Skeleton hand necklace and Nerdvember

Hello! I haven't yet finished my biggish project, but I realised that I also haven't shown you my skeleton hand necklace! So, here it is ^___^

My hair is looking a little different, huh? This is actually a wig! I don't think I will wear it to my brother's wedding since my dark red hair is looking pretty good, but I think this wig will come in handy for cosplays and costumes. You may have also noticed that I'm dressed kinda like Wednesday Addams, this is because for the last couple of days I've been doing #nerdvember, which is basically where you dress nerdy during November ^___^

 

As you can see, I've been repping for Alice in Wonderland, Star Trek, LSP (in my skating gear), Hermione Granger, retro video games, and Adventure Time. You can also see that my hair has been lightening over the days ... ~___^ Honestly though, while I find this fun, I'm probably not going to keep with it this year. I don't down a lot of nerdy clothing, so I feel like mostly I'm taking photos of my jewellery which I think kind defeats the purpose of a fashion challenge. Also, I kind feel like my outfits are all a bit boring! I think if I do this again, I'd keep the Instagram photos to a once a week round-up kind of thing, and make sure that I had enough time to craft a few things to fit the challenge. As it is, I feel like I'm overwhelming my feed with too many selfies and I most definitely need to get a tripod so I don't have to bug Scott or rely on my bedroom mirror! ^___^

 

I've been working on a crochet project and a furniture re-do which aren't finished yet, but jewellery is something that I can actually complete! ^___^ I brought a couple of packs of wooden shapes from Typo which I believe are meant for papercrafts. However, some of them are a great size for brooches!

 

I covered the heart with washi tape, but left the others as they came, and just glued the brooch pins onto the back. Easy peasy!

 

The skeleton necklace was made with more of the plastic Halloween skeleton hands (no, you don't say??). To make this, I glued pendant backings to the middle fingers and joined them with a jump ring. 

 

The wrists of the hands are connected to the necklace chain via a piece of wire that has a loop at the end and which I have completely forgotten the correct name of. Hmm. Well, you can see what I mean in the picture below anyway.

 

I was pleasantly surprised that the necklace sits quite well! It doesn't flip itself over constantly, which was what I was most concerned about.

I simply can not believe it is almost December. I really must get a move on with my holiday crafts! I don't craft for many people anymore, just the people who I know appreciate it ^___^ And the ones that don't mind if their gifts are a month or two late ~___^

Are you crafting for anyone this year? Also, would you do Nerdvember? I think I'm going to make sure I stock up on nerdy clothes so I can make a better showing off it next year!

- Lisa xx

Easy skeleton hand hair clips

Hello! I just have a tiny little craft to show you today since I am in the final weeks of my degree now (!!!!) and have been making more essays than projects. I have just handed in the final assignment for my Cultural and Media studies class, and have two weeks to write two more research essays. And then I am done! I am really excited, but also very nervous as this means I will soon have to find myself a job. Eeek!

I brought these plastic skeleton hands from ebay, which are apparently meant as Halloween decorations. Like, I guess you just scatter them around? I am not sure. I brought them because I wanted the kind of jewellery that I see in the goth shops, but am too cheap to shell out for ~___^

 

I got ten hands, so I now have plenty to work with! These clips were very easy to make; I just glued the clips onto the underside of the palms, making sure that the length of the clip was hidden behind a finger. I used E6000, so they're staying fairly well, but I think a different style of hair clip would work better for this. I just used what I had in my stash, but I will be keeping an eye out for better alternatives.

 

My next task is to make myself a necklace, however, I think I also need to look into varnishing or sealing them somehow as the black on the hands rubs off very easily. I have some spray varnish, so I'm going to give that a go.

Looking at these pictures makes me feel a little sad as I think soon I will have to say goodbye to my pink hair! ; ___ ; At the end of this month my job search begins, and also my brother is getting married, so I was planning on dying my hair a very dark red to look a bit more "normal". But, that's apparently not normal enough and I have been told brown or black is what is required! I really am not looking forward to letting all the bleaching time I've been putting into my 'do go to waste.

I think I will try using Manic Panic black and hope that it will fade, in the same way that the blue, purple, red, and pink dyes that I've used from them have faded, so hopefully I can go back to brighter colours afterwards without having to rebleach. If anyone has any experience in this dilemma, I'd love your advice! Otherwise, perhaps I will just get myself a wig ~___^

- Lisa xx

Doily spider web hoop, pom-pom spider, and a Hipster Wonder Woman cosplay

Hello! I know Halloween is over now (noooooooooooooooooo ; __ ;) but I still have some spooky things to show you! ^__^

I made this super simple cobweb decoration by framing an old doily in an embroidery hoop and glueing on a couple of plastic spiders ^__^

 

It was seriously so easy to do, and I'm really sad that it didn't have a long display period since I ended up decorating so late this year! >__<

 

But, at least I've got a head start on crafting for next year, right? ^__^

 

Here's the one tiny little corner that looked properly Halloween-ey (what's with all the end of year assignments, teachers? I don't have enough time for decorating! ~__^). Most of this is store brought, but I did make the glittery skulls and the washi tape skeletons (which you saw in the last post!).

I did also make the spider in the jar. It was very easy and I think balances on the line between spooky and cute very well ^__^

I used this tutorial to make the spider, although mine is a bit smaller so that it would fit into the jar and I gave it little eyes as well ^__^ After the spider was finished, I threaded a needle and pushed it through his belly, which created the hanging string.

I glued the string to the underside of the jar lid and then, when it was dry, covered the jar top with a scrap of fabric and some baker's twine. Easy peasy! ^__^

Lastly, here's my Halloween costume! ^__^ I decided on hipster Wonder Woman this year because I wanted to wear my glasses (so many people have told me that they look hipster!) and a skirt (because pants and I still aren't friends!).

 

This gorgeous illustration by Elizabeth Beals was the inspiration for most of my costume (you should check out all of her hipster superheroines, they're amazing!)

I made the headband using some gold ribbon and a piece of red leather which I cut into a star shape. My earrings are vintage that I got at an op-shop (and then soaked in antiseptic overnight ~__^), and my necklace is made from polymer clay and painted with acrylics. Unlike Elizabeth's Diana, I wasn't comfortable going out in just a bra so I wore a red corset style top underneath my transparent black top. I found the transparent top at an opshop and was so excited because it's vitually identical to the one in the picture! ^__^ My belt and skirt were also both from the opshop, as were my shoes and bag which I didn't take photos of (they are red high heeled Mary Janes and a red leather envelope bag with a gold chain strap respectively!). I already had the stack of silver bracelets, and the stars on my skirt are made from white felt and are just tacked on. 

Phew! And that's it! ^__^

Did you have a great Halloween? Tell me about it! ^__^

- Lisa xx

Washi taped wooden skeletons

Hello! The stores have started having Halloween decorations in stock, which I think is totally exciting, but some of them are a bit creepy. And not the good kind of creepy! ~__^

I found this wooden skeleton which one is apparently meant to give to children to paint. Would you give that to a child? I mean, look at it ...

 

*shudder*

However, I like things made of wood, and I like skeletons, so I brought three. ^__^ If you have a skeleton, or any kind of wooden shape really, you can use this tutorial to make it a more stylish kind of creepy ~__^

 

 Firstly, give it a coating of white paint. This is just to cover up the outlines, so don't worry if it's not too neat. I used spray-paint, but you could use acrylic if you have that.

Then, grab an assortment of washi tape. The only limits to your colour combinations is how much washi tape you own! ~__^ Your aim here is to create a kind of collage look; rip off small pieces of washi tape and place them haphazardly. Overlap them, lay them in different directions, just make sure you cover all the wood. I also removed the original wire joining the skeleton together to make it easier to apply the washi tape.

Once all your pieces are washi-ed, use a scapel to carefully cut off the excess. This part is very similar to the Monogram Washi Tape Brooches I made a while ago ^__^ Then give everything a coat of mod-podge, replace the wire, and add some baker's twine so that you can hang it up! ^__^

Huzzah! I made three different colour combinations; a modern green and purple, an original Halloween look of orange and black, and a classic red and black ^__^

 

I think I used about 7 different washi tapes for the purple and green one, 14 different washi tapes for the orange and black, and 8 for the red and black. Golly gosh! I don't have an addiction, I swear! ~__^

Obviously you don't need to have as much washi tapes as I do, even using three or four tapes would probably be just fine! 

Nonetheless, they're a great addition to my Halloween decorating! ^__^ (Does anyone get the impression I like skulls? ~__^)

- Lisa xx