Sheldon Cooper – Feltie

This was my first thought when I considered designing my own feltie creations. Round head. Beady eyes. Red and yellow flash shirt. I made a Sheldon Cooper feltie.

‘The Big Bang Theory’ has to be my favourite comedy of the moment and no character beats Sheldon. Ever. I realise a lot of people find him annoying but the comedy comes from the fact that we people do not need to deal with him. Therefore we can watch and enjoy. I cannot stand Leonerd. A lot of people would react the same as Leonerd but I think he comes across as petty in the show when he gets his little ‘wins’. I like Howard a lot more now he is with Bernadette, it gave his character more dimensions than just an older Jay from The Inbetweeners. And Raj is hilarious, second favourite character behind Sheldon. Penny is funny too, but I prefer her when she is having banter with Sheldon. Bernadette and Amy are hilarious too, I cannot decide which female character is best. And that is why the show is great, too many good characters.

So my endless watching of Big Bang repeats lead the image of a feltie Sheldon into my mind. I won;t make you wait much longer. Let me introduce you to him;

Isn’t he cute! Alright he has very little in the way of expression and his shoulders are WAAAY to broad but I like him. He;s my new bestie.

I noticed the mistakes as I was putting him together but I’m glad I didn’t stop. It is my usual nature to give up on something when I know it is wrong but I knew I would learn from the mistakes more if I had a finished piece.

 

Lesson #1 – Rounder shoulders. Seriously, Sheldon looks like The Hulk. There are few characters I could make that would require such shoulders. And the padding of the shirt also increased this bulked up image.

Lesson #2- Stitching the hair can give the impression of curly hair.

Another area I will try to improve on the next one is the attachment of the shirt and trousers. Stitching them one above the other gave a squashed waist look. Maybe I could attach the front felt of the shirt to the front felt of the trousers, and then the back felt of the shirt to the back felt of the trousers. Make the body like one big feltie piece.

I was planning on making some Scott Pilgrim characters next but maybe while I am still experimenting I will stick with Big Bang and make a collection. I will update as and when.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Orlando, Florida

What is the difference between Disney, Orlando and Universal, Orlando? Disney ALWAYS has people. During a 2 week holiday where James and I had avoided the crowds Disney was a step back into the world of queuing. We didn’t help ourselves by going to Disney for the first time on Veterans’ Day. But despite the people the euphoria of Disney was in the air.

Even James could feel it. He admitted he wasn’t that excitied about Disney before we arrived. But ten minutes through the Disney doors and we were planning on going to Epcot on Tuesday, as well as Magic Kingdom we’d already planned for Monday.

The Disney streets had a similar feel to Univseral, all the shops lining the streets and the elaborate building designs and colours. Being close to Christmas we had the extra treat of seeing the decoartions and the lights. I especially liked the dancing Minnie baubals in one shop window. Again we let our feet lead the way and initially came across a teen pop music show based on one of the Disney TV music shows. The stage literally danced off down the street when they were finished.

There were plenty of shows to see. We started off at Indiana Jones. (After James stopped to ask an assistant what the Jedi school was and his face fell when he found out it was for under 12s.) We were advised to get in early as the seats fill up, and they did indeed. We had good seats too. At first it seemed to be a reenactment of the scene where Indi gets the golden goblet thing by replacing it with a bag of coins. Then offstage a loud “CUT” bellowed and Indi became an actor working on stunts. He went through the different action shots with us and even called upon audience members to take part as ‘extras’ in scenes.

We made time to see the ‘Lights, Motors, Action’ car stunt show. Again this was on the premise that we were watching a director film stunts to be used in a film. There were car tricks, stunts on jet skis (JET SKI JET SKI JET SKI) and even a guy on fire. For the action car fan this is a must, for me it was a little long.

Rides! All sorts of rides! Star Wars simulator ride! I wish we’d had time to ride it twice. I’m not a huge Star Wars fan but I still enjoyed seeing the robots while queuing, and seeing them interact with the riders and each other. Click, click, click, camera going off everywhere. The set up for the simulator is rather funny too. It’s based on C3PO and R2D2 flying the spaceship to avoid Darth Vader. Wasn’t the best simulator but a lot of fun none the less. We spent a fair amount of time in the shop too. I saw a camera and a green screen where riders could have their faces superimposed onto the characters. I tried my hardest to get out before James saw it but I was not successful. James was Han Solo, I was Leia. *Cringe* If there is one thing I don’t like it’s being in front of people. And it is not a private room. Everyone is watching and you can’t escape as your face is plastered up on a massive screen above the counter. I didn’t know what to do with my face but James was a natural. He got into character a pouted like a pro. I would upload the photo but I’ve had enough humiliation for one galaxy.

For big rides there was Rock n Roller Coaster and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Don’t get your hopes up, Tower of Terror has nothing to do with ‘Twilight’ and its teams. It is a drop ride based on a spooky hotel. It is good for setting the atmosphere. You queue through a deserted hotel decorated with its own cobwebs. You know the ride is a drop ride in a broken lift, so when the queue leads you to pack into a lift surrounded by people and no harnesses in sight it is a little unnerving. But then you go through the story of the hotel told through the old TV and then enter your cart. I had a bag of popcorn with me (not for the movie but some we had during the day) and was waiting for somewhere to safely leave it. No such place. You either hold it in your hands (and not hold on?!?) or, as I did, grasp it between your ankles to stop it flying up in the air! It has it’s own suprises too. And hopefully a great actor to lead you into the car.

And Disney’s big rollarcoaster is based on Areosmith is nothing safe from sponsoring these days? I like some good rock music but areosmith… meh. But the ride is great (the problem with our car starting added to the fear factor) but for an indoor rollarcoaster this is a goodun if you can get past the cheesy Areosmith story.

First Disney parade of the holiday. We stumbled upon it by accident too. All our favourite pixar characters – headlined by Toy Story of course – came through to kick start our mid day party.

The other top ride was the Toy Story Mania shooting ride. As your cart moves through the ride you compete against your partner in various shooting games. Buzz, Woody and the rest of the gang will you along. But to be honest, the queue area was more interesting. Its a giant toy box. There was a giant scene veiwer card with scenes from Peter Pan hanging at one point – brought back memories of my own little red machine. There were Andy’s drawings around the wall of Buzz and Woody on their missions together. And the highlight was the giant talking Mr. Potato Head. (Especially when the robot took out his own ear, failed to put it back, the ear dropping to the floor and then the girl walking out from round the back to slot it for him!)

Fantasia. This was epic, but possibly made better because I didn’t know what to expect. All I will say is that it brought back those childhood memories of some epic stories. (Get there early for a central seat!)

Finally the best way to end a day at Christmas Disney. We had seen the lights were up during the day but when we went back in the evening to see them it was a shock. It is the most incredible light show I have ever seen. The houses are covered in lights. Light Angels decoarte the sky. A giant tree covered in lights. One street even had lights above our heads. Then the music started, the lights danced and the ‘snow’ fell. No one does Christmas like Disney. (Except Jesus but that’s understandable.)

How to beat your brothers at Monopoly

As a child Monopoly is a scary, long game. There was no strategy. Just going round and round the board and hoping someone landed on Pall Mall. I don’t really remember anyone winning, possibly because I’d got so bored I’d left.

James asked about Monopoly a few years ago. He’d never really played it so I showed him how with a few games – just the two of us. No doubt I kept winning. So I explained the strategy. Collect the stations, trade for the cheapest propeties so you can build houses quicker. James won every game after that.

So Christmas 2011 rolled around. James wanted to try his newfound skills against a larger crowd. Luckily my brothers, Nick and Stuart, were always up for a game. I joined in and Nick’s girlfriend, Hollie, too. Nick and Stuart watched on as James and Hollie took over the board and mad eus bankrupt. Hollie upped her money with stations, James had collected cheap properties. (Something Nick and Stuart had also tried to achieve.) Ultimately James won. A new Monopoly era was born.

Between Christmas and New Year around 10 games were played. I had work but the boys invitied James over during the day to cram in more games. James won some and Stuart got a fair share, Nick was left trying to grasp one game. I even won in a game with James and Stuart. I was one up.

By January 3rd work was in full swing and the era of Monopoly had gone. But April brought Stuart’s birthday and suddenly an opporunity for the game arrived. The boys asked if I would invite James for a game (though at this point I had no invite myself…) and the game was booked for the evening of Stuart’s birthday. The game brought one new player in Stuart’s girlfriend Ellie. 6 players. We’d never done it before.

Of course the game was long. It didn’t help that everyone collected random properties and no full sets were on the table. Hollie took an early lead with her collection of three stations. Only James stood between her full set and he said he would never give it up. Stuart had some properties I needed, and so did Nick. It was stalemate. No one wanted to give up their properties as it meant someone else gaining a full set.

At this time I looked like a non player. Just the old boot going around the board.

Stuart made offers, this for that, but the situation confused me so much. I didn’t want to trade with him if it meant he had his full set. But I needed to trade so I could trade with Nick for a full set. The stalemate played out for many rounds before Stuart gave up and offered me everything I’d asked. He had one full set, but I had a large range of properties. Suddenly the game began. I got myself a couple sets with trades from Nick and James.

Quietly the money drew in. Houses were built. Stuart realised the error of his trade as he was soon made bankrupt by the empires rising by Nick, James and I. Stuart then gave his expertise to Ellie, and she unfortunatly lost out also.

Still, at this point, I didn’t think I had the properties to win. Hollie had a constant flow of money, made worse when James traded the last station for a property and station immunity. Shortly after Nick’s empire fell. Then Hollie’s money fell short as her £200 stations could not compete with the £600 – £800 – £1000 properties owned by James and I.

Then James made his error. Too many houses. He couldn’t afford the payment when landing on mine and his empire crumbled under the costs of selling the houses back cheaply. We didn’t let the game finish completely but it was clear I had pwned the lot.

So the lesson in Monopoly is be shrewd with your properties and only trade once your competitor is desperate. And don’t buy too many houses at once, be sure you can pay up for your stays. I won’t pretend to be the grandmaster – but being the winner of the biggest game we’ve played so far I am a competitor!

The Grand Reef – Discovery Cove – Orlando, Florida

There are lots of experinces in Discovery Cove that I cannot put them all together in one post. It wouldn’t do them justice. I wanted to write about the grand reef first because I just came across the pictures of our underwater adventure.

I have never been snorkeling before. I thought it would be simple but the strange feeling of breathing with your head underwater stunts your experince to begin with. James had done it before so he was off. I was still getting used to putting my face under. He was trying to help me, but at the same time you have giant rays gliding beneath you. Once you lift your legs up and you see a giant ray under you it becomes hard to keep yourself afloat.

It is also difficult because of the volume of people around you, doing the same thing. We probably did the same as most and came here once our breakfast went down so the area was very busy. So there are people and fish to avoid. While I was getting used to the basics James was off with his flash new underwater camera filming his experince. I managed to get underwater to wave for him though;

Unfortunartly the girl waving in his first film was not me. It was a very strange sensation when I saw the film because I saw this moment from the sidelines as well. I was standing up (water at my waist) watching James filming as he swam across the large coral reef. I saw him with his face underwater as he bumped into a girl. A girl who was about my age with brunette hair, and of course a snorkeling mask, so she did look like me. I remember she had pigtails though. And I saw this moment where they bumped together. James waved. She waved back. Then he swam forward and stood up and showed me the footage. I then told him that girl wasn’t me. Very funny though.

He did get me in one film though. I know this footage is me because of my awful doggy paddle as I realise I have swum over to the deep end and need to get out.

I wish I was the pigtail girl.

Anyway, I’m sure you can see from the images how breathtaking of an experince this is. Those rays really are huge monsters, and the colours are much more vibrant in person. I wish I could upload the films but they seem to be the wrong format.

This is an expensive day out though. It is an all-inclusive day (bar dinner) including the rental of wetsuits and snorkel masks and a free snorkel. Towels are on-demand and the amount of people who enter each day is restrickted so you know it won’t be crammed with people. (Just don’t go to the grand reef first thing).

I’ll write about the other Discover Cove experinces soon. There dolphins and lazy rivers to come.

Medal Craft Idea – Brownies Pack Holiday

 

For our unit this will be the first pack holiday in years. The last one I’m aware of was when I was 6 and my Mum brought me along during the days. The theme was Robin Hood and we did Archery and lots of princess crafts.

This pack holiday is being put together by myself. I’ve got so many things to consider it is getting crazy. Luckily a first aid refresher is coming up so we will all be up to date on that. But it is the Parents meeting I am dreading. Everyone’s eyes on me. All wondering if I have a clue what I’m talking about.

So, the theme is Olympics, and to get their Brownie Holiday badge they need to make a keepsake. So what better than a Brownie medal. I didn’t want them to be traditional gold, silver and bronze medals. They would all want gold. And they would look a tad unoriginal. So I’ve decided they will have the choice of foam in a range of bright colours. Also I’ll get some glittery foam to make them pretty. I’m not usually one for pretty and girly at Brownies, but the rest of the weekend will be sports and games so it would be a balanced programme.

I got LOADS of stickers after my trip to Orlando as I was making a scrapbook of our adventures. I still have lots of letters leftover so I will donate them to this craft. I also have a lot of stars and comets (which if you rotate look like olympic flames). Hopefully there is enough to go around without too many crying.

Thought they should be two-sided as well, gives the girls more to work on. And if they finish they can make  Greek olive leaf crowns as well.

Still need to make the templates but that won’t take long. At least it is something on the programme ready to go.

Puppy – Feltie

I finished him. Although he still looks a little lopsided. I removed his head and tried to sew it straight but he still leans to one side. I hope my Nan realises he is supposed to have one leg longer than the other.

I copied the head from the Sailor Puppy and made the body shorter so he looks like he is standing like a regular puppy would (sailor puppies can stand on their back legs, don’t you know.)

I haven’t sent him yet. Need to get a stamp today. I’ll update this when I get my Nan’s responce.

Snow Jedward

Yes you read right.

When the snow came earlier this year it was the first time James and I got to enjoy it together. No work for either of us. I really wanted to make a snowman so we set about making one in my garden. I always find it amazing that it just rolls up like carpet.

We wanted a proper three part snowman and it was tough work getting one lump of snow onto the other. The head was just getting sorted when I dumped a load of snow on top – then laughed at the idea of making Jedward out of snow. We started pointing the hair up. Then we decided to go for it! Make a Jedward. A Jedward? Well, he wouldn’t look right on his own. (And I’d already decided this was Edward.) So while I worked on the face James started rolling up more snow for a second Jedward.

Google Jedward if you don’t know what I’m going on about (and prepare to be wowed.)

And these were our creations;

John on the left, Edward on the right. We made Edward first and that’s why John looks a little smaller. James even made the shoulderpads they sometimes where. They have twigs for arms in symetrical poses – wish they were clearer in the photo.

My Mum thought they were pixies or gnomes. (Too much Brownies for somebody.) But I guess that is what they really look like. I don’t care, they’re Jedward to me. … Well they were until some hooligan took their heads in the middle of the night. Must have actually taken them because there were no remains.

Sitting Vollyball – Brownies

It was first week back after Easter holidays and we got started using our new paralympic sports equipment given away by Sainsbury’s. It was a brillaint kit, especially so since it was free!

When I suggested blind football as an option the girls looked worried. Brown Owl came in with the suggestion that we try sitting vollyball this week so we divided them into three teams and set up the net. We didn’t have a ball pump for the vollyball in the set so we used one of our own balls. The girls found it difficult to stay on their bottoms at first. When one team won their last point from a girl lifting herself twice as tall as the others by resting on her knees I decided to make a point of staying on bottoms.

Robin has some experince playing vollyball at a high level so she was explaining how to hit the ball. But it made it a little more difficult as the girls couldn’t hit the ball over the net. After a few rounds Robin and I decided to wander in and join the teams. Only then did I realise how high the net was. Lowing it made the rallies run a little longer but some girls were still having difficulties.

After a while of this we offered to the girls if they wanted to play regular vollyball standing up. Which they literally jumped at. We divided the other team into 2 to join in the game and had everyone playing. Even us! Though there wasn;t much to do at the back of the court because the girls couldn’t hit it that far. But us leaders joining in gives a much closer feeling of being a unit, rather than leaders and Brownies. We should deffo involve ourselves more often.

Shanklin Chine – Isle of Wight

For me this was a nostalgia trip, for James curiousity.

When we first arrived on the Isle we were too early to check into our chalet so we drove to Sandown. We overshot Sandown and parked up in Shanklin. We walked the length of the promenade and then arrived at the entrance of Shanklin Chine. It was closed for the season, but luckily it was opening 1st April which was the Sunday of our weekend!

Sunday morning we parked up in the same place in Shanklin and walked down to the chine. As we walked in we were given a service sheet. Looking confused we walked on and were greeted by a woman elaboratly dressed – possibly the Mayor, and asked if we were part of the committee! Me in a hoodie and James with his jeans and trainers. No, we weren’t part of the committee. There was a memeorial service taking place in the chine and we were asked to watch from the hill behind us where we saw a crowd of people lined up. Awkward! We were just there to see the chine.

We found a cafe round the corner to have breakfast and decide what to do next. The cafe owner thought the service would be a couple hours so we decided to try back tomorrow.

On the Monday we made our way to the chine and actually got in! I’d forgotten how large it was. There was a jubilee exhibition showing artists interpretation of the Chine over the years, including work by Turner. The chine is a really inspirational place, and that’s coming from a couple who usually spend our time on rollarcoasters.

We walked through the chine to the top where the tall waterfall starts.

It is a lovely walk but we were a little rushed because of the time we put on the car. We wanted to stop off for a cream tea in their cafe as well. It’s great for kids too. They would love looking at the stocks and the birdwatch hut has lots of information about wildlife creatures. I wish we had put more time on the car so we could’ve experinced it longer.

SeaWorld – Orlando, Florida

SeaWorld went above my expectations, and for James was his favourite attraction in Orlando. High praise indeed when up against Universal and Disney.

The great thing about SeaWorld, compared to a lot of aquariams, is the interactive elements. On walking in we came across Stingray Lagoon. I’ve seen this before in London Aquarium, where you can stroke the rays, but this area was so large! Also prepare to get wet. We stood along the wall and dipped our hands in to get a feel of their silky skin. James bought some food but being an animal wuss I refused to do it. James tried to do it like he was told, put the prawn between his fingers and then holding his hand underwater, but the rays tended to yank the prawn away before it was fully under.

We had a glimpse at the Dolphin Interactive experience but decided to come back later when we could try feeding them. (For a fee!)

There was a wait for the ride ‘Journey to Atlantis’ but not for the queue but because it had technical problems. People were hanging around the front all day. I was happy, I didn’t need another water ride to spoil my hair but suddenly a crowd of people flooded the queue as the gates opened. We joined them. As much as I didn’t want to get wet I had to experience the ride. OMG. Never been on a log flume like it. A very strange one but fantastic. I won’t give away the secret but it is a water ride unlike any other log flume I’ve experienced.

Kraken was a great floorless coaster. As usual sitting at the front is best but any seat will give you a great ride. Like many Orlando theme parks the rides followed a story. This one was a mighty sea creature that terrorises sailors . Even considering we went to SeaWorld on a weekend the queue was non-exsistent. Mid-November is the best time to go.

Final ride was Manta. If you’ve been on Air at Alton Towers then you get the idea. You sit down and then your bum is lifted up so you are lying facing the floor. A strange sensation at first but makes an amazig ride. Called Manta, you are supposed to resemble a sea creature (like a ray) swimming and spinning in the water. I also prefered to imagine being Buzz Lightyear jumping around Andy’s room thinking I’m flying.

The rides make a great alternate to walking around exhibits and seeing shows.

Speaking of shows the first we saw called ‘One Ocean’, a stadium show based around killer whales and the showstopper Shamu. Shamu is a massive killer whale and you can see it’s incredible size compared to the other whales. The killer whales have lots of water space to move around in. They are capable of splashing the first quarter on the stadium. They are fantastic creatures that share a connection with their trainers.

The second show we saw was called ‘Clyde and Seymour Take Pirate Island’. This was a show of two sea lions which great comedic timing, and the trainers are pretty funny too. There is also an otter who helps out with a few funny jokes. A good family friendly show. I would deffo see this again. The sea lions knew the rountine too well as in some points they would run off before the trainer said his lines. Although I wonder if this has become part of the routine.

The final show was the dolphin show. This included a lot of gymnastics and people on ropes. The dolphins jump and push trainers along under water. It is the usual dolphin tricks but the presentation makes the show an experience. The colours are bright, the music is uplifting and the costumes are magical.

I did feel a little unsure about the shows, knowing that a trainer had been killed here last year by a whale. However when I returned from Orlando and viewed my Mum’s photos from her trip to the same places 30 years ago it is clear that these parks have done a lot to improve the size of enclouses.

After the last show we went to feed the dolphins. We were each given a dish with some fish inside and we taught how to present the food. It was strange to be so close to them. The time with them was short, although I preferred that as the dolphins should be given their space. Not before James managed to get a dolphin to spin for him though.

Amoungst these attractions we saw Penguins, Sharks, Fish and even some kind of llama. Our last exhibit was the sea lions but by this time the park was getting dark and people were heading for the exit. But we didn’t really want to leave! And we didn’t before spending some time in the gift shop. It was a fantastic day out. We even went back for another afternoon after going to the SeaWorld water park. But that is a different story.