Day...It's tomorrow

No more counting down. We leave for con tomorrow. Day zero isn't an official day of the con but for us its always a fun day. But before we leave there is a lot to do today. We have to go buy our food and drinks, wash last minute clothing, figure out where the shoes and wigs are going, pack up the last few personal items that are wondering around the house, ink the trivia cards, make a playlist for the car rid and the panel. Have my fiance clean the fish tank. And more.

These are the notecards with the trivia questions. I wrote the down in pencil and are writing over them in pen so they are all color coated for each character. I hope everyone can read my hand writing. I wanted to make them neat and orderly so it would be easy to pass them around instead of having them read them off my Kindle.


We also have to go through all our garment bags and check our cosplays, making sure everything is packed where it should be. Then go through our check list. Tomorrow, which I doubt I'll sleep much tonight, we'll get up early, pack, go over the check list again, pack up the last few things that I still have to use until that morning and start loading it all into the car. Then leave. We're hoping we'll be there by 1:00pm or sooner so we can check in and iron the costumes, set up the wigs and get the food into the fridge before we head out to meet up with the other people in the Pandora Hearts panel.

I cannot wait. There was bad news yesterday. But we are both being positive and are looking forward to the con. When we get back we both will be trying extra, EXTRA hard to find stable jobs. We are more determined then ever. Last night my fiance and I were out back when he found two four leaf clovers. Maybe our luck is changing. We hope the bad news is a blessing not a curse. But taking a break from reality will be nice. This con means a lot to both of us. It was the first con we cosplayed at. It's home. We really can't wait to see our friends and cosplay with them.

So this is my last post until we come back on Monday. I hope you guys have a great weekend. I know I will. Learn something from me, if times are tough, stay positive. Focus on the future, keep your head up and please don't look down on yourself. Keep moving forward.


Any who, Wish me luck! It's going to be a weekend to remember.

Today is..

The last day I have to goof off. Tomorrow the prep for con starts. And by prep I mean food shopping and packing. Going over everything to make sure everything is packed and ready to go. Today we're trying to keep our minds busy with lots of Guild Wars 2 and writing. I got the last few things for my cosplays yesterday. I got new lashes to make Yuuko's cosplay pop as well as for the contest and panel. I also got some new red nail polish. Red is 100% the color for this con. So I got red. Yuuko has lots of re,d Alice has lots of red. It's been a very red summer.


Tomorrow we'll leave fairly early in the afternoon and go buy our food and drinks. We're aiming for a budget of $50. Which we normally can meet or go under but last time we went way over. So we're going to Win-con since they are much cheaper and are only getting one thing for breakfast and some health snacks. While getting full meals for din-din as that is when we are often the most hungry. We'll also get water too and maybe some type of juice or soda. I haven't had soda in a long ass time because I'm trying to eat better but drinking soda during con is sort of our thing. So we might get some if we find some on sale.

Then later that evening I will go over everything, check the garment bags with our cosplays int hem and see if anything is missing. Find somewhere to put all the shoes and figure out where the wigs are going. I can't pack the last few things until the next morning. Like my make-up and make-up brush, my sleepwear, nightguard (Gotta love TMJ...NOT!) Tooth brush and paste, shampoo and shower stuff, ect. All those things I need the night before we leave so I can't pack those yet. Since we are not bringing more than one street clothing outfit there will be lots of room in the bag to either pack the shoes or wigs but I wont know for sure until my fiance comes over the next day and packs his stuff. I think we'll try and put shoes in there because shoes wont fit in my BABY the Stars Shine Bright bag and I want the wigs to go in there.

After we check our list we'll head out. Hopefully arriving before one. We normally make it around 12:40 or so. Then check in to our hotel room, which we get in early because we are pre-registered. Once we set everything up and make sure the food is in the fridge we'll head out to the park and meet up with our friends at two. We are meeting up with the other guests of her Pandora Hearts panel and go over everything so they are in the loop.

After that at three we will go to get our badges checked in and get our full weekend sticker. After that we'll hang out with our friends and drinks some yummy drinks, play some games and have a lot of fun, celebrating the con early.

Day One: xxxHolic/ Trinity Blood (Evening)
Day Two: Pandora Hearts
Day Three: Undecided

If our friends cosplay during day three I might too. I hope she cosplays Will like she did last year so we can twin around together. That's always a lot of fun. We have two photo shoots planed and one group shoot planned during and after the panel.


I have to write out my trivia questions for the panel in case the internet doesn't work on my Kindle. I am also in charge of music! I just got the soundtrack of Pandora Hearts and am bringing my Ipod dock so the music can play when we are setting up and when everyone gets seated. I can't wait! It's going to be so much fun. I am sad I'll miss the Clamp photo shoot but due to the panel, which is way more important, I will not be able to go. Other than that this con is well planned so far. I can't wait to hang with our friends, wear our new cosplays and take some pictures.


I will either be updating tomorrow or the morning of Friday. Not sure which. I will not be updating during con weekend but will post pictures and give a full con review later on! I'll be taking lots of pictures. Can't wait to share my memories with you guys!

Until next time!

Toodles!

Scythe

@#!$@$^%#^$.


Con is close.

Excitement levels overly high.

Anyway, enough of my weirdness. Here's that picture of the finished outcome of our Pandora Hearts scythe.

It's so purty! I'm love the color. It's not too red but also not too dark that it appears black. I do need to paint on more varnish, which I just started doing a few minutes ago. I want the blade to pop more. The rod is perfect. I wouldn't change a thing about it.

It was our first time working with EVA foam so there are a few flaws with the blade but I'm okay with all the flaws. They aren't too noticeable. We've learned from the mistakes and hopefully do better next time! Once the last few coats of varnish are painted it will be done and ready for con!

Only a few days to go! We're going food shopping on Thursday. Then leave on Friday. I can't wait!

Four days to go. Bunnies, hair cut and the scythe.

Only four days to go. In three days we buy our food and last minute supplies, make-up remover wipes and a lint roller, plus false eyelashes. I am so pumped. Today has really been a good day so far. I just got done cutting about three or four inches off my hair. It feels so short because it had been so long for a while now. And although I love when my hair is long (I normally have it in tight braids.) it was uneven and was damaged. Plus it was very hard to fit under some of my newer wigs. So I decided today that it had to be cut. I will post a picture of it on Friday when I am in my day zero outfit. I would do so now but my hair is wet and limp. It doesn't look good straight.

My dress came! Look at the bunny! I am in love with it. It fits perfectly, looks amazing on me and is the perfect length. I couldn't be happier. The long wait was well worth it. Next time I will make sure to pay a bit extra for EMS shipping so the tracking works better. Otherwise I am very pleased with Oo Jia. She is a very good seamstress. I have loved this print since I started getting interest in lolita fashion but there was no way I could afford the used price this dress costs nor would it fit my bust. So I am very thankful Oo Jia makes these dresses. I can finally wear my dream dress proudly, knowing it looks good on my body and I can breath in it, not the other way around.


And now I will have something comfortable to wear during day zero and during down time. Since the dress works well with Alice (Pandora Hearts) I might wear it for a casual cosplay during the pre-meets for the cosplay contest so I can keep her outfit a surprise.


The scythe is almost done. I fixed the top of the wooden rod so it looks clean, painted on the varnish last night. The blade also just got another coat of varnish and is looking wonderful. It even hides some of my mistakes. I think it will really pop on stage now. I just need to put the last layer on the edges and make sure I didn't miss any spots then I will be 100% done with everything.

Which is wonderful! Last con we were so behind it was very stressful but we're doing great this time around. Plus I got my dress on time and made some extra money to buy myself some eyelashes. So I'm in a great mood. The days are flying by and soon con will roll around. I really cannot wait to pack the car and head out, see our friends and cosplay. And of the contest will be a lot of fun too. I hope we make lots of new friends this year and have a wonderful time. Hopefully this good mood stays too! I'm sure it will. There really isn't anything to stress over. Thank goodness.


So that's it for now. It may be my last post for a few days until Thursday or Friday. I'm trying to calm myself and turn my attention to my novel until con so I can get some major work done before then. So toodles for now!

Five days.

Five....days. FIVE DAYS! Until day zero. Ohmigosh. I can't believe. Really there are four days to get ready. Since the 29th is the day we go buy food and drinks for the con and the day I pack everything up/ double check the costumes. Which means today I need to finish up putting on the anti-fray on the inside of Alice's dress. It's really the last thing I need to do besides finish up the scythe. I ran out of Mod Podge so I think I'll just paint on some varnish so it shines on stage. Since a little clear varnish goes a long way I think I have plenty to cover the scythe blade and the wooden rod.

Oh my glop...


I still can't believe con is this week.

My Oo Jia jsk is at my post office now and should arrive tomorrow. Of course I'm waking up early to wait for it. Since I'm going to wear it during day zero for con I don't think I will wear it much until then. But I am so happy it has come on time for the con. It is one of my dream dresses. It's also sort of funny because a few days ago I realized the dress has rabbits on it. Alice, a character I'm cosplaying loves rabbits. It really is all about Pandora Hearts this con. I may just wear the dress and Alice's wig for a casual cosplay during down time and for the cosplay contest pre-meet.


There is very little left to do. I'm so happy everything came on time. Last time it was so stressful how slow things were arriving and we were not able to cosplay our new xxxHolic cosplays. This year will be awesome. Next year I hope will be even better. I am starting to plan and think up how I am going to make Seth's outfit. I just need to decide on which one I want to do. I'm torn between two ideas.

But anyway. I need to write before my fiance comes over then work on my dress and the scythe. While playing Guild Wars 2 during breaks. :)

Scythe and pre-con traditions

The scythe is looking great. It now is able to attach onto the wooden rod. It's squeaky when it moves but it's made out foam, I'm not surprised it does. When it was cut into part of of became too thin. I've put Model Magic clay inside to help keep it from ripping during the con. I had to do some detail work on the wooden rod as well. I re-painted the scythe and am hoping to finish it tomorrow by coating it with a layer of Mod Podge to seal it. Then it re-paint the top of the wooden rod.

I've already starting packing things I don't wear, pantyhose, waist clinchers, ect. The undergarments for my cosplays. I won't pack the rest until the 29th. We are trying to cut down this con for practice for our next Sakura-con, since we are bringing our friend again!

Besides the prop since it is so close to con I'm getting myself ready by doing some of my traditional pre-con prep. Face scrubs, washing my face, treating blemishes, cleaning up my eyebrows, painting my nails. The fun girly stuff. Although, you don't need to be a girl to do these. Cleaning your face, keeping it hydrated and taking care of you body overall is a good thing. Cosplay really does help you want to take better care of yourself. After three months of hard work I'm enjoying my break, relaxing and pampering myself.

I wont paint my nail until later. I can't wear fake nails, they are way too bothersome while getting changed into cosplay as well as putting on stockings and doing make-up and putting in contacts is all too trouble-some with fake nails. So I'm skipping those for now on. I will be painting my nails red for Yuuko. Otherwise I don't do anything special with those.

I am pumped! It's nice to sit back and relax and clean up (I've been doing that all day.) but I cannot stop myself from thinking about the con.

Although my Oo Jia dress is on it's way! I'll be wearing my lolita coord during day zero and maybe day three and during all down time/evening shopping. So I can't wait! It's helping me look forward to the days before con.

The 29th is going to be fun too. Food shopping. We're cracking down on cost. And since we don't eat much in the morning (Too excited to eat.) we are getting only one thing for breakfast, healthy snacks for lunch and full meals for din-din. I think we may even be under our goal of 50$. That would be awesome. We also need to get make-up remover wipes.

I can't believe we will be headed out to the con site next Friday! It's even harder to believe it's the weekend already! Holy cow! Time flew by. I hope we don't forget anything. I think we have everything together. Can't wait! I really need a fun break to hang out with our friends. And cosplay! Oh my gosh. I feel like we haven't cosplayed in forever.

7 days- Weather report is in!

And it looks like this year will be another wonderfully mild weekend. The high is around 75 all three days. Since the con site is near a river, it normally is pretty cool out which is wonderful for people like me who do not do good in the heat and have big cosplays. Oz's gloves also came in today. That means all of our cosplays are done. All pieces have arrived on time. It's so awesome that everything has come on time as last time we were not able to bring our xxxHolic cosplays because of a late arriving wig.

It's really nice to have everything done, ready to go. There is no worrying, stress or panic. It's very calm. Today I am cleaning up the upstairs mess that was caused by sewing for the last three months. Then start cleaning my room and start packing things I do not wear everyday.

It is very early to pack. I do not normally pack this early but since I have a few items I do not wear normally I would rather have them all packed up so they aren't sitting around, getting in the way. Plus it will help me calm down as my pre-con madness has hit. Nothing left to do but focus on the scythe. No idea when that is getting finished. I do need to go paint it though. If I find my dad's camera I will take some updated pictures of everything.

Besides that painting on the anti-fray stuff on the inside of Alice's dress is the only thing I have to do. But I have lots of time to do that so I'm not worried about getting it done on time. Day zero is almost here. We have a lot planned for that day as well as day one and day two. I cannot wait. I hope we have lots of fun, make great new memories and maybe win a prize.

All....done?

It's finished. Everything is done. No more sewing left to do. No more hot gluing or crafting props. It's all done. And with six days until we leave. Not bad. Cutting it slightly close. I'm normally finished way before this but I'm happy. I took lots of extra time to re-do, fix mistakes, until I can say I am proud of my work. Sure there are things I want to fix. There always is. But I'm very happy. These were challenging to a point, mainly because of the patterns. I now know I am only using Mccalls and Simplicity for now on. 

I finished the waistcoat and the last accessory just a few minutes ago. Now the only thing we need to work on is the scythe. I'm painting the last coat of paint tonight. Then in the morning I need to paint on Mod Podge to seal it and have my dad start drilling the hole for it to attach to the wooden rod. 

Otherwise...

There is nothing else to do.

And it feel weird. I can tell already I'm going to lose sleep over how excited I am. On the 29th we're going out to buy food for the trip then on the 30th we are packing up and heading out. It's awesome to be able to say we will be leaving this time next week (I'm not counting today, the 22nd as it is almost 12:00 am as I am writing this.)

Watanuki's new wig came today. We styled it already. It's wonderful. So thick and fluffy. I love it, my fiance loves it, it's great. We bought http://arda-wigs.com/products/derek. It's a wonderful wig. I love this company more and more. However their lace front wigs are very small. Not good for larger heads. But besides that, their wigs are wonderful. Nicely styled and cut. The colors are very nice, just as pictured. Which of course is great. 

We are waiting for Oz's gloves to come. Hopefully those come this week so I can pack them with the rest of the accessories. I did make a check list today which took five pages! And I still didn't add everything on there. We washed our travel bag, which smelled horrible after my brother had used it. So we did a lot today. I'm beat but very happy. 

I know pre-con madness has already hit. There are so many wonderful things that are going to happen during Kumori-con it is so hard to sit still and wait. But when it comes around I know we will have so much fun. That is worth the wait.

Day eight, packing, check list

Now that con is really close and I am almost finished with all the cosplays, I am starting to turn my attention to packing and our check list. I want to try to pack lightly, making sure we can handle the trip up to Seattle much better than last time. On the 29th we'll go out and shop for food, hopefully staying within our budget this time, which is around $50. We're focusing on only having full meals during dinner as that's when we're normally hungry. The rest will be small snacks, health things that give us energy. Lots of water as I have to stay hydrated to prevent any migraines.

I always feel so excited the day before con. That evening I pack, following the check-list to make sure that I am not forgetting anything. Our accessories and costumes are already packed so that helps a lot. Just got to pack up the wigs. I go to bed early but always lose sleep and wake up early because I am so excited. We hope to arrive around one. Our friends are doing the same. We are all meeting up at two for the panel pre-meet. To go over all the info with the other panelst. After that we'll head over, pre-reg and hang out, play games with our friends. Day one we have two photoshoots. Day two is going to be busy as heck with all the cosplay contest stuff.

But I couldn't be more excited.


When it comes to packing it may seem like we bring a lot but I pack for my fiance too. Such as health care items, band aides and such I pack with both of us in mind. So I bring an extra bathroom carry on for that. I am going to try and cut down on street clothing this year. If my Oo Jia dress ever arrives I'll only be wearing that for down time. There wont be much down time. I doubt I'll want to take it off since I have been waiting a full month for it anyway. Shoes are always a hassle as we have special shoes for all our cosplays. Last year we stuffed them into our clothing bag. This time I'm hoping to do the same since there will be lots more room. Then have the wigs in my Baby the Stars Shine Bright bag.

That means we'll have...

Only five bags plus all the costumes. Not too bad. We way over packed last time. So I'm hoping we can manage to fit everything in neatly this year. Of course we have three large props that cannot be placed in anything. Alice's scythe, Yuuko's pipe and our Pipe fox. I was going to place the pipe fox in with the other accessory container but there isn't much room left after I put in all our ribbon stuff. So I may just curl it up and place it inside our xxxHolic garment bag along with the pipe. That way we wont have those flouting around.

There is so much to do. But I like the packing part. As well as writing up a check list. It makes me more excited, knowing we will be leaving soon. This con is packed full with things to do. We will rarely have time to wonder around and I'm liking that more and more. I want to keep busy. And this con may just turn out one of the best so far. I'll be writing up the check list today and may post a picture of it later.  

Not much left...

Last post tonight. Just got done finishing up the ribbon pieces for our Pandora Hearts artbook cosplays. I seriously cannot believe that I am almost finished with everything. There had been so much to do and now there is barely anything left. As I said I just finished  with most of the smaller accessories. The only ones I did not get to are the ribbons that will wrap around Oz's boots. I have to have him bring them in tomorrow and put them on so I can see how long the ribbon needs to be before I make them. I already have the roses and bows finished for those pieces so all I will need to do is hand sew the snaps on. I'm glad I have the rest done.

I also got my new Caterina wig! It's very nice. We took it outside and sprayed it down twice with lots of hair spray. I'm hoping it will stop it from frizzing. Yes, it isn't as soft but I would rather it look good than be a frizzy mess like last time. I also sewed on ruffles on the back of Alice's dress. I feel so much better about the back now that it has ruffles. Oz's coat is officially 100% finished. I put it in the garment bag with Alice's dress today and it felt so good to be done with it on time.

All we need to now is finish the scythe, sew the button holes and buttons on the waist coat and finish the last two ribbon pieces. Then...we're all done. I'm so happy. There are still a lot of things to do before con that aren't cosplay oriented. I want to get my clean cleaned and organized, clean up the upstairs where I have been sewing, and tidy up the basement before we leave so everything looks nice and has a place.

I can't believe tomorrow there will be only eight days until day zero.  So close! Watanuki's new wig is coming on the 23rd. I hope the gloves come before next week as well. My Oo Jia replica should be due any time now. Hopefully that comes before con as I had planned to wear it.

That's it for now I have a bit more painting to do to the scythe.  

Day 9- Single digits

Oh my glop! You can believe it's almost Friday already? Geez. Time just flies by when you busy. Since I finished the coat, the bow and the top hat there isn't much left to be done. Besides the button holes on the waist coat there really isn't much left to sew. I do need to make the ribbons for the wrists and ankles for our characters. But my main goal today is spray down Caterina's wig. It came today! It's so soft and the color is perfect but if it is anything like the shorter version I had, it will frizz like crazy. So we're going out back to spray it with hair spray to make sure it stays in place.

We normally pack our wigs in the bags they come in so they fit inside our travel bag much better but with this wig it will have to be left out. I'm going to put netting over it as well as place it in my Baby the Stars Shine Bright bag since it's roomy. I'm REALLY excited to wear the wig. It's really nice. I love how it's styled.

I will post pictures later on once it's been sprayed down. I have to make room in my room as well so the wig has lots of space. So I will be trying to figure out what to do with my old Sakura sphere. Con is getting closer and closer! Can't wait!

The coat is...

FINISHED!

I still need to tac the inside of the cuffs but otherwise the coat is finished. The waist ties are on and the buttons are sewn. It looks pretty good.  I do have certain things I wish I could do differently but maybe next time. These cosplays were mainly done for the panel so our friend would have a firm Alice and Oz attending. We loved the characters and it was fun making the costumes. I will admit my mind is on our next cosplays so it's hard to focus on these when I am ready to do our big cosplays that have a ton of detail on them.

I am happy with them though. I, of course hope we win a title at the contest but if we don't oh well, next time for sure. I'm rooting for my friend and another TB cosplayer. I hope at least they win a title. That would be awesome.

I just an email today about the contest, when we are supposed to met and where and why. It sounds like it is going to be so much fun. Yes, it will take all day but I'm cool with that. We'll be hanging out with our friend.


Day Zero:

We (Hopefully) will be packed and leaving before twelve. As we want to arrive at the hotel around one. Since we pre-registered we are allowed to check in early if there is a room ready for us. Last year we got in early so we're hoping we do this year as well. We have a few things that cannot be left in the car as they are foam and heat is a no-no for them. Mainly our armor plates. Those stick together when they get too hot. Even through I have them all wrapped up I don't want to risk anything going wrong with them. After we check in and settle (spray our wigs with more hair spray) we are going to meet up with our friend and the other Pandora Hearts cosplayers that will be a part of her panel to talk things over about the panel. After that we'll hang out with them.


Day One:

 We will be wearing Yuuko and Watanuki. We have a photo shoot planned for 11 AM for our xxxHolic cosplays. After that we'll most likely go shopping or wonder around, maybe check out some panels and see what's going on down at the park. We'll mainly be relaxing as day two will be busy. At three-thirty we'll change into our Trinity Blood cosplays! We have a shoot for those cosplays at 5:00 pm. We'll most likely be in those cosplays until the evening. There is a pre-meet for the contest in the late evening.

Day Two:

Contest day! We have a technical meet for the contest early in the morning and talked it over and decided not to wear our Pandora Hearts cosplays during that to keep them a surprise. So we'll be casual, either wearing our PH wigs or not. Don't know yet. Thirty minutes after that the judging starts. We will be in our Pandora Hearts cosplay during this time. We are hoping to be judged around 1 PM. Maybe sooner. We don't know. The contest is at 4:00 pm we have to meet up thirty minutes earlier to go over everything. Thirty minutes after the contest we have our Pandora Hearts panel! I am so excited for this. Our friend has worked hard getting it all planned and I am so happy she invited us to join her. I've been trying to help out as much as I can as I'm sure it must be nerve racking hosting a panel for the first time. I hope it goes great so we can do it next year too! Right after the panel we have our Pandora Hearts photo shoot! This should be fun doing it at night. I can't wait to see everyone from last year.


Day Three:

Since check out is at twelve we spend most of the morning, packing and making sure we are not forgetting anything. I always hate this day as there is barely anything going on and we have to leave our friends and the con. Not sure what we will do or what we will wear. If our friends decide to wear cosplay we most likely will too. Or in the even least I will be. Not sure which yet. Like I said it depends on our friends. If she wears her Will of the Abyss outfit I will wear Alice.


I am so excited. Tomorrow we have to go to the art store and get a buckle for the waistcoat, red paint and special trim for Oz's pants. Of course while we're there I'm going to look at the fabrics and trims to get some ideas for Seth.

Yes that is right. We are 100% (I have said this so many times before but now we are sure.) that we will be doing another Trinity Blood cosplay for 2014. We are taking two months break before starting on Seth and Suylayman. I will be taking my time with these as there are a lot of details. We are hoping to get them done by Kumori-con 2014 but if they are finished in time we will bring the to Sakura-con 2013. But that will only be possible if we take a month off. It really depends on many things. Hopefully I get this seasonal job so I have money to pay for everything I need for Seth's outfit. I plan to go all out for it and paying for it by myself 100% would be amazing.

Seth is one of my favorite characters. I really cannot wait to make her outfit. I will be making wings with her outfit and of course those will be super fun wearing around a big con like Sakura-con. Hopefully I can get them done for one of the cons. It will be the biggest cosplay I have hand made as of yet.


I can't wait until Kumori-con. I need a break. To be able to feel refreshed and ready to hunt for a stable job after the con. Either that or get my novel ready to spend out to agents. Either way I will be working on getting a stable income during our break. We want to be married by April so if I get a job by then the costumes will be pushed aside as I will need time to make my wedding gown. Either way I cannot wait. Life is so full of surprises. For now on I am trying to think positively. Many people in this world do not get to live life as long as I have. I want to do my best at making this a life I can be proud of. Whether that is through cosplay or through my writing, I want to keep up the good work and move forward. The future is bright I really cannot wait for what it brings.


So that's it for tonight. I feel like I wrote a novel...Speaking of I need to go write mine. I want to reach 50,0000 words before con. So toodles for now!

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Facebook page + update

Helllllllllo everyone. I did something on a whim today, after a good day of sewing I created our Cosplay Facebook. The reason why I made a FaceBook is for me to keep up with all the cosplayers I admire and to hopefully make some more friends that also cosplay. As well as support local cosplayers and cosplay stores we often buy from.

I will not be updating it as much as I do with this blog though. I enjoy writing a blog much more than going on Facebook so this blog is here to stay. I will however, not be updating my DA for now as I've pretty much replaced it with FaceBook.

So if you have a FB account for your cosplay group or just for you please share it! I'd love to follow you.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Cat-Cosplay/169389529916223


Today was a great sewing day. I got a lot done and I feel really good. My list is getting very small. With only 12 days to go I am feeling really good about finishing on time. Today I finished the pockets on the waistcoat (Thank goodness!) They were a pain. Sewed the waist ties, ironed on the trim and started on sewing the buttons on the waist ties.

It's looking really nice! Sewing the trim on was challenging. It would not work right so luckily the iron on stuff I normally use likes my grandma's iron (Our's died yesterday.) and it went on smoothly. I'm very pleased with how it looks.

The buttons I am using for the waist ties. Smaller versions of these are used on the collar of the coat. My fiance picked them out and I am loving them. They have the Pandora Hearts feel to them.

One of the pockets of the waistcoat. These were a pain in my arse to make. But they are done! As you can see next to it I have sections pinned. Those are where the button holes will be going. I am hoping to start on those tomorrow after I finish hand sewing buttons on the waist ties.


So I had taken a bunch of pictures but will upload those later as I'm trying to add pictures to the FB account.

Toodles for now!

Day 13- Holy cow it's day thirteen.

The title of this post pretty much explains what's rushing through my mind. I am so excited that I could bounce off the walls like a hyperactive little kid. However I will say making pockets are hell. I hate them! Spent the whole day trying to make one pocket. The other one has already been cut open but I think I will sew it closed because of how long it is taking. I still have much to do.

Ah-ha! You thought this post was going to be like the others I had posted lately. A list, blah blah, this needs to be done, this is what is coming, so on so fourth. I will say Caterina's new wig should be here tomorrow or for sure on Tuesday. Hopefully my dress will be too. In other news our iron died today...

If you thought this was a normal post with lists....

You are wrong.

 THIS IS A PICTURE HEAVY POST! YAY!!!! I figured out that my computer, although the camera is reading the card, isn't reading the card and hence why the pictures do not appear. So I have to get a memory card reader. When I was about to give up I grabbed my 3DS and put its memory card into my camera and it works! So I took a few pictures!

Here they are! (All pictures will be posted on the side as it's easier to explain them this way.)

I have been styling wigs early this time, since we will be busy on day zero, partying with our friends. Oz's wig is so perfect. It's soft and the right color. But it's easy to style too.

Since I hacked up Watanuki's wig I am not cutting it. If it appears too long when my fiance wears it during con I will trim it a bit then.

I am not done styling it. The bangs in the front, hanging over the nose of the "Finn" wig head are styled. The area around it hasn't been sprayed into place just yet.

But if you look closely to the left you can see my little flyaway I styled. I love those! I had three more around the wig and will be adding one more on top later.

The top hat! It was one of the reasons I was so excited to make this outfit. It was hard to make but after reading this review it became a lot easier to make. I hand painted the white on the black ribbon. It turned out pretty straight. Not perfect but looks great from a far.

There is still a white bow that is on the hat that I need to make and it will be finished. Once I added all the details it really came to life. I'm loving it. It's fun to wear.

The new wig for my fiance's Abel Nightroad cosplay. It is very thin so it's hard to style on the front. I need to work with it a bit more. The part pinned back has been sprayed down.




Like our beautiful LSP (Adventure Time.) wig head? I love her luscious lips. XD






The back of the wig. All nicely sprayed down. Putting it into a ponytail was fairly easy as it is a low hanging ponytail and not a high one. If it were a high one the wig wouldn't work. It's too thin and would welt.

I'm very happy with how neat it looks in the back.

We have a private photo shoot for our Trinity Blood cosplays this year. Since it may be the last time we wear them.

As you can see....

My room has been consumed by cosplay. I have a area where I want to sew in some velcro so I left out the inner kimono for Yuuko. Hopefully I can get that done tonight so I can finally put it away.

Alice's and Oz's garment bag is out as I am still working on Oz's coat. I also am painting on anti-fray glue on the seams inside Alice's dress. It is a very slow process as the stuff takes forever to dry.

I really can't wait to wear this outfit!

My shoes for the con.❤

Black platform heels for Yuuko
Red flats for Alice
White boots for Caterina.

I love shoes.

 
We use plastic container for our smaller accessories. We started doing this during Sakura-con 2013 and it was super helpful for traveling with delicate props.

Abel's rosary sticks easily to the other armor pieces and Caterina's rosary so I have to keep them all apart. So I use tissue paper. It's pretty anyway.

Abel's rosary is in two pieces. The middle piece is detachable.

I updated this with a fresh coat of paint, I aged it by dry brushing black paint on the gold and gave it a new chain. It looks great!

Alice's left brace.

Took me a while to figure out how to make it. First I tried making it out of metal like my friend, who is cosplaying the Will of the Abyss, did but it did not turn out right and I went to a simple method by using ribbon, buttons and snaps.

It is slightly big around my leg and slips sometimes if I don't put it on just right. Hopefully it stays on when I am wearing the pantyhose.

Better view of our new storage container. My grandma was going to get rid of it so my mom brought it home for me to use. It's much larger than the other one we used which is now used for fabric scraps.

Caterina's collar is on the right upper corner. All three gloves are packed, Abel's, Caterina's and Alice's. Alice's choker is on the bottom.

Second part of Abel's rosary. Last con I made it too big so I re-made it smaller and it turned out pretty well. I glued two clips on the back so it clips onto the chain.

Made out of Model Magic clay, Wire armature, Mod Podge and paint.

Caterina's rosary. Very delicate. It was made differently from Abel's which is more steady. So I have this near the bottom, covered in layers of tissue paper. It also has been updated with fresh layers of non-gloss Mod Podge. It helped take care of the stickiness too.

The large props beside the scythe.

Yuuko's pipe wont be able to be stored in the box as it is too long. I will most likely place it inside my clothing bag or near the wigs.

Our Pipe Fox will hopefully fit inside the box after I'm finished putting in the last few accessories. It's flexible so I have hope it will fit.

Emily (Pandora Hearts) will be a guest for our Pandora Hearts panel. We may not be cosplaying Sharon and Break this year but we had no seconds thoughts that she had to come with us. There are too many inside jokes attached to the doll. We love her.

I may have to steal the Pipe Fox from my fiance because he is too cute.

Sneak peek at where my cosplays are stored. I don't have many clothing and our cosplay has sort of....stolen the space. Which I don't mind. I also store my fiance's outfits because last time I let him store something his mother threw it out.

These garment bags were bought at Walmart. They were very cheap and come in different sizes.

And this is my wig drawer. Alice's wig is on top. I had already styled her bangs which were a lot easier than I thought it would be. Our wigs are washed after each con. I normally cut them before con and style them during but this year I styled them before and it is going to save me so much time and stress.

Plus it's sort of fun.

We have a total of six wigs we are bringing with us to Kumori-con.

Our magical box of cosplay.

It's all ready to go! Today we put our sealed contacts into their case since we got some solution the other day. Our new make-up has been stored inside, the whole thing has been re-organized.

I serious love this case. It makes my life so much easier. No digging through my vanity for what we need right before con.

 I do have a few things to do before con, that doesn't have to cosplay. Cleaning my room is top on my list. My dear cat is very old and when I leave she gets very stressed so the plan is to clear out some things and get it clean so she can sleep in my room without causing any trouble.

This is one of those things I am trying to figure out what to do with. I will not be cosplaying Sakura again so I'm thinking I may just tear it apart or store it. Not sure yet. The box needs to go. I need the room for wig heads and props.

This con will be our seventh con. And maybe the best one yet. Kumoricon was our second con but with it's smaller attendance rant and its location it feel like home. Seattle is fun too but that's more of a adventure.

The badge tree is growing! I am so excited for con. Everything is almost done. There are little things do to but will be finished long before con.






Our plans may change again for our next cosplay. I'm sad to say but I have no idea what we are going to do. I'm letting my fiance pick because I'm too confused about what to do. I cannot wait. Because on Monday I can proudly say "Con is next week."

How cool is that?

Time sure has flown by! Soon the count day will be single digits. Soon it will be day one, we'll be driving up and having fun with our friends.

Day 14- Wig killer

I killed a wig. I'm used to styling, trimming longer wigs or just spiking short wigs so when I was trying to style Watanuki's wig it....sort of turned out badly. I cut the bangs too much, trying to thin them out and it just was not working. So we bought a new one. I hate ruining wigs. And it makes me feel so badly about having to get a new one. But the wig did only cost $12 so it wasn't like it was a $40 wig or anything.

We went shopping yesterday got white thread, wide black ribbon and velcro. I threw out the top hat and re-made it. I am so happy with how it has turned out. The other one had lots of flaws now I can proudly say I made that. I really should have gotten a ribbon that had white strips but I didn't even think about it. Since i didn't get fabric paint (1.95 for one little bottle!!!) I am using acrylic to paint on the white strips for Oz's top hat.

We also got these yesterday.

~Caterina's new wig (I freaking love it. It's longer and more full. I just need to spray the hell out of it when it comes. I will not let it frizz this time.)

~Roll on stuff (For the leg brace, the gloves, ect.)
~New Watanuki wig
~White gloves for Oz (Last ones! Oh yeah!)


All we need now (Since I forgot.)

~Shoulder pads for Oz's coat


I also finished the trim yesterday on the coat, as well as put on the buttons on the cuffs. All I need to do on the coat is sew the wait ties (plus trim on those.) and add the chain on the back, sew on the buttons on the collar. Finish the bow with ruffles for the shirt. Sew on the button holes on the waistcoat. Finish top hat. Put scythe together. Make black band for Oz's pants

And that's it.

Not much more to do. As I said before I can most of it done within a few days. There is only 14 days until we leave for day zero. I have lots of time. I am trying to finish the top hat before I start on the hand sewing the button holes. I'm saving those for last so I can put all my energy into that.

1. Sew waist ties (iron on trim)
2. Sew on pockets
3. Finish bow
4. Sew on ruffles on top hat
5. Make black band for Oz's pants
6. Sew button holes.

I also need to fix/touch up Alice's leg accessories but I'm holding those off until later since that can be done at night with hand sewing. I'm so excited! 

Wig styling and other stuff

Yesterday was a pretty fun but busy day. We are almost out of the third week and into the second which means next week and I can proudly say "Next week is con." I'm so excited! Yesterday I decided that some of our wigs needed to be styled before day zero so we grabbed them and our crazy wig heads (One has the face of a Mokona, the other of Finn and LSP from Adventure Time.) and our supplies into the upstairs bathroom where there is better lighting.

I will post pictures later I promise. I cannot find my parent's camera and my computer no longer likes mine for some unknown reason and since my fiance is not here right now I cannot use his laptop.

We styled my fiance's new Abel wig. The issue with this wig is that it is thin and if you move it too much you can see the lacing underneath. Luckily Abel's ponytail is low, as pictured below. If I were to do a high ponytail on this wig it wouldn't have worked. The color is perfect and the wig is very soft so it sort of evens out the fact the wig is thin. After getting it brushed (I use two types of brushes.) we got it in a nice and neat ponytail and started spraying hair spray on it to keep the back nice. I also used gel on the bangs but need to work on those a bit more later.

------- Yes, my wig styling post is coming soon! I will be uploading it before con.-------------


It's a bit hard to see but his ponytail is very low. Which helps me a lot as a high ponytail wouldn't have worked with this wig.


















After I was pleased with Abel's wig we moved onto styling the base wig for my Alice wig. I freaking love this wig so much. The fibers are soft and smooth. It doesn't tangle easily but when the twintails do it's easy to brush out. The color is rich with red highlights. The bangs are supposed to be in front, hanging down in between my eyes so I pinned back the sides and put on some gel which helps keep the base set. Then sprayed it down. It was super easy and looks great. I haven't tried it on yet though. It may need more styling.







Then came Yuuko's wig. I cut some off the end since it went down past my knees and I really didn't want to take care of the wig with it being that long. This wig sucks. It's very thin and easily tangled. It looks so natural though. I had already cut the bangs so I went straight to work on cutting the bottom and trying to get out some tangles. I had forgotten to try out the detangler spray so I'm going to try and comb it out later when my fiance is over to help me.


Last night we were also talking about our big project for the end of the year. I'm having so many doubts on being able to make Seth's outfit. We were talking about our other choices as we want to make something big that is eye catching and rare to enter in contests. So our top three choices are...

Day 16- Almost done

Good news is...

I GOT MY BADGE TODAY! I would take a picture of it, because it's really cool this year but I can't find the camera so maybe later.


Bad news..


Sadly it seems that there is just no way for me to go the Clamp shoot this year. The shoot appears to be headed towards being after the contest in which I will be a host in the Pandora Hearts panel. Scheduling is a mess this year for some reason or another. But oh well. I'm starting think to think group shoots are useless. The Pandora Heart one doesn't seem like it will happen either. The contest will be taking up most of day two. Then of course we have the panel to worry about.

There is no way I can change out of Alice's outfit and into another while having to go to two meeting then the contest and a panel in one day. Alice is becoming my main cosplay this con. Which is fine. I like her character. I do need to fix her sleeves though so I feel more comfortable when wearing the dress.

Yesterday I ran out of white thread so I cannot finish making the large ruffle + bow rose thing for Oz as it is white. I'll have to wait until the end of the week to finish that. Luckily I do have lots of red thread left. I did sew together the black cloth piece for Alice's leg. I need to sew on the snaps or wait until I get velcro to finish that.

Right now my to-do list is as such..

~Sew on trim
~Start on button holes on waistcoat
~Sew on pockets on waistcoat (Wasn't going to do this but since there are no pockets on the coat we need a place for the pocket watch to sit.)
~Fix Alice's sleeve


It's SO SHORT! I'm really happy. I can't wait to finish these up and wear them for the first time during Kumori-con 2013! I'm really looking forward to it. Now if only my lolita dress would arrive. Everything else has come. We will be ordering the last pieces this Friday. I cannot wait. This con is very promising and may be a ton of fun.

With only 16 days until day zero, time surely will fly by.

Day 17-Schedule is out

Schedule was released last night! Holy cow, it is so exciting to see the Pandora Hearts panel listed. Makes it just that much more exciting. It appears Sunday, day two will mainly be about the cosplay contest which is fine with me. I do have a photo shoot planed but I'm thinking about changing that to day one since there wont be much time.

So pumped!

The days are flying by and there is still a few things to do. So this post will be very short. Today I plan on fixing the inside of the coat, starting on the trim and finish Alice's leg piece, and maybe starting on the button holes and buttons if I am done with everything else.

Things to get..


~White fabric paint
~Velcro
~White gloves for Oz
~Caterina's new wig (Not sold out! Thank goodness. The store has a sale going and it is still in!)
~Roll on stuff to keep the gloves on and leg brace


To do

~Trim on coat
~Fix inside of coat so gathering on ruffles does not show
~Button holes on waist coat
~Pockets on waist coat
~Black band on Oz's pants
~White ruffle piece
~Alice's other leg piece
~Sew on buttons


Not much to do! I better go get busy!

Day 19- Lazy day

Been in a writing mood all day so I've been a bit lack with sewing today. I did however fix the black on the collar. So at least I did something to it today. Right now I'm watching xxxHolic while FMA BrotherHood downloads. I normally don't like anime but I love these two. Can't help myself but to watch xxxHolic. I am so excited to be finally able to cosplay Yuuko. I have a feeling we'll wind up cosplaying different outfits for her and Watanuki for a few years. The characters match us so well. It's so nice cosplaying characters we feel attached to. It's even cooler that the voice of the English dub of Watanuki is COMING to Kumori-con. We're making sure we stop by his signing booth to say hi in our xxxHolic outfits!

Today we got the Pandora Hearts pocket watch as Abel's new wig. The wig is a bit thin but it'll do. The color is right at least and it's very soft. The pocket watch does not work. Not sure if it was used or whatever but it's 100% a prop and will not be used for anything else. It's very nice though. I like it. Wished it worked and I really wished we had a way to play the tune "Lacie" but oh well. Maybe another time.

For the coat I still need to..

~Make the inner sides of the coat neat. So the gathering on the ruffles does not show.
~Sew on the trim.
~Sew the straps on the waist
~Put on the buttons


And I need to sew the buttons on the waistcoat.


Not much left to do! I'm very excited. If you're going to Kumori-con leave in a comment who you're going as!

Day 19- The coat

Is almost done! It's looking so much better.

It's starting to look like something! The ruffles really added a lot of character to it.I did mess up the right side of the collar as you can see so I'm re-doing the collar tomorrow. I've also decided since the shoulders a bit too big we'll have to get shoulder pads. Cause only gentlemen have shoulder pads. LOL. I'm becoming quite happy with it so far. I'm working like crazy on it.

Today I got the front ruffles on, fixed the inside of the coat on the bottom ruffles so no one can see the gathering threads, which I need to do on the front rows too. I'm guessing this coat will be finished within a few days if I work as hard as I did today. Watching American Horror Story while sewing sure is a bunch of fun. I finally got my fiance to watch it. It's so much fun seeing his reactions.

Tomorrow I'm hoping we get our last few items. Later this week we'll buy the final pieces to these cosplays. My custom AP replica hopefully will come next week as well so I'll be able to wear my lolita coord on day zero. I freaking love the mix between red, black and white on the coat.


Not much more to do! My father has come up with an easy way to detach the scythe as well so that helps us a lot. I'm really pumped. We are even starting to talk about the hotel for our next con. Which of course only makes me more excited to go to that one in the spring.

So I'll update again once it's finished. Not much longer to go!

Second update

Ugh. Had to re-do the whole hem. Only to sew on the ruffles, forgetting I had the red thread on white ruffles and took out some of the hem job. Now I have to re-do it tomorrow, fix the hem spot I took out and re sew the ruffles on but with white thread.


Didn't get much done today. I am not very happy right now and am very blah. So I am only updating about that. I will be doing a full post tomorrow with pictures hopefully.

So stayed tuned.

20 days to go!

I swear once we're past July the month of August goes by super fast. Maybe it's because I'm always so pumped up with excitement and normally pretty busy making sure everything is ready to go. I am finally getting out my stressed filled gloom and am beginning to enjoy all the things that I still have to get done. I always feel if I am too excited I really don't sit back and enjoy everything to the fullest.

I need to...

~Fix the part of the hem on the coat
~Fix the collar
~Start on the button holes on the waistcoat
~Put on trim on coat
~Make and sew on ruffles on coat
~Sew black leg piece for Alice
~Finish mini top hat
~Make black band for Oz's pants (His pants came last night! YAY!)
~Make ruffle bow piece for Oz's coat

Not too much to do. Well, it may seem like a lot but I can easily get most of that stuff done within a day or two. I'm guessing I will be 100% finished by the week before con. The coat should be done 100% in a week.


But besides cosplay, I also am writing a novel.

I haven't had much time to write lately because of all this stuff but as I have less and less things to do I now have more time to write! I won't be posting much about my novels on this blog in less something big happens but I thought it might be fun to post a little sneak peek of my work.

The other day I hit one of my word goals of 40,000 words.

I'm so happy! I am hoping that my novel will be at least 80,000 words. That's only 40,000 words left to go! Which will only take a few months to write. I have about three-four other novels planed after this one. My dream would be to become published. As it is my dream career. So I am doing my best to learn, improve and write my arse off. I write YA, or young adult novels. This one is a YA urban fantasy with a twist of supernatural. I miss writing about werewolves but fairies and things that go bump in the night are pretty fun to.

So I'm going to go write now, hopefully I get my dress from Oo Jia soon as well as the other items that have yet to come (Pantyhose, watch and Abel's wig.) Thank you for viewing! I may post another post later on today.

21 day update

What a boring title. Sorry about that, but I do have pictures!!! YAY pictures. But before I post all those I finally have decided to go ahead and make a cosplay page for my fiance and I. It will be made AFTER the up-coming con. Well, after we get our pictures back from our awesome photographers. Once that happens I will make the link. Most of my updates will then be posted on there and reviews will be posted here as well as major updates. It'll be easier to post pictures on FaceBook.


So here are my picture.s Sorry for the bad lighting. I am in a basement and my light doesn't work well.

Here is my baby!

Today we sanded it more, painted on the first few layers of gesso and sanded it some more. Right now it's very smooth. I just painted a layer of Mod Podge then will add another layer of Gesso in a bit.


It is so light! I love it. Tomorrow my dad is going to get it all set up so it can finally be attached to the wooden rod. It will be detachable in the end so we can remove the blade if we are taking a break or moving quickly inside a hotel.

Rohto Lycee eye drops arrived! We got these from HoneyColor.com. I have not yet used them but they smell really good. As you can see the bottle is small. But if you think about it has about the same amount of a normal bottle of eye drops.

I can't wait to use them! I have to get more contact solution before opening the new contacts.

Our new contacts! Also from HoneyColor.com. They are so pretty! The colors are bold and bright. I really hope they work well on our eyes. I can't open them just yet.

Look at all our cute eye lenses cases! You get one for free for each contact pair ordered. I love these! The pink and purple fishies are not used yet, nor the blue pigies. I haven't opened Yuuko's contacts either. Which we ordered last time.

My favorite is the purple elephants at the bottom left.







The flats for Alice's outfit. They are lovely. I like how they look on me. They are a bit tight at my toes, mainly at my big toe area. But fit comfortably. The color is spot on as well.














The satin red gloves also for Alice's cosplay. These fit nicely. They are bit tight, but wearing them then taking them off is helping to stretch them out. They are very soft and smooth. I love how they feel against my skin.

They reach well above my elbow which is what I wanted. Thank goodness.

                                                                       My to-do list!

I finally got to cross something off my list!


Today I sewed the bottom panel onto the coat. It looks so nice! I also finished the lining. I did hem the coat as well but I didn't cut enough extra off one part near the side so I have undo a part of them hem tomorrow and re-do it. That wont take too long to fix. After I do that I can finally start on making the ruffles that will go all around the coat. Once those are sewn on I need to fix the collar and start with the trim. Then I am done with the coat and can work on the smaller details such as the pile of ruffles and bow for the coat, the waist ties on the back of the coat, button holes on the waistcoat and finish the details on the top hat.

I am so close to being done with everything that I am feeling really good about it. There is only 20 days left, I'm not counting today as it is almost over. That means two weeks. I feel comfortable. I like having things to do so I am kept busy which means I'm not becoming overly excited. Which always happens.


Any way, so that's it for now. I'm sorry for not doing large reviews like normal but I am very tried and did so much today that I don't feel like writing much more. I really want to work on the props a bit more tonight and get some writing done. So thanks for viewing!
                                         

I LOVE EVA foam. +Plus more packages!

Holy crap. I am loving EVA foam. It's so easy to work with. Why didn't we do this sooner? After it was cut with the air saw we took it out back to carve it. I did sand it a bit but tomorrow we will be using the power sander to sand it better. That way the points will look sharp and clean.

Here is our baby! It's very think. We're still working on sanding the edges to make it appear more like a blade. This was right after we made the cuts into it. It is as light as a feather.

I love it! It's so big and light. It will be sanded tomorrow, then the gesso will be painted on, it will be sanded then painted and of course glossed afterwards.  I'll update with pictures later on.









Edit: Forgot to write about the package that came today. I'm suddenly so tried it slipped my mind.


Today we got our contacts and eye drops, which help against drying and help produce more tears. I have an issue with my contacts drying too fast so this hopefully will help me a ton.

I also got my shoes for Alice. I'm trying to break them in. They hurt my toes a bit. I have a sprained toe which hurts like hell expect when I wear my platform heels which is weird because those are the shoes I was wearing when I hurt it. They are the perfect color red and match really well. I wanted to stay short so I decided not to get heels.


I just read a review about Oo Jia and hopefully my dress will be coming at the end of the week or early next week. From what I heard it rarely ever takes two-four full weeks to arrive. Thank goodness.  There is only three weeks til con and I may go to my cousins' party next week so at least if it comes I'll have something to wear.

Packages yet to come:

~Abel's wig
~Pandora Hearts pocket watch
~Pantyhose
~Pants for Oz


We still need to buy three items but are waiting until next payday. The coat is almost done as well! I sewed in the lining today in the lower half. Tomorrow I have one panel to sew in for the lining and then can sew it all together and get my butt in gear to work on all the details.

So that's it for tonight. I'm too tired to focus right now. Animal Crossing New Leaf is calling to me. Night night!

Lists (Kumori-con 2013)

I always make a list for each con. I normally make these lists throughout the month before the con. It's important to keep organized, knowing if you need more supplies or bobby pins BEFORE the con. I'm doing this list a bit early this year but since I'm so stressed being organized helps me feel a bit better.

I make a series of lists, such as...

• Cosplay lists
• Personal items and street clothing
• Accessories and props
• Wigs

I'll also be posting a small list of packages that are arriving and when they come to help myself keep up to date. 

This cosplay check list will be my example for this post. We are trying to pack lighter this year so we can stop over packing, so our car rid to Sakura-con is a bit less....stuffed. I always pack too many extra street clothing. When I am in my hotel room I normally am in bloomers and tank top or my sleep wear.

So here we go.

 Food

• Cooler
• Plastic Cutlery
• Zippered plastic bags
• Paper plates
• Food/snacks

We always bring a cooler, whether it's small or big. For Sakura-con we couldn't even use the fridge so our cooler became our only way to keep our food cold. Depending on if we have a microwave in our hotel we will mainly bring microwave meals and then lots of snacks as I am normally too excited to eat full meals. We also do not always bring paper plates, it depends on what types of food we bring. This year we are mainly bringing snacks and having full meals for din-din as that is normally the time we are very hungry. Most hotels have free ice machines but if you are worried about ice, call up your hotel and ask before the con. They most likely will have one that is free to use.

Basic

• Convention badge +Registration 
• Photo ID
• Cell phone +charger
• Camera +Batteries
• Purse/bag
• Hand sanitizer
• List of photoshoot times +panels
• Notepad and pen
•  Items to be autographed
• Lint roller
•  Mini spray bottle

Some cons give their badges before the con, like Kumori-con. Sakura-con does not. So bring what papers you might need as having access to a printer during con is very rare. Print them out a head of time, make sure you have them on person for pre-reg/reg. Hand sanitizer is also important. Hotels do not give out free hand sanitizer. The mini spray bottle I listed is for spritzing long wigs throughout the day during con. It keeps them from tangling too badly. 

First Aid

• Lady products
• Band aids 
• Prescription medication
• Advil 
•  Neosporin
• Pepto Bismol
• Tums
• Sun lotion

Always bring band aids! Little accidents can happen at any time. I have to bring a lot of medication due my health issues, I bring my sample medication which is the only thing that gets rid of  really bad migraines, Advil also helps with my migraines and headaches, I cannot leave home without it, especially if I do not have coffee every morning. You don't need to bring Neosporin but it does help prevent infection and helps pain so I rather like using it for bad boo-boos. Pepto and Tums I bring for my stomach issues, if I am i too nervous or eat too much they help big time. And sun lotion! Very important for summer cons. I've had two relatives get sun cancer, no way I am allowing myself to go under the sun unprotected. 

Clothing

• Sleep wear
• Undergarments
• Waist clinchers
• Socks
• Stockings and pantyhose
• Street clothing (Shirt, skirt or pants.)
• Sweatshirt

This is my problem. I bring too many street clothing when I wind up only wearing my sleepwear around the hotel during rest periods or relax in my bloomers. I'm only packing one outfit this time. I feel more comfortable with my waist clincher on, it smooths my body and makes my cosplay look great. Although I will not be wearing tight clothing this year. Bring something warm in case it becomes chilly if you are out at night or in your hotel room. Don't bring too many street clothing if you know you won't wear them. Those "What if" questions most likely wont happen. I've been to five cons and I only wear one outfit. 

Hygiene 

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Floss
• Soap/bodywash
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Face wash/make-up remover
• Deodorant
• Razor
• Shaving cream
• tweezers
• Hair brush
• Nail clippers
• Cotton swabs

 Hygiene is more than taking a shower. And it is so important to take care of yourself during a con. No one likes or wants to be around someone who stinks. So please wear deodorant, shower and take care of yourself. 

Make-up and repair

• Scissors
• Safety pins
• Sewing needle and thread
• Hot glue and glue sticks
• Clear nail polish
• Double sided wig tape
• Eyelash glue and false eyelashes 
• Lipstick +Lipgloss
• Eyeliner
• Mascara
•  Moisturizer
• Foundation
• Powder
• Makeup brushes
• Eyeshadow
• Sponges

Make-up is important for all cosplayers, men and women. It helps add to your character, improves your skin for pictures and even helps you from getting sunburn. You don't need everything I listed, that's just what we need for six characters. The best way to find out what type of make-up you need to do for your character go and look closely at some pictures of them, read the manga again, watch the anime just to focus on those small details.

Wigs + Wig care

Wig comb +brush

Spare wig caps

Bobby pins

Hairspray

De-tangling spray

xxxHolic

• Short black wig (Watanuki)
• Long black wig (Yuuko)

Watanuki's wig is pre-styled. Yuuko's still needs some styling and de-tangling before I can wear it for con. I already washed both. 

Trinity Blood

• White wig (Abel)
• Blonde curly wig (Caterina)

Abel's wig is on its way. It needs to be styled and washed before con. Caterina's new wig hasn't been bought yet. It will be soon. It will need to be blasted with hairspray before con, as the type of wig I'm getting frizzes really badly.

Pandora Hearts

• short brown wig with twintails (Alice)
• Short blonde wig (Oz)

Both wigs came pre-styled. I might do some touch ups during day zero after we unpack. Alice's bangs do need a bit of gel or hairspray to keep it in place. Otherwise both wigs are great. I haven't washed them yet but I don't think they need it. I may wash Alice's twintails so they aren't so tangled.

Wigs to buy:

• Caterina (Long blonde curly wig.)

Cosplay

Pandora Hearts

Alice:

~Dress

~Choker

~Gloves

~Shoes

~Ribbon brace

~Fabric leg accessory (No idea how to explain this really.)

~Ribbon wraps with roses

~Brown wig + twintails

~Petticoat

Oz:

~Vest

~Coat

~Long sleeve white shirt

~White pants

~Boots (Same used for Abel)

~Jabot

~Mini top hat

~Pocket watch

~Gold wig

Trinity Blood 

Abel:

~Black pants

~White coat

~Armor plates

~Boots

~Gloves

~Glasses

~White wig

~Rosary

Caterina:

~Dress

~Armor plates

~Bow

~Collar

~Rosary

~Boots

~Hoopskirt

~Underskirt

~Bloomers

~Hair bows

xxxHolic

Yuuko:

~Inner and outer kimono

~Long black wig

~Black platform heels

~Pantyhose

~Obi

~Yuuko's pipe

Watanuki:

~Jacket

~White shirt

~Black pants

~Black shoes

~Black wig

~Glasses

~Pipe fox

Obviously there is a lot to bring. But we're taking six cosplays so there will be a lot for each character. Remember the best way to make a list is step by step so you can focus on one thing at a time. You're less likely to forget something this way. 

I still have a bit to figure out and sew. I want to add something to Yuuko's inner kimono so it doesn't show as much, I just need to figure out what to do with it. I'm thinking about sewing ruffles, I guess it's a ruffle type of con, as everything I'm making has them. 

I'll be posting pictures as soon as I can. So stayed tuned.