One Last NDK 2014 Post

We got out pictures back from our photo shoot! I wanted to share some because this is the first time that we have hired a photographer and because it was silly and fun.

First of all, the photos were taken by Leanne of Shutter Crazy Photos. The link is to their Facebook page. Please let me know if you want more information in order to hire her. She was very fun and silly and (luckily for us) full of photo ideas.

These are just a few of our group pictures. I hope you like them! It was a pretty fabulous group!

We are pretty cute.

Butt shot! But you can see our beautiful bows.

We took several spinning shots. This was one of the few good ones were you can see all of our faces.

Walking like models!

There are more in small groups, individuals, and some derp-y ones. But I wanted to show us all off in all of our silly glory. I hope you enjoyed!

NDK 2014 Costumes Part Six

I finished the handkerchief. It looks a little weird, especially in the front, but it's too late to fix it now!

I did a trial run of the costume. I will need to put band aids on my feet, I bet. The shoes aren't very comfy for a long day walking around.

Otherwise, I think it looks OK.

From the front

The back

Randi and Katie were nice enough to make everyone's tiaras! Which is amazing because everyone was running out of time. Thanks guys! You rock!

I only got one vote on the gloves, but it was Cat and her opinions are worth more. Cause she makes costumes professionally and I trust her judgement. She said they'd be alright gold, so I am painting them. They will need a few coats, so no pictures (because they are going to take a while to dry all the way and then I still need to sew the blue bits on). That's OK. There will be plenty of actual NDK pictures.

The wig is... A process. It's SO LONG! But the wig I bought online is much nicer than the one I was originally going to use. If I finish it in a reasonable amount of time, I will post pictures.

Otherwise, I ironed my costume and am generally ready to go.

NDK is so soon! I'm excited and nervous!

Here is my line-up:

Friday- Nausicaa (I know, I'm cheating)

Saturday- Lady 4th Doctor (And again...)

Sunday- Sailor Jasmine (plus a photo shoot! Exciting!)

There may have been talk of Katamari? But Amie was the only one who asked me. We will see if more people decide to do it. We worked so hard on those heads, it would be a shame not to bring it back at least once. Maybe next year.

NDK 2014 Costumes Part Five

Things are starting to wrap up here.

I made this little choker:

The fabric glue is still a little wet in this picture, as you can plainly see.

I made and sewed sleeves onto my leotard in true Jasmine fashion:

And I ended up having to redo the ribbon under the bust a little. Despite my best efforts, sewing the whole thing down made it too tight to fit over my thighs...

So I undid the back stitches and put a snap on the end so it will snap closed once my leotard is on.

I have mixed feelings about my gloves. I want gloves so I can cover my wrist tattoo and because all of the sailor scouts wear gloves. However, I am afraid that the white is too weird with the rest of my costume. I might be able to dye them gold or blue? Only if I can find the right shade, and that makes me feel nervous. Or I can paint them the same sparkly gold I used for my shoes:

I kind of like the idea, but sparkly gold? Is that too much? Any one have any thoughts on the matter? Otherwise, the little blue pieces that will attach to the ends of the gloves are finished, but I am waiting to attach them.

I sewed on my front bow. I also finally sewed the back bow on so my skirt is officially finished (for better or for worse).

I am finishing the handkerchief so that I can figure out how to attach it to the rest. I am thinking snaps. I can't sew it on because I'm not sure that I will be able to get the costume on if I do.

I FINALLY got my wig (I was starting to panic) and I need to style it (heaven help me, I am really no good at dealing with wigs). Then I will do a trial run of my costume and make-up. I also need to remember to dig out some gold earrings to wear in my ears.

Oh! And I need to make my tiara! I am worried about this piece because we will be using a lot of stuff that I am not familiar with. I guess there is a first time for everything.

NDK 2014 Costumes Part Four

First off, my wig is on its way. Yay! Of course, once it gets here, I still have to style it. Oh well.

Second of all, I am starting to hate this costume. Mostly because of my lack of pattern and issues with making a circle skirt with this particular fabric. I knew what I was getting myself into, though, so I guess I can't complain to much.

I tried to finish the skirt and other small, blue pieces, but got frustrated and decided that I needed a break. I wanted to work on my bows with my gold fabric.

The back of my handkerchief

Sorry it is so blurry. I threw together a little draw-string bag to carry my stuff around in.

This site: Cupcake Cosplay: How to Make a Sailor Moon Fuku has very good directions on how to make bows. I also used it for the waist band (thing) of my skirt, which, due to my fabric choice, sucked... Anyway, I basically followed the "bows" section of the page to make my bows. The only thing that I really changed was not stuffing the bows. I used interfacing (despite my hatred of interfacing) on all of the pieces instead. Of course, then I had to finish the skirt so that I can attach the back bow... Here are some pictures:

Back bow

Here are the tails of my back bow attached to my finished skirt.

It isn't sewn on yet, but here is how it will look!

My front bow!

I also worked on my leotard. Since I decided not to show my midriff, here is my solution in action:

I used my gold ribbon to separate the pieces. And yes, this is how I did it because I don't have a dress form...

I couldn't just sew it on because the leotard is stretchy and I would never get it back on. So I sewed the ribbon down in a few places like this.

Jasmine may not have been the best choice for a conversion to sailor scout mostly because of the style and fabric I decided on. Even the gold was slippery and made it impossible to get straight lines even with a ruler and pins. I think everything will look alright in the end, but it's been a tough one. I am still really worried about the skirt and wondering if I will have to re-do the whole thing. But I really don't want to. Well, you live and you learn, I suppose. 

Side note:I have worked on all of this in my living room where Remus is a pretty constant companion. He usually dozes under a blanket, but I tend to throw all of my costume pieces around and sometimes he gets buried.

My cute helper!

NDK 2014 Costumes Part Three

I finally started working on my Sailor Jasmine costume.

I tried buying a wig at a local costume store, but it is way too cheap and thin to use so I am going to have to return it and order one online. I found the one I am going to use though: Jotei long black wig.

I decided not to a) bare my midriff and b) not replace the middle of the leotard with skin-toned fabric. I decided to keep it solid and put some gold under the bust. This idea was partially inspired by this: Sailor Jasmine by PinkPetalEntrance.

I bought a pair of while gloves. I thought gold or matching blue would be better, but those options weren't available, so white it is. I'm not sure how many people in our group will do gloves, but mine have the added benefit of covering the tattoo on my wrist. 

I fudged making a pattern for a circle skirt--how silly is this?

I know it is difficult to see, but this is my pattern that I measured and drew (it is 1/4th of the skirt) on several pieces of paper taped together...

But it looks nicer cut out. The waist is bigger than I meant it to be, but it has to be gathered and such so it will be OK.

I also cut pieces for the handkerchief, and the pieces for the top of the skirt, the tops of the gloves, and the bands for my hair.

A glove band.

I got some gold fabric, gold ribbon, and other miscellaneous things I will need, but haven't done anything with them yet.

I've been hitting some snags with this one. Part of it is the fabric that I am using. I am also using horsehair braid for the first time and feel completely at a loss. Another part is the fact that I am not using any patterns (except for the little one I had to make myself for my skirt), which is not something that I am used to doing. I figure that it is only a costume and most of my mistakes won't be visible in the end... These are the things I tell myself, anyway. I will post more when I have more to show for all of this work...

Here are some of my references for the skirt that I (and probably several of my group members) use:
By Hand London: Circle Skirt Maths - explained!
Tutorial-Putting in Horse Hair Braid/CLAMP Ruffles by RuffleButtCosplay

I will post more references as I get to them.

Oh, and in case I didn't tell anyone: we decided to do ruffle-y circle skirts instead of pleats because no one wants to sew those... In case anyone was confused.

NDK 2014 Costumes Part Two

It has been a while since I posted anything about costumes and NDK. Granted, I have done very little. I guess that explains it.

Well, my tights and leotard came and they will do nicely. I also found these sparkly gold flats at good old Hellmart, I mean, Walmart. But they were cheap, so there you go.

I am starting to budget and plan for buying the rest of my fabric for the midriff, skirt, scarf, and bows. I am thinking of doing sheer turquoise and sheer gold. Or sparkly gold to match the shoes.

The wig is going to be the most expensive part. I need to check the local costume shop to see if they have one that will work. If not, I need to order it, ASAP!

And I need to look into gloves.

The hiccup costume is still kind of in the air. My budget is going to be pretty tight. I was planning on mainly altering thrift store pieces to make it in the first place. If I can still make that work, I will. I considered doing a gender-bent version on the off-chance that Isaac wants to join me as gender-bent Astrid. Also, then I won't have to cut my hair/buy another wig.

I will most likely be bringing my Lady Doctor costume back (yay!) and who knows--maybe Katamari, maybe Miyu, or even Yuki.

Anyway, I need to get my butt in gear and make my Sailor Jasmine costume. NDK is only two months away!

NDK 2014 Costumes Part One

Is it that time already? Why yes, yes it is.

Most people who find and read this know, but NDK stands for Nan Desu Kan and is one of the local anime conventions that my friends and I attend. We always manage to have a good time and we make our own costumes. All around good fun.

I am excited to announce that the Sailor Moon/Disney cross over is happening this year! And we have a pretty big group involved! I am going to be Sailor Princess Jasmine. Is that how we should write our names? Sailor Jasmine? Anyway, it is going to be fun!

I am hoping that we bring back our Katamari group costumes. I don't know that a decision has been made. I am planning on bringing back my Lady Doctor costume as my alternative. Because I love it.

I also think that I want to make a Hiccup costume. I probably will--I think it will be easy enough.

So the Jasmine scout costume will be the most difficult on so many levels. First off, my skin color is pale. Some of my friends would tell you that I am so pale I am almost blue. This brings a whole new problem: should I try to tan or color my skin so I look more Jasmine-like? (I am thinking no.) Also, I don't want to bare my midriff. So my plan was to find a skin colored leotard and make my two piece costume over it (so my midriff is covered). After not finding anything in my skin tone, I finally found a leotard that was the color of Jasmine's outfit and decided that I will cut out the middle and add in a mesh or something. I also ordered tights that looked my skin color. If they are too dark, I will dye them. I found it all pretty cheap online so I can justify having to alter them. Plus, covering my midriff and wearing tights will cover two of my tattoos. And then I don't have to do so with makeup.

I will certainly need a wig. I looked a little online and found some truly terrible Jasmine wigs. That will be another hurdle.

We have already had a meeting to start planning our Sailor Disney costumes. We know how we will be making our skirts and our bows, more or less. We even have tiara patterns and everything. I will post more about these as I get into it. I need my leotard first so that I can match my colors. I am excited!

As a side note, some friends and I are running (or mostly walking, in my case) the Boulder-Boulder 10k. Katja, Jhenn, and I want to do super hero themes with tutus (cause that's what we do). So Katja will be Batman, Jhenn will be Leonardo from TMNT, and I'm going to be the Pink Ranger. So we were making tutus (tho Jhenn already has a green and blue one that she made). Here is mine so far:

Like pink, fluffy clouds! We are dorks and I love it! I just need to finish it up and paint a shirt and headband to match!