Monday, August 6, 2012

Update: Aug. 6, 2012

Ok, here's an updated list of my current works-in-progress.

(I promise I'll actually start taking pictures as I go instead of just when I'm done.)

Recap from last update post:
Currently on going:

  • Granny square baby blanket for my best friend and her soon to be arriving bundle of joy. Must be finished by end of July now. (Almost done, only a square and a half left and then has to be pieced together.)
  • Steampunk formal costume for San Japan. This is not a super intensive project as I plan on buying or have bought almost everything needed. Not going to formal event but still have outfit done. Saving for a Steampunk movie night at Alamo Drafthouse.
  • Painted glass block project. Done!!

Currently on going:
  • Screen printed shirts; Shepard "Alliance Athletics" shirt, Shepard "N7 stripe shirt and Star Trek "Starfleet Academy" shirt.
    -Have finished the Star Trek and Alliance/N7 designs and made the screenprints. Just need to buy shirts and screenprint them.
  • Granny square blanket. (Almost finished.)
About to start:
  •  Belly dancer/Celtic warrior costume for myself and best friend for the Sherwood Celtic Music Festival.
  • New corsets for myself and best friend.
  • Snow White's "warrior" outfit from Mirror Mirror.
Ideas/Preplanning/Designing

  • Merida from Brave
  • Commander Shepard and Kaidan casual outfits cosplays
  • Cowboy Bebop cosplays; Spike, Faye, Vicious and Edward
  • Link and Fi
  • Katara's Fire nation outfit from season 3 of Avatar the Last Airbender.
San Japan ended up not working out for us this year. We'll still be going Saturday but I ran out of time and funding to finish any of my planned cosplays. So I will be cosplaying as Nana Osaki from the manga/anime Nana. So look for me if you're there!

Legend of Zelda Triforce Lamp

Alrighty, I am finally trying to get my stuff together and post some of my projects I've been working on.

This project was for a birthday present for some of our friends. They love Legend of Zelda and have a very geeky/gamer decorated home. So I decided to make them a painted glass brick light.

I started with the Krafty Block that you can get at Hobby Lobby.

These blocks come pre-drilled with holes. You can get glass bricks at any home improvement store as well but these do not come pre-drilled. At the same section of Hobby Lobby you can also find a single bulb light.

I also bought a stencil making sheet. (Which is essentially a thick piece of plastic.) I printed out the triforce symbol I had decided to do. Traced the design onto the stencil sheet with a thin line permanent marker. Then cut it out using an Exacto knife.

I then painted the front blue, using painters tape to ensure the edges were clean and a makeup sponge to achieve the matte finish. Once it was dry I placed the stencil on the glass and using the exacto knife scratched out the blue paint. I then painted the gold paint, once again using the makeup sponge, through the stencil. While I let that dry I painted the green around the sides with a paint brush. This achieves a highly lacquered appearance to the paint. After everything was dry I went over the blue with a paint brush and the blue paint adding layers and cleaning up edges.

Finally, I superglued the bottom of the light bulb to the plastic plug that comes with the glass block. This ensures that you can take the light out when you need to put a new bulb in the light. This softer plastic plug fits snugly in while still allowing the cord to come out the side.

Here's the end result.




Some tips:
  • Make sure you let the enamel cure before attempting to do anything more to the paint, such as put painters tape on it. (I tried to add a blue stripe to the side initially...lets say it didn't work out.)
  • Make sure that you know where the hole is in your block at all times, else you end up with a beautiful logo that's upside down or turned the wrong way when you set your block down.
  • The good news is that wet paint is easy to remove with soap and water. Dry paint is easily removable with a straight edge razor. (As long as it hasn't cured.)
  • Clean all surfaces with rubbing alcohol so that the enamel will bond with the glass better.
  • The craft blocks (along with all the the other glass crafts) routinely go on sale for 50% off at Hobby Lobby. Buy your blocks then.
  • You can use the mini Christmas lights instead of the single bulb light. However, make sure you get the ones that are made to be in tight spaces. Otherwise the heat might become too great and melt the lights and then you might have a house fire.
  • Some enamels can be heat set. Others just require time in order to cure. Refer to your bottle which it is and on how to do this.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Welcome!!

Hi!! Ok, so after being inspired by another blogger, I am going to try to keep a sort of running journal of my current projects that I have in some stage or another. This won't be perfect because some projects are gifts and as such I don't want to ruin the surprise. However, I've got plenty of other projects that I can share with all of you.
Since this is my first post (and I kind of decided to do this on a whim) I'll give you a list of current or soon to be coming projects. Pictures will be uploaded soon!

Currently on going:
  • Granny square baby blanket for my best friend and her soon to be arriving bundle of joy. Must be finished by end of July.
  • Steampunk formal costume for San Japan. This is not a super intensive project as I plan on buying or have bought almost everything needed.
  • Painted glass block project.
About to start:
  • Commander Shepard and Kaidan casual outfits cosplays for San Japan.
  • Cowboy Bebop cosplays; Spike, Faye, Vicious and Edward for San Japan
  • Link and Fi  for San Japan.
  • Screen printed shirts; Shepard "Alliance Athletics" shirt, Shepard "N7 stripe shirt and Star Trek "Starfleet Academy" shirt
Backburner until after San Japan.
  • Belly dancer costume for Sherwood Forest Faire
  • New corsets for myself and best friend.
  • Snow White's 'warrior" outfit from Mirror Mirror
  • Merida from Brave
As you can see San Japan is kinda taking over my crafting schedule until August.