Juliet from Sakizoe Artwork

Photo by: Wild Spice Photography

Sakura from Tsubasa

Photo by: Wild Spice Photography

Carnelian from With Hello Kitty

Photo by: Chez Photography

Earth Queen from Legend Of Korra

With the series ending, a group of us decided to create costumes and wear them to Katsucon 2015. Although simplistic in nature, hours were spent decorative stitching the entire costume. The headpiece was painted craft foam, gold spray painted jewelry, and trim. It was one of the most comfortable costumes I've had in a long time. That worked out since I was either judging the Masquerade or selling in the Artist Alley. Photo credit: Alchemist Photography

Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games

Finally, after years of wanting to make it, I finally did! Worn at Katsucon 2014. I still have so minor things to finish on it, but overall I'm happy with it! I lucked out a couple years back in finding the fabric used to create the outfit as well as some shoes that decently matched. The wig is from Epic Cosplay and was dyed, curled, styled by me. Photo by: Christa J. Newman

Mothra Fairy from Godzilla vs Mothra

My friends and I decided to do a skit at Katsucon 2014. We were honored with Best in Show. The costume is mostly the brain child of my dear from Lauren from Level up Cosplay. She did most of the math and patterning while I graded the patterns up for my size (more math!!). Basic cotton with flowers stitched to the bodice and hat. It is very easy and comfortable to wear. I think it is my favorite costume currently!

Medicine Seller from Mononoke

Award: Best Master at Katsucon 2011 Hall Cosplay Competition. My friend Fire Lily introduced me to the series and I fell in love with it. As soon as I saw the design it was a YES for creating. It's currently one of my favorite costumes I've made. Not pictured: His box he carries on his back. My friend Chris and I constructed it. All the drawers open Functioning prop A+!

Hye Won from Co-Ed School

Award: Best Master Craftsmanship at Katsucon 2012 Masquerade. Dance on stage as a K-Pop group? OKAY! These were our over costumes for the (not so) quick change on stage. The pieces are velcroed and strategically seamed for easy tear-away. The wig in this photo was from Epic Cosplay. I went old school (it seems now a-days) and wefted a pigtail part.

Hye Won from Co-Ed Schoo

Award: Best Master Craftsmanship at Katsucon 2012 Masquerade. This was the under-costume that was revealed during our skit. Everyone lucked out on finding a plaid that matched, except me. :( The green stripes were done by hand with a lot of math and patience. Never again!! Thankfully the blue plaid was a successful find. :D The wig in this photo was from Arda Wigs.

Chansey Gijinka from Pokemon

When pregnant in the summer, all you want to do is to stay cool and comfy!! I did wear this during an Exhibitiion skit at Anime Mid-Atlantic. We lovingly call it AMA <3 WE since we flubbed the signs even after several run-throughs. Oops! :D

Asuka (Halloween) from Evangelion

My friend Mandyness (pictured to the right) asked be to make the costume to match The Asuka Halloween figure is super cute, so I agreed! My favorite aspect is the apron. The toothy grin makes me giggle.

Lilith from Beatmania IDX

Awards: Judge's Merit Award at NYAF WCS Pre-lims 2008, Best Craftsman Performance at Otakon 2011. I love Beatmania and the character designs. Vartan Sharkpuncher and I decided to try our hand at the World Cosplay Summit fun in 2008. I never had so much fun working on a costume and practicing! :D I wore it again in the summer of 2011 for a skit with a big group of friends.

Polka from Eternal Sonata

Her design is just adorable. I enjoyed patterning and detailing the entire outfit right down to the hand stitching on the shawl. A costume with pockets is always a plus too. ;)

Cinnamoroll from Sanrio(Hello Kitty)

Award: Best Overall Craftsmanship at Katsucon 2009 Masquerade. A joke between friends who play a lot of Halo and love Hello Kitty. We made mascot costumes and shot each other on stage. It was definitely an adventure to create the costumes! I made Cinnamoroll and helped out with a number of the other characters. I barely could see. :D

Mrs. Peacock from Clue

Fire Lily knows my weaknesses, I swear! She mentioned to me about doing a Clue group. I made this rather quickly and honestly wasn't complete for the convention, but it was fun to wear!

Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi

Award: Best of Weekend Costume at Anime Mid-Atlantic 2005 My first favorite anime. I created this back in 2005. I saw an art book version of Miaka and just fell in love with the design. To this day, I am still happy with how the costume turned out. I really love the wig. It was my second attempt at styling.

Xia from Beatmania IIDX

This is another "get together fast" costumes. Surprisingly, I had all the material to create it already. Bonus! I went with a more subtle hair color with the character since yellow doesn't suit my skin tone, plus it's more natural. I love the way it turned out. I did have issues with the thigh highs staying up during the first time wearing it, but have since fixed the issue.

Archer from Disgaea

I am terrible at the Disgaea games, but the designs are extremely cute and up my alley! I chose Archer because I wanted to challenge myself with wig construction. The character has 5 pigtails, but I went with 3. I'm glad I did! I love how the wig turned out. The costume itself was rather simple squares and triangles.

The Burger King

Award: Best of Show at Anime Mid-Atlantic 2007 I think this this was my favorite costume and skit to wear. I purchased the mask on-line and found most of the fabric on clearance.

Rosa from Deathsmiles

I made this right before pregnancy and then wore it after it. Let's just say I won't be wearing that again for a little while. :D It's a rather revealing costume that I totally adore and was made in a couple days. Although you can't see them, I loved my wings the most.

Bis from Jet Set Radio

I'm a sucker for the games. Bis is my favorite. I spotted an interesting teal fabric and that sealed the deal to create it! The tights were white/green. I used Jacquard fabric paint to have them match the fabric color. Award: Best Expert at T-Mode 2007

Himeno (Plant) from Pretear

I made this faster than it took to watch the series. I found a pretty green with a vine print and went for it.

Hellga from American Gladiators

I think I was one of the few people that loved this show and was so happy for its return. I knew as soon as saw Hellga, it had to happen. It also helped that I found shiny jean fabric on clearance.

Fran from Final Fantasy XII

Award: Hall Cosplay Honorable Mention "Neatness Counts" at Anime USA 2007 Fran was my favorite character from the 12th installment. Opting out of the revealing outfit, I chose her art book version. The ears are built into the wig and actually was rather comfortable to wear!

Luna from Lunar: Silver Star Story

Awards: Best in Show at Anime Mid-Atlantic 2008, 1st place Craftsman (Friday) Hall Costume Contest at Otakon 2008 Lunar: Silver Star Story has to be hands down my all time favorite video game. I had made Jessica year prior and decided to create Luna. I also, with the help of Vartan Sharkpuncher, convinced our friends to do a skit. This is still one of my favorite costumes that I have created. Side note: I really need to find a video of the skit.

Himeno (Ice) from Pretear

Fire Lily asked me if I'd like to join in on the Pretear fun, so I chose her Ice version. I put it together rather fast. I had recently given birth, so sleep and free time was pretty non-existent. I did take some time and dyed the wig and style it. I think that's my favorite part of the costume.

Mayuri from Bleach

Award: Best in Show at Anime Mid-Atlantic 2006 Masquerade Dixie cup face! I love using found objects. I reused my robes and hakama from Soi Fong. i did create a new haori and the other bits that make up Mayuri. My friend Chris create the sword.

Jessica from Lunar:Silver Star Story

Award: Honorable Mention for Detail at Anime Mid-Atlantic 2004 Favorite character from my favorite video game. I made this back in 2003 when I was still learning the ropes to full garment sewing. Looking back now, I don't know why I chose knit for the white, but I did! The dress, sure, but the jacket? :D I made it work.

Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi

1st Place Journeyman (Saturday) at Otakon 2005 If you haven't noticed, I like Fushigi Yuugi. My friend Jen and me referred to this one as the "wallscroll" costumes since our other friend Chris has the images on wallscrolls. So much chiffon, so little experience with using it! I mastered it by the end, I tell ya! Jen and I learned jewelry-making for the costumes. It's a skill I still use frequently.

Yuna from Final Fantasy X-2

Award: Best Overall Novice at Otakon 2004 (saturday) Hall Cosplay One of the first few costumes I created. I was quite the novice when I tried to make it. There are so many things I'd do differently, but other things I would still do the same. This costume really helped me realize when I can do if I put my mind to it.

Princess Peach from Mario Bros.

Award: Best Master Presentation at Katsucon 2011 Masquerade I made it for a skit I was in. I loathe a lot of pink, so I took one for the team. :D I made it in just a couple of days, if that. Walking Pepto Pink!

Soi Fong from Bleach

Award: Hall Cosplay Best of Saturday at Anime USA 2005 Like many, I was on the ride that was Bleach back in the day. ;) When Soi Fong was introduced,I decided to create her look. It also didn't help that most of the costume was the default of many other characters!

Ryuna from Shining Tears

Sometimes you see a design and you say to yourself, "I like it!" I have never played the video game nor knew anything about the "Shining" series. i just knew I liked the design. I appliqued the details and created more hakama (I was pretty "hakama-ed" out after making a bunch for a skit). I wore it to Anime Boston in 2009.

Yuna from Final Fantasy X

Awards: Best Overall Presentation, Best in Show, Judge's Award Most Elegant at Katsucon 2007 Masquerade There are some costumes you keep re-creating because you love the character/design/new techniques. This is my design that I am drawn to. I've made this character 4 times. This one was my final outcome. Yuna was my first real cosplay. I kept remaking it as I became more confident in my skills. The final version has a hand embroidered obi that I adore. My friend Chris made the prop.

Mary from Chrno Crusade

I enjoyed the anime, so I decided to create a costume. I still don't know what I was thinking with the white dress fabric other than "need something cheap." My favorite part was the choker.

Rith from Magna Carta 2

Award: Best Overall Craftsman at Otakon 2006 Masquerade I love the art style off Hyung-Tae Kim. When Magna Carta 2 was released, I was stoked. Sadly, the game was a let down but my buds and I still made costumes and did a skit. I'm happy with how most of this turned out. It could have used more of a fit in the bodice. My friend Jess made the prop, I painted it. I highly enjoyed making the wig.

Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi

Award: Best of Show, Best Experienced Craftsmanship at Anime Mid-Atlantic 2005 Sassy brown, brown, brown! I learned button holes with this one. I created it for a skit my friends and I did at AMA.

Quistis from Final Fantasy VIII

Uniform version of Quistis. I felt like a flight attendant in it. Simple to make, simple to wear.

Yukari from Paradise Kiss

Simple costume that I did as a pair with my friend Jen. We lucked into matching fabrics which sealed the deal. The hardest part for me at the time was the wig. I was still new to the whole idea of styling. I added wefts, curled, and shaped the fibers.

Mizune from Soul Eater

Pregnant? Check. No energy? Check. Still want to cosplay? check! Behold, the tube! :D There are times when I take craftsmanship seriously and then there is this. Hot glue and felt to the max! I do like my hat though!

Strawberry Shortcake

That moment when you want to relive your childhood. It was so comfy and easy to make.

Kaori from SSX Tricky

One of the many games i enjoy. I don't know what possessed me to choose such a pink outfit, but I did. I was quite warm at Katsucon that year. i love the silliness of the pants. i think that is what sold my on the design! The "snowboard" was made my my friend Jess and I painted it. That was filled with learning. Oye!

Pleinair from Disgaea

Quirky, silly. Made in just a few hours from leftover fabric.

Chiriri from Bottle Fairy

A quick simple costume that I did with a couple of friends as my counterparts.

Ayane from DOA

Big bow! :D

Chii from Chobits

Reki from Haibane Renmei

Rinoa from Final Fantasy VIII

Emi from DDR 3rd Mix

Carbunkle from Final Fantasy VIII