Fashioning My Cyber Microcosm: A Time For Celebration!

So before I get started, I'd like to wish you all a merry Samhain and a happy Halloween!

Source

Since 13 of you rung my bell, it's time to announce the winner of my treat! 
And so the winner is...

Printscreen of Random Generator Results...

Boo! ...no really, Boo... what are the odds that that worked in as a trick, too? Let's just chock that up to happenstance.
Anyway.
I'll be contacting you asap, requesting all the pertinent information.
On my next giveaway (100 watchers), I'll be using Rafflecopter since I have a pretty good understanding of how it works now.

OK!
Yesterday was the birthday of my very significant other. It was made extra special for the fact that it was the first birthday I was able to attend since our 6 years being together; being long distance for so long hardly afforded the luxuries of getting together whenever we wanted. I decided to throw him a little get together with friends.
Much merriment was had by those that attended our small little gathering... my very lovely neighbor and I baked a delicious cheesecake for the birthday boy-- which I then decorated with spooky joy!

With a skull candy border!

Originally I was thinking of cutting the shape into a bat and then cover it with black sprinkles... but then it would've been much too small of a cake. I didn't have a ton of time to work with since we did it the day of.. so I cheated a little. Maybe next year!

Mortem's Tricks or Treats: Hacked and Slashed

One of my lovely neighbors gave me a shirt some time ago, and for a time it sat in my project pile; not knowing what to do with it.

It hit me, as I was sketching a death head moth, that I don't have a single piece of clothing or jewelry that really shows my love for this critter. What better way then bleach art, I say! I could've easily just have used fabric paint and made a print... but I love the grungy rust-like look that bleaching lends.

I also found this as an opportunity to try a couple techniques that I've seen floating around youtube for t-shirt reconstruction: weaving, and skull cut out.

Here's the final result:

And here is how the shirt looked like before, and some in progress photos:

Before Reconstruction

Taking it in a couple notches

My sketch, and figuring out positioning

Chalking the skull to the back

Fashioning My Cyber Microcosm: Guts, Goo, Gore... and Neighbors

Nothing brings people together quite like Halloween; it's the unsung hero of holiday cheer.

In the past couple of days, I spent my time hanging about just generally enjoying life with my two neighbors.

On Thursday, I spent the day out with one neighbor and her child at the Petrified Forest park. She has such a wealth of information that changed my entire perspective on the park during the Triassic period, and its critters.

I snagged some really great photos onto instagram, but my favorite photos are the ones I took with my regular camera:

A beautiful raven perched and posed as I snapped a few really great shots; my finger was not quick to snap when he cawed, but I was nevertheless happy with what I got.

Today I spent what I consider to be the best way to relax with my other neighbor; good company, good food, pumpkin carving and a classic halloween flick: Candyman.

Gutting

Gore

Trophies

We attempted a kitty-in-a-pumpkin-shot, but Poe refused to look at the camera...

However for viewing satisfaction, we lit them up and I became trigger happy with the camera.

I carved the skull, and my neighbor carved the other two.

In all likelihood, I'll be adding more to my pumpkin-- I wanted to add tentacles...

We also ate candy as we watched Candyman... didn't find any razor blades, thankfully.

Only 4 more days till my Halloween Giveaway is over! Don't forget to enter in this link!
This giveaway has ended.

Skeleton Closet: Corp Goth Look 2

My propensity towards extravagant outfits and a lack of imagination for minimal detail has not been in my favor during my current job search; it has become a priority to seek monetary exchange for my abundance of time.

Like any person heeding to an alternative fashion, the choice to look and feel the way we want does not often agree with how the corporate world wishes to see us: this is my second attempt at finding a marriage between the two worlds.

In my last creepy craft post, I was revamping a knit sweater my mother sent me. The dye didn't take as well as I would like. I sort of expected that to happen; I had a hunch it was a synthetic fiber.

I am not really in love with it just yet; I wanted to add some more, but my materials are limited at the moment, and nothing I have inspired use. So it'll have to do for now. It does look quite well with a brooch, though.

Now the outfit without the vest completely transforms the look into something much younger.

This is really the outfit I would've worn to a prospective interview; the vest was just a show of what it looks like, because it is now heading to the project pile (who knows when I'll feel like getting back to it).

What I am wearing:

• Top: thrifted
• Waist belt: Fairweather Co.
• Skirt: thrifted
• Vest: DIY revamp
• Brooch: self-made
• Shoes: thrifted

Do you ever get so enthusiastic about something, only to lose that feeling when you get to working on the item?

Heads up: I plan to amalgamate Hot Weather Goth into Skeleton Closet, and I have this worry that it'll spam everyone with that teeny update, so I'm very sorry for that.

Spooky Basket: Last Haul of the Year

It feels as though this October was a mere whisper of what it once was in the past years; maybe it is because less and less people are inclined to celebrate Halloween ... or maybe it is because I live in a substantially smaller area than previously...

Either way, most of the Halloween treats and awesomeness have almost disappeared off the shelves and been replaced by Christmas ornaments and wrapping paper.

I've managed to scratch away with a couple items from the halloween discount piles; other items were gifts, and items bought in the last haul before this.

What I bought:

• Glow in the dark ribcage shirt
• Bat window decals
• Spider inside purple goo in a coffin box
• Bat bandana
• Spider web and candy corn fabric
• (Not shown) jack o' lantern socks

What was gifted:

• Skeleton couple
• Owl with dead tree glass ornament
• Spider floating candles

My hubby passed the gifted items to me, which were anonymously gifted to him at work: we have yet to be able to thank who gave him the gifts. I plan on having the decals on my craft room window all year long; they're corny, I know, but I fell in love with them.

I bought the fabric intending on making a tie on bustle, but then the idea of knee length bloomers popped into my head... now I'm not so sure which I should do first; I have four yards so I'm assuming I have enough for both!

 I wanted to wait till I have tried these out sufficiently, but I bought a 120 eye shadow palette and a 16 piece brush set off Ebay for a rocking price. I was a bit wary of a purchase of this type from Ebay, but both ended up being well worth the risk! The pigment is true to what it shows-- in fact these are what I used to create my inner spooky child look.

The brushes are super wicked; the bristles are a purple gradient, the handles are deep sparkly purple, and the case is a shiny vinyl purple. They're very soft and feel of very decent quality considering the price.
Both totaled $21.05, with free shipping.

On its way is a beauty blender sponge that I also bought on Ebay for $1.89 with free shipping-- I'm just a tad bummed because they sold out of the purple color, but it's not like the color for this is hugely important, it just would've been nicer to have.
I'm really starting to love Ebay as much as Etsy.

Alas I think these are the last items I will be purchasing for the rest of the year... there's no point shopping when the things I love only come once a year for a very limited time. Clothes aren't as hugely "urgent" a buy as Halloween goodies since I can eventually make it if I don't end up buying it, in most cases.

Is Halloween in your area dying or absent? How do you cope with the loss of neat goodies?

11 more days left to enter my Halloween Giveaway!

Skeleton Closet: Embracing My Inner 'Spooky' Child

In the famous (to me) words of my momma (and probably other mommas too): "One must always expand their horizons because you never know what you'll fall in love with"

Today I was experimenting with color. I bought this shirt during my last trip to Walmart; as you can tell, and probably have seen if any of you ever visit walmart, this shirt is for little girls... I fit little girl's XL, heh.
I bought this along with another ribcage shirt from the boys sections-- I fit a M boys. Both were $4.

Anyway-- this was entirely too cute to pass up, and although I seldom, if ever, wear t-shirts; I am making a huge effort try new things. Since I've been making and buying some great t-shirts, I've been trying to incorporate ways to wear them to suit me, and simultaneously shuffle in some color.

Obviously this shirt doesn't represent my age well, but I figured what the hell, let's embrace that inner spooky child.

Since I've been doing a lot with my make up and hair, I thought that this look might do well with a beehive of sorts; I don't have a ton of experience or tools for hair, so I opted for a faux beehive using the high ponytail method, and topped that off with a bow that is showing up quite often in my outfit posts, hehe.

I took some colors from the palette of the shirt, and used them in my make up. A hot pink, sky blue, and bubble gum purple.

 I used the purple on my bottom lid, and eyebrows to effect. So colorful! Eeep!
Another small indulgence to my inner child would be that of Halloween snow globes... I love collecting them!

$1 each from Dollar Tree

I am such a sucker for Halloween kitsch...

What I'm wearing:

• T-shirt: Walmart
• Cardigan: Ardene
• Skirt: Fairweather
• Tights: from my mother
• Necklace & hair bow: self-made

A reminder: Don't forget to enter in my Halloween Giveaway!

Comment on this link to be entered

Mortem's Tricks or Treats: Dye Hard

My mother sent me a knit vest in one of my care packages. I hated the color, but luckily she had also sent along 3 packs of old Rit powder dye in black.

I'd like to start off by saying I'm sorry.
The reason for that is because I completely forgot to take a before picture, and I realized it as I put it in a vat of dye. The picture shown is after its first bath in black dye. It used to be a powder blue... I did take a "during" shot, though

Doesn't really make up for before shots...

As you can see in the first photo (gross quality), it came out a faded black/ dark grey.
I deduced that perhaps it was because 1.) I forgot to add vinegar during the simmering process and 2.) I only let it sit for about 15 mins before rinsing.

Currently it is drying from a second bath which included vinegar and more time...
So tomorrow, I'll probably put it in a third, maybe a fourth bath. I tried boiling it to felt it the first time round-- didn't really felt all that great.

I'll be adding lace trims to it, so by the next CCC post I'll show it in all its complete glory

When I've blackened it sufficiently, I wanted to replace its buttons with something better, currently they're a milky pearlescent. I'm just not sure what I'll replace them with yet...

Skeleton Closet: Chilly Bliss

Today's weather was considerably cooler than I am now used to; it'll only get cooler from here on in!
This means that the majority of my wardrobe will finally get to see the light of day.

Such bliss...

It was also today; while getting my eyes checked; that I stumbled on a great discovery.
The frames they had were relatively common-- nothing I haven't seen countless times in the past... until the lady at the counter pointed me in the direct of these beautifully authentic looking reproduction Victorian frames. As soon as I put them on all I could think was 'jackpot!'

In a couple weeks I will be sporting my brand new pair of vintage inspired frames. The hubby hates them, believes they make me look crossed-eyed; I on the other hand believe they blast me into the past, where is exactly when I want to be... aesthetically speaking.

On lady Bathezda's blog she has a beautifully done combination of orange and black make up; thinking one day I had to do it. Well I did... somewhat, mostly-kinda-inspired-by... heh. My hand is still a little heavy on the application, but the results were nevertheless satisfactory.

I also tried my hand at a fishtail braid, which didn't end up that different looking than my regular side braid.
Eh, it was worth a shot-- perhaps if my hair had a little more volume to it, it might actually resemble that herringbone pattern.

What I'm wearing:

• Top: thrifted
• Frilly wrap sweater: Fairweather Co.
• Skirt: thrifted
• Necklace: self-made

Skeleton Closet: Tricks And Treats-- Outfit Post & Halloween Giveaway (CLOSED)

This week has started off on a really good foot and just kept going. On Monday I received in the mail the long awaited Mr. Unlucky Jack Skellington shirt that I have been causally searching Ebay for, for the past several years since losing the bid those years ago. It was on Buy Now and that is exactly what I did-- and for much cheaper than I had originally seen it go for. On Tuesday we took a trip to town and I brought home  some halloween goodies!

I got a chance to wear the shirt today when going out with a friend for lunch, and was able to bust out my long skirts, tights and boots since it was a generously cool day.

Also today I was actually able to do my hair in a manner that resembled a style! I went with a pretty simple milkmaid braid style; of course knowing me, I had to youtube a tutorial on how to do one easily.

I didn't need to curl my hair, since it is already very curly on its own.

 These are my results, topped off with one of my favorite hair accessories; a hair flower band!

I kept it relatively messy looking to maintain a casual look. I may have to look into finding some purple stripey ribbon to try that weaved-in look. This hairdo literally took 2 minutes it's super easy; even for a novice like me.

Halloween Giveaway! (CLOSED)

So now comes the portion you've all been waiting for; time for a real treat.

 Up for grabs is a pumpkin tin filled with goodies for a random commenter/follower of my blog.
It is open internationally so anyone, anywhere can follow and comment for a chance to win it.

What you'll win:

• A handmade acrylic skull and purple pearl bracelet
• A handmade hair flower band
• Two spools of Halloween ribbon-- black and green stripes; black and white skulls
• 3 Halloween note pads-- pumpkin, witch, vampire
• A skull and hearts 100% cotton bandana
• A handful of Halloween candy

 THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED

Good Luck, and happy Halloween/Samhain!

(THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED)

Skeleton Closet: Burgers, Horseshoes... and Lace

It used to be that wherever I went, I would dress to impress.

Since moving down to this town, this mentality made me stick out like a sore thumb.

I realize now that no matter how much I pretend not to care about my appearance the more awkward it makes me seem to the people around me.

I feel that in many ways my direct appearance reflects who I am and what mood I am in. If I am not feeling the best, chances are I am not looking my best.

So we had a community club meeting; eating burgers, socializing and playing horseshoes.

I decided that in the spirit of me (and consequently October); I'd dress in my version of ultra casual... but today I actually did my make up, so maybe it was more on the dressy side of my usual summer-esque attire.

It was today also that I decided that I'm going to wear make up any time I go out-- I tend to think it makes me look a little older, but not overtly so. For the light smoky eyes, a quick youtube video and my dollarstore goods helped me to yield the result; it was a gold and a dark brown with hints of gold. I really have to laugh every time I think about what I use... it is, for a lack of a better word, ghetto.

 I felt out of place, definitely. But that isn't new, and at least I felt I was portraying who I am, rather than the black lamb trying to paint her wool white.

The run down of the outfit:

- Top, waist belt and earrings: Fairweather Co.

- Lace leggings: Claires

- Necklace & hair piece: self-made

- Shoes: Dr. Scholls

Do you feel like clothing represents who you are? Or just your tastes?

Spooky Basket: October? More like Stocktober

Woo hoo!
The blogosphere has already begun counting down, and as usual, I am fashionably late (I see it that way, at least)
Yes! It's October, and all of us are scrambling to finish up those finishing touches to whatever it is we may be planning or making.

It's around this time of year when I wish I won the lottery.
My October started as all October's start for me: lot's of temptation.
As the goods started invading the shelves of every retail store, so did my basket become a little heavier at the checkout.
This is the best and worst time of year for me because there is very little to hold back my impulse from the awesome-overload, yet it's a time when I feel most at peace-- and no, it isn't because I can indulge my material obsession with skulls and bats easily... but that particular story is for another time.

For now I will oblige my insatiable desire for Halloween kitsch, and offer up my latest Halloween haul.

 The Items:

• Bath & Body Works Halloween Bat pocketpac with 5 bottles of Halloween themed sanitizers
• Scentsy 'Fright Night' wall plug in wax burner
• Solar dancing skeleton
• Sugar skull keychain
• Skeleton tights

I bought the tights and pocketbac along with the bottles off ebay; as you'll notice they're not the newer versions... but the bath and body works is too far for me to visit, and the deal was exponentially better on ebay than if I went there, spent the gas and then bought this set. Plus I ran the risk of not finding the bat, since it seems it is the most sought after.

2011 bottles-- bat eyes light up!

The tights people have told me are sold at wal-mart, but I couldn't find them-- however someone on ebay was selling them for $2 with free shipping so that also out weighed the retail cost + travel gas.

I bought this burner from my friend who is a scentsy consultant; here is her personal scentsy page.
I use these quite a bit-- maybe more than I use incense sticks, and I love this one so much more than the others I have-- the white moon is highlighted when it's turned on. This one is a wall plug in, so I use it in my bathroom... which will one day sport a halloween theme.

I found this solar dancing skeleton at the local dollar store-- Poe loves to watch it dance almost as much as I do!

Not really Halloween, but Day of the Dead; my awesome neighbors gave me this keychain-- it matches the magnet skull I bought a few months back.

And if you haven't already guess from one of the pictures... I have a new fur baby!

His name is Poe, and he's just as charming as he looks.

What are necessary things you must own around Halloween?