So far this year I’ve focused a lot
more time and energy into making things and getting more into crafting. Yes, I’ve
done bits and bobs before, but those were all things I knew I could do anyway,
there was no challenge there. Now I’m venturing out of my comfort zone a little
bit and learning new things whilst at it. Crafting also keeps me from spending
money (even though I still check out sales and find things I like and put
myself out there to be tempted) by giving me something else to do, so there
definitely will be more things coming!
These are not in chronological
order, but from least to most challenging ones – starting with some bracelets.
Although plain pearl bracelets are incredibly versatile and I love them,
sometimes you need (or just want) a pop of colour. So off to AliExpress I went,
bought a bunch of beads and made these, two of each style. I was thinking of making
matching necklaces too, but I ran out of pearly beads, need to order more – and
figure out how to make these so that they’re not on an elastic, that might be
uncomfortable and could break more easily as it’d need more stretch.
Then came a project to complete my
Dreamy Masquerade Carnival sash.
This rosette brooch took me a little while to figure out, as the tutorial Iused was very brief and more detail would’ve been appreciated. But for the very
first attempts it’s pretty nice. The fact that these are so easy and quick to
make might convince me to make loads more to match a variety of different
coords. The mask on top is also my very first attempt at using Fimo clay and
again, I loved it. It’s literally a pop it in the mould, put it in the oven and
then cool down kind of experience. I’m probably not skilled enough to create
shapes with Fimo without moulds, but this is something that’d be nice to get into
with the help of others and put moulds and different colour clays onto a Christmas
wishlist or something.
Also, opinions, please: should I
paint the mask or leave it blank? I have gold paint and was thinking of
painting the lips (easy) and maybe something else (potentially more difficult
for my shaky hands), but I’m not sure. What do you think?
And finally, the project that I’m
most proud of. This time the tutorial was dead easy to follow, but the results are amazing – a pirate hat. I plan on
making a Pirate Lolita coord for the July meet (a while away, I know) and in
order to keep the costs down I decided to make my own hat. This proved to be a
pretty cheap project, around £15 in materials – of which over half was eaten by
the feather! – and a quick one too, maybe an hour, so great to do whilst you’re
watching a daft film or something. For how little skill was required to make
this the effects are seriously impressive, I can’t wait to wear the whole coord
already just for the hat!
Unfortunately, for the time being I
sort of ran out of projects to do. It’s ok, I have video games to keep me from
spending all my money, but crafting makes you feel so much more productive. Do
you have any easy-mode Lolita projects and tutorials that you’d recommend?
Anything based around accessories would be fantastic as these are the finer
details that really complete a coord, but I’m not always willing to pay the
price (and the postage) for them.
I love this mask, he looks so pretty!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could take the credit for it, but that goes to whoever made that mould. ^^
DeleteFor deatails, you can use a toothpick rather than a easel. For the pirate hat I would make another brooch almost identical to the first, with a gold face, gold ribbon and a navy ribbon.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't really planning on adding to the hat. Although I like the sound of a gold and navy rosette just in general.
DeleteI actually rather like the mask as it is, but perhaps before committing to changing it you could play around on MS Paint or something, to get a rough idea of how it might look with details added.
ReplyDeleteThe pirate hat looks like a really cool project, and I didn't know it could be done so quickly!
I have made a practice piece (when I learnt that white Fimo attracts all kinds of dust particles you didn't even know you had on your hands) and I painted that one (lips then started to do eyebrows which turned out wonky and became a wonky mask :P). But I'm still not sure. I like the suggestion of playing with MS Paint though, that might help.
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