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. :)

Questions, Bracers, and a Call for Help

Friends and followers! (which is really the same thing.. ;)

We have less than 3 weeks - 20 days to be exact - until the Desolation of Smaug!!! Who's excited????? (MEMEMEMEME) :D So, I've got a couple things to ask you guys. :D

1) As I'm sure many of you know, tickets for theater showings went on sale yesterday, so some questions regarding that:

   a) Have you bought your tickets yet?? (I got mine yesterday!! :D)
   b) What format are you going to see the movie in? (I'm going to see it in plain 2D, so I can completely focus on the story, then I'll go see it again in 3D high-frame-rate. That's my reasoning, anyway. ;)
   c) Are you going to a midnight showing? (YEESSSSS)
   d) Are you planning on going with a group of friends or fly solo? (I'm going with several friends - and le parentals, of course. ;)

2) I know many of you are making your own Tauriel creations, so a couple questions concerning costumes:

   a) Are you going to dress up for the premiere? (I AM!)
   b) If so, what/who are you dressing up as? (You all know my answer to that. xD)
   c) If you're going with a group, is anyone else planning on dressing up? (All my peeps are going to dress up as well. Actually, the girl who was featured in my last blog post is one of them!)

And one bonus question:

3) I've been trying to decide what I should do about Tauriel's arm bracers. I can leave them plain, or add stitching around the edges, or maybe do something else entirely...?? PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR IDEAS! I NEED HELP!!! :D

So, pleaseeee leave a comment with your answers to my many questions! I would love to read them and see what your plans are for the premiere! :D (And hear your ideas for my bracers, too!)

And one last thing before I head... just because I just have to... a little teaser:

Special Feature: Another Elf of Mirkwood

'Sup, friends and followers! ;)

Sooooo last Sunday, I got together with my wonderful friend Karis to have a little "sewing party." She's been wanting to make a Mirkwood elf costume to wear to the midnight premiere of The Desolation of Smaug as well, (which is only 23 days away!!!! :D :D :D) and since she "says" she's not very creative, I invited her over to my place to see what we could create. (*rubs hands together* mwahahaha!! ;D)

Now, concerning the costume she's making... Karis decided she didn't really want to make any *specific* costume from the films, but rather do a "Mirkwood inspired" costume. She bought this gorgeous olive-colored suede fabric that reminds me SO much of the material used in one of Legolas' costumes, (this one) and with that, we're making a below-the-knee, long sleeved dress, with an eight-paneled split skirt. It'll end up being similar to the elven guard's uniforms.

The bottom left picture is of hers and my dress - which is, btw, completely finished except for a zipper in the back!!! :D I'll try to post another update soon concerning that. So, I just need to put in the zipper, add the grommets and lacing in the leather bodice, and then whip up a pair of armguards and Tauriel's cosplay will be officially complete!! I'm so close, I can almost taste it!! :D

PS - You can find Karis at her blog, The Meanderings of Me. Go check it out! Lots of fun stuff about horses over there. ;) And you can also follow her on Pinterest!

Tauriel Cosplay - Dress Partly Completed

Hullo all my lovely friends!

I have been quite busy as of late. But I better start from the beginning...

So, first of all, I have successfully altered the color of the leather bodice! It is now a gorgeous and pretty much perfect color, darker than the original. How did I achieve this, you might ask?

My secret weapon: black shoe polish. Shhhh... don't tell anyone... ;D But hey, it turned out great! I think it has faded some by now, as I did it almost a week ago... but I could be wrong. If it has indeed faded, that's easily fixed; I'll just touch it up a couple days before the premiere -- which is, by the way, only THIRTY FIVE DAYS AWAY!!! :D :D :D

(And also btw, has anyone checked out my snazzy little countdown over here? <<< :D)

Top right... that was my hair during this process. Like the pencil? xD

Next... do you recall the fabric I mentioned in my previous Tauriel cosplay update? That I didn't think was quite the right color? Well, after much improving the color of the bodice, (which btw now matches my boots almost perfectly!) I decided this fabric doesn't look nearly as bad against it. So, I decided to go ahead and make the dress with this fabric! So far it has turned out lovely -- but you can judge for yourself of course. ;)

Of course I couldn't be wearing it for the picture! Saving that for when it's finished... not to say I haven't tried it on yet of course! ;)

Like I said, the color isn't exactly perfect, but I still think it's very "Mirkwood," and it compliments the bodice color really well.

So, that's how it's going so far!! I'm so excited for you guys to see it all completed... but that's still a little ways to go. I need to hem the skirt, sew it to the bodice, alter the sleeves (they're too big. :p), and then put a zipper in the back. And I still need to make those alterations to the leather bodice... but anyway, I'll save that for another day. ;)

30 Day Middle-earth Challenge

Suilad, friends and followers! :)

The sweet girls over at The Splendor Falls on Castle Walls and Lianne Taimenlore are hosting a blog challenge - entitled "30 Day Middle-earth Challenge." I've been wanting to do one of these for a while, and I figure now is the perfect time to do it!

The challenge begins November 1st - yes, tomorrow! I'm planning on doing it over on Pinterest, on this board: 30 Day Middle-earth Challenge. So make sure you follow it, and watch for a new pin every day until December!

Also, anyone and everyone is welcome to join in the fun! So check out this post for all the details on how you can do it too!

I'm so excited about this! See ya'll on Pinterest... ;)

UPDATE: How silly of me - I didn't even post the questions. xD Here they are!

FINAL UPDATE: I have officially completed the challenge, and didn't miss even one day! I had SO much fun doing it. If you're reading this now, you can still do the challenge! Just choose a month, and have at it! :)

 Follow Beth P.'s board 30 Day Middle-earth Challenge on Pinterest.

Tauriel of the Mirkwood Guard Sketch

Sooooo now that I'm done with the bodice, and I still need to find fabric for the dress, production on my Tauriel Cosplay has gone on hold.

(In relation to fabric, however, I did buy 3 yards of almost perfect fabric at a thrift store - for only 3 bucks! - BUT I keep staring at it, and the color is just off. It's more teal than I want. So, the search continues. :P)

But anyway, long story short, I got bored, and decided to attempt to draw Tauriel. ;) It's modeled mostly after Weta Workshop's mini-statue of her, with just a couple changes. I made it over the course of a couple days, drawing the majority of it one night, then adding to it the next few days.

So anyway, here she is. Hope you like it! ;)

Tauriel Cosplay - Bodice Complete! (Mostly)

Hullo peeps!

It's been wayyyy too long, I know, I know. I don't really have an excuse, except that I wasn't feeling motivated to work on le Tauriel costume... xD

So, here's the story. ;)

The leather bodice has been at a state of half-finished-ness for the past several weeks. The only work done on it in those weeks was about 2 weeks ago, when I sewed the back sections on. But I just left it at that.

The days ticked by... until... last night.

It's about 8 o'clock, and I've got nothing of real importance to do. So, I'm like, mkay. I need to just sit down and finish this thing. My reasoning: I've only got a month and a half until the Desolation of Smaug premiere. (EEEEPPPPP!!!!) If I want to be done by then, I should probably finish this bodice now, before I start work on the dress. (Which I still don't have fabric for.. :p)

So, here's the result of last night's work. :D

It looks kinda bad in the pictures, but I promise it looks much much much better in reality. :D

The only things left to do on it are the grommets for the lacing in the back! Oh, and I'm gonna make the sleeves just a bit shorter/thinner, and the neckline lower as well, I think. But I'll make those adjustments after I make the dress, so I can see what looks right.

So yeah! See ya'll on the flip side! (or until my next post. ;)

Tauriel Cosplay - Leather Bodice Progress!

Hey friends and followers!

So, as I said in my last post, some fun stuff has been happening lately in relation to my Tauriel cosplay. About a week ago, I received the faux leather vinyl for the leather bodice/armor, and I've been doing some work on it! :D

The leather I bought is actually upholstery-grade, but it's turning out really well. I decided to buy that kind because it's thicker than apparel-grade leather (and cheaper :p), so it'll look more like real leather (without having to use craft foam underneath.) But let me tell you, though. It is a pain to work with... my sewing machine hates it. xD

But, like I said, it's turning out pretty well! Here's what it looks like so far:

Yes, obviously it still needs some work done to perfect it. (Oh, and btw, the actual color is closest to the top right pic.) The princess seams are a little off, it's an inch or two too long, and also a bit too large overall. I also need to figure out what I should do about the edge... "To hem, or not to hem. That is the question." ;)

So, yeah! That's what's been going on lately in my little world of cosplay. ;) I have the two back panels cut, and so just need to sew those onto the front, make the minor adjustments I mentioned previously, and then of course add the grommets and lacing in the back. I'm getting close! :D

And one more thing before I head off - DID ANYONE ELSE PRACTICALLY DIE YESTERDAY DUE TO THE NEW DESOLATION OF SMAUG TRAILER THAT RELEASED????? EEEEEPPPPPP!!! :D :D :D It was just so good. Oh. my. word. :D My very favorite-est part of the entire trailer? "Well, thief. Where are you? Come now. Don't be shy. Step into the light!"

A Lovely Hobbit Day

Hullo, friends!

As I'm sure many of you all know, Hobbit Day was yesterday, the 22nd of September. This is the birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins - so I had to celebrate, right? Of course! :D

My Hobbit Day was simple - but still quite fun and very hobbit-y! ;) The celebrations centered around "good food, a warm hearth, and all the comforts of home."

So here's a little run-down of my Hobbit Day:

I read "The Hobbit" while listening to the soundtrack from the first Hobbit movie; wore my elf ears and my hobbit-hole door necklace; posted a "No admittance except on party business" sign on my door; and finished the day off by watching An Unexpected Journey with a friend!

All in all, it was a very happy Hobbit Day! What about you guys? Did anyone of you celebrate Hobbit Day? :)

PS - Some cool stuff concerning my Tauriel Cosplay has been happening around here recently... a new blog post all about it will be coming soon! :D

Tauriel Cosplay - Updates and Accessories

Ok, let me just admit it: I haven't done much work on my costume. There. I said it. Moving on! ;)

I have been rather busy with a few other things, though... Getting ready for my second dual-enrollment class that starts tomorrow... and slowly but surely starting all the other subjects. (I'm homeschooled, if you haven't guessed by now, so that's how why my school schedule sounds so odd...lol!)

But, don't worry - I won't be *nearly* busy enough to forget about this blog and my latest adventure! :D

So, just yesterday, I started working on a PVC pipe bow using this tutorial, which is specifically for re-creating Tauriel's bow! I'm really excited about making it and how it will turn out. :D However, this project has gone on hold for a little while as my helper (my dad!) will be working for the next couple days. But, hopefully, the bow will be done soon! :)

A few other items regarding my Tauriel costume that will (hopefully!) happen over the next couple of weeks:

I plan on ordering some gorgeous faux leather that is a *perfect* match to the boots I purchased several months ago for the costume... (pictured above - aren't they just superb? :D)

Another thing that will (most likely) happen is a shopping excursion for the fabric to make the dress portion of the costume.

And one last thing: to the left is the finishing touch to my Tauriel cosplay - elf ears! :D