retro-craft beads

Sometimes I like to make old-school crafts using plastic beads, such as starflakes and rondells. My favorite (and most dependable) supplier is bolek's craft supplies (http://www.bolekscrafts.com/). They have beads that are difficult to find elsewhere. The only two drawbacks to this company are; 1. An antiquated website--it's better to call in your order. (The store operator is really wonderful.) And 2. There's a $9. charge for orders under $100. It may have changed, so please correct me if it has. In any case, it's well worth it for the variety of sizes and colors you get. You can use these beads not only for knick-knacks, but costume jewelry as well. I have some old pamphlets with instructions on making medallions with these beads.

Sea-Witch/mermaid costume

I was chosen to do face-painting for the kids for our store's Fall Harvest (Halloween) Festival last Saturday. I decided to make a Sea-Witch/mermaid costume--on the morning of the event. >~<' So I started by making the tail, using an old black velvet skirt. I held the top elastic band around my knee, and cut where it fit. I glued the shortened band together with GOOP, and clipped it with a clothespin to hold it in place. I cut the skirt down from the band into a roughly triangular shape, making sure the bottom of the piece was above my toes. I then glued a wide black lace ribbon along the bottom-inside of the velvet with GOOP. I made the crown out of clear, flexible plastic with some of the same lace ribbon glued on with Elmer's Adhesive Spray. First, while wearing housecleaning rubber gloves, I sprayed the plastic with the adhesive. Then, I pressed the lace to the plastic , and sprayed adhesive over all of the lace. After it dried, I measured silver-colored belt material around my head, cut it to fit with a 1/2-inch overlap, and glued it to the bottom edge of the plastic (yes, GOOP again--BEST-ADHESIVE-EVER!!) After it dried, I brought the ends of the belt together, gluing and overlapping the 1/2 inch. I used a stapler to secure the plastic to the belt material, and to secure the ends together. I cut the plastic to a rough crown shape, and glued rhinestones on the front. I also stapled green lace to hang down from the crown, to suggest seaweed. This costume took roughly 3 hours to assemble, and though I was happy with the results, I think I looked more like a MANATEE-maid...

Mold-maker and QuikSteel

I like making my own jewelry, and I came across a couple of products that make it more interesting. There is a great mold-making kit called Amazing Mold Putty by Alumilite, and I LOVE this stuff! The kit contains two containers of putty-like material, one a yellow color, the other a light gray. You take a bit of each to make enough total to cover the item you want to copy, and knead them together until it's blended. This stuff sets quickly, so blend it as fast as possible. Set the item on a plastic lid or something similiar, and cover it with the putty, working it over the item to get the details. Let it set about 30 minutes, then peel the item out of the mold. The resulting mold is like soft rubber, and picks up fine details. You can then use the mold for polymer clay, resin, and other materials. It's non-toxic and food-safe, with minimal (if any) odor. The link for this product is; http://www.amazingmoldputty.com/. They have great resin craft products, too. Another material I tried is QuikSteel, by CarGo (http://www.bluemagicusa.com/) The one I used was in a 2oz. tube, part #6002. WARNING: I advise against using QuikSteel for jewelry or crafts. This stuff has a unpleasant odor, and is more difficult to use. It is hard to clean off your hands, and dries to a dull black color. While it CAN be painted, I would only use it with embellishments that can't be baked with polymer clays. Otherwise, stick with polymer clay.

craft and cosplay materials review

Whether I work on crafts or cosplay, I want them to be durable. I found through trial and error that some paints and adhesives work better than others. I am NOT a fan of Gorilla Glue or regular Super Glue. The Gorilla Glue dries with a crusty opaqueness, which is fine if you want a Shabby Chic effect. It's not very strong either, so I would not recommend it for costumes. My personal favorite for fabric is Liquid Stitch. It's non-toxic, has a small-point application tip, and dries very quickly. If it gets on your skin, it will peel off easily after drying. All three of my costumes were made using a large amount of Liquid Stitch (I'm still trying to figure out the sewing machine), and the parts I used it on held together fine for the 'Cons. I sometimes use Super Glue Gel when I'm making jewelry or gluing small areas, because the Super Glue Liquid tends to run, and dries brittle and weak. It doesn't hold up in cold temperatures, either. When I need a strong glue for plastic or high-stress points, I use Household GOOP (http://www.eclecticproducts.com/ag_adhesives.htm) or E6000. WARNING: Use proper ventilation and read ALL the safety instructions before using these adhesives. Both kinds have strong fumes. As far as paints go, I generally use either spray paint or Delta Ceramcoat, depending on the project and the weather. NEVER spray-paint without proper ventilation, and once again, READ ALL THE SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS!! Delta Ceramcoat is great, not only because it's non-toxic, but it's durable and blends well. I've had trouble with Folk Art Paint drying up in the bottle too quickly, and it doesn't mix well. If you're painting a craft or cosplay part for use outdoors, use a clearcoat acrylic spray (after reading safety instructions) after the paint has dried. This protects it from knocks, bumps, Glomps, and Over-Caffeinated CatGirl attacks.

...And then there was BARRY.

My current and favorite cosplay, Barry the Chopper (armor version) from the series Fullmetal Alchemist. I had a bad case of insomnia one night, and got up at about 1:A.M. to sit in the living room. I switched on the T.V., and there was this odd character pirouetting, and he capped it off by patting his butt ("Kiss, Kiss...") I thought, "Oookaaaayyy..." but after researching the character and watching a few more episodes, I decided that I liked his attitude. I used a craft-foam tutorial by Penwiper (http://entropyhouse.com/penwiper/costumes/helmsdeep.html), which made excellent shoulder and thigh armor plates, durable enough to survive a CatGirl attack. I made the head using a plasic serving bowl, and used Penwiper's armor tutorial to make the skull face. The fangs were made from cosmetic foam wedges, and the helmet flange and neck collar were made from plastic garden border spray-painted silver. The horns were pieces of vinyl formed into cone shapes and stuffed. I made the wrist-spikes from polymer clay and glued them to the wrist-bands. Unfortunately, they started falling off at the beginning of ToraCon, and by the time I got to the judges for the cosplay contest, I had three spikes on one wrist and two on the other! The judges still liked the costume, and I won Second Place, even after asking the emcee if I could chop him up... I wore the costume to ToraCon 2008 and 2009, and Anime North 2008 and 2009. 2009 was the best year yet, though--I got to meet Vic Mignogna, was reunited with great friends, and met a bunch of new ones! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90JW5f13P1c . I'm working Barry one more time at Anime North 2010, and then I might retire him, depending on fan response. The fans seem to enjoy him, and I get a lot of hugs and photo requests, but I don't want the fans to get tired of him, either. I DID have a lot of fun asking an Information Kiosk girl if she could tell me where Lab 5 was, though...XD

Totoro cosplay

Encouraged by the fun I had cosplaying as Shippou at ToraCon 2007, I decided to make a different costume for Anime North in Toronto. I settled on cosplayin as Totoro from the Miyazaki movie "My Neighbor Totoro," but in a kind of non-literal way. I made the costume from a (mistake #1) charcoal-gray sweatsuit with (mistake #2) charcoal-gray mule-style slippers for the feet. I used a short silver wig because I didn't think my red hair would look right. I also made dangling "Soot-Sprite" earrings with little black pom-poms with "wiggle eyes" glued on. I made a Totoro cosplay-cap BEFORE finding the instructions on how to make one, and I was not really satisfied with the result. At least the fans liked it... This convention was on Memorial Day weekend, and I quickly realized that a costume made from a sweatsuit was NOT a good idea. I was slowly melting all day on Saturday. Then I lost my two friends I was hanging around with, and I couldn't remember their last names or the hotel room they were staying in (I was going to stay overnight with them.) A fan suggested that I take the shuttlebus rather than walk to the different hotels to find them. All was fine, until I went to get off the bus. Mistake #2; DON'T EVER USE MULE-STYLE SLIPPERS FOR COSTUME FEET!!!! My heel slipped off the corner of the step as I was stepping off the bus, and I fell down the steps on my back. ("Totoro fell off the NekoBus...!") The fans were great-- after making I was okay, one handed me my "foot," and said, "That's why they call them 'slippers'..." After checking all the other hotels and convention center to no avail and getting yelled at by a convention staff member, I trudged back to their hotel to wait for them. I was NOT a happy Totoro. "I'm hot...I'm TIRED...Lost my friends...Fell off the bus...Got yelled at by 'Con Nazi..." There was a group of fans walking behind me, and suddenly I heard a girl's voice say, "Excuse me...can I HUG you...?" YES!!!!!! She gave me a hug, and so did her friend. Feeling MUCH better, I headed back to the hotel to sit in the lobby, and my friends found me after half an hour.

My costumes- Shippou

I like to cosplay at anime conventions, even though I've just started. It all began when I was discussing cosplay with Britanny, who is a professional in my opinion. I was trying to figure out what chara to be, when she said, "How about Shippou, from InuYasha...?" I already had the red hair, so I started work on the costume. For the tail, I dyed a furry throw-rug from Walmart yellowish-orange, folded and stitched it along the long side, and cinched it shut at one end. I secured a beach ball inside it, to make the tail puffy. It was my pride and joy, but my REAL feat was the shirt--It was a set of teal hospital scrubs. The shirt was the right color and had the v-neck--but short sleeves. So I cut off the pant-legs, and used Liquid Stitch to attach them to the shirt to make long sleeves. This little stunt won the admiration of a judge at ToraCon 2007's cosplay contest, and she awarded me the Judge's Choice Award! The fans were great, and I got a lot of hugs and photo requests--including one of my tail. I was checking out HammerGirl Anime's merchandise table, next to a young lady dressed in a maid outfit who was chatting with a friend on her cell phone. She glanced at me, did a double-take, and told her friend on the phone, "Can I call you back...? Shippou's standing next to me, and I've GOTTA hug her...!" I have a personal policy that I don't turn down hugs from nice people... Which came in handy with my NEXT cosplay...

Second-Hand Craft Supplies

A great way to get low-priced craft supplies is to search thrift stores, garage sales, and flea markets (sometimes referred to as "swap meets.") Near, or even totally, complete craft kits can be found, as they are sometimes given as gifts to adults or kids who either aren't interested in them, or try them and give up quickly. I found this pristine Ronco Rhinestone-and-Stud setting kit for $2.99 at a local thrift store. If I want an embellished apple cap or bell-bottoms, I'm all set!XD Another great find was at a garage sale, where I bought two boxes, one stuffed with craft instructions, the other packed with plastic beads and kits, for a total of $40. Some of the instructions were from the Seventies, and great for the camp-value alone. Many craft instruction books and magazines can also be found for sale for a low price at some libraries. Use caution with older craft books and supplies, as safety standards were lower then, and craft materials may have undergone chemical decomposition (especially true with paints and adhesives.) Some older craft books have questionable methods, including one I have that shows how to make styrofoam egg carton animals using a heat pen, which looks like a wood-burning tool. My friend told me about old craft instructions she saw that made things from old plastic prescription bottles melted in the oven! Many craft gizmos, such as the rhinestone-setter, are discontinued due to safety concerns or improved models replacing them.

Hello.

• Just a little intro. I love making different crafts, anything from simple "Kid Crafts" to jewelry to anime-character costumes. I'm still learning crafts and techniques at almost 42, so there may be some times where you'll say, "...But I ALREADY know that...!!" ...But some folks DON'T. So PLEASE, NO flames, NO hating, if you want to share a CONSTRUCTIVE tip, it's appreciated. If you see a potential safety hazard (beyond common sense) that I didn't warn a reader about, please let me know.
• I'm fine with different anime fan sub-groups (Lolitas, Dollfies, Furries, Cosplayers,Crossplayers, Classic Otaku, etc.). I don't like nasty comments about these folks, because many of them are just enjoying their creativity. Slurs will NOT be tolerated.