Two recent projects... WITH CAPTIONS!!

I have several performances coming up that are "hafla style"-- that is, no seating beyond a pillow you bring. Alas, most pillows that are pretty are also slippery, uncomfortable due to beads and such, and are usually too small for a tasseled bottom. So I made a pair of "hafla pillows" that are round and big enough to sit on. They're made from scraps on the top and faux suede on the bottom. The blue/purple/green one has fringe around the edge.



Some things I learned doing these:

-Thin fabrics need iron-on interfacing, both to keep them from stretching while being sewn (and bulging after being stuffed), and to keep the stuffing from leaking out through the fibers.

-It's totally OK to forget to leave an opening for turning, but make up for it by cutting a hole in the bottom which is later patched in a sort of boho way.

-Circle pillows turn into dome pillows if you don't insert a strip of fabric between the circles. That's OK for these two, but next time I'm hoping to make a very big version of the pillow that came with my husband's singing bowl.



I also like to take pants that are thisclose to fitting and insert a strip of fabric up the outer seam so I can fit into 'em. I've been doing this for as long as I've been fluctuating between sizes, i.e., since age 17. Usually when I do this I use a contrasting fabric, but lately I was feeling a bit more subdued in my dress (probably because I dyed my hair bright red orange). The strip on this pair ended up looking more like a design element than a DIY fix. I did the stencil with pigment powders that I mixed with textile medium. Now THAT'S addictive.

New Video in the Works

I shot a video on how I make layered tassels (like the ones with two colors on the belt in the post two below this one), but alas, it was too long. Reshooting, if I can, today or tomorrow, and will upload it for your tasseling pleasure. :D

I'm also working on dreadlocks, because my hair is dyed crazy and damaged beyond belief, and some more belts. AND, when I find another chunk of fabric in my stash, I'll shoot the photos for the flare pants tutorial. Wheee! Off to get coffee.

Madame Gasket's Steampunk Ring

I made this for my steampunk Queen of Hearts costume, but was really inspired by the kids' movie Robots. Madame Gasket, voiced by Jim Broadbent (love!), is such a nasty, gritty, gravely antagonist. The dark side of my heart loves her.

The ring was made from the following:
-A ring blank. I bought a bag of 10 or so at Michaels.
-Aileen's Jewelry glue (which is like super duper super glue)
-Various watch innards
-A pendant-style metal beading focal
-An ivory-tone button

A brief how-to:

1. Glue the button to the ring blank, centering the button holes on the blank's disc. (In my case the "disc" was square. It all works.) Let it dry.

2. Glue the pointy, curvy, evil-looking watch bits and the focal to the button. On my ring I centered the focal, which is open in the center, and flanked it on either side with watch bits. Flat curved bead drops would look good here, too. Let this step dry.

3. Glue the larger watch bit over the bases of the pointy bits. I could see substituting a cabochon for the watch bit here, but that would sort of remove the steampunky flavor, donchathink?

4. Let it dry overnight, and test your connections to make sure it's sturdy. If so, slip it on your finger and threaten the general populace.

Costume Photos

As promised, some photos of things I've been working on:

Skull print flare pants. Normally these are made a bit more snug to the thigh, but I left mine looser so I could wear them comfortably if I gain a bit of weight. :/ They also don't have slits in the legs, because I am a hairy beasty. Making flare pants is surprisingly easy. I have a tutorial written up for them, and will be taking photos for it this weekend.

Tassel belt. The base was a weird wall hanging/letter holder I found, reshaped, and added trim to. Alas, the trim is a bit scratchy. The tassels are hanging from an oversized crochet fishnet, and decorated with the same trim. Now all that needs adding is the coins and other baubles that make a belt complete!

So much shouting, so much laughter

...So much going on! I'm sorry I'm not updating this as often as I'd hoped. Life does get exciting at times, doesn't it?

Right now on my overlarge, buffet-style plate are: teaching classes, taking classes, preparing for performances, making costumes, practicing my accent for Ren Faire (more bother than you'd think, especially when you're making calls and realize you've slipped into an Irish lilt accidentally), cleaning my house, deep-cleaning the studio, and preparing to move. We're not moving for sure, for good, but are at least vacating for a while so we can repair some things around here. It won't happen until nearer to summer, but being me, I've already started preparing.

Admittedly, part of my issue with uploading photos is it's such a damn pain. Take photo, dump onto laptop, edit, upload, find, insert. I'll stop bitching and do it sometime soon, if only to show off what I've been immersed in. I made some bindi the other day that turned out OK. I'm still on my kick of "what can I do with what I have?" but cheated a bit on my newest belt, buying trim, thread and yarn. The total still only came to about $10, which is spankin' for a dance item. And it's orange. I don't have any orange.

Photos later, I promise.

Oh, the things you'll do!

I've been on a bit of a hiatus, owing to several factors: 1. My dancing has taken over my life. The performance troupe I'm a member of recently had its first paying gig, and we were freaking over it for about a month straight. 2. My computer died. So I got a loaner, but it didn't have the "Q" or "1" or "tab" buttons. Lemme tell you-- you might THINK you don't need them, but you do. Especially when you're doing your taxes. 3. I had to do my taxes. 4. My definition of "what I do" has been changing.

Back in ye olde high school/college days, I'd make crap all day long just for the sheer joy of it. That, and I was poor, but wanted to dress super scary like the Hot Topic denizens did, and since I couldn't shell out $15 for a tee-shirt, I had to make one. Though it was more PIMA than being able to go out and buy whatever supplies I needed, the days of thrift store crafting were really good for my creativity. I am one of those people who thrive when they're forced to "make do."

Well, it's hard to "make do" when you're "making money" at "making stuff." When a customer requests a purple corduroy hat with pink faux fur, you can't wait around until you see a pair of purple cords to hack up. You go out and buy the material. This mode of thinking really started to poison my creative urges, which were formed at a time when I wouldn't have the bloody purple hat unless I made the thrift score. Moreover, many of my past projects were inspired and not FORCED by thrift sale items. Left without the constant influx of new shiny cheap things, I started having big problems with inspiration.

So I went back to the source, or at least a source of inspiration that hasn't let me down-- the Crafty Chica. Kathy Murillo's craft projects are fantastic for a bunch of reasons, but one thing I love about her is she's not tied down when it comes to supplies. If she wants you to use paint, she doesn't require you to have a certain brand (although she's knowledgable on what's worth buying, and will say so when needed). She just says, "Get some craft paint. Then do this." I own several of her books (I have a blurb in one!), and last night really looked through them and felt-- lo! Inspired. So thank you, Chica, for reminding me that the coolest thing about me is, well, myself, and that my inspiration was only hiding from my efforts at making myself into a label.

I also have to thank Kathy for making me want to write. As I sit down in my basement writing this (new wireless router! New laptop! OMG!), I can see a new future stretching out ahead of me, and it's much rosier. So I pledge, here on this blog, to go back to my make-it-and-explain it roots. That means more photos of projects, more tutorials, more MEness than I've been using for the past year. It's gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiney thread-filled day.

More Steampunk bathroom details

I do love steampunk. Have I mentioned? Ideally, I'd do my bathroom like a Victorian woman's powder room within an airship-- old bottles and other antiques, sepia photos and vintage lace, but also special buttons and gizmos that would, upon command, fill the room with the scent of chocolate or drench my bathwater with camphor epsom salts.

Not likely to happen. So I've been piecing together bits of stuff I've found over the past two years. The paint color is what the bathroom came with-- sort of a dusty salmon/adobe color, with a "suede" finish.

This picture inspired it all. I bought the poster while in college and framed it in the most ornate thing I could find (at the Family Dollar). People have said it's "inspirational." Heh. Needs to be fixed-- you can see in the lower right corner the poster is pulled away from the frame. Oh well.

Random bobs on a shelf. Thingies include a steampunky squirtgun recon, two Kuchi bracelets I rarely wear, an hour glass, a pair of glass "specimen jars" (one with a fairy inside, the other with "teeth" from the tooth fairy), a box that says "Share" and holds a zombie finger puppet, a hair clip made from feathers, a wax stamp, a framed picture of Mike at age 5, a bejeweled pear, and a small clay turtle that was living in a plant that died. Below the shelf are two hanging brass bucket things, and a picture of Hercules and Leo.

The "What Women Love" postcard that a friend brought back from Germany, copper Q-tip holder, and my own "Gytha's Special Bath Soak," which is Burt's Bees bath salts in a bottle with a handmade label. I should get a close-up of that.

Seriously, I need ideas. I'm planning on stenciling the top of the room, but it can't be anything too bizarre, because oil paint is a bitch to go over later if you have to sell the place. Maybe a female cameo with wings on either side?