Man, I've been lazy lately. That's most likely why I haven't been posting here very often. In fact, last time I posted any real update of any kind was my Kumoricon report which was almost two months ago. Gah!

I'm here and well except that my foot hasn't gotten any better. Oh right, I don't think I ever said anything about that here. Late August I sustained an injury to the bottom of my right foot at work though I never was sure what I did to it exactly. The doctor told me I sprained it and put me on transitional duty at work which basically means that I don't do my normal job because it requires far too much standing and walking. Mostly I fold napkins, stuff envelopes, unpack merchandise, and lots of other boring and tedious tasks. After two months of this garbage I'm VERY ready to go back to my regular job but my foot hasn't gotten any better, even after the cortisone shot I got last Monday. So I'll probably be doing this for a while longer. Meh! If it goes on long enough I'll get put on medical leave. :\

In much, much, MUCH better news: Phil and Kaja Foglio, along with their children, will be spending some time in Disneyland after the California Steampunk Convention (which I sadly won't be making it to because I'll be at the Harvest Festival in Fresno instead). I've been making plans with Kaja and shall be getting them some free tickets and, if I have a day or two off, volunteering my services as their personal tour guide (aka, hang out); there has been much excited squeeing on both sides! We also may be going out for dinner one of the nights they're in town. Needless to say I'm VERY excited about this and I'm also looking forward to getting to meet the rugrats. From what I've heard about them they're the kids that all geeks dream of having so I'm sure I'll love them. But then I love most kids so it's pretty much a given.

That's pretty much my life as of late. I've been drawing a lot more than usual lately, scrapping a good portion of it, but it's good practice and I can see improvements as I flip through my sketch books in chonological order.

One more thing before I go to upload some stuff and work on others, I finally managed to do a photoshoot on my horse in my Maxim costume! I already posted these on the Girl Genius comm and the Jägerkin forums but forgot to post them here! Silly me. I know a lot of people were waiting for them, too. I'm going to Photoshop my favorites and send those to Kaja so she can put them on the website. But for now here are the best photos of the bunch (the ones that aren't blurry or me with weird expressions or Brego in mid-head-shake or with his eyes closed, etc...)

http://s362.photobucket.com/albums/oo68/bagof4grapes/maximcavalry/

My dad is the photographer of all of these and he used my camera, a Kodak EasyShare Z740.

So apparently I made Playboy. Or rather, Maxim made Playboy. o_O

http://community.livejournal.com/girlgenius_lab/141585.html

Here are some more places where pictures of me in costume can be found:

http://movies.yahoo.com/photos/collections/gallery/916/2008-comiccon-exhibit-hall-costumes#photo10

(In this one, there are photos of both my Maxim costume and my Kida costume) http://www.mobenloft.com/subpictures.asp?subPictureID=132

http://community.livejournal.com/girlgenius_lab/141272.html#cutid1

http://manachronicles.blogspot.com/2008/07/comic-con-live-blog.html

I've also been contacted by a few guys that I met at Comic Con and are now hitting on me. @_@
Wow, Maxim. I think you might be a little *too* bishie! XD

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!

I'm going home to Fresno for a few days because I have to serve jury duty there tomorrow. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone but a friend of mine took my Tuesday shift so I know I at least won't be back until that night. Of course, depending on how my jury duty goes I could be gone all week. I'll try to go online and check on stuff at least once a day.

Also, I'll be taking my Maxim costume up with me and I'm gonna try to take pictures on my horse. I don't have the gauntlet/glove thingy or my boots yet but I was just going to wear that glove again, and I have an old pair of thigh-high red boot covers that I bought for another costume and never used. They'll probably look really cheap but I'll put them on over my riding boots so that should help to give them a boot-ish shape. And I can always go back and Photoshop the stuff that doesn't look quite right.

The wig dye I ordered finally arrived but I haven't gotten the chance to use it on my wig yet so it's still a faded bluish color. Again, I'll just Photoshop it.

Okay, gonna go eat something and finish packing, then I'm outta here! Laterz.

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. )

.. Guys, srsly.

I win at everything.

Srsly.

Guys?

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.

(Click to see full-size)

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.

Well, I got most of the shirt done. It's definitely recognizable as a shirt and has most of the lining in. Didn't even start on the cape. I expect if I hadn't been distracted by the Girl Genius update I would have gotten a lot more done. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

I took some pictures but it's too late to upload them now. I really gotta sleep. Nighty night.

Such a long period of time has past since I last updated on my Maxim costume and I feel like I've hardly done anything at all. I HAVE done quite a bit of ordering, though. I believe all I have left to order are the boots. The wig should be here any day now (SQUEEE!!!) and I just ordered the sword and belt buckles so they should be arriving within a week. However, the buckles I accidently sent to my parents' place so unless I can convince my parents to ship them down here to me once I they get there I won't have them in my hands until June 23 which is when I plan to visit them next. That's okay, though. All I plan on doing to them is coloring them with rub n' buff and that stuff takes, literally, 30 seconds to dry.

Still... I was hoping to have everything together very soon for a photo shoot... *sniffles* Maybe I can photoshop some buckles into the pictures, lol.

I'm STILL cutting out the pieces for the shirt and plan on sewing it today. The cutting part is always so tedious and frustrating. Once I get it all cut out the rest will be fun and engaging and I should have no trouble getting the sewing done quickly.

After that I'll have to figure out the cape. I'm not using a pattern so I have to do all the measuring and pattern-ing by hand. It shouldn't be too difficult, though. And I'll only have to cut out two pieces. The sewing will be ridiculously fast. The hardest and most time-consuming part of the cape will be figuring out the pattern.

I'm wondering if I can get the shirt and cape done tonight... >_> Shall I challenge myself?

... LET'S DO IT!

Although I have to note that finishing the shirt will NOT include the cuff on the right hand. See, I'm now considering actually doing the prosthetic arm/glove/gauntlet/whatever that thing is. I even found someone who's willing to do the arm part and then make the red pieces that go on the hand. I could probably do the rest no problem. All I'll need is a black glove, probably leather, and maybe use some craft foam. I might even look up some tutorials and look into using other materials like plastics.

So for now I'm foregoing the cuff to wait and see if I end up doing the arm. If not I can always whip up the cuff fairly quickly. And I may just make the cuff later on anyways so I have some variation.

Along with all of this I'm also helping my roommate with her Zeetha costume. We're probably commissioning the swords but we're making everything else ourselves. Or rather, Sheena *wants* to do everything herself but she's not exactly experienced or skillful in the sewing and crafts department so I'm basically doing everything and letting her help wherever she can (i.e. cutting out pre-marked pieces of craft foam, painting stuff the colors I designate, being a live model for the measuring, etc...).

I'll also be helping yanocchi with her castle!Agatha costume which may be difficult considering we live a state away from each other. I'll be styling her wig for her and probably doing the vest and some stuff on the pants.

And now I ALSO received a commission request for a Toph costume. This one will probably be the easiest of all the costumes I'm doing for Comic Con. In fact, I KNOW it'll be the easiest. The hardest part will most likely be the headband, or maybe the cuffs. Yay for quick and easy costumes and getting paid to do them!

As you can see I've REALLY got my work cut out for me this summer. Let's see how it all goes. My first priority will be the Toph costume because I'll be on contract to finish that one by a specified time. Next will be my own because... well, it's my own costume and I started that one before any of the others. Sheena's and Brooke's will be on a when-I-have-time basis. Sheena will need more help with hers than Brooke will. Plus, I live with Sheena so it'll also be easier to help her.

I'm really not worried about getting all these done on time. Two months is plenty. I'm more worried about money. As long as everyone pays for their materials and I manage to save up enough for my boots, (possibly) the arm/gauntlet/glove thing, and the hotel I'll be good. The money from the commission will help a lot and Sheena also owes me a bit. I also just paid my dad all the money I've owed him for the past year so I'm in almost no debt whatsoever. I'm also doing a TON of show-rate shifts at work and will be doing those almost every day throughout the summer. That should help a lot.

In other news, the apartment Sheena and I went to look at won't work. Apparently the girl that is moving out forgot to ask her roommate (who we'd be living with) if she's allergic to cats. She is. ARGH! However, Janel, my roommate who just moved out, said that she talked to the people at our current appartments and said they'd be willing to give us a discount if we wanted to move into another apartment in the same complex. I'm going to go down to discuss this with them today. It would be awesome if Sheena and I could get a one bedroom and have it all to ourselves.

Okay, things to do today:

- Go grocery shopping
- Talk to people in office about apartment
- Shower
- Get shirt done(ish)
- At least get started on cape

First, go grocery shopping. It's the middle of the day so everyone in the office will be out to lunch until around 2-ish.

Okay, I'm outta here! Will report again tonight.

I JUST BOUGHT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG it's PERFECT! Seriously, I cannot begin to express the perfectness of this perfect wig.

Okay, so if I ordered my boots, sword, and belt buckles tonight I could have this costume DONE in about two weeks. *SQUEES*

*runs around in circles*

( Looking for a Jäger? Click here! )

I also got the pattern for the shirt in the mail so I can start on that this weekend.

ETA: Another picture with brighter colors.