So many things of AWESOME to blog about -

1) So I am one step closer to finishing my goal. Yesterday I finished Pride and Prejudice, and although I have never been able to get through it before, when I forced myself to finish those first few chapters I found my self not hating it.

Then, about half way through it, when Mr Darcy firsts proposes(hey, its not a spoiler if the book was written in the 19th century), I found that I had been pulled into the story and was actually enjoying it. By the time Elizabeth got to Pemberly I was so caught ip in the story that I read the last 100 pages in one sitting. At first it was Mr Bennett who was my favourite character, but as I got more taken in by the story I found myself falling in love with Mr Darcy and his awkward ways. By the time they all arrived at Longbourn and started making with the happy I realised that I actually loved the story that I had avoided for so long.

The plot was brilliant and the characters were a mixture of painfully embarassing (Mrs Bennett, Mr Collins), disgustingly haughter (the Bingly women, Lady Catherine), and really enjoyable (all of them really. Except Kitty. I felt nothing for her). Because of the long, and at times annoying to follow, speeches, it's not one that I would read over and over again. But I am glad that I read it after years of avoiding it. So score one for the list.


2) I saw the movie Burlesque and it was even more amazing than I thought it would be :)

Christina has an amazing voice (seriously- how can such a timy little white girl sing like that) and Cher is Cher (which means she is brilliant). Stanley Tucci as Chers gay best friend and costume man is just enough camp to be fun, but not too over the top. Cam Gigandet as the love interest was so gorgeous (and at one point delightfully naked :). The costumes made me nearly wet myself in excitement, and the dances were Las Vegas showgirls meets Cabaret fun and feel, (Alam Cumming as the doormman/master of ceremonies is so funny). I may even see it at the cinemas again, because the costumes and stage design look so much better on the big screen, and I will definately get the soundtrack.



and 3):



Amanda Fucking Palmer. 'Nuff said.

♥ His Name is Mervin and I LOVE Him ♥

So I took that same wacky monsters pattern and enlarged it. I ended up with Mervin, who thanks to my inexperience and lack of skills has many flaws, but he is gorgeous and snuggly and quite big. (he also makes a very comfy pillow!!





And oh Boy do I love to snuggle him!!

Hastings Blossom Parade

So we start to celebrate spring here in Hawkes Bay now and what better way to celebrate than by standing outside in the cold, hoping that the grey skies clear up and it doesn't rain on us!!

There was no sun, no blue skies, it was spitting and very cold - but here are a few (not very good) pictures I took of the parade:

♥ Cute Lil Monsters (Made by ME!) ♥

So this was my big sewing project of last week - and I would have posted it sooner but it was for JJs birthday so I had to keep it on the down low until the weekend. It is an insanely easy pattern (so it was good for my first sewing project) but it was also SUPER cute. So here we go:

The pattern (purchased from spotlight!):



I used this fabulous (and very snuggly) fake fur. I bought half a metre but that was WAY more than I need (it was enough to make two complete fur monsters or four half and halfs like I did):

However while the fur looked great, it was horrible to work with. I got fur everywhere (including all over the floor, the table, up my nose and in my mouth). I sewed around the outside to stop it fraying, but before I finished doing that I had made a very large mess.



I then made the faces out of white felt and sewed them on:



I used black polar fleece for the back (because I actually don't think I could put two layers of the fake fur through the sewing machine!):

Then Stuff it ($5 bag of stuffing from Aarons emporium that has enough for at least 5 bears):



And the snuggly, finished product:



The pattern was about $15 but I don't mind because I plan on making many more of these cute lil monsters (including two for myself that I plan to start on this week).

♥ Roller Derby Shirts ♥

So my friends and I wanted roller derby shirts for last nights bout so my amazing artist friend designed this roller derby skull and I put it onto some tops.

The hardest part was making the stencils - because I only had one day to do three shirts I just made temporary ones with A3 paper, so they looked like this:



then do the white paint first (twice to try and make it stand out):



Then the helmets followed by the star and strap and they turned out something like this:



And my lovely model JJ:

Richter City presents: The Rubble Rouser

Last nights roller derby bout in Wellington was AMAZING! The besties and I wore our matching t-shirts and made a sign

First up was the opening act - Infinite Dance Crew, a teenage Hip Hop dance group who were actually insanely talented and lots of fun to watch:



Smash Malice vs. Brutal Pageant. It was a fantastic game, with Brutal Pageant taking an early lead and keeping it throughout the game (please excuse the quality of the photos, my camera is not the best of quality and the girls move really fast!):





Brutal Pageant Won (YAY) and Fun (with a capital F) was had by all!:





And we even won a t-shirt for our sign!

So if you get the chance to go see a bout, or even better - play in a league - then just do it. It is an exciting sport and is gaining popularity in NZ, so check it out!

It's Hard to be Blue when Life is this Pink

I got my pink hair back! I have been sad without my pink for the past year o it feels good to have it back again (although I may have to get the girls to do a little bit more on Friday night to add just a bit more colour up the top)



Also my amazingly talented bestie designed this print for me that I am going to put on a few t-shirts tomorrow for the weekends roller derby (w00t!!)
Check it: