Upcoming posts

Since I am STILL waiting for our bias tape maker (Thank Walmart for NOT updating your tracking. Seriously what's the point in giving us a tracking number? And saying should arrive by Monday the 18th and the Monday the 18th makes no sense but it did make us laugh.) I've been thinking of some fun ideas for new posts for the blog. But before I get to that we finished Abel's collar armor plate today. It is looking grea.t We got the lip on. The seams were pretty easy to smooth down. I don't see why people complain about the seams and gauze on Wonderflex. It's going pretty darn well for us and this is our first time using it. I'll post pictures later if my camera batteries hold up.


The posts I am thinking about doing are...

• A safety guild for conventions

A few tips and links for you to know how to be safe and to avoid having a bad con. Everything from keeping your stuff safe in a hotel room to avoiding creepers. (These tips will be based off my personal experience.)

• Video game tips and walk through

Don't Starve is my favorite game right now. Since I'm trying to beat my best score of 56 days why not do a small walk through about how to play the game and survive. Just something for fun since we are planning on cosplaying Wilson and Willow.

So those will be coming soon if I decide that I have enough time. I will start taking some screenshots for Don't Starve and I have already gathered some good sites for con horror stories.

Thank you for reading. If you are interested in seeing these posts please comment below!

Tonight's crazy cosplay planning.

New journal= cosplay planning. Of course that's the reason why I'm finally starting to do the heavy planning that I should have done earlier on. I love journals. It an obsession.  Any whooooo! I've been a lot of planning today not just for Abel but also for Seth's outfit. 

 I've been writing away all sorts of major details including how many yards of fabric we'll need for Seth's dress and hat. 

Its hard to tell from what I wrote but I have a to buy list, a list of fabric paint we'll need, yards of fabric, Which part of the outfit will be sewn with what color fabric. 

As well as some doodles about how I will modify the dress pattern I will be using.

I got a lot done. In the end we will need 20 3/4 yards fabric for Seth and her hat. That is a light green fabric and a non-shiny white fabric. I decided on not using the left over white satin I used for the skirt and inner train so the inner train will stand out more. The ref picture shows only the skirt as a shiny. So the rest will not be. Expect the green which I cannot be picky about. Light green fabric is hard to come back and for some reason the fabric stores near me do not sell Sateen fabric. :(

So...

There will be 11 yards for the white fabric which will be used for...

• Outer train (Goes up to waist.)
• Cuffs
• Lining for the entire outfit
• Edges of hat

And a 11 yards of green fabric 

• Front dress skirt panel
• Sleeves (Upper fluff sleeves too.)
• Torso of bodice
• Front and back of hat

We may need more green fabric for the hat but right now I will wait until I start making Seth's outfit. But thats not all for Seth...

• Lace (Rose venice) for sleeves
• Lace for collar 
• Gold trim
• Black fabric (I already own some that I will be re-using.)

Seth is a hassle but she's an empress so she deserves it. I'll have to make the pattern for the lower sleeves but that shouldn't be too hard. The shape is very simple. Its Abel's collar on his cape that will be the biggest challenge. I'm starting on sketches trying to figure it all out. Hopefully I will as its a pretty imporant piece of his outfit. 

So that's it for now. I've got Once Upon A Time to watch! 

(I'm really wanting to cosplay Belle now.)

Thanks for reading!

Armor, Wonderflex and patterns

I'm starting to sew again. I just finished the beading on Seth's skirt. Although I am still thinking about adding seed beads to it, I just haven't figured out how I want to pattern them on the lace. We are still waiting for our bias tape maker which is way I have yet to start sewing pieces together. I have cut out the pattern for Abel's cape and will start modifying that very soon. I was going to do it today but my model has to work. Yesterday we started working with Wonderflex. And oh my goodness that stuff is amazing. So easy to work with. It heats up easy and molds nicely.

We started by making the top armor plate as shown above (The one closet to his neck.) We also found out this will be a joint project to get the armor done. He held the heat gun while I molded. Although later one it may be him doing it all by himself because I do have a lot to sew. But it was fun.

This is our collar piece. We decided afterwards to add a lip around the base but did not have time to finish it because it was so cold outside the Wonderfelx would not stay heated for long. And my feet were freezing. But that's what I get for being lazy and not going downstairs for some shoes. Over all I am very pleased with how well Wonderflex is to use. It hardens quite nicely. I have read online that some people were annoyed with the gauze showing but I didn't see that issue arise for us. It did show on the back near the edges but no one is seeing the back but us. Yes, there is a slight texture but its not bad. It will be coated with Gesso and Mod Podge before being painted. So the texture wont be an issue. There were some dents and a spot where my nail cut into the Wonderflex making a impression but armor should never look brand new...in less it hasn't been fought in.

Abel fights very hard. His armor is shown being rough with dents and marks all over it so we decided to leave them as they'll just add to the character. I'm really happy with how it turned out. We also made the larger armor plate as seen above under the collar piece which was very easy to cover with Wonderflex as well. I'm very excited to get more done with Wonderflex. Its really opened a lot of doors and I feel very inspired to use it.

That's it for now. I have a lot to do today. I hope you guys had a wonderful weekend! Be safe. And thanks for reading!

It has arrived! CosplaySupplies review

 Site bought from: CosplaySupplies
Ordered on: Monday November 4th.
Items ordered: Wonderflex (Large) + Friend Plastic 4.4oz Jar 
Total paid: $58.50 USD (Free shipping)
Date arrived: Friday November 8th


Our Wonderflex has arrived!!! I am so excited to use this stuff. As soon as I heard the UPS truck I ran upstairs. The guy left the large cardboard wrapped tube on the porch. I thanked him and quickly pulled it inside. I was a bit worried because we also ordered Friendly plastic and I didn't see it since it was just a large tube.

It was safely wrapped. Nothing wrong with it. No tears or rips. It was fairly heavy, obvious there was a lot inside. I was very happy with not only how quickly it arrived but how well UPS tracking kept the tracking updated so I could check up on it. Although I wasn't worried about it arriving on time. But I have had issues before (Not with this site.) so it was nice knowing it was safe.

The Wonderflex! This will be the first time for us to work with Wonderflex but I saw no flaws or anything wrong with the item. It was taped, very secure. And inside the tube was the Friendly Plastic. It wasn't in a jar but a cardboard tube with instructions. Which I am perfectly okay with. The Friendly Plastic came sealed in a plastic bag filled all the way to the top. I'm glad they included instructions as well as it will be our first time working it as well. Although I do know how to use thanks to tutorials online.

As you can see its full. We might get more later but it'll be enough for now. Over all I am very pleased with our order from Cosplay Supplies.com. They had some great deals, free shipping and quick delivery. We will 100% be ordering from them again and again. I am so happy with their service. I'd rate them five out of five. The products we ordered are high quality. I couldn't ask for more. I'm 100% pleased with this site.

I hope this helps you if your interested in buying from Cosplay supplies. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Another update

Hey guys! I'm really happy right now. Not only has our Wonderfelx and Freindly plastic left Utah and is on its way to Oregon, right on track. It should arrive on Friday, the eighth. But I found another cosplayer who descried how they made Abel's armor. I'm so happy I found someone who made it so nicely who's willing to answer other cosplayer's answers. As I know me and fiance will need some advice at some point. It also helps me feel more at ease with crafting the armor molds. We'll need some tracing paper before we can start on cutting out the foam pieces although I may just start tonight anyway if I have time because I'm inpatient.

The other reason I'm really excited and happy is...

Hotel reservation opened today! Sakura-con is a lot of fun. We never have a bad time. It's our break away from everything plus Seattle is amazing. Its a fun trip, everything from the car ride to checking in. We have so much fun. Last year was the first year we brought our friend and we're doing so again this year. The three of us had so much fun it would be dumb to pass up the chance to have more fun again.

We did book our hotel today. We're staying at a hotel we have not stayed at before. The hotel we stayed at the first year was way too far of a walk. I was wearing heels, a hoop skirt and a large dress and a wig with a heavy clip on ponytail. Up and down a hill. It was not fun.  When we stayed the second year the elevator was so bad and shaky we were afraid to ride it. Which sucked because we were on the 15th floor I think. It was not good for my anxiety.

This year we stayed at the Renaissance. It was a really nice place. The staff didn't all know what was going on so there was some communication which was super annoying. But the worst part was the fact the fridge was locked. Luckily we brought our large cooler and ice was free. The room was really nice. A bit small but not bad. But for the price it really was not worth it. So this year we chose a different hotel that is only a block away. You turn down, cross the street and your there. I won't post where we are staying yet. Not until after con most likely. For personal reasons. 

But the hotel is booked, tickets paid for and I am feeling very excited about con. Now to get our cosplays finished. I feel very confident our Trinity Blood cosplays be finished on time. I'm more worried about the wings and how I'm going to make Abel's harness for his large wings (Not to mention how we're going to get them into the car.) Modifying the costumes has been going great. If we don't get the wings done on time we will wear our normal versions instead of the Crusnik versions. Which means we most likely will not do the contest. But I'm okay with that. 

If everything goes well we'll get the armor, costumes and accessories, wings and wigs styled for our Trinity Blood cosplays done two months before con. That way I can make Don't Starve cosplays!  I can't wait. Kumori-con 2013 wasn't the best for us so I'm looking forward to Sakura-con a lot. 


I can't wait!

But right now I need to go bead and write. Speaking of beading....

Here is a picture of some of the beading so far on Seth's inner train which is attached to the back of her underskirt. 

I finally got the hang of beading it. I'm loving how well they stand out against the lace. It's very regal. I think it'll look great on stage.

For every costume I make I add my own personal touch and this was mine for Seth. :)



Any who.... Time to write!

Thank you for reading!

Remember to like our facebook page for more pictures and updates


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Cat-Cosplay/169389529916223?ref=hl

Small update

Not much news as I am waiting for things to ship. We ordered Wonderflex and Friendly Plastic just yesterday and we just got an email saying they have shipped it and it will come on the 8th. That's crazy. Its free shipping too. If you guys want some seriously good deals, order from CosplaySupplies.com. This is our first order and I'm very pleased. We did not pay over $60 for the two items we bought and I'm very pleased with this company so far.

Our bias tape maker has also just shipped. I'm not when it will arrive. But I am hopefully it will either be by the end of this week or early next week. I cannot work on sewing together Abel's cassock until that arrives. I'm trying to make the trim look professional and not messy like normal. I'm not doing short cuts this time around.

I am itching to sew again! I have a lot too modify with Abel's cassock and cape so I'll wills tart playing with the patterns soon. I do have some muslin fabric and some scrap fabric I'm going to use to make a mock up to help me figure things out.

That's it for now.

Thanks for reading!

Seth's underskirt finished

It's done! Not 100% but the construction is finished. I got a lot done today. Sewed the two layers of the lining finished with the lace trim. I am so proud of myself of how my skills have improved. I'm not taking any short cuts with these costumes and so far I'm really happy with how it has turned out. I hope Abel's cassock will go as smoothly.

The train! The train is just how I wanted it.  A lot went into making it and I'm very pleased with its outcome.

Close up on the edge.  Every time I work on a costume I try to make a goal for it. And this time with these Trinity Blood cosplays is clean edges.

The full view of the skirt.















Over all I am very pleased with it. It was tough and had its challenges but I'm more focused on well I've improved since my first hand made cosplay. I can't wait to start working on Abel's cassock. We just ordered the Bias Tape maker machine. I will cut out the fabric and modify the patterns but I cannot start sewing until I have the machine and the fabric that will be used for the trim.

So that's it for now. I have lots of beading to do!