I can has: Persocom Ears!

If you're familiar with Chobits,  you'll know what persocom ears are. If you don't, go here.

I finally made myself a decent pair of persocom ears! XD For this project, I used a small amount of rubber sheet, spray paint (in white and rose pink), greco glue, and a white headband.

I read a few tutorials online on how to make the ears, then modified some details. The ears turned out to be slightly pointy compared to the original one. Plus, I should have used a lighter shade of pink (will get a can soon!).

The hair clip/tube things are simple tubes. They were pretty simple to make: just make a 1 in. tube with 3/4 in. diameter, then 1/3 in rings with slightly wider diameter for the white part.

 

In case you're curious about how I attach the hair clip/tube things on my wig, I simply 'thread' my wig into the clip/tube using a piece of hair elastic (just like how you use a needle threader), pull up the clip/tube, tie your wig on the spot where you want the hair clip/tube to stay using one or two elastics (just make sure that the elastics will fit inside the hair clip/tube), then pull back the clips/tubes. Make sure that the elastics are well hidden inside the tubes.

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with my work. It still needs a few tweaks, nothing major. :D

Just for reference, here are my old (crappy) persocom ears.  They're faaaaaar from good (made them without using any tutorials), but they still did the job years ago. I still keep them for memories. :D

Thanks for reading!

Japanese Thrift Shop Haul

Note: This was already posted on my Tumblr page. I got too excited to write about these that instead of just posting pictures, I ended up writing a short blog. XD

A year ago, my friend Sayou and I were browsing through a thrift shop when I spotted an authentic Japanese kimono! I instantly bought it, only to realize that it was a child's kimono. Since then, I promised myself that I will buy/make myself a kimono (in my size).

I did attempt to make one - but I never got to finish it. I still have the fabric though, and I'm planning to give it another shot this coming Holy Week (4 day vacation huzzah!). But I was able to find myself an authentic kimono in my size a few weeks ago. :D

My short Tumblr post starts here:

Japanese thrift shop haul from a few weeks ago. 2 kimonos, an obi, 3 sets of double pointed (?) knitting needles in 7, 10 and 12, and a few balls of yarn.

The knitting needles are in perfect condition, except for one size 12 needle that has a tiny bite mark on the tip. There was also a loose size 6 in the brown pack and a metal tube thing. Too bad I forgot to get the smaller knitting needle for the green yarn. The yarns are also good except for the dark blue one.

The shop didn’t have much choices on their kimonos. Most of them are heavily stained or have ugly prints/colors, so I settled for this gray one and a fire orange one. I still have to make/find a red obi for the orange.

All in all, I think it was a good haul! I’m going back in a few weeks to see if they have better kimonos. :D

End of Tumblr post.

As I said, it was a very good find! You can't find kimonos everyday, and knitting needles are very expensive. And everything was dirt cheap too. I'm planning to use the gray and black set for a shoot sometime soon *pokes Sayou*.

Thanks for reading!

Stuff from the Past: Ruffle Necklaces

Months ago, my friend Liz of Project Vanity commissioned me to make a set of ruffle necklaces for their shop Ukay Manila. Someone e-mailed me about this set, so I figured I should do a post on them here.

 

I can only describe the A Subtle Romance set with three words: elegant, romantic, and feminine. For this project, I used heavy brass chains, high quality silk chiffon (if I remember it correctly), lace, and handmade felt flowers with varying button details.

Its quite tedious to work with chiffon. For a necklace like this, the chiffon should be cut to the fiber in order to achieve clean lines and to avoid too much fraying. I also used small amounts of fabric glue to secure the corners of the chiffon.

The felt flower detail was sewn by hand. I didn't use fabric glue since the felt would just absorb all the glue. I can't tell you how tedious it is to assemble each flower. If I make one mistake, I'll have to start all over again! Haha. /haggard/


I was very satisfied with how the pieces turned out and I won't mind making a few more again some time. Would you be interested in having one of these?


Thanks for reading!

(photos from here)

I've been Knitting (and Crocheting)!

Whenever I want to learn a new craft, I usually just research on the matter and try to self-study. This is how I learned how to sew and make props. But there's some that I can't really learn to do - knitting and crocheting. While I did 'learn' how to knit back in grade school, I never got the hang of it. My stitches are always too tight and I can't understand patterns. Knitting, meanwhile, has always fascinated me. Whenever I see someone on TV knitting, I'd say "WTF how did she make that scarf with two sticks?!"

Last PCC (Philippine Cosplay Convention), I met up with a fellow crafter Clair from CraftyCat. She patiently taught me basic crocheting and knitting over ice cream while chatting about random stuff about making and selling handmade stuff. It was fun meeting a fellow crafter!

While I initially wanted to learn crocheting so I can make amigurumis, I ended up getting a bit addicted on knitting. Maybe because they're easier to carry around - I knit on my way to work. Haha. :D Anyway, see my practice pieces after the jump!

I can has: Hecate's Staff!

Months ago, my friend Sayou asked me to cosplay Hecate for a supposed Shakugan no Shana group. Excited to have a new costume - and for the chance to use my blue wig and to make props again - I said yes. So I dug out my stock rubber sheet, looked for some decent reference pictures, and made Hecate's staff.

Here's Hecate with her staff:




And here's my version of the staff:

See my mistakes there, there, and there? LOL

There were different versions of the staff. I got confused between the staff's original designs and fanart so I opted for the slightly easier design. The entire staff head was made out of rubber sheets, a meter of wire, and tons of glue. Like my Sakura Star Staff, this is removable from the staff for easy transport.

I learned a few things while making this staff. One, Pearl Gold spray paint looks better than Duchess Gold. I like Pearl Gold better because its about two shades lighter, and looks better on photos. I used to have a can of Pearl Gold which I used for my Princess Emeraude chest plate. When I went out to buy another can for the staff, they were out of stock so I had to settle for Duchess Gold. Mental Note: get a can of Pearl Gold ASAP.

Two: Get a grip with the glue! I use Greco glue for all my rubber sheet projects - its perfect! For this project, I overused the glue a bit, hence the shiny drips all over the staff head. 

Clickie!

The Chibis!

Earlier, I posted a WIP photo of my latest plush project. They were naked, lol. But right before Valentine's day, I was able to make them temporary clothes so they can join me and my boyfriend on our Tagaytay trip.

The Chibis enjoying the view

Their first set of clothes were made of fleece. They're cute, but my Mom suggested that they's be cuter if they wore 'realistic' clothes. So a few days after Valentine's, I dug out a few cut-up shirts, and made them these:

Oooh, real clothes! Lets try them on.

Tada~

I got the shirts I cut up from a thrift shop somewhere in Monumento (they were only 20 pesos each, haha). The doll's necklaces were made of  a small piece of leather strip and a strawberry pendant.

I'm currently working on another one for my Mom, since her officemates are bugging her for a sample piece. I'll probable make a replica of these two too, since my boyfriend wanted to take both dolls home, haha. I was planning to give him just one but, oh well.

Thanks for reading! 

WIP: Chibi Plushies

Just a quick update before I go back to my work station. :)

I usually work on random things in between commissioned projects, just to keep my mind clear (and sane). Most of the time I need distractions to be able to work properly. Weird, I know. So while planning out how to make hair for plushies like Jack Frost, I decided to work on a totally different plush style: Chibi plushies!

Naked plushies! UNSEEEE~ (quoted from my ex-officemate)

I made the pattern myself. The body was pretty simple to make. It only took me less than 30 minutes to cut and sew the head and body. The hair took a bit of time to develop though, took me a few trials to make the perfect pattern for boys and girls hair. In speaking of hair, they're WIGS! Yes, plushies with wigs! Since I regularly change my hair style (only minimal though), I wanted to be able to change their hairstyles easily without having to snip thread. As you see above, I simply interchanged their wigs to make a totally different characters.

I'm currently working on clothes for these chibis. I made them a set of clothes for Valentine's but its not yet perfect. Will post it soon.

Thanks for reading!