The Making of the Vanellope Wig

So I promised to explain in detail my Vanellope process an here it is!

Styling the Wig:

For Vanellope’s wig there are a lot of things to say before I get to business. First off, you CAN NOT just buy a wig and put in in a ponytail. Most wigs are thin and the wefts will show badly. The effect you’ll get will look really fake and really bad. You’ll be able to see your wig cap and real hair, because a wig in a ponytail doesn’t cover that well. There definitely are methods to style a wig by putting a wig in a ponytail and I’ll explain one really good way that I found, or at least good for Vanellope. This method won’t work every time unless you manually sew a headband wig, which is really hard. You’ll usually be able to use this method for natural colors like black, brown, or blonde. For the Vanellope wig, I used wigs I already had, but not one’s hard to acquire. For the base, I use a solid black short COSPLAY wig. (Cosplay wig fibers are a lot different than one’s on wigs you’ll find at your local beauty supply store. The fibers are actually made for styling and look a lot better, especially for animated characters.) You can easily purchase a cheap one of eBay, but mine came with a Zatsune wig. For her actual ponytail I use what’s called a headband wig or a ¾ wig. I purchase that from eBay for about $5. It’s not a full wig, so don’t think you can get away with just using that. I placed the headband wig on the base and positioned it were I wanted it. Then I put bobby pins in the wigs, going in TOWARDS the front (so the closed end was on the back of the head). This will keep the wigs from coming apart and sliding off your head. Then I pulled the wig into a tight ponytail. Sounds pretty simple, right? It’s a lot harder than you think. You have to pull the short wig into the longer hair, while keeping your wig head stable. You’ll definitely need someone to hold it for you, or style it on someone else’s head.  When you do, try and leave shorts strands down at the ends to cover any wefts. The headband wig will not extend across the entire headband, so you’ll need to smooth the hair together as much as possible. You’ll then pull back any strays into the wave of the hair, to look like it’s naturally transitioning into the ponytail. Spray the hairs LIGHTLY down with some Got2b freeze spray (or regular hairspray). Dry the spray with a blow-dryer on a low setting. Bobby pin any funky looking hairs back into the ponytail and you should have a nice finish.  Lightly tease the hair close to your hair tie to create a bigger, more animated look. And that should be it! Now you have natural looking ponytail!

Making the Candies:

At first, it’s easy to think you can just glue beads to a booby pin any work it into the wig, but after many trial and error attempts, that just didn’t look right. So we decided to make the EXACT candies in her hair, since I’m a perfectionist. The candies I made for Vanellope’s hair required a lot of reference pictures, since I really wanted to get them just right. I counted each sprinkle and candy and how many of each color I needed. Then I used Sculpy oven bake clay to mold them all by hand. Be sure not to make them too big or small. You don’t need to buy a bunch of different colors of clay either. I just used yellow and then painted them to match hers with acrylic paint. After baking the candies, I put them in the freezer for a faster hardening effect. 
Then I hand painted each one (or more like most of the work was done by my Felix cosplayer helping me) and obviously let them dry. After that, I used a crystal enamel paint to coat the candies. This gave them a very shiny and plastic looking effect, almost like real candies. After that, I glued the candies to bobby pins, almost individually, because her candy is quite spaced out. Then I placed them into the wig, hiding the pin in her hair.

I've seen some people use real candies, which we had to do with the gummy bears. Just be sure to coat them in plastic so they don't stick to your wig. And get candies proportionate to the wig. Her sprinkles are really big. Unless you know of some sprinkle shaped candies, you might have to use clay.

Twizzler Hair Tie:

We considered almost everything when it came to the Twizzler in Vanellope’s hair from an actual jumbo Twizzler to a rope. But nothing was thick or light enough. In the end, we fell back to clay. We were afraid it’d be too heavy, but it ended up being actually pretty light. We rolled out a coil of Sculpy oven bake clay, and then pressed it to make a square shape, and the pushed in the center to appear more like an anime sparkle (that’s honestly the best way I can describe it with no pictures to show you). Then we twisted the clay rope until we had the desire amount of spirals and pressed the ends down and left the clay for a few hours. This is necessary for the clay to take the Twizzler shape and not unspiral (that’s not even a word).  After we were sure of its shape, we took the clay and wrapped it around the ponytail for size. Remember, you have to get it on the wig with it being hard clay, so make it a little lose. Vanellope’s Twizzler isn’t tied, so we styled like hers with lots of reference pictures, again. We pressed the ends flat and then baked the clay. Afterwards, we mix paint to get a nice licorice pinkish red color and coated it a few times. Essentially, it was the same process as the candies.  We sprayed the plastic coat over the painted clay Twizzler, and it was done! You might need to glue bobby pins to it to stick to your wig well enough, but it should fit on right if you measured properly.

I'll update with the making of my cousin's Fix It Felix Jr cosplay! We just finished :> And then maybe some on Wreck-It-Ralph.

Wreck-It Ralph Cosplays Update

Vanellope's Handmade Medal Sculpted from Clay and Various Other Things

Updates with Vanellope Von Schweetz cosplay! And a LONG story of how I roped in some Wreck-It Ralph cosplayers. 

So, first off, I'm going to Ikkicon in Austin, Texas December 28th through the 30th with my cousin, Greg, who is also the one who took me on my Japan Adventure. On the phone, he told me I should watch Wreck-It Ralph because it was a really good movie (and it definitely was.) After seeing the movie, I looked up Vanellope pictures out of curiosity and saw that a lot of people had already cosplayed. Then, I realized I have a wig for that. So I took a picture of it and sent it to Greg and he decided that he'd be Ralph if I'd be Vanellope. And while that sounded like a great idea, I did not realize the trouble I was getting myself into.

Andrew's Happy Fix-It Face

So, Thursday, on Thanksgiving, my other cousin, Andrew, came over and we discussed my plans for Ikkicon. Andrew had gone to Ikkicon with Greg and I last year, and I didn't want to be rude so I invited him along. Later, I mentioned I really wanted to do Midna, but my other Zelda cosplay friends couldn't tag along to Ikki. He then opened his mouth and said, "I could be your Link." Well, that later turned into, "I guess I could do Fix-It Felix Jr., too." And then it became an unhealthy obsession. That night we saw Wreck-It Ralph because Andrew had yet to watch it and loved the movie. The next day we made and really nice Felix hat and then shopping for supplies that night... And it went all downhill from there. We've officially spent way to much money on these costumes to turn back now, not that we want to. We've really enjoyed the last four days straight of working on cosplay nonstop, honestly though. I suppose I will explain how things were made in the next blog, not that we're finished or anything. I really wish I would have taken more photos for tutorials, but it really has been all trial and error with these costumes and a lot of firsts.

Contacts were hell with Andrew, but he finally got them in after many hours of failed attempts. We've put immense amounts of detail into these cosplays, and we are very confident we'll be "the most legitimate Wreck-It-Ralph cosplays ever". Vanellope is a challenge with all the candy and Felix is the first normal guy plumberish dude (that's not really a plumber, but can be compared to Mario) I've ever done and we're making sure to get every detail correct. I'll be sure to post some really good pictures of the final product later. I bid the internet a farewell and leave you with a somewhat creepy picture of my cousin in a Felix hat.

Soul Eater: Female Cosplays a Yay or Nay?

One of many otaku's favorite animes: Soul Eater. Not only for it's Halloween theme, but, for the most part, it's one of those animes that hold the charm of being incredibly serious when it needs to be, and really funny other parts. Not to mention some of the great character designs. But enough of that rant, I just wanted to point out that Soul is definitely my favorite character in Soul Eater by far, even though he's low on the list according to most. Ever since I've watched Soul Eater my freshman year of high school, I've wanted to cosplay him. Unfortunately, I never got around to it. I planned to, many times actually. But my plans never failed to fall apart some way or another. But, like 90% of my costumes, today I pulled a costume out of my butt. If I haven't previously mentioned, I am the queen of the nerds. Or more like the democratic president of the Otaku Club. Which, in the end, is almost worse, because I was elected into such position. But I kid, because I honestly do love it. So, most meetings I attempt to cosplay, being the cosplayer I am. Problem is, 1) Almost ALL of my costumes are at a location about an hour away for personal reasons not to be discussed on the internet and 2) most of the costumes I own (not to sound in any way slutty) are not school appropriate. That calls means for the constant generation of new costumes to be pulled of of my butt that are school appropriate. So in spur of the moment, I grabbed some red pants, and a yellow and dark grey cardigan and a white wig and my Soul Eater headband and walked out the door as a female Soul.

And this would be sort of a result of that. Now, I'm aware of the million mistakes. I have red contacts, but whatever possessed my brain to forget about them is beyond me, so you guys are graced with my incredibly crappy Photoshop skills, bad photography skills, and beyond asymmetrical face. As far as officially cosplaying a "Female Soul" it probably won't happen, mostly because I'm not incredibly fond of people that try to "genderbend" characters. Especially ones that should NEVER be "genderbent". I know lots of girls do it because they don't want to put in the effort of cosplaying a guy and think they can get away with a lot of mistakes in the costume because they're the "girl version". And it's actually highly common in Hetalia cosplays. So, as far as adding "Female Soul" to my list of cosplays, it's not going to happen.

But as far as Soul (just normal, guy Soul) I will definitely be cosplaying him. I mean, I'm not going to put my super cool official headband to no particular use. So, I suppose I will be placing an order for a new white wig soon, and maybe to a blog on how I style my wigs. And maybe even do a tutorial on how to get those groovy white eyebrows which are clearly not shown in the picture provided because I was wearing a black wig earlier today. Also, Soul's teeth: if you didn't notice, they're really pointy, and I'm not about to sharpen my teeth into points anytime soon no matter how much I would love to. There are actually complex methods to do such effects, in which there will probably be a lot  to speak about later. Let me know what you think of "Female Soul". Is "genderbending" characters cool? Or just really stupid? Or is it circumstantial? What cosplay do you want to see me do next? Or never cosplay again? XD

P.S. My things for Vanellope Von Schweetz are supposed to come in Saturdayyyyy <3 I'm way too excited. I know what I'll be doing this weekenddddd.

Vanellope Von Schweetz Cosplay

In Austin Texas, December 28th through the 30th, there's a convention I will be attending called Ikkicon. :> I also went to see "Wreck It Ralph" Friday, and I loved it. How are these two events relevant, you ask? Well, I saw some cosplays of Vanellope (the little girl From the game "Sugar Rush" in "Wreck It Ralph"). I was shocked to see how popular she had become since the movies been in theaters only for a few days. So I decided: That'll be the easiest costume ever. And low and behold, it's really easy XD. So I've decided to cosplay Vanellope Von Schweetz to Ikkicon as a backup costume. At the moment, I'm waiting on her leggings to come in so I can alter them. I've also already placed an order for a blank teal sweatshirt. SO, this cosplay is happening, for sure. I've been searching eBay for some brown skirts that I might be able to alter, and own the shoes. (Which  are obviously not difficult to obtain). As a person that wears wigs everyday, or just about, I've got the hair covered.

I'll keep my process posted, but the next picture you see will probably be the finished product. I'm debating on getting contacts. Her eyes are brown with teal rims. I have brown eyes, but I'm not sure if it's worth getting the contacts. XD I'm a poor person who has other costumes to pay for. I'll be attempting Midna from Zelda: Twilight Princess and PS2 Nagato Yuki as my main cosplays. Let me know if you have any other suggestions for my Vanellope cosplay or any other requests :>. I'll be posting some reviews and tutorials for other things, like Zelda Armor and maybe a tutorial about how I got my Vanellope wig in such a clean, natural looking ponytail, using the wig. (Obviously, that's not my real hair XD). And if you haven't seen Wreck It Ralph, that's a must, because it's a super cute, mega adorable movie with tons of nerdiness.

 

 

The Life of the World

This is me. And this is my blog. I like pumpkin pie and clay eyeball sharks and over sweetened reheated coffee and my cat, even though I hate it when he licks my toes. I like the abnormal, and I like what's fun. I like apple flavored anything and wearing funny colored wigs and I hate wearing socks. And that's just life. So, I guess, my point is, that's what this blog is now about. About all the nerdy anime conventions I attend and the progress of my cosplays. Honestly though, I have a short story to tell:

I was hating being me, and not because of anything mentioned above. Y'know, when you just get stuck in a rut and nothing seems to go your way? I guess that was how I felt. I wasn't doing anything fun, just working and being boring. Until this morning, I received a message from a little girl. I'd never met her in my entire life, and I probably won't ever. I won't mention names, or say exact words, but to sum it up, she said she loved watching my friends and I do what we loved most and she really hopes that we continue whatever it was we were doing. We never did anything special; we merely messed around and posted stuff on YouTube, like every teenager did. It's been years since we did that. But I still received that message this morning. I guess that made me realize: Life isn't made to be wasted going to work and being boring. I should do what I want, and live how I want.

I met a boy once, in 6th grade. He was a little weird, but nice. I was a bitch, but we became close friends anyways. That boy ended up liking me. A lot. He asked me out time and time again, and all I did was reject him. But I wasn't the only one. As he got older, he realized that it was not okay to keep pretending. Now that boy is in the process of becoming a very beautiful girl, with the entire world rejecting him. And that's hard. People like that, who can be themselves no matter what, are the ones who deserve to be respected in my eyes. So, I'll write about pin-up style and anime and costumes, because that's what I like. And I'll be me. Allison will be her. And that's how the planet will roll, standing tall and true, regardless of how cheesy I sound right now. So, there you have it :> My reasons for picking my blog back up. Please enjoy this gorgeous picture of my cat:

Arrivals and Departures

Outside of the Spaghetti Warehouse

It's almost midnight here in Dallas, so I thought I'd update my blog before heading out tomorrow morning to the airport :> My cousin arrived today, bursting at the seems with excitement. He was desperate for some pictures of Dallas, and he got a few of the new bridge, but not enough. (Hopefully he'll get some tomorrow on the way to the airport.) On the way to our grandparents house we stopped at the Spaghetti Warehouse, which I, surprisingly, had never been to, living in Dallas and loving spaghetti. The restaurant was absolutely adorable on the inside, with unique things everywhere. We ate in an old Dallas street car, but there were some tables made of bed frames and such. We received luck from our family on our trip. It's hard to believe we'll be in Japan so soon.

DFW Airport

Our flight will be filled with Japanese animated movies and lots of studying with little sleep. I highly doubt I'm going to make it the entire plane ride without sleeping an hour or two, though^^; I'll probably end up staying up all night long and be super tired on our 13 hour trip to Tokyo plus another 2 hours to Nagoya. As Greg and I are unpacking our things I'm sure we'll find some time to update our blogs and maybe even film some video <3

Bye-Bye for now~

Leaving in TWO days!!

My cousin comes in tomorrow from Virginia and I'm super duper mega ultra excited^-^ I leave for Japan in just TWO short days!! I'm going to explode <3 Not only have I not seen my cousin in a while (because it's been difficult for him to go on leave in the Navy, since he's been saving up his days for this trip), but did I mention we'll be in Japan for an entire month? (Sarcasm doesn't work well over the internet, I'm aware XD). I made a super long packing list and checked everything a million times just to make sure I didn't forget anything^^; The plane ride from Dallas to Tokyo will be about 13 hours (which I'm not too ecstatic about =^=), but I'll learn to live, since we're bringing a ton of movies to watch and I need to study~ I'll keep this blog relatively short. Tomorrow, I'll post pictures of Greg's arrival! Bye-Bye!! <3

... This always makes my day :>

Individuality

Individuality - 

1. the particular character, or aggregate of qualities, that distinguishes one person or thing from others; sole and personal nature: a person of marked individuality.

2. the qualities that distinguish one person or thing from another; identity

- http://dictionary.reference.com/

I'm not entirely sure the world is aware of this topic, and I'm quite aware that I'm not the only person surrounded by close minded people, dead set in their ways, unwilling to listen to reason. Respecting someone's beliefs is one thing, but shoving your thoughts and ways of conformity down humanity's throat isn't going to help save the world. I'm sure everyone will take what they want from statements like that, but everyone has their own reasons. Because someone is different, whether religion or style or culture, doesn't mean they deserve to be hated; in fact, it will do absolutely nothing.

I realize acceptance isn't something you can expect from society. And there will always be someone who disagrees with you. But, as a child, I was constantly spoon fed the words "Be yourself". I know most teenagers my age lack originality and merely do whatever the rest of the crowd does. And that's fine. If you are truly just like everyone else, then don't force yourself to be something your not. But because someone doesn't fit the role of the average person doesn't lessen their worth as a being. 

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

People lack self worth. Those who strive to merely achieve their own goals against every other force are the ones who truly grow as people. Why should you care for that? I'm not sure. It depends on your morals. And maybe you don't care. But that's just who you are, and regardless of whether you brainwash yourself to be like everyone else or you stick out like a sore thumb, you'll be equal to everyone around you.

 “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”

― Coco Chanel

I don't want to sit and preach to the world about individuality and how it's a necessity to the world. I do things because I want to, not because I'm expected. All day long I hear that I should NOT be going to Japan because of some random selfish or religious reason that some close minded person makes up. And all my life I've heard that I deserve some awful punishment for being different than another person. I'm not going to step down to people like that. Pursue yourself, not someone else's idea of what should or shouldn't be your life.

“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche

“I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions.”

― Augusten Burroughs, Magical Thinking: True Stories