F.A.C.T.S. 2013 Cosplay, comics and lots of fun!

Sunday, October 20th, Gent Belgium.
I was sent on a mission to Gent to find out what is going on at the Flanders expo. I found a lot of cosplayers and lots of comics, merchandise etc. My partner came well prepared with ration for the day so we would be well hydrated and fed. First we picked up secret information from the Archonia booth. I told them in advance to bring the needed supplies to the expo. The first part of the mission succeeded. As we walked through the crowd a voice behind me whispered: ' agent Romanoff'. When I looked he was gone... I grabbed for my guns but I was stopped in my tracks by a photographer, he wanted to take a picture.

Hey guys, I hope you like my intro to this post! I was cosplaying Black Widow at F.A.C.T.S. 2013! Here are some pictures, I will add some more soon when I find the pic's that were taken of me.

The loot`;

Wolverine action figure, a gift from my boyfriend <3

Cheetah 3d cover

The selfie guy, he took a selfie with almost every visitor! cool project :)

Agent Romanoff, signing out

50 random facts about me

1. I collect comics and superhero related merchandise
2. My favorite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast
3. I used to play tennis for 7 years and I was pretty good
4. My favorite colors are mint green and lavender blue
5. I drink coffee since I was a baby
6. I earned a gold medal for the bicycling exam when I was 11
7. I love mythology
8. When I was younger I always dreamed of being a vet, until I discovered you can't save all the animals.
9. I appear to be a walking jukebox, whenever I hear a song once or twice I know it by heart.
10. I used to be scared of dogs, now I own one and love them.
11. I still think E.T. is scary
12. I am a chocolate addict
13. I suffer from anxiety
14. At one point in my life I desperately wanted to be a fashion model and almost starved myself
15. I have 9 tattoos
16. At the age of 19 I had my tonsils removed
17. I am scared of wasps
18. I can't stand snails and slugs
19. I love the beach and seaside
20. When I was 15 I had a giant mohawk
21. My first pet was a goldfish with some kind of Disney name
22. I watched Star Wars the Phantom Menace three times at the cinema
23. I used to re-enact X-men episodes with my friends when we were young
24. When I was 8 I had a crush on AJ from the Backstreet Boys
25. I am 25
26. My birthday is on the 30th of December and that used to suck big time because everybody went away on holiday. Now it doesn't bother me anymore ;)
27. I have a weirdly flexible right thumb
28. I can play several music instruments
29. I have a walk-in closet
30. I got my first tattoo at the age of 17
31. Obsessed with nailpolish
32. Loving me some leopard print
33. I have met Wanda Jackson in person
34. I love to sing
35. I don't like to fail and can be hard on myself
36. When I was young I got bullied but karma struck against them (I have seen one of them later in my life ...)
37. I don't like rollercoasters
38. Sometimes I suffer from bad migraines
39. My favorite food is Italian
40. I think the 1940's are one of the most interesting decades
41. I wish unicorns were real
42. My shoe collection is huge
43. I think I am creative
44. Brian Setzer gave me his plectrum
45. I realy want to get married
46. I love to watch cooking shows
47. I am proud that I spoke at my grandpa's funeral service
48. I know my way around London
49. People often think that I am from Romania or Russia
50. I love my friends and family ♥

Re-vamping the ice queen dress

Since I am all in the costuming mode, I have decided to re-vamp the ice queen dress. It was just a plain dress which I bought online, and since it was my first time dressing up at EFF I wasn't sure what to do. So I took out my scissors, hot-fix stones, thread, needles etc and started the make-over.

First I wanted to make a split down the side, because it was kinda hard to walk in such a tight fit. I cut the dress open on the seam, and pinned it into place. After that was done I sew new seams. Yes, it is done by hand since my machine is still at my parent's house. This won't be a problem because I want to decorate the edges anyway.

I don't have the desired decoration yet, so I moved on to the hot-fix stones. Basically they are little studs with 'dry' glue on the back. Once you heat it with your hot-fix tool the glue starts to activate and it takes just 3 seconds. The stud is now on and it is pretty sturdy! I decorated the 'flowy' bit on the side of the dress with dark blue studs. On the skirt part I made snowflake patterns from an example of the internet.

The white gloves got embellished as well, with some nice iridescent studs.

I am planning to make a cape to go with the dress. I remember it was kinda chilly and a coat is not an option when you're in costume. I will keep you posted on this project. It is so much fun to do!

As always thanks for reading!

Anxiety, the bitch in my life

A lot of people suffer from panic attacks and anxiety. I am one of those people. I write this so others will understand what someone is going through if it happens.

What is anxiety? It is basically a mental condition where you can't get control over your body and thoughts. My attacks happen often in crowded places like for example a supermarket. Signs of an attack are:
Breathing heavily/breathing the wrong way causing hyperventilation
Thinking you are going to pass out
Thinking you will die
Weird feelings in your head/lightheaded
Sweaty palms/sweating in general
Racing heart/tight chest

There is no way you can predict when an attack is going to happen. When it does, try to stay calm and do not try to 'escape' the situation. It is hard to do because your body is going crazy and your thoughts are out of control. If you are with someone tell them what is happening. It is reassuring to know that you can get help if you are going to hyperventilate. I always try to gain control of the situation. It happened a few times when I let it out of control and it was terrifying.

Where does it come from? That question is hard to answer because for everyone it is different. My anxiety started when my grandpa was in hospital fighting for his life. I could not handle the stress of losing him. I literately fainted when he passed away and saw him lying there. So my fear is losing people and death as a whole thing. Off course there were some other things going on at that time which were very stressful. It all added up and the passing of my grandpa was the final blow.

Can you be 'cured'? Yes you can, but it takes time. Some things just happen and this whole anxiety thing is just another bitch that comes along in your life. I used to freak out every day but now I just have my moments sometimes. Just focus on the positive and enjoy life. Try to avoid taking pills, they do not solve the problem at all!

I hope this was somehow helpful and if you suffer from anxiety please do not give up. It will get better, stay positive :)

Poison Ivy costume work-log

Costumes are great fun, and this time I have decided to create the deadly Poison Ivy costume. The last time I dressed up was at Elf Fantasy. (click to see) The Poison Ivy for my inspiration is the Bruce Timm version. I am not going to make it exactly the same, but with my own twist to it.
So let's get started! I purchased a red wig and green gloves. It was really cheap, and maybe one day I will buy a better quality wig since this one isn't very dense.
I brushed the wig with a light hand, you can't just yank through it otherwise you will ruin it. After all the loose hair and knots were removed I curled the hair in a pin curl set. Not just the standard size, but big, voluminous rolls for I want to create a lot of volume since the wig itself is as flat as a pancake. I set the wig aside so it can set for a couple of weeks until I need to use it. I still have my male model head from hairdresser's school so I placed it on him :P

The gloves themselves have a perfect color so no need to change that. I got a strand of fake ivy and cut off some leafs. I sewed them on the gloves by hand, it was fairly easy to do. You have to make sure to keep the material stretched because if you sew them on too tight the spandex can't stretch anymore. The next things I need are: a dark green leotard, a pair of light green tights and dark green boots. When I got those I will post the next work-log. Thank you for reading!

Archonia show and tell

Hi, how are you? Hope everything is fine and dandy! ^^

So this week my order from Archonia came in and this is what I got:

First of all I just want to mention that everything is packaged really well. Lots of bubble wrap and the comics are bagged and boarded.

New additions to my latest obsession, funko pop figurines!

I got Rainbow Dash from My little pony and Wonder Woman.

An overview from the entire order.

Ultimate comics X-men Hardcover, part one and two

X-men legacy #268 and #270, X-men second coming #1

Justice League dark #8, Justice league of America #44

The single issues were on sale for 0,99 a piece so that is a total bargain! The hardcover books were also on sale for 9,99. I think I got a pretty good deal and a nice addition to my collection. I highly recommend this online store if you are into comics, manga, anime and scifi. The prices are reasonable and the customer service is perfect. There is also a nice feature on the site which you can use to create your wishlist. Another cool thing is that with every order you collect points. With those points you can buy other stuff on the site. So eventually you might for example have a funko pop for free! I hope you find this information constructive and have a nice day!

Spicing up the blog.

It has been quite a while (again) but this time I wanted to change the blog a bit. Since I don't want to force myself to only write about the Golden Era I changed the blog title to geek 'n chic. I love the Golden Era, but I also love modern stuff and comics, superheroes, beauty, movies, music etc. That is why I have changed the name. The link will stay the same though.

I have ordered some stuff from Archonia so a 'show and tell' will be coming up very soon! We also made some progress on the remodeling of our house so that is another post that will be coming up. Is there anything you guys want to see or read about? Maybe my superhero collection, or movie talk? Please do let me know. I'd love to hear about your opinions :)

Keep your eyes peeled on this page and thank you for reading! X

De Dam shooting May 7th 1945

This post is going to be a little history lesson and personal story of my family.

As you all know the 4th of May we remember the casualties of WWII. On the 5th of May we celebrate our freedom. But a lot of people don't know what happened on the 7th of May 1945. Here is the story of my grandma, who was at the Dam on that day.

My grandma worked as a cleaning maid at a dentist and decided to take the day off from work to go and celebrate the liberation on the Dam. She went there with her friend Elsie. She told me there were a lot of people laughing, celebrating and having a good time. Then all of the sudden around 15:00 everything took a turn for the worse. A rainstorm of bullets came over the Dam, killing and hurting people. The shooting came from 'De Groote Club'. A few Germans from the Kriegsmarine had decided to kill as many people as possible. Nobody until this day knows why. My grandma and her friend went down on the ground and started to crawl somewhere safe. Mr. Perlee from the street organ 'Het Snotneusje' grabbed both of them and brought them to safety behind his organ. She saw people falling down, injured, screaming for help. After things calmed down she and her friend ran away as far from the Dam as possible. My grandma is very much traumatized by this. I hope I have educated some of you by telling her story. More information can be found on this facebook page: DeDam7Mei1945 If you have information of your own, please share so we can come closer to unraveling the victims.

source picture: Wil F. Leijns, Collectie Nederlands Fotomuseum Rotterdam

Elf Fantasy 20-04-2013

Hi everyone! We had such an amazing time at the EFF! So many beautiful costumes it was mind blowing. I also had quite success with my costume, there were so many pictures taken I felt like a rockstar ^^

Here are a few:

Here you can see the 'photo bombing'

Picture by: Monique van den Broek

Picture by: Alexander Koopmans

There were workshops, battles, market stalls, food, music, writers, lectures and lots more!

A few pictures of the battle of the knights. 

I can't wait 'till next time! Thinking about the next costume already. Any suggestions?

Bye, thanks for reading!

Elf Fantasy preparation

It's almost the 20th! That means Elf Fantasy time!!

I've been working on the make-up and my wig. Finally everything is ready, I am so so so excited :D

For the make-up I got this frosty glow going on. I drew on some veins all over my face to give it a 'see-through' effect. I've also got some big ass blue eyelashes which will be glued on the day itself.

The wig was very cheap so it's kinda hard to work with. You can't really brush the hair because it will fall out. I made two four strand braids on each side and joined them together by making two bows. Easy but elegant :)

Just 3 more nights!