Craft Along with GIY: Pets and bookmarks

Lovely Bane from GIY: Goth It Yourself got a great idea to host a monthly Craft Along on her blog. At the end of each month she'll post her craft project and people participating will post about theirs. Each month has a theme and January's theme was Pets.

I have no pets, so I decided to make pet themed bookmarks. These aren't particularly "goth", but if you want to make these, it is easy to goth up! :) Just choose more goth-y pictures instead of little dogs and kittens.

What you need: 

• some paperboard or another stiff paper 
• a book you are willing to sheard to pieces
• pretty pictures of pets (or what ever it is that you like)
• glue
• scissors
• a pen & a ruler (or some fancy papercutter)
• optional: sticky back plastic to make the bookmark last longer.

How to do it: 

These are very simple to make. Just cut a piece of paperboard, then cut a smaller piece of a book page. Glue those two together. Then glue a picture or two on top of the two layers.

Tip: try different compositions before attacking them with a glue stick! :)

If you want the bookmark to last longer, you can shield it with sticky back plastic. I preferred not to, because without any plastic they are easier to recycle.

I used some vintage pictures, I do not know what they are in English but in Finnish they are called "kiiltokuva" and in Germany "Glanzbild". They were usually made on a slightly shiny paper, and in the old times people (mostly young girls) collected them like some people collect stamps.

These are quick to make and they do not cost a fortune. As you can see from the one on the left, with the same instructions you can make postcards too.

Thanks for reading and do check out what Bane made and what other participants crafted!

Gothic home decor: towels and a hot water bottle

I am currently making two DIY posts and one Creepy Reads Review, but I haven't finished any of them yet (not the doing-myself-part nor reading the novel).

I want to prevent a long hiatus on this blog so I'd like to feature some textiles I bought some time ago.

On a trip to Tallinn, Estonia, I bought these lovely kitchen towels. They are hand printed. They belong to the Kitchen Zoo collection by Anu Kaelussoo Design.

I got those from one of the small designer shops near the old town of Tallinn. It is a lovely city to visit and there is a lot to see!

I've also bought towels for humans, not just for dishes. These are made by Jokipiin pellava, a Finnish company that produces quality linens with the smallest possible ecological footprint they can achieve. In the first photo is actually a kitchen towel but I use it as a hand towel.

I really love that decorative pattern. I bought the completely black version, and it is so dark that you can only see the pattern when the light shines from a certain angle.

These next ones are larger towels (90 x 150 cm or 35 x 59 inches) and I really am pleased with them. They absorb moisture very efficiently and they are tiny when packed. Those qualities are very handy when one goes to the gym.

I myself hate dragging a huge bag, so it is very important for me that my towel doesn't take much room in my gym bag. This roll is about 15 centimeters (7 inches) long. And that pinstripe pattern is goth-y in a subtle way.

That band around it is elastic and is stitched on the towel, so you can never loose it.

Last but not lest, something I got today: a hot water bottle from Day Shop, a cute boutique on the Boulevard in Helsinki.

I adore that cute little skull. Hopefully that fella will keep my feet warm during the remaining winter months.

That's all for now, I hope you liked this little peek into my linen closet!

Behind the scenes

With this tiny post I'd like to advertise that I made three new pages to my blog. In one of them I share some endearing (or just sad) details of my childhood. Do check those pages out and if you want to comment them, write a reply on this post! :)