Easter 2013 - Momiji (Fruits Basket)

Hey, folks! Bri here. ^^ What do most people think of when they hear the word 'Easter?' Some would mention either the dyeing of eggs, the cute little ducklings romping about in their yard or those sugar-coated marshmallow chicks that sometimes makes their teeth hurt. But the one answer that everybody thinks of when they hear 'Easter' is bunnies~ So to celebrate the holiday, I picked an adorable rabbit of the anime world, Momiji of 'Fruits Basket!'

Here's a picture of him. Isn't he cute? ^w^

Here's his rabbit form on top of Tohru's head. ^^ Many thanks to Glogster for letting me use this!

 

Here's what you need for this:

• A dark blue beret
• A matching dark blue long-sleeve shirt
• A white long sleeve button-up shirt
• A Cami Secret in white (usually found in the 'As Seen On TV' section at Rite Aid, Walmart, Walgreen's, etc.)
• Dark blue shorts
• White socks
• Boots in orange or black
• Skinny blue ribbon
• Regular white ribbon

How to make it:

1. Take the white shirt, put it on and make sure to leave the shirt partly open, about 3 or 4 buttons off. Have a parent or friend cut the buttons and pin some of the skinny ribbon on the cuffs and around the collar. They can then sew it on. If you're crossplaying (in this case, a girl dressing as Momiji), put on the Cami Secret on your bra and have a friend or parent do the same thing.
2. For the hat, simply line the beret with the white ribbon and sew it on. Make sure it'll still fit your head!
3. Put on the jacket, line the bottom of it with the white ribbon and sew it on.
4. Now put on the shorts, the socks and the boots.

And you're done! ^^ Just bring a white rabbit with you or take some fake rabbit ears and add some black felt for the tips.

Hope you enjoyed and...
Happy Easter!
(\_/)
(o.o)
(___)0

St. Patrick's Day 2013 - Suu (Shugo Chara)

Top o' the mornin' to ye, folks! ^^ Bri here! I know what you all are wondering: 'What does 'Top o' the mornin' to ye' have to do with today?' Well, since it's St. Patrick's Day today, I decided to use an Irish greeting for today's post.

Now what comes to mind when people hear 'St. Patrick's Day?' What usually comes up are a dinner of corned beef and cabbage at home or the rowdiness of drunks at the bar that night. But what universally comes into peoples' minds are leprechauns and the color green, which brings us to today's character: Suu of the ever-cute anime 'Shugo Chara!'

Here's a picture of her. Isn't she cute? ^^ Many thanks to the Shugo Chara Wiki for letting me use this!

 

Here's another picture of her! ^^ Many thanks to Zerochan for letting me use this!

 

Now I bet you're wondering 'Why are you focusing on Suu and not Amu's form with her?' The answer to that is the goal of this blog is to utilize common clothes and materials for costumes. And since not everybody has a skirt that looks like an upside-down green blueberry, I picked Suu instead of Amulet Clover for this post.

 

What you need:

• A green dress with sleeves
• A white bandana
• A plain white apron
• Green ballet shoes or flats
• White satin or any other soft white fabric
• Green ribbon (Optional if you have flats)
• Bra pads (found at any store that sells lingerie or can be found online)

How to make it:

1. Put on the dress and apron. Have a parent or friend tie the back of the apron.
2. Have a parent or friend wrap the satin around your neck and using a black marker, draw where to have them cut, making the collar. Make sure the front of it covers the neck straps. Have them safety pin the ends together (with the pin pointing away from your neck, of course!).
3. For the shoes, just get some ballet shoes in green. If all you have is a pair of green flats, sew on four straps of matching green ribbon (two for each shoe) and wrap them around your legs making an X shape.
4. Put on the bandana and with your parent or friend and the same marker, mark where to cut. This time you'd want to have the sides of it be wavy. Once the marking is done, begin cutting the excess fabric and you got Suu's headkerchief.
5. For the sleeves, just stuff some bra pads underneath them so they'll puff up. You can do this with some green ribbon or plush stuffing too. Put on some white shorts for bloomers and you're done!

For the club symbol, just draw one on paper, color it, cover it in tape and tape a couple safety pins to the back. My next recipes will be for Easter and Hanami (the Cherry Blossom Festival). Hope you enjoyed and...

Have a great St. Patrick's Day! [|:3>

White Day 2013 - Chi-Chi (Dragonball Z/GT)

Here's the second half of the recipe, Chi-Chi! ^^

 

Here's both a reference pic of Chi-Chi and the costume we'll be focusing on. ^^ Many thanks to Dressr for letting me use this!

 

Here's what you need for this:

• A plain blue dress
• A matching turtleneck shirt
• Pink ribbon (think a very bright pink)
• Any kind of pink fabric
• Baggy white pants
• Pink flats
• White socks
• Scissors

How to make it:

1. Put on the dress, shirt, pants, socks and flats. Have a parent or friend cut off the sleeves of the shirt, so it'll look sleeveless. Think a tank top with a turtleneck.
2. Take off the shirt, line the arm holes and collar with the pink ribbon and pin it in place. Don't forget the Chinese dress fastener! Give it to a parent or friend so they can sew on the ribbon. Have them do the same thing to the bottom of the dress. Just make sure you'll still have breathing room on the shirt once the ribbon's on.
3. Once the dress and shirt are back on, grab some of the same pink ribbon or a pink belt. Wrap it around where the bottom of the shirt and your waist meet.
4. If your pants are long enough, you can tuck them into the socks.
5. For the hair, spray your hair black, brush it down until your ears are visible and put what's behind them into a ponytail. Just do the ponytail bit if you already have black hair.
6. Finally, take two sheets of pink fabric, wrap it around your arms and pin them together. I highly suggest sewing them together by hand because it could really hurt you if they're run through a sewing machine.

And you're done! ^^ I'll have to start working on the recipe for St. Patrick's Day now, so I can get it outta the way.

I wish my friends in Japan a Happy White Day and my friends here in the States an awesome Pi Day!!

White Day 2013 - Goku (Dragonball Z/GT)

Hey, everybody! ^^ Bri here. Remember last month when I explained Valentine's Day in Japan? Well, also in Japan, there's kind of a second parter to the holiday known as White Day. Just like how girls have to give boys something for Valentine's Day, the boys have to pay back the favor and get the girls something.

So in celebration of this, I decided to post the runner-up couple of February, Goku and Chi-Chi of the 'Dragonball' series. Since I posted the female first for V-tine's Day, I'll post the male for White Day, meaning that Goku's first.

Here's a common full-body picture of Goku. ^^ Many thanks to the Dragonball Wiki for letting me use this!

Goku eating a random cloud. I knew clouds are made of cotton candy!

Here's what you need to dress like the last of the Saiyans:

• A stretchy blue or black shirt (I suggest Under Armour for a more muscular look)
• A plain or orange painter jumpsuit (found at Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace or any home improvement store, but can also be purchased online)
• Plain blue or black wristbands
• A blue or black belt (either Karate or some plain ribbon)
• Black winter boots
• Red craft rope
• Yellow or gold ribbon
• Scissors
• Black fabric marker
• Orange cloth dye *Optional if you have the white suit*
• Steel tub for the dye (also found at any home improvement store)

How to make it:

1. Put on the shirt and the jumpsuit and have a friend or parent line the sleeves using the marker. They can then cut where the mark is. The suit should look sleeveless. Set the sleeves aside for later.
2. Have a parent or friend prepare some orange cloth dye in a steel tub for the suit. Once the dye's ready, take off the suit and put it in. Don't throw it in or else your yard will look like a bottle of orange juice exploded on it! >w< You can ignore this and step 4 if you already have an orange jumpsuit.
3. While waiting for the suit to reach the perfect shade of orange, time to work on the boots. Put them on, line the sole and top with the yellow ribbon and pin them to the boot. Use another strip of ribbon to connect the pair together and pin that strip to the boot. Do the same thing to the other boot and set them aside for sewing.
4. Once the ribbon on the boots are sewn or ironed-on, check the jumpsuit. If it's too light, leave it in the tub for a while longer. If it's the right shade, then hang it up so the dye can dry.
5. After the jumpsuit is dry, put it, the wristbands, the belt and the boots on. Tie some red rope on the boots and you're done!

For the patch, Google it, draw it on white paper with a Sharpie, cover it with clear shipping tape and tape a safety pin to the back. For the hair, it's best to get a wig because it'd be really hard to emulate. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! <3

Next character: Chi-Chi (Dragonball Z/GT)!