Mortem's Tricks or Treats: A Little Black Flower Tutorial

Since Valentines is just tomorrow, and many of you lovelies are planning to make themselves up pretty; I thought that I would give you the option of making your own pretty little black flowers. Although, if you aren't into black, then by all means use a different color fabric! You can put them anywhere-- sew or glue them onto headbands, clips, bags... whatever!

You'll need:

• A piece of scrap cloth
• Sewing implements: either your sewing machine, or hand sewing needle and thread
• Any miscellaneous items you plan on putting it on: a head band, a clip... etc.

To begin:

Cut your scrap cloth into strips.

I only cut one layer for this tutorial, but you may layer it with other fabrics like tulle, or lace. Cut the width of strip as tall as you'd like the petals to be. The length dictates the volume of the blossom; the longer it is, the bigger the flower will be; the shorter, the smaller it will be.

Next, cut a scalloped edge. These will be your petals.

You may make them as spaced apart or as frequent as you'd like. Doing this also affects the volume of your flower; more petals, more bloom! Don't throw away that scrap that comes from it just yet...

You can incorporate it as a layer into your flower as well, just to limit the amount of waste.

Pin your layers together, and sew using a wide stitch. 

Don't tie off the last stitch, this is crucial for the next step.

Next you're going to begin scrunching.

Make sure that the bottom edge stays in one direction. If you face it up, you will have a center to your flower, but for this example the edge will be facing down.

Now, you'll sew the bottom together.

Slip stitch the opposite ended petals together so there isn't a gap. You may do this on your sewing machine, but it's more effort than simply doing it by hand. Keeping sewing into the base till it feels snug.

And now you're done, and ready to apply to whatever!

Two small flowers beside a larger one.

If you know what this is, well I'm sorry-- this is going to a special client and friend. Perhaps in the future I will be inclined to make yet another one. If you don't know what it is I'm working on, well... have a looksie here and here.

Happy crafting, my Valentines!

Mortem's Tricks or Treats: Topsy Turvy

Alright, I'll be the first to admit it; I am horrible with following lists systematically...
At least I am completing it, and really, that's all the counts.

So the... uh, "next" thing on my list was to sew the skirt to my blouse-- but my topsy turvy nature decided I rather felt like making the mini top hat (Top hats, Topsy Turvy? Get it? Get it??... ho ho!).

I really would've preferred to have one of those neat felt premade mini top hats, but I didn't have the budget for one (the really awesome well made ones-- not the ones at the local craft store). With a little bit of imagination; some fabric and ribbon; a whole lot of glue and cardboard... resulting in a huge mess on the kitchen table...

I give you top hat the second.
The first one didn't turn out as great, but luckily it is still very much salvageable. It occurred to me while constructing them that I completely forgot to add the lining of felt to the brim-- so they're a little too malleable for my taste, but nevertheless wearable and make really great photo props!

I had a few tattered feathers and some acrylic pearl beads roaming about in my craft bin that made their way happily onto the hat. I love dyed/bleached peacock feathers; there once was a time when I was into millinery; I had such a bountiful craft room, with so many trims and things to pick from... hum.

Bonus:
I'm thoroughly happy today! My mother sent me a skirt she didn't want anymore; I took it in and discovered it was the perfect pair up to my thrifted victorian mourning blouse (which was only 50 cents!). I accessorized with my top hat and a thrifted waist belt. Feelin' gooood.

Mortem's Tricks or Treats: Shun The Non-believer Edition

I am making good headway with my small but time consuming "to-do list" for February! Woo hoo!
It's really a Bat-fit kind of triumph, I'd say. It's an exhilarating feeling ticking off something on a to-do list. I feel like that simple act has begun a centralization that I so needed and have failed to find in the past; problems with over analyzing things.... anyways, enough of that!

The magical Liopluerodon has indeed shown me the way....

I find this situation so completely ironic, because I had made this for a friend (and also neighbor) who is a fossil preparator for the Petrified Forest National Park (where my hubby works, as well). I wanted to make something special for her, because our friendship clicked almost immediately. We have been going on hikes, going out to town together, and just chilling out.

I made this from super soft and cuddly "baby blanket" yarn, in super thick. The horn and hooves are made from a gradient yarn that shifts with colors of blue, purple, green and magenta. You can't see it very well, but within it there are threads of glitter yarn which only adds to the magical nature of the horn.

Consequently, she has introduced me to the magical world of unicorns, and has unveiled the possibilities. In production currently, is a lip balm I am creating inspired by her influence-- which in time I will unveil.
For now, I feel this bubblegum frenzy building within my core... it'll burst, I can feel it-- hopefully it doesn't stain my black clothes.

Mortem's Tricks or Treats: Camisole Blouse

As promised, I will showcase for you today the blouse I never got around to uploading after I had completed it.

The silhouette is fairly simple, it's just a large rectangular piece that has two drawstrings to cinch up for the ruffle-poof effect.

 The drawstrings also contribute to the overall piece as well, adding a large bow on the bottom hem, and a small one around the top.
Instead of buttonholes with buttons, I opted for a more eye-pleasing approach and used loop closures.
I picked a set of pretty buttons, and suddenly there was a nice focal point!

I was really toying with the idea of using the tattered flower trim for straps, but in the end I decided it would've made it look more like an under garment piece than something you'd wear out.
I also took this as an opportunity to attempt something I haven't done on an actual garment before: pintucks!
They seem easy, but when it comes to applying them on a garment... eh... it wasn't as easy as I first thought, hehe.

Despite the slight complications with the pintucks, what frustrated me most were the straps. Maybe it was the night I was working on it and the mood I was in, but I had to unstitch and reattach them three times before I finally had them the way I wanted, which was criss crossed on the back.

And that's that... the tribulations of a seamstress without a dressform!

It's very difficult to really tailor my tops until I am either sent the one I had in Canada, or save up enough to purchase another one... whichever comes first, I suppose. In the meantime time, I ache for a the myriad of fitted blouse ideas which sit in my sketch books!
Hopefully throughout the month I can complete the outfit which I constructed this blouse for: I still need to make the skirt and the over-top!

Necklace is self-made.

Yes, I also do wire work!

Fashioning My Cyber Microcosm: FeBRRRuary.

February is supposed to be the coldest month for us Northern Hemisphere folk; I remember the teachings of my Jr. High school teacher as she'd patronize the entire class of 14-15 year olds with the spelling of the months... fantastic art teacher, though-- just wasn't cut out for general studies.
This hardly has anything to do with this post, mind you, but I'll never get rid of her raspy voice as she exaggerated the *brrr* in February. I suppose in a way, February is the artistic month of the year-- when it's far too cold to wander about outside, and the crafting room looks far more tempting than usual during this dismal windy cold.

I've decided that this month I will follow a plan. I consider this part of my personal therapy; snatch myself out of my seemingly perpetual funk-- it's likely this town that is inducing such malaise (which I do think I complain much too often about, but you really need to live here to know what I mean).
Because of the extra effort I am taking to keep busy, my blog has been receiving less and less attention, and I've been falling behind with all the photos and projects that are begging for posts. In fact a few of these projects are underway already-- one of these has a completed counter part (the skirt for blouse, for example!). The last one might take more time than I allotted myself... double knitting is something I hear can be a little dicey, and if lace knitting is any indication of the comparison of difficulty, than perhaps I better brew my "mood" tea before I begin...

In the next post I shall post the entire process of the blouse which was finished, but not shared.
The first thing I will tackle is: The unicorn hood! Similar to the knit cat hood in style, but instead of cat ears I'll be knitting horse ears and of course the the iconic horn.
I'll be knitting it for a friend and neighbor of mine-- I'm super excited about the yarns I have picked out!

I'll be using a very soft and fluffy baby blanket type white yarn for the base and ears, and the most wonderful yarn of all; a purple, blue and green shifting yarn with hints of glitter for the horn and hooves! I was debating if I should add a mane, if it'll even look good... This project is casted on, and I've completed several rows but it's not yet worthy of a progress report.

Later in the month I'll work on the high waisted bustle and finish creating the skirt for the blouse (pattern drafted and ready for cutting).
I have all the trimmings I need, and the most decadent of fabric for both-- can you guess which one is for which?

 I have some other projects that are not mentioned on my list, but those are ones that I'm not as thrilled about as these-- small projects and favors, you see. Still fun, nevertheless!

I hope everyone has had a good first month of the year! What did January look like for you, and how do you foresee your February?

Mortem's Tricks or Treats:Sincerest Form of Flattery

My my, I have been a busy bee this past week or so-- which will explain my absence.
I couldn't decide whether to bombard you all with the updates into one fat post... or to torture you all slowly in the upcoming days. I think I'll do the latter.

I'll start with the most recent update, which will begin with a giant disclaimer:

This is a homage piece; I do not own the rights to the following, nor will I distribute the pattern in any way shape or form, so please do not ask. It is all property of Archaical-- so if you want one, then please go to her site here.

Now that I have that off my chest...

I'm not one to "copy" another artist's work on a whim; it takes a special set of circumstances for the notion to  create enough momentum to even remotely cross my mind, and conversely weigh the pro's and con's of doing so. If I had limitless funds and limited knowledge on the particular craft, I would buy one in a heartbeat; just as I have with Louise Black's corset at the time of its purchase, and many more like that. Unfortunately funds fluctuate terribly, identical to that of my moods. So my conclusion seemed inevitable... they do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

Through mere observation, I was able to recreate one of the infamous hoods. I was armed with nothing but my finite knowledge of knitting, tools, and ambition to succeed.
I exaggerated the ears just slightly so that they resembled bat ears more than cat ears. I also made the scarf bits of the hood wider, so it would curl less and cover more. The colors were my choice, of course; I adore many things purple and black! You could just as easily say they are my favorite colors. I didn't use the large yarn which is evident in her original hoods, but it really didn't take much of the regular stuff to complete it. It took me approximately one day and one night to complete-- I imagine with the larger yarn it would take half the time; I don't consider myself to be a quick and prolific knitter by any means, FYI.

I recommend purchasing one of these hoods-- it's quite comfy, and very handy not to mention cute! It's also quite fun to tease a scaredy cat into thinking you're a large animal with-- Poe will attest to just that!


Off topic:

I was nominated by not one, but three lovely ladies (Bones & Lilies, Breakfast on Mars, and Drinking! Not Studying) for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award

The honor of receiving this comes with the duty of listing 5 of my most aberrant habits. So, in order of peculiarity:

1. I concentrate best when I have a tape dispenser near me, so I can snap a piece and place it at random on my body. Although most anything sticky does suffice-- just not jam sticky... I'm very particular about that.
2. I willingly clean just about any mess, and some were really quite grotesque-- but I vehemently refuse to do dishes.
3. I don't speak as I write. I am very closed mouthed in person; though I may have much to say, it very rarely comes out, and when it does it's haphazard and awkward at best. I tend, very much, to mumble. I have done very well during phone conversation, though-- it's a long process.
4. I tend to be quite absent minded-- I wander without consciously knowing it, I'll randomly stare blankly, and at one point or another I have misplaced every item I have ever owned... and they are usually in equally peculiar areas: my phone has been found in the fridge, in the shower, in the microwave, on high selves where I couldn't possibly have reached without a stool... and that is an example of one item!
5. When items are in front of me, I subconsciously move them around until they "feel right"... but this habit never happens inside my craft room where I need it most. Even I find that odd, and contradicting to 4 as well...

So now I list some of the bloggers which inspire me and haven't been tagged, in no particular order:

- Craft For Misfits

- Insomniac's Attic

- News From The Cave

- Vulcan Butterfly

Totally voluntary; you won't hurt my feelings if you refuse, I'll still keep reading your blogs!

Skeleton Closet: Roaring 20's Glam

One of my favorite eras of glitz, glamor and fashion-- ah the 20's.
I would be remiss to say it wasn't the paradigm of forward thinking. Oh yes, women wore knee length skirts, smoked in public, wore copious amounts of make up... but most importantly, were able to vote in the U.S.

As many know, it was the era when fashion became free of the strict moral concepts it once had; so as previously mentioned, the length of skirts went higher and higher, and sleeveless dresses entered the scene in a profound way. A distinct characteristic of high fashion during the 20's were the dropped waistlines; you'll notice that many of the fashions of the 20's are blocky and boyish-- this was exactly the point, to free the form and unite comfort and freedom of movement, while still embracing femininity.

So if you haven't guessed, today's outfit is a rip-roaring 20's inspired outfit!

Modern Day Vintage! xoxo

When starting this outfit, it began with my make up; I loaded my brush with too much black... this wasn't exactly the look I intended, but I went with it. Instead of angling my brows as I normally do, I tried a softer curved brow; droopier, in the likes of Clara Bow.

Source - Coco Chanel

 I couldn't really grasp it very well, and my brow turned out thicker than intended. They ended up looking more like Coco Chanel's brows.

Well, happenstance made all the make up work out in the end... but then, what will I do with my hair? The style of hair in the 20's is very short and bobbed. I didn't feel like chopping off my locks just yet... so I experimented. My hair is naturally very curly, so I just started rolling and pinning. I grabbed a piece of lace, and a vintage brooch my mother gave me, and pinned all that to my head, too.

I had several strings of glass pearls that I never had the chance to wear for the longest time. I remember making them with the intention of one day incorporating more 1920's flair into my wardrobe. Well, every pearl has its day!

What I am wearing:

• Top - thrifted
• Skirt - thrifted
• Necklaces & Headband - Selfmade
• Shoes - Thrifted
• Bangle - Gifted