Getting ready for Halloween

I want to attempt making and swapping costume pieces this year, and I might actually pull it off since I'm starting in August! I want to be a dark/gothic/awesome Red Riding Hood. So think dark red and black, tattered, and kinda punk-ish.

I found a tutu tutorial (I just love saying that) online, here: http://www.heartbreakkids.com/blog/2010/10/3/how-to-make-a-tutu.html (it's for kids, but was easy to transfer to my adult size). I made mine with black and white tulle, I was hoping to add some red but did not find any at my local craft store... but that's ok, cause I have an idea you will see in a minute.

I couldn't get a decent pic of myself wearing it, but here you can get the idea of the fabulous poofyness as it hides my toes when photographed from above:

And a slightly more forward facing shot:

And modeled by my lovely chair:

I love how poofy it is!

But since this is for a Red Riding Hood costume I think it needs some red, so I found some shiny Christmas ribbon to add, but I can't decide how to add it.

I could tie strips on to look something like this:

Or I could add a simple bow:

I think I'm leaning towards the bow idea, but I might wait until I have the rest of my costume put together ;)

I received these fun wrist cuffs in a swap the other day that will be joining my costume:

Now all I need is a dress (or something), a cape, and a basket of goodies!

I'm also very tempted to buy more tulle in different colors to make myself an other tutu, do you think it would be a crime against fashion for an adult to wear a poofy tutu in her day to day life? They are just too awesome, why should toddlers have all the fun?

Art Journal #5-ish

I have at least 4 art journals I can think of off the top of my head, each one in various stages of use (mostly with only a few pages started). Then I made this one. I started by following along with this project: http://www.souljournaling.com/prompts.php I didn't follow it to the letter, and I skipped over a few days, and then I stopped following it altogether and just did what I felt like doing. The website was a great jumping off point for me and I learned a lot of fun and interesting techniques. One of these days I will go back and follow it to the end, but for now this is what I've done...

The cover:

I had to use a clip for the photo, because the journal is so stuffed with layers of paint, paper, fabric, and other randomosities that it will not stay neatly closed.

 

And here are some of my favorite pages. I am quite fond of painting/crafting over words. It is hard to see, but there are a few pages where I journal about my day/feelings/dreams/etc as a background. I have also taken pages from other books, written over them, and glued them into the journal for an added text filled background. It might seem a little counter productive to paint over something you've written, but it is very therapeutic to have the freedom to write whatever you want, knowing that no one will ever be able to read it. Now enough rambling and on to the pages:

None of the pages are ever "finished" but here are a few that are just getting started:

And some closeups of my favorite elements:

Getting more Crafty, and more Nerdy!

I finally bought a stamp carving kit, and I am so happy I did!

First the delicious Pi I made last night:

Then this morning I had an idea for an infinity love design, sketched it out a few times till I was happy, then decided to try and make it into a stamp. I didn't think it would turn out very good because of all the thin lines, but I tried anyway and I am so happy with the results!

Yes, it's not perfect, but I think it's awesome :) Here is the first stamping I tried before I reached the finished design:

Both stamps together:

 

And some fun tags I made with the Infinity Love stamp

So happy with myself right now! :) Thanks for looking! And if you're interested, you can expect to see both stamp designs on future tags in my etsy shop ;) www.UnityWorks.etsy.com

Art Journal

Not too long ago I made myself an art journal that I plan on filling with memories. I haven't done much with it yet, one finished page and two planned pages, but I'm happy with it so far and can't wait to have some memories jump up and inspire me!

Cover:

Lots O Pages! 10 sections with 4 pieces of paper each = 40 papers, folded in half = 80, and counting fronts and backs that makes 160 pages to fill! There are some colored pages, patterned pages, and white pages

 

 This is the one finished page I have (and I'm not sure if it counts as a memory...). I love the rain, and this is my page devoted to it:

Pieces for my Building Blocks page, from Once Upon a Time when I owned a preschool:

And I have this wonderful Oregon post card, so I'm going to incorporate it into the journal too. And since I used to live in Oregon it fits with the journal theme ;)

It's a blog

Ta da! I made a blog thing