Oh geez, I just ordered yet another wig for yet another cosplay I've been inspired to do at the last minute. Hopefully I'll get it done for Kumoricon. If not I'll wear it for Halloween and then use it for conventions next year.

Oh, and now I bought ear tips (scroll down, ears #K). Yeah, it looks like I'm totally doing this costume.

*sigh*

For those of you who grew up on The Dark Crystal... I did not. We watched it at work yesterday and that was the first time I'd ever seen it. I fell in love! And yes, the whole time I was watching it I was piecing together the costumes in my head. Well, I want to cosplay Jen. Here's a picture for anyone who isn't familiar with this movie. Jen's the one in the foreground.

I'll be shopping for fabric and patterns this weekend.

*shakes head slowly at self* Lately I can't help but look for awesome cosplay opportunities whenever I watch anything. This is becoming a bad habit. A very expensive and addicting bad habit. But MAN I love it!

I'm happy to say that I'm currently on schedule and my costumes are just about done. Whee! Now I just need to make a quick pair of bloomers, sew a few buttons and such, and help my roommate with her costumes a bit. Tomorrow I'll pack and we'll be on our way to San Diego!

Sheena and I wanted to do some research on where we'd be staying so we contacted wyrmul and he sent me the name and location of our hotel. I freaked. We're staying at the San Diego Marriott Mission Valley Hotel! A FREAKING MARRIOTT HOTEL!!! Not THE Marriott right next to the convention center, but STILL. Here's a link with pictures: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-photos/sanmv-san-diego-marriott-mission-valley/

Holy cow.

Also, MY AANG COSTUME IS DONE! ( Click here for a picture! )

That is all! I'll probably post again tomorrow before we leave, or maybe even later tonight if I have more exciting pictures.

My huge order of makeup arrived the other day and I tested it out tonight.

( Look! I'm bald! )

Whoopee for progress!

Thanks to my amazing friends (particularly Molly/singswithtrees and Nika/schmot_gurl) I've earned about $174 from commissions and have only $250 left to go on my convention funds. At this rate I'll make my goal in no time. I just bought my Comic-Con 4-day pass tonight which is a huge relief because those things can sell out rather quickly. It also got me majorly excited because... I'M GOING TO COMIC-CON!!!

Just so y'all know, I'm still taking commissions: art, wigs, and possibly costumes. Just ask! And thank you for your support. It's appreciated more than you know. Any extra money that I don't end up spending on costumes/conventions is going to go towards paying off my debt (though hopefully my tax return should have that covered) and caring for my pony. He's due for another hoof trimming and it's almost time for his yearly vaccinations and worming. Luckily I can do all that myself and don't have to pay the ridiculous house call fee the vet charges. I paid $120 last time for a quick check-up and vaccination. x_x

In other news: it's technically Saturday right now and that means it's my Friday! YAY! I just need to get through my shift today and then it's weekend time!

Today I went to the wig store that I've gone to several times before to pick up a few foam wig heads. I couldn't find it. I drove past the intersection several times and just couldn't find it. Like, the building wasn't even there. Granted, I haven't been there since just before Comic-Con so maybe it got torn down or something... So then I used my phone to look up another wig store and there was one just a few blocks away. Again, couldn't find it. There was a HOTEL where the store should have been. o_o

So finally I got fed up and went home. ARGH. Before I try any more wig stores I'm going to call ahead of time just to make sure the store is still there. Or I may just buy some online. The problem is that they're so big and bulky that they can only ship one at the time and the shipping is so expensive. Hmm... so yeah, I think I just need to find a new wig store to frequent.

In convention/cosplay news I think I've decided to just forget about Kumoricon for now. That $300 plane ticket is what was making my savings goal so high. Besides, that con isn't until September and tickets probably won't sell out until the day of the con so even if I don't manage to save up an extra $300 until the very last minute I should be able to make it.

And I haven't even considered other methods of transportation yet. I could always take the train instead. It'll be a long, boring 30-hour trip and I'll have to take an extra day off work, but if I decide that I really have to go to this convention I'll at least have a much cheaper alternative. I could also drive but again, very long trip and my car ain't exactly young anymore. I would rather take the longer trip on the train and save my car the brutal drive. Also, on the train someone else would be driving and I could just sit there and relax. ^_^

Could you imagine driving for 15 hours straight? @_@ Some people do it and I don't know how.

...

I just looked up train fares and I can do a round-trip train ride to Portland for $95. MUCH better than $300. It's good to know I have this alternative if I deem it necessary.

And cutting out Kumoricon completely my savings goal is now $380. Phew! Much more do-able. I could still use the help of a few commissions, though. Seriously, even if all you can do is a $5 sketch the help would be greatly appreciated. That $5 could end up paying for a tube of blue makeup for my Aang airbender tattoos. :)

ETA: I realized that I forgot to put the blue tattoo makeup and the new Maxim wig (my old one is shot) onto my to-buy list. That brings my total up to $429.

ETA #2: Argh, I was looking at the train fares wrong. A round-trip to Portland would be more like $200. *sigh*

So if I want to go to Anime Expo, San Diego Comic-Con, and Kumoricon as you-know-who, Aang, and Duo Maxwell I'm going to have to save up another $715! That includes costume pieces, convention tickets, and a flight to Portland.

...

If I take out the Duo costume that still leaves me at $575.

*sigh*

Well, I've still got my income tax return (although last year I only got $36 back) and my roommate owes me a bunch of money but most of that's going to my dad (I owe him) and my credit card bill (credit card's almost maxed out so I can't use that either).

So uh... commission anyone?

ETA: If I take out Kumoricon then I only need another $380. *sobs* But I REALLY want to go to Kumoricon! We were going to do skits and go ice skating IN COSTUME and all kinds of crazy stuff...

ATTENTION FLIST!

My cosplay and convention adventures this year are going to cost a pretty penny and my financial situation is looking pretty un-promising right now as far as covering all of it goes. I'm not going to ask for donations for something like cosplay and convention/hotel/travel expenses because that's just wrong. However I am going to save up all the money I make from commissions for expenses so if you'd like to assist with getting me out to conventions in costume this year a commission request would be greatly appreciated. I'll do head/bust or small sketches for $5, full body sketches for $10, digital or paper-and-pencil. Check here for prices on fancier art types. I also do wigs and might do costumes. Just ask!

Now that the advertising is out of the way, ( how about a costume update? )

And now, a fun meme stolen from rlongbottom: ( Cut for length )

I'd also like to report that I'm officially open for commissions. Right now I'm only doing art and wigs. I MIGHT consider doing costumes but I'm a little lacking in spare time and in the next few months I'll be concentrating on getting my own costumes done. If you need a costume go ahead and contact me anyway because I might just be able to do it if circumstances are in my favor.

Check here for information on art commissions and here for wig commissions.

Go ahead and inquire here if you don't have dA or Cosplay.com accounts.

Wow, it's been a really long time since I've posted an entry here. Been excessively busy working on costumes but I finally got everything done and I'm all set to go to Comic Con! As soon as Sheena gets home we'll be on our way to San Diego. YAY!

I won't be back until Sunday night so I'll see ya then. There will lots of pictures!!

Bye, dollinks!

Back from Fresno.

I ended up not serving jury duty. They said I didn't qualify because I'm not a resident of Fresno county. I gave them my new address and they dismissed me. *shrugs*

I also never got pictures of myself on my horse in costume, and before you throw over-ripened fruit at me I have a VERY good explanation! It was over 100 degrees in Fresno over the weekend. You step outside, you fry. I was barely able to go riding in a tank top let alone in a heavy costume with a wig, hat, and cape. There was just no way I would have been able to do it without risking giving myself heat stroke. I'm going to have to at least wait until after the conventions, probably around fall when it starts to get cooler.

In GOOD news, I finally ordered my boots and the gloves should be coming any day now. Before I can finish up my own costume I'll have to get that Toph costume finished and sent.

Also, I applied to a multiverse steampunk pirates RPG called theskytides as Maxim. Should be lots of fun! We need more GG characters. *cough*

And now! The moment you've all been waiting for (srsly u guys)...

( MAXIM!!! Grab those bibs, people! )

I call this one "a glimpse of Maxim".

( Makeup-y awesomeness. )

MORE PICTURESZOMG.

( Like the subject says, wig dying sucks just a little. )

Whew! I think I'm going to work on my cape while the wig dries.

Crap.

I went into the living room this morning and discovered that the straightening I did yesterday removed some of the color from my Maxim wig. It's a faded medium purple now and that just won't do at all. I'm going to have to dye it. *sigh*

You know, I'm looking at those pictures I took last night and it looks like it had already faded by then, I just hadn't noticed it at the time.

...Actually, I'm a little intrigued now because this means I get to experiment with different colors and see if I can get it that really unique almost-black-magenta color.

Well, I guess it's better that I'm learning all this stuff on my own wig than someone else's. And at least there's still more than a month before Comic Con. I can always buy another wig if I royally botch this one up. That Ivy wig in "Black Cherry" would be perfect if I took a magenta-y pinkish sharpie to it. I would just have to do a lot of cutting and styling.

Hokay, time for a trip to Michael's and Rite-Aid.

Well, I didn't get all the stuff done that I wanted to but I did get into what I have of the costume (sans makeup) and took some MAJOR pictures! Maxim fangirls, have your bibs ready and stand near your fainting couches.

( Picspam of Jägery DOOM )

Welp, I need to eat something and then I'll keep working on that list.

ETA: Wow. Looking back on those pictures I realized that I did a really good job of giving myself a masculine figure. Mmmm... are we impressed or creeped out?

Me talking to myself:

Okay, Genevieve. You cannot keep sitting here on your tush. You NEED to get up and do stuff!

LIST:

- Work on getting some floor space in room. Unpack some boxes, put away books and clothes, etc...
- Clean off table enough for sewing machine. Set up sewing machine.
- Cut out and sew cape. Come on! You KNOW the cape is the thing that'll totally pull the whole costume together. You KNOW you're excited about it. Just do it!
- Do Brooke's Agatha wig so you can send it to her while there's still plenty of time before Comic Con.
- Do Maxim wig (straighten, trim, dye, style) ... hehe. If you put your finger over the word "wig" it says "Do Maxim". Hehe... *immatureOMG*
- Take in pants at hips.
- Sew clasps onto inside of pants and onto compression shirt so it stops rolling up.
- Finish shirt (sew on trim, buttons, clasps, & undersleeve).
- Make hat band.

*kicks self in the butt* Now get to it! I want to see these things dropping off the list like flies!

Me: Ow! *rubs behind* You call that motivation?
Me: Okay, how about this. If you get all this stuff done today I'll let you put your entire costume on (yes, makeup, ears and everything) and you'll get to look like THIS: http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/ggmain/strips/ggmain20070209.jpg
Me: O_O ... *dust cloud*
Me: That's what I THOUGHT. *eyes flist* ... What? Oh, come on. You can't tell me you don't have motivational conversations like this with yourselves all the time!

My internet got installed yesterday morning thanks to my wonderful friend Kris. He had the morning off so he offered to be here when the cable man came because myself and my roommate were at work.

YAY!

And I don't really have anything to show for all my days spent without internet. I really want to get my cape done this weekend and maybe even order my boots though I'm thinking that should probably wait until I get my deposit back from the old apartment.

COMIC CON IS LESS THAN SIX WEEKS AWAY! *dances*

Sure enough. The package in the office was my sword.

Here's a photo of just about everything so far:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/sweetpea_grubb/maxim/494d3721.jpg

I'm starting to look like Maxim!

IT CAME! IT CAME! IT CAME! IT CAME! ...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/sweetpea_grubb/maxim/9216b83a.jpg

(we're looking at the wig, BTW)

It's a little bit on the long side but I can cut a couple inches off easily enough.

And oh yeah! I forgot that I haven't posted any pictures of the shirt. Obviously it's still not finished but it's getting there. Didn't work on it at all tonight. Didn't work on anything tonight as a matter of fact. I'm going to bed right now because I keep falling asleep in my computer chair. Have more pictures, will post them later.

Also, I think my sword came and it's in the office. I know I have *something* for me down in the office. Usually they put our packages in the big mail boxes but obviously this was too big even for those and my sword is the only thing I have coming that wouldn't be able to fit in them. However, I won't be able to get it until Saturday because I'm always working during office hours. I was off a little earlier tonight than usual and I would have been able to get it if traffic hadn't been RIDICULOUS. My normally 10-15 minute drive (30 tops in bad traffic) from Disneyland to my place took an hour. ONE HOUR. Did I mention that it was ridiculous?

Oh, so I got a notice e-mailed to me that my buckles shipped. Turns out I didn't ship them to my parents' address after all. Yay! They should be here within a couple days. I should also be getting the extra makeup I ordered (got some white to blend into the purple I already have) and Brooke's Agatha wig soon, and then I'm guessing my sword is in the office.

Okay, bedtime. I'm falling asleep in my chair.