*continues dusting with the powder sugar of tracelessess*

Yeah. Okay. I think it's done. Fixed the logo on the front, so now it's a badge....with the aforementioned dangling things. Shoes are just black flats or black boots depends on how I feel.

.... necklace. I need some sort of necklace. Or something on my arms. Downside of bare arms, lots of non decorated skin.

....Slayer's take tattoo with a cupcake symbol stuck in the centre?

Hm. I'll work on that.
But other than that, the bulk of it is complete.

Now, I have to rip apart a per-existing tank top to wear as a strapless top underneath my Keyleth dress, because frankly, the one I used before was horribly uncomfortable, and if I am walking a con for hours on end, I really want to avoid that.

And perfect the jewelry. What I wore to costume con was okay-ish but more rushed that I would like.

I did however finish, for no other reason that I wanted to, a Vax fascinator and a Keyleth's Raven Queen headpiece. I do not know if they would even sell, or I'd even use them. But it satisfied me to make them, so there is that. Gotta photograph them for records at least.

.... Critical Role designs are my life right now. *shrugs*

*dusts some sugar on it*

Okay, so I've reigned in my design a bit for the Slayer's Cake uniform. That being said, it's.... a lot more ruffly and cutesy than I ever wear. However, the over all look has begun to mesh.

I finally got the printable fabric to behave itself, which means the vest now has the logo on the back of it.....which was then bordered with ruffles. So many ruffles on this thing.

But having the logo on the front is proving to be irritating. I tried having just a circle of fabric basted on, but it looked....flat. So now I am attempting to salvage it and turn it into a button/pin of sorts, which its probably going to get the fancy treatment and have a bunch of charms dangling off of it provided it works.

It's just so.... dainty looking. I mean, I like it. It just... not my usual style. Whatever. I'll work it.

Not sure how many days I will be attending FanExpo yet. Three for sure. Not sure about a four. It's just weird not vendoring. I'm so used to it, it feels off not preparing. I mean... I'm not stressing....but I'm twitchy.

I probably will wear the classic Tardis Flapper look one day, as that's a pretty easy wear. And probably my Game of Thrones version of Keyleth. One of my game of thrones dresses anyway.

Not sure what day is what outfit just yet.

Thursday will be just like... shorts or whatever if I go.
Probably.

....is that glue dry YET?

Stuff. And things.

Right then.

It's been a weird couple of months. I'm going to blame most of that on the fact that I am currently unemployed due to the fact the company I worked for, well, died/went/up in flames/chose your adjective of choice. It's sucked. It's been stressful and depressing. But whatever, I still have my creativity which never got used there ever.

Anyways.

The good news is, FanExpo has been confirmed, the contract sent and the must needed-much look forwarded to, first con...only con...of 2016 is right around the corner, and I really have done nothing at all.

This changes today.

It's been a lot of prototypes the past little bit.  There's new fandoms I have been introduced to, and new fandoms that have been created, and old ones that have been revived.

1. Pokemon Go. Welcome to the Pokemon world, new kids. It's fun here. Most of the time. For this I will and have created simple bracelets for each of the teams. Bamboo, glass, very subtle representations of Team Valor, Mystic and Instinct. There's also a matching necklace, because why not. They will be under $10, so nice and affordable for everyone, and easy to wear. Good for everyday. Or when you take a gym and victory lap over it. I myself, at this time, have not chosen a team. I will one day.

2. Neko Atsume bracelets - I started them. I have two testers of the ribbon and pearl - yes, we went with glass pearls, it looks good - examples, and but I need the ribbon clamps and some clasps for the other ones. It's going to be a two or three stackable bracelet, because that's more fun than one. And trendy, aptly enough, if you were aware of that kind of thing or care. Not sure about pricings as of yet. Need to finish one first.

3. Sailor Moon Tiara Cuff bracelets - prototype created today in progress. A modified version of my traditional fabric cuffs. The base seems nailed down but I am working on the trimming. Had to scratch a few, before deciding on the current one. Needs to be more gold, so I am looking into paint tinting it. They're gonna be a lot of hand sewing though. The sharp curves aren't something a machine can control well.

4. Steven Universe. We're (I refer to myself in third person a lot when I am blogging about my stuff. I feel like my tumblr sounds like there is a whole team of people at Magic and Stitchcraft instead of me, myself and I.) Anyway. Stevie U. For that, there is going to be hair flowers, and slightly fancier versions with feathers in fascinator form. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl for sure. Need a better button for Garnet, I think. The one I current have is too small.


There are several of my other existing products that can do for a rebrand with the current trends. My articuno fascinator is much more relevant now as a Team Mystic item, than it was before. Therefore I will create Zaptos and Fire-Chicken as well to round of the set. I need to work on displaying them for their respective fandoms better as well. Make 'em pop out.

Other than that, I have Triforce cuffs to make, since I was able to get to Sussman's new Hamilton location. (Miss you guys in Hogtown. <3 - But I totally get needing to move from the expensiveness of it all) some more Marvel flowers, and general flowers over all.

Work work work. Get to it, Moofy

*twitches*

Fox cuffs left to do. Anything else....?

Beginning pack up stage.
Need to make lists.
Food?

Working on my own clothing now too.
Got three days planned - just not Sunday. Saturday's is going be great.

Why do I feel I am missing stuff?

and even more...

Lace cuffs are done.
Half the triforce ones are also done.
Machine stitching worked out well today.

Will finish the rest of the triforce.
... flowers tonight, while I watch a movie?

and more...

Triforce's are grommetted. Decorating and trimming begins tomorrow.

Lace's are read for the trim to be stitched and decorated. Hopefully the bulk of it can be machine stitched unlike the lacing pieces. Still need to tack the ends by hand, but still should be faster.

Other triforces are stitched, but not yet laced.

Haven't started the Fox ones yet.

More peggy flowers are in queue, and some captain ones as well.

We'll see what gets done tomorrow.

checking in

Royal Hylian's are done. Gotta fray check though, fray check is being weird, so I need a new one.
Triforce's are ready to grommet,just need to do so.
Bases cuff for other triforces, and lace ones.
Forgot about Foxes. Need to do those.

More peggy flowers?
Mainly because I want to steal one for myself.
Supernatural Votive?

Today's Goal.

Random Day off. Must make most of it.

Inbetween the babysitting of the niece, we will:

Basically complete all of the Royal Hylian Cuffs. Half are grommetted, the rest post-nap. Trimming should be okay to apply by machine I hope, because that would make it SO much faster. Add sparkle, cut ribbon, nod in a pleased fashion.

Grommet triforce cuffs. ..... I think that will take most of the time, as they are more of those than others.

...Optional Goals - cuff out and stitch, the lace and black triforce cuffs.

We'll see.

Fray Check Smells like Victory.

When I get to fray checking the ribbons, I'm either close to finishing a pair of cuffs, or my fingers are sore from sewing that I cannot do anymore for a while, have to find something to do in the meanwhile that's quick enough to be productive on the down time.

In this case it's both.

Rose Quartz Cuffs at 99.99%,  just need lacing after fray check dries.
Black/Red Cuffs, half finished tacking the ends of the trim, need to decorate with flowers, but ribbons are drying. To be done by tonight.
Sewn the bases for the triforce cuffs, avoiding grommeting on purpose right now, but I will invert and press them tonight.
..... Something else, but I don't remember.

My brain is chaos theory.

Ah, yes.... that pre-con feeling,

It's a slight kind of squirrely, stressed feeling. Too many projects on the go, with a questionable amount of time for it.

But, my special edition Steven Universe "Rose Quartz" cuffs are now finished, and probably the foofy-est thing I've made. But, I hope they are well received because they are quite resplendent.

My newest projects are also in the works: Tealight/Votive holders. Featuring luscious lace, and cute foxes and pandas. Random, I know, but they're kinda cute.

..... I need to do more cuffs. And fix my display.

.... I have time.

Today's Tally.

Number of Fascinators completed today: 3
Number of Glue gun burn blisters today: 3

But at least that's another Macaw made, and a red/black and a blue/black headband style to add to the inventory.

Not really that long until Fan Expo. Hm. 

Not slack off. Really.

Okay, maybe a little wee bit.

I did get all six of those Loftwings ready for battle assembly. I just still have to make it to Queen St. And...that's been about it until today.

To which, at this point, I have stitch the petals for two more fascinators (blue chocobo and wild hawk). I will now weave them into their full flower form to await their own respective feathering. That will mean eight fascinators to add to my dwindled stock.

That's good, right?

Getting back to it.

Well, Fanexpo is really just around the corner when you look at it. Shy of three months, there a lot to work to be done before then.

Therefore, I am trying to work on some things that are vital and yet don't let me spend the entire day in the dark, dank basement cave when it's a lovely sunny day.

Even though I've only been out there for maybe a half and hour and I'm already cringing from the sun, less I burn pathetically quick.

But, I have sewing, clipped and poked all the petals needed for my planned 6 loftwing fascinators. That's something. If I can assemble some of the centres this weekend that would be extra nice.

I can't actually fully make them anytime soon since I need to hit Queen St for beaks and feathers but if I can get them close to that stage it's a help.

The art of selling.

So, I work retail as my day job. For all it's ups and downs, you do learn a trick or two about merchandizing stuff. And so, while I was spending an hour mopping up the flood that decided to expel itself from the pipes/walls/gates of hell at work, I turned my mind to booth setup.

Things that I have concluded/noticed/have come to mind.

1. Touch is key. Get people to touch an item, they create a bond with it.

2. Displaying something nicely is good - but too fancy, they get intimidated, to casual and it doesn't show off it's value. 

3. The further the hand has to stretch towards an item, there is a 30% decrease in likelihood the item will be touched/picked up/noticed. If all booth tables were therefore only a foot wide and 18 feet long, vendors would be selling 100% of their products.

And so, I am once again mulling over how I should change how my stuff is displayed.

For the hairclip flowers, I find that on their fancy stand didn't get them noticed as much, for that they were.... very accessible. But, something about that extra extension of the hand just made them unnoticed until I dropped them to the table surface right at the front. Current idea: Create a rotating display, right at the front of the table, that has the flowers. Create a card stock backing for them to clip onto which in turn would hang on the display. Could double as the display top for the head that usually has one of the fascinators on it, again putting it right out front.

I also want to ramp up the Chocobo fascinators display. Maybe print out an actual chocobo and put it right next to the clips. (Maybe on another side of the spinning display?)

The biggest thing to also consider is that the table sizes for Animenorth and FanExpo are slightly different, so it has to adapt to each. (Fingers crossed we get Animenorth again this year....)

Ah, well. To the sketch book.

FanExpo 2014 Summary

Urrrrghhh. First off, it's Monday - The Convention Hangover Day. It is no small mercy that it's Labour Day and therefore my store is closed and I can take a day to recover. 'Cause I am unfit to be seen in the general public. Seriously, it's scary.

Anyway.

So this was our first time vending at Fanexpo. And it went.... okayish. Honestly, it was not what I thought is was going to be profit wise. For a scary moment, until partway into Sunday, it was dicey whether or not I was going to clear my overhead. I did, with a smidgen of profit, but a far cry from what I was hope for. I guess the Animenorth crowd is actually a better market for that it was lower than all us vendors were hoping for as well. Huh. Anyway, it's currently on the fence whether or not I will vend next year. Attend, of course, and work the table for Ashley's designs for sure. At this point, it's whether or not I can keep the overhead at a bare minimum because that's what's hurting the most. I'll have to think on it.

 Anyway, the actuall con summary as follows.

Thursday: Ashley's dad dropped us at South Loading in the morning, and we got to experience FanExpo in it's set up stage, which is WEIRD.  You never get to see it in it's vulnerable stage like it was, peeking behind the curtain is rare sight. But we had tons of time to set up, which was good because you never quite know how it's going to come together until you actually have the space. Either way, set up went well as it did on all days. Did some business, but I didn't have any panel stuff that day so it was pretty much just booth stuff all day.

Friday: Took the wrong train in the morning, so I ended up getting there a half and hour earlier than I expected. Fortunately my god pass let me in, and I once again experienced an all but empty convention hall. Once everything was done and Ashley arrived, I bolted to the Matt Smith panel line up before the convention even opened. (I love that pass) Subsequently I got an excellent seat in the theatre.
Panel was great - Matt Smith is adorable. He was like a kid, swinging his legs in his chair. One questioneer asked if he could run with him, just like 11 did with his companions. The guy's life was made that day, he was practically glowing after the run with Matt. There was also a proposal!
After that, it was booth work up until a quick demonstration on Parasol dueling. I add this information to the other file on Tea Dueling. 

Saturday: ...Booth stuff, really. I didn't have any panels, but I snuck out for a quick run through Artist Alley so I could come back the next day and shop. Everyone met up for Jack Astor's for dinner.

Sunday: Our best profit day, however short it was. Attending the Stephen Amell's panel midafternoon. Another great panel; he really is such a nice person, especially with all the charity work he does. Heh, the crowd was a cheeky bunch. One of the questioners asked: :"What would you like Oliver to do that he hasn't done before, in this season?" Of course, someone in the crowd screamed "Felicity!" The audience responded with catcalls in kind. The Olicity is strong in the fanbase. After that, it was booth right until the end. Then it was breakdown, pack up and then home.

So that brings us to Monday. And this misspelled, grammar ruined post.

Bought some stuff: Book one and two of the Fey Winds comic. A steampunk bracelet, some supernatural buttons, a gallifreyan pendant and supernatural pendant that says "Salt and Burn", a print and a wand.

So yeah... that's the run of it.

Until next con!

In the midnight hour, babe.

I sew more, more more.

7 more flowers finished. 4 more to be made up and that will bring me to 25. Then we will stop.

Going to make up one more cuff - Attack on Titan, Unicorn version. Then... that will be it for cuffs...?

Spats. I need to make at least one more pair. Maybe 11th Doctor ones.  I don't know.

... I feel like I am missing so much stock?

Coming down to the wire

Okay! So; Fascinators: Finished up the last of the Roarin' Muskoka today giving me three in total, and 14 fascinators overall, plus two chocobo hair clips and one... random hairclip that I made and do rather like but I only made in a one shot.

Cuffs - 4 pairs Black and Red, Fancy Foxes, Triforce and Supernatural with 2 pairs of Attack on Titan, Lorule's Triforce, Elizabethian Wine, Musical notes, to add to the handful of some of the last run's designs.

Spats - Nothing new yet. Still have the 3 sets from Animenorth. Might add..... an 11th Doctor? Maybe.

Flower clips - Have 6 ready to be made up. Did the petal stitch tonight quickly when I got home from work.

Lace cuffs - 8 ready to go!

So.... good. Still need more, but the mad panic is... I won't say over but I have the majority my stuff now. Fascinators are fully finished, and so are the lace cuffs. The others, eh, we'll see.

Need to spray paint my wire display though tomorrow, and keep in mind how I want to set things up. Seriously considering a butt cushion to add some extra height to my chair so I can see over the stands better. Not that I'm short but those chairs make me feel like I'm in the ground.

Ah well...sleep.

*nods* Progress

I'm not actually sure if blogging my progress is actually helping my productivity, but seeing what I've done written down and judged by the impartial internet makes it seem so.

4 pairs of Triforce cuffs are finished saved for curing and ready for sale!
2 pairs of Fox cuffs are curing, need a final embellishment and then will be good to go. 2 more are in the wings for trimming.
1 pair of Lorule Triforce cuffs are ready to trim, which I will try and finish the hand sewing on tonight.

There was an incident involving a supernatural cuff, forcing me to have to make another single which...will come later. Extremely irritated about that. The other 7 are fine, but the lack of symmetry is bugging me.

All in all, though, we're doing okay. Finish lorule and fox tonight and I will be that much happier.

The plan so far...

THEN....

1. Grommet until arm is sore.
2. Pin trim to finished grommeted cuffs
3. Stitching trim Part 1
4. Grommet until rested arm is sore.
5. Continue stitching.
6. Something involving fray check.
7. ???????
8. PROFIT! (?)

NOW....

Carrying on.

Creative Indecision

Blargh.

Just under four weeks until Fan Expo. I have a lot of stuff I need to make. And I am currently suffering from.... Sewer`s Block. I think. Whatever you call it. Either way, I have no idea what to make next, or perhaps I am second guessing what I am currently making. I have a lot of partially finished things, but I`m not eager to work on those. It`s....frustrating.

That and my creative process is really wanting to work on personal costumes, so that`s not helping all.

Ah well. I`m just going to...go sew. `Cause I need to.

Wish me luck.