Tag Archives: Craftyness

Costumes

One Busy Summer

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In between Tasty Planet 2 work and wedding preparations and site development and story building and a hole slew of other things that will eventually get finished (siiigh), I’ve been helping my brother in law with some costume construction. He really gets into Halloween like me and my husband, and this year he decided he wanted a head cast so he could sculpt all kinds of masks and prosthetic pieces. The whole family pitched in and helped.

Head Mold
Plaster of Paris Head Mold,1st Layer

Doing a life cast is a whole lot easier with three additional pairs of hands. We changed how we did a few things – when prepping the mold for the ultra cal, we bound the old together with a few plaster bandages down the seam AND wrapped it duct tape,and my brother concocted a different type of stand for the ultra cal cast.

Head Cast
Casted Ultra Cal Head

It’s definitely not a process for the faint of heart – stick to buying an armature head or a foam head if you’re a bit claustrophobic. Or have problems breathing. Or if you have an allergy to vaseline. Please, be really careful if you do attempt a head cast (especially if you go the straws-in-nose method). For more in-progress shots, check out this.

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Gift Idea 4 and 5

With Hanukkah just around the corner, and Christmas, Kwanzaa, and a boat-load of festivities on the way, why not make a gift this year? You still have time!

4. Ornament/Key Chain

Holiday Ornaments
Holiday Ornaments

All you need is a little Sculpey and some time. There are plenty of tutorials and projects to work from over at the Sculpey site, and many more scattered all over the web. The little guys up above I made last year with plain white Sculpey, and then painted with acrylics.

5. Screenprint/Paint Clothing

Napoleon Screenprint Tie
Napoleon Screenprint Tie

If you have the time, the gear, and a little bit of time to practice, you can screenprint a shirt, tie, you name it! I used EZ Screen Print, which is a great ‘no-chemical’ way to make screens, but I found that the shipping was so much for the special paper, and I wasn’t using the screens to their full potential. So another method of putting a desired image onto fabric is using the freezer paper method! Much cheaper, and works just as well I find! You do need a little more time to do it, and a little more practice, but you get *fantastic* results. Here’s a few good tutorials, but there are lots of other ones out there – investigate and decide what works best for you!

Craftyness

Yoki for Yule

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Yoki the Dragon
Yoki the Dragon

If you know someone who is into plushies (either making or receiving them) or you yourself enjoys making stuffed animals, there are many cute and cuddly patterns available online for you to give (or to buy, make and give). This winter solstice season, why not give Yoki to someone you care about, created by DIY Fluffies. I just love this little guy – I’ve made him three times already in a bounty of colours, and have changed bits of the pattern each and every time.

Craftyness

Dana

Not bad for my first pattern! Still have to work out some kinks.

Dana
Dana

The dragonfly’s a timid thing,
He’s very pretty, too;
His lacy wings are clear as glass
And delicate as dew.
I don’t know why the dragonfly
Has such a fearful name.
I never saw a dragon
That was nearly half as tame.