SoonerCon report

SoonerCon is over and I've done the Nap of the Chronically Fatigued.  Costume Contests were entered, dancing was done, and sales were made at Mom's table.  All in all, it was a lot of fun and I'll be doing more cons and contests in the general area.  I made new friends and got way too many ideas.  It's hit my "creativity reset" button and I'm ready to get a-crackin' on more cool projects.

Mom has been going to SF/Fantasy cons since before I was born when she got into Star Trek fandom in the 70's.  She started taking me along to local cons when I was a child where I'd help out at the table.  She sold comics and graphic novels and over the years has moved into nonfiction books, short stories, and lately, science.  I stopped going in my 20's when life stopped for a while while I dealt with the aftermath of abusive relationships, endometriosis and a hysterectomy, a fibromyalgia diagnosis, and the devastating depression that came afterwards.

None of this stopped Mom from offering me invitations whenever there was a local convention.  She'd never push, just put the invitation out there and hope I'd be there.  If I went, she'd always gush about how happy she was that I was there and how much fun she had hanging out with me at cons.  It was a point of light in a dark time in my life and a much-needed reminder that I was special and worthwhile, if only to her.

I won the lottery in the Mom department.  Dad's also awesome, and I am one lucky kid to have them.

Kitsune Preview!

SoonerCon is at the end of this month, and I've been working since February to get this costume together from thrifted and crafted pieces.  This is the first time I've created a character and costume from scratch from a crazy idea that I wanted to make a realistic fox tail out of yarn.

Yep, I'm a masochist.

I think it's turned out beautifully.  I will definitely participate in the costume contest, but I don't think it's worthy of winning any awards. I've never participated in the Masquerade at any con I've been to and I'm not quite sure what to expect.  It should be an adventure and getting me out of my comfort zone is always a good thing.  I'm not sure if I'll have to have a performance or not, so I'm preparing one just in case.

Corset Inspired belt

"I swear, I'm sotally tober, Ocisfer."

I've always wanted to make my own clothes. I have Project Runway fantasies and a reality that looks like a PSA against drinking and sewing. Just ONCE I'd like to be able to cut a straight line. Maybe it's because I use scissors right-handed and I'm a leftie. Maybe it's the astigmatism. Maybe it's none of this and people who can cut straight lines are robots.

I took an apparel class in high school and did a dress as a class project. I hated mine by the end of the only day I wore it. I made one skirt on my own and it was equally terrible.  Both pieces ended up in the back of my closet to fester and die. I wish my instructor would have taken the time to have us all get the proper size based on our measurements. Instead, we went with the clothing size we thought (or wished) we were and I don't think anyone in the class came up with an attractive dress. If you've never sewn from a pattern, your off-the-rack size and pattern size aren't the same, as if vanity sizing wasn't confusing enough. I wear a 16-22 depending on the clothing manufacturer and I'm around a 24W in sewing pattern sizes. It's a blow to the ego at first, but fit is more important than a number on a tag.

Ben bought me a Brother sewing machine for Christmas in 2013 after he'd asked for some alteration to his clothes and I'd give him the same response: "Sure, if I had a sewing machine."  Ben took this to heart and got this amazing gift for me and I was so excited! I could finally do the tailoring to my clothes that I always wanted but could never seem to part with the money. Now for the fun part: learning how to use the dag-blasted machine which I have just named Mano. Why Mano? Because it's Spanish for "hand" and slang for "brother" and I'm a dorky Texan.

Acrylic fangs

I hate Halloween store fangs. My inner Goth girl goes nuts for them and I try not to fondle them in the store too much. My outer perfectionist can't stand that they never fit right. Most are way too long for my small mouth. If I get them positioned where the top of the tooth meets the gum line, I can't close my mouth. If I can close my mouth, the fangs go way too far over my gumline and look clearly fake. The color doesn't match my teeth either and I always end up with high hopes and sad, sad realities.

I've always had dreams of having a set of custom fangs. As much as I'd like to, I can't afford to have them made for me, but I do know my way around a sculpting project. After some clever YouTube- and Google-fu, I found some instructions that seemed simple enough... make mold of teeth, sculpt teeth on positive mold and go! I've got experience sculpting, so this should be easy-peasy, right?

Nope.

The steps themselves are simple enough. It's the making realistic-looking teeth that are a good size for me that took some trial and error. I also had trouble with my materials interacting in undesirable ways. Turns out plastic loves to stick to plastic. (I knew this.) This project, which I thought I could bang out in an afternoon, ended up taking me 2 days. I ended up with 2 pairs of fangs that I was pretty happy with in the end and about 3 additional pairs that I broke. Easy. 

Yeeeah.

I spent around $30.00 (US) for the entire project, but already some of the materials lying around. Mine fit decently well without some sort of adhesive, but they're a little loose. This could be because of the petroleum jelly I was using to keep the acrylic from destroying my mold again. I've got enough of the stuff to make several molds and teeth, so my cost-per-product is much cheaper.

Skill level: Intermediate- advanced. Experience with sculpting will be very useful.  

If you're not experienced, don't worry. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

Wire Elf Ears Tutorial

This unique ear cuff (no piercing required) looks like a pointed ear when worn.  There is a wire in the back that goes around the back of your ear, similar to how glasses fit your head.  

I am focusing more on the general technique of how to make them than how to make this specific pair.  Feel free to riff on my instructions here to make pieces for your own personal use or to sell.

You can create your own template by tracing your ear and then drawing your template on paper before "tracing" it with the wire. If you want two perfectly symmetrical ears, you'll need to design it on paper first. After you have your basic ear template, draw your desired shape so that you can use it as your guide. Don't forget the curls (or some other design) at the wire ends or the wire will scratch your face and behind your ear.  

I personally like a more organic approach and enjoy making "siblings" rather than "twins".  Neither approach is better than the other, it's a matter of taste.

Skill level: Advanced beginner-intermediate. Project will take 1-6 hours, depending on your comfort level with making wire jewelry and the complexity of your final cuff. Measurements do not need to be exact for this project.  This set took me about 4 hours from start to finish, including designing the interior elements.