Ember Costumes and Crafts

John here, reporting in after another LARP event. This time, Diana and I went to Aftermath , at Lake Murray, Oklahoma. We were hanging out with such creatures as cyborgs, gunfighters, bug-men and barbarians. It was a great event, I just wish I had more time to work on my costume beforehand. I've got more tutorials planned, like weathering leather, painting Nerf guns, and making holsters and cartridge-belts. I've also got new ideas for my Austin LARP chapter that will be starting next year.

If you've just started costuming, it's very likely that you've never sewn anything in your life. Why should you? Your clothes are already put together when you get them from the store, and you have people like moms and great aunts for when a button falls off or you need that bridesmaid dress hemmed. So you think "Sewing is hard, and sewing machines are scary. I'll just buy a costume." Neither of those thoughts are true! Sewing is easy, and sewing machines are fun and fast. If you scour garage sales and especially estate sales, you can find old but AMAZING sewing machines for very very cheap prices. Like under $30! Take it into a shop for a quick tune up and you'll be set to go for years, and if you do break it, well...it's not like you spent your life savings on it. Old sewing machines also have the advantage of being harder to break and easier to fix when they do mess up because the insides are more metal than plastic and have no electronic parts. ...

The Lake Gown. By the time Halloween rolls around, I'll be 6 months pregnormous and of course not able to fit into any of the costumes I have on hand. Which means making a new one!! John is hosting a small local local LARPing even on Halloween, and the theme is renfair...so there's that. I'll probably modify an old empire-waist fairy dress for the occasion. It will be comfy and cute and adjustable for the unpredictable central Texas weather. However. Ever since I saw Episode III I've wanted to do a pregnant Padme costume. Particularly her steel silk nightgown . It's so flowy and beautiful, one of my favorites aside from the Lake Gown. Which, according to Dressing a Galaxy , George Lucas originally wanted to CG onto Natalie Portman instead of making a costume, but the costume designers were like "Um, don't be stupid." And so the Lake Gown was born. Both of those are incredibly challenging materials and designs, and I could just as easily wear th...

Hello again blogosphere! (Do I get points for using that word? Or maybe points taken away?) Random Lightsaber Duel! It's been a while but I'm finally feeling better, along with actually looking pregnant and not just like I had too much to eat at lunch. This is a good thing because it means that all is going well with my unborn future costumer, but it is a bad thing because I desperately need a job and am afraid of that little thing called discrimination. Ugh. We left off right before A-Kon 2011 in Dallas, where I was supposed to try and survive the con as cheaply as possible. Unfortunately, Friday night I had some serious complications due to the pregnancy and when I called my doctor first thing in the morning, he put me on bed rest until I could go in and see him. Obviously that changed things quite a bit. He didn't think that I had miscarried or he would have sent me to the hospital right away, but he told me to be as careful as possible and come see him as soon ...