Work your bleach

As you can see, my shirts are being modeled by Ellen Page. If I post my picture on the internet, some weirdo might poorly photoshop my head on their own body -ahem- kidnap me. Never use your own face, it's reckless and unsafe! Serio.
The design on this shirt was inspired by Across the Universe movie posters. I sketched the outline and then used a penknife to slice out a bit of the faces.















I'm not glorifying violence, trust. Skulls used to be trendy, and skulls represent death! Right?
More examples of ironic guns in fashion and decorating: gun necklace, gun flower vase, gun lamp, and gun pattern t-shirt.

You be the judge.

Bleach

Good enough title for Nirvana's debut album, good enough for this blog post.
I do believe this craft (If you can call mind-blowing clothing modification a craft. I can.) is my most universally appealing yet. Boys and girls, young and old: Unite!

Bleach your works:

1. Find a plain dark shirt that you don't really care about. (but it needs to fit.)
2. Mix a 50/50 bleach and water solution in a spray bottle that can be set to a fine mist. Draw something menacing on the bottle with a sharpie so you or someone you love cannot mistake it for hairspray.
3. Cut out your design template and place on your shirt. Alternately, you could place items on your shirt that will create a sweet outline like tools or keys.
4. Place cardboard inside the shirt and spray with a fine mist. When the color gets close to your desired result, take the design off the shirt and rinse it with water a few times.
5. Hang up or place in dryer on low .
6. Step back and admire your work. Say out loud: "I'd tap that". You won't be able to resist.
7. Wear with attitude. You can tell people you made it and/or that it cost you hundreds of dollars from an obscure urban fashion line.


Many examples are out in the internet universe, (props to Craft Magazine for this one!) but do what makes you happy. Results post soon!

Polycephaly

is the condition of having more than one head.
I have this condition and you can too!

Extra Head Stand:
(summarized and modified from Craft Magazine)
Requested materials-
Styrofoam wig head (recycled if possible)
Papier mache: wood glue, flour, water
Wire whisk
Newspaper
[optional] factory finish spray shellac

*click for a bigger image* The clear tray and Plaster of Paris was meant to make a base for the stand but i deemed it unnecessary so you can ignore those.


DISCLAIMER: This is a messy project, perfect for channeling your inner pre-k enthusiasm. Prepare to abandon stress, ye that proceedeth.

1. Cut newspaper into strips. Tip: Recycle something unique for your newsprint. Paper in another language would look rad, in my case I used an old LUSH catalog because I wanted some color on the finished product.
2. Mix 1 cup warm water, 1/2 cup flour, 2-3 squirts of wood glue until smooth.
3. Dip newspaper strips in the mixture, apply to wig head, use small strips around nose and mouth.
4. For a glossy look, spray with shellac.

mere moments after I cleaned the mache off my hands:












FINISHED PRODUCT:


What do you think?

Martha, My Dear

Even if I don't love the subject, this took skills. The idea of glorifying someone in a hand-embroidered, felted and framed work of art to reflect the subject's tastes indicates true admiration. Speaking of which, does Martha deserve this level of love? The creator, Erika of "My Imaginary boyfriend loves me!" said:

Oh Martha. . . so. . . perfect. . . so controlled. . .
She's fascinated me for ages! Many find her patronizing and pretentious but I see her as a great egalitarian. She just automatically assumes that everyone can do what she does, live like she lives. On her show, Martha, she recommends that families take the kids to Greece for Spring break and that you use imported vintage glass glitter on your gilded Christmas tree topper because she thinks that her glamorous life is attainable by all.

OK, I guess that makes it less bizarre... but I'm one of the many that find her overrated.
At least it would brighten up her cell! Wait- this just in: I'm behind the times.
In: Felt portraits of Martha Stewart
5 min ago: Martha Stewart Living
Out: "Martha Stewart in prison" punch lines

Results may vary

Oh dearie me. I put off posting the results of the gradient project because the results were... not as rad as the coveted. But! The picture doesn't look so bad. I edited out my messy room so your eyes don't bleed.

Gradiant Tights for you!

Gradient tights I done myself
By The Coveted

The beauty of custom-making these is that you can choose the color, how high or low you want the gradient, and so on. I've just dyed some stockings and a white tank top and I'm letting them hang out to dry tonight. Results tomorrow!

D.I.Y. Transfer

Oh, here's something nifty: tape transfers. The directions are quite straightforward, summarized as follows: put tape on image, soak image in warm water for 10 minutes, then rub the paper off and you're left with a semi-translucent sticker. The sticker may not have any stickiness left so be prepared to glue your transfer to the lucky home of its (your) choice. Image heavy directions were helpful too (scroll to second half). I tried it with a newspaper clipping, magazine scrap and xerox copy snippet.
My observations:
The xerox copy turned out the clearest.
The magazine was very stubborn in the rub off stage, and the results were not so impressive.
The newsprint came out very light- the low quality of the paper didn't stick very well.
Perhaps-If you want a magazine picture, xerox it first. Colors don't transfer very well.




I also did some more decoupage (directions in my last blog entry: ) The second one is on an old mint tin.

The Crafting Bandit strikes again!

This installment of "Craft of the Night" fulfills my requirements of oh-so-easy and oh-so-cheap with bangin' results. While roaming my various craft blogs, I stumbled upon a decoupage light plate by Trixie and Radar which inspired me to give it a whirl. Armed with magazine clippings and recycled album artwork, I crafted my very own room brightener.
The Materials Requested:
light switch cover- 50 cents at any home improvements store like Lowe's
totally boss paper clippings of your choice
regular glue
mod podge and a cheap paint brush to apply it with

Glue the clippings down to the surface, layering each element as you please. After you have them secured, brush a light layer of mod podge all over the surface and let dry! (The label said 20 min but I found 10 to suffice) Apply to a lucky light switch of your choosing, so that everyone who enters the room may (or may not verbally) comment how jealous they are of your mad skills. Then, make more! Or you can decoupage virtually much anything else: boxes, wooden furniture, your roommate's wall, the cat's litter box... Dream big!