Pokemon Fever (Days 487 - 493)

It seems I've disappeared off the grid again. I miss blogging every night, I really do, I love writing and getting my thoughts out. Perhaps this is why I haven't been sleeping very well lately.

Anyway, not much to talk about on the cosplay front. I might not be going to WonderCon, but I do still really want to cosplay Terra, so I might not cosplay Panty for Fanime. I would still like to cosplay Panty this year, or next year at the latest, while Panty and Stocking is still popular, but before the mega popularity hits. However, I think I'll have a lot of fun cosplaying Terra as well, and it's a more comfortable cosplay as well. Of course, with Terra, it will be more difficult to find a gathering to fit into and people to take pictures with, but that will make it so much more rewarding when I do find people. I also enjoy seeing the looks on people's faces when a lesser-known or older character is cosplayed, it makes me happy to be told that I made their day. =] I enjoy making other people happy.

Speaking of Fanime, I am for sure bringing Franziska von Karma, but I still doing know if I will be cosplaying her the entire day or just bringing her out for the gathering. Chances are, I'll be her the whole day. She's still a lot of fun to cosplay, especially now that I have a riding crop. I haven't gotten into any "antics" with it (and I don't really want to), I just enjoy having it and carrying it around. I like the way it feels to hold it, as odd as that sounds. It feels.. Elegantly powerful, is the best way I can think to describe it.

Anyway, I'm sort of in the process of setting up a photoshoot with a girl who cosplays 18-year-old Franziska, the same girl I met at Animation on Display. I was delighted when she suggested that we have one, she was really nice and her cosplay was very good, she even had a whip prop as well, the two of us looked really good next to each-other, our wigs are the same color, and we have an appropriate height difference. I say I'm "sort of" in the process of setting up a 'shoot because I'm not really actively setting anything up at this point. All that we're going to have to do is set a time and find a photographer, but I don't want to start planning something like this so far in advanced, in case things change.

My goal for Fanime this year is to go to a bunch of cosplay gatherings. I've only been to one (the CLAMP gathering at last year's Fanime) and it was a lot of fun. I really enjoy getting pictures with cosplayers from the same series, as many cosplayers do. I think it took me a whole to realize how much fun it is to take pictures with other cosplayers, because when I began cosplaying, I was very shy, and people asking for my picture was very weird and intimidating to me. However, now that I've gotten used to people asking for pictures and to asking people for pictures, I've realized that it is a lot of fun!

So far, I plan on going to the Pokemon gathering as Pikachu, the Ace Attorney gathering as 13-year-old Franziska von Karma, and the CLAMP gathering as Chi. Originally, I had planned to skip the masquerade and attend the Comedy Club and then Rum Party instead, but since the masquerade is on Sunday this year, I may attend, depending on how it overlaps with the Black & White Ball. In any case, I plan on attending the Rum Party in a sort of closet pirate wench costume (don't ask how/why I have a closet pirate wench costume, I just do), and I believe I'll be attending the Black & White Ball in a traditional Chinese dress that I managed to find in the thrift store a few months ago.

Oh, and as to the reason that I dropped off the face of the planet, I actually would have posted a few days ago I believe, but Pokemon Black and White came out this past Sunday, and I've been superglued to White since then. Yes, it's been giving me crazy new cosplay urges (particularly gijinkas), but I'm trying really hard to resist them, since I feel like I'm already stretching my budget too far.

READ MORE - Pokemon Fever (Days 487 - 493)

Franziska and Pikachu (Days 457 - 467)

11:20 - So considering the amount of time that's passed since my last post, I haven't really done a lot. I made another online sale, but the person's PayPal isn't verified, and they payed with an "echeck" (or something to that effect) so I'm waiting for it to clear before I send the hat. I'm a little upset because they seemed so eager to get the hat, I made it as soon as I could and contacted them as soon as I was finished, and now I have to wait. Ah well. As long as they don't start sending me angry e-mails, it's alright. I told them that I was waiting for the payment to clear before I sent it.

I tried to buy a riding crop for Franziska on ebay, but I hit a little snag. Despite it saying "Ships to: Worldwide", apparently in the description, it said "Ships to UK only." Apparently my misunderstanding was enough to prompt the seller to send me not one, but two what I felt were very rude and condescending e-mails. I can understand her frustration at the mistake, but since her settings were officially set to worldwide shipping, ebay did not notify me at any time during the checkout process that it was UK shipping only. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

I have also contacted someone on Cosplay.com about a wig they're selling that I would like for my boyfriend's Magikarp and Matt cosplays. I need it by next weekend, and the seller hasn't responded yet. I know that it's sort of my fault for waiting so long and that people are busy, but I'm getting anxious about it. At this rate, it doesn't look like he's getting a wig. I feel like it's my fault, but in my defense, he never looked for a wig either.

Speaking of people not responding, I found a second place that sold brown riding crops, but the style that I needed appeared to only come in black, even though it said "assorted colors". So I e-mailed the seller and, you guessed it, no response. Granted, the automated e-mail that I got said it may take up to 48 business hours to respond, and I only e-mailed them yesterday, but I'm getting anxious!

So I bought a different riding crop, with a buttload of shipping costs (okay, only like $7), but it's the color I want, I'm hoping the size I want, and it will be here in 2-3 business days, so by Wednesday. My backup plan is to buy leather from JoAnn's and a wooden dowel from Micheal's and just wing it from there.

Also, I figured out why it was ridiculously hard to find the right style of riding crop in brown. It's an English riding crop. For those who know nothing about horses, horse tack(equipment) comes in two styles; English and Western. From what I remember from when I used to ride horses, in the Western Hemisphere (where I live, of course), English riding gear is mainly used for show jumping. Western tack is used for everything else. So the only riding crops I could find were either around $40, because they're for show, or the black fetish gear. Now, I'm not above buying from a fetish shop. It's whatever. But the fetish shops only sold in black, because black is "sexier" or something.

The crop I ended up buying was from a tack shop in Florida, and only cost $13, plus shipping, for a total of a little over $20. I was only looking to spend about $15, but for express shipping, I decided that I'd pay more. I just hope that it's the right size. It'll look silly if it's only like.. a foot long. Should be at least 15" to look right. So we'll see what happens.

I finally bought the foam I need to make a new Pikachu tail with the female Pikachu "heart" indent. However, for some reason, I can't seem to draw the tail correctly on paper to transfer onto the foam. I don't want to buy any more, so I can really only cut it out once, maybe twice based on the amount of foam I have. I also can't find a single female Pikachu cosplayer with the heart indent tail, so I have no one to ask about it.

This weekend is the Pokemon Black and White Tour in San Jose! (Which is why I need the new tail.) I'm so ridiculously excited, and I don't even know why. They're giving away Celebi on Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, in addition to the Celebi that they're giving away on the 27th in GameStop, so I'll get two! So excited...

READ MORE - Franziska and Pikachu (Days 457 - 467)

Almost Done (Days 447 - 449)

11:20pm - I'm actually almost finished with Franziska, which is weird, because the con's still not for almost a month. I finished the outer, long vest today, I'm annoyed at my hand stitching on the bottom, but it's not noticeable unless you're about two inches away from it. And if you're than close to the back of my knees, you need to back off.

All that's left to do is straighten the wig. If I was more experienced at dying wigs, or if I at least had another wig to practice on, I might give dying my Franziska wig a shot, but that's probably not going to happen. I am painfully aware that my wig is way too bright, and that it should be a duller, gray-ish color, but, bleh, I can't afford a new wig, and I'm afraid to dye the one I have. I'm hoping that the rest of my costume makes up for it.

Oh, and good news from AOD (Animation on Display), my boyfriend and I can both enter the cosplay contest separately, even though I'll be making both of our costumes. The catch is that only I'm eligible for construction awards on either of them, and I can only win one. So if I win a construction award for my cosplay, I can't win one for my boyfriend's. Which makes sense, I can't hog all of the awards (not that I think I'd win twice anyway). So now all I have to do if make my boyfriend's Magikarp cosplay and hope that our panel gets scheduled for Saturday so that we can participate.

READ MORE - Almost Done (Days 447 - 449)

So Much to Do, So Much Time (Day 446)

3:00am - I'm now going to start adding timestamps to my posts, mostly to make it easier for me to tell which days are accounted for, since I sometimes post after midnight.

I'm really impressed at the amount of progress I've made recently. I shortened my Franziska outer vest / cape thing (after five months or so, I still don't know what to call it), and I'm almost finished sewing it back up. The bottom of it is sewed except for about eight inches, where I had to turn it inside-out to sew the lining on and now have to close with hand-stitching. I had to open small holes in the top of the front so that I could get the yellow ribbon off to move up and reapply it after shortening.

I have to reapply the ribbon before I can finished sewing it, because I have to sew it into the top of the front (where I took it out before), and to do that, I have to be able to turn the whole thing inside-out, which is why the bottom has to stay open. I ran into to small hitch in the plans when reapplying the ribbon, the bottom of the vest is now shorter across (because it basically fans out at the bottom, similar to a cape or poofy dress without pleats). So when I went to reapply the ribbon, it took less across the bottom and folded at the corner sooner than I expected, which left a crease in the middle of the vertical stripe and the remains of the previously used Heat-n-Bond visible. I ironed off the leftover Heat-n-Bond, which, yes, made my iron sticky (I wiped most of the stickiness on the ironing board for now), and the rest was fine.

I kept getting distracted by the computer, though, so I stopped applying the ribbon and turned everything off so that I wouldn't get too tired and forget.

Also, I cut my thumb! With scissors! And it hurt! (duh?) Not sure what exactly happened, but I guess I snipped the skin on my thumb with the tip of the scissors. Weird thing is, I laughed at myself for about a minute before getting up to get a bandage. At least I know what an idiot I am for cutting myself. Also, I think the worst part is that it was with my fabric scissors, which I only use on fabric to avoid the blade getting dull, and now I feel like I have to get new scissors. Ah, well, I've also accidentally cut paper with them (the paper was hiding under the fabric), so I'm probably due for some new ones anyway. But first, pinking shears! I need them! I'm looking at this pair, they're nice and cheap. I just hope they work.

(For those who are unfamiliar with the term, pinking shears are a type of scissor that cuts fabric in a zig-zag pattern so that the edges don't fray. They're most commonly used for sheer fabric, but can used on pretty much any fabric. An overlock machine / surger, which I have, could substitute, but personally I'd rather not use an overlock on something that's going to be on the inside of a garment, as in, inside of the lining, and won't ever been seen. Plus, overlocking a bunch of stuff would add unnecessary weight, which probably wouldn't be too noticeable, but could add unwanted bulk to areas that should be flat.)

So all that's left to do for my Franziska costume before AOD is finish adding the yellow to the vest and sew it up and straightening my wig. When I bought the wig, it was relatively straight, but from sitting on a normal/short wig head, it's curled under and inward. I don't know much about the wig, having bought it hurriedly in the Dealer's Hall of Fanime and not getting any instructions with it (they barely sold it to me, were reluctant to take it off of the display). So I'm going to try straightening it with hot water. I'm told that you dip it in hot water ("hot" meaning burns to the touch, but not simmering or boiling), and then lay it on a flat surface. I figure the best place to do this would be in my bathtub, with a bucket for the water, and then laying it on the bottom of the tub, but my bathtub's kinda, well, not dirty ('cause, well, it's a bathtub), but it's got soap scum and stuff in it, so I have to clean it and then make sure that all of the chemicals are rinsed off before I'll be willing to put my wig anywhere near there.

READ MORE - So Much to Do, So Much Time (Day 446)

More Ruffles! (Days 443 - 445)

My new neck ruffles for Franziska von Karma are finished! Well, until I decide that I want to remake them again, which I might. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get any of the fabric that I tried to mimic the exact shape that Franziska's ruffles are. I just plain don't know how to do that. Suggestions would be lovely.

In any case, I'd like to think that my result is a real-life equivalent to what Franziska's was intended to be. I'd like to think that, but I really have no idea. And what's worse, I can't find a single other Age 13 Franziska cosplayer to ask about this or even compare results with.

All of that being said, I think that I like my new ruffle better than my old one. I just like the material better, really (as much of a pain as it is to work with..). It's lighter and just looks more elegant, though, yeah, in the picture, it looks almost exactly the same as the old one. But I swear it's different!

I probably do need to mess with it some more to get the pleats to stay so that they'll have depth on-camera instead of being all flat.

READ MORE - More Ruffles! (Days 443 - 445)

Cosplay Survey II

Most Accurate Cosplay
Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney)

Most Difficult Cosplay
Amaterasu (Okami), so much foam and fur and cardboard and hot glue guns and razors and PAIN! (Totally worth it)

Easiest Cosplay
I think Lady Mario. It just sort of fell together.

Most Out Of Character Cosplay
Chi (Chobits), I don't think I'm capable of being an airhead. D=

Most Fun-to-Cosplay
Franziska von Karma, so fun and easy to get into character.

Sexiest Cosplay
Swimmer Girl (Pokemon Platinum), it's a bikini for goodness sake.

Most Comfortable Cosplay
Clyde (Pacman), believe it or not. Sure, the head is a bit awkward, but it's not that bad at all, and the rest of it is just normal everyday clothes.

Least Comfortable Cosplay
Amaterasu (Okami), with the wig and the wig cap and the mask and the teeth (which make it so that I can't close my jaw all the way), I get a major headache by the end of the day. Chi is a close second, because the elastic for the ears cuts into the backs of my ears.

Costume with longest hotel room prep time
I think Chi (Chobits), because I have to lighten my eyebrows and get the ears, wires, and wig on.

Costume Garment you wear out of costume
The undershirt that I use for Chi

Favorite Wig/Hairstyle:
Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney), it's so blue and beautiful.

Favorite prop
Pokeball beach ball, it's lots of fun =D

Favorite accessory
My ocarina for my Link cosplay, even though I bought it way before I decided to cosplay Link. It still counts, right?

Ever been in a group cosplay?
Eh, not officially. I've run into people cosplaying from the same series, and I cosplay with my boyfriend, but I've never followed through with a plan for more than two people.

Ever cosplayed a pairing with someone?
All the time =D Hideki/Chi (Chobits)

Pairing support=y/n?
Sure, why not?

Ever been to a photoshoot?
All the time =D So much fun.

Ever entered a contest?
Five times, Super-Con, Comic Arts and Anime Teen Expo, Kin-Yoobi Con, Holiday Anime Faire, and Animation on Display.

Ever won an award in a contest?
Four times, Comic Arts and Anime Teen Expo, Kin-Yoobi Con, Holiday Anime Faire, and Animation on Display.

The Costume you'll never finish
Navi (The Legend of Zelda and the Ocarina of Time), even though I want to so badly!

The Costume you've always wanted to make
A mascot suit, though I haven't decided what yet.

The Costume you'd wear if it weren't for your body type
It'd like to think that I don't like my body type stop me, so I'm gonna say pretty much any male character. =[

The Costume that you can't make for lack of money
Harley Quinn (Batman), unless I make the body suit on my own, which I'm not ready for.

Show us your best cosplay photo
Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney), taken by [visual pie] studios at Yaoi-Con

READ MORE - Cosplay Survey II

Challenger Defeated! (Days 331 & 332)

I actually did finish the Cheshire cat ares and tail Friday night. I sold them to my cousin on Saturday, along with the four heart plush things I made. Yay, money! Unfortunately, on the same day, I was introduced to the fun of playing a 12-hole ocarina, and now I want one >_< Bye bye money....

My birthday is coming up, on which I will be getting a DS, Pokemon HeartGold, and a Pokewalker, all thanks to my boyfriend and his mom o.o I feel so spoiled now. I may purchase an ocarina and a songbook before then as well, but I like my money! And I need to save it for Fanime! D= I'm so torn...

The good news is that I've given up on my secret Fanime cosplay (which shall still remain a secret)! I'd like to do it some day, but I'm not ready for it yet. I don't possess the skills, money, or tools to make it, so it will be put off. This is good news though, because the replacement cosplay cost much less. My boyfriend and I are going to cosplay Magikarp Gijinkas! They're so cute! ^-^ And, yes, we do totally and completely plan to hop around in potato sack-like bags all day. Thursday (in line) and Saturday. Yeah, we'll probably going to be too tired for the rave Saturday night, but it'll be so freakin' worth it! (And I actually haven't chosen which night I want to go to the rave...)

I'm also making my boyfriend into Ashchu, because, well, it needs to be done. I'm sure he'd much rather be Magikarp all weekend, but.... >_> He'll thank me... Someday. So he'll basically be Pikachu with Ash's hat (ears coming out of the top), yellow/blonde bangs, and Ash's vest. I'd like him to get yellow pants, but from what I've seen, they only make yellow skinny jeans >_< So, erm.. We'll see how that goes.

And I still need to finish Franziska and Miles for Yaoi Con! Barely a month away! Ahhh! I haven't even started on Miles! And my boyfriend's out of money and can't fund it! Ahhhh! Officially freaking the F* out!

READ MORE - Challenger Defeated! (Days 331 & 332)

Of Hats and Wigs (Day 304)

(Random fact that no one cares about: The Day number, 234 today, finally matches up with the actual number of posts I have.)

I actually worked on cosplay today! I'm so proud of myself. My friend came over, originally so that I could start on her Pokemon Lolita outfit. We're going to make her into Mijumaru (pictured right). Unfortunately, the English name isn't out yet. Or if it is, at least I can't find it. I found a Lolita outfit that I really, really liked in New People yesterday, so we're tweaking it and changing the colors.

Unfortunately, we had no one to drive us to the fabric store, so we couldn't start on the outfit. So instead, I made another Pokemon hat! I plan to sell at Fanime if it's possible to only sell one day. I'd like to only sell Friday, but who knows. Anyway, I made a Totodile! He's quite adorable. I don't have a good picture though. He has little teeth that come down over the sides of the wearer's face =] So cute! I'll get a picture, ehh... Soon.

I've been asked a ton of times if I have a website. Am I allowed to have a website that sells things if I don't own the, umm, inspiration(?)? Anyone have any advice on this? As far as I know, I can only legally sell through places like Deviant Art or where it's abundantly clear that I am an artist and not a commercial brand. Otherwise copyright gets really, really messy.

I also styled my Franziska von Karma wig!I didn't cut it myself, had that done a while ago. I just used hair spray and gel to make the bangs stand up and fall the right way. In the picture to the left, she has a belt around her neck because I had her hanging upside-down on the shower curtain rod so that I could gel the top part of the bangs and let them dry in such a way that clearly defies gravity. I little trick I'm sure I picked up somewhere in the vast forums of Cosplay.com. They're almost perfect. I'm glad that I got them cut longer than I thought I needed to. I may have to clip them back to get them to stay exactly where I want them to, but I may be able to do it in a way that hides the clip. That would be really awesome. If not, I can just push them out of my face all day >_> Really. Not annoying in the least. -.-

READ MORE - Of Hats and Wigs (Day 304)

Happy Fourth! (Days 261 - 266)

Happy Fourth of July and all that good stuff =] I haven't blogged in forever, but now is as good of a time as any to start again, heh. Things have felt really hectic lately, even though nothing has been really going on.

Since I'm not sewing hats right now anyway (I'm still mad at them) I might sew another part of my Franziska von Karma cosplay when I have some spare time. Doing that will probably get me back into the sewing mood so I can work on hats again. I really need to get them done.

Also, I'm going to start looking into getting my Franziska wig styled, since I'm too afraid to do it myself. I know a place that does it, I just need to call and find out how much they charge.

READ MORE - Happy Fourth! (Days 261 - 266)

HATS! (Days 253 & 254)

I made two more hats =] Another Magikarp and a Mew.

ALSO~! I'm putting together a beach cosplay gathering on July 10th! Check out the Cosplay.com thread >>here<< for more info. I will be cosplaying Swimmer Girl from Pokemon Platinum, and my boyfriend will be cosplaying Biker Guy from Pokemon Platinum. We're actually almost done with our costumes too, even though we only seriously started two days ago. All I have to do is exchange my bathing suit bottom for a smaller one, buy a beach ball, and paint it. All my boyfriend (meaning me) has to do is find my old visor and paint it. Whee~! Easiest cosplays EVAH!

As for my Franziska von Karma cosplay and his Miles Edgeworth cosplay.. I suppose they're sort of on hold. I'm trying to finish all of these hats before I work on Franziska and Miles. I'm probably going to work right up to the day before Kin-Yoobi on the hats, but that'll still give me over two full months to finish Franziska and Miles, so I'm not too worried yet. =]

READ MORE - HATS! (Days 253 & 254)