Andy's Top Secret 30th Birthday

Last year you may remember the 29th birthday party I threw Andy. This is when I began planning his 30th. Lucky for me Andy's band mates attended so I was able to nail them all down to save the date for next year. I wanted to have the party before one of Andy's shows because many of his family and friends have not seen him perform before. His band is called CoverUp which leads one to think of conspiracy theories and government investigations so I used this to lead my theme. Andy is also a big fan of Law and Order and is currently working on cartoon about a super secret government organization. Perfect, now I needed invitations. I think I went overboard because the invitations consisted of about 7 different pieces.

Top Secret Envelope
Mug Shot with Rap Sheet Modeled after Al Capone's actual rap sheet
Matchbook to bar with "Meet me at 6pm" on the inside
Crumpled CoverUp Poster
Radio Orphan Annie Secret Decorder Scratch Ticket
A Western Union Telegram with a Mission Impossible like statement on it
A Government Business card RSVP info
Crime Scene Photo

People were very weary to open these suspicious packages but I think in the end they enjoyed them. The party favors were evidence baggies filled with different things from, chocolate body parts, mustaches, mini gun keychains, and magnifying glasses.
 We used the magnifying glasses for the cupcakes as well. The cupcakes were peanut butter and jelly flavored in strawberry and grape since those PBnJ is my husband's fav.

The cupcakes were made by my 18 year old theater friend Christine of Indubytably Cakes. Her twin sister helped too and they stayed for the party.

For decorations I used 30 year old caution tape and cereal boxes, and two 30 year old balloons. I went simple because after a year of planning when the day actually arrives you tend to get stressed out, so I did what worked out to be the easiest.



I think my most clever idea was using El Wire to make a glowing chalk outline by the stage. It was sound activated and would pulse with the music when we wanted it to. It was fun to see it glow during the band's set later that evening.



I did other things like Andy Trivia with the DJ Jack Brotman, Andy's fav snack as an appetizer, and a signing book with photos of Andy over the years thanks to the help of his parents. My friend Joe was the best photographer ever and I have put a link down below so you can see his amazing work. My outfit was from the thrift store. I did some alterations and added some iron on details since we are "Cellmates" for life. It only cost me $5 total.

It was a truly fun event and I was so glad so many people came from near and far to help celebrate with Andy. I know he had a great time. (Plus I'm happy it's over so I can do other things...tee hee.)

I'm not sure what my next party will be but with each experience I learn a little more.


Stay Crafty! Jax


Photos by Joe Medolo http://www.flickr.com/people/photeau_joe/
Invitation Photo Set http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecoylection/sets/72157633057541637/
My Pinterest Inspiration Board http://pinterest.com/jaxadele/project-cobra/
Party Website http://topsecretbirthday.blogspot.com/
DJ Jack Brotman and video production at www.generationscinemastories.com

Turning your Bridesmaid/Prom dress into your Cosplay dress

My best friend Sasha HATED her prom dress. She had been pushed to go to prom by her friend and after a visit to David's Bridal she ended up with a BLUE dress as her mother suggested instead of a RED dress that she had wanted.   

Similar to this dress

Prom came and went as well as several years before the dress came back up in conversation. I was trying to find a dress for Sasha to use as the base of a victorian steampunk costume and she regaled me with her hatetred of the dress. The dress arrived at my house and then came to live in my husband's closet until the day when Sasha decided she wanted to be a DALEK.

 

I told Sasha I would help her with whatever she wanted but she did realize the dress was already BLUE, she could just be a TARDIS. Her face lit up.

 

This was definitely possible. So while starring at the dress and it's original design we realized it had all this extra fabric just crossing over her front. She split the seem and removed the brooch to reveal what would become the inside of the TARDIS. After careful consideration she went with a Police Box choker and a light up tiara to mimic the top of the TARDIS. Windows were constructed from ribbon, felt, and ironing hem tape. The Pull to Open sign was a dark tshirt transfer. The interior was a drop cloth from Home Depot, laundered and washed with a light gold color. My husband, Andy drew the interior and coached Sasha with a paint by number technique. When the painting was done and dry Sasha transfused it into the dress with the edges hemmed. A few accessories like The Who British Flag Chuck Taylors and a key necklace, she was a complete princess. We took the dress to Boston's SciFi Fantasy convention Arisia and were overwhelmed by the response to the dress. People loved the dress with the door closed but as soon as she opened the door their jaws dropped.

 

After the convention we found an image by photographer Nenita Hiller on Tumblr. (http://taste-of-paint.tumblr.com/post/41061573235/really-good-interpretation-of-a-tardis-in-a) It had already been seen by thousands of people on Tumblr before heading to io9.com (http://io9.com/5977825/this-is-the-most-amazing-tardis-dress-weve-ever-seen) and eventually BBC America (http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2013/01/doctor-whos-day-roundup-matt-smith-gets-behind-the-camera/). Now she loves her prom dress. Who wouldn't? It's unfortunate that she couldn't actually wear this dress to her prom but I'm sure there will be other scifi related events for her to parade it around.

If you have a dress from your prom or a wedding just sitting in your closet taking up space consider donating it or transforming it into something that will make you happy. Just consider the base color and go crazy. You are only limited by you imagination and the cord on your glue gun. I really want a dress to sport when I'm with Sasha but I'm not sure I'm ready to rewear my wedding dress just yet, but oneday...

 

Tardis Princess on FB

More Photos 

 

Pump up the craft!

Jax

Ebates! What is it and why do I love it?

So I don't advertise many sites. I really only talk about the ones I use all the time and so I thought since I have been talking about this one with family and friends, I'd post it to the blog.

Ebates.com is a rebate website that was brought to my attention by my coworker Benji. She raved about it and said she got checks from them regularly. I asked questions but how? and why? and it wasn't a scam? It seemed unrealistic to sign up for a free website and have them send you money. But I sh*t you not, it really works. You sign up for free then whenver you buy stuff online like you normally do, you head to ebates.com and click the link to the website and continue on your merry online shopping way. So not all websites are listed but a great deal are. My favs include: DSW.com, Walmart.com, JCPenney.com, and 6pm.com. They usually have a general cash back rate of 3.0% or 4.0%. If you get the emails around Xmas you'll find that some stores you use increase their rate to 12.0%. Not only that but ebates.com will usually list the FREE SHIPPING codes so you can be sure to not pay any unneccisary shipping. If there are any other deals or sales, they will tell you as well. It's completely easy and every few months you get a check in the mail for $8 or $12, it varies depending on how much you spent online. Since christmas is only 169 days away, get your online shopping on and use ebates.com, you won't regret it.

Free money is always good in my book!

Allons-y! The guest room is painted!

We painted the guest room and although it's no where near done it's still a start. The color is Behr Sapphire Lace but we like to think of it as TARDIS blue. I've started a Pinterest board for exactly the types of ideas I'm looking to execute in this room but that will all have to wait until after the kids comes to visit.

Craft Club in the Hizzzzouse

On June 30th I hosted my very first craft club. I have to be honest when I say I didn't put my all into it but I still have a blast. Originally I had planned on doing a NERD themed party but since it was only my besties (Andrea, Sarah, Sasha, and MC Ton G) I figured they wouldn't mind if I slacked off since I had been prepping for LMFAO and need a break. It was still tons of fun and some awesome crafts came out of the night.

I made squash quiche

Andrea hula hooped

Sasha got her Katness on

I danced for everyone's amusement!

THE CRAFTS!

She also made some bows

Sasha wanted to formalize her beer with a dashing coozie



I wanted to see what I might be able to do to my cabinets.

Anthony made my husband a wonderful new poster based on two of his fav things.

Sarah made geeky bacon chocolate!!!!

Sarah finished her painting and taught me about Sharpie poster paint markers.

Getting inside my Shufflebot head!

Many of my facebook friends may know that this past Sunday I was able to go see LMFAO at the DCU Center thanks to my buddy Sasha. She won tickets on Kiss 108. Then she won VIP tickets so we got to go to the VIP party and get a photo with Redfoo. (Blu Sky was injured and did not perform.) In preparation Sasha had been working on a skirt, shoes, and shirt for the day. I went with the Shufflebot head and a shirt that said "Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle".

Shufflebot Head

Need:

1 box (we got a new one from the container store since they come white and clean)

gold spray paint

box cutter

newspaper

tape

ribbon (to tie the box snug on your head)

anything extra you want to attach

1) tape the box closed on one side and cut the flaps off the other

2) decide where you want it to sit on your head, I built in a foam system to prevent it from moving and it came to just above my shoulders. This part might take more work because you could do this multiple ways. Also I didn't look out the eye holes of mine. I didn't even have the mouth lined up with my eyes. Instead I looked down through the mouth to see where I was steping and up through the eyes to see people.

3) if you cut a piece a paper the size of the box you can fold it to find the center and 4ths easier. I used the paper to draw out where the eyes and the mouth would be then copied to the box and cut it out.

4) spray the head gold with two coats and possibly a clear top coat. allow to dry and not smell.

5) decorate, you can use gatorade bottle caps as the ears, I used chess pawns.

The inside while I was hot gluing the LEDs in

If you want LED action, I recommend buying something already made like a cheap magic wand and busting it open and hot gluing it inside. Eventually I plan on doing more with LEDs but for this I wanted cheap and quick.

While we were standing in line and the host was talking to Redfoo he asked him "who was dressed the best?" and Redfoo took a long look at the crowd before exclaiming that the Shufflebot Girl was the best! That's me!

Project List Update with Due Dates June/July 2012

Paint Guest Room - June 17th
Vest (brown) - June 28th for Midnight showing of Serenity
Geeky Snacks and Goodies for June Craft Meeting - June 30th
Box Head Girl - July 1st for LMFAO
Andy's 2nd Anniversary Card - July 10th
Activity supplies for the kids visit - July 13th

Make stuff to sell! Any requests?