DIY Hello Kitty Key Cover

I was told that I needed to blog more, so here is a quickie :P

We bought a used Durango last December and the one and only key didn't have a ring/clasp and the buttons were missing. That's my luck. But the vehicle had AC and living in 100+ degree weather 8 months out of the year (exaggeration) I didn't much care about the condition of the key. 

My husband globbed some kind of industrial glue to the back of it and stuck a ring on it because he liked it I guess (see what I did there.) It lasted for a few months, then the glue started to crack and then the ring fell off. So here I am trying to keep up with a loose key along with my other keys! And I am the type of person that is always losing my keys. So it's a pain in the butt but I still kept putting off a fix. Until I nearly dropped the stupid thing down a storm drain the other day! So it was time to do something, so I made my own case in a very small amount of time while sitting next to my kiddo while he played on the Xbox.

So here it is. Dang that thing is a big piece o'crap.

And here are the materials I scrounged up:

First thing I did was made the tiniest, tiniest hole in the center of the felt square:

Now trim a little itty-bitty snippet off that corner to make your key slot.

I trimmed a little bit off felt off the sides and top of the flaps and stitched them together.

For Hello Kitty's Face, I cut out an oval from white scrap felt. Then I cut out a bow and then hot glued them to the case. If you can tell from the first picture, I also hot glued two strips of felt the the sides of the case for reinforcement and to cover up my crappy stitching job. Then I took a fine point sharpie and drew the face. and TA-DA! The felt may be a weak fabric to use, but it will hold me over for now. 

A-kon 23 Excitement!

Project A-kon, my Sanctuary of Acceptance.

A-kon 23 is this weekend. HUZZAH! The husband and I are super stoked because we didn't have to opportunity to go last year. It's been 2 years since I've had my ultimate raging nerd fest and I am in need of being with thousands others of my own kind (but for the love of god, use soap and deodorant DAILY!). Plus we have a good group going this year and that always makes the best cons. The husband hasn't had the opportunity to go with a group like this, or with my brother (finally going back after a long dry spell!), so it's a new excitement for him.

This year's theme is Yokai. So many costumes I could have worked on, but it's been a crazy, busy year. Like I always say, "There is always next year!" But it still never happens. I started drafting a Harrowed Mage costume from Dragon Age Origins, even started buying materials. Sadly it's not even put together. So going back to what I always say...

At least I still have my Final Fantasy XI Alchemist Apron. It's my "go-to" for A-kon costumes. Speaking of other A-kon projects, I want to get my photo galleries from past cons up and running again.

The glorious A-kon Circle of Mages have an extreme amount of awesome events lined up, like great panels (of course), Cosplay Chess (want to see), Anime Hell (my eyes still burn from 3 years ago), Steampunk stuffs, dances, Neko Maid Cafe, a Spirit Walk, Scavenger Hunt (which I never have done but always want to!). My husband is lucky, he's been to three different anime conventions: A-kon in Dallas; Animethon in Edmonton, AB; and Otakuthon in Montreal, QC. He says that A-kon is the BEST anime convention because it has so much to offer.

But best of all A-kon 23 will host an Assassination City Roller Derby Demo. O_O That alone is freaking awesome! Because I am thinking of joining my local Roller Derby Team. That's right, I said it. I'm dying to get out there and get my shove on. More to come on that story later. :P Been "training" a bit. Already my body is hurting ~ YAY!

.hack//SIGN "Macha" Cosplay DIY Hat with Kitty Ears

I went ahead and posted a pic and brief summary of the kitty cat ears on cutoutandkeep.net (awesome site by the way) since that's where I found the easy tutorial on how to make them. The original version and tutorial is by "Cat Morley" on the same website. Hers are definately better, but I still got compliments on it.

The hat I made myself using brown felt and the McCalls costume pattern 3789 (Misses'/Men's/Teens/Children's/Boy's and Girl's Witches /Wizards Costumes).

It was my first time making a hat and it was fairly easy except for one step: matching the two pieces together! I piddled with it for days and got so frustrated, but I eventually threw my hands in the air and said, "Screw it!" and sewed it together. It ended up looking good, lol.

I cosplayed Macha at A-kon 21 in Dallas this past June. I still haven't posted pics of the kon yet and I'm sorry! Wedding planning and my getting my kiddo prepared to start school has made me into a busy Queen Bee. But A-kon was fun, as always, and I got to cosplay as "Macha" from .hack//SIGN and "Zoey" from Left for Dead (she was way fun!).

"Passion" Music Video from Utada Hikaru

One of my favorite videos from Utada Hikaru. This one even has some pretty nice Japanese and English subtitles. The English version is called "Sanctuary." It's one of my son's favorite songs from our favorite video game, Kingdom Hearts II. Love Love Love! Fave Fave Fave! Pretty! Pretty! Enjoy!

The A-kon 20 Experience: 20th Anniversary of one of the Longest Running Anime Conventions in the U.S.

A-kon 20 has come and gone, and it sure didn't take long for them to update the website for A-kon 21 (practically the next day.)

I wasn't going to blog about it, but it just doesn't feel right to not make note of something so awesome. Although this years con was kind of uneventful (aside from it's 20th birthday!!!) and all my usual roomies had to drop out due to lack of funds, but it was still a ton of fun!

I wouldn't have been able to go myself if my absolutely WONDERFUL boyfriend hadn't been there to save the day! It was his first year to be able to go, and he heard all the crazy/wonderful/scary stories from me and friends... so he said there was no way he was going out miss out this year. His first true A-kon experience was the pre-reg line.... and he said that was the funnest and best line he had ever been in. Hey.. it's A-kon... crazy stuff happens EVERYWHERE! Thankfully it wasn't the pre-reg hell like we had last year (over 4 hours in line and it was NOT fun!) This time we got there early on Thursday and only had to wait an hour and half... and listen to some cranky teenage she-demon. But she got told off and it was so glorious.

So in a nutshell, here's our A-kon 20 experience:

• I got The Boyfriend addicted to Ramune. SCORE! Next year if my brother goes, I'm sure our hotel room will promise mountains of used Ramune bottles. He also got to sample several Pocky products.
• He won a free Sonic T-shirt at a booth. First try too. Amy won last year. Do I ever win one? No. I win Pocky and only Pocky. Unlucky I am. I shouldn't complain. I used to win free DVDs from the FUNimation Booth.
• Sheraton totally remodeled a ton of stuff. So I'm walking along thinking I know way... BOOM! "What the heck!? There's a wall here!?" Kind of annoying, but I adjusted. Some of it works better than it was before, but I (as well as others apparently) miss some of the old stuff too...like cowboy statue *sobs* He will be missed.
• The rooms are SUPER AWESOME now. Flat screen HDTVs, sweeeeet bathrooms, and better comforters than those crappy things Adams Mark made us sleep under. Stayed in the North tower this year too..that was a first. It was nice elevator-wait-time wise, but the view was of the outside Central Tower wall. I missed the window view!!
• We got the chance to experience Anime Hell this round. It was a love/hate thing. Love most of it, but there is a heavy price for such amusement (i.e., the reindeer castration video... my retinas were pierced and the image is still in my mind...). I will do this again next year.



Canadian Ice Skating in a Kimono. 

• The Boyfriend bought a Yukata while we were there and wore it when he went ice skating at the Plaza (pictured below). At some point someone called him "Jesus on Ice" or something of the like. Another new A-kon Ice Skating category to add along with "Anime on Ice" and "Nerds on Ice."
• I bought a pink wig. It's really cute. Will be put to good use for many A-kons to come.
• Finally got a chance to sit down and watch the Sleeping Samurai Demos and the Kobushi Taiko Drummers. Way awesome and entertaining. Cept when you really have to pee and those drums are making the floor vibrate....
• Attended my first Masquerade Ball ever (I'll post pics later). Raymond wore his awesome white suit with a top hat. He got more compliments than I.
• Freshly exposed to the world of Steampunk costuming and gadgetry. WAY NEAT!
• Was rudely awakened twice in the wee early hours of Sunday morning from an intercom announcement and a fire alarm. Probably some drunken 13-year-old thinking he's gonna be a riot by pissing everyone off by pulling the alarm.

That's all I can remember for now and I'll try to post more pics later. Hopefully all my A-kon buddies will be there next year! And the cosplay this year was really cool; really inspired me to get busy with my coveted Macha costume! We'll just have to see!

Public Service Announcement: The Side Effects of Watching Anime.

I was highly amused by this t-shirt on a girl in the Plaza during A-kon 20, so I sneakily snapped a pic with my cell phone. She was in front of me in the McDonald's line (don't judge, I was craving some serious salt).

If you can't read it, this is what it says:

WARNING!
Watching anime may cause...

• irrational fear of tentacles
• loss of innocence
• fond memories you can't share with family
• shouting of random things
• love of fanservices
• painful withdrawal with discontinued use
• unnatural obsession with checkers
• ANIMEYHEM!

So true so true...

A-kon Anime Convention Commercial

This was from a few years back. I still think it's cute *^_^*

Written, directed, and produced by Anthony Brownrigg.

At this point I'm really excited , it's only 2 weeks away. So much fun, and not just all anime either. Yay for gaming and watching people do stupid stuff! \^.^/