Flippin' Heck It's Hot

Whaaat? Is it September already? And it's still gonna be over 100°?
Make it stooop.

Okay, so anyway, my only update for cosplay is this - I don't have time to work on cosplays right now. That kinda gings, I know. I just got a job and a church calling, Jac started kindergarten and it turns out his homework is more work for parents than it is for the kids (so to all you high school/college grads, unless you're just too cool to get married and have awesome kids, homework never ends), and most importantly, Caj and I are house hunting. Woo hoo!

So that said, the house is a wreck, I'm trying to pack things that aren't an immediate necessity until we find a house and move, and there's just no space for sewing two extra large cloaks. I really am hoping to have these finished by Halloween, though.

This means my awesome Harvest Moon quilt will have to be put on hold, too. :(

So pray that we'll get in a house very very quickly so I can get back to doing what I love, okay?

On another note, I think I've got a friend crush. There's a girl that I've been really wanting to get to know and be friends with but I have absolutely no idea how to approach her without feeling socially awkward, or worse, appearing like some creepy stalker. Crazy, right? So I kinda just avoid her altogether. Well I've been so busy lately it hasn't even been on my mind, until last night I had a dream that she started talking to me and all of a sudden we were best friends. It was so cool but alas, it was just a dream. So also pray that someday I will have girl friends to hang out with to do awesome girl stuff with. You know, you all can be my friends too.

Alpacas and Honeybees!

Yay~
I've just pre-ordered Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns from GameStop. I am so ecstatic!
Why?
Well, first of all, Harvest Moon has been my favorite game of all time for 13 years now, starting when I first played Harvest Moon 64 (Thank you, Kenzie!) I still remember looking everywhere for it, and being so discouraged after one game store told me it was discontinued. One night I was babysitting for the neighbors across the street from where I lived and my Mom and Dad stopped by to surprise me with the game! They were only able to find the game as a rental, but I was so happy to be able to play. Not long after that I actually was able to find the game brand new in a superstore and bought it right away! Oh happy day. I still play that game frequently. It never gets old!
Secondly, the alpaca bonus plushie! I've missed most of the newer Harvest Moon pre-order bonuses, but am really happy I was able to at least get the pig from Sunshine Islands. Too stinkin' cute! Now my piggie won't be alone and will have an alpaca friend.
Lastly, the new animals! Obviously there's the alpaca, which I think I'll name Tina. Then there's the honeybees! Oh my gosh, yay, honeybees! Oh! And an owl, which I believe is for traveling between towns.
I haven't decided which bachelor I'll pursue, as their dialogue is a major determining factor. It will probably either be Mikhail or Cam. I'll admit I always have to adjust to the new characters because I'm so used to the usual people from the older games, but I do love them all. It's a happy Harvest Moon family. For sure I'll be making Bluebell my home. The girl's Bluebell outfit is absolutely lovely~
Not a whole lot more I can say until I actually play the game. For now, as I anticipate the game's release, I will be working very hard on an adorable Harvest Moon quilt (which I now need to change to have an alpaca and bee instead of a pig.)

Mokona Modoki mo doki doki!

I don't have my nice camera back yet, but I was able to get my quirky dinosaur to work well enough to get these pictures of Mokona. I hope you enjoy them and we look forward to seeing you at our next convention!

Sword Frustrations

I am currently working on Ginryu, Kurogane's sword from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.  What a pain in the bootay.  The head is actually turning out well for me, I'm super pleased about it, but the actual sword...  Ugh.

I started off following a tutorial from James H. Fullmer because I really liked the idea for the basic structure of the sword - a pvc pipe and a pool noodle.  I used the Level 1 Sword tutorial because I already had a pool noodle on hand, but I probably should have done the Level 3 Sword tutorial.  To adjust it to my needs I left the pipe bent for a day to give it the curve of a katana.  During that time I started cutting down the pool noodle, hoping I could make it more slender.  Since I couldn't get it as slim as I wanted I decided, fine, it'll just be "sheathed" the whole time.  Kurogane's not supposed to kill anybody anyway.  Of course, who cares about accuracy at this point, Kurogane gave the sword away at the very start of the series and should be using a completely different one anyway.  But Ginryu looks so cool...

After cutting down 90% of the pool noodle it still looked too bulky.  So I started duct taping it 1. To squish down the foam and 2. To hide how choppy my cutting was.  I was pretty happy with it at first but now I'm feeling it's still too big.  It's supposed to be a katana, not some amorphous club!

So now I've cut strips of upholstery foam and am wrapping it tightly around the pvc pipe, tying it down with shoe laces to hold it in place while I glue it and wait for it to dry.  If this works then next I'll take a strip of craft foam and fold it in half over the upholstery foam for the blade.  It may still be too bulky and might still have to look infinitely sheathed, but it's got to be better than my pool noodle monstrosity.

Of course, then my hilt will also probably have to be reshaped to match the size of the blade because it too, was cut from the pool noodle.  And if I do that then I'll probably have to completely remake the dragon's head as well since I sized it to fit with the hilt which was the same size of the pool noodle blade.

Holy hecktolata.

Then I have to figure out a way to shape all the individual scales, which I'm saving for the very end so I don't have to do those all over again.

All because I don't want to buy a wooden katana because I want it to be foamy and soft so I can smack people with it.

Happy Pi Approximation Day!

My amazing husband is a math teacher, and that's great because I'm a math geek, too!  A tradition in our family is celebrating Pi Day.  But today is Pi Approximation Day, we couldn't have real pies, so we went to Walmart and bought cup-pies instead.  The total cost could not have been more perfect.

How amazing is that?  The only way today could be better would be to watch Pushing Daisies, but dang Netflix took it off instant watch.  So we're watching Harry Potter instead.

Puu~!

Well, it's been a week since my last post, time for an update!  Last week I gave a hint for what I was working on for my cosplay with Caj.  If you guessed Mokona, you're right!  I just finished making him today, too.  Can you say super cute?  Well, you'll just have to believe me, he is flippin' adorable!  Unfortunately I left my camera at my in-laws so I can't post any pictures yet.  I promise I will get some as soon as possible.

This was my first time making a stuffed animal, so I'm really pleased.  If you want to make a Mokona for yourself, I used Artflower's pattern found here.  The instructions are in German but I was able to figure it out without them for the most part.  If you need help, she does speak English (I had to ask her a couple of questions, myself) or you can ask me.  I also made a pocket and inserted it into Mokona's body with a zipper so I can put in essential items for conventions.  Functional cosplay props, ftw!

I hope you all are having a lot of fun, I know I have been.  Now it's time to get back to work.

Rawr!

Earlier this year my friends had twins!  They were all over having a dinosaur theme so I wanted to make a couple of dinosaur blankets for them.  Well, I couldn't find any dinosaur print I really liked, so a lady at Creative Pursuits suggested I use her dinosaur quilt design.  I can't say no to people when put on the spot like that, so I said "Okay!" even though I have never made a quilt before.  I'm so glad I did!  It was really fun, challenging, addicting, and extremely therapeutic.  I'm already starting to create my own designs now.  Look for some wonderfully geek-tastic designs from me in the future!

Now, without further ado, here are the finished dinosaur quilts~

Design (c) Rita Standage

Also, we've decided on what our first official cosplay together will be, hooray!  I won't tell you what it is yet, but I'll give you a little hint from part of the cosplay I'm currently working on ~ "Puu~!"

Future Cosplays

Going to Comicon has really motivated Caj and I to get more serious about cosplay.  We have so many ideas we want to do and can't decide what to do first.  I'm excited to share with you our current Future Cosplay List:

Custom Robo - Hero and Marcia

Final Fantasy VII - Rude and Reno

Legend of Zelda - Ganondorf and Zelda

Tsubasa - Kurogane and Fai

Hetalia - Germany and Italy; Russia and Belarus; America and Canada

Of course I will get around to making all of these cosplays but what will I do first?  I guess it'll be a surprise!

Cosplay Spotlight Saturday: Banzai! Productions

Cosplay entertainment has the green light for this group of four girls.  I'm talking about Banzai! Productions, and they are breaking ground in comedic insanity.  On May 28, OzTheNekoMaster, ChEsHiRe-K, SuperWeaselPrincess, and ValdaAbyss celebrated their first year anniversary, and together have quickly found sweet success in the cosplay community.

But it hasn't always been the foursome we know and love today.  For nearly a year and a half prior to their official debut, Banzai! only consisted of OzTheNekoMaster, a girl who dreamed of having a group where she could share her love of cosplay with friends.  Devoted to her pastime, she uploaded her own cosplay videos to Youtube.  At last, after convincing her childhood friend, ChEsHiRe-K, to cosplay, and meeting ValdaAbyss and SuperWeaselPrincess at the Kaigi Picnic, Oz had the cosplay group she had been waiting for.  That's when they feel Banzai! truly began.  I asked Oz if she ever felt discouraged, and she said, "At times, I was. Cosplay was a huge hobby of mine and even though I had a lot of friends, none of them cosplayed and I wanted to share that hobby with someone. But there were times when I was completely content on my own. But to be honest, my creativity was definitely not as good as it is now with the other members contributing."  What kept Oz going until the three others came around?  "I suppose you could say Banzai! Productions went on a temporary hiatus. It was simply what I called my Youtube channel and I was 'OztheNekoMaster.' What kept me going with Banzai is my complete love for cosplay and small hope that I would find someone who I could get along with that I could cosplay with."

So what advice does Oz have for anyone looking to start a cosplay group of their own?  "Advice I would give to cosplayers trying to start a new group is to just remember to have fun. It's probably a good idea to get your closer friends together. If you don't have any close cosplaying friends, there's great people in the cosplay community that you could get to know--and regardless, it's always great to get to know your fellow cosplayers. Be patient. Wonderful relationships could come from that. When you're in a cosplay group, you have to be negotiable, able to communicate well, and be considerate of each other. And it's probably a really good idea to avoid drama. But the number one piece of advice, is to always, always have fun!"

With the group finally complete, it was Go, Go, Go! for Banzai! Productions.  They participated in their first masquerade at Taiyou Con 2011 and won Best In Show, and soon after won Masters Best In Performance in their second masquerade at Phoenix Comicon 2011.  Nice work!  Patience and commitment really paid off.  The key to performing is staying in character, so what does Banzai! do to get ready?  "We usually cosplay characters that have similar personalities to us or that we can easily relate to. For example, it's really easy to get into character for Vocaloid because our personalities are already really similar to the 'default fanmade' personalities given to them. Otherwise, we research the characters and study them."  They also don't limit cosplaying to just conventions.  This group takes any chance they get at gatherings, picnics, making Youtube videos, or just for the fun of it.

In addition to their participation in masquerades, Banzai! Productions hosted their very first panel at Phoenix Comicon 2011 and plan on doing more in the future.  For all the cosplayers and convention goers, I say, "Please do!"  Their panel was a shining star- hilarious, informative, well executed and highly entertaining with mini skits and a Powerpoint presentation, and completely family friendly.  Future panelists and cosplayers could really learn from these girls' examples.

With these experiences under their belt and more to surely come, what do the girls feel is the key to their success?  "Our bond. Even though we've known each other all together for a year, we are incredibly close. We cry together, laugh together, and just happen to be very close friends who happen to be cosplayers. We often think of each other as sisters."

Is there anyone Banzai! would like to thank? "Definitely our parents for supporting us and even helping us out with finances. Our fans for keeping up with us and supporting us. And our friends for hanging out with us, collaborating with us, and being awesome!"

Thank you, Banzai! Productions!  And to my readers who haven't seen their work yet, please go visit their pages.  Their videos are priceless and cosplays are beautiful.  You will not want to miss out watching this group!

Banzai! Productions on  

DeviantArt Youtube Facebook

40 Flags and Counting

If we ever get a hold of some of Crazy Dave's awesome plants before zombies take over the earth, we'll be a-ok!  Caj has finally passed 40 flags and gone beyond in Plants vs. Zombies on the XBox 360, completing all of our achievements for the game.  You go, Gummybear!

Honk!

Honking is such a poor form of communication.  Whenever I'm honked at, the other driver just speeds off before giving me a chance to find out what they want.  So I'm getting a sticker for my car and it will say, "Honk If You Love DivineHoneybee!"  Then whenever someone honks at me, I can know they're merely making manifest their admiration and approval.

Honk responsibly, my friends.

Attack of the Redead!

Monday night I found out how Link feels to be attacked by a Redead! *shudder* Those always freaked me out the most when playing Legend of Zelda...

I went to the emergency room and got a tetanus shot and antibiotics to prevent infection but if I still turn into some kind of zombie I just want to thank you all for reading my blog this far and I love you.

Whole Wheat?

Oh my gosh, I completely forgot to tell you one unforgettable experience at Comicon! This one was good.

So Caj left to take Jac to visit some family for the rest of the weekend. I was giving blood and had just finished so I decided to wander a little bit. On the main level of the convention building there was a huge line of people with green wristbands. So I stopped and decided to ask a random person what the line was all about. There was a lot of noise and I have a really hard time separating words sometimes so I heard something like "W~l~Wheat~." My mind had to make up the missing parts of the words and the closest thing it was familiar with was "Whole Wheat." So I smiled and nodded, "Okay, thanks!" and started walking away. Then I started to think. "Whole wheat? That doesn't make any sense. What, like it's a bread line from the depression?" Now I began to think he was making fun of me and I was so offended! I was just curious, asking a very simple question. He didn't have to go and make fun of me. Whole wheat. Like a bread line. How rude! Seriously, I spent a good 10 minutes so frustrated by the rudeness of some people. And then it hit me.

Wil Wheaton.

I'm beginning to wonder if they didn't take some brain cells with my blood.

Comicon?

Maybe my expectations were too high because of my experiences at Anime Expo, but Phoenix Comicon was such a bust. Half of the panels were unprofessional, felt thrown together and unplanned, so we walked out. A quarter of them were cancelled or the panelists just never showed up! We were really looking forward to the Cosplay Drama 101 panel Saturday afternoon and were so disappointed by this time with having one event cancelled, another one ending an hour early because they failed to plan, and now panelists just not showing up altogether, we left the convention never to return. But with all of this, we did have some highlights.

Highlight #1: Tips, Tricks and Etiquette for the Cosplayer panel by Banzai! Productions! Seriously, this made my convention. If it weren't for this group I would have felt like I completely wasted my husband's money. I was never aware of their work before, but I feel okay in that considering they've only been around for a year and I haven't had internet for a year and a half. I will certainly be keeping track of their work now. What made them and their panel so amazing? It was so clean! There was no offensive language, no offensive behavior, no innuendos. The room was packed full so obviously they don't need it, and really, nobody does. That's what people need to understand. No one is going to complain that you don't swear enough, but people will leave if you are too offensive. If you need to swear like a sailor and joke about explicit behaviors to get an audience, maybe you suck and shouldn't be performing. The true performers are the people like these who are highly entertaining without the trash. Thank you.

Highlight #2: Red Cross Blood Drive! Wow, was the convention so bad that having a needle stuck in my arm for half an hour made it to my top 3 highlights? Yes. And I'm type O-Neg so I know how important it is to give blood and am really giddy about any opportunity I get to do so. I'm usually really timid but the people there were such a joy to talk to, and I'm sure they felt the same about me. Any time I feel good chatting with complete strangers is a highlight for me.

Highlight #3: Cosplaying as a Family! I don't care how cool my cosplay is, cosplaying alone is depressing. It was so much fun going with Caj and Jac and people took so many pictures. Being able to bring a smile to you, the convention-goers, is why I cosplay. That and it's good fun dressing up.

It was also really cool to see Bruce Boxleitner, he seemed to be a pretty cool actor. If it weren't for Caj's favorite movie being Tron (at least until Legacy, which changed his favorite movie to Dune), I wouldn't be familiar with him. Now I intend to keep a closer watch on his work.

I've never been real big into American comics, so I didn't know much about Stan Lee either, other than he is Marvel Comics. I'm so glad I went to his panel though because that man is a hoot! I love funny old men. I'll probably follow his work more closely now, as well.

So that was my convention experience. I hope Caj wasn't so disappointed with it being his first con that he never wants to spend money on another one again. I may volunteer for SabotenCon this year to see if it's worth going to, otherwise we'll have to save our money and go to Anime Expo in a couple of years.

Adventures in Cosplay

We're going to Comicon this weekend! It's too bad Caj (my super awesome husband) has to work, but he'll be able to go Thursday and Friday night then all day Saturday. He's never been to any sort of convention so this is my early Father's Day present to him. This is also our opportunity to see how Jac (our coolest son-shine) does at a convention before he spends the rest of the weekend with family.

With me, a convention just isn't a convention without cosplay. So we'll be dressing up as characters from Death Note because that's really easy to do last minute and it's not completely embarrassing for anyone who has never cosplayed before (Caj). Naturally I'll be Amane Misa, and Jac will be so adorable as a Chibi Light with a Chibi Death Note and Chibi Ryuk (teehee!), and Caj will be L. I was having him try on clothes for the cosplay last night and he was getting all in character and everything and oh. my. word, I had my doubts but he is going to be the best L EVER. I'm so happy I married an actor. I almost ruined it last night when I was cutting a nasty old black wig we had, which I messed up phenomenally, so I'm going to the store now to get a real wig for him to wear.

~Heyo Everyone~

Hiya, I'm Dea~Hime! I'm a twenty-something wifey/mama and I love anime, video games, and especially cosplay. These things are pretty obvious.

What you might not know about me, but you really should be able to tell, is I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Does that come as a surprise? I really hope not! I am always trying to do my best without letting my hobbies get in the way. That's what this blog is about. It's not just for other Latter-Day Saints who like anime and video games, but so anyone who's not can see that being spiritual and religious doesn't restrict fun. In fact, it opens my life up to much more happiness and freedom!
Feel free to ask me any questions at all, I'll do my best to answer them.

Thank you so much for stopping by to read my blog, and I hope you return soon!
じゃあまた!

PS> What can you tell by my first post? If you guessed I love Jurassic Park/Dinosaurs and that I'm really excited to have internet/phones... You're right!

Mr. Hammond, the phones are working.

Sweet raptors, I have internet and phones!