Sunday, August 21, 2011

"Steampunk Your Props" Resources

This is a list of resources mentioned at the "Steampunk Your Props" panel at Worldcon on Thursday August 18.

Vintagejewelrysupplies.com - brass findings
1000 Steampunk Creations - book
Steampunk Emporium - book and site
Steamfashion on LiveJournal
Brass Goggles forum
E6000 - wonderful glue
thistothat.com - website for glue info
GS Hypo Cement - glue
Fire Mountain Gems - beads and findings, tools and glues, etc
Restoration Hardware - furniture brass findings
Crafter's Goop - glue
Tim Holtz - brand name for scrapbook gears/keyholes
model railroad stores - good resources
Electrique Boutique - cheap shoes
Fluevogs - expensive shoes
Gentleman's Emporium - great site for all things steamy

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Making Humans Bulletproof

http://io9.com/5830664/this-is-bullet+proof-spider-silk-skin-+-made-from-goats-milk-yes-really

A scientist is trying to make humans bulletproof. She genetically modified goats to give milk that had spidersilk protien, then she milks the goats and turns the milk into a spidersilk fiber mesh that she grows human skin cells on, making the skin incredibly strong - strong enough to be bulletproof!


There won't be many more updates here until Monday when I return from WorldCon, but I'll be posting notes from my panels when I can!

Friday, August 12, 2011

WorldCon 2011: Renovation Panel Schedule

Here's the panels that I'll be speaking on at WorldCon 2011:

Wed 14:00 - 15:00, I Think I Want to Make a Costume - What do I do
Next? (Panel), A11 (RSCC)
A basic introduction to making costumes.
Dana MacDermott, Carole Parker, Bruce MacDermott, Pierre E. Pettinger
Jr., Aurora Celeste

Thu 19:00 - 20:00, Steampunk Your Props (Workshop)
Make your props look "steamy" (this is just before the Girl
Genius Ball).
Dana MacDermott, Espana Sheriff, Joy Bragg-Staudt, Aurora Celeste
My Post-Panel Resources Post!

Sat 17:00 - 18:00, Fabric Choice and Fabric Care (Panel)
Pick the right fabric for your costume, then be able to
keep it clean and looking like new
Janine Wardale, Karen McWilliams, Yvonne Penney, Aurora Celeste

Sun 13:00 - 14:00, Storing and Transporting Costumes (Panel)
Now that the Masquerade is over, how do you pack your
costume for home? And how do you store your costume?
Yvonne Penney, Aurora Celeste


I'll also be judge clerking for the Masquerade.

DragonCon Schedule

Here's the panels that I'll be speaking on at DragonCon 2011:

Fri 5:30p-6:30p, YA Lit Track Room
Hunger Games Discussion

Sun 5:30p-6:30p, YA Lit Track Room
Harry Potter Costuming

Sun 5:30p-?, YA Lit Track Room
costume contest/Yule Ball

Mon 10:00a-11:00a, Costuming Track Room
Fabric Dying Chemistry & Other Treatments
My Dying Glossary Handout
My Dying Links Handout
Dyeing Panel Video: Part 1 2 3 4 5

Mon 11:30a-12:30p, Costuming Track Room
Hats, Helmets & Headgear

Mon 2:30p-3:30p, Costuming Track Room
Pattern Making: Designing & Frankensteining

Thursday, August 11, 2011

20's Headband Tutorial

In honor of the not-yet-official Kansas City in 2016 WorldCon bid there will be a 20's Superhero ~themed party at Renovation. Want to get in on the fun? You still have time to make an easy flapper headband to wear to the party!

Supplies:

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stretchy sequin headband
sequined applique
feathers
barrette
hot glue

I purchased the headbands at Claire's ($7 for 2 iirc?) and the rest of the supplies at JoAnn Fabrics.

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First you need your applique and feathers. I'm starting with the smaller ones.

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Run a line of hot glue down the top of the applique and add a row of feathers.

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Once feathers are down press them into the glue and add another line of hot glue on top to hold them down.

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I like to use an old pin to press the feathers into the glue without burning myself or getting glue all over my fingers.

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Added a second row of feathers to fill things out.

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View from the front. Nice, but a little boxy, so we're going to break it up some.

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These are the spiky feathers I'm going to add next as a third row in the same way I did the first two.

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See how that breaks things up?

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Next we want to attach it to the headband. To be honest, though, I'm not sure I'll always want to wear this with a headband, so I'm going to attach a barrette I can use to clip the applique to the headband with. Be sure and check the directionality of your applique before you attach the barrette so it's not crazy crooked. Attaching it is easy, just apply a liberal amount of hot glue to the barrette and press it in to the applique.

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To attach the applique to the headband find the join in the headband (if we're covering up some of the headband it might as well be the join) and work the barrette into the knit of the elastics under the sequins. (I'm using a bare barrette so you can better see what I'm doing).

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Barrette from the back.

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And finished! Me modeling my pretty headband!


This project total took me 10 minutes. If you want to make it even faster or easier here are some things you can do:

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Substitute a pre-made feather pad for individual feathers. You can find these at JoAnn's or craft stores next to the feathers, and for about the same price. Just hot-glue it on to the applique.

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Even easier? Buy a pre-made barrette. These are both from Claire's.

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Just clip them in and go? The bonus: Claire's has a sale (I think it's a permanent thing, but check to make sure) on their hair accessories that's buy-one-get-one-50%, so you can get your headband and a barrette and save!

Giveaway!

What better way to christen a new blog than with a giveaway? Since it's currently one of my favorite sources of eye candy, I've decided to give away a copy of High Style: Masterworks from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Jan Reeder. It's chock full of inspiring costumes from centuries past to inspire your recreation or your design!

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So, how will this work? It's easy. Once my journal has 50 google followers I will randomly choose one of the public members to get the book.

Here's some contest FAQs:

How do I enter?

Click Here!

You need a Google account. That can be a gmail, google+ account, blogger account, or any general google account (google links them all together, google knows your business). Log in to your account and then use the link above or go to the Left Bar under the link buttons and click the button under the header "Followers". It may say "Join this Site" or "Follow Me" depending on whether you're logged in or not. Choose "Follow Publicly" on the next page. That's it!


When will the contest end?
When I have 50 google followers.


When will that be?
Who knows! It depends on how fast people friend my blog!


Can I earn extra entries?
No. The only way to enter is to friend the blog.


What if I subscribe to your feed or your email list?
That's cool if you want to keep up with things, but it won't enter you in the contest, so be sure to friend the journal as well.


Can I get a bonus for tweeting/blogging/telling people about your giveaway?
Not tangibly. But you can make it end faster. I won't give the book away until I get 50 followers, so tweeting/blogging/telling people will make that happen faster!


What happens when the contest ends?
I'll put all the followers into a list and choose one at random (probably with my handy Mach-Die program on my iPhone). Then I will post that member's handle on the journal and give them a week to contact me back to get their address to mail the book. I reserve the right to choose another winner if the first does not contact me in the given time frame.