All Categories - Mai Sheri Costumes

Bravo, Bravo

12/8/2016

Ball-pit photo © Paul Hillier. Don't smoke, kids, it's nasty. My cigarette is totally fake.

I wasn't planning to be at ConBravo! this year, because of the convention-burnout from all my spring events. But the masquerade put out a call for volunteers and since I can't resist the siren call of working for a masq (and I could allow myself to have a day off from my sewing projects) I ended up there for Saturday afternoon and evening anyways ^_^

I wanted to wear something comfy, easy to change out of (since I needed to be a ninja for the masq), and "new", so I elaborated a little on my makeup test from the winter and dressed as Luci from The Wicked and The Divine. I love the look of the Devil Herself, and had a lot of fun trying to look like a badass all afternoon XD. I spent most of my time hanging around the Cosplay for a Cure room or shoving my camera in friends' faces until It was time for the masquerade, when I changed and shifted to ninja-mode. I got the "interactive" ninja jobs, which was fun, and there were lots of beautiful costumes entered! However, as a masquerade vetran, I think that Bravo might want to consider reducing the time limit for entries, or we need to bring back the "Masquerade 101" panels. Or Featherweight's tip-sheet handouts. Something to remind entrants that 2-3 minutes on stage is a very long time .

The night wrapped up with spending some time at the dance (it's been years since I went to a con dance!) and hangouts with friends because I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to everyone yet. Thank you to all my friends and the ConBravo! masquerade and events staff who made it a really fun day ^_^

As usual, I'm going to toss in a plug for The Video Ninja's coverage, including the full masquerade, retrospective, and interviews: ConBravo! 2016 playlist

So what's next? Fan Expo! I'll be there with Cosplay for a Cure this year, looking forward to that and the masquerade and cosplaying with friends. Gotta spend the next couple weeks getting my costumes finished though!!!

Island Elves and Avengers

2/8/2016

A couple of weeks ago I hit up Centre Island for a cosplay picnic, and dragged along Mr Stark and Dan the Video Ninja as Hawkeye and The Hulk respectively. The island is one of my favourite places in Toronto and it was great to be back there once again with my friends. Here's a collection of photos from the day, mostly taken by Dan and I ^_^

July Progress Update

18/7/2016

Like I did last year , let’s check in on how I’m doing compared to my plan in January…

Now, just looking at that image, it doesn't seem good. I mean, just a couple of projects worked on and nothing finished???
While, granted, main cosplay projects Midna, Nightingale, and Captain Marvel have been more or less untouched, I've gotten a lot done on Alice and Cersei! Not to mention the unexpectedly large amount of time I spent at conventions and other events (which is time not spent working on new costumes)!
~Alice's whole outfit was designed and made, and although the wig needs a little styling work, she's been worn to a couple of cons already. The main thing which is slowing me down now is making her prop bass, because I'm not a props person. As of this writing, the base has been sculpted and base coat of paint applied , and I hope to get back to painting and adding hardware in August.
~I got a huge chunk of work done on Cersei's lions in June but I had to take a break because it's a very tedious and very large job. As soon as I get the hoodie (see below) finished, Cersei's embroidery is moving back up to the top of my priority list though.
~Espeon, Miz Mishtal, Captain Marvel Gown, and Journey are all no change, because they were only for after the top 5 are done XD

BUT, I did complete a long list of smaller projects, many of which were owed to various friends.Clockwise from top left:
~I completed a new (casual) costume - flashback Tizzie - which I blame Needle Panic for and for which I finally started to play with Worbla's TranspART
~Weirdmageddon version of Wendy
~Makeup tests/closet cosplay of Ammy, Badb, and Luci from The Wicked and The Divine
~A kid-size Pink Knight (from Castle Crashers) winter hat for Little Stark
~ Character Lumas including Cosplay for a Cure, Hawkeye, and Luna & Artemis
~ Wooper (Pokemon gijinka) bathing suit for Hikarimoro
~Several stenciled t-shirts for friends including the two shown
.... but that's just the stuff I finished.

Cosplays in active progress but not on my January plan:
~I'm currently sewing away on a Blastoise hoodie for Mr Stark (which I want to finish this week). Despite only having started work on it recently, it's been on my to-do list for over 2 years.
~The WicDiv closet cosplay thing worked out so well that I'm fleshing out Ammy a little into a wearable costume
~since some jewelry and accessories from Flashback Tizzie were originally intended for "proper" Tizzie, she's on the list. I have all the fabric/supplies for the costume because my original plan was to make her for Halloween, but at this point I think that would take a minor miracle. So... she's pending.
~surprise-new-thing-oh-wow, Gwenpool, because last week I won a dye-sub suit pattern from The Symbol of Hope , so why not? It'll be something new to experiment with since I've never worked with custom printed fabric before. Depending on how the higher-priority stuff goes, I might try to put her together for Fan Expo XD

Anything else which might show up in 2016? I've got wigs to work on for Chihiro and Pepper Potts ; and a half-finished Sam Sparks costume which has been sitting in my apartment for far too long. Oh and another potential little project for fun, somewhat related to this . If you want to watch my random progress as it happens, everything is currently going to my instagram (and cross-posted to twitter and facebook ). Hope you're all having a good summer and I'll see you again at Fan Expo!

YetiCon at Blue Mountain

10/7/2016

YetiCon was a treat at the end of the spring - a reward almost for 3 months of conventions and events every other weekend. In other words, it was the vacation that it deserved to be instead of the usual chaos that conventions usually are for me. As a result, I'm not quite sure how to write about it - I mean, I had a great hotel room with lovely roommates, wore comfy and fun costumes every day, and did a couple photo shoots... but I didn't participate much in the rest of the convention activities.

Due to a large oversight on my part, Cersei wasn't ready to enter in the costume contest like I planned, and because I spent all of Thursday night working away on that dress, I spent most of Friday at the con tired and trying to unwind. Saturday Kurumasha and I watched the costumes contest and cheered on our friends, poked our heads in on a couple of panels, and spent the evening in the pool and hot tub. Sunday was the "adventure" day - I was channeling Flash while riding the Ridge Runner coaster in my sloth kigu and riding the gondola to the top of the mountain, and we also spent some time at the magical tea party where we met a miniature unicorn XD

I didn't carry my camera with me for most of the weekend and so I took very few photos, but I've collected a few below.

Dream Land took some cute photos of my "Chihiro", which I have added to my Spirited Away gallery . I also shot Chihiro with PPhoto (first time shooting with her; so excited to see the results!), and Kurumasha and I shot out Rat Queens elves with Elemental (like, the millionth time shooting with her - total fave). Both those shoots will be posted at a later date ^_^

Anime North 2016

10/7/2016

Once again, Anime North happened. Once again, I was there.

I stopped by Thursday to pick up my badge and take advantage of the hotel being mostly empty to do a shoot with Dream Land Photography : another Kate Bishop-inspired outfit, this time because Lelola had given me an appropriate dress to use ^_^

Friday I wore my Flashback Tizzie (for the first time with the right necklace!!) and even though it was disgustingly hot, Dream Land once again made sure I look awesome in his photos. Once Kurumasha arrived we snagged some Rat Queens pics together at Cosplay for a Cure , and spent the rest of the evening wansing around the con looking for (and finding) friends.

Saturday I was very glad that I hadn’t planned to wear a wig with my Spirited Away costume because I probably would have ended up with heat stroke. I really have no idea how anyone in a big or elaborate costume survived the weekend! Walking back and forth between the hotel and the North building for the masq was hell. On the positive side, the bathhouse costumes that Kurumasha is 100% responsible for were great greenroom staff uniforms - she did an amazing job. The greenroom ran about as smoothly as it could this year, which was awesome. I hope we can only improve on that experience again next year! It was great getting to interact with the Novice competitors as I took them to workmanship judging; so proud of each and every one!

Sunday didn’t go as originally planned: I decided not to wear my wig with Alice because it was just too hot (only threw it on for a few photos), ended up behind the table at Cosplay for a Cure for a little while, lost the friends I was supposed to meet because my phone had no signal, etc. But I did at least manage to catch the masquerade awards to cheer on my friends and the novices that I met in the green room as they accepted their awards.

Overall it was a very, very positive weekend. In spite of the heat, in spite of a severe lack of sleep, in spite of sore feet and legs most of the time; I had a lot of fun seeing so many friends and so many good costumes. I pretty much got to spend the weekend with all my best friends (except for Mr Stark </3) and doing one of my favourite “jobs” working the greenroom. Even managed to get at least one shoot of each of my costumes this year, which is an accomplishment itself. Wish I had more time to shoot with people and socialize more, but the heat and my lack of phone signal really hurt that.

Selfie-con photos below - most are mine and the ones that aren't are noted ^_^
See you all again next year!

Assorted AN videos I snuck into!

And finally, I've updated my galleries with photos from Anime North: Hawkeye , Tizzie , Spirited Away , and Alice !

Ottawa Comic Con 2016

28/6/2016

Second con in Ottawa in one year? What is this sorcery?!
Because I have a great affection for Kurumasha and was over-due for another convention road-trip with Ragz , I jumped at the chance to check out Ottawa Comic Con this year. I took on the “assistant director” position for the masquerade so my job was to keep Kurumasha sane throughout the weekend (or at least attempt to). Of course, that means I didn’t experience the convention like the average attendee, but it was still a good time.

It was great getting to meet more of the Ottawa-area locals as either entrants or den parents, as well as spending time with friends that I’ve been seeing at cons for years. I spent most of the weekend with Kurumasha; either in the Cosplay Lounge doing masquerade prep work, or backstage in the masq greenroom. I know there were a handful of disappointed cosplayers who weren’t able to enter due to the entry cap (it is a popular event!!), but otherwise everyone I interacted with was incredibly enthusiastic and positive and patient, which is really what I love to see at a masquerade. Even the audience was quite possibly the most enthusiastic I’ve ever seen, which is incredible.

Thankfully, the weekend wasn’t 100% work. I was able to spend enough time walking around the show floor to do some shopping (new mini POP vinyls and fun posters !), and to hang out and take Elfies with Rebecculous (and Sha), and even hop in front of Elemental ’s camera backstage with Ragz and Logan (my Gravity Falls crew: let’s adopt Logan, Y/Y?), not to mention a couple of dinners with the Ottawa crew ^_^

I didn’t take many photos because I ended up being so occupied with work most of the weekend, but a small selection of my photos (plus a few more from others) is below!

And while I’m posting photos of Wendy Corduroy, how about some bonus photos? In April I shot her at Celebration Square with Dream Land Photography, and I also had some fun back in February with a thrown-together “Weirdmageddon” Wendy (worn with my friends’ assorted other Gravity Falls costumes) to watch the series finale. My Gravity Falls gallery has been updated with the new photos!

Con Crunch is over!

22/6/2016

Spring convention season is finally over! I’ve had time to unpack, although I still have lots of tidying up and laundry to do! As things currently stand, I’m taking a break until Fan Expo Canada - skipping Con Bravo and Otakuthon this year because I really need a long break. To be honest, if it wasn’t for Asgard Barbie coming up to Toronto and wanting to cosplay with me, FanEx might have been on that list too XD

So, without all those conventions, what is Mai Sheri doing over the summer?
...aside from working, because she’s an Adult™, that is.

1. Website updates!

Con report from Ottawa Comic Con
Con Report from Anime North
Con Report from Yeti Con
Tizzie (Rat Queens) photos
Chihiro (Spirited Away) photos
Hawkeye photos
Other miscellaneous craft and makeup projects
Wooper Gijinka post and photos
AND MORE!

2. Selling some old costumes! I need the space more than I need things that don’t fit anymore. I’m looking to get rid of most of my stash more than a few years old, including:

Meryl
Dorothy
Dr Dakota
Alice
And many many more to be announced...

3. Cosplay-making!

Costumes for Mr Stark
Costumes for Little Stark
Costumes for myself for Fan Expo, Halloween, and next year’s Costume Con (including finishing my long-term ongoing costumes)

4. Cosplay-wearing!

Private photo shoots???
Video projects???
?????

5. Play all the games!

Looking forward to returning to Hyrule with my choice of Twilight Princess HD, Hyrule Warriors, Skyward Sword, and/or Minish Cap
3DS games are waiting for me too, like Luigi’s Mansion, Super Mario 3D Land, Triforce Heroes, and Chibi Robo
Obduction should be coming out in July! Very excited for this ^_^

6. Read all the books! (my bookshelf is so full of unread pages…)

Welcome to Night Vale (A Novel)
The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy
Sex Criminals
Rat Queens
East of West
Hawkeye
Secret Avengers
Fables
Several cosplay photo-books *_*
Probably several more new books that I missed noticing were published

I’m also happy to return to the monthly tutorial posts - please let me know if there’s a project you want to know more about!!!
See you soon with more of that website content as promised <3

Some extra-warm bathhouse workers at the Anime North greenroom. Photo from: Pollux / Dioskuri Duo

Halloween 2015

16/6/2016

After lots of delays due to the spring con season, I'm back to catching up!
Considering how much cosplay was going on last October, I figured that the Halloween season deserved one of these backlog blog posts!

First up: Kitchener! Dan the Video Ninja joined Mr Stark and I for a couple of house parties thrown by our friends there! Stark debuted his “business Cooler” costume (and also his Gizmo kigu), Dan wore his Chain Chomp, and I chilled out in my sloth. Terrible photos were taken until I dropped and broke my camera :(

Next: Halloween night was spent at the Snailoween party being Team Hawkeye with Kurumasha ! Also featuring: DarthMarySue’s Pirate, Jenny Jupiter ’s Joker, and Dan’s Pterodactyl Jones. No prizes for us this time around, but we’re going to try harder next year ~_^

Not done yet! Mr Stark and I were supposed to go to another party the weekend after Halloween, but I was too worn out. We decided to just hang out and play Rock Band with Dan, but since Stark had brought his Cooler stuff, he went in costume so I joined in as an improvised female of Frieza’s race.

There was actually one more thing I want to post about - I made a new costume! I didn’t wear it anywhere and don’t have photos ready, but I made a Space Warrior outfit from the Costume Quest games. The timing didn’t work out last year, but I hope that this year I will be able to get together with my friends and their Costume Quest cosplays for an awesome (and terrible) group.

Civil War Geekery Con

17/5/2016

The Geekery is a very geeky cafe/restaurant in Niagara Falls (Canada), and they like to host events for the community. This April I attended my first “ Geekery Con ”, and was honoured to have been invited as a cosplay guest!

I met soooo many new people at this con (I don’t know most of the Niagara Falls and Hamilton-area locals who were in attendance); cosplayers, photographers, and geeks in general. I didn’t have my own table (since I don’t sell anything), but I just hung around with the other cosplay guests and tried not to block traffic; it was a packed place! We did some fun photos on the cute Avengers backdrop, and I recorded my second interview for We Got The Geek Podcast , which you can listen to here!

I didn’t do any shopping (bad Jen!) but I did end up with a lovely thank-you gift/raffle prize of a print from Toy Bacon - if you’re aware of my affection for playing LEGO games , you know how perfect this is LOL. The mini-con wrapped up in the early evening, but I stuck around for a while longer to take over the dining area of The Geekery for Skyleaf ’s birthday dinner! Eating with friends was a great way to end my day in Niagara Falls ^_^

Thanks to Candy Cosplay and crew for the carpool, and to Jason and the Geekery/We Got the Geek family for the invitation.

Charity and Community

4/5/2016

Playing catch-up some more… late in 2015 I got involved in a couple of events which were new to me - the Parkinson Superwalk and Niagara Wine Festival!

Etherbloom invited Mr Stark and I to join her hero-themed group for the Parkinson Superwalk in Burlington. I had hoped to get my Captain Marvel costume finished in time for the walk, but nothing ever works out so I threw on the next-most “superheroic” (looking) costume I have - Sally Impossible from Venture Bros . For all intents and purposes, I was an alt-colour Mrs Incredible for the day and although I wasn’t as awesome as Batman, Supes, Wonder Woman, or Iron Man, some of the kids were thrilled to see me. I wasn’t just there for entertainment though; I did the fundraiser walk in costume! Unfortunately I never got to see the official photographer’s photos, but below are a bunch that my friends and team-mates took. Featuring Stark Reality , The Real Toronto Superman , Amazon Princess Wonder Woman , London Batman , Etherbloom , and the rest of the Harvey's Heroes team!

A week after the Parkinson walk was a very different (still walking-heavy) event: I joined Cosplay For A Cure at the Niagara Wine Festival parade! I wore Cersei because it’s one of my few readily-wearable and non-casual costumes, is recognizable for anyone familiar with the show, and I thought a wine festival was just too appropriate for her. The group ended up being fairly small (there were a few conflicting events that weekend) but so many of the kids on the parade route loved seeing us (especially the princesses and Spidey) that we were one of the most popular groups! Even Cersei got a lot of hugs from little girls ...and laughs from the parents who knew the character. Featuring Skyleaf Creations , The Symbol of Hope , Last Minute Cosplays , and more friends who I don't have links for XD

I hope that I can attend both events again in 2016 and that we have even more cosplayers joining in!