Pennsic 39 (and 40?)! Or not =X!

Well then, going back through my blogspot drafts I noticed a post that I never made!

This is how it began:

OK, so I promised I would post up from pictures from my vacation! I have to admit, I sort of left my camera in it's bag most of the time..... I needed a break from work =P My friend Katie took a TON of pictures though! So between hers and mine I think we have a good variety to tell the story. I will only post a few here, but the rest are all on my FB page Here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.481863893293.264734.501818293&type=1

More of an explanation of what Pennsic is, you can read here: http://serena-star.blogspot.com/2010/07/vacation-time-d.html

End.

Well, a whole year has passed since I attempted to start this post... and I never did post Katie's photos... Alas, this year Dave and I made the hard decision to not go to Pennsic. This would be the third time, I believe, in my entire life that I did not make it to Pennsic. (And it was 40, too!) 

I guess now that everyone is home, I should officially explain myself as to why we made the hard decision to not return to our beloved medieval home... Dave and I just got a house =)! 

I know I have been seemingly distant and terrible at posting up new blogs and new photos on facebook lately, but reason is because I'm just keeping up with all the work for my clients while cleaning, painting, moving etc! I have TONS of new stuff to share that I have been working on recently, and tons of new clients that have given me permission to share their photos! There will also be photos of our new home posted very soon -- so be patient! It's absolutely lovely and I can't wait to show everyone!

So in memory of last year and missing this year, I'm going to post up some thumbnails of photos that never made it to the blog last year. I miss my Pennsic Family and hopefully I will return next year!

Besides, I guess there's always 50 ;D!

Me and Dave =D

Dave's working on making sheathes for his new knives!

What the heck is Doug doing in the background >_>?

Camp! Dave's makin' om nom noms =D

Joanna's Henna!

Katie Bug and Eric working on other leather stuffas!

I wouldn't even ask =X

The boys were keeping themselves entertained by keeping the people on the road entertained while Joanna was Body painting us for the Mardi Gras Party!

http://www.Jzino-Bodyart.com

Dave bought me a pretty for my birthday last year!

It poured so badly the night before we decided to leave the main poles in out tent broke!! Seriously - even duct tape couldn't fix this one (Holy cow! >_>)

Speaking of Rain, have you seen the disaster that's struck our town? My family didn't make it to Pennsic so the Pennsic storms decided to follow my friends home =X My basement tried to become a swimming pool and for many others, it did! Joanna made a really great blog post - but check out the damage - roads are gone, water is up to car windows... It's insane - and in South Jersey!?

http://jzino.blogspot.com/2011/08/pittsgrove-under-water.html

And last but not least -- this is what my hair turns into when I take it out of the braids =X Don't forget to check out the rest of the photos at the link at the top of the page!

xoxo

Home, Daily Deviations, and Speaking at Imaging USA

Finally home after a relaxing (hot) vacation in Slippery Rock, PA at Coopers Lake Campground for the Medieval reenactment event called Pennsic! I made a post about it in previous years a couple posts back so you can read more there! I have some photos and will be getting more from a friend to post up from our trip very soon! (I sort of kept my camera packed away for this one =X!)

I was super excited to see that my profile and class description was finally put up on the Imaging USA website! http://www.Imagingusa.org  There are so many amazingly talented people speaking this year so definitely check it out! The final name for the program I will be a part of is "GenNEXT: Rising Stars Share Ideas & Inspiration." Here are some clips I copied off the website -- but take a look yourself!

I was also surprised to come home and find I received a Daily Deviation for another image of mine in DeviantArt.com! This is the fourth one I've gotten! I like to credit where it is due, so:

Vulnerable

Christine Von Rose

Makeup/Hair/Styling: Serena Star

You can view the actual DD website by clicking here

Back to answering all the email I missed while I was gone!

xoxo

Vacation time in Pennsylvania! =D!

Busy Busy Busy =D!

My favorite ALL TIME Vacation is coming up in just a few weeks! Every year since I was born except two (when I was two years old and during my parents divorce), I have gone to an event called Pennsic in Slippery Rock, PA. We drive a 7-8 hour drive from South Jersey to the other side of PA with a car packed so full we can't even see behind us!

I will be gone from August 2nd to the 16th with extremely Limited internet!

This blurb is taken from http://www.PennsicWar.org under FAQs

"Pennsic is an annual event, in the guise of a "War", between the Kingdoms of the East and the Middle of the Society for Creative Anachronism Pennsic is also the largest Society event, with attendance in recent years exceeding 10,000. The scheduled activities include large melee battles, tournaments, archery, stage performances, dancing, and hundreds of classes on medieval topics. The marketplace has over 200 merchants selling a variety of wares." 

Imagine about a 2 mile around packed with that many people camping in tents! I've personally taken classes on everything from Bellydancing to playing instruments to massage =D...but there are classes on everything from Welding to History! There are also amazing parties every night. It's fun to follow the drumming from camp to camp -- or see fire dancers spin flames, bellydancers or sword dancers perform ... and bards telling stories around camp fires. It's a magical place that makes me happy =D

I've been so busy I haven't even had a chance to check my garb and make sure I don't have things I need to repair =X!! (Dave has a habit of ripping his pants in places I really need to repair before we go -_-;;;;) hehe. These are a few pictures from last year of me and my friends, family, and boyfriend. You can view the entire album here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=501818293&aid=136664&s=0&hash=a49d20a6a10fcadc600a7d3675538e1a 

and you can also go to www.Pennsic.net for more information.

That being said, the house and studio are torn apart! It's like a war zone here right now, hehe. We finally got the hallway in the other side of the house painted (yay no more white walls. For some reason they remind of my hospitals.) They are a sort of vintage green color. When I first painted it, I really disliked it because it wasn't green and it wasn't blue and I really wasn't sure what to do with it. We went back to the paint store and bought a light LIGHT green paint to texture the wall. When I came home I saw an aztec or tiki sort of mask in the bathroom that we had brought home from my grandmothers house -- all of a sudden it hit me! Light wooden framed images with the tiki mask on the wall and the hallway would have a very tiki vintage look! Too bad I already bought all the extra paint.... Will post tour images here in the blog soon ^_^

In other news, my good friend Gino gave me a really cool Octabox when I came to visit him! I need to get a new speed ring for it, but as soon as I do I am super excited to get to do some beauty work with it!! Here is a really quick terrible picture of it =X