The Overdue Review(s)

Hey guys, so it's a month after the fact but hey Ohayocon was a thing! I actually had a lot more fun this year than I have in a long time, and it was all thanks to awesome con friends! Here's a quick play-by-play.

Friday I got all dolled up in P'Li and headed south. Honestly, I think my makeup this time around looks even better than last time!

Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful.

*Muah*

Sadly, my Red Lotus group still hasn't panned out, but people have started stuff so hopefully the next time you see me in this costume I'll have some other kickass benders with me! As such, I changed out of her pretty quickly because braid of doom is not very comfortable and I wanted to hang out in my new costume, so consequently the only photo I have of me actually in the costume is the selfie I took when I got there.

Next up was Torchwick from RWBY! I promised my friend, who make a gorgeous Cinder that the next time she's running a formal ball, I'd have him done so we could attend together. And guess what, she ran a fantastic formal ball and these two lovely villains danced the night away!

We also did a wonderful photoshoot with a friend of Cinder's and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the results! Just from looking at the photos on his camera, things looked amazing so I'll definitely be sharing once we get them back!

Saturday was a day full of RWBY, as my Coco and I hung out as the (once again) only CFVY members at the convention.

Naturally, since my phone camera isn't that great, I don't have any photos of us, but here's a shot of the insanity that was the RWBY shoot that evening.

There were way too many people in way too small a space, so it was both claustrophobic and hotter than hell. It was still awesome though, and we got cheers on our way up to the stage for team CFVY... or really just CY. We also made a bunch of new friends and did a little photoshoot afterwards with a much smaller subset of the group. I also haven't seen any of the photos from that yet but I'm looking forward to it!

Sunday was the usual lazy day, and I stuck to my decision of Banjo-Kazooie being my forever Sunday cosplay. He's comfy, recognizable, and rare enough of a cosplay that people get excited about him. And I finally have a photo of the whole costume thanks to Genki Wolf!

And that was it! Mostly hanging out with con buddies, and having a lovely time dancing the night away! I even hit up the rave for a little while because I magically wasn't tired Saturday night. There was also some solid cosplay from other folks, so here's a smattering of photos.

Now I'm back to the daily grind with a vending event coming up this weekend and several commissions in the works! So I'll be seeing you next time, and hopefully it won't take too long for me to get to next time XD

Mikey Kicks Some Commission Ass

Hey folks! Now that Ohayocon is over, I can actually sit down and put together another post. I promise I'll post a review of Ohayo soon, but I literally have 2 photos of my own cosplay and I'd like to wait until I get a few back so I actually have things to show you guys. So instead, I want to show you the awesome commission work I've gotten to do over the last month and a half!

First up, I churned out a Crescent Rose scythe super fast, since I was suppose to be delivering it at Ohayo this past weekend.

It all started with a blueprint. I'm very happy I kept this and used it to create separate pattern pieces to actually make the scythe because now I can just rinse/repeat when I go to make another one of these in a couple of months.

The majority of the scythe head/blade/whatever you want to call it is made from foamcore board (I know, but surprise) so that it's lightweight enough to actually carry around. I made the base of the spear point as well as the front blade out of MDF though, so it was more durable at the point. I've never used MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) before, but I really like it. It's heavier than wood, but it cuts very nicely with a jigsaw, it doesn't split the way wood does, and it bevels nicely with a Dremel sander. I'll definitely be using it more in the future, particularly since I have a giant board of it that I cut out two tiny pieces for this...

The bit where the pole screws in is all cardboard layers (stiffer & stronger than foamcore), and the pole itself is a mop, the head of which I dismantled so you can unscrew the pole pieces. I did the same thing with the spear point, which attaches inside the gun section.

Here's the build mostly put together! Some of the details are craft foam (the blue parts), but a lot have that weird flowery pattern on them: I actually made them out of old vinyl (or something) place mats that I got from my mom. It's tougher than the craft foam so it's more durable and doesn't squish as much. Also, the bolt-action lever is just a wood dowel, and the sight on the gun is an Air-Borne container that I drilled the back out of so you can actually see through it.

Here it is all screwed together!

Next up is painting! It happened in stages, and it started with red spray paint, because red is an annoying color to brush paint cause it doesn't cover very well. Detail coats, blah blah, you get the idea. Now, look at the beauty!

I'm super happy with how it turned out, and there's only one or two things I intend to do differently next time!

The other project I'm working on is some Young Genji armor for my awesome friend Tobi. It's primarily craft foam and worbla, which is how I did Leo's armor. The difference is the breastplate, which I made out of EVA foam. I haven't done a ton with it before, but it's definitely a solid material for cosplayers. The armor's not done yet, but here are some progress photos.

I'm up to the point where I can start painting tomorrow!

And that's all she wrote for this week. Check back soon to hear all about Ohayocon (and hopefully see some fun new photos), and to see the finished armor!

Moving at the Speed of Christmas

Hey folks, so I realize it's been nearly a month since I've posted stuff here, and as usual it's because I've been super busy with a ton of stuff. First up was the Yule Ball up in Cleveland last weekend! I was making a bunch of inventory to take to that, and it was super successful and also totally awesome! Sadly my mom, who is usually my table partner, couldn't attend because she was ill, which was a total bummer, but we've already agreed that we'd like to have a table again next year!

Here's my booth with half of my stuff gone because I sold quite a bit through the evening! I decided to go steam wizard, and of course wore my house colors (Badger Pride!). It was an absolutely fantastic evening and I was excited to see some friends of mine who I've not seen in quite some time. I also was stationed next to the incredibly handy and talented Peter Baum, who brought some fantastic spun wands and who was a big hit in their Diagon Alley area. The other awesome part was that I got to meet these guys, since they had their main stage in the hall where we were set up.

The Eeyloops Owl Emporium presentation was by far the highlight of the evening! They also had lots of fun decor set up; even though I didn't get to spend much time away from my table, I definitely appreciated the ambiance and attention to detail.

Now that the event is over, I've been busting my ass getting all of the Christmas orders I've been getting put together and shipped out. The good news is that I am doing lots of good business, the bad news is I haven't had time to finish any of my Christmas gift projects for my family. Hopefully when we hit the week before Xmas things will slow down because it will be past the point where I can get stuff to people by the 25th, but who knows. I also have a bunch of commissions I need to have finished by certain times in January, so I'm definitely going to continue to be busy through the holiday season and into the new year.

On the bright side, I've been working on one such commission and it's starting to look pretty awesome! Here's my current progress on Crescent Rose, which I'll be making again later next year for my husband, though this one is going to someone else :-)

I'm super stoked for this project, so you can be sure I'll be posting more photos on Twitter as I keep working, and more on here as things come together. Well, that's all for today, hope everyone is staying warm, and has a great holiday!