Otakon 2012

First, isn't my new banner amazing!  THANKS BF!

Otakon was pretty fun.  There were TONS of people there as expected.  We only got into 4 of the panels we wanted to get into, but still had a good time.  I got tons of compliments on my Yoko cosplay, and I was happy about that b/c I worked super hard on that.  One girl even asked me if I bought it ^_^ !!  I'll do a post about how I made my boots later. (And I know I'm missing a bracelet.  I hadn't finished sewing on the buttons yet, but I did and put it on later that day.)

I really loved my Lucy cosplay.  It was super comfortable, but I kept forgetting about the horns and bumping them, lol.  There were a bunch of other Lucys there and I took pics with almost all of them.   Being that the dress is the first item of clothing I've ever made I think I did a pretty good job.  I bought the shirt from Amazon.com, the socks from Sockdreams.com, the shoes from Target, and wig from Epic Cosplay, and made the music box.  Well. . .

I bought a pre-made wooden box from Michael's, stained it, lined the inside with some burgundy felt I bought on clearance from Hancock Fabrics.  The lines on the top front and back on the box that would be done with a woodburner "in real life", were just drawn on by my BF with a Sharpie before I stained.  That was totally his idea, and really helped the box looked authentic.  I made the inner and outer "plates" from craft foam and acrylic paint.  At some point I'll have a real gold plate engraved for the inside, but I didn't have time this year.  For the inner plate, I printed Lilium out on some cardstock, glued that onto the craft foam and them painted it.  The box also plays Lilium, with a mechanism I found on Amazon ^_^. 


Cosplaying turned out to be more fun that I thought it would be.  I've already started on my next cosplay which will be, Maka Albarn from Soul Eater; I'll be wearing that for Nekocon in November.  I'm knitting the sweater vest myself.  I'm using the Academia pattern.  It's from Twist Collective, but I found it on Ravelry.  I'm hoping to be finished with that before I have to go back to work in September.  Wish me luck!!

Happy Cosplaying!

Lucy (Elfen Lied) so far...

This cosplay has been easier to get together, because there are just less parts.  I already have the wig, ribbon, pink shirt, socks and shoes.  I just need to make the dress and horns.

 I also plan to make a music box.  I ordered a little "box" that plays the song, you can see it in the pic, and just need to stain the wooden box I got from Michael's, then cover the inside with velvet and make a shelf to cover the music mechanism.  The hardest part of that will be cutting a hole in the bottom so that I can actually wind it, lol. (Oh and finding someone to make the engraved plate for the inside, lmbo.)

The "to-do" list for this cosplay is
1. make dress
2. make horns
3. cut ribbon (for neck)
4. figure out how to attach horns to wig
5. sand/stain music box
6. cut hole in music box for winding mechanism
7. find place to make engraved plate


If I pretend that I didn't decide to make the music box (don't know what came over me in the first place, lol) that list is easy-peasy!

Happy Cosplaying!

The adventure begins...

Although I've been watching anime for years, Nekocon 2011 was my first convention ever.  Honestly, other than ComicCon, I had never even heard of other cons b/c I had very few friends who like anime or anything that I'd call "nerd-related."  So, not only was Nekocon my first con, but it was my first venture into the world of cosplayers and i immediately fell in LOVE! 

I've always loved wearing costumes, really not needing much of a reason to put one on, so I was just naturally drawn into the cosplayer's world. So, with some self-motivation (and quite a bit of prodding from my BF, lol) I started working on two cosplays for Otakon:

Lucy from Elfen Lied

and Yoko Littner from Gurren Lagann

The biggest issue for me will be sewing for the first time.  My BF bought me a sewing machine (basically for cosplay) for my birthday in April and has been freaking out anytime I act the slightest bit nervous about my possible sewing abilities.  I've always been crafty, but I'm realistic and the idea of making clothes that are actually wearable does make me nervous.  Oh well, I'll find out soon, lmbo.

I'll post pics of what I have so far and what my plans are for these cosplays soon.

Happy Cosplaying!