My History of Prowl Costumes and/or Outfits, whatever you want to call them

Aside from Wheeljack, Prowl has to be another favorite autobot of mine.  I think my human Prowl costumes and prowl related clothing is one of my better creations.  I am not an expert cosplayer, nor do I care to be. I just like to have fun by to playing dress up at conventions, because you often get a chance to meet new people who like the same thing.   Cosplaying as different Autobots is always fun at a convention like Bot Con because you are surrounded by nothing by Transformers fans who are obsessed with the movies, Transformers Prime or the original G1 toys.

Many cosplayers go all out and actually build robot suits.  Some of us wear the colors of our favorite character or design an outfit that pays tribute to the character we love.  I am all for designing an outfit based on a robot.  Thus, being a Human Former for a few days and maybe carry around a few identifying accessories.   Some cosplay purists (aka snots who take this stuff way too seriously)  think this is lame and that it doesn't count.  I beg to differ.  Although they look extremely awesome,  wearing boxy costumes get uncomfortable and you need a spotter so you don't run into anything.  I will leave that to the cosplay experts, I'm just there to have a good time and escape for a bit.  My skills are clumsy and crooked at times, but it doesn't stop me from putting it on.   (We all do these crooked sometimes right? Unless you are a seasoned artist.)

I took a few photos of my progress as I was putting this together in 2012.

I used a yard stick and sketched the doors myself.  The blue badge with the yellow star was made out of foam and I made one for each door.

The headpiece or chevron was also made out of foam.  It wasn't exact, but people got the basic idea.

These badges below were for the actual shirt and they were made out of felt.  I sewed these on, but later ended up using hot glue for the touch ups.

Michael's is the best place for acrylic paint and the weekly coupons are a help too!

A headband was attached to the chevron.

The doors were connected by duck tape and velcro straps.  I cannot locate the pictures for this step, so you will have to forgive me for that.  The letters were stickers from Michael's.

This was the outfit I wore for Bot Con 2012.  There is a better view of it on the Bot Con 2012 costume panel video below. 

Bot Con Costume Panel 2012

My friend Rosemary Tuski liked my Prowl costume and asked me to talk a little about it on her costume panel.   Some liked the panel, some didn't, but our point was that Cosplay is for fun and is for everyone.  The more you do it, the better you can become.  There are those with great skill and talent as well as some that are just starting out. We all have to start somewhere.   I want to encourage everyone to try it if they want to.  I know too many people that want to do it, but  think their costume wouldn't be any good.  You can buy one or better yet, ask a friend to help you if they have any unique skill.  Cosplay isn't a competition or a beauty contest. (Unless you want to enter a costume contest where there are a lot of set rules. And even then, it's not that serious.)   As long as it makes you feel good and you are having fun, that's all that matters.  You don't have to do it perfectly and you can put your own spin on an idea.  In addition, don't worry about what others may say or won't say.  (i.e. Internet Trolls, Snotty Cosplayers, other fans or Negative people.) Don't be intimidated by the experts or by those who have been doing it for a long time.  Don't worry about your gender, race, size, weight, age or lack of artistic ability.  We all have hidden creativity and artistic ability that often gets lost due to the ridicule and criticism of others.  Also, the average person does not look like a supermodel or body builder.  You do not have to look perfect or be beautiful to wear a costume and have a good time.  If someone is going to say something cruel and/or sarcastic, they are just being a jerk.  Anyone who is secure and happy with who they are will not put anyone else down.

This month, I have been working on a prowl mini dress and shirt for a friend.  I would love to see someone do a Kimono that paid homage to Prowl.  A longtime Transformer fan made a beautiful Kimono dedicated to Skybite even and it was gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

 

My friend wanted a brighter blue for one of her set of badges. 

 

These are the outfits in black and white with the fishnet backing.  They needed to be hand washed and one of the shirts had some slight discoloring because it was bought on clearance. 

 

 

 

This is the result, now I just have to iron them. :)

 

Back with a few pair of earrings...

I haven't had time to work on some of the things I've wanted to, but I managed to make a few pair this past week.   Using onyx, garnet nugget beads, white shell beads and cinnabar beads.  

 

 

 

This pair is cinnabar and garnet with sterling silver findings....

 

Next is Onyx, Cinnabar and garnet.....

 

 

And the last pair is a combination of onyx and white shell beads with sterling silver.

 

I have been working and various crochet projects and some costumes.  I have to make some accessories for Ren Faire and some upcoming conventions........

Kre-o sets are still lurking about and Joann's has a lot of great deals...

 

Ross still has some close out Kre-o sets at discount prices.  I found a couple of Battleship sets which are great for some of geewunner's G.I. Joe parts.  It seems like hasbro cranked out a bunch of bumblebee kreons.   The TF ( transformer) word is till a bit small, so it comes as no surprise.   Ross has a ton of marvel characters in action figure form marked down and that seems to outweigh any Kre-o or Lego set.  

 

My find today was lucky.   We can use the parts for more creations, but also, it's great to find cool kreons.   The friends set was a bonus for me too!  Below, I took advantage of the coupon commotion promo at Joann's.   I am bathing certain colors for particular reasons, but red and black always seem to be a staple. 

 

Michael!s has some betsey Johnson stationary goodies.  These note cards are too cute! 

The flowers are going to be used for my ren faire floral headband for this year.  It's almost done, I just have a few things to add!  I love these roses, but a few leaves are needed. 

 I am knitting more and have mastered the garter stich. Now it's time to learn the pearl stitch with two needles.  I am determined to master this. 

 

More organizing, crochet practice and Kre-o finds and Kre-O news

There haven't been many KRE-O sets at close out stores lately, but I managed to find a few at Ross over the weekend.  I think the quality is great, but they cannot compete with Lego. Apparently, The KRE-O Transformer line will be taking a break after the film is released this year. It is rumored that they will have four sets that will have a Dinobot theme around that time and then they will be on hiatus for a year.  When that passes, these sets will be Toys R Us exclusive like the G.I. Joe sets, which I think is a good thing, but in the meantime, we are collecting Battleship sets or any stray Transformer sets for parts.

I have moved my cookbooks to a more accessible place.  I will use them more if I see them all the time.  I have a tendency to go online for recipes and tear meal ideas out of magazines.

 

I have included my herb books and craft books on this bookcase as well.  This is just a fraction of my book collection.  I have a huge library of herbal medicine, nutrition and books on health.

Below is my latest quick knit.  I am trying to practice more and learn different stitches.  Crochet books are great, but it cannot beat a You Tube tutorial.

Pink skulls and current reads.....

I picked up these cute pink skulls from Michael's this week, because they reminded me of all of these awesome betsey Johnson bags out there!  I decided to go with some onyx spacers and beads.

 

 

Silver wouldn't do.....the dark metal pins just looked better!

 

This is one of my many library checkouts this week.  I find that you tube videos are much more helpful because there are various examples of ways to hold the hook and how to do basic stitches.  Unlike many of the books out there, this book isn't too complicated....

 

Although I am in charge of the fiction section at the library, I read mostly non-fiction.   I just finished Adam Carolla's first book and now I am on to the next.   Did I mention that next to Marc Maron, he has one of the best podcasts ever?  

And my obsession with true crime....this gal is friggin nuts! 

Three pairs for today and for my aunt's bday

I am really behind on my jewelry making.   I have been knitting a lot at work with ongoing workshops and so far, so good.  People are really enjoying learning how to loom knit and I am working on a spring scarf for one of my baby brothers currently and it's 100% cotton.   I must say, I have fallen in love with cotton yarn and anything by sugar and cream.   Anything that you can put in the washing machine is a great friend to your wardrobe.  Plus practice makes perfect.  We are learning from each other and I hope to finish this for my brother soon.

  But back to the earrings below.  My aunt hits a milestone this year and I always mail something to Denver for her birthday each year.   She wears a lot of red and looks great in white, so I wanted to do something with my dyed coral beads. 

 

 

Coral is the essence of life and a first chakra stone.   Good for anyone full of life and energy.   I added a jet spacer between the beads as an accent.  

 

 

Below is rhondite and onyx.   Rhondite is a love stone and affects the fourth chakra.  Essential to all women and represents love and forgiveness.   Onyx, as I have mentioned before represents strength and protection.  And besides, black goes with everything..........

 

 

Now to the third pair.  How could I leave out carnelian?  It looks great with the shell beads and it a love, money and health gemstone.  One of my favorites next to garnet!