Weird Thing Wednesday.

     I mean. That's pretty straightforward, right? It's Wednesday, let's look at this weird thing I bought. 

     It's a leetle bird skull pendant that I picked up at the craft store. I don't know why, it just spoke to me. Well, that's not true, I know why. It's because my greatest life goal is to look like a cool but kind of spooky witch. We all have our dreams. I slapped this puppy (birdy?) on a long chain so I can sling it on over a floaty dress with a kimono and get my hippie recluse on. 

MONDAY Favorites: GIF Edition!

     Since I was too sick to put together a coherent Favorites post on Friday, I figured I'd do something a little special and different and make today Monday's Favorites, now with 100% more GIF-y goodness!

FAVORITE #1: LOOKET THESE EARRINGS! 

Should I have put a seizure warning on this post? I mean I warned you there'd be gifs, right? 

     These gawgeous thangs were made by my amazingly talented Aunt Patti (you can go check out her Etsy shop HERE- right now everything is 20% off and the proceeds from any purchase you make go to Miracle Horse Rescue, which is a great charity that helps horses that have been abused or neglected. Tell me that's not a win-win!). I saw them posted on her Facebook page and immediately said "Oooh, those are cool. They would look pretty on my head." And they do! I love a happy ending, don't you? They fit perfectly with my whole "hippie archaeologist by day, benevolent but still kind of spooky witch by night" aesthetic, and they also happen to be the same kind of blue-y green-y gray-y color of my eyes in sunlight, which is exactly the kind of super-cliched character detail I'd have made fun of in my college writing courses, so yay nostalgia! 

FAVORITE #2: I'VE BEEN EATING THIS STUFF LIKE CANDY, IN THE MOST LITERAL WAY POSSIBLE.

Mmm, snake-oil -- I mean Vitamin C....

     By which I mean "sporadically, whenever I see the bottle sitting around and think "Oh, I could go for something sour." You know me and my immune system are not seeing eye to eye right now, on account of it being a good-for-nothing layabout and all, so I decided I'd try this stuff and see if the "blast of vitamin C" makes me feel any healthier. All I've noticed so far is more like a blast of powdered citric acid, but I'm cool with it. They're kind of like giant soft Sweet-tarts, except ostensibly less horrible for you. I don't know if I believe it will make me any less likely to get sick, but the placebo effect kind of brings back that teenager-like feeling of invincibility, like I couldn't possibly get sick, ever ever again, so I'm all for it. 

FAVORITE #3: THINGS TO PAINT ON MY FACE! 

Skin is so weird looking up close. Especially when you're the color of the mooooon. 

     When I found myself at Ulta again the other day (found myself there. As if I have no idea how I got there. I just woke up from a fugue state in the middle of Ulta. Yes, that's it exactly), I picked up two liquid eyeliners from Jane cosmetics. I already had the gold one, which is amazing, and I needed a new black liquid eyeliner because the 20 I already owned were all drying out. But it was 2 for $10, and they're normally $8, so I had to get two, and the second one I picked was this one, called "metallic nude." It. Is. So. SHINY. This was actually what gave me the idea to do a GIF post, because a static picture alone just was not doing justice to the shininess. I also like these eyeliners because they have an actual brush tip, not a felt tip. I know a lot of people like the felt tip because it's easier to work with, but I don't like that they dry out, and also I kind of like how a tiny little paint brush makes me feel like Mulan in the Disney movie when I use it.

     Here's what the black eyeliner looks like, in case you are interested in the nuances of black eyeliner (I mean, I am, but I'm interested in almost everything). It dries matte, so it has a 60's velvety feel to it. I also have the metallic nude on my inner corners. 

Do you like how I just told you I have blue-green-gray eyes and very pale skin, then closed with a gif where I look tan with almost brown eyes? Sorceryyyyyy!

     I don't find it hard to work with either. I mean it's not a beginner's eyeliner, for sure, but it's not so runny that it gets in your eyes and makes you look like a tiny squid swam across your sclera. Too far, people who are weird about eyeballs? Sorry. 

     
     I hope this GIF-tacular post makes up for the fact that it's on the wrong day, and I also hope you all had delightful weekends full of all your own favorites! 

Quick Fixes: Looket this locket!

     So I was browsin' the craft store the other day, helping Amanda pick out ingredients to make a necklace for an '80s party, when these little thingies caught my eye.

They were also on sale for 50% off, so if you were thinking that $8.99 is surprisingly pricey for a cheap-ass like me, you were right! 

     Actually I first saw the little filler doodads on the left there and did a "gasp OOOOOOOOOH" because that is everything I love in my jewels contained in one tiny package: moons, stars, mixed metals, sparkles (they had a TON of different sets too: beach theme, sports, and so on). Then I spent a good three minutes trying to find the other component, the thing you actually put the baublies in. I finally found them at the veeery top of the display. They had this plainer version and one that had rhinestones around the outside, like in the picture on the packaging on the left, but I thought that was too flashy for me. 

     So I got them home and put them together (it just snaps open with a strong magnetic closure, like a locket), and IT'S REALLY PRETTY. Sorry for getting all capsy, but I really like how it's got a thrown-together vibe, like "Oh I was just finishing up some spells I was casting this morning and tossed some talismans and charms in here to take with me," because you know one of my favorite aesthetics is "weird cat-lady who the neighbor kids are pretty sure is a witch," aka the aunts from Practical Magic. 

     I'm going to put it on a long silver chain to wear, but I can't decide if I should leave it as is or age the silver locket part a bit. It might feel a little too shiny and new for me right now. I was thinking of scuffing it up a bit with some sandpaper and rubbing a little dark paint in the scratches to make it look old, like someone recently dug it up in the forest (I have weird fashion aspirations, don't I?). Or possibly putting some tiny bits of gold or copper leaf on it in a few places to bring in more of that mixed metal look I love so much? I'm not sure how that would hold up, anyway. I just don't know! I'll have to think on it. 

Experimental Rock

     Oh, the wide world of geology-related puns. It shall never cease to amuse me. 

     The reason I made that joke at the risk of infuriating pun-haters everywhere is because this whole shebang I'm about to tell you about was pretty much just an experiment. You see, I didn't have anything else to do, and I had recently found a rock that I'd been holding on to since last fall (I'd shoved it in the pocket of a jacket and forgotten about it). So I figured I'd just kind of play around with it and see where I ended up. Here's the rock in question, and what I did with it. 

     If I recall correctly I picked this up while walking the dogs at the park. It caught my eye because it had a nice glint in the sun and was already pretty flat on two sides. To start out, I took the Dremel to it to smooth and flatten all the edges, then shine it up a bit. Just for fun, here's a shot of one of the sides where I've done one half and not the other. It's satisfying in the same way as powerwashing something really dirty.

     When I got done smoothing everything out, I was left with this.

     I put that in gif form for you because I had a feeling in photos this was going to look like...well, a beige rock. I wanted you to get a sense of the pretty natural sheen and depth. I dunno, maybe I'm just really into rocks. If nothing else, it shows off what I did here, which was just to smooth everything out and bring out the natural shape of the rock, because that's my personal preference (remember how I like my things to look like they were crafted by an ancient artisan and only recently excavated?).

     Anyway, next I decided I wanted to add some glitz. First I tried taping off the two large flat surfaces and spray painting the sides with my favorite gold spray paint (the Krylon kind). 

     It was alright, and I didn't hate it. But then Amanda suggested I gold leaf the sides (she had some that she'd received in a monthly nail art box -- of course -- that she wasn't ever going to use). Go big or go home, right? That's what I loved about this experiment: if it succeeds, awesome, I get to look like the coolest witch in the coven with some weirdo homemade rock jewelry; if not, hey, it's a rock. Throw it back outside.

     Here's what's cooking once the gold leaf was applied.

      Much better! To actually turn this into a piece of jewelry, I just spun some little loopies into some gold wire and wrapped it around. I wanted to hold it in place permanently with a dab of epoxy, because I like to be sure of these things, but then I decided I liked how glossy the epoxy made everything, so I dunked the whole damn thing in there. Just went for it. Then proceeded to glue my hands to EEEEVERYTHING. It sucked. But this turned out to be a pretty pendant!

     So this guy will not be getting chucked back outside! I love a happy ending. 


     And the happy ending to this post is a nice before and after shot to remind you how far we've come (and for convenient Pinteresting purposes. Yeah, hi all you readers coming from Pinterest! Welcome, come in, sit down, have a lemonade, don't let the dog drool on you).

DIY 101: Simple Post Earrings

     This weekend I decided to do a quick and easy project that I think is a great gateway craft for beginning DIY-ers. It's basically a method for taking any cute little thing you find -- novelty buttons, beads, what have you -- and turning it into a pair of earrings. It's ridiculously easy and cheap, but so many people don't realize how simple it is to make your own earrings (I know, I have a pair of earrings made from pink elephant novelty buttons that people used to ALWAYS ask me about, and when I told them I made them myself they looked at me like sorcery was involved). 

     Here's all I did: took some cutting pliers and snipped the loop off the top of these two bow charms. If you're using buttons that have a loop on the back, you can easily do the same to snip the loop off. If you're feeling like a perfectionist, you can take a file to it to get the back really super even. I didn't bother trying to file the edges on these bows because A) they're tiny, so there's really no reason to worry over every tiny detail, B) I didn't feel like it. Hey, I'm just being honest with you.

     I also decided to paint them gold, because although I like this finish sometimes, it wasn't what I wanted here. 

     Then I just mixed up some epoxy on a piece of foil using a toothpick...

     Then popped a generous glob of it onto the back of my bows...
 

     And dropped the earring post into the epoxy. 

     Then scooted it around until it wouldn't be visible from the front, and let it dry for a good long while. Then...ta-da!

     So easy, and you can really take this basic method and throw some imagination at it to make practically anything into a pair of earrings. 


 

Accessory overload, Part II

     I'm back with more thrown-together jewelry! This has been a super fun mini-project for me, since it justifies my hoarding of small shiny objects AND results in me having more accessory options. Double win!

Piece #1: Chain Reaction ring
     (In that it is chain, and my reaction is "Ooh, pretty!")
     Cobbled together from: A broken piece of an old necklace that I've had for years. I think I have a matching bracelet somewhere too, so this works out well. 

     All I had to do for this one was take out some jump rings on either side of the clear piece that made it sit a little funny on my finger, then connect the chain on either side to make it a continuous ring. Here's what I started out with, in case you're curious:

Piece #2: Ring around the Knuckle... Ring
      (Puns are gettin' a little labored here, I'll admit.)
     Cobbled together from: Wire. Just wire. Sometimes laziness works well enough. 

     When you've been making as many rings as I have lately, you have to expand your ring real estate onto other knuckles. This is simple, but matches a lot of my other rings for convenient layering purposes. 


Piece #3: Fight for your Pyrite to Party ring
     Cobbled together from: a chunk of pyrite, a ring base. 

 

     This was the one I had to go to the craft store for. I had ring bases sitting around, but this little piece of pyrite is seriously so pretty, it just deserved something a little nicer (something that won't turn my skin green, maybe? I know, reach for the stars!). So I picked up a sterling silver base for it and slapped it on with some epoxy, in my usual method. I wore it today with the two small heart stacking rings you see there in the picture. I think those were supposed to be a "give one to a friend, keep one for yourself" type deal, but pshh I'm a great friend to myself, so I kept both. 

     So that's what I've been decorating myself with lately! It's been good to use some of the things I've been holding onto for a while and turn them into wearable pieces. 

Needs more jewels. Always.

     I've been on the majorest of jewelry kicks lately. I don't know why, I just want to put on all the sparkly things until I look like I'm starting a new life as a fortune-teller. So last night I threw together a few things from mine and my mom's stashes of various shiny bits and bobs, and ended up with three new things to catch the eye of every bird that flies by. 

Piece #1: Hand of Glory necklace
     Cobbled together from: weird hand-shaped charm that I have a bunch of laying around, long silver chain, crystal from a thing that was on a flower arrangement once (specific, right?), jump rings.

I've really been liking putting stuff on this dress form for pictures lately; she can stand still a lot longer than me, which makes pictures easier.

     This was the easiest to put together of the three. It was just a matter of connecting all the pieces with jump rings. It's actually on a really long chain, so it layers nicely with other necklaces, like my glow-in-the-dark pendant, for those days when one necklace is not enough (every day). As a side note, I was just making a Harry Potter reference calling this the Hand of Glory necklace, but totally go read the wikipedia page for that phrase, it's way interesting.


Piece #2: Beaches be Crazy ring
     Cobbled together from: a piece of beach glass that happened to have a nice finger-sized curve to it, gold wire, epoxy. 

The band-aid should only be attempted as an accessory by super stylish people like me, it's tough to pull off (HA PUNZ OMG). Just kidding, I'm an idiot who can't do anything without injuring herself. The day before yesterday I had band-aids on 3 of 5 fingers on this hand. FASHION.

 
   This one took a little more effort to bring into existence than the necklace, but it was still crazy easy. I just took some thickish (words, they're my specialty) wire and made a circle the size of my finger -- I generally just use a chapstick for this, because using the proper tools is for squares. Then I sat the piece of beach glass next to the wire and marked with a Sharpie where I wanted the wire to end. I didn't want it to go all the way underneath the glass because it would show through, so I just left enough wire to glue the glass onto at the edges. Like this:

 

     I didn't worry about the ends of the wire being sharp because I knew I was going to use epoxy to hold the beach glass on forever and ever, which would smoothly cover any pointy parts. Really the only hard part of this was finding a way to get the pieces to sit together right while I waited for the epoxy to set. 

Piece #3: Stone Cold Rocks ring

     Cobbled together from: a pretty rock, ring base, epoxy.

 

     This one couldn't be more straightforward: take pretty rock, take ring base, glue part A to part B with epoxy. Ta-daaaa! I really enjoy this one because it matches the tiny blue-green stacking ring on my middle finger really well. In fact, I like this whole combination a lot. Rings are where I've really been going crazy lately. I just love going full Ringo with stacking rings, big chunky rings, first knuckle rings -- whatever I can get my hands on. Or get on my hands. Good god, I have no pun-restraint today. This post has become a game of "count the puns," or, depending on your feelings about pun-based humor, "count the audible groans."

     So there's my first batch of use-what-you've-got jewelry! I've actually got a second batch of jewelry concoctions using things I've already got in the works, but I have to make a trip to the craft store for that one. You can't always have everything you need on hand, that would be too easy.

Quick fixes: Spikey Earrings!

     On a trip to the craft store not long ago, I picked up this pack of spikes, not knowing what I wanted to do with them. 

     After brainstorming for a good long while, I decided they'd be best used for earrings. All my other ideas seemed too dangerous -- what can I say, I have a fondness for accessories that double as weaponry. So I gathered my supplies: my spikes, jump rings, and earring wires. 

     Then it was just a matter of popping it all together right quick-a-like. I didn't end up needing anything between the spikes to space them; they sat at the angle I wanted already, and though I initially thought about adding some color, I decided I'd rather keep them neutral. Which left me with these!

Had my good friend Casper stop by to hold the earrings for photos. Such a peach.

Can you tell I'd already taken a nap with this braid in when I took this picture? Whatever, I hear looking like you didn't try is all the rage these days.

    

"Rock" on. Wah-waaaaah.

     I couldn't NOT open this post with the world's worst pun. It had to happen. Destiny commanded it. Anyway, I've been experimenting with a new hobby. Whilst strolling through the park the other day (picture me wearing my best top hat and monocle for this, not because it's accurate, but because it's an image I'd like people to associate with me), I picked up a couple rocks that caught my eye when they sparkled a bit in the sun. I thought they had potential, and you can never be sure that the economy won't totally collapse, leaving us with useless bits of paper instead of money and hey, maybe if I have some shiny rocks I could trade them for food. It's good to be prepared! Or I could just turn them into pretty baubles to wear around. Come what may, ya dig? So I took them home. One little shard of quartz seemed to have particularly great bauble-potential. But after I washed it up, it still needed work. Here's how it started out: 

 

     You can tell it's pretty small based on how massive my Hulk hands look in that picture. Because of this, I think it's destined to become a ring, though I'll tell you right now that I haven't decided exactly how I want to do that (Wire-wrap it? Drill a hole through the side? Super-glue it to my finger and see how long it stays on? Time will tell!), so don't expect the last picture in this post to be a glistening ring on my finger. 

     The process I used to fix up the little guy was pretty simple. I experimented on a less-ideal rock first to see what worked best, and when I was confident the process worked, I applied it to my wee little quartzy-wartzy. Here's the play-by-play:

1. To shape it, I used a Dremel with a silicone carbide wheel attachment to grind away all the rough edges. This is by far the most satisfying part. Changing the shape of a rock! I felt like Hephaestus crafting Zeus' lightning bolts or Poseidon's trident! Except, you know. Scaled back a bit. (In case you hadn't already picked up on this, it takes NOTHING to get me excited. Rocks? Hell yeah, rocks! They're like my catnip!)
   
   
2. With the same attachment, I then went over each plane of the shard very, very patiently, grinding down all the crags and notches until everything was smooth. This part was still fun, though not quite as satisfying as step one because it takes a lot longer. Add to this that the Dremel I'm using is cordless and a bit old, so I only get a little work done before I have to go recharge it for a few hours, essentially working in very small shifts, and you have MADNESS. It's been a real test of my patience, as well as my willpower, because it's made me BADLY want to go out and buy a corded Dremel so I can just sit down with it and really go to town. But I just splashed out on my boots, so I'm not up for a big spend again for a while. I do have a birthday coming up in...4 months though (which may or may not be why I linked the one I want there...Hi, Mom and Dad!). More patience-testing! I'm gonna be a saint by the end of this!
   
   
3. Once all the nooks and crannies (good in an English muffin, bad in a rock) were gone, I sanded the stone with progressively finer grits of sandpaper until it was nice and smooth.
   
   
4. Then I used polishing compound on a felt wheel attachment to buff it up reeeeal nice (I don't know how to spell that the way I want to say it, which is like a toothless old prospecter. Naaas, maybe? Whatever, it's not important).
   
   
5. Finally, I added a coat of clear lacquer to give it a wet-look shine. Ready for the reveal? Ok, here it is!
   
   

     Wooo, look at those curves! Look at that glisten! I could have made it a perfect rectangle if I really wanted to, but I like the more organic shape. Makes it more unique! Well, as unique as it can be...quartz is the most common mineral in the Earth's continental crust. But I still think it's pretty, and I definitely plan to polish up more of these little delights.

     So there you have it! That's how I took a rough little fragment of quartz, a mere boogie plucked straight from the nostril of Mother Earth, and turned it into a smooth little adornment. Here's a side-by-side comparison of before and after to save you the trouble of scrolling back up for your makeover fix. 

Rawr, I'm a....thing with teeth!

     On an impromptu trip to the craft store the other day, I picked up a few bits and bobs that spoke to me, saying, among other things, "I'm 50% off! You can't afford NOT to buy me!" One of those things was this little guy, a plain ivory-colored tooth with a bronzey cap.

     "Hmmm," I said to myself when I saw it, though not aloud, as there were people nearby and I didn't want them to think I was either a) talking to myself like a weirdo or b) inviting conversation (I took the "no talking to strangers" rule very much to heart). It was alright as it was, but I knew I could make it better, prettier, at least 10% more menacing and 25% less obviously plastic! 

     So when I got it home, the first thing I did was take some fine grit sandpaper and try to rough up the surface a bit. Not satisfied with that, I moved up to a rougher sandpaper, which started to get me toward the texture I was looking for. I wanted it to have as many scratches and grooves as possible, so that when I added paint later it wouldn't just sit right on top and look overly smooth and fake. For the next step of this "buy a thing and then practically destroy it before you ever wear it" marathon, I used a Dremel with a grinding wheel attachment to take a few small nicks out of the unsuspecting faux tooth. 

     With all the re-texturing out of the way, I jumped right into paint. I used a combination of some metallic copper/bronze that I had leftover from my desk makeover and a plain black acrylic, dabbing it on with a small brush.

      After each layer of color I gently rolled the wee little sabre tooth in a paper towel to pick up most of the color. I also made sure to concentrate some black in the nicks so they stood out more. Here's how it was looking about halfway through. 

     When I'd finally built the color up to where I wanted it, I strung it onto a chain that I picked up at the same time as the charm itself, and ended up with.......this!

 

Gratuitous detail shot!

 

 

     I plan to hit it with some clear lacquer to keep any of the paint from wearing or scratching off before I actually wear it in order to protect my investment (about an hour and $4.00 for the tooth and the chain, since I had all the other supplies on hand).

     So that's how I turned an obviously plastic trinket into something more my style: a little dark, a little shiny, possibly recently excavated. Just how I like it!

Glow-in-the-Dark Everything

     There are two main reasons I love glow in the dark stuff: It makes me easier to find if I wander off in the dark, and it's cool as hell. Well, it can be cool. Glow in the dark stuff kind of gets a bad rap sometimes as being the cheapo gimmick of t-shirts that come out of a cannon. I'm a fan of any kind of glow in the dark, but I get why some people think it's less-than-classy. 

Pictured: My kickass glow-in-the-dark Ghostbusters t-shirt. Not Pictured: class, sophistication, dignity, regret.

     But you can shine on, you crazy diamond, and keep it classy at the same time. Promise! Here are two of my favorite glowies that look just as pretty in the harsh glare of daylight. 

     First up, we have this necklace that my mom got me as a birthday present. It's from Etsy (link here), and I wear it most days (almost all the days that I bother getting dressed, at least). Here's what it looks like in the light:

And here's what it looks like when the lights are out.

     I believe the words you're looking for are "DAMN, SON." Because that is gorgeous. It charges really well just from wearing it out and about in the sunlight, if that's a thing that you do, and the blue is unusual enough that even seasoned ravers will be impressed with the glow on this one. 

     Next up is my latest acquisition: a glow in the dark Troll bead! It's called "Inner Glow" because the company is run by Danish hippies and they can't resist that sort of thing. In case you're curious (maybe you got here by googling Troll Beads and going far, far into the seedy underbelly of the search results, I don't know your life), the names of the beads in the picture below are, from left to right, Dichroic Ice, Dark Leopard (I think?), Inner Glow, Milky Way, Silver Mountain, and Earth. Anyway, here's what it looks like during the day (third from the left, remember):

And when the darkness is all-consuming:

     Preeeettyyyy! Troll beads are a pretty classy deal to begin with, all "handcrafted" this and "artisan designed" that, but if you're a person that knows how to practice restraint (teach me your ways!) you could just wear the glow in the dark bead by itself with spacers holding it in place for a minimalist look. I am a maximalist (shut UP spellcheck, I do what I want!), so I wear the beads I've collected over time all at once. 

     The third, uncredited glow-in-the-dark item in this post is my pasty white Casper skin in the first picture. I'd like to blame it on winter, but let's be real, this is pretty much a year round thing. I'm the reason white people are called white instead of light beige. I'm available for hire to stand in your photos so it's super easy to white balance them. And other such pale jokes.