An so it begins....... (Geek points if you know the show)

Hello all

I just wanted to welcome you all to my first blog. Let me get the thanks out of the way first, The title of this blog is from Aly Martini, a local photographer here in GA, the catch line is from another of my friends Leah Lloyd, A great costumer and all around good friend. The Idea for this blog started off as a comment from my girlfriend Dana Tyler while we were riding in the car one day. The Idea for this blog is to show that YES you can make great costumes on a cheap budget, not all of us have a big bank account to do costumes. For the Grammar sticklers out there..... Yes there will be misspelling, there will be grammar errors, and ect, ect, ect. So put down the pitchforks and torches and just enjoy.

So a little about me: I am 33 years old and I live in Lawrenceville Ga. I grew up with Star trek and sci-fi in my life all the way. I also have 3 children ( so another reason to do cheap costuming). I would like to get my kids into Cosplay but first I have to steal their souls back from the dark one........ yes i mean George Lucas!!! I am a total geek right now besides Star Trek I am into Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5 and Stargate. When I am not writing on here I am playing Star trek online with my free time, I do attend a lot of Sci-fi Conventions and have gotten to meet some great stars. I am also the Commanding Officer of the I.H.V. Bridge of Spirits, a new Klingon ship starting out in the area. I also love the Renaissance Faire when we get the chances to go.
I started out costuming back in 2008 when I joined the U.S.S. Republic I made my first appearance in Klingon make up and uniform at Dragon*con 2010. I recently finished my first custom costume for a convention. My costume was an Inquisitor from Warhammer 40000. I participated in my first costume contest at Dragon*Con 2011, and am in the process of getting ready for TrekTrak Atlanta 2012 and Dragon*con 2012  I am a 10 year veteran in the US. Army, I have done 3 combat tours in Iraq. I still serve in the Army Reserves and do my weekend a month and 2 weeks a year. You will probably hear me rant a few times about the military, but I wouldn't have changed me serving if I had a chance.

So now that we got the introductions out of the way let me talk about what this blog will be about mostly. OK here is a small list

• Cheap Costuming
• Supporting your local costumers
• Convention news and updates
• Also places to find cheap costuming supplies.

I will also be posting up pics and W.I.P.'s (Work In Progress) of what I'm working and how we are doing it cheap. Please comment if you have questions or criticisms.  So I hope that you guys will stick around and see what I may be able to teach you or you might teach me.

So until later

John AKA Stumpy