firelilycosplay

AUSA is done and I have to say it was easily the best con of the year for me. = No drama, no problems, just lots of fun, great friends, and great costumes!!!

Pics have started to make their way onto all of my cosplay related websites and such. My personal website will be updated after I get all my pictures in from various photographers.

Let's have a con run-down, shall we?

Friday: Woke up at 9:30 AM to finish my Silk Spectre corset. Finished at 12:30. Packed and off to the Marriott at 1:30. Arrived and unloaded into the hotel room at 2 PM. Changed into Codex and ran over to the Hyatt to get my badges and go practice for Opening Ceremonies. Ran into Jessie Pridemore in her Dragonaut skivvies (she's so sweet!) and got some pictures with Anna Fischer on the way. Opening Ceremonies went off without a hitch, and Michael Sinterniklaas told me I looked just like Felicia Day ^.^ Huge compliment coming from the voice of Dean Venture = made my day!! Ran into Envirion, Patches, Jen and Jason, then got some pictures afterward with David and Leonard and Paul, and then went back to the hotel around 6:30 to start straightening my hair for Kaylee.

Friday night: Managed to change into a corset and my blue whale PJ shorts in a room full of Natalie, Matt, Anna, Maggie, Derek, Chrispy, and David and nobody noticed. Got Kaylee's dress on and ran off to the ball to get some dancing in! Saw Camille and Sarah, Megan, Josh, and Leah at the ball - screams and hugs were had! David and I only danced the waltzes (4 steps are much too hard, but 3 are ok). David left me to fend for myself as he went to go get water for us and I ended up dancing with JF in his Code Geass costume (he is quite the dancer!). After the ball, David and I joined the party at the Hyatt lobby/bar with Amy, James, Tikki, Rob, and everybody else. Had a few drinks, then Maggie and I went to the Marriott for Firefly photos. We all went back downstairs for a few drinks (after a trip to CVS for some allergy meds - I was dying), then David and I retired at 12:45 to the room to relax and we ended up watching "Deathproof." Maggie, Derek, and Anna eventually made their way up to the room and several friendship-building hours were spent taking care of them ^.^

Saturday: Woke up around 11:30 AM and started painting my nails for Sally. I managed to wake David up and we went and got food for our roomies. I changed into Sally Jupiter around 2:30 and headed off for photos...that somehow got wiped from David's memory card!! And we took some great martini photos, too :( Went to the Masquerade Line up at 4 PM and started Craftsmanship judging with Telf and Yaya. Masquerade started on time at 5:30 and ended at 7:15 - holy carp!! Had a great time judging and seeing all the skits close up. Congrats to all the winners and everyone who entered, and thank you so much to Rob and Tikki for running a fantastic show!!

Saturday night: Got more pictures right after the Masque with Leonard and David, then joined Cassie, Tiffany, Oshi, Lady Ava and friends for dinner and birthday White Chocolate Lava cake at Chili's. Got back to the hotel room around 10 PM and finally changed out of Silk Spectre (8 and 1/2 hours in 5 inch heels and a corset!!). Got dressed and went to the Hyatt lobby for more drinks and birthday cake a la Katy Perry style. Saw absolutely everyone there!! After an incident with a broken table leg and a near broken lamp, we all decided to get away from the bar area. David, Anna, Maggie, Jenni, Carrie, Brian, Yaya, and a few others headed upstairs for some quieter fun times. We decided to head back to the Marriott around 2 AM, but not before I saw Michael Sinterniklaas again in the Hyatt and he patted me on the head and called me "Felicia" ^.^ Such a sweetie! Back at the Marriott, I helped Anna sew on trim and beads for her Charlotte costume until 4 AM, then passed out.

Sunday: Woke up at 10:30 AM and started the packing process. David and I were out of the hotel by 12, but got food and then hung around for Yaya and Anna's Vampire Hunter D photoshoot. In the meantime, Maggie, Derek, Jamie, Mandy, Natalie and Matt all decided to head back home. I ended up being Yaya and Anna's dress handler for the shoot, got some fantastic pics, then we called Alex up. After helping Yaya and Brian tear down their booth in the Dealer's Room and pack everything up, we went to Kebob Palace for dinner. We hung out until about 8, then (very tiredly) returned home.

I HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some pics to prove it:




All of you guys were so much fun this weekend and I desperately needed that! All of my costumes turned out fantastically and were all so much fun to wear and be recognized in. And although my CorsetCon ended with me being a little tender from all the corsetry, it was so worth it. And now I have absolutely nothing to sew until January, when I have to start making my wedding dress and new costumes for Katsucon ^.^


also, meme from mykasou :
( Meme )

Costumes are nearing completion, so I figured it was time to let everyone know exactly what I'm doing for the weekend.

Where and who am I staying with?
Marriott hotel next door with Mags, Derek, David, and Anna.

When are you getting there?
Friday around lunch time.

Wearing anything in the pre-reg line?
maybe

Are you doing the masquerade? Or just hall cosplay?
Judging this time around

What photoshoots do you have planned? Any gatherings and stuff?
Nothing planned, just really want a fun relaxing time, and I'm sure pics will ensue.

What about panels or workshops? Maybe the dealer's room?
Not sure, but I'm planning to attend Yaya's personal panel at least. I'm also helping out with Opening ceremonies at 4pm.

Now, for costumes. Schedule is as follows:

Friday day:


At the ball Friday night:


Saturday:


Sunday: either Sally or Codex, if I have time.

So, I will see a lot of you there!! If you'd like my cell number, please PM me or comment here.

EDIT: I just realized that not only is this "Corset Con" for me (b/c every costume has a corset), but it's also my make-up for D*Con since these are all severely non-anime ^.^

One slap at a, one slap at a time!

Just got home from a funeral (my boss' mother) and decided to try and tackle Sally's wig. I'm so FREAKING PLEASED with the results... The Victory rolls and bangs took about 30 minutes to do.

The first roll gave me some trouble - I've never styled hair before, and I had the wig on and was styling it as if it was my own hair. But I finally got it set right after 3 tries...the other one rolled on perfectly. The bangs were really simple - I used a hair rat (made from some rolled up felt I had in my fabric bin) and rolled it up, then folded the felt rat under the bangs. The back roll gave me a lot of trouble. There is not a single tutorial on how to make a reverse gibson roll, so I tried and tried and finally got the hair to wrap around the hair rat really nicely. The whole thing is covered with hair spray for that "helmet" feel ^.^ And it's not super poofy like a lot of other Sally wigs I've seen.

Please ignore the glasses and lack of makeup. I was so worn out from having my car break down yesterday, staying up until 5 AM sewing, picking up my car today, and going to the funeral that I stripped all the make up off and got comfy ^.^ I'm hoping to go super glam the next time I have this wig on!!




EDIT: Here's a reference pic so you can see what Sally's hair looks like (if you've never seen it up close) -

I told you they were coming.

My car went kaput again today. Just past the toll plaza at the 495 and 66 split. Seems the distributor that was replaced on Monday was faulty and the shop replaced it for free, plus free towing. That makes me very relieved ^.^

On to pictures.

Kaylee: Got all the sheer voile dyed and ruffled and sewn! Finished the corset. Making some spats right now for her shoes. Still need to get that embroidery done.




Silk Spectre: Got the dress, undies, stockings, bleh boots, earrings, glove and wristlet. Still need to finish the corset (tomorrow) and style the wig. Please ignore the bra - it's a place holder until I get the corset done. I went with a double layer of chiffon because I didn't like how transparent the chiffon was as a single layer. Plus, it looked really weird under flash :/ I also chose a more antique-y looking yellow as opposed to the blaring duckie-yellow...thought it looked more vintage ^.^


Codex: Just need to get her shoes and shoulders done and that's it! No progress pics yet, but it's looking fabulous. I am very happy with it so far.

May have to pull an all-nighter tonight...?

I am so disheartened right now.  I've been having so many problems lately that I just feel like crying.

My car broke down on Monday 2 minutes from work, so I had to get it towed to the auto shop.  They looked at it and found that the distributor ring blew and an oil gasket was loose, so a pretty $845 later, it was fixed.

Then I finally get my Silk Spectre boots and stockings yesterday.  You know, the ones I had ordered on October 9th?  After a little fiasco with FedEx (because they had posted they delivered my package, I went home to pick it up and it wasn't there), they redelivered it to my apartment office.  I pick it up this morning, and the company sent me the wrong boots.  They are still black, but they have D-ring lace up closure all the way up the boot instead of the lacing holes and hooks like I ordered.  It's not like I have time to get replacements sent anyway, so I'm just going to keep them.  I did call the company and let them know they messed my order up, but please don't anyone order anything from ODGirl.com ever.  I will be taking their information off of my website, so consider this my public service announcement.

Beyond that, I'm working on my three costumes for AUSA.  I'm almost done with Kaylee's Shindig dress - I just need to do the embroidery on the sleeves and belt and I'll be finished.  I've ordered the boning for her corset, so I can just slip those in and finish the edges when they come in.  I'm also making some spats for her shoes since I don't have any appropriate shoes and I'm using some very low-heeled slides.

I still need to make Sally's dress and wig.  Working on the corset now.

Codex is coming along nicely.  I've got most of the corset done, just waiting for the boning and then I can affix the jewls and make the center panel.  I'm making her dress tonight, then making her knee pads and leg straps and shoes on Friday and I'll be finished.  I actually have a lot of time this go round with AUSA, I guess because I started on things back in September ^.^

So, I'm not doing too well in way of moral.  I feel like I've been put through a car wash while lit on fire.  Only saving grace?  Casshern Sins - that show is freaking awesome.  Will watch more when I have the chance ^.^

Progress pictures wil be coming soon.

I went to work today in my tradition of wearing a wig with my scrubs, and ended up styling my Sleeping Beauty wig!



I fluffed the bangs out a little more upon arriving home.  I can't wait to make Aurora's blue dress for Katsucon!!

I'm hoping to get to sleep somewhat early tonight since we are driving up to Mandy's tomorrow morning for Halloween festivities.  So, until Monday, I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween with minimal attacks of hyperglycemia!

I just made my Dad's Halloween costume, in pretty much a day.  It's a Star Trek: The Next Generation, 3rd-7th Season uniform in Command Red.  I have never worked so fast or furiously on a costume before, especially since I had no way to fit it to anyone, since I'm a size small (or extra small) and David is a large, and my Dad is a medium.  Fun times, fun times.  I'm just praying it fits him properly.

I'm getting it in the mail Friday morning and sending it Priority mail to Texas, so I'm hoping it arrives by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.  I really can't wait to see how it looks!!!  My Dad had been bugging me for a while to make him a Star Trek uniform, and I had hoped to get it autographed by Shatner, Nimoy and Stewart at Dragon*Con, but since David and I didn't go, it was a huge let down for me.  So now I'm just hoping my Dad likes it and that it looks good on him ^____^

And now, on to more AUSA sewing.  Still waiting for boots and stockings to come in for Sally; need to order her wig this week.  I had a bit of a slump due to wedding preparations and family visiting for a few weeks, so I couldn't work on anything.  So now it's back to the grindstone.  Gotta get this stuff done, stat.

This has been a very expensive week for me.  I paid my rent, which was taken out on Tuesday, and I paid the rental fees for the Austin wedding site ($1200), which they will take out next week, and even though I got paid today, I still have tons of stuff to buy for my costumes.

I bought lots of Sally Jupiter stuff today, namely boots, stockings, and undies.  Cutting out the fabric for the corset this weekend and hopefully ordering the lacing and stays for all 3 of my corsets by next week.  I have been so lazy this past week and haven't worked on cosplay at all.  I've been so very preoccupied with wedding preparations that I haven't really made time for anything else.  But I got some great ideas regarding decorating and layouts and invites, so it was worth it.

David's parents are visiting this weekend, so I guess I can't work on too much, costume wise.  And I still have to make my Dad's Halloween costume and fix a few things up for David's costume.  Bleh!!

In other news, I spent last weekend at kurzeshaar 's place for her housewarming party.  I got a case of the insomnia and stayed awake until 10 AM, but finally got to sleep and woke up at 2.  I had a great time seeing everyone there, especially Chris and Lina, Mandy and Matt, and Bianca, because they all live so very far away!!!  Can't wait to see you guys at AUSA and Katsu ^.^

All in all, I really need to get back on the ball and start sewing stuff!!  But I've become very unmotivated by all this wedding stuff and instead I've put my energies into cleaning and spending copious amounts of time online looking for wedding ideas.  Well, at least I bought some cosplay items today.  Maybe I'm finally getting back on track  ^____^

It's time for a progress picture post!  I've been trying to wait for a good time and it seemed that after NYAF was the time to do it.

Sooooo....progress!  I still have bits and pieces of costume parts all over the place in various states of construction, so I'm only posting what I have finished or in good condition ^.^

Kaylee!  I've been working on a lot of Kaylee's things lately, simply because I have a lot of embroidery to do before I can really move on with the costume.  I started out by stamping some dupioni silk to get a "printed" fabric like the actual dress (vintage sari from India my ass!)  Then I hand covered some buttons, ruffled some Flamingo pink dupioni, ruched the front panel and lined the bodice and voila!



The embroidery was pretty easy going, and though I still have the belt and both sleeves to make, I did finish the bow and here's what I got:



And I just finished the purse today!  It sparkles sooo much and I'm really happy with it.  This is the first purse/bag I've made, so I'm really really happy with it.



I have the earrings, wristlet and cincher finished for Silk Spectre I, and I'm getting the corset pieces cut out for Kaylee, Sally, and my other secret cosplay.  I can't really finish the corsets until I get the stays, grommets and lacing ordered, so I'm trying to fill my time with other things.  Like this!



I just need to tousle the wig up a bit more to get the curlies going, but I have most of the fabric ready to be sewn!  I am so excited for this costume, you guys have NO idea  ^___^    Making the necklace pieces as I type.

In other news, David and I just had our 4 year anniversary on the 22nd ^.^  It really doesn't even feel like it's been that long.  I'm so lucky to have him in my life<3  So, hope you enjoyed the pics!  I can't believe I haven't posted for a month...  

Cosplay plans are officially under way!  Right now I'm working on costumes for AUSA, which are:

Sally Jupiter aka "Silk Spectre"                                          
  

Kaylee's ballgown from "Shindig" - Firefly


Blangonga from Monster Hunter (the bottom right costume with the veil).  I decided I didn't like Kirin nearly as much as Blangonga ^.^

You're in Cosmode 29!!



Lower middle of the right page in your Princess Nuala cosplay, next to I believe Soni in her Villetta ^.^

Congrats, babe ^.^

So, it's now been 2 weeks since Otakon.  Didn't really have a fantabulous time due to a lot of factors, but it was fun.  Saw some friends, but I wish we could have hung out a lot longer.  Had a great time at Houlihan's with Jamie, Josh, Yaya, Brian, Maggie, Derek, Alex, Anna, Camille, Soni, and Manda.  JZM for the win.  Had some great photoshoots with lots of fun people.  Wore some great costumes that held up really well despite the heat/crowds of people/vast amounts of walking.  I honestly think that next year David and I will only be going on Saturday.  It would help cut down on costs, as well as cut down on the amount of time we have to be stuck at the BCC with all those crowds.  Plus, it seems that everybody wants to stay up late and go drinking, while we're just fine turning in at 1 AM after a long and tiring day.  So we'll more than likely only go on Saturday for 2010.

Onto the next con, Dragon*Con.  David and I will NOT be attending Dragon*Con.  It's too much of a financial stretch at the moment, plus I'm getting a lot of mixed reviews on the whole thing.  Again, it seems more like a party con than anything else I've heard, plus a lot more skeezy people, and while the celebrities and wider variety of costumes is very appealing, I'm not sure that making 6 new costumes, driving 11 hours to Atlanta, staying 4 nights, spending a lot on autographs and pictures, paying for hotel costs and food and possible merchandise, then driving 11 hours back to VA is a good idea at this time.  And again, while I may have a few drinks when at a restaurant or while hanging out, I don't need to drink to have a good time.  So I would probably be very bored while everyone else was boozing it up at the bar, which would kinda defeat the purpose of going to the con.  And we can't go next year because we'll be having our wedding the weekend after ward, and then honeymooning in Italy (hopefully).  So we really need to start saving money for that little adventure, as well.

I'm actually glad to not be going to D*Con.  This frees up a lot of my time so I can actually have a life!  I figured out that since the beginning of the year, I've been to 5 cons, made 15 new costumes, and spent over $2300 making said costumes.  That doesn't include con memberships paid, money spent on hotels/travel/food/merchandise, or money lost from hours not worked (yeah, I get paid by the hour, not salaried).  So now I won't have to stress out about making 6 costumes in 34 days.  I can relax and actually hang out with my friends and go see movies and have fun and read books and have a life again ^.^  I was really starting to feel overworked there for a while.  So the actual next con will be AUSA.  See you guys there.

With that said, if anyone wants to hang out, please let me know!  David and I could use some serious socialization ^.^


( And Meme (Thanks Matt and Bianca!) )

Is Hot Glue-fu.  I've been practicing it this afternoon, and I have some really cool progress shots.  I decided to go this route because I wanted the replicate the 3-D look of the armor and didn't want to layer craft foam.  It works for some things, but this armor is very Giger-esque, with lots of curves, abstract motifs, and rounded edges.  I've done a little hot glue work in the past on belt buckles and other little props, but this is the first large scale piece I've used it on.

The first pic is craft foam with designs drawn on, a jewel stone and some fabric paint.  The second pic is the designs filled in with hot glue.  The third is the piece primed with primer spray:



More in costuming news!  I'm almost completely finished with Shana from Legend of Dragoon.  I just need to make the gloves, add on a few snaps to keep the shoulder armor in place, and buy a recurve bow.  And I thought it was hilarious how I made the quiver...  I'll let the pics speak for themselves:

 

My other secret costume is almost finished.  I just need to buy the braided leather belts and it'll be done.  This was the first time I had worked with PVC, and it was a little frustrating to start off, but it all ended nicely and I'm really happy with the result.  And OMG only 11 more days until Otakon!!  I really have to work my butt off to get these costume done in time!!!  Hope everyone had a really great 4th ^.^

Reply to the meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you (up to) five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.

kissokomes  gave me:

1) RPGs - I was first introduced to RPGs on the Playstation in high school by my then boyfriend.  At first I just watched him play, and I didn't actually start playing them until college.  Some of the first titles I was exposed to were Final Fantasy VIII, Chrono Cross, Legend of Dragoon, and Lunar, all of which happen to be favorites of mine to this day.  But I'm so glad I had that exposure, because I would otherwise have never gotten involved with #2 (see below).

2) Sewing - I started hand sewing at a pretty young age...maybe 8?  I learned to cross-stitch from my mom, then picked up tons of arts and crafts books and tried everything I could.  I made yarn dolls, doll clothes, learned to crochet and knit, learned to weave on a self-made cardboard loom (that I still own!), and lots of other stuff.  So, I knew how to hem and repair things, but I didn't start really sewing until my first cosplay in 2004.  And now I'm stuck in that neverending cycle of "I have to make that!" until I die.

3) Cosplay judging - This is something that I've done a few times now and that I really enjoy (except for those early Saturday mornings...).  I really like being able to see so many craftspeople and help them improve their skills if I can.  And it is really, really difficult sometimes to give out awards, because there really are so many good entries and not enough awards.  But I still like doing it and I hope to be judging for a long while.

4) Lilies (Because of your LJ name, but I've always wondered what it meant to you!) - Nothing, really.  I like Stargazer lilies the best because they're so pretty, even though they smell awful.  Actually, I got my name from a short story I wrote in high school that was titled Fire Lily, which I would like to develop into a book someday.  I think it's really good ^.^

5) Animal-lover! - Yeah, I like animals.  I work at an animal hospital.  My favorite domesticated animals are cats.  My favorite animals ever are dolphins.  I got to feed and tickle a dolphin at Sea World when I was five...I even have pictures to prove it.  I'm not too keen on spiders, silverfish, roaches, and a few other insects, but otherwise I'm good with most animals.  I even got to ride an elephant in college - that was way cool.

Some of you may know, but I've been having terrible allergy attacks lately.  To the point where I couldn't breath through my nose at all and could hardly swallow because I was so congested.  Never had the pleasure of having one of these before, so I wasn't too sure about medications, but I finally broke down and took some Claritin and I can breathe again.  Yay!

In other news, I woke up this morning and checked my internets stuff, and saw that I had some comments up on my Cosplay.com page.  What I saw was this:


Um, big fan?  He left 16 comments total after I left 1 comment on a pic of his.  It's actually kind of flattering ^.^

Costume progress is coming along, especially now that I've figured out how to go about the armor.  I think it'll look pretty cool.  Here's a progress shot of Shana from Legend of Dragoon:


Of course, I had the great idea of sewing the edges of the gold vinyl AFTER I had hot glued it all down, so some of the edges are a little wonky, but I think it looks cool.  And it's not for competition, so I don't really care too much.  I did quilt the red under layer, though, because that's how it looks in the references.  And I have to do the same thing for the collar and shoulder armor O.o  At least I now know not to glue it all together first ^.^

And now I'm off to use my hot glue-fu on some armor detailing. 

I watched "Taken" tonight.  I cannot stress enough how much this movie pisses me the fuck off.  If you don't know me very well, I'm sorry to have to do this to you.  If you don't want to know, stop reading now.

( OMG people should die... )

/rant

In other news, Otakon is fast approaching!  I've been working on Shana from "Legend of Dragoon" and I just need to make her gloves, waist cinch, and collar/shoulder armor and I'll be done.  Not sure if I want to make the bow and quiver...I probably will if I have time.  Also working on two secret cosplays - one is for a group, and one is more for the shock value.  I want everyone to be super surprised with it.  I feel like if I tell everyone about it, it will lessen the effect.  But, Jo in Tennessee (aka Envel) asked me to do this costume with her last year after Otakon, so it's been in the works for a while now.  I'm hoping everything will go as planned O.o

No Monster Hunter for Otakon this time around.  Everyone in the group pretty much dropped out, and if I ever wanted to have time to breathe I wouldn't have been able to make the costume anyway.  Maybe for AUSA...I should have Nel Zelpher (Star Ocean 3) and Ruri (Toward the Terra) for AUSA as well.

And pics from AMA are up!  I had three new costumes: Monica from "Dark Cloud 2,"  Marisa from "Fire Emblem," and Tomoyo from CCS with kurzeshaar .  

      

Had a wonderful time at AMA!!!  Roomed with Alex, Anna, Maggie, Derek, and Natalie.  Became the den mom for the weekend.  Hung out with Lizzy and Angela at the Hall Contest.  Had good times with Matt, Danny T, Greg, Leah, Megan, Hailey, Jamie, Ricky, Tikki, Rob, James, Amy, Danitra, Camille, Sarah, Ollie, Derek (aka Goku), Andria and hubby, Junior, Robbie, Gino and Co., Alicia, Shelby, the awesome staff at the Hall contest and Fan Fave's contest, and lots of other people!!  Saw some fabulous costumes.  The Trio was my favorite of the weekend: Deadpool, Iron Man, and Cobra Commander.

Ok, gonna go collapse now.  Got a LOT of costuming to do tomorrow!!

First of all, I'm dog tired and sore.  It was a blast!!  I had a lot of fun and shenanigans on so many levels.  Too tired for details now, but a full report is on its way...

Secondly, If there is one person or more on your friends list who makes your world a better place just because they exist and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.  This is most of you, so a huge thank for being my friends and acquaintances ^.^  You really have made my life a memorable one, and I've had so much fun because of you all.

Thirdly, I'll leave you with this little gem of a preview:


Pics will be plastered on the internets tomorrow  ^__________________^

These have to be the weirdest and ugliest boot covers I've ever made.



Why do they look like I stole them from Vincent Valentine?

Seriously, Nintendo...wtf.

And I finished my sword yesterday.  It's the first time I've made a prop from insulation foam, and it wasn't too bad.  Next time I'm definitely going to papier mache it more and coat it with more gesso layers than I did.  Also, the wacky weather didn't help it in terms of drying, either, so if you could work on that, Earth?  K thanx.

AMA is almost here and I'm almost done with my cosplay outfits ^.^  I just need to make two sets of boots covers and a hat and I'm done.  I had a very busy weekend: went to a wedding on Friday, worked on Saturday, and spent all my free time of Fri/Sat/Sun making a sword and a wig.  The sword is giving me some really retarded drying issues, so it's not as spectacular as I would have liked, but it'll do.  The wig, on the other hand, is fabulous!!  I honestly can't believe I made it.  Here's pics of my RAGE costume wig:



I had to do a lot of crazy stuff to get the Zipangu to work right.  I dyed the whole wig and 3 packs of 48" extensions with two bottles of alcohol and 4 Berry sharpies.  I also had to stub the wig, which started out as this in this color.  I made a foam core for the ponytail using batting and 1 pack of extensions, then wefted the other two extension packs and wrapped it around the stub.  So, the ponytail is a little over a yard long.  The hair wrap in the picture started out as a piece of plain white cotton, but I sprayed it with Raspberry Floral spray because I'm lazy and didn't want to dye it, then I drew out the pattern in pen and went over it with red fabric paint.  The hair comb started out as a balsa wood ornament, which I cut and sanded down to made the teeth, then added a craft foam overlay for the design.  The fans are craft foam and toothpicks (OMG so ghetto!!).  The ball sticks are wooden beads and a dowel rod.  And the little hair piece was made from a length of dyed extension hair that I wrapped around a piece of cardboard and glued on. 

The only unfortunate thing is that this wig is now permanently styled, so I'm hoping to be very careful with it so I don't have to do too much maintenance on it.  Plus, I'm not really sure how I'm going to put it on ^.^

10 points and a plate of cookies to anyone who can guess what this is from!!  Here's a reference pic so you can see what I was working off of:


More to come later!  As far as costumes are concerned, my schedule for the con is as follows:
Friday: Tomoyo-chan from CCS with kurzeshaar in the early PM; Nadie from El Cazador for Hall Judging in the PM
Saturday: RAGE costume in the AM for Hall Judging and early PM; Marisa from Fire Emblem:SS in the PM and Masque
Sunday: Rao from Okami

If anyone wants pics, let me know, or I'll just come and find you ^.^

Ok, I finally have some pics for you guys!!!

First off, I'd like to throw Camille on here and what she thought of the birthday present I gave her:
 

And this is what I made for her: drink stirrers and wine glass charms - My Little Pony style!! 


So cosplay pictures.  The first is from my RAGE costume.  I'll give you a hint - the hair piece is called a Zipangu, though I still need the pink hair and the fan pieces.  The following two are for Marisa from Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones, sans gloves.  I still have to finish the embroidery on the wrap skirt and make the boot covers, but otherwise it's done.  YAY!  And goddamn, this dress is short!


More to come ^.^