Horns Of Destiny or, How to Make Your Own Horns Using Cardboard

Alright guys here it is.  The long anticipated first post on a pair of constructed horns.  Originally these were horns meant for the Lolita Loki Avengers costume.  The costume is still gonna happen, for NYCC in October, but I will not have it done for Otakon.  These are tester horns, I'm making these as a test of the method I've created.  That, and I made these the wrong shape to be Loki's horns... so Loki will have to wait.  Now all I've used is card board and a hot glue gun.  I love these materials.  I never realized how awesome card board is as a sculpting medium, and the hot glue was perfect for fast and easy gluing.  Normally you all have probably heard me go on about the E6000 glue and how awesome it is.  It still is really nice to have, but for a project like this, having a fast cool down/ dry time is essential. 


 So, firstly, get your materials!

Careful with that.

  I raided the recycling bin in the garage and pulled out this box. I used corrugated cardboard and I'll explain why later.  Then I got hot glue.  Any kind will work, I picked mine up from AC Moore.  The next step is to cut open the box so that it's spread out into one big piece, like so:

Spread that cardboard out
like it's Butter!

This is gonna allow you to gauge how much card board you're going to need. Make sure the pieces you cut are not interfering with the folds and bends of the box, otherwise your cardboard will bend in the direction of the fold. Next you're gonna want to cut the basic shape of your horns. 

So horny right now XP

Cut two of this basic shape.  Don't question me just do it.  These pieces will act as a 'spine' for the next few steps and will determine almost everything from this point onwards including the width of the pieces.  I've drawn lines in preparation for the next step, about every half inch or so.  As you can see they are the wrong shape for the Loki horns, but at least they'll look cool.  Now since I want these horns to be curved I need a strong supporting structure for any coverings that will come later and they will also need to be curved.  Basic shapes are our friend people.  We can't create anything without the sphere, cube, cylinder, and cone.  So because I'm building a 3D structure out of flat pieces, I need to cut shapes that are rounded yet flat.

Cut circles!

Cut circles that are the same diameter as the lines you should have drawn on the basic shape.  Draw the circles onto your spare cardboard.  Cut out the circles and then cut them in half.  Glue each half onto opposite sides of the basic horn shape following those lines you made.  Once you have that finished on both sides of each horn, the time has come to start covering the open spaces.
First prep your card board.  I told you there was a reason why I picked corrugated cardboard.  Lay a section of cardboard flat on the cutting surface.  Take an Exacto knife or other incredibly sharp slicing utensil and score the surface of the card board.  Corrugated cardboard is hollow, if you look at it from the edge you can see the top and bottom surface pieces, and then a third wobbly piece inside holding the two together.  You're going to slice through that first layer of card board in the dips of that third layer.  Do not cut all the way through the card board or you won't be able to shape it the way you need to.  What this step does is allow the card board to bend and flex freely while still being a solid piece.  Basically you'll be able to comfortably wrap the cardboard around a pencil without creases or struggling.  Score a few broad pieces of this in prep for the next few steps.  This is what your card board should look like: 

Please ignore the head.

Now that you have your cardboard prepped and ready to go, this is where it gets intuitive. I cut strips of the scored card board to match the spaces in between the half circles.  Now my circles are not evenly spaced, they were wider at one end and narrower at the other.  I had to cut my strips in an almost triangle shape.  You'll have to measure and cut each segment to fit perfectly over each space.  Once you've cut your piece, hot glue it down and try not to burn yourself.  Sorry I can't be much help on this step, but everybody is gonna have different measurements here and you're gonna have to work it until it looks right to you.  Your horns should start to look like this:

Inch by inch.

This step will take you hours so be prepared to stop and take breaks ever now and then, and please don't forget to take meals. As you lay down the pieces, plug up any and all holes with hot glue.  Trust me that will make the next set of instructions (the next post) easier.  Once you're done your horns should look like this:

My new Babies.

Congrats, you're at the halfway point to completing your own customized pair of cardboard horns. In the next post... or two... or three, I'll go over the process of making the horns textured and sculpted to look like they came off an animal or demon. Fun yes?  If there are any questions, comments or advice please leave a comment below, I'd be happy to hear from you and offer any insight I can if needed.
Until next time,
See Ya'll Later!
~Amy

Never Thought I'd Use Sexy and Squid in the Same Post

O man guys.  This weekend.  Crazy.

To begin with: Dorian's Parlor: The Promised Picture.  So I have a total of 2 photos from Dorian's Parlor.  I was busy having fun so sorry guys.  But I do have a photo of the ever lovely Jillian: 

Va.  Va.  Voom.

We forced her into a corset by Mayfaire Moon Corsets and god damn the girl is tiny.  Jillian looked really great the entire night and with Neil and Jillian's friend (whose name I have forgotten (sorry)) accompanying us, we had a great time.

Then there was AnimeNext on Friday.  I helped out Dory with running her table.  She had a ridiculously small space, only 3 feet of table and tons of stock.  These kids are crazy.  I don't remember being that hyper and jumpy when I was 16 years old.  I got my swag though.  I collect pins/ buttons, so every convention I go to I try to grab A) as much free stuff as I can and B) pick up some great pins with awesome art or characters I like.  My favorite from AnimeNext would be from Etsy seller ZombieRomance.  She had some really great art work, pins and earrings.  I love the earrings I picked up from her.  She was super nice too, while we were getting ready to leave for the day and packing up I suddenly remembered I wanted to grab a pair of earrings from her, and she pulled out her earring stand to let me pick out what I wanted.  I picked these:

Squid!!  They Dance the Dance of Life!

I love these earrings. I wanna wear them to work tomorrow. The girls at work already think I'm out of my freaking mind, so why not squid myself out and make it official?  After leaving the convention, we went back to Dory's place and helped her get ready for the next day.  Dory's got some amazing bows at the conventions, I wish she'd update her website more often so everyone could see the awesomeness!!

Then today was an adventure into the bowels of P.A.  I met up with some crew members from The Red Horizon / Phoenix Airship group.  We went out to the Quaker flea market, which was surprisingly small.  We got there after 9am and there was a forecast of rain so most sellers either didn't show up or were packing up early.  I found some great swag despite the lack of turn out, I'll post some pictures when I get the pieces cleaned off and/or repaired.  I wish I could make some sort of a living off of hunting flea markets.  I find some really great stuff that most people pass by.  I totally found a brass spyglass that the other 3 people I was with passed by.  Shiny things catch my eye and distract me.

Alert!!  Strongly Suggested For the Ladies only! -->
So as most people can tell you, I'm a fan of DC/Marvel comics and movies.  And as these same people can tell you, I'm a big Loki fan.  Tom Hiddleston is my Hollywood Heart Throb now.  So sexy.  So to feed this never-going-to-go-anywhere crush, someone on facebook sent me this video... well more like an audio clip.



Now just close your eyes and listen to the sound of his voice and I dare you to tell me this isn't Sexy.  As.  Hell.

So I think that's about it for now, there will be project update posts soon I swear.  I just want to get a few things done first before I sit down and write out an in-depth post... with pictures.  I have been documenting these projects closely so fear not those of you who are too lazy to read.

See Ya'll Later! 

Steamy Goodness

Wow I need to take more pictures.  I've been neglecting this blog in favor of jobs and working on costume bits and art.  new projects on the horizon, new friends and awesome road trips have and will ensue.  For starters Steampunk Worlds Fair was incredible.  Marina aka The Crazy Kimono Lady, had an incredible panel featuring 3 lovely models, one of which was me. 

Crazy Kimono Lady (in white) and her Wenches.
(I'm in green) 

That panel room was too small and there was no ventilation at all. Marina nearly passed out from the heat and all of us were sweating in the multiple layers involved in wearing kimono.  Marina is incredibly knowledgeable in kimono and has practiced dressing others and herself in various styles and period pieces.  I was demonstrating the full traditional way to wear a kimono which means that before the panel started Marina had to get me dressed in the undergarments.  That was awkward to walk around in and the sandals were too big for my feet.  Then the outer layer was put on, various cords ties and even a pillow were strapped onto me and I stood there and took it all like a mannequin.  Vered (in the blue corset) was demonstrating the correct way to wear a Victorian influenced under bust corset with a kimono and not split the seams.  The last Wench (I don't know her name) was demonstrating a more western way of combining a kimono with a steampunk outfit.  There was a more advanced panel the day after for the hard core kimono enthusiasts and I encourage anyone curious to seek out the Crazy Kimono Lady for all your kimono and Japanese culture needs. 
I really wish my camera hadn't died that day, because there were so many incredible costumes.  There were two guys on stilts walking around, several people had mechanical arms and the vendors were all selling out of their hotel rooms as is the norm for these events.
At night there was a jam session outside in the parking lot with lots of awesome people, cookie cake and booze!  This is where I met Mike.  Mike is the Captain of the Red Horizon Steampunk Airship and is a costume prop maker like me.  He works with metal and shop materials.  I have yet to see any of his works just yet but we're trying to collaborate on a few props. 
Then there was Clover Con out in the middle of nowhere Bridgewater, NJ.  Literally I've never been to a convention quite so small, hot and in a 4-H center.  I'm not kidding.  I was helping Dory run her table in the "Artist Alley" which was really a table next to the bathroom in a gymnasium.  The ages of these kids was also incredibly young.  I think Dory and I were some of the oldest people there who weren't parents accompanying minors.  But the highlight of that day was getting my hands on The Doctor. 

>:3

There was a 10th Doctor cosplayer from Doctor Who there and he looks eerily like David Tennant.  Which was good.  Very Good.  His pocket ripped and I was able to stitch it back into place temporarily.  So yummy.  Anyway............  What was I saying?  Oh right, seeing him totally made my day.

So I've been wanting to make an anthropomorphic Steampunk costume for over a year now, but could never really figure out how to make some of the organic parts without buying them from some shady dealers or getting them at ridiculously high prices.  Now, I have a method to make some of these things, and I'll  be writing a post about it when I've gotten further along in the project.  I know I'm being vague but I want the new projects to be a surprise!  Now I'm debating about shelling out a ton of money to get custom made fangs to go with one of the ideas.  I'm a big believer on spending money on shoes and teeth.  Seriously, if you wear crappy shoes, (even if they're $200 designer shoes) you can mess up your feet.  And if you mess up your feet you can screw up your spine for life.  I wear Clarks almost everywhere cause they have amazing support and style.  In regards to teeth, I'm constantly having anxiety dreams about my teeth falling out of my mouth.  The weirdest one was a nightmare where my teeth turned dark purple and proceeded to crumble to dust in my mouth.  I woke up and ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth and swish some Listerine around.  Dental work is important.  So if I'm gonna get any caps or fake teeth, I'm gonna make sure they don't screw up my teeth anymore then they already are.  Even if that means shelling out close to one hundred dollars for custom fangs.  It'll be cheaper than five hundred dollars worth of dental repair work that would be needed after fucking up my teeth. 
I think that's all for the time being.  I'm really tired and I need to wrestle the images from Dorian's Parlor off of my camera.... all 3 of them. 
See Ya'll Later! 
~Amy

More Youtube Scritch and Weaving

Ok so I'm officially sick as a dog.  Not sure where that expression comes from or why a dog would be really sick but whatever.  So since I'm stuck indoors (when am I not) I figured I'd work on my weaving for the day.  It's not like I can do much else on the major projects so this is the next best thing.  The idea behind the weaving is to make cloth from bits and pieces of nothing (I've gone into more detail in other posts) and right now I'm got about 5 inches done.  Weaving is a rather slow process, I usually get about 1-2 inches done in a 24 hour period.  That's only if I'm not stopping to do things like vacuuming, dusting, eating and sleeping. 

It just keeps growing,
and growing,
and growing....

I'm mostly using a stitch called Soumak (sp?) which means I'm wrapping the yarn around each warp string and it gives a knitted effect.  I've already managed to get a shoelace in there.  See if you can find it.

Since I'm pretty much sitting on my floor and weaving, I figured I'd put on some youtube videos to keep me amused.  I got bored of the "top videos" so I went digging into the youtube musical archives and found artists with under 500,000 views.  
Mat Kearney- Ships in the Night
Not a terrible song, but not my favorite today.  This sounds like it would have a short life on Z100 or something like that.  I don't see this winning awards or reaching the top five on billboards but it's an okay song to listen to.  I think the director really wanted this to be a viral video with the way it's set up and how they made an exaggerated effort to point out the number of miles and locations. 

Pure Love- Bury my Bones
I can see this being popular with the younger generation.  It's kinda generic new age punk, but I would sing along to this in the car if it came down to this or Nicki Minaj.  I rather liked the kaleidoscope effect they used in the video it's fun and on the low budget side.  It shows they take themselves seriously, but not to an over-the-top point.
Edit Sept.8:  I love this song.  I'm constantly playing it when I pull up youtube. 

Zulu Winter- We Should Be Swimming
My indie pick.  This has a really great sound to it, that I happen to enjoy.  I doubt it will ever make the charts or mainstream radio, but if you're looking for something to impress your hipster girlfriend with, turn this song on.  The video is fairly simple if out there.  2 dancers in shredded costumes and the lead singer standing in a moor or Nordic shoreline of some sort.  Basic and simple.  Add in the blue color filter for the entire video and the hipsters will wet themselves in joy.  Ironically of course.

I guess for the time being I'm gonna log off and find some Oranges, or something containing huge amounts of vitamin C to try to beat this cold.

See Ya'll Later.

Music For The Soul... Not So Much.

Still waiting on my sewing machine to come back.  In the meantime, I love this song:

I don't even have a break-up experience anywhere near the meaning of this song, but I love singing along (poorly) to it in the car. I love the radio edit of this song, the original is too soft for me.  Singing in the car is how I amuse myself while driving to work.  Favorites include the above song, Photograph by Def Leppard, most classic rock songs and Renegade by Styx.  Love singing Incubus songs, but I don't have the range for that, I save those for drunken karaoke nights.
But enough on music, is anybody else excited about Free Comic Book Day?!  I didn't know that existed until Marina brought it up.  I'm so gonna grab a free comic book on said day.  Info can be found HERE.  Will definitely be running to the next town over to find a comic book store.  I'm kind of upset that Kevin Smith's comic book store will not be participating.  Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash will not be giving away free comic books I'm sad to say.  I still enjoy going there, I find all those "indie" comics and independent publishers.  Last time I was in I picked up Jesus Hates Zombies.  I had to read it.  I rather liked the idea behind the comic.  There's a plot where the Earth is having a zombie apocalypse and Jesus is sent to Earth to find a church full of people who he's supposed to save.  Shenanigans ensue.  The best part (for me anyway) was that it's done in a format similar to Gotham Knight and The Animatrix.  Each chapter is drawn by a different artist.  I love the diversity in the art and how each one depicts the characters and surroundings.  
There's not much else to report on..... the Steampunk Demeter costume is at a stand still until I get my sewing machine back and the Apoxie gets here.  I'm continuing work on the cable tie pieces at a snails pace and the Whale is on the back burner until after May. 
Hmm... I've started some deep spring cleaning but that's about it.  Really.  There's nothing else really going on.  So on that note I leave you with this, (I'm not really sure how to describe it) youtube video.

Don't question it just watch.
See Ya'll Later!

New Projects

Written April 10th, 2012.
Oh man, a real post, finally.  Life's been... interesting lately.  On a personal note, later today ie: when the sun's up, I'm going to finally cut my hair.  I was combing out my hair a few days ago, and I hit a mat in the under layers of my hair.  When I tugged it, the comb snapped.  I then proceeded to pick plastic out of my hair for the next 15 minutes.  So I'm gonna donate my hair and cut it short.  I'll post a picture later.

Full view

There's been progress on the Whale.  I've since put the project on hiatus for the oncoming convention season.  

Started beading in the background

The beading is super dense!

I'm about 1/3 of the way done with the initial grey colored beads and then I need to color match to 3 more shades of grey.  Right now I need to put this on hold until I finish some costume bits for Steampunk Worlds Fair.  I really want to go, even if it's only for Saturday which is highly likely considering the amount of work I need.  That and the circuit breaker for my room, studio room, and the living room has suddenly died and the overhead lights don't work and I'm not gonna ruin my eyes trying to work in the dark. 

My Sewing machine is finally in the repair shop.  I've been putting it off for far too long and if I want to have a costume for SPWF then I need it fixed.  I have fabric for 2 skirts and I have some store banners from a friend that I have cut into pieces for making tote bags.  I make these huge tote bags from store banners that would normally be thrown out.  I made one before I screwed up my sewing machine.  When I have some progress made on those I'll post it.

My loom without the warp.

I found that my weaving supplies has started to overflow out of the container, so to alleviate that I strung up my loom.  I know I know, why am I starting a new project?  Well this is an accumulation weaving.  I string up a warp and as I collect bits of fabric, scrap yarn, chopsticks, whatever I can find I add it to the weaving in the order I pick it up.  It's the idea of not letting anything go to waste, so making something from nothing.  Things we would throw out, bits of old ribbon, fabric strips, scrap yarns, shoelaces etc. I call 'Nothings'.  Little things that we as a culture think nothing of, I think are the best materials.  Part of the purpose of these weavings is to reducing my carbon footprint.  I knit a sweater, the larger scrap balls go into a scrap rug, and the smaller bits go into the weavings.  This way anything that does end up in the trash is so small I can't possibly use it, thus reducing my waste ( in regards to my supplies).  Mice could use it.  If I had a mouse, I'd give it the little bits of fluff that I can't use so it could build a nest.  I like to think that even my nothings are some other creature's building materials. 

I'm watching "Mama's Boys" on TLC cause, lets face it, at 1:15 am there's nothing else on.  I'm really disgusted by the behavior of these guys.  They're well into their 30s and living with their mothers.... and this is completely acceptable to them.  They don't do their own laundry they don't cook, they have no survival skills for living on their own except for plucking the hairs out of their nasal passages.  And they're proud of it.  That boggles my mind.  I can't wait to move out of my parent's house and have a place of my own.  I can do my own laundry, cook (as long as I have an egg timer and a recipe to follow) and I know how to clean.  How do these people get reality t.v. shows?  I guess incompetence is in vogue.  It frightens me that this is considered acceptable and even entertaining.  In some strange way I guess I can say I'm comfortable with my masculine side enough to admit I can take care of myself.... that doesn't seem to be worded right, what I mean is, I have bigger balls than them cause I can be a big kid and clean my own clothing.  Reality TV is truly the lowest form of entertainment.  Soap Operas at least have a plot and actors who attempt to act.  And yet I enjoy the reality t.v. shows from Animal Planet, I think that it's because I learn something from them.  I learn interesting facts about snakes, gators, cats, dogs, and birds when I watch animal planet and they're cute too.  It's a win- win situation.  Educational and adorable.

6:46pm
Ok so I have finally cut my hair short.  The long hair is gone and on it's way to one of those wigs for cancer kids foundations.  If I ever have the bright idea to donate my hair again, please shoot me.  I forgot how much I like having short hair.  It's like a literal pound of hair was taken off of my head.  My long hair, as pretty as it is, makes me look like I'm a 15 yr old high school student and it mats!  I hate combing out long hair.  It was like almost touching my butt that's how long it was.
I guess that's all I have to post for now.  Not much else is happening except for the exhibition I'm currently working on pieces for.  I'll post about that at a later date... like when I have photos taken.
So for now,
See Ya'll Later!

No Cat In This Hat

Hello my lovelies!  Steampunk Worlds Faire is right around the corner, and it's stalking my thoughts.  Since my sewing machine had been in the repair shop I decided to start work on my props for the Demeter costume.
Every year I want to have a hat, and every year I fail at making one.  Not this year!!  I've made a hat and in this post I'm gonna give you a run through of how I made it.  First, I started with a pre-made felt hat. 

Remember this?

That's Marina on the left, I'm on the right at NYCC 2010. That Hat. I hate it so much. It was an internet buy with the intent on making it look so much better. As you can see that failed spectacularly. It's basically a felt hat that you can pick up at any Party City store.  So I took off all the jazzies I put onto it, leaving just the brown felt and nothing else.  Then this happened:

There's a hole in the hat
dear Liza, dear Liza!

So once I had the hat stripped down, I wanted to make it lower than the original height cause, lets face it, that hat looked ridiculous on me.  Once I had the two pieces I trimmed them and then sank the solid top part into the hollow bottom and glued it into place (sorry no photo of that step).  This is where the first Facebook post about burning myself happened.  No there is no photo for that.
  

It's not easy being green.

After I had a pretty solid base, and the burning pain in my finger wore off, I moved onto the leaves.  I picked up 2 generic AC Moore/ Michaels ivy leaf garlands and began plucking the leaves off and sorting them by size.  Yes I sorted them by size but it worked for my process... so, in your face.  This is where the 2 other burns and subsequent Facebook posts took place.  This is also the longest step, gluing each individual leaf to the hat and covering it completely.  This took me days to finish and I was getting nervous that it would not get finished.  After the leaves were completely glued, I took one of the clock hair pieces I made and refurbished it.

Bye Bye Birdie.

I pulled the feathers off but kept the clock face the same... mainly because I was afraid that if I started yanking on the clock face it my damage the art on the face or bend it out of shape.  I put down new feathers, leaves, vines and I found wheat stalks.  Cause, ya' know, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest and seasons.  I added pin backs and stuck it to the hat.

Look at my Hat!
My hat is a amazing!
Give it a Lick!

It tastes just like raisins!

It's super fun and it has a big feather!!  Barbossa would be proud of this feather and would want one for his hat too.
The next step is to take my sewing machine back to the repair shop.  I pulled it out of it's casing after getting it back from the repair shop tonight and sewed 2 inches and it jams.  I did nothing to it, I swear!!.  I was using scrap fabric to test it and a good thing too.  After 2 inches of stitch work, the machine seized up and jammed.  I kept the settings the same as when I took it out of the case.  I'm incredibly pissed off right now, cause I've got to now schlep the thing back to this guy and complain about how it doesn't work.  I'm running out of time to sew the skirt!!  Well, I guess I'll continue working on my props since there's not much else I can do without a sewing machine available.
Well I've got work in the morning so I'm gonna go sleep and pray I get my sewing machine in working order before May.
See Ya'll Later!