Baltimore Comic Con 2014

Baltimore Comic Con took place September 5-7 at the Baltimore Convention Center. It marks my one year anniversary of comic cons, my first costume contest entry, and the first time I wore my solo dress to a comic con.

For my costume contest costume, there was very little prep that needed to be done since most of the parts were completed! I spent a bit of every night the week before painting a pair of hard shoes to go with my costume. I think I used three coats of a red acrylic paint, followed by three coats of red glitter. The night before we left, I sprayed them with four coats of clear acrylic sealer to make sure things stayed put (and for a bonus shine factor!).

I really felt like I was packing for a feis because I had all the usual culprits (and more). Dress bag? Check. Wig box and make up? Double check. Blue hair dye? Check.

My boyfriend and I drove up to Baltimore on Saturday morning to have one full day of the con, thinking (correctly) that the costume contest would take up all of Sunday. I was dressed as Ultimate Katie Bishop from the new Ultimate Spider-Man books. He dressed as a shinigami from Bleach.

We spent Saturday night in a hotel near the inner harbor (thanks to the Hotel Tonight app!), and got ready for Sunday at the con. (Namely, I dyed my hair blue.)

On Sunday, I showed up wearing my solo dress. I got many stares (sparkles do that), appreciation from an actual Irish dancing family, and many many compliments on my original idea. Irish dancing Captain Americas are hard to come by (probably because I'm the only one). It was cool to have people recognize my costume first as Captain America themed and then as an Irish costume, rather than an Irish costume with a patriotic theme.

The afternoon was taken up by the costume contest. I did in fact get up on stage and do a treble reel for the crowd! I was hoping to take home the prize for 'crowd favorite,' but though it was advertised in the program, they didn't award it this year. Though I didn't take home an award, I did get many pictures snapped of my costume, as well as a few videos, and lots and lots on compliments on my Irish dancing.





I know that I will be wearing my solo dress at future comic book conventions. It is too much fun to pass up! Next time I may wear my ghillies though because hard shoes for five plus hours is very uncomfortable!

Enjoy a ton of pictures from many different photographers from around the con! Also, be sure to check out blog content from Pete Goes to Comic Con, Geek Girl Ramblings, DC Comics News, and a feature in ABC 2 Baltimore News.

Ms. Marvel, Star Lord, me, and Deadpool

Ladies costume contestants side stage

 

Goals: Downfall rhythms and timing

Days till Os: 60

Pinterest Finds

I am an avid pinner on Pinterest and have found a couple of valuable pins that I couldn't help but share with you guys!  Here are direct links to five of my favorite recent finds:



1. Workout planner printables
These include: weekly goal setting sheets, monthly planners, and even a long term goal worksheet, and all to print out for free!  Hang these next to your bed, in your practice area, and get motivated for the Oireachtas!

2. Tagxedo Creator
I found this awesome website which takes text and arranges it in any shape you would like.  The first one I created was in the shape of a dancer girl, and I have also created a special Tagxedo using my dance school's logo.  This would be perfect for Oireachtas t-shirts!

3. Nut-and-honey coconut granola
I halved this recipe to check and make sure it was extra delicious before I made a whole batch, and let me tell you, I could eat this granola every day for breakfast!  While it was baking, it smelled like all the best parts of fall foods and really made me long for crisp autumn mornings and Oireachtas weekend practices.  It is chock full of protein goodness, and I found the half cup serving size was plenty to last me until lunchtime without needing a mid-morning snack.

4. Three-ingredient pancakes
These high protein, low calorie, gluten free pancakes are so quick and easy to whip up!  I was slightly hesitant at first, hoping that they wouldn't taste like an egg, and they didn't!  They are great to eat on their own without having to tweak the recipe.  Another dance friend has tested these out and added mini chocolate chips for an extra savory breakfast!

5. Leg Warmers
Fall is about to be upon us, and what better way to keep warm than with long colorful leg warmers that look like poodle socks?  American Apparel has 20 different colors to choose form so you can match your solo dress or rep your dance school's colors.

Goals: Do my 20 minutes daily drills
Days till Os: 94

The Rocky Road to Dublin

In 2011, when I qualified for my first worlds championships as a soloist, I was working at my local public library.  One of my favorite pastimes there was leafing through the quilting pattern books when I was supposed to be shelving.  A short time after I returned from Dublin, I decided I needed something cool and unique to put my worlds patch on, so I decided on a quilt.  Call it luck, call it destiny, but one evening when I picked up a book on scrap quilts using five-inch squares, I flipped right to a pattern called The Rocky Road to Dublin.

Having myself had a rocky road to Dublin, I could not have found a more appropriate pattern.  I didn't know if I qualified, I had only heard rumors that I was going to since I was next in line and there might be an adjudicating conflict.  I was left in suspense until mid-January when the official judges list was released.  

Finally, I can show off my hard work here.  This quilt has taken until now (the almost exact two year anniversary of the day I danced solos) to finish because of various excuses I don't care to list all here, but foremost being: look at all those tiny pieces.  I had to cut them out and sew them all together.

I love that this pattern takes a traditional quilt block (Irish chain) and fancies it up.

There are also little shamrocks quilted into the fabric!

Of course, on tag on the back, I included my worlds patch.

If you're interested in making a quilt of this pattern, an online link can be found right here.

Goals: Drill reel 2nd ending many times
Days till NANs: 46

A Winter Poodle Sock Craft

In which I become sentimental about socks. Fairly warned be ye, says I.

As I was browsing Pinterest the other day, I came across this really adorable pin of a sock snowman.  Of course my first thought was 'poodle socks?!'  Upon closer inspection, and after seeing the materials list, I just knew these adorable little snowmen had to be created.  I take no responsibility for the creation of this craft, so the tutorial can be found at this lovely blog.

On Sunday, I made a trip to my local Dollar Tree to find cheap ankle socks for sweaters and dry beans to stuff my snowmen.  After cutting up my loved pair of sparkle poodle socks (and raiding my prized crystal collection), this was the result.  Warning: cute overload.  Also, noses still needed.

These little guys are quite special to me.  As I acquired new (still unworn) sparkle socks in May, I felt the need to immortalize my previous pair.  these snowpeople are made of more than meets the eye.  These socks were bought in Florida for the 2010 nationals.  I was wearing these socks both times I won my prelim champion competitions.  They were worn for my first open champion feis, and also traveled with me to Dublin, Ireland as I danced at my first world championships.  These socks saw some lower moments too.  They were with me when I experienced the bittersweet sting of placing one spot shy of being a world qualifier...twice.  And the last time I wore these socks?  I tore three ligaments in my right ankle.

Do you have a special pair of socks?  Share your story below!

Goals: Finish stoning dress, don't overdo dancing
Days till Os: 12

Irish Dance How-to: Recycled magazine clutch

Perfect for carrying around at summer feiseanna, this clutch can be made using old Irish dance magazines!




Tips:

• Find the most colorful pages in your magazines.  This may mean that you only get a couple pages from each magazine.  Ideally, there should be no white space and little printed text.
• Take your time with the weaving to really make your clutch look neat.  The closer the better!
• If you don't want a clutch bag, feel free to attach straps to the inside of the bag using tape and more folded paper strips (four or so taped together)
• Remember: this is a bag made out of paper and tape.  Be kind.

Goals: Stamina workouts
Days till Os: 143

Irish Dance How-to: Poodle Sock Monkey

Turn one pair of socks into a plush monkey pet that will be the guardian of your dance bag!  This is the third of three, and the most advanced tutorial in the poodle sock upcycle series featuring this monkey, a vase, and a heat/ice pack.  





Tips:

• A link to the tutorial can be found right here.
• Knee-length socks will make for longer limbs on your monkey, and various sizes (small, medium, large) will make different sized bodies. (I used large knee-length socks and this monkey is 19 inches long!)
• Try your hand at tie-dying your old socks so your monkey can be fun colors!
• Be patient when sewing your socks, especially the bubbled part.  That section is particularly stretchy and will try to move around when you're sewing.  Extra pins are awesome.
• Be gentle when you turn your monkey body and legs back to right-side out.  The crotch area is very stretchy and if stretched out during turning and stuffing, the sewing back up process will be more difficult.  Take your time.
• A pencil (use the eraser end) or chopstick is useful for not only helping to turn the body parts right-side out, but also for getting the stuffing down into the feet/hands of your monkey.

Stay tuned tomorrow for special Traveling Feis Monkey information!

Goals: Hardshoe stamina

Days till Os: 156

Irish Dance How-to: Poodle sock hot/ice pack

This month's first Irish dance how-to is still going along the theme of upcyclying old poodle socks.  This tutorial is a little harder than April's, and the tutorial being released at the end of the month is the hardest of the three poodle sock tutorials.

Tips:

• Use older and slightly stretched out poodle socks.  Your hot/ice pack will be bigger.
• Don't start sewing in the corner like I did.  It makes it harder to sew up after you flip the hot/ice pack right-side out.  It is easier if you start in the middle of one of the longer sides
• Leave more room than you think open so you don't have to struggle to flip the hot/ice pack right-side out after machine sewing!
• A funnel would be helpful for putting the rice into your hot/ice pack
• For a cold pack: leave it in the freezer overnight
• For a heat pack: microwave in 30 second intervals until warm

Stay tuned for the last of the poodle sock upcycles, being released June 27th!

Irish Dance How-to: Poodle Sock Vase & Giveaway

Want to win one of these? Read below!

Do you have a poodle sock without a mate?  Retired from dancing and don't know what to do with 25 pairs of socks?  Watch this video to learn an easy way to upcycle your old socks into an adorable vase just in time for spring! 



A few tips:

• Bleach or tie-dye your old socks to get rid of that weird shade of grey.  Unless of course, you are going for that look!
• Older socks will be more stretched out.  To keep the project no-sew, use a wider vase.
• Always see what you have around your house before you buy supplies!  The point is for this project to be as cheap as possible.
• Email me pictures of your finished vase (RinceGoBraghBlog@gmail.com)!  I am excited to see what other people do, and if I get enough, I can feature some in a post later this month.

To enter the giveaway:

1. Comment below and answer the question: What is your favorite spring Irish dance memory?
2. Leave your email in this format so I can notify winners: name at website dot com.
3. Comments after 23:59 on April 13, 2012 will not be included in the random drawing.

The two giveaway winners will be announced on this blog on April 14, 2012!  May the odds be ever in your favor.