ElfQuest Camping Trip!

So this weekend I hosted my first ever cosplay camping trip! It sounds kind of strange, taking costumes on a camping trip, but it was really awesome! Let me explain...


So I live in the middle of nowhere. Like, really. I'm way out here in the boon-toolies. There are pros and cons to living out here, and one really great pro is that it's fucking BEAUTIFUL up here! Tons of national forest to frolic in. And I was thinking to myself, "Boy, wouldn't it be nice if I could get my cosplay friends up here for a photo shoot some time." So I decided to host a themed camping trip at my house for all my cosplay buddies to attend. Now, the only reason I call it a camping trip is simply because I can't fit everyone in my house. But, lucky for me, I have tons of yard for people to camp out in! So, it wasn't like we were out in the woods without any amenities. We had electricity and showers (no flushing toilet, but that's another story). Really, people just slept in tents. So it was more like back yard camping. Haha.

Anywho, I decided the theme would be ELFQUEST! Because, if you couldn't tell by now, I FREAKING LOVE ELFQUEST! What is EQ you say? Why, only the most coolest, super-duperest elf comic ever! It was started in the late 70's by Wendy and Richard Pini and has been going for the last 35 years. If you haven't heard of it or read it, I suggest going to their website and reading the ENTIRE series for FREE! Start with "The Original Quest" (21 issues. Don't start with the "Prologue", that's for the new "Final Quest.")
(Wow, there was a lot of capslock in there. Can you tell like EQ just a little?)

Anyway! I hired my brother in law, Caleb Wells, to come take our photos. He's a super amazing photographer. He mostly does weddings, so this was a whole new thing for him. But he seemed to have fun and started to get the hang of it as the day progressed.

My elves arrived on Friday, we did photos most of the day Saturday, and they left Sunday. We got up really early Saturday so we could get the beautiful sunrise light. That was a little difficult, as most of us didn't go to bed until after midnight and the sun rises at about 5am this time of year. So we had to wake up at 3:30am to be able to get ready and drive out there in time for the beautiful light. But, knowing from experience, it's totally worth the early wake up call! Nothing can compare to "magic hour."

We started out with about 15 elves that were going to come, but only 7 were able to attend. Which.... I think was actually better. It would have been a lot harder to organize 15 people rather than 7. And we would have been out in the woods all day shooting photos.

So the rest of this post will be some behind the scenes photos. I haven't gotten any of the professional photos yet, as he hasn't had time to edit them. I will probably post those next Monday!

The Elf Village

An impromptu weapons history lesson taught by my hubby. 

Into the woods! Wait... cows? Yes, their were some free range cows that came to visit us! They were very curious as to why these evles had invaded their forest. XD

Redlance enjoying the sun!

Looking cool.

Trying to get that perfect shot!

My hubby was the lighting assistant. It made a lot of difference!

Dewshine waiting for her close up.

Lunch time!!

Arrr!

Mmmm, jerky!

Chillin',

Back to work

We're just a bunch of elves....

Just elfin' around!

Dewshine is perching.

Kahvi looks a little sleepy in this one.

So it's back to the house for a much needed nap!!

Zzzzzz

Time to relax

And recovered...

And now that we've relaxed....

It's time for FIRE!!!

Everyone gather around the fire!

Mesmerizing fire!

Big fire!!

Kahvi is excited about the fire!

And later, with a much smaller fire, there were s'mores!!

Cuddling by the fire.

And much discussion about Skyrim.

Flaming 'mallows!

Overall it was a really great time! I'm so glad my friends were able to come up and I even got to make some new friends! Because I live so far away, I always have to go see them, so it was nice for them to come see me!

I'm really hoping that this will be a yearly event with a new theme every time! I have a few ideas. There was much talk about next year being Skyrim themed! Because the country around here is just perfect for it! So I really want that to work out. My hubby and I are already making plans for my armor! I hope it will be epic.

I hope you all enjoyed this post! Next week I will post the professional photos. I should have them by then. So you'll have to put up with a little bit more ElfQuest. And then I'll put it away for a while. And maybe do an interview! We shall see....

Until next week!

<3 Edward

Bonus Apology Post

So, here it is! My bonus apology post for being so late with my con review. I've decided to show you guys all the cool stuff I got at the con! I don't know how interested you guys are in that.... but I feel like showing them to you, cus it's all awesome/adorable. And it will give me a chance to highlight some local artists!


I'll start with dealer's room stuff first and then get to the awesome handmade items!

You can't pass up on alpacas!

First we have these super adorable alpacas! I want so badly to call them llamas, because I like to say "yama," but they are, indeed, alpacas. Which are actually way more adorable in real life.

Anyway, when I saw them I knew I needed one. But I couldn't decide between the two, so I got both. Ha. These aren't the fancy Arpakasso brand (I wish I knew how to pronounce that), they are some knock off. If you'll look closely, you'll see that the purple one's eyes are not symmetrical. But he's still cute, and I can look past his physical deformaties and see the beautiful alpaca that is inside. 

The pink one is actually a coin purse! It's a bit too plushy to fit much in it, but it's cuteness makes up for it's lack of usability. Pretty much I super love these llamas! .... Alpacas.


Moving on! I'd like to present this adorable Beast Pop Vinyl figure!

Raw!

He's adorable! I almost bought the Pinocchio, but I figured if I ever cosplay as Belle I can carry him around with me! Besides, the Beast is my favorite Disney prince. I highly dislike his human version at the end of that movie, though... A blonde? Really?? And he should have a beard! 

Anyway! The last item I got in the dealer's room was Sonny Strait's comic "The Origin's of Goat"!

Yay Goat!

I super love his artwork and have a whole bunch of it! His stories are great too! Now that I'm not prepping for a con anymore, I can actually finish his other comics he has online. This one is a prequel to "We Shadows", which Goat is the main character of.

Onto the Artist Alley!

Chibis!!!

All these adorable chibis are drawn by my favorite local artist Denise "Mika" Hutchins. You may recognize that she's the same person who drew my chibisaurous at the top of my blog. I love her chibis so, so much! I especially love her black and whites. She puts so much detail into them. And I like that she doesn't try to make them look anime. She makes them actually look like the people! Which is what I wanted. I always buy several chibis at each convention. I am currently working on getting a bunch of historical chibis drawn by her. Because some folks just need to be drawn in chibi form. And some folks really look weird in chibi form...

Starting at the top, from the left: Captain Jean-Luc Picard! Because he's adorable and needed to be a chibi. My lolita penguin, for my lolita brand I'm working on. She'll be on my business cards. She's so cute and turned out perfect! H.P. Lovecraft, for my husband. We weren't sure how he was going to turn out, since he has such a long head. He really looks quite creepy without a nose! But my husband really likes how weird he looks. So, mission accomplished! Ulysses S. Grant, this is actually a print of one I got for my dad. I wanted a copy of it to go with all my other historical chibis. And then there is my favorite in this batch, Nikola Tesla. He's so cute as a chibi! And he was a super genius, even if he fell in love with a pigeon. (Screw you, Edison!)

Next we have:

My tables are saved!

These are some super awesome decoupaged coasters made by my friend Obsidian Sands Crochet and Gifts!! The Elfquest ones are obviously for me and the Batman ones I got for my husband. The EQ ones are made from the comics (sacrilege!) and the Batman ones are made from a game guide. They are really nice! They are tiles with fuzzy feet glued to the bottom. I have one in each area of my house! Obsidian also makes LOTS of other cool stuff. Like amigurumi dolls, wire and bead jewelry and trees, more decoupaged stuff and a lot of other things. You should go check out her stuff cus she's really talented!

Prepare for the squid invasion!

I also bought this super adorable jellyfish amigurumi! I can not remember who I bought it from, but I am working on finding out this info. EDIT: This jelly was made by JunkyPunkyCraft . She sells these jellys at every local con. I always wanted one, I just never had the monies to get it. I almost got the one that had a mustache, but he was blue, and I wanted a pink one. And there weren't any pink ones with mustaches (I call gender stereotyping XD).  So I got this one. I love it! Oh, and don't mind the little squids, I bought those at Fandem from someone else. But I thought they'd look cute with the giant jelly. Like they are her little minions. I have a tentacle army!! Muhahahahahhahahahaha!


*ahem*

In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!

Nyaaa!

These next two items were purchased from Dignified Bunny. The brooch my dad got for me and is inspired by Sailor Moon's brooch. It's so pretty! I wear it with my lolita coordinates. The bell necklace I bought to go with my furry kitten mittens that my friends got for me from Sakura-con. Now I just need ears and a tail and my kitty cosplay will be complete! Nyaa!

The last item I bought-- with my very last dollar!-- was this hair bow made by Mimi's Cosplay. She said they were $2, but I told her I only had $1 left so she let me have it for my last dollar. Yay! It's very nice quality! It has some very stiff interfacing inside so it keeps its shape very well. I think I will glue another type of hair clip to it though, because right now it's just put on with bobby pins. She also makes these SUPER cute hair bun covers! If I had had any more money I would have bought some. I will most definitely get some at the next con.

So there it was! All my cool con stuffs! I hope that if nothing else it was entertaining to read. And that it made up for my late post. Next week I'll probably post about my EQ camping trip, since that's happening in like... 2 DAYS!! I'm so excited!!! Gahhh!!

See you then!

~Edward

P.S. And if that wasn't enough, here is a super-bonus pic of me taking a much needed nap after the con. You'll notice I'm snuggling my alpaca. XD