#when sewn together it looks like a piece of velvet ribbon layered with lace and gauze

[octo-crafts]

Will anyone else be in costume tonight when I go out? Probably not, but I don't have any other excuse to dress up this week.

The vest, skirt, and shirt are all the same ones from this post. For the shirt decor, I bought a cheap steampunk choker and dismantled it for parts (one piece was already falling off from where it had been hot glued to the lace) and sewed snaps to one side of each little metal piece. Then, I sewed the other sides to my shirt, and attached the other side of the snaps. This way, I can still button and unbutton my shirt, and if I want to just have a black shirt again/get a better steampunk shirt (i did also buy a brown sheet i'll eventually turn into a shirt, but there wasn't time for that this year) I'll be able to pick out the stitching with relatively little damage to the shirt.

[clownaroundtown]

How To Make Your Own Clown Doll ! (A Guide)

Hello good people !!

I have made a few clown dolls before, and someone submitted a question asking if I followed any guide for them or had a guide myself. I sorta made it up as I went for the first doll, but I have learned better methods of doing things since then!

Here is my guide on how to make some dudes for yourself!

You will need:

Fabric for the body - I used an off-white fleece for the torso and limbs for this one, but have previously used a thin off-white sorta cotton fabric, which works better if you want floppier/thinner limbs!

Fabric for the clothes - Use whatever you want, honestly! I used some cool stretchy silver-metallic fabric for mine but have previously used cotton and polyester patterned fabrics !

Polymer clay - I used Sculpey III for this one, but for my previous two I used some other kind of Sculpey that was very very light and airy, which made it hard to sculpt properly without squishing it! If you want to add any detail to the face shape, use some firm polymer clay !

Posca pens (optional) and acrylic paints - Acrylics are used for the base coat on the head. I used the paints for the details too previously, but used posca pens on this one which was much easier to do the face details with! Either works just fine, though : )

Faux fur - for hair! If you want a bald clown or one with just a hat without hair, you don't need this!

Decorative trims and such - I used some pink frilly elastic trim, blue dotted non-elastic trim, white elastic frilly mesh, buttons, a silver bell and some blue velvet ribbon for this guy! You can literally use whatever you want (ribbons, bows, pom-poms, lace, etc) to make your clown look cute!!

Varnish - Use spray varnish if you can! It'll help prevent the face paint from smudging (all 3 of mine have had this happen using varnish with a brush). It is possible to use varnish with a brush on them but be careful with it! I used sculpey gloss varnish.

Tin/aluminium foil

Basic sewing supplies (needles, thread, pins, scissors)

Steps

1. Make a ball out of the foil, a little smaller than the size you want the finished head.

2. Cover it in a layer of Sculpey and sculpt the face shape you want. Include a pretty thick neck with the base at the bottom WIDER than the rest of the neck. This will be how the head is anchored to the body!

3. Bake the clay, let it cool, and sand it down so that it is nice and even without any finger-prints!

4. Paint a base coat on it with acrylic paints!

5. Paint/draw on whatever face details you want using acrylics or posca pens! Let your creativity flow!!

6. Varnish it!

7. Draw out the body pieces (torso and limbs) on your body fabric. You'll need two torso pieces, four leg pieces and four arm pieces. Honestly there's no method to what shape to draw, just draw what shapes you want them to be! (Remember to reverse each second piece though so that they match up when sewing them together). I used a rounded rectangle for the torso, and chose to make the legs on mine very long!

8. Cut out all the pieces and sew them together with the CORRECT sides facing INWARDS and the WRONG sides facing outwards. Once sewn, flip them inside out. MAKE SURE TO LEAVE THE TOP SIDE OF THE TORSO UN-SEWN TO INSERT THE HEAD!

9. Almost fully fill the body with plastic pellets, and only partially fill the limbs (I filled them about 1/4 full)! If you don't have those, use dry rice like I did (or dry lentils) or sand! If you use sand, ensure sure you make your stitches REALLY close together so sand doesn't come out of any gaps! If you want the limbs to be chunkier, fill them with more pellets OR stuff the rest of them with poly-fill or cotton wool!

10. Insert the neck into the torso and sew the opening tight around it, like this! The wide base of the neck stops the head from coming out : )

11. Sew on the limbs! The stitching doesn't have to be perfect here since the clothes will hide it!

12. Make the clothes! You can make whatever kind of clothing you like; I just made a baggy little jumpsuit sorta thing for my guy! To do this, I laid the clown out on the fabric and roughly drew the shape for clothes around him based on what I wanted! Flip it, lay it down in the fabric again and then trace this to get the second jumpsuit piece!

13. Use the same method of sewing the pieces together with the CORRECT sides facing each other so the WRONG sides are facing outwards. Then turn the clothes inside-out so that the right sides are now facing outwards! MAKE SURE TO LEAVE OPENINGS FOR THE HEAD AND LIMBS TO COME OUT THROUGH!

14. Put the clothes on the clown!!

15. (Optional) Glue fake fur on the top of the head in the style you want it! I used hot glue because I didn't have anything else, but fabric glues and all-purpose glues would be good too! If you don't want hair, just skip this step!

16. (Optional) Hat!! Cut out a wide triangle shape, sew the opposite sides together and then sew a circle to the base if you want a pointy hat like my dude's one (I don't have photos of this sadly but I'm sure there's a tutorial out there of how to sew a cone)! Then glue the base to the top of the head.

16. And finally, add all the trims and extra bits you want to make them look super cute !!! I just sewed on some ribbon to the base of the hat and around the ankles, sewed some frilly elastic trims around the neck, added a little silver bell to the hat, sewed frilly trim around the wrists and ankles and then sewed two buttons onto the front of his clothes!

And then, your little clown is done !!!

I hope this comes in handy to anyone wanting to make their own clown dude!

I would appreciate any reblogs and such of this to help spread the clown joy !!

Have fun !!!

(Small note! I would appreciate if you didn't copy any of my clowns directly! Please use this as more of a guide than an exact tutorial to make this specific clown! Being creative with yours is much more fun!! :•D)

[tabletoptrinketsbyjj]

Trinkets, 22: Interesting baubles, semi magical objects and items touched by mystery.

A small, Randomly Colored folded paper bird. When unfolded, it refolds itself and any crumples or tears it has sustained magically fix themselves.

An eyepatch resembling a large flower that covers the entire eye of the creature wearing it. When applied to a creature’s face, the eyepatch grows rootlike tendrils that wrap around the bearer's head to secure it.

A set of fish jaws fashioned into a bracelet. When worn, the bearer has an in depth knowledge of northern pike.

A bracelet made from a lattice of woven brass. It automatically adjusts itself to the wrist size of its bearer.

A shimmery cloak clasp depicting a violin and a sword. It smells vaguely of ash and fire.

A sealed metal tin labeled “Armstrong Mustache Wax”. According to the description, the recipe has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations

A glazed porcelain pipe. Everything about it seems vaguely familiar, but you aren’t sure why.

An old and beaten up steel drinking flask. After carrying the object for more than 1d4 hours, the bearer becomes convinced that the flask has to be kept a secret.

An uncannily familiar face etched into a piece of dead wood.

A marble pyramid, small enough to fit in a human’s palm. When held, shadows seem to flicker in the corners of the bearer's vision.

—Keep reading for 90 more trinkets.

—Note: The previous 10 items are repeated for easier rolling on a d100.

A small, Randomly Colored folded paper bird. When unfolded, it refolds itself and any crumples or tears it has sustained magically fix themselves.

An eyepatch resembling a large flower that covers the entire eye of the creature wearing it. When applied to a creature’s face, the eyepatch grows rootlike tendrils that wrap around the bearer's head to secure it.

A set of fish jaws fashioned into a bracelet. When worn, the bearer has an in depth knowledge of northern pike.

A bracelet made from a lattice of woven brass. It automatically adjusts itself to the wrist size of its bearer.

A shimmery cloak clasp depicting a violin and a sword. It smells vaguely of ash and fire.

A sealed metal tin labeled “Armstrong Mustache Wax”. According to the description, the recipe has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations

A glazed porcelain pipe. Everything about it seems vaguely familiar, but you aren’t sure why.

An old and beaten up steel drinking flask. After carrying the object for more than 1d4 hours, the bearer becomes convinced that the flask has to be kept a secret.

An uncannily familiar face etched into a piece of dead wood.

A marble pyramid, small enough to fit in a human’s palm. When held, shadows seem to flicker in the corners of the bearer's vision.

A glass marble that looks a bit like a lizard’s eye and is always a bit cold to the touch.

A dried yellow tulip bulb that becomes healthy and opens when brought into especially strong sunlight.

A rather clunky cube of dark wood, engraved with hypnotizing patterns.

A hand sized, grey, stone statuette of a woman. It’s exceptionally detailed for its size, as even the folds in her cloak look almost lifelike.

A sewing needle made from some type of unknown, otherworldly metal.

A maroon eye patch, covered in fine embroidery that depicts tangled rose vines.

A polished wooden carving of a fish that turns a vibrant green when placed in water.

A polished mirror in a simple wooden frame. Looking into it for too long makes people feel uneasy in a way they cannot fully describe.

A crudely made wool, right handed glove, that's always pleasantly warm.

A fist sized crystal that looks like it holds trapped smoke. It is easily scratched.

A velvet pouch filled with coarse sand that feels weightless.

A bronze brooch in the shape of a feather that lets off a faint glow.

A single Randomly Colored dragon scale, worn away by time.

A glass bottle of some type of potent-smelling tonic. It’s taste is gritty and bitter, and somewhat reminiscent of charcoal.

A leaf that never rots, wilts or decays. Purple speckles dapple its surface whenever it’s held in the light.

An empty section of honeycomb. It causes an almost electric tingle if touched to bare skin.

A lock of fur tied into a tight bundle with a parchment scrap beside it. It reads, “Pelt Sample #027”.

A gilded teacup, laced with a spiderweb of thin cracks. Despite the cracks, it never seems to break.

A slip of tattered paper covered in something resembling letters. It seems to be a poem written in an old language.

A tightly rolled scroll. Reading reveals it to be someone’s diary. They apparently had a dramatic life.

A simple, copper belt buckle.

A twisted, grey wooden walking cane sized for a halfling.

An ornate, tarnished key with two prongs. Neither end seems to be able to open anything.

A rich, purple hand fan. Intricate designs of peacocks cover it’s surface when unfolded.

A small piece of dead brain coral. Your mind feels at ease when you hold it.

A tablet of fired clay. Dozens of names are written on its surface.

An iron-bound bullhorn

A small bone whistle carved with symbols and imagery of death. When blown it creates shrill, eerie notes that echos into the distance.

A simple white ribbon. While it is attached to clothing, the bearer finds it difficult to fall asleep.

An urgent letter requesting help. The date indicates that it's from over a hundred years ago, but its linguistics are more suited to more current times.

A used incense burner crafted from a human sternum.

A finely beaded women's handbag. The beads are made of glass, and the different colors have been sewn into an image of a sandwich.

A large, dark blue button. On it is a baby's bassinet painted in gold.

A sewing kit filled with cacti needles with fine holes in the end instead of regular sewing needles.

A set of watercolor brushes perfectly sized for a gnome.

A bronze calligraphy pen covered in filigree patterns. When used as a writing utensil, the bearer will be incapable of stopping themselves from adding an "e", or that languages equivalent, to the end of every word.

A whetstone that will sharpen blades, but only if the bearer asks nicely first. If the bearer does not ask, every blade they attempt to sharpen will become increasingly dull.

A large vial made of smokey quartz, whose plug is comprised of compressed grass and glue.

A deck of well worn playing cards, marked with indeterminable stains and smelling of cigar smoke and whiskey.

A small bracelet made up of a series of interlocking clockwork mechanisms and ring puzzles.

A pamphlet for a new church in an unfamiliar town. It details their strong beliefs in polyamorous relationships and their condemnation for magic of any kind.

A pamphlet for a lecture on the differences between gnomes and halflings in a town not too far away.

A six inch coffin, hand carved from elm. The inside is padded and covered in light pink silk.

A plain oaken case, the inside of which is lined in plush, royal blue velvet. The velvet has three indents on which lie three ordinary looking pine cones.

A poorly made porcelain vase with gold leaf randomly placed on it.

A mason jar with a scattering of unicorn hair across the bottom.

A stuffed toy frog with amber, glass eyes. When in possession of the bearer, they will notice that the air around them is oddly absent of bugs.

A set of fake eyelashes made out of owlbear fur.

A short haired wig made from owlbear fur.

A long haired, black wig made from the hair of a horse's mane. There are strands of gold woven through it.

A fairly unused set of Orcish dentures. The canine teeth are made of silver.

A crystal perfume bottle half filled with a potent, musky scent.

A gnome sized silver hair brush. On it in Orcish script is crudely scratched “Remember Me”

Several dried moose ears sewn together and fashioned into a sheath for an average sized dagger

A black linen sleeping mask that covers the bearer's eyes during sleep to stop light from bothering the bearer.

A clear hermit crab shell made of glass.

A small bowl made of bronze. If any liquid but water is put in it, it will take on a salty taste.

An off-white canvas bag with a green and bronze dragon embroidered on it. It always smells of a campfire that has just been put out.

A small pillbox made out of layered purple, metallic scales. A close examination reveals that the scales are metallic, but even a knowledgeable PC cannot identify what creature they originally belonged to.

A small bag containing a set of a dozen 2x2 cm steel cubes.

A large riding crop with steel studs in it. A creature hit by it immediately develops a series of bloody welts in their skin which spell out the word "Ouch".

A pair of Randomly Coloured silk stockings.

A flute that makes no sound, no matter how it is played. It’s surface is a shimmery grey.

A heartfelt poem about unrequited love on a pristine scroll.

A stone tablet, with etchings of great heroes covering it. All of their eyes are scratched out.

A sketch depicting a wilting rose that causes anyone who looks at it to feel bleak.

A flamboyant masquerade mask with large, rare feathers coming from one side. There’s a small chip under the left eye.

A ragged piece of burlap with the personal crest of a wealthy merchant inked onto it.

A set of smooth iron bangles. They have a decent weight to them, as if they’re pure rather than plated.

A broad cavalier hat that's a bit old, but it’s still fairly stylish.

An ornate saucer painted with scenes of songbirds in flight. Whenever you aren’t looking directly at it, the birds seem to move.

A wooden birdhouse, carved and painted to look like a castle.

A wooden spool with three feet of coiled copper wire.

A specially crafted steel cage that looks like it could hold about five rats. It includes stout leather straps around its open end and a metal crucible for holding hot charcoal or other fuel on its top end. Knowledgeable PC's will recognize this as a torture device used by tightly strapping the open end of the device to a helpless victim’s abdomen, inserting the rats into the cage, and setting the crucible’s fuel alight. The increasing strong heat of the metal crucible causes the rats to gnaw and dig their way through the victim’s abdomen to escape. Panicked rats will chew clear through the victim's body in order to escape the heat.

A deck of illustrated fortune-teller’s cards, used by those in tune with the spirit world to predict the future, and by charlatans to take money from gullible or desperate people. The deck is made of quality wooden plaques with painted color images and is stored in a smooth leather case.

A large suitcase containing a croquet set. It includes four wooden mallets, nine wooden wickets (goals), and four wooden balls.

A suitcase containing a dartboard set. It includes a multicolored board that breaks into four smaller pieces for easy travel and six brass-tipped darts. The board itself consists of a layer of of painted cork on hardwood backing.

A wooden box containing a set of dominoes. There are 28 white marble tiles with pips on each end.

A set of four brightly colored juggling sticks adorned with colorful streamers that can be tossed and manipulated to create displays and patterns.

A leather case containing two iron stakes and four iron horseshoes.

A thin length of rope with many oddly shaped bits of hollow metal fixed along its length. Commonly known as a roar cord, a creature can swing it over their head to generate a variety of eerie noises.

A broad-brimmed straw hat with a green linen band

A cast iron skillet whose perfect mirror surface never scratches.

A wood cased harmonica trimmed in tin

A small sack containing 30 gold pieces. Perceptive PC's will notice that they are all fakes, with thin gold plating over lead coins.

A palm sized rock with a lifelike mouth painted on it. While in a creature's possession, any laugh, chuckle or giggle the bearer utters sounds forced or fake, even if it's genuine.

An anklet made from fresh liquid blood, held together by odd magic.

A strange horn made of a winding pretzel of valves and tubes that according to the maker's mark, was finely crafted by a powerful bard. Knowledgeable PC's will remember that the horn was constructed for one purpose, to lock a terrible beast away deep within the mountain of Redwall. It contains a large portion of the life essence of that bard and to this day it remains as the solitary key to the door that holds the beast at bay. No one knows who this bard was, but he remains an unsung hero of the city.

A demon skin stretched over a black wooden war drum that creates deep growling rumbles when beaten.

A driftwood coin whose color is constantly swirling in different muted hues, from pale gray to seafoam green and even thin stripes of black. The surface of the coin is utterly smooth, as if it has spent an aeon at the bottom of the sea. Despite this, the elven queen and king that adorn its opposite faces are still depicted in perfect detail.

[ao3-hipster-fangirl-trash]

a sight for sore eyes (un veux pour les yeux douloureux)

prompt: So um i have this Stanfou idea where stanley is nervous the first time he wears a dress in front of lefou because the last person he ‘loved’ was gaston who was a ‘manly man’ so one day he’s in his house standing in a dress kinda just twirling in front of a mirror or something and lefou has just gotten in the habit of just walking in so he does and Stanley like freaks out and LeFou is confused and he just wraps his arms around him and is like you look amazing love and you know fluff i guess.

yeyeyeyeye this was really fun to write, i even did a little doodle of the dress ;)

warnings: nothing for once

hella gay on the way

sophie xx

When Madame Garderobe saw Stanley at the first celebratory ball which Adam and Belle hosted, she didn’t recognise him due to the lack of the dress, yet decided to still make conversation with the well dressed gentleman whom had danced with the man that Mrs Potts had taken a liking to.

Eventually, when she did recognise him, she dragged him off to her working room, where she had sewn many of the dresses and suits that the staff were wearing at the time, including Belle’s gorgeous white gown, then begged him to take his measurements, which didn't take very much convincing.

For the next few weeks, he would head up to the castle on a saturday morning to meet with Madame Garderobe, both of them comparing colour palettes and which one’s would be suited more to each other, eventually creating small portfolio’s of vibrance to match and compliment.

Stanley’s profile was mainly a mix of what Madame Garderobe were called sunset colours, from the most rich of reds, to the subtlest lilacs, with small tinges of orange and blush, pink and lemon, each of them as captivating as the next, all layered out on a sliver of wood,  small ribbons secured with pins, trying to outdo each other.

When she offered to make him a dress, he almost didn’t believe it. He still had the one which she created from the battle (which he found very flattering to his body shape) and of course he didn’t expect her to do it for free, offering her money in exchange for her craftsmanship, yet she simply laughed, waving him off.

“Mon ami, I do this for you, not for the money.”

The next saturday that he came, she ushered him into the now familiar and comforting room which he had grown used to after so many days in it.

Inside looked far more hectic than usual, with scraps of material littering the floor and pins laying haywire, whilst not the safest option, it was simply the way that the artist worked on her pieces.

In the centre of the messy room, was a mannequin, and laid upon it was a gorgeous gown, like Stanley had never seen.

The top section of the dress was mainly white down the centre, with slivers of red framing it at the side, the white however had small golden patterns weaving through it, leaves and flowers blooming on the material, each stitch meticulously done and redone for the best outcome. The trimming of the white was more gold, a silky rope which seemed to fall elegantly yet which Stanley knew was perfectly placed to achieve the best outcome.

The rope kept falling, past the waistline which was marked with a golden bow, and down the skirt which fanned out, the red becoming more than a sliver, and taking up two thirds of it, both on the side of the continuing white.

The simple leaves and swirls had thickened into vines, with what seemed to be, was that leaf gold? Stanley could barely contain his excitement as he slowly walked forwards, and delicately held the soft fabric of the dress between his forefinger and thumb, simply in awe of the craftsmanship it must have taken to achieve such a beautiful result. It seemed to be far too luxurious for him yet, it was there, in such stunning creativity that it simply blew him away.

-----------------------

Every time that Stanley was home alone, he would now bring out the dress from its box, it was too beautiful to keep hidden, and put it on, carefully working the laces and bows, worried that he might damage it in one way or another, yet every time, he managed.

Parading around the house for an imaginary audience, he would twirl and twist, shifting the fabric from one way or another, flouncing and flaunting as if someone were watching him, ready to ask him to an imaginary dance to an imaginary song. Practicing steps and movements as if he had some sort of a partner with him, a specific partner that he did have in mind, but for the time being, an imaginary dance would have to do.

He let the light shining through his window hit the gold flakes and reflect onto the walls, making his small home seem like a grand ballroom. His hair wasn’t done up in his usual style, but scraped back by a small piece of cloth which held it together, except for a few stray hairs which fell to the side of his face, and tickled him as he gave another twirl.

He caught sight of himself in a mirror, seeing the way that the dress rested on his hips and slid along his waist, and he let himself laugh.

Laugh at the ridicule which he might face, laughed at the idea of a man in a dress, laughed at the idea that he was enjoying himself, and laughed at the imaginary dance which he just had with a partner whom knew nothing about what he did when the doors were shut, yet he didn't seem to care, letting a melodious laugh carry from one end of his small house to the other, from the bedroom, to the bathroom, to the ballroom which he had created for himself.

LeFou heard that very same laugh just as he was about to enter the house, a laugh of pure joy which made his heart hammer in his chest. Damnit, why did one person leave such an effect on him?

He quietly pushed open the door, unsure of what to expect, yet when he finally slipped through, he was greeted by what some people would call ‘un veux pour les yeux douloureux.’

Stanley was stood in the middle of the room, wearing a dress.

Yet it didn't seem to be any dress, this was a dress of pure luxury, with trimmings, and bows, and gold and velvet, with silk and chiffon, and so much more. The sheer complexity of it was beyond him, and the fact that it fitted him perfectly, accenting the way his body curved and his gorgeous figure, taking LeFou’s breath away.

Simply, Stanley was beautiful.

Sensing a pair of eyes on his back, Stanley turned to be greeted by the sight of Lefou frozen in his place, mouth agape and staring at the cloth which had been draped on him. He had a baguette in his hand and some pate in the other, scanning Stanley’s body whilst blushing profusely.

Stanley began to stutter, his hands starting to fidget with the small stray hairs which had come undone from the material, his cheeks going bright red and almost matching the satin which hung off his hips.

“I- you see, LeFou, its not what it looks like,” he choked out, making a small step forwards.

“I mean, maybe it is what it looks like I can’t really tell but i don't think it is, is it? Perhaps if-”

“I think it looks beautiful,” LeFou said, cutting Stanley’s ramblings short and walking to meet him at the centre of the room.

“I, what?”

LeFou smiled, his eyes meeting Stanley’s, which were filled with confusion and tinged slightly with fear.

“Its beautiful, you’re beautiful,” he whispered, holding Stanley’s hands tenderly.

Stanley frowned in confusion.

“But I thought you were into more, you know,” he raised his arms to flex, puffed out his chest and had a look on his face which was somewhat mocking of the one Gaston used to pull when looking at Belle.

LeFou simply laughed in response and shook his head, a grin engulfing him ear to ear.

“Mon amour, I’m into you.”