Don’t worry Cindy, we also don’t wake up looking like Cindy Crawford.
In a new interview with The Cut, 48-year-old supermodel Cindy Crawford talks about her new beauty line, Meaningful Beauty, and how she’s just like everyone else when it comes to doing her own hair – sore biceps included.
“If I really need Cindy Crawford hair, I have someone else do it. I really dislike doing my own hair because my arms get so tired. I can fake it enough for real life. Or sometimes, I’ll even go to a blowout bar and make that last for three days. Much to my husband’s chagrin, I pin it up. It’s also how my daughter does it now, because that’s how we sleep,” she says, going on to describe her method.
“I use one hairpin — not a tight one, a curved one, and gently pin up the front part so it still has movement. And then I might do a little heat styling in one or two places. When I work out, I do the same thing; I pin up only the part next to the scalp. I use Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray, which is good as a texturiser.”
Proving supermodels are just like us for the second time, Crawford also admits a reluctance to exercise. Although unlike us, she still forces herself to do some. “I just do it. I don’t even think about it. It’s so ingrained. Scheduling it really helps. Putting on the gym clothes is the hard part,” she says.
There's no excuse for a bad hair day! Whatever your hair colour, length, cut or texture, we've got the perfect style for you. Browse through our round-up of the hottest new catwalk styles, pick your favourite and follow our top tips to get the look at home.
I'm having a blast with my new 3D Printer, and the first thing I'm printing is jewelry. Tiaras, necklaces, pendants, LED jewelry enclosures.. all the perfectly sized things I've always wanted but haven't been able to make until now.
There's just one problem... this printer prints ABS plastic. White plastic jewelry is just... not... quite what I'm going for. There are lots of colors available but they all look like plastic. I want them to glisten and gleam like gold or sparkle and shine like silver.
I tried 5 different kinds of paint on this stuff to see what results I liked best.
Rustoleum Metallic Gold Spray Paint: This is shiny. It's super uber shiny. It shows a lot of detail-- the texture of the model really comes through. However, it's spray paint.. there is no carefully painting just part of the model without a lot of tedious masking. And, well, it looks like gold spray paint. BUT IT IS SHINY!
Liquid Leaf Renaissance Gold: I had high hopes for this one. It's thick and opaque and dries fast. It's impossible to clean up if you spill or get it on you. But the color turned out.. well, sort of dull and orangey. It looks like painted plastic. Not really worth it.
Testors Copper Enamel: This was my favorite of the lot. It's shiny but not SO shiny that it looks completely fake. It's easy to apply (I used a q-tip since I don't want to bother with turpentine) and I can cover just the top layer of printing while leaving the lower layer blank for texture. It's cheap too. This is made for painting model cars so I guess they know how to make plastic look like metal. Win.
Liquitex Bronze Acrylic: I didn't have high hopes for the acrylic, and therefore it did not disappoint me. To be fair, this is a bronze rather than a gold but I've never really had a great gold acrylic. Acrylic paint is easy to use, easy to clean up, but just doesn't pack a lot of punch.
Rub n'Buff Antique Gold: This is a wax based rub that is supposed to make wood and other porous materials gleam like gold. ABS isn't really porous, but I rubbed n' buffed n' rubbed n'buffed and it turned out about like the Liquid Leaf. Not my favorite, and with all that rubbin' n' buffin' it's hard to be precise.
Vitrail Gold Glass Paint: I tried this one because I like putting LEDs inside my pendants and I wanted to test out something translucent. This paint is translucent all right. It's really thin and kind of runny and looks like gold paint, and not like metal at all. I could see using this as an undercoat on the lower layers of ABS, to let the light through, but then covering the rest of the pendant in enamel or something else. Didn't blow me away.
I didn't bother with oil paint or watercolors since they're really not made to be metallic. End result: I like the enamel the best, and it's also the cheapest so that's a win. It's easy to get and comes in thousands of colors. For big jobs the metallic spray paint works great, but for most stuff I'll probably be using enamel.
I got an UP! Mini 3D printer for Christmas this year. Wowza. I'm SO excited.. I haven't stopped playing with it since just about the minute I unwrapped it and I'm having tons of fun.
I've been making necklaces lately (this LED Turtle necklace that I made as a Christmas gift is my favorite so far). It's a challenge to fit all the electronics and the battery and microcontroller into a small enough package that sits comfortably around my neck, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it.
I decided I wanted to design and print a pendant that is just the right size for a neopixel ring and Trinket microcontroller, with enough space for a small rechargeable LiPo battery and a nice flat back that closes up and looks pretty. The ABS plastic filament my printer uses diffuses light really nicely so I decided to try using multiple thicknesses to add interest and texture.
This is harder than you'd think.. I've never done 3D design before and it makes me think in ways I haven't had use since high school geometry. But it's also much easier than you'd think because there are some awesome free tools out there that had me up and running in minutes.
It's got a hole for the USB port for charging. It has another hole for the wires to come out at the top. It has a front side which is rounded to hide the electronics and a back side which is flat and smooth against my neck when I wear it. (next step will be to learn how to make them snap neatly together, but hey, give me a minute, it's only my first day). It also has a pretty cutout pattern of lines and circles to diffuse the light in an interesting way.
I printed it out, then painted it gently with gold leaf paint to give it some sparkle and more definition. The paint is opaque so it really brings out the design.
For the electronics, I'm using a Trinket 3v and a LiPo charger, both of which I removed the battery connectors from and soldered directly to the pads instead. (Those little connectors are SO BIG when you stack them up! The components stack quite neatly without them)
I'm using a 12 Neopixel Ring and a single LED from a Neopixel strip in the middle. The code is my new favorite "Holiday Twinkle Lights" sketch using FastLED. I made this one gold and white fairy lights since it looks so nice with the gold leaf paint.
I'm also using a magnetic clasp as an on/off switch, which seems to be my new favorite switch method for necklaces. It's super elegant and clean.
I'm pretty proud of this! My first 3D Printed Design Thing and it feels so professional and slick. :) :)
I've been invited to become a contributor to the Adafruit Learning Center -- Adafruit's online shop is where I buy most of the supplies for all the light-up costumes I've been making lately.
Adafruit's tutorial style is right up my alley. They have a good number of beginner-friendly projects and a lot of the guides focus on LED wearables and cosplay. The firewalker shoes and sparkle skirt tutorials are what got me all excited and interested in making LED costumes in the first place, and the Arduino lessons and project ideas made it actually possible. I've opened up a whole new world of fun and learned so much this past year and I'm super excited and grateful to be able to contribute to the site that got me here.
Check it out. It's a pretty easy project -- beginner level sewing and beginner level soldering, with copy-and-paste-able Arduino code that I made pretty easy to customize. I'm extremely proud of it.
Celebrity hairstyles have always influenced the way that the rest of the country looks, acts, and dresses. Before movies, celebrities were much less in the public eye than they are today. Usually the celebrities dressed and styled their hair in the way that fashion designers modeled on fashion plates and in magazines. However, with the invention of movies, all of that changed.
Hairstyles in the early days of movies
The early days of movies saw a shift from people entertaining themselves at home to entertaining themselves at the movie theater. The celebrity hairstyles were full of glamour and style. Hair was twisted and puffed and slicked into unnatural positions and styles. It was considered poor taste to have natural-looking hair. Even though movies were popular from the 1920s to 1940s, movie stars still dressed and acted like high society individuals. Individualism had not yet emerged. The hairstyles of celebrities were still similar to that of the styles worn by every one during formal occasions.
Hairstyles from the 50's and 60's
The 50's and 60's marked a change in the way movies were made and how celebrities dressed their hair. Music became a sub-culture like it never was before. This brought in the individualism from musicians which had an impact on how both famous and non-famous people wore their hair. However, there was still an emphasis on the right shape and style even for celebrity hairstyles.
Hairstyles from 1970s and 1980s
During this time, celebrity hairstyles began to differ from one another. Men grew their hair long, or kept it very short. Women were able to wear straight or curly hair. It was popular to have a somewhat wild appearance to the hair. The hairstyles reflected the feeling of rebellion that pervaded that time in history. The mullet, large perm, and feathered hair were all hairstyles popular during this time.
Hairstyles from 1990s
After the rebellion in the 70's and 80's, society calmed down somewhat. They got down to business in the 90's. Men began to wear their hair shorter again, and they almost eliminated the curl for men altogether. Women tamed their unruly perms and cut them short into business-appropriate bobs. Bangs were very popular among celebrities during this time.
Modern hairstyles
Today celebrity hairstyles vary drastically. There is a feeling of anything goes in Hollywood, and it shows in clothing choices and hairstyle choices of the stars. In some cases, popular hairstyles are adapted from famous political figures as well. The natural look for hair is very important. Even if a style takes hours to arrange, it is arranged to look as natural as possible. Every celebrity's individual beauty is celebrated. This freedom is apparent in the styles of society in general as well.
Sedu celebrity hairstyles are everywhere you look. There are pictures of sedu hairstyles in almost every woman's magazine you open and no matter what your hair type there are sedu hairstyles for you.
You know the sedu celebrity hairstyles I'm talking about, Paris Hilton sedu hairstyles, Britney Spears sedu hairstyles, yes all the celebrities are sporting them and the publicity surrounding them is huge. So how do you get on this fashion trend? The answer is simple, the new sedu hair straightening iron. With this straightening iron you too can have those sedu celebrity hairstyles that are being shown in all the magazines.
If you have long hair then maybe sedu celebrity hairstyles such as those seen on Paris Hilton, Britney spears, or Jessica Simpson might be your thing. These sedu hairstyles involve straightening your hair using your sedu hair straightener and then applying a small amount of finishing wax to hold the style.
If on the other hand you have short hair like Emma Watson then sedu hairstyles including the flick sedu hairstyles might be more your thing. These are also simple and easy to achieve and you could be looking like a celebrity in as little as five minutes. These flick sedu hairstyles involve straightening your hair using your sedu hair straightener and then flicking in or out the ends. Some finishing wax applied very lightly and you will have perfect sedu celebrity hairstyles every time.
It is important to remember when choosing celebrity sedu hairstyles that the style you choose should help to emphasize your facial features and compliment your natural beauty. Keep your style simple and elegant and just like the celebrities you won't go wrong. Why be content with looking at pictures of sedu hairstyles when you can create you own.
Among all the celebrity hairstyles, Jennifer Aniston's hairstyles are perhaps among the most popular ever. Thanks to the advent of sedu hair style, celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Alba are able to change their hairstyle literally at will. The very terms celebrity hairstyles Jennifer Aniston seem to go hand in hand. Such is the craze she has generated with her looks in on the immensely hit television sitcom 'Friends', in which she appears as Rachel Green.
Almost any fashion conscious woman would love to duplicate many of Jennifer Aniston hairstyles. The good news is that you need not have a particular type of hair in order to create Jennifer Aniston hairstyles. Even those with dull and straight hair for instance can create the long layered look made famous by this actress. You can try wearing the long layers either with or without curls. You can wear this hairstyle literally to any place, whether at home or at work. In fact celebrity hairstyles Jennifer Aniston, functionality and style are something that seem to gel together very well.
Those of you who have a round face can duplicate Jennifer Aniston's hairstyle consisting of long and straight layers of hair that surround her face. This particular hairstyle would look good on those who have either a long or round face. In fact this hairstyle is what immediately springs to anyone's mind when they hear celebrity hairstyles Jennifer Aniston. Even she personally seems to have a preference for this particular hairstyle.
Another one of the look that Jennifer Aniston often sports consists of layers which come with more volume. The shortest of the layers would end up somewhere near the ear. Some of the other layers would sweep over the forehead just like in the case of long bangs. You can also try adding some curl using a curling iron to this particular hairstyle. One great thing about celebrity hairstyles Jennifer Aniston hairstyles in particular is that all of them require the minimum of maintenance. These hairstyles are actually easier to achieve, contrary to what many people think.
The next time you were to hear the words celebrity hairstyles Jennifer Aniston; you need not rush to the nearest beauty salon. Remember with a sedu hair iron you can create most of these hairstyles right in the comforts of your home. Once you wash your hair with a good conditioning shampoo and dry your hair you can then use the sedu hair iron to create any of Jennifer Aniston's hairstyles.
Recent findings suggest that the gladiator shoes have emerged as the latest trend for most of the celebrities all across the globe. The sales of gladiator shoes have increased manifolds after they started being featured by celebrities as a fashion statement.
Gladiator shoes have come back with a bang, as they have more style and variety. Previously, celebrities didn't wear gladiator shoes, since they were considered old-fashioned, but my oh my how things have changed now!
The warrior-likeness design of these shoes has inspired many young celebrities to opt for the gladiator sandals. The knee high design is one of the most selling types of shoes as they are thought to be a sign of a strong woman. This design is one of the most popular amongst celebrities too, as I am sure you've noticed.
Another type of gladiator sandals, which is becoming rather popular, is the gladiator boots with pointed heels. This boot looks sexy yet classy when used with matching outfits. Thus, it is very vital to choose the right outfit for your particular gladiator sandals. Skinny tight jeans are the best option to wear with all kinds of boots to look more trendy and stylish, and these boots are no different.
The best place to search for the knee high or boot type gladiator shoes is the Internet. Online portals provide a range of these shoes to choose from. There are several types of shoes available in the market, but one needs to make sure about the quality before buying a pair online.
Gladiator shoes have undergone several changes from their time of origin in Rome. These old-fashioned shoes have transformed into sexy high heels and modern knee-high shoes. They have combined durability, style and comfort and are giving the previous dominant types of shoes a run for their money. These sandals are well suited for any kind of occasion and any locale, whether you are going to the beach to party or to a black tie event.
You'll find that all the other shoes will either be less comfortable or less durable. It is due to both of these reasons that the gladiator shoes have gained so much popularity. They have emerged as the first choice for the majority of women's population all around the world.
As with adult fashions, kids fashion also seems to have a lot of different trends, however fashion trends for kids are very different to fashion trends for adults, because these trends need to appeal to two different sets of people: the children who wear the clothes and the adults who pay for them! Fashion for children does not usually imitate the fashion trends which are popular for adults, because children and adults have very different needs. Here is a rundown of some of the latest fashion trends for kids which you should be buying for your children this season.
Organic/Ethical Kids Clothing
One of the latest celebrity fashion trends is to advocate ethical, organic clothing for children. Organic cotton is one of the most common ethical choices. Organic cotton is made from cotton which has been grown without the use of pesticides or genetically modified crops. Some experts say that as well as being great for the wildlife in the surrounding area, organic cotton is also softer and kinder to your child's skin. If your child has very delicate skin, it may be worth buying one piece of organic clothing, just to see whether it will make a difference. If it does, you can start buying a lot more organic produce.
Cartoon Clothing
Children absolutely love brightly colored clothing, especially if it has a picture of their favorite cartoon character on it. Although the cartoon characters may change, the cartoon style will always remain popular with children, because it is something which they can identify with. Brightly colored clothing is also great for parents, because it can help them to keep an eye on their children.
Fur-lined boots
Although the popularity of fur-lined (Ugg-style) boots waxes and wanes in the world of adult fashion, they remain popular amongst girls who are under 12. This is because they are practical and look good. Kids can run around in these boots, and play lots of kid's games, whilst they also help to keep their feet warm during the winter months. For a cheaper and more ethical choice, choose boots which are lined with fake fur or fake sheepskin.
Knitwear
This winter, knitwear is a popular choice for kids, because it is so warm, and it is available in lots of different style. Most parents choose to layer a knit jumper over another t-shirt, to help to keep their kids warm enough. However, some children will find knitwear to be irritating if they wear it in direct contact with their skin.
Black celebrity hairstyles have become a rage across fashion circles in various parts of the world. Whether it is the curls of the gorgeous Beyonce or Tyra Banks stylish cut, black hairstyles seem to be making a fashion statement literally everywhere these days. Almost every black hairstyle popularized by a celebrity seems to be finding a large number of takers these days. Whether it is the short hair cut of Oprah Winfrey or Rihanna's angled bob, Naomi Campbell's long hairstyle or Alicia Key's waves, almost all black celebrity hairstyles are making their own unique fashion statement. Using a little bit of imagination you too can duplicate black hairstyles of your favorite celebrities with ease.
Your facial features should be kept in mind when choosing from the various black celebrity hairstyles. This is important since a hairstyle that suits your facial features can make you look stunning, while anything that dose not may even end up highlighting certain not so good features. The shape of your body is also an important criterion for choosing black hairstyles. For instance a full-bodied black hairstyle would look good on anyone with a large frame while someone with a small frame would look good with a close cropped style.
The shape of your face to a very large extent dictates black celebrity hairstyles that would suit you. If you are someone who is blessed with an oval shape, then almost any black hairstyle would compliment your face. From braids to corn rows, you can try out anything on an oval shaped face. Short hair cuts with bangs are the perfect match for heart shaped faces. One good example for it would be Halle Berry, who has become synonymous with stylish short hair cuts. Her shapely physique and vivacious personality makes even such a simple hairstyle look incredibly sophisticated.
Those who have square shaped faces with an angular jaw line can go in for black hair styles with hair length longer than the jaw length. This helps in drawing attention away from the jaw line. Black hairstyle with height in the bang is what would suit someone with a round face. There are plenty of black celebrity hairstyles that you can try out. With the wide variety of hair care products available these days, there is literally no limit to the styles that you can try out. The amazing range can also be attributed to the versatility that is found in black hair. The key here is to use your imagination and come out with black hairstyles that suit you the best.
The term 'celebrity hairstyles' simply refers to hairstyles that come to be much-liked, thanks to their being the chosen hairstyles by celebrities and other opinion leaders.
Some are completely unique or even new hairstyles, 'discovered' and brought to the limelight by the celebrities in question. Others are old and well known hairstyles, classic hairstyles as it were, that are always in the limelight, but which are 'freshly' popularized by the celebrities in question. A celebrity could take a traditional hairstyle that was one the verge of being antiquated, say the 'punk' hairstyle (as it is now), and by starting to be spotted with it on, turn it into an extremely popular hairstyle again. This is likely to be the case where the celebrity in question is a well liked one.
The celebrities in question here, by the way, could include those of any variety: from star athletes, to charismatic politicians, movie stars, phenomenal musicians and even popular preachers.
Since every point in time has its own 'celebrities' (thanks to the ingrained need for role models in humans), every point in time is also bound to have its own celebrity hairstyles, inspired by these celebrities of the moment. So armed with this background information about celebrity hairstyles, we can now turn to a discussion on the best male celebrity hairstyles.
As it turns out, there is never a point of unanimity regarding which the best celebrity-hairstyles for men (or otherwise) are. What comes across as 'best' to one person could be extremely off-putting to another, so that this subject is always a subject of perpetual conjecture.
The best male celebrity hairstyles therefore vary from one group of people to another; depending on their -interests and whom they consider to be their role models (or celebrities).
What is important to note is that even where what can be termed as quite universally accepted 'best' male celebrity hairstyles emerge, they don't tend to turn into phenomena, worn by everyone. This is unlike the case with those that emerge as the best female celebrity hairstyles, which upon getting the relevant endorsements from the celebrities, tend to turn into major fads, worn by all women who want to appear 'fashion-conscious.'
This disparity between the adoption rates for the best male celebrity-hairstyles and the best female celebrity hairstyles is mainly attributable to the fact that the male psyche tends to more difficult to alter. Men are 'stubborn' and as psychologists who study these things keep on tell us, the male mind is less prone to persuasion than the female psyche. So we end up with a situation where the best male celebrity hairstyles get greatly admired by men, but not as widely adopted by them (as they prefer to keep their styles, as they put it). A man has to be 'himself' is a commonly voiced sentiment in this regard.
Yet there are some truly good male celebrity-hairstyles, which manage to penetrate the barrier of stubbornness, and go on to find widespread adoption in male circles. Those - and they tend to be few and far between - are the truly best male celebrity hairstyles.
Celebrity hairstyles are not as difficult to achieve as you think them to be. In fact with a little bit of effort and imagination on your part you can have these celebrity hairstyles right from the cool confines of your home. Whether it is the latest Jennifer Aniston style that you are looking for or the hairstyle of Paris Hilton that you need to copy, you can create them and that too even without a personal hairstylist.
You can in fact duplicate most of the celebrity hairstyles by using a quality hair straightening iron. Using a bit of imagination is perhaps the secret to a good hairstyle. The good old hit and trial method would work in the case of hairstyles too. You should constantly try different styles. Even a seemingly small alteration such as parting your hair from left to right can have a dramatic effect on how you look.
The shape of your face will dictate your hairstyle to a very large extent. For instance those with heart shaped faces will always look good with chin length hair or any type of long hairstyle for that matter. In fact most of the celebrity hairstyles look good since a lot of thought has gone behind them. The personal stylists of celebrities often try out different styles based on the facial features of these celebrities before arriving at a particular hairstyle. Whether it is Jennifer Lopez or Brad Pitt, or for that matter any celebrity, they look good in their respective hairstyles because the particular style suits their face.
The trend these days is towards more loosened hairstyles. Many celebrity hairstyles are based on this trend nowadays. With the right cut, almost anyone can look as beautiful as a celebrity. The best way to go about it would be to have a particular celebrity whose face closely resembles your face's shape, as a role model. This way you can try out the hairstyles of that particular celebrity. Another alternate way would be to visit any of the virtual hairstyle websites over the internet. You can upload your photo at these websites and try out different hairstyles on your photo. This would give you a good idea about which particular hairstyle suits you or not.
Short hairstyles also seem to have made a comeback among celebrities these days. From Mandy Moore to Charlize Theron, everyone seems to be sporting short hairstyles these days. Mid -length hairstyles of Cameron Diaz and Jessica Simpson are also just as popular nowadays. With so many hairstyle options available, all that you need to do is to look for one that best suits the shape of your face and go for it.
My latest project is officially finished! I made my first set of LED Isis Wings and they are, of course, my new favorite thing ever.
Here they are in action:
The iridescent Wings of Isis are gorgeous on their own, but with the lights they're really stunning.
The wings have 120 neopixels controlled by a Teensy 3.1 running Arduino. They've got bluetooth control (controllable by my Glimmer the Mermaid android app!) and also a clicky thumb switch for changing modes on the fly. It's on the left, because I am left handed and I like things to be custom like that.
These were pretty labor intensive. I needed them to be really lightweight and also not mind being whacked into things (and people.. you'd think with 120 lights people wouldn't walk into you, but never underestimate the lack of awareness in people who are busy texting).
I started with individual neopixels from Adafruit and soldered them together into 12 strands of 10 pixels each using 30AWG silicone coated wire. Then I cast each pixel in quick setting Amazing Resin, to keep the pixels from shorting if they touched each other and to provide a lot of strain relief and whack-relief. The resin is white, and I used all white wire, so the light strands really disappear against the white iridescent fabric in the daylight.
Then I laid them all out on the wings in a starfish pattern and used E600 fabric glue to secure each light to the wings. Finally, I used my sewing machine and ran a zig-zag stitch over the wires in between each light to securely fasten each strand to the wings.
That was the easy part. Fabrication always comes easier to me than wiring and coding, but the geeky techie stuff is getting a little easier with each project.
This was my first time using the Teensy micro controller and I must say that I am a convert. This tiny little chip has acres and acres of memory and is really easy to set up and use. It just works! I like that very much.
The HC-05 bluetooth module I'm using is not quite as delightful. It works, no problems there, but I have been unable to get it into AT command mode despite all my (albeit possibly feeble) best efforts. I am having no problems getting it to control the wings for me, but I can't change its name, which means that as I make more sets of these wings I will have multiple devices all named HC-05 -- which makes choosing the correct one from my android tablet rather problematic. I also can't access some of the other higher functions like using it in master mode instead of slave mode, which sort of bums me out since I had some ideas for that. Oh well.
For power, I'm using a Tenergy Li-Poly 11.1V / 2200mAh battery that connects through a 5V step-down converter. It runs the wings for several hours as long as I'm not screaming at full brightness most of the time. I'm pretty happy with the performance.
I used clicky connectors for everything that attaches the wings to the project box, so the project box can be taken off entirely if I need to wash the wings or if I want to mix and match controllers with multiple sets of wings -- since LED strands tend to break no matter how robust you make them, I think this will save my butt at some future date when I turn the wings on right before a gig and realize one of the strands is out.. I can just swap it out with a different set of wings.
Each LED strand is connected to its own pin on the Teensy, so I can run matrix-style animations that march from one side of the wings to the other.
The code I'm using relies heavily on the wonderful FastLED library. I've got about 10 modes so far, and am planning to add a lot more. The "fire" mode is currently my favorite, but in five minutes it'll probably be "rainbow with glitter" again. I also added a mode I call "Gandalf" -- glowing bluish white tips -- which just makes the nerdy little girl in me wiggle with delight.
I think my favorite mode is whichever one is currently running, actually.
The coding is the hardest part for me, and probably the least interesting aspect of the wings to anyone who's not a coder. My hubby just rolls his eyes whenever I spend 3 hours trying to get an animation juuuuust right -- it looks the same to him as it did before I started. But, it makes me happy, and I'm learning a lot, so I'm going to keep tweaking on it. And I'm continually amazed and impressed with the FastLED Google+ Community for all the coding help and sharing that goes on. These guys are doing Internet the right way.
And, if and when I can get the lights to dance seamlessly with the music, I will have Made Good Art. :)
Isis wings traditionally strap around the performer's neck for support, but with this giant battery and all these lights they are WAY too heavy for that. I felt like I was being strangled with all that weight pressing right on my throat. So I made a little backpack with clear straps to house all the electronics and the battery, and lined it with duvetyne fire retardant cloth just in case my battery decides to get antsy and explode or anything.
All together I am pleased as punch with how gorgeous these are. I've got lots of fun modes working and have choreographed my first full-song-length animation sequence. I have a show on New Year's Eve booked where we'll be dancing with two sets of wings together and I can't wait to get to choreographing that piece.. I suspect it's going to be spectacular.
The rocket pack is made out of plastic soda bottles and the aviator cap is made from craft foam. The goggles change color depending on which way I'm facing and have a pendulum effect that reacts whenever I turn my head. I'm wearing 4 different arduinos, one accelerometer, one bluetooth module and 5 different batteries, and all together I'm rocking 180 LEDs.
The outfit lasted all night without me having to change a single battery or fix a single flicker. This is a major accomplishment!! I am so proud. :) :) :)
This upcycled leather Steampunk Festival Belt is really fun. It's got a steampunk octopus. Who doesn't love a steampunk octopus? It also has a steampunk dragonfly on the other side, and tentacles embroidered on the iPhone pocket in the back. It has magnetic snaps to keep the pocket flaps in place, and zippers inside to keep your stuff in place in case of handstands or sudden drops in airship elevation.
It's made from two colors of leather (upcycled from used leather jackets), a gorgeous coppery fabric, and faux leather for the side pocket flaps. All the creatures are embroidered on. For stamina.
I wear one of these every day in lieu of a purse or backpack and I absolutely love it. It has enough space for my moneys, my lipstick, my business cards, and my phone (fits an iPhone 4 or 5, I haven't tried it with a 6 or an Android phone), with two extra small secret pockets behind the phone pocket for frequent buyer cards and hair ties, or of course, spy documents.
I made this for me, but then realized it isn't .. quite .. me. It certainly is someone though. So I'm going to sell it. It'll fit hip size 35-45 or thereabouts. I'm asking $150. Send me an email if you'd like it.
So, I have been making stuff. I never stop making stuff. I just haven't been posting about it all. :) Too busy traveling the world as a Mermaid, I think.
I started with a neopixel. I did a resin cast, embedding the neopixel inside. Then I glued a small neopixel ring on the back of the hardened resin jewel and wired it up to the embedded pixel. I love the neopixel rings, but trouble is that they leave a dark spot in the middle, so adding a single neopixel in the center makes the whole thing glow more evenly.
I wired it all up to a beetle board. These are super cute and teeny tiny, though they are a bit fiddly and sometimes I want to smash them with a shoe.
I tested lots of different LED code effects before I found this one on the FastLED forum and tweaked it so it gave me the look I wanted.. clouds, sparkles, fades, and the whole thing slowly cycles through the rainbow, giving me every color over the course of several minutes. It runs on a small LiPo battery glued to the back of the beetle board.
I looked through my "steampunk junk" drawer and found the little pocket watch blank -- I probably got it at Michael's or a halloween store at some point. I took off the back and the flip cover and used a dremel to rout out the inside metal tabs, and the whole necklace assembly fit perfectly right inside. (I was tempted to leave the flip cover on, because a flip cover pocket watch necklace would be super cool too, but I decided it's better in it's constantly open state and who wants to walk around with a covered up LED necklace anyway?)
The new thing, the bit I'm proudest of, is the magnetic clasp / switch. This has always been an issue for me with making LED necklaces. Well, two issues -- one, where do you put the switch so it's not visible or rubbing against your neck, and two, how do you have an open-able clasp if the wires are going around your neck? With this solution I fixed both problems in a most elegant way.
The magnetic clasp is a super simple solution, and much less expensive than buying an on/off switch. I'm considering adding a non-wired magnetic clasp in there too, in case I want to wear this necklace when it's turned off... but.. why on earth would I want to do that?
Before you ask.. yes, I have considered making these for sale. But, my MO for any type of thing I make seems to be this:
1. Make a whole bunch JUST FOR ME until I have way more than I can use 2. Make them for my friends as gifts / giveaways until my friends get sick of them too 3. Make them for sale, if I'm still excited about the process and if I can guarantee they won't break.
That's the issue with LED clothing, costumes, jewelry, etc... it breaks! It breaks all the time. I'm convinced that this is why it's taking so long for cool LED glow fur and costume bits to make it out to the retail stores.. I have to fix on my LED costume bits so often, and the fixes are usually pretty tricky and involve soldering irons and replacement wires and parts, that I just couldn't justify selling this stuff until I feel super confident it won't just fall apart.
Here's a picture of the guts. I might add some kind of cover back there eventually but then there'll be issues with plugging it into the charger, so I've just left it techie-looking for now. :) And it's nice and smooth on my neck, and doesn't seem to want to spin around, so maybe I'll just leave it.
I'm listening to the audiobook verion of Stormlight by Brandon Sanderson while working on things, and woke up this morning gripped with the inescapable need for a Soulcaster of my own.
From Wikepedia:
Soulcasting is a practice where objects are changed from one form to another. It has been shown to turn rock into smoke, purify the blood from poisons, and create food, and it has many other uses. Soulcasting is done by means of a device called a soulcaster that is powered by gems imbued with Stormlight. The type of gem placed inside the soulcaster determines what the caster can transform. With each use there is a chance of the gem cracking and being destroyed, especially when a large amount of matter is changed.
I think that sounds like a pretty useful thing to have.
So without further ado, I busted out the big box o' steampunk junk and the soldering iron, pulled out a few neopixels and an arduino micro controller (that's where the magic comes from) and came up with this lovely thing.
It's got three glowing gemstone spheres, set in brass for stability and maximum power transfer. The straps are soft suede leather and it closes with two ornate brass buttons.
The gemstones glow quite brightly fading between all the colors in the rainbow. And of course, when I'm using it to transmute one kind of matter into another, they flash with a searing brightness.
This thing is delighting me a whole lot. It's also going to make a fantastic steampunk costume accessory. What kind of mythical creature might steal and wear a soulcaster? Are they of use to mermaids or fairies? Maybe to this Steampunk Fairy. What would you transmute with your very own soulcaster?
Now that my LED Mermaid Tail is functional, I've been spending every waking minute adding bells and whistles, animations and robust-ification. I've got a pool lined up for my very first swim-test on Friday and I'm both terrified and deliciously excited. Will it all short out? Will I electrocute myself? Will the bluetooth controls work through a couple feet of water? And how is the tail going to swim?
For all the questions, I am getting really confident and happy with the software side of things. I discovered the FastLED code library for Arduino, and it's completely blown my mind. I'm an artist and a performer first and have just started coding Arduino fairly recently, so doing much more than simple color changes was a bit beyond my abilities. This code library has given me dozens of sample animations to tweak on and play with which has made the Glimmer tail so incredibly complex and effective, SO quickly.
Here are a few of my favorites so far:
I'm also dipping my toes (fins?) into the Android pool and working on making a pretty Android app for controlling the tail. I've got several different environments I need to think about. Animations for a live appearance need to be different from animations for a photo shoot, and when I do a performance, those animations need to be different yet again. I need brightness controls too, for battery life management and so I can effectively match different performance or photo environments.
This is really new territory for me. Android coding is HARD, you guys. But the Internet is amazing and wonderful and beautiful, and people are so incredibly supportive and helpful, so I'm getting there.
Of course I want buttons that go "boink" when you press them and all kinds of animations and sound effects and junk, but for right now, it works and it looks pretty... so I'm happy.
Tonight I'm doing a sunset photo shoot at the Richmond Marina, and Friday is my first swim!! I can't wait. :)
I made the LED swimmable mermaid seashells at the end of 2013, and wore them to the NC Merfest convention and they were a huge hit. When I got home, I decided the shells needed a light-up tail to complement them. The rabbit-hole opened up, and I dove right in.
The end result is absolutely stunning, and I am completely delighted with it. This was the most learning-intensive and difficult and frustrating project I've attempted in.. well, since college, I think. I have had to learn so much in so many different fields, and I've encountered so many amazing people and communities along the way.
This tail uses about 180 Adafruit Neopixels and an Arduino Micro to control them. It's got a bluetooth feature -- I can control it with my android tablet and change the animations and brightness of the lights. I plan to add audio sensors and possibly motion or color sensors as well (that'll be phase two, I think).
It is designed to be swimmable. I'm doing the first full water test probably next week, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I used enough glue that nothing shorts or zaps me. Nothing has so far, and all the partial water tests I've done have worked fine.. but strapping a big battery and a bunch of electronics on, and then going for a swim, makes me a little nervous.
Mermaid in the bathtub!
But. Swimming Mermaid LED Tail!!!
This is a neoprene tail painted with Jones Tones. I used the same basic method for the tail as I used for my last neoprene Ariel Mermaid Tail, but I spared no expense this time. I used a competitor monofin (which I like SO much better than the Rapid). I made the scales larger and added lots of rhinestones and gems and lace. When the lights are off, it almost comes across as "Mermaid Wedding" -- but I love the fanciness and I love how the predominantly white color scheme goes with the lights, whatever color they are.
The lights on the top part of the tail are individual neopixels cast in resin for diffusion and waterproofing.
The lights on the bottom are neopixel strips encased in Dragonskin silicone. This keeps them flexible (almost to a fault -- I have broken them a couple times already!) and very waterproof.
Also I made a glowing tiara with more of the resin cast neopixel "jewels". Because Glimmer needed a glowing tiara.
All together, the outfit is just stunning. I never want to take it off. This tail is significantly heavier than my other tails have been (oof, abs!) but it should be close to neutrally buoyant in the water.
I got to wear it to the A's Game season opening party at the Oakland Coliseum this past week. They put me by the sushi bar, HA!
Glimmer was very well received. Although, with that particular audience, most people seemed to be more excited about the light-up seashells than the fancy animated tail. (Men. What can you do?)
Once all the bugs are worked out and the swimmability tested, Glimmer will be available for all kinds of wet or dry events and appearances. I'm also hoping to do a lot of photo shoots as the weather gets nicer. I want to do sunset beach shoots, and underwater cave shoots, and fancy swimming pool shoots and snowscape shoots. I just want to wear it everywhere. :)
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Proving supermodels are just like us for the second time, Crawford also admits a reluctance to exercise. Although unlike us, she still forces herself to do some. “I just do it. I don’t even think about it. It’s so ingrained. Scheduling it really helps. Putting on the gym clothes is the hard part,” she says.
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