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.