Review: F.A.C.T.S. 2012 in Ghent

Hello everyone! =)

Today I want to take a short break from Christmas. I bet you all are quite annoyed by it, right? No escape of Christmas songs, cookies, and so on. And buying all presents, of course. So I just want to skip the Christmas thing for now and tell you about my stay at F.A.C.T.S. a couple of weeks ago.

First some basic information: The F.A.C.T.S. is an annual convention in Ghent, Belgium, dealing with comics, sci-fi, fantasy and japanese cartoons. A dear friend of mine - using the pen name Calssara - was invited as a Guest of Honour and she asked me whether I would like to accompany her. And well, what should I say? Of course I said yes, because I just love travelling and I love seeing different places. And I was a bit curious about the other guests. I studied the website of F.A.C.T.S. and found a list of invited actors, writers, etc. Maybe you know Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery, Lauren Cohan or Charles Dance - just to name some. To sum up the guests where people related to The Walking Dead, Vampire Diaries, Game of Thrones and many more. I tried to get an autograph for a friend, but the queue was just too long. So after a short time I lost interest and moved on to he food station. Since we were in Belgium we had to try the waffles - and wow, Belgium waffles are the best I ever ate. They were even served warm. Paradise! ♥
All in all you could compare F.A.C.T.S. to the RingCon in Bonn, Germany. I guess. I have never been there, but friends of mine. And they told me.

source: Calssara's FB page

Now I want to tell why my friend Calssara was invited. As you may have noticed she is neiher a movie star nor a novel writer. She is a costume artist. She makes all of those costumes herself and with some she participates in international contests. She was chosen twice as a German represantative for the World Costume Play Summit in Nagoya, Japan, and once for the European Costume Play Gathering in France, where she won the first price. This is the link to her website. I think you should pay a visit, because seeing her in her beautiful costumes is always better than just read about it. At the F.A.C.T.S. she was one of the three judges for the costume contest.







The pictures below show some of the participants and winners. Do recognize any character? =)
Have you ever thought about dressing up as one of those characters? For carnival or another event? Come on, guys, tell me - don't be shy! ;)

source: Calssara's FB page

source: Calssara's FB page

Love,
J.


EDIT:
I was asked to upload some more pictures - well, here they are! :)
All photos were taken by Calssara.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to: Christmas Stocking

Hello everyone! =)

Just as promised: here's my little "How to make a Christmas stocking" tutorial. I made a very plain stocking, the basic version or so you might say. Of course you can add further decoration or accessories :) Instead of a long speech I want to show you the pictures I took while sewing.

Christmas Stocking Tutorial

 What you will need:

• sweets! Lots of. And maybe some healthy stuff ;) Your stocking has to be filled afterwards
• fabrics (I recommend using felt. It's very easy to sew plus you don't need to cast the edges, because it does not fray. But you can also use jute or something similar)
• scissors
• fixing pins
• needle and thread
• glue (better use the white adhesive for handicraft work. It will become transparent when dried. Other glue might leave stains on the fabric)
• pencil or marker
• decoration

Draw the shape of a stocking unto the fabric. I used red felt. You can get felt (and jute) in every fabric shop as cut goods and sometimes in craft shops in form of a small sheet. I bought my felt in a local craft shop for 0,40 EUR a sheet.

Try to use as much space of your sheet/fabric as possible. Note: when you sew them together and turn it over afterwards the capacity of the stocking will shrink.

Fix the one side of the cut stocking with pins on the fabric and cut the second part.

Now we need the typical white edge of the stocking. Put the red felt part on the white fabric (you can also use fake fur to make the stocking extra fluffy) and mark the edges. You will need two white trimmings - one for each side of the stocking.

Glue or sew the trimming onto the outside of your stocking. As recommended earlier use handicraft adhesive to prevent stains on material.

If you want to hang your stocking apply a pull strap. Just sew it in the back of your stocking.

Once you applied both trimmings, put both sides on top of each other. Make sure the trimming is inside, this is very important. Otherwise you will have the wrong side on the outside.

Fix both sides with pins and sew them together. I used my sewing machine, because I am a bit lazy. Sewing by hand is also okay, it will just need a little bit more time. Leave a span of roundabout 0.5-1.0 centimeters to make sure you sew both sides. Of course this span can be shorter, if you worked more careful beforehand.

Afterwards cut back the seam allowance and turn the inside out. Then iron your stocking.

After you are finished with ironing your stocking is supposed to look like this. Now it is time to apply all the decoration! Better put a paperboard inside, if you want to glue. This way the stocking can't stick together by accident ;)

Et voilà: your Christmas stocking is finished! Now fill it with the stuff you like the most.

In case you made your stocking bigger, you can use it as a cute packing for Christmas presents, too. A good book, jewelry or a perfume might fit inside as well ;)

I hope this tutorial was useful for you. How do you like it? Was it easy to understand? Or maybe it motivated you to make a Christmas stocking yourself? Please give me feedback so I can improve.

I wish you a happy and pleasant St Nicholas' Day! <3

Love,
J.

Little Announcement: St Nicholas' Day

source: http://www.business-cloud.de

Hello everyone! =)

The reason I'm writing this entry is a small announcement. I did a bit of brainstorming and instead of telling you about Santa Clause costumes and so on, I just want to show you a small DIY tutorial. Unfortunately I did not have any chance to hop into a fabric shop last week, so I will try to do so tomorrow. I want to show you how to make Christmas socks for sweets and little presents. So make sure to stay tuned! ;)

As you may have noticed: today is 2th December. The first advent. Are you already in Christmas mood? Sadly I am not. Some friends on Twitter tweet about their stays at Christmas markets, the first snow and Christmas songs on the radio. Until now I have not experienced any of these this year. Sure - there is sooo much time left until Christmas, but I'm a bit scared I might miss Christmas mood again this year.

Time to prepare a couple of plans to prevent this:
- baking Christmas cookies with a dear friend while listening to Rolf Zuckowski
(Okay - that was a bit embarassing... but honestly: there can't be Christmas without Rolf. Have to listen to his Christmas songs every year again and again. I still own two CDs. Is there somebody out there who knows him? And listen to his songs during Christmas time just like me? In case you don't know about whom I talking, click this link ;D)
- Christmas market! Eat and drink a lot of the good there: candied almonds, hot wine punch and so on
- Christmas themed movies (Christmas Vacation, Merry Christmas/Joyeux Noël, Home Alone, ...)

Do you have an recipe to get into Christmas mood? Please tell me! ♥

Love,
J.

Fascination: Costuming

source: http://www.bellaumbrellablog.com

 
Hello everyone! =)

Today I was thinking about which topic I should blog and millions of ideas popped into my mind. I was thinking about fabric suggestions, more musical stuff, costumes for children, etc. but in the end I decided on a rather simple, but 'close' topic.

What is so damn fascinating about costuming?

To be honest: I actually don't know. I could speculate about possible reasons. Some may say escape from reality (which I think is nonsense), others might say it is more like kind of a game. But these are all very vague explanations. When I think about costuming the first think I remember is warmth. Or rather: being loved by my parents. Both my mum and dad put so much effort in creating a nicer world for me, when I was a child. Sounds magical? Well, for me, it was. When I was little, my dad always asked friends of his to disguise themselves as Saint Nicholas and Knecht Ruprecht. And everytime I was enjoying this special day, the sixth of December. Knecht Ruprecht was really scary, dressed in a black robe with his old and dusty rod. Nicholas was always kind-hearted. He reminded me a lot of my grandpa. Thinking back I imagine it was quite a procedure to organise this day every year again and again. But this indicates that they cared for me.
When I was old enough to attend the kindergarten my mum began to sew costumes for me. I could be just everything or everybody I wanted to be: a lion (oh, how I loved Simba the Lion King back then!), a fair princess or an evil witch. She spent weeks working on my costumes, but I treasured them. Watching old photos of those dresses and costumes still makes me feel nostalgic. I think that gives a pretty good impression why 'warmth' is the first thing for me when it comes to costuming.

Nowadays I grew too old for this stuff. Today I can make my own costumes for German carnival, Halloween and other festivities. It is a great opportunity to work creative. Sewing is something else than just drawing a design. When you draw something it is caught on paper - but when you sew a dress or a costume, it really bursts into life. You have the power to create something new with your very own hands. For me that is the most fascinating part.

I know that there are millions of other reasons to start costuming, sewing or crafting, since there are millions of different people carrying millions of different emotions. So please tell me, why did you start?

Love,
J.

Everyone has danced with Death

... but no one like Elisabeth.

source: musical-in.de

This time I want to tell you about a huge passion of mine: musicals. I just love the singing and the gorgeous dresses and costumes. Until now I have only seen three different musicals, which were Elisabeth, Wicked and Dance of the Vampires. Not that many, but I think next year Tarzan and The Lion King will follow, if my pouch allows it. Just to make things clear: I prefer the German versions. It's just a matter of personal taste. In my opinion the lyrics and intonation sound way better than in English - so I will link German versions and talk about the German actors/singers. But -just as I said - it's a matter of personal taste ;)

I have seen at the beginning of this year, so my memory is a bit blurry but I'll try to give you a nice overview on the Elisabeth musical, which is about Elisabeth (also known as Sissi), the wife of Franz Josef II. The musical focuses mainly on an imagined lifelong flirtation with Death himself (in disguise of a handsome young man called "Der Tod"- German for "death") and Elisabeth's constant need for independence, often at the cost of her loving husband and her hypersensitive son Rudolf, who commits suicide later on. It is narrated from beyond the grave by Luigi Lucheni, the Italian anarchist who assassinated her in 1898.

The thing I like the most in this musical are the costumes. Every time you can see Sissi she is wearing another dress. At the beginning they are rather plain, but become more and more luxurious and detailed when Elisabeth too becomes more powerful. Another small detail that caught my audience was that Elisabeth ages visibly (due to make-up) during the musical. At the beginning she looks pretty and young and in the end there are acutally wrinkles in her face and she looks worn out.

Elisabeth dancing with her husband Franz Joesf.
source:dermuenchenblog.de

If became curious and you want to check out the musical, you should pay YouTube a visit. You can watch the entire musical there - even in different languages. But I recommend to watch it live. Musicals develope some kind of magic and strength when you experience them in person. You just can't compare it to a video. Anyways, here is the prologue for a first peep:

Fun fact: There is even a Japanese version of the musical, did you know that?
Have anyone of you seen Elisabeth? How do you like it? What do you think about musicals in general? Don't hesitate to tell me! :)

Love,
J.

The eleventh of eleventh

Soon the 'fifth season' will start in Germany. In many towns - the most popular are Dusseldorf and Cologne I bet - the commencement is about to begin at 11.11, the eleventh of November. This time is called 'Fastnachtsbeginn' and will initiate the carnival festivities troughout Germany. From this point carnival parades start and continue until the actual festive days in February next year. There is a short winter break around Christmas but after that parades and parties will take place again. The biggest parties are on 'Weiberfastnacht' (07. 02) and 'Rosenmontag' (11.02).

To be honest: I'm not that much of a carnival nerd and don't know anything about the historical backgrounds and very little about some customs. In my hometown parades are almost not celebrated at all and the festive events become less and lesser every year. The only constant are the 'Kamelle' - candy so to say - that are distributed among the festival goers. I bet they use the remaining candy every year... because that is how they taste like: old and rock-hard. Sadly there is not the slightest atmosphere and spirit of carnival.
Until now I was in Cologne once or twice with a friend to celebrate carninal and it was an entirely different world. The people but so much effort into their costumes - really! There are almost no people in improvised costumes or clothing. The entire outfit was carefully planned in detail. They even bring more than just one costume for the parties. It's the same like in the real life: you can't wear the same outfit over and over again when going out. You simply have to bring something new with you. Trust me: when you wear your normal clothes among costumed party people you feel like an outcast. You feel like you don't belong there. You feel dull and grey. So at least put on striking make up to stand out a little and become one with the party group.
Surrounded by all those great costumes you instantly catch fire and become infected by the carnival celebration virus. It is a great feeling standing in the midst of a group of Ghostbusters while being invited to a drink by Jack Sparrow. If you have the opportunity you should celebrate carnival in one of Germany's strongholds: it's definitely worth a trip.

carnival in Cologne - source of image: deutsch-heute.blogspot.de

Pumpkin, pumpkin

Hello everyone!

It's been a couple of days since Halloween and I'm awfully sorry for not posting earlier. But I guess you all know the procedure after a good Halloween party: cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. And then sleeping. Like forever.

To sum up Halloween was really great! Tob, a dear friend of mine, made his famous and super tasty nacho salad. It's not that kind of salad you could call super-healthy - but in my opinion this is the perfect salad for a party. Sure there is plenty of iceberg lettuce in it and corn, too, but also some more lusty stuff like minced meat, kidney beans and of course nachos. It's super delicious! You can also add onions, cheese, sour creams or ingredients like that. You should try it! Click this link for a recipe in English.

world's best nacho salad!

All in all we had so much food to eat. I made a noodle plate, Melle made Wan Tan (Oh- I have to ask her for the recipe. They were sooooo good!), Rieke and Randi made a huge bowl with pineapple and lots of alcohol in it and some nice finger foods.

Finger food... I think this gives it an entirely new meaning.

Bibi made this gorgeous cake. The 'earth' are crumbled oreo cakes! Great, isn't it?

And when you think all we did was eating, then you are so damn right! I can't remember how much I ate but... I can remember my full and aching stomach in the morning. And a bit of the rest alcohol *cough*

To be honest we did a bit more except for the drinking and eating stuff. Randi and Tob showed us some very creepy and 'disturbing' horror games. 'Disturbing' only counts for Typing of the Dead, the worst zombie/apocalypse/whatever game ever developed. You shoot zombies with a keyboard while writing words and sentences that are displayed on the screen. Sounds strange? It really is... And I bet if we were more drunk this game would have been even more disturbing. The next games we played were Slender, Paranormal and SCP. And guys - if you honestly think that you are brave: play those games. You will shit bricks. Not kidding. We girls were so frightened. And screaming almost nonstop due to those f****** shock effects. Slender only lasts 20 or 30 minutes, so playing it won't take that long ;3 Here's a short trailer. Okay, I have to admit that the trailer is not that scary. But the game definitely is.

Last but not least I made a small collage to show you some more impressions and to prevent the hell of a picture spam.Unfortunately there are no goods pictures of me, because I totally messed up my make-up. I only had fifteen minutes to dress up and get my clothes packed... I was in totaly stress and well... it ended up no good. Maybe there is some free time next week to make up for the missing photo of me :)

Ah, I almost forgot! Since this is my very first time blogging, I feel the constant fear that Iwill run out of ideas or my blog entries are boring - so tell me please what do you think about this blog? What do you want to see? The next blog entry will deal with the upcoming carnival season in Germany.

Love, J.