working with (for me) me materials (pic heavy)

[Mermaid Fenicia]

As I have many fabric tails, I always want to have a silicone tail, but ordering from out of Belgium is to costly for me (as specially post and taxes). Then I noticed PearlieMae's tail-making technique and asked her if I would use it to make my own tail and she said yes So in the autumn I started on collection everything I need to make my tail. Found mica-powders at a craft-fair, Dragonskin in a shop in the Netherlands, fabric in a shop nearby, ... and ordered a new (translucent) Triton-monofin online (as it's a European brand, no taxes and cheap shipping for me).
After New Year I started to make my molds out of thermo-plastics:

- started testing my pigments:

- after that I started to cast my scales:

- when I had lost of them, my boyfriend helped to make my body-double:

- that I covered in white lycra (as my white iridescent scales are see-through):

- and started pinning my scales in place, the front first:

- and gluing them with some clear silicone:

- the back and sides:

- and the top (skin-colored scales):


After my boyfriends birthday-party (end of February) I started making my fluke:
- my pattern under a layer of saran-wrap and clear tape (the same as my body-double):

- a layer of iridescent organza and 3 layers of colored dragonskin:

- made 2 of them:

- and sandwiched my yellow monofin in between them, gluing only the sides:

- after that I attached the tail-body to the fluke:

- after that I sealed the outside of my tail with a slime-coat (clear silicone with a lot of fine iridescent glitter:

- then I sealed the inside of my tail with clear silicone:

- then I decided that my clear monofin was better for this tail and sealed it in my fluke, leaving holes for drainage:

- made some ribs for the side of my fluke:

- attached them and trimmed the excess


And this is how I store my tail (and also let it dry in the bathroom after swimming):