Halloween scarecrow

The store where I work usually has a Fall Harvest (Halloween) Festival, and I'm usually elected to do the Face-Painting table (I LOVE it!!) I decided to dress as a scarecrow this year, because it's much more kid-friendly (AND comfortable!!) I wanted to wear festive Autumn earrings, so I went through different beads and things. I came across some plastic Autumn floral picks normally used for plastic flower centerpieces and decorations. A couple of them had little scarecrows on them, so I pulled them off the picks.

I poked holes in the tips of their hats with a needle, and glued in a wire with a loop at the top. I attached them to antique-copper earring posts, and wore them to work! They're big, but VERY lightweight--and cute. ^_~

+Anima Senri cosplay

I'm cosplaying as Senri from the Natsumi Mukai manga series "+Anima" for a couple of conventions. The one main challenge of this cosplay was the hand and claws for the Bear Arm.
The hand was made using a thin cotton glove dyed fuschia. It didn't come out dark enough, so I went over the entire glove with a darker fuschia marker. For the knuckles, I glued on fingertips cut from the other glove. After stuffing a wadded plastic bag inside the glove to prevent sticking, I mixed Barn Red Scribbles Fabric Paint http://www.thefind.com/crafts/info-scribbles-dimensional-fabric-paint with a small amount of Scribbles Winter White, and brushed on a light coat all over the glove. I filled in the gaps around the knuckles, and pull out tendon lines with a paintbrush.
I made the claws using the leftover flexible garden-border material that I used to make Barry the Chopper's collar and cleavers. I cut triangular pieces, and bent them firmly in half. I cut triangular pieces if black vinyl, and glued two edges to the undersides of the claws, leaving the backs open for the glove's fingertips. After they dried, I glued them to the fingertips of the glove.
The beauty of this project is that Scribbles come in many different colors and finishes. It wouldn't be a stretch to make a cool mask with this stuff. Hmm...

I'm back!!

Sorry about the long absense. There was a lot of work to do on Al, and it still couldn't be completed on time. Anime North was a LOT of fun this year, and a lot of fans are already planning for NEXT year (including me... ;D) The Sehlat doll was completed in time to give to Vic Mignogna (Ed Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist.) Though I forgot to include my reference sheet...

A Funny Thing Happened On My Way Down The Strip...

Getting a *little* off-subject, I met a really nice gentleman while in Las Vegas... really PATIENT as well... "You match my necklace...!!"

New Sehlat Head

I didn't like the look of the sehlat head, so I started over. I removed the ears, fangs and eyes, and used them on the new head. I like the facial expression on this one better. The white thing coming out from the back of the head is a flexible plastic doll armature, to make the head and neck posable. I'm also using a length of it for the tail. The armature pops apart so that you can adjust the length. Each piece has a ball at one end and a socket at the other, and is about 1 inch in length. Armatures are made by The Springfield Collection, http://www.springfielddolls.com/ I bought mine from Dan's Crafts and Things on Empire Boulevard, Exit 8 off 590.

Looking a-head to May

These are a couple of projects I'm working on that I have to complete by Memorial Day weekend. On the left is the assembled Al Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) mask that has yet to be primed and painted, and above is the head for a sehlat (Star Trek--Spock's childhood pet) stuffed animal. I usually start with the face for drawings and sculptures because I want to get the personality of the subject down first. The sehlat still has a little stunned look to him, but a few stitches here and there toned that down a bit. Al's upper face looks a bit like a bat!

Comments open!

I FINALLY figured out that I didn't have the "comments" feature set up right, so now you can comment on any posts (just keep it civil, please.) I was wondering why everyone was so quiet...

Simple Dolphin Suncatcher

This suncatcher is made with plastic beads. Materials needed are; Glue, small pliers or tweezers (for bending wire ends), nail clippers or scissors (for cutting chenille pipecleaner), 1 4mm faceted bead, 1 6mm faceted bead, 1 pony bead, 1 12-inch chenille pipecleaner, 5 10mm star beads, 5 12mm star beads, 4 18mm star beads, 7 25mm star beads, and 5 holly-leaf beads. Base materials or clear fishing-line or stretch cord for hanging are optional.

BLEACH hoodie

I decorated a navy-blue hoodie with the flaming-skull insignia from the anime Bleach for my nephew's birthday present. Rather than paint the whole design with fabric paint, I first used a Clorox bleach pen (I know...), which lightened the "painted" area to a reddish color. Some spatters of bleach touched areas around the design, but it gave the impression of flying embers (pleasant surprises all around!) After washing and drying the hoodie (NO fabric softener!!), I used a mix of Delta Ceramcoat and Textile Medium to create the Hollow mask and flame highlights. I used a semi-opaque white, so I had to apply a few coats. The instructions require that you should iron the design on the opposite side of the fabric, with a piece of cloth between the area of the design and the iron. The design has to set for at least a week after you finish it before you can wash it, for best results. Here it is!

Shamrock earrings

St. Patrick's Day falls on our trip to Las Vegas, so I decided to make a pair of glitzy earrings to wear there. I bought gold-tone earring posts, superfine glitter and a package of shamrock Dress It Up 8-pack buttons (available at most craft and fabric stores) and shamrock "mardi gras" necklaces (2-pack for $1.) from the Dollar Tree. I then glued the earring posts to the top "leaf" of the shamrock with GOOP. After the glue dried, I took one of the shamrock necklaces and clipped off 4 strings of 3 shamrocks and 2 strings with 4 shamrocks, leaving the string at one end and cutting flush to the shamrock on the other. I then glued the strings to the back of the shamrocks, on the stem and bottoms of the lower leaves. When those dried, I brushed on a coating of Aleene's Tacky glue to parts where I wanted to apply glitter (4 of the shamrocks already have green glitter on the front, but the backs are white. The others are a matte dark green all around--see photo.) I covered two of the matte green ones all over with Aleene's, because I wanted to make them solid-gold glitter. I used a gold paint-pen on the last two matte-geen ones, and they came out gold antiqued with dark green (kind of a nice effect, actually...) After making the earrings, there was still an unused shamrock necklace to wear with them. If you only make one set of earrings, there'll be enough of the used necklace to make a matching bracelet. Dress It Up sets come in a full range of holidays and themes, so have fun!

A Great Co-Op in Lima, N.Y.

There's a great co-op in central New York called the Crossroads Country Mall (7348 East Main Street, Lima, N.Y. 14485, phone #585-624-1993), with over 50 dealers selling a nice variety of old and new items, some quality vintage items, and good prices (NOT one of those "Junque Shoppes.") The staff is friendly and helpful, and the atmosphere is relaxed. One of the dealers next to the checkout counter has a great variety of beads, new and used, and a large stock of new beads from Fire Mountain Gems in their original packaging. She also has charms and pendants, including beautiful crystal pendants. The co-op is near the town center, close to other stores and restaurants. Check out the owner's huge collection of vintage ceramic banks, painted in funky neon colors!

FullMetal Alchemist-inspired necklace

I went to a flea market in Avon, N.Y. last summer, and found an intriguing metal trinket in a box of stuff for $.25. I'm a fan of FullMetal Alchemist, and this piece seemed like a combination of the Ouroboros Tattoo and dragon-version Envy. The "snout" looks like the point where it broke away from something, so I'm guessing it was a decorative flourish for a piece of furniture. The piece and chains are all antique-bronze color, and I wire-wrapped iridescent-red glass aquarium "pebbles" for the "Philosopher's Stones." Bronze-tone chains (Treasure Island) and small red beads are from Micheal's Craft Stores. http://www.michaels.com/art/online/home

star skinny scarf

I drew my sister-in-law's name for our Secret Santa. She's got a glam streak, so I decided to make a glittery skinny-scarf. I crocheted it using two skeins of black chenille-style "Glimmer" yarn and a G hook (I'm NOT a pro...) I crocheted a star at each end, with fringe hanging from the points. After opening it, she wore it looped Rocker-style around her neck for the whole evening. Talk about a compliment...

Cousin Beads project book

I'm very sorry it took me a long time to post a new blog. It's been one crazy winter... A few years ago, one of my friends found a garage sale where a lady was selling her stash of craft supplies and books. I bought two boxes, one stuffed with craft beads and supplies, and the other packed with craft magazines and catalogs. One is a craft-project magazine by CCA (Cousin Corporation of America, http://www.cousin.com/ ). It's pattern book #6750, copyrighted 1994. It has patterns for beaded animals, such as the poodles and pink alligator I made here, as well as retro home decor items such as baskets, ornaments, and even an end table! There's also jewelry and keychain projects. I made the poodles partly because my Grandma had a bead poodle in her home. The beads to make these projects are mostly starflake (paddlewheel) and berry (bubble) beads, strung on thin pipecleaners (chenille).

Sale at Bolek's Craft Supplys Inc.

Bolek's Craft Supplys (their spelling, not mine) just sent me a catalog advertising free shipping on orders over $50. from January 4 to April 12. This offer is only good in the Continental U.S.A., and orders under $50 still have a flat $9. shipping fee. They have a huge range of high-quality plastic beads in a huge range of sizes, shapes and colors, and all are made in the U.S.A. They also offer kits, adhesives, and jewelry findings. If you like retro-style crafts, or need supplies for large group craft projects, this is the place. Web site is; www.bolekscrafts.com , email is; boleks@tusco.net , phone; 1-800-743-2723, fax; 1-330-343-8009, address; Bolek's Craft Supplys, Inc., P.O. Box 465, 330 N. Tuscarawas Ave., Dover, OH, 44622-0465.