The Garage: A craft-y type thread for handypeople

Just did a mockup for the stays. The pattern somehow ended up being three inches too large and I did a whole lot of chopping before tracing it back out onto fresh paper. Here's hoping the second mockup ends up better.

I found a pair of riding boots for my Haruko cosplay!!! Cost about $10 at a thrift store, plus 5 more for white leather paint. I used up the entire bottle on two coats, and since the brown is still peeking through I'm going to buy more and paint a few more coats on just to make sure. They look amazing and the paint doesn't crack at all.◊ It's witchcraft!!!

Vids like this make me want a 3D Printer just so I can make multi-part prop pieces to my hearts content. They 3D print, assemble, and paint a Samus helmet.

I've been uploading most of my crafty stuff to Instagram but I forgot to post about it here! This is my profile with all the stuff I've been painting, sewing, spilling all over myself, etc.

I had to return the helmet I bought initially for my Haruko cosplay because the padding was so thick I looked like a mushroom. Also, it was a smidge too large anyway.

With the returned money, I decided to get the crappiest ukulele I could find on ebay, an equally cheap vintage-styled helmet to mangle and repaint, and some goggles which are practically perfect except for some manageable tweaks.

And so it came to pass, that the Shower Of the Taira was coated in much black mold, soap scum and other assorted gnarly things. The Tairas cried out "Who will save us."

And thus Bar Keepers Friend was found at Target for $2.79 And There Was Much Rejoicing...

Seriously, that stuff took off a lot of crap from my shower and it's now clean.

It's cheap -a bottle of the liquid stuff was $2.97 at the local big box store.

It didn't harm the grout or scuff up metal and when I spilled it on the counter - didn't scratch up the cheap countertop.

So for those of you who got that thrift store find, old piece of junk you think needs some TLC or just have a dirty spot of tile - Amazon and Amazon UK.

I may have to get some. I've seen it for sale in plenty of brick-and-mortar stores.

Out here in west Texas, black mold is a HUGE problem in damp places. Between bleach and Bar Keeper's Friend, even that came off.

An alternative to ammonia-based glass cleaner is Windex Vinegar. Your glass will smell like a salad but this does clean without streaks, I used this on HMMWV's and my barracks mirror when I was in the Army.

For glass, I just use diluted white vinegar. It works very well. It also works well as an all-around light/daily cleaner. Given vinegar is a mild acid, it's no surprise.

The smell really isn't a big deal. As long as you don't, like, spill the bottle onto something absorbent, the vinegar smell vanishes pretty quick.

I bought a $5 wig from the Halloween section of my local convenience store to practice hair-cutting skills before I cut into my nice pink wig. Took about an hour but I got the gist of the look I want for Haruko's style.

Hm, I should keep that in mind about practicing on a cheap wig. One of these years I want to try cosplaying Agatha Heterodyne, which would require a long strawberry blond wig with a prominent cowlick.

Speaking of practicing on cheap things, I got a used guitar to practice disassembling, repainting, and reassembling!!!! It's a REALLY beat up 1996 Ibanez rx40, which I got with a brand new Fender amp for $120 total. I won't feel bad if I mess something up. And if it goes well, I'll have a fresh guitar!

Edited by Leradny on Oct 4th 2018 at 10:45:24 AM

Haruko wig cut into a feathered style. Wondering about using hairspray or something but honestly it looks nice as it is.

Haruko goggles turned blue!! I just cut out some flexible acrylic sheets and popped the lenses in. No streaks, no spilled ink.

Mostly the whole costume sans pants, boots, and helmet on top of some ridiculously expensive Italian wool for Haruko's coat, which has since been pieced up.

If I keep up this pace I'll be finished with everything by next week!

Edited by Leradny on Oct 11th 2018 at 9:47:53 AM

Threw on my pants, a leather jacket, and my wig to flounce around with a ukelele. I finished the goggles, and theeeeeen the buckle bits broke so I have to redo it again. The actual coat is nearly done, I just need a zipper and the stripes.

Started stripping the helmet for repainting too.

Well, folks, next week is another photoshoot, and the topic is creepy, horror-y, goth-y, dark, shadow-y stuff. So I got an idea that I'll make a necromancer's staff. Like, voodoo, skull-topped, the works. I bought a set of Halloween plastic bones at Tiger (it's a Danish franchise of stores selling weird, cheap stuff) in order to make a flute out of a femur, and I got a couple of vertebrae and a cheap-looking skull in that set. So I got the idea to get a long gnarled branch, top it with a skull and set of vertebrae, then add some greebles on top of that.

Finding the gnarled branch was a literal walk in the park, as one of the trees in my local park toppled (apparently a few months ago) and it's still lying there, so I grabbed one of the branches that was long and light enough, then got to work.

I hit my local Home Depot to get a three-foot thin wooden dowel and a drill bit to match, hacked the broken bits off both ends of the branch and neatly knolled all the structural bits. Drilling through the center of the branch to fit the dowel in turned to be more difficult than I thought, and my cordless drill gave up. So I whipped out my recently-bought (when I broke the ceiling lamp in my living room back in August) impact drill. That one worked, so I poured some wood glue into the hole, then hammered the dowel in. I drilled the plastic spinal column and base of the skull, then threaded it onto the dowel and added some hot glue just in case. Tada, halfway there.

Now I added some finger-painting on the skull and I intend to add some cheap jewelry bits to it on Monday. Meanwhile, I'll work on the bone flute.

O Ooohhh! I wanna see the finished product!

I got an idea to add a bone triangle to it. Do I need to add anything more? Rags, feathers, bits of cheap bling, anything?

Also, if not for the fact that I'm broke and I couldn't find any 8 ft. dowels last time, I'd buy another set of those plastic bones, some sheet plastic and build a bone scythe.

Edited by NotSoBadassLongcoat on Oct 22nd 2018 at 11:19:42 AM

Ughghghghggh. These snaps will not fucking come out! I've drilled all around them and they still won't come loose! And tin snips don't come close enough to the helmet to shear them off. Back to the tool library I go, probably with my helmet so I can ask for advice.

A thought hit me: if you want something a little creepy that'll take people a while to pick up on: assorted, naturally-coloured, cheap-as-chips hair extensions used as braided padding/decoration. Beads or what have you optional.

After all, if you don't have plenty of well-preserved head-hair available after killing people to decorate your sceptre of creep with, you aren't evil-necromancering properly.

Good luck! <crosses fingers and holds thumbs>

Edited by Euodiachloris on Oct 24th 2018 at 3:11:19 PM

Small flathead screwdriver, box cutter or both. You could try prying the snaps off.

Great idea, but I'm either too busy or too tired to get on it. That and I'd have to make some papier-mache to act as the mummified skin.

IMO you don't need the papier-mache skin. Most people think using human hair for anything besides a wig/extensions is creepy on its own. Especially if it's a collection of hair from different people.

Longcoat: I've pried off the top part of the snaps no problem... but the other halves are stuck firmly inside. I will try a box cutter or a screwdriver, though, thanks for the suggestion. Also, your staff is amazing.

Oh, so you have a problem with bottom halves? Try hammering them out from the top side.

Also, I have made something less tangible, but still crafty:

So I think I finally tracked down the source of the problems I've been having with my 3D printer. Namely that the filament I brought was junk.

So, "Cheap Ink Killed My Printer" in 3D?