Become A Star For A Day

DragonCon is over.  Another year of costuming, staying up too late, getting up too early, exposing my son to something that is somehow both awesome and inappropriate at the same time, and what is most amazing: feeling like a star.

I had someone ask me why do this.  Not just why I go (even though I think that they had doubts about that as well), but why I spent so much time and money on making costumes for this event.  At the time I didn’t really know the answer.  After seeing the amazing creations last year I thought that I had the ability  to create something amazing so I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.  That may have been my reason for starting, but I know my reason (and I think other’s reason) to continue.  It was amazing to have people stop me in the halls and ask for my photo.  It’s what I would imagine being famous feels like, except at the end of the day I got to shower and turn into myself again.

OK so Steampunk Supernatural went over well.  I had more people “get” it than I thought I would (I think a whopping 10 people that didn’t have to ask who we were– which was about 8 more than I expected) and had a lot of compliments just on the general awesomeness of it.  I got recognized by someone who reads my Tumblr which made my day and then I also got to do a CNN photo shoot about rule 63.

However, it wasn’t until I was dressed as Snow White that I began to feel the awesomeness.  No explanation was needed here.  In a sea of Ariels, Auroras, Tinkerbells and Cinderellas it was easy to stand out of the crowd.  It took me twice as long to get anywhere, I got called the wrong princess’ name numerous times, but I loved every second.  While on the Walk of Fame I even had “Once Upon a Time” star Raphael Sbarge ask ME for a picture!  Yeah that was pretty awesome.

When I walked by small children I could hear there excited whispers and I watched them gather the courage to talk to me.  It truly was magical.  To them I was  Snow White just like for my son every Spider-Man or Captain America we passed was, in his eyes, THE superhero.   It’s an amazing feeling and I can see why people go to numerous cons a year and spend thousands on costumes.  Do I think it’s as competitive as “Hero’s of Cosplay” portrays it– no, not for the average congoer, but it’s crazy the things people can construct. create and imagine that makes cosplay special.

So if you still don’t understand why I recommend you hit up the nearest con (a larger one to guarantee that you’ll get to see some awesome costumes) and do some people watching.  Maybe you’ll get it then.

Check out some of the highlights of my weekend:

I’m gonna WRECK IT!

Before the Parade with my Prince Charming

Matt Holden

One of the other Snow Whites in the Parade

My son made a friend

Evil Queen

Spidey

Yet another Evil Queen

Xander!

Mary Poppins, Burt (aka my brother and sister in law) and Merle!

Yum– he was beautiful

Fairies!

Mickey! The camera wouldn’t work so I got some good hugging time

He for some reason wanted a photo with Ariel too 🙂

I do believe Miracle was the nicest person there, well maybe tying with her agent. They were both truly interested in everything people said.

Even Snow has to cut loose

This Evil Queen’s dress was gorgeous

Snow White stealing the TARDIS

Raphael Sbarge

Snow White in the TARDIS

Myself at DragonCon 2013– I love all Doctor Who/ Disney crossovers

Saving People, Hunting Things, The Family Business

Supernatural is one of my favorite shows (OK so I have about 10 shows I could say that about, but I can’t help that I become obsessed with so many things!)  Last year at Dragon Con I did a thrown together cosplay of Sam all by myself and had a total of 1 person know who I was (he was dressed as Cas so that helped).  This year I wanted to do it up right and instead of doing straightforward rule #63 changes I decided to mix it up even more with a steampunk slant.  I peer pressured my brother and his friend to be the Dean and Castiel to my Sam.  Here are the results:

(all photos by Malland Photography)

Sam and Dean

Castiel

What do you think?

Here are some more to help you make up your mind:

This is my favorite of my Sam

That leather corset was a pain to make, but I’m pretty jealous she gets to wear it

So what do think?  Do you have suggestions?  After all we have 7 more days so I’m sure I could whip up something 🙂

While you’re thinking I’ll leave you with some Destiel love:

Rapunzel and Flynn join the DragonCon party

As promised I am posting another set of costumes that I made for DragonCon 2013.  The Flynn vest was a last minute throw together, but I am loving how it turned out!

Aren’t they cute?

This is my little brother Joel and his friend Caitlin.

A couple more– once again you can see all of these photos and the rest of the shoot on Malland Photography’s Facebook page!

Tomorrow I will be posting my last set: Steampunk Supernatural!

Snow White is ready for Dragon Con!

With only 9 days until Dragon Con I thought I’d show off a some of my costumes that I made.  We did this awesome photo shoot with Malland Photography on Sunday and I’m going post a new set every day.  This set is my Snow White gown and a Prince Charming costume I made for my son.  Enjoy!

 

I’m pretty excited on how well this turned out and I just think the next photo is simply amazing.

 

Seriously.  She took crazy good shots.

 

Isn’t he just the cutest little Prince Charming?

I’ll leave you with this:

 

Check out the rest of the Snow White photos on her Facebook page and check back for the Tangled shots soon!

True Blood, The Vampire Diaries or Twilight?

OK so I read the Twilight series a few years ago and the 13 year old in me really liked them.  I read them all in about a week and then watched all the movies (at the matinee with all the other women that were really too old to be obsessed with this tween romance).  I liked the books, tolerated the movies, but knew deep down that this was a silly series.  Just the fact that Bella felt the need to dwell on the fact that she was so mature and kept trying to be turned before she became “old” was a constant reminder that this series was meant for high schoolers.

So when I saw previews for shows like “The Vampire Diaries” and “True Blood” I had no desire to add to my repertoire of cheesy vampire stories. However, about a year ago I made a deal with a friend that I would watch “The Vampire Diaries” if she gave “Doctor Who” a chance.  The result? I watched all of TVD in record time and she watched about a half of a season of DW before giving up (you’re missing out Kaila).

Then two weeks ago I was convinced by another friend that obsesses over “Game of Thrones” with me to try “True Blood.” Yeah. . .I watched the second episode of Season 6 last night.

My thoughts on all these series?

Seriously, is there a formula for vampire stories that I’m unaware of?  Insert one human that smells amazing, is beautiful, and slightly mentally or emotionally handicapped (come on Elena (Nina Dobrev) makes some seriously stupid decisions and Bella falls apart without a man), add one nice vampire, and one vampire that is bad on the surface, but good at heart, then a dash of werewolf to increase the amount of bare skin and sexual tension.  TA DA!

Obviously something keeps me watching.  Maybe it’s the lovely way Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) says Sookie (which makes up for the horrible name in the first place).  Or maybe it’s loveliness of the vampires themselves (OK the “Twilight” vampires aren’t as pretty as TVD or TB vampires, but all of them got something going on).  It is most definitely Alcide Herveaux.  I mean come on Joe Manganiello can do pretty much anything and as long as he’s shirtless I’m cool with it.  And Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) has carried “True Blood” in the episodes that consisted of some plot line that drug out too long (I can even over look all the witch crap just because it just meant more Lafayette).  Both Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) and Jeremy Gilbert (Steven R, McQueen) are great supporting brothers.  Jason is delightfully brave and stupid and Jeremy is strong and level headed when it’s most needed.

The Vampire Diaries has had an amazing group of supporting characters with Alaric Saltzman (Matthew Davis), Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Jenna (Sara Canning),  and so many more people have added a lot depth and spice to what could have been a fluff show. Damon’s (Ian Somerhalder) snarkiness has definitely kept me coming back for more even though that meant I had to watch Bonnie (Kat Graham) or Elena running around messing up everything that Damon and Stefan (Paul Wesley) were trying to accomplish.  At least Sookie (Anna Paquin) seems to actually be able to handle herself and although she is a pretty big idiot a lot of times she’s not the whiny weak person that Elena is. There have been many times I wished that Caroline (Candice Accola) was the heroine in TVD instead of Elena. She can adapt and for the most part isn’t an idiot (at least not after she become a vampire). Twilight did have Alice and Jacob to help it out.  Some of the best chapters in the Twilight series were written from Jacob’s perspective.  He was so much more down to earth than Bella and thankfully had some sense. Bella though. . .well lets not talk about her too much, we might make her cry, blush or jump off a cliff.

So if you are 13 read/watch “Twilight”, revel in the teenage angst, ignore the poor writing, and know it’s OK (I won’t talk much more smack here since I have read them more than once—OK more than twice).  If you are looking for a more adult version of a vampire love story by all means check out “The Vampire Diaries.”  Wade through the first season (it really takes some effort early on), try to figure out how high school children get their hands on so much alcohol, also how they are actually passing high school considering the number of days they skip.  The character development is good (except for Bonnie) and even though Elena gets on my last nerve, Nina Dobrev is amazing as Katherine Pierce (it amazes me how I can love Katherine and hate Elena).  The show isn’t afraid to kill off popular characters which I think always helps keep a show new and fresh.

Now we come to True Blood.  I do think they mixed it up with the premise a little in that vampires are out in the open and are trying to “mainstream” within society.  I see this show as a pretty good show, but since it’s on HBO they throw in a soft-core porn scene anytime the plot slows down or every 20 minutes, whichever comes first.  They do a great job developing characters and plot development is pretty good (although I’m not super crazy with where things are going now with Bill or Sam), but it is not for people who don’t like crazy amounts of sex and violence.

I’m a little ashamed that I know so much about all of these series, but no so ashamed that I didn’t pay money to meet Ian Somerhaulder and get this embarrassing photo made at DragonCon last year:

Haha I think I was one of the only women that day that didn’t feel him up (all I could think about was how much it must suck to get rubbed on my hundreds of crazy fans all day). The result though was this creepy photo.  Totally worth it.  No go off and enjoy some teenage angst or hot sexy vampire love and try to wipe the image of that photo away.

But first take my poll!

 

Rainbow Dash Dress Tutorial!

So at DragonCon last year I got my daughter some Rainbow Dash ears and wings from this lady so of course she needs a dress to go with them right? I kept thinking about how I should do this and decided on a tutu dress, but since it’s Rainbow Dash it needed to be huge and fabulous!

Here is how I did it:

Supplies:

5 yards of Rainbow Dash blue tulle (aka baby blue) OK I used tulle on this but I highly recommend using netting or chiffon because tulle wads up when your walking (running, rolling around, jumping etc).  I am going to redo this skirt before she wears it again.  All steps will be the same though. 

1 yard each of the other colors

1 package of elastic

1/2 yard baby blue fabric (I used a stretchy knit that was on clearance)

Fleece or Felt to make cutie mark (I used felt, but I think fleece would have worked better)

Step one:

I measured around her chest and then added an inch (I have $40 in ears and wings and $30 in fabric so I want this to last as long as possible).  Cut and surge the elastic together. (Hand or regular machine stitches work as well)

Step two:

Measure how long the skirt needs to be then double it and add an inch (hint: fold fabric in half and it helps with cutting OR buy the tulle in spool form and you don’t have to cut near as much.  You will use A LOT more than 5 yards that way though, just because it’s measured differently).  Cut fabric into 3 inch wide strips or if you purchased by the spool, just cut it to the length needed.

Obviously they don’t have to look perfect.  Any uneven lines will not be noticed at all.

Step three:

Tie the tulle in knots around the elastic like so:

Yes that is a Captain America Shield– I use what I have.  It does make it easier to have the elastic around something.  If you don’t have a Captain America Shield a lamp shade or bucket would work.  However if you don’t have a Captain America Shield you just lost some cool points. (You can buy one here.)

Tie the baby blue tulle around the part that will be the front of the skirt.  I used 4 strips of tulle together for each knot to make it very full.  You could do less if desired, but I wouldn’t recommend doing much more.

Step four:

Do the same for the rest of the colors.  Tie like a maniac.  I recommend watching TV while preforming this mindless task.  I rewatched some Supernatural episodes while doing this and the two hours flew by!  Well at least they went by easier than otherwise.

The final product should look something like this:

We took this moment to try on the “RAINBOW DASH TUTU!!!” My daughter was very excited.

Now on to the top of the dress:

Step six:

Like I said I bought some baby blue fabric on clearance.  I folded it in half and used my serger to make a blue tube-like top:

Here is where I fail as a someone writing a tutorial.  I totally just eyeballed this.  I made it the same size as the elastic, and make it longer than I thought I’d need it just to be safe.  Then I serged it all together.  DONE!  Easy right?  OK it really is, so I’m going to assume you followed all that and am moving on.

Step seven:

Cutie Mark time!! I Googled images of her cutie mark and then drew the mark piece by piece on the felt.

Then I used fabric glue to secure onto another piece of felt.  HOWEVER!!! I do not recommend using fabric glue, or at lease use a lot less than I did.  You’ll find out why in a minute.

I cut out the mark again, leaving a little around the edges then used a button hole stitch in baby blue around the cloud and onto the detail on the cloud.  I also stitched around the lightening bolts in thread that matched each bolt.  Once this is done cut as close to the mark as you can so the back piece of felt is not seen.

This is why I am against the use of glue.  It seeped through and made the stitches look dark.  It’s not noticeable in the final product, but I wasn’t happy with it here.  However not so unhappy that I was going to go to the fabric store again to make a third attempt (oh I didn’t mention the one I made way too big?? Oh well, moving on.)

Step eight:

Sew the cutie mark on the top.  Make sure you try the skirt and the top together first so you don’t sew the mark too high or too low.

Step nine:

Straps– Ok I was going to do four straps that would be tied in bows on the shoulders, but at the last minute changed my mind.  Instead I made a halter which I pulled down in the back to make a semi racer back top.  I like this because as she gets bigger I can untack the back part and make it just a halter top.  Also with the wings it was going to be too much around her face.

If you make the straps yourself remember that you have to cut them a lot wider than you would think.  Whenever you turn something, it shrinks a lot.

My straps.  One preturn and one post.  I also serged one end before turning, but since I made it a halter I really didn’t need to do that.

Then I sewed the strap into the top, only sewing down one layer so the stitches wouldn’t show through. (I did this by hand, the fabric I chose does not do well on a regular machine and the serge stitch would have been too much).

I put the top on her and then sewed the back part of the strap down while it was on her to make sure that I sewed it up high enough.

Here is the back finished:

If you are lazy you can just use ribbon for this step.

Step nine:

Try the top and bottom on together and mark where it needs to meet.  I made the back higher than the front to make a big fluffy rear end.  Also my skirt had more volume in the back. She enjoyed the try on steps.

Step ten:

Whip-stitch the skirt to the top. This is another good chance to catch up on your favorite TV show.

You are DONE!

Here is the finished product with ears and wings:

http://instagram.com/p/aN-U9qjYPM/

http://instagram.com/p/aN-U9qjYPM/

I’m working on a Steampunk Supernatural cosplay for Dragon*Con.  This is the shoulder holster back I have finished and the straps.  I just need to finish the buckles and the holster itself!