Yikes, I’ve been neglecting to post here! Cosplay-wise we’re pretty free at the moment since it’s winter in New England and there really isn’t much cosplay going on when it’s cold outside.

I’ve been working on my Gaara Kazekage coat off and on and I also got my Shiva wig in the mail about a month ago, so she’s all set up on my table upstairs ready to be styled. I’m a little bit nervous to start, though. It’s a huge undertaking. I think I’ll tackle her in January.

In commissions news, I just finished Genesis Rhapsodos’s rapier from Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, and also Train Heartnet’s Hades (Black Cat).

I’m working on Suiseiseki’s watering can (Rozen Maiden) and double scythes for a Mitsuhide Akechi cosplayer (Sengoku Basara) as well as an Orichalcum dagger (Final Fantasy IX). My biggest project is Saix’s claymore from Kingdom Hearts, which will take probably till mid January to complete, but I’m really looking forward to it when it’s done.

*scurries off*

My next big cosplay, for Otakon 2010, will be Shiva from Final Fantasy X – yes, the ice-blue girl with the giant hair. Shiva as a cosplay appeals to me not only because of the amazing character design, but because I have and always will be a prop girl and not a seamstress. Weapons and armor and accessories and even wigs are more my thing than sewing is, although I have taught myself to sew somewhat decently. Such an amazing cosplay that requires so little sewing and so much prop making is ideal for me – and really, I can’t really think of ANYTHING for Shiva that requires sewing except for a few stitches of modifying a standard blue bikini bottom. (I COULD sew the bottom from scratch, but I could get a ready-made one for much cheaper, and for a 1% of the costume that I’m going to heavily modify anyway, I don’t think it’s worth it to sew it myself.)

So today over lunch I bought my Shiva wig – or, at least, I bought the materials to make the wig for Shiva.

Most of them.

It’s 1 long blue wig + 13 packs of extensions in 5 colors so far. I still need the foamcore batting for the inside of the braids, as well as blue yarn, which I have been told works well for bulk. I think I have enough extensions to cover all the braids, and if not, well, I’ll have to improvise! I ended up getting 5 different colors of blue/purple because the highlights in Shiva’s wig are various shades of purple and light blue, and I think that looks much more realistic than just straight cobalt blue.

The hair ties and hair rings I will get when I have finished assembling the wig, since I have no idea what I need right now, and how much.

I already have plenty of hot glue and upholstery thread. XDDD

$100 and counting!

We’ve added some new links to our Delicious page recently, some sites that we’ve just discovered and some old favorites.

I Kick Shins: As you can totally obviously see from the name (yeah ok not so much) it’s a site that sells wig extensions/braids/falls/wig making and care products. Recommended by people on the cosplay.com forum. I haven’t ordered anything off it yet, but the color selection looks promising and they have a ton of selection, much more than Amphigory or even Dr. Locks, the two sites most used by cosplayers.

Akatsuki info page: For you Naruto cosplayers. If you’re making an Akatsuki ring, this has large renderings of the kanji. You’ll need to Google for ring color, though, as all the kanji have a red bg.

Patterns from the Past: Vintage patterns!!!

Naruto Sandal Tutorial: A pretty good Naruto sandal tutorial, and a lot classier than making your own sandal out of an old sock. Bad cosplay is bad.

The Polymer Clay Tutor: This lady makes beads out of Sculpey and has a bunch of pretty good tutorials on her site. All the videos are “members only” which I think means you have to pay, but the tutorials are complete and free. She’s NOT a cosplayer, but a crafter, so the tutorials swing towards that, but I think there’s a lot of good stuff on Sculpey workmanship.

The Papier Mache Resource: If you thought paper mache was for cosplay n00bs, think again…..cause this page will make you want to make all your props out of paper mache. Seriously. Check out the tutorial on how to make a giant head. (Yubaba, anyone??)

Your Auto Trim Store: Faux leather, vinyl, faux suede, and professional looking fabric paint for PVC = awesome cosplay material. I’ve ordered from them a bunch of times and they are great.

…we add new links all the time, so keep checking the column in the right-hand sidebar ^_^

Ragnell’s all done! I’m fairly proud of this sword, as I’ve done a lot of swords before but none with this level of detailing. It was almost 5 feet long and weighed almost 7 pounds. I shipped it out and am hoping it arrives in one piece. I was extra careful packing it, but I get paranoid about shipping.

Current projects: Yoko’s rifle from Gurren Lagann still, and also Zidane Tribal’s weapons from Final Fantasy: Dissidia. Dissidia seems all the rage for FF cosplays now – not a surprise since FFXIII STILL has not come out and it’s been like 3 years since it was announced. I look forward to seeing all the early FF cosplays next year from Dissidia anyway. It’s about time we had more Kefka because you can never have too much Kefka.

I am also about to start my Shiva cosplay. I hope to be making her feather fan…thing…this long weekend. >.>

Suboshi is DONE all except for his ryuuseisui! It was a good weekend of work, about 5 hours per day, but the outfit came out very solidly and I’m REALLY happy with the orange jumper. It looks fantastic and fits perfectly.

I went and bought some stretchy martial arts handwraps for the yellow wrappings on his arms and legs, and they’re part spandex, so they stretch very nicely and don’t fall down at all. (I’ve been walking around the house with one leg wrapped up in them for about half an hour XD)

Pictures forthcoming after dinner. RA~MEN XDDDDDD