konataizumi_san

After 2 whole days of contemplation and research, I have come up with a draft for the first prototype for my Air Treks. For those who are a bit confused, my husband and I have a skit planned for Matsuricon this year. We agreed before Ohayocon that he could pick the next pairing we do together and he wanted to do Ringo and Ikki from Air Gear. After a bit of research and lack of reference pictures, I chose to make Ringo's mange volume 6 cover outfit. He wants to do Ikki's Kogaramasu uniform. He keeps insisting on using PVC for the jacket and pants and after the debacle with Yoko's shorts, I'm am sternly refusing. Unless of course, I could find PVC exactly the same as the gold I used for my Ashford Uniform. I have ordered some swatches for some potential fabric choices, but they're not going to get here until like Wednesday.

Anyways.... The Air Treks are the skates the have in the series. It's basically a combination of roller skates and roller blades. The roller skate aspect is the shoe itself and the way the plate is attached to the actual shoe. The roller blade part is the type of wheel used and the plate itself. So, after searching countless websites for potential roller skates/blades to use yesterday, I thought I would give up by tonight. Well, I had an epiphany this morning. What if I make the skates myself? What if I buy shoes to alter and then buy the plates and install them into the shoes myself? Although I did find this nice tutorial on how to make your own skates, I couldn't find any plates that would work. SO! I was nearly in the process of giving up when I thought, what if I make the plate myself?

So I going to attempt to make a basic prototype soon of the ATs I need. I just plan to take an old pair of shoes I never wear for the prototype and perhaps some old roller blade wheels. My first draft is going to have the plate made out of basic wood. The wheels will be sanded flat on two sides and a large screw will be put through the shoe, the attachment plate, as well as the wheel. It will help keep everything in place. There are other steps in this, but overall, I'm hoping it will look nice.

I'll keep you guys posted on the result of the prototype!

I might be going to Acen. Not 100% sure on that one yet, but I should know by the weekend. If I can go, I'll probably finish Euphie's Ashford uniform and her Princess dress. They're just sitting there saying, "Finish me". XD

I only went on Saturday, mainly for the cosplay competition. There was really NOTHING to do. I attended the last 15 or so minutes of Beat the Geeks and that was interesting, but for the most part it was really boring compared to past years. I'm glad I only went for Saturday. I can't even imagine if I had wasted money on a hotel room and a badge for the whole weekend. >.>

I did however win an award on my Epic Euphie dress. They named my award: "Wannabe Japan-a-file Princess". XD I'm glad to have won a well deserved and earned award on it, but I'm a little bummed since I am now in the Journeyman judging category. I know there aren't too many Journeyman's out there (there are usually more Novice than anything), but I'm worried I won't win another award. :'(

I know that's not the case here. After I finish Myu Jupiter, I intend to finish up mine and my husband's Ashford Uniforms. I'm thinking of making one of Euphie's outfits though for Matsuricon. Perhaps her Princess Ballgown... It really depends on how well my Ashford Uniforms turn out. I do have my Ohayocon 2010 cosplay picked out. I know I said I was going to make Sakura from Tsubasa, but I don't feel like buying a new wig or anything until I have satisfied my urge to cosplay Euphie. XD

( Cut to save space. )

I'm debating on how large I want to make her wings and how I want to make them. If I go with gigantic wings instead of medium to large wings, then I need to find a suitable way to make them fold. What size do you think I should make her wings?

So like my Myu trim would have gotten here today, except in turns out that I have to sign for it... Yeah... Going to pick it up at the Post Office tomorrow though, so I'll have it then.

So I am officially going to Anime Punch this year. Just for Saturday though. More or less to prove to the world that my Euphie cosplay is amazing and definitely deserves recognition for it. I swear though, if I walk away empty handed again, I don't know what I'll do.

I also started working on my Myu Jupiter cosplay today. Not much since I am still, yes still, waiting on my Myu trim. >.> I got started on her little green hair thingies and they will clip into the wig to make transporting it much easier. I intend to have all the rhinestones glued onto it tonight and test them out on hair clips to see how they would work out and such. If they don't work, I just wasted like $1 buying some of them, and it's back to the drawing board for those. XD

Still waiting on my Myu trim. I knew it would take a while, but I ordered it like 2 freaking weeks ago. Hurry up and get here! I need to get started on this already!!! >.<

I'm apart of this CG RP (takes place 100 years after the series, so nothing, but custom charries) and I RP the 2nd Princess of the new Britannian Empire. Well today...

...She died... T.T

Sort of. She fell into Lake Kawaguchi and appeared to have drowned. So she's dead to everyone, but the Geass Directorate have her now and have changed her hair color to be black permanently. Because of lack of oxygen to her brain she has amnesia and doesn't remember anything. So now, she's no longer the 2nd Princess of Britanna, but an assassin for the Geass Directorate. >.>

After much persuasion, my friend talked me going back to Ohayocon, to basically give the con another chance. If they piss me off again I'm definitely never going back there. I've also changed my mind about what I will be cosplaying. I went out and searched for more Tsubasa art on photobucket and stumbled across this awesome Sakura that I want to do.

( Cut for space. )


I can't wait to get started on it, but I've got to make Myu Jupiter first. Since I want this to be perfect, I plan to start on it right after the STS performance in May. That way I won't burn myself out doing an ass load in a month. >.> I'm seriously so excited about this, I actually dreamed about making it and wearing it. I think the only thing I'm going to have a problem with is getting a hold of that many bells. Hopefully I can find them before the Christmas season starts, if not. I'll wait till after Christmas when they're ridiculously cheap. :D

I still plan to make the Halloween Sakura for a con around Halloween time, or just for Halloween. I'll take it to Ohayocon as well. I'll take a break from working on the above Sakura to make Halloween Sakura as it's not nearly as hard or time consuming.

Oh and what would you recommend making the golden see-through cage ball out of. I have a few ideas of how to go about making it, but I'm unsure as to which material to use to actually make it.

Since I'm going to have Myu Jupiter done by May, I figured I might as well decide on my next project. And yes, they are Sakura from Tsubasa since I somehow got myself hooked on the series once more. :D

( Under a cut to save space. )

So got my tax return today. Bought just about everything I need to make my Sera Myu Jupiter fuku. I still need PVC and stuff to make bows out of. I like cannot find pink tissue lame anywhere. >.> Everyone has fuschia. Bastards... ANYWAYS. Since I ordered a butt load of my stuff online, I have to wait for it to get here before I can really do anything. Like my Myu trim and beads... I can make my bodice and my skirts... But that's about as far as it goes. Until I get trim and such.

I bought my Civilian outfit as well today. I like it. Although they only had smalls left of the jacket, I bought it anyway. I tried it on at home over top of my polo I was wearing, and it fit just fine. Wasn't super clingy like I thought it might have been.

GarasuNoShiCon is where the STS girls will be performing our first hour long performance. Yay! It'll be on Saturday and admission is free. Head over to the site and check some stuff out. As for the dance practice and such, out of around 8 songs I have to learn, I have one down. Just needs polishing and fine-tuning to be perfect now. :D My first deadline is this Monday so, let's hope I can fix a lot of stuff before I submit my video.

Yay! I got accepted as Sailor Jupiter for the Salad Time Soldiers! W00t!

Although, Usagi is determined to kill me. I mean I have like 6 songs to learn on top of making a costume in 3 months and that's if we do a 30 minute performance instead of an hour. T.T

Oh well. I'm determined to make this happen since it sounds like a whole lot of fun! :D

So I've already turned in my first audition and am currently working on my 2nd audition, but I may become a Salad Time Soldier! Yay for me!
Although I've talked with Sailor Moon nearly everyday about this, it's not official yet, but if I DO get accepted then I will more than likely be Sailor Jupiter. ^.^

The only problem with that is all my new cosplays are completely on hold AND I probably will not be at Colossalcon this year or even AnimePunch. Matsuricon is still on as far as I know.

Oh and for people who have never heard of the Salad Time Soldiers, they are a Sera Myu tribute group. They do the dancing and such that you see in the musicals. They recently performed at Ohayocon. They were entry #9. They were the group of 5 and not 2. They performed LINK. ^.^
Although a Sera Myu costume is cheaper than a lot of the other costumes I intend to make this year, I had to come to an agreement with hubby-kun. I think it's fair. Oh and I have to work on getting my drivers license since I would have to drive to rehearsals and such on my own.

I've never been part of a cosplay group, let alone a dancing cosplay group so this is going to awesome-sauce! I will post after my next audition has been submitted and know what my status is. ^.^

Apparently my Euphemia and Suzaku cosplays went over very well. I've never commissioned anything before except for friends I had access to like 24/7 if need be for fittings. For this one, I'm only going to be able to do two fittings. One for the mock up and one for the finished product. I'm a bit excited and a bit worried. I mean the guy is the chairman in my anime group, but we don't see each other more than the 2 times a month our group meets. I hope I can make this look right. ^.^

So for people who have done commissions before, what advice do you have? Oh and I'm a bit unsure of what kind of fabric to use for the pants. The character is Zoro from One Piece. I haven't watched One Piece in forever, but it's the white shirt black/greenish pants outfit. All suggestions welcome! ^.^

Due to the uber flaming and bull shit I am currently getting on the Ohayocon boards from even the staff members themselves, I have decided I will never return to Ohayocon again.

I apparently made the mistake of voicing my own opinion about the judging that occurred and now I am being called a whiny brat, ignorant, and being told my cosplay sucks by people who haven't even seen a picture of it. So rather than having to deal with ass holes next year, I'm just going to say:

FUCK YOU OHAYOCON! YOU'RE CONVENTION SUCKS MORE THAN ANYTHING! COSPLAY CONTEST IS TOTALLY RIGGED! STAFFERS ARE FAGGOTS ON POWER TRIPS! THE ONLY THING GOOD IS YOUR DEALER'S ROOM AND EVEN THEN THEY BUY STUFF FROM WALMART AND TRY TO SELL IT TO YOU AT A MUCH HIGHER PRICE!

Way to be uber faggots. Worst con ever = Gayocon 2009.

I will however still attend CCC as their cosplay Judging is completely fair. As well as Matsuricon too. I hate AP though, but I may end up having to go with my anime group every year if they like it anyway.  >.>

See some of you at the MUCH BETTER FAIR JUDGING conventions. ^.^

More like Judgingwasubershitlulzcon 2009 if you ask me. >.<

Okay. Friday, everything was good. Got there about 6AM and chilled with some awesome people in reg line till it opened, ON TIME, might I add. Hubby-kun and I were the 5th people in line for pre-reg so it only took maybe 5 minutes to get our badges and check in. We were one of the first few people to check into the hotel room at the Hyatt and we had requested a roll-away bed at like 9:30AM. It never showed up. Well, at least not till 5PM Saturday anyway. >.>

( Friday )

( Saturday = Judging BS )
Sunday, I got up, packed my stuff and took it down to the car. I was about to junk punch the hubby-kun's friend who had sat in the room all weekend playing our 360. WE PAYED FOR HIS BADGE AND HE CAN'T BE BOTHERED TO HELP TAKE STUFF DOWN TO THE CAR!? Hubby-kun was also uber pissed at the way he treated me all weekend. We both agreed unless he pays for his own badge and actually pitches in with hotel/food costs, he is NEVER going to another con with us again. Hubby-kun's so pissed at him, he refuses to let him even come over. After everything was down in the car and the ass hole was off getting his shit signed, Hubby-kun and I hit up the dealers room to get something for Madison. We got her a Pretty Cure plushie that she just adores. We also bought Suzaku's Lancelot Conquista model to build together. ^.^

After douche bag got his crap signed, we left. Went to my Mom's to pick up Madison and then dropped everyone else off at their respected homes. Been checking the forums to see what everyone else thought of the contest. I'll post piccies tomorrow or sometime later of our cosplays. And now I'm off to bed.

Happy New Year minna-san! I know I know, it's over a week late, but I've been uber busy working on my cosplays. I finished making Euphie's dress and have begun drafting patterns for Suzaku. Pics of the dress is under the cut. Also I have listed my cosplay aspirations for this year. Pics are under the cut too. ^.^

Hope to see you all at Ohayocon! Check out cosplay chess. Hubby-kun and I are going to be the white king and queen last time I checked.
( Cosplays!!! ^.^ )

That's all that I have planned for now. I hope to be able to make all of these. I have the fabric for 2 of them, but not the others. I plan to start the swimsuit sometime after Ohayocon.

Got a lot of progress done lately on my Euphie dress. I did get the wigs I ordered, the only problem is Euphie's is a bit darker than I expected. Not a big deal though, it'll look a bit more realistic to me anyway.

I'm probably about 50% done with the top half of the dress and was about 80% done with the bottom half. Since I have to redo the top two layers on the dress, I'm back down to about 40% done. Overall, I'm about 60% done with the dress itself. Really only have minor details to do. After I finish fixing the bottom half. XD

( Here are piccies! )

I should have this at 100% by sometime next week. I know I won't get any work done on it this Thursday, most of Saturday and probably most of next Sunday though. Providing there are no more set-backs or screw ups, it should only take a few more days to actually finish it. Then I can start on omgydlord 's Suzaku cosplay. That probably will take about 2-3 weeks to make just because of the all the tiny little details. Then both Ashford uniforms should only take a week to make. Since I have all of mine cut out. XD

Now I'm back to slaving away on my cosplay. T.T</lj>

Christmas Gift Toy & MySpace Layouts at pYzam.com

So I got bored and made the jewelry for Euphie earlier. My hands still hurt from having to bend the thick metal into a ring/circle for the choker. I know that the gems aren't what they're supposed to be, but it's the best I could find and I'm happy with that. ^.^ Oh and the earrings are hearts. I know you can't tell in the pictures, but they are. Oh and yes, I did use pliers, but I am very weak. T.T I will start working on Ashford uniforms sometime next week. Once those are done, onto the epic cosplays! XD

( Pics below cut! )

 

Oh forgot to mention. I went to JoAnn's this past Saturday to buy my fabric, since I recently came into a large sum of money =D. Before we even left I checked my estimate and knew I was going to spend at least $300 for the bare minimum even though I had a coupon for 40% off one item. When we got there, everything was like 50% off. Needless to say I got extra fabric just in case I goof a bit. Plus I got fabric for omgydlord 's Ashford uniform. On top of everything needed to make the cosplays happen. Buttons, zippers, thread, stuff to make the jewelry, patterns, boning, and even snaps! XD My total was $225. That is with tax and everything.

So yeah, with my left over money, I ordered both wigs, extensions, and a pink wig cap for myself. On top of that, I pre-regged for Ohayocon yesterday and I still have $50 left over to go towards the con. ^.^ I am ahead of budget and schedule. Just wait till next week, I'll have both Ashford uniforms at 90% completion. 5% because of no wigs, and 5% because of no interfacing. I'm waiting until Christmas to see if I get the 30 yard bulk of interfacing I asked for. It's been on sale the past 2 weeks online. If I don't get it, then I'll take some Christmas money and buy the damn bulk myself. XD

Oh and Thanksgivings in 2 days. Happy early Thanksgiving everyone! ^.^