Archive for August, 2008

A little more D*C

Sunday, August 31st, 2008 by tcg

Saturday afternoon was a bust for me. My camera died at the beginning of the Stargate panel. I’m sorry folks. There was an Ultimate Kitty Pryde there I wanted a picture of. Most of that afternoon went pictureless. I didn’t get a back-up camera until just before the Whedon Shindig. It’s strange using someone’s camera.

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We helped set up for the Shindig then went up to the room to put on the EMT costumes. As always, they got a great response from the party goers. The bands were appropriately folksy. There was a large gathering of Rivers dancing in the corner. I tried to take lots of pictures for the Browncoat yearbook. I don’t know how many turned out yet.

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We left the party early to scout for costumes. I had hoped that a late night scavenge might make up for the dead afternoon. Our reflective tape ruined most of the pictures people took. We call it Troning pictures.

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Sunday morning brought out Kitty Pryde. The shoulders turned out a little wide and my gloves looked wonky, but I liked it. ManWithPez decided on wearing his Ariel EMT costume. Lo Pan played with my gloves. I shook hands with Avery Brooks. It was shaping up to be better than Saturday.

Off to find the Wolf Pack Elite party.

ThatCostumeGirl’s Dragon Con 2008 Gallery

D*C continues

Saturday, August 30th, 2008 by tcg
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Friday night was a lot of fun. We went to the Dr. Horrible Sing-Along-Blog sing-along. The show was a blast. The crowd sang along and got involved. The cast looked the part. Immediately following was the Buffy Sing-Along. The cast was spot on. They’ve been working together a few years now and have really gotten into their parts. Sweet is the best villain of the Whedonverse.

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We had a late night wandering around looking for Old Greg. I wouldn’t have thought a green haired man in a tutu would have been hard to find. Our night ended when we ran into Nathan Fillion at the elevators. Nathan snapped a pic of us as the groupies and Dr. Horrible. We knew our night had reached its climax and headed back to our hotel to rest up for Saturday.

Saturday morning arrived early.

Dressed as Wonder Girl and Yorick, we headed down to the parade. But it was too hot for poor Yorick. ManWithPez was melting under the gas mask and poncho. He went back to the hotel to change into Seymour which is slightly less hot. He caught up with Lissa and I on the parade route.

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The streets were lined with thousands of D*C attendees and Atlantans. I found a spot kneeling in the street at the crosswalk on Baker St. It was great. Well until the news cameramen decided my spot was perfect for them too. They kept walking back and forth in front of me. Sigh. Hopefully the parade pictures will turn out well.

We got a few autographs after the parade. Everyone can breathe easier knowing I met Sean Astin. I still need to meet Avery Brooks. Nathan Fillion took a picture of Seymour and Audrey II. Alan Tudyk complimented the puppet and thought Frank Oz would like it. That would be quite a compliment indeed. Now it’s time for a little break to rest our feet.

ThatCostumeGirl’s Dragon Con 2008 Gallery

Dragon Con begins

Friday, August 29th, 2008 by tcg
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I’m at Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA. We arrived Thursday afternoon just in time to stand in line to get our passes. Six people in front of us was an old online friend of ours, TheRealMe. Soon, we met lots of old friends.

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After I received my pass, I was hanging around outside the media and special guests room. While standing there I saw Richard Hatch. I’ve seen him at past conventions and he still looks great. Unfortunately he was surrounded by folks so I was unable to get a moment with him. I turned around and saw Pierre Bernard of the Recliner of Rage. He was very friendly and spoke at length with me about his D*C experience last year and his excitement at being a guest this year. On Saturday he’ll be a guest judge for the Stargate costume contest and invited me to attend. I’ll see him on Saturday to check out the Gate world creations.

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The rest of the evening was spent having dinner with friends and standing in line for more passes for our other friends. It was a great intro to the con. Not many costume were out on display yet, but we saw a few great costumes. Our friend Lissa met a Wookie that over 7 feet tall. A nice Jedi let her borrow his lightsaber for a quick pic. I met a very lovely Andorian. Some Troopers stood and talked with us a while on a street corner. ManWithPez found a Big Trouble in Little China costume group. He snapped a picture for me. By the time I caught up with him, the group had spread out and I couldn’t get the gang war with Jack in the middle. Maybe I’ll see them again.

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Today is the official first day of events. Busy schedule ahead of everyone today. I will be joining Lissa as a Dr. Horrible groupie today and ManWithPez will be Dr. Horrible. We met some Horrible fans that are going to hook us up with Evil League of Evil ribbons. Yay!

Big thanks to Costume Craze for helping make my D*C experience possible this year.
ThatCostumeGirl’s Dragon Con 2008 Gallery

Down to the Wire

Monday, August 25th, 2008 by tcg

Well folks, Thursday marks the beginning of the 2008 Dragon Con adventure.

My plan for this year was to bring Kitty Pryde (your voting selection), updated Wonder Girl, Wonder Girl armor, and my Ariel EMT costume. What actually will happen is still up in the air because the armor is unfinished. I ran into more yield signs than I expected. Pattern making is not my strong point and the costume has suffered for it. I still have hope though. I’ll keep that list of four costumes and add the Dr. Horrible groupie to the end.

I was also working on costumes for ManWithPez. His list included Yorick Brown, Ariel EMT, Spider-Sense Spider-Man, and the ever lovable Seymour Krelborn. Again with the hitches. Yorick is finished and ready to go. The EMT and Seymour were previously completed. The Spider-sense mask has befuddled me. I’m not a seamstress so a spandex mask that covers only half a face is tricky for me to figure out. Again, I have not lost hope. We have added Dr. Horrible to his costume trunk for D*C.

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Last you read the Dr. Horrible costume was giving me fits. Mostly due to poor shipping procedures and bad online shops. No more worry my friends. The box of goggles arrived just a few minutes ago. They are pine green. We’ll paint and distress them before Thursday. The lab coat was also troublesome. I picked up the Mad Scientists costume and made some alterations (still in process). All the black buttons have been removed and white buttons procured, more than a foot of length has been cut, slits have been added to the sides, and double vents have been created on the back. The only thing I don’t care for is the chalk white starkness of the polyester coat. No time to test dyes this time around.

I made a Kitty glove! All on my own. It looks a little wonky because I sewed it by hand. I like it. Now that I know I can do it I’ll sew the other glove. Too bad I couldn’t track down a purple dragon. Sigh.

All in all I’m pretty pleased with taking four costumes each. Keep your fingers crossed that I can manage the armor in three days. Heh. When I get a break from the needle and thread I’ll grab the camera and add some pics for you.

I’ll keep you posted.

Costume Crazy News!

Friday, August 22nd, 2008 by tcg
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ThatCostumeGirl has joined forces with Costume Craze to help make your costume dreams come true. Costume Craze is one of the leading online costume retailers. Perhaps you’ve noticed how often I link to their online store? So have they.

Costume Craze aims to make it easier for me to bring you the latest costume goods and news. Together we will review costumes and fill ThatCostumeGirl’s gallery with pictures of costumed folks. Part of our deal allows them to use some of my photographs on their site. Isn’t that exciting? I’ll be a virtual mannequin.

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I’m glad to be a part of a forward moving enterprise like Costume Craze, even tangentially. They made the 2007 Inc. 500 fastest growing companies. CEO Kate has been honored as a finalist for Utah’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year two years running. Costume Craze is on the move. ThatCostumeGirl, that’s me, is riding in the sidecar.

Don’t worry, I’m not an employee. More importantly, I won’t ignore other costume avenues. It does mean I’ll recommend them more often than not. They have a great selection and competitive prices. Why don’t you head over now and take a look around the site? See how it fits you. Pick out a costume you like. When you place your order don’t forget your coupon code.

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That’s right. Costume Craze is offering my readers free ground shipping. It’s equivalent to $5.99 off shipping and handling. It gets better. They will allow you to deduct that $5.99 from any shipping option you’d like if ground just isn’t fast enough for you. Incredible! Before you check out, make sure to type “thatcostumegirl” in the coupon box.

I’m enjoying getting to know the Costume Craze team. Matthew, Camille, Jeff, Teri, the Maloney Family and so many more have welcomed me with open keyboards. Check out their blog to keep up to date with happenings around the company. Thank you, Costume Craze.