Bat Hair Ornament!

Loving Cut Out and Keep this week! I guess I just haven't browsed around there in awhile. ...haven't had much time to do any interneting for fun in awhile, come to think about it.

But oooo! Bat headband. It's like a bow, only much, much cuter.

The creator also has a cute blog (leastofways I think this is from the creator): http://gothicallyyours.blogspot.com/; it reminds me of the good-ol' babybat days of my youth.

And oo neat look! Cleopatra eyemake-up tips. Very cute.

DIY Skully Tee

Cut Out and Keep has this neat, easy skull-shirt  tutorial.

Oooo! Fashionable. :) In a way I can get behind.

Needs: t-shirt, scissors, some idea where to place the holes (I was going to direct you to Chic Steals for this... but that blog seems to be SOL for me. Try this instead).

Devillish Shoes

Brilliant idea for customizing shoes... though I wish I actually knew what "sugru" was so I could make them.

Devil shoes (men and women's ideas posted at Instructables).

DIY Spectrespecs

Luna is kind of my Harry Potter fashion hero.

Make your own Spectrespecs! They won't help you with the 3D, but they'll look really radical.

Crochet Mummy Gloves

Oh oh look! Crochet mummy fingerless gloves.

I wish my crochet ideas were this good. I also wish this wasn't distracting me from my current crochet project (a blanket for my father in law... wooooo, boring).

Realistic Spiders

Quick! Everyone needs to stop what you are doing RIGHT NOW and make one of these for the Frog Queen.

She'll love it: trust me. :) Just don't tell her I gave you the idea, okay? And maybe leave off your return address when you send it her way...

(Thank you, Intructables.)

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 28: I Vant to Show You My Neck

I saw a vampire bite necklace on boing boing earlier this year. It was crochet, and oh-so-easy-to-make looking.

So I finally made one -- found the pattern in a simply adorable little book called Witch Craft by Alicia Kachmar. If you have little girls who can't decide if they want to be a vampire or a princess, btw... please get them this book. It will help lead them down the path to darkness by sugar-coating it.

Anyhoo. I didn't follow the pattern, 'cause that's how I roll. But making up my own version (which includes a row of single crochet stitches after making the little closure loop, as opposed to just a foundation chain for the necklace part) took me all of a lunch hour at work while chatting with my friends.

In fact, I think even a beginning crocheter could master this in just a try or two. The hardest part was finding thread in the two shades of red I was looking for!

Obviously, this still needs some finishing touches--like being ironed flat since I kept the pieces in a little ball in my pocket after the crochet work was done--but I'm excited to wear it with my everyday-wear this Halloweekend!

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 19: Elegant Wreath

Remember when Halloween used to be all about getting married and pretty wedding decor?

Yeah, me too. I really am glad that's all over and I can just enjoy this year!

But sometimes I still see things that make me think Halloween=romance. Craftily Ever After has a wreath project that would be stunning at a Hallowedding. If you don't have a lacy shirt to cut up, you can find a yard of lace fabric -- often in the leftovers bin of your local fabric store.

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 5: I *do* Believe in the Graphics Fairy

Who, you may ask, is the Graphics Fairy?

The graphics fairy is a magical internet being who brings us easy, fast, printable projects that make us go squeee! Because, let's face it, these are at once eerie, fun, and elegant. Always vintage or vintage-inspired, these projects are printable magic.

Above are spooky fabric-printed designs displayed using embroidery hoops. Details on how to accomplish this can be found here.

Then there are the eyes. This project presupposes you already display photos or works of art with people/animals in them. If that is not the case, you could easily spend a few minutes re-fitting your frames with a few old-fashioned pictures you find on the internet -- then stick the eyes to them!

Here's looking at you, kid.

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 3: Blood Jars

I have this weird hoarding habit when it comes to glass jars and bottles. I think it's because my dad find such cool uses for them that seem both homey and eclectic (like storing and displaying grains in the kitchen, or holding tealights in for subdued outdoor lighting).

This comes in handy, though, when I sit down to craft because -- obviously -- I like lights in jars and I like to craft mood lighting. On this year's list, blood jars:

Just as accent pieces. And if you are a crafty type of person, you have all the supplies you need around your house already:

• Old spaghetti jar (cleaned, of course -- I like Bertolli for their jars)
• Modge Podge (or other gluey sealer; come to think of it, white glue would probably work fine)
• A cheapy paint brush
• Red food coloring or dark red paint
• a tealight/small candle

I reused one of my test jars from last year -- I was inspired by Pumpkin Rot's Witch Jars and spent a long evening with glue and paint before being reminded (nicely) that it was not the priority wedding preparation project I thought it was, and that I was behind on other things.

But that was last year, and this year that gluey jar that had never gotten a proper coating of paint to make it gooey and gory got a little bit of blood and mess!

I poured some of the modge podge into a disposable container and added quite a bit of food coloring (why? because I didn't have any red paint and the modge-podge ensured it would dry with an opaqueness that would look, well, a bit bloodier).

I painted a generous amount around the rim of the jar, then blew downward to start it spreading in natural curves down the jar. I added more food coloring and darked the rim, letting it glob in places to make for a gorier impression when it dried.

Then I flicked a little red modge podge with the paintbrush across and around the jar to make a splatter pattern. Just because I don't mind my fingers being stained, I also dipped them in the 'blood,' blotted them lightly, and then grabbed around the jar to make a handprint (for some reason, this refused to photograph properly).

Let dry and insert tealight and you have a bloody little lamp to set about at your party.

Happy Haunting, fiends!

Creepy Clay Containers

I've never worked with Polymer Clay. After seeing these jars, I have become very interesting in expanding my crafting expertise to include it's usage:


Craftster user teag made these. There are tips on how to keep the plastic jar base from melting. If you are doing a witches cabinet this year, a few custom containers might be just what you need for your shelves! (Personally, I'm digging 'fur of werewolf').

Perfect Can Lanterns

The perfect level dim lighting is absolutely necessary to create an eerily romantic mood.

That's why this Design Sponge Coffee lantern project is so ideal; they are elegant little lights that don't give off too much light. Spray pain the outsides black when you're done to make them uniform (you can line the inside with paper to keep the paint from getting everywhere).

One of the patterns looks a little bit like a spider web, too. Oh the possibilities!

Cuddly Big Daddy

Yes, yes, yes!!! Big Daddy crochet pattern!!!

Nerdigurumi has made my week with this pattern, let me tell you.

You have played BioShock haven't you? Or BioShock 2? Let me tell you, I have never seen more beautiful concepts in game design. I would vacation in Rapture, even post societal breakdown. It's the most amazing underwater city, and Big Daddies are one of my favorite residents there.

Creepy crafting at its most cuddly. :-D

Pillow Pumpkin Patch

Barbolot over at Craftster made this excellent stack of pumpkin pillows with her family this past year, in lieu of carving the real thing.

What a fantastic idea -- stitch together and stuff some pumpkin-shaped orange pillows, then let friends or family come over and cut out felt faces!! A little bit of fabric glue and you're all set. Plus, they could make great themed accent pieces.

Do you see that guy with the mustache in the bottom right corner? I'm so making him when I get some more free time. He's rad.

Bloody Adorable Pumpkins

Little white pumpkins with cute, long stems -- dripped with blood using red puff paint!

What a cute addition these would make to a vampire-themed party or wedding. :) Instructions from the very talented SwellDesigner (I'm going to ignore that the word "Twilight" was used in the post... blah).

Cheers, guys!

<3 - Carrie Mae

Lamp-Shade Inspiration

I saw the most fabulous lamp re-con on Craftster, and now I'm on a mission to figure out how to recover lamps:

A little bit of textured cloth (I'm betting that old pillow-cases would, indeed, do the trick), some black lace, and some trim... the back beading would be icing on the proverbial cake, would it not?



What a nice project ideal. I might get started this weekend!

Winter Wonderland: Mittens You Might Actually Want to Wear

I've been looking for glove and mitten patterns to knit or crochet, because we are experiencing our yearly "one-week-of-cold-oh-my-goth-it-might-snow" event here in the south. And if you don't get regular cold, you don't have regular clothes for it.

Mittens come in two patterns for the most part: boring or cute. I'm not boring, and I don't like to flaunt my obvious and undeniable cuteness. *wink, wink - this is sarcasm*

Well, these are kid-sized but I think they could easily be scaled: SKELETON MITTENS.

I'm mitten-smitten.

Spider and Blooddrip Necklaces

These necklaces are brilliant in their simplicity; a little bit of the right kind of craft paint, and you have yourself a horribly wonderful bit of bling.

Can I say bling if it doesn't sparkle?

paper Skeletal Hand mask how-to

What a project! I'm not patient with paper, but this looks so good and the directions make it seem so simple.

Sure anyone with an exacto knife and a little time on their hands can make this look fabulous, yes? Even me? No?

You're right. I probably shouldn't try it. But if you do -- let me know how it turns out!

Easy Terrariums

Country Living had a nice idea for simple, small terror-ariums.

Use your old glass jars (spaghetti, pickle, etc), a little moss, some painted twigs, spooky odds and ends, and just a little glue (hot glue would be my suggestion).

Some random recommendations:

• painting the lids flat black.
  
• Pumpkin Rot posted about how to ick up jars awhile back by painting them with white glue -- use sparingly, so people can still see through the jars.
  
• Try using some hot glue to create spider webs on some of the items inside the jars, too.
  
• Consider wrapping the lids and neck in twine to help them look a little more polished, and a little less like old jars.