AWA 2012

AWA or Anime Weekend Atlanta is an annual Anime Convention in Atlanta, Georgia that is weekend  long. http://www.awa-con.com/
This year it was from September 28-30 and was hosted at the Rennaissance Waverly Hotel & Convention Center.

AWA is and Anime & Manga Convention.
It's Family Friendly and a lot of fun. The convention has everything from video viewing rooms to Maid Cafes and much much more. (It really is an Otaku's paradise.) While walking around you will soon come into contact with my favorite type of people, Cosplayers. Dressed in elaborate costumes like they've just stepped straight out of an Anime. Seeing them just makes you crave to get a picture and I have a couple posted below:

 

Somethings to Expect/Tips:

• People  will come up to you and asking for hugs, pictures, where you bought something, etc. Don't be afraid or look at them weird it's normal to do this and I find that convention goers happen to be the nicest people alive, I swear.
• Bring a good amount of $money$ trust me you will run out by the first day of the convention if you don't bring enough.
• Make sure to get a map sometimes it's easy to get lost.
• Try not to wear regular clothes, there is fun to dressing up you know.
• Be yourself no one will judge you.
• Don't be shy no one's gonna hurt you if you ask for a hug or a picture.
• Have a Great Time!

 

However, I would like to say that if your looking for convention to go to and it's your first time I would recommend starting off at a smaller Con like NashiCon. This is because these conventions can be somewhat overwhelming including if you start off at a big one such as AWA.

How to make Waitress/Maid Tray

 

I'll be showing you how to make a tray that a maid or a waitress might carry (as seen above) if you decide to cosplay a maid or a waitress.

To start this project off you will need the following items: A glass or plastic cup, a snack box (I used a pocky box), a metal tray, a hot glue gun, hot glue gun sticks, a plastic knife, a lighter, a paper towel,  Brown candles (I used 4), and White candles (I used 4).

 What to do with your snack box.

 Step 1:

 Make sure your snack box is empty. Then hot glue any openings shut. Then just leave it sit until your done with your coffee candle.

 How to make a coffee candle.

Step 1:

Place a brown candle in your cup and light it.

When the candle is almost dead blow it out and put it under a fan to cool.

Step 2:


Make sure you didn't leave the candle under the fan for too long. You don't want it to be hot but you need it to still be warm.

< It looks like this when it has cooled down. Notice the candle is cool but the wax at the bottom of the cup is still hot.

Now take your candle out of the cup and turn it upside down to remove the wick.

Then mold the candle in your hands. Try to make it as flat as possible. (This is why the candle needs to be warm- so it will mold.)Then pack the wax into your cup.

Continue Steps 1 and 2 as many times as needed with your brown candle.

Then when your ready for your white candle, you do the same. (Do steps 1 and 2 as many times as needed with your white candle as well.)

 



<Your candle should come out looking something like this.

Step 3:

Use your plastic knife to go along the top edges of your candle. Try to make the edging all look even. Then take your paper towel and wipe off the candle wax that got on the inside and outside of your cup.

 

Lastly, hot glue your snack box and coffee down to your tray and your done.

~Tada~

 

You Can Not Afford My Sword

Ok, so maybe you can afford Ichigo's zanpakutō, Zangetsu. http://www.trueswords.com/ichigo-sword-high-carbon-steel-anime-zangetsu-huge-52in-p-6102.html I came upon this while look for Bleach Cosplay Swords and I must say that it's a very nice one. Probably one of the nicest I have come acrossed with out being badly priced at $50 yet still being very much real. Yet I still found problems with it. At 52in. (4ft 3in) it does indeed sound large but when seeing someone next to it, including someone who is tall the sword defintly losses some of it's impressive size. This makes the size fade into the background and look akwardly short. (I posted a video at the bottom to help explain what I'm getting at.) The sword would need to be at least 5' something anyway to be authentic, since Ichigo's sword was almost as tall as he was. So if you'd like one more accurate you may need to find someone who can do custom swords and place the order telling them what you'd like. Here's a link to a place I found that does custom swords. http://www.dbkcustomswords.com/ordering.html