Happy International Steampunk Day!

In honor of International Steampunk Day, I quickly whipped together a steampunk outfit and persona that I have been planning for a while now. I wanted to put a twist on the regular steampunk world and create a character living in the Middle Ages, rather than the Victorian Age.

Please allow me to introduce to you Lady Bess Rowland:

Bess lives near London, England in 1346, in the middle of the Hundred Years' War. France and England are in combat with one another over control of the French throne. As a loyal English woman, Bess contributes to  the war cause by using her seamstress skills to make dirigibles used in war. 

She carries a small bag to hold her needles and thread. Bess' favorite pair of scissors hangs from her belt and she wears a thimble on her finger so that she is always at the ready to work for her country. 

19 before 20

After a busy busy busy semester, I finally got around to making my 19 before 20 list... :P You can reread my 18 before 19 list here if you'd like.

1. Make a Steampunk costume. 

2. Make a vlog. (never completed from my list last year)

3. Write movie review blog posts. (also from last year's list)

4. Make a budget.

5. Improve my writing speed. (I am a terribly slow writer, which causes me to spend too long on homework when I could be doing other, fun things...)

6. Archery. (I used to be pretty good at archery and I really wanna pick it up again)

7. Complete a 30 day drawing challenge. (draw one picture a day for a month..I found some good ideas on Pinterest)

8. Finish my Arwen dress. (too long ago I started sewing a dress modeled after Arwen's "dying dress" from RotK...it desperately needs to be completed.)

9. Complete ten DIY projects from Pinterest. (everybody on Pinterest has a DIY board...but it's about time to actually sit down and make a Pinterest project!)

10. Pillow project. (I've been making pillows out of old t-shirts)

11. Decorate my Converse.

12. Make a tie skirt. (last semester I inherited a bag of old neck ties from my work study job. I want to use them to make a skirt.)

13. Make a skirt from an old men's shirt. 

14. Make Fettucine Alfredo. 

15. Complete a 30 day photography challenge.

16. Try digital drawing. 

17. Try DIY skincare recipes.

18. Make a stop motion video. (I'm thinking something involving the lyrics to a song...)

                                        19. Buy a Modcloth dress. (they're so...beautiful...)

pink + purple

 

braided bun

My hairstyle yesterday..I've been trying to experiment with with my hair a bit more lately. :)

18 before 19 progress

Remember my 18 before 19 list? I have approximately 4 months to complete all my goals! Here's how far I've come. The green goals are ones that are kinda in limbo...I sort of accomplished them, sort of didn't, haha. :P

1. Do something creative every week.

2. Exercise for 20 minutes at least 2 times a week.

3. Paint my fingernails once a month.

4. Go to bed by 12:30 on week nights.  

5. Make a butterfly. see this post

6. Go to a Renaissance Faire. 

7. Write a fan letter to Natalie Portman. Wrote it today! :D

8. Draw a self portrait.

9. Make a ray gun.

10. Write regular blog posts.

11. Work on homework during the afternoon so that evenings are free. 

12. Make a vlog. 

13. Learn to play Don't Stop Believin' on the piano.  If I learned it at one point, but don't remember anymore, does it still count? :P

14. Write movie review blog posts.

15. Raise my GPA.

16. Drink at least 64 ounces of water a day.

17. Make a budget. 

18. Improve my photography/take more pictures.

cookie dough treats

I was inspired to make these by seeing (and eating) a similar dessert at a party the other day. They're pretty simple: just cookie dough balls dipped in melted chocolate then chilled, yet I think I need to tweak my recipe a bit. The dough itself turned out to be too squishy, while the chocolate became too hard. I plan to try making these again soon and I'll work to improve the recipe. 

 

more crackle nails