You can see my newest deviation here:


And you can see my website update here:
       

I can't believe it's already been one week since T-Mode - it feels like it's been a month!  I had such a great time and saw so many friends and made some very good new ones and I'm still bummed out that it couldn't last longer.  Thank you so much to everyone who came to my panels and to the Variety Show, and to the con itself!  It was honestly the best convention I've had all year and probably one of the best conventions ever.  If you didn't go this year, you sorely missed out, and I hope you will join us next year in Rockville, MD!

I have so many great stories from this con: getting mobbed by a high school class on a field trip from Indiana in my Aurora costume, getting pictures with two drunken wedding attendees (and getting my crown snatched off my head by one of them!), and getting a picture in Jem with a boy having his Bar Mitzvah that Friday and his father.  Classic times and the memories are still making me smile.

Since I took last week off to prepare for a wedding (complete with surprise geese!!), I am now hunkering down and getting into super cosplay mode for my newest costumes for Anime Mid-Atlantic in June: Miss Scarlet from the movie "Clue" and a Red Queen costume from "Alice in Wonderland."  My Red Queen costume is based on a design from a very talented artist on DeviantArt, and I am planning to cover it in a bajillion rhinestones, so I will be spending the next month of my life heat-fixing red rhinestones to this dress (about 16,000 or more!).

As always, I look forward to seeing many of you at Anime Mid-Atlantic and I hope you enjoy my work!  I did hear that many of you liked seeing my progress pictures on my Facebook Page, so if you would like to follow along on my rhinestoning adventures, feel free to follow along!!

I will be a guest at T-Mode this weekend, in Rockville, MD!  I'd love to see this small family con grow some more, so please come by if you can!!



I will be giving two panels and judging the Cosplay Variety Show!  My panels are:

Saturday at 12:30 - So You Think You Can Sew?
A step up from "Cosplay 101," this panel addresses more intricate details of sewing and cosplaying. Learn how to make your costume as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside and how to bring your cosplay construction to the next level.

Sunday at 11:30 - Cosplay Armor and Weapons
So, you are in need of armor and/or weapons for your costume? No problem! Join Fire Lily as she walks you through the basics of armor and weapon construction using materials such as craft foam, cardboard, paper mache, insulation foam, Paperclay, found objects, and more! Learn how to visualize your project and what materials to use to bring it life.

I will be debuting a new costume at this convention: Princess Aurora from Disney's "Sleeping Beauty"!  I will be wearing Aurora on Saturday and Sunday, and I will be bringing Jem on Friday.

    

I will also be joining AdrenoSol and LuluBird, the famous EVA twins, who are our main cosplay guests.  Please come by and support them, along with our wonderful roster of guests.

My newest Deviation is Jem, from "Jem and the Holograms"!!  I had a fantastic time making not just one dress, but two: her light pink dress with hot pink belt, and her hot pink dress with white belt!



I've had an awesome response to it already, even from Samantha Newark herself (voice of Jem).  It makes me really happy that so many people love this character and this cartoon, and I cannot wait to wear her more.

I've updated my website with more pictures of Jem if any of you would like to see them:

    

I'm also looking really forward to T-Mode in April, where I'll be helping out as a Cosplay Guest and Panelist!!  Check out their site for more information.

I am going to Tekkoshocon this weekend!  I'll be arriving Saturday afternoon and leaving some time on Sunday.  I think I'm only going to be bringing Jem from Jem & The Holograms, but I made two versions of her default dress - the hot pink with white belt and regular pink with hot pink belt.  I can't wait to wear them - It's going to be outrageous!!

You can see more specific info on my website: Fire Lily Cosplay





Also, thank you so much to PrayerReverie for catching my 50,000 Kiriban!  Here are a few deviations of his that I especially like!

      


Also, I was featured on in an interview with MicCostumes on Cosplay: www.MicCostumes.com




And another interview by JapanCinema.net: Cosplay Corner Episode #34: Fire Lily



And lastly, I still have a few costumes left for sale that I would really love to go to good homes.  Please see my previous Journal Entry and message me if you would like to purchase one!

Thank you so much to PrayerReverie for catching the 50,000 Kiriban!  Here are a few deviations of his that I especially like!

      


Also, I was featured on www.MicCostumes.com in an interview on Cosplay: [link]


And they are also holding a contest this month for The Most Useful Cosplay Tutorial - the main prize is a free costume from MicCostume's extensive shop!!  Please check it out: [link]

And lastly, I still have a few costumes left for sale that I would really love to go to good homes.  Please message me if you would like to purchase one!


Deedlit's Ball Gown from Record of Lodoss War - $100

Award Winning Deedlit Ball Gown from Record of Lodoss War. Won Best Craftsman Hall Contest at Anime USA 2008.
Costume includes dress, headband, earrings, and shoes. Necklace and gloves are not included.
Dress fits a size Small. Bust is 33-34 inches. Waist is 25-26 inches.  Shoes fit size 8-9 women.


Orihime Inoue's school uniform - $50

Costume includes only the skirt and jacket.
Skirt fits a size Medium, waist/hip size 26-30 inches.
Jacket fits a size 4-6, bust size 34-38 inches.
Jacket and skirt are made from a top quality heather grey suiting. Jacket is lined in powder blue.


Lujei Piche from Grim Grimoire - $50

Costume includes dress, arm band with rose, head band with rose, and body vine wrap.
Wig and staff are NOT included.
Dress fits size Small to Medium. Bust size 33-36 inches. Must be closed with clear thread. Waist size 25-27 inches.


Marisa from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones - $65

Costume includes dress, wig, boot covers, arm bands, skirt wrap and gloves.
Dress fits size Small. Bust size 33-34 inches. Waist size 25-26 inches. Hip size 36-37 inches.
Boot covers fit size 9 boot. Gloves fit size 7-7.25 hand.

I have these listed on my Cosplay.com account, but I will also be posting them on my website when I get a chance.  Please take a look - everything MUST go!
Please see here for my Cosplay.com Listings.



Deedlit's Ball Gown from Record of Lodoss War - $100

Award Winning Deedlit Ball Gown from Record of Lodoss War. Won Best Craftsman Hall Contest at Anime USA 2008.
Costume includes dress, headband, earrings, and shoes. Necklace and gloves are not included.
Dress fits a size Small. Bust is 33-34 inches. Waist is 25-26 inches.  Shoes fit size 8-9 women.


Tethys from Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones - SOLD



Orihime Inoue's school uniform - $50

Costume includes only the skirt and jacket.
Skirt fits a size Medium, waist/hip size 26-30 inches.
Jacket fits a size 4-6, bust size 34-38 inches.
Jacket and skirt are made from a top quality heather grey suiting. Jacket is lined in powder blue.


Tina from Fantastic Children - SOLD



Lujei Piche from Grim Grimoire - $50

Costume includes dress, arm band with rose, head band with rose, and body vine wrap.
Wig and staff are NOT included.
Dress fits size Small to Medium. Bust size 33-36 inches. Must be closed with clear thread. Waist size 25-27 inches.


Marisa from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones - $65

Costume includes dress, wig, boot covers, arm bands, skirt wrap and gloves.
Dress fits size Small. Bust size 33-34 inches. Waist size 25-26 inches. Hip size 36-37 inches.
Boot covers fit size 9 boot. Gloves fit size 7-7.25 hand.


Mireille Bouquet from Noir - SOLD



Priestess Rao costume from Okami - SOLD

I have posted up new pictures of my Shana costume from Legend of Dragoon, with a few gag pictures of me, Meru, and Rose!




I also wanted to share my new Facebook Fan Page!  I am planning to share more progress pictures and cosplay plans through this page, as well as convention announcements, so please stop by!



And coming up here shortly, I will be reaching 50,000 Page Views, so that calls for another Kiriban Contest!  The first person to screencap and send me the 50,000 mark will receive a print of the costume of their choice and a Journal Feature on my DeviantART Page.  So, be on the lookout and I can't wait to see who catches the kiriban

I have my newest Deviation posted, another shot of Nanai from Avalon Code.  I found this amazing location tucked away at the Gaylord National Harbor Resort at Katsucon, and I'm so happy with it!  You can see it here:



You can also check my website, Fire Lily Cosplay for more stunning pictures of Nanai, as well as an updated Convention Schedule, and a lot more Media Spots, including Videos!

    

And coming up here shortly, I will be reaching 50,000 Page Views, so that calls for another Kiriban Contest!  The first person to screencap and send me the 50,000 mark will receive a print of the costume of their choice and a Journal Feature on my DeviantART Page.  So, be on the lookout and I can't wait to see who catches the kiriban

Indeed - Katsucon was an amazing convention.  Simply the best start to my convention year.  Everything was amazing - lots of friends, lots of photos, lots of cosplay.  I will be posting pictures up as I edit them and get them in, but for now, please enjoy a new tutorial: The Vinyl & Craft Foam Armor Tutorial!!  I have used this method for a few costumes and it's very easy to do, so please enjoy!!

Katsucon is this weekend!  I'm really excited to see friends again and have a great time, and to staff Masquerade.  The show is looking to be really exciting, so I hope to see you there in support!

Here's my costume schedule for the weekend:



Friday afternoon: Quistis and Irvine with a Final Fantasy 8 group
Friday evening: Shana from Legend of Dragoon with Meru and Rose!

Saturday morning to early afternoon: Kureha with Pixie Kitty as Houmei and hopefully a friend as Seena!
Saturday Masquerade: Nanai from Avalon Code

Sunday morning: Quistis again for a shoot with

So, it's shaping up to be a great convention.  Plus, I have a few 1950's dresses that I've made to wear during evening hangout times, as well as to get a few "Mad Men"-esque photos with PopeCerebus.

Also, I have a new picture up - another photo of my Briar Rose costume from "Sleeping Beauty."



Hope you enjoy the costume as much as I do!

I am so heartbroken right now.  Eiko Ishioka, a truly bold and Academy Award Winning costume designer, passed away on Saturday from pancreatic cancer.

Who is Eiko?  You know those movies "The Cell," "The Fall," "Bram Stoker's Dracula," and soon to be released "Mirror, Mirror"?  Those are her sumptuous costume designs at work.  She had also worked on outfits for Cirque du Soleil, the Olympics, Broadway, and many other media venues.  I am truly saddened that her life was cut short, and that we will never see another spectacular costume from her.  I absolutely fell in love with Eiko's work and was so inspired by it, that I made two costumes from "Bram Stoker's Dracula" for Costume Con 27 in 2009 - Mina's Green Walking Dress and Prince Vlad's Grey Town Suit.  When I saw the preview photos from "Mirror, Mirror," I just knew I was going to make another Eiko costume.   The world has lost an amazing and unparalleled talent, and I invite you to admire and celebrate in her creative genius.

Just wanted to thank everyone for supporting my work here on DeviantArt!

My latest deviation, the Paper Mache Armor Tutorial, received a Daily Deviation just two weeks after I initially posted it!  You can see it here:



I'm also very excited to see that it kind of helped opened the door for the Artisan Craft Group's Monthly Challenge: Paper Mache!  [link]

Creative Craft Challenge: Paper macheWeekly update

[EDIT: Added a few more awesome submissions!]

So sorry this is late, everyone, it's been a crazy week! Anyways, we've had a couple more submissions this week, check them out:

:thumb88516240: :thumb280873480: :thumb281075318: :thumb180881662: :thumb55034575:

Cool stuff! Don't forget, you have until next Wednesday to submit your paper mache crafts if you want to be eligible for Member of the Month! If you don't finish before the end of the month, you can still submit your craft- just comment here or send a note to me or the group with a link to your submission so I can add it.

Previous updates

We have our first submissions!

I will be updating my website soon with another set of galleries: Other Projects.  This section will include all the costumes, clothing, and craft items I've made for other people over the years.  I hope you all will look forward to it!  I'm finally getting to the point where I'm getting pictures of these projects, so I'd like to share them with you all!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far.

For the last 24 hours, I had my website, FireLilyCosplay.com changed to what it may look like if the SOPA and PIPA bills get passed through Congress.  

What are SOPA and PIPA?  The originally proposed SOPA, or Stop Online Piracy Act, bill would allow the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as copyright holders, to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement.  The court order could include barring online advertising networks and payment facilitators from doing business with the supposed infringing website, barring search engines from linking to the sites, and requiring Internet service providers to block access to such sites.  The bill would make unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content a crime, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison for ten such infringements within six months.

While this sounds like a good idea in theory, if passed, it could potentially bring down websites such as Youtube, Wikipedia, Cosplay websites (such as mine), Fanfic websites, Costume commission websites, websites like LolCats and even Video Gaming websites.  Right now there is no language set up in SOPA that would prevent someone from pointing their finger at cosplayers and costume makers and cyring "Copyright Infringement," thereby forcing us to remove our internet presence.  Similarly, PIPA, the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act, would establish a new executive branch office, the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (USIPER), which could increase both civil and criminal penalties for trademark, patent and copyright infringement.  It would also allow the Department of Justice to conduct civil suits on behalf of copyright holders.  This is eerily reminiscent of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) from the McCarthy Era in the 1940s and 1950s, whose aim was originally investigating pro-German sentiments in the American liquor industry, but after World War I, the Committee began investigating communist Bolshevism, sending America into a "Red Scare" and blacklisting many people merely upon suspicion.  People, AMERICANS, lost their jobs, their homes, their property, and were sentenced to prison without fair trials.

Our artistic freedoms are at stake.  Our Constitutionally Given Rights to Freedom of Speech and Expression are under attack.  I'm not supporting Piracy, but these bills would do more than attack Piracy.  Censorship to the extreme is no good in any form.  Compare it to book burning.  Compare it to living in a dictatorship.  Compare it to a giant witch hunt.  It's the start of something that left unchecked will bring about the fall of creativity, happiness, self-expression, and all the freedoms we take for granted every day.

Do your part.  Contact your Congressman.  Protest online.  Stand up for your rights.  As Benjamin Franklin said, "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little more security will deserve neither and lose both."


PIPA-SOPA Flow Chart: How to Take Action

Fight for the Future

American Censorship

This is Your Internet

The Senate Will Vote on January 24, 2012.  Make your voice heard today.

Click Here for more details.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a happy start to 2012!

I wanted to usher in the new year by posting a new tutorial - The Paper Mache Amor Tutorial!  I will be posting a few other tutorials here as soon as I've written them.



I am also ready for Katsucon.  I have a few props to finish up, but since I'm not making any new costumes, I'm pretty much done!  So, to bide my time, I'm finally sitting down and making a few dresses and other costumes I've been wanting to make for a while.  I'll also be catching up on some reading, especially now that I've received "The Hunger Games" trilogy, and the first few "Mortal Instruments" and "Dresden Files" novels!

Aside from a brand new tutorial, I have also changed my Cosplay Page and separated my Completed and Planned Cosplay Pages.  There are a few new Planned Cosplays, so please check them out!  I have also rearranged my Links Page and added new banners if anyone wants to link to my site!



  

    
    

Well, it seems the cosplay posts are going around, so I thought I'd measure up and post what I planned, achieved, and have planned for next year.

First up, my planned costumes for 2011:



And what I actually made this past year:



We have: Jenny from "Doctor Who," Athena from Greek Mythology, Lady Riddel Viper from "Chrono Cross," Miyamoto Rei from "Highschool of the Dead," Xenobia from "Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete," Nanai from "Avalon Code," Quistis Trepe and Irvine Kinneas from "Final Fantasy 8," Kisala from "Rogue Galaxy," Dr. Mrs. Cheerleader from "The Venture Bros," Nel Zelpher from "Star Ocean 3," and Kureha from "Shining Wind."

While I made Jenny for New Years Eve, I didn't wear her at a con until Tekkoshocon in April.  So, there you go!  Only changed out 2 for 1 out of my original plans but not a bad year at all!!

So, what can I possibly to do top myself next year, you ask?  Well, I'll show you *cue music*:



Let's see.  I'm not making anything new for Katsucon, as I already have plans to re-wear a lot of previous costumes for groups and such!  But here we go:

ACEN: Aurora - "Sleeping Beauty"
AMA: Red Queen variation - "Alice in Wonderland" and such, Celine Jules - "Star Ocean 2," possibly Jem from "Jem and the Holograms"
Otakon: possibly Jem from "Jem and the Holograms," Sonya Blade alternate costume - "Mortal Kombat (2011)," Callisto - "Xena: Warrior Princess"
MD Ren Faire: Lily - "Legend"
New York Comic Con: She-Ra - "She-Ra: Princess of Power," Rogue - "X-Men"
Youmacon: Quorra - "TRON: Legacy."  I'll also be making Clu and Flynn's black and white robe outfits for two of my friends!

Please keep in mind that this is only a preliminary list, and I don't even have everything listed.  Contents are subject to change   Can't wait to see you guys at Katsucon!  I'll be bringing:

          

And everyone, please have a Happy and Safe Christmas this year!  Those new tutorials will be posted next week

I have a new deviation up - Kureha from Shining Wind!  I really love this costume and I'm so happy to have worked with for our Masquerade skit!



I have updated my website with more pictures of Nel Zelpher and Kureha, so please stop by if you are interested!  I will be adding a few more here, but the majority will always remain on my site.  Plus, I have added more Planned Costumes and updated my schedule for next year.  I'm happy to say that I will be venturing out out ACEN and Youmacon for 2012!

    

I am also working on those tutorials I've been promising for forever - Foamboard Weapons, Paper Mache Armor, and Vinyl-over-Craft Foam Armor.  Now that I have plenty of time, I can finally put all the pictures together that I've been taking since the beginning of the year!  I will try to get those up as soon as I am able

AUSA was wonderful.  Again, I got to see a ton of friends and had a great time.  My friend Pixie Kitty and I entered the Masquerade and won Best Overall Craftsmanship for our Shining Wind costumes!  I am super happy with the award, and overjoyed that my friends Leigh and Jay won the Hawaii Grand Prize!!  Pictures on Kureha and Houmei will be coming later.  Thank you so much to everyone who enjoyed our skit - we had a great time performing it.

For my 100th Deviation, I decided to post Nel Zelpher!  When I first started cosplaying, I had to decide between Etna from Disgaea or Nel from Star Ocean.  So, now that I've been cosplaying for 7 years, I've finally made her and I really feel I've done a great job.  I almost had the daggers finished for this convention, but they needed some sanding and painting - I will be sure to have them when I re-wear Nel for Katuscon in February!  Here's she is, and I hope you all enjoy my work:



So, my next convention will be Katsucon in February.  I have already decided not to make any new costumes for this convention, as I have way too many costumes from this year that I need to wear again!  For now, I am planning to wear Nel Zelpher, Kureha, Shana from "Legend of Dragoon" with some lovely gals as Rose and Meru, Quistis Trepe for another large "Final Fantasy 8" group, and possibly Tethys for a Fire Emblem group.  So there you go!  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and I will look forward to sharing more deviations with you.

Anime USA is this weekend! I'm already so excited for this convention - it's my last con of the year and it's right in my backyard so I get to see a ton of my friends once more. I have two new costumes that I'm debuting for this weekend: Nel Zelpher from "Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time," and a surprise costume that I'm wearing to the Masquerade, so you'll have to attend Saturday night to see what it is!

So, here's my costume schedule for AUSA!

Friday - Nel Zelpher, "Star Ocean 3"
Friday night - Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, "The Venture Bros."
Saturday - come by the Masquerade to find out!



Also, new deviation!  Another fantastic photo from Joseph Lin of my Quistis costume from Otakon.  Take a look!




Halloween was fun. My husband and I went to two Halloween parties - one at The Piratz Tavern in Silver Spring and the other at a friends house. The partaking of grog and mead and yummy foods occurred, and I got to see lots of friends and had a great time. We went as a 1950's couple. My husband went as a Grease/Cry Baby kind of guy with the greaser hair, leather jacket, and cuffed jeans. I wore a black with white polka dot halter dress that I made some years ago, along with my grandmother's pearls and vintage coral sweater, and a vintage 1950's square dancing petticoat. People were fascinated with that petticoat...they kept petting it!

I was lucky enough to get 2 deviants who caught my 40,000 Kiriban: PrayerReverie and Nani-Mizu!

Nani-Mizu caught the on-the-nose 40,000 views, so we'll start with her.  She has some wonderful deviations and these are my favorites!

        

And PrayerReverie was the first to respond with a pic of the kiriban at 40,003 views.

      
Lots of red and blue in these.  Both of these cool cats are from Canada, so let's show them some love!

Here is the deviation I've put up as a thank you for reaching my 40K - another look at Nanai from Avalon Code!  



And if you are interested in what else is going on in my world, please check out my website:

I have updates on New York Comic Con with new costumes and pictures, as well as my convention schedule and Media spots!