Ranmao dash to the lash!

okay, i know the title does not make sense now, but let me explain. this post is about the making of Ranmao's accessories and wig styling, and a piece of prop for the CF cosplay group competition tomorrow.. and to confess, today i skipped classes. (yeah, i did it for CF.) *slapped*

because the prettiest item is the photo of Ranmao's hairclip, i shall start with that. as you can see, i simply attached a blue 'tassel' piece to the flower hair clip. but truth is, i used one whole spool of blue thread to spin the tassel because i have no more money and time to spend on a ready-made tassel from a store (which  could probably be inaccurate to the colour or wrong shape that i want, and waste petrol and parking fee too).

Ranmao again? getting close!

so far, my progress looks to be delayed here and there (due to assignments fighting for my precious limited time), but i think my Ranmao costume will be completed before Comic Fiesta! my next update here is about the bell anklet which is worn on her legs.

i don't know if they are meant to be bell-look-alikes or real live ringing bells, but i decided to be cheeky and went with real bells. in fact, i got the bells in medium size (instead of small) because Daiso sells them on a handheld tambourine-thing. of course, as you can see, i have ripped all 10 pieces of bells from the toy/instrument, leaving a pink plastic thing.

Ranmao around Japan~

with less than 15days before Comic Fiesta 2010, it is time to install Ranmao's character in me. (okay, i just wanted to learn more of her poses.) hahaha~

so here is a small gallery of Ranmao cosplays from Curecos - starting with the cutest Ranmao~nyan!

Ranmao cosplay by RIMUTA

Ranmao WIP update

i added the yellow details (i know you cannot see the long slits in the middle of the yellow detail on the cuffs ;_;) on the sleeves and made the anklets. still have to find little bells to attach to the anklets, and get purple fabric dye to finish the dress design (or maybe i will cheat by sewing purple appliqué). XD

Ranmao & Lau WIP & my tailor

earlier this week i went to my tailor to collect the costumes for wgfai (who could not go) and mine too. misao went together with me since he had an assignment to do. ^__^

my tailor is located in a very hidden place in salak south (or salak selatan), borderline to sri petaling. i could not tell you where exactly she is since i only know the place by remembering the way there. but i do know she makes me really fitting costumes even if she is just a normal tailor (not a specialised fancy pansy costume maker).

Bodyline and me~

it is that time again - time for shopping! i needed a few items to complete my costumes for Comic Fiesta 2010, so i thought, where else better to get them than Bodyline? XD

here are the contents of the DHL box from Bodyline. they were all in Japan just 48 hours ago! these are orders from the November Bodyline GO (group order).

caution: camwhoring ahead!

it's sem break! day 19

potatoes and parcels!

okay, i am cheating. the potatoes were made yesterday, but that doesn't mean i cannot blog about it today. haha~ remember my Potatoes recipe book which i bought from the recent Book Fest? yesterday i took note of two recipes and tried them for dinner. here are the results!

baked potato chips and potato croquettes - yummy!

it's sem break! day 16

a date with the tailor!

BRS cosplay progress *update*

i woke up just before dawn due to some bad food stirring up in my stomach. so i went online to check emails for the group orders since i am up. then i downloaded the ridiculously large zip file from Majolica Majorca for the web design contest. wait, i am still downloading the 50mb+ zip file now. might as well do some quickie blogging while i wait.

which bring me to the subject of Black Rock Shooter aka BRS. here~ have a look at my beloved BRS miku:

black rock shooter, as designed by her creator HUKE.

this weekend, i will be joining the Vocaloid photoshoot and i will be BRS! <3 however, my WIP preparations are only 40% completed. check out the list that i made here:

my first Bodyline Japan purchases!

my first Bodyline purchase was also my first purchase using Paypal~ it was a sort of celebratory reward for my first Nuffnang cheque and my first domain too!

minori and i shared the first order that i made at Bodyline in August, and DHL was so efficient that they actually arrived one day before the scheduled time! however, that caused me to miss the first shipment because it was not expected so soon.

size of the DHL white box from Bodyline!

my first eBay purchases!

since i am always hyping myself up whenever i see my blog ranking goes up, i am now blogging something randomly because i noticed my Alexa rank in Malaysa has gone back up to the 10,000 (ten thousands). as of press time (haha~), akikowolf.com ranking globally is in the 2.4mil range. *happy dance*

so here are my first purchases from eBay in september!

firstly, Clannad first grade badge! actually i bought this for a friend, so it doesnt really count as mine. (what an evil friend of me - use my friend's money as test run. haha~)

[WIP] cosplay props & costume

want to get an insight on how i make my cosplay props? i have photos and instructions in 10 steps if you want to try any! as for my costumes, sorry, i cant really teach you that, but you can have a look!

liz thompson - soul eater
thompson sisters hats.
event: future.

incomplete: cut out all the patterns for two hats
completed: patches on back of pants (already sewn the front last CF08)

ryomou shimei - ikkitousen
earring, cross choker, wig.
event: emina cosplay photoshoot.

making the earring:
1. prepare tools (pencil, coin fishing line, paper, compass) and material (i used silver coloured sculpey bought from art friends).

2. yinyang shape - draw "figure 8" with two identical coins (choose the coin according to the size that you want your earring to be). then use compass to draw around the figure 8.
3. cut out accordingly - there should be two pieces, a yin and a yang.

4. peel one part of sculpey (its a small earring but you need a minimum 6mm or 1/4in thickness to bake at 130degreesC for 10-15minutes).

5. put the sculpey between plastic sheet (so that your tools dont get dirty) and roll its flat (remember: 6mm thickness is recommended minimum!)

6. sandwich the flat sculpey between the yinyang cut outs. then cut with fishing line along the border (its okay if the shape runs - you can use your finger to fine tune it later).

7. use a needle to pull the fishing line through the middle and cut out a tiny hole.

8. take an earring hook (buy from art friends) and push it in at the top.

9. place on baking sheet to bake at 130degreeC for 10-15 minutes in OVEN only, NO microwave oven. (depending on the heat in your oven you may take more or less time - but STAY WATCH at all times - when smoke start emitting from your clay or oven, (a) you die from the fumes, (b) your clay is overbaked, (c) your oven is not useable for food!)

10. remove from oven, let it cool, and then varnish (with sculpey's own finish)
completed: earring and cross pendant (for choker, also a baked sculpey) - photo refer to misato below.
incomplete: wig (still need it shorter)

misato - neon genesis evangelion
cross choker (cheated! re-use ryomou's choker).
event: GACC/daicon.

completed: silver cross choker

tsubaki - soul eater
axe-sickle with chain (to ponytail), beige dress-coat with double studded belts.
event: ACGC 09 - day 2.

making the axe-sickle with chain:
1. prepare all the materials and tools (paper, artcard, styrofoam, foam cutter, tissue rolls, masking tape, pva glue, scissors, ruler, plastic chain, and reference image!)
2. draft the weapon in life size on a large scrap paper

3. cut out the foam parts for the blade of the axe-sickle. (i suggest you use pins to secure the pattern on the foam so that you cut straight.) i used 2parts for the short side "axe" and 1part for the longer part "sickle"

4. use masking tape to tape them all together roughly (as you just need to have a look at the overall result)

5. when you are lazy, spray silver paint on the plastic chain (bacause plastic chains come in white/red/yellow - i need it to look like metal) and allow to dry (takes a day or so, while you laze around!)

6. wait lar. lazy day.
incomplete: axe-sickle with chain

nemu kurotsuchi - bleach
butterfly, vice captain badge, red bauble-like hair-tie.
event: ACGC 09 - day 1.

making nemu's vice captain badge:

1. prepare the tools and materials needed: thick artcard, normal/tracing paper, pva glue, scissors, life-size pattern (downloadable from here).
2. make copies of the pattern on tracing paper (i used plain paper) until you are sure that is the size that you want. (explains why i have two captain symbol cutouts above.)
3. trace pattern onto the artcard.
4. cut them out accordingly.
5. arrange the patterns properly (double check your kanji is not reversed).
6. glue the back of each piece of pattern starting with the number twelve (in kanji) and captain symbol.
7. get a white armband.
8. attach the badge to your armband with masking tape (you could use more permanent options).
9. wear the armband and badge up the left sleeve of nemu's gi.
10. you are ready to go!

making the butterfly:
gather all your tools and materials: paper, artcard, scissors, double-sided tape. trace the butterfly on paper, then cut it out and place it on your hand to make sure you have gotten the right size. trace the butterfly on artcard, cutout accordingly, and make two folds up the middle neatly. finally, stick double-sided tape under the butterfly and peel off 'smooth' tape when need to use. carefully remove the double-sided tape when no longer sticky, and replace with a new strip.

completed: 12th vice captain badge, shadow butterfly

* i'll upload some MORE photos later. very the tired from full-day photoshoot with EMINA.