30 days to go

Officially one month to go before day zero. So much to do, the month of August will be insane. Nonstop work. I started on the coat today, got most of the top done. We had a bit of a challenge with the collar and my mom had to lend her skills to help me but we figured it out. I'll be working more on that tomorrow. I want to get the collar finished and start on the front of the coat and the sleeves.

I have to say I dislike Burda patterns. Not only does the pattern not explain anything step by step but there are so many pieces! I dislike how many pieces there are. I know it is a historical based pattern but it's so challenging to understand. They skip steps, jump all over the place and ignore common sense. Which is why I'm so frustrated with this coat so far. I don't think I'll buy Burda patterns again.

I just put one of the last coats of Mod Podge on the scythe before I start repainting it, as well as the wooden rod. I want it to be ready by Friday so we can get the last few pieces by this weekend so we can focus on finishing it. My dad will be helping us figure out how to make it so the top part is detachable from the wooden rod. This way we can take them apart when inside the hotel or near big crowds.

Since we changed our plans and now are entering our Pandora Hearts cosplays I really want the scythe to be 100% with no issues before then so we can bring it on stage. It will be annoying having to drag it up on stage while wearing a very long dress and slight heels but I think the prop will really bring our cosplays to life. It's just so big and eye catching. I love the thing to death. I just wish it would work out the way I had pictured it.

So hopefully that works out well. I think I will most likely have to make a base for it but oh well. I'll have to smooth the crap out of it but at least it will work the way it needs to.

I also need to...

~Find gold trim for Oz's outfit (Has to be flat on the bottom not cord trim, so it's tricky to find.)
~Buy elbow length gloves (I'll be adding ruffles to the top of them to match my dress.)
~ Buy Alice's shoes
~Find/buy fabric roses (Very challenging. They are either too small or don't look like real roses.)
~Buy pantyhose

And if I can, find a hair piece for Yuuko. I'lll have about sixty to spend on my shoes, gloves and maybe a hair piece. So I'm doing pretty well. I'm glad that I could sell my AP jsk so I could help buy all this stuff. I bought some undergarments, strapless bra for Alice's dress, some shorts to wear under the kimono and Alice's dress since I can't wear my bloomers, and a waist clincher since mine has become a bit stretched out and these really make me feel confident when wearing cosplay. So I spent about $40 on all three items which is really good, I have no idea why people hat eon Walmart so much because there is no way I could have gotten all that for $40 else where. A large strapless bra alone would cost $40 + elsewhere. So I'm glad I found those deals while I had money to spare since I really needed them and didn't want my fiance to buy them. I also need to get pantyhose since I am showing off so much leg and I really want my legs to look smooth and nice. These are great for woman who dislike showing skin. They look nearly invisible. So thank goodness for that. I won't have to feel uncomfortable posing.

Sooooo, that post turned out way longer than I had planed on. Went on sort of a rant there at the end. So that's it for now. I'll be doing some outfit run downs, showing all the completed cosplays and our big check list for the con.

I REALLY need to work on Abel's armor plates and write. Oh my gosh I am so behind on my novel. I need to catch up to 50k words before the con. So there is lots to be done. I'm waking up earlier to get most of this done. I really can't wait for this con.

The work starts tomorrow

Whoa....40 views yesterday. thank you! That's crazy.


I got the jabot finish as well as Alice's choker (I just need to add ribbon to the bow.) and cut out all the final piece of fabric for Oz's coat. The pieces I cut out were only lining and if it wasn't so darn hot upstairs I would do more but heat gives me bad headaches which almost always turn into a bad migraine so I have to be careful.

I won't lie. I'm stressed. I can't sleep well, I hardly eat (Hey, at least I'll lose some weight!) and have been focusing a lot of attention (Besides cosplay) on finding a stable job, losing weight and pay lots of attention to my 13 year old cat who appears to be having some issues breathing lately. I'm up to my neck in stress. It's crunch time. There is still so much to do.

~Buy white pants (For Oz)
~Buy ribbon -Black for leg brace, red for both Oz and Alice
~Buy fabric roses
~Buy Alice's shoes
~Contacts for PH
~New wigs for TB

Not too much left to buy. I still need to find a good wig for Abel. I think we might just settle for a Epic Wigs wig since they would arrive fairly fast. I would pick out an Arda wigs wig but sadly they seem to be too tight for my fiance. Maybe he just has a big head. Lol. I have some choices for roses but am still looking. I was going to make them but I just could not figure out how to and there were no really detailed tutorials online. I might just give in and post on the con's forums for help.

I did finish Caterina's new armor plates and the make overs on the rosaries but still have to piece together Abel's armor plates and finish the dreaded scythe. No idea how we're going to piece that bad boy together yet. Right now my focus is on finishing Oz's coat.

I have a ton of questions piled up for the Pandora Hearts panel, hopefully they are good enough without spoiling too much. I haven't had time to find some quotes yet but might focus on that tonight if I don't wind up falling asleep early. I've been getting up early to work on sewing which has helped ease some stress and worry.

I'm looking forward to the con so much. I am nervous about some things but am trying my hardest to focus on the good. I just hope all the photo shoots work out well.

Photo shoot woes

Geez. Guess this year is unlucky for group shoots. Glad I have some private shoots set up. Sadly I have a very firm schedule for the con, due to photo shoots and the contest, and panel. At Sakura-con none of the shoots worked out either, and of course they made the mistake of removing the forums so it's going to be nearly impossible to set up shoots for that con now.

My schedule is...

Day zero: Lolita (Maybe Yuuko?)
Day One (Sat):  xxxHolic
Day Two (Sun): Trinity Blood (Morning), Pandora Hearts (Panel, contest.)
Day Three (Mon.): Lolita or Yuuko

It looks like the Clamp shoot will be on Sunday so it's impossible for me to attend that. I'll be in two costumes that day and Yuuko's make-up is too heavy to put on for a short while then remove and change into Alice (Who wears very little make-up.) It also sounds like the PH shoot will be on Saturday which I may be able to go to if it's later in the evening or early in the morning.

I'm so excited but the list of things to do seems to be getting bigger...

~Make Oz's jabot   (Part of it has been made.)
~Make Oz's coat
~Hand sew the button holes on the waistcoat plus coat.
~Buy white pants for Oz
~Buy boots for Oz and red shoes for Alice
~Buy ribbon and buttons for Alice's leg brace
~Finish Scythe
~Finish Abel's new armor plates (30%)

Maybe

~Find a hair piece for Yuuko
~Buy white make-up for Yuuko


I still have so much to do so I better go get something done. I am stressed out. And not in the best mood but I'm trying to stay positive and happy but its hard. Luckily for me I have cosplay to keep me busy. Now to find shoes for Alice....

So stressed.

First off, thank you for viewing my blog! So many views since I had checked last. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I really am glad people are checking out my ramblings. It's inspiring me to start doing a lot more with this blog. So please check back every now and again as I will be doing lots of new things soon.

Now on to the bad news and the reason why I am so stressed. I went to the beach later this week for a mini vacation and much needed break from everything as I have been very stressed and being stressed is not good for me due to my health issues. So, although we had fun I didn't find out until today that a company that I applied to had called on the 23rd about a job!

I've been looking hard for a stable job so my fiance and I can get married and move out. But for some reason I have been having lots of trouble, even with the help and advice from the GoodWill job connection. So I was very upset and heart broken when my mom told when they had called, as today is the 27th. I know that they most likely have filled the spot by now. And it's heart breaking because this job would be a stable, part time job that would have allowed me to do something I'm good at, typing and filing. So I called but sadly they are not in on the weekends. So I do plan to call on Monday, although my chances are slim now and explain what had happened. There is still a small chance but I'm not very hopefully. In fact after my last interview I no longer get excited because even if you do get an interview they may never call you back, which happened to me.

It just adds on more stress. Would of, could of, should of, I guess.

Any who...

I've been busy with cutting out Oz's fabric for the coat and today I got that all done, expect the three biggest pieces for the back and sides. I ran out of fabric. So I will be buying more tomorrow. I've also decided to use the white fabric for lining the inside of the coat so I'll need to get more of that tomorrow too. I'm hoping to get all this done soon because I'm going crazy. I'm excited as hell, don't get me wrong, just stressed.

My favorite CMVs!

Wait.

What the hell is a CMV? 

Cosplay Music Video.

Now you know. :)

I LOVE cmvs. I'll watch a bunch of them right before con to get myself all pumped up. Plus they are great to watch while packing or working on props. I'm not too fond of lip synicing but I have to say cosplay makes everything better. So here are some of my favorites.

Waist is...

Done! Expect the buttons and button holes. Both my mom and I were trying hard to figure out how to use the button hole setting on our sewing machine but to no success.Sorry for not having any pictures today, I feel like readers always like pictures, but I am by far too tired to take any and getting everything all set up and stuff.

Any who. The waistcoat is almost done. I feel like I could have done more but I didn't feel too well today. But I did get the tabs done as well. But sadly don't have the buckle for them yet. I'm about to get busy on sanding my scythe. I've tried using Mod Podge to smooth it but it isn't working so I'm going to try and sand it down tonight. Since Mod Podge, Gesso and Model Magic are able to be sanded it should work pretty well. So I better get busy. Sorry for a short post. I have a ton to do tonight.

Back from the beach!

First the bad news.

I got sun burn on my face. OW! Luckily it's not bad since I did have on some protection (Sun screen and make up that also had sun screen in it. Both didn't work though. ;_; ) It should heal up within a few days.

I checked my email to find the person interested in my AP jsk backed up. Thanks a lot. Now I have no idea how I'm going to get enough money for all the stuff I need for cosplay. It's mainly things like pantyhose and a strapless bra that I need to get and have to get so I'm really pissed that I came back to bad news. Never doing holds again. EVER.


Now for the good news....


Right before we left for our little "anti-stress" vacation we bought our tickets and are officially pre-registered for Kumori-con! We always seem to wait until the very last minute so I'm glad we managed to get the tickets before the pre-reg stopped and they no longer sent out the badges before con.  Our badges should be mailed out the first week of August I believe. I'm super excited to get those.

My Oo Jia dress should be done being made I believe by the end of the week, maybe next week and will come before the con! I finally have something nice to wear on day zero in case our friends decide not to cosplay.

NO TAN! I didn't tan at all! Thank goodness for the fog. I really didn't want to get tan. One, it's bad for your health. If you want to say otherwise I don't care. I've had two relatives get sun cancer from being out in the sun very little. I hate being tan. It doesn't go away for a long time. I'm very happy that I didn't get tan. It's a plus for me. Sorry if you don't like pale but I love it!

I wish I had more good news but I'm still REALLY pissed off about the jsk. So I'm not in the best of moods even though my vacation was wonderful! I did get a bit sick but I managed to push through it. It was a lot of fun.

Tomorrow marks....

MY FIVE WEEK SEWING RUSH!

I have Oz's waistcoat and coat to finish and I WILL finish them. It may drive me nuts and I may go crazy. But I want them to be done and done correctly and nicely before the con for the panel. Like I said before he'll wear his Break cosplay if I don't get it done on time but I really want us to match. So hopefully everything gets done on time.

I still have to do...

~Finish the waistcoat

• Sew on the back buckle straps
• Make button holes
• Sew on the buttons
• Sew the pockets
• Do the lines (Don't remember what these are called, but they are on the front and back.)
• Make the jabot 

~Finish coat

• Start coat
• Make ruffles
• Make button holes
• Sew on buttons

~Make Oz's matching top hat

~Finish scythe

~Make Alice's leg brace (Using ribbon instead of metal.)

~Buy undergarments 

~Style both PH wigs

~Buy new wigs for Caterina and Abel

~Make Alice's choker

While I'm doing all this I'm also helping out my friend who is running a Pandora Hearts panel. Since I'm a panelst I wanted to make sure I help as much as I can. So I'm picking out some trivia questions (I have a ton picked out so far.) And am collecting character quotes for a game for the panel. 

Lots to do. Only 38 days until con. Holy shit. That's five and half weeks til con. I have an ass load of work to do. I am so thankful for my mom who has agreed to help me as much as she can with sewing. I'm really glad she's willing to spend the rest of her vacation helping me out so I can these projects done.

And now I'm tired as hell and slightly upset and REALLY excited to be sleeping in my bed again. So I need to go for the night. I'll update tomorrow or later this week, depending on how my crazy sew off is. I may just wind up using this crazy five weeks to blog about how I am going to get all this crap done on time. I think a garage sale may be in order. Hopefully my dad is up for that. I know I sure am.

See you next time!

Thanks for reading.

40 days

O_o

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NOOOOOOO! Where did the time go? We're almost into the thirties! There is still so much to be done! I'm sitting here right now, partly insane, sort of nervous and overly excited. I'm currently painting on anti-fraying stuff to Alice's dress. The inner seams have frayed quite badly. Taffeta frays really bad. But thanks to this stuff I'm able to fix that all up and make it look clean and neat.

Today we have a little meeting with our friends and went over the panel. I'm in charge of coming up with trivia questions based off of Pandora Hearts manga. I've come up with some pretty good ones so far and am pretty excited about the panel. We all had the same idea in mind and are all very excited about our first hosted panel.

We also came up with a plan in case I do not get Oz finished in time. For the panel my fiance agreed to wear his Break cosplay.  This does take a lot of stress off me but I still want to get the waistcoat and coat finished so my fiance can enjoy his new role of Oz for the Panel. Since we rarely have a Oz for photo shoots we're all really looking forward to having an Oz this year. I'm going to be focusing all my attention on finishing the waistcoat before we leave to the beach on Tuesday. Meaning I have one day.

I still have to finish hemming the bottom, sew on the taps on the back, hand sew the back slit and add on details on the front and back. I believe there is one more step besides sewing on the black fabric to the waistcoat but I don't remember right now. I do know that I am going to get up early to work on the waistcoat all day so I can get it done before our mini vacation.

Which I am super excited about. We're staying with my fiance's grandmother and his step-grandfather. They're planning some pretty fun things like visiting the marine science center and cooking us some traditional British deserts. I LOVE his grandparents. They are so interesting and I can't wait to free myself form all this stress and enjoy their company for a few days.

I'll be returning home on Wednesday evening. We're also planning on looking for some rare and yummy candy to give out for the panel. Not sure what it will be but it'll be yummy that's for sure. I love the beach. It'll be a good break. As soon as I get home I am going straight back to work. I need to get that coat done before the con as well as the accessories.

I have decided to switch from metal to ribbon for Alice's leg brace. I don't have time or the patience to wait around for the metal and felt to dry. Since Alice's leg brace is more black than silver and other cosplayers have done the same thing I believe it will save me time yet still look great. I'll be starting on this after the beach.

I have so much to do but everything is just making me more excited for the con. Our friends are great people, they are just so easy to get along with and love to talk openly and truthfully. I really can't wait to spend the con with them and share many new memories and some serious laughs. I don't think I've been this excited and nervous about a con.

 It's my sixth con.

I'm so glad we got into this hobby. No. It's a lifestyle. It's more than just something to do, it's something we love. It allows us to experience so much. We've made so many memories and will make many more. It's pushed my creative skills and has made me grown as a person. I've learned a lot. And I can't wait. This really will be a great con. I wont let anything ruin that.

FaceBook, props, and a little sprinkle of crazy.

Yes, we are going to be setting up a Facebook account soon. That's why we've been setting up lots of photo shoots including one shoot by a pro photographer. I'm excited about doing so mainly to support other local cosplayers, as well as reach out and make new friends. We won't be making it until after the con and when we get all our pictures. So it may be a while. But it will happen. I can promise you that. I rarely use my FB right now, besides selling or talking to my cosplay friend, so having a FB page where I can blab on and on about cosplay sounds like a blast.

Besides that...

Here is a run down of the props I'm working on.


Pandora Hearts Scythe

~Needs a few more touch ups with Mod Podge
~Needs more coats of red paint
~Need to buy Pvc pipe
~Start work on base to connect the wooden rod


Trinity Blood Armor Plates

~Caterina's have finished drying and are now 100% done
~Abel's have been coated in Gesso and Mod Podge
~First coats of gold paint have been painted on Abel's.


Trinity Blood Rosaries

~Both have been updated
~Caterina's weak spot has been glued and fixed
~Abel's has been smoothed out and re-painted as well as aged
~Both are done drying and are 100% done


Oz's top hat

~Base has been cut out
~Base piece has been glued
~All pieces have been coated in mod Podge and are ready.
~Fabric wont be cut until after the coat and waistcoat are done.



I'm going crazy. I am so freaking excited it's driving me nuts. It's funny how I was sort of thinking this con may be awkward and a bit depressing since we will mainly be by ourselves but our cosplay friends stepped up, now we have a party planned for day zero. We have photo shoots set up and are going to be meeting some awesome new people, including someone who's cosplaying from Trinity Blood as well! In all I've forgotten why I was so down. I've moved and and have forgiven and forgotten. And now I'm just going crazy with excitement. I'm finding it hard to write or really do much else. I'm loud and hyper and it's hard to sit down. Even at the gym all I can think about is how it's going to feel to wear our new cosplays for the first time. I'm really pumped up.

I still have a lot to be done. So I better go start sewing. I want that damn waistcoat done today or tomorrow. So I can start on the coat before we head off to the coast for a few days. Which is a break I really need but I know I'll be on edge the whole time, worrying about cosplay. Lol.

Oh the life.

Everything is coming together (K-con line up.)

Everything is coming into place. With just little more than one month left to go until con it's in good timing. We have one shoot for our Trinity Blood cosplays, a shoot for our new xxxHolic cosplays and will be panelists in the Pandora Hearts panel and will have our Trinity Blood cosplays in the contest. Everything is set. Hopefully are plans go through.

As of now it seems this will be our list...

Day zero: Lolita
Day One: xxxHolic
Day Two: Trinity Blood./Pandora Hearts
Day Three: xxxHolic?

Contest: Trinity Blood

Photo shoot for TB day Two.
Photo shoot for xxxHolic Day One

I cannot express in words how excited I am. This may be the best con so far. Between meeting new people, getting some pictures taken and being in a panel and the contest, I am over joyed. We normally don't like to be too busy but I am glad that we have these fun things to do this year. I even met someone who will be taking our pictures that is also going as a character from Trinity Blood! How rare!

Yuuko and Watanuki and Alice and Oz are our main cosplays this year. Caterina and Abel will be worn for short periods of time. Mainly due to my wig. The shorter version was damaged and unwearable by the second day and I hear the longer version is much better, if it is we may wear them a bit longer, otherwise they will be worn for the photo shoot and for the contest only. And the time before and a little after each event.

I figure that xxxHolic will be the most known out of all our cosplays. It's also the one we're looking forward to the most right now. Mainly because we were unable to wear it for Sakura-con. And I finally got the hang of tying an obi!

That's it for now. I am so excited I can't sit and do nothing for long or I get too hyper. So I'm going to go write and work on props. I hope anyone that is going to Kumori-con has a ton of fun as well. Enjoy each minute of it. I know I will be. Between shopping, meeting new people, friends and photo shoots and of course the events we have planed, it's going to be great!

44 days

It should be titled, 43 days but oh well.

We got a photo shoot all set up for our Trinity Blood cosplays! I'm so excited to work with the photographer, she's amazing and has quite the eye. We love the idea of having a small shoot for our TB cosplays mainly because this will be the last time (As of now.) that we will be going as "Young" Caterina and Abel. After this con I'll be starting on our new TB cosplays. These ones were fun to make as they were my first ever cosplays that I've hand made. So it'll be really enjoyable to share what they look like with you guys.

We may have a second shoot in the makings as well. I don't know if that will be for Pandora Hearts or xxxHolic, I'm hoping Holic because Yuuko's outfit is pretty kick ass right now. And that shoot would give us the chance to be silly and make faces in the pictures which we don't normally get to do because our characters have been pretty serious people so far.

I am almost done with most of the props. The scythe is getting painted and smoothed down by the Mod Podge and I'm in the works of figuring out how to attach and detach the rod to it. Caterina's armor plates are done and drying from their last coat of paint. I'll coat them with Mod Podge before putting them away. I've started on Abel's new armor plates as well.

The waistcoat for Oz I ran into a few issues and have to re-do the collar. It's a minor set back but I'm going to sit my ass down tomorrow and try to finish it so I can start on the coat before we leave to coat next week for a few days. Which is a very important trip, one because I can finally slow down and take a breather away from all this crazy work and two because my fiance doesn't get to see his grandmother much and we'll be staying with her for a night so it'll be great fun.

I finally stitched the last open piece on Alice's dress and can say it's now 100% done. I have started to glue down the hems inside the skirt so they stop fraying but that will be a day to day process as it's time consuming.

We have decided to change our cosplays for the contest for Kumori-con as well. But I'll talk more about that later. It's currently 1:21 AM and I am now just done with props tonight. I'm beat. I didn't get to write my novel tonight besides a few words so I'm a bit upset about how quick time went tonight. At least I finally caught up with Haven. That's a great show if you haven't watched it. I really want to read the book now. If I ever get time to finish City Of Bones.

I'm going to try and sleep now. I'll update later this week with pictures of the props and the full outfits of Yuuko and Watanuki (I have to put them away anyway.) I'm slowly getting the costumes and props ready for K-con. I seriously cannot wait. I hope everything goes to plan and works out because if it does it may be the best con so far.

Night night!

Yo cosplay is...

                                      This is how I feel right now about Oz's waistcoat and coat.


And you thought I was going to do a yo-momma joke, huh? I haven't posted in a while. I've been a very busy bee. I started on Oz's waistcoat. The front and back panels are sewn together. The collar is on and it's looking pretty good. It's going pretty quickly and it shouldn't take me much longer to finish.

46 days until day zero hits.

I'm pretty sure I can get everything done. At this point I'm more worried about getting the leg brace done and the scythe figured out. I'm on edge and very stressed. But I really can't wait until the con. All the hard work will pay off hopefully and the con will be more fun than drama.

Sorry for the short post. I'm really tired. It's been so hot here and last night I didn't sleep well. So I think I'm going to go to bed or try and write a little. I'll update with pictures once I finish Oz's waistcoat.

49 days

The count done starts. 49 days until the con. Where did time go? I'm pouting right now but of course you can't see that. I started on the waistcoat today but became a bit confused by a piece so I stopped fairly early. But got the whole back sewn together. I still can't believe we are now in the forties. This is when everything seems to fly on by. There is, of course still much to be done. I'd say I'm nervous about it but I'm also very excited.

We weren't able to bring Yuuko and Watanuki to Sakura-con and since we finished them we can finally wear them. We're both really looking forward to wearing our xxxHolic cosplays. Yuuko's wig will be a challenge but her costume is very comfortable and the props for both of us are fun and simple.

Of course then there are our new Pandora Hearts cosplays that I've been working very hard on completing. Alice is done and I am working hard on getting Oz all done. The scythe I am worried about because of the weight but if we can't bring it I wont be heart broken. We'll just re-do it and bring it to Sakura-con next year.

We need to....

~Find white pants for Oz
~Get new wigs for our Trinity Blood cosplays
~Buy contacts for Alice and Oz
~Finish the accessorizes
~Find and buy fabric roses
~Finish props (Just need to re-do Abel's armor plates, finish painting Caterina's and make the top hat for Oz. And of course finish the scythe...)
~ Make Alice's leg brace
~Get new eye liner and face powder for Yuuko.

Not much left. Everything is pretty basic. We could easily whip out a few of those in one day. We just have to wait for pay day and all that. I don't think Kumori-con could be any better this year. We're going to hang out with great friends, be in a panel as main characters and wear costumes we love. What could be better?

Panel! Scythe and 54 days to go!

Oh my gosh! I am so excited! My friend's Pandora Hearts Panel has been accepted! It'll be my first panel that I'll be apart of. And good timing too, I just finished Alice's dress. Today I cut the fabric for Oz's waistcoat and am ready to sew them tomorrow. There is about 54/53 days left until the con and I'm almost 100% sure we will be all ready by the end of August. I'm so excited now!

The scythe is almost done! This big beast isn't as heavy as you would think. I'm 5'2 and am able to hold up pretty well but I am a bit worried about attaching it on the wooden rod. I'm sure at this point I'll have to make a small base but I'll have to talk that over with my dad who's helping me making this so the top can be detachable from the wooden rod. He's a genius at that sort of stuff.

Can't wait til con now. I'm so happy and excited that everything is becoming finished. I've spent hours upon hours working on these props and sewing the costumes, I'm really excited to finally be able to wear them.

51 days

Oh my god. Almost into the 40's! I'm doing good. Alice's dress is finished. I may add on another row of ruffles on the back. I cut out the patterns for Oz's waistcoat and have started cutting out the fabric as well. I'm becoming very nervous about Alice's leg brace because the metal I have is too flexible and looks horrible. It might be because I made it too wide. I might try and re-make it but the first failed piece made me feel very discouraged. I just need to bounce around ideas with my dad and see what he has up his sleeve, otherwise I might have my friend help me. She made some of the already and hopefully can help me out.

Otherwise I feel okay. I am worried about the scythe's weight as well. But I'm trying my hardest not to worry too much. To do what I can and go from there. If the scythe isn't done on time I'll be alright with it, mainly because it's for the contest at Sakura-con. My main focus for Kumori-con is Yuuko. And her prop is already made. I am however very worried about Alice as I mentioned above. Mainly because if the panel goes through I want the outfit to be complete.

It's stressful. But I am so excited for this convention. We have a fun little day zero party planned with our friends and it appears day one will be our Pandora Hearts day. Although I think I may switch half way through the day in less there is a panel to Yuuko.

Right now it seems this will be our line up.

Day zero: Maybe Yuuko
Day One: Alice/Yuuko
Day Two: Yuuko (Caterina for the contest.)
Day three: No one. This is really just our pack up day. Not much goes on this day.

So that's it for now. I'll be (hopefully.) posting those reviews tomorrow as well as some pictures of Oz's waistcoat.

Alice is finished~

This dress has been a nightmare. One thing after another had gone wrong but it had given me some new challenges and I am in love with the out come. The dress fits quite nicely. I'm not fond of the sleeves and may remake them later on. There are some small things to do, like sew the bottom and top areas near the zipper that the sewing machine could not reach. 

Sorry for the poor picture. The dress and petticoat look awful on my dress form. I'm still thinking about adding another layer of ruffles on the front. I may do it or may not. Not sure right now. When I started getting ready to make this dress I wanted to make sure the dress had lots of movement and it does. 

I'm so happy! It's so much fun to wear. I'll have to get used to wearing cap sleeves but the flow of the dress is great. It has wonderful movement and fits nicely without being too tight. I'll be starting on Oz's waistcoat tomorrow! I can't wait to get these done with so we can start on our new Trinity Blood cosplays.

PH wigs are in! Review to come

Our new Oz and Alice (Pandora Hearts) wigs are here! Both are amazing. I can't wait to do a review on both of them. I'll be taking some pictures, showing you how they look in the light and such later this evening. So check back later!

Shoes, props and Model Magic

What a weird title. Sorry. I'm dead tired. Thought I'd do a quick post before I run off to bed to cuddle with Animal Crossing New Leaf. The wigs didn't come today, I'm guessing they left Cali and are on a truck or are in Oregon by now. I did however, get Yuuko's shoes today!

They freaking sexy as hell. And fit perfectly. I'm pretty comfortable in them as I have another pair about the same height, but those don't fit because they are open toe and my toes are messed up so there isn't much room in the front of those.

These however fit like glove and didn't cost too much. I'm super happy with what I saw when I tore open the box. They are to die for. I'm really looking forward to cosplaying Yuuko now (Above all the other cosplays.) because of how well the cosplay is coming along. Our xxxHolic cosplays are now finished. I am still adding in some snaps to the kimonos since I'm not the best with tying the obi and am still learning how to tie that, I want to make sure the kimonos don't fly open.

                                             

Think I have enough Model Magic? I think so. We got the big tub of all white Model Magic because we are coating the scythe blade in it. I have the tip done and it's very time consuming but I like how it looks. So it's worth it.

Are you still staring at those shoes? Yes? Stop it! Gosh, that's sort of creepy. Just kidding. I can't stop staring at them either. Maybe I'm the only one. Lol. The tip has been covered in Model Magic. It's rough, yes but I want texture so what I don't like I can smooth out later with Mod Podge.

So that's it for now. If I'm not so anemic tomorrow I'll be trying to finish Alice's dress and will update with picture of it worn when it is. I also plan on cleaning out my area and getting all our cosplay supplies stored neatly away which I'll do a little post about. Maybe for Monday. That's it for now.


Thanks for viewing!

I can't believe how many views I've gotten in the last few days, thank you so much! We are now at 5,120 views! That's crazy!!! I'll be doing a special about each cosplay later on. So please check back soon!

Cosplay Crazy.

There is much to be done still, don't get me wrong but we're at the point where things are becoming finished and  it's really exciting. Tomorrow I plan on finishing Alice's dress and sew on all the bottom ruffles. If I get that done with time to spare I plan on start cutting out the fabric for Oz's waistcoat. I've decided to do the waistcoat first as it will be fairly easy and I can get it done quicker than the coat. We have the fabric for both the coat and waistcoat. The only fabric we need is white fabric for the details, ruffles and such but will get that later on.

Today I got my lipstick from Lime Crime! 

I'm super pale and have never looked good in red lipstick but this stuff is amazing. It looks great with my skin  tone and I'm so excited to get my Yuuko cosplay on because this really makes me feel like her. It's such an elegant red. It's matte, almost looks like velvet when it dries. Really gets stuff that not only spreads easily but is easy to put on. It has a wand like lip gloss. Slides right on. 

I tried on soon after I got it and was so pleased to find it dry. It's a stain so it wont be gooey like lip gloss or some lipsticks so when I wear Yuuko's long wig with it I wont have to worry about the wig hairs getting stuck on my lips. So I'm pleased with the product. I think I might even wear it with Alice too.

I didn't have much time to work on props tonight. I'm feeling really tired. But I did do this...

I finally glued all the pieces together. It looks great. I might shave down the back a bit so when I have the clips on it wont be so bulky. I will be clipping it onto the center part of the chain as shown below.

 

I think it looks great. I need to paint a few more coats of gold onto it before it's done as well as a final coat of Mod Podge for shine since it supposed to be metal. I can't touch the chain for long so I'm sorry for the poor picture. I'm allergic to brass. Luckily I'm not the one wearing it. 

So anyway there is a ton to be done..

~Finish the bottom of Alice's dress

~Start on Oz's coat and waistcoat

~Make accessories (Alice and Oz)

~Order new wigs for Abel and Caterina 

~Finish props (Armor plates for Caterina are almost done, the scythe is also almost finished.)

Sum up everything...

I also sewn in some clasps on Yuuko's kimonos so they wont open up during wear and I feel so much better about wearing them. We had ordered the shoes, which should be here soon. They are the last piece and both cosplays for our xxxHolic cosplays will finally be finished. We have our props, Pipe fox and Yuuko's pipe and Watanuki's outfit bought, it fits too and Yuuko's kimonos and obi. Everything is set to go!

Caterina and Abel still need new wigs. I'll have to style Abel's wig and spray the tar out of Caterina's so those curls will not come un-done this time. These cosplays are done, I am close to finish touching up their armor pieces and rosaries.

Alice's dress is almost finished. I need to sew on the bottom ruffles, fix a spot in the back above the zipper and find some tea length gloves, as well as fabric roses to buy. I need to make her matching choker as well. Her wig has been ordered, as well as Oz's and are both on their way. We need to buy contacts and start making the accessories and details that will go with the costumes. Oz's waistcoat and coat will be started once I finish with Alice. They should be done before the middle of August. 

Holy cow.

The con is next month!

54 days left. 

There is so much to do! I hope that I get called in for a interview at the local art store so I can get some income before the con. I'm sure that I will finish on time but I'm still a bit nervous. I would like to get the bigger things out of the way, the costumes, the scythe and the TB props because I cannot work on those during day zero. Sewing on buttons, adding on small mistakes, stuff like that I can do on the car ride over or even at night so hopefully I can manage to get everything done and not get distracted by Saints Row 4 when it comes out next month (Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I will.) 

And...

While I'm working on this and trying to find a job, I'm also writing a novel. So much to do! I'm going nuts. I need to stop for the night otherwise I may go crazy. I didn't write today so I'm pretty behind on that. Tomorrow I won't be working on props as I'll be writing in the evening. Most of the are almost done anyway. I'll be focusing on getting Alice done 100% tomorrow as well as cut out Oz's waistcoat, maybe start on that as well. 

Did I mention I also go to the gym in the evening.

Yup.

I'm crazy.

I've lost it. 

I'm cosplay crazy. 

Happy fourth! TB prop update

Happy fourth to you who live in the states! I didn't do much today, mainly taking care of my dog who is deathly afraid of fireworks, which is a huge task especially around this hour. I found having a big fan going while blasting Doctor Who soundtrack music helps big time. And the fact she's had taken some meds to help calm her a bit.

Anywho, this will be a fairly quick update as I have a few things to do tonight and have to get up early again tomorrow to take care of some drama (Guy called my phone, thinking my number still belongs to the former owner and left a threatening message which of course we are going to the police about.)

  So I am currently making the middle piece for Abel Nightroad's (Trinity Blood) center piece to his rosary. This piece I made before but made it too big and didn't include it for Sakura-con. So I decided to re-do it and make it much smaller.


Supplies used:

~Craft Foam
~Mod Podge (Gloss)
~Model Magic clay
~Gold floral wire
~Hot glue
~Acrylic paint (Iridescent gold.)

1. I started out by cutting out craft foam to the right shape. There are four spikes on each side, so I cut out eight. All the same size and shape. I had already made the center piece in which these spikes will be glued onto to. I made it so the wire pieces easily stick into the center piece on the sides. Once the wire was cut I glued it to the foam and added a layer of glue to the back so when I put the clay over it there would be no air pockets and so it would not slop downwards unevenly. Before adding the clay I painted on a layer of Mod Podge on the foam to seal it.

2. Once they were all carefully covered in Model Magic and had dried over night* I began applying a layer of Mod Podge to prevent/fix any cracking. As you can see you can see just the tip of the wire. These will be pushed into the sides of the center. The center piece was pretty damaged after I made the holes so I re-coated it in clay and looks much nicer now.

3. This is what it looks like all together. I will firmly apply a clip to the back so I can clip it on and off when needed. It will also making storing the rosary much easier and the likelihood of the piece breaking during travel is lowered. It has been painted but I have yet to take pictures.






* You know when Model Magic is dry because it feel velvety smooth instead of soft and squishy. It takes a few hours. If you paint over it with Mod Podge while it isn't dry you can ruin the piece, as it can create air pockets and make the clay weak, as what happened to my Caterina rosary. The clay should have hardened longer.

Cosplay space

Guess I suck at organizing my cosplay supplies (wire, hot glue, paint, ect.) I was looking for wire to make the center piece of Abel Nightroad's rosary when I found out that I not only have a new bottle of gold paint but also one of black. We had just gotten a bottle of black paint and gold. I feel really silly. Guess it's time to organize!

I'm going clean out my desk drawers, move my candles supplies to my other storage unit and get everything in order so I know where to find all my prop supplies. I'll hopefully get that done tonight so I can focus on finishing Alice's dress tomorrow. I already have one row of ruffles made and one ready to be gathered. It shouldn't me too much longer to get it all sewn on.

Hopefully I can start on cutting Oz's coat and waistcoat fabric soon. I think I'll start with the waistcoat since that should be pretty easy and quick to make.

In other news both Alice's and Oz's wig have been shipped. Alice's wig should be here before the eighth and Oz's could be anywhere up til August tenth. We also ordered Yuuko's shoes! I can't wait to see them. They are so sleek and sexy. They will be a bit taller than what I'm used to but thankfully I have lots of time to get used to them. I also spoiled myself and bought Lime Crime's Velvetines, Red velvet lipstick. I've never seen such an amazing lipstick/stain before and am so excited to be able to try it finally. It'll be perfect for Yuuko.

So four things down. We only need...

~Finish Oz's coat and waitcoat.
And buy the last needed supplies.

~White pants for Oz.
These will be for Suleyman as well.

~Buy supplies for accessories for PH cosplays.

~Shoes for Oz and Alice.
May use Abel's boots.

~Get new wigs for Abel and Caterina.

~Contacts for Alice and Oz.

~Get the scythe done.

~Finish re-making all the armor pieces.