My first real attempt at creating a cosplay outfit (and a rather ambitious one at that.)The most difficult part of the costume was, of course, the headdress, which took me approximately 2,187 years to figure out. I made the cap part out of white vinyl, the ball ornaments out of polystyrene, and the antennae out of empty magic marker casings. The mace, which I carved out of bedfoam, was attached to a black garter which I wore on my thigh under my skirt. This costume is historic in more ways than one. Not only did it herald my first foray into cosplay, it also heralded the first time I ever injured myself while prop-making. (I gashed my hand while working on one of the amulets and had to drive myself 15 miles to the nearest hospital emergency room in the middle of the night to get it stitched up.) It would, of course, not be the LAST time I would injure myself while prop-making.

On the whole, I'm satisfied with the way this costume turned out, although, if I were to do it again, I'd do a few things differently. For one thing, I'd use a different kind of paint on the mace (as the paint I used seemed most fond of flaking off during the most inopportune moments). I would also make the band which goes around my waist a little wider, and would tighten it up a little to make my stomach look less prominent. Also, I would try and get myself a pair of genuine white, knee-hi boots instead of the cheesy-looking vinyl boot covers I went with. (Vinyl boot covers which I had to insert an elastic panel into in order to get them to fit. "One size fits all" my ass...)