Links:

Convention Links:

Creation Entertainment Conventions, various dates

Dallas Conventions, various dates

ComicCon, San Diego

DragonCon, Atlanta

Star Wars Celebration

Stargate SG-1and Atlantis Appearances

Costume Links and Miscellany:

 Killer Robots:  My cousins' band that has played at past ComicCon and DragonCon's.  I'm personally a fan of the Atomic Cake saga on YouTube.

www.sitharchives.com:  for great information about lightsabers

http://www.xtremedesignfx.com/:  These are great guys with oodles of talent!

 www.mystikmerchant.com:  Also great people!  A holler out (Holl-a!) to Mystik and the Gang!  They specialize in robes!

Hospital Charity / Volunteers: If you like to sew or knit and want to use it for a good cause, join me in participating at Parkland Hospital (Dallas, TX).  They deliver over 16,000 babies each year, 1,500 of which are Premature.  These little ones are in need of supplies as some stay in the hospital for many weeks.  Parkland receives many patients who are not insured or under-insured and don't have resources for these needed items.  The Program also has needs for larger babies, children and geriatric patients.  To find a needy hospital in your area, click on the above link.   The Program is called Carewear. 

Non-Costume Project:

Indiana Jones Relic Box

I've retired my Indiana Jones VHS Tapes and decided to store them a little more uniquely than the rest of my tapes...

  I'm including a Tutorial if you want to make this project.  

You may especially want to make one if you've purchased the DVD set...sometimes it's hard to part with your original tapes, isn't it?

This also makes a great place to store your IJ Prop Replicas.    Note that pics of the movie props are included on mine.

Tutorial:

Materials Needed:

All of your supplies can be readily found at Michael's or Hobby Lobby or Walmart.

• Video Storage Box any solid color.
• 1 bottle of Plaid (brand) Royal Coat Decoupage Finish + Brush.
• A small dab of brown acrylic paint plus a 1/2 dab of acrylic yellow paint.  This makes your copies appear "weathered" in Indiana Jones style.  You can opt to not use the color if you wish.
• 1 can of 3M Spray Mount Artist's Adhesive (I recommend you don't even try the Elmer's brand, it's just not good enough for this project).

Instructions:

• Collect pictures and make a collage in Powerpoint for a custom page size of 11-1/2" wide and 4-1/2" high.  I did the sides of the box and lid in all black and white copies, and then photocopied a color picture of the movie poster  for the center top of the lid. Make your picture collage in a software program, like Microsoft Powerpoint, like this document that will  print out on 11" x 9" paper.  I printed mine on a laser printer.  
• If you want to cut out your pictures individually you can.  Just remember the process will take a lot longer and you'll have a lot of corners to deal with.
• For the younger crowd who have never decoupage'd before, to get set up, find a place either outside or a newspapered kitchen table.  You'll need a plastic cup of water, a couple paper towels and an extra plastic cup in which to mix the acrylic paints and your Decoupage Finish.  
• You don't need too much Finish...less than a 1/2 cup will do the entire box.  A "dab" of acrylic paint is about 1/4th of the toothpaste you would use on a normal toothbrush.
• After setting up, cut down the black and white copies to fit the sides of your box.  Once you've decided the best way to place them, Spray Mount them to your box with only about a half inch of overlap on the bottom of the box and the insides of the box.  Make sure that you press out any air and rub the paper smooth while Spray Mounting.
• Once you've Spray Mounted the entire box, paint the Decoupage Finish onto the box.  Two to three coats is the best, with the last coat being the clear finish.  Rest at least 20 minutes between coats.  The finish dries much clearer that it appears when first applied.
• The finish takes about 4 weeks to "cure."  You can then clean it with a damp cloth.
• You may also opt to polish your project with #0000 steel wool when it is completely dry.  The pictures above are non-polished.
• To clean up...Decoupage Finish will either come off when you wash your hands, or, like Elmer's Glue, it will dry and you can rub it off your hands.  If the Spray Mount gets on your fingers, it will also rub off.  Or, if you get a lot on your hands and especially if you have acrylic nails and get the Spray Mount on them, you can use Rubbing Alcohol to remove it.  And of course, remember to clean and dry your brush thoroughly.