Cosplay ALREADY!

Queen Elsa is FINALLY starting to loosen her icy grip on Cincinnati (Elsa, honey, you got your Oscar. You can stop letting it go now) but my thoughts have already turned to summer, and summer means Gen Con, and Gen Con means cosplay!

And I totally didn’t mean to do this, but I may have finished one costume already. Okay, granted, it’s Pie’s cosplay, and it’s a pretty simple one, at least compared to last year. But still. It was the second day of March, and I had one out of three costumes pretty much done.

The Saga of Gen Con 2013

IT IS TIME.

Sit yourselves down and grab something to quaff, for the time has come for the Saga of Gen Con 2013.

24 Hours to Go!

The 24-hour countdown has begun. This time tomorrow, I will be en route to GenCon, and my first foray into cosplaying.

Needless to say, I am terrified.

I was hoping to do a dry run of my costumes this past weekend (as I have not worn costumes + wigs + makeup all together at the same time yet, which is not helping my terror), but it was terribly humid and sticky this weekend. In a house without air conditioning, wearing normal clothing in this weather is barely tolerable - forget putting on five pounds of satin, brocade, and velvet, plus wigs, and a layer of theater makeup.

I did manage to get the Pie into her costume early on Sunday morning, when it was still cool out, and took some photos in the backyard.

So, ladies and gents, I give you The Mighty Pieface as Merida.

That's my little nerd progeny. Kindergarten isn't going to know what hit them.

(Back to packing now. HOW do cosplayers travel anywhere, ever? SO MUCH STUFF. I can't imagine doing this with wings and armor and swords and all the other stuff.)

SEE YOU MONDAY!

AG Columbus, Part II

This is the conclusion to my last post, detailing my haul from the new American Girl store at Easton Town Center in Columbus. For my reviews of Julie’s Bunny, the AG Store exclusive jeans, and the Silver Stripe Hoodie, please see my previous post here.

Onwards – to the new releases!

This was the first AG release in a while that had me really intrigued. Most of the time, AG releases a load of new products, and I see one or two things that look kind of neat, but “kind of neat” is the extent of my interest. This time, I had a few “omg I really actually want that” reactions! So, while at Easton, I picked up my two favorite items from the new releases.

This is the new Striped Hoodie Outfit ($30). It’s sold both individually and as part of the $90 Mix and Match combo pack. It contains a grey striped hoodie top, orange skinny pants, grey sneakers, pink hair ties, and a charm.

The hoodie. It’s a lightweight knit with a screenprinted design on front, and Velcro closure in the back.

This piece was the driving force in my decision to purchase this outfit. It was appealing to me personally (I would totally wear a human-sized version of this top), and I knew it fit Robin’s fashion aesthetic to a tee.

Sadly, it has one major flaw – like the Star Hoodie outfit, it’s a pain to get on. I've taken to just avoiding the fight and taking the head off a doll to get a shirt on.

Poor headless doll! - and poor messy, messy Dollcave.

The pants are not jeans, as I had originally thought. They’re more like a chino-style woven fabric, with a Velcro fly and an AG tag on the back waistband.

Despite the “skinny” label, they actually fit far better than the store-exclusive jeans. There’s a lot of give in the back.

There are also neat little dart seams at the knees.

The sneakers are pretty ordinary – gray canvas with stretchy pink laces.

I’m normally not enthused about hair accessories with AG outfits, but given how often Robin wears her hair in pigtails, I quickly realized it was a good idea to have a pair of matching bands in her favorite color.

Robin in the full outfit:

Robs quickly set to work enforcing her own style on the outfit (first move: no pants. I don’t understand why it is that my biggest tomboy avoids pants like the plague, but whatevs).

I paired the Striped Hoodie top with the skirt from the Cozy Plaid outfit. This is actually a really cute look.

My girls in their new togs:

I save the best for last – the Science Lab set!

In the box.

The set comes with a lab apron:

Robin is begging me to replace the Innerstar U logo with the logo for Tesladyne Industries.

Microscope:

Safety goggles:

Test tubes and rack:

The “chemicals” in the test tubes are just pieces of translucent plastic.

Microscope slides:

Easily the most disappointing piece – opaque plastic with a printed label. They could have at least made them translucent, or out actual specimen pictures on. I long for more realism!

Science book:

The Pie just thought this was the coolest thing ever. “Ohh, look Mommy, it has pictures of all the ANIMALS!”

Bonus fun fact: One of the NASA consultants on the author page was a teacher at my middle school. Small world!

I dragged Robin’s desk over to set everything up:

Overall: This set is full of the tiny, fun pieces I love in an accessory set. The microscope is a wee bit smaller than scale, but not so much that it bugs me. The safety goggles are a cute touch, and I like the detailing on the test tubes. The science book, like all AG books, is very nice. The slides are iffy at best, but I do understand that a translucent set would be a nightmare of lost pieces. I would have preferred a lab coat over an apron, but I know students generally don’t get to wear the fancy coats. :D

In general, I’m really pleased with my purchases. Yes, I didn't get a doll, but time and budget constraints were too much to justify a doll purchase. (In that way, I’m glad I was a bit rushed – I’m sure, if I’d have had the time to look around, I’d have fallen in love with some doll or another!) There was a bit more than personal preference to my main choices – I really appreciate that AG offered up some non-pastel clothes and some nerdy accessories (a mix-and-match set and science kit? How much time does AG R&D spend on the Playthings forum?), and I wanted to support those offerings with my hard-earned birthday cash.

So, hopefully I will have a more favorable report of AG Columbus in the future, but I’m very happy with my modest haul!

AG Columbus, Part I

Last Friday, we were en route to a family wedding in Cleveland, and made a small detour to Easton Town Center for lunch and a visit to the American Girl store in Columbus.

Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the store from my trip. It was very crowded, and my husband was already cranky about being in the middle of the 4-hour trip from our house to Cleveland, so my first experience in an AG store was pretty short. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to go up there again soon, or I can turn on the puppy eyes and ask for another detour at Thanksgiving!

I can’t say AG Columbus is the best store ever – the store layout isn't great. There are a lot of display racks sitting out in the middle of the store that break up the walking paths, some paths that lead to dead ends, and it generally took a while to find the things I was looking for. This is not a store where you come in knowing what you want, grab it, pay, and leave. This is a store where they want you to amble around, look at all the cute displays, then spend three times as much as you’d planned!

Also – and this is just my brand of crazy – I hang out with adult collectors way too much, because I was not prepared for the sheer amounts of KIDS around. As much as I act like a 12-year-old, I really don’t get along with children, aside from my own! (I’m so OLD. I feel like I should just grab a cane to shake and tell the durn hoodlum kids to get offa my lawn.) Between kids darting in front of me, kids running into my legs because they weren't looking where they were going, and kids just being loud and OMG I HAVE THAT ONE AND I WANT THIS ONE AND MOMMY I WANT, I wasn't all that sad to be going.

ANYWAY, enough of my geriatric ranting. Robin was with me (of course – she demands to go along on anything resembling an adventure), and here she is showing off some of the new gear:

Gratuitous Squee Post: Rapunzel Edition

Who's got two thumbs and is really really for true a princess now?

THIS GIRL.

fweeeee this dress is awesome.

Doll Stuff, For Once

Well now, I'm posting about doll stuff. I...honestly wasn't expecting that.

For those who haven't seen it, Doll Diaries posted a lot of photos from the soft opening of the new American Girl store in Columbus, over here:

http://dolldiaries.com/more-new-ag-items-at-columbus-store/

I live about 2 hours away from Columbus, so I've obviously been looking forward to the store opening. And some of the new stuff? I am dangerously close to having a SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY moment, and I honestly can't remember the last time I had that reaction to an AG release. SCIENCE KIT. BENTO LUNCH. GREY STRIPE HOODIE. Robin wants it ALL. :D

I'm just about ready to walk into AG Columbus and walk out without a doll, which is a thing that seemed unthinkable a year ago. The truth is, I'm at a point where AG is my lowest priority when it comes to fun-money spending (costumes are #1 right now, lol), and I'm quickly running out of space for new dolls. (I really want to get another shelf up on the wall, so the Small Dolls can have their own space, Team Historical can be properly displayed, and I can rotate the dolls in the Team Modern display.) Right now, it seems like a far better idea to just get accessories and clothes!

 In costume news, the Rapunzel dress is frighteningly close to finished:

PRINCESS? PRINCESS.

WHO'S GOT TWO THUMBS AND IS A PRINCESS?




THIS GIRL.



fweeeeeeeeeeee.



Just doing an extremely silly drive-by post to let you know that work continues on Project Rapunzel 3.0. That jacket is almost finished!

Another Photo Dump

Just a quick update and photo dump this week! I've been busy trying to plan out all the doll and sewing things I need to get done this year, and then plan out how to spread out the supply expenses over several months!

Robin gave me a not-so-subtle reminder that badge registration for GenCon opened last Sunday. The husband and I had a few weeks of woe where we thought Pieface's school schedule would conflict with the con (boy howdy, my child starts kindergarten this year, such things are not allowed), but the calendar worked out. And now we are all stoked - him, me, and Robin.

But I have so much sewing to do before then! I need costumes! Robin needs costumes!



I spent a good amount of time on Thursday doing something I would never have dreamed of five years ago - performing minor nose surgery on a doll. (Okay, I was just sanding down the worst bits of Rapunzel's dented nose, but still.)


Speaking of noses, I also gave Rapunzel her freckles, and darkened her eyebrows just a bit. I cannot wait until her eyechips get here!


I also finished the third part - the silver brocade waistcoat - of Howl's blue-and-silver suit. Can I just take a moment to bask in the squeeful feeling of seeing an outfit I dreamed up almost seven years ago become a physical object? Howl seems pretty chuffed, too.

Now on to his jacket, which will be the crowning glory (if I can make it to match my imagination!).

Hoping that my next update will be some big steps forward!

Edited to add: The Saga of Marie-Grace has reached it's conclusion. I decided, after a month of keeping her in her box (and, quite frankly, forgetting she existed half the time), to sell her. One of my friends from the AG>18 community expressed an interest, and was quite happy to get her at the sale price. So I passed on a good deal to a friend, cleared up some space in the Dollcave, and started my "AG Place Columbus" fund. :D

Pullip Customizing Bonanza!

Okay, I KNOW I said that I was going to slow down on the buying and appreciate my collection.

I KNOW.

But, like I said in the Cecile post, I am easily snared by a good bargain. So when Beastsbelle of the adorable Never Grow Up blog posted a picture of the beautiful Pullip Peter Pan she found – for $40 – at Tuesday Morning, I couldn’t let that pass without at least investigating.

I went to two Tuesday Morning stores in two days (ah, the advantages of living in a metropolitan area), and found not only the Peter Pan Pullip, but the Taeyang Captain Hook! They both came home to join my customization to-do list.

Christmas Catchup!

Aiiieee, why is it so hard to put together a post? Photos to take, then edit, then upload, text to write, HTML to code...Anyway, I'm finally making headway.

Another Christmas has come and gone at Casa Nachos. This was probably the most doll-tastic Christmas I’ve had yet! I had a lot of stuff that I’d bought on sale and stashed away, and then my husband provided a few surprises as well! (I knew he was a keeper!)

Meet Cecile - oops, that is, Meet Nadira!

I fully admit, I am probably on Santa’s “naughty” list right now. My chief crime: buying presents for myself in December! Growing up, my family had a rule: once Thanksgiving hit, you were to stop buying stuff for yourself and focus on getting gifts for others. (This worked to not only focus our thoughts on generosity and giving, but also avoided the awkwardness of Little Jenny buying herself the same thing Grandma had already wrapped up.)

But even my parents’ oft-repeated lessons get thrown to the wind in the face of a mighty American Girl flash sale. And what a sale – Cecile and Marie-Grace, plus accessory sets, for $50 each. That’s right, two American Girl dolls, brand-new, with accessories, for less than the price of one.

And now it’s time to confess my lesser crime – the fact that, on the morning of the 5th, I was sitting at my work computer, logged in to AG’s site, with my phone in my hand refreshing Playthings for the code. Online shopping at work, for shame. Long story short, the code worked, I ordered on time, and Cecile and Marie-Grace were on their way. And now I’m going to be like one of those twelve-year-olds on YouTube and chronicle the deboxing, because these are my first brand-spanking-new AG dolls in 19 years, and I’m going to enjoy this. :D

On Monday the 10th, this huge parcel was waiting for me at home:

Catch-up: My AG Cribs

Have I really not posted anything since JULY?!? I have such a huge backlog, it's not even funny.
So I'm going to cheat a little bit, and repost something I did elsewhere. The AG>18 group had a "Cribs Week", where members showed off their doll spaces, so I gave a "tour" of the Dollcave.

This will also help me organize my list of things that need their own proper entries...

Jen Levels Up - +2 to Restringing Skill!

Pickings have been mighty slim on the local Craigslist lately, but about a week ago, I saw a post advertising several AG dolls for $50 - including a #21. 21 has been on the wishlist for a while now, and it seems that retirement rumors keep popping up, so I went ahead and contacted the seller.

Tour: The New Dollcave!

Behold, the new Dollcave!

Well, Hobbycave, really, as I share the room with the computer and other stuff. But one big ol' corner is all mine!



The New Dollcave in all its glory. Yes, the walls are orange.

The AG Section: Team Modern:



I ended up packing away the IKEA bed I got last Christmas. It's cute, but so huge - with it gone, I could open up the wardrobe and keep Robin's desk in the Team Modern section.

Lucy's desk:





The goldfish from Saturday Crafternoon Adventures did not survive the moving process (his gel water de-gelled in the June heat), and he has been replaced by Mr. Nibbles, Lucy's pet mouse.

Mr Nibbles is a Safari Ltd Good Luck Minis white mouse (follow that link for a place where you can see the whole line and purchase). He was 50 cents at the Good Zoo gift shop at Oglebay Resort, WV.

His cage is a 99-cent plastic container from Michael's. His water bottle is one of these glass dollhouse jars from Hobby Lobby. His cedar chips are shavings from my pencil sharpener!



The bookcase between the desks, complete with toys, books, and Lucy's art stuff.



Robin's desk, complete with Terry Pratchett book, Dalek poster, and homemade, out-of-scale iPhone.

Team Historical:



Team Historical sits atop an old bookcase full of art/craft supplies.



Felicity, looking lovely in her summer gown, with her Windsor chair and accessories.



I finally found a suitable jacquard ribbon to serve as her sash, thanks to trimgoddess on Etsy.



The Walker sisters, Addy and Addy, enjoy pie on their brand-spanking-new table and chair set from The Queen's Treasures.

I bought this set from their Factory Seconds selection (just look under "Going, Going, Gone"). If it hadn't had FACTORY SECOND slathered all over the web page, I'd have never known - the nicks and imperfections are minimal. Best part? $29.99 instead of $69.99, and free shipping to boot!

Moving up in the world, the Small Doll Section:



The best thing about home ownership is having my very own, non-coin-operated laundry machines. The second-best is being able to put up shelves without risking your deposit.



Left side: Russian nesting dolls from a friend, Colette, Penny, and the Lagoona twins.



Right side - Penny and the Lagoona twins are joined by Pullip Rapunzel and my Treasured Childhood Ariel.

So, that's the new Dollcave! It's already been de-organized by a new sewing project - hopefully I'll check back in soon with a summer dress for The Addys!