Rockin' In My Roadster (Jem Collection)

I am on spring break this week so that means that I can use my time off to catch up on blog posts. If you have ever meet me in real life you already are aware that I love anything 80's especially toy wise.  as a kid, one of the cartoons that I found truly outrageous and totally rad was Jem and the Holograms. I am really excited for the live action movie and also for the new comic that IDW is coming out with. I have already ordered the first issue box set all of the various covers from Collected Comics in Fort Worth and have set up a subscription service as well.

Jem was also one of the first characters I ever Cosplayed at a convention. I bought the already made costume from Halloween city. The costume came with her signature earrings, a spandex dress, microphone, and the belt that you see pictured. I paired it with pink legwarmers,  pink fishnets, and glitter filled bangle bracelets that I already owned. I wore pink flats because it is difficult for me to wear heals and I try to be as comfy as possible. 

My makeup consisted of bubble gum pink lipstick and the pink triangle-shaped eye makeup that I drew on with Halloween makeup crayons.

I also had to buy the wig separately and styled it myself. It was deliciously 80's and I had lots of fun. I was actually surprised at how many people recognized and loved the character.

As far as the toys go, I have been collecting them for some time. I started with the Glitter and Gold Comic Con Exclusive and received several complete dolls for Easter two years ago.  My boyfriend also collects toys and insisted that if I were to get any of the original dolls it would be best to hunt them down individually so that they had their clothes, shoes, and instruments. Previously, I owned a Kimber that we found at a Thrift store and she was a little worse for wear and missing everything BUT Kimber was always my favorite and I have the fatal flaw of never passing up a lonely toy.

 After some searching he purchased several dolls off of E-BAY that even came with the cassettes. Oh, if I still owned my little pink walkman circa 1992! Seriously, I would be jamming to The Misfits right now because everyone knows their songs are better.

For Valentine's Day this year my collection grew even bigger with the addition of a Rockin' Roadster. It was purchased off of E-Bay and shipped all the way from Holland. It was opened but came pretty much mint with the plastic casing still on the roadster.

The seller even said that the FM Radio still works. It is common for the roadster to be missing the headlights, hood ornament or removable convertible top but mine is complete.

 Jem had to take it for a spin but Rio was unavailable. Thankfully, our new Starlord Hot Toys figure was more than willing to take his place!

What toys do you collect? What was your favorite 80's Cartoon?

I can feel it in my code....time for an update!

oh, wow. I haven't updated my little part of cyberspace in forever! Lots of things have happened since my last update in march including, summer internships, semesters of college, hospital stays, Disney Vacations and of course conventions and lots of toy buying. I have been meaning to get back into blogging for a while now and wish to share my adventures with you!

 I feel like I should start with a general update and post pictures and slightly embarrassing completion stories of my Vanellope cosplay,  which I did manage to debut at Dallas Comic Con!

This cosplay was the very first costume I ever completed from scratch! It gave me a whole new level of respect for the hard work that goes in to cosplaying. My costume was by no means perfect but I loved the process and the final product. I want to break down the individual pieces before posting the final product. 

Vanellope's hoodie was VERY hard to find. I searched thrift shops relentlessly. I finally found a teal hoodie that matched Vanellope’s but it was a zip up instead of a pull over. Sometimes you have to work within a budget and with what is readily available to you. I used yarn to add the licorice hood strings and embellishments. The flash unfortunately distorted the colors a bit so you may get a better idea from the final product photos.

The Leggings were just as tricky to track down and duplicate. Thankfully, I found a pair of teal/ mint colored tights at my local target. I do not remember the price but I know they were pretty inexpensive. Target is the place to go for Tights if you are looking for slightly oddball color choices. At this point, I enlisted the help of my friend Kat for panting the stripes. This is largely due to the fact that I have very little artistic talent and frankly, she would be painting the tights while they were on my body.  This act of true friendship, resulted in standing backyard on a warm day while singing Disney songs (badly on my part but Kat has a wonderful singing voice) at the top of our lungs. She expertly wrapped the stripes around my legs using a Martha Stewart fabric paint with a small paint roller.  Once the paint dried ( in like 20 minutes) she used a purple sharpie to add detail. Could we have found an easier way? Yeah, probably but where would the fun be in that?

We also coated candy pieces in Mod Podge to add to the wig I bought from ebay but I failed to take pictures of that process. Now, on to the finished product. It was imperfect but for my very first Cosplay it was not Bad! 

The second is my favorite photo because a racer is still a racer regardless of what galaxy she is in. Sometimes you just feel it in in your code!

I have lots of other cosplays planned like Lydia Deetz and a school girl version of Madoka from Madoka Magica. Plus, a blog about my recent trip to Disney World!

This Blog Just Got a Bit Glitch-y (Cosplay in Progress)

It's officially my first day of Spring  Break! After spending the majority of my morning laying in bed and watching Attack On Titan via Netflix, I decided to start working on My Vanellope Von Schweetz cosplay.  I am hoping to have this costume done by Dallas Comic Con in May.

                                                          (image by Disney/Pixar)

I decided that I wanted to work on a Vanellope costume the second time I saw the film because that is when I truly fell in love with the character. I loved that she was a Glitch in the game Sugar Rush and seemed to be a dose of sarcasm in the sugary sweet world. After searching E-Bay for about a month, I was unable to find any pre-made hair clips that I felt would be *perfect* for the bits of candy and sprinkles in her hair.  I decided it would probably be best to make my own.  Luckily,  my problem was soon solved when I found jelly bean shaped beads. Almost every crafter knows that glue guns are the secret to creating magic..

so this morning, I put on my Pikachu Kigurumi (Because I am *such* a serious person) and set to work.

(yes, I took a picture to back it up)

I gathered my supplies while my hot glue gun heated up.

Which Included:

• One Ad-Tech mini Glue Gun from walmart ( I feel compelled to brag about my glue gun having a zebra print design which makes me a huge crafting dork.)
• One mini glue stick (I think these were Ad-Tech brand as well)
•  Bobby Pins  (I used basic black ones and actually need to buy more)
• Jelly Bean Beads ( Multiple colors from E-Bay $4.00 Including shipping gets you 24 beads)
  

  Simple right?

Basically, it took about 15 minutes to attach the beads to the black bobby pins. This can be done by applying a small dot of glue to the closed end of the bobby pin and then placing the  bead on top of it. once you have placed the bead hold it in place until the glue hardens. I actually placed my beads differently (some up and down and others sideways) this is because the bits of color that are in Vanellope's hair are not perfectly symmetrical. Some of the glue might create what I call "gluey webbies" or strands. glue imperfections tend to peel off easy, so don't be too worried about it if this happens.

If you were wondering, this is what the beads look like before they are glued to the pins.

and this is what the finished product looks like when in my hair. Keep in mind I will be adding a lot more because some were not finished drying and I ran out of pins.

The pins will actually be more camouflaged  and there are more colors as well. I just wanted to take a photo to give myself a better idea of how they actually look in my hair.

First Post-Hello!

Hello!

If you are reading this, I am honored to say that you have stumbled across my fist blog post.  I think I should begin with a little introduction before I expose you to my general nerdiness.  My name is Ann and I am a 27 year old college student from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I am currently trying to earn my Associates Degree in teaching before I segue into library technology and become a children's librarian. Yay books! (insert an Agnes from Despicable Me-esque song about books here)

In the two and a half years that I have lived in the state of Texas, I have searched my local Toys-R-Us, toy stores, dug through bins at flea markets,  and  have scoured the dealer room at many local conventions for toys and comics.  It is safe to say that I love anything of the action figure variety. My main collections range from My Little Pony, She-Ra and He-Man to any super hero related figures . I have absolutely swooned over a Masters of the Universe Fright Zone play-set before purchasing it. I know the utmost joy that finding a toy from your childhood (that you either had or dreamed about) can bring to someone.

I have also been known to cosplay at local conventions as well.  If you are unfamiliar with this term, cosplaying is when a person decides to dress up as their favorite character- be it from a comic, television show, whatever.

Now....

Here is the part of my blog where I explain the other half of my user-name. In addition to being a female of the super nerdy persuasion, I also have a disability.  I was born with a mild form of Spastic Cerebral Palsy  (hence the gimp part of my user-name) and because of my disability I have to use a mobility aid.


 Does this stop my desire to dress up? NO.
                           



 (Me as Rainbow Dash at Dallas Comic and Pop Expo)

Am I doomed to cosplay Barbara Gordon as Oracle for the rest of my cosplaying days? NO.

 ( side note: If you haven't already, go read the Killing Joke by the great Alan Moore. seriously. DO IT! It is one of my FAVORITE story lines in comics, EVER. I cried for DAYS... because I cry at everything)

Will I eventually cosplay as Barbara Gordon as Oracle? Yes, because I love her. This is not because she has a disability but because she is a strong female and AWESOME.

Was I ever apprehensive because I am cosplaying with my walker? Yes, and honestly I still am (usually for the first 15 minutes upon entering the con.)


here is where I let you in on a secret... ready?

The cosplaying/convention community here is so full of love for others dressing up and showing love for their fandoms.  sure there might be jerks that think, oh that girl is too chubby to be______  or girls can't possibly *really* like Star Wars. Thankfully, that sort of thinking is becoming more and more rare. With the explosion of comic book movies onto the big screen and shows like the big bang theory being shown I think this is the best time to be a nerd.

So, Join me on my quest to share my nerdiness and improve my costuming!  Please? I am burdened with glorious purpose.

-Ann A.K.A. The Nerdy Gimp