Modern Elsa Cosplay (Because of Le Snow)

Soooooo IT SNOWED.

LIKE, ALOT.

(Cute wittle birdie;)

And I obviously could NOT pass up the opportunity, so, this kinda happened...

Modern Elsa (from Frozen) ;)

Those are literally the only shots I got, because I was FROZEN. eheh. ;)

And also, you can’t really tell, but my hair is braided Elsa-style, and I’m wearing a snowflake necklace and earrings. ;)

Anyways, just thought I'd share this fun little project! Until later! ^_^

A $5 Thrifted Coat Refashion

Hello strangers from distant lands, friends of old... ;)

Meet Sylvie. ;)

So, today I'm featuring my first (successful) refashion!

But first, when I was in the middle of it, I realized I never introduced you all to my new friend, Sylvie!! :D

Now, who is Sylvie, you might ask?

The new dress form that I got for Christmas!!! :D She's a Dritz model, and works perfectly. Fully adjustable, and the color was a very pleasant surprise! ;)

But anyway, as of yesterday I hadn't done any legit project on her yet, so I was excited to try her out for real. :D  So, back to that refashion.

Oh, and in case you've never heard the term "refashion" before, it's basically altering old or ugly clothing, and turning it into something that you could actually wear. ;)

Yesterday, I spent a good 4 or 5 hours altering this bad boy... (Yeah, not exactly haut couture, right? :P)

(Ignore my dusty mirror... xD)

The first thing that needed to happen was to kill those shoulder pads... (WHY DID PEOPLE EVER THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO WEAR THOSE THINGS???? O.O)

BURN THEM WITH FIRE! ;)

I then removed all the buttons, and then sewed three of them back on farther over, to make it a bit more fitted -- and more stylish. ;)

Off...

...On...

Better already!

Next on the to-do list was altering the sleeves. They were much too big, and had some weird broad-ness still going on, even without the shoulder pads. :P

Alter alter...

We're getting there! :)

Aaaaand the next thing, was to take in the sides. Ended up being much more simple than I thought it would be, though I did have to seam-rip the lining to get to the actual coat. Seam ripping is literally THE BEST part of sewing. *Note the sarcasm.* ;)

Pinned and ready for sewing.

The only thing left to do was add three more buttons next to the others, for a stylish touch.

And voila! This coat refashion is complete!! :D

The finished product.

I'm super excited about how it turned out -- this was my first rather *successful* refashion! ;D Now I need a place to wear it... I'm thinking Walmart might be perfect... ;D

But one thing I can't decide, is should I make it knee length? Or keep it like it is? I honestly can't decide... let me know whatcha think in the comments! :D

And, of course, special thanks to Sylvie for being my little helper. ;) :D

"The Final Truth" Mystery Novel WIP

Hey friends and followers!

Soooo for English this semester, I have to -- rather, GET to! -- write a creative story, and, of course, I've been having a blast with it. :D

I've never actually finished a real, legit book before, so I'm excited to see how it turns out.

So far I've only got 2,000 words; my goal is 30,000 -- I didn't want to aim too high for my first novel (or rather, novella ;). It'll be written over the course of 15 weeks, so I think 30k is extremely do-able. And hey, if it ends up longer than that, sweet! :D

I've been trying to think up a good name for it... right now, it's called "The Final Truth." (This could change..) So, of course I had to make a cover for it! I rather like how it turned out... ;) Oh, and here's le synopsis:

"What begins as just another case for Tom Devries (I might change his last name.. :p), soon turns into something much more threatening. As Tom, a specialist investigator for the L.I.A. begins to unravel the thefts, dangerous secrets begin to be uncovered -- secrets that were never meant to be found out. And when at last the final truth is discovered, Tom is faced with the hardest decision of his life."

(Teehee, I had fun writing that. ;D)

Soooo hopefully that got you at least a little bit interested... ;) If it did, here's a short snippet from the first chapter...

It involves Tom's friend, Julie Weisz, (well, they're more than friends actually. But not technically boyfriend/girlfriend...) who is a journalist for a newspaper in London. (Did I mention the story is set there? ;) The two just had coffee/tea at a café, after Julie finished some writing for her work...

Oh, and hey, give me some feedback in the comments!! I'd be ever so grateful. :)

~   ~   ~

     After arriving back at her flat, Julie set her laptop on the round kitchen table and threw herself on the couch. She squeezed her eyes shut and a smile began playing around her lips.

     The warmness in his voice when he greeted her… the grey eyes searching her own… the touch of his strong hand around hers…  She quickly sat up and rolled her eyes at herself.

     “What are you thinking, girl?” she muttered to herself.

   Taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders and shook her hair back. Just because someone new came into her life didn’t mean her whole life had to fall apart. But then… Tom was so different from anyone she had ever met…

    She was used to always keeping the professional face on. She was a journalist, that’s what they did. Her personal emotions were no one’s business but her own. It was easiest that way.

     But she knew she couldn’t do that with Tom. He cared about her. He knew her. He saw her.  And that frightened her.

~   ~   ~

P.S. And here's my Pinterest storyboard for it: 'The Final Truth' Storyboard

A Trip to New England - Day Two

My second, and last, full day in Rhode Island was lovely - and white!

When we woke up in the morning, the world was covered in an inch or two of glorious snow!! It all melted away by the end of the day, but was so pretty while it lasted. :)
The big highlight of this final day, though, was having lobsters for dinner. ;D

This was the first experience my sisters and I had with lobsters, and it was just great! ;D After going to an extremely authentic shack and buying our lobsters, we brought them home and had "lobster fights." Ok, not really - but we did hold them! They kept flinging their [rubber-banded] claws around and snapping their tails back and forth, which enticed a couple shrieks from us girls... ;D

And the big question: how did they taste? Due to my diet (the SCD one that I've mentioned before), I couldn't eat them, (which I was silently thankful for xD) but according to my three sisters, they were pretty nasty. I think I would have agreed.. :P

The next day we headed off to the airport and flew home, concluding our visit to Rhode Island! It was short but sweet. I had so much fun; hopefully I'll be able to go again someday -- I would definitely like to! (:

A Trip to New England - Day One

So after a long day of driving, two flights, and more driving, we (my parents, three sisters and I) made it to our final destination last night: Rhode Island!

I've never been to this state before, so it was a neat opportunity. We have family that lives up there that we haven't seen in ages, so it was great to get up here and see them finally! :)

The highlight of our first [full] day there was visiting a huge mansion, the "summer cottage" of the Vanderbilt family, called "The Breakers." It was incredible!! Our tour guide said it was over 100,000 square feet in all... O_O

They didn't let us take pictures of the inside, but we could take pics of the outside... (These are courtesy of my sister, Crystal. ;)

So, our first day here was super neat. We also drove around a bit afterward, and looked at all the other big houses in the area. After seeing them all, I was *seriously* feeling the need for a mansion... xD

The day ended with watching the sunset on the snow-covered beach.

Tauriel Cosplay - The Photoshoot

As promised. :) I hope you like them! ^_^

You can barely tell in the other pictures, but in this one you can see it... yup, I'm wearing Tauriel's necklace!! :D

PS - Feel free to pin, share, etc, these pics! Just don't, like, take credit for them or anything. ;)

Au revoir 2013...Bonjour 2014

This is the first post in 2014 on my blog.

O_O

WHERE DID YOU GO 2013????

Well, no matter where it went, it's gone and another year is ahead of us. So strap on your seatbelt, and get ready for the ride! I'm pretty sure it'll be crazy for all of us. ;)

But before I say goodbye to 2013, I want to make a list of the best things that happened in this past year...

1. I started this blog! On June 12th, I decided to make this blog for the purpose of logging my journey of making my Tauriel cosplay. And I'm so glad I did!! I have had so much fun doing just that, and even though that adventure is over, there are many to come that I'm extremely excited to share with you all. :)

2. Going along with the last point, I completed my second cosplay! It was literally so much fun -- AND I learned a ton while doing it, and expanded my sewing experience and expertise alot! So it was a win-win. ;)

3. I successfully finished my second dual-enrolled college course, Biblical Worldview. It was a great class, and I learned so much from it.

4. I lived through my 15th year of life. Less than two months until that year is over, and another year of my life begins! And what a great year it's been...

5. And one last thing: I've grown closer to God. My relationship with Him isn't perfect, but that's how every relationship starts. I see it like this: I'm a USB plug, but I'm a little bit deformed. God is the USB port. I, as the USB, am in the port, but sometimes I'm not perfectly connected. My desire is to have that perfect connection - but in the meantime, I will keep striving to follow Jesus and live a God-centered life.

And one last thing. Last night, after midnight, we sang this song...

It's now my "anthem" for the new year. :)

Tauriel Cosplay - Photoshoot Sneak Peek

Hey ya'll!!

Sooooo today was awesome -- I finally did that photoshoot as Tauriel I've been promising you guys!!! It was freezing cold, but oh so worth it. :D

I'm so excited for you all to see the pictures!! I'm currently editing them up and such, buuuuut here's a little sneak peek...

More pics to come soon!!! :)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Nails and Butter Pecan Cookies

Hullo, my lovely friends and followers!

So, yesterday was the first day of winter, and now Christmas is only 3 days away! :D

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. I love giving and receiving gifts, getting together with family and friends, and, most importantly, celebrating Jesus' birth. ^_^

Yesterday, to get into the spirit of things, I decided to do some "Christmas baking" -- even though there wasn't technically anything Christmas-y about the recipe... ;) I also did my nails Christmas style... nothing fancy, but I think they're cute. ;)

I made butter pecan cookies (recipe at end of post) -- which I hadn't made in years! I made them with almond flour and honey, instead of wheat flour and sugar, because, as some of you may know, I'm on a special diet, the "specific carbohydrate diet" (SCD), that doesn't allow me to have wheat, sugar, most starches (think rice, potatoes, corn), and a few other random things, because I have celiac disease. It's not life-threatening, but it is chronic and has been a trial for me.

ANYWAY, back to le cookies... :D

And the finished cookies! (They tasted amazing, by the way. :D)

And in case anyone wanted it, here's the recipe!

SCD Butter-Pecan Cookies
Ingredients:

- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup honey

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (160 degrees Celsius). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine the almond flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and pecans in a bowl.
3. Combine the vanilla, egg, butter, and honey in another bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.
5. Drop heaping 2-tablespoon-sized portions of the batter about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned.

Makes 18-20 cookies.

The Desolation of Smaug Midnight Premiere

THE NIGHT OF DECEMBER 12TH, 2013.

IT HAPPENED.

THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG.

In Walmart. xD

These are some pictures from the night at the theater, WHICH WAS SO MUCH FUN. :D :D :D There were quite a few other people dressed up, and the feeling of comradery was just great.

And the movie... STINKING AMAZING!!!!! SMAUG BEORN THRANDUIL TAURIEL LEGOLAS BARD LAKETOWN EREBOR MIRKWOOD DWARVES IN BARRELS EPIC FIGHTING TAURIEL/KILI/LOL AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH just everything pretty much. ^_^ So epic and awesome and AMAZING. :D :D :D I actually got to see it again yesterday!! EVEN BETTER the second time around!!! Ahhhhh just...wow. AND I CAN'T BELIEVE WE HAVE TO WAIT A YEAR NOW FOR THE FINAL MOVIE OMG!!!! O_O

SOOOOOOO peeps...what about you guys? Have you seen it yet??? Midnight premiere? Dressed up? Thoughts on the movie? Tell me in le comments! :)

Tauriel Cosplay - The Final Update

Today is a special day.

On June 13, 2013, exactly 173 days ago, I wrote the second post on this blog. It was concerning my latest cosplay idea, Tauriel. I was then on summer vacation, and the first trailer for the Desolation of Smaug had just released.

"The idea began to form when the first official picture of Tauriel was released...I began to think how much fun it might be to recreate that costume and wear it to the midnight premiere of The Desolation of Smaug in theaters...So, I have officially found my next adventure. Becoming an elf of Mirkwood."

Over the course of those almost 6 months, many amazing adventures have occurred.

For one, this blog has grown to 18 posts, 8 followers, and almost 5,000 views. You don't know how happy and proud I am of that; it has been such a dream come true. I have always wanted to write a blog that people actually read. And I have you, all my wonderful friends and followers, to thank for that!!!  Secondly, I have [almost] completed my second dual-enrolled college course. It's been a long, and a lot of times hard, road, but has definitely been a great experience.  Thirdly, I started taking horse riding lessons again, at a nearby stable. I have always loved horses and riding, so it has been tons of fun getting back into that.

And last, but definitely not least, I completed my second cosplay: Tauriel of the Mirkwood Realm, from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

The creation of this costume has been such a crazy, difficult, long, fun, and, at times, plain maddening adventure. From finding boots to sewing leather, I learned so much and enjoyed every bit of it.  And now, that adventure is finally at an end. But the journey isn't over yet! We've still got NINE DAYS to go until The Desolation of Smaug midnight premiere, and the debut of my costume!!!  (Needless to say, I'm nearly hyperventilating from excitement. :D)

Unfortunately, I don't have any [good] pictures of the cosplay to share - yet! I'm hoping to do a photoshoot soon, and then of course I will post a gazillion pictures. ;)  Until then, here's a shot of the full assembled costume. 100% complete. ^_^

And one last picture, for Grace - the back of the leather bodice. (I'm going to use black lacing, though.)

Until later!

-AnElvenPrincess

Frozen!

Hey all!!

Soooooo I just got back from seeing the new Disney movie that just came out today - Frozen!! First of all, I loved it. It made me laugh, tear up, gasp, and shriek. True story. ;D

Second of all... mkay, you know how I'm kind of obsessed with cosplay? Well, such as it is, I of course had to dress up - in some way or another. ;)

Well, ever since I saw Elsa's, the Snow Queen's dress, (which, btw, is gorgeoussss) I wanted to make it and cosplay her. Buuuut because I'm a little tied up right now with Tauriel's cosplay (WHICH, btw, I will have a post up concerning that SOON!), I wasn't able to make her dress in time for the release. But I'm still planning on cosplaying her sometime! I'm not sure what for, or when, but some time soon I will. :D

However, in the meantime, I decided to do an Elsa-inspired look. Almost a "modern version" of her costume.

So without further ado, here is my Elsa inspired outfit from Disney's Frozen! :D

And yes, I had way too much fun editing that. ;D

P.S. - Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my last post, especially for your thoughts concerning the bracers!! It helped alot. :D As for right now, I think I'm just going to leave them plain. I'll be making a post soon about all that. :)