Paper Mache Tricks And Tips

Paper Mache Tricks and Tips

In the age of thermoplastics and resins paper mache seems a little unglamorous and low-tech, but it’s still worth considering as a material if you’re getting into prop and armor-making.  If you have low budget for your project but plenty of time in which to complete it, it’s worth a thought.

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Annnd I'm finally done y'all!!! Damn thing almost killed me there at the end but I'm done!!!

hello!! id really like to cosplay pink diamond from steven universe. the design is relatively simple but im completely stumped on how to go about the wig. i want it to be as voluminous as i can but im not sure how to execute jt. do you have any suggestions? ty in advance!!

Have you seen yarn tails? You use yarn to make a tail and brush it out with a cat brush to get the fibers to look like hair. The result is usually quite thick and fluffy. I think if you combined this method with a yarn wig, I think you could get that extreme volume/floof without the weight of a bunch of wefts. 

I thought about an afro wig but I think it would give you the shape and volume but not the wispyness of the bangs and sides. Hmmm. Maybe you could look into the beehive hairstyle and create a similar base using foam inserts and teasing. Then style the hair around your base to get the nice floof. Or you could completely construct a base out of foam and add wefts over top, to give the illusion of floof!

Hope this gives you some inspiration!

— Duckie / Admin / Support the Blog

GUEST POST: 'Wonder Woman'—Armor vs. Underwear & Why It Matters - We So Nerdy

Costume designer and romance author Amanda Weaver shares her insights into the evolution of 'Wonder Woman' costuming and why intent matters.

I saw Lindy Hemming’s work in Wonder Woman and I almost cried. Scratch that, I did cry. Lindy Hemming didn’t use fetish lingerie as her starting point, she used armor. Actual armor. Roman armor, to be specific. Romans made armor out of overlapping bands of very heavy leather. Because it was organic material, very little of it survived, but here’s a fragment:

You can see this same technique clearly on Antiope in Wonder Woman:

And you can see it here on Diana:

It’s been highly stylized on Diana, but the inspiration, the intent, is there:

Remember when I said sometimes I can tell exactly what a designer was looking at when they designed something? This is a piece of Roman leather armor made out of a crocodile hide:

This is one of Hippolyta’s costumes. I almost squealed out loud in the theater when I saw it!

All the Amazons had fantastic, warrior-based details. The folklore about Amazons cutting off a breast so they were better able to fight? (which has no historical basis, btw) Lindy Hemming gave them a metal breast plate on one side:

And, as a side note, can we talk about the casting of the Amazons? All those gorgeous, strong, athletic women of all ages… swoon!

Yes, Diana’s costume has been stylized and they made her attractive, but that costume first and foremost is armor. It’s functional:

That skirt? The shape is Roman, cut high over the thighs so it doesn’t impede movement:

Those aren’t sexy thigh-high boots:

They’re Roman greaves, meant to protect, and they buckle on. Again, ARMOR!

With Wonder Woman, the starting point, the INTENT, is everything. The reason I literally cried watching the Amazons fight is that FINALLY, somebody started at the right place. That design showed respect. The intent, right from the start, was to portray those women as warriors, and that, at least for me, made all the difference.

Over 83,500 Vintage Sewing Patterns Are Now Available Online

The Vintage Patterns Wiki boasts over 83,500 vintage sewing patterns from the 1920s to 1992. It's possible to browse by year or garment type.

Oh, hello. Where have you been all my life?

Repainting Faux-Leather bags/accessories

This is a tutorial of how I made my Weiss Schnee satchel , using a bag I got from Good-Will.(photo of Weiss Schee bag for reference)

Top photo: The supplies you will need for this project.

- Rubbing alcohol( I used 50% because its what I had on hand, but 20-90% should work just fine as well)

 -Cotton balls(number needed variety depending on the size of your bag, I used three for this clutch)

-Paint, in the color’s you want your bag to be(in the photo there is tan, black, silver, pearl, and white, to achieve this look)

-Clean make-up sponges(or paint sponges, up to you)

-This wasn’t in the photo, my apologizes, but a seam ripper and/or scissors will also be needed.

 -Another missing item from my photo is a sealer/finish. I used a liquid mog-podge, in matte finish, but that’s just personal preference.

Photo(s) 2-4: (2)Front view, (3)back view, (4)inside view

Steps:

1. Remove any piece that are not wanted for your bags look using a seam ripper, such as a zippers, tassels, handles, straps, etc. I would only use scissors if you have to, because you can ruin a piece by cutting the wrong seam.

2. Soak your cotton balls in the alcohol and clean you fax-leather bag completely. Make sure you get all creases, nooks, seam-lines, and over lapping fabric, any oil/dirty left on your piece can ruin your paint job.

3. Apply your first coat. Your paint needs to be either acrylic/leather paint. You will probably need multi-coats of your base if your are changing the color drastically, like from black to white. Use a very opaque color as a base( I used tan because it’s my most opaque color and its a neutral)

4. Keep layering your base coat until you can’t see the original color of the bag, using your sponges. Let it dry from between 10-15 min. in between coats.

5. Once you achieve complete coverage move on to your main color. Layer this color as well until its fully covered, then let dry over night.

6. Once completely dry apply your sealer/finish to your satisfaction/direction of your finish.

Note: Feel free to use painters tape to cover an area that you don’t want painted, such as a clip/decoration.