#christmaswithsimon

[carryonchristmas]

Here’s a very weird list of all the foods mentioned in Carry On in order of appearence. So if you were thinking about creating a Carry On food feast here’s all you need to know! (I underlined the complete meals/ special food combinations, also please excuse any spelling mistakes, I created this in the middle of the night!) Merry December Fifth!

(Also because tomorrow is Saint Nicolas day I will be posting an extra specia gift on my side blog which will be reblogged to here, it’s a little warm up for the Christmas party I guess and I would very much like to know what you think of it and the party preperations thusfar!)

[carryonchristmas]

Hope you’re all having a very magicath Christmas time! Due to the fact that we can only celebrate “Christmas with Simon Snow” or “Carry On Christmas” (however you wanna call it) because of “Fangirl” I thought I might as well dedicate a post to Christmas in “Fangirl”: what they do each day, what they eat, what gifts they give to each other and also the Santa jokes Cath and her dad exchange on Christmas Eve.

[carryonchristmas]

The Ultimate Fandom Gift Guide

The “Carry On” Christmas party is coming closer and you’ve got no idea what to make? Well, here’s a list of all the awesome things just about anyone can create! Feel free to add your ideas in the comments!

The “Obvious” One: Fanfiction

“Carry On” is just that: Rainbow Rowell’s fanfiction of the Simon Snow we know from “Fangirl”. (But it isn’t Cath’s fanfiction!) So what if Simon and Baz lived in Rainbow‘ s world (or in Cath‘s for that matter.) Or what if it was the other way around? Could you imagine them in your favourite film or TV show or in just about any alternative universe?

Once the ideas there you can write anything you want: A one-shot, an AU poem, a longer story with several chapters that you post on the days of the party (and beyond), there are no limits and no rules. If you have never written any fanfiction, don’t be afraid and just go for it! (On December 19st I will upload a post with a few tips and tricks for fanfiction writing so if you’re still unsure by that time make sure to drop by and maybe learn something new!)

The “Classic”: Playlist

If you know anything about Rainbow Rowell, you are probably aware of the fact that she LOVES playlists—if not, make sure to check them out on her Spotify! (My personal favourite is the Eleanor&Park soundtrack.) Nonetheless, playlists are a great way of sharing your favourite songs with others—the might even be Snowbaz, Simon Snow or “Carry On” related. Also: There is nothing better than being able to listen to a great, fandom made, soundtrack whilst scrolling through the #carryonchristmas Tumblr feed and enjoying not only the awesome music but also the amazing gifts posted to the Christmas party.

The “Musical” One: Song covers

Creating a playlist of your favourite “Carry On” related songs just isn’t enough? Try recording a cover of one (or all of them) then! Creating your own version of a music piece is not only a lot of fun but also a great way to give it a little twist, instead of a girl suddenly the song might be about a guy and so on. Covering a song is also a great way to show off your musical talent and also to try out new things—maybe it is just about the right time to get out that xylophone you played with as a child and see what you can do with it now.

The Popular One: Drawings/ Illustrations

There is this one scene of “Carry On” that you just can’t get out of your head? Draw it! Sketch it! Even if it’s just a curl of Simon’s luscious hair or one of Baz’s eyes or an entire scene or maybe even an entire comic strip—just let your creativity flow and most importantly, have fun whilst doing so! Don’t be intimidated by all the artists out there you think to be much better—it’s all do to practice and even then they will never have your style or see something the same way you do, a new perspective is always wanted and welcome!

The Rare One: DIYs (Do It Yourself)

For some reason, these aren’t as popular in the “Carry On” fandom or I just didn’t manage to find them yet. If you are part of one of the bigger fandoms you probably know, that there is a bazillion of DIY content you can recreate: from costumes to room décor to school utensils (f.e. the Harry Potter fandom or the Sherlock one) but in our community, there is still this giant lack. I have yet to come across a single “Simon Snow room decor” video or instructions on how to make my very own Sword of Mages pen, so if you are a crafty person please channel your innermost art concepts and enlighten us so that we can all make our own “Carry On” related things.

The “Simon” One: Recipes

“Carry On” is ALL ABOUT FOOD. (For inspiration you can always take a look at my food overview post.) So why don’t you cook or bake something, that Simon would like (let’s be real I don’t think that there is a single edible thing Simon would reject) and then share the recipe with the rest of the fandom? I, for instance, have never ever tasted scones—neither the sour cherry ones nor the plain raisin ones, because I’ve been struggling to find a good recipe, but maybe you know the one that will blow our minds? Sharing it would be an excellent gift for the Christmas party!

The “Old fashioned” One: Christmas cards

Are you a little bit old-fashioned (like me) and still enjoy sending out (Christmas) cards—and maybe even make them yourself? Then this is your time to shine! Share your self-written Christmas cards from or to the characters or instruct everyone on how to make their own (subtle or not so subtle) “Carry On” related Christmas cards. If you don’t know, what to do with them or have no one to send them to, make them anyway: You can still keep them to yourself, hang them on a rope like the British do or give them to your family. (They probably already know about your obsession and will appreciate any Christmas card as long as it contains a few personal  words on the inside.)

The “Humbug instead of Humdrum”: Christmas film AUs (alternative universe)

Probably all of you have a favourite Christmas film, be it “The Grinch”, the “Night before Christmas”, “Frosty the Snowman” or “Home Alone”, but what would happen if suddenly Simon and Baz where in the universe of your favourite Christmas film? What characters would they be? How would the plot line be different from the original? You can share your ideas through fanfictions, illustrations, simple text posts in which you state your ideas or in just about anyway. I’d love to read all about “Simon the Snowman” or maybe even “Baz Home Alone”!

The “Last but not Least”: Snowflake appreciation

You don’t feel like any of these things speaks to you and don’t have any other ideas on what you could contribute but don’t want to miss out? Well, why don’t you create a Snowflake appreciation post? In it, you can thank all the awesome friends you’ve made through the fandom and promote their blogs at the same time which will surely be a great gift to them as well. Christmas is the time of spreading love and what better way is there to do so than by telling everyone how amazing your friends are and how much you love them?

I hope that this post could help you with your gift making! Don’t forget that the Christmas party will start December 23rd! I’m excited to see all the things we are going to create!

[carryonchristmas]

Tips for writing Fanfiction

So, since to some of you, the Carry On fandom might be the first fandom you join, you might be unfamiliar with some terms and be looking for tips on how to do stuff. That’s why today I’m here to share my 12-year experience with story writing with you in order to help you to be brave enough to show your story to the world.

(Encouraging side note: Carry On is technically a fanfiction in itself and look at the response it got!)

1) Choose the setting

This could be Watford but also your high school, a bar on Jupiter or a tunnel way down under the earth. Your story can take place during Davy’s Watford time or in the near or far future: It is called fiction for a reason and that is for there are no rules and limitations! However, if you set your story in a different time and/ or place than the original, make sure to label it as an AU (short for alternative universe).

2) Figure out your plotline

This might not be a problem if you are planning to write a one-shot (a short story consisting of only one chapter) but if you want to go further than that, you probably should write down your plotline (aka a short version of everything that has happened and is going to happen) in order for every chapter (especially later in the story) to make sense.

3) Check on grammar and spelling

Once you have written your story and are satisfied with the content, make sure to check it for any mistakes. Most often, the writers themselves don’t notice them even when reading the text through again, so for this, you might want to ask a friend for help or use Grammary, my all time favourite website, that does all of this checking for you.

4) Post your story

Personally, I would choose the platform I post my story to by considering which one I myself use the most often. Even though this is a Tumblr Christmas party you don’t need to post your story on Tumblr, you can just make a short post and include a link to the first chapter. My personal favourite is Wattpad, but I’ve noticed that AO3 is widely popular around here so maybe consider posting your works there.

And that’s it, you’re done! Please don’t forget that there are only three days left until our Christmas party begins! I hope that all of you will be participating actively and I’ll try to post something every day but don’t stress about it. Even if you just post a Merry Christmas that’s more than enough!

[carryonchristmas]

Christmas in Great Britain

So I’m not a Brit but Simon Snow is and since I’m trying to host a Christmas party that is literally titled “Christmas with Simon Snow” I decided that I had to do some research on British Christmas traditions before starting any of my projects because otherwise, the whole thing would be pointless. After taking notes from various sites I also remembered, that a lot of Snowflakes aren't British either and therefore I decided to share my research results on here, so that you have a quick and short sum-up of Christmas in Britain, that will help you with writing fanfiction, creating fanart and whatever else you are doing in preparation for the Christmas party!

So this post has two parts: First I will focus on general traditions and then I will talk about food because if Simon Snow is involved you can't skip the food part. Depending on where you live, some of these things may seem familiar to you. 

In Britain, it is common to visit (or partake in) Nativity plays before Christmas. It's basically a retelling of the original Christmas story and even though it is very unlikely that something like this will take place at Watford or in any of the families featured in the book, I could imagine, that Simon was part of quite a few nativity plays before he started spending Christmas with the Wellbeloves. Maybe the child care homes he lived in even created their own plays to raise money for the homes to be able to afford food, clothes etc. 

Another Holiday tradition is sending out Christmas cards, it's a pretty global phenomenon, so I don't think I need to elaborate on that - I just want to add, that a Christmas card can make a nice (party) gift as well. Pick a nice card, imagine yourself as one of the characters (or as yourself) and write a nice card to another character or to the fandom, then post it on Tumblr. Of course, you can do the entire thing digitally, you don't have to buy a real card, but I'd love to see some Christmas cards during the party and maybe so do you.

Carol services are yet another common tradition that is self-explanatory - for the Christmas party maybe you could record yourself singing a carol or even create your own, Carry On related, version of a carol. (Or write your own song, that would be so cool!)

The most cliché thing that I can think of talking about British Christmas is for some reason Christmas crackers. If you've never heard of them: they are basically giant bonbons that you can pull at both ends (most times it takes two to make it pop) and once the thing exploded you get a colourful (paper) party crown, a small toy or a little gift and a festive joke. (Picture below) Just imagine Snowbaz in that situation, or, for example, Nicky, Ebb and Fiona. Write about it. Sing about it. Create some funny jokes. Draw it maybe - the opportunities are endless!

One of the things Brits do, according to my research, is listening to the Queen's speech during or after Christmas dinner on Christmas day - it is even mentioned in Carry On when Penny challenges Simon to imagine listening to the Queen's speech with the Mage on Christmas day. There are definitely plenty of things that can evolve starting with the speech. As a kind commenter informed, obviously republicans donot listen to the Queen’s speech, so please be careful with that!

Talking food: The one mandatory thing seems to be Christmas cake that is eaten somewhere throughout the holiday season, for the rest, there is a general concept with plenty of options which you can see in the list below. If you are looking for some great recipes, check out this link: The Spruce  Maybe you could make your own, Carry On themed, Christmas dinner?

As far as I know you can choose from the various options and create your own meal, for a Carry On reference you can also check out my Carry On food post, in which I listed all the food mentioned in Carry On including the Christmas Eve dinner of Baz’s family - they are having chestnut stuffing, turkey roast, bacon and lashings of gravy or at least, that’s what Simon tells us.

I hope you enjoyed this post and are as excited for the Christmas party as I am! If there are any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them immediately. 

[carryonchristmas]

Tips for posting DIY instructions

 Only a handful of days are left until the Christmas party and you are thinking about posting a DIY but don’t know how to do it the right way? Well, here are some tips I’ve gained from experience! For an example, I’m creating bookmarks with quotes on them.

1) Have a list of EVERYTHING one will need

This is super important to me because I want to know whether I have everything to start before following the instructions. It’s super annoying if you have to go through every step to check whether you have everything you’ll need. (Also, if you use special craft material give a hint where to buy them because they might not be available everywhere and if you know alternatives, name them as well.)

For my example the materials would be:

watercolour paper (you can use the regular one as well)

watercolours

scissors

rulers

pens (one for sketching and then a few Fineliners or Eddings for the quotes)

optional: blow dryer or radiator

2) Clear steps and photographs

To make your instructions more understandable make sure to use clear pictures accompanying each step. Also, check the lighting beforehand so that your pictures will be clear! For example:

1. Divide your piece of paper into four parts

2. Cut them apart and paint them in different colours. (You can paint just the front or front and back, but make sure to let one side dry before painting the other.) You can use a blow dryer or radiator to speed up the drying process.

3. Use a Fineliner or Edding in a matching colour to write the quote onto the bookmark. (Depending on the length of the quote I would recommend to try it out on a different piece of paper beforehand.)

And that’s basically all you need to do! (DIY wise and tutorial wise.) Clear steps, a couple of photos with it, a list and you’re done! (Same goes for recipes by the way.) I hope this could help some of you and that we will have a lot of DIY projects for our Christmas party!

[carryonchristmas]

Tips For (First Time) Illustrators

Here’s a post to all of those who want to make a drawing their gift for the Christmas party!

Recently I've been getting more into illustrations and since there is so much amazing fanart on Tumblr I wanted to share mine as well but didn|t know how to. So here are some tips for people like me, how are just getting started on digitalizing their artwork, for more specific advice you can also take a look at YouTube, where you will find tons of awesome tutorials.

1) Get a digital version of your artwork

If you have a scanner, that is great and you should definitely use it but if it does not work or if you just don't have one you can always just take a photograph. Remeber to use the most natural lighting possible (bright lamps work as well) and the camera with the best quality available to you: to me, it was my Ipone 4s. Heres what my picture looked like at first:

2) Basic adjustments

I'm using a PC running on Windows 10 which includes some basic editing tools when you are looking at your pictures, you can crop and turn pictures, change the lighting a little bit and have a little bit of influence on the colour. Not the greatest but it definitely improves something and as far as I’m concerned most computers have some sort of basic editing set. 

3) Editing software

Now that the pictures are properly cut to size and adjusted you could post it but if you’re like me you’d probably want to go a little bit further and you can do so through editing software. The kind of editing software you can use depends on your budget - if money is no problem I’d recommend Photoshop but if it is GIMP is always an amazing option that will do (almost) just as much as Photoshop does. Take your time to get used to the different settings and adjustments - for improving an illustration I’d recommend adjusting the lighting, contrast and saturation. Using GIMP’s wand tool you can also select the background with one click and delete it. This will make the entire thing look cleaner. (Please keep in mind that this is meant just for the cases in which the background is white.) To intensify some colours even more you can also create a new layer, paint the area with the colour you want and then adjust the transparency to make it less obvious.

Personally, I like it much better this (edited) way but maybe you prefer the rough, unedited version of the pictures and if this is the case, I’d encourage you to just go for it and to upload your drawings just the way they are!

[carryonchristmas]

Tips for Posting a Cover

So I personally love music and maybe you do so too? The Christmas party is only like 2 days away and if there is this one song that makes you think SNOWBAZ immediately (or CARRY ON or SIMON SNOW or whatever) then why don’t you try to cover it and post your own version as a gift to the Christmas party? Here are my (very profound) tips on how you could improve your cover but I’m in no way a pro so if you have anything to add please do so!

1) Practice is key

When it comes to performing songs it is very important that things work out the way you planned them to. (Unless you want to do an improv which is also totally fine.) Make sure that you know the chords, know all the words (or have a clear print out or something else you can read from whilst singing) and most of all: Make sure that you are singing (or speaking, you could go for a rap cover if you’re not comfortable with singing) the words clearly so that everyone can understand the message of the song.

2) Best tech possible

Try playing around with different options before deciding on the final recording set up for your cover. Maybe your phone, camera or computer has a very good internal microphone (or a very bad one—check it before you record your song because this way you will save some time) or maybe you even have access to a headset or an external microphone. Go for the clearest sound possible, after all, a cover is about the sound rather than the visuals. If you are looking for a free recording and editing service check out Audacity—it’s a software and super amazing.

3) The video

Contrary to popular believe (or so I feel like) you don’t have to showcase yourself or your body or anything in the video accompanying your cover. Because I don’t know anything about music sharing platforms, I would upload my song to YouTube (it’s super easy, that’s why) but just because it’s technically a video sharing platform there doesn’t need to be anything visual. You can just set a black square as the picture for your video (as far as I’m concerned every computer comes with a basic video editing software and if you don’t have one there are many free ones to choose from) and have the audio track in the background. You can choose some drawings, the text of the song, you dancing around, close up shots of your instruments, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you step out of your comfort zone and share your interpretation of a Carry On related song.

Have fun recording or crafting or writing the night away! Christmas is coming closer and I can’t wait to see what you are going to post!