I've Got a Vintage Vibe Going On

 

I don't have time for a proper post today. I'm trying to schedule Vancouver trips and plane trips for different friends, figure out how I'm going to take the SAT up here in Canada, write book reviews,  renovate the house, stay involved in the orchestra, work on my cosplay, AND write things for this blog. Let's just say I have a lot on my plate, but that's not necessarily a bad thing! It's good to stay busy. I just feel like I'm neglecting you guys sometimes.

I will endeavor to at least get one post a week up from now on. This doesn't quite count, but I wanted to show off the dress I made this term in Textiles. I wanted something polka-dotty, something I could wear for a more vintage feel, but was also trying to save some money. Therefore, knocking out an item along with a school project, I grabbed an old pattern from the 80s and got to work. Curled hair and red lipstick makes this outfit even better. I'm pretty proud of it! This is the first 'big thing' I've ever sewed.

So what do you think? Do any of you like to sew? It's a great way to add some originality to your wardrobe, if a bit time consuming.

DIY Vest~ Work in Progress

Hello! It's been a while hasn't it? Partly because with summer here I've been fairly busy. Apparently 'vacation' is my cue to do lots of work around the house because my brain is no longer being crushed by math and the like. Also partly because my little brother managed to get our 'screen privileges' taken away from us for a fair amount of time. Granted, I spend a lot of time in front of my computer or ps3, but I never instigate these things! He does! *huffs*

Anyway, I have all of these patches that I've made lying around and I can never make up my mind as far as which item of clothing they should be attached to. I think it's because I've been holding out for a new leather jacket or blazer to customize, but since the thrift stores have been woefully empty I've begun to look at some of the pieces I already own. Considering how much I wear this black vest I'm sure you've all realized how much I love it. I was looking at it the other day and decided that if I were to customize it a little, a whole bunch of my go-to outfits would be a million times more fun. As a result, my vest is going to become very decorative, very soon.

You can't really tell, but there's a bat right in the middle of that coffin.
He's very cute, and I'm rather proud of that patch.

This is the layout I'm most fond of at the moment, though I'd consider changing the bat patch on the back with a Bauhaus one I recently made. I'm not really sure yet. Either way, I think I'll be hand sewing these on. I cannot for the life of me work the sewing machine and trust me, I've tried multiple times. I don't really know how to hand sew, but as long as my mom shows me the basics I'll be fine. Slow and steady wins the race, and I'm pretty handy as long as machines aren't involved. Technology is surprisingly not my area, unless it's my ps3 or perhaps something on the computer I'm interested in. Anyway, this way I can turn on the TV. Wish me luck!

On another note, I've been eying this coat from Fanplusfriend for a while, and it's appearance in one of my Red and Black Week posts has made my desire to buy it even greater. I'm going to work a bit next week at my parents' business in order to earn the money, but I'd also like to know what everyone thinks of Fanplusfriend. The coats in particular obviously. I've heard both good and bad things about the site, and I don't want to be unhappy with my purchase, especially since it's so expensive (And the shipping *shudders*). It's made of wool and I would probably fit very nicely into one of their non-custom sizes, but I can't seem to find many reviews on their coats. Help me out? Is it worth it? If not, then I'll probably end up purchasing a lovely skirt from Gloomth. But my heart is set on that coat.

The back-up plan~

It's already going to be difficult convincing my parents to let me buy the coat since Fanplusfriend is situated in China. They don't use child labor from what I can tell, but my family is very against buying things from places such as China as long as there's that chance. *sighs* Which makes it even more important that the coat is worth the money. Therefore, I defer to your judgement, lovely readers of mine ^^

30 Day Clothing Challenge~ Day 20: Your Jewelry Box

I've only got ten of these to go! I didn't even think I'd make it this far... (Who am I kidding, it gave me blog post ideas. And I certainly need those. Now I'm going to have to be *gasp* creative.) Anyhoo, this is supposed to be a jewelry box post. Well, I don't really have one of those, because my necklaces are hanging and my bracelets are in a drawer, but I did turn the coffin my stuffed undead bunny came in into something to store my gloves in.

Now I'm going to share some more of my DIY with you. I've recently started painting a bunch of new patches. My dilemma when it comes to patches is that I have about 20 of them but can never decided just what to sew them on to. (The fun part for me is simply making them and I always forget that I need to actually attach them to something hehe) I'm extremely indecisive. They'll eventually make their way onto a few of my jackets and vests, but it'll take a few hours of deliberation. (They have to be placed just right you see XD)

And here are a few assorted outfits of the week. It's been pretty casual lately. I'm on spring break and we've been going places like the fair, where I'd rather not get all dressed up, or shopping, where I'd like be able to get out of my clothes without fighting my whole wardrobe.

 

The shirt I bleach painted a while back

My new Lip Service shirt. Yay Ebay!

 Pretty standard for me really. So I promise to dress up for Sophistique Noir's April theme ;) I'm really excited about this one (Vintage) so wait for my post on the 1st! 

DIY~ Patches!

Somehow amidst all my make-up work (Missing a week of school is NOT something I'd ever recommend) I've managed to make some time for myself. We found the old Xbox, (which led to a day of Halo before I returned to my lovely PS3...) I finally got around to watching Constantine (Which wasn't bad, though if you're going to watch a movie with demons and Keanu Reeves I suggest The Devil's Advocate), and I ordered a new Batman comic from Ebay because I'm a gigantic nerd and couldn't help myself ^^

More importantly, I made some patches for my jackets! I'm not sure exactly what will go where yet, but I'll figure that out some other time. Anyone out there that shirks away from DIY because you think it's difficult...it's not! Really, things as simple as a homemade patch or hair accessory can make all the difference in the world in an outfit and you'll have something unique that you can boast about. (Not to stroke our egos or anything...After all, everyone needs a self-esteem boost once in a while ;))

I used a stencil for these.

And these are the ones I free-handed.
I don't know which Specimen one I like better yet.

For anyone starting out with DIY patches, stencils are your best friend. They make neat letters and shapes a million times easier. Fabric paint is super cheap and you can cut up a pair of old jeans for the fabric or just use any plain fabric you have lying around. (Though really, denim is one of the better options.) For this last patch I cut up a striped vest that was too small for me.

You can't really see the bat. It's black though.
Also, I need to actually sew it together.

Those are just the first batch. I've got a bunch to go, but I can only concentrate on painting neatly for so long before my hand cramps up in protest ^^

Now, I need some advice. I have this lovely brooch I recently received from my grandmother. However, there's a slight problem. It's missing whatever it was that used to be on it...I want to put something in it's place, but I'm not exactly sure what. Any ideas?

DIY~ Crayon Pumpkins

Autumn is officially upon us! (More or less) Of course, here in Florida it's likely we won't get much cold weather until January and the leaves don't change color, but it's nice to sit inside with a cup of hot cocoa, turn the AC down, close the curtains and pretend it's cold enough to wear layers of velvet and stompy boots. (In reality, last Christmas I sat outside on the dock in shorts and ate icecream.)

Right now, I'm in the hospital trying to navigate blogger on this stupid phone and get a post out to you guys. Basically, the infection and blood poisoning has gotten worse and the antibiotics weren't helping. (In fact not only am I allergic to Penicillin, it seems I'm allergic to that as well. Only small hives though, nothing like what happens when I take penicillin.)

They took some blood already. *shudder* Honestly, I'd rather have someone cut me or something then stick that needle in my arm. I'm deathly afraid of needles. I don't like any kind of thing under my skin that isn't a piercing.  That's the main reason I'm doing this now. (with only my left hand) I'm trying to distract myself from the IV drip and new antibiotics they've got me on. Moving my right arm results in burning pain as the catheter thingy touches my vein wall so that's a no-go. And you guys get to listen to me blather on in an effort to think about something else.  If I'm lucky and my white blood cell count is good then they'll send me home. I don't know what I'll do if I have to spend the night here.

I was going to do OddGhoulOut's obituary challenge, but it seems a little too morbid when I'm in the hospital. I promise I'll get to that next! Instead I found this.

I was on pinterest (The link to mine is somewhere over to the right) and I saw the most adorable idea for pumpkins! I don't like to cut mine, for the simple reason that I don't like cleaning all the guts out of them. Normally I'll paint them or think of some other new creative way to spruce them up. So I saw these and decided I might just have to try it.

You'd have an endless amount of crayons to choose from. Just imagine the color combinatons! I see a few black pumpkins in my future, perhaps with orange or red or purple and silver! I wonder how time-consuming it'll be. It can't take that long I don't think. Though you'll have to be careful with the hot wax. I can't imagine that would be pleasant to get on your skin.  

This was my favorite pumpkin last year.
The other two are my little brother's.

Well it's taken me a very long time to type this so hopefully they'll be back with my blood work soon. *crosses fingers*

DIY~ String Dolls

I saw a display of these the other day, but didn't have enough money to buy one. When I got home I raided mom's sewing kit for string, sat down, and got to work. Many, many finger cramps later I finished my first one.

Everyone, meet Snagglefang.

He's a bit sloppy. I had no idea what I was doing after all. But he's pretty cute if I do say so myself. I've just got to go back and fix those awful fangs of his ^^

How I did it

1. Roll string into a small ball. Then start winding in different directions until the head is the size you want it. You'll need a bit of patience, it's difficult in the beginning. It gets much easier as the ball increases in size. I advise putting some music on or the TV to help pass the time.
2. I got a bit lazy here. I suppose you could make the body entirely out of string. I shaped a piece of clay into the body and then started wrapping the string around that until it was covered by a few layers. 
3. For the arms I broke a toothpick into the right length and stuck it through the body. Then I wrapped string around both ends.
4. The legs were done separately around clay like the body.
5. Paint the parts any colors you'd like. This is only if you're unfortunate like me and could only find pink string when you needed white and black.
6. Glue the individual parts together with hot glue.
7. Paint on or stick pins in for the eyes. Paint any other features you'd like.
8. Clothes and accessories! Not to mention, hair.  For this guy I cut a triangle of felt for the widow's peak. The cape is also felt and it was made in two parts. (The collar and bottom part.) I also added a little piece of black fabric around the neck to hide where some hot glue seeped through.

Here are some more I've started. I think I might have a new hobby...

Zombie bride

A Grim Reaper. I need to clean the hot glue off of him...

This one is my favorite. He's like a little deathrocker! ^^

I'm planning on doing a pirate, a cyclops-bat creature, a romantigoth (with a little top hat), Tahno, and The Joker. I'd like to attempt a lil' Robert Smith and a Jareth one but those are a little more difficult what with the hair. What I'd really like to do is an 80s era Dave Vanian doll, but I don't even know where to start with that hair. I mean, what would I use?

DIY headbands~ Bat and Eyes

Want a cute, easy, little DIY project? I realized I needed some more hair accessories. (And hats. I desperately need hats.) So I stopped by Joanns, grabbed a couple plain black headbands, and a few other things.

Result #1 ~ Bat headband

You've probably seen this tutorial on another blog, (I can't quite remember where...) but here's the general rundown.

1) Cut a triangle out of leather (Or another stiff fabric. I used black felt.)

2) Shape the triangle like a bat

3) Gather the center with a needle and thread so it looks like a bow.

4) Hot glue the bat to your headband.

5) Take another strip of the fabric and wind it around the middle of the bow.

Voila!

Result #2 ~ Eyeball headband

Ok, this one is pretty self explanatory. Headband+hot glue+googly eyes= eyeball headband. I love it because it's silly and cute. I used three different sizes of eyes, but you can choose whichever type you like best.




Now go make some cute headbands!

Black and Red Week Day 6~ Zombie shirt, Bracelet, and Fishnets

The finale is here everyone! The submissions have been lots of fun to look at and its been even more fun participating. My last little outfit for you is more casual fun. We had a party for the little middle school bandlings joining next year and this is what I wore. Nothing too scary ;) I was still wearing it at midnight so I'm using it as today's submission.

My zombie killing shirt and striped skirt were perfect for a night of silly games and conversation. I didn't think this was quite enough red though, so my beloved fishnets made an appearance.

I love layering fishnets so it would probably be a good idea to pick up a few more pairs. But really, $10 for a pair of tights?? It's slightly irritating when you have no money and a million adorable things to buy ^^

I just made this bracelet! We went by Goodwill and there was this tiny little kids belt in Tartan. I was disappointed until I realized I could cut it and just use it as a bracelet :)

Well that's the conclusion of Red and Black Week. It's been a blast. I'll leave you with a picture of something I'm actually wearing today. My treasured Monty Python and the Holy Grail bunny slippers ^^

DIY~ Bleached Skeleton Shirt

Last weekend I took a break and took on a mini-DIY project.  I've been wanting a skeleton shirt for casual days, but I wasn't prepared to spend $30 on a black t-shirt with a simple design. I mean, what a rip off. Not to mention its not very unique to buy the available Hot Topic copy they're mass producing here.

So anyway, I said to myself... 'Well, why can't I just make one? Seriously, I thought we were over this bad buying-everything you see habit' and armed with a cup of bleach, old tee and paintbrush I went to work. This is a great DIY project for people with no patience. (guiltily raises hand) It couldn't have taken me more then 30 minutes and I screwed up the first one.

A word of advice. Try not to use a cheap plastic paintbrush you found lying around your house (All of the others pulled a disappearing act on me) unless you don't mind it melting. Bleach is powerful stuff. Actually, on that note...be careful. That stuff can be dangerous if you get it in your eyes. I suggest diluting it a little. Maybe one part bleach to two parts water?

The finished project.

Sorry for the rather unattractive view of my messy bathroom.

 The light wasn't good anywhere else...

I realize its not exactly anatomically correct. Humans have far more ribs than that and I'm pretty sure they don't go down to your stomach...but it serves its purpose :) The shirt actually has one more section of bone to it, but it seems to have bunched up above my belt in this picture.

The scarf I'm wearing is also an old DIY project. The shirt I used to make it was a tad small, so the scarf isn't nearly as big as I'd like it to be. (It's actually not even a scarf. I don't really know what to call it.) I plan on re-doing this with an extra large t-shirt so I get a proper scarf.

Outfit post~ Rips and Checkers

First, Big news! So big that I bolded, underlined and italicized it.

I dyed my hair.

And all of you are thinking 'what?'  Why is that so important?

Well, let me explain. I was sick of my blonde, so I decided to go blonder. Obviously. Actually, right now it looks really, really, really blonde, but once I tone the rest of the yellow out it should be white. *hopes* And then my life will be complete. I love white hair <3

I have no pictures for you guys and there will be none until it's actually white. And because I'm a derp. So, we'll move on to the outfit!

I blinked. Damn. I'm too lazy to take a new one.

 This is obviously from before I dyed and cut my hair. (I cut it too. Did  I mention that already? A little past my chin.) Actually, I have a bunch of pics saved from outfits I've liked that will keep popping up with my old hair color. Just a warning.

Black jeans~  $30 Hot Topic. (strangely enough around here it's the cheapest place for pants.) I actually wear pants a lot. More out of necessity than choice. I don't own many skirts or dresses unfortunately and I have no money.
Bullet belt~ $30 some alt. store online.
Spiked bracelet~ $5 Ebay
Silver bracelet~ $5 Macy's
Tank top~ $4 Kohls
Ripped Top~ You can't really see it in this picture but its just an old shirt I took scissors to.
Jacket~ I don't actually remember. Some nicer store. Sorry :3

You can see my necklace in this one! My friend made it for me. It's the Japanese symbol for 'princess' or at least as close as she could get.

The ripped shirt was actually made into a tank top and I cut the neckline too. It's fairly easy to make this...its really just what, two fold and some cuts? They run down the front, back, and both sides and its a great thing to do to old/tight shirts that you're going to throw away. My policy: It's boring? Rip it.

I'm leaving a tutorial for the shirt if anyone doesn't know how to do it. Even I, with my inadequate DIY skills can slice up fabric so this is a great project for someone who's never done anything with their clothes before.

Go cut to your heart's content!

That sounded bad didn't it? Oops.. oh well.

Farewell Darklings ;)