Pumpkins, Potions, and Pies

Free Pumpkin Carving Patterns

2015-09-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

Free pumpkin carving patterns!!

Click the link below each picture to download a PDF copy of the pattern

Mario

Goomba SirSwoop

Dark Peach Lumas

Bob omb Kid Yoshi

Final Fantasy

Mog Black Mage

Ultros

Tales of...

Gnome Mieu

Teepo Angel Wings

Rollo

Dragon Quest

Box Slime Dark Slime

Desgaea

Prinny

Chrono Trigger

ChronoTrigger

Legend of Zelda

Triforce

Misc.

Baymax

Hungry Luma cosplay - Super Mario Galaxy

2015-07-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

Hungry Luma Cosplay

If you like my cosplay please like my facebook page and follow me on twitter @forstericosplay

The only thing better than a luma is a hungry luma. Lumas can be found in the Super Mario Galaxy games. They resemble fat stars and they make the cutest noises. Hungry lumas eat either coins or starbits that you find along the way and when you feel them enough they transform with snacky happiness into new galaxies or warp stars. I truly feel that the hungry luma is my spirit animal and I'm so glad I was able to pull together a hungry luma cosplay for ACen 2015.

The only things I had to make for this cosplay were the wig and the starbit props, but man were they both a challenge. Everything else was bought on amazon (yay prime). For the wig I used Arda's lulu wig and a package of long wefts. I really had no idea what I was doing so I just kind of dove in and hoped for the best. I used some foam I had bought for recovering my dining room chairs and carved out the shape I wanted using my dremel. As you can see in the photo this was a stupidly messy processes and I'm still finding bits of foam all over. From there I used clear caulk and a hot glue gun to attach the wefts to the foam. Somehow it came out looking not so bad. I then glued the foam topper to the wig and I was done with that adventure.

Hungry lumas wave sticks with starbits above their head to get Mario's attention. This is a key part of distinguishing yourself from an average everyday luma. Again, I had no idea how to make these. I thought about using paper but I wasn't sure how good it would look and I would be doomed if it rained. I happened to find these giant metal pointy decorative...things....at Hobby Lobby. At the steep price of $50 each my mom told me I was crazy if I bought them. I went back and checked on them at least 3 times before finally they went on sale. They were originally gold so I spray painted them fun colors and drilled holes in them so I could attach wooden dowels. I used JB Weld to secure the sticks to the starbits and I must say it held up astonishingly well!

Hungry luma pictures from the Mario photoshoot at ACen:

I had decided several week in advance that I really wanted to wear my hungry luma cosplay to the Sugar Factory, but as we walked over to the restaurant I felt a little self conscious of my eccentric outfit. That feeling didn't last long. While we waited for our table several groups of people asked to take pictures with me and I was able to get some fun shots with all the candy. Once we were seated I got one of the most amazing drinks I've ever seen. It was served in a goblet with candy and dry ice and the server thought it was great that I had props for my pictures with the drink. I can't wait to go back. I'm thinking Wreck It Ralph cosplay next time!

Driselle Sharil cosplay - Tales of Xillia

2015-06-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

Driselle Sharil cosplay

Of all the cosplays I have made, I am most proud of this one. This is the first cosplay where where I made both the patterns and the outfit completely on my own. Driselle is a NPC in the game Tales of Xillia. I love her design and she's as sweet as can be. I wore this cosplay at ACen 2015 and hope to wear it again soon.

If you like my cosplay please like my facebook page and follow me on twitter @forstericosplay

For the wig I bought a light ash blonde Jeannie from Arda Wigs. Its a great wig because it comes with a pony tale clip that can be moved around to match Driselle's side loop style. I made the hair clip using some lace appliques, embroidery floss, and wire.

Aside from the whole make the patterns thing, the part I found the most challenging was painting these silly designs on the front and back of Driselle's dress. I used a combination of acrylic paint, spray paint, and contact paper. It was a long process but in the end I really like how it turned out.

I really got into using the spray paint, so I also used it to add the maroon to all the trim. Due to poor weather conditions I did most of the painting in my room. The only casualties were my rotary blade and an extension cord which are now both a nice shade of burgundy.

For Driselle's shoes I bought some cheap mesh slippers off of ebay and covered them with felt and ribbon. Sadly I'm pretty sure I left them in the hotel room at ACen so I will need to make another pair soon.

I was really worried about making the jacket, but I was able to knock it out in about two days. The green design is spray paint and the rest is homemade bias tape and ribbon.

And now for the finished product...

Driselle wouldn't be Driselle without a cup of tea in hand. I found the cup and saucer at a local resale shop. Sadly it wasn't Efreet fired, but its still pretty.

All of these pictures were taken around ACen and at the tales shoot.

Gogo Tomago Cosplay - Big Hero 6

2015-03-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

Big Hero 6 is an adorable movie and if you have not seen it you should go watch it right now. That being said, this year will be my first year attending C2E2 and I will be cosplaying as Gogo Tomago. She is spunky and cute and I really love her style.

If you like my cosplay please like my facebook page and follow me on twitter @forstericosplay

I started off by buying a black wig and sewing in some purple wefts. It was my first time sewing wefts and it really wasn't that tricky.

Next I bought some black shorts and added the slits to the sides. I also added the red stripes down the sides.

The part of the cosplay I'm most proud of is Gogo's jacket, because I made the entire thing from scratch. Oddly enough I didn't take any pictures of the process, but it turned out great.

More photos of my Gogo Tomago Cosplay from C2E2 and ACen:

Arietta the Wild cosplay - Tales of the Abyss

2014-07-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

Better late than never... The cosplay I made for ACen 2014 was Arietta the Wild from Tales of the Abyss. She is a member of the God Generals which are a the main antagonists in the game. I made the entire outfit myself including the Frankenstein-ish construction of the boots. I can't wait to wear it at another convention.

If you like my cosplay please like my facebook page and follow me on twitter @forstericosplay

Aside from the boots, this cosplay was really fun to make. The doll was by far my favorite part. It's made out of fleece and felt and is very soft. The outfit also allowed me to try my hand at making my own bias tape as well as working with leather. Overall I'm quite pleased with how Arietta turned out. The only thing that I will probably change is the styling of the wig.

Kratos Aurion cosplay - Tales of Symphonia

2014-06-18T17:45:00.000-07:00

For Acen this year, not only did I make myself a cosplay, but I also put one together for my friend Jake. He was Kratos Aurion from Tales of Symphonia. The costume (shirt, cape pants, belts) was purchased online, but I made some modifications to it as well as making all of the accessories and styling the wig.

I modified all the yellow accents by adding gold fabric paint and red rhinestones to look more like the artwork.

The wig was first dyed with ink to give it a darker red color. Then I cut and styled the wig with hairspray and fabric glue.

I made both the sword and shield using EVA foam, a dremel, and spray paint. This was my first time crafting any sort of weapon so I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.

Nymphadora Tonks cosplay - Harry Potter

2014-05-25T15:14:00.001-07:00

This year for ACen I did two new costumes for myself as well one for my buddy Jake. The first of my new cosplays was Nymphadora Tonks from the Harry Potter series. I picked her because she's fun, clumsy, and a little bit of a rebel.

If you like my cosplay please like my facebook page and follow me on twitter @forstericosplay

For the hair I went with a slightly more vibrant pink than the traditional bubble gum pink for Tonks. I ordered the want from Etsy, and make the choker with buttons and leather cord.

Pecan Pie Bars

2014-02-21T07:50:00.000-08:00

I had every intention to post this 2 months ago when I made them....

Pecan Pie Bars

Ingredients:

For crust

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

For topping

1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 cups chopped pecans

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a 9x13-inch pan with foil.

2) Cream together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

3) Add in the flour and salt and mix until crumbly.

4) Press the crust into the foil-lined pan and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

5) Combine the butter, brown sugar, honey and heavy cream in a saucepan and stirring it over medium heat. Simmer the mixture for 1 minute, then stir in the chopped pecans.

6) Remove the crust from the oven and immediately pour the pecan filling over the hot crust spreading it to cover the entire surface.

7) Return the pan to the oven and bake an additional 20 minutes.

8) Remove the pan and allow the bars to fully cool in the pan.

9) Slice into bars and serve.

Caprese Bites

2014-01-01T14:13:00.001-08:00

Every year for Christmas eve my family hosts a party at our house. We have food and drinks and play games with the family. Its always a really good time. For the food we primarily do lots of different finger foods that people can munch on throughout the night. Each year my mom and I like to try out one or two different things in addition to the old standbys we always have. This year we decided to put together some caprese bites, and I must say they were delicious.

Caprese Bites

Ingredients:

1 large package of cherry tomatoes
5-7 sticks of mozzarella string cheese
1 bunch of fresh basil
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1) Rinse and pat dry the cherry tomatoes.

2) Cut a thin slice off the bottom.

3) Scoop out the seeds. I found it easiest to use my fingers to do this but you can also use a small melon baller or a knife.

4) Place the tomato cut side down on a paper towel to drain liquid.

5) After they have drained place them upright on a plate and lightly salt and pepper them.

6) Rinse and gently pat dry the basil. Tear the basil into pieces in stick on piece into each hollowed out tomato.

7) Cut the mozzarella sticks into bite size pieces and place them inside the tomatoes.

8) Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Pretzel Turtle Bites

2013-12-27T19:47:00.001-08:00

These pretzel bites have been popping up all over the internet recently. The day before christmas Eve my mother decides that she wants to get in on the action and make them as well. The original recipe calls for Rolos, but due to the popularity of these things every store we went to was sold out of bags of Rolos. They did have bags of the mini Rolos but we were afraid the chocolate to other stuff ratio would be off. We browsed the candy aisle and finally decided to go with Dove caramel filled milk chocolates. Then we got home, got some wine, and set to work making these little treats.

Pretzel Turtle Bites

Ingredients:

Pretzels (I chose the mini twists but any roundish shape should work)
Pecan halves
Dove caramel filled milk chocolate

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Arrange the pretzels in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Place one chocolate covered caramel candy on each pretzel.
Bake for 4 minutes.
While the candy is warm, press a pecan half onto each candy covered pretzel.
Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Celsius Cosplay - Tales of Symphonia

2013-11-05T16:28:00.002-08:00

Last weekend I traveled to my 2nd ever Anime convention. This time it was Youmacon in Detroit, Michigan. For this convention I decided I wanted to cosplay a character by the name of Celsius. She is the summon spirit of ice in the game Tales of Symphonia. The outfit itself is relatively easy but her skin is gray, so I had to paint myself from head to toe which was a bit complicated.

If you like my cosplay please like my facebook page and follow me on twitter @forstericosplay

This a picture of Celsius from the game

This was the start of the cuffs. I made them with old padded bras covered in gold fabric. Yeah...I'm pretty resourceful.

Here was my body paint test the top right section is Kryolan aqua color. The other two are different shades of pax body paint.

I have a lot so say about the body paint. It was a very interesting process. The paint I used is called pax and it is made by combining equal parts of prosaid adhesive and acrylic paint. When it dries its like a weird 2nd skin and does some weird wrinkly stuff, but over all its very good for all day wear and it won't rub off on your clothes or anything you touch. After going through this process I have some tips for anyone trying to apply this type of body paint.

Pax Tips

paint your hands last
make sure you have someone help you
do one body part at a time and make sure to powder it as soon as it dries, if not you will stick to yourself
only use pax on your face if you don't plan on making many facial expressions
allow at least 2 hours to paint head to toe
removing this stuff sucks, I'm not sure there's any avoiding that.

The tape grid I made for coloring the ribbon.

Finished ribbon.

The finished product.

I'm so proud of how my Celsius cosplay turned out! I can't wait to wear it again at Acen. Be sure to keep an eye out for me if you attend.

Spiced Pumpkin Applesauce

2013-10-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

Last week I bought a bunch of apples at the farmers market. I opted to try to make applesauce with them which was a new adventure for me. The combination of pumpkin and apples is great for fall so I used up more of my canned pumpkin and tossed it in with the apples. I wanted my apple sauce to be healthy so there is no sugar added, but you can certainly add sugar or honey to sweeten it up a bit.

Spiced Pumpkin Applesauce

Ingredients:

5 medium apples
1 cup canned pumpkin
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups water

Directions:

1) Core and slice apples

2) Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours.

3) Remove cinnamon stick and blend to desired consistency. I used an electric mixer, but you can use a food processor, blender, or a potato masher depending on how chunky or smooth you want it.

Pumpkin Hummus

2013-10-10T07:31:00.000-07:00

Up until last summer I had never tried hummus before. Man was I missing out. Now its one of my favorite snacks, and its great on everything. I had never tried making my own hummus before, but when I saw a recipe for pumpkin hummus I knew I had to try it. It was much easier than expected to make. Only issue I ran into was when the cup got stuck in the base of the blender and I thought I was going to have to destroy the entire thing to free my hummus. Luckily it didn't come to that and after about 5 minutes of panicking I got the cup off the base and enjoyed my snack.

Pumpkin Hummus

Ingredients:

1 15oz. can of chickpeas (drained)
1 clove of garlic
the juice from 1 lemon
6 tbsp canned pumpkin
5 tbsp tahini
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp water
salt to taste

Instructions:

1) Place everything in a food processor and blend until smooth. That's it!

Sangria Clara

2013-10-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

Last week we had a girls night and at first I was just going to to bring wine, but then I decided some sangria sounded really good. I'm not a fan of red wine so I went with a nice white sangria with apple and cinnamon flavors that would be perfect for fall. It doesn't take much time to prepare, but make sure you have enough time to let it sit overnight to let the flavors come together.

Sangria Clara

Ingredients:

1 cup water
1 small bunch fresh mint
1/2 cup sugar
3 cloves
4 short cinnamon sticks (I used 2 and broke them in half)
3 1/2 cups white wine (I used Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc)
2 cups sparkling apple cider
1/2 cup orange juice
2 small apples, cut into chunks
2 small oranges, sliced thin crosswise
2 small peaches, cut into chunks

Instructions:

1) In a small saucepan, combine the water, mint, sugar, cloves and cinnamon sticks over medium heat. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and allow the mixture to cool down to room temperature.

2) Remove and discard the mint leaves, cloves, and cinnamon sticks, and pour the mixture into a large serving pitcher. Add the wine, cider, and orange juice.

3) Mix in the fruit and refrigerate overnight.

More Pumpkin Beer

2013-10-01T20:41:00.003-07:00

Happy October!! Just like last year I've spent the last few months stocking up on as many different pumpkin beers as I could find. I also picked up a pumpkin wine and a pumpkin cider. Again, I don't know a lot about beer but here are some different varieties to look out for. This years varieties include some which have an alcohol by volume (ABV) a bit higher than average beer. I'm excited to give them a try.

Pumking - Southern Tier Brewing Company - ABV 8.6%
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale - Saint Louis Brewery - ABV 8.0%
Fat Jack Double Pumpkin Ale - Boston Beer Company - ABV 8.5%
HornyCopia Pumpkin Ale - Rex Beverage Holdings - ABV 5.7%
Redhook Out of Your Gourd Pumpkin Ale - Redhook Ale Brewery - ABV 5.8%
Ichabod Pumpkin Ale - New Holland Brewery - ABV 5.2%
Sam Adam's Harvest Pumpkin Ale - Boston Beer Company - ABV 5.7%
UFO Pumpkin - Harpoon Brewery - ABV 5.9%
Pumple Drumkin Spiced Ale - Cisco BRewers Inc. - ABV 6.0%
Pumpkin Lager - Lakefront Brewery - ABV 5.8%
Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin - Shipyard Brewing Co. - ABV 9.0%
Frog's Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale - Hoppin' Frog Brewery - ABV 8.4%
Smoked Pumpkin Cider - Tieton Cider Works - ABV 6.4%
Prairie Pumpkin Wine - Prairie State Winery - ABV 10.0%

Pumpkin Grilled Cheese

2013-09-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

I'm always on the lookout for new things to do with pumpkin, especially canned pumpkin which I always have a few cans of on-hand. Needless to say I was super excited to see the new Food Network magazine which included 50 things to make with canned pumpkin. The first thing that really jumped out at me was a recipe for pumpkin grilled cheese, and lucky enough I had all the stuff to make it. It was really easy to make and all of the flavors came together nicely. I have changed the recipe slightly, since I didn't think the pumpkin flavor was quite strong enough.

Pumpkin Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:

Bread
1.5 Tbsp canned pumpkin
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp whole grain mustard
2-3 strips cooked bacon
Monterrey Jack cheese

Instructions:

1) In a small bowl combine pumpkin, honey, and mustard.

2) Spread mixture on one slice of bread. Then add cheese and bacon.

3) Top with 2nd slice of bread and grill until golden brown in a buttered skillet.

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

2013-09-06T05:03:00.001-07:00

We are having a brunch at work to kick off the new fiscal year. I love using work events as an excuse to try out a new recipe. The air has been a little brisk lately and its really had me craving some fall flavors. What says fall more than apples and pumpkins? I decided to combine those two wonderful flavors into a muffin. I sampled one when they came out of the oven and I must say they are the perfect fall treat.

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 medium peeled, cored and chopped apples
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons butter

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 18 muffin cups or use paper liners.
2) In a large bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt.

3) In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin and oil.

4) Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten. Fold in apples.

5) Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
6) In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

7) Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter.

8) Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Swirled Picture Frame

2013-09-03T18:09:00.001-07:00

I have a ton of picture frames from Ikea, so I'm always looking for ways to spice them up. For this one I decided to use some basic acrylic paint and do a swirl design on the from. Then I added some googly eyes in the corners to give it an extra Halloween touch.

Pick your colors and place random dots of paint on the frame. Use a toothpick to swirl the dots together and cover the frame.

After the entire frame is covered be sure to let it dry for at least 24 hours so the paint is completely dry.

Add whatever embellishments you like and display.

Peach Banana Bread

2013-08-14T13:29:00.003-07:00

I've been trying to eat healthier lately, and that means I've been buying a lot more fruits and veggies. I haven't been quite as good about actually eating them. This led to me having some fruit that was very quickly approaching its point of uselessness. My bananas were pretty much all brown and my peaches were squishy. I knew I could use the bananas for banana bread, but I don't really like plain banana bread. Then I thought maybe I could toss the peaches in there too, so I did, and I must say I'm pretty pleased with the result. It tastes like normal banana bread with a hint of peach and an awesome cinnamon sugar crust on the top.

Peach Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mashed banana, about 2 large bananas
1 cup peach, chopped into small pieces
2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, soda, powder and spices. Make well in center.

3) In small bowl, whisk eggs. Whisk in oil, vanilla and banana.

4) Pour wet ingredients over dry and stir just until moistened.

5) Fold in peaches. Do not over mix.

6) Pour batter in a 5X9 loaf pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

7) Bake 40-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Tales of Xillia

2013-08-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

Never in my life have I pre-ordered a video game or felt the need to buy a Collectors Edition...until the US release of Tales of Xillia. I pre-ordered my collectors edition of the game back in May and anxiously awaited its August 6th release. I have played through a number of the Tales series games, but this is only the 2nd one that I own. I didn't get the package until yesterday, since I refused to pay extra to get it on release day, but it made for a very exciting Monday evening.

Here is the box it came in. It was much bigger than I expected.

Top of the box with the very pretty logo

The front of the box has a flap that reveals the contents of the box on one side and a few pictures of the figure on the other.

The back of the box

When you open the cover of the box the inner flaps show the 2 heroes of the game

Now for the good stuff, what in the box.

Obviously the game is included...BUT WAIT!! THERE'S MORE...

A CD of music from the game

It also came with a super cool art book which will certainly come in handy if I decide to cosplay anyone from the game.

And last but not least it came with this awesome figure of the female hero in the game

If you haven't checked out any of the Tales games I highly suggest it. They have great characters, story, and music. What more could you want?

Turkey, Bacon, Ranch Stuffed Peppers

2013-08-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to try my hand at making stuffed peppers for a while now. Last summer I went as far as buying the peppers but then ended up slicing them up and eating them with hummus. This year I finally did it. When looking at stuffed pepper recipes most of them use ground beef, tomato sauce, and rice. This all sounded too heavy for a summer dish, so I decided to go a different route. I stuffed my peppers full of ground turkey, bacon, tomatoes, onions, cheese, and some ranch dressing. The results were even better than I expected.

Turkey, Bacon, Ranch Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds ground turkey
6 bell peppers (you can use any color)
1 pound bacon
sliced provolone cheese
1 cup ranch dressing
1/2 can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup diced onion

Instructions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350. Bring a large pot of water (make sure its salted) to a boil. In the mean time. Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all the seed and membranes. This should leave them looking like cups. Toss the peppers into the boiling water and cook until they have softened slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove them from the water and let them cool.

2) In a large skillet, cook the bacon. I like to use kitchen shears and cut my bacon into 1 inch sections before I cook it, but you can crumble it after as well. When the bacon is done cooking strain it onto a paper towel and let it cool.

3) Discard the bacon grease and begin cooking your turkey in the skillet. Add salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat until the turkey is no longer pink. Drain the turkey and set aside.

4) Put the diced onions in the skillet and cook until translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute.

5) Add turkey and bacon to the skillet with the onions and tomatoes. Add the ranch dressing and cook for another 2 minutes.

6) Arrange peppers upright in a rectangular backing dish. Place 1/4 of a slice of provolone cheese in the bottom of each pepper. Put a heaping spoonful of the turkey mixture in the pepper and top with another 1/4 of a slice of cheese. Fill the rest of the pepper with the turkey mixture and top with 1/2 a slice of cheese.

7) Bake for about 20 minutes or until peppers are tender and cheese is melted.

Graham Cracker Ice Cream Sandwiches

2013-07-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

Summer is in full swing and I have been craving some ice cream. The only ice cream I have in my apartment is pumpkin ice cream left over from all of my Halloween activities. Pumpkin ice cream isn't something I normally eat on its own, so I had to find something to add to it. After lots of experimenting I found it best when it was turned into a simple ice cream sandwich.

Graham Cracker Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Ice cream
Graham crackers
garnishes

Instructions:

1) Begin by letting the ice cream sit out long enough so that is soft enough to spread.

2) Using a spoon take a large spoonful of ice cream and spread on the graham cracker.

3) Place a 2nd graham cracker on top to form a sandwich. You can then roll the sides in whatever garnish you would like. Sprinkles, chocolate chips, chopped nuts, etc. I tried black sprinkles to give it a Halloween vibe but it looked pretty bad so don't try that.

4) Place the completed sandwiches in the freezer and then freeze until the ice cream is firm.

ACen/Cheria final product - Tales of Graces

2013-07-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

Well...its been about ~~a month~~ two months since I went to ACen, so maybe its about time I got around to posting the pictures of my cosplay and some of the cool stuff I picked up.

ACen overall was a pretty good experience. I bought some new things, met some awesome people and got to show off all the hard work I put into my cosplay.

If you like my cosplay please like my facebook page and follow me on twitter @forstericosplay

Some of the goods I acquired....

The first thing I bought was a corset. I have never owned a corset before, but when I saw them I just couldn't resist. The whole process is rather time consuming as they have to fit you for it to make sure the size is right and they let me try out some different styles before I made my final selections. Everyone at the booth was very helpful and I would highly recommend their corsets. They are well made and the designs are beautiful. You can check out their Facebook page here.

The next booth I stopped by was Tasty Peach Studios. They have some of the cutest things you will ever see. I picked up the zombie alpaca plushie as well as the adorable bat necklace.

The last thing I bought was this little turret figure from the Portal games. I actually have 3 of them in different patterns but this is the one that sits on my desk at work.

And now for the main event. COSPLAY PICTURES!!!

Overall I am pretty pleased with the finished product.

I walked around with a friend who was cosplaying a character from the same game (Tales of Graces), and we had a lot of people stop and ask us for pictures which was a fun experience.

We also ran into someone dressed as Asbel from ToG which was really cool.

While wandering around we ran into a few other characters from the Tales games that invited us to a meet-up at Denny's. We got to meet several other tales fans and discuss the games over dinner. By the time we took the picture a few people have wandered off already, but here are is a pretty cool group shot. It was nice to meet so many new people who enjoy the games.

Color Run 2013

2013-05-01T13:03:00.003-07:00

If someone had told me 5 years ago that I would run a 5K in my life time I would have told them they were insane. Running has always been something that was very hard for me. I never did sports as a kid and I shied away from activities that included running. I have short legs and was never in the best physical shape. About a year ago I decided I wanted to change it. I tried running outside and it was terrible. I felt ridiculous and embarrassed. My mom had a treadmill she wasn't using so I asked my dad if he could bring it up to me in Chicago. He did, and I tried running on that. I felt much more comfortable and did that on and off for about 6 months. I usually only ran a mile but that was huge progress for me.

In February I saw that registration for the color run was open for the St. Louis date. Its a fun run which means it is not timed and it welcomes both runners and walkers. I thought that maybe this was something I should try. I talked to my family and we got a team together and registered. Then it was time to get training. I wasn't really sure where to start so I just started running/walking for as long as I could on the tread mill. This was usually about 1.5- 2 miles. About a month before the race I got serious. I ran everyday. I would follow the pattern of 1 mile, 2 miles, 3 miles, 2 miles, 1 miles. I also started running outside so I could see the difference between that and the treadmill. Luckily the difference wasn't as extreme as I thought it would be. When I did my first 3.1 mile run outside I was so proud. I walked a fair amount of it but I did it. From there I tried to decrease the amount of time I walked and get my time down from the initial 43 minutes.

On the day of the race I started my morning with healthy breakfast. I then put on my clean white shirt, running parts, and my favorite Nike running shoes. Sadly the weather wasn't looking too good, but nothing was stopping us from doing this run. My mom, sister, two of my sister's friends, and I hopped in the car and headed to St. Louis.

When we arrived at the starting area the weather was about 50 degrees and rainy. They had many areas to take pictures as well as a stage featuring Zumba for a warm up. We took some pictures and jumped around a bit in efforts to stay warm.

Finally it was time to start the race. The course was basically a large rectangle with a color station set up at each kilometer. The color stations have music and people who spray colored cornstarch on you from what look like ketchup bottles. You can take your time and get lots of color or just run through. I ran the majority of the course but I did take my time through the color stations.

My sisters friend and I were the first people to finish from our team. I was pretty proud of myself as I ran waaay more of the race than I expected. Since it was raining I didn't want to use my phone to time myself, but I'm pretty confident that was my best time yet.

In the finish area they give you packets of powder to throw around. They also do a large group throw where everyone tosses the color up at the same time.

Overall I highly recommend the color run, especially for those of you that aren't runners. It is a great way to get out there and get active. Plus it is a ton of fun!

Cheria - Part 2

2013-04-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

This week I made more progress on my Cheria cosplay. I was about to dye the trim for the skirt as well as attach it to the skirt. I also got a few of the pieces I ordered in the mail, which was super exciting. I even found over knee black socks which was more difficult than expected. There is still a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it, but I feel like its coming together pretty well. Luckily I have a day off work this week, so hopefully I can devoted a lot of time to working on the top.

Dyeing the lace went significantly better than I thought it would. I filled a pan with water, added about 1/2 a bottle of black RIT dye, and tossed in the lace. I let it cook on the stove for about 15 minutes and it was done. I then rinsed it off in the sink and let it dry.

Once the lace was dry I pinned it to the hem of my skirt. I haven't sewed it yet. I want to make sure that I am 100% happy with the length before I sew it on. The current theme is to keep making it shorter.

One of the things I received in the mail this week was my wig. I LOVE IT!! I ordered this awesome pink wig from Arda Wigs. It even came with a cute little drawing of Cheria from one of the ladies I know there. The plans for the wig are to use RIT fuchsia dye to dye it and then to cut it shorter and add the pig tails on the top.

Here is the other piece of the outfit I got in the mail. Finding plain white boots was a tricky task. I found these on Ebay. Technically Cheria's boots don't have heels, but I'm short and need the extra height. I plan on making the sole and the heels black with either a sharpie or some black paint. After that I have to add the red ribbon details to the sides.

This is rough assembly of the pieces I have so far. I have the skirt, socks, shoes, and wig. Goals for this week are to add the details to the boots, dye the wig, and start on the top. My weekend is all booked up so hopefully I can get most of that done during the week.