This has to be one of my favourite topics! There has not been a cosplay that I've made where I didn't save a ton of money by following a few small rules! So here are my tips to you for keeping your cosplay budget low!
1. Shop in the clearance section I know when you are looking for fabric for your latest project you think "I need a specific pattern / texture for my [insert item here]" or "well the pattern I'm using says I need this kind of fabric", well I say HMMM I wonder what I can find in the clearance section that might work? Honestly this is my favourite part of the fabric store. I've found so many great fabrics that I can use for my costumes for less than $5/metre which is great! And just because my sewing pattern recommends specific fabric, doesn't mean I have to use them. I've used corduroy for a jacket rather than rayon or suiting fabrics, I've used 2 way stretch in stead of 4 way (this only works sometimes...) I've used broad cloth for just about everything, or switched out cotton fabric for knit fabric. Honestly it's all about what is going to work for your costume. 2. Buy a membership to a fabric store (if it's available) I live right beside a Fabricland and every year I march in there and faithfully renew my membership. Why you ask? Because it saves me ridiculous amounts of money for the amount of stuff I buy! The Fabricland membership gives me 20% off of almost everything in the store (unless otherwise marked or noted), so I'm already saving more than the tax on my purchase. And not to mention they have a ton of member's only sales which are insane! So this is definitely worth considering. Currently the membership at Fabricland costs $25 for a year, and when you think about it....costumes are expensive, I know I've gone in and spent at least $200 on fabric per year, sometimes even on just one purchase, so $25 is a steal! 3. Shop the sales As I mentioned in the above point, fabric is ridiculously expensive, so is Worbla and other crafting materials. If you can find a sale, BUY, don't hesitate and go "well I'll catch the next one", because sometimes the item you need or want isn't going to be on the next sale. I follow spandexworld.com and always look for their 20% off sale which happens about twice a year, or at fabricland I'll wait for the Buy one, get one, two or three free sale (members only). That sale saves me ridiculous amounts of money....seriously. Saving a penny here or there always adds up! 4. Dollar stores The amount of awesome things you can find at a dollar store is mind blowing! I buy most of my craft foam, acrylic paint and wig accessories at the dollar store. 5. Coupons I know, I know you're thinking...I don't want to be THAT person, the one that brings in a pile of coupons and holds up the line up just to save 50 cents. Ok, well I'm not saying go crazy, but I am saying, look for coupons that are going to save you a bunch on your purchase. I love shopping at Michaels, and let's face it...I think most crafters do. Michael's is expensive. You know this, I know this...so take advantage of their coupons! My rule is never walk into a Michael's without a coupon on your phone or in your hand. Wait to buy that one item you really need for your costume, and grab a 40% or 50% off one item coupon. It will help you so much in the long run! 6. Shop online For something things, especially the obscure things in your costumes, look online. I've found so many great things at discounted prices through amazon or ebay. And with this tip comes... 7. Shop Wholesale If you need more than one of something, find it for whole sale prices! A few years back when I was making a cosplay of Lulu from Final Fantasy X I needed a ton of lace appliques for the bottom of the dress and the sleeves. If you've ever gone shopping for lace, you will know it is super expensive. Even going to thrift craft stores, it's still expensive. I did my shopping on AliExpress and mananged to get all the lace I needed plus a lot extra for a fraction of the cost! Just the other day I found one of the appliques I had purchased at a Fabric store. They wanted $20 for it, and I paid $20 for 25 of them online. Wholesale is where it's at for multiples! 8. Expos You wouldn't think you could save money from buying things at a convention or an expo but sometimes you'll be surprised. Companies tend to put on deals for crafting supplies at expo's because they want to draw you in and get customers to recognize them, to come to their stores later. Just this year I bought a sheet of worbla that is almost 4feet by 4feet for a fraction of the cost BECAUSE it was at an expo. Now I don't have any costumes that are going to need worbla in the next couple of months...but that doesn't mean that I won't need it for an accessory or two coming up. I find wigs at discounted prices, craft foam, foam clay, paints etc all at discounted prices at expos, so definitely check out the supply vendors, not just the comic and gaming vendors! 9. Buy in advance, buy some extra I always find there is something I need that I don't need to go and buy because I have previously bought it. I'll buy extra velcro or elastic, extra boning, extra bias tape etc, etc all because I know I'm going to need it. I'll often take a list of my planned cosplay's with me when I'm out shopping just in case I see something that will work for one of those costumes. Better to buy it in advance, buy it on sale and save it for when I need it rather than pay full price when I need it right away. 10. Sewing patterns online and printable So let's face it sewing patterns are super expensive...but they don't need to be! Yes Mcall's and Simplicity and other companies have sales, but they are few and far between and they don't give you a big discount. At least once a year the McCall's company will have a 3.99 sale for discontinued patterns, or for their current patterns but you still have to pay shipping on those, so you'll end up paying at least $12 (if you live in Canada like me). My advice...check sewingpatterns.com. They have all the sewing patterns you could possibly want (other than new releases. These come out about a month after first launch) at insanely cheap prices! McCalls and Simplicity are about 5.99US a pattern VS 12.99US from their home page. Vogue are $9.99, Kwiksew, Butterick 3.99 etc. Not to mention the digital downloads are usually $3.99 to 5.99US and you don't have to pay shipping because they email the pattern to you for printing! I also suggest checking Ebay or Etsy for used patterns, or previously owned and uncut patterns, Way cheaper at times that buying direct from the parent company. I hope these tips will help you to save some money on the costumes you want to make!
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Everyone gets busy, and it's really hard to find time to do the things you love. You always feel like you need an extra couple hours in a day just to do that one thing you really wanted to do, but couldn't fit in. It's really hard finding that balance in life, but if your hobbies and activities are important enough you'll find a way to fit them in. It's really important that you do make time for yourself. You need to have down time to let yourself relax and reset in order to take on the bigger things in life and keep you healthy!
A typical day for me looks like this: Wake up at 7, get ready for my day, transit to work, work from 9-6, transit home by 7, eat dinner, have some me time, in bed between 9:30 and 11. Not a lot of time in the evening to get things done. And 3 out of 5 days a week I have something going on in the evening like exercise, family music nights, visits with parents or friends. As I said, we all get really busy. Most of my crafting time is reserved for the weekends, and even then if I'm lucky I'll get maybe 8 hours to really go to town on things. This is why cosplay's take so long! What I find works best when you have a project on the go, is setting yourself up a schedule. Book time with yourself to spend time strictly on your costume. And each day (or few hours) that I schedule in I also write down exactly what I need to do for that time frame. For example: shopping for fabric or accessories, researching techniques, cutting out patterns, sewing etc. Sometimes you'll find you will hit bumps in the road and get stuck on how to do something or make something, don't ever be afraid to ask others for help or step away from your project for a while. Clear your head and get back to it later once you've had some time to refresh yourself. You'll also find that sometimes crunch time is hard to avoid. Time management is really a crucial part of getting your costume done by your deadline. And the better you manage your time and schedule, the less stress you will have to deal with the night before the convention. The moral of the story is finding a balance is always going to be a struggle, but if you manage your time wisely you can get everything done and still enjoy the other things in life!! |
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