Day 232

I really would like to start coming up with actual titles for my posts again. I'm getting bored of these numbers.

Anyway, I have yet to work on things! I would have, but I had to go to my boyfriend's house to register for next term's classes (as my home internet is not secure), and I stayed there for dinner and general hanging out.

But since my boyfriend has to do major studying for the next couple of days, I can do some major cosplaying for the next couple of days! Hurrah! Although I really should write that paper for class.

I'll be putting on a performance with my class (Theater Improv) this Sunday, and I'm both excited and nervous about it. I just really, really hope that I don't get stuck with a bad partner for any of the games. I'm not horrible at improv, but I'm not the greatest either, and I know a few people that if I had to perform with them, I'd fail. I hate having to carry the whole performance on my back, especially when I have to set up the jokes and the person I'm working with doesn't pick up on them... Ugh. Rambling. ANYWAY!

Plan for tomorrow! Work on my paper. Paint more of the Pac-Man pants. Complete outside of Hideki jacket. At least start lining of Hideki jacket. Good thing I can work on the jacket while the pants are drying, or this would all take up a ridiculous amount of time...

(And for anyone who cares about my sickness mentioned in yesterday's post, it's much better already thanks to a home remedy, but the first in-office doctor's appointments that I could make aren't until June, so I have a phone appointment for Wednesday =])

READ MORE - Day 232

Working with Tulip® Fabric Paint

Tulip® fabric paint is (obviously) a fabric paint, it comes in a variety of styles and colors. The styles include Crystals, Glitter, Slick, Puffy, Glow in the Dark, and Metallic. It comes in a bottle that can be stored right-side-up or upside-down, and you apply it to fabric by squeezing it directly from the bottle. Because of this, all of the styles of paint are three-dimensional (they stand up off of the fabric). Just how much they stand up from the fabric depends on how hard you squeeze the bottle, how fast you move it, and how far away from the fabric you hold the bottle while applying it.

All styles take four hours to fully dry, and seventy-two hours before they can be put through a washing machine. When washed, the garment must be turned inside-out. It is recommended to pre-wash the fabric, without fabric softener, before painting it.

The four-hour drying time is probably the worst unavoidable thing about this paint. Very rarely, if you do a very thin layer of paint, it will dry faster, but it's probably best not to risk it.

Holding the bottle is a problem for me, but that may just be because I have problems with the muscles used to do that, so I'm not sure that you can blame the company's design on that. I've also been using it for about an hour straight at a time.

The colors dry darker than what they appear to be in the bottle, but not so far off that it alters the overall look. They also appear on dark (black) fabric without darkening the look of the paint.

I've only used the Slick and Puffy styles of Tulip® fabric paints. The Slick is pretty much just like any other brand of fabric paint I've used. The Puffy paint puffs up and expands when it's steamed after drying. I of course bought it specifically for this reason, but it also helps the paint (specifically white) appear more vibrant on darker colors.

A bottle of the Slick paint, like what's pictured on the right (1.25 FL OZ / 37 mL), costs a little under two dollars, and covers enough fabric to be worth it.

Overall, fabric paint is fabric paint to me, but this is still a good brand of fabric paint. It's easy to use and you get what you expect out of it.

For some tips and tricks to painting with fabric paint, check out this FAQ page, written by Duncan Enterprises, makers of Tulip® and Scribbles® Fabric Paint Products.

READ MORE - Working with Tulip® Fabric Paint

Ran Out of Paint! (Day 174 & 175)

In the last two days, I've been working on my Clyde pants. I'll probably be working on them for, oh, forever. I finished one leg (or thought I did) and then got two-thirds of the way finished with the other before running out of blue fabric paint. I bought more paint, and then I decided that I was not done with the first leg, but I decided to fully finish the second first.

My right hand hurts a ridiculous amount from holding and squeezing the tubes of paint. And I've gotten blue paint on my new ironing board cover. That might come off though, since my ironing board cover looks like it has some protective coating on it. I don't know. The cover is supposed to reflect heat, so you can use half the heat you normally do. I haven't really ironed for a while though, not without steam, and my iron has to be on high for the steam to work.

Anyway, painting the pants is a ridiculous amount of work. It takes about an hour just to do one side of one pant leg, not including steaming to puff up the paint, which can take anywhere from fifteen minutes to a half-hour. Also, it's hard to get all of the game grids on the pants to look the same. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's impossible. Some of them look really good, but some of them.. Oy, the shame. They look terrible. However, if somebody's inspecting my pants that closely, we'll have an entirely different set of issues.

So my boyfriend and I are almost certain that we're entering the costume contest at Fanime as Pacman and Clyde. Well, I'm entirely sure we are. He just hasn't accepted it yet. I think we're just going to do a walk-on, possibly with our own music, depending on rules and allowances. There's not really much we can do in those costumes. The heads are bulky and weak in some points, and we'll have limited visibility.

Anyway, that's about it. I took a progress picture today (well my mom took it) of me actually in the costume thus far. But the camera died, so I can't upload anything until it's charged again. Maybe later tonight or some time tomorrow. =]

READ MORE - Ran Out of Paint! (Day 174 & 175)

Pant Painting (Day173)

I started painting my Clyde pants today. Both the Clyde and Pacman pants will just be the Pacman game grid with the dots (no characters or fruits).

Painting the pants is a lot harder than I thought though, very time-consuming and tedious. It made my thumb hurt to be holding and squeezing the tube of paint for that long. I only painted one side of one leg, and that's all I'll be able to do at a time because of the lack of workspace. I'm working on my ironing board so that I can pin the pants down so they lay flat and don't move.

The design starts at the bottom of the pant leg, just above the hem, and repeats three times, so a little below the pocket. On the back, I hope to repeat the pattern four times, to go over the back pockets, and I may actually continue on the front too, depending on how they look when worn.

READ MORE - Pant Painting (Day173)

Pretzels Are Not a Fruit! (Day 167)

SO I put a second coat of paint on the side of Pac-man that needs it. It's going to need at least one more, maybe two. Then I started sewing the fruits onto the Pac-man shirt. I hate that pretzel! It was quite possibly the most complex thing I've ever sewn. And it's not even a fruit! Rawr.

I finished sewing on the pretzel and the cherries, and sewed most of the orange (still have to sew the orange leave though). I also got around to cleaning up the sewing room a bit. Only to have my mom trash it seconds later. Ugh. Ah well.

I also tested out the puffy paint that I bought for the white dots that will be on the jeans (you have to wait for it to dry, then activate it with steam). Omg, I love it. They're all puffy and 3D and squishy =D. I also figured out how to use the steam on my iron! Yay! It's not hard, I just never needed it before.

No pictures today, sorry D= Didn't really finish anything, so I didn't feel the need for pictures.

READ MORE - Pretzels Are Not a Fruit! (Day 167)

Waka Waka Waka Waka (Day 165)

After a trip to JoAnn's today, I finally got around to putting Pac-man into his final(ish) stages, or at least catching him up to Clyde. (Some of the pictures are funky colors or odd angles. Sorry D=)

Initially, I was shopping for iron-on letters, because to write both "CLYDE" and "PACMAN" I need two C's. However, I did not want to pay $9.99 for an entire package of letters, just to use one C. While looking at the letters in the store though, I realized that a C is just an O with a chunk cut out. I wish I had thought of that sooner. I still ended up walking out with a roll of fleece (requested by my mom), a bra extender (because I can't find the one my mom bought me, I think she stole it), two tubes of fabric paint (one blue, one white), and of course candy.

When I got home, I had my boyfriend try on the Pac-man shirt so that I could place the fruits, after which I began ironing on the letters to the back. For some reason, they did not want to stay on though. I ended up messing up a couple of them, but overall, it's not too bad..

While waiting for the letters to cool, I finished putting cardboard pieces together for the head and began covering it with fleece. I ran into a little snag though. Turns out yellow fleece is see-through. Who knew? The cardboard on the side I was covering was predominantly white, but had a navy blue oval and lettering on it. Luckily, I was able to cover both seamlessly with a sheet of printer paper cut to fit and hot glued in. Unfortunately, I'm not so lucky with the other side. In the process of making the head, I turned the cardboard into a grid with a black pen, and then drew where I wanted to cut with colored Crayola markers, both of which show through the fabric. Thanks to my mom's suggestion, though, I will be painting over it with white paint. It'll take a few layers though, because the marker bleeds through.

After messing with the lettering some more, I decided I was just making things worse and gave up. It's not like they're going to fall off, I just wish that the corners wouldn't peel so much. I tested out the fabric paint I bough on a piece of scrap fabric, and I rather like how it turned out. The white puffs up with steam, but I have to wait until it dries to test it. My boyfriend and I thought it would would look cool and give it a more intense 3D effect. I like the colors I ended up with too, I was worried that covering an entire pair of pants with an intricate design might be too distracting, but I think the colors are just dark enough to give a subtle effect, without blending into the black.

READ MORE - Waka Waka Waka Waka (Day 165)

Day Thirty

About a month of doing this blog. And still no readers. HA. I'm such a loser.

My room is finished, so hopefully I can get a bed and a new dresser and put stuff away so I can buy more cra-- err, loverly items.

READ MORE - Day Thirty

Day Twenty-Nine

Still sick. Yet still productive. Just not in a cosplay-related way. =[

My boyfriend and I painted two walls of my room. Five to go. Plus the doors and frames. Yes, I have more than four walls and more than one door. Yet I still don't have enough room for all my cra-- err.. Loverly objects of love. =]

Anyway, turns out last time I used the iron *coughtwodaysagocough* I forgot to turn it off. Mom was pissed, not that I blame her. It's dangerous, not to mention expensive.

So, I'm half-asleep and nauseous, so no real blogging today. Goodnight.

READ MORE - Day Twenty-Nine

Painting the Cieling (Day Twenty-Two)

My boyfriend and I painted the ceiling of my room today and stripped paint off of the walls, and no, that's not a euphemism. It was about eight hours of work, so of course, no cosplaying. However, I thought about it a lot. I truly wish I could work more...

READ MORE - Painting the Cieling (Day Twenty-Two)