DIY Tools and Necessities

Whenever the moment arises that you just HAVE to make something, its always best to be prepared. Here are a few of my favorite and very necessary tools:

#1. Scissors 

(duh, right?!)

My lovely family always misplace my craft scissors. So, I have a special pair for them and for myself. Keep them in a hidden but unforgettable place!

#2. Exacto knives

(Great for those detailed cut outs)

Buying exacto knives can be a pain, but they last a life time! I've used them for things they probably shouldn't be used for and they still work wonders.

#3. Duct Tape

(Not exclusive for redneck projects)

So many of my projects include duct tape, its ridiculous. I freak out when I don't have my duct tape!

#4. Glue

Us DIYers always need our glues! Fabric glue, hot glue, elmer's glue…all glue is needed glue.

#5. Paint and paint brushes

Paint is always nice to have on hand. Acrylic paint is cheap, handy, and easily accessible. You can get the little bottles at walmart :)

Paint brushes of all kinds! I cannot paint to save my life, but my poor attempts are glorified by the brushes I use.

These 5 things are what make my little crafty heart thrive! Without them, I am useless.

I have been editing a craft video thats almost a year old (hehe) so, hopefully I can get that posted to my youtube AND my blog.

If you ever want to contact me, feel free to comment below! I love you, be safe, craft carefully and keep an eye out for more tutorials.

My Gothic Valentine

A bundle of black roses partnered with a black heart shaped box full of chocolates, yeah, that sounds nice. Maybe you want to spice it up and add a bit of excitement to your gothic valentine. From the mouth a female goth, here's what my idea of a lovely valentine evening might look like:

Start with a neatly made bed.

Candles (any color, scented or unscented)

OR

AMBIENT LIGHT

INCENSE

I, personally love Dragon's Blood incense

Sexy goth music

If you are not sure of their favorite sexy goth music, a fail-safe for me is the queen of the damned soundtrack ;)

Wine

I prefer some cheap plum wine. But if you know of some yummy yums, go for it.

Hope this helps you! Happy valentines day! Always use protection! Love you! 

Christmas Shopping for a Goth (on a budget!)

Christmas Shopping for a goth individual can be a challenge. Just because its black doesn't mean its cool...sometimes. But, really! If you really want to surprise your gothic loved one with a nice christmas present, here are a few ideas broken down into gender and age group:

Gothic Girls:

Age 0-8 Girls

(Yes, 8 is young but very possible!)

Some black, fuzzy boots are perfect for the holiday and the weather!

Any Clothing or accessory from Monster High! I think these characters are sooo awesome and adorable! Best part, it fits any age group.

Monster High shirt with some fuzzy boots? YES PLEASE!

*Similar/cheaper items can be found at your local wally world, jsyk*

Age 9-14 (unisex)

**The older they get, the harder it is to buy for them. Keep in mind what they ooze over whenever you take them shopping!**

Hot Topic is THE place to consider when buying for pre-teens, but it can get pretty pricey. I like to check out their website and compare similar articles of clothing to wal-mart's. 

Band T's

Boys and Girls between 9 and 14 are diggin' the band T's!

Simple Studded Belt

Combat Boots

*Even a simple gift card coupled with a promised shopping trip would send a little goth into a jump for joy!

Age 15-18 (Girls)

Perfume Oils

Linked in the photo is a wonderful site filled with gothic themed perfume oils with awesome pricing! If you want to smell a perfume/oil before buying, check your local malls for samples of specific perfumes that may appeal to your young goth.

Jewelry

Makeup

Age 15-18 (Boys)

To start, I would suggest an itunes gift card. Guys need their music like girls need their eyeliner!

Wallet & Chain

Even as simple as this, or check hot topic for more character.

Leather Jacket

Click photo for ebay item.

Black Zip-up Hoodie

Fruit of the Loom zip up hoodie at walmart for less than $15


*And, Of course, a gift card to the guys' favorite clothing store.

I really hope this helps! If you have any questions, PLEASE feel free to comment and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

Storenvy Favorites (Goth Addition)

Storenvy has my attention! This site is lovely, easy to navigate, and contains some pretty awesome sellers and crafters of all genres.

Here's a list of a few of my favorite items and sellers from storenvy (Thus far). 

This is a coyote jaw all dolled up with paint and feathers. Pricing is just too reasonable and the craft is very unique, indeed!

Another red and black feather accessory I fell in love with, this earcuff is a must for me! 

Creepshow Apparel

Wonderful little store with awesome graphic T's for both men and women.

Gloomth

Ah, now this is a wonderland wardrobe! The clothing is pricey, but looks very Tim Burton-esque. The modeling is very creative, too!

Pink Coffin

Cute acrylic pendants and jewelry to meet all of your creepy needs! Bats and skulls, Please and Thank you!

Keep it up, Creepy Creators! We need MOAR!!

Local Band Frenzy

Lately, all of my time has been committed to Albuquerque's finest Local Band, Ballistic Batz!

Becoming closer to the band has given me a light in my life that I needed. But, to be needed has me giddy like a little school girl! I've been busting my ass to make the band's merchandise to raise money so they can record, EXCITING! 

Yesterday, I drove down to El Paso with them, which was very....interesting. Quite a drive, the venue was kinda small, but a little crowd is better than no crowd.

These guys have been so busy putting their heart and soul into their music, it has inspired me.

Here are some photos and video of this past week...I don't document enough!

The T-shirt stencil I made for the cool chicks. Shirts were pink.

HI!!

My wonderful hubby took this of me while I was tracing stencils!

Ballistic Batz performing Head2Toe (sorry about the quality, I forgot my camera)

Video taken at the El Paso show by the wonderful owner!!

For more videos, check out my youtube channel

I even HANDMADE their necklaces thanks to this AWESOME woman and her tutorials, it made perfect sense to me and it turned out great:

Here's the tutorial

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BANDS!!!

P.S. BALLISTIC BATZ IS WHY I'M ZANEYBAT!! YEAH!!!

Yay! 1,000 views!

I'm delighted to announce my celebration of 1,000 views on my gothic blog!!! 

I would love to post a photo shoot that I've been day dreaming about for months! My method may be strange and unpractical, but I'm excited!

Any suggestions, Please comment below and let me know what you are picturing!

The only thing I miss about B.C. is the industrial areas. I used to hope and pray that we wouldn't get shot. Ha, seriously though!

How DIY Goths FAIL! (warnings and tips from personal experiences)

Through SO many trial and error experiments, through bringing a dead girl back to life, how much can a DIY Goth fail?

I've tried to make my own things for years with so many mistakes and fumbles, I thought I was a hopeless crafter. But, I do have some pointers for the crafty bunch out there!

Mind you, these are opinions and experiments I've done, and I am no professional. Trial and error is the only way I've learned.

Now that everyone in the goth community knows how to make their own dreads, I have a suggestion for the girls and ghouls about dreads:

NUMBER ONE!!

Synthetic Dreads

Always make sure that when making synthetic dreads, you use KANEKALON! This was the first lesson I learned, whew, almost 5 years ago! Kanekalon is the fiber you want because of its shrinking properties. When steam is added, the tangled fibers shrink and tighten around each other, causing the lock to stay, well, locked.

NUMBER TWO!!

Accessory and Jewelry making

When you decide to make your own accessories, make sure you know exactly what you are going for. Try to avoid bursting your own bubble, but go hard, jump to it! It took me 2 years to figure out the proper way to create a mold and to make my own charms, and to be honest...its almost not worth it :(

I went out and purchased the mold maker mix, $14. The apoxy jewelry maker (you pour it into your mold and leave it sit for like 24 hours and it gets hard, pop it out, got your charm.) which was almost $20. Jewelry wire (optional, if you want your charm to dangle) $10 for a spool. Then what ever else, like glue, ribbon, sparkles, gems. That was a $40+ dollar trial and error!! OUCH! So, unless you fully plan to mass produce something that will go for 15 to 20 dollars a pop, the hit and miss for your personal uses almost isn't worth it! FAIL! I'm not saying this will happen to you, I'm just sharing my failureness with you :) I won't hold you back!

NUMBER THREE!!!

Corsets

When buying corsets, be aware of the cheapies! My mom used to buy us both the cute corset shirt things from hot topic, NO! Be warned, if you suffer from short torso-itis, be careful buying boned corsets in general! The corsets from HT had plastic boning, cost $50 and with our short torsos, the plastic boning got all wavy and deformed!  These are not meant to make thick girls look smaller! If anything they made my shapely, shortness look much wider than I am. Instead, go for slim fitted tees or something.

GET CRAFTY OR GO HOME...WAIT...usually I'm crafty at home, only.

When crafting elsewhere 

You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose!

When crafting at someone else's house, please clean up your messes! Don't leave anything permanent on their walls or floors. Don't paint their little one's bodies with non-toxic paint and tell them to play hide and seek. Its just never a good idea!