12 Cosplays of Christmas - 7 Balls-A-Flying (PKMN Trainer)

Day 7! ^^ We finally hit the week mark, folks! Today's character is the PKMN Trainer from Pokemon and Smash Bros.

Here's a picture of the Trainer. ^^ Gotta catch 'em all!

Here's how to make it:

• A red baseball or trucker cap
• A yellow backpack
• A black shirt
• A red vest
• A black wristband
• White and red ribbon
• Red felt
• Jeans
• Any type of sneakers

Here's how to make it:

1. Iron on or sew on some ribbon onto the zipper area of the vest. If you have buttons instead of a zipper, slit some holes for the buttons and pull them through. For the backpack, lay a strip of red ribbon across the bottom pocket and iron or sew it on. Set the vest aside.
2. For the hat, make a semicircle out of the felt and sew or iron it on.
3. Time to get dressed! For the authentic Trainer jeans and shoes, grab a pair of bright or faded blue jeans and a pair of black Converses.

Grab keychains of whatever Pokemon you like, attach them to your backpack and you're done! ^^ My many apologies for being a bit lazy on this recipe, but I had so much going on. -.- But you all know the holidays! ^^; Hope you enjoyed, anyway!

Next line: 8 Planets Orbiting!

12 Cosplays of Christmas - 6 Princes/Princesses-A-'Scaping (Ice King/Queen)

Day 6! ^^ Today, we'll go to the 'ice cold' shadows of the dark side because the character of the day is the villain and villainess of 'Adventure Time,' the Ice King and the Ice Queen!

Here's the Ice King from the show. 'Gunther!' >w<

Here's the Ice Queen! Many thanks to GangstaCakes for letting me use this!

Here's what's needed to create this 'cool' costume:

• A long, plain blue gown (King)
• A blue dress (Queen)
• A white Santa beard (King), white temporary hairspray or a curly white wig (Queen)
• Dark blue ribbon (Queen) 
• Dark blue crop top (Queen)
• Glue *both stick and Super or hot*
• Blue and white face paint
• Bright blue (King) and yellow posterboard
• White eyeliner (Queen)

How to create it:

1. Unlike the previous recipes in which it's outfit first, we'll start off with the beard for the King. Just make a larger, fluffier-looking version of a Santa beard. TIP: Use white faux fur for a better, more realistic effect.
2. For the Queen's snowy curls, have a friend or parent curl your hair. Afterwards, let it cool and brush away. Then, have someone spray your hair with the white hairspray.
3. For the Queen's gown, take some ribbon, lay it out like in the picture and sew it on. You can iron it on too, but for that, lay some iron-on tape and then the ribbon. Put on the crop top afterwards. For the King, just put on a plain nightgown and stuff a pillow or two on your back to make the hump.
4. Now for the face! Apply some glue stick on your eyebrows and let it dry. This is excellent for drawing on the white brows!
5. Take some blue and white face paints and mix them on a paper plate until you get a nice icy blue color. Then, with a foundation brush or sponge, paint your entire face. After the paint's dry, draw on your brows. Draw on some shaggy brows for the King, lightning bolt-like ones for the Queen.
6. Onto the crown~ Do a crown with the yellow posterboard and using either hot glue or Super Glue, attach three red jewels; one large, two medium. For the Queen, do a smaller crown and a necklace using the posterboard and do the same thing.
7. For the King's nose, snip out a very skinny triangle out of the blue posterboard, glue it on and leave it to dry. Once it's dry, put it on and you're done! TIP: For a better result, make the skinniness of the triangle match the sides of your regular nose.

For a Gunther, just take a penguin plush with you. Hope you enjoyed! ^w^ Just don't start capturing princesses... ^^;

Next line: 7 Balls-A-Flying!

12 Cosplays of Christmas - 5 Lamp Dials (Conis)

Day 5! ^^ One question: What usually comes to mind when thinking about the more religious symbols of Christmas? Most people would think of the Three Wise Men, a manger, Mary and Joseph, Bethlehem or angels. Why would I bring this up? Because the character of today is an angel herself: Conis of 'One Piece!'

Here's a picture of her and her cloud fox, Su. ^^ Many thanks to the One Piece Wiki for letting me use this!

Here's a figure of her! ^^ Those braids do look freaky, don't they? >w<

 Here's how to make her costume:

• A pink dress
• Some black floral lace or patches or a black fabric marker
• Bright blue or white belt
• A long, straight, pale blond wig *Optional*
• Hair gel or spray
• Yellow bee antennae (from a bee costume)
• Angel wings (from an angel costume)
• Large Styrofoam balls
• Alligator hair clips
• Yellow and white craft paint
• Pink fabric-strip flip-flops or sandals
• Red fabric marker

Here's how to make it:

1. Iron the lace onto the dress using some iron-on tape. Set the dress aside so it can cool. If you don't have any lace, use a black fabric marker and have a friend or parent draw the designs.
2. Put on your wig cap and then your wig. Have a parent or friend braid the hair into pigtails and tie the ends. If your hair is already bleach or light blonde, you can do the same thing without needing to get a wig cap.
3. Time for the attachments! Mix some yellow and white paint together and cut a Styrofoam ball in half. When the paint gets close to your hair color, start painting the halves and leave them to dry.
4. When the painted balls are dry, take an alligator clip, apply some glue on the front, put one of the ball halves on top and leave it to dry. Do the same thing to a second clip.
5. When the glue is dry, bring your pigtails to the front of your shoulders and put on the clips at the end of the tails. Return the tails to the back of you. Your hair's almost done!
6. For the shoes, take any flip-flops with a pink fabric strap and make some stripes with a red fabric marker.
7. Put on the dress, shoes, belt, bee antennae and angel wings and you're done!

For Su, just find a fox plush, gray or not. Now you're ready to play your harp~

Next line: 6 Princes/Princesses-A-'Scaping!

12 Cosplays of Christmas - 4 Captured Cards (Sakura *Cardcaptors*)

Day 4! ^^ The character of today is Sakura of 'Cardcaptors' (US) or 'Cardcaptor Sakura' (JP). Pardon me if I don't know the villains or Sakura's companion; I never really watched the show when I was younger. However, if you know who they are, leave the names in the comments below. ^^;

A pic of her and her... bear-cat-thing... I dunno. ^^; Many thanks to Zerochan for letting me use this!

Here's what we'll be using as a base for the recipe. ^^ Many thanks to HelloCosplay for letting me use this!

What's needed to suit up for capturing card monsters:

• A white dress
• A red overall dress
• White (or yellow) and red ribbon
• Some white and red bows (Optional)
• Pin backs *like the kind on buttons* (Optional)
• A red beret
• White short gloves
• White knee-high socks
• Red Mary Janes

How to suit up:

1. Apply some iron-on tape and place the white or yellow ribbon near the bottom of the red dress. Or if you prefer, pin the ribbon to the dress and run it through a sewing machine. Set the dress aside.
2. Put on the white dress. Take the white ribbon and tie it around the cuff of the sleeve. Be careful as if the bow's too tight, it may cut off circulation on your arms. If this concerns you, just get some pre-made bows (commonly found at any craft store), glue some pin backs and pin them to the cuffs, but be careful with this one too.
3. Put on the red dress once it's cool. Make sure you can move freely with the ribbon.
4. Now for the gloves! Take some short white gloves and pin some red bows on them. If you prefer, make some bows with the red ribbon, glue some pin backs and pin them to the gloves.
5. For the beret, put it on, then have a parent or friend tie on some red ribbon on the base and sew it on. Make sure it's not tight on your head!
6. Put on the socks and shoes and you're done! For the socks, simply pin some red bows on them.

Next line: 5 Lamp Dials!

12 Cosplays of Christmas - 3 Shiny Keyblades (Kairi)

Day 3! ^^ Since today is the 111th birthday of Walt Disney, the character of the day is Kairi from the 'Kingdom Hearts' games.

Here's her design from Kingdom Hearts 2. ^^ This one will be the focus for this recipe.

Here's what is needed for this:

• A small white dress with straps
• A pink strapless dress
• A black belt
• Duct tape in regular gray and black
• Purple sneakers (Converses and Reeboks are best, but any kind will do!)
• Red wig or hairspray

How to do it:

1. Get dressed. Put on the white dress first, then the pink one.
2. Have a friend or parent cut some strips of gray duct tape in half (down the middle) and put them on the pink dress. Give them a black marker or have them cut some of the black tape and place them on top of the gray tape to make the zippers.
3. Put on the belt. Make some more 'belts' out of the same black duct tape and attach them to the real belt using the gray tape. To make the bag, take a black bag or cover a box with the black tape and add a purple ribbon. Have your hair sprayed or put on the wig and you're done!

Now you're ready to vanquish some Heartless! Hope you enjoyed and I hope you find your Sora... <3

Next line: 4 Captured Cards!

12 Cosplays of Christmas - 2 Lively Heroes/Heroines (Princess Bubblegum/Prince Gumball)

Day 2! ^^ Today, bring out your sweet teeth and your more regal side because the character of the day is Princess Bubblegum/Prince Gumball of 'Adventure Time.'

Here's the candy co-star of the show, Princess Bubblegum. She'll be the focus of the recipe.

Here's her male counterpart, Prince Gumball. We'll use him too. ^^

Here's what's needed for Princess Bubblegum (PB):

• A long pink dress
• Purple ribbon (found at any fabric or craft store, i.e. Walmart, Michael's, JoAnn Fabrics, etc.)
• A purple belt
• A long pink wig or some pink hairspray (found online)
• Red and white face paint (found online currently)
• Paper plates
• Yellow poster board *for the crown*
• Light blue aquarium stones (found at Petsmart, Petco, the pet section of Walmart or any pet store)
• Hot or Super Glue

For Prince Gumball (PG):

• A purple turtleneck shirt
• A larger pink shirt with puffy sleeves
• Dark red ribbon
• A short pink wig
• Purple fabric marker
• Dark pink pants (can be bought from Old Navy or any other clothing store)

Here's how to make both:

1. For PB, take a strip of purple ribbon and align it with the collar of the dress. Pin the ribbon to the collar and either sew it through a sewing machine or by hand.
2. For PG, cover the cuffs of the turtleneck with the dark red ribbon and do the same thing as above.
3. For those who're doing the spray, put on a work shirt and have a friend or parent spray your hair pink. When it's dry, brush it. If you're doing PG, curl your bangs upward when you brush your hair. TIP: To give it a more gummy look, curl your hair first and then spray it.
4. Now for the makeup! Squeeze some red and white face paint onto a paper plate and stir them together with the tip of a foundation brush handle until it's a bright pink color. Either take the foundation brush or a cosmetic sponge, brush it in, wash it off and let the paint on your face dry.
5. Time to make the crown! Take some yellow posterboard and cut out the crown shapes. Make sure that they fit your head and can't slip off. Glue on the stones and leave them to dry. If you're going as PG, glue some stones onto the posterboard, cut around them and glue them to the pink shirt.
6. Now, time to get dressed~ For PB, put on the dress and grab a purple chunky belt. For PG, put on the turtleneck, followed by the pants and the other shirt. Have a friend or parent draw the under-sleeves with a purple fabric marker and you're done!

Now you're ready to rule the candy canes and Reese's that arrive in your stocking! Hope you enjoyed~ <3

Next Character Line: 3 Shiny Keyblades!

12 Cosplays of Christmas - A Giant Party Cannon (Pinkie Pie)

Hey, guys! ^^ Bri here. Remember my '13 Cosplays of Halloween' and my 'Anime Cooks of Thanksgiving,' when I mentioned doing something similar to them for December? Well, this is it! ^^

As the title says, I call it '12 Cosplays of Christmas,' in which I post new recipes from December 13th all the way to Christmas Day! Also, I'll be posting a hint on who the next character will be at the end of each post in the style of '12 Days of Christmas.'

Anyway, let's open the first door to this Advent Calendar by going to the stables. The first character for this event will be the clip-clopping clown of 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,' Pinkie Pie!

Here's a picture of Pinkie Pie. Not much to base off of...

Here's one of the better Pinkie cosplays I've seen, as portrayed by ZombieChocoCherry of deviantART. ^^ We'll be using this as an example for this recipe, except for the optional hat. Many thanks to her for letting me use this!

Wanna know how to create this uber-fun outfit? Here's what's needed:

• Any pink top
• Pink suspenders
• Pink skirt
• Pink petticoat (usually found online or Party City year-round)
• A long, curly, pink wig or temporary pink hair spray (both also found online)
• Yellow and blue felt (found at any craft store *Michael's, JoAnn Fabrics, Walmart, etc.*)
• Large pink or yellow buttons (also found at any craft store)
• Hot or super glue
• Some newspaper
• Scissors

How to create it:

1. Take the scissors and felt and begin cutting three balloon shapes (one yellow, two blue) and three wavy or curly strings (two yellow, one blue). These will be used for Pinkie Pie's cutie mark.
2. Using either iron-on tape and an iron or a sewing machine, time to assemble the balloons! Make sure to put the strings underneath the balloon shapes and if you're planning on sewing them on, pin the shapes together as well as to the skirt. Set the skirt aside after you're done.
3. Now for the suspenders! Open the suspenders, take some glue, glue on the buttons and set it on some newspaper with the buttons pointing up. I recommend using hot or super glue over regular school glue since regular glue tends to wear down and cause the buttons to fall off. Whichever glue you use, be careful!
4. If your hair is gonna be sprayed, have a parent or friend curl your hair first, wait until it's cool and grab a work shirt. Then they can spray your hair. Once it's dry, brush your hair. I recommend a very sparkly pink spray for a more magical look.
5. If you're gonna be using a wig, get a wig cap on and put it on. Adjust your wig until it's in a comfy position on your head. Brush your hair afterwards.
6. If the skirt's cooled and the glue on the suspenders is dry, time to get dressed! Grab any pink top, sleeves or not, the silliest socks you have, some cute shoes and a really puffy petticoat. I recommend knee high socks with bows, lace or both and Mary Janes for a more childish, girly look.

And you're done! ^^ For Pinkie's gator Gummy, just take a gator plush with you. Hope you enjoyed and again, a multitude of thanks to ZombieChocoCherry for letting me use the picture as a model!

Next Character Line: Two Lively Heroes/Heroines