Mod Mischief

Only 2 months to Halloween! We've started on our costumes but I'm really going to need to step it up if I want to get all 4 done in time. Wouldn't want to wind up legless on the big day, like last year ! So far, we've made plaster masks ( like we did for the Ludo costume ) and started to build them up with papier maché pulp (like I used for Buck & Little Al ). We've also begun giving a cheap helmet "for skateboarding and trick rollerskating" an old school military look.

Chris and I went to our first comic convention. the long line to get in  Chris, excited for FanExpo We didn't wear costumes because we didn't really know what to expect, but we saw lots of great outfits there. Princess Leia in pink booty shorts it's the captain ! best C-3PO & R2D2 costumes ever One of the highlights for me was watching Tony Moore explain in detail the process of drawing a zombie. artist at work maggots are key It's no replacement for Burning Man (I so wish I was on the playa right now), but we had a great time.

If you've ever wondered "Can you fit two canoes on a Ford E-150 van?" the answer is yes, you can. We went camping with friends in Algonquin Park and wound up at the same site we had two years ago . Camping post-Burning Man is an unusual experience. We didn't know quite what to pack since bubble wands and tutus now seem synonymous with camping supplies. It was a challenge keeping it to what we could fit in a canoe, but we managed. At our camp site we met some colourful characters. this hairdo wouldn't look out of place on the playa, neither would someone sporting yellow horns. Mr. Toad All in all we had a great time. happy camper

I love it when people send me photos of things they've made following my instructables ! The Youth Mentorship Program at Soulpepper Theatre Company recently made their own glowing clothing lamps . Here's the email I got from Jennifer: Hi Allison, I want to thank you again for posting your innovative idea on Instructables and for being so kind as to help me with my questions. This activity was an absolute blast to do with the youth group. I was working with 14 youth. We broke them up into four groups and each group worked together to make one lamp. We divided up the work into four sessions as follows: 1). intro to the project/pick the clothes; 2) make the body forms with newspaper, tape, etc.; 3) Paint the forms with stiffy/make a plan for the wiring; 4) wire and assemble the lamps. I went in once a week and we were able to complete the project in a total of 5.5 total hours! (not including drying time). We had such fun with each step - and even though it was a lot of wor...

Krang in action.

 Quite literally, I've finally put all the pieces together. pop bottle cranium & popsicle stick arm bones I used crazy glue and then a little bit of liquid latex to join the two halves of the brain together. The arms went on with some hot glue. Then he got a shiny paint job. first coat of pepto bismol pink With a thick glossy topcoat to make him look really slimy. I tried to connect the arms to the body a few different ways, but everything I did was too much for the furby motor to handle. I'm not happy with how it looks, but since I'm all out of ideas I'm just going to try to hide the gaps behind his control panel when I get around to building his android body.

Instructables recently made me a featured author and I'm incredibly honoured to be joining the ranks of some of the best makers around. Wilgubeast asked me about everything from my lack of formal training to my penchant for collecting spare body parts. You can read the full interview here . If that wasn't enough to give me a huge ego, my post about calling 911 was featured on Offbeat Home this week! Speaking of our recent scare... It's nowhere near as pretty a collection as the photos on http://theburninghouse.com/ but if you're wondering what Chris and I would grab if the house was on fire, this is what we actually had with us while sitting on the sidewalk in our pajamas. cat carrier (Simone was actually in it at the time) Juniper and Potato the cordless phone I used to call 911 my purse our laptops (neither of which are really worth anything beyond the priceless photos they contain) a hat from the Bay - I picked it up to grab my purse and didn't ...