Cosplay Costume Designer Mel Hoppe and Designer Mark Montano: Craft & Hobby Mega Show 2014:

The "I Love To Create" booth at the CHA Mega Show had some wonderful displays this year that featured cosplay costumes from Cosplayer Mel Hoppe, and a home decor & dress project from Designer Mark Montano.  Mark Montano shared his story on how "Creativity" affects everything in his life and displayed some of his work.

I love that Mark wrote his story on the fabric and incorporated the story pattern into his dress design.

The "I Love To Create" booth also had a wonderful display of Cosplay Costumes.  If you like Cosplay

then you are probably familar with some of Cosplayer Mel Hoppe's costume designs.

Normally I would have to attend one the cosplay events to get to see these in person. 

Soul Caliber II - Cassandra Alexandra

Having them on display at the CHA show was a great opportunity to see these pieces up close and

Sailor Moon - Princess Serenity

enjoy the various details that she puts into these costumes.

Sailor Moon - Princess Serenity

Dynasty Warriers 6 - Zhen Ji

Dynasty Warriers 6 - Zhen Ji  

Dynasty Warriers 6 - Zhen Ji  

Mel shared how "Creativity" affects her life and her designs.

This was a wonderful opportunity to see some of the cool details that she puts into her costumes.  I really enjoyed getting to see these pieces in person.  Hopefully there will be more cosplay costumes on display next year.

Halloween Costume Ideas: A Look At Some Steampunk Costumes and Accessories

Some steampunk Costumes from the Labyrinth ball

I come across a lot of different Steampunk costumes and Victorian Costumes at the

League of Steam members and friends

various conventions and shows that I work at.  So I thought I would share them with you.

Each steampunk costume is different and reflects the view of the person who created it.

Great skirt idea, this one is easy to walk in.

The Steampunk Accessories can vary too, like the belt in the photo below that is made by an artist who sells them at various balls, shows, and possibly on etsy.

Steampunk tool belt.

The gown below is a combination of four different pieces, a jacket, a corset, and two skirts.

Below are more pictures of various steampunk inspired costumes.

A close up of some of his accessories.

One young man sported a fun steampunk vehicle.

Halloween Costumes: A Look At Some Creative & Fun Costumes

Halloween is just around the corner and many of us are already planning our Halloween party wardrobes.  So I thought I would upload some pics of some of the costumes from the various Cosplay costumes, fantasy costumes, and Renaissance Faire costumes that I have encountered during my own visits to various trade shows and costumed events to inspire and amuse.

Lego People

With Cosplay being so popular, you can find some great tutorials for both the Cosplay costume and makeup on YouTube. Here is a good tutorial for a quick and easy female Pikachu Cosplay girl costume from "Jojogirl34's" YouTube channel.  FYI, the picture is sideways but the video in in the correct format.

An interesting version of a Pikachu girl costume.

pikachu girl

By the way I found a great video on YouTube for creating "Ryuk" Cosplay makeup and costume. It is well made and has a great breakdown of the steps for applying the makeup and making an inexpensive costume.  It used to be on QueenBeauty's YouTube page (before she closed the account) and was apparently uploaded onto the Cozplaii YouTube account recently.


And for a little Asian Costume inspiration.

Fairy costumes seem to always be a popular choice.

Blue Fairy Costume

Dark Fairy Costume

Green Fairy Costume

Earth Fairy Costume

I liked her idea for fairy wings.

Fairy Wings for Costumes

Flame Fairy costume

Red Fairy Costume

Male Fairy Costume

Sleeping Fairies

Charisma Star Tv on YouTube uploaded a great video on doing fairy makeup, it is really easy to follow and she a very talented makeup artist.

Pirate costumes are popular choices because you can be as creative as you like with them.

Werewolf's also seem to be gaining in popularity.

Male Werewolf

Werewolf's

And a female Robin Hood is always fun.

I came across some cool dragon costumes.

Then there are the Trolls of the world.

Princess Fiona

Here are some unique and humorous costumes.

The Viking hat is hand crocheted.

Then there is the spandex crew.

And for the Steampunk fans.

The Painted Ladies are characters from the Ren Faire who wear heavy makeup and bright colors. 

There are so many great ideas out there.  I recommend doing a google image search for more ideas.  As for makeup tutorials, you can find some fabulous ones on YouTube.

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