Monday 18 April 2016

COSPLAY: Sea Nymph Costume

 

I have a costume theme night coming up ... the theme is nautical and island, but I wanted to do something a little outside the box. In the mix of pirates and mermaids, I thought I would be an ondine - something like a sea nymph, if you will - but I wanted to make a crown too ... just to make it a little more sea-esque.

I'm waiting on my wig and dress to arrive - but this is how I made the crown ...

Next up, figuring out how to make a belt!

x


I didn't really have a clear idea how to make the crown. I watched a lot of tutorials online and a lot of them used tiaras as their base. I didn't want to do that - there's also numerous crowns on etsy that were great inspiration, but not in the style I was going for ...

Materials:
  • Headband - $3.50, discount shop 
  • Coral - free, off a tree
  • Shells - free, from the beach
  • Shells (extra) - $2.99, dollar king
  • Starfish - clay, $2.99, dollar king
  • Pearls - earrings, various, own
  • Gems - $2.50, dollar king
  • Hot Glue Gun, spotlight, $12.99 
  • Nail Polish, various, $2.99-$4.99
  • Paint, $2.50, the reject shop
  • Also, cardboard, newspaper 
How To:
  1.  My crown was very simple. I started with the headband and some cardboard. I drew the basic outline of what I wanted the spikes to look like - think King Triton from The Little Mermaid. I then cut out the cardboard and stuck it to the back of the headband. (I had flaps underneath to hold it in place)
  2. Next, I paper-mâchéd my spikes. This was quite difficult - as you can see from the imperfections, but I like that it adds to the character of the piece.I only did the front of the spikes, not the back. I stuffed the front with newspaper and left the back flat, but I made sure to cover both in the gooey-paper for consistency and texture. I let dry overnight.
  3. I then painted my spikes in blue. If your nail polish will cover the newspaper, this step isn't needed, but I used paint first, then nail polish.
  4. Paint everything with nail polish (I went with glitters and blues) - including shells and coral.
  5. Assemble. It will take a bit of hot glue to make everything stick - especially on a velvet base (I went with velvet for the comfort. Make sure it has a wide base! This'll help hold things on. My tip is to figure out where you want everything first. And layer, layer, layer. It'll help make things easier when you stick everything down. Let dye.
And you're done.

I'm thinking of putting some mod podge on it to keep everything in place. But I'm a little worried as I've never used it before and I don't want to ruin my headband ... I may also add some faux moss but I'm not too sure yet ...

You'll just have to wait until the whole costume comes together - which may or may not include a thigh length blonde wig ... =D

x

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