A few updates, and vote!

Firstly, we are out of town for a week so you won’t be seeing another post from us until after April 3rd. We’ll try and get out the next post within a few days of being back home! Upcoming posts include sizing your weapons for your costumes correctly, how to look at armor (mostly for WoW) and figuring out the layering and how everything should sit, and a Char helm made out of fiberglass (this one would have been done weeks ago, had we not been plagued by rain and cold weather, sigh). I’ll also be doing a few recap type posts on how we made our witch doctor costumes.

Secondly, I entered in Arda Wig’s contest on Facebook, and the winner will have their picture used for the icon for their Facebook and Twitter for the next two months, and will win a gift certificate. Because I use Arda Wigs for 99% of my base wigs and wig parts, this bit of extra would be much appreciated, especially with all the wigs I’ve got in the queue for the next few months. Please support me and vote by liking Arda Wigs, and liking my picture on their Facebook page, and if you have a Tumblr, you can also vote by going to their Tumblr and reblogging their post about it, and say which picture you vote for.

Oh, and something new I added to the blog- I’m still playing around a lot with the format and style, but if you look over to the right side bar, you’ll see a list of links to some awesome cosplay blogs and pages, including some amazing ladies I know personally, so you should go check them out!

How I made my Diablo 3 Witch Doctor wig

When we first saw the picture I was going to base my witch doctor off of, I had no idea what the hair was supposed to be like. We didn’t know if it was dreads, just spikes, feathers, what. We finally decided that we would make the wig two toned: Purple on the top, spiked, and then with longer braids going down the back (pink, but covered with ribbon so it didn’t matter) with large beads on them.

I don’t have an awful lot of progress pictures for this wig, so I apologize, but there ya go. Continue reading

Sailor Moon Wig Tutorial: part three

Here we are, finally with the last part of this super long wig tutorial! Yay! (Here’s part one and two if you haven’t read those yet.)

(The wig was on slightly sideways, so you can't see the other bun! D:)

Now that our buns are on the wig, it’s starting to really look like a sailor moon wig!

Continue reading

Hot Glue Gun Helper winner!

The contest to win your very own Hot Glue Gun Helper kit along with a hot glue gun and some glue to go with it is over! I used Random.org to choose from the six comments:

The result was comment number 3:

Jen~cherida says:

Currently in the cosplay off season I make flower barettes for my girls. But they always try to help and with my dino of a glue gun its hard to not let them get burnt.

When making my cosplay I use it on everything from gemming a shoulder piece. To hemming a cloak. I’ve gotten very creative with my hot glue use. (Its like baby wipes. You are always finding new and intresting ways to use it)

 

Congrats to Jen! I’ll be sending her an email shortly, and to everyone else, keep an eye out for more contests in the future, and thank you all for entering!

Sailor Moon Wig tutorial, part one

About a month ago I was given the awesome opportunity to make a Sailor Moon wig as a commission for a friend of a friend. I’ve always wanted to make a Sailor Moon wig; I’d have made one for myself by now if I had enough money to take it to another convention (as it stands, we only really have the money to either go to several small conventions, or go all out at one large one, and we really, really like Blizzcon!) just because I think it’s an awesome wig to make.

(The picture is of the wig nearly finished, the bangs need a bit more work, and I’ll be curling the side hair coming out of the wig to be manga style, so I’ll update with a better picture once it’s completely done)

Continue reading

Your guide to adhesives for cosplaying

If you build costumes then at some time or another you have had to stick one thing to another thing.  The options for adhesives available to the cosplayer are very diverse, but it’s also important to know the best one for the job.

As cosplayers, a few of the materials we may work with will vary from plastics to cloths, foam, wood, and even metal.

The following list is a short compilation of things that stick stuff to other stuff. Always choose the right adhesive for the job. Reading the directions is very important, and proper safety equipment or well ventilated areas should be used as per directions. Continue reading

Hot Glue Gun Helper- A cosplayers best friend! (oh, and a giveaway!)

Lots and lots of hot glue.

The other day, I was diligently working on the odangos (buns) for a Sailor Moon wig, and it was… painful. The first attempt, the ball was too small, the second attempt I had used entirely too much hot glue, because I had to put some glue in there, wait for it to cool enough to stick my finger in there to hold the hair down,  and then if it wasn’t enough hot glue to hold the hair down, I had to add even more. I started getting frustrated, because my fingers were pretty badly burned (it comes with making costumes, I think) and so I tried to work quicker, which just made it worse. I gave up for the night and went online to try and find some kind of solution to help me either be able to work quicker with the hot glue, or to minimize my burns.

What I found was review after review of Hot Glue Gun Helper– a newish invention by two craft television hosts who were also tired of hot glue burns, and hot glue sticking everywhere it shouldn’t. Continue reading

The Original Pocket Podcast cosplay photo contest!

I know that not all of you listen to our podcast, or read that blog, but if you’re a cosplayer, you should definitely head over to the blog today and enter in our very first contest for the podcast, a cosplay photo contest!

Head over to The Original Pocket Podcast blog to check out the details!

(Oh, and we’re going to be having a giveaway of our own here in a few weeks, so stay posted!)