Cosplay Interview at Adafruit

Happy Star Wars day, guys!

Here's something Star Wars related for ya:

My friend Amy Ratcliffe writes for all kinds of great geek sites - including the official Star Wars blog! - and lately she's been doing a series of cosplay features over on Adafruit. (lf you're not familiar, Adafruit sells and blogs about electronics for wearable tech, robotics, and other geeky goodies.)

And, hey, last week she interviewed me! Woot woot!

Click on over to read about what got me started in cosplay, my greatest challenges, that kind of thing. And after that, check out the rest of Amy's features - I see enough goodies on that page to keep me occupied for at least the next hour. (There's a Songbird costume! AAAA!!) 

Oh, and if you missed it, there's a really stellar roundup of Star Wars cakes over on CW - if I do say so myself. (Any day I get to write "use the forks" IS A VERY GOOD DAY.)

(Art by Raikana)

DIY Leather Cuff Bracelets - Now With Old Keys!

In addition to making more key necklaces, I've also been playing around with some new leather cuff designs, made from old belts.

I made this one for my friend Renee's birthday earlier this month - and it's also my favorite:

I filed off the charm loop from the owl, placed the teal gems, and then drilled small holes in the leather so I could stitch the owl in place with strong hemp twine.

Next I bent the two side filigree pieces into a curve, glued in all the little gems - which are nail art gems, if you're wondering - and stitched those in place, too.
 

This is made from a thrifted Gap belt, and I love that orangey leather color. Here's the back:

I've realized that two snaps look a lot more polished than one, so that means double the work and double the noise. Heh. I set everything by hand on my kitchen table at all hours, so I'm sure my neighbor is my biggest fan right now. ("Smash it with a hammer!")

Final beauty shot:

That cuff was actually my second attempt at making Renee a gift, because John claimed my first one:

The hardest part for this design is bending that key, which I managed through the time-honored tradition of brute force and colorful metaphors.

Once the key was bent to shape, I marked my holes, drilled them with the Dremel, and then stitched the key in place with hemp twine, which I knotted & pressed into the leather on the back:

I used the existing belt buckle post to fasten this one, so I just had to add an extra hole-with-a-small-slit:

Not my best work, to be honest. You should be glad John claimed it, Renee. ;)

That one's a little too tight on John's wrist, though, so next I set out to make him a better - and larger - version:

This one used the holey end of the belt, but it's kind of a neat look - and more ventilated. Plus the double snaps look a lot more polished:

You can seal the cut ends of your leather with a little satin or semi-gloss black paint. The paint's sheen will help it match the existing finish on the belt edges, so your new edge won't be so obvious.

And since I just happened to have enough leather left to make one more cuff, I did:

These old keys were a gift from a reader, and since making those cuffs I've managed to snap two more while trying to bend them. EEK. Now I'm getting paranoid! I guess that old metal just gets brittle over time, so if you decide to give this a whirl, have a couple of different keys on hand as backups - and preferably in different styles, since some metals are more brittle than others.

Ok, my fellow DIYers: go forth and tinker! Hope this gave you some new ideas!

(I'll probably experiment with stitching on smashed pennies next. Fun fun!)

 ******

UPDATE: Oops, nearly forgot to announce April's randomly-selected art roundup winner! So congratulations to... Isles Island! Please e-mail me your mailing address, Isles, plus your choice of art from my Pinterest art give-away board!