#PhxCC – AJ Mullican, Author

De-con-pression

#nerd, Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Learning

Yeah, yeah, the con titles are getting old. This should–maybe–be the last one…for a while. Possibly.

So as my husband and I decompress from the convention, we’re catching up on TV that we missed and discussing our next cosplay pairing for Dragon Con in September. Being that I have an awesome husband and mom, I’ll soon own a new serger and be able to sew knits and Spandex for more cosplays. We also attended several panels on cosplay design and creation, so we’re hoping that gives us a start on accomplishing bigger and better cosplays.

You’ll be seeing progress photos as my husband and I get to work, partly because I get super excited and geeked out over it all, and partly because I like to see the progression myself. It’s fun to see what started out as, say, a couple bouncy balls from the toy section in Wal-Mart to a larger-than-life prop gourd that got tons of compliments during Phoenix Comicon.

We only have a couple of photos of our cosplays so far, so I’ll wait and see if I find any more of them before I post the “finished” looks here. (I put “finished” in quotes because we’re already brainstorming ways to improve on our first attempts.)

On to interview transcription and article writing! (That’s right, I didn’t forget that I was attending as a member of the media) 😉

A good day for a Song

Celebrity, Convention, Cosplay, Fandom, Geek, Sci-fi

Today will be Day 3 of Phoenix Comicon for me, and I’m most excited for today. Why, you ask? Because I have my first ever official con photo op (not just a selfie at the guest’s booth), and it’s with the one, the only River Song (aka Alex Kingston)!

River Song is my favorite Doctor Who companion, hands down. I cosplayed her as my first cosplay, and ever since they announced that Alex would be at the con I’ve been eager to get a photo op. I’m debating having her sign the photograph later in the day, because sometimes you get a little bit of time to chat with the guest at the autograph table (as opposed to the photo ops, where they have you move right along to keep the line under control).

I’ll be dressed in my Star Wars/Doctor Who mashup cosplay today, complete with Ultrasabers lightsaber:

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I got a lot of compliments on my costume Thursday evening when I wore it, and I’m hoping Alex likes it. (Of course, being an actress and all she’ll probably say she loves it regardless of her personal opinion on it haha). I could have done a River Song cosplay again, but I don’t have a good wig for it anymore and my hair is shock-straight no matter what I do with it.

If you’re at Phoenix Comicon today and see me, feel free to ask for a photo if you like my costume. If you don’t like it or don’t want a photo, just wave and say “hi” 🙂

The excitement is Con-tagious

#nerd, Convention, Fandom, Geek, Interview, Social Media, Work

That’s right, this afternoon I leave my humble abode for Phoenix Comicon 2016! I’ll be in cosplay the first three days (I’m wearing my Talk Nerdy With Us t-shirt Sunday–shirts available at talknerdywithus.com), and I’m hoping to get photos galore of all the cosplays, as well as live tweeting and (maybe) Periscoping some panels.

I’ll be representing Talk Nerdy With Us as well, with my sweet press badge:

Official, and flattering lol

So excited to be going to the con as press, and extra excited because it’s my fifth year in a row at Phoenix Comicon. Each year I go I get more and more thrilled to be there. It’s even more fantastic this year because my little sister is coming with. I can’t wait to introduce her to the addiction that is Con Life.

Of course, there will be the blistered feet, the blistering heat, and the unending exhaustion…but that’s half the fun!

See y’all later! I don’t know if I’ll have time to post any blogs this weekend, but I’ll definitely have an update Monday with all the fun I had! 🙂

T-minus one day, 8 hours

Convention, Cosplay, Geek, Interview, Sci-fi, Social Media

It’s almost that time of year! Phoenix Comicon begins tomorrow, and while I won’t be able to get there until the festivities are already in full swing (have to wait for my husband to get off work at 1pm) I’m sure I’ll have the time of my life. 🙂 My cosplays are complete–I even got the 4ft fighting fan prop in for my Temari cosplay–and most of what we’re taking is already packed and ready to be loaded into the car tomorrow.

I have three interviews set up so far, and though I’m not overly optimistic at getting more I’m happy that at least a few people wanted to talk to me. I have my questions all ready on little 3×5 note cards that I’ll have handy in my cosplay pocket or purse. My phone has a decent voice recorder app that I’ve tested myself, so that’s taken care of. All I’ll need to do is transcribe and post at the end of each day. Each long day.

This year will be my first attending as media/press, so it will be interesting to see what kinds of things I can do. I know I can’t take photos of the guests without permission, but I plan on taking lots of cosplay photos and Periscoping in the hallways as I go to and fro. Probably won’t be able to Periscope any panels, but maybe I can manage live tweeting a few. And of course, I’ll be on the Talk Nerdy With Us Instagram to document the fun I’m having.

I have a ton of panels that I want to see. Cosplay panels, writing panels, sci-fi panels…things that will help with various different interests I have. I may even go to some of the panels that my sister wants to see. It will be her first Comicon, so I want her to have as much fun as possible. She’s chosen some interesting panels, but there are a few that conflict with panels that I want to see. She doesn’t seem to mind, though, and seems genuinely excited to be going. She’s a bit of a hermit (stays at home when she’s not working & only really leaves the house to go shopping with Mom or to go to Pet Smart) so I’m glad she’s getting excited about going to a big, crowded place full of strangers.

The countdown continues! I may even Periscope or live tweet from the car on the drive up (lol) but not for more than a few minutes. I’m sure no one wants to see 3 hours of interstate. Or 3 hours of me chattering away.

See y’all tomorrow and all weekend on the Talk Nerdy With Us Twitter and Instagram feeds!

Con artist

#nerd, Anime, Art, Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Geek, Sewing

Ha! What a pun!

No, seriously. I may not be the world’s best artist. I may not even be a good artist. And I’m certainly not a featured artist of the con. But I am an artist. And I’m going to the con. So…yeah.

The cosplays are going so well that I can hardly wait for Phoenix Comicon. I mean, there is still a lot of stuff to get done. Mostly little stuff, thanks to my early morning insomniac sewing, but still a lot to get done.

The parts that are finished are looking quite nice, and I have to admit I’m egotistically proud of myself for doing so well, especially on my husband’s cosplay pieces so far. (I’m not particularly proud of the skirt I made for my Jedi TARDIS, but it’s finished now and it would take too much effort to remake the whole thing. Again.)

I don’t have any pictures of his Naruto cosplay–yet–but I have a selfie of me wearing my Temari kimono and headband. At 3am. In the dark. Still, it’s a cute photo, so I’m going to show it off here, along with hubby’s completed Sith Time Lord cosplay (missing just a couple red leather straps that are due to arrive *fingers crossed* hopefully by the end of the month):

As you can see in the bottom left corner of the picture of the front of hubby’s Sith Time Lord, our cat Rory likes to photobomb our cosplay pics. I have several examples of this. Seriously, cat, we’re just standing around in funny clothes taking pictures of each other. Relax. It’s nothing interesting.

We also *may* get my Temari fighting fan cosplay prop before Phoenix Comicon. Hubby ordered it last night, but we don’t know for sure if it will arrive before the con.

My plans for the evening? More artsy-craftsy cosplay art for our annual con. 🙂

Stressing over nothing?

Anime, Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Sewing

Yesterday, I spent Mother’s Day worrying about the coat for my husband’s cosplay. I was frantically cutting, pinning, and sewing in the hopes that I could finish it before Phoenix Comicon. Before I sewed the first seam I got so frustrated that I started bawling. My first pre-con freakout of the year.

As I started putting pieces together, though, I noticed that it really wasn’t as bad as my mind made it out to be. Sure, there are a lot of pieces. There’s a lot of technical stuff I have to do that I’m not accustomed to doing. It’s my first freaking coat. Still, the instructions are (thus far) easy enough to understand, and I have the aid of a friend who has made the pattern before.

Now that the top outer layer is getting closer to done after only a day of work–most of it spent pinning and cutting–I’m more confident that I can pull this off. There are a little over three weeks until Phoenix Comicon and I have a couple of half days and an off day in between where I can work on it during the week (and not just first thing in the morning before I have to get ready for work).

I just hope it fits.

Can’t Con-tain My Excitement

Celebrity, Convention, Cosplay, Fandom, Geek

It’s a little more than 3 months until Phoenix Comicon, our cosplays are almost done, and I’m getting increasingly excited about this year’s con.

I want to enter a cosplay contest, if possible. I may not win, but it’ll be great to take part and be able to say that I broke through some of my social anxiety to attempt such a thing. I also can’t wait to meet some of the con/cosplay friends I’ve made through my Cosplay Closet Essentials interviews for Talk Nerdy With Us and through the Blue Ribbon Army group on Facebook. (Don’t know about BRA? Check out my post on Talk Nerdy With Us!) And, of course, there’s at least one celebrity that I have to get a photo op with!

Also exciting? This will be my first year attending as a media member! Talk Nerdy With Us has given me so many opportunities, and this one is by far the best. I may be able to interview some great guests of the con, and it will be awesome to do a special Phoenix Comicon edition of Cosplay Closet Essentials. I’ll also get to meet one of my Talk Nerdy With Us coworkers.

In addition to Phoenix Comicon, I’ll also be attending Dragon Con in Atlanta this year (not as media, but it will still be awesome). I’ll get to see my BFF in Alabama on the way (can you say “road trip”?), and we’ll get to spend some time together at the con. I’ll also be able to meet more of the Talk Nerdy With Us team, as many of them are considering going to Dragon Con. TNWU con party!

I’ve gone from having near-crippling social anxiety to trying to gain as much attention as possible by dressing to the nines with cosplays that I have created and wearing an official BRA lanyard to identify myself to other BRA members and possibly make new friends.

Cons are amazing things, and I can’t wait for Phxcc!

Sew here I go again

Convention, Cosplay, Crafting, Fandom, Geek, Learning, Sewing

It’s that time again! Back to the cosplay sewing.

This morning I cut out the pieces for the tunic that my husband will wear. I’m hoping to be done with that this weekend so I can get started on drafting the pattern (aka making shit up) for the cloak. I have a pattern for the hood, but for the rest I’ll have to sketch most of it and come up with a way to put it together.

I may or may not have to line it, which will make it quite hot to wear, but I don’t know if I can pull off the bottom part with the contrast blocking without lining it. Maybe something lightweight? We’ll see.

I’m feeling much more confident in my sewing skills the further I go with this project. I don’t feel as skittish about following the patterns and I’m almost certain I can pull off the cloak.

This is going to be an amazing convention year for me and my husband. If I can finish these cosplays, I may try to convince him to have professional photos taken at one of the cons we go to.

Jumping the proverbial gun

Cosplay, Crafting, Geek, Sewing, Writing

I started sewing the corset panels together this morning. Why do this when I don’t have all the materials to complete it, you might ask. Well, it’s simple: if I didn’t start it, I was going to chicken out and possibly buy a cheap, pre-made corset and just sew the fabric I want on top of the corset, which would look weird. So I started what I can do, and will finish once I have the boning, casings, and binding purchased.

Next up: the skirt. This will be probably as much of a challenge as the corset, as I will be self-drafting most likely. I want to make a sort of fishtail/mermaid skirt, with the exploding TARDIS fabric for the train. I need to decide for sure, though, because it will be tough to figure out how to keep the train from getting stepped on at Comicon. There’s the option of putting a small loop on the inside to pick up the train while I walk, but that might look silly. Then again, who cares if I look silly? It’s my cosplay, my fun.

That’s the great thing about cosplay: the fun. It may take hours, days, weeks, months of work (more like months for me, because I’m taking my time & because I have Attention Deficit Artistic Disorder (not a real medical condition, but it should be)–but in the end, it’s about having fun with costumes. I mean, it is COStume PLAY, after all.

It’s too bad I haven’t ordered the boning/casings yet, because I would love to be able to get this done before Halloween, or at least before the next nearby convention. I think that Tucson Comic-con is in November–maybe I’ll try to be done by then.

Of course, next month is #NaNoWriMo. So I’ll be preoccupied with getting as much writing in as possible. We’ll see.

Sew far sew good

Cosplay, Crafting, Sewing

I’m making progress on my #TARDIS #cosplay. I bought the Simplicity pattern, but I plan on making a few alterations. Gotta be me, y’know?

I have plenty of blue fabric to work with, but I’ll need more of the #explodingtardis fabric if I’m going to finish it the way I want.

The corset is going to be the trickiest part. I’ve never made one before, and even though the Simplicity pattern is supposed to be, well, simple, corsets are notoriously difficult for beginners like myself. I’ll definitely need to make at least one mock-up to be sure I get the technique and fit down pat. I’ll also have to wait until last to do that part, because I plan on losing weight. A shrug with a hood won’t look too weird if I lose a bunch of weight, but a corset won’t look right at all.

The skirt should be fairly easy to make and alter. I’ve made a skirt before, so I can play around with that.

Not that there isn’t a ton of time before the next con I am going to. I just really am enjoying this, and I hope to go back to previous cosplays and improve on them as well before Phoenix Comicon 2016.

Since I have a slight case of Artistic Attention Deficit Disorder, I can’t seem to stick to one project at a time. I also have an art commission project that I need to work on, now that my knees feel much better and I can sit comfortably.

Lots going on. Lots to do. Gotta love it.