Tag: geek mom

I Like Star Wars the Normal Amount

At least, that’s what I thought until I was having dinner with a new friend and found out I have no idea what the normal amount is.

I used to own a costume boutique so I was surrounded by cosplay/geeky people all the time. It was like living in a nerdy little bubble. Since I had a baby, moved to the beach, closed my shop and started the blog, I’ve been meeting a lot of new people and a lot of those people have no idea what cosplay is and some of them *gasp* have never even seen Star Wars. (I’m still shocked when I hear that, and honestly question whether we could ever be besties if they don’t understand the ways of The Force .)

Recently I was having dinner with another mom, chatting and getting to know each other. We were basically on a first mom date and the subject of Star Wars came up. I can’t remember what I said, but it led to her asking me “so you like Star Wars a lot?”

And my first response was “well I think I like Star Wars a normal amount.” And then I was like what the hell am I talking about? I’m on the cover of a Star Wars documentary that’s probably a little more than the normal amount. But I didn’t want to come off as totally weird, and then I realized well she’s going to figure that out sooner or I later might as well come clean.

So I admitted, yeah, I guess like Star Wars “a lot.” And then in true geek fashion I had to specify that I liked the original Star Wars the best, and that I’m not so into the new Star Wars and confess that I hadn’t even seen the new Star Wars yet (I have seen it now) and slowly I realize I probably talked about Star Wars WAY more than the “normal” amount. So I decide the best way to go is even things out with “but I like Star Trek too,” as if maybe being a well-rounded geek is going to sound more normal. I stop myself before clarifying “just TOS though, not much of the new stuff, except the movies. I’ve seen all of those.”

See? the normal amount. Nothing to see here. Totally normal levels of Star Wars love. Lets move along. Just don’t get me started on the costuming! Normal just goes downhill from there.

So what do you geek out on? Anything you might have an above-average amount of fangirl (or boy) love for?

I Heart Cosplay

Cosplay defined: a contraction of the words costume and play, cosplay is a hobby in which participants make and wear costumes to represent a specific character. The broader use of the term “cosplay” applies to any costuming in venues apart from the stage or Halloween.

So now that we got that out of the way…

I was half-watching Deadpool last night while making dinner and the part where he makes his costume got my attention. I love watching costume progressions. One of my favorite parts of superhero movies is finding out how they got their outfit. Did they assemble the parts? Sew it themselves? Find it waiting for them like the latest Wonder Woman?

I am often asked how I got into costuming or why I cosplay. It’s a tough question for me because it’s just always been a part of who I am. I just love costumes and costumey things. I love playing dress up, and I love making things. I was doing this WAY before it was ever called cosplay and I will be doing it long after the fad has peaked and popular interest wanes. I can’t watch a movie without looking at every costume detail and thinking about how I would make it.

I still remember watching Michelle Pfeiffer as Selena Kyle frantically stitching together her vinyl catsuit in Batman Returns. It was the moment she transformed into Catwoman. That is one costume I have always wanted to make! Just watching her obsessively assemble those vinyl pieces made me want to run for the sewing machine.

Catwoman making costume
A fairly accurate representation of what I look like when inspiration strikes

So I think That is the kernel of a true costumer/cosplayer. It’s just something in your blood. You don’t have to try and think about it, you see costumes and things to create everywhere. You get this excited feeling about bringing these things to life. You can’t “quit cosplay” as I see so many people post from time to time. It would be like losing a part of yourself. And for me, it would be a loss of creativity, inspiration and a source of happiness.

So even though I don’t dress up every weekend, attend every con or make costumes as my job anymore, it’s still a part of me and always will be.

Because I <3 Cosplay

Not quite a WAHM yet, but getting back in the game little by little

Now that I’m finally getting some sleep I feel like I might be able to get back to work a little bit. Not a full-on business again at this point, but just getting back to making things and keeping my skills sharp. If you don’t know already, I make cosplay accessories and costumes. And I do a LOT of Wonder Woman stuff so I really missed out on capitalizing on this whole movie wonder2release and everything so here I am a little late in the game but getting back on it.

I realized it was time to get busy when I checked my sad and empty Etsy page and found my views had gone up 530%…on an empty shop! Dang! So I stayed up a little late last night and did a Facebook live post on my page showing how I make some of the WW accessories: https://www.facebook.com/SewGeekMama

And then I got my Etsy page all busy again: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SewGeekMama

I’m about to reach my 1000th sale on there! I’ve been on there for nearly 10 years so I’ve had some time to work on it. I added some of my finished products, and also the materials I use to make and mold things.

Next up I’ll be making more of the kids accessories. I would have gone crazy to have real looking WW cuffs and tiara when I was little! I was happy running around with my cardboard cut-outs and Crayola stars, lol. Well, time to get to work!!

 

 

Our Island Adventure

We spent the weekend on Jekyll Island, GA, for their 2016 ComicCon. I was a cosplay guest so I had a table all weekend and Sean was on daddy duty. We did manage to break away on the last day and check out the famous Driftwood Beach, where they recently filmed some scenes from the Walking Dead.

The beach was pretty amazing, though Keelan was mostly interested in throwing sand. I’ve been wanting to visit for a while, but it’s an hour and half north of us so the comic con event was the extra incentive I needed to finally make it happen.

1toddlerwrangleWe stayed at the beachfront Days Inn, so of course I had visions of going out and enjoying the sunrises and taking some pretty family photos. Keelan had other ideas. Lesson number one with kids: nothing ever turns out the way you have it planned in your head. Lesson number two: never let it stop you from trying because it is still worth it!

The con was small, but fun. I dressed as Sub Zero on Saturday and Wonder Woman on Sunday. Keelan had fun looking at all the costumes. He had to go say hi to all the Stormtroopers. We even found Santa Claus and then found Deadpool dressed as Santa, so we got our Christmas card pics taken care of. Photo of that coming soon 🙂

The NeverEnding Story and Its Never Ending Impact

My son and I go to a kid’s gym type play place called My Gym once a week. He loves to play in the ball pit. Today he tried licking them all. I’m just going to ignore that and move on.

So as he was sinking slowly and I was pretending to save him, I was like “Artax noooooo…..” because all I could think of was Atreyu losing his horse in the Swamps of Sadness. I have not seen this movie in years, but it made quite an impression me growing up. I loved The NeverEnding Story with a passion. I also had a massive crush on Atreyu. And as an animal lover, I found it heart-wrenching when Artax just gave up and sank.

It got me wondering, what movies will make such an impact on my son? What movies have made a huge impact on you guys? Is anyone else still sad about Artax? lol

I can’t wait to share my favorite movies with him when he gets a little older. I just might have to make a “horses are actors too” disclaimer before the swamp scene. And I know he’s totally going to want a Luck Dragon. I still do!

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