Showing posts with label Codename Sailor V. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Codename Sailor V. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

More costume chatter!

Well let's see where to begin?  The closest con and work my way toward the end of the year you say?  That can be arranged.  As I said in a previous post I have plans to be Soma and Pip is going to be Lau for the Victorian Ball at KawaKon.  Unfortunately both costumes are rather slow moving at the moment.  Partially because my sewing machine is still hiding at my mothers (should be delivered to me tomorrow unless we get more snow) but of course I need fabric before I can bother with the sewing of it.  And when I went to the fabric store I didn't find anything that really suited what I was thinking.  Everything I found that was the right shade had to much of a nap or to much obvious of a weave so I left basically empty handed.  I'm supposed to meet my mom tomorrow and we're going to go see what we can find, she has a bit more impartial (and a lot more experienced) view of things so hopefully they either have new stock in or at least she can find something. 
Now as for Soma's wig, I'm at an impasse.  I wanted purple.  His hair is obviously purple.  But the shade of purple for the wig I want seems very... fake.  Well I mean of course it does its purple, but it doesn't have a natural hue to it.  That still probably isn't making good sense.  If you look at my Kusanagi (now mind you she was a lot more expensive then what Soma's wig will be) she was hand dyed to purple.  She has depth.  I'm somewhat afraid Soma won't have that depth.  Of course I can always add in some lowlights to it right?  Yea lets keep telling myself that.
As for Lau, little progress has been made.  I haven't dyed the frogs I bought yet, partially because I don't want to dye them to dark and the red I buy for the trim not match.  And other then his shoes and wig, which I have managed to find online, that's about all that's been done.  Of course his costume has far less detail on it, so I'm a lot less worried about his.  Here's the wig we're thinking about getting.  I know it had those reddish highlights in it, but I read about this technique, and I think I can dye it a bit darker.  And restyling it to be smoother should be easy.


But I figure I'll wear Revy or V or some other costume again because my list for D*C had exploded and I need to save my pennies and nickles for that.
Let's see here's the list as it stands now.  Belle-Defenders of the Enchanted Kingdom Shoot, Belle- 50's pin up shoot, Belle- swimsuit shoot.  Hawkeye- Marvel group shoot, possibly for Avengers shoot, depends we're trying to not do duplicates and I think I already saw someone signed up, but it could be the male Hawkeye I didn't look that close.  Sailor V for a V/Neptune shoot, other scouts are welcome please e-mail me if your interested!  We're also doing a Princess version of the scouts and need others for that as well!  Madame Mirage, just because I want to.  And a version of Harley for a special shoot with another SCF'er.... of course a lot of these are with her but details, details.  This art is by Northern Banshee and you can find it here on deviantart.  Of course since Harley is DC I'll probably wear this to the group DC shoot as well. 


But I think that's all... all I can think of anyway.  I may have gotten myself in over my head...we'll see.  Pip doesn't have quite as much on his plate, which is good because if I had to make a zillion for him I think I'd cry.  He's been drafted as Shang for the 50's and swimsuit shoot that my Belle is in.  He would be in the Defenders shoot, but its kinda a girls only since no males were included in the original art.  And even though the picture above only shows Harley and Ivy we're adding some more villains, and I believe he's set for Hush.  He gets to steampunk a bunch of stuff so at least I won't be the only one working.  But I should back up and give you a bit of detail about each of these costumes, ne?
Belle I think I have talked about before, but the swimsuit and 50's shoot are newer ideas.  The swimsuit kinda came from the one who is heading up the shoot finding a green swimsuit that she thought Tiana would wear, and since we're slated for the shoot happening at a pool it kinda made since to do a but of an AU shoot.  The 50's thing happened much the same way, kinda us pondering what else we could do with the characters and we're both fans of the pin up look.  I have what I'm planning on wearing to all those shoots either found or a pattern found for it.  Pip and I are still in debate as for what Shang will wear.  I said a gray pair of swimtrunks and a jacket a la this picture.


We'll see what ends up happening.  I have a mild direction for him for the 50's shoot but we'll see if he'll go for it.
Hawkeye I think I've talked to death in previous posts so I'll skip her and move on to the V/Neptune thing.  At the moment its just us, and obviously we have a lot of spaces to fill.  But if no one shows up, or if we have the time we were planning some 'what if' pics.  As some of you probably saw on my flickr, the first time I wore V we ran with the idea that she and Tuxedo Mask had a thing going on before he and moon got together.  All inspired by this particular bit of art.



So V, being the goddess of love... or maybe just a slut is doing the same with Neptune behind Uranus's back.  Of course the problem is how to make it look like that.  If we had a Uranus cosplayer then I can come up with a few shots.  I was thinking maybe have one of our phones show an incoming call from 'Uranus' or have some item of hers there.  Thing with that is nothing comes to mind for Uranus, save her sword, and as good as I am at coming up with 'what if's' I can't seem to make up a reason why either of us would have her sword.  And this is Codename Sailor V we're talking about, not the usual V, so its going to be weird anyway.  And if that's not enough Sailor goodness for you, we're doing the princess versions too.  Now as you fans know, Codename doesn't have a princess dress, so yours truly is designing one for her.  Some of you may remember my sketch for a tango dress for her that never quite managed to be made, well I'm using that as a starting point but I haven't put pen to paper for sketches yet, I'll post them when I do.
Madame Mirage, is the only costume that has seen any real work.  Pip just so happened to have a small, and I mean small airsoft that he got in a two pack when he needed one for his Amun costume.  Funny thing is, that's the exact one the artist must have used for reference when they drew her gun.  So all we have to do is paint the lil bugger and add on some stenciling and we're done.  Fun part is, we can't agree on how to do the stenciling.  I say just paint it on. 


It may not have the depth it has in this picture, but I won't have to worry about damaging an applique when I toss it in a holster.  Now I do agree that something glued on to the barrel will look neat for pictures but I guess I just see something that could go wrong way to easily.   But we have got some work done on painting the gun itself.


It still needs whatever we decide to put on it as a design, and a good coat of poly but the bulk of the work is done.
And last and not least is the Harley.  I've always liked her, never was a big fan I usually strayed to Ivy, Catwoman, and Huntress, and Batwoman if it was the right comic.  But in the animated show I loved her, the mallets and bazooka's were awesome.  Anyway she hit me up the other night about needing a Harley for a photo and when she linked it I fell in love.  I love the almost old west feel of the picture, but we could so easily make it steampunk (which is the idea) that it will be an absolute riot to wear.  And I've already found someplace to buy my hat, mask, wig, and shoes for that outfit.  All I need is the fabric.  ^_^  But since I added Harley I think I'm going to have to put Ghost on the back burner for awhile.  I man we'll see how things go money wise.  If I have the cash to do it and do it right, you can damn well believe I'll be sporting it around.  But since she is one of my favorite characters I want to do it justice so I may have to hold off till next year to wear it.  But as always stay tuned, I'm sure to post if she's a go or not closer to the convention.  

Monday, March 8, 2010

Update!

The con is less then a week away, I need to attach V's cuffs, and give the masks a coat of poly.  Kusanagi needs to have her zipper put in.  Seras needs buttons and some tweaking to her collar plus a hem, and Tuxedo Mask needs a jacket vest and cape.  Yes I'm stressing.  However I'm not going to think about it for a few minutes. 
I know I have posted saying we are going to Dragon Con but I thought I would update you on what costumes I will be taking.  Obviously Hawkeye will be going, but I have one new one and one update.  The update is Ivy.  I have a couple figures of her in a bikini rather then the leotard type thing, and I've really wanted to do the bikini version.  I think I'm going to take both versions though.  One night the group I'm with is doing a villain get together, but it has to be from the comics no movie or cartoon editions.  So no bikini Ivy for that.  But for a Superman/Batman type photo shoot I'm going to wear it.  ^_^
The big one I have to announce is Nahrees of th Inhumans.  Now I didn't know who she was, I simply asked if anyone needed someone for a group and after a few minutes of deliberation they all said I would make a good Nahrees.  Best thing about her costume is that I'll be able to wear the same wig I'm wearing for Hawkeye. 
Lets see, currently I have a commission I need to get started on next week, plus Hawkeye to get going on once this con is over.  Her debut is a local con so if its not 100% I won't be to upset, I mean I will be but I'm more concerned with her for DragonCon.  I think I've already said I'm going as Revy for OMGCon, Pip is going as Chang/Rock.  Speaking of Pip I dunno what he's wearing to DragonCon.  He wants a Shadow costume and I know someone in my group was talking about brining a Margo if he decided to.  And wow I'm totally scatter brained.  -_-" I have 3 things to organize at KawaKon, costumes to do and the brakes on my Jeep just went to shit.  Yea I'm swamped. 
Hopefully the Jeep won't be to expensive to fix.  I was wanting to use my tax return for a netbook, and since the government saw fit to take $400 more then they did last year I'm not exactly hurting for money, but the little amount I had saved up for KawaKon looks like I will have to use for something else.  And of course if one thing goes wrong with the vehicle 5 more things will.  >.< I don't make enough to pay for all this shit!!!  Ok rant over.  If I quit sleeping and keep breathing I may make it though.  Cross your fingers. 
I probably won't have the time to update till after the con, I'm at work and posting atm.  If all goes will I will have the chance to update my flickr during the con but we have a pretty set schedule so no promises.  Otherwise next week I should have a ton of pictures. 
We do have another guild weekend planned for the weekend after KawaKon.  I'm working a local home and garden show though, I will probably pop in for the evening though.  I'm sure we'll have more pictures from that.  Busy, busy, busy!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Progress

Forgive me the lack of update, as they have been a bit sparse in the past week, and will probably continue to be until the convention.  I have a lot left to do and not much time to do it in.  lol  If you're dying to see my progress check Flickr, I tend to upload pictures long before I sit down and type it all out.  But lets see V's bow and hair bow are done.  I just need to sew her other sleeve on put the cuffs on it and do a bit of tweaking on the red below the bust-line and she's done.  I finally figured out what to do to get Seras to work so I'm kinda psyched to get going with her again as the patches are in!  And I think tonight I'm going to throw myself into Kusanagi and see how much I can get done.  Logically she shouldn't be that hard but logically V shouldn't have taken me this long.  >.<  Plus I have Tuxedo's stuff to do.  And I still need fabric for him.  Hopefully he gets it ordered Thursday when I give him his laptop back.  (He left it at my place, on purpose but still.)  We're running out of time and while it won't take me long it still will take some time.  I do have all the fabric for the lining for it so I can get going on that, and figure out where the kinks will be. 
My wigs for Kusanagi and V arrived this weekend.  Both are gorgeous.  I absolutely love Kusanagi, I'm not sold on V but part of that I think is just the way it looks without the rest of the costume.  I think it will work and look amazing, just solo its odd.  I don't have time to upload them here, so seriously go to flickr and look at Kusanai's wig.  It's freakin awesome.  And we got a great shot of me in it.  The first of many I hope. 
Also Revy is a go for OMGCon, not sure who's getting kicked but I want to wear that costume.  I think Pip is going as either Rock or Chang... probably both, only difference are a few details...
We'll my replacement will be in soon so going to shut up now so I can head home grab some food and see how much I can burn though.  Wish me luck!!

Monday, February 15, 2010

More good news.

Gimme a minute, I have to chatter, then I'll get to the good news.  Ok, so I worked till close Sunday night.  No biggie, we close an hour early so I get home at a decent time to go to work in the AM Monday.  I'm not insane about the idea but its better then midnight like I did all Christmas.  So here it is Sunday night, maybe five or six, and it starts snowing.  Now it wasn't just snowing, oh no, it was doing that freezing rain, sleet, bullshit.  So what happens?  We get a layer of ice on the road and then a layer of snow.  Assuming no one has driven over the snow you can get traction, but if they have, well it turned into an ice skating ring.  So I call Da before I left and he said my mother had taken well over an hour to get home in this mess, so he advised that I stay at Pips.  Now that wasn't really a problem to me, it was Valentines Day and I got to spend awhile longer with my Valentine, but that also meant that I had to get up at the crack of dawn and hope that the road crews had gotten the road cleaned.  Now mind you I had no clothes with me, no makeup, thankfully I leave some of my stuff at his place so I had a toothbrush some mascara and I found a clean tee in the Jeep.  (And oh lord is that thing full of random jackets o.O)  But that also means I have to be at about six in the morning (which I don't usually see unless I haven't been to bed yet!) shower, and get on the road.  Best part was I wouldn't know how the roads were until I got going, so their was no way to predict exactly how long it would take me to get home.  Could be that the crews had it all clear, could be a lot worse then it was when Mom started home.  So I had intended on getting on the road about 6:30-6:45 it was a little closer to 7 then that when I actually did, sorry I had to have some coffee I was running on less then 6 hours of sleep.  And thankfully I the roads weren't too bad, I mean they weren't great by any mean and I had to take my time, and I saw where PLENTY of people had gone off the side of the road.  But I made it home a few minutes after eight, had enough time to throw on some make up and grab some clean clothes (thankfully I thought to shower at Pip's) and skid into work right on time.  >.<  Stupid snow!  I'm tired of it.  It can go away.  It's against my will!!
But on to the good news.  I have the hotels for DragonCon reserved!! *squee* We will be arriving on Friday about two or three and leaving Monday sometime, probably three or four in the afternoon.  Atlanta is a seven hour drive from here so we had to factor that in.  That was actually something new for us, most con's we've been to are only a couple hours drive.  I dunno what we will do to entertain ourselves.  I know he's never been there, I myself have only driven though on my way to Florida, and that was at four in the morning so I didn't exactly get the best feel for the place. 
As for costumes, with me getting snowed into town yesterday, and being so worn out today I haven't done much.  I cut out a couple patterns, one for the formal of Sailor V and another for Kusanagi, but that's really it.  I'm going to be heading to bed here in a few so that I can catch up on a few hours sleep so hopefully I will be rested enough to get some things accomplished tomorrow.  Hopefully my girl will be in on time to work tomorrow so I can get going early.  We'll see though, seems like she's usually a bit later on Tuesdays then she is on Wednesdays....   I did upload a few new progress photo's to my flickr that I'll post here.  Just to show them off a bit more


This is (most) of what I have done with V.  I'm working on her top at the moment.  After that I'll just need to get her shoes and get them dyed, then tweak both the shoulder guards and mask a bit more.  ^_^ So close to the finish line!!


I know its no Harkonnen, but it will have to do till I have the chance to make one.  It's not entirely painted in this pciture but its a good idea of what it will look like, assuming I have time I'll go ahead and paint Hellising Arms or whatever is on her gun in white down the side.  *needs to research that more*

And notice a difference between eye to eye?  Yea that's the orange in one eye and my natural color on the other.  It's really nice for Kusanagi, not spot on for Seras in my opinion, but I don't have the $75 on hand to buy the red ones I want.  Maybe before OMGCon, or at least before the proper photoshoot.  And mentioning Seras, as today was a holiday the mail didn't run but hopefully tomorrow my Hellsing patches will arrive...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Ideas?

Since it looks like its going to be another slow day here at the store I'm going to take the time now to update rather then when I get in so that way I can get going on a costume.
I spent most of my evening working on Sailor V's collar, took me a bit to draft it out, I used the guide found here as a start.  Since Codename's collar is a little different I h ad to mod it slightly.  I'll post pictures once I get it done, I have it cut out and sewn together, I just need to finish getting the red trim on it.  I have one side done but it takes me awhile to get that spandex to bend to my will.  I didn't work on anything else.  Well I did take a look at how much blue fabric I have left over and I think I'm going to have enough to my my Formal versions dress out of it... it would make me happy to be able to use it and know it will all match... We'll see.
The other week I was out at Pip's and he had an anime on I'd never seen, called Black Lagoon.  And well I fell in love.  Revy is foul-mouthed and a badass... kinda like Rally from Gunsmith Cats only updated.  Anyway her outfit would be a really simple cosplay and I was thinking about making it and Pip could do Rock, and we could take them to OMGCon.  It would be something cool to wear... I unno though.  I'd have to ditch one of my current costumes to wear it... And Kusanagi's 1st GIG outfit is already slated for that con... Like I said we'll see.  I want to make it, and waiting till next year on something so simple seems a bit much... that and I'm sure by next year I'll have decided on what other big costumes I want to make.  I also thought of Kim Possible.  It would be mega easy (not even needing a wig)... it'll probably just be for a photoshoot though.  Hopefully I'll have some money by OMGCon and I know they used to have a nice outdoor store near the con center (I used to live near there) and if memory serves they sold climbing gear, that could make for a neat photoshoot...
Of course speaking of Rally that's a costume I've wanted to make for awhile, I just need a May.  >.<  Same with Noir.  I've wanted to do Mireille for a long time (already have a wig and a top!) but not a Kirika.  And I have Nariko from the game Heavenly Sword nearly done (the costume not the sword) and I could wear it without a Kai, but I would like one.  /pout.  Why is it I can get boys to cosplay with me but not girls?

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Update!

Yet again more snow. Joy. Exactly do I have to slaughter to get rid of this stuff? I’m tired of it ten times over. It makes getting to work a pain, it makes getting to the gym even more of a pain, and it’s messy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty but I can do without it. I vote we just skip to spring. Anyone else with me?
But on to better things. I’ve been working diligently on the costumes. V and Tuxedo’s masks are nearly finished. They need another couple good sandings and we need to get one more piece around the eyes cut out on each, but the tool we had been using couldn’t get into that small of a spot so I think Pip found something else that will work.






 If the weather isn’t to yucky tonight I may try sanding on them… unno Mom is home I still need her opinion on Seras. Ok I’m rambling. Back to V. Let’s see I still need to buy some gold spandex for her costume and her shoes, if all goes well I’ll be doing that this week sometime. I started sketching out a pattern for her collar, I’m having issues getting it even though. I figure I’ll have to scratch my current sketch and start over, I can’t tell where my new lines are and my old ones are >.< And I need to get going on Tuxedo, Pip finally bought pants so I need to have him wear them and go to the fabric store with me so I can find something to make his jacket and cape out of. I mean I could use anything so long as its black I guess, but I want them to be at least close. I did work on V’s shoulderguards this weekend. Have a coat of primer on them and gave them a good sanding, but they will need more.
Kusanagi has finally seen some progress, I found a pattern online that I think I will be able to mod, so while I’m at the fabric store I need to get some white gabardine or something that I can use as a base for the satin. But that being said I did get her contacts in last night. They look a little orange in the pictures here, I promise they aren’t in real life. Or at least they won’t turn that way when I put them on (I haven’t yet).

Seras hasn’t seen any progress, at least noteworthy. I started spraying the other side of the Harkonnen and ran out of paint /epic fail. When I’m in town Friday I’ll try to pick more up, it didn’t take long at all to paint, and it felt like I had enough in the can but I guess not. And the patches should be in the mail, I can’t wait to see them. I hope they look a little better than in the pictures, I figure they will and if worst comes to worst I can always grab a sharpie or white paint and clean them up a bit. But the good news is Pip’s wig is styled! It took me a couple of hours because this wig was MASSIVE, and it tangled SO easily. I ended up giving the entire thing a really good coat of hairspray and that seemed to help. The braid was tight against his head but it looks really loose in the picture, it kinda worries me, but I think I’m going to let it sit awhile and see if it won’t take to the shape a bit before I try messing with it.




So let’s see I’m down to:

V
Make top
Make bow
Buy Shoes
Get shoes dyed
Make toppers on gloves
Finish shoulderguards
Tweak Mask

Kusanagi
Buy Gabardine
Buy pattern
Make top
Finish Tachikoma

Seras
Finish top
Finish Harkonnen

Tuxedo Mask
Make Jacket
Make Cape
Tweak Mask

And I have about a month. Wish me luck!

Friday, February 5, 2010

quick post

Alright just a quick post tonight, if I have time I'll post more in the morning.  I've gotten a lot done last night and today.  The nerf gun I'm using for a Harkonnen for Seras is half painted (had to wait for it to dry so I can flip it over and do the other side), and Sailor V and Tuxedo Mask both have painted masks.  I figured I'd take them over to Pip's this weekend so we could mark out where I need to cut them, and being the right color would probably help.  I got Sailor V's shoulder guards made.  They still need to be sanded and painted but that takes no time with the sander I have.  I think I've already posted that I have Seras's contacts ordered, I remember tweeting it... anyway here they are, they aren't red but I don't have the $75 to drop on contacts atm. 


 Especially when I just ordered a second wig for Seras.  I tried cutting out what got burned but when I did it left a funny layer way to high so hopefully I can mod that wig for something later...
But then here's the real big progress number.  Sailor V's skirt is done.  I may tweak it later if I get everything else done but I wore it around half the day and it was fine.  I started on her collar but I'm still in the pattern drafting stage atm.  The skirt took me a lot longer then I expected.  I drafted it a couple times but I was going to be all proper and finish all my seams and all that, but when I started that it ended up adding bulk and the skirt didn't flow as well so I ripped as much of it as I could back out and decided that it was spandex and really won't ravel.  ... shit I have to get my stuff together, I'm working at the other job tomorrow and I need to run to town a bit early to grab a couple little things.  Like I said if I wake up early enough tomorrow I'll post pictures of what I've gotten done, if not I will monday.  Check my flickr if your dying to see stuff now, I upload there first.  Night all!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Announcing Codename Sailor V Formal!

Just thought I'd share a sketch I did the other night at work, its of a concept for the Vampire Knight Ball at KawaKon.  I'll be in my Codename Sailor V costume that day (and as its a formal Tuxedo Mask will be in a tuxedo) so I felt a little akward about weaing a miniskirt to the formal.  Not so much a problem with the mini because I will need the freedom of movement to dance the tango, but just that I'd feel underdressed.  So I came up with with what may be a decent compromise assuming I have time to make it.  Most of it will probably be made of satin.


 The ones in color are the ones I'm thinking of making, I'd like more white on the dress, especially around the top more like her normal outfit, but I think this will work.
The skirt will have two layers, a blue organza and a blue satin. The satin will be short and slightly not pleated but will have extra on it so I will be able to dance in it. The outer layer will be able to be 'taken off' so it will create a short train so I will be able to tango. The blue satin will hit probably hit mid thigh and the organza will make it appear to hit about knee length. It will be sleeveless a la her anime costume, and I will re-use the broach from her main costume. I will likely wear the same heels, gloves, mask and other accessories from the main outfit.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

This is going to be long.

Just warning you now.  Let's see they always say to start at the beginning, so the last thing I posted about was Guild Weekend, so I'll start there.  Had to do a couple things Friday before we went to Jon's.  I had to run by the gym and then I had my eye doc app.  The gym went easy, I'm not sure what to think of Cliff,  he's funny but he seems stressed or something around me.  Could have been the fact that my skin was doing.. well we'll get to my dermatologist appointment later.  Anyway he has a routine set up for me so I should be good provided I can get my ass in gear and actually go. 
The eye doc was a good visit too, he said I don't need glasses.  Not that I was thinking I would, but my eyes hadn't been checked in years so it was overdue.  I apparently do have astigmatism and I'm slightly farsighted, the interesting thing about that combination is that they cancel each other out, so he said in five years I may need something, but not now.  I do have my blue contacts though.  Ended up getting two different shades.  One as more aqua in it then the other.  I figure the one with more aqua will be for Sailor V and the darker shade will be for Seras.  I did get my prescription so when I have money again I'll order my red ones. 
From there we had planned on heading straight to Jon's then I realized I had forgotten to grab underwear and I needed to run though Victoria's Secret anyway since I found out I can wear black under Seras's costume and it won't show though.  Let me explain a bit more about that.  I went there once wanting a specific new bra that they came out with, but of course both online and in store they were out of my size in a nude color so I had kinda given up the hunt till I grabbed the boy shorts the other week and found they woudln't show though.  I'm happy, and I can't wait till we get to do a photoshoot for Seras.  Of course i have to get her finished first, but I'll get to my costumes in a bit.
Pip and I got to Jon's probably 6 or 7 Friday night after I'd done all my running around. We ran a couple Heroics and then went to to the BG's.  And I have to tell you about one in particular.  We usually run AV because we can farm some decent honor there, we don't usually go for killing the leaders we just camp one particular part of the road near a graveyard and hold it.   But this one was going to be a turtle and we were going to have to get in the fray if we wanted any HK.  So we all pushed up near their base and then WHAM!  all of us got raped by a freakin mob of toons.  I mean it looked like army of the dead only with named characters and different classes.  All of us smelled a rat and when we got back up there to take a better look our guild leader pointed out that they were staying clustered and it was sorta reminiscent of some shaman's we've seen.  Basically you'll see four toons all following each other, in the same gear, and with really similar names.  Only this group wasn't just one class, they weren't following each other and they had different names.  Putting it simply it was this swarming mess of toons that we figure one person was controlling.  BG's are fun when you PvP against other people, not one ass who's ruining it.  Then we had to deal with people in Warsong who were running Gears.  Rogues can't bubble damn it!!  But whatever, we still had a blast.  Stayed up till like 3 or 4 in the morning before all of us crashed.  Then we all got up and played more.  Pip and I ended up cutting out about nine or ten that night.  We had planned on staying though sunday but they didn't want to do anything but play Warcrack.  And don't get me wrong I love it, but I can only sit and stay at a computer screen and cuss at pixels for so long before I need to do something else.  And it didn't help that I kept thinking about all the things I could have gotten done of my costumes during that time.  I did get Jeeves though.  ^_^ I've been sitting on the mats for awhile now I just needed more titansteel, which our Alchemist transmuted for me.  I think part of the reason they were so intent on the game is because it was cold and rainy all last weekend and it's not like we could have gone out and played in the pool or done something.  Hopefully that will change this summer.  Pip said the boys tended to go out in the shop and do other stuff last year, I was only invited to a couple of the pool party's so I dunno, and that may change since Lisa and Sunny won't probably enjoy that as much as what the boys and I would.  Pip, as promised, did bring our SLR, you can view all the ones I resized and uploaded here, but here are a couple of my favorites. 

 

 



Alright gonna leave costumes for last, so fast forward to my doc appointment Thursday.  He was a nice guy but he seems to have it in his head that this whatever with my skin is eczema and urm I'm not a dermatologist or anything but you have to have dry skin to have that and urm... I have to put stuff on my face to keep it from being shiny and even when it says its good for twelve hours... it last about half the work day for me.  My mother has oily skin, my grandmother has oily skin.  I have oily skin, so explain to me how I have eczema.  He couldn't.  Its contact dermatitis, and he knows it.  I don't think he liked me walking in knowing what I had and basically just wanting a prescription.  Of course the cream he gave the prescription for was $100.  Yea it was steep.  It had better do that damn job though.  I'll be royally pissed.  Currently its faded and almost gone, but it did this last time.  Cross your fingers for me it stays gone.  I'm already self conscious about it, I don't want to be in my costumes worrying over it. 
Ok on to the costumes.  Kusanagi hasn't seen any progress (shocker isn't it?)  She's next on the list but I'm going to finish Seras before I jump to her.  V hasn't seen much progress either, I took my wig over to Krista's but her chi got a little hot and kinda melted a piece of it... we'll have to see if I can fix it.  I could possibly trim it out but then I'll have to add some extensions in it.  I unno we'll see how much money I have I may just buy another and use the mutilated one for something else.  But as for Seras, leaps and bounds.  The liner of her shirt is done and the outer piece is cut out, just needs to be sewn together.  From there it'll be hemming and the funky collar.  And then lots of buttons.  Lots of buttons.  >.<  But progress is progress.  I don't have a current pic but here's what it looked like before I got going the other day. 

Thursday, January 21, 2010

*insert evil laughter here*

Kusanagi's P90 arrived last night.  Sadly a piece is broken but I should be able to mend it.  Its the attachment from the rail to the scope, has a crack in it, big crack.  Any other time I would be tempted to send it back but the con is a little more then a month away and it would be my luck that I wouldn't get a replacement in time.  This one came with all the accessories, strap, flashlight, scope w/ 'laser' dot, suppressor, oh yes I likie.  And I think it will be perfect for Kusanagi since I can mod the gun for different shots.  First one is without all the goodies, second is with everything attached!





In that same shipment I also go Kusanagi's gloves and Seras's gloves.  Both are rather simple, Kusanagi's being fingerless and black and Seras's a standard white.  But both have grippers on the palm side so hopefully I won't be dropping everything all day.  Because that would be very, very annoying.
Also got Sailor V's fabric, I haven't taken it out of the bag, my goal is to get Seras wrapped up before I tear into V.  But here's a shot of it in the bag.




And as for Seras much progress has been made.  *drumroll please* Her skirt is done!! *cheers* Yay!  Last night I got the zipper seam cleaned up, not the way I'd like it but it will do.  I may tear it out later if I have time and re-do it again.  Unno.  But I did also get a hem in it, so its ready to be worn. First picture here is of a hem test I did, but that's the length I hemmed it at, so if you can ignore the pins at the bottom of the skirt its a pretty good mock up as to what it will look like.  The second picture is when I finished getting the hem in it last night.




Alright off the costume bit for a few.  I was successful in getting all my doctors appointments yesterday.  And let me tell you I called that dermatologists office probably 4 or 5 times before I got someone and not the recording.  Friday after I meet with Cliff I'm heading to the eye doc, I don't think I'm going to need glasses but we'll see, I have to have it in order to get my contacts.  And next week is the earliest they could get me into the dermatologist.  Hopefully I can survive till then.  I'm itchy and this 'rash' (as the convenient care ppl called it) came back as soon as the prescription they gave me ran out.  Hopefully its just some sort of allergy and he'll give me something and it'll clear up, I know whatever it was that the convenient care ppl gave me cleared it up so cross your fingers it can be done again. 
And looks like we're going to have a pretty much full turnout for the guild weekend.  (Can you tell I'm psyched about this?) I'll undoubtedly post from Jon's, and Pip already declared he's bringing the SLR so my flickr will be running wild (his to probably) sadly the weather is supposed to be kinda dreary for the weekend so dunno if we'll get to have our bonfire or not.  Oh well more noobs in the BG's to slaughter *evil cackle*

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

More drabble

Worked on the skirt a bit last night.  Have the darts in it, which is mainly thanks to the assistance of my mother.  Yes she was a seamstress and yes she helps out once and awhile, and this was one of those things that I couldn't do by myself.  I mean I could have but I would have had to take it off and put it on a thousand times to see if the darts were placed even and enough was taken up blah blah blah.  Having her pull up what needed to be darted while I was wearing it saved me a lost of frustration.  Now all that's left is pulling out part of the seam near the bottom of the zipper and re-doing it and putting in a hem.  And I plan on hemming the liner and the outer layer of fabric seperate so I may have made more work for myself I unno, I think it will hang better if I do it that way.  





That's really all I got done by the way of costumes yesterday, I spent most of my time in the kitchen.  I made some blueberry muffins and then I made a sugar scrub and a rice water toner.  o.O Yes I know how to make that, I'm hoping it will brighten up my skin a bit before the con.  I mean I have a month. 
 

 


Basically pour however much rice you want in a bowl (I put in enough to cover the bottom and maybe a 1/4 in up the side?  The bowl I was using is deceptivly deep) then pour in water.  You want it to cover the rice by a good inch.  Then stir till its milky.  Pour it into a container of your choice and cook the rice and eat it or pitch it or whatever.  We'll see how well it works.  As for the scrub, this is all it requires:



Its 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of honey and a 1/2 cup of sugar.  The extra virgin olive oil is a must.  No virgin, no plain olive oil, a definately no cooking oil!  The wicked thing about the extra virgin olive oil is that you can use it to remove eye makeup too.  With my skin going ape shit the past couple of months and being very unusually dry I'm going to give this a try and see if it helps any.
But while I'm on my skincare kick, I have to share the makeup pallettes I found.  I'll probably call them my Valentines Day present to myself and get them for the con season. 



That is the makeup I had already planned on getting, I figure I'll have plunty of colors for me, Pip, and anyone else I end up working on.  You can buy it here if you are interested, it retails around $50.  Which is a good deal. 



That is how my whole pallette obsession started.  I have been hunting for the right shade of red lipstick for both myself and for a couple costumes for sometime now and I can never find a shade that has more blue in it then orange or pink.  I need a cold color not a warm red.  >.<  I figure I'll have 66 different shades to play with, if one doesn't work I should be able to mix and match to get what I need.  You can buy it here if you're interested, its about $20. 





I'm debating on which one of those I want or if I want them both, they aren't to expensive and I get 88 different eyeshadows to play with.  The difference is shimmer.  The bottom picture is the shimmer set the top is the more matte set.  I'm thinking with flash I'm going to want the matte but at the same time shine is sometimes good.... You can get the shimmer here and the matte here.  Both are around $20. 



The other thing I found is what's supposed to be a really good eyeshadow base.  It retails for $17, but promises no creases, and for heavy costume makeup... that's probably not the case but for day to day I bet it would work.  If I get it I'll give a full review.  If you're interested you can get it from Urban Decay here.
And on a totally unmakeup related note, I just checked ups, the P90 is still showing on time so cross you fingers that its delivered today.  According to the usps site my fabric was delivered to the local post office yesterday so hopefully my mail carrier dropped it off today, course as much fabric as that was I dunno if that will fit in my mailbox, oh well I have to be up early tomorrow to work on .... something yet undetermined so I can make a quick run to the post office.  And according to the link in the other confirmation email I got I think my holsters my arrive today.  I swear the last time I looked they were in Kansas or some other flat state.  Props to UPS I suppose. 

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

I is a chatterbox!

I’m kinda psyched, Wizard World just acquired the Atlanta comic con, which may add another convention to my list. (You will notice it on my pending list atm) hopefully they do it in November or next January so I can attend.  I can’t usually get off work in December and even if I could I’m so busy that I don’t think I would enjoy it that much.  ATM they don’t have a date or a venue set, let’s hope they do that quick.  Of course the person who makes all my wigs is in Atlanta… not that I’m like omg I want to meet them but they do some really neat work and I wouldn’t mind seeing their shop.

And with me working all weekend I haven’t hardly touched a costume.  I came in last night and didn’t do much, I was rather tired.  Hopefully I’ll get off work early today and I can get going on that skirt again.  I know I say every time I work on it my goal is to get it done and I never manage it but that would be awesome if I could.  Of course when I was as work the other night I grabbed a pair of underwear I hope won’t show through the skirt.  I’ll do a test when I get home.  I tried it with some that say ‘no panty lines’ and they lied.  So I bought a pair of boyshorts… cross your fingers cause I hate boyshorts.  I did talk to mom a minute about her funny collar.  She didn’t have much by the way of suggestions, basically how I’m going to do it seemed like a good idea to her.  She won’t be home tonight, I wanted her to help me with the darts… suppose I can try it on my own and see if I’ve had a tailoring skill up since the last time I tried darts. (And yes that was a WoW reference)  And I need to get going on her top.  Thankfully I have a pattern for that so I hope that means it will go fast.  The fabric for Sailor V should arrive in a day or so, along with Kusanagi’s stuff.  And I need to get that done too. >.< so much to do, not enough hours or energy!!

I may try to get up early Thursday before I go into work and do something on the costumes, paint Seras’s buttons or something.  Friday I’m headed to the optometrist to see if I need glasses (I don’t think so but some of the really small print I’m having issue with.)  And that way I can get a prescription so I can get the colored contacts I need for the con season this year, cause they won’t give you any, even if you don’t need any sort of correction, without an optometrists signature.  I understand why but I don’t want to go.  But I want the contacts so I’ll do what I must.  Supposed to meet with the trainer Friday too, my calves are still hurting after last week.  We did my assessment last week Friday and he basically said you have 12 min to run as many laps as you can… Go.  I didn’t get to stretch or anything and for those of you who know me, you know when I jog I stretch before, during, after and probably some other time I forgot.  But no stretching=days of pain.  My calves are finally stretching out and I worked the floor all weekend so that should have helped.  And for those curious I lacked half a lap to do a mile, not bad for someone who hasn't run in three months.  But nonetheless I am so going to give him shit when I see him.  And this is guild weekend *squee*  So I’ll be headed to Jon’s once I’m done with the optometrist and the gym.  We’re taking the SLR with us, so I’ll be uploading pics like crazy.  And I’ll get to run some BG’s with my girls again.  "Gimme your badge, Bitch!"  Yes we get that into it... god this going to be fun.  I think we’re having a bonfire, or I know fire was involved… ^_^  I may take Sailor V and Tuxedo Masks mask out and see if Jon has any tools that will cut them out the way we want… he has an awesome collection of tools I’m told.  He and Rob and Pip were going to fabricate Nariko’s sword for that costume but they never got around to it, course the costume never got 100% done so it’s not much of a loss.  Since I’ll have Lisa there I may take Pip’s wig and see if she can help me style it… course I’ll have to let her know ahead of time so she can bring her shit.  And I believe Krista is going to give me a hand with Seras’s.  I managed to take some of the curl out of the sides when I was messing with it.  Gimme a break my hair doesn’t curl I don’t know how to make them!  I may run that by Friday too since I’ll be in Jackson… may take it with me to Jon’s we’ll see.  I have a couple days to decide.  'Cause if I get that skirt done it might be fun to take a few pics as Seras in a black tank the yellow skirt and the thigh highs and boots… *ponders*  The guild would probably find it amusing.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Update

Alright, where to start?  I figure bad news first, Kusanagi hasn't seen anything accomplished save her holsters and P90 are in transit.  Sailor V has her fabric ordered and it should be here the beginning of next week.  I just got a note from the person who I commissioned my Sailor V wig from and it will be shipping out fairly soon.  ^_^  I also have a couple picutres of the suprise I got for my Tuxedo Mask. 




Yes a wig.  He has long hair and although its the right color for the costume, I think it will look better if its short... that and I've never seen him with short hair.  We also ran through one of the Tuxedo Shops in town and have a hat, cane, and gloves ordered.  So now its just up to me, more or less. 
Now as for where and what I have been spending most of my time on.  Seras.  And that skirt. >.<  I don't like zippers.  I don't like installing a zipper, I don't like using a zipper, pretty much I hate the little buggers.  They always get caught on something or I have to work and work to get them out or something goes wrong with them, just the way of the world for me.  But I had to have a zipper in this skirt, their was no way around it.  Last costume I had planned on using a zipper for I found a way to make lacing work.  I hate them that much.  But after much trial (and error) I made it work. 


You can see in this one I didn't seam close enough to the zipper teeth and when the slightest bit of tension is placed on it, you can see the zipper though it.


Finally!! I still need to put in the slits on the side, and tweak the bottom of the zipper but the hard part (should be) over! 
And here a couple pics of Seras's wig, the lighting in my room makes it look a lot darker then it is. 







Well after my day with the trainer I'm pooped so I'm heading to bed a bit earlier then usual.  I'm debating on heading to the gym tomorrow before I go to work, they will be open after I'm off but I'd have to rush.   Depends on how when my alarm starts going off I suppose, supposed to meet with him again next week Friday so he can get me a proper routine going... Upside to that is I get to go play WoW all night next Friday so even if he works me hard I can still do something.  ^_^

another quick post

I'm gonna have to be heading out the door here in a few minutes, I have a session with a trainer.  Yes I go to a gym, yes I'm going to have an Avenger figure by the time I get my Hawkeye costume done.  Hopefully I'll have a better set of legs for Seras and V too for the con in March... *crosses fingers*
Lets see I ordered fabric for V very early this morning.  Cost me $211.  $50 less then my estimate.  Which wasn't bad, by subtotal was $180 something, shipping is what got me.  But that should arrive early next week, my goal is to have Seras's skirt done today.   I bought some more wig heads yesterday and some other little notatins I'll need for different costumes.  The goal is to have Seras done or almost done (obviously not the patches) before V's fabric arrives so I can concentrate on it.  Of course that's leaving poor Kusanagi out in the cold.... we'll see. 
I'll post pictures of the new wigs I got later this evening and of the other couple things I've gotten as well as give a more detailed report on how everything is going.  ^_^ G2G!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

And I just spent more money :(

Just dropped anther $100 on Amazon, got Kusanagi's holsters and her P90, and I re-ran the numbers last night, looking a bit better.

Sailor V: Total $200


Fabric- $170 (Much better then the $260!)
Shoes- $30
Shoe dye- $15
Contacts- $40
Wig- $100 (already have $50 on it)
Broach- $5
Choker- $5
Headpiece- $5
Mask- $15
Gloves- $20

Kusanagi: Total $175

Back holster/ Shoulder holster- $55
Wig- $120 (already have $50 on it)
P90- $37.50
gloves- $15
Contacts- $40
Jeans- $60
Boots- $60
Glasses- $10
Fabric/dye- $30
Jacket- $160


Seras: Total $90

Gloves- $15
Patches- $30
Airsoft- $45
Contacts- $40 (They will be Kusanagi's so this is a duplicate of sorts)
Fabric- $60
Shoes- $60 (borrowed from Kusanagi)
Buttons- $15
Wig- $40
Stockings- $10
Fangs- $15


Sailor V Artemis Variant: Total $20

Fabric- see Sailor V for pricing
Gloves- $20
Contacts- $40 (Again dupicates of Sailor V's)
Ears- $15
Tail- $20


Kasumi: Total $25
Fabric- $25

Fox: Total $205

Shorts- $15
Fabric- See Sailor V for pricing
Jacket- $190
Fabric for skirt- $20
Shoes- $30
Pattern- $3
Ears- $20
Tail- $20

I'm still debating on Kasumi, at least for KawaKon, I may take it to OMGCon as it will be warmer then... but the hotel KawaKon is at has a gorgeous pool.....

another quick post

Yes I know I've been a chatterbox today but I do want to report on my costumes.  I know I know more on the costumes, but having to write my progress daily kinda helps spur me into getting something done.  So let's see.  I got in and went to work on the masks.  Sanded them down and gave them another couple coats of sandable primer.  His is looking really smooth, mine is going to need more work.  I figure I'll do another that another 1 or 2 times and then worry with the edging I need on mine.  I'm going to have to have the part under my eye and over my nose smooth either way, and if I screw something up it will be at the ends, not in the center.  So first pic here is how the masks looked when I got started, second is after I spent awhile working on them, last ones are after the additional coats of primer.










And I do have news on the Seras front.  I started painting my buttons, sadly my neat freak of a mother has yet again hid the stuff I wanted to use so I tried some antique gold acrylic paint.  Its not turning out bad but it's not the look I intended, I think I'll wait and see how it dries.  I'd share a pic of that but it just keeps taking blurry pictures >.< 
But I did get the skirt cut out.  And for once in my life I measured and measured and used another one as reference and remembered that I had a one way stretch fabric and actually have my stretch running around me rather then vertically where it will be of no use at all.  :) 


 
So there it is cut out, I'll start sewing it tomorrow, I plan on putting a seam up each side and in one side installing an invisible zipper so I can get in/out of it and also putting a bit of a vent on the ends of each seam because although the skirt is short and the stretch should allow me to move freely, that will ensure it.  Amazingly I have enough fabric to line it in the yellow and not have to worry, truth be told I bought enough I could probably make matching yellow bloomers o.O