Goth Mary Poppins' Creative Goth (Summer) Weeks: 25-29 tasks

Summer is over, but as Goth Mary Poppins pointed out, there are still some things one can do to manifest ones creativity in a healthy and productive way.

From last summer. It is a part of an art installation called The Official Garden. It is made out of silk ties.

Here are the tasks 25-29. I shall fulfill the tasks 22-24 on a better time, though I do not know any children so I probably just try to draw what I would try to make if I had a young relative or a friends off-spring I would want to make happy with a gift.


25. Have you ever got handmade gift from someone? If not, what would make you happy?

Well, I am happy to announce that the answer is yes. I once got a hand made perfume as a solstice present. Also I would like to believe a relative of mine has given me knitted socks, but I can not be sure. It was probably a granny or something.


26. The other side: have you ever gave handmade gift(s)? Was it a success, or a fail? Or never tried? For the next occasion, try!

When I was about 12 year-old, I made small stuffed and knitted dogs for all my family members. They are still there, sitting in a bookshelf.


 27. Handmade thing(s) you bought/ plan to buy.

Last Christmas I bought a handmade glass ornament from a Christmas market for my mother. I am visiting them next weekend, so I can take a picture of it and add it to this post. It is a blue star and I am happy to say she keeps it in sight all year around.


 28.  Share your best tips about DIY.

Don't know if this is wrong to say, but I think handmade things should not look handmade. I mean in my little world of words and their meanings I consider "handmade" to mean something that is a bit sloppy, rustic, bohemian and so on, which can look adorable, don't get me wrong! But when trying to achieve an elegant gothic look rustic is not exactly the word you are looking for, if you catch my drift?

Of course, when one examines all those wonderful bloggers and their DIY tips one must admit it is hardly sloppy looking. It is just that I myself need more practice to achieve that same level, but that means a bunch of quite moderate outcomes before my skills develop, I might add.

Therefore I have no great tips about DIY, except that "simple is usually best". Like me changing buttons to a jacket and it instantly looks more glamorous.


29. What/who is your inspiration?

This is a really hard question, since I draw inspiration from different things in different situations. If I would have to name something or someone at this moment, it would be The Underworld movies, especially the first one. Visually it is great!

Goth Mary Poppins' Creative Goth Summer Weeks: 14th task

Next: Anything else, clothing related, left out from the previous four posts. I'll show you a bag. ^^

I've been working and also made that little trip away from all my material belongings, so I haven't been able to participate so often. This is one of my few handmade things and alas, I must confess it is yet again not made by me! ;D But I deffinately shall start making things myself, though I have no idea what would they be.

This necklace is made by a mother of my dear friend, she is one crafty woman. She is actually a teacher of arts and crafts so she is allways looking for new things to make and this is just one of the fabilous jewellery she has made.

The necklace is made of an old silk tie. It is stitched narrower from the other end too and inside there is little wooden pearls. Then the maker has separated all pearls by binding the bar to a little string of balls.

As seen in the pictures, it can be used in many ways, one can tie it to the wrist and it looks also great. Or, if one has a massive hair extensions, it can be used around the head or as a decorative way to tie ones hair.

I'm a bit frustrated, because this week is going to a busy one for me, so I probably won't be able to participate to CGSW that much. :( And at Sunday I am off to visit my parents whom live 200 kilometers away so I won't be home for two weeks.

Also, this weekend I'll be a volunteer worker at Finncon, which is one of Europe's biggest scifi- and fantasy convention. I'll be working at the greenroom, making sure all the guest speakers and other important people have their beverages and peace to get ready for their shows. There is really no reason to brag, I got there only because I have a proof about my knowledge of hygiene, because that is a big part of my real summer job. Therefore it is not probable I get them food poisoned or anything. Still, I'm pretty excited, since many of the guest speakers are people whose work I like or, like the case is with some Finnish authors, I know them personally via family. This is also the first time I ever volunteer to help in any convention, so I think I deserve my child like happiness. ^^

Goth Mary Poppins' Creative Goth Summer Weeks: 10th task

It is time for Goth Mary Poppins' Creative Goth Summer Weeks again!

Today: Something handmade that you wear above your neck.

As stated earlier, I am not usually doing that much crafty things and todays task was hard to come by with something that I allready own, since I am off tomorrow to a little trip and have no time to figure out something cool and gothy for the occasion.

A real gothic flower

This is a handmade (by somebody) and I bought it from a flea market. I actually molded it by myself too, but that only meant that I cut off a hideous bow tie the skull had. The bow tie was some plain blue fabric with white squares and it clashed really hard with the red of the skull. I have no idea why the maker had put it there but removing it made the hole hair clip much better.

Even though I have not manufactured this floral decoration, it is not hard to figure out how it was made. There is an ordinary fake daisy from some nifty gifty shop, the beam is cut of and the hairclip is glued at the back. There is also a part of a little plastic skeleton, I guess from some halloween season sale and the skull has been cut in half. Then the front of the skull is glued to the flower. I guess they used glue gun, or what ever it is called that makes hot glue people use at wood work at elementary school.

I do actually have something that one would wear above neck, but I have not yet figured out what exactly I ought to do with it. There is no other possibilty than to let it be for the time being. Also, my camera is charging the battery and I just remembered it and have no pics of that hair decoration thingy. it is also a find from the same flea market but it needs much more molding than the skull with an ugly bow tie.

Goth Mary Poppins' Creative Goth Summer Weeks: 9th task

I might be a day or two late, but luckily it is weekend. :)

Today's task is "Classical goth patterns: roses keys spidewhs wingsebs, crosses/ank etc"

The three most classical goth jewellery I have at the moment.

At left a christmas present from my father, though I chose it my self at the jewellery shop.

This is the first necklace I bought from a "real goth shop".

There is no goth without an Ankh!

Goth Mary Poppins' Creative Goth Summer Weeks: 8th task

 Goth cuteness: bats, fluffy babyowls, black cats, feathers, tutus, pink and black, muffins, smiley skulls, stripes, ribboned spiders, Tim Burton characters etc.and their role in your DIY. You don't have anything with those patterns? Make one!

I haven't got anything DIY made at the moment since I have had a lot of work shifts this week. Nevertheless, I'd like to introduce to you a book that had a great influence to my life. It is written by Malcom Bird 1984 and I stumbled on it in a library when I was 7-year-old. The title is "The witch's hadbook" and I loved it! Because of that book I thought that when I was to grow up, I'd become a witch instead of a vampire. (gosh, what a cliché-baby-goth I was!) Here is a link to the maker og the book: http://www.malcolm-bird.co.uk/2.html

The cover, book in Finnish.

Anyways, it has many recipes and instructions for knitting. I have been thinking about making some skull and bat decorated winter outfits but it is sommer now. So here are some pics of the book I have (my lovely friend gave it to me as a birthday present, since the one that library had went missing a decade ago but not by me). Those are some recipe pages, which I have tried and they were delicious!

The title of a chapter 2. called 'The witch's kitchen'.

A recipe for cookies. Taste very good, I've tried!

Some spooky appetizers. I have tried the death caps, made of boiled egg and tomato.

Goth Mary Poppins' Creative Goth Summer Weeks: 4th task

Today's task: Some project, that seems to be to big to start. Ask help and/or advice, or take it to a professional, but just start it! ^^


As I earlier showed, I have a custom made pistripe Chinese dress. I'll shortly tell it's story. My father had made a few business trips to China and he asked if I would like a custom made silk dress. I said yes and I emailed my measurements and next time he was home he brought a blue silk dress. It was almost perfect, but since I happen to have large breast area, the maker of the dress could not make it fit perfectly from thousands of miles a way. Since the dress is silk and with many layers, I'm not goint to do anything to it my self.

See that little gap?

How it would look like with a bit of stitching.

So, that was the tiny error in the first dress. Since that dress was so pretty I ordered a new one via my father. The next dress was to be made of oh-so-gothic-pistripe. It was the same firm and the measurements of my figure were exactly tha same, but something went terribly wrong. Apparently the tailor who was making the second dress could not believe the size difference between my bust and waist, so apparently he/she took the biggest measure and made a standard size dress.

This is how it is supposed to look like.

.

This is how baggy the pinstripe dress looks like.

The pinstripe dress has multiple layers and at the right side is the zipper so I have no idea how to make it smaller. Though thanks to summer delicacy I have gained a couple of kilos (as seen in the lower tummy area at the pic of blue dress), so I'm planning to go to a professional tailor when I got a bit slimmer figure.

Detail of the pinstripe dress.

Goth Mary Poppins' Creative Goth Summer Weeks: 3rd task

The third task'll be to tell about a DIY fail, (that you perhaps never really got over), what you've learnt from it. Just try to let it go. :)

I am making this a bit early, but I have work this evening and can't be on the computer much longer.

My biggest DIY fail was 2005 when I decided to make a beautiful green velvet skirt with a huge hem. I haven't got it anymore and have no photos so here is a scruffy pic.

It was a circle made of 8 parts and it was other way fine but when I measured the waist I divided it by four not eight (so that I would cut the 8 parts of the fabric). Therefore the waist was twice my size and I was too lazy to try to make it smaller and the sewing machine was allready then having it's last days and was making it really hard to sew.

I guess I'm getting over it, the loss of money and time.  ^_^

Goth Mary Poppins' Creative Goth Summer Weeks: 2nd task

Todays task is to take pictures from ALL your unfinished projects, tell why are they unfinished, and what do you plan to do with them. The challange-part is to finish at least one of them. The BIG challange-part is to finish all of them till the end of summer.

Unfinished task number one:

I bought today new buttons for my coat, but have not stitched them. The coat is white, which many think is not that gothic color but I disagree. White and black make an intriguing contrast. In this pic the buttons look all most brown, but in real life they are much more red, like wine red. There is some stitching to do this evening!






Unfinished task number two:
Voodoo-doll of Ron Weasley to be a prop in my student association's pin up calender. The theme is popular culture and one of the ladies is the Harry Potter character Hermione, doing some love magic via the voodoo doll. I have made Ron out of an old pillow (the stuffing) and of two old T-shirts (one white, the other is his hair) and at the moment he is still missing a little woollen scarf with gryffindor colors. I am not going to do it, since on of my fellow students is a maniac with knitting.

Unfinished task number three:
A white dress I bought form a flea market with 3 euros. It is about  a size or two too big so I should get my sewing machine to work and take in a bit.


Unfinished task number four:
A custom made Chinese dress, which is made of pinstripe. I'm goint to explain about it more when Creative Goth Summer Weeks comes to the part where one tells about projects that are too massive for the participant. :) Still, here is a little pic of the dress.

Goth Mary Poppins' Creative Goth Summer Weeks: 1st task

The first task:

 Take a picture of the area in wich you usually work, and all the things you use.  Do you have something to protect your dressess, or you just wear a "creative outfit?"

My primary work area is here. I don't do crafty things that often, but I get a lot of ideas and sometimes even do them. Usually I get ideas when I am out, and I do not have anything to write down my thoughts.

The 1st area of creativity

Secondary work area is my desktop. I keep my few craft materials in the drawers. Now they are shown on the table and there is no more than two skeins and some buttons that I have taken off my clothes and replaced with prettier buttons to chear up my appearence.

The second place of creativity

The actual work place where the magic happens is the sofa, because I like to watch a movie or something at the same time I fiddle with the buttons. 

The final place of crafty things

I really have not done crafty things for allmost a year, if one doea not count changing buttons of a coat. Last time was February 2011 when I made fake fur armwarmers. The biggest problem is that my sewing machine is broken and it is costly to get fixed. Therefore I do not have that much of material (fabric, glitter so on) to make crafty things. But I am trying to become more crafty and that is the reason why I participate to Goth Mary Poppins' challenge. :)

Oh, and I have no special clothes for crafting, since what I do is usually not that messy.