I might be able to attend Uppcon after all

My twin told me earlier today that our father won't be going to Thailand this summer after all... and that means if I decide to go to Uppcon in Uppsala (Sweden) I could sleep at their place instead of having to pay my ass open so I can sleep at a hotel. I'm too nitpicky for "sleeping accomodations á la class room floor"... And that's a huge save for me because the tickets to Uppcon are ridiculously expensive compared to all other cons we have in Sweden/Finland.. it's like... I can go to 2-3 other cons for the same ticket price I can go to just Uppcon. Bleh, my poor wallet doesn't approve. But Uppcon is awesome anyway and has a special place in my heart because, after all, it was the first con where I ever cosplayed and the first "proper" con I went to.. not to mention all the awesome memories and people I befriended there!
I will try to go there this year (if I do it will be my third Uppcon!), despite the fact that Uppcon starts the day after my last school day before the summer vacation. D'oh! Bad date is bad. I will have to get to Luleå somehow and take the train/airplane down that very same day after school has finished, ahaha I will need to hurry... but it'll be worth it.
Now I just hope mom approves me going to both Desucon and Uppcon... why? Desucon is held the weekend before Uppcon and err, one is in southern Finland and the other in southern Sweden. Go me, I am crazy. But what won't you do for cons?

My cosplay plans are pretty much decided too, although changes are still possible.

Byakuya's scarf finished

Hi!

So, after dinner I started working on Byakuya Kuchiki's scarf. Oh lord we had this whole pretty white fabric at home and I ran around the house wrapping several meters around my neck in front of the mirror, with the bolt in my left arm, testing it and asking mom if it draped good enough. I probably looked silly. ._.
Oh well, then I just measured around 2,5 meters of that fabric (yes, the whole width, huge scarf is huge) cut it out and sewed it, very easy.
Damn, it feels like I'm having a curtain or something wrapped around my neck! xD I hope this thing doesn't get hot... and it keeps slipping of my shoulders. I hope I won't need to pin it in place. lol Damn you Byakuya and your über-precious-family-heirloom-crème-de-la-crème scarf...

Bye!

Early cosplay WIP is early...

Eh, I stayed home from school today because I've been feeling really down lately. I had the house for myself most of the morning because mom is working like usual and stepdad has morning shift so he probably won't be back until lunch time at the earliest. I wanted to test my new navy blue kimono that I received a few days ago and hell, it's close enough for a Masamune Date cosplay from Brave 10 and besides that guy is cool and I want to cosplay him anyway. I already had the wig so I took a few quick WIP photos just because I didn't have anything better to do.. and cosplay cheers me up. There is lots of stuff still left to do like his belts, eyepatch, pants, that weird hooded cape thingy and whatnot, but it wasn't too bad I guess...and the funny thing? This cosplay isn't even part of my summer cosplay plans! The heck man, the heck. -.- I can't start working on Date until earliest at the end of this year and maaaaybe finish him for a con 2013. Needless to say early WIP photo is early.

Oh, and yes, it was blowing like hell outside. Actually, it's been blowing like hell the last three days or so I think.  I keep hearing the wind pretty much all the time even though I'm inside...

Bye.

Byakuya test + Kenseikan tutorial v.2.0

A few days ago I modified my kenseikans for my Byakuya cosplay and now they sit much better and are easier to attach.. although I could use a friend's help to fasten them.
Here's a tutorial how I made them: Kenseikan tutorial

I took some more test photos yesterday and I'm actually pleased with how they turned out, even though I'm not quite done yet; I'm surprised how disturbingly easy it seems for me to pull of his typical facial expression... even though he has as many expressions as a potato...

I don't have so much more to say more than I can't wait for Chibicon!

Chibicon cosplay plans changed...

 Sup!

Remember I said I was going to bring Ichigo back? Well, plans changed.
I'll do haoriless!Byakuya to acccompany Jäärä as Rukia instead. I'm too scared of doing Ichigo and bringing huge-ass Zangetsu with me because it might end up collecting dust all con day in the... eh, "narikka" (that place you leave huge props and other stuff in during the con) and that would be kinda uncool. Actually, very uncool, Ichigo just isn't Ichigo without his oversized butcher knife. Chibicon's rules don't like big props it seems... so I figured to hell with it and play a safe card and do Byakuya instead; I only need to make the kenseikan and the scarf and voilá - first appearance version done. I don't have time to do the haori because the con is less than a month away and a captain's haori is a pain in the ass to make.

I made those kenseikans, or as I like to call them, "hair bananas", today as soon as we had discussed the change and agreed. lol And oh god how troublesome they were to attach, I guess I'll need to modify them and maybe shorten them too so they fit better... afghdgsdhag.  The scarf is just a random scarf, I need to make a proper one too.

Here's a WIP photo. Yes, I'm holding my hand to keep it in place. lol

Tested out some make-up and yeah... I think it is decent enough... considering how much I suck at make-up, ahaha...

See ya!

Next con – Chibicon á la Oulu

 Hi guys!

Yeah, the next con I'm planning to attend is Chibicon. It's held at Oulu 7th April.
Good for me Oulu is not far away from my hometown (100 km maybe?) so it won't take a day to get there and cost my ass to travel. According to what I checked up the train tickets from Kemi would only cost me about 8 € one way and the same amount back again. OMG CHEAP. Well, compared to the 140+ € my train tickets to Lahti and back went on... Oh, and one of my mom's sisters lives there so maybe I could sleep over at her place. Hopefully. I don't know if the con has an entrance fee.. I guess it will...

I'm thinking about bringing my first (or second, depending on what you count, Ichigo was the first I started making but second I debuted) cosplay back to life after... err, a 2 years pause? I think my Ichigo Kurosaki cosplay last time saw daylight in December 2010. Oh booya that's some time ago man!
You know, getting that 150 centimeters huge butcher knife from place A to place B isn't the most easy and convenient thing to do, especially not when the destination is at the other end of the country. -.-" That's why Ichigo has been forever alone in my closet, waiting for his time to shine, his huge-ass sword severely limits what cons I can take him to...
But yeah, now when Oulu for the first time gets a con –although temporarily, I guess, because Chibicon seems to move from town to town now– I think I can bring him out. It will be interesting to travel with that sword though; I think I'll put it in my kendo sword carrying bag while at the train but it's a bit too short for it so the handle will stick out though, but as long as it doesn't look overly suspicious I think it'll do. I can't carry that thing open in public without getting stares you know, need to hide it. xD Oh, and Jäärä will hopefully accompany me as Rukia Kuchiki from Bleach.

Nothing else to say, final cosplay plans coming soon. See ya!

New anime obsession...

Ahaha, gosh... so today I started watching the Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan anime... and I'm hooked! I've been watching episode 1 to 9 pretty much without pauses and AHRGSHHAGDJADGS must cosplay Souji Okita! He is just too awesome! Ugh I feel bad for him, I have a feeling he'll die of his illness... Hajime Saitou I will probably also cosplay, he is cool... oh boy, my cosplay list sure keeps on growing man...

But yeah, truth be told I've known and been interested in Hakuōki for a while already, but it was only until some few days ago when I got really really interested. See, I happened to hear that the game had been released in America for PSP recently and so of course I had to order it when it now was available outside Japan and I can understand the plot. lol (I've been planning to get it anyway)
Then I watched the anime because I was so curious and it seemed pretty... and now I'm sfihufgufihuihuuh I love animes like this! It's awesome it is based on historical persons, shinsengumi etc. I like that kind of stuff.

Now I need to decide who to cosplay first, Okita or Saitou? I guess it'll be Saitou because he is easier but I love Okita more... oh well, I get more time to do Okita just right, and besides I'll think I'll go with the more complicated game version of him because he has that beautiful golden ring patterning on his kimono's left side in the game, it's absent in the anime.

UOOORGH, I already find myself looking for wigs for Saitou and references and whatnot... lol the life of a cosplayer, my wallet probably hates me. XD