When I grow up I want to be a Stormtrooper...

Firstly, Happy New Year!  I've been really slack with this I realise.  I haven't done any nail art for quite some time and my stash sits mostly unloved in the spare bedroom for now.  I've had so many other things taking up my time and family has had to come first.

Now, on to what I have been up to.....

As per my last post waaaay back in April you know I am a huge, huge fan of Star Wars. Over the years I've had various bits and pieces kicking around the house from AT-AT's to lightsabers but the one thing I've always wanted was to be a Stormtrooper.  I was fortunate enough to marry a man who also loved Star Wars and also was quite tolerant of the fact I sometimes came out with random ideas and last year I announced I wanted to join the 501st Legion.
The 501st, in a nutshell, is an organised, worldwide group of Star Wars costumers dedicated to promoting interest in Star Wars.  Their costumes are always movie accurate and their meetings, or troops as they are known, are always done for charity.  The legion appears in childrens wards as well.  If you want them, request an appearance

At the end of November my husband took me to rspropmasters in Stockport where I spent an hour with a cuppa and a jaw dragging on the floor.  I came away with 2 large boxes....my very own armour!

Assembling insnt as easy as 'take it out and pop it on', it requires lots of work to assemble the kit.  We started on the helmet....

The start of my helmet, no eyes or teeth cut yet!

Not longer after I'd started I noticed my husband had been spending rather a lot of time on eBay with the search strings 'Biker Scout' and 'Scout Trooper'.  He admitted he'd always wanted to be a Biker Scout.  By the end of December we had more boxes in the dining room and yet more kit to assemble...

One becomes two...

By the time January rolled around we had 2 completed helmets.  Have to say the build has been great fun.  Husband and I have spent many evenings and weekends with the Dremmel building (slowly) the kits so they appear as screen accurate as possible.

I'm hoping to carry on documenting our build on here and hope to have both costumes completed and approved the 501st by Easter.  Watch this space....

To be Jedi is to face the truth, and choose....

....Give off light, or darkness, Padawan. Be a candle, or the night.When I was a kid my Dad took me to see Star Wars.  Of course I was hooked and that Christmas top of my wish list was a Millennium Falcon and figures.  I was told, in no uncertain terms, I was a girl and girls didn't have Star Wars.Undeterred I put in requests for many Christmases to follow for an At-At, a lightsaber and an Ewok village.  I didn't get any of these.  Then I grew up and realised that it didn't really matter now that I was a girl, if I wanted Star Wars I could bloody well have it! And so a not so small obsession was born.  My lovely husband bought me an At-At, a Millennium Falcon soon followed as did AT-ST's, Speeder bikes, X Wings, Y Wings and figures.  Then one day I saw a Master Replica Lightsaber.  My jaw dropped, a replica of the actual saber AND it made the noises AND it glowed!  I NEEEEEDED it. I bought it.  And so it started.

Left to Right:

Luke (Return of The Jedi), Obi Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu (Revenge of the Sith), Yoda, Anakin (Revenge of The Sith), Darth Vader (A New Hope), Luke (Empire Strikes Back) and Darth Maul along the base.

I am fire, I am death.

When I was a child I was an avid reader.  I'd hoovered up all of my primary school reading books by the age of seven and they didn't quite know what to give me.  In the end I was handed a stack of books which were to become firm favourites.  Laura Ingalls Wilder's series, Jayne Eyre, Treasure Island and The Hobbit.

As an adult I reread all my childhood favourites and still loved them all, but The Hobbit was by far the best.  As a child I'd carefully recreate the drawing of Smaug by Tolkien in the book and when I was older I said one day I'd have Smaug tattooed on me.  It took me a very very long time to achieve this dream but finally I do have my Smaug...

I really do need to get a more recent image really as this one was taken whilst there were still small patches of healing taking place.  It's not the exact sketch in the book.  My wonderful tattooist decided he could add scales and some detail to those wings and make Smaug pop off my foot, and he does.
The Sindarin Elvish underneath translates to 'I am fire, I am death', Smaugs last words in the second movie which not only ties the book and the movie together for me (for I am a huge fan of both) but reminds me that I am strong.  I am fire and should I want to I could destroy a village or two (Ok I lied about that bit, but it does reminds me nothing is out of reach)

Now all I need is some nice summer weather so I can actually take off my big boots!

Adventure Time Enchiridion and Cake.

This weekend sees Comic Con arrive in Birmingham and my 16 year old Daughter is VERY excited.  She's been working on her costume for a while.  She choose to go as Fionna from Adventure Time and has put together a brilliant Cosplay which I'll show you in another post towards the weekend.

She came home from the local town yesterday and presented me with a bag of scrap felt, a pleading look and a picture of Fionna's cat, Cake.  Now understand dear blog reader sewing is NOT my forte, but I'm willing to try anything once.  Several hours, lots of swearing, blood and lost needles later we have a Cake.  If anyone looks at it closely I'm quite sure they would laugh loudly but from a distance she makes a passable small cat...

Cake the (not very good) Cat.

Breathing a sigh of relief that I had managed to actually make the damn cat and achieve bonus Mother points I sat back feeling smug.  Dear reader, it didn't last.

She reappeared with a picture of The Enchiridion and a battered copy of Horrid Henry.  This morning I set about transforming it with the aid of an empty cornflake packet, acrylic paints and a sharpie.  Here is the finished Enchiridion:

Side by side comparisons there are differences, but to be honest I came to the conclusion it's close enough.  Of course, when I'd finished I decided that there was little use in having an Enchiridion you couldn't actually read, so I added a couple of recreated (genuine) chapters, though the chapter numbers have been changed.

Cyclops Cry. A lot.

So there we have it.  On top of spraying a sword pink, creating rabbit ears and trying to tame blonde wigs I now live with a bona fide Fionna.  

If you see her at Comic Con please do come and say hi!

Quick and Easy Microwave Syrup Sponge Pudding.

With the nights getting colder  its often nice to have a bit of comfort food and cakes and puddings fit that bill nicely.  Only problem is I am useless at baking cakes.
This recipe is brilliant because in under ten minutes you can knock up a gorgeous syrup sponge that tastes better than anything Heinz will give you in a tin,

Sons of Anarchy - Men of Mayhem Nail Art!

I have a deep deep love for this show, and finding a free half hour last night I decided it was time these boys had their own nail art.
I give you Jax, Juice, Tig and Chibs with an Anarchy symbol on one thumb and of course, a reaper on the other thumb.  The reaper was exceptionally fiddly to paint on there!

Left to Right: Jax, Juice, Tig and Chibs

The problem is I now just have to do another set with the rest of the club!

Life gets in the way.

Wow, its really been April since I last posted any nail art!  Well, I apologise for my absence but it was one of those cases where real life got in the way a bit.
My daughter managed to injure herself yet again requiring physiotherapy (I wont get too into it here but both Ellie and I have hypermobility.  We dislocate joints regularly and whilst they usually pop back by themselves occasionally they don't and in this case she managed to injure her knee).  Added to this my Father in Law, who was in remission with Cancer suddenly took a rapid downturn and sadly passed away.

It's through those times that real life takes precedence and thats where I have been.  Things have settled down a little here now and I'm finding some time to work again.  It may be sporadic, but I'm getting there!