Have a Sleepover with My Neighbor Totoro

Totoro bed

When I was growing up, my brother and I had Charlie Brown sheets. We had nothing like this cozy Totoro bed set – perhaps because the movie didn’t come out until 1988, and I had moved on from cartoon sheet sets by then. But don’t let that stop you now – use this tutorial at Cut Out + Keep to make your own Totoro bedding, complete with head pillow to watch over you while you sleep.

What other bed sets might this inspire you to make? Perhaps a giant Snorlax?

Cosplay Pics from Naka-kon 2012

My husband and daughter recently returned from their annual sojourn to a local anime convention, so I thought it might be nice to introduce you to it as well. Dubbed Naka-kon, this convention is held annually in Overland Park, Kansas, to “celebrate Japanese animation and the influence anime has in the Midwest and around the globe by educating people from all walks of life in many diverse facets of popular and traditional Japanese culture.”

No matter whether promoting Japanese anime, video games, or the otaku lifestyle in general, these Kon-goers love to cosplay! The following are but a few examples that my husband took over the weekend.

Montage of photos from NakaKon 2012

I spy cosplayers as No Face from Spirited Away (or what I call “that freaky ghosty thing”), Mojo JoJo from Powerpuff Girls, a Stormtrooper, Mario & Princess Peach, and GLaDOS from Portal, but I don’t recognize the others. Do you?

Reader Submission: Vocaloid Magnet Cosplay

I’m going to admit right now that I’m not cool enough to be aware of Vocaloid, and if you are similarly clueless I suggest you go educate yourself.

Sherry from miccostumes.com upcycled an old wedding dress to make a Vocaloid Magnet costume.

If you’re sat there behind your computer monitor going “OMG Squueeeeee =^.^= <3 <3 <3 Vocaloid!!!! <3” then you’re in luck, as Sherry has shared a how-to here.

Amigurumi Fuzzy Soot Sprites

Amigurumi Fuzzy Soot SpritesThis week, as far as I am concerned, is Totoro week on Geekcrafts.  (Please note that it is not in fact Totoro week on Geekcrafts, but we can let that slide.) These amigurumi Fuzzy Soot Sprites are adorable.  You probably have a few soot sprites lurking around your house right now, and what better way to let them know they are welcome than to give them some friends to socialize with.

Now, thanks to Niki P of NikisKnerdyKnitting on Etsy, you can do just that.

Take a look at the Sprites!

Visit NikisKnerdyKnitting on Etsy!

It’s Totoro week on Geekcrafts! (No, it isn’t.) Check out more awesome Totoro stuff!

Anime Girl Cross Stitch

I’m always amazed at the patience of cross stitchers. I did a small, simple robot photo booth cross stitch and it drove me crazy. So when I see something as big and gorgeous as this my mind boggles! The whole thing is 140 x 180 stitches, on 14 count cream Aida. HistoricalNeedle sewed this over a couple of months. She based it on an Anime style picture she found on the web (if you know who the original artist is, feel free to post it in the comments). HistoricalNeedle plans on getting a Gothic style frame made for it, so I can’t wait to see that!