Ghostly Haunts with Hella Gwen.

Hello, My name is Gwen. I am a late 20- something living in the San Francisco Bay Area. by Day, I am either in school studying Fashion Design, or am at work ankle deep in clothes. By night I am either binge watching Netflix, or curling up with my cat and a good book.
  I have dreams of starting a geek fashion clothing line that encourages inclusion of all shapes, sizes, nationalities, genders, disabilities and more. My blog, "Hella Gwen*!" is a place to document my journey to that goal as well as my hobbies. I fangirl over two major things: MTV;s Teen Wolf and Harry Potter anything. I am a firm believer in living your life as the best wizard in disguise as you can. Don't let the muggles get you down. You can follow my blog, Twitter Instagram
  Halloween is my favorite holiday. Hands down. I could actually do without Christmas if I was given a chance to celebrate Halloween twice a year.
As an adult, it's a lot harder to find fun social things to do on Halloween that isn't going out to a party, hosting a party or sleeping it off like it's just another day of the year. In the past, post surpassing the "right age" to stop Trick or Treating, I would just stay home and binge watch my favorite horror films. In the more recent years when I started cosplaying and learning how to make my own costumes, I try to make it down to Disneyland for their Halloween party. Now, luckily for me I am already in the area. Los Angeles is home to my favorite convention Comikaze Expo (now called Stan Lee's Comic Con) which is held Halloween weekend and it's not too much trouble for me to make the extra hour-ish drive to Anaheim to spend actual Halloween day there.
Two years ago, my friend and I dressed up as Steamboat Willie Mickey and Minnie Mouse. We covered ourselves in grey scale makeup and wore black, white and grey outfits resembling those from the cartoon and had a blast with our friends in the park.
This year, if we end up going, I will be wearing an outfit I am making to wear to the actual convention so I wont have to think about it too much. But either way, spending my favorite holiday in the happiest place on earth is no doubt one of the best ways for me to celebrate it!
It got me thinking though, there might be people out there who are stuck at what costumes they could wear for Halloween this year. Some of you might be making the trip to Disneyland next month to celebrate or might be doing something where you live and have no idea what you could be. Being someone who tries to advocate for DIYing, I have rounded up a few commercial sewing patterns for relatively easy costumes that you could make this year to wear out and do whatever you plan to do this Halloween season!

The costumes you wear to the park don't have to be Disney related and no one is going to chastise you if you don't. So for this post, I am going to do a mix of both Disney and non-Disney costumes!

DC Bombshells
The DC Bombshell figures and comics have been a real hit in the comic book world. Simplicity totally tapped the market by bringing a few patterns for some of the Bombshell characters. My two favorites are Wonder Woman and Supergirl. Both costumes appear to be relatively easy structural wise.







Alice In Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland is probably my second favorite Disney film so when I saw Simplicity launched two pattern packs featuring the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter and Alice herself I got really excited. Now, these are kind of their own personal spin on the characters and I think do qualify in the "sexy costume" category but they're not AS hypersexualized and could easily be modified to be..well...modest if you're needing it to be.

Star Trek

With the 50th anniversary just passed, everyone is riding high on the Star Trek: The Original Series excitement train. Surprising no one, Simplicity hopped on that train and released about five officially licensed Star Trek patterns including a pack for The Original Series and one featuring the skant from The Next Generation. I love them both and find these to be no doubt the easiest from the bunch to whip up in time for your party (or Disneyland if you're willing to boldly go!)

Rey

No doubt about it, fans of The Force Awakens fell in love with Rey immediately and the amount of people who cosplay as her is still on the rise. McCalls came through with a really easy Rey costume pattern that will help fulfill that void you might be having because your lack of faith in it existing was disturbing.

PokemonGO
Now, I might not be a fan of PokemonGO but I cant deny that it's popularity is blazing its way through every inch of social media and beyond. Cosplayer Yaya Han who creates patterns for McCalls brought the world a pattern they didn't know they needed until now. It's a full PokemonGO trainer costume that will let you cosplay your trainer in-game. So get out there and catch them all already!

I know a lot of people out there aren't too handy with a sewing machine or might think commercial patterns are scary but let me be the first to tell you that it's really easy and fun once you get the hang of it. Even if you're not handy with a sewing machine, I feel like there are tons of options for you to make your own costumes and go out and party, collect free candy or spend a 2spoopy night at Disneyland like me!

Whatever it is you decide to do this year, I just hope you have fun, stay safe and remember not to eat any unwrapped candy. Also, don't blow out your pumpkins candle(s) before Halloween is over, its bad luck!

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Ghostly Haunts With The Geeky Burrow

Happy October and Happy Halloween everyone!

My name is Alice and I’m full-time University student, part-time blogger and all-the-time geek girl. I currently have three main writing projects, I’m a Staff Reporter for Middle-earth News, a co-founder of the Travelling Geek Show blog, and I run The Geeky Burrow, my personal blog.

When Gabriella invited me to write this post, I couldn’t be happier, since October is probably my favorite month of the year, because of a couple of good reasons.

Fall. This is the best moment of the year for me, I love so much cloudy days and I love to drink a tasty cup of tea while reading a good book and listening to the rain outside. Or just having a good movie marathon of The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Even if I’m from sunny Italy, I just don’t like the sun, in fact I consider London my home away from home. No, I’m not a vampire!

My Birthday. I’m not a party lover and I don’t usually organize big things for my birthday, but it’s another reason to love this month for me. I was born only few days before Halloween, so I usually merge the two things to celebrate with friends!

Halloween. Many people don’t know it, but Halloween wasn’t originally celebrated here in Italy. I discovered the magic of this day thanks to my English teacher in elementary school, who made me become an anglophile, I’ll never thank her enough for that. She read us about Jack O’Lantern and made us create nice cards and decorations for the class. My girlfriends and I loved all this so much that decided to start going house-to-house for “Trick or Treat”, but most of the times people didn’t know what that meant or didn’t have any treats to give us (I collected an orange and fruit juice, once!). Now that’s more a commercial thing, everybody knows about Halloween and I still watch Hocus Pocus every year as a personal tradition of mine. That movie reminds me so many great moments of my childhood…! I finally upgraded to a DVD edition a couple of years ago, because I still had the old VHS recorded from my TV!

I’m so happy to celebrate this month/season/holiday with you all, thanks to Gabriella for letting me share, or better, geek out about my favorite time of the year! Feel free to let me know if you have any special memory about Halloween and October. :)

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Series #25: Sweet Christmas, I finished Luke Cage *Spoilers*

Hey Gang!

 I have been so excited about Luke Cage since I did the video about the trailer. So when It came out Friday, I just knew that I had to watch it over the weekend. I wound up finishing it around 8 ish on Saturday. I took notes during the 13 episode binge, and Now I'm about to tell ya about it. Slight spoilers will be found ahead, so make sure you watch it before you keep reading ok?

  The Feel is old school black. Like Can you dig it? Shaft Old School Black. The dialogue washed over me like a summer's day spent in my grandmother's kitchen. Homage paid to the greats, both new and old. Talk of blacks for blacks, a sense of community. A battle of the old school versus new, this cat Cottonmouth wants to take over where Fisk Left off. He doesn't care who he has to bloody to do it. And Luke? He just wants to protect those who needs it.

  So, the girl he "picks up at the bar" is Misty Knight and she's schooling Homeboys on the court and in the field, but....Is she gonna have the arm though? Claire will single handedly heal all the hero's and Bobby Fish has been laying all the clues for Heros for Hire. I love the backstory of how luke met his wife, Shades and Comanche, I hate that so many people have taken advantage of Luke, that he can't trust anyone. Or even make friends because he'll be scared of them getting hurt, or used as leverage, like Poor Squabbles.

 All that hard work and lives lost to put Cottonmouth away, and he's out in like half an episode. How much evidence is truly needed. They could use the notebook with all those names alone, just to hold him in booking. Also, the episode that gave his backstory was great! They gave the original costume, along with the gauntlets and they even used his slogan "Sweet Christmas!" When Cornell used the rocket and he said "Sweet Sister:, that was pretty perfect.

 The backsories for Mariah and Cornell, are both so devastating. Mama Mabel is the perfect presentation of Nature V. Nurture. She Nurtures the evil that lies in both Cornell and Mariah. Mama Mabel fostering the deeds that created Cottonmouth. Just like in Jessica Jones, the view people have of rape is often miscewed. Especially when the view is aways on the realm of victim Blaming. You wanted it. It happened more than once. You must have enjoyed it. With no where to run and nowhere to be safe, and to have her own family abuse Mariah that way, and to hear victim blaming from her cousin. The only family that she has left? I totally understand her rage.

 Brother Willis turns into Diamondback, and set Luke up from Jumspstreet. He would never have gone to seagate if he hadn't been set up. I was a little disappointed in Bisty not being on Claire's side. Two Women of color that should on the same side fighting corruption, But yet and still they put them against each other.



When Diamondback shot Misty, I really thought they were going to give Misty the arm, because Luke, said she was losing too much blood, but now on the last episode her arm is in working order. Can't believe Shades actually still stayed in power. Mariah is still running free, and now Luke has to go back to Seagate. Even all the easter eggs couldn't change how disappointed I was with the ending.

  Are you serious? This is how you end the season?A black hero Finally, does all that good, has the evidence to clear his name, and now he has to go back to prison? That's how you end an amazing show like that? I want to be excited for season 2, but how will they rectify this serious oversight? How would you have liked them to finish the season? Tell me about it in the comments below or on Twitter.

 Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Twitch | Patreon

   Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy, ~Spokhette!~

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September Favorites

Hey Gang!
 
 I can't believe October is right around the corner. My favorite Holiday is right around the corner and I just can't wait. September was such a busy month! Here's a few things that I did this month.

- Discovering Supergirl on Netflix. The only have season one, and the first couple of episodes were dragging but now I'm about half way through and its definitely picked up in pace and story. Can we just talk about James for a minute? Because....Man...He can shoot me anytime. What was Lucy thinking giving him up? The way they introduce characters that haven't really been on television is pretty brilliant, especially bizarro? and Manhunter? I was so hype.

- Completely Gravity Falls. The Feels!!! I did a whole post about it, but my heart... I want more!!

- Falling in love with LumberJanes, Thinking about writing them for the next Fangirling Post. April is My Patronus. Definitely.

- Taking the Pottermore Sorting Quiz. I'm a proud slytherin. Can't believe I waited so long to take it.

- Keeping up with video content. 5 videos, this month!

- Doing my first D.I.Y. In FOREVER! Honestly, I think the last one was 2012.

- Completing a Novel this month. The Silver Codex by Emily Kirby, a guest blogger. Check her out.

- Falling in love with Hawaii Five-0. Kono is a goddess. I love the polar opposites that are Danny and Steve. Reminds me of Kirk and Spock, just not as nerdy.

Did you know you can subscribe to my blog by email, Bloglovin, OR Google +? That way you don't miss a beat! You can also subscribe to my youtube channel so you'll be the first to know about new Youtube videos!

What are some of your favorite things done this month? Let's chat about it on Twitter!

Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Twitch | Patreon

   Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy, ~Spokhette!~

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New Feature Alert: Ghostly Haunts

Hey Gang!

 Got something new I wanted to show you today! The entire month of October for Nerdette At Large is being taken over by halloween obsessed bloggers. I can't wait to share my space with these amazing ladies! They all run their own blogs and youtube channels, spreading their own brand of uniqueness wherever they go.

 I have organized the month so that each guest blogger gets their own days. They will be posting Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and My regular posts will be relegated to Tuesdays and Thursdays. I talk about how excited I am about Halloween all year long, but I figured it would be a blast to give a bunch of like minded ladies a podium to gush about their favorite holiday as well.

 You'll learn about bloggers that you probably haven't heard of before, why they decided on their preferred medium, why they love Halloween, and what traditions they have for the glorious event. I can't wait for you guys to meet these ladies.

I've been working on this for a couple of months, so I'm literally chomping at the bit for you to see all the hard work.

You'll be seeing posts from :

- The Geeky Burrow
- Layla Wrote
- XO MIA
- Geeky Glamorous
- Pretty Brown and Nerdy
- Florals And Dragons
- Tales of Loutopia
- The Lily Moose
- Confessions of a Scorpio
- The Road to Hannah
- Tape Parade
And Many More!!!

Join the party, and lets talk about all the awesomeness that Halloween has to offer on twitter!

 Bloglovin | Twitter |Instagram | Youtube | Twitch | Patreon

Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy, ~Spokhette!~

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Handheld Mistress #37 :What I've Been Playing Lately.

Hey Gang!

 Can you believe that its almost a brand new month? 2016 is passing by so freaking fast!! I hardly have enough time to take it in. I thought it would be cool to start the week by telling you guys what  I've been playing lately. I haven't really been on social Media much, and for that I apologize. In my spair time, I've been playing video games and exploring my city. More on that later.

 Project X Zone 2 (3DS): I owned the original, and I didn't really play it all that much. The schematic was a little difficult for me to understand, and I wasn't a fan of drop down move menu. PXZ2 is my favorite game right now. The crossover element is expansive. I've been playing since February, and on level 38, characters about level 25 to 27, and I can't count the different characters and franchises that I've come across. Every couple of levels, I'm hopping around grinning because they brought in Miles Edgeworth, or have introduced the game marveland, to the levels you can explore. Plus, Space Channel 5, .Hack, Captain Commando, and so many more.

 Mighty No. 9 (PS4): With the same look and feel about it as Mega Man. You play as a robot, who is tasked with finding all the other robots in the area, and stopping them, from going crazy and destroying the planet. You have the ability to zoom past enemies, and absorb their powers which can help you in future battles. But you can definitely see influences from Astro Boy and Dr. Robotnik.

Puzzles and Dragons (3DS): You guys know how much I love puzzle games. So when I discovered this two for one combo I was in heaven. You can play as the Puzzle and Dragon Z or Mario Brother characters. The biggest thing I like about that game, is that you can move all of the tiles around and allow three to five to fall in line. A real easy way to rack up the points, if you do it right.

ChibiRobo Ziplash (3DS): This side scrolling adventure game. It's pretty awesome. You play as a robot who wants to stop aliens from taking over earth. The robot has a cord and the more power ups you grab during a mission, the longer your cord gets. You can shoot your cord in any direction that allows you to climb walls and continue through the levels, its a pretty fun game.

The Rhythm Thief & The Emperor's Treasure (3DS): A french dance and rhythm game which is great!!! The uniqueness of the rhythm games included are so neat. Pressing A and B to the beat, allows you to beat up Napoleon henchmen. Plus, you have an arch enemy, with a soccer ball. There's sheet music reading, puzzle fittings, and Memory games galore. Raphael is so adorable too, I'm a huge fan of this game.

Have you been playing anything awesome lately? Lets talk about it on twitter. I'm always on the search for something new to play. I am saving up for King Of Fighters, I'm so hype for that!!!

Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Twitch | Patreon

 Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy, ~Spokhette!~

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D.I.Y. : Lady Layton's Hat!

Hey Gang!

 It's been so long since the last time I did a How-To. I missed them so much. I just haven't had inspiration or the time to create physical things. Thanks to the Lady Layton trailer, I was absolutely infatuated with her hat, and I had to make one for myself. Then I decided to show you guys how to make it too.

Here are the things you need:

- 5 Empty Toilet Paper Rolls.
- Hot Glue
- 2 sheets of "goldenrod yellow" Felt
- 1 sheet of Brown Felt
- 2 Stretchy Headbands
- Scissors

Lets Get Started. 

1. Cut two circles out of the paper rolls. One large, One Small.

2. Cut two rolls in half and hot glue them together.

3. Hot Glue yellow Felt to the Larger circle.

4. Hot Glue tube to felted large circle.

5. Hot Glue the smaller circle to the top of the tube.

6. Hot Glue the Yellow felt around the tube.

7. Hot Glue Felt to the Lid of Hat.

8. Cut off excess Felt.

9. Hot Glue A Thin strip of Brown Felt to the brim of hat.

10. Put on the headbands. Place hat on top of them. Mark your preferred angle.

11. GLUE Hat to BANDS. I used two, so the hat wouldn't flop, but totally up to you.

* DO NOT GLUE HAT TO BANDS WHILE ON HEAD. PLEASE!!!*

Are you a fan of Layton? Are you excited for the new video Game? Lets chat on Twitter about it!

 Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Twitch | Patreon

 Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy, ~Spokhette!~

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