The Clone Wars Anakin

My latest commission project that I was able to complete is a Clone Wars [animated] Anakin costume. This one didn't take me long at all, which was perfect because I wanted to finish well before Christmas and I was able to do just that.

The costume has an under tunic in maroon and a surcoat in medium/dark grey. The Maroon is a cotton/poly blend and the grey is a flannel, both of which my client picked out and purchased himself. I think the flannel looks perfect for the surcoat, the sheen of it matches with the computer generated "fabric" really well.

This is what the costume is based off of:

Image property of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Here are some finished pictures of the costume:
*Note: The pictures were taken in front of a window with a lot of snow as a backdrop. As a result, the fabric color got a bit "washed out"

Front view


Front [3/4] view


Side view
(My client requested that I add fuzzy Velcro to the sleeves for the shoulder bells [part of the armor of the costume] to attach to later.)


Back view


Front view with belt
(I put my own Jedi belt on the dress form to help give the costume some shape. This costume definitely needs the belt to make it look just right)


Back view with belt

X-wing Flight Suit

One of my latest finished commissions is a X-wing flight suit. I did my best to research the actual screen-used costumes so that I could reproduce a faithful replica. This is a XXXL, custom fit to the client. Here are pictures of the finished suit:

Front View

Side view, right sleeve

Back view

Side view, left sleeve

Closeup of right sleeve pocket

Closeup of left sleeve pockets

Closeup of sleeve cuff, closed

Closeup of sleeve cuff, open (the original costumes used black Velcro, so I was sure to recreate that)

Closeup of front, upper torso

Closeup of front, lower torso

Closeup of front, upper torso, zipper partially open

Merry Christmas

Here is a quick drawing I did for our Christmas cards this year. I wanted a picture of a newborn that wasn't crying, suckling, or sleeping...which, it turns out, is hard to come by! I finally found one in a magazine (I didn't want to use an image of one of my own kids, that just seems weird to me). This is what I came up with:

Here's wishing everyone a safe and joyous Christmas holiday & may the new year be even better than the last! God bless!

Padme AOTC Packing Gown

Padme's "Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones" Packing Gown:

(Click for larger view)

I have loved this costume since I first saw preview pictures of it before the movie even came out, so it was with delight that I accepted a commission to make the armbands and headpiece jewelry for a woman in Canada. I just finished and mailed them out to her, so I will share the finished pictures (I zipped through the construction of them so fast, I didn't take time to take pictures).

First, some comparison pictures from the real gown. As always, pictures of the actual gown are thanks to Padawan's Guide:

Headpiece jewelry.

Armbands (I noticed that in the museum display, some of the armbands got put on upside down...only a fanatic like me would notice something like that!).

On to my versions, all made using mostly Sculpey III clay:

Headpiece jewelry with flash.

Headpiece jewelry without flash.

Armbands with flash.

Armbands without flash.

Armbands, without flash, lying on table.

Update: The Phantom Menace Battle Padme

Since updates don't bounce up to the top of the list, I'll post about the update I have for the Phantom Menace Battle Padme commission I just finished. You can view the update here.

Aqua Georgette Update

I wanted to wear my Padme aqua georgette gown under a tulle over dress to be a ghost for Halloween, but I spent so much time on my husband's costume (Ghostbuster) that I ran out of time for mine and was just making sewing mistakes, so I set it aside. Here are a couple update pictures of the yoke/bodice progress. I have a start to the body of the gown, but have no pictures of that yet.

Before cutting the scalloped neck-edge.

After the scalloped neck-edge was cut.

To see my previous update: Click HERE.

Overdue Ghostbusters Update

I haven't felt well since Halloween, so I've put off an update, but here are a few pictures of the pack build and some pictures of our Halloween party held at my sister's house. My husband went as Ray Stantz, I was a lady ghost, the kids were ghosts, my sister was Dana, her husband was Peter Venkman, their 3 kids were ghosts, my brother was Egon Spengler and his wife was Janine (their kids were various non-Ghostbusters related things).

My husband's pack wasn't 100% finished by the party, but I'd say it was 90% if not more. My brother, who was making the pack for my brother-in-law also, didn't get his packs finished in time. We all still had a lot of fun. The food even matched the theme. We had "proton stream" spaghetti, green Jell-O "slime", Twinkies, and Stay Puft Marshmallow man dessert (Mississippi mud pie cake), along with an awesome veggie pizza my sister Becky made to look like the no ghost symbol!

"Peter", "Egon", and "Ray"

Ready to believe you!

My brother-in-law Dan as Peter, my sister Becky as Dana, and their kids as ghosts.

My husband Jason as Ray, me as a lady ghost, and our kids as ghosts.

I had wanted to wear a Padme gown under the tulle ghost over gown, but I was rushing too fast and making mistakes, so I put it aside and wore a regular dress underneath. It wasn't as nice, but it worked.

My brother Dean as Egon (wearing Jason's pack) and my sister-in-law Lisa as Janine.

The "No-Ghost" logo veggie pizza that my sister made.

The bibs I made for the kids.

One of the key fobs I made.


Various boxes in the build process.

Download this mp3 from Beemp3.com

Padme Packing Gown Measurement Chart

Here is a rough sketch of the measurements I'll need for the Padme "Packing Gown" headpiece/jewelry and armbands (click on image for larger view):


For the headpiece, I'll need a measurement from point A (just above the ear) to point B (center of forehead at hairline). I'll also need a measurement from point A to point C across the top of the head (lying flat against the hair).

For the armbands, you need to determine where each of the 4 bands will be positioned on your arm and take 4 measurements, D, E, F, & G, over the shirt preferably. If each of your arms is significantly different than the other, you should take each measurement for both arms.

Halloween

I haven't felt very well lately, so I only have one picture downloaded, but I thought I better put at least it up. I hope to have more up later.

Here are the kids, my husband & I on Halloween at my sister Becky's house. We ran out of time and didn't get the Proton pack 100% complete, though it was nearly so. I had to give up on my under gown, since I was just making mistakes in the rush to finish it on time. I want it to be nice for when I wear it as a Padme gown, so I decided to wait on it and wear a regular dress under the ghost over gown instead. It wasn't as nice, but it worked ok. I opted to make the kids' ghost costumes colorful, because I figured their cousins would be in white ghost costumes. Most of the ghosts seen in the movies aren't white but colorful anyway.

Ghostbuster Update

Another update on the Ghostbuster costume progress. To anyone who doesn't know much about Ghostbusters costumes or props, this won't mean much to you. For anyone who is familiar with it, you'll recognize this as the circuit board in one of the belt do-dads. I finished my husband's circuit board today. Nothing on it started out as anything having to do with circuitry at all, the closest thing is the phone wire I used. This is a collection of found materials I had around the house, nothing was specially purchased. Some of the things include: styrene (left over from R2-D2), Sculpey (I always try to have it around), clear tubes (left over from X-wing flak vests), phone wire (some scraps my husband had), electrical tape, clear plastic (from a hinge container), labels I made myself, aluminum foil, paint, and a lot of imagination!

This will go into a tape measure holder and hang from the belt. I still need to pick up a coiled black cord and attach it to a smaller circuit board before it will be 100% complete.

Ghostbusters Update!

Halloween is getting closer and closer (18 days away!!) so I thought I'd give a follow-up to my previous post on the Ghostbuster costume for my husband.

I have started to sew the "no ghost" patch onto the sleeve by hand (I still need to stitch down the ghost's hands and head). I have the STANTZ name patch pinned in place, ready for me to sew it on as well. I need to sew two belts together to get a belt large enough to fit my husband comfortably (they were small sized, but cheap priced!).

Here are the costume stats so far:

Uniform: Tru-Spec
No Ghost patch: eBay seller CapAmerica
Elbow Pads: Made by myself
Name Patch: Made by my sister, Becky (she did an awesome job, she just used a zig zag stitch on a regular sewing machine!!)
Belt: Amazon.com