Back!

Back in the office for the week, and it's kind of like an oven. Maybe that's why I rarely spend time here... :) They turned on the heat on Thursday, and it's had plenty of time to warm up now. I think I may have to switch to water instead of tea before too much longer!

St. Louis was a blast, and I got to spend time with just about everyone I wanted to see. I never did see Uncle Joe, and Thor was too ill to make it up on Sunday, and I got a message from Shawn wanting to hang out AFTER I got back to Seattle, but otherwise, good trip. We got to do Laumeier and the City Museum, as well as the Schlafly Brew Pub and Johnny Brock's Halloween Dungeon. The picture is from the City Museum, taken from the ferris wheel on the 11th floor of the building. Megan, Vanessa, Bryan, and I all rode it, while Jeremy and Cindy took pictures of us crazy people. :)

We proceeded to spend most of yesterday running around, trying to get everything that we would normally do on the weekend done. We also made a couple of extra stops so I could start getting things for my Halloween costumes. I'm going to have 3 or 4 costumes this year. One of them, Columbia from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, I'm borrowing from Megan (assuming she sends it to me on time), and only needed to buy a new pair of fishnets for it. Another is the Twisted Belle costume, which I am piecing together from a yellow homecoming dress and some other yellow fabric.

I'm still a little up in the air for the last one or two. I want to wear my Ice Princess costume, which I've done in various iterations in the past, but I'm not sure when I will actually want to wear a corset for my Halloween activities. That costume may also get remade into a Tin Woman costume (think Wizard of Oz with a twist), since it's shiny and silver. We also saw a cute "Wednesday Addams all grown up" costume at Johnny Brock's, and I'm pretty sure I can reproduce that mostly with stuff I already own. And my Dark Lily (from Legend) costume from a couple of years ago was super fun (and I still have the dress).

Between SteamCon rapidly approaching, then Halloween, and then AmberCon NW, I'm just full of excuses for costuming. Good thing I like doing it! :)

Ta-da!

Here's the Dark Lily costume, in all of it's glory. I suspect that I look more like a vampire or goth chick, but whatever. I had the makeup done PERFECT. :)



The dress is a Goodwill find from quite a while ago, the solid black cloak is store-bought for Jerome's costume last year, and the patterned cloak is something I made a while ago. Gotta love keeping WAY too much costume stuff lying around, right? :)

Just spent about 20 minutes on the phone with my uncle, who is buying his own house in St. Louis. Yay! :)

Of course, this means that I have gotten no writing done yet today... argh. My day is all chopped up by blocks of scheduled things (taking Jerome to work, going to Stir with Katy, and picking Jerome up from work), with small blocks of "free time" interspersed throughout. Sadly, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to make much out of the "free time." I've got a small custom order to work on, and the apartment is in desperate need of cleaning... *sigh*

Is it Friday yet?

Wednesday already?!

This week is flying by, which is kinda good, but also kinda bad, because I have way too much stuff to do, and never enough time. I've got 2 interviews sitting in my inbox right now, and possibly as many as 6 more coming in!

The good news is that my costume issues have been resolved, because we already had a cloak with a high pointy collar on it! So I won't be perfectly authentic, but I think my costume will get the idea across, and I'm gonna do the makeup as perfectly as I can. :)

We're going to go look for a suit for Jerome tomorrow and/or Friday, so cross your fingers that I can find something in purple. If it's his size or too big, it will work... it's only if it's too small that we won't be able to work with it. And with his beanpole-ness, too small is totally a possibility. *sigh*

I taught myself a neat new stitch pattern last night, and I'm thinking I'm gonna just pull the matching hat and armwarmers from my Etsy shop and keep them for myself. Because I made a little scarflette in the same yarn, and the set goes with my pirate coat... so I could totally wear stuff I made all winter. That would rock! :)

I suspect I'll be experimenting lots with this new stitch pattern, though. It's fairly simple, but it makes for very textural pieces, it works up quickly, and it seems pretty adaptable as well! Neat! :)

Ooops...

So the front half of our bathtub is a sort of greenish-blueish color now, at least until I get some Magic Erasers. In related news, Jerome's hair is now green. And I have to find him a purple suit by Friday. Blargh. I really need to plan Halloween a little bit better. :)

I also need to try to make a really interesting costume piece for myself by Friday. If you've ever seen Legend, I'm trying to make the Dark Lily costume, or at least a version of it. I just need to work out the collar part that sticks up behind her head. (Oh, and my dress is a bit more modest than the one she wears... cuz yeah... a neckline that goes all the way down to my navel?! Um, no.)

I just had my best idea yet for the collar, too. It may involve wearing a coat hanger covered in black nylons attached to the back of my dress, but hey, that's what a lot of people do for fairie wings! :)

Yeah, I'm totally only wearing this collar for a picture or three, and then it's getting tossed... no sense in putting too much work into it. :)

At least my other real costume (Poison Ivy) will be pretty easy, and I'm either wearing my black velvet dress with stripe-y tights or a pirate outfit for work on actual Halloween. I still don't know if people here dress up. (If I haven't heard by Friday, I'll ask.)

NOT an article post! Yes, they happen occasionally! :)

In fact, this is an End of the Work Week Wisdom post!

"There is only one kind of cake, and it is tasty."
--Jerome, explaining that cake donuts are still cake

This was a late night conversation, that for some reason was revolving around donuts being in chili. I dunno, I rather prefer cornbread or the bizarre peanut butter on bread combo that my sister introduced.

As an aside, cans of chili should really include heating instructions. Chili Man chili does not. Bastards.

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In other news, hurrah for pre-Halloween games and then Halloween! :) I've got three costumes planned, two for the games this weekend, and one for actual Halloween.

For tonight, I'm going to Ashes dressed as Mina Murray, from Dracula. My costume is largely inspired by the green dress that Mina wears in the Francis Ford Coppola movie, though mine is red. But I finally have a tiny top hat... of DOOM! :) Okay, so it's not actually of DOOM, but I can pretend, right?

For tomorrow night, for Riddles, I've got a Queen of the North sort of costumes... all silvery and icy and cold. I still need to do something with my wand to make it snazzier, and I have to figure out what's going on with my hair, as the flapper headband is great, but a bit too small.

For actual Halloween, I'm doing a quasi-Bride of Frankenstein costume. It's a dress that Megan mangled a while back, and I will probably draw some stitches onto my face... though I just realized that I need to find some white eyeliner or a white makeup pencil if I'm going to do it well...

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In other other news, it's raining cats and dogs today. I really wish that we had a big golf umbrella... failing that, though, I think I may just put my costume into a bag and dress at the Student Center. It's only my costume for tomorrow that I need help getting into.
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Yay! Four articles up this afternoon for me! :)

Five Things I Wish I Would Have Known Before I Got a Cat (or Two)

And it even features an adorable picture of Vlad! :)

Star Wars Original Trilogy Released on DVD, as Original Theatrical Versions

Han. Shot. First.

Making Your Own CD Cover

Because it's fun.

Costuming at DragonCon 2006

Mostly about the Dawn look-alike costume contest, though that didn't make it into the title.
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Two new articles today, one by Cindy, and one by me. :)

Cindy's: Is Doctor Envy Hampering Your Diagnosis?

Mine: So, You Want to be a Pirate for Halloween?

Eventually, I will have articles that aren't about costuming... really... :)
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It's up! :)

Costuming for Live-Action Roleplaying Games

Go. Read it. Enjoy!
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Two new articles by Cindy this week:

Turn Your Craftiness into a Profit at Craft Shows

How to Plan a Perfect Yard Sale

Which are both great articles, with great tips, and I'm mentioned in both of them. Yay me! :)

And yes, we'll be doing a yard sale next month, and 3 official craft fairs throughout the fall, plus the Ren Faire. Possibly one more craft fair, but we're undecided on that at the moment. And this time, we're gonna sell stuff. Dammit. :)

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In other news, it's a week till DragonCon. All my costumes are ready to go. Hurrah! :) I need to pack still, but there's no sense in packing now. I'm off next Thursday, so I'll do all of our laundry, and then pack. And then we'll leave around 6 a.m. on Friday morning. And drive all day. But it will be so worth it! :)
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Cindy has three new articles up today:

Nationally Known Sculptor John Medwedeff Finds Small Town Charm in Southern Illinois

Bawdy Wenches Take Over Southern Illinois Ren Faire

My Mistakes in My Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis

Personally, I'm extra excited about the second one, because it looks like we're going to be selling crafts at the Ren Faire this year, which should be both a good time, and hopefully profitable. It's also the day that our friends Steve and Amber are having their medieval style wedding. They actually got married in May, but I missed the church wedding cuz it was the day of the TMBG concert. So I get to go to their "fun" wedding. And there's gonna be a pig roast, or so I'm told. :)

But check out all of her articles, because they are kewl and well written. :) There will be more to come, I'm sure. :)

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In other news, I'm getting really psyched about DragonCon! I still need to come up with one other outfit and/or costume. And I need to decide for sure if I want to do the America McGee's Alice costume. I really should, because it gets more use out of that costume, which I have worn all of once, but it's one of those costumes that usually takes explanation... *sigh*... then again, not like my dark Green Fairy costume doesn't... :)

I also need to work on a couple of hat designs, and see about getting some business cards drawn up. If I can get them done, and get Jerome to be kind enough to model them for me at the Con, I may be able to start doing orders... and that would be sweet...

One of these days, I'm hoping to have a list of all of the craft fairs I'm gonna do this fall... but three of them are still pending... so... we shall see...
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Crazy busy gaming weekend, involving three LARPs. This ended up equaling Jerome and I losing our characters (and making new ones), me becoming a Harpy again, and me becoming a Ductus through the cunning use of lies (not flags). But hey, no one has checked me yet to see if I'm a big liar. Because that character is. :)

It's a month to DragonCon now, and Abney Park and Ego Likeness are confirmed. This means I'm going to be seeing 3 of my favorite bands/artists in the world, along with 2 bands that I like quite a bit. I am happy. :)

With DragonCon a month away, this means I'm working on costumes like a madwoman. Right now, it looks like I'm doing four costumes and one other outfit over the course of three days.

Friday night, it'll be Death from Sandman. I had to find a new pair of black jeans, but I still had everything else I needed for that costume.

Saturday day, it'll be Kaylee from Firefly. I still need to find one or two patches for her jumpsuit, and make sure that I can do my hair in the little buns that she does in the pilot episode. And sew the patches on. And maybe find a necklace that looks good. Maybe.

Saturday night, it depends on who is playing. Most likely, though, this will just be the night that I goth out.

Sunday day, I think I'm going with Alice from America McGee's Alice, only because I already have every piece of that costume. :)

Sunday night, which is when I suspect AP will be playing, I will probably revive my Dark Green Fairy costume that I wore for their last show that I got to see, though it will be undergoing some serious modifications, mainly for the different season and climate. I want to try to make some yarn hair falls, but I'm not sure how feasible that will be. I need a different shirt, so I may go back to Goodwill to pick up something I saw on Saturday. And I really should rethink the stripey tights, because it's likely to be too hot for those... I'm definitely rethinking the armwarmers. :)

But yeah, that's gonna be a lot of clothes to pack, particularly as it involves a couple of large dresses/poofy skirts. The good news, of course, is that Jerome will prolly cram all of his stuff into one bag, leaving plenty of trunk space for Jesi and I. w00t! :)

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In other news, you would think that putting three adults and two cats into a tiny two bedroom apartment would get a bit crowded, but we're making a pretty decent go of it. Still need another bookcase, but we're working on how we can get that... :)
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Added some new dolls to the Gallery... one of them is at least my basic idea of how I'm gonna dress for the NPC I'm playing soon (as in tomorrow), Corin... well, longer skirt, and a different shirt (since I don't own a shirt like the one in the picture), but yeah, that's the basic idea... though maybe sunglasses, just because...

It's been REALLY hard for me to get something figured out for her costuming... I originally was going to go with raver kid type stuff... but that isn't all that far from what Dani wears... for example, I bought a pair of black bondage pants, with olive green "trim" (the straps are olive green with black stars, and a little bit of the detailing is similar)... two weeks ago, when I was looking for something to wear to game, Gabe asked me if I wasn't wearing my new pants... which he assumed I had gotten to wear for Dani... cuz they're definitely her style... well, that (among other things) made me rethink the costuming for Corin...

The other thing that made me rethink the costuming was the fact that as I was working over the details of this NPC in my mind, I realized that she was going to end up being kinda quirky and cutesy... wait, that's what I'm already playing, in two games... Dani and Jubilee... so that, also, made me rewind my thought process a little bit...

Now I can't do entirely non-quirky, but I can at least tone it down... so I'm going to go with relatively plain looking clothing... basic colors (lots of black and white... and absolutely no purple... that's Dani's signature color...), more tailored looking stuff (knee length skirts, maybe dress pants...), etc. I can't do costuming without jewelry, so I've picked out a simple (but really pretty) choker, and a couple of those "jelly-ish" bracelets that were so popular in the 80's... the kind that you could link together... eh, I can't really describe them very well...

But I do have a feeling that I'm going to have to wear basically the same thing for her every time I NPC her... either that, or it's gonna look like I'm going to work on Saturday nights... :)

Wow... this is like the longest entry I've written in a long time, and it's not about movies... shock and surprise... :) Eh, what can I say... I like costuming for LARP... it's a lot of fun! :)

Maybe I will end up writing the article that I've been tossing around in my head... just some ideas about how to put together an effective LARP wardrobe... one that lets people know, as soon as they see you, which character you're playing... which would be infinitely helpful to those who have to play a lot of characters (like STs), or those who end up with a lot of characters... (*cough*not mentioning any names*cough*)