Every wedding anniversary is associated with specific traditional items. You might have heard that first year is the paper anniversary, the 50th is the golden anniversary, stuff like that. A few years back we started taking photos of ourselves with those items.
This year is our steel anniversary. Given the dumpster fire that 2020 has turned out to be, we went for a post-apocalyptic warrior vibe.
I got some patterns for shoulder, chest, and knee armor and made them out of foam and we decorated them with pieces of steel. There are a lot of ways to do post-apocalypse armor, but I feel like shoulder and chest armor really defines the look.
Husband's aesthetic was "rolled through a scrapyard" and he stuck wire mesh, nails, and screws on his.
My go-to for random things is the ¥100 store and most of the options for steel are kitchen implements, so I used three collapsible steamer trays, a couple of graters, and a bunch of spoons.
Process
Chest/shoulder armor for him
Shoulders for him
Chest armor for him
Strap connecting the pauldrons (later replaced with chain)
I didn't want foam for my chest armor, just metal like a huge necklace. I traced the neckline of a tank top for a pattern and made a kind of bib out of faux leather to hold everything together.
D-rings on the shoulders to attach the pauldrons with velcro strips as seen in this tutorial
Two types of collapsible steamer trays were disassembled and rearranged:
I pinned the individual pieces to the dress form to see how it looked, and when it felt right, I wired the rows of metal together then sewed them here and there to the bib so they'd stay in place. I also ended up adding a belt right below the ribcage for a more secure fit.
I couldn't find anything big and cone-shaped made out of metal, so I used paper clay and a 3D-printed mold to help keep them consistent in size and proportion
Spike locations marked; I don't know if I'd use paper clay for this again, they ended up being very fragile, the tips broke and the spikes popped off repeatedly
Other pieces
Husband went relatively minimalist – shoulder/chest armor and a gas mask. I am much more inclined to decoration, so I also made bracers and knee guards and added a generous amount of studs and spikes.
Faux leather cut to fit my forearms
Eyelets are fun, and easy with the right tools
SPOONS!
Knee guards, elastic strap to keep them in place with velcro on one side
Knee guards with steamer tray petals and studs
Needed something shiny at my waist, so I added chains and graters
Add some extra large serving spoons I'm totally ready for the apocalypse
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I have Loved all your anniversary shots. (PaulS)
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