Silvery Stuff - fun with premo!

So, I am the remarkable combination of disorganized and scatterbrained. So much so that it's possible for me to go shopping in my own room! I found some Sculpey Premo in silver (and in white), and played around with the silver today.

So, I made - a twisty bracelet, hilts for some swords which are looking unfortunately like overgrown kitchen knives. And then on the other side, a fancy clasp for a cloak and the start of a necklace. The clasp I'd like to use on a cloak, either silver or dark green - I'm not sure - then trim it with this craft rabbit fur we have kicking around that's silver-grey.

No, Annabel isn't doing the robot. She's showing off all of her new bracelets! That's sort of the 'wrong side' of the twisty bracelet. The others are just really simple bangles.

And there's the best side of the twisty bracelet.

I've also been hacking at a coca-cola can for some light silvery stuff for some pretty light metalsmithy. So far not much success but I haven't been going at it with much of a plan, haha.

Circle Skirt... failed attempt #1 + Project List!

NO TYCHO NOOOOO

Tycho is not a very good helper.

...which is one of the reasons why I didn't realize her hand had slipped half off. Sigh. I blame that on Tycho! But also I may have some adventures in felting later to correct that...

Also sorry if these pictures look a bit odd. They actually should look more normal than usual. Our den is pretty warm-toned, and I keep forgetting to hit autolevels. So these are actually more true to life. Doesn't Annabel have such lovely green eyes?

Anyway, I tried to do a simple circle skirt. I also did so thinking, "I don't need a pattern! Ha!"

No, no, I do need a pattern, and I do need to use a string compass, it is not something I can eyeball. So this skirt is, uhm, a little lopsided. Fortunately it's hidden fairly well here. The top is also just from the pair of old granny panties.

So!

Things I still want to do, in my last week or so of vacation...

-Figure out that loose hand and do some felting - maybe with glue if possible - to correct it. (I have tacky glue and the fray-stop stuff, would those work, I wonder? Or is hot glue felting the best way?

-Make some tights from the granny panties (w/ lace trim at the bottom, on the leg, capri-ish length)

-Make a good circle skirt cardboard pattern. Perhaps scan and post here.

-Make circle skirts out of most of the cotton prints I haven't touched yet - the greeny-pink, the pink stripes (this one done up better), the yellow.

-Make pants out of that corduroy.

-Figure out a simple, more fitted top pattern out of cloth. Perhaps combine with circle skirt to sew some sundresses.

-Make a small bodice of some type to go with the fancy evening gown.

-Cut up a Coca-cola can and try some simple armorsmithing/jewlerymaking. Circlet, bracers, shinguards, maybe a breastplate if I get the hang of it?

Making the Red Velvet Ruffledress

How I Made The Red Velvet Ruffledress

Note: This is not going to be any spectacular sewing. Use this as a guide to do what I did, but, y'know, better and more competently.

First start off with a top made from a sock, following the tutorial I posted earlier. For a more fitted top, I used the middle part (from heel-toe) of a baby sock.


Get some ribbon that you'd like to use for the main part of the skirt. Fray Check is pretty much your best friend. Cut the edges a little slanted to better accommodate a small flare in the back.


Pin it on to the top just to double-check you like how it looks. Leave a small gap in the back - we'll deal with that later. :) After you spend a moment pining for the Re-Ment doll dress form, get your thread and needle...


Of course you probably will want to choose thread that matches a little better, but I had white handy so I used white. Stitch the piece of ribbon on.

Go get some plain white (or otherwise matching) cloth, and cut it out into kind of a pentagon. You can lob off the top if it if it'll make it easier, but basically you're aiming to fit it into that gap you left.

Smarter people would, perhaps, sew this on to the ribbon first, then sew the whole thing onto the dress top. We are not those people.

Pin that sucker in thar and sew away.
...This picture is large because I just like it, a lot, irrationally so.

Ta da! Now we have a base to sew the ruffles onto. Or, if you make your stitches neater, you can just make a dress that has a white open bit.
I think this is a good time to mention that I have the sewing skills of a box of weasels on methamphetamines, so if I can do it, by golly, you can too.

Right, now that there's a place to sew them on to easily, make yourself some ruffles. ...Or just trim off some lace. Honestly I don't sew ruffles well, so you may be better off doing the lace thing. But if you can do ruffles - do ruffles! And tack them on there!

Ta da! There you go, a rufflebutt dress.

Purse - from a sock!

First, grab a sock! I really like using baby socks because, in this case, they were on clearance. Once you're done making shirts/etc out of the top and the middle, you still have the rest of it. You can use a regular sock too, but it'll be a rather large tote bag. Cut out the toe, and there's your start.













Now gather up some fabric for the top, probably something that matches at least vaguely. You can also cut a strip of the same fabric for the strap but I had this ribbon lying around, so I just decided to use the ribbon. Pin the sock and cut out a bit of fabric that has approximately some curve to it to match the curve of the inside of the toe.


















Sew on that piece of fabric so it'll form a flap you can pull over to shut the purse.



















If you just want a clutch, you can stop there. You can also sew on a button and cut a little slit into the flap fabric so you can close it.

















Sew on the ribbon for a strap, and there you go!






















Ta da! There we go - a purse. If you use the rest of the sock, this is an easy way to make sure you have a matching accessory.

As with all of my tutorials... please ignore how bad this is done! If I can do it, you can do it much better ;)

Face-up Makeup

So, in ripping apart the expendable Juku Couture doll, I stripped off the paint with some nail polish remover. I'm going to paint it up properly, but this is a pretty good effort for "Hey, here's a makeup kit. Let's see what we can do in 5 minutes".

I can't plug this enough, but through the end of December, E.L.F. cosmetics is doing a pretty awesome special. Order anything, use a code, get a great little makeup kit:
http://www.cheaptoday.com/deals/free-mini-makeup-collection-w-any-purchase-at-e-l-f-cosmetics/
It's really fun. I went at this doll with the makeup from this.

Given that I only used the little makeup brush, I don't think I did too badly. I am pretty pleased with the eyeshadow, and the lipstick (good color, badly applied).

Of course, if I liked this, I would have to seal it with some acrylic sealer. But it's pretty interesting. A way to get a different sort of effect anyway. :)

Leggings and yellow top

Well, I lied, I did get some pictures done today. I am proud of this little outfit - I know it's not master craftsmanship but I feel like I'm getting better!

I have great plans for this yellow print and ribbon, oh yes... I'd like to redo this but with actual, well, sleevelike sleeves. Perhaps 3/4 length with the ribbon as trim, and a bit more shape to make it a baby-doll top with the ribbon for the empire waist. Decisions, decisions!


Here's the whole little ensemble. Yeah, yeah, perching atop my sewing box is not the most flattering background... but isn't it such a cute little outfit? I am glad I was able to snag that yellow cloth. I guess I just don't think of yellow much in my outfits because I personally think I look very bad in it. But it looks fantastic on Annabel!


Here is the closeup of the leggings from above. The white is actually thread, not the thing bursting apart at the seams... I am really pleased with how they turned out, all told. It was sort of difficult cloth to work with and I think I have a bit of a right to be proud! Even if the stitching isn't the best, and they are still a bit messy... ah well! There's a good 1/3 of a yard left!

Buttons!

Murphy's law - as soon as I post, I'm up for three more hours sewing things because my foot hurts. But at least I've made a nice little ensemble.

I'm coming to appreciate all the things you can do with a sock. Yeah, the white's a little dingy... but I like the top.


I also redid the green-swirl skirt... since the pattern is so large the skirts are sufficiently different. It's a little more A-line. Fortunately I still have a lot of the cloth to play around with. I'd love to make her a sundress out of it.


I have totally fallen in love with this corduroy. It was around 4 dollars for nearly a yard - something like 9/10ths - and its print is SO cute! Even though it does blend a little with my sewing box... I have a bit of a thing for blue prints. Anyway, she'll eventually get some pants and maybe a vest out of the same stuff. 70's fabulous, but it's such a great corduroy!



I realize it's all a lot of pictures but I'm not quite happy with either room lights or the flash. Anyway, the heel of the sock that her shirt came from screamed to me 'bag!'. It's a pretty clumsy execution but now that I've done it once I can do it again. I like it pretty nicely as a whole outfit, though I think I may make a buttoney belt to go with this white shirt.

Viciously Stabbing Cloth as Therapy

They say about the third/fourth days away from a surgery is when it hurts most, and I can believe it. Fortunately I have managed to fool myself into thinking that viciously stabbing at fabric is appropriate therapy! So, more sewing has occurred.

Of course, I never promised that it was sewing that was any GOOD... but practice makes perfect, right?


Only really one thing for today, but I tried the sweater tutorial from earlier and got results that are a bit neater. I really like this longer length, and turning down the cuff. I should finish up the hem just for appearance's sake.


Flash makes things look a bit different, ah well. You can now clearly see my shoddy work. But you can't see her shoes. I stole them from the Juku Couture doll who is becoming my 'experiment', and same deal with the socks. They're cute bright-pink things and hopefully I can remember to get them photographed next.

Speaking of the Juku Couture dolls...

My practice doll has been SUCH a little thorn in my side. I pulled off her hands, feet, and upper arms easily - they come away cleanly just like the Obitsu's hands and feet - but I cannot get the rest to budge! Admittedly I am a little bit of a scaredy cat about it, but it's also very hard! I would love to have her all to bits so I could repaint her. But I did give her a bit of a haircut that I think is cute, even if you can't see it much. Next up is to repaint her face, definitely - right now her features are just a bit TOO perfect.

At Least I'm Productive?

So, I've been sitting here sewing while waiting for the pain meds to kick in from after my surgery. Not so pleasant, but at least it keeps my mind off of things.

I won't say that my work has been GOOD, mind you, but I've been productive - there's a large difference! But practice makes perfect, and if I can practice until I get the hang of it, all the better.

I found this very nice tutorial on how to make sweaters out of socks. I haven't been hemming them - mostly practice pieces you know - so it's my kind of work... easy and immediate gratification! And also fortunately, we have a lot of leftover, unmated socks...

These pictures are pretty poor but should give you the idea.

The bolero started out as a black sweater but I didn't leave quite enough room for a torso - so I slapped a button on there and called it a day. I actually think it looks really cute like that. Of course, I need to make her a nice plain shirt to go underneath it...

The skirt I'm going to redo, it was just a straight-across skirt. I'd like it to poof out a little more, so I'm going to give more of a curve to the thing. Fortunately I have plenty of that cute fabric, and some little blue-and-green assorted tiny buttons (regular, not heart-shaped). So I'm thinking of doing something like a nautical-inspired skirt, with buttons down the front.



This outfit is a little more discombobulated, but again, the top is from a sock - more of a dress sock this time instead of a knit one. (I also made a pink argyle sweater for her, but that needs some patching/will be seen later.) I'm not quite happy with the ruffle, but it'll do for now. :) After all, practice makes perfect.

The skirt is just straight-up from a pair of baby socks my sister got at Target on clearance. It's such a happy looking, uh... giraffe... thing. I have no clue what it is, but now it has lace on it.

Evil Plans and Rudimentary Sewing

Have I mentioned that I love fabric remnants? I can't even sew very well, but I love just pawing through the remnant bin. Now I can actually pretend to buy things for actual projects, though...
Not pictured, but my sister got me a bunch of things for my birthday - nice white silk, shimmery things, and some lovely teal silky stuff. But let's face it, silk's not what you want to learn with. I am a complete sewing dunce. So, why I got some easy-to-deal-with flannels, cottons, and some plain white muslin.
Also over to the side there is a Fashionista Barbie - another Black Friday steal, for half off. I mainly got her for her clothing/accessories. But eventually I may repaint her face. I like acrylic eyes a lot better, but she may be a handy practice doll. I'd like to glaze her brown skin with just a slight reddish overtone so she can read as more middle-eastern than African-American, and then she can be a doll of one of my RP characters.

I don't have pictures yet, but I've fallen in love with Juku Couture dolls... because they were on sale at Target, and they're a little smaller compared to Annabel instead of a little larger, like the Barbies. Pictures will come soon I hope. The clothes just baaaaaaarely fit Annabel but the regular dolls are something I want to repaint. They have inset acrylic eyes, and I just like those so much better than painted-on.


So, I stole Fashionista Barbie's clothes and gave them to Annabel. The top was a little deeply cut so I cluged together something. It's tacky glue, not sewing, but I made a little camisole-cut thing. Not perfect, but it looks better I think. I'm also pretty pleased with her little barrettes. :)


The flannel and fleece remnants I got turned into this. Again - very crude, not so much sewing, but it's a little bed for her. It's really just a block of wood for a 'mattress', with the brown fleece over it.


The flannel got much the same treatment because I was in a rush, so the hemming job was done by tacky glue. I did actually sew the pillows. You thought I was kidding when I said I was a bad sewer, didn't you? I'm not at all, ahaha. Additionally we had no fluffy stuffing, just quilt batting, so they're stuffed with ripped-up cotton balls. ...Yyeeeeaaah.

I like the little throw pillow though, with its button. I'm glad I have more of those. :) I'll be sewing more soon I think, now that I'm cooped up for awhile recovering from surgery.


There's Annabel, showing off her new bed. I haven't trimmed things up yet, but it does the job well enough for right now. You can see her outfit as well - again, not the best, but it'll do. I admit I got it mostly for the necklace, belt, and boots! I think the boots are super, super cute.


A better picture of Annabel in that outfit.

Full little list of projects for Christmas break...

• Repaint Annabel's face.
• Repaint Juku Couture doll face(s).
• Completely take apart the practice Juku Couture doll.
• Repaint practice JC doll?
  I am not sure with what - I would like to do a full-body paint.
  I am pondering, given further things, that I might just do a sithy doll.
  Kinda based on Ventress, but with more hair perhaps...
• Sew new pillows for bed - ones with actual fluff!
  
• Sew comforter for bed?
  I might ask my sister to sew me a little quilt for her bed.
• Sew a little cape for Annabel, probably out of the white silky stuff.
• Sew a little set of greco-roman fashions, especially a chiton and a stola.
• Sew/make/try to adapt a foam Stormtrooper armor pattern.
• Make/etc a pattern for Sith troopers? (If Stormtrooper armor goes well.)
  I'm thinking that I can use the 'wrong side' of cut up coca-cola bottles.
  My sister just took jewelry-making and metalsmithing so she can teach me how to make jumprings to put things together.
• Maybe make a lightsaber - I am thinking some very fine glitter and color in epoxy and filling up a very thin little plastic tube, so it can be translucent but still hard enough, then use it to attach some fasteners for the hilt. Basically, a trip to Lowe's!

My other project is going to be packing away my American Girl Doll to be sold on eBay. Sarah has been languishing in the bottom of my closet. So far I've reconditioned her hair and scrubbed her down thoroughly but I'd still only consider her in Good condition. I would love to work on the larger canvas of an American Girl Doll face, but I don't really see a market for those. I am shamelessly saving her favourite dress, though. I would love to buy a 1/3 BJD someday.

It's an interesting situation. On one hand Sarah is so full of memories. But on the other, not all of them are especially happy now. I lost touch with the friend I played American Girl Dolls with pretty firmly, and I'm not really begging to find her again. So, I think it's best for her to go to another home - one where she will be played with. Kind of a bittersweet parting, but it'll do.