Making for a Masked Ball

Alex and Bambi made costumes, including masks, and props, for the Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade. From the Masquerade website... "Costumes fitting our theme are required. Imaginative costumes highly recommended." They were designing, sewing, sculpting, cutting, gluing, painting, researching, and happily anticipating this moment, and the event ahead, for days and days.

Sewn into the fabric of Bambi's dress are tiny LEDs that light up and twinkle, like fireflies.



Costumes and props are finished, they have their forms and driving directions... so off they go!

Here are some glimpses of the making of costumes, masks, and other details... and if you like sewing, design, art, robots, cosplay, STEAM education, electronics, programming, 3D printing, CNC routing, woodworking, metalworking, all kinds of making, please follow BOoMNerds on Instagram! Thank you.

Alex is always carrying around one, or more, sketchbooks. And they are full of concepts, designs, tests, ideas, and beautiful art.

His masks begin in a sketchbook, then move into plaster, which he can use to build a custom fit. Then comes sculpting the modeling in clay, in this case, so he can vacuum-form the actual mask.

The texture of the vacuum-formed plastic has a great effect, so Alex didn't bother sanding it, and went straight to the paint.

A lot of testing and experimenting went into the wings. These, Alex modeled after the wings of a cicada, and he hand-cut them from foamcore... the same handy material William used to make Prince Phillip's shield for the Sleeping Beauty musical.

Drying rack... which happens to be a box William is constructing for one of his skeletons, but that's another story.

These are Bambi's finished wings! Alex is testing them for placement on her dress. Bambi designed and made her dress. We need more pictures... I want to show, between all the layers of tulle in her skirt, the fireflies!

Alex designed his outfit, too, and he and William sewed it.

Also out of Alex's sketchbook and research, came the designs for this prop sword. Alex handed his drawings over to William who modeled 11 separate parts, including this handle and pommel, in 3D Studio Max, MudBox, and MeshMixer (Autodesk, whenever you would like to sponsor our club, Benevolent Order of Makers, we would be honored.) The parts were 3D printed from William's renderings, glued together, sanded, and painted. The cool part... it's a handle, with a jewel glued on, and a scabbard, but there is no actual sword. It was made to safely pass through security without alarming anyone. A thorough prop prop.


Alex twisted the wire detail to go around the glass jewel, and finished the prop by wrapping Pearl cotton around the handle and a section of the scabbard. You can also see the sash William sewed.

This is the beautiful mask Bambi made. I love the floating jewels. There are more parts, more details... and we're still cleaning up! The creativity is wonderful, but the collaboration is what really excites me. It's exciting, too, to hear them talk about how much they learn with each new project, and how much it inspires them for the next project.

Make A Miniature Picnic

When Benevolent Order of Makers, (BOoMNerds on Instagram) was at the North County Mini Maker Faire, Maria and I taught crafting with paper clay. We love paper clay, because it's affordable, easy to use, and we can paint it, after it air dries. Making with the clay was a popular hands-on activity, so I ended up with a lot of loaves of bread from all the demonstrating we were doing.

Today I set up my paints, so I could paint all the miniature bread pieces. Baguettes, a bâtard, and a traditional slicing loaf... and bagels, and pancakes (not pictured.) Painting isn't just a fun, creative part of finishing the paper clay pieces, it's also a necessary step in protecting them, since any moisture could make them start to disintegrate. The acrylic craft paints seals the dried clay.

These are some of the things I made while we demonstrated how to make with paper clay. The baguettes are rolled from a small ball of clay, allowing the ends to get narrower. Then I use the side of a toothpick to gently dent across the tops of the bread so they appear to be scored. They've had plenty of drying time, now we need to get them painted, and sealed.

If you would like more tips and suggestions for making with paper clay, please follow this link, where we give a more complete paper clay tutorial.

To paint the bread, I used acrylic craft paints. First, I painted the whole loaf in a medium brown shade, being sure to get the entire surface sealed in a light layer of paint. Once the first layer was dry, I used a very dry brush to paint on a slightly darker shade of brown, to make it look like the bread has nice crust to it. The last part was adding the palest brown paint into the scores, where the bread would be less browned. I could add one last clear coat with a glossy acrylic paint... something you may notice in the picture of other breads I made. The decision to make the bread shiny is a matter of preference. I like them both ways; shiny, or matte.

Maria brought out some pretty props from her doll house, so we could depict a picnic, featuring a crusty French baguette, still wrapped, and tied with bakery twine! The little bread knife is one of our miniature make creations, too. Today I will finish painting bagels/donuts, and a cake. And we want to create some syrup for the pancakes. We may open a cafe, soon!

Make PaperClay Mushrooms

Two years ago Maria and I started playing with paper clay, making tiny mushrooms. Those first creations were planted in tiny pots, and made into gifts. Maria and I made little houses, trees, and gnomes, too. The next year I made larger mushrooms, with doors, and smoking chimneys. Paper clay is easy to work with. It dries quickly, paints easily, and even when parts come apart, a little white glue fixes everything. This holiday season we've moved into new themes, adding our mushroom collection to terrariums, and miniature potted gardens. With natural moss, twigs, and lichen, they add whimsy, charm. We gave so many away, I was eager to replenish the stash.

These mushrooms, gnomes, trees, and houses are easy to make, fun, too. There are very few supplies to gather. It only takes some time and a bit of patience to make tiny garden accessories. Maria and I have seen a lot of fairy garden pieces in gift shops and nurseries, but we still think these homemade ones are the most charming! We hope you will give this craft a try, and share your results with us!

Supply List
1. PaperClay... we found ours in a craft shop. After it's open, it will dry out easily, so keep it in an airtight bag. Also, one package is plenty, when making these little crafts; I've never run out.

2. Straight pins. I had an old box, found in a thrift shop goody bag of sewing supplies.

3. Elmer's white glue

4. Acrylic craft paints... satin and glossy are nice.

5. A bottle of gloss glaze, to seal the painted project.

6. Small tipped paint brushes.

7. Foam to hold the mushrooms while they dry.

8. Tooth picks.

The straight pin, and a pinch of paper clay. I lay the pin on top of the clay... think of the pin as a sausage on a bun, and the clay is the bun. With my palm open and flat, I gently roll the pin back and forth, until it is wrapped in the paper clay.

This needs just a bit more rolling, so the head of the pin is covered, too.

It can also be rolled between finger and thumb. Make it pleasing, but there's no need to be overly obsessed with the details, since it will be handled more, and the soft clay will keep changing with handling until it's finally dry and hard.

Next roll a small ball of paper clay for the mushroom cap.

You can flatten the ball of paper clay, to make an umbrella shaped mushroom cap.

Or turn and pinch the ball of paper clay to create a dome, or rounded chocolate chip shape.

Now, stick the pin-head mushroom stem into the underside of your mushroom cap. You want to blend the two pieces together, so they dry as one piece. If the clay is cracking, then your hands are too dry... dampen your hands. It also helps to smooth out the piece with a barely wet paint brush. I also use the wet brush to gently unite the stem with the cap. A toothpick works well for this part too. In tiny strokes, drag the clay from the cap around the stem, then you can use the wet brush to smooth any lines.

Play around with the shapes, and sizes... you'll soon find a look you like, and see how easy the paper clay is to work with. And remember: Do-overs are always an option!

We had such a cold, dry night, these mushrooms were dry the next day. Larger pieces take more time, and I wouldn't paint anything until it's as dry as possible, to discourage mold from ruining the pieces.

Mushroom house... single story, fireplace, cozy. I'm using the toothpick to blend the chimney clay with the mushroom cap roof. I make the door by denting an entry at the base of the mushroom with the end of the paint brush.

Here's an experiment: Bigger mushrooms, on toothpicks! I want to see if I can create food-safe cake decorations, by building the mushrooms on toothpicks, instead of tiny, sharp pins. I like pinching the clay at the base of the stem, so when we stick it into a cake, it will look like a wide, planted base.

Here's a larger mushroom. I want to scrunch up the base of that stem. If you look through Pinterest for red-capped mushrooms, you will find all kinds of inspiring shapes and colors for painting your mushrooms.

I add the white dots using the blunt end of a toothpick. Just a dip in the paint, then tap the red cap!

Easy Peasy Repairs!

After drying, some caps fall right off, and it's so easy to fix, I wonder why I bother assembling them while they're wet. A dab of Elmer's glue and a little more drying time is all it takes. Here's one that came apart after painting; I'll fix it with the acrylic gloss. It dries very quickly!

I paint the entire cap, and be sure to get some gloss in the hole where the stem will attach. (I have no particular attachment to this brand of gloss... it's just the one that was on sale. It goes on a bit heavy, dries fast, and shiny. It's nice.)

I glossed the stem, too, then set it into the cap. It will be dry in minutes. I like to have scraps of upholstery foam to hold the pieces while they dry. I'm sure a piece of styrofoam would work as well.

Make a Banquet!

I am sure you've figured out, you can make so much more than mushrooms! These carrots and lettuce are paper clay!

These loaves of bread and baguette are paper clay, too!