July Update

Hello all! It's hard to believe 2016 is already halfway done?? I have just under a month left of my contract in Alberta before I move back to Toronto. And by that extension I have about 1 month left to Otakuthon. Costume progress is coming along pretty well, considering I have also done 7 "Costume Saturday Challenges" and helped create over 300 costumes for the show I am working on--all in the last 2 months.

Since we're halfway through 2016, I have updated my costume progress collage. Again the percentages are just arbitrary numbers I assigned based on how I feel how much I have left to do.

Presea: Finally complete! Huzzah! It's been years in the making~!

Jack Frost: That sweater took forever. I am not looking forward to "frosting" the pants. Still need a staff.

Phoenix: Probably won't make any progress on this until the fall.

Sakura: I hate my fabric choice, a lot. Considering starting the dress over with new fabric that isn't awful satin. But I have a buckram base hat and the bodysuit constructed at least?

Leia: Pushing it for Otakuthon! Costume needs some tweaks to fit better, wig needs styling, and accessories still to do.

Link: Fabric things have been patterned and cut. I should probably sew them.

I think that's all for now. I need to work on those blog posts...

March Update

---Edit: Due to work reasons, I will be switching to attending Toronto ComiCon on Sunday March 20th, instead of the friday.---

Salutations! It's already March!?

I'm officially announcing my first convention appearance of the year: Toronto ComiCon. I'll be there on the friday night only (March 18th)--fingers crossed something doesn't come up with work. I haven't been to Toronto ComiCon since the days when it was still called MTAC. I have a photoshoot planned with Elemental Photography that I am excited for. Currently the plan is to wear my new lolita outfit or Presea. My original plan was Jack Frost, but that was decidedly too much work to finish on top of my current schedule. The costume is getting much closer to finished, but the high temperatures and lack of snow is really uninspiring. At this point I may get it as done as I can this year, but I will probably shoot it next winter.

In other con news... I haven't booked any yet except Anime North. Currently I am waiting to hear back on some job opportunities out of province, which would mean I would be missing most of the cons I normally attend (including Anime North). I obviously don't want to drop money on cons I may not be able to go to, so until I know for sure, I won't be booking anything. I am, however thinking of attending AdAstra for the first time in April this year, as it doesn't conflict with any of those job opportunities.

In blog news: all my posts on Vaporeon are finally up! Be sure to check those out. That write-up took ages. Splitting it into 6 parts just made it way more manageable to write. And with that completed, I am officially caught up on documenting costumes I made in spring/summer 2015. Coming up next are a few random projects that I haven't got around to posting yet--including my newest hat I made and some DIY projects.

There has been some progress since I announced my costumes for this year. Jack Frost as you know has had some serious work done on it. And I have also made the base structure for Sakura's hat. Presea has been pulled out of storage and I am currently fixing it up.

I have also taken on a few commission pieces over the last two months that have been pretty fun. Nice to finally get some paid work again. I can't share too much about them but I got to make a coat and a hat.

I have also been working on some product samples, as I plan to start up an Etsy store. More to come on that really soon!

That's all for now guys!

February Update - 5th Blogiversary

Today marks my 5th Blogiversary! 5 years of blogging, this must be some kind of milestone? Wow! :,D When I started this blog, I didn't know how long I would stick with it. It was a huge undertaking to start documenting all my costume making progress and some of those write-ups take me practically forever, but over the last 5 years I've had such wonderful support from my fans. Whether there are 10 people or 200 who follow regularly, you guys are my motivation to continue sharing what I learn on every costume journey. I believe that knowledge is for sharing, and so as long as there are those who want to learn, I will do my best to keep writing for you guys.

Some highlights of this year include: finishing my university degree (with honours!), presenting design work at Prague Quadrennial, having a piece of mine in a museum exhibit, building my own website, and finally completing my Vaporeon costume!

I didn't finish nearly so many major costumes this year--and I started a whole bunch more. Costumes I completed this year include: Vaporeon, Inkling, Toph, Tomoyo, and Sakura. Considering how busy I was, I'm pretty amazed I was able to even finish 5 costumes--though only one of those was a notably ambitious project.

As I mentioned in my January update, this year's goal is to finish the 6 costumes I have in various states of completion. Another goal for this year is to go back through 200 blog posts and fix all the broken images, and re-vamp the blog. I think it's time to change up the layout a bit. Wish me luck with that... Because it will take AGES. But considering my lack of employment, I should really work on that while I have the free time.

Upcoming posts include the conclusion of the Vaporeon posts and some small DIY projects I did. Hoping to finish my Jack Frost costume before all the snow disappears so I can do a photoshoot, but considering the lack of snow we've been having here, that may not happen. Fingers crossed! Facebook followers have been seeing all the progress pics of the paint job on that sweater. Holy crap it's taking forever!

In other news, I'm back in school again. Well, night school anyway. I'm taking a millinery class! Hat-making ahoy! >:D (I'm starting to feel like by the time someone hires me for a job I will be extremely over-qualified, what with all this schooling...)

I have more exciting news coming in another post near the end of the month... stay tuned for that and more great stuff this year!

January Update

It's 2016 suddenly--and that means new projects for the new year!

...I realize I've been disappearing a lot lately. I am having trouble sticking to a regular posting schedule. I could apologize, but I won't. Blogging is a hobby, and as much as I love it, sometimes real life comes first. My plan for the new year is to post once every other week. I think that will be more manageable for me. Upcoming content includes Vaporeon, Vaporeon and more Vaporeon. With a few DIY projects I did this winter.

My first project I've started is to build myself a website for my portfolio. It will be nice to have a professional-looking site to house my costume and design work. It's taking longer than I thought though, because technology is my worst enemy. And also because I misplaced a lot of files when I transferred everything to my new computer this fall. I've spent the better part of this week reorganizing my hard drive. Uuuuuugh.

Without further ado, I present this year's cosplay projects!

6 costumes that are in varying states of completion (represented by the arbitrary percentages I have labelled them with). I make no promises on any of these, but the general goal here is to finish what I've already started before undertaking any more hugely complicated projects.

Presea: Costume started in ...2012/2013??? I wore it to Otakon the same year I did Kero & Suppi, but I have zero finished pictures. Unfortunately, the giant battle axe sustained serious paint-chipping damage in transit. I just need to sand down and re-paint the axe and this costume is finished. I would really love to do a photoshoot of this in the spring.

Jack Frost: I started this costume the same winter the film was released (2012), but I grew disinterested because it quickly became a costume that was SO overdone that con season. The costume pieces are built but need detailing. I think this will provide an interesting fabric painting challenge for me. I would love to have this done for a winter photoshoot, if I can.

Phoenix: An original design I did for my final project in university. My focus there was building the armour, but since I learned so much during the process, I want to go back and re-work some things. I don't expect to finish this costume this year, but I would like to build the tailored vest. The goal deadline is CostumeCon in 2017--which I think is a realistic deadline.

Sakura: Started this past September. It feels like I am trying to build every single Sakura costume in existence. I assure you, this is not the case. Just this one. And the other 2 I've made. And maybe some more after that.

Leia: Started this past October. Building the uniform pictured above as well as the poncho and helmet from the scenes on Endor. By far one of my favourite Leia costumes--except for perhaps her bounty hunter disguise from the same film.

Link: My excuse to bring out King of the Red Lions again. He's been sitting in our basement collecting dust. It makes me sad. The best part about making a Link costume is deciding which props to build. I think I want to make the mirror shield... But not sure what else...

Anyhoo, those are what I plan to work on this year. I may add another project to the list later on--as is always bound to happen when inspiration strikes.

In other news: I am taking a millinery course in night school starting later this month. Hat-making ahoy! Pretty stoked for that. But this may lead to some previously unplanned Downton Abbey costume. I love the heck out of that show and miss it already.

Hats off to a new year! Lets make it a good one! ;D