Santapool, complete with cotton ball beard and Deadpool Santa hat

Hope everyone is having a good holiday! I know we are! Sorry for lack of posts, despite this, we have been super busy. As is every winter here in Az we have to take the few weeks of cold to do some out door projects and stuff to the house. We also did a photo shoot of our X-Force costumes in Flagstaff since it was snowing a bit. You can see some of those in the X-Force Deadpool post, one our Facebook, on my main blog, and on our new Project Hero page.
Super fun!
We (KnowOne's Designs with Project Hero) adopted a family this year for Christmas and are still taking donations for them on Project Hero's website if anyone is able to donate.

We also filmed a short holiday video with "Santapool." It's pretty funny if I do say so myself and features KnowOne's Designs very own Deadpool. This is the start of something we have been talking about in Project Hero for awhile. We have many more ideas for some fun short videos we plan on making in the future to post on the new site and on Youtube.

Oh I also made this sweet Christmas wreath. I simultaneously found out how much I loathe crafting. I think I would go as far to say as I hate it. Anyone who enjoys decoupaging and I can not get along, that was just painful. I know do some pretty intense sewing and prop projects, but i feel that the end justifies the means. This did not. It only resulted in 3 unnecessary trips to Michael's the store that makes me impulse by and want to take a nap at the same time. I do think those balls I made would make cute Christmas ornaments to sell, however at this point I didn't even enjoy typing this paragraph let alone thinking of making those again. We'll see, they are pretty darn cute!

You know, I forgot to make a Deadpool one....

I have a lot of projects planned for the new year including some new Deadpool stuff, a Cobra group (yours truley will be Baroness and Garrick will be the scariest Cobra Commander you have ever seen), some Loki action, more Venture Bros, and maybe even some new and improved TRON stuff so you'll just have to stay tuned to see!

I will be updating both blogs soon, but I don't have a regular schedule as of yet since the holidays are still upon us. Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday and thank you for all your support, questions, commission requests, and views. :D

~Jackie and Garrick of KnowOne's Designs

ACE Comic Expo 2012

Just when we thought we could recover from Phoenix Con we remembered we said we would go to Albuquerque for ACE Comic Expo 2 weeks later. I know what some of you are thinking...suck it up! I go to :insert number: cons a year! We just had a table for the first time... we have a lot to learn ;).

We drove up with Deb and Paul on Saturday. Best. Carpool. Ever. You guys are our standard travel buddies from now on. If we weren't on a deadline we would have stopped at waay more awful roadside stops. We did stop at a few awful dinosaur ones (couldn't resist!!) we missed knife world and the world's largest dream catcher...



We got there, met up with Jason and got into X-Force and pranced around, literally...
This con was nice because it was big enough to be interesting but small enough that you could really talk to the artists and people there without being rushed. This was also our actual debut of Project Hero so it was good to make connections. I have a few things I'm waiting on before I officially announce Project Hero on here so hold tight. It's for charity and it's awesome...that's all I'll say for now.
We decided that with group costumes we need positions and to decide on poses before hand so we don't look so disorganized. We did that here and it worked! I also made a big effort and drank a few energy drinks so I wouldn't make awful tired faces in all the pictures. :P

We met a really awesome artist Jaime Tyndall who generously donated a bunch of stuff to the Project Hero cause. We will be raffling some of it off soon. It's nice to meet people like him who are so supportive of the community and who are very talented as well!

This has been a weird, crazy week full of cat bites and hospital visits so this post is short.... but full of pictures....
and Tumblr!! I finally figured it out and how to use it (shut up) and will be developing the layout more. I will be posting pictures on there that I don't post here or on Facebook, so if you want to see our sneak peaks and awesome stuff and you Tumbl (is that how it's used as a verb?) you should follow us here!

I don't know why I thought this was so funny, but it is!

Little Ang!!

Awesome!

X-Force!

Project Hero in action!

We got our poses down ;)

Next week:
Fixing stuff: Wasp, Deadpool, Domino, and ideas for Antman

Phoenix Comicon 2012

I know this is a little delayed but we had a lot going on during PCC and after so it took me awhile to get around to this. I think I have so much to talk about from events since the last time i posted I might have at least 3 weeks straight of Friday blog posts, woohoo!!

Let's start with my story...
Garrick decided 6 months ago that we were going to have a booth at PCC 2012 this year. I laughed. I laughed a lot. I didn't laugh when he bought the table. This meant we had to haul ass on producing stuff, like finishing the TRON costumes (that we had been talking about for 2 years), trying to put together our Avengers costumes (which worked out really well since we tied that in with Meredith), X-Force Domino and Deadpool, oh, and we bought a house in the middle of this, a house that needed fixing. It didn't need a major overhaul, but as you've read, I definitely waged full blown chemical warfare on the backyard. We also painted the entire house, patched holes, replaced plumbing, sealed the garage, and tried to nurse the rest of the landscape that I wasn't trying to kill back to life. So long story short, we were REALLY busy!!

Our stuff!!

Batman wears underwear too....

We had a lot of other things we wanted to have done by the show, but we worked around it. (Quorra helmet mold breaking). It was a good learning experience all in all and we got a lot of really good ideas for next year. We are even going to have stuff for sale next year! We also met a lot of really great people through this. Despite my disbelief, scoffing, and general unhappiness with being on a forced deadline I'm really glad we did it (Garrick is also glad I'm glad lol). Meredith is also an awesome booth buddy and next year we will be having someone (volunteers?!) watch the table while we're away so she is not bombarded with questions of EL, urethane, and general construction questions.
All in all, we had a lot of fun seeing everyone, hanging out and finding terrifying dolls in a basement, watching girl ponies gather around pretty boys, trying to create photo-bomb opp for Shannon and the Samurai crew, taking pictures of phallic foods, and generally watching Garrick, Paul, and Jason play together, skip in costume hand-in-hand, all while Deb and I laughed hysterically/played damage control. (Thanks guys for staying with us!)

  (on a side note, Garrick and I need rooms with separate computers. As I'm trying to type this while he is spinning my chair around and thrashing in his boxers to Ke$ha trying his hardest to get me to pay attention to him....yesss separate work rooms....)

I have, as I do after every con for at least one costume, some things I need to fix on Wasp. I'm going to make her armor removable (so I can sit down!!) and redesign the general shape of it so it's not so linear and severe. I need to make a "wing sheath" as well. Meredith gave me a very good idea!

I am working on the faces I make... I promise....

Garrick is also deciding is he wants to try to build a War Machine or Ant/Giant Man for our Avengers group with Project Hero (more to come on them in a future blog post!!).
Ideas? Comments? Suggestions?! Let me know. Also Meredith and I will be doing another collaboration on a costume since that went over so well. I'm not telling what it is yet....
 
Last PCC comment, would have liked to have been able to walk around more and talk to people and see other booths. Will need volunteers next year!

Anyhoo...here's some pictures!!!

yay!

Little Gohan was so cute!!!

Garrick finally got to play with Power Rangers!

I'm starting to envy Paul's wig collection

Best Barda ever!!!

Project Hero! (minus Garrick)

X-Force Project Hero

We made the New Times!

They do exist...and light up!

I thought this was a great picture, you all look great!

Oh an if anyone finds the picture of me as Domino hanging on a wall with Jay and Silent Bob, I NEED that picture kthxbai!

Finished Domino X-Force

That presser foot is amazing!! If you haven't been reading my rambles (that's silly of course you are....) I just bought a Teflon presser foot to finish Domino up before and Avengers vs X-Men party at Samurai Comics.  I got everything done but the elbow and knee pads (even the "tactical" parts, those were made out of drawer liner, I'm so resourceful...).
::Special thank you to Hero Comics for inviting us!! Sorry we couldn't make it dressed up but it was fun hanging out!::
Here are some pictures that the wonderful Peter Vincent took (He's the Spiderman in the photos) and let me tell you, I am making some absolutely great faces in these....



Man...do other people make faces like this or is it something you're born with...ugh



Garrick also wore red Deadpool for the last time...(it was starting to smell...even after we washed it...)

 

This one is for all my homies...or maybe personalities? Definitely personalities for Deadpool...

My make-up came out great! I was super pleased with it! You know what I didn't do...was take a close up shot of the black eye. I was finally able to blend some blue into the black and match the white eye to it so that way I wouldn't have the focusing issues I did before. (didn't help with all the dumb faces apparently...)  I'll take some pictures next time I do Domino and post a make-up tutorial for it.

Onto X-Force Deadpool! I'm using this as my main reference photo



I will also be working on this Wasp, and Nick Fury  intermittently since we need Wasp and Nick Fury done by the Avengers premiere. Since we haven't ordered any of the material...I will work on Deadpool first so I am using my time most efficiently. Look at me time manage like a pro. Wings for Wasp may not be done in time for the premiere....definitely by PHXCC.

Did you notice something different? Yes! I fixed my banner to have Wasp on their instead of Black Widow. that costume never happened and it probably never will...

Year of the Catsuit

You may be wondering why I titled this post as such. Well I have just discovered that the wonderful world of sewing is a lot bigger and better than my previous skills suggested. I have mastered darts. Not just boob darts...ALL darts and let-me-tell-you, they change everything! Therefore I have thus titled this blog post "Year of the Catsuit" because I will be re-making all of my previous costumes ( AH Catwoman and Black Cat) and making all of my new ones (Wasp, Baroness, too many more to name) using my newly mastered skillz. SO excited for Wasp btw...won't disclose anything now....but it's going to be AMAZING!!

My mind was further blown by the discovery of all of the numerous presser foots out there. (This Teflon one I have coming in the mail better rock my world and top stitch Domino like a dream or I'll rage.) There are one's for Blind Stitching, making sure vinyl doesn't pull, and hundreds of others! Yes I realize a lot of you are probably saying to yourselves "Where has Jackie been, she goes to Joann's frequently, is she blind?!"  When I have my mind set on something, yes it's like I'm blind. I never had a need for these things before so I never thought to look to see if they existed. They do!!
I am still somewhat of a novice at this so I am figuring things out and learning as I go constantly. Having the dress form has changed everything. I can visualize what I want something to look like now and try it out with out trying to make these complex drawings and patterns that just take too much time. So yay me and my new knowledge and knowledge skillz (skills always needs to be spelled with a z...). My goal by the end of the year is to be comfortable using patterns. I have struggled with these before because laying the out is not how my brain works, but I need to be able to use them better so I will try.

I was able to put the quilting in the sides of  Domino and darted the front stomach area and the back. This is the most amazing thing ever! I actually have a body now and my boobs aren't squished and pulled down, they sit where they are supposed to! I am amazed. You can't see the difference on the dress form as much since it's not exactly my same body shape but you get the idea.





 I have also redone the gloves so they are more tactical looking. I hate sewing gloves. I mean I really really hate sewing gloves.That being said, I will buy them pre-done as long as I can. This way I can still add to them if I want but most of the stuff I hate about sewing gloves is done for me. Yes it's lazy. Everyone has their thing, gloves are mine.
I have been searching different types of tactical gloves trying to see what parts of them I like the best. I really like the padding on the back of the hands. I made my own since the weight lifting gloves and tactical gloves I bought were too thick and made my hands look like boulders. I also added some padding to the palm and cut off three of the fingers so they looked more like tactical shooting gloves (you can tell I've been playing a lot of MGS...).


 (nope didn't paint my fingers, they're just that pale)



I also did a make-up test to see if I could add some blue to the black eye to make it stand out. Not only is it really hard to focus with the contrast but it causes me to make awful faces in photos and gives me a headache. I am trying to do the make-up like someone would if they really had that pigmentation. I decided to play with some different shades of blues to emphasize her blue eyes and define the eye while still going with the rest of the look. I also found a deep blue lipstick that I am going to use as a highlight to the black. ( I didn't take a picture because I did the test before I took a shower and my face was way greasy form doing house work and exercising... you're welcome)

I will be wearing this on Tuesday the 3rd at Samurai Comics on Camelback for their Avengers vs Xmen party with Garrick as Deadpool (red version not X-force, that catsuit did not come in before the weekend either). I'm not 100% done with this but I had promised we would be at this event so it's done enough to wear. Still missing some top stitching, elbow/knee pads, and the different fabric pieces (I didn't get my presser foot in before the weekend, so deal....). The AZ Avengers will be there as well along with some great artists.

Hope to see you there!!

Domestic Warfare

Oh Hello!
Where have I been you might ask? Well there are a lot of answers to that. My least favorite answer is that I have been forced into waging domestic warfare on my front and back lawns. I don't have a traditional lawn yet, unless you count hundreds of varieties of weeds a lawn... I have been trying to get all of them under control for the past 3 weeks so I can start planting and eventually have a semi-adult looking landscape before the ridiculous heat-explosion that we in Arizona call a "summer" hits. I can't say this was completely boring. I did get to use a blow torch....chemicals... a weed-wacker....and wear a pink respirator all at the same time.

 "Oooooh exciting!!! Please Jackie tell me more about your adventures in being a boring shut in!"
Ask and you shall receive!

I also went to the Desert Botanical Gardens annual plant show to pick up some plants I hopefully can't kill. I have a black thumb. Maybe even more than that, maybe my thumb is the essence of death. Point it in the direction of something green and it instantly wilts...unless it's a weed, then it grows more...
Let me tell you what my plant list consisted of:
Horsetails
Devil's Backbone
Blood Flowers
Bat-Faced Cuphea
Lady Slippers
Ghost plants
"It sounds like a recipe for a curse, or someone went through a list of plants and picked them based solely on their names." (I did...so what...)
Speaking of my black thumb, I looked outside today and my Bat-Faced Cuphea already looks like it's dying...now I'm killing them with a glance?! Ugh....  One down one to go. I only bought two plants, the bat-face and a lady slipper. Since I seem to kill things, I thought it best not to blow hundreds of dollars on foliage that may not last due to prolonged exposure to myself.

I was finally able to plant in the flower pots we have on the front of our house!

Green and alive...for now....

I did venture out of the house for this festival...Holi!



Holi is an Indian festival celebrating the colors and vibrancy of spring. Shannon invited us since she had to go for a school project and it was tons of fun!

(I know all of you were secretly wondering.....yes, when I blew my nose it was bright pink for a few days and yes that shit stained all it came in contact with)

Oh and I was able to start this:



I did remember this was a costuming blog....
Look! I got a dress form too! Hopefully a male one will be on it's way, those are way hard to find. (thank you Garrick's grandmother and dad for getting these for us!!)
I also have a Teflon presser foot on it's way. That's right I'm stepping up my game! No longer will vinyl seams own me, I will destroy them with my beautifully executed finished top seams now!

As for updates, I broke my new years resolution of updating every Friday. Let's face it, I knew that was going to happen, but it got me to try to update more often. I will shoot for every other week and maybe throw a random personal rant in there somewhere.Why? Because they're fun and I like talking and thinking that all of you find me as interesting and as funny as I find myself.

Tonight...HUNGER GAMES!! (shut up, the books were awesome....)

Domino, MGS4, and retail therapy

Good news, I got my catsuit in the mail so I can start remaking Domino now! I was going to post some "concept art" but it turned out less than desirable. I don't know if you all knew but I can draw, just not how you think. I can draw anything I see. Coming up with concept art is a struggle for me because I need lots of reference pictures and time. Let's be honest, I didn't want to spend the time re-doing this one. So there. You don't get to see it. Sorry.  Check out my friend who can draw!

My weekend will be spent two ways. 1. Sewing 2. Lamenting the end of MGS4.
Yes, I cry at the end of video games. And books. And movies. I cried at the end of MGS3 even harder than MGS4. I mean sobbing, awful, ugly crying. I'm not proud. I get really into those things so when they're over, I search to fill the void. What most people would do is go and get the next book in the series, or the next game etc. What do I do? I become every capitalist's favorite person...I buy everything and anything that relates to said game/book/movie. Shirts, toys, pants, you name it, I'll buy it. Ok, I didn't really buy those pants but I thought about it. :)
I do take solace in the fact that I have yet to finish Portable ops and Peacewalker so yay for that. But before I say my next comment, I want all of you Raiden haters to just shut it, I like him, he's B.A., and I will play the shit out of Revengence (It's a word NOW, so suck it).
There is rumor floating around that there will be a MGS5. As much as I selfishly want that, I think they need to give Snake a rest. The end of 4 was painful and I don't know what there is left to tell. Do a game about Boss if you must, that would probably be pretty awesome if you ask me, but let Snake rest.

Also there WILL be a Meryl and Jonny (aka Akiba) costume in Garrick and I's not-so-distant future. Come one, slick his hair back and Garrick looks just like him...and acts like him...

Hope you enjoyed all the links, next week I should have some pictures to post!