Craft Along with GIY: Screw the Rules!

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Hey, readers.  Hope you all had a good Put Holiday that You Celebrate Here.  The month of December is coming to a close.  You know that means.  Time to share my latest project for this month's Craft Along with GIY theme.

This month's theme is Anything Goes.  That pretty much means participants can create whatever they want without having to follow a specific theme.  Last month, my brother took me to the craft store and treated me to a few things for my birthday.  I ended up getting a bottle of white fabric paint (not glitter paint that drys clear), some necklace cords and these cute pendants.

Along with a cross pendant that I already had in my possession, I turned them into necklaces.

For the fairy pendant, I used a roped necklace cord that I also already had in my possession from a previous purchase.  For the unicorn one, I used one of the cords that I recently got from Hobby Lobby.  What I really liked about the cord was that it was covered in a velvet-like fabric.

Due to the textures of the cords, these necklaces were one and done.  No further embellishment was needed.  However, I wasn't really satisfied with how the cross necklace and rose cameo necklace looked.  For the cross necklace, I tried running a split ring through the small hole at the top of it so that I could fit it through the cord.  After I got the split ring through, I saw that it got stretched out due to how thick the cross was.

So, I removed the ring and replaced it with a new one and an earring hook that I fit through the hole and wrapped around it self.  Not bad for my first attempt at wire wrapping.  Probably not that clear in the picture, but all of that work resulted in some of the silver plating chipping off and exposing the copper underneath.  I was not pleased.

I ditched the earring hook idea and went with silver wire and spacing beads instead.

Then, I ran one half of a toggle clasp through it.

The end result.

Success!  Now, onto the rose cameo necklace.  I ditched the necklace cord all together and went with eye pins and beads.

After I was done with the necklace, I went ahead and made a pair of earrings to go with it.

Another success!.  Til next time.

The Liebster Award 2017

Hey, readers.  I was nominated by BlackKitty for the Liebster Award.  Thanks for the nomination.  Catnip's in the mail. XD

The Official Rules of the Liebster Award
If you have been nominated for The Liebster Award AND IF YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT, write a blog post about the Liebster award in which you:

1. Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog in your post.

2. Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”. (Note that the best way to do this is to save the image to your own computer and then upload it to your blog post.)

3. Answer questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you.

4. Provide 11 random facts about yourself.

5. Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 1000 followers.

6. Create a new list of questions for the bloggers to answer.

7. List these rules in your post (You can copy and paste from here.)

8. Once you have written and published it, you then have to inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award and provide a link for them to your post so that they can learn about it (they might not have ever heard of it!)

Q and A time!

1. What is your happiest memory?

A: I haven't a clue.

2. Who or what inspires you?

A: I usually get inspiration from other blogs or sites that peak my interests.

3. Do you play, have you ever played or would you like to play a musical instrument? (Voice counts.)

A: From 6th to 8th grade, I played the saxophone.

4. Do you have a special talent or two?

A: I'm pretty good at making jewelry.

5. What is your biggest accomplishment?

A: Creating this blog.

6. What parts of the world would you like to visit?

A: Hmm, don't know.  Canada maybe.

7. What is your favorite song at the moment?

A: This cover of the Goth Kids Song from South Park.

8. What qualities do you look for in people?

A: Kindness, a weird factor, good sense of humor and open-mindedness.

9. What do you like to do when the power is out?

A: Play a card game or color.

10. What are your favorite flowers?

A: Roses.

11. Is there anything you'd like to change about yourself?  If yes, what?

A: No comment.

11 Random Facts About Myself

1. I snore.

2. I have seasonal allergies.

3. Candy corn, peeps, andes and swedish fish are my favorite kinds of candy.

4. My favorite dessert is cheesecake topped with strawberries.

5. I have a hard time socializing with other people.

6. My all-time favorite show is Daria.

7. I wear glasses.

8. I sometimes eat breakfast food for dinner.

9. I like to binge-watch videos on youtube.

10. I'm a night owl.

11. Sometimes, I can be a bit nitpicky about certain things.

I Tag

Dark Moon Manor

Giggles In The Darkness

The Mutant Stomp Friends

Coffin Kitsch

GIY: Goth It Yourself
Tales From A Geordie Goth

My Questions for You

1. What is the name of your favorite band?

2. What do you like to do when you have free time?

3. Coffee, tea or hot chocolate?

4. What's your favorite TV show?

5. Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

6. What's your favorite article of clothing to wear?

7. Day or night?

8. What's your favorite movie quote?

9. Halloween or Christmas?

10. Who would win in a fight?  Emily the Strange or Dr. Strange?

Craft Along with GIY: Favorites

http://gothityourself.blogspot.com/p/craft-along-with-giy.html 

Hey, readers.  Guess what time it is.  It's Adventure Time Craft Along with GIY Time!  This month's theme is Favorites.  For this one, I put away the jewelry supplies and decided to tackle a t-shirt DIY project that involved one of my favorite symbols.

Back when I was a kid, I would sometimes spend the weekends at my Grandmother's house.  When the time to go home came, either my parents picked me up or my uncle drove me.  This was one of those weekends where my uncle took me back.  On the drive home, I noticed that he was wearing a ring with a symbol on it that I had never seen before.  I asked him what it was, and he told me it was called an ankh.

He went on to say that it meant eternal life.  I've been fascinated with the symbol since.  So, for this month's Craft Along, I decided to paint an ankh on one of my blank t-shirts.  First, I cut an ankh stencil out of an empty cereal box.

   

Then, I picked up some black and white fabric paint.

Since the t-shirt that I was going to be painting on was black, I put the black paint aside and just used the white one.  At least what I thought was white.  When I read the label on the bottle, I thought it was white paint that contained glitter.  Nope.  After I squeezed the paint around the stencil and started to fill the ankh shape in with it, I realized that it was glitter paint that was suppose to dry clear.

I thought it wasn't a big deal and could just get some regular white fabric paint the next time I went out.  But when I looked at the shirt the next day, I changed my tune.  Instead of drying clear, the paint had dried a silver color and the glitter added a pop of sparkle.

Liking what I was seeing, I filled in the ankh with another coat and let it dry.

Happy with my paint job, I broke out the scissors and attacked the hemlines.

I present to you, the finished product.  Sorry for the sideways photos.  The iphone usually rotates the image to the upright position after it's taken.

This was my first attempt with using fabric paint, and it was a success.  I started out shaky, but ended up getting the ankh design that I wanted.  Congrats to me.  Til next time.  

B-Day Rundown

Hey, readers.  Had myself a pretty chill birthday weekend.  On Friday, my cousin took me to see Justice League.  We went to one of those dine-in theaters and had at drink at the bar before it started.  Then, we got our dinner on while watching the movie.

I'll say this about Justice League, it was pretty okay.  It wasn't something to write home about.  But it was definitely better than BvS: Dawn of Justice.  The movie got a few chuckles out of me, and would be something I'd watch again if it was on TV.  The following Sunday, some of my other family members came over to celebrate.

My mother cooked some appetizers and they, per my request, brought Chinese take-out.  Once again, due to a lack of communication, I wound up with 2 cakes.  Score.  An awesome Sunday was had.  Now, onto the gifts.

Most of the gifts I received were some clothing essentials that I needed.  So, I'm just gonna skip telling you about those and show you my top 2 favorite non-clothing items.  A sugar skull mug and a new Rocky Horror Picture Show DVD to replace the one that I lost.

Got any plans for Thanksgiving?  Let me know in the comments.  Til next time.

  

Aji's Birthday Mix '17

Hey, readers!  It is officially my birthday!  To celebrate this momentous occasion, I decided to create a playlist.  So, get on the imaginary dance floor and shake it!  Or stir it.

Or swoon like a weeping willow.  Or stand in the corner and smoke cloves.  Do whatever you want.  Happy listening!

Beep, Beep!

Hey, readers.  Didn't know what to title this post.  So, I just came up with something random.  Anyway, nothing super interesting to post about.  Got to see Thor Ragnarok last weekend.

It was definitely better than the previous Thor films.  Also got a birthday coming up next week.  I'll be turning the big 34.  It falls on the same day that Justice League comes out.  Might be seeing that to celebrate the occasion. 

That's all I have to report for now.  Til next time. 

  

This is Halloween!

Hey, readers.  Happy Halloween!  I'm going to be spending it munching on candy corn and binge-watching season 2 of Stranger Things.  What about you?  How will you be spending Halloween?

Let me know in the comments.  Til next time.

Craft Along with GIY: Black and White

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Hey, readers.  It is Craft Along time once again.  This month's theme is Black and White.  For over 3 years, I've had this assortment of large black and white beads that I had no idea what to do with.  After looking them over, an idea finally came to me.

"Necklace!"  So, I pulled out the necklace wire and went to work.  The first time I worked with this wire, I cut it too short and ended up redoing the whole necklace.  This time around, I measured the length of it multiple times to ensure that it would fit around my neck.  Here are the fruits of my labor.

It...looks...awesome.  Didn't know if the silver accents counted against the theme, but I added them anyway.  Again, it...looks...awesome.  Til next time.

A Bloody Good Time

Hey, readers.  I was contacted by SMT Entertainment, and they asked if I could share this cool event on my blog.  That's right, I be shilling for "The Man" now.  I await your hate mail. XD Anyway, on to the event.

It's called the Endless Night Vampire Ball.  This year, it's being held in New Orleans at the House of Blues.  Performers for the event include The Cruxshadows, DJ Angel and others.  Opening ceremonies begin on Thursday, October 26.  The Ball runs from October 27 to October 29.

To learn more about the event, I suggest checking out Endless Night's website.  I took a look at it for myself.  From what I read and saw, it looks like it's going to be super fun.  So, if you live in New Orleans, around the area or plan on heading down that way, hit up the Vampire Ball.  Til next time.

Mo Jewelry, Mo Skulls

Hey, readers.  Happy Halloween Month.  I was actually productive this week.  Finished up my project for this month's Craft Along with GIY theme, and made 2 pairs of earrings.  Won't be posting any pics of my project til the end of the month.

So, you'll have to settle for some earring pics instead. =D I made the first pair to go with a necklace that I made for a previous Craft Along theme.

Then, I made these to go with the other black/black and white earrings that I already have.

I also got another 99 cent reusable bag.  This time from Marshalls.  Still haven't figured out if I want to hang them in frames or on canvas yet.  

Til next time.

Craft Along with GIY: Stranger Wings

http://gothityourself.blogspot.com/p/craft-along-with-giy.html

Hey, readers.  The time has come to present my latest creations for this month's Craft Along with GIY theme.  This month's theme is Things with Wings.  Staying in my wheelhouse, I crafted a jewelry set that incorporated wing charms.

Here's a close-up of the earrings.

For the second pair of earrings, I moved away from my black, white and silver/black and silver comfort zone, and went white and silver.  I think they came out really well.  What do you think of my latest masterpieces?  Let me know in the comments.  Til next time.

Let's Talk Handbags

Hey, readers.  A few posts ago, I mentioned a band called As Angels Bleed in a list of music recommendations.  Today, I want to focus on the band's lead vocalist, Avelina De Moray.  Not only is she a talented singer, she's also an awesome handbag designer.

Avelina collaborates with well-known youtubers and creates wonderful pieces of handbag art.  So far, only 3 different handbag designs are available.  But there will be more in the future.  I highly recommend checking out her shop.  Below is a video showing the most recent handbag collab that she did with It's Black Friday.  Til next time.

You Skelly?

Hey, readers.  Been pretty chill around here for the past few weeks.  Anyway, I got some new goodies for my bedroom that I wanted to show off.  The first is this reusable shopping bag from Home Goods.  It only costs 99 cents.

The plan is to cut out the design and either frame it or apply it to a piece of canvas and add to it.  Not sure about what to add.  Maybe a glaze.  I have no idea.  But I'll come up with something.

The other thing that I got was a set of sugar skull lights from Rite-Aid.

I'll probably string these along the top of the mirror on the other dresser in my room.  That's it for skull and tell.  Til next time.

Getting There

Hey, readers.  Just wanted to give a little update on how my bedroom is coming along.  Instead of painting the entire room, my mother and I settled on just painting the back wall.  This time, I went with a darker shade of grey instead of a light/silvery grey.  Then, we hung the Bob Macabre prints and Halloween sign.

Once that was done, we decided to add some height to my Trick or Treat sign.

Since I still had some contact paper leftover, we wrapped a spare cardboard box with it and placed it on top of the dresser.  There was plenty of room for the sign, Jack and my new spooky tree.  Speaking of the tree, I got some good news and bad news.  First the bad news.  I wasn't able to fit any of my necklaces on it.

However, my ring and bracelets fit on it perfectly.

Til next time.

Frames and Spooky Goodies

Hey, readers.  In my last blog post, I talked about how my dresser and lamp shade got damaged during the move to the new apartment.  Along with those, the frames containing my Bob Macabre prints also got messed up.  The glass from both frames were smashed to pieces.  But thankfully, the prints were still intact.

I got some new frames last week, and spent yesterday putting the prints in them.

I was able to save the tissue paper that I had used in the old frames.  However, I came across a minor problem.  The print on the right used to be in a smaller frame.  With that one, the green tissue paper in the center was enough to cover the backing that came with it.  To cover up the exposed cardboard box brown backing of the new frame, I got out some more tissue paper and came up with this random pattern.

While I was doing that, my mother had returned from running errands.  During her run, she had stopped in a thrift store and got me a couple of Halloween-themed items to go with my dark bedroom decor.

When she showed them to me, I squeed with delight.  My favorite out of the two was the tree.  It looked like something I might be able to hang my necklaces off of. That would help with making some more room in my small jewelry box.  Til next time.

Minor Touch-Up

Hey, readers.  Welcome back to Aji's Decorating Corner.  If you read my previous post, you'll know that I recently moved.  Most of my bedroom furniture made it here in one piece.  The only items that took some damage were the shade on my small lamp and my dresser.

In this post, I'll be focusing on the dresser.  When it was being moved, some of the black paint on it got scrapped off and some white paint also got scrapped onto it.  I honestly have no idea how the white paint got there.  Originally, I was going to get some black paint and touch-up the damage.  However, after taking a step back and looking at it, I saw that the dresser now had a cool distressed look.

So, I decided to leave the front and sides as is.  However, the top of the dresser just looks like a cat scratched it up.

The good news about where I'm living is that there's a dollar store right down the street.  So, I went there and picked up a roll of patterned contact paper.

The edges of the paper didn't come out as neatly as I wanted.  Maybe I could use washi tape to cover those parts up.  Or something else.  An idea will come to me sooner or later.

For now, the top of the dresser has been taken care of. Next on the to-do list is finally getting around to replacing the old drawer pulls with the glass ones that I got for Christmas.  Til next time.