Sunday 30th October 2011: Mario riding Yoshi

Sunday 30th October 2011

This has been one of my most ambitious costumes so far! I had the plan for this costume for months for I planned to wear it at EXPO. I'd gotten the fabric, the clothes, the shoes and the stuffing ... but I never actually got around to making the costume. It was about a week before EXPO before I realised how soon I'd needed the costume made. After more procrastinating, I found myself at the night before EXPO looking at a pile of supplies and no costume. So I got to work! 

I started cutting and sewing at about 9.00pm Saturday night. I did the trouser bit first and then moved onto making the Yoshi bit of the outfit. The I sewed the tiny shoes onto the Mario costume and stuffed it and sewed it to the Yoshi. I was nearly finished, but ended up giving up at 2.00am that morning. My fingers were numb from sewing and I needed sleep for the early start for EXPO. 

I made sure I woke up at 5.00am to carry on the costume. By about 6.30am I was finished apart from the odd bit of sewing that I planned to do on the train journey. I hadn't had a chance to sew up the bits I'd stuffed so after putting the outfit on, I then had to stuff around myself!

Jason and another Kyuubi

Mike and I caught the train at Egham and met up with Roxana who had caught the train from Bracknell. Jason would be meeting us at EXPO because his Kyuubi costume was too big for the train so his dad was taking him.

I got lots of kids coming up to me and a lot of happy faces after seeing my costume, unlike other times when I've just had stares! Someone asked me if I was dressed up for charity so I had to explain EXPO. I had a few kids asked for hugs so I made Yoshi's arms hug them! Before I'd gotten to EXPO I had already had about 10 photos taken. It doesn't seem a lot, but for me it was!

I got a caricature done of
myself as Mario

When we got to EXPO, Jason and I had a little competition about who could get the most photos. I had gotten a bit jealous at the last EXPO because Jason kept getting stopped for photos and I didn't get any!

So I got 63 photos and a hug! We were about to leave the venue when some guy came up to me and said 'I just love your costume, it's brilliant ... can I get a hug?' I may have got more photos but they are the ones that I was stopped for.

Jason got at least 50 photos. He was stopped about 53 times and then we lost count. Even though I'd like to say I won, I think Jason did! 

A photo of me that someone else took

A photo of me that someone else took

Saturday 29th October 2011: Halloween at Waterstones

Saturday 29th October 2011 

It was Halloween at Waterstones. Given the success and compliments I received on my Joker outfit, I thought I'd re-do it! I had to re-buy all the make up again, rigid collodion and liquid latex. I woke up at 3.00am Saturday morning to get my make-up ready for the day!

Me with my camera

I'd put on a bit of weight since I did my last Joker costume in 2009 but I still had the shirt so I wore it over my work uniform.

Being the Joker at work tied in well with the fact that the Joker is a 'book' (graphic novel) character.

I took my camera in and snapped some great photos of the staff, the author we had in and the children having their faces painted.

It was a fantastic and fun day and I scared loads of children too ... which is the whole point of Halloween, isn't it? ;)

Jamie and Fi

Jason as Shep the dog

Mark as a vampire (I think), Tegan as a witch, Jamie as a dragon, Me as the Joker and Jason as Shep the dog

Saturday 15th October 2011: Gill's Costume Party

Saturday 15th October 2011

Today was Mike's mum Gill's birthday party. It was so close to Halloween she wanted to do a costume party. Mike dressed up as Ghost Face from Scream and I dressed up as a random vampire. I had bought retractable fangs from Vampfangs a few months before, but hadn't had a chance to wear them yet! Watch the Vampfangs video here of them in use: YouTube.

Photos to come!