6.25.07

NOW TAKING ORDERS FOR CUSTOM COSTUMES AND PROPS!

Just email me, (the link is at the bottom of the page), and I'll be happy to get back to you to discuss ideas and price ranges, (cheaper than those ren-faire guys, I promise). I've also made corsets, Elizabeth's orange coat/red vest from DMC, and Will's leather coat from DMC, (modeled here by Manny).

I've been concentrating mostly on pirate garb lately, but I can do other genres. I'm a two-time winner of the INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC Halloween costume contest, (the first time for TRANSFORMERS costumes, (Megatron, Optimus, Soundwave, and Bumblebee). There wasn't a lot of great photo documentation that year, because it was kinda hard to hold a camera. =) I went as Megatron. We mostly used sheets of foamcore to build out the costumes, and used regular old cardboard to sculpt out panels and details. Then we gave it a nice thick coat of primer before spraypainting the pieces. We even hooked up lights behind the eyes, and I put a battery-operated floodlight inside my arm cannon, (not pictured, but I made it out of PVC pipe). For Megatron's face, I started with a cheapo WWF Kane mask, then glued carefully cut posterboard peices to make it a bit more angular.

The other winning costume adventure was last year's MONTY PYTHON and the SEARCH FOR THE HOLY GRAIL. I whipped up some quick and dirty costumes, including swords and shields, (with a little slave labor help from the guys and my parents). Seriously, there were like 12 of us to dress, and I did all the sewing over the course of 2 weekends, so don't look too closely. Still, it felt really cool once everyone was in costume and prancing up to the party, with me trailing behind with the coconuts. =)

I made the tunics for the silly English Kniggits/Arthur, the extra long and furry robe for the Knight of Ni, a furry cloak and tunic for the Swamp Castle King, the tunics, leather jackets, and cowls for his guards, the Black Knight costume with real arm-falling-off action, my own costume including the most awesome earless cap, and the mail and leather tunic as worn by the French Taunter. I also Be-Dazzled everyone's gloves and/or leather bits. Most of the guys made their own helmets, out of squishy foam paper, cardboard, Be-Dazzle studs, and lots of silver and black paint. For the shields, we painted giant pieces of foamcore, (primered with gesso), with black straps on the back. My parents made the swords out of balsa wood strips, wooden dowel feet (for tables, found at Home Depot), and lots of sandpaper and paint. To top it off, some of the guys built a larger-than-life Trojan Rabbit, with a working wine bar on the inside. Not pictured are Lancelot, the Black Knight, Roger the Shrubber, and the rabbit with big, sharp, pointy teeth, (Vicki in a bunny costume with vampire blood dripped down the front):

Here we are getting ready before the big 'knight'. Haha.....ahhh.

I'm, uh, Patsy.

Other Halloween costumes:

-Nearly all of Cobra Command from G.I. Joe

-Jack Sparrow, complete with a to-scale top half of a sinking ship! (I put casters on the bottom of the cross-arms in order to coast around).

-The Tick cartoon characters, (Tick, Arthur, American Maid, Chairface Chippendale)

-Evil Star Trek crew from Mirror, Mirror

There's little to no photo documentation for past costumes, mostly because I just love to make the stuff, and I hardly ever save anything after the fact.

I especially love to try and re-create movie or t.v. costumes, and I get a lot of inspiration and ideas working with folks at Lucasfilm. I can concept new and original costumes as well, and I'm not afraid to tear up patterns or create new ones in the process.

I haven't been to many fairs, (er, sorry, FAIRES), but I'm always flabbergasted at the prices for some of this stuff! So far, making costumes for family and friends, I've had so much fun it's hard to charge extra. It's part of the fun and challenge to figure out what a person wants, and work with their budget to create it. I'd also like to think that everything is negotiable, not just price, but quality as well. For example, if you have just inherited an estate from distant relatives, you'll get lined garments with accurate details/embroidery and fancy trim and buttons. On the other hand, if you haven't robbed any armored vehicles lately, you can opt for lower-quality materials and details all around, or else choose a good quality outside, but but skip out on lining and real working pockets.

You can also email me just if you want to ask for ideas, reference, patterns, or techniques. That's all free and welcome! In fact, some friends and I will be starting an on-line forum just to share that kind of stuff, so I'll post that link once the site is up. I'd be happy to get any help from folks more advanced than me, as well! So keep those emails coming!

7.30.07

COSTUME SEASON AHOY!

Aside from starting a project for my new friend Michelle, (a Piratical chemise and corset), it's time to start on this year's Halloween costumes! WOOOO! We finally decided on our theme:

(insert drumroll here)....

......FUTURAMA!

Kick ass. Which is good 'cuz I've always wanted to go as Leela, and there's plenty of characters to go around for anyone who wants to join in. It didn't take too long for us to decide to try and make cartoon heads for everyone instead of going as the creepy real-life versions of the characters. So I spent all my money at Jo Anne Fabrics, Michaels, and Home Depot this weekend. I first thought about sewing some mascot heads. Then I thought about making masks out of paper mache, then I thought about casting molds for Latex. Then I had this brilliant idea that isn't a patented technique anywhere in the known universe and it's totally going to work 100% and absolutely nothing can or will go wrong. Ever.

Here's Phase 1:

But Amy, isn't that a crappy paper mache head? Why yes it is. Thanks for asking. But it's what I have in STORE for that crappy paper mache head that's the real trick. I don't want to ruin the surprise so you'll just have to stay tuned. Also, I will probably fail miserably.

Seacrest out.

8.29.07

It's been a while, and in the time that's passed, I've finished a piratical wench dress for my friend Michelle. Between the release of Team Fortress and all the overtime crunch at work, I haven't had any extra time. The Futurama expirament failed miserably... Well, not really, but it was going to take me weeks to finish, and we don't have the time. We punted around a few other ideas, and finally decided on something else that should be fun and easy. This one will be a suprise, though, so stay tuned for post-Halloween goodness.