Matt Smith at FanX 2016

So I am a huge Doctor Who fan, and my favorite doctor is 11. Matt Smith is utterly fantastic! During FanX 2015 Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Billie Piper were in Salt Lake, but I made an incredibly dumb choice and thought that I would be able to buy a ticket to the Ultimate Doctor Who Experience the following day after they became available.... Big mistake! The tickets, of course, were sold out. But when I found out that Matt Smith was coming back to SLC for FanX 2016 I knew that this was my chance! I bought a ticket for his photo op as soon as it became available, I wasn't about to make the same mistake again! And then I proceeded to wait, impatiently I might add, for FanX 2016 to come around.

My photo op was scheduled for Saturday March 26, 2016, so of course that day I dressed up like 11. (I made my fez, and dyed my jacket brown. I'm kinda proud of that. :D ) Can I just say that the waiting area for the the photo op was crazy?! I'm talking about the before you line up for the photos. I want to give a huge shout out to all the volunteers!  They must have the patience of a saint because I wouldn't have been able to do it. Once I was in line I was exceedingly impressed with how fast everything was. I've done a couple photo ops before at cons and this was by far the best! They really have stepped up and improved the process. Before you would be waiting in line for forever! I think I was maybe in line for 20-25 minutes or so.

A word of advice for photos, have in mind what you want to do in the photo. For example, if you want to do a certain pose or something. Because you really don't have a ton of time with them. They tend to move through the photos really fast. And if your're anything like me you're mind goes completely blank except for "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. oh MY GOODNESS!!!" (I'm one of THOSE annoying fangirls. I almost passed out after talking to Tom Felton. Usually I can hold it together until after I walk away, then I freak out) so be sure to plan ahead. Also, look up photos that the celebrities have done in the past. This way you can have some inkling of what the celebrities will be willing to do in the photo.

When it was my turn for a photo the first thing that Matt said to me was, "Hello Doctor". Cue internal squealing!! I asked him if I could give him a hug for the photo and he said yes!! He puts one arm around me and I thought it was just going to be those one armed hugs type things, then he puts the other arm around me and pulls me into a real hug!!! I thought I had died and gone to heaven!! They took the picture and called for next, but Matt was still hugging me. :D I think they may have called for the next person a again but I really wasn't paying attention. ;) Matt pulled me in a tighter for a little bit and then he let me go. Then of course he thanked me because he is so exceedingly nice! I told him that he is my favorite Doctor, and then I walked away to go pick up my photo. Where I then proceeded to freak out because MATT SMITH JUST HUGGED ME!!!!!

PS- I am going to try to be bringing you more nerd-ness every other Thursday. I was going to do every Thursday but that won't work with my schedule. Next to come is going to be my autograph experience at Cons. :)

Doctor Who Charm Bracelet DIY

Hello friends!
I was on Pinterest one day when I came across this picture.

I found it at this website.

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=412976.0#axzz2QvUrmnet

And of course I really wanted one for myself, because what jewelry wearing Whovian wouldn't? ;)

But all of the bracelets that I really liked ended up being outside of my price range. So I started looking into making my own. Thank you Etsy and Amazon! 

Here is a list of the supplies needed to make your own Doctor Who bracelet.

-Needle nose pliers, can be gotten at any craft store

-Round nose pliers, these ones came from Wal-Mart a long time ago.

-Headpins, I got mine on Amazon

-Chain, 3.96 at Wal-Mart

-Jump rings, I used Silver and Brass each was 2.00 at Wal-Mart

-Clasp

You also need to get your charms and beads.

-Silver and black beads, 2.00 each at Wal-Mart

-Blue glass beads, 2.50/25 beads + shipping from Etsy

https://www.etsy.com/listing/288863509/25-pcs-6mm-sapphire-blue-glass-cube?ga_search_query=blue+glass+beads&ref=shop_items_search_17

-Charms, 31.55 + shipping from Etsy

Here are the two Etsy stores I got the charms from

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlueMoonFlowerSupply

https://www.etsy.com/shop/XanaduBeadery?ref=l2-shop-info-name

I spent about 50 dollars or so on all the supplies. That is because I planned on making 4 bracelets, one for me and one for each of my sisters. So roughly about 12.50 per bracelet. Not bad!

I forgot to put the Weeping Angel in the picture, but I'm kind of ok with that. ;)

Now to make the bracelet!

1- Cut the chain to the desired length. I did about 7 inches.

2. Put a jump ring on the end and attach the clasp to the other end using a jump ring. I used both the needle nose pliers and the round nose pliers to open and close the jump rings. 

3- Lay out what order you want your charms to be in.

Serious props if you can guess why their is a sword charm!

4-Attach the charms to the bracelet using jump ring.

Did you notice the charms didn't stay in the same place? :)

5- Next slide the beads on the head pins. Use the round nosed pliers to create a loop on one end. Open up the loop, attach it to the bracelet, and close the loop so it stays put.

Voila! You are done! I really like how they turned out. 

If you have any questions please let me know!

Tips on how to enjoy Comic Con

I have had the amazing opportunity to go to three cons here in Utah. FanX twice and Comic Con once, will be twice come this September. :) So I like to think that I have learned a couple things that can hopefully make other peoples con experience as fantastic as mine has been!  Please just keep in mind that these are just things that I have found helpful, this is purely based on my own opinion and experience.

1-Bring a water bottle. I have found it is really easy to get dehydrated while running around a con, especially while wearing a costume. So I like to bring a water bottle so that I don't run the risk of passing out or something. If you don't want to bring a water bottle you can always pick up an awesome one at the convention. ;)

Which brings me to my second point.

2-Bring a backpack or some similar type of bag. This way you can easily carry around said water bottle and any souvenirs that you may have picked up at the convention (such as some of the awesome artwork!)

 

(I put all of them in this frame when I got home. Aren't they awesome!)

3-Bring a handheld fan. I personally just brought one of those folding ones but you could bring an electric one if you want to. Because with that many people in one building it gets HOT! Add a costume on top of that an that does not a happy Jacie make.

4-Mints or gum. If you are going to be meeting any celebrity, be it a photograph or autograph it is always better to have fresh breath. Enough said.

Most importantly....
5-Be patient and respectful. A good portion of a convention is waiting for things to happen. Just be patient and try to enjoy yourself in the mean time. Strike up a conversation with your fellow con go-ers, you'll be amazed at the stories you hear. And be respectful, a lot of time and hard work goes into each even that I have had the opportunity to attend. Plus if your nice and respectful to the people who are volunteering and working you may learn something pretty awesome. Like that I could go up and meet Sylvestor McCoy and didn't have to buy an autograph to do so. :D I love meet and greets!

What about you? Do you have any tips for having a great experience at a convention?