Glowing Soulcaster Wristband - Inspired by the Stormlight Archives

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?

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Glimmer the Mermaid -- LED Mermaid Tail and accessories

I haven't posted in the last few months because I've been pouring all my energy into creating this.

I call her Glimmer the Mermaid.  :)

(She's even got her own Facebook Page so that makes her "real")

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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Peacock Fairy Costume Dress

I finished this peacock fairy costume yesterday.  With the sunset getting later and later this time of year, there was plenty of time to head out to the arboretum for a photo shoot yesterday evening.  

I'm really pleased with how this costume turned out!  

I wear fairy costumes for a living so I designed this costume to be really versatile.  Instead of a dress, it's made up of 7 different individual pieces so I can mix and match with some of my other fairy costumes to create a lot of different looks.

The skirt is 4 layers.  There's an iridescent two-tone taffeta as the main part of the skirt.  The ribbons at the front are functional gathers, so I can let the skirt out into a floor length gown or gather it up for a saucy fairy look.

There's a lighter blue ruffle bustle that attaches to the skirt.  The bustle is really long, and can be let out into a ruffle train which follows me like a peacock tail, or adds a lot of shape when it's bustled up.

Layered over that is a tutu made of purple, blue, light blue and black tulle.  The tulle is edged to give it a lot of definition, and I used my new embroidery machine to embroider peacock feathers here and there in the tutu's layers.  This might be my favorite part of the whole costume.  I'm having SO much fun with that machine.

The 4th layer is another bustle / hip scarf that ties on with gold ribbon.  It's a lovely stretchy animal-print fabric with gold flecks.  This fabric was actually the inspiration for the whole costume.  It's simply gorgeous.  I also added a row of super bright LED tape to the underside of this piece, so in low light the LEDs shine down into the tutu and give the whole skirt a subtle glow.

There are 3 pieces to the top.  There's a sheer off-white blouse, an under-bust corset and a peacock bra.  The bra is covered in shiny gold fabric with real peacock feathers layered onto it (spray glue FTW).  

The corset is made from a sparkle velvet (left over from my Merida costume) has triple lacing in the front and is cut low in the back to accommodate my green Fancy Fairy wings.

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Dusty Green Flower Faerie Hoodie with Spiral Embroidery

Custom order through Etsy for Elven Elysium, who makes amazing faerie things too. I like this one SO much that I'm adding it to the repertoire.. check it out here!

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Bling Bling Belly Dance / Tribal Belt

This week I've been working on a "Tribal" costume for an upcoming fire show for San Jose State University's homecoming.  The show is tonight!  So this morning I find myself gluing jewels and bling and more bling on my new tribal belt.  LOVE.

I am a human disco ball.

I wanted to be able to wear this with more than just the "Tribal" look, so I started with some left over fabric from Darrell's "flamenco" pants (so we'll match, if we wear them together).  The tribal costume is green, and most of my other costumes are red, so I went with a copper thread and gold and silver accents, so I can wear it with just about any color and it'll look great.

I did the copper embroidery with metallic thread - which looks AMAZING in person but was such a pain to do.  I had all sorts of grand plans for fancy embroidery and I'm so glad I just decided on "simple".. the thread breaks every 2-3 inches even using a metallic needle.  So frustrating.

I edged it in the same copper thread (works much better in the serger than the regular machine) and then started decorating.  I used 3 sizes of jewels, coins left over from my belly dancing costume, and strung some beads so I have danglies, (which fascinate Biskit the kitten to no end).  It looks so incredible when it catches the light!!

I backed it with felt so it stays put on my hips and closed it with velcro for easy on/off and adjustments.  I can't wait to wear it tonight!

(biskit having impure thoughts...)

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