btt-setra

[btt-setra]

As soon as DB2018 started, I knew I wanted to be working on something during the run. Out came the quilting boxes and I started sketching.

@bttcal did all the cutting once I made a list (my angel!!), and tonight all four of the shift banner panels are done, along with the mariner’s compass for the center.

Ongoing progress of my craftalong-but-not on https://www.instagram.com/setralynn/

If you need some comedy, joy, and goodness in your life this weekend, check out http://www.desertbus.org and http://www.twitch.tv/desertbus/

[btt-setra]

As I get ready to open up by boxes of vintage kimono again... here’s a tutorial. Works for ones you make yourself too!

How to fold your kimono– very important to keep it absolutely flat and crisp while in storage!

Always fold it on the existing seams and keep it away from direct sunlight and damp, and it will stay perfect for decades to come.

[btt-setra]

We were talking over the weekend about Cal’s Plague-mama. So here’s a Throwback Thursday to our 2017 photoshoots. Including some of my favorite selective-color shots that we’ve ever done.

As the leaves here start to turn and fall, all our dragons celebrate the Riot of Rot!  In honor of the Plague Flight, we bring you a photoshoot with Cal as Lady Plaguebringer.  Cal’s makeup took a very ‘Day of the Dead’ sort of turn, which felt appropriate for Halloween as well as Plague Flight.

The fallen leaves and late-fall trees felt very cool for Plague season!

Featuring calhale as Plaguebringer in photos by setralynn.

[btt-setra]

Selfie of art deco-styled Mistress 9 from Colorado Anime Fest. Full body pics coming soon and then partner pics with Cal coming in May!

[btt-setra]

Could a convention be on the horizon? Welcome to our kitchen table at T-minus 5 Days to Colorado Anime Fest.

[btt-setra]

Holy shit, this is amazing.

A Stitch in Time: Arnolfini

Ninya Mikhail, Historical Costumier [x]

[btt-setra]

Brief non-cosplay aside, I’ve found something that doesn’t exist on the internet and it’s boggling my mind. The second image is a quilting cotton panel from the “Tuscan Sunflowers” (or possibly “Tuscan Reflections”) collection. It was on sale at Jo-Ann in 2012-ish. The top picture are the coordinates that I still have from the quilt I made for my mother (photo forthcoming) with these fabrics.

Apart from a few of these fabrics being for re-sale on ebay or etsy, I can’t find any skus or links to the whole collection. Not only that, but it appears that Tim Coffey didn’t make any additional art prints from this collection to sell and the seasonal items that Jo-Ann carried in the following year are nowhere to be found either.

I want this panel so badly, but I can’t even find photos of other projects that people made with it. Halp?

[btt-setra]

So on Sunday afternoon we did a crazy thing. Upon learning that Kathleen's dreams of a Persona-themed entrance to her Desert Bus driving shift had been foiled by the impossibility of getting a costume last minute, I spoke up in chat. Desert Bus, and LoadingReadyRun in general, means a lot to me. They've helped get me through some dark times with comedy and hope, and 2017 has been one of those years. Better Than Toast - Cal and I - have a very odd but specific set of skills. We specialize in producing costumes, often in crunch time. We've won speed-cosplay competitions in two states and craftsmanship competitions in six. We knew this was our time. Inventory was taken, plans were made, and the race was on. Everything about this Yuusuke costume is a little bit sparkly, partially because that's what we had available, and partially because Yuusuke is the best princess and deserves some bling. From 1:15 pm-ish on Sunday, November 19, 2017 into the early morning of Monday, we made: a fully re-patterned bodysuit, a stuffed tail, simple gloves, rough boot-covers, and a fox mask. Cal produced the tail in record time, and I patterned the body suit and set up the serger (all hail). Cal modified the only mask we had on hand at such short notice and painted it. I assembled and fitted the body suit and attached Yusuke's ridiculous collar. Cal made gloves. Is it all perfect? No. Cosplay never is. Am I proud of us? Damn straight. By 10 am PST on Monday, the whole costume was on its way to Canada and with any luck by now it has made an impact on Desert Bus. PS- I'm scheduling this post in advance because I'll probably panic tomorrow, but I'll be in the chat and I love you all. Kathleen, thank you for letting us be a part of this remarkable and amazing thing that you do.

[btt-setra]

Photos of our Nan Desu Kan 2017 Japanese-Historical-Fantasy-styled Eeveelution group onstage from the magnificent Chiseled Light.

I’m getting our photoshoot photos from before the convention ready, but in the meantime, here’s a peek at how they all performed.

You can see the full skit on YouTube, starting at about 1 hour and 10 minutes in. Click here to see the skit (and the rest of the incredible NDK contest).

Cast: -Eevee/Shiny Umbreon - Me (@setralynn - Instagram) -Sylveon - ToodleStrudel Cosplay @sinnamonsnacks (Instagram) -Umbreon - Ben of RnB Cosplay (Instagram) -Jolteon - Mik of Cosbomb Chaos -Flareon - Toolyboon (Instagram) -Vaporeon - Annethrax Cosplay (Instagram) -Espeon - Ritz of RnB Cosplay (Instagram) -Glaceon - @bttcal (Instagram)

[btt-setra]

Anyone wondering where we make our costumes.... This living room us where the magic happens. Me, Cal, and Mik all work here, often all at the same time. Cal, Evangeline (Mik's machine), and an average house cat who likes to double as a pattern weight are pictured for scale.

[btt-setra]

Found this pattern and I'm going to start modifying it to have a full-size cat-form Morgan's plush from Persona 5. Ideally it will fit neatly inside my school bag.

[btt-setra]

Found some photos from Running of the Leaves last year. It was a really sweet, fun convention and took my mind off my job change nicely. Our Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were a little thrown together, but it was so much fun to compete!

[btt-setra]

Cal found video of her NDK skit and talked about her process for Sakura.  Photos were by me, Mik, and the delightful gentleman from AnimeRoot who caught us all for a shoot while we were derping around on sunday.  I have photos of Clow from this year and a couple of tutorials on techniques we used.

I wanted to post a compilation of some of my pictures of bride/punishment/artbook  Sakura I created for NDK 2015. There were a lot of challenges with this cosplay especially once we put together a skit that I had to do a lot of running in.

Major changes in how I made this dress for stage:

-High low skirt for easier running but led to having to create a crazy pettiskirt out of deco mesh. Yes, that stuff people make wreathes out of.

-I hand painted all the accents in  gold instead of using piping or cording. This made the dress lighter.

-Altered headpiece/veil accents for greater effect on stage

-All the heat set gems! This beauty sparkles like a disco ball under stage lights

When people see this dress in the photo I think a lot of cosplayers get scared of all the techniques that they may have to learn to create it. However, I think cosplays like that should get people excited. I learned heat cutting, hand painting, jewelry making, and was forced to use a lot of critical thinking about how to make this a functional cosplay I could actually walk around a convention in. I also got to experiment and have fun with using opalescent sheers and angelina fibers for the Tsubasa decals my entire group had on their costumes.

If you are interested in seeing the skit the link is  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPyWoymvde4   

We are skit 54 and start at exactly 1 hour into the video. Things went wrong, things went right. We ended up winning Best Craftsmenship in our category. I will have a post up about the WIP of this costume soon as well.

Thanks for reading!

Cal

[btt-setra]

Have I mentioned how much I adore my gorgeous and talented cosplay partners? Watching and assisting with this shoot was a lot of fun, and the pictures Cal came up with are stunning.

In celebration of the Rockbreaker’s Ceremony, I present to you, Lady Earthshaker!

In the fallen leaves and chilly air of November,  we went out in search of some truly earthy venues for our photos.  We took a grounded, adventuring inspiration for Lady Earthshaker as only the most stalwart and level headed dragons make their homes in Dragonhome.  Enjoy your holiday everyone!

Photos featuring the lovely Mik as Earthshaker, with makeup and photography by Calhale, and photoshoot/costuming assistance from setralynn.

[btt-setra]

Cal did such good work playing with perspective on some of these.  I had a lot of fun being out doing a shoot with my brother again!

It’s time again for the Starfall Celebration~!  In honor of the Arcane Flight we have our first two-person photo shoot all for one flight!

We managed to get out in the lovely September weather to take some photos with my brother’s Arcanist and my new Arcane Sprite dress!  (It was going to be Lady Arcanist, but we dressed it up a little cuter.)

Birdman as Arcanist and setralynn as an Arcane Sprite in photos taken by calhale.

[btt-setra]

Anyone wondering where we make our costumes.... This living room us where the magic happens. Me, Cal, and Mik all work here, often all at the same time. Cal, Evangeline (Mik's machine), and an average house cat who likes to double as a pattern weight are pictured for scale.

[btt-setra]

In case anyone asks, yes, my friends are awesome.  ^_^

I love this picture because cosplay should always be about looking this happy.

I hope you all caught our Sailor Moon Q&A panel. It was so fun! We answered questions like “Why do you let your daughter date a horse?” (the answer is because it’s better than her dating her dad), and “How do you throw your tiara and still wear your tiara?”. We also established that Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are definitely not cousins, and what cars they would transform into if they were at the end of an Utena movie (a Ferrari and a Mercedes). 

If you’re wondering, Mercury would be a blue Prius, and Sailor Moon is a VW Rabbit.