On November 23rd & 24th the winter edition of Dutch Comic Con will again be held in Jaarbeurs Utrecht. More than a month away, but time flies when you're working on a new  cosplay!

My eldest Geekling (4) is every excited about the Comic Con. She loves going there, seeing all the beautiful costumes, taking pictures with cosplayers, and just enjoying the experience. It looks like there will be a Kids Area this time, we'll keep you posted! I asked Evy who or what she wanted to be for the next Comic Con. She wanted to be a My Little Pony, she is a princess I was not surprised that she choose princess Celestia. Luckily for me, that pony has a badass sister, called Luna, she will be Celestia and I will be  Luna.

I started looking for ideas online and found a lot of MLP cosplay, but they were mostly by adults and hardly recognizable for a Geekling. So the search went on, I needed inspiration for a MLP cosplay that looks like a horse, but is also lightweight and comfortable. Finally I found I a halloween costume that had great elements. It is basically a horses backside and legs, that you can easily wear by tying a ribbon around your waist.

The materials are all lightweight, the feet are made with poolnoodles and I used materials I still had lying around for the body (more about that in part 2). I used two pool noodles. I wanted the legs to be same height as her own legs, and one pool noodle was 1.60cm long. Just a few centimeters too short. The noodles usually come in bright colors, in this case red.. and princess Celestia is white.. I knew that painting the legs would be hard, so I decided to help myself by buying some white tights. Evy will wear them anyway, so it would look good to have all four legs in the same color. Painting was still necessary, because the red color could easily be seen through the fabric. A good chance to let my Geeklings help! We needed two layers of simple acryl paint, but it looks like a good start of the costume now.

In the next blogs:
Part2: Body
Part3: Clothes and hair
Part4: Necklace, leg decoration and crown

The first Dutch Lego Store is open! A group of about 15 people was already gathered when I arrived at 9.30, but the line grew to more than 50 before the doors opened at 10. The staff was very welcoming and gave the first fans a small Lego set as a gift. 

The store is not extremely big, but well put together. It was very crowded due to the opening, but most Lego things are against the walls, which gives you enough room to walk around. The store is divided in sections, you can easily see where you want to be if you look at the big sets. In every section, room is been made for build sets to look at. In de back, behind the counter, is the Pick a Brick wall. You can get a small bucket for €9,99 or a big one for €17,99. Fill it with the bricks on the wall, which are mostly regular ones. But I also picked some arches, flowers and saw small 6 x 6 plates in grey. Fit as much in the bucket as you can, as long as the lid still closes.. The biggest Lego geeks have a real system, to get as much as possible ;-)

Things for Geeklings:

•  There is a lot of Lego for Geeklings to choose from, Lego Friends, Marvel Lego, Harry Potter Lego, Frozen Lego (I bought the new treehouse set for my girls and got a smaller Olaf set for free) etc. There is also some Duplo, but a small amount. There are build areas for both Lego and Duplo.
•  The store also has nice Lego related gifts, such as Lego heads to store your Legos, but also keychains, a Lego phonecase, a calendar, and much more. So a good place to find small gifts, not just big sets.
• Build a minifigure! You take a package, which fits three figures for €6,99. You can then build them any way you like. You are allowed to choose a pair of legs, a body, a head, hairpieces and accessories. My Geeklings are going to love this, but I will take them on a less busy day..  

 

When I discovered peg dolls, I was sold. They are simple wooden figures, that can be transformed in practically any character you choose. I was inspired by creations such as those from By Knus and wanted to make my own.

As inspiration I bought Margaret Bloom's book 'Making Peg Dolls', and an inspiration it is :-) There are over 60 peg doll characters in it, some are based on the season, but there are also lovely fairy tale characters in it. I used the book as inspiration and gave my own spin on the designs. Some out of choice, some because I didn't have the exact materials.

My first creations are not from the book. I was inspired by something I saw online. Peg dolls based on the days of the week. My girls are 3 and 4 years old and don't know the days of the week yet. Giving them a color makes it easier to remember what day it is, and what day comes next. I used patterns for a cloak and hat from the book to dress the colored peg dolls. Peg doll faces are tricky, the figures are small, so use the smallest size bush you can find. For my first creations I used the simplest faces, with only dots for the eyes. I embroidered the first letters of the week on the backs, not very prettily, but I did my best.. After I finished them I drilled circles in a wooden disc, to put them in. 

Good news everyone! Here is the latest news about the opening of the new Lego Store in Utrecht.

• Firstly: The opening of the store is the 10th of October. In less than a week! Geeklings will be there, to give you a first impression. Be aware, this is not the official opening.
• Secondly: The grand opening is between Thursday the 7th and Sunday the 10th of November! On those days the mall Hoog Catherijne is all about Lego. The Lego Hidden Side Haunted Schoolbus*  is coming to Utrecht and kids can go on a ghost hunt. They will get a certificate and ghostmask. There is also a Build to Give. Visitors can make Lego Christmas decorations and Lego will donate the same set to a family in need.
• Give away: during the Grand Opening, the first Lego buyers will receive gifts. A unique Lego Store set when you spend at least €125, a Lego VIP keychain for new Lego VIP members. And, while supplies last, free special limited editon bricks with 'I love Lego Store Utrecht' on it.

So, go see it for yourself, starting next week! The store is located on the Hoog Catharijnepassage 7, next to the Samsung store on the first floor..
 
*  The new Hidden Side Lego line tries to combine tradition Lego with AR. Most of the sets can be transformed both physically and when you download the free Lego app. You can see ghosts flying around and discover hidden details. The ultimate objective of the games and puzzles is to catch ghosts.

Sourches: Metro.co.uk, Brickfanatics, Bouwsteentjes.info

A while ago we visited the Oertijdmuseum (or Dinomuseum) in Boxtel. I can highly recommend it! I didn't even know it existed, but it's a lovely small museum, with a big dinosaur garden.

It looks and feels almost like a private collection. With seemingly not a lot of structure, but that's  part of the charm. There are things to discover everywhere. The museum also has some moving dinosaurs, which also make sounds. A little scary for my youngest (3) but she loved the moving hatching eggs. It's a good museum to visit in autumn too, do the indoor part when it's raining, and venture outside when the weather improves. The shop of the museum is also nice, with stuffed dinosaurs, but also precious metals and fossils you can buy.

The garden is very large, and takes you on a journey, from the oldest dinosaurs to the first humans. You can pose with models of dinosaur jaws, and there is a nice playground too. We a had a great time, thanks to aunt Janneke, she suggested the outing and went with us.  Have a look for yourself!