Kaylee Frye Dress

Hello fellow fans!

If you read my post from last week, you know that on April 10th I went to Emerald City Comicon in Seattle wearing a Kaylee Frye inspired frock.

Captain Kaylee's in command

Photo Credit: Hilary from the Cutie Life <3

Now, I'm finally getting around to laying out all the details for those who are interested.

Little backstory: A few years ago, I got all the necessary items to make a Kaylee Frye cosplay, but being as it was a last-minute thing, my friends and I were too late to buy tickets so it was never completed.

Flash forward to the beginning of April this year: I had decided that I wasn't going to go to comicon without wearing something fun. The two other conventions I've been to I regretted only wearing a geeky t-shirt. It's so much more fun to wear a cosplay! (If also stressful and quite a bit sweaty, as I learned.)

It all started with an idea: a dress combining the details of both of Kaylee's most memorable outfits from Firefly.

Thankfully, I already had the dress. It was given to me by a bestie of mine. However it would need a bit of tricky alteration to look more like Kaylee's outfit. That involved turning a button up dress into one with a zipper, which is something I had never done before. Here I was going to attempt it anyway!

After removing all the buttons and plackets, I seam ripped the inside of the casing underneath where the buttons were so I could install the zipper to the other side. With a tricky bit of manipulation, it worked! I sewed back down the stitch line and shortened the bottom of the dress and that was all that needed to be done. Then I hand/basted the patches on just in case I ever wanted to wear the dress plainly.

The "shindig" part of this outfit was a little trickier. I started with a plain slip and a couple of children's tutu skirts, all of which were thrifted for under $15. I then sewed them together so it formed a long strip (we're talking 6-8 feet here!) and gathered it with the sewing machine.

So frustrating to sew, but so rewarding to watch those perfect gathers happen.

Then I simply sewed the tutu fabric to the slip. Well, not so simply considering that the slip is stretchy! And well... slippery. (haha) But I followed the words of sewing guru Tim Gunn and made it work!

I finished off the look with a pair of strawberry earrings. Very happy to say that the dress turned out almost exactly as I imagined! It was so comfortable to wear around the con too! Tutu slips might be the next big thing! You never know...

Also, a shout-out to the PDX Browncoats booth where I got the awesome Jayne hat pin! I should have had my bear wearing it during the con!

I hope this post inspires you to follow your sewing and cosplay dreams. Think outside the box and make the ideas your own. Anything is possible!

ECCC 2016

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Emerald City Comicon here in Seattle!

It was my first year attending, so I chose to only go on Sunday. I had a wonderful time!!!

I made my Kaylee Frye (Firefly) dress about a week before con. (There will be a separate post with all the details about that next week.)

I made a new friend right off the bat.

You can check out this fella's maker on Instagram here.

Keep reading for the whole experience!

Gotta Catch 'Em All! Poké Ball Bracelet and Earrings

Pokémon is 20 years old! 

I was pretty much obsessed with the original television show when I was in 6th grade. The characters were so much fun and it was unlike any other show I had seen before. I was also a card collector which means I had no idea how to play the game and because of that I made a lot of bad trades. I got most of my cards (which I still have, by the way) from KB Toys. Ahh, the good old days!

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I'm sharing two fun Pokémon related pieces of jewelry I've made. The first is one of my favorite, and most intricate, pieces of polymer clay jewelry I have ever created: a Poké Ball bracelet!

In the IGGPPC forums last year there was a post for a fandom jewelry swap and I immediately signed up! I decided to go ALL OUT for my partner, and her love of Pokemon gave me the inspiration I needed to make this bracelet the very best. (I had to. Sorry, not sorry.)

These are the Poké Balls my swap partner requested:
Classic Pokeball, heal ball, Team Rocket ball, Great ball, Diamond ball, Master ball, Ultra ball, Premier ball, and Safari ball.

I used a tutorial from my favorite polymer clay artist on YouTube, and the person whose tutorials got me interested in clay crafts in the first place, NerdECrafter! Here is the video:


Check out her other tutorials! They're guaranteed to inspire you to create.

I combined this technique with pictures of the other Poké Balls I was able to find online as a guide to the various designs. The only charm that took multiple attempts was the Diamond ball. I eventually ended up embedding the crystals into the clay itself, and that seemed to be the most effective way to keep them in place. As you can see, I ended up making the charms quite small which made this a meticulous process.


The second piece of Pokémon jewelry I have to share are some Poké Ball earrings! 

I didn't use a tutorial, but I did find some inspiration online and decided to go for it. If you want to try and make a pair for yourself, here are a few video tutorials that you may find helpful: DIY:Pokeball Stud Earrings and DIY Pokeball Earrings


Are you a Pokémon fan? Which are your favorites? I had so many when I was younger: Pikachu, Mew, Togepi, Evee, Vulpix, Psyduck... the list goes on!

From my trip to PAX Prime in Seattle 2015

Happy Birthday, Pokémon! 

Here's to 20 more years and many different and weird Pokémon to catch!

Fire! Walk With Me

"Diane, 11:30 a.m., February 24th. Entering the town of Twin Peaks." -Dale Cooper (Twin Peaks)

Mural by Bruce Edwards of Magi-Graphics on the side of Twede's Cafe in North Bend, Washington. 

It's Twin Peaks Day! 

Last year I made my own trip to "Twin Peaks" for the first time after visiting Snoqualmie Falls and North Bend, Washington. Before this trip I had only heard of Twin Peaks from the Psych Episode "Dual Spires". In fact, every time I think of the opening to Twin Peaks the theme song from that episode pops into my head.

Stopping first at the Falls, I had no idea it was part of the opening scene of a cult classic television show. There were a lot of tourists in the area, and understandably so because these falls are massive! Who doesn't want to see that on a hot summer day?

On the way out, Twede's Cafe came into view and I convinced Mom to pull over so we could stop by and check out the murals.

This stop sparked my interest in the show, and that very evening (or the next day, I can't remember) I began my journey into the world of Twin Peaks.

"They've got a cherry pie there that'll kill ya!"-Dale Cooper

If you've ever watched the show or seen any of the episodes you'll know that it's straight up one of the strangest shows out there. There are weird things happening in Twin Peaks, and they all come to light after the iconic death of Laura Palmer. I tried explaining the show to a few people, but everything that comes out is rubbish compared to what the show actually is: practically indescribable. You have to watch the entire series in order to fully understand. If you're anything like me, you still won't, but it's okay.

So, to celebrate Twin Peaks Day I put together a Red Room/White Lodge/Black Lodge themed outfit!

"That gum you like is going to come back in style."

I was going to use this outfit in last year's Nerdvember hosted by the lovely ladies at Set To Stunning, but it never came to be. I'm really glad to finally see it put to use after thinking about it for so long.

"The owls are not what they seem."

This is not how I normally dress, and I never ever wear heels. I'll probably be wearing a much more casual version of this outfit today. This is just for funsies.

"Isn't it too dreamy?"

A little bit of Audrey Horne inspiration for these. She's one of my favorites!
Almost every bit of my outfit was thrifted from Value Village.

Have you watched Twin Peaks? If so, what did you think of it?

Hope you enjoy a nice slice of cherry pie with your coffee "black as midnight on a moonless night" and keep an eye out for fish in the percolator.

Little Green Men From Outer Space

"Fangirls, it's me." 

The X-Files revival series premiered last night, and another new episode airs tonight. Despite being RUDELY delayed by football, I felt that the episode was worth the watch. I really enjoyed live-tweeting with some other iggles! (International Geek Girl Pen Pals.) It featured all of our old favorite characters and added a few new people to the mix. Without being too specific and spoilerific, the episode contained many classic themes such as conspiracy, the government, and Mulder's favorite: Aliens!

Watching many Science Fiction shows and movies over the years have drastically changed the way I view extra terrestrials. Yet whenever someone mentions aliens one specific visage comes to mind. (Sorry, Doctor!)

This face right here:

Take me to your leader

You've probably seen some incarnation of them before on stickers or shirts. Gotta love the 90's grunge style aliens! Especially those that glow-in-the-dark! I had been wanting a cute little alien head pin of my own, and being the crafty person I am decided to sit down and make it!

Here's what I used to bring this little green dude to life:

• Sculpey brand glow-in-the-dark clay
• Sculpey Accents clay in "Twinkle Twinkle"
• A small amount of bright green clay
• A pin back blank
• Various sculpting tools

I wish I wore pins more. Maybe I should have made it into a necklace instead. It measures about 2.5x3 cm, so it's quite small.

Still, I think it went pretty well with my 90's grunge X-Files look for Nerdvember 2015.

A photo posted by Kelsey (@craftylilgeek) on Nov 6, 2015 at 4:24pm PST

 T-shirt I won in a giveaway from 6 Dollar Shirts, and yes, I layered a blazer over a hoodie. (Liv Moore style!)

Since we're talking about aliens, this classic alien face isn't the only one I love and have crafted. The zany Pizza Planet aliens from Toy Story are also near and dear to my heart. (And my ears.)

The Cllllaaaaaaawwwww!

I've been playing Tsum Tsum for a while now, and was inspired by their shape to make these earrings. I think those guys are so cute tsum-tsum-ised!

For this pair I used:

• Sculpey Premo! Clay in Bright Green Pearl
• White and black clay
• Acrylic paints
• 2 i-pins
• 2 earring hooks
• Sculpting tools

So tell me, in a non-spoilery way for fellow fangirls who haven't watched the episode(s) yet, what did you think of the premiere? 

"I want to believe" that this will be a good comeback for the series. 

Seriously though, I hope this is worth it, and I'll be watching it tonight! Feel free to join the conversation with me if I live-tweet! @craftylilgeek