Crafty Goths

Spotlight

2008-10-06T14:20:47Z

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up, if you haven't already noticed craftygoths is in the spotlight again. Please be aware that this community is about to get very active again until after the spotlight has passed.

I would like to encourage new members to read the user info page for the community, and if you feel the need to make an intro post, please do so on the post made especially for such things ----->HERE!<------

For our members that have been with us a while, please be patient while our community grows. You can expect a ton of posts and for this community to take over your friends page like a zombie plague. If it gets too much I suggest taking the community off your watch for a week until after the spotlight is over.

Spooky Crafting!

IDtags

2008-10-06T09:08:04Z

EvilGrins

EvilGrins

There's more if you like: Clicky!

Bookplates!

2008-10-05T04:42:18Z

Recently I designed a bunch of bookplates then scanned them and printed them on sticker paper. I wanted them to be gothy but I also like bright colors, so...well...heh. I think they're kinda cute!

*edit* Due to several comments I've gotten, if you'd like to buy some, let me know! I can work on you with pricing...but I was thinking 20 of the same kind for 15 bucks or something like that. The more you buy the cheaper it gets kinda thing. :)

The one that started it all, I made for a friend of mine.

The others I colored with color pencil.

An art noveau/art deco-style one:

Red dragon :D

Purple swirlies

Sleeping black cat:

A cute reading spider!

The art deco one I print out four to a page and have a bit of extra paper left over, but the others I can fit eight to a page...so they're small enough to be used with paperbacks and not take up an entire inside cover or something.

:)

Thanks for looking!

tarot cards

2008-10-05T00:25:49Z

I'm currently in the middle of creating my own deck of tarot cards. i was unhappy with all of the poorly done pictures on all of the decks i've seen. I have only ever found one deck i really liked, but am now missing a card. Considering the more energy you put into the cards the closer their spirit is to yours i have decided to make my own deck and bless them.

Here's my problem. I'm about half way through sketching them and then thought about the back! i need some sort or stock stamp or something but i cant think of anything, nor can i find any stamp sets around here.

Also i'm unsure of what medium to use on the pictures of the cards. They will be used quite often so it cant be something delicate or that will rub off, but then again i dont want them to look cheap or gross. Currently they are just pencil sketches and from what i've finished i'm pretty happy with them.

if anyone has any ideas let me know! hopefully once i fully finish them i can scan a few and give you guys a look.\\\

halloween music cd

2008-10-04T18:55:16Z

If anyone else is currently searching for some haunting and chilling Halloween music, Abandoned Toys has a really beautiful and dark music cd called, "The witch's garden". Its melancholic and mysterious, full of really creepy sounds, but still has beautiful, modern classical sounding arrangements that make the disc listenable for the rest of the year as well. If anyone has some other cd recommendations, I'd love to hear them as well.

HAT HELP!

2008-10-03T18:02:03Z

I will be attending a Charity Auction and Dinner tomorrow evening as a donating artist, and the theme is 1950's. I pulled my dress out of the closet today and realized that I need a hat. Does anyone know of a pattern for a quick and easy 1950's themed hat that I can whip up?

RAFFLE TIME!!!

2008-10-03T11:12:20Z

My etsy store, Craft Goodness, is holding a raffle. Won't you come play? :)

You can find all the information about it, here:
angelamarie-x3.livejournal.com/1346.html

Or, at my etsy shop, here:
www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5637264

Bavarian Born Gothics

2008-10-03T10:57:46Z

So, there was this company event at Munich's Oktoberfest...and we were asked to wear Bavarian national costumes aka "Dirndl". Quite naturally, my closet does not hold one of these, for I never attend the "Wies'n" under normal circumstances. And since my full-time job did not give me the time to sew a Dirndl from scratch, I got one dirt-cheap off ebay and modified it.

This is where I started:

And this is where things ended, after some 100 hrs of work and countless modifications (dye, trim and ribbons, mainly) and add-ons:

A detailed shot of the beautiful dragonfly-ey lace trim (combined with satin on most of the seams):

I also made a matching choker:

...and added a few bats here and there...apron:

...and zipper (I straightened the wire and closed the eyelets more tightly, this is just the first version):

Worn with knee-high lace-up boots, I felt "myself" enough to have a blast at the Oktoberfest...something I would not have thought possible when I first tried the commercial version on and felt nothing but silly and inappropriately dressed. My colleagues loved the dress, too, I got lots of compliments on it. So yes, I am content. :)

||x-posted||

Balancing financial stability with creative freedom

2008-10-02T01:57:29Z

Since there are a lot of creative people here, some of whom make a living doing their thing, I thought I would float out this dilemma of mine (financial stability or creative freedom? Can I have both?) and see if anyone cares to comment. I'm trying to decide if I should try to write full time once my current position here ends. Full post is here: http://agent-diamond.livejournal.com/55511.html.

Thanks, and I apologize if this post is inappropriate. Feel free to delete if that's the case (let me know so I don't do it again). I am in the middle of moving- have been for a month now, long story- which is why I haven't been able to put up any pics of current sewing projects. I hope to soon.

Zombie Girls!

2008-10-01T16:17:27Z

Hello all and Happy October! I'm new to Live Journal and don't quite know what I'm doing. I made some Zombie Girls and I thought I'd show them off! All dolls have one of a kind dresses and are ready to munch on some domes just in time for Halloween!!

Here are all of my crappy links!
http://www.thetinytragedies.etsy.com
http://www.thetinytragedies.com
http://www.myspace.com/tinytragedydolls
http://www.flickr.photos.thetinytragedies
http://www.thetinytragedies.blogspot.com

Hair bows? Yes?

2008-10-01T10:16:18Z

Decided to make some hair bows.
My first time.
As you can tell.

[AD] New Handmade_Gifts community

2008-09-29T23:40:21Z

I apologize in advance for all the crossposting, but I think that most of my "crafty" communities will be interested in this. :)

I've just created a new community called handmade_gifts. With the holidays so close, I'm really starting to gather ideas for handmade gifts for friends and family. This is a place to post ideas, links, tutorials, and of course, your own creations - as well as to ask for help finding that perfect gift to make. We plan to have an extensive tag system so that finding something to make is fast and easy! I've already posted tons of links, tutorials and helpful books, so the place is off to a great start! Please join and start contributing to crafty gifting! :D

I've already checked the userinfo to ensure that this advertisement is okay. However, if for any reason the mods would like it deleted, I will do so immediately upon being asked.

Mini Top Hats

2008-09-29T04:35:27Z

Just a couple of Mini Top Hats I finished lately

Looking for advice

2008-09-29T02:54:37Z

Hey all,

Lurking here has already pointed me to a few great sites and techniques, so I was hoping I'd be able to get a little more help. I've got some really shiny gold-tone jewelry findings that I'd like to give that darker antique look but have no idea how to go about it---does anyone have way, or even a theory? I've done some searching already but couldn't find anything for it. Thanks for any help you can give!

New pieces!

2008-09-29T01:46:45Z

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a good weekend. I spent mine working 12 hour days with a fever. Not fun. But I did manage to pop out two new necklaces somewhere in my little bit of free time. These pieces are for my own personal collection, but if you really like one, I have enough beads left to make a similar one of each. ONLY ONE. I did not make the pendants, nor are they available, but I can get similar pendants with SCORPIONS in them. Message me for details. =)

Enjoy!

"Rainbow Fright"

"Bees Knees" (Yes, those are real bees in the large beads and in the pendant!)

I need help! Please!

2008-09-28T17:32:42Z

First, I want to say thank you to everyone for all your comments on my wreath, that was very sweet!

What I really need from this community today is some info and advice. Mainly from anyone who is selling their wares on etsy. Can you give me some step-by-step advice? Does it cost anything to list? How do I go about setting it up? Is it similar to the idea of posting to LJ? And as for Paypal...we only have the basic free account so that we can pay FOR things online, and you are only allowed to accept a few payments FROM other people. What does it cost to upgrade the Paypal so that you can recieve payments for things you have sold? I would appreciate any and all advice from those of you who have your fabulous things listed on etsy. Thank you so much in advance!

advice sought from crafy geniusses. genii? what's the plural?

2008-09-28T17:23:56Z

i'm going to start painting on bags/purses soon in acrylic. they're probably going to be vinyl/pleather sort of items and was just wondering if anyone had any advice on priming/sealing the design?? products to use which are easily available in the UK would rule.

AD: Etsy for Animals Birthday Bash

2008-09-28T13:49:20Z

Devil Bunny wants you to click the LJ cut and check out the ad for helping animals. You want to do what the nice rabbit says, don't you?

Etsy for Animals (EFA) is an association of artist and craftsmen on Etsy that donate part of their sales to animal related charities. EFA is celebrating it's one year anniversary with a sale in the team store and in various members shops. There's 180 different artists participating! It's a great chance to pick up some Halloween goodies. (or hit the supply shops for materials to make your own crafty Halloween goodies)

To take advantage of it, just use the Birthday Bash coupon code. Insert the code "FENRI" in notes to seller and get 20% off your purchase! At check out, don't pay, wait for a revised invoice from PayPal where the seller will take the 20% off. Coupon is good until September 30th.

You can check out my stuff in my personal store: Cute, Cuddly and Cannibalistic.
Sample items:

Or you can see a list of participating artists here sorted by the type of item they make. This includes art and many different crafts. Many of the EFA members use organic or vegan materials.

Armature illustrated tutorial

2008-09-27T23:54:29Z

I'm a sculptor, so everything I do pretty well starts with building the underlying armature for the sculpt. If you're looking at getting started with sculpted in polymer clay, ApoxieSculpt, paperclay, etc, you may find this helpful.

Building the guts of a sculpture... with donuts!

And for shiny pictures, here's a finished picture of "Witchcraft", the sculpture shown in the tutorial:

In African mythology, hyenas serve much the same roll as black cats do for European witches. So if you're looking for a slightly different theme for your Halloween decorations, you can always go for menacing hyenas!

Spiders!

2008-09-27T03:27:13Z

I took some time to work on some Halloween project yesterday and just wanted to show them off. Click on the cut below.

The first spider I created I decided to turn into a refrigerator magnet. I adjusted the brightness in photoshop so you could see the detail. It is made from sculpy clay that I baked and spray painted black (word to the wise, never spray paint sculpy clay unless you want your figures to become somewhat "flexible"). Once that was done I affixed and acrylic gemstone to its abdomen and glass beads for its four eyes. Lastly, I glued a magnet strip to its belly and there you go--fridge art!

Next is a necklace with a spider and skull theme I made for the missus's halloween costume (this was inspired from another crafty goth. Thanks ever so!).. I used the same methods as my magnet for the spider on the necklace (slightly smaller scale, but decorated the same as the larger one), and attached a jump ring to its abdomen with a line of glass and skull beads I bought at the Dollar Tree Store. I then attached it to a set of bony hands I bought there as well (after driving a hot needle through four points and attacthing jump rings) then threaded the remaining beads to form the chain. Finally, I added the clasp.

Here is a close up below of the necklace's spider and bony hands, edited in Photoshop for detail.

Like 'em? :-)

Hello!

2008-09-26T19:47:55Z

Hello, I just joined. And did the intro post, like a good little girl. ^^

I don't have pictures yet (I'll have to ask my boyfriend to take a few for me), but I recently finished hand-sewing a quilt and some throw pillows for my boyfriend.

The theme was rock 'n' roll, so I picked out some fabrics to show that off...not easy, as Jo-Anne's is overrun with girly stuff, kid stuff, and Redneck stuff...

The front side consisted of the following pattern: black square, square with skulls and red roses, red square, black square with white skulls in a spiral, repeat. The back was then large squares of black and red fleece making a checkerboard pattern. I made little throw-pillows for our anniversary using left over scraps of the front fabrics. I hand-sewed EVERYTHING as I could not get my mother's old sewing machine to work for me. It wasn't the greatest bit of craftsmanship, but it looks great anyway, and boy is it cozy for napping with!

I hope I can get some pictures soon to post. I haven't done anything crafty in nearly two years, it was a great stress reliever working on these things for him.

craftygoths @ 2008-09-26T10:47:00

2008-09-26T09:53:59Z

i made this last xmas. i bought myself a little black christmas tree and wanted to decorate it pink and silver. i couldn't find a fair i liked anywhere so i made this myself =)

made this to go on my witches hat last halloween. his name is Borris :P

craftygoths @ 2008-09-25T16:28:00

2008-09-25T15:35:24Z

i found this site earlier and thought i'd share, there's some really cool ideas on here!

http://www.mookychick.co.uk/diy_ethic/

Uk people - do you know where I can get nightmare before christmas fabric? i've had an idea to make a christmas stocking out of NBC fabric and white fun fur :D also, can you reccomend a good craft and fabric glue?

ohh i have so many ideas!! :D

Re-Vamped Bath Stool

2008-09-25T13:20:37Z

For my first post, I thought I'd share with everyone how I re-vamped a boudoir-style bath stool that I'd bought for $10 at a good-will. I thought I'd make it sexy and used black pvc...

This is how it looked when I brought it home. Yellowed flower cotton seat.

First, I took the seat off and staple-gunned the pvc on top of the old foam.

I then spray painted the metal with a crimson paint. Once dried, I tacky-glued black fringe to the metal and used large clips to keep it in place overnight. This is the same method used to make lampshades.

To get the fringe to straighten I lightly misted it with water and..ta-da! New sexy boudoir bath stool to match my black neo-baroque design towels. And being PVC, it works well in a bath room when it gets wet. :)

craftygoths @ 2008-09-24T22:37:00

2008-09-25T02:58:10Z

arg. lets try this again. last time I tried to post this the picture refused to go under the cut >_<

So I've been pretty busy with school *more like its killing me* so now that I have some free time I'm updating :D
WARNING: lots of pictures!

This is my tribute to fall, more like I got bored last sunday and decided to mess around with my watercolours. Its not very good, so if you can't tell what it is I'm sorry - its a forest in the fall with one lonely dead tree on the top of a random hill. My attempts at shadow were sooo

NEXT! I'm actually pretty proud of these

so these are my new wristwarmers, they took about 15 hours to knit and put together *I'm slow* -those are the most comfortable pants one the face of the planet *just thought I'd share that*

YAY -I need to repaint my nails >_< I was watching Time Burton's Sweeney Todd when I started them, hence why they are mildly Burton-esque.

Very simple to make. I love my buttons, and yes, that is black ribbon for button holes - I don't know how to knit real button holes yet so I improvised.

Just in case anyone is wondering, these are not for sale. These are fit to my wrists *very small* and I may be improving them further by adding in a brace to the left one >_>
I plan on starting an Etsey account in the new year - when I have more time to make stuff
Last but not least,

Midnight! This is the first in a series *if I ever get time to make the other two*
I love this pic, fake kitty caught the fake mouse

The super close-up. I was so happy when I found those buttons - they were just what I wanted
Yes, I am a very bad sewer, oh well practice (and time) makes perfect.The link to Midnight's pattern is: http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/store/pointykitty.html

I'm going to the Annual Zombie Walk in Toronto next month - expect pictures :D