Thursday, October 19, 2017

Halloween Pokeball Candy Bucket Tutorial

Halloween Pokeball Candy Bucket Tutorial

This year my son wants to be a Pokemon for Halloween. Not just any Pokemon - Greninja. Naturally there are no ready-made costumes for that one, so I've had to get creative.


I figure most people will have no clue what he is, so I wanted to give him a Pokeball to hold so they can at least maybe recognize what franchise he is from. I thought about buying a plush ball... then I was all ready to sew a plush ball... and then I realized - why not just decorate his candy bucket? I snapped some step-by-step photos along the way so I could share this easy tutorial with you!

All you will need is a round candy bucket similar to the one below, red and black construction paper, white printer paper, and some scissors and tape. (I highly recommend using Satin tape for this because I started with normal Scotch tape & it got ugly quick. The Satin tape was nearly invisible.)

Halloween Pokeball Candy Bucket Tutorial

First we'll cover the top half of the bucket with red. I was able to cut my paper in half lengthwise for this, but the size will depend on your bucket (as will any dimensions I list below. Adjust as needed!). My paper would not quite wrap halfway, so I ended up using 3 half-sheets and left a seam along the back. Tape the red paper along the bottom until you've wrapped all the way around the pumpkin.   

Halloween Pokeball Candy Bucket Tutorial

Next you'll want to cut a slit right behind the strap, from the top edge of the paper down to the handle, so we can wrap around it. I also had to cut a little hole out right where it met to fit around the cord. Overlap the paper so that it lies flat along the curve of the bucket and tape together. (Ignore the 'slit' to the left of my hand, that's just where two pages met.)

Halloween Pokeball Candy Bucket Tutorial

Cut a slit down the front center of the paper, leaving a couple inches at the bottom uncut. Then cut slits halfway between that and the straps, and cut in half again so you have 8 strips.

Halloween Pokeball Candy Bucket Tutorial

Overlap the strips so that they follow to curve of the bucket and tape in place. Repeat along the back side.

Halloween Pokeball Candy Bucket Tutorial

Along the top you can either cut the paper off flush with the edge of the bucket, or fold it over and tape in place. I opted to tape mine.

Halloween Pokeball Candy Bucket Tutorial

Now it's time to cover the bottom in white! I wanted to wrap all the way to the bottom so I needed a full sheet of paper this time. You may be able to get away with a half sheet again, just make sure it covers enough. Tape along the bottom edge.

Halloween Pokeball Candy Bucket Tutorial

Cut the slits like before and tape into place. I taped these at the end, so all the tape is on the bottom of the bucket. Repeat to cover the back. (This time I just worked one sheet at a time - whatever works!)

Halloween Pokeball Candy Bucket Tutorial

And flipped back over...

Halloween Pokeball Candy Bucket Tutorial

Now you will need two or three long strips of black paper, about 2" wide. (I probably could have gotten away using two by leaving a gap in the front, but I wrapped all the way around.) Tape the strips around the center of the bucket, covering any gaps between the red & white papers. I put my black strip slight above the center line, because it looked a little too low otherwise.

Next, find a large cup or small bowl to trace a circle about 4-4.5" wide from black paper. Tape it on the front, centered on the black strip. Trace & cut a white circle about 2-2.5" wide, tape it in the center, and you are done! Enjoy Trick-or-Treating with your little Pokemon and fill this thing up with some candy!

Halloween Pokeball Candy Bucket Tutorial

Sunday, October 8, 2017

The Secret Code in The Lego Ninjago Movie

Tonight my family went to see "The Lego Ninjago" movie, which was pretty good, but a little pale in comparison to the amazing-ness of "The Lego Movie". (And probably a step down from Batman ~ if you're only going to see A Lego movie, see THE Lego movie.) There were some very funny/cute parts mixed in though, so it's definitely a fun family flick!

I've picked up my Japanese study again lately, so at some point in the film I started paying attention to the lettered sashes that each of the main ninjas wear, thinking it would be fun to see if I could pick out some Kanji or Kana. I quickly realized the letters weren't Japanese at all, but some made-up lettering. 

I noticed one 'letter' repeated on the main ninja's sash, and I wondered, could this be the word "ninja" in a simple letter replacement code?

The Secret Code in The Lego Ninjago Movie

With that in mind, a glance at the ice ninja's sash showed the letters I _ _, so I figured I was on the right track. 

The Secret Code in The Lego Ninjago Movie

The A, I, and E all matched up with the "water", "fire", and "Earth" ninja's sashes, giving us more letters in the alphabet ~ 

The Secret Code in The Lego Ninjago Movie

But it was hard trying to catch glimpses of the sashes during the action, so I looked up some images when I got home. And sure enough, there were several pics with the whole alphabet charted out too!

Ninjago Alphabet

The lightning ninja is the trickiest to figure out, since part of his sash is covered, and it uses only one letter we've seen so far. Checking the chart we can decipher that his sash reads "spark".

The Secret Code in The Lego Ninjago Movie

I think this secret alphabet is a fun little detail in the movie, and I'll definitely pay more attention to the buildings next time to see what some of the signs reveal. I also feel like a big nerd for noticing the code and trying to crack it in the midst of fight scenes, but I'm sure I wasn't the *only* one who caught it. Right??