Draw My Life

So American vlogger/short-film maker KickThePJ was tagged in 'Draw My Life'. I've spent the last few months desperately searching for inspiration for another video, and within minutes of seeing PJ's video I knew I had to do one too.

An added incentive was his call for a competition, meaning that I would gain instant viewers for my attempt among his many fans, and also the possible glory of victory!

This project came to symbolise my domination over computer technology. I basically grew up with access to a computer, and have always managed to conquer any technical issues that have arisen. But for quite a while I felt dread as I came to realise this film might just not be published. No matter how many attempts I gave the editing process (I think it took around 15 attempts, most taking a number of hours), my computer kept rejecting my footage, even though I KNEW that the footage files were not corrupted. I truly began to panic, feeling the world of technology had finally succeeded against me, but after a lot of prayer the answer finally came from my mum who simply suggested I try on a different computer with fewer files to slow the process.

So, here it is, published and uploaded (finally) onto youtube! The content is already out of date as I talk about beginning uni in future tense, whereas I have just completed my first week of it, but it took me about two weeks to overcome all the technical difficulties.

So here I present my victory once again over technology!

I used a backdrop of playing cards. This was a spur of the moment decision when I realised the camera would show space beyond my tea-dyed paper background. I thought they added a nice retro, possible-symbolic-of-life/chance touch.

To film this movie, I needed a bird's-eye perspective, which proved... challenging! Basically, I stacked a bunch of large Harry Potter, Obernewtyn and Eragon books on my desk, wrapped the strap of the camera around the pile, and rested the camera on top of my pencil case (with the help of blue-tack)... As demonstrated in this picture (minus the camera)!

EDIT: Here is an earlier trial, which is basically what it ended up looking like, but higher up.

-AlbusOwner

Bofur Hat

Hello there!

So over the past month I have embarked on an epic knitting journey to create my very own Bofur hat!!

As seen below from the recent release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

I decided to do up my hair for the occasion! It was fun threading wire through my own hair to create shape!

 

 I followed the extensive pattern found on ravelry here.

Made by this tumblr blogger knitstruck.

My own tumblr post can be found here.

 One thing that has really surprised me in this project is just how useless wire is when confronted with weight. It was very difficult to sustain the levitation of the ear flaps long enough to take these photos - the bulk of the wool is just too heavy for my poor wire. Even my pigtails had trouble defying gravity.

Here's a terrible picture of the back. This is what happens when you try taking a picture of the back of your head by yourself.

 

Bofur was my favourite character in The Hobbit. From the very beginning he looks a little different to the other dwarves. In contrast to their elaborate beards, he simply has two messy pigtails, and a flipping ridiculous amazing hat. He is not at all proud like the other dwarves, but likes to tease and have fun. The brothes Bifur, Bofur and Bombur are the only dwarves on the quest who are not descended from the line of Durin in the Lonely Mountain. They are poor coal miners.

For me, one of the best scenes in the movie is when they hide in the cave and Bilbo attempts to leave for home. Bofur confronts him, and Bilbo accidently offends him about their lack of a settled home. Despite this, Bofur is the only dwarf who reaches out to Bilbo, and says "I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do." Although not in the book, this scene really established his endearing character.

The completion of this hat has come at just the right time as the weather turns cold in Australia's crazy climate!

I'm definately wearing this hat at the end of the year to the release of the second Hobbit film!! :)

-Albusowner

EDIT: Click HERE for a post on my full Bofur cosplay in June 2013 :D

Bedroom Redecoration

After months of planning, researching, designing, moving and  dusting I have finally completed my new room redecoration!!

Here is a visual tour:

 Lord of the Rings inspiration clearly defined before even entering.

The wall opposite the door has my bookcase, display case and built-in wardrobe.

My bookcase used to be shared with hair/jewellery storage and overspilling photo albums. I have cleared it to store ALL my books now (rather than stacked in a dusty corner). It is also in a more prominent location as I wanted the my books to be a feature.

The order of my display boxes has varied slightly, with the more visual elements moved to the higher shelves and more practical storaging pushed below and out of sight. Main features include school signature bears, candles, ornaments and my teaset.

 A closer shot. Photos placed on the top for prominent visual display.

 [I haven't cleaned my mirror yet - whoops] Around my mirror I kept my fan-pictures. Above my cupboard I have re-displayed my main photographs by pegging them onto string. This is a nice eye-pleasing way to display photos.

 This wall is still fairly bare, but as it used to be my busiest I find this quite a refreshing relief! Here I have practical storage of notepaper, unused cards and envelopes, as well as my jewellery storage. Shoes are stored to the left, and spare containers + electical cords to the right.

 I call this my 'Wall of Awesome'. Besides my calendar, I display my biggest fandom posters - Lord of the Rings, Zelda and Phantom of the Opera. [Swan Lake poster didn't fit anywhere else]

 Here you can see a view of my door with funky scarf display [originally used for storing electical cords], my desk for study, and my bed for sleeping :)

Above my bed I display my tickets to plays/musicals/movies/events. Also a row of dwarves (and a hobbit and a wizard).

Here's a close-up of my jewellery display. In reality, it is a lot more cluttered than this, but I removed the clunky stuff for a nice photoshoot. I have separated all my jewellery into different boxes: ribbons, hair ties, bracelets - also a bundle of my headbands/clip-on flowers. My earrings are hung on the cardboard tree I got last Christmas. My necklaces are no longer stuffed into boxes, but hanging nicely on two sticks I collected in the neighbourhood and painted white to blend in. This is probably my favourite part of the whole room.

Before re-designing my room and I set out two criteria to help sort my overcrowding ideas: Functional and Aesthetic requirements. This is a good thought process for designing any room. Here's a copy of my list:

Needing Improvement:
Functionally:
- Makeup/hair/nails/jewellery storage [tick]
- Room for all my books [tick]
- Desk chair support [still need to get a cushion]
- Scarves storage [tick]
- Craft storage [tick] (All my craft-y things are now stored under my bed, with the things most often used (eg: scissors, pencils, string) on my desk in containers)

Aesthetically:
- Curtains [still to be put up]
- Cushions [haha... sometime]
- Hanging photos/cards [tick]

Owl and the Cat - Sewing Projects

(Note: This is the newest of four posts today which cover the Christmas season of craft)
For my baby nephew for Christmas I sewed this owl toy inspired by the design in the book 'Simple Softies', however I made changes such as the use of cotton fabrics instead of felt (except the wings remained felt for functional purposes)

Also from the same book, I redesigned these simple cat toys which I modified to become Christmas decorations. I made a black one for my sister who has a black cat Satie, and a more colourful one which is closer to the design in the book. I never follow the instructions in the design books for some reason, but rather create something based on the pictures with little reference to certain steps of the instructions.
The faces are hand-embroidered and the bodies sewn together on my sewing machine. I also slip-stitched the ribbons and stuff to the pink cat. I disemboweled an unused cushion to use for stuffing.

-AlbusOwner

Painted House Sign

For my parents for Christmas, I finally got round to making a sign for our house!

When we first moved here four years ago we named the house 'Manderley' from the classic book Rebecca. [Spoilers] Yes, in the book Manderley burns down. It wasn't my decision to call our house after that! But it's still a very pretty name.

I wanted a sort of rustic aesthetic. I began with a bare plank of wood that I acquired when some builders were doing some work around the place. The guy was nice enough to sand it down for me which created a great smooth surface to work on.

I kept reading on the internet that it is important to pre-treat the wood, but I skipped this step. If you want to do this professionally, then I suggest you research elsewhere for pretreatments. I used white acrylic paint to cover the surface with two coats and then mixed the white with blue to create a pale vintage colour for the lettering. After the lettering dried I went over the letters with a smaller brush to fix up any wobbly lines.

 For the lettering I used Script MT Bold font on a word document, then printed it out and cut it out to create a stencil. I penciled in the lettering and then painted over.

I also downloaded a leafy design and used the same method for painting around the edges.

There's still some post-treatments to do to protect it from the elements as it will be sitting outside for years to come, so I will try to remember to take pictures when it is up on our house!

-AlbusOwner

Zelda Triforce

So this is a bit of a weird craft. I made this present for my brother, a pot for his plant with the Hyrule symbol painted on.

This is one for the Zelda fans!

I printed a picture of the insignia and cut it out to create a stencil. As the pot was ridged I knew it was a bad idea to use it as a stencil for painting, so I outlined the insignia with a fabric marker, and then painted following the lines. I'm surprised it turned out so well with all the ridges, but I think it looks quite neat :)

 

Who doesn't want the Hyrule symbol painted onto their pot plant?!

-AlbusOwner

Hobbit Hole craft

I have a lot of catching up to do with my posts, so here we go!!

With the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, I have been delving into a number of hobbit crafts. My first project was Bilbo's sign for Bag End. I tea-dyed the paper with 6 teabags left for 20minutes to create a light shade of old-looking parchment. I then used a calligraphy pen of two sizes to spell out the lettering which I just copied from a still from the movie. (I found the full calligraphy set in an opp shop a few years ago for just $2. No regrets!)

My second project was a real-growing miniture hobbit hole!! It's based of this fabulous original tutorial: Make a Miniture Hobbit Garden.

I began with a base of some glass beads that were just lying around in my room, then with a large layer of potting mix. I uprooted a little plant that was growing in one of our garden pots and replanted it into my hobbit garden. I also uprooted some moss growing around in the shady parts of our backyard. [note: since these photos, the moss has mostly withered. I am not an expert in gardening, but I believe moss requires more water than most plants.]

Final touches include a hobbit door/windows and a chimney. The door is just a piece of cardboard that I designed and coloured [note: the colour in inky pens will run (I learned this the hard way), so using pencil will ensure more long-lasting colour. Look at the original tutorial for a much better solution anyway with clay and paint!]

The door leans against the side of the little mound, but the chimney is attached to a toothpick and secured into the ground.

 

I hope you enjoyed my Hobbit tutorials!

-AlbusOwner