14 More Days Before Otakon!!

I'm getting so psyched, but that also means that there is a lot to do. Goose is working hard on the Garnet Rod. We're making it out of MDF which we were routing out with a Dremel on a plunge router attachment. This was taking a very very very very long time as you can't plunge too deep into the MDF without a lot of resistance and the Dremel would overheat after one pass around the shape. We could only really cut out two and a half pieces a night (since we're working after work). Very slow, considering we need to cut out 15 pieces to make the 3D shape. Then Goose bought a DeWalt Jigsaw. And cut out two big pieces in the matter of minutes. It makes such a difference when you have the proper tools. He was kind of kicking himself. Now we're in the process of gluing them together and need more clamps for all the pieces.

Dry quickly, please!

I finished my Sailor Pluto Wig after much fighting with tangles. There's a reason people don't usually grow their hair that long. I was pretty pleased with how the odango came out. It was a fight with hot glue on the inside. I burned some skin off my fingertips, I'm pretty sure.

So nice and green! I had fun with this wig :D

I finished casting my Pluto earrings. I bought the starter kit Kaye mentions in this post. I made the master out of clay and cast the silicone in an old Motorola cellphone box we had kicking around after sealing all the edges with hot glue. Then cast the earring with the CR-600 Casting Resin after placing a large stud earring I bought from Claire's in the mold. After sanding and trimming the edges when it cured, we sprayed them with filler primer to fill any gaps in the surface. Now we're waiting for them to dry, but then we'll spray them with the dark red auto paint we're also using for the rod details. (I love auto paint. It's so shiny.)

It's a little heavy, but I just need to get used to it.

Also, I finished the tiaras for all of us and Kaye will be casting the gems to attach to them.

They're pretty shiny when you get them in direct light.

I finally got around to finishing the glove piping for each of us as well. I don't know why I was so unmotivated before.

Left to Right: Sailor Saturn (Lira), Sailor Pluto (Akira), Sailor Mars (Kaye), Sailor Moon (Kitaku)

And I finished one of my Sailor Pluto boots yesterday. It slips on like a sock and looks pretty form fitting. I have to figure out how to strap down the boot inside, or maybe just wear some heels.

Need to add traction to the bottoms as well since they're very slippery on the bottoms.

Whew, that was a huge update, but the glove piping and tiaras were done earlier and since Otakon is coming in about two weeks, it really has lit a fire under my ass.

There are still a bunch of things that still need to get done.

I need to finally get those f%$*ing sleeves completed. They fight me. Goose and I need to finish cutting and gluing all our parts so we can sand and paint the thing. I need to finish the other Pluto boot. Then I need to check over Goose's Aperture Scientist costume and my Chell to make sure it'll last another con. I foresee a lot of mending in my future.

Then it's purchasing supplies, packing and driving to Baltimore of a weekend of awesomeness!

Kaye and I still have a bunch of things to do once we get to Baltimore in terms of fitting, sewing and attaching pieces. It's the price we pay for making cosplays 2,000 miles away from each other with two other people who are both not located near either of us. It'll be an interesting and fun night!

Well, hopefully, the next updates I have are more completed parts of the Sailor Senshi!

Contacts Came In!! (Picture, too!)

The mail came in with the colored contacts we bought from Pinky Paradise.
Kaye bought a pair of the Super Pinky Violet and Super Pinky Greens for her various costumes.
I bought a pair of the Super Pinky Wine Red for Pluto and Super Pinky Greens for Athena Glory.
I like how the colors can be subtle but really show up in the light. 
When you use the coupon code HOLLYANN,  you get three free cute animal contact cases and some other free gifts. I'll include pictures of those when I get home today.

In other news, working on the tiaras, sleeves and gloves for Kaye.
Here is one of the bases cut out of .020 brass sheets. I need to engrave the edges and drill the ends to thread the elastic through. Then polish, seal and glue on some soft foam on the underside so it's not right on our head.

Must. Channel. Stoic. Pluto.

Athena's bases are done, but I'm still waiting for our work area to be clean, since paint + dust = FLAIL.
Less than two months to go!

Officially registered :)

update

Lots of progress today, even after waking up to go to work early :)

I finalized the pattern, cut and sewed the last of the overrobe piece out. I'll post the picture of the insane number of pins I used to keep everything together. I had to sew in psuedo guidelines so I can keep my beading straight, mostly so I know where the real edge of the seam is; so the guide is less than an 1/8" in from the seam, and then the line for the beading is about another half an inch in.

Currently beading the first line of the bottom accent (two lines of beading for both the top and the bottom accents). I need to figure out how this is going to stay attached to the rest of the robe, pattern the embroidery for that and .. keep beading. I'm using size 1 bugle beads in gold that I got in bulk from the NY trip. Just putting it out there right now, it took me the better part of an episode of Numb3rs to get maybe a foot of beading done.

Also, the tabards have lining pinned on and the actual size I want traced on to the lining with fabric markers. I still need to do two more embroidery pieces, interface and iron on the designs before I start beading THAT mess. I have figured out the sizing I need for the "knotted cord" decorations that are going to hang from the belt. I may start patterning that out tomorrow once I get back from my friend's house.

Then it's just the wig and the insane head dress. That's my late June/early July project.

Of the sailor senshi costumes.. it's resin casting, finishing the skirts and getting started on the boot covers. I'm mostly waiting for the sleeves from Akira before I really work on anything else for them. And then wigs. That's going to go with the resin casting time period. I'm mostly trying to get a lot of Tomoyo done before the middle of this month so I can work on Nave's Syaoran costume without panicking and worrying about my own. His is going to be way easier in terms of decorations.

Patterning paper that I didn't know I had...

So I took a drawing class in college during my first year. One of the things we had to buy was a huge pad of newsprint that we barely used in class. I completely forgot that I still had about 90% of the pad left over. Granted, it's a bit beat up and there's an oddly huge fold in it, but it's useful as all heck when it comes to drafting patterns. It's soft enough to be penetrated by the pins easily (granted, I use glass tipped quilting pins that I got for free when I got my sewing machine. They're super sharp), but sturdy enough it won't tear when I breathe on it :D

and thus appeared a Lira

hello, world! Akira & Kaye may have mentioned me in passing as a model, but I've been enabled by their talents into jumping back into the world of crafts, needlework, and winging costumes-- which I haven't so much as touched in at *least* four years. So here's to getting my rusty crafting neurons back into gear.

My starter projects are:

- at least two mods of old Threadless t-shirts & old shirts in general
- beachparty!Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender (I decided to bite the bullet & go for the slightly more complex version, to challenge myself) for Otakon

Possibilities, if I de-rust myself adequately with the above:

- accessories to add to my Victorian/steampunk wardrobe, also for Otakon
- Sailor Saturn's glaive

I'm a strong believer in winging...pretty much everything, so I'm going to need to rein myself in to some extent.

Oh, and I also have a tendency to be very OCD about geometric shapes, lines, parallels, etc...so I'm also going to need to rein that in lest I spend over 20 minutes pinning & cutting one t-shirt hem...like I just did... *facepalm*

progress progress progress progress

I keep having to tell myself this otherwise I flail too much. I still have a lot to do ... but at least my robe has a zipper! and.. SORT OF FITS.

Time to go make the petticoat with a huge bustle.