I want to make one.

I seriously need to make one of these. Do you know how handy this would be for musicians? Yeah. If I ever get around to making one, I'll post a tutorial. I just think these are awesome.
I do this a lot... I find something I like on the Internet and go, hey I could make that. So I have all these ideas and if I made them all, I'd go bankrupt. :P
(In case you can't tell what it is, it's basically a pocket on a bracelet that you can put money or car keys or other little things in. Ingenious.)

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY.

Oh my gosh, you guys! I went to the Hobbit (3d) with my family and it was AWESOME. There was epic soundtrack stuff, references to Lotr, and so much else! Here is my thoughts on it.
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First off, they gave us special 3d glasses that were green and they have the Hobbit logo on them. They're really cool.
When it starts out, there's a brief narration of the destruction of Erebor, or rather the people who lived inside--much like the prologue to Fotr. They already firmly set up the Elves/Dwarves feud here :P it then switches to Old Bilbo (the Bilbo of Lotr) and Frodo just talking and doing cute little hobbity things. Bilbo works on his book, Frodo asks what it is, then Bilbo tells him he can't see it yet--it's not ready to be read. Then Frodo goes "to the east-farthing woods to see Gandalf," thus connecting it to the point in Fotr where he meets Gandalf coming up the road for Bilbo's party. First connection/reference here.
Now to young Bilbo. Martin Freeman does a fantastic job :)
"I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me!", That's what Bilbo Baggins Hates, and Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold, are a few exact book-to-movie goodies, but there were so many. Peter Jackson did a fantastic job of staying so accurate to the book.
Bilbo is so confused and typical-hobbit "no adventures for me, thank you" to both Gandalf when he first arrives, and later when the dwarves arrive. These scenes are wonderful and really set up the story.
Lots of panoramic shots and "company-coming-over-a-hill" shots, more gorgeous scenery, general awesomeness.
The troll scene is well-done, and Bilbo's "advice" and the dwarves' reactions are hilarious. The next scene, where they explore the troll's cave, has a very solemn, sweet, wise Gandalf/Bilbo conversation when Bilbo gets Sting, much like that of Gandalf/Frodo in Moria. I won't give any more hints as far as the dialogue goes, but I will say the music was pretty epic there.
The stone-giants scene was a little odd, but didn't really take away from the story, so it's cool.
The whole Radagast thing...yes I know it wasn't in the book, (and I don't recall if it was in the appendices) but it was done nicely so I'll still give it a thumbs up. Also, creepy but neat hinting at some Nazgul in the future with Radagast bringing that sword to Gandalf.
When the elves first appear, EXACT elven soundtrack as Lotr :) Rivendell scenes=more awesome Elves, plus the EXACT same soundtrack theme (as in Lotr) again :) yay, another reference! I love these.
The white council scenes were really cool. You can already see Saruman planting seeds of doubt in their minds, trying to sway them from attacking the Necromancer or Smaug. You can also see Gandalf becoming nervous around Saruman and already concealing things from him.The whole Gandalf/Galadriel teleporting thing was pretty cool, although not in the books.
Azog (the pale Orc) and the Wargs were two things I didn't care for as much. Compared to all the realistic-looking orcs in Lotr, Azog had a rather "cheap-scifi-film" look to me. Same with the goblin king. And the Wargs' glowing eyes...yes, creepy, but not super realistic looking. On the other hand, many of the other orcs were very realistic looking, even though they were a little lighter than in Lotr; if I remember correctly, they were pretty much coal-colored in the trilogy. The scene where the goblins capture them was still done well though.
Okay, the Riddles in the Dark scene was soooo cool. Andy Serkis does phenomenal as Gollum once again. They used the EXACT riddles from the book, and it was so suspenseful. And remember in the Fotr prologue, where Galadriel is narrating, and it comes to the approx. 10-second clip of Bilbo finding the Ring and Gollum wailing? Yes, that scene is EXACTLY reproduced with Martin Freeman here! :) yet another awesome connection/reference.
When Bilbo puts on the Ring, it has the same effect--blurring his vision, just like what we see happening to Frodo in Lotr. I love the effort Peter Jackson and his crew put into the consistency of the movies. It's really cool.
The "Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire" scene was super awesome. Look how much little Bilbo has changed, risking his safety to try and grab his sword he initially had no clue what to do with. He really starts showing a lot of courage here, especially when he tries to go rescue Thorin. Considering how Thorin had been treating him so far, it shows how honest and nice of a hobbit he was. When Gandalf does the moth thing (another reference...this is so awesome!), and then the eagles come, it seriously gave me chills. The hinting of Lotr, combined with the epic soundtrack at that moment is so chillifying...is that a word? Oh well =P
I love what Thorin says to Bilbo once they've been set down by the eagles and Gandalf has revived him. It shows how much they're learning to trust their little burglar :) oh, and just an extra-awesome tidbit. Did anyone else notice the music when Thorin is talking to Bilbo? It's from RotK, in the soundtrack titled "Return of the King," from 2:14 to 2:28. EXACT SAME MUSIC ohmygoshz :)
I love the last lines of the movie. They're so ironic... "Well, I think the worst danger is behind us." You poor dwarves.
One last book-to-movie reference...the thrush with the snail and the rock, I'm sure that was the hidden door. It was pretty cool.
Random observation...they sure like to tease us with half-glimpses of Smaug, don't they?
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So here's my summary of the movie: outstanding accuracy (book-to-movie), great add-ins from appendices and other J. R. R. Tolkien books, EPIC soundtracks, gorgeous scenery, incredible acting, and amazing yet subtle hints at stuff in/from Lotr. Overall, this movie is...precioussss.
I give it a 10. What do you think?
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P. s. ik I probably missed a lot in this overview of the movie, but I remembered what I could. :)
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P. p. s. here's a picture of the 3d glasses for all of you who haven't seen it yet, or who saw the 2d.

Penguin Hoodie DIY

I got the idea for this hoodie from a shirt I saw, and decided to make a hoodie. I got the hoodie for $9 at hobby lobby and the fabric for $4 at Walmart. I would recommend washing the hoodie before you do the DIY part. Also, I would recommend trying on the hoodie in EVERY step before sewing anything down. Anyway, on to the tutorial.
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Things you'll need:
-A black hoodie
-white fabric of some sort (I used felt)
-orange felt
-black felt
-pink ribbon (optional, see step 4)
-a large safety pin
-needle&thread, scissors
(also,  having a carpet floor is pretty necessary for this project. like, really necessary.)
Step 1.lay your hoodie down on the floor and pin down. This is why having carpet is really helpful. When you pin down the bottom waistbandish-thingy, stretch it so it doesn't scrunch anymore. this will make everything easier. Lay your white fabric (mine is felt) out and pin in an approx. penguin shape. you can either guess the shape, or you can look at a picture.

Step 2.

Once you have the shape you like and you have it pinned, cut about a 1/2 inch bigger than the shape. This just gives you room to work with, and even though I ended up cutting another inch off, it's always better to start out bigger and get smaller than to not have enough. Then pin your shape down and sew. Then feel for where the pocket is, cut that fabric out and sew onto the pocket. this may sound confusing, but when you have your hoodie in front of you, it should make sense. 

here's a close-up of the hoodie pocket. Here you can really see the detail, and also what kind of stitch I used. I used this stitch on everything except the bow.

Step 3.

Cut out oval-ish eyes from the black felt and a triangle from the orange felt, used as eyes and a beak. Figure out where you want them on your hoodie, then pin them on and sew. 

                                        

Step 4. (optional, only of you want an adorable bow)

With your pink ribbon, fold, gather and sew to make a bow. I can't explain exactly how to do it, but if you don't know how, you can probably find instructions online somewhere. 

this next picture shows how to attach the safety pin. Sew it onto the bow on the side that DOESN"T open: this will leave the opening side free to pin to the hoodie.

 Step 5.
After you wash the hoodie again, pin the bow onto the penguin's head. I pinned the hood's drawstrings into the pin too, it keeps them out of the way and looks really cute. Then go wear it!

good luck making your own penguin hoodie!

IT'S DONE! (big grin)

What is, my precious? The mystery project? Yes precioussssss, yes. We're very smart, very witty, we knows it's done!
Da da da.....

IT'S THE FELLOWSHIP CLOAK!!!!!

So for the instructions, I used the amazing and wonderful and detailed instructions over at alleycatscratch.com (acs) and if you're making one too, I suggest using their website. It's probably the best you'll find. For the fabric, I used a $3 per yard stretch knit from walmart (of all places! but really, their sewing dept. rocks) which is a lovely silvery-grey color. It shimmers when it is moved or the wind blows it. For the clasp, I ordered a lg hook&eye closure from ward's 5&10 online store (the only place I could find the right kind of clasp mentioned at acs.)

I basically just followed their instructions, and it turned out wonderful. The only thing is, if you're using an old bed sheet to make a pattern with like they suggest, DON'T USE A FITTED SHEET. And yes, I speak from experience. The elastic gets in the way and sorta defeats the purpose of a pattern. Anywho, it turned out fine so that's what matters.

Another thing. I got the leaf clasp off eBay for $6 and it's really good quality. Don't buy the plastic ones, they look cheap and cost as much as mine, which is completely metal with shiny green enamel and silver metal veins. So ya, just look till you find a good-quality pin. The leaf just pins over the closure, so no stress is out on it.

So I'm totally wearing this for halloween. I have a whole Frodo costume put together, but I won't reveal that until the official dress-like-a-character-from-The Lord of the Rings-without-getting-weird-looks day......... Er, I mean halloween. But hey, basically the same thing, right?

:)

Sooooo me. Lol.

iPhone 4!!!

So I didn't make cupcakes this week, I really just didn't have much time. But I got my iPhone!!! It's an iPhone 4 in white. It's awesome. I've already figured out how to do a ton of stuff on it, including writing and posting to this blog! Apple has a blogger app for iPhone / iPad users, so that's how you can so it. I suppose you could also just use the safari as well.
Oh and needless to say, now that I have unlimited texting, I'm officially a texting addict. Welcome to the club of texting addicts :)
I'm currently trying to find a good yet cheap case for it, because I know how clumsy I can be. I am taking good care of it though... after all, it is my preciousssss. Ok not really, but I couldn't resist.

today's (ACHOO-SNIFFL-COUGH) post

as you can tell from the title, i have a cold. not a horrible one, just an average energy-drainer. so on Sunday, i had my first ECIYO practice, which was reaallly hard. not impossible, but almost. and as soon as that was done, i headed off to my first chamber orchestra rehearsal for my hs' Ragtime! production. that went better, but i'm looking forward to both groups' next practices. it was just, i was totally drained by the time the day was over. it felt like a day of ISYM. lol.

also, i'm learning how to play Brielle by Sky Sailing on my uke. Sky Sailing is a old project by Adam Young, along with Port Blue. Eventually, he dropped these and created Owl City, which is how we know him now. Brielle is one of these songs written in that time. in case you didn't know, i LOVE Owl City. alot. i'm trying to convince one of my friends to play the ukulele too, because the arrangement i'm inventing needs 2. and there's practically no uke covers of Brielle on youtube.

Owl City is one of my favorite bands. Adam is a Christian, and his cover of In Christ Alone is amazing. like, seriously phenomenal. really. especially if you hear his story behind it.