Dolores Abernathy of West World

A year ago, I would’ve never imagined I’d have enough extra time and creative energy to finally finish my Dolores Abernathy cosplay from West World. Semi-quarantined with my sewing machine and a new season of West World was really the match that lit the fire beneath me. So really, thanks COVID-19. I hope you are all well and thriving out there. Did anyone catch season 3 of West World though? Hit me with your thoughts, I’m ready for a socially distanced prattling about theories!

Now for the moment you’ve never even thought about and probably never would have if you hadn’t seen this post as you were scrolling and graciously clicked on the link with all of the good will and a heart swollen with compassion for my obnoxiously outgrown hobby that I still enjoy well into adulthood.

I can’t thank you enough for that.

Thanks to Josei for all of the patience and photography! You clever idea man.

I absolutely loved this cosplay. I made the skirt and bodice from a white sheet that I bought from a Good Will, that I carefully and anxiously dyed blue in my washing machine. It was both terrifying and thrilling. Despite a little of residual blue dye that lingered in my washing machine after fully rinsing and cleaning it, threatening to dye any clothing laundered prior to this experimental madness, no other pieces of clothing were harmed in the process. Just my poor, sensitive nerves.

I ironed this skirt for at least an hour. It would not be tamed.

I then used a historical pattern that I found in the public domain and made a pattern from scratch, using my measurements. It was wildly gratifying. So, I did it. You can too! Highly recommend a large roll of brown pattern paper or tissue paper. I used brown paper grocery bags. It was a headache, but it did pay off. And I up-cycled the heck out of those grocery bag. Go team planet!

As 2020 was a year of convention plans, all of which were cancelled, and I have been taking a break from any cosplans that I had over ambitiously had in queue. I still have a chest full of wigs, and costumes that have been carefully packed away and are ready for use whenever the occasion strikes once more. However, we are in a pandemic. Health is the very utmost priority and I am optimistic as always that there will be a vaccine soon. I would love to hear about your pandemic cosplays and what you have been doing creatively to pass the time. Let me know in the comments below! 🙂 In the meantime cosfriends, friends, and family, please stay safe out there. You are important. I can’t wait to see your smiling faces at future conventions.

TMI: Too Many Ideas

It is a constant struggle, this battle with TMI. Too Many Ideas. I know, I know! That, TMI is actually the acronym for Too Much Information, but that’s not an entirely false statement for those of you who truly understand the person I am. I like to share. But, that is beside the actual point I am making here. It appears that my excitement to create has become overrun with ideas pertaining to cosplays and creative endeavors. But once I get things organized babies, it’s all going to roll. With the hope, of course, that it will all roll in to a nice and easy spread of a creative outlet combined with side hustling and absolute joy. I’m optimistic, it is my biggest flaw.

This is probably the most vague and painful thing for you to read today, but I thought I would atleast give a little, “hello to you!” and an update on cosplay. I have been neglecting you, poor things.

I have almost completed my Dolores Abernathy blue dress. It has been a constant strain of anxiety, because I have been wanting to make this dress and make it well. It may be known that making this dress is something that I have done by making my own pattern, of which I drafted from googling historical dress patterns in the public domain endlessly. From this research, I cut out and sewed together a dress from a bed sheet that was purchased from the local Goodwill and dyed to the proper shade of blue. It has been months now. I am still searching for the best buttons for the bodice. They must be of vintage country style, nothing else will do. And then there is the wig, and belt accessories to purchase. It’s all these little details that I am currently awaiting to get together.

My Dolores Abernathy inspiration, poor Bernarnold.

The new things that I am excited about:

-My first time dying a sheet in my washer

-Those booty pleats

-Fitted sleeves

-Pretty collar and sleeves

It won’t be long before it is a complete costume. I’ve always wanted to be a murderous farmer’s daughter android. Well, close enough.

I thought I would drop a hint on what I am working on as a side project. It’s vague, but maybe you’ll understand. Comment below if you know what I’m up to! 😉

Ani-Medford, The first Anime Convention of the Rogue Valley

There’s nothing quite like an end of summer anime convention to boost the spirits. I had known about this convention for most of the summer without any intention of going, but I am glad that I could pull together and get the opportunity to attend(Thank you Zara!). This convention was mostly about helping an artist friend of mine, Cheesy Hipster, with her first table in an artist alley. It was so exciting to see someone who has been through college for artistic design, turning a profit on her beautiful art and handmade plushies. This was truly inspiring to watch, help and admire.

The world’s softest dragon boys.
by Cheesy Hipster

d20 plush dice that jingle when rolled! by Cheesy Hipster

The cosplays of the day were a Bulma by Cheesy Hipster and 80’s punk glam Ariel by myself. It was a very colorful wig day all around. I wanted to pull together something quickly, because I had not planned on attending at all. The biggest part of my cosplay was making a pretty bow to represent my princess Ariel charm. I did this with green mermaid ribbon that I had bought for my bombshell Mera cosplay, but it wasn’t the right color for that look. That combined with purple ribbon, a vintage earring, hot glue and an ounce of creativity, I put together a pretty adorable accessory.

Should I make more themed bows? Let me know in the comments below!

I did put a little bit of effort into the shirt. I took a purple over-sized shirt that my boyfriend never ever wears and cut it up and sized it down to a punk style tank top. If any one is interested in how this is done, I’d be happy to do a tutorial. 🙂 I then layered green tights under fishnets to give a mermaid tail effect on my lady land legs. That, coupled with a black skirt that screams anti-society. Or something like that . . I unfortunately don’t have a full picture of my 80’s punk glam Ariel at the con, but these photos should give off the idea. I hope to take a better photo soon and relive the glory of legs over fins soon.

I did get to walk around the convention a bit, but felt more inclined to stay and help with the table. It was interesting to see what a convention looks like from the vendor/artist viewpoint and I very much enjoyed being able to see the guests in and out of cosplay, as well as talking with nearby vendors. The setup was well laid out, with a room to view anime, a room to play games and hang out with like-minded folks and an awesome artists alley with voice actors as special guests. Outside, there were two food trucks, Daddy Ramen, which made the best banh mi sandwich I’ve ever had and Kona Ice with a refreshing shaved ice variety.Which was perfect, because it was hot, hot, hot! The whole experience has refueled my creativity that had been previously sapped from my bones, and I feel I will be able to get organized and back on the cosplay horse. (hint hint, next cosplay is coming soon!)

Thanks as always for reading, if you have any questions or would like to chat about anything in the realm of cosplay or fandom’s alike, do contact me!

Meandering About at Meadowlark Comic Con

The year 2019 has become categorized as the year of conventions. Taking the form of many cosplays, ideas, plans and an abundance of fun memories. The Meadowlark Comic Con in Medford is an ever-growing event that has only been around for two years, making this the second time around. It was held at the Ramada Inn of Medford, Oregon in the conference room building which provided ample room for vendors, local artists and fandom participants to freely engage in this safe space. The excessive heat for a spring day couldn’t have been more welcome, as the parking lot contained local food vendors who provided the perfect balance of delicious eats. Luckily, the conference room was well air conditioned, because let’s face it, conventions can be humid environments that put any deodorant to the ultimate test.

I spent my day swaggering about as Arriety from Studio Ghibli’s The Secret World of Arriety. This is one of my favorites of Studio Ghibli. The tale taken from the story book The Borrowers by Mary Norton. Arriety is the daughter of Pod and Homily. These tiny people live behind the walls of a great old home in the country where they borrow items from the large humans, such as sugar, crackers and tea. I instantly fell in love with The Secret World of Arriety. With my rapid interest in cosplay, I became determined to become Arriety.

To create this Cosplay, I had to make props that made me look small. In the movie, Arriety is carrying a large sewing pin sword. I created this by taking a large foam ball and painting it yellow several times over. I seriously lost count, because the foam sucks up paint like it’s nothing at all. I used a yellow acrylic paint, and when I was finally happy enough with the coating of yellow, I followed up with a Modge Podge Gloss coat, to give it a shiny and plastic appearance. For the Needle Portion, I used a gardening dowel that I sanded down by hand and sharpened one end slightly, for effect. I then spray painted it with a silver metallic spray paint. All of which I purchased at the local hardware store. It was simple enough to attach the foam to the dowel but getting it to stick was the difficult part. I used double sided tape wrapped around the dowel on the side I wished to attach the foam ball to. That held the ball in place but didn’t secure it. Using my hot glue gun, I carefully filled the excess room around the dowel and ball until it was positioned properly and fortified where I wanted it.

The large red clip troubled my mind the most. I have never made a prop like it before and became easily obsessed with searching the dark reaches of the internet to find different patterns and ideas. I even toyed with the idea of breaking down and trying to buy one that was specifically made and sold with the movie itself. But I maintained my desire to hand create Arriety’s possessions on my own. I found a 6 pack of large clips in the Dollar Tree in the laundry organization section. I took one of the white ones and painted it red, hoping it would be big enough, but it didn’t quite have the effect I was looking for. I then sat down with my craft foam, scissors, pencil and hot glue gun and drafted my own clip modeled around the clip that I had already painted red. I had finally constructed the clip how I wanted it. I then began the multi-coats of red acrylic paint and once more coated it in a modge podge gloss to give it that extra shine.

I made the belt from a Dollar Tree table runner that was a gorgeous taupe color. Just super easy stitching and a fun little part of the costume that made the process enjoyable. Because, that’s what it’s all about after all.

I made the borrowing bag from an old sheet that I had lying around and was ignored and underappreciated. I had some green fabric scraps in my sewing gear and decided to personalize my bag with my choice of strap color. I didn’t have a pattern for the bag, but I had every google image of it imaginable. I seriously had some sleepless nights of nonstop searching for more pictures of this bag, so that I could have a full understanding of how I should start to construct it.

The boots I purchased at a consignment shop for a whopping $8. I used a brown shirt that was bound for Goodwill and re purposed it to make my boots look a little more similar to Arriety’s. I only cut the pieces how I needed them and used the trusty hot glue gun to assemble them. The only issue I had with the hot glue gun was that the glue was a bit visible near the edges of where the fabric was placed and glued on. Also, while standing on the exceedingly hot pavement throughout the convention, the dry glue on the bottom of the boots began to soften again and each step became stickier with each stride. I must have been blessed by the cosplay gods to not have lost a boot much the same as Cinderella.

The dress. I am ashamed to admit that I did not make my own dress. The convention snuck up on me and I decided to find the cheapest easiest route. To my delight, the dress was a perfect fit and a very close look for Arriety.

I gave the cosplay contest try on my own, which was terrifying and the perfect outlet for my melodramatic disposition. I had no intention of winning, but it was a great experience nonetheless. I fully intend on revisiting this convention next year. It is an affordable bit of fun for fanatics of all kinds, and kids 12 and under get in for free! I highly recommend the Meadowlark Comic Con 2020. Check out their website for more information!

The Rogue Valley’s Complimentary Comic Con

Let’s face it, these days there aren’t a whole lot of community recreational options that aren’t going to charge an entry fee. The Medford Comic Con has been put together and sponsored by the Jackson County Library Service for a grand total of five years now. Each year has seemingly grown tremendously and promotes literacy with a hand from pop culture’s finest entertainment pool. And perhaps a bit of Deadpool himself. With no admission fee, this small-town comic con provides families and friends with a healthy space to get wildly weird. This year was a beautiful weekend that supplied this valley with a plethora of artists, vendors and food trucks set up to explore in and around the Medford library and Rogue Community College campus buildings. The streets quickly filled up with fans of all kinds and cosplayers alike. Of course, I was drawn to this event for the cosplay opportunity and to meet and interact with the local community that shares these same nerdy interests that I do. And most importantly, to spend a day of quality time with some of the most genuine, down to earth friends of mine.

DC Bombshells: Wonder Woman by Zara, Raven by Rebecca and Mera by myself

The cosplay of the day was to bring back the DC Comics Bombshells that my home girl Zara and I debuted at the Emerald City Comic Con earlier this year. This time around we had the pleasure of having the very lovely Raven, cosplayed by Rebecca, accompanying us. It was great to have these two beauties at my side for the day. We even entered the cosplay contest that took place on the second floor of the library. This was my very first experience participating in a cosplay contest and it easily became one of my new favorite aspects of a convention. There was so much energy from the crowds and fellow cosplayers. To enter, contestants had to sign up early in the day to get a spot in the contest. The contestants are then placed in categories divided by age and whether they are single or group cosplays. Once the chaos was organized, the groups were ushered down to meet with the judges to talk about the cosplay that they were presenting and to explain the efforts (not including the several mental breakdowns and pricked fingers) that went in to the costumes. They are then lined up one more time for the catwalk performance portion. As there were three of us entered, we hastily put together an impromptu walk/pose combination for the judges. It was a regular walk of the mannequins sort of ordeal. While we weren’t awarded, the memory will remain a cherished relic years from now. But I tend romanticize too much.

I do hope this inspires everyone to get in touch with their deep-rooted, bizarre selves and find time to attend a local convention nearest home. It truly is an enjoyable affair.

Becoming Ariel on a Budget

With the Medford Convention coming up next weekend and with my bombshell Mera costume complete and ready to cosplay, I was determined to quickly and cost effectively assume the form of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. This movie was one of my favorites, as it came out the year that I was born. (Now that you know my age I will be hiding in a sea cave plotting ways to make you forget). I would watch The Little Mermaid continuously most everyday. I was absolutely mesmerized by this cute world of Atlantica with the fun music and the unknown magical world under the sea. The quickest and simplest version of Ariel I could gather was from the scene when she just gets her legs.

It was the best mini project between projects. The materials I used were literally just items that were laying around the house, unloved, under appreciated and totally forgotten. I found the ivory flat sheet crumpled up in the back of our linen closet, poor thing. I got it out and gave it a run through the dryer and it livened right up. Next I re-purposed the hempen rope that I purchased at a local hardware store for my upcoming Arriety costume. I then made up my face with a glamorous amount of makeup, after compulsively watching several mermaid makeup tutorials, I wrapped myself in this “sensational” sail dress. It was pretty simple to achieve the right look, but the integrity of this dress requires a few clips on the back to keep the dress situated. Everything was okay as long as no sudden movements were made. And Voila!

The transformation from human who wants to be a mermaid who becomes a mute human was a huge success. If only the beautiful coast was a little closer for the sake of congruency in comparison photos. A big thanks to my partner for obliging to take photos and help a big girl with a little girl dreams.

Thank you for reading!

Emerald City Comic Con Part 2: A Glorious End of the Weekend

When the hysteria of the festivities settled down on Sunday, the convention center became a sort of cozy beehive of fandom followers. The mood was definitely less intense and there was a lingering hint of exhaustion about the air. I honestly think the convention could greatly benefit from nap pods. This is 2019! We are mostly adults, and we need naps in this self-care conscious society. The cosplay I chose for Sunday was Bombshell Mera from the DC Universe. There is a series of comics set during war time, where the men are off fighting and back at home, the women of the DC Universe are protecting home with their bad ass strength and super powers tailored to each beautiful lady. I was inspired by the chapter six cover with Wonder Woman and Mera teaming up to combat villains. It was clearly a comic cover with my friend Zara and myself on it. Also, where do I get a princess dolphin?

Being that it was March in Seattle I opted for a “warmer” version of the bombshell Mera. Thank god for an option B, am I right? It was still freezing and I violently shivered the entire walk to and from the convention. It’s a small price to pay for the pure amusement it brings.

As you can see, there are quite a few accessories that this bombshell requires. I do try to put as much attention to detail in to my costumes as possible, but this one I had to settle on a few things for lack of sanity, being a full time student and currently employed elsewhere full time. I found the pants, the sailor hat and mermaid print top on Ebay. I did have to buy fabric, green bias tape and green thread to make the sailor collar, which luckily was super simple for a meager seamstress such as myself. I bought all of the materials for the collar at Jo-Ann’s Fabric. I was lucky enough to borrow a pattern in which to do so from one of my fellow convention friends(Thank you Casey!<3). I used the McCalls Costume pattern M7141. It was super simple and straight forward, which was a huge relief. You can do it too, no problem. I believe in you! The trident would have been an awesome creation, but due to lack of time, tools and skill, I purchased it online for only $16.99 and you can find it here. It came mailed in two pieces and required the ability to twist the components together, but be cautious, it is only plastic and if tightened to much it will crack and break. I cracked mine a little, but noticed the damage before rendering it useless. But before you can do that, you will be undeniably distracted by the cleverly placed photo of Jason Momoa on the packaging. That’s right, men, women and children alike cannot resist the charming distraction of Jason Momoa. It’s best not to try opposing these deep rooted feelings and just take a moment to gander. Ahem! Moving right along… The trident was definitely a cheap plastic product, but I was very happy to have it in my possession. It wielded me a power of feminine prowess. I think if I am to use it again in the future, I will spray paint it with a coat of metallic gold to give it a more realistic look.

For all of the little accessories, the ‘M’ on the sailor hat, the sea shell belt buckle, the anchor bling and the arm bracers, I used Darice Craft Foam which I purchased on Amazon for about $10. Really fun stuff to work with, it was recommended by my friend and ultra amazing friend and cosplayer Zara (@CheesyHipster). It was super easy to roll out and cut out the shapes. I originally painted them a bright yellow to match the comic color, but found that a metallic gold spray paint worked better. I later added texture to each with gold acrylic paint. Embellish yo’self, am I right? I didn’t have the fancy mermaid print wedge heels, or the matching green stripe on the pants, but overall, I was pretty rapturous about how this costume came together. If you have any other questions about my process, feel free to email me! I’d be happy to answer questions. 🙂

At the convention, my friends and I spent most of the day in the Artist Alley, gathering as much nerdy loot that we could. Toward the end of the day, my group made their cute-little-cosplayed-selves out to the court yard to take photos. There were several hobby photographers around asking for photographs and how can you complain about that? I learned several different ways to pose with my trident from a photographer, which helped a lot, because I essentially had the one and only salute pose down for the entire day. It was interesting to get an unbiased, outside opinion on how to stand properly. I was shocked and thrilled to see that Clumsy Bob had posted his photos of the cosplay of the convention and I was in his album. Thank you Bob!

Bombshell Mera & Wonder Woman
Right: Zara @CheesyHipster

I was honored to be a part of this cosplay experience. I fully intend to keep trying and creating. I hope you will follow me on my epic journey of fantastical weirdness. Through the failures, tears, successes and smiles. Thanks for reading and I wish you all a happy Game of Thrones night!

Emerald City Comic Con: Dreams Are Made Of This, Part 1

Emerald City Comic Con has historically been frequented by about 95,000 glorious nerds of all kinds. That is as far as I could find on Wikipedia . The jury is still out on the 2019 attendance. There were so many people who partook in this weekend of convention fun. This was the biggest convention that I have ever been able to appear at. The convention itself is held at the Washington State Convention Center located in down town Seattle. It was a chilly 12 block walk to the convention center from our hotel, which was a wildly windy adventure each way. As my group was in full cosplay the bitter winds were no match for our nerdy elation. With that being said, I am going to walk you through my cosplay for day one.

Day 1: Saturday- Dungeons, Dragons, & Ronald Weasley

Mix one-part excitement and two parts overwhelming confusion and you will end up with the intoxicating euphoria that was the first jam-packed convention day. On first arrival, we were quickly drawn to the endless magic of the artists alley. This room contained row upon row of artist booths from wall to wall and even more beyond that. I am eternally grateful to have arrived early enough to move freely from booth to booth before the artists became overwhelmed with the sea of people who quite literally appeared all at once. My cosplay for day one was Misty from Pokemon. My partner was jovial enough about accompanying me as the main star, Ash Ketchum. It was very amusing posing together on many occasions. The very best and most memorable encounter was with a small girl who recognized us immediately, especially Ash. As she stared up at Ash, she became utterly overwhelmed with shock and happiness at meeting him that she latched on to my wonderstruck partner, hugging at his leg. It was a tender reminder of what kind of impact a good cosplay can have on the joys of the younger convention goers. This tiny little human emotional reaction put fire to my motivation to continue to create and participate in future conventions.

Misty was a fairly simple cosplay to assemble.

It all started with a wig. I purchased the wig from Arda Wigs on a recommendation from my lovely friend and amazing cosplayer Zara. (Check her out on Instagram @Cheesyhipster ) You can look at the wide variety of wigs and accessories at Ardawigs.com. These wigs range from $35-45 and are worth every penny. They are well crafted and I’ve never had an issue with them not fitting on my head properly. Which can be a huge bummer if you shell out a bit of cash for a wig and later find that your forehead is just too large. The wig did require a bit of styling which terrified me. If too much wig is cut off in the process, then there’s no going back. There is no amount of Duct tape that will suffice. The only Duct tape I used in this cosplay was a bright yellow color to accent the pair of red low top shoes I purchased online. This was justified in my mind, because I had every intention of wearing those shoes, preferably without the Duct tape, on a regular basis. They have since become my personal lucky shoes. It is imperative to find luck in physical objects, right? This costume mostly consisted of thrifting around the internet for red suspenders and a yellow tank top. Both were very inexpensive. I was lucky enough to have a pair of shorts in my wardrobe already. I did make the pokeball myself. It was a simple project. I purchased a large Styrofoam ball from Jo-Anns, which I then painted with white, red and black acrylic paints and finished with a gloss coat of modge podge. I already had an arsenal of acrylic paint and the modge podge I found at a local Dollar Tree. Easy peasy. That’s how roll with my crafts. I did use craft foam for the round bits on the front of Pokeball which required more paint, the ability to cut out a circle (I may botched up this part) and a hot glue gun at the ready. If you have any questions please email me! I would love to chat about cosplay.

The highlights of this day seemed to be unlimited. The Critical Role Cast was at the floor show that afternoon which I was so elated to be present for a live reading of Vox Machina. They were all perfect and I have fallen deeper into fandom with Critical Role. I have to give a huge shout out to my friends who flawlessly pulled off the cast of the Critical Role characters! They nailed it. I still marvel at the attention to detail these lovely humans achieved. Such amazing work and it was a blast to see all of the different interpretations of the Critical Role characters walking about and interacting with the real world.

To end the day, I was lucky enough to meet Rupert Grint, very briefly for a Photo Op. It was a frightening interaction where I immediately shook his hand and introduced myself in a very professional manner. Apparently under the pressure of meeting a celebrity and the exhaustion of the day of festivities led me to act in a strictly orderly fashion. Sorry Rups, I’m not good with interacting with the average Joe and I had no business trying to meet a celebrity. That being said, it was exhilarating and I wouldn’t even change a thing about it. Unless I have any Dr. Who fans out there? Because, I may feel I could reconsider the incident that occurred later that evening. Walking back to the hotel we passed one of the Doctors crossing the street going the opposite direction. I looked up and saw his silhouette moving quickly up the street away and from us. It was then I began chasing Peter Capaldi all of a city block and then promptly giving up, convinced it was a silly endeavor for a woman on the brink of 30 years old. And that beautiful Scottish man can really move, let me tell ya. If anyone wants to make me a tee shirt that says, “Training to chase Peter Capaldi across time and space”, I would wear it everyday and be forever grateful. Nevertheless, the very first day at a big city convention was an absolute success and I truly cherish each memory created.

Referenced:
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emerald_City_Comic_Con&oldid=879397557

Launching A Cosplay Adventure

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” – George Bernard Shaw

Hello!

I am tremendously happy to have you joining me on my real-life side quest of Cosplay. I started cosplaying in 2015 and fell madly in love with this strange theatrical hobby. I had no idea what I was doing and I still don’t, but I was determined to use cosplay as an outlet for my creativity and flamboyant, melodramatic tendencies. Thus far, it has been successfully entertaining and fulfilling. I hope to guide you every step of my journey which will include, tears, blood, sweat and all kinds of glitter. Not to mention wigs and crafting that require attention and a firm organizational schedule. In this initial post, I would like to introduce you to the characters I have previously cosplayed.

My first cosplay in 2016 was Poison ivy from The Batman original series. I took the overall integrity of the character from the Batman series and made it my own version of what I thought Pamela Isley would look like. I sewed each individual ivy leaf on to a green corset, which I wore over one of my green ballet leotards. Paired with green tights, and bobby pin that I glued another ivy leaf to. This was my very first Comic Con in the small farming town of Tillamook, Oregon. It was also the very first con in the region which was very humble and yet full of nerdy excitement. That is in fact my real head of hair, it took a ridiculous amount of upkeep, but I enjoyed so much, that I had to go back to this color presently. I used L’Oreal Hi-Color Red mixed with a level 30 developer. I wish the color had a more fantastical name, because I am constantly asked what the name of the red in my hair is called. If I had to name it myself, I would call it Cherry Bomb, or perhaps Francine’s Fire Truck Red. I was never a great giver of names.

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poison ivy cosplay

For Halloween 2017, I decided I wanted to cosplay more and try to create my own props for the first time. I had just watched all of the Adventure Time cartoon with my partner and his lovely little boy. I became enamored with Marceline the Vampire Queen. She’s a cute little vampire, she plays bass guitar and writes songs. I am 2 out of the 3 of these things. I’ll let you decide which. This was not only my first prop endeavor, but also my first experience in the wide world of wigs. I made the axe bass guitar with cardboard, super glue, acrylic paint, a generous amount of grey duct tape and black nylon for the strings. It took about week to complete with working a full-time schedule and waiting for paint and glue to dry. It turned out better than I thought it would, but it still had an element of cheesiness about it. It suited my personality perfectly. The wig I purchased at a local Goodwill store, it cost about $5 and required a bit of black hair spray, because it originally had streaks of grey in it. This was a great alternative to buying a brand-new wig which saved a good $15-20. This costume required a great deal of grey body paint, latex prosthetic ears and glue-on vampire fangs. All of which I purchased at a Halloween Superstore in the Mall. Some girls go to the mall for Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works sprays, but I? Oh no, I do an in-depth Mall Halloween Superstore shop. They have everything the modern girl would possibly long for. Fangs, eye lashes, tails, ears, scars, and all other glamour necessities. I had a lot of fun with this cosplay. I wore it to work and received many compliments and confused questions. I was asked, “Are you Spocks wife?” and “Are you from Avatar?”. Just a glimpse of the fun things people say while you are exposing your cosplay heart to the world.

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Marceline Vampire Queen

bass

A previous Halloween I became quickly obsessed with Margot Robbie’s interpretation of Harley Quinn in the Suicide Squad. I had to cosplay the part. What better way to funnel my plentiful energy? I didn’t make any of the parts of this costume, but if I am truly to share my entire journey, it would certainly include my Ebay purchases of the Harley Quinn cosplay collection of mine. Puddin necklace, face tattoos and all. It was a fun birthday project and present to myself.

harleycosplay

Halloween 2018 was a mixed bag, but this truly horrible and most fun cosplay was a mashup of Pennywise and Harley Quinn, I mostly refer to this as my Lady Pennywise costume. I found the creepy little white gown at the Goodwill and hand sewed red poof balls on the front of it to look similar to Bill Skarsgard’s representation. And the make-up was a fun challenge. White and horrifying. The great thing about applying this make-up was, that it didn’t have to look perfect, because the clown is a dilapidated entity. The more crumbly and washed out, the better.

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lady pennywise

That is the history of my cosplay up until this promising year of 2019. For what is to come, there will be an in-depth glimpse of Comic Con participation, trials and the comprehensive lamentations of my continued work of all things Cosplay. If ever you should have any questions, comments or concerns please email me. I enjoy hearing the good, the bad, and the not very nice. I can’t wait to catch you up on my Emerald City Comic Con experience. And thank you for reading and catching up with the Cosplay Conjuring.

Please subscribe if you enjoyed this post.

You inspire me!

Best,

Crystal B.

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