Log Pose

sorry it took me so long to upload this.... It's the Log Pose that my dad helped me make for my Nami (One Piece) cosplay for San Japan '08.
GUESS WHAT GUYS, IT WORKS!!! No really, it points to "North Island"!!! ...because it's a compass needle inside.

Here's a little how-to:
Basically, I got a wooden bracelet, which my dad sanded down flat on one side and glued (with wood glue) another small wooden circlet on top.
The globe is a fillable christmas ornament with a sewing pin stuck through the bottom (heated as it's pushed through so as not to crack the plastic) with glue reinforcement.
On top of that is the needle from a compass. Any compass needle should do as long as it's the right size and well balanced on the sewing pin.
To keep it from falling off (and to add to the accuracy of it) we glued some sort of think, hollow metal mini pipe thing (sorry, I forget what it's called) to the top making SURE to check BEFORE it was solidly glued that it would indeed be long enough and in the right position to hold the compass needle on the pin no matter what direction the bracelet is turned.
Next, we glued the two pieces of ornament together and glued it to the base bracelet.
There was also some wood stain involved before any gluing to seal the wood grain and prevent it from getting dirty. And I carefully lightly spray-painted one side of the compass needle to make it white, taping the other side to avoid mistakes and to hold it down so it wouldn't move.
Also, make sure to allow for plenty of time for glue to dry before continuing, or it may fall apart. We used wood glue and super glue, but you want to make sure that the glue used for any parts involving plastic needs to not be too watery or it won't hold.
unfortunately, the wooden bracelet that I used was a bit big, so I had to wear a tea-stained sweat-band thingy to keep it from sliding on my wrist... but it worked... and I was proud of it... so yay!
I want to, later on, get a smaller wooden bracelet with hinges so I don't need the sweat-band thingy, but we'll see if that happens...

I hope that helps any aspiring Nami cosplayers! ^_^

some day, I'll put up ALL of my San Japan (and Ikkicon '08) photos...