#I’ve had the wig for years now just needed a restyle

[realreadysetrose]

Aradiabot wig didn’t come in time for this weekend 🥲 So I threw together a Jinx instead

[sovereign-tempest]

// I need to go into my storage cupboard to put things away...and I’m very much aware my cosplay stuff is stored there. I am absolutely itching to pull out an old blond wig and leftover fake-leather material and make an eyepatch/restyle the wig for a TimeSkip Dimitri...

// Then I remember I’m a 27 year old, curvy woman with a kid... I’ve said I want to go out to a convention (when they’re allowed to return) in full cosplay for one last HORAH before I either retire them for good, or just go in casual clothes. But Dimitri’s armour is a bit beyond my skill level... My best friend keeps encouraging me to go for it, she’s hoping to cosplay Hubert with me on the one day, then we live out our dream Sith cosplays on the second day - but... ugh I dunno if I have the confidence anymore... 

// It’s like I really want to, and also too scared to do so.

TW; weight gain and loss mention, body dysmorphia. Also mention as a mother. Proceed with caution.

// I’m in the process of losing weight, and have lost 12.7 kg so far (2 stone or 28 pounds - I think those are right conversions) since last September...but it doesn’t feel enough to go for a Dimitri cosplay. I’m still hoping to lose maybe another 12-15kg, see how I go because of my body shape - which is another issue. I’ve had a baby.. I’m not exactly a STICK. Never had been but it’s even worse now. I was 105kg before the weight loss, and yeah I feel better than I did back then, but with the stretch marks and very obvious birthing hips... Not sure if binders can handle the job chest wise, and my hips are horrendously wide. I’m hoping the fur cloak can give me the illusion of ‘thin’ but... I still worry I’ll make a fool of myself and just make Dimitri look fat? Especially if this is my last cosplay project... 

// Kylo Ren would be my other project if I go through with this, but I dont feel so bad for that one. I can hide my shame behind a mask. With Dimitri my round face is on show, even with the eyepatch and wig trying to frame it.

// I’m in two halves... I love Dimitri’s character so much, I want to represent him in cosplay like I have done for my other faves (back when I was thin but didn’t know I was...). But I don’t want to let ‘him’ down by producing a subpar cosplay or, like I said, be seen as a fat Dimitri. Which he’s not.

// Not only that, I’m a Mum. I’m not exactly displaying I’m a cosplayer all over my house, but what if he somehow discovers that, or even finds the old photos of those great times at conventions and is ashamed of me because I mostly cosplay men. Or crossplay I suppose is the better word. I don’t want to let him down as being this freaky, fat mum yet isnt that what I’m doing?

// I really don’t know... Hate this depression and body dysmorphia bullshit.

[tattletale2020]

Christmas at Eaton’s: Remembrances of an Elf

Christmas in Retail can be magical time. Especially if you’re one of the elves. But planning starts in July. Checking and ordering lights. Relighting trees, garland, and wreaths. Making sure you have enough boxes, ribbon, wrapping paper. Dusting off poinsettias and velvet bows. By the time the season actually arrives you may be less than jolly.

There were years where after decorating up to 36 trees, installing acres of underlit fake snow and wrapping hundreds of presents I just didn’t have the will to decorate at home. That was before kids of course. After that, wussing out is not an option. But at least you have minions.

Then once it’s all done, the magic comes back. Especially as you watch customers enjoy the fruits of your labour. It’s a calling really. Where would Christmas be without all us inventive imps behind the scenes.

Back in the day, and maybe still inside any iconic stores that are left, once Halloween comes down, Christmas goes up. Sometimes in the same night. All night. No trick or treating for the trimmers. Down comes the orange and black and out go the hundreds of trees and boxes you’ve been lighting and wrapping for the last month. 10’ Ladders come out, Over-Aisle Garland goes up and then you have 15 days, sometimes straight, to add the details and make it perfect. No pressure. 

When I first started at Eaton’s as the Visual Supervisor to a team of 6, Christmas season was almost upon us and I needed to come up with a plan, quick. 30 odd windows, 7 floors, 20+ departments and very little corporate support didn’t daunt me. I was major excited to be responsible for decking out the 90 year old Flagship Store in Downtown Winnipeg. But if it wasn’t all up by November 15th, there was no point. Super Fail.

I spent my 33rd Birthday, a Saturday in early October, combing the football sized display storage area for props to put in the seven centre Christmas Windows on Portage Avenue. They were the Fashion Windows and needed to be spectacular.  It’s not easy to find matching props big enough for seven 10’ x 10’ windows in a row. But I stole the all the faux marble arches from the womenswear floor, had the team (I was the new outsider boss lady and they thought I was insane) repaint them and festoon them with garland. Dress the coupled male and female mannequins in evening wear aaaand Mission Accomplished. We won the Downtown BIZ Window Contest for the first time that year and every year after.

So it’s only the 20th of October. 8:00 pm, we do a quick Dance on the Boulevard admiring our work. By the next year it had become somewhat of a tradition. A celebration of the first hurdle of the frenetic season. Over 20 more Windows and a square city block to go. But now we had a Plan. And Momentum. So we ran with it. 

Then one snowy Monday morning it all stopped. It had been storming all weekend and as I got off the Portage Avenue Bus in front of the 7 Centre Fashion Windows I saw water streaming and freezing down the glass. From the inside. Knee deep drifts were blown against the brass doors to the store and as I rounded the corner to the employee entrance, I was blinded by the glare of firetruck lights. I guess an alarm or an alarmed bus-goer had called them. I went to open the door with my pass card, and a firewoman came up and asked if I could let them in. Being new, I naively responded that I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to. She said, “We’re the fire department, you are required to let us in.” Alrighty then.

I led her and her cohort of firepeople through the darkened main floor to the back entrance of the centre windows and as we opened the huge 10’ double doors, water poured out over our boots. She pushed me back and said they needed to check the electrical before anyone went in there. The electrical panels were where the bulk of the water was pouring down. Fun! And Exciting! Said No One. It was soon discovered that all was safe, but there was a foot of water sitting in my first set of Christmas Windows.

Inside, the long bank of marble-lined windows having no insulation from the way cold Winnipeg Winter, had become a Sugar Plum Fairy Wonderland. The mannequins, dressed in their holiday finery were dusted with frost and very pretty. The freshly painted arches and garland were splashed sparkly. The water frozen in rivulets down the glass cheerily reflected the lights from Portage Avenue. It felt, and not for the last time, almost Titanic-like.  And then, reality. As fans were brought in and everything started to thaw, the mannequins, which in those those days were hung with mannequin wire from their necks, eeeeww, were starting to crackle like porcelain. Beheading was a real possibility, but the damage was amazingly minimal. The finery had to be changed and written off and the wigs restyled, but the props survived and the windows remained intact until the end of the season. And the best news….we got to order 16 brand spanking new mannequins! With Stands. And Wigs. How fun is that! Said Everyone. We got to pick the poses, the make-up, the skin colour. It was like….Christmas.

 If you recognize yourself in this story, I’d love to hear from you, and/or be corrected in my recollection. I've purposely left names out to protect the guilty and just in case any of you have become Famous. Which if you're not, you definitely should be! And Rich.

[dollsonmain]

So THIS experiment was inspired by Innuendo having part of a silicone earplug smeared across the top of her head as a wig stop which did NOT work at all.

However, for years I’ve been using those silicone bracelets (the ones with sayings on them) as wig stops on my large-enough headed dolls and they work wonderfully. So I got the idea to try this sticky, double-sided silicone tape.

-

Easy to cut despite being kind of gummy and VERY sticky. I had to move a piece on one of my MiniMees and it came off easily. It was a little difficult to get it to restick, but with a bit of steady pressure it did.

Does stick to inside of wig cap but it also let go easily enough BUT that’s based on a few seconds of contact.

I was able to tug the wig to adjust it’s position on the tape. The tape really isn’t meant to stick to the wig, just provide something grippable on an otherwise smooth surface.

It works well enough. Only time will tell if there will be any negative reactions to either the wigs, vinyl, or resin.

Anyway, MiniMee has one of the new wigs off of AliExpress on, now. It’s cheap and it looks it, but it’s nice for the price. Very soft Qiyue nylon fiber, nicely fitting wig cap. The bangs could use some trimming and restyling but we all know I’m horrible at styling.

It’s a similar style to the wig she had been wearing, though neither is the right style for me at all, and the newer, darker wig is closer to my current hair color.

Sleeping MiniMee got the older wig. Now they have similar hair. You can see the wig cap on the new wig because it’s over her ear. The wig cap is a lighter color than the hair. Less risk of staining.

They need nicer outfits (though I do like the Star Wars shirt @cosmomoore​ made).

MoonMoon, who still needs a better name, has the other Aliexpress wig on. Again, it’s cheap, but it’s nice for the price and soft fiber. I don’t feel like I overpaid for either of them, but I’m not pleasantly surprised by them either. They are what I would expect from wigs under $20.

They replaced Volks SDC size wigs that are honestly horrible, so no complaints there. I don’t like any of the older Volks brand wigs that I have. The only Volks wig in the house that doesn’t suck is Mika’s. Giselle’s is so thin the wefts show through and she has to wear a hat at all times.

So now Goob, MoonMoon, and both MiniMees have knock-off Alien Tape holding their wigs on.

Ok let’s see about Alien Tape off-brand for a wig holder.

I’m wondering if the adhesive will liquify like the glue on the sticky Velcro brand dots I had on a few dolls.

First impressions are omg it’s stinky and ew sticky sticky sticky but it’s supposed to be sticky…

[your-modern-shakespeare]

Fanfiction Recommendation

7/24/17: So this week I literally had no concept of what day it was, I swear that I lived through like three Fridays and I completely thought that today was Sunday instead of Yesterday. So yeah, now I’m working on a lot of things and I have the next three days off so I’m hoping to get some stuff done. On another note (I’ve said a few times that I work in the theatre world) my good friend, who makes and styles wigs, is restyling a wig that John Barrowmen wore at some point in his life...I just thought that was really cool. Anyway, enjoy the list and I’ll be posting soon. 

Last Week’s Recommendation

My Masterlist 

Dean x Reader

Beauty and the Beast (Series-Ongoing) by @the-awkward-writer -  Dean Winchester is the biggest mob boss in New York City. He replaced his father as the leader of The Hunters when his father was sent to jail for twenty years. Now, ten years later, your father owes Dean a good sum of money. Your father cannot pay it, and takes him hostage, letting him work off the money he owes. You find out and selflessly take your father’s place. At first, Dean is coarse and unrefined, and you are apprehensive and stubborn to show affection towards him. Over time, both of your feelings change, and you start to fall in love with Dean. But then tragedy strikes and you are unsure about your future with Dean. Will your relationship last? Will Dean find the apple pie life he’s always wanted?

Cinderella by  @giftofdreams -  Y/N feels like the only thing she does in the bunker is clean as the boys sometimes forget that she isn’t their personal maid. Realizing that she has multiple things in common with Cinderella. Cleaning, have a prince charming and being a princess

Sam x Reader

Imagine Finding Sam’s Daughter by @luci-in-trenchcoats - Could you do a single dad Sam where his daughter is trying really hard to get him with someone. So she runs off at the mall when she sees the reader, and tells her she is lost. Reader tries to help, child then plays match maker once sam is found lots of fluff and maybe a bit steamy (wink wink)

Dreamy Eyes by @thesupernaturaldead - No summary but super cute high school AU where you’re the new girl. 

Cas x Reader 

New Haircut by @xx-multi-fandom-imagines -  “Could you do a fic where the reader get her hair cut like a boy and Sam and Dean make fun of her and make her cry but Castiel comfort her by telling her he thinks she’s beautiful and that he’s been in love with her for some time?”

Unspoken Words by @on-a-bender - Castiel hates the reader and she doesn’t know why so she pretends to hate him too, but on one case, they are forced to play nice….

Crowley x Reader 

The Starbucks Cup by @roxy-davenport -  “This was written for @thing-you-do-with-that-thing SPN Hiatus Writing Challenge Week 5 Challenge with the prompt, “Please refrain from shooting her, we need her for later.” Towards fluff but not overly fluffy per se, has action, a bitchy women, a Starbucks cup and Crowley. :D”

Kiss it Better by @christinalibertymikaelson -  Prompt: “I thought you forgot about me.”

Jensen x Reader 

The Reveal by @plaid-lover-bay25 - Just two weeks after giving birth Jensen is excited to finally reveal to the fans and the world your newborn. You’ve kept the secret but how will everyone react?

The Concert (Series- Ongoing) by @notnaturalanahi - Y/N finally gets to see her favorite singer perform live. In the middle of the show something she never thought would be even possible unexpectedly happened, he to noticed her in the middle of the ocean of people.

Jared x Reader 

Moose and Me by @lovemesomepie85 - Happy Birthday Jared!! It’s cute and fluffy and smushy! Jared and the Reader find out their expecting and get a huge surprised on his birthday! This is the start of my first Jared and Reader series!

It’ll be Worth It by @atc74 -This is for @thing-you-do-with-that-thing’s Summer Hiatus Writing Challenge, I used the prompt “Don’t listen to them. Don’t EVER listen to them.” it will be in bold.

Misha x Reader 

Death is But The Next Great Adventure by @the-awkward-writer - Prompt: Important person dies, you fall for the person who helps you through it. Quote: “To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure" - Albus Dumbledore

The Teddy Bear by @iputthesininbuisness - No summary but SO SAD and angsty

Bucky x Reader 

James by @barnes-heaven - “I’d like to request a Bucky one shot? Where it’s pretty soon after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Bucky meets a girl with a strong brooklyn accent and it helps him remember (he also thinks she’s hella feisty and cute maybe?)” 

Mine by @capsheadquaters -  Can you do a female reader x jealous!bucky or possessive!bucky (they’re both kinda the same thing idk but jealous!bucky is my religion) ?? thank you!!