkin Cider and the Four Peaks Pumpkin Porter. Pretty spectacular or should I say spooktacular (oh geez haha)

Day 10

 Was a nice relaxing morning with Paul, running around to the costume shop and craft store for Susan Strong and Breakfast Princess Accessories. On our own Adventures Time we decided to stop and get sushi at How Do You Roll and we tried two new rolls.

The Beefeater
Soy Wrap, Brown Rice, Grilled Beef, Avocado, Green Onion, Cucumber, Wasabi Mayo, and Teriyaki

　
and the Crazy Cajun.
Seaweed Wrap, Brown Rice, craw fish tails, green onion, jalapeno, cucumber, sweet chili, sesame chili oil, chili powder, and tempura crunch

They were both good but I preferred the crazy Cajun.

 

Day 11
Finished a new book.
 

I was a little worried at first that the book tried to have a somewhat exciting beginning still cane off as droll. The main heroin is very logical and I read her as unemotional and slightly monotone but in the end the side characters and the story drew me in and  I started and finished the book in one week. 6 days to be precise (and only because work was holding me back) 

I also had one of the most strangest interviews. It's that time of year again where we are hiring our seasonal employees. One of my prospective cashiers was a retired CIA operative. After 25 years with the CIA working in intelligence the best answer she could come up with was, "I'm sorry most of my missions were classified and I can not talk about what I learned or did." Really you can't figure out a way to speak with a metaphor or something away from the CIA just to answer the question, "when was a time that you had multiple things to do in a small amount of time and how did you manage the situation"??? Never did laundry, the bathrooms, wash the dishes, and take out the trash all in one hour????

Day 12
This was the day I not only tried the snakebite, but I tried it at a new eatery.  Thanks to Jackie and G, I was introduced to Angel's Trumpet Ale House. Delicious. Paul and I shared the spam sliders to begin with, then I had the wild game wrap. This was a sausage wrap that I totally forgot to ask what kind of game it was made out of. Too many bites maybe :-P
The only flaw was the wrap might have been too big. It was a bit hard to eat, but other than that, great company and great food.

Day 13

I made my very first Bacon Scarf. Yes, you heard that right. It is supposed to be chilly this Saturday for the "Best Halloween Party Ever" event so I decided Breakfast Princess needed an accessory.

I also tried one of the new seasonal treats at Target. The salted caramel cupcake. It was so delectable. No way I could have more that one, but that is probably a good thing. If you like sweet and salty, then it is a must!

 

Day 14

New shoes! And at a great deal! On sale for $15 and then used my Cartwheel App and saved another 20% off. Woot!! If you haven't signed up for Cartwheel, get it. You just need a Facebook account. You can take it mobile on your phone or print out the barcode from home, but you earn saving spots where you choose discounts to add and these discounts stack with both the Target coupon and a manufacturer coupon. Just ask if you have questions, but try it!
Also on Monday Paul and I watched the first episode to the new season of Walking Dead! OMG is the disease now coming out in a virus form, is it something else???? Hmmmm
 

 

Day15

Today was the day I worked on my Toast Princess Koozie most of the day, but I did take a break to run to Sprouts for a sandwich and picked up these new chips. I am always a fan of pumpkin so there was no doubt I would try them and they did not let me down. A tasty corn tortilla ship with a hint of pumpkin.

 

Day 16

 

So today for the first time I am trying to shellac food, a waffle to be exact. It is currently drying so fingers crossed it works out!

 

 

That is my week of the new... more to come next week...

Week One 30 in 30

So, this was my first week of the 30 new things in 30 days. I have done pretty well, they might not all have been successes but it was the effort that counts... right?...

Day 2

Recipe: White Turkey Chili

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 tsp. toasted ground cumin
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 1 lb. Anaheim chilies, roasted, peeled and diced
• 4 to 4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, warmed
• 1 lb. diced cooked turkey
• 4 1/2 cups cooked white beans, drained
• 2 Tbs. minced fresh oregano
• 1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• Shredded jack cheese, sour cream and lime wedges for serving

Directions:

 

First, In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the cumin, garlic and jalapeños and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in the chilies and 3 1/2 cups of the broth, then transfer to a slow cooker. Stir in the turkey, beans, oregano and cilantro. Next you will put the cornmeal in a small bowl and slowly whisk in 1/2 cup of the broth. Stir the cornmeal mixture into the turkey mixture. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours. Thin the chili with more broth if needed. Lastly you ladle the chili into warmed bowls. Serve with cheese, sour cream and lime wedges. I divvied up the left overs and froze it for future meals. It made about 6 bowls.

It was pretty good, I thought it would be spicier. I liked it with crackers spread lightly with olive oil mayo.

Day 3

Lunch Meal: Lean Cuisine Honestly Good Pomegranate Chicken

 

This was quite tasty I must say. One of the best microwave dinners I have had.

 

 

Day 4

 

New Purchase: Watch

 

Target kinda messed on with their mobile coupons, and forgot the wording, "Equal or lesser value" so instead of fixing it, they decided to let everyone buy an accessory and get any one under $60 for free. I was responsible and bought a $12 watch getting this one for $50 for free, but a whole bunch of people bought $2 earrings and received $59 watches for free. crazy!



 

 

Day 5

 

Make-Up: Jedi Princess

 

I volunteered with Project Hero at the Phoenix Public Library on Saturday. I wore the same costume from San Diego Comic Con, but tried out a new make-up. I loved it. Its hard to see, but the pink on the bottom of my eyes was outlines and blended in a purple and the sprays coming out of each side hos a blue dot that matched my costume. When I left the house I was a Jedi, but after being told I was a pretty princess, it became so haha!

 

 

Day 5 Part 2

 

Beverage: Pumpkin Porter

For a second item, I went to lunch with my friends Jackie and Garrick and they took me to have breakfast and beers.  It was Four Peaks Pumpkin Porter on top and it was pretty nice. I still think I like my snake bites the best. Was fantasizing about this mixed with Woodchucks Fall Cider. I bet it would be delicious.

 

 Day 6

Costume Creation: EggShoes

What I thought would be simple egg shaped slippers for Breakfast Princess, became the bane of day. Not so simple to get nice smooth rounded stuffed slippers. Let's just say I called it quits for a Round 2 on Tuesday.
(They look like Smurf shoes, don't they lol - and they failed on Tuesday aswell)



 

 

 

 

Day 7

 

Book: Herbs and Spices

 

I want to grow and Herb garden in the spring, so I think think I will start reading up now.

 

 

 

Day 8

 

Exercise: Ball Bridges

 

I have been going to Physical Therapy for the past month because in August I thought I pulled a lower back muscle but turns out I dislocated my sacroiliac joint, and tweaked my back - woohoo I don't have pictures but I have a wonderful new workout that killed me. I lay on my back with my legs on an exercise ball, while balancing I bridge my back up, squeezing my glutes. It really strains my lower back if I don't do it properly, so I continue to chant Butt, Butt, butt, the entire time. After my set of 20, and I am ready for child's pose.

 

 

Day 9

 

Snack: Yoplait Greek Tropical Fruit Yoghurt

 



This is pretty good. I am surprised because every Greek yoghurt I have tried so far has been to bitter for me. I like this one and it was pretty goo on the nutritional side as well with only 9 grams of sugar. Some of the others have 20+ yikes!

 

So that is all for now and I will post more soon...

If there is anything new you think I should try, let me know!

 

30 Day Challenge

So I have been wanting to do one of those 30 day Challenges and after a lot of thinking, I decided to try something new everyday for 30 days... whether it be a recipe, a restaurant, a new stitch, a new workout, sky's the limit.

Truth be told, I honestly wanted to do a cooking challenge where I tried 30 new recipes in 30 days, but after being honest with my abilities I knew this would never happen. So I thought this idea was much more feasible. So October, here I come!!!

Day 1

Recipe: Ramen Noodle Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

• 1 package Oriental Ramen Noodles With Seasoning Packet
• 1 6 oz. can Tuna
• 1/2 cup broccoli
• 1/2 cup Cauliflower
• 1 carrot (sliced)
• 1/2 cup Edamame
• 1 Jalapeno
• Chicken Bouillon
• 1 Tablespoons Soy Sauce (do Reduced Sodium Because Of Ramen’s High Salt Content)
• 1 teaspoons Sesame Oil
• Lettuce: I used Butter, but you can use Boston or Leaf Lettuce; any type that can hold noodle mix

I used Sriracha but you can used peanut sauce for a topping

Directions

First thing I did was combine my broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots in the steam basket of my rice cooker and set this for 6 minutes. Then, I brought a medium saucepan of water to a boil, added edamame and cooked for 1 minute. After 1 minute I added the ramen, sesame oil,  jalapenos, and the chicken bouillon and cooked for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes I added the tuna for a final 1 minute. While these were going I washed the Lettuce removing all dirt.  After the ramen is done cooking, I strained out almost all of the water and mixed the ramen Oriental Seasoning, the soy, and the steamed veggies in with the Noodle Pan ingredients.
After this I just rolled up, added sriracha, and enjoyed.


It was pretty gosh darn delicious. I never thought about wrapping ramen noodles in butter lettuce, but now I will do it all the time! The only thing I would change is to chop up my noodles. I normally don't because I love them long, but they have a tendency to fall out the back end.
The sriracha is a must!!

1 new adventure down, 29 to go. I will post updates during the week, but you guys know me, there is no way I will update daily, haha, I'll try 1-2 times a week. Wish me luck! And if there is something you think I should try, let me know.