Yikes, where have I been?

Goodness, I've been so busy with life that I've had hardly any energy to keep up with my blog lately.  Lately being... well, a few months.  Yikes!

I've been hoarding all things needed for our Castlevania: SOTN cosplays, and have pretty well finished 95% off my shopping list.

Just a quick little post, I made some custom resin casts for Alucard's cloak, and they came out quite beautifully! Surprisingly only took a day or two to build the positive, make the silicone mold, and cast the resin.  I've also cast the buckles that run down the middle of his waistcoat (vest), but I'm still experimenting a bit with them yet.

Woo, silvery clasp-y goodness!

Anyways, I'll be tackling the vest once I've completed Alucard's undress (His poet shirt!) and then from there, the frock coat and cloak.  I haven't skimped on the quality of materials one bit.  I'm using cotton bastiste for his shirt, black silk dupioni for the vest, 100% black velveteen for his frock, and silk satin for his cloak.  I even made it a point to order fancy filigree lining for the inside of his frock coat, as well as a pretty amazing textured silk for the collar.  Needless to say, I'm beyond excited to see this through!

Cheers for now,

♥ Ely

August Ramblings~

Hello everyone!

Since July, I've been quite busy.  I picked up a part-time job, (To help curb my living expenses) and as soon my portfolio is ready I will be seeking out full-time, field-related work.  I am set on applying to various costume houses in the area, in the hopes they will pick me up for an entry-level position. Aside from the part-time work, I've just been taking it easy, trying to gather my bearings and be prepared to take my career into my own hands.  My amazing husband helped create a very simple online portfolio site for me, which is great since I would have no freaking clue how to do it myself!

As for job searching -- I'm not as scared about it as I thought I'd be.  Thankfully I'm in a stable enough financial situation where I'm not in some huge rush to get a job right away, or settle for something not to my liking.  Some final things I have left to do are write my resume, bio, and prepare some business cards.

In other (nerdy) news, I have new costumes already picked out for this 2012/2013!  After my personal success with Shanoa (I will have to go back and post the final tid-bits and construction notes on it), I've decided to run with Castlevania again -- but this time, from one of my all-time favourites from the series, if not one of my favourite games period.  Castlevania, Symphony of the Night!

Maria Renard -- SOTN

Back in 2004, I bought 70% of the materials I needed for Maria Renard.  I must have lost interest or felt intimidated by the costume.  Recently, I pulled all of the material out (Kept hanging on to it!) and needless to say, she's being put together right now! I have already completed her sash, as well as her 18th century shoes.  (Found a great pair on eBay, and paid only $15 for 'em!)  The shoes came out quite beautifully -- and I finally overcame my fears of covering shoes in fabric.  (I'm going to put together a tutorial of sorts for those who might want to try it.)  In my opinion, it looks much nicer than just painting shoes, plus, you don't have to worry about cracking or creasing paint, varnishing, etc.  I took some slight creative liberty with them, and added some extra trims.

Alucard -- SOTN

I am super fan-girling too, because my husband has agreed to be Alucard.  This means I can finally take on its construction (Always been a dream of mine) knowing that I can actually handle the difficulties it might cause me.  Honestly though, it won't be too difficult, but I really want to take my time with it and make it stunning.  For now though, I'll finish off Maria, and once it is completed, I will start on Alucard.

I know that two costumes doesn't seem like 'big plans' for the remainder of this year, but considering that I will likely be juggling a full-time job and my hobby, it'll be enough! Don't want to get too ahead of myself here.

Love and happy cosplaying,

♥ Ely

Anime Expo 2012 --

"I am the morning sun coming to vanquish this horrible night!"

"Hoist the sails, Britain!"

Hello everyone!

Just a really quick update here.  AX 2012 has come and gone, my best friend flew out of LA yesterday, and I am in a good place right now.   Talk about an amazing couple of weeks!

We had an absolute blast in our costumes, received an astounding amount of photographs from other people, and chatted with some pretty amazing folks.  I can't tell you how much joy I received to see my best friend in her Pirate!England cosplay.  She poses like a professional, and was basically dripping confidence the entire weekend.  It is a unique experience to attend such a large convention, and not feel incredibly overwhelmed by it... because for how crowded it was, we were pretty at ease.  (The people make it a comfortable place!) It is by far the most costume-heavy convention I have been to, and also the attendees are genuinely awesome and super friendly.  I prefer AX to Comic Con, now.

As for an actual convention report, I may get to that at a later time.  Just too much of a blur right now to recall everything.  Since my best friend was in town since the 22nd, a lot of my days were focused on spending quality time with her, and not just on the anime convention itself.

As for my costume, it's 100% complete.  Didn't really run into problems or real discomfort wearing it at all -- and better yet, it didn't bust or flinch at all!  So glad that I took the time to craft it so sturdy.  The contacts were insanely perfect, and I'm pretty sure I freaked a few people out a couple of times  So much love to my caring husband, who stayed up late and did the henna on my back for this cosplay.  I'm still planning on doing a paid shoot with a professional photographer in the near future, because while I love the photos I have currently -- I really need high quality ones for my portfolio.  Still trying to figure out who to contact for such a thing.

All the best for now, and will update more comprehensively soon!

♥ Ely

Graduation, AX 2012 & Shanoa Tassets (W.I.P)

SCHOOL IS OUT!  I have a grad dinner tomorrow, receive my certificate, and that's it. Still waiting to hear about possible plans for higher education, but until then, I'm just going to relax and lay out like a blob like I deserve.  Kinda happy and sad that my time @ the LACC Theatre Academy has come to a close.  Couldn't last forever though.  I'll have a better idea of what to do by the first week of July, but it'll either be more school, or going to work.

With 27 days or so until AX 2012, and just under 3 weeks until my best friend comes from B.C to visit... I am so beyond excited! It's been about a year since I've seen her, and it's honestly been the only thing I've really been looking forward to since the beginning of my school year.  L.A. is a huge place, and what we didn't do/see last time, we'll surely try to squeeze in.  It'll be nice to kick back and enjoy our time together!  I just hope the weather won't turn unbearably hot while she's here, but if all else fails, we'll run the A/C and eat popsicles in front of it. xD;

I'm around 60% with my Shanoa cosplay, with the major parts just being the dress left to sew, and drafting my greaves and cuisses. (The upper leg armor)  The hip armor (Stylized tassets) is complete and are awaiting to be put together and riveted to the breastplate.  I've got a few things coming in the mail before I can proceed with the rivets, though.  I ended up ordering a PVC display mannequin (30") leg to do my lower greaves, because I don't like the idea of free-forming Wonderflex to my leg (Over a boot).  It felt like the right thing to do, to get two perfectly identical greaves.  :3 Also for $20, it's not a big deal and I'm sure I'll get plenty of use out of it.

Still much to do, but I have loads of time being out of school for the summer~

I have a few progress pictures and pre-drafts of my hip armor, but it doesn't all make sense until you see the final product.  I used the same method as the breast plate by using Wonderflex as an inner support, felted both sides, and covered the outer with matching brown leather.  The dotted line on the pattern is for the shorter sections of the armor.  I didn't want to cut 6 full patterns, as the upper two are overlapped and only the bottom is full-sized.  It sits nicer on my thighs this way too, with less bulk.

The rolled sheet metal was used to give me a nice curve to the armor pieces.  It's funny what you can do with stuff you have lying about your house!  Since these pictures, I have them covered in leather and ready to attach.  I will update that in a day or two once I receive the supplies I need.

Update: I'm adding a couple of the 'mostly finished' tassets! (At bottom) They came out pretty great -- all I have to do is fasten them together, and create the strap to connect to the breastplate. Woo!

Shanoa To-Do:   

1.  Draft lower greaves, and cuisses -- attach with brass split-pins. (0%)
2. Attach hip armor (stylized tassets) to finished breastplate. (95%)
3.  Draft, sew dress together & lining -- add controlled fray to bottom hem. (60%)
4. Gloves -- add feathers (Detachable) and elastic cross-gartering. (95%)
5. Collar -- baste pinned areas & attach hook and eyes. (100%)
6. Make below knee to upper thigh brown legging w/zippers. (100%)
7. Shape & texturize 40" black wig. (0%)

That's all for now, lovelies! Hope all in anticipation of the convention season are making good progress on costumes as well.  Keep it up. :3 Cheers!

♥ Ely

School Crunch -- back in a couple of weeks!

School, whyyyy?!  SO MUCH TO DO! ;A;

I'm in the final 2 weeks before graduating as Costume Design major.  I haven't been able to accomplish much outside of school work in the month of May (Meaning nothing personal), and that realization is a little disenchanting, but nonetheless unavoidable.  I was sick for a good week and a half (Thanks a lot, stomach flu!) as well, so I feel like May has been a bad month so far.  Honestly, until May 29th or so I'll be furiously putting together final projects, papers, presentations, etc.  It's a bit of a pain, but no big deal -- and like I have a choice in the matter!  Just seems like a huge deal, since the student-body atmosphere is very dark and moody -- and it makes me grumpy to hear so many students complaining!  Plus, my anxiety tends to over-blow any small thing into a seemingly larger, more complicated situation.  D: I need to learn to control my stress, and save it for when more appropriate circumstances arise!

Ah well... at least I AM GRADUATING! On to the next big adventure, starting this summer!  I'm at a cross-roads however, to continue my education, or to seek out work for a while, and pay down my loans?  I'll have to decide come June.  I have money saved up for a good while, so I am not stressed about that at all.  Just unsure what my next step will be.

I have made some progress on my Shanoa hip armor (The pieces that hang from either side of the breastplate) and formed them over a curved surface -- the same one we used for Godot's mask.  Now they're just sitting there in a pile, staring at me.  I should be able to work a bit on that this weekend, as they're ready for felting and their leather covers.  (I have some progress pictures)  It's an easier application than the breastplate, so it shouldn't take me more than a couple of hours.  Wonderflex is truly a magical product!

My collar is mostly complete as well (I just have to do a bunch of handwork to finish it), as are my gloves.  I ended up having to order larger black coque (Rooster) feathers for the gloves, and a different elastic for the cross-gartering, but no qualms here!  Gloves and collar need only an hour of work each, tops.  They should look pretty awesome once finished! I'll take pictures of them once they are.

Alas, haven't had time to draft the proper halter pattern for the dress base -- the skirt portion is cut, so I really need to buckle down and finish the top.  I ended up purchasing china silk linings in two different orange variants, a burnt pumpkin and a copper.  Seems like the copper will work out better!

Probably going to have to take a small trip out to Santa Monica between now and June, too. I need to buy a leg.  A... plastic display leg! xD I need something rigid and stable for forming the bottom greaves of Shanoa's armor!  A bit of a pain to drop $20 on one display leg, but who knows... I may need it again later?  Or I could just turn it into a lamp?  Hahaha.  The world of costuming is so weird sometimes.

Hope everyone is doing well!  I hope to get back on track with my crafting asap, and finally get some tutorials up too.

Cheers!

♥ Ely

Castlevania Order of Ecclesia: Shanoa -- Cosplay Update II, Breastplate, Collar & Gloves W.I.P

 

Hey all! Feeling kinda under the weather today as my on and off allergies have been driving me crazy.  It's been so terrible the past couple of days, that I've been feeling like a lump of sick, unable to do anything, sleep at night, etc.  What to do? So, I opted to stay home from school and relax, as my energy levels are near empty and my brainpower is in the negatives.  Meaning, I can't be constructive or productive at all.  So here I am, updating my blog in my pajamas, sipping tea... waiting for the vertigo to stop.  I hope I can recover from this soon.

On the upside, I do have a few small picture updates on my Shanoa costume -- mainly the completed breastplate, and also her fingerless gloves and collar!  Enjoy!

I used masking tape to "mask" (lol) any portions of the breastplate that I didn't want to accidentally glob glue on.  I decided to use E6000 over Barge contact cement to affix the decorative gold pieces because it's a pre-mixed epoxy, and doesn't need to be applied to both surfaces (As my materials are porous) to stick properly.  E6000 is also a flexible epoxy, and given this is going to be worn on my torso, I figured it to be a better bet as I will be moving about quite a bit!

The gluing task was a bit... harrowing, to say the least.  I had to be careful not to apply too much glue to the backing of the design (so that it oozed out from underneath when pressed down) and also couldn't apply too little, as it wouldn't stick down all the way.  I also couldn't bend my design back to apply glue -- the surface wanted to (naturally) buckle and haze as it is a primed and painted leather..

That being said, I applied glue all over the center back of the design, lined it up and pasted 'er down.  I glued the 'arms' of the decor separately, and used a small toothpick to apply to smaller portions of adhesive to the outer areas that needed more glue.  There were a few moments where I thought I had messed up something permanently, but because of the masking (Phew!) all was fine.

After a half an hour of careful gluing the design was set down! I let it cure overnight (24 hours) before I tried the breastplate on, and also performed some minor touch ups.  The outer gold trim was also glued down with E6000, and folded over the edge of the breastplate for a more finished look.  Here are finished pictures of the breastplate! ;D  Really happy to have finished a very difficult piece of this costume with relative ease.  I now must figure out how to attach it to my body, and all signs seem to be pointing to wide strips of Velcro, and a few snaps.  Will be updating on that later on!

I also had the chance draft her gloves and collar.  They are by no means complete, but the gloves are more or less 80% finished.  I just have to affix the elastic cross-gartering across the forearm, and create the feather detail at the elbow.  (I have black rooster feathers coming in the mail!)

For the collar, the bow is more of less complete, but the actual collar itself needs some work. I used darts to cinch it around the neck, but I must do some necessary clipping and tacking down for it to look right.  I tea stained the lace (On both the gloves and collar) for a more antique look.  It'll likely close in the front with a small hook and eye that the bow will hide.  The Venice style laces used were bought in downtown LA for a minimal price, and are pretty antique looking!

Anyhow, that's all for now as I am waiting on a few things to arrive in the mail so that I can keep making progress here.  Thanks for reading. :3!

Cheers and happy costuming,

♥ Elysium

Castlevania Order of Ecclesia: Shanoa -- Cosplay Update I, Breastplate W.I.P

Hello hello! Been really busy again lately -- however, not busy enough to keep me from working on my Shanoa cosplay!  I have around 2 months left to complete this costume, and 100% of the materials I need to craft it.  Pretty excited that it is becoming a reality.

So far, I've hit around $120 for this whole thing, seeing as I opted for Wonderflex, real leather, and a few other minor touches that ran the cost up.  That being said, I had many items of my own to use on this costume (Including handmade lace from the early 1800's) that have just been begging to be stuck on something.  I seem to need a never-ending supply of barge contact cement (Oy, which I've used a lot of already, and will need more of absolutely) and E6000 adhesive for other bits.  The boots that I purchased also contributed to the overall cost, but honestly I wouldn't want to cheap out with my choices, so I'm all right with spending a little extra.

So far, been working away on making the breastplate for Shanoa, because it seems to be the most complicated part of the costume.  I decided to take some creative liberty on the "shape" of it.  What I mean is that I understand that the plate has a very flat shape in the stomach area and over the chest in the official art, but the reality of this on a real body (With curves, I may add) is that it will not sit on, or flatter the female shape at all.  When the artist conceptualized the armor, I'm not really sure if they understood the nature of that.  (Not really their job for them to worry if a design will be made into a costume or not, hahaha!)

Thinking about it, and after researching what others have done with her breastplate, (And not to say anyone is wrong by choosing to do it that way) I decided that it wasn't what I wanted exactly.  I want this to fit me.  I do not want to create bulk, or a thickening of the torso by draping an uncurved plate to a body with form.  Now that I have completed a fair deal of the shaping and finishing on it, I am really happy overall.  Honestly, (My husband pointed this out) once the decor is added, no one will even tell the difference between it being fitted or not.

I have a few progress pictures that I will post!

All of those (blasted) markings pictured here were used to keep the plate symmetrical.  I tell you, figuring this all out took a few days, and at one point I was thinking, "Shit, why am I doing this again!?" xD;  Good thing that it came out right the first go, or I would have probably sprouted my first grey hair!  I used a hair dryer to get the Wonderflex malleable enough to pull it across the dressform, and voila!  Wasn't too difficult to do this.

A few notes -- I used Wonderflex for the base, stretched over my personal dressform (Which is my size), covered the outer area with felt, and then covered that with a medium-weight brown leather.  I did this because the felt (Which is nubby and grabs to adhesive well) bonded with contact cement to the leather hide will help keep it stuck permanently.  Also, it provided a bit of thickness -- because I didn't want the breastplate to look flimsy!

After covering the Wonderflex with felt, and very carefully stretching the leather over it -- I ended up what is pictured on the right.  Anyone who uses contact cement knows the process.  You apply the adhesive to both surfaces, and after 10-12 minutes press the surfaces together for a permanent bond.  It's tedious, and sucks up a lot of time, but it will never come UNSTUCK.  For serious, this shit is really crazy strong, and if you accidentally let the surfaces touch, good luck pulling them apart.  This is why you should always work with small areas as you're gluing.  I should add make sure you work in a well ventilated room -- it goes without saying the fumes are a bit on the toxic side.

Next step -- patterning and figuring out the decorative section of this breastplate.  I hand drafted and figured the proportions on paper, and after doing some (rather badly) cut out tests from interfacing, I was able to finalize the pattern.  It probably took a half hour or so.  I did a paint test on a scrap of leather just to get an idea of how it would look against the surface of the low-sheen brown leather. 

I had been toying with the idea of creating a beveled, raised look for the decor, but wasn't too sure what to do.  I came up with the idea of cutting two identical pieces of the decor (One in vinyl, the outer paint-able surface in leather) and sandwiching the two with some piping in the middle to create raised areas.

With a few corrected flubs, I have to say that I am extremely impressed with how it looks!  The antique gold paint that I used is multifaceted, so it catches the light perfectly, and with a spray resin coating, it looks very metal-like.  Unfortunately though, I ran out of resin spray sealer, so I can't move on from this point (As I need to make an outer trim for the entire breastplate, which needs to be stuck down at the same time as the central piece) until my order for 2 cans comes sometime next week.

Anyways, really enjoying this costume progress, and will update more soon!  I am hoping that once I have the plate done, I can start working on the greaves/knee pieces, and then the rest is all sewing.

Take care, and happy costuming!

♥ Elysium

Commission Project: Pirate England (Hetalia) -- Post-Completion Silliness

Hello everyone!

My husband and I did a quick little 'test fitting' (Even though the measurements are incorrect for his body-type) of the Pirate!England commission, and this is what we ended up with.  Actually fit him better than I expected, though the sleeves are a bit short for him, lol.  It's really nice to see how the whole costume comes together, even without added accessories, sashes, jewelry, etc.

It's official, Spring break is here (March 30th-April 10th), and I couldn't be happier.  I actually started preliminary tests on the armor I need to build for my Shanoa costume, and so far so good.  It's been a bit of a tedious process since I'm forming a flat sheet of Wonderflex over a 3D object (My dress-form) but after a few hours I finally got it to work!  I'll probably spend the rest of my weekend figuring out the correct shape, covering it with leather and figuring out the decorative designs as well.  I plan on documenting my whole working progress, so that I can include more detailed progress shots, and perhaps as an end result, even a detailed tutorial for anyone else considering this cosplay!

Wish me luck, and back to my crafty cave for now.

-- Elysium

Commission Project: Pirate England (Hetalia) -- Update V, Pirate Coat

Arrrrrr(o), everyone!

Quick update -- been trying to get around to posting a few photos of the Pirate!England cosplay that I completed to 100% a few weeks ago.  The jeweled pin shown on the back of the collar can be removed, I just threw it on there 'cause it is kinda cool.  I will likely assemble all pieces that have been created for final photos at a later time!  Overall, really super pleased with the whole costume, but at the same time, so relieved to be finished.  I dedicated at least 80-100 hours on the whole project, learned a lot from it, and am happy to see it off to it's home soon.

Pretty excited to see Raven cosplay in her finished ensemble!  The costume is so rich, so I hope she'll feel amazing wearing it as England, and that it'll help her get into swashbuckling spirit. :3 She will be carting it down here in late June, (Already giggling as I think of customs' reaction.) as she will be coming to visit me, and we will also be attending Anime Expo 2012 together!! Really looking forward to spending time with her and am super excite! I hardly ever look forward to summer... so I am happy to at least have this happening!

In personal stuff, feeling kinda down and dowdy lately.  Just been really struggling with my creativity, even though I am forcing myself into new projects already.  'Suppose a break, or rather, Spring Break (That starts next week), should help a bit.  I literally have 95% of the materials I need to start my own costume (Boots will be arriving today, yippies!) but I haven't had the chance to pattern anything as of yet.  I guess I shouldn't get too down, as it's really not a major life problem.  Just feeling that school has been wearing me out a bit.  Getting back into eating healthy, and exercising has been a struggle to commit to, but I will get into the groove of it pretty soon. :3 And with that, I'm out for now, thanks for reading!

-- Ely

FINIS!

1. Restoration-era coat w/large cuffs, collar & lapels
2. Poet shirt w/lace cuffs
3. Pirate Hat w/feathers, ruffled ribbon & trims
   
4. Gold epaulets w/tassels
5. Lacey cravat

Castlevania OoE: Starting Shanoa costume construction!

Hey all!

Figured it was time for an update.  It's been another busy week at school, but Thursday ended up being a nightmare from the get-go (Yay to waking up with distorted vision -- thanks so much, migraine...) but I seem to be doing better now.  It's high time that I get back into a regular exercise routine, and start taking more care over my eating habits, and when I choose to go to bed.  Unfortunately, migraines spring up and strike me like some invisible force, and I need to figure out how to prevent them a bit better.

For once, I'm making my costume goals this year happen!  I'm happy to say that I have most of more costly materials I need to start working on my Shanoa costume, (I will do the sewing portion later, buy fabric, etc) so in the next week or so I will actually start patterning, forming, and creating her breastplate, greaves and hip armor.  I found out that a supplier of Wonderflex have a location nestled in North Hollywood, so my beau and I took a little trip and I picked some up. (43" by 55" for $43.95!)

Last Friday, a friend and I also made a trip to SavMor Leather (Downtown Los Angeles), and I nabbed two lovely chocolate brown pig hides for the armor as well.  The idea is to make the base forms from Wonderflex, line with foam and felt, and then cover the outer with real leather.  I've worked with this method on smaller projects (Masks), and it looks gorgeous!  Originally I was planning to use vinyl, but somehow the leather ended up being the cheaper option?  （　ﾟДﾟ）? Who would think I would walk out with enough leather for this project for under $30... cray cray.

I have the wig and contracts as well, so pretty soon I'll post some make-up tests.  The wig came a little bent around the bottom length, but I can easily fix this by hanging it in the shower, and spraying some semi-hot water on it.  The slight heat and weight of the water should straighten it without having to fiddle with any hot tools.

All in all, I need maybe another $40 to purchase a few more materials and I should be set for Shanoa.  The fabric, lining, and feathers are all I really need at this point.

OFFICIALLY, the Pirate England commission is finished.  I'll be taking some pictures and posting the final result here pretty soon.  I'm super happy with it -- final update soon!

Cheers all and back to my creative cave,

-- Ely

Shanoa Wig: Bought!

I posted some time back on my deliberation between a CosplayWigUSA wig (Which at the time was out of stock), and an Epic Cosplay Wig product that was similar in style and cut.  I couldn't seem to make up my mind about either (Wigs are an expensive investment!) so I just left it to thought, and continued to work on my more current projects.

I randomly checked back on the back-ordered wig, and not only was the wig back in stock at CosplayWigUSA, they also had a two day coupon for 20% running just for this weekend, 02/24/2012-02/26/2012!  (http://cosplaywigsusa.com/ use code:2020 in the promo box before you select your payment option!)

The 40"/100cm heat-resistant wig is a steal of a price to being with, for $39.95.  Coupled with the 20% off coupon, $31.96!  With free shipping too, I may add.

I decided this was a good time to finally pick up a seemingly great wig for Shanoa.  Once it arrives, I'll be doing a review for the product overall, shipping, price, quality, etc.  I feel that if there are decent cosplay wig suppliers in our home countries, we really should try to support them a little better!  So expect a review once it's in my happy little hands!

Preeeetty excited!  ヽ(￣ｰ￣)ﾉ ☆  Cheers! Final updates impending on the APH Pirate England cosplay commission any day now!

-- Ely

Commission Project: Pirate England (Hetalia) -- Update IV, Poet Shirt

'Allo thar!

I have just finished up the poet shirt! Woohoo!  This is a larger part of the Pirate England cosplay commission I was charged with creating, and I am happy to announce that I have been able to cross off everything from that list -- but the jacket.  Mostly, that part  has been sewn or is in separate pieces that just need to be attached.  (Collars, cuffs, lapels, etc)  It certainly won't be long until this Hetalia pirate costume is sitting at 100%, and ready to be shipped!

The body of the shirt is crafted from a beautiful mid-weight linen, which was then perm-dyed to a light ecru colour.  The lace around the cuffs and cravat were custom stained using a highly concentrated earl grey and sea salt bath, which I then heat set with an iron.  I enlarged the sleeve pattern for more fullness, and modified the collar to a ruffled stand to exemplify it's stateliness.  ^.~

The cravat is fully removable, (Has a mock collar with hidden snaps) so that the shirt can be worn without it as well.  Not pictured is the slit at the front of the poet shirt, which has brass grommets and lacing!  It is a rather nice detail, even though hidden from view.  I created the brooch for this costume using a large crystal gem, a vintage holder, a flat brooch back, and antique brass chains.  Overall super pleased with the jewelry and glad it did what I wanted it to.  xD;

The poet shirt sits at about 28" inches from shoulder to hem, so it can either be worn un-tucked, belted and bloused out, or tucked in and bloused comfortably.  I didn't want to alter the length too much, but since my client is shorter than I, I took care not make it too long it either. xD;

I hope you like the progress! Fancy Pirate England shirt is definitely fancy.  I am so pleased with how this garment came out and I am excited to see it all together.  Now onto the jacket! Huuuuuuuuu~ <3

Left to do:

1. Restoration-era coat w/large cuffs, collar & lapels (All are ready to be assembled!)
2. Poet shirt w/lace cuffs
3. Pirate Hat w/feathers, ruffled ribbon & trims
   
4. Gold epaulets w/tassels
5. Lacey cravat

Cheers for now, and happy costuming!

-- Elysium

Commission Project: Pirate England (Hetalia) -- Update III, Pirate Hat

Hello everyone,

I've been hard at work here.  The last few days, I have been custom drafting a bicorn style hat for the Pirate England/UK commission.  Behold, the fancy hat!  Finally, I am finished, or at least I believe to be.  I have a pile of flat-backed pearl trim I was considering using around the gold gimp trims, but I'm really not sure it's needed.  (I will consult my client if she wants more trim, perhaps. xD)  The feathers did exactly what I wanted them to (I used an ostrich feather boa in cream), and the gold trims & ruffles are just enough without it being too much.  This hat is HUGE though.  This was custom built to be worn either with the notch to the front, or tipped to the side.  I built the inner crown to 24" -- so that it's large enough to accommodate a wig comfortably.

I am really pleased with the result, and the hat itself will look stunning once accompanied by the entire costume.  I had bought large coloured ostrich feathers (In pictures, sitting in Godot's huge mug) to be placed in the hat brim... but it looks a little ridiculous when I put 'em in.  Maybe I'll play around with them a little more and see what I think.  Perhaps it's just a length issue, and the way I'm angling them into the brim?

The hat foundation is a buckram inner with millinery wire support, and felted for stability.  I used cotton poplin suiting for the black fashion outer, and a nice sateen for the inner crown lining!  The trims I used are satin cord braid, hand made satin ribbon ruffling, and a gold toned french gimp.  I am working on adding a small ribbon rose to the outer crown as a detail, too.  (Pictures below!)  There is a gorgeous desaturated green vintage lace trim on the outer part of the hat crown, but you can only really see it from the side. (Totally didn't take pictures of it, but oh well~)

Hope you like it! (...that means you, Raven!) 

For some unfortunate news, I have decided to remake the poet shirt.  I just didn't like the fabric, so I ran out and bought a much more suitable linen.  I think it'll be a bit more authentic this way, and if permanently tea stained ever so slightly, it'll look even better.  It shouldn't take more than a few hours to redo.  In the 6th picture, there is a pile of blue stuff.  These are a collar, and two cuffs.  I stood one up, just so you can get an idea of what it looks like.  These will be basted along the bottom of the sleeves.  Fancy schmancy. ;D

The coat itself for now is a huge secret.  At least until I finish hand-stitching all of the trims to the lapels.  It's a big job, but super close to being finished with that tedious part. :3

For now, I'm going to finish up the epaulets, and work on that fancy cravat!  Cheers, lovlies.

-- Ely  

Left to do!

1. Restoration-era coat w/large cuffs, collar & lapels (All are ready to be assembled!)
2. Poet shirt w/lace cuffs (Recutting from new linen material, and tea staining it)
3. Pirate Hat w/feathers, ruffled ribbon & trims (May or may not still add flat-back pearl trim!)
   
4. Gold epaulets w/tassels
5. Lacey cravat

Blog gets a slight make-over!

Hi everyone!

I touched up my blog a bit here, so that it's more accessible, easier to read, etc.  Added a few custom graphics, and backgrounds as well.  I finally figured out how to add tabs with separate pages too!  So I'll have some of my work up there (Photographs/sketches) for general viewing once I get around to it. (Likely soon)  :3

Hope you like it!  Now back to working on this hat commission! (Pirate UK ^o~)


-- Ely

OH HAI WIG.

 

Perfect looking Shanoa wig, but not in stock? Thankfully I was able to get in touch with the nice peeps at cosplaywigsusa.com, and apparently they're about to receive a shipment.

I was originally looking to buy from Epic Cosplay Wigs (www.epiccosplay.com) but I think I'll give these guys a shot first.  I don't know why, but the quality of the wig looks very, very nice.  I've heard that Epic Cosplay Wigs are pretty unrivaled with thickness... so I'm still unsure on which to purchase.  I suppose a well shot picture is what is swaying my decision.  Both are US based, so either way there will not be a tremendously long wait to get 'em in the mail.

Hopefully it'll be something I can pick up and give a try!  Quality looks beautiful.  Since there are not many reviews for this USA based wig seller online, I will likely do a review on the product. ^o^

I realize that the wig length is a bit shorter than the art/in game representation of Shanoa... but I think that's pretty minor.  In my experience with longer wigs, after a bit of wear, they start to get super tangled.  Now there is a 50" available from Epic Cosplay, as well as a 60".  The hassle or worry that they will tangle throughout the day is enough of a preemptive concern that I won't bother buying them. xD;

                        

Cosplay Wigs Usa to the left, Epic Cosplay Wig to the right.

I can't decide! #___#

-- Ely