The Streamer Frock Grosgrain Giveaway

The Streamer Frock Grosgrain Giveaway

How adorable and cute!!!!! And it's free to the winner. Check this blog for more awesome giveaways.

Wig Styling

Who knew wigs could be so easy and challenging at the same time.  So far I’ve styled one wig two different ways.  The first time I made Sheeta from Castle in the Sky only I didn’t get the bangs done because of lack of time and funds.  I still had a blast wearing the wig though and a few people noticed my character. 

Back on track, it took me three tries to make this hairstyle.  The first time I had the style perfect but the wefts showed in back waaaaay too much.  The second time it was absolutely perfect only I made the braids too tight and couldn’t get the wig on my head.  @_@  I found that out the night before the first day of the con and the cosplay was due the next morning.  The third time was done, literally, at three in the morning the night before the con while the wig was on my head because I didn’t have a wig head, my unofficial wig head was asleep, and I wanted the wig to fit.  That was fun.  Not really.  I learned a lot about what not to do when wearing a wig.  Example; trying to see the back of your head via two reflecting mirrors while one of them is in one hand and the other hand is trying to singlehandedly, literally, braid a 40” wig is not a good idea.  Neither is pulling so hard on the wig that it falls off your head in the middle of braiding because your arms are too tired to hold themselves up.  Never style a wig either late at night or just before the con unless it is an absolute emergency as you will humiliated with out that wig.  Real hair works too sometimes.

The second styling of the same wig was an attempt to pull off a Civil War era hairstyle two hours before the fashion show where I was modeling my Civil War ball gown.  Again bad idea.  Not as bad as styling a wig late at night but close.  Give yourself at least, at least three to four hours to complete a Civil War hairstyle if you are styling it yourself.  Again I had to style it by myself while trying to, somehow, see the back of my head.  I didn’t have as many, if any, disasters as I did with the Sheeta restyling, but I ran in to problems later on.  Half way through the fashion show, the long worked on hairstyle started falling out.  By the time the second fashion review was over, the hair style was practically shot and the wig had to be hastily restyled every few minutes.  I now have to work all the knots and rats out of my wig once again. 

On a lighter note, my third wig to style/ restyle is my Toph wig.  On the third day of the con a very nice experienced cosplayer/wigstylist styled my Toph wig.  The only thing is, is I didn’t put the wig on straight before she styled the wig so the bun came out lopsided.  So I have to restyle it to A) have more volume and B) not be lopsided.  I’m really looking forward to this one since the same wigstylist sold me her spare wig head so now I can use a wig head to style my wigs. 

Update

Wow!  Sorry for the late update.  Things have been really hectic around here.  Fair started today.  I’ve spent the last week and a half running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to prepare.  I entered my Civil War ball gown and two formal dresses that I made this year.  All got blue ribbons!!!!!!  *^_^*  I’m really happy that all of my hard work paid off.  It pays to do things well even if it takes longer and the task looks  daunting. 

Amano Yuna Update

My Amano Yuna is nearly done.  I got to wear it to my first con the beginning of this month.  It was so much fun.  People asked for my picture and I entered it in the masquerade.  I got in the top ten!!!  I was really surprised considering it was my first cosplay and I left out some of the detailing since it was an Amano version.  I can't wait to finish it.  I have to finish, and slightly, redo the hibiscus and tassels.  I want to add more beading to the sleeve ties and incorporate more details into the obi.  I didn't have any major problems with the obi bows.  Because of the way I made them, I didn't have to worry about crushing them and they stayed up well.  I am very pleased with how this cosplay is turning out.  I will continue to work on it until either I find another cosplay to devote much attention to or I feel satisfied with the cosplay. 

 

Here are the reference pictures I’m using.

 

 

Con Day 3

Today was amazingly fun and awesome!!!!  I still worked at the help desk though I had the most free time today than any other day because of my two previous days of hard work and ‘cause of my cosplay.  I almost couldn’t stand still the entire day because of it all. 

So I woke up today with a bug in my ear and the realization that I didn’t have my cosplay for today done. So I sauntered to my sewing room half asleep to see what I had left to do.  It was then I realized that I had sewn one piece of my cosplay backwards and the wig wasn’t styled.  I was devastated.  I though only had to style the wig not fix my cosplay as well. 

So I gathered my sewing stuff and got into my Sheeta cosplay.  I decided to wear that one because both Sheeta and my cosplay for today had wigs and Sheeta didn’t require much makeup.  I was ready long before my ride showed up and was able to get a head start on fixing my cosplay. 

Once at the con, I helped set up and took my station at the help desk.  I went to a few things but spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon making and fixing my cosplay.  At late morning to early afternoon, I decided to style the wig and wear what I could of the nearly complete cosplay.  I tried styling the wig via my idea (see post) but the wig was too long and I didn’t have enough time for that idea to work.  So I went to the artist alley and asked a cosplayer that I’d met before if she would help me quickly style the wig.  She agreed and the wig was styled in a few minutes.   Once that the wig was done, I gathered the completed pieces of the cosplay and changed into my new cosplay.  I wore it around a bit but quickly returned to my station to finish the cosplay.  After a few more hours and a really quick attempt at cutting out the last piece, my cosplay was done.  I wasn’t satisfied with the last two pieces but I was happy to be able to wear what I had. 

After that, I was all over the place having a lot of fun on the last day of the con.  I got to get a photo shoot of my cosplay as well as have a fun cross over shoot with Indiana Jones.  It was a blast!!!  The photographer was awesome and almost died from a fandom heart attack.  Of course, I traversed the con in character.  That was the most fun.  My favorite memory of the day was when a guy asked me for a high-five cause he thought my cosplay was awesome.  Instead of a high-five, I gave him a punch in the arm that almost knocked him off his feet cause he wasn’t expecting it.  He laughed really hard and I continued down the hall smiling to myself.

Later, my friend and I went to Burger King to get some food.  It was really fun to see people’s reaction to my cosplay.  Some nearly jumped up and down with excitement while other stared wondering who I was and what I was doing. 

The con finished off pretty uneventfully.  I got lots of picture requests and got to see lots of happy faces.  I love to see people light up with joy because they see their favorite character cosplayed.  I got to play a bit of an RPG which both a new and fun experience.  At the end of the day, I went home totally exhausted and in a blissful state. 

Ok, I kept it a secret long enough.  My cosplay for the day was Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender.  I made her Fire Nation disguise.  She was so much fun to cosplay!!!!  She’s by far my favorite character to cosplay so far.  I can’t wait to fix up her outfit and wear it next year.  I want to get it as accurate as possible and enter it in the costume contest/masquerade. 

Con Day 2

Today went great!!!!  I got to bring my sewing machine and materials for my Sunday cosplay with me.  Again I helped man the Help Desk.  It was fun, even more so because I got to sew when people weren’t asking questions.  On top of that I got to have more free time today because I was at the Help Desk with one, maybe two other people, nearly the entire day Friday.  It wasn’t as hectic as yesterday but, nonetheless, problems did arise, not any major ones though, though my responsibilities did increase a bit.  Yesterday a police officer nearly arrested one of the con goers for having a airsoft rifle.  The con goer wasn't doing anything wrong, he/she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time to coin a phrase.  So we ahd to make sure that the con goers checked in their realistic looking props before going outside to ensure that mishap didn’t happen again.  Other than that the day was pretty uneventful. 

Since I had more free time, I was able to go to more events and do some more fun things like photo shoots.  My events started off with Cosplay Creation Beyond the Sewing Machine.  Wig styling, makeup, prop making, and crossplay were discussed.  I was, and still am, amazed at how much I knew about makeup and wig styling.  Even though I’m new to cosplay, I’ve researched enough about it to know as much or more about makeup and wig styling then the hosts.  I was really pleased with myself.  I didn’t learn much from this panel that I didn’t already know, with the exception of crosslay which I’m not interested in.  I did learn how to proportionalize props and what materials to use, and not use, when prop making.  That was really interesting.  I left that panel happy to learn about props and realizing that I know quite a bit about cosplaying.

Next I went back to the booth for a bit then headed off to the costume contest rehearsal.  I know it’s my first con.  I’m wearing my first cosplay.  What was I thinking.  It’s a costume contest so naturally I’m thinking, “Ooooo!  Fun!  There shouldn’t be many entering in my division.”  I was wrong not on the first or second thoughts just on the third.  There were 30 contestants in my division alone!!!!!  I was so nervous!  I couldn’t keep still while standing in line for preliminary judging. 

As we lined up for the second time the judges went up and down the line choosing the top ten cosplayers for further judging.  A couple of the judges were eyeing my cosplay as well as many others.  I could not believe my ears when one of the judges told me to go to the back room for further evaluation.  It was like a dream come true.  I was one of the chosen few!  Once I got to the back room along with the other top ten contenders, we were asked about our cosplays, the characters we were portraying, and how we made our costumes.  I was so nervous that by the time it was my turn I totally spaced describing how I made my cosplay.  I felt like such a dunce.  How could I forget to tell how much hard work I put into my cosplay.  I didn’t even mention that I did an Amano version of my cosplay.  Hence why I changed some of the details.  Nevertheless, I did my best for what I remembered to say.

After the secondary judging, we went back to our places in line.  There we waited till it was our turn to walk across the stage, present our character to the judges and audience, and pose for a picture.  I was calm by the time it was my turn.  I walked to the center stage, bowed to everyone, and told them it was a pleasure to meet them. 

Once everyone went across the stage, the judges the ten top contenders to the stage.  There each judge commended as well as described the efforts the honorable mention of their choice.  Then the judges called out the third, second, and first winners individually and described why each deserved their place.  The first place winners were amazing!!!!!   I almost fell over when I heard what all the work that went in to those cosplays.  The cosplays were Sailor Uranus and Neptune from Sailor Moon.  Every piece of the cosplay was hand made, even down to the crowns, jewels, and shoes.  I was so amazed, as was everyone else!  They so deserved first place.  Second place was a perfectly replicated Master Chief from Halo (I forget which number).  He even had working LED lights in the helmet.  As for third place, it was a female steampunk airship captain.  Her entire cosplay was scrounged, a.k.a. made out of altered premade objects.  Every winner totally earned their placing and more. 

Once that was over, I found my good friend and wandered around the convention some.  We went outside and got some pictures of my cosplay as well as talked to other cosplayers.  Before going back to the Help Desk, We stopped in at the con photographer to get some pictures of my cosplay.  I love photo shoots. 

After that we stayed at the Help Desk until it was time for my final Workshop.  I went to a Pepakura Armor Workshop.  It was lead by the second place costume contest winner who told the attendees how to make armor out of cardstock and sealant.  It was a really cool workshop though I kept falling asleep out of sheer exhaustion. 

The rest of the con was spent either at the Help Desk or at Con Ops where I refilled my coffee cup many times.  Both my friend and I were utterly exhausted so we tried to keep each other awake by talking.  That was fun and rather comical at times.

Since I’ve been hinting at it the whole time I’ll say who I cosplayed.  -_^  I was an Amano version of Yuna from FFX.  I chose to do an Amano version because 1) it was my first cosplay, 2) I could choose how I wanted the cosplay better, and 3) because I wanted to create a cosplay based on how I thought a concept artist pictured Yuna’s outfit.  It was altogether fun.  I got a number of photograph requests, around 8-10 total.  I had a great time cosplaying Yuna and pretending to send Aeons.  I received a number of complements as well. 

Day three is rapidly approaching and I still don’t have my last cosplay done.  After the convention, I stayed up till three AM working on my cosplay.  Now it is time for sleep.  My eyes are crossing of their own accord and I can’t think of anything else to say.

Con Day 1

My first day of the con went well.  I volunteered to with the help desk all weekend.  So far it’s been fun.  Lots of people asked questions about basic con things like schedules, event rooms, tape or cosplay fixers, and the like.  It was pretty uneventful yet lots of fun.  I got to go to a number of panels and events as well which was a blast!!!!! 

The first panel I went to was Cosplay Basics.  That was fun.  I learned about fabrics to use, con boxes, sewing adhesives, casting, what not to use hot glue for, basic prop construction and painting, and lots of other things.  Since there were four to five attendees, I got to ask most if not all of my basic cosplay questions.  I also got to meet some awesome cosplayers and learn some of their cosplaying tricks.

The second panel I went to was Costume Fitting and Movement.  I learned a lot from that panel.  It was lead by two professional costumers.  One had been sewing for over 20 years!!!  In this panel I learned the basics of fitting, different ways to lace garments, how to check for correct ease, the basics of yardage per body type, what to pay attention to when making and wearing costumes/ cosplays, and other tips and tricks.  I even learned how to dance a couple period dances.  It was so much fun!

Lastly, I went to the Sewing for Cosplayers panel.  That was ok, though I don’t remember much of that panel.  It was late; I was tired, and I knew most of the subject matter already. 

After that I went back to the booth and finished my shift.  I left the con early so I could prepare for the next day and work on my cosplay for Sunday.  I also stopped by Wal-mart to pickup the more of my fabric for Sundays cosplay.  In addition, I got some makeup for tomorrows cosplay.  Sadly, I didn’t get to sleep until around 3am because prep took so long. 

The day went great.  I even got to spend it with my best friend!!  I also got to see some old friends and make new acquaintances. 

The entire day I cosplayed Sheeta from Laputa: Castle in the Sky.  I finished this cosplay a couple nights before the convention which was really nice considering I have a lot to do for my Sunday cosplay.

Tomorrow looks promising.  I need to go and get back to my con day 2 prep.  Stay tuned for con updates and photos!

Con Prep

I now understand why most cosplayers don’t sleep the night before the convention starts.  I stayed up nearly all night last night running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to prepare my costumes and materials.  It must have been entertaining to watch. 

I ended up not getting to sleep until 4 or 5 am.  Then, to my horror, I woke 30 minutes before I was supposed to be at the con for staffing.  Stupid alarm wasn’t reset.  I almost died.  Luckily my first cosplay wasn’t complicated so it didn’t take me long to get ready.  I even got to the con almost on time.  I did call to let my boss know I was going to be a little late and why. 

Now I’m sitting at the Help Desk awaiting people’s questions.  The job is fun and I get to have a staff discount which is nice, especially for a broke college student.  Back to work!!!  Stay tuned for more con updates!!!!