Bikes and Shirt DIY

Hey Darlings!

I don't know about you but I'm glad to jump on the sofa with a big glass of water while I write this post. I just got back from a 30 minute bike ride. I love my old blue Schwinn. I just need a little black basket or something. It was a little early today, I usually ride around sunset. It's such a peaceful feeling to have the wind whip around your ears and through your hair as you ride towards the dying sun while it bleeds out into the growing night sky.  It was so beautiful yesterday! We ended up setting out a little late but being on a lonely dirt road with a rising full moon as the only thing to light your ride back home was a really fun experience. I might have to go out and do that again tonight!

Oops! You shouldn't let me yak on and on like that darlings. I know you aren't interesting in my bike escapades.

Anyways, as promised I went out and got a black t-shirt to attempt that "bleached skeleton t-shirt DIY" I mentioned in an earlier post. Like before, I plan to make this post a part I and then I'll post finished photos during part II. Now on to the fun. :)

Simply look for the photo you want to copy on google. Here's mine.

When thinking about what to use to draw the photo on with, I figured a pastel pencil would be the best, and in white of course. You'll need that and a little bowl of water because you'll need to keep the pencil wet to leave a mark. Of course you don't have to do any of this. you can simply get your paint brush and draw the skeleton straight on. However; for me, the queen of meticulous, I wanted to sketch it on first and then paint the design in. It's your call darling.

I bought a cotton black t-shirt from Target. It was $6. This photo is just to show how well the pastel pencil works. It was a little smudgy from time to time but overall It worked very well and I was happy with it. Although I was annoyed at my drawing from time to time. You'll laugh when you see the final picture. I draw slanted so it looks like I have scoliosis, not that scoliosis is something to laugh about.

Here's the left ribcage done. I didn't feel the need to take pictures of the spine or right ribcage. You'll see it clear enough when I get the second coat of bleach on. Actually it's 100% done now. I simply want another coat of bleach on it, and I might try and shade a few spots. Well I hope this inspires someone else to go out and get their own artistic fingers going. It was a really fun project and now I have an awesome shirt to wear around town. Win-Win in my book. I'm easy to please. Actually that's not true. But who cares, I hope you enjoyed part I. Keep your eyes open to part II, and I'll probably due an outfit post with it too.

Night Darlings

http://mitakashika.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=48

Desserts and a homemade healthy snack

Hello Darlings!

How is everyone's week going so far? Mine has been decent enough.

I had another lunch date, I guess I'm quite popular, or my family doesn't trust me and they're always checking up on me. The former is probably the true story.

Anyways I got to decide where we ate, I chose Thai, I LOVE Thai food. <3

It's a little place called No Thai. and I had the spicy Pad Seeyu which is a "wide rice noodles with broccoli, sprouts and egg in a special mushroom soy sauce." along with the Thai iced tea.

Heavenly! I haven't had Thai (well good Thai in a very long time.)




After that we went to a Middle Eastern bakery for a piece of dessert. Or two. I bought the namoura and an apricot and pear square.

The super sweet Namoura!

Apricot Pear Square

 See?? How could I choose just one? They were both very sweet but light and fruity. I would suggest them with a cup of hot black tea as a taste neutralizer of sorts. I shared them with my grandparents and even cut into thirds it was a sugar coma. My sweet tooth has been thoroughly satisfied. :)

My spicy oven baked chick peas :)

So, onto the healthy snack recipe I wanted to pass along. Any chick pea likers out there? Well, I like them. I like them even better this way. If anyone would like the exact recipe I will post it, but to keep it short you take a can of chick peas, chili powder, curry powder, a tsp of virgin olive oil with other herbs and spices all combined and put on a foiled baking sheet for 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Voila! You now have spicy oven baked crunchy chick peas. I'm actually thinking about making another batch. They go that fast.

Healthy snacks aside I think another outing is planned for tomorrow so there will be more photos on the way. I always forget my camera. I'm working on remembering so I can take pictures for this blog. Describing is not always better than just plain showing.

TGIAF darlings.

http://mitakashika.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=48

Craft Update

Hello Darlings!

I finally got the finished photos of my lamp. The only camera I have is the one on my itouch so I apologize in advance for some less than quality photos. I had a nice camera once and then I had to replace the battery and the rest is history. My room is like a black hole. Want to lose something? Open my bedroom door and you will never have to see it again. It's sad...

Anyways! Here is my finished product:

I think it turned out nicely. It's cute enough for every day in a whimsical way and yet fulfills my need to have spooky decorations in my room. I was also thinking that you could always substitute light bulbs with this lamp too. Perhaps a red or purple one?

Since I've completed this lil' craft I'm off to begin my next one. I think I have some shopping to do tomorrow which means I'll buy a few more black t-shirts so I can begin that bleached skull shirt tutorial. I really wanted to make my own after I saw the one http://darklingxxdreams.blogspot.com/ had.

Have a nice week darlings

photo by: http://mitakashika.deviantart.com/art/sunako-116509315

Zingerman's Delicatessan and a side order of a head cold

Hello Darlings!

 So I'm sorry I haven't posted anything recently but I was running around Ann Arbor the other day without proper attire and I caught a cold. No surprise there. I have this belief that since I don't feel cold I won't catch a cold and yet ... it never works. Anyways I wanted to throw out a few shop finds while I was feeling well enough to crawl out of bed and over to my laptop. For those of you who have a target close by check it out:
I found a spider web rug for $2.50. They are also selling spider web laced curtains and mantle covers at $20 a piece I believe. I went out to pick up my boots and I knew I wasn't feeling well when I didn't even have the desire to browse Halloween decorations at Target or the Dollar Store.

Also if you're in Ann Arbor Michigan any time soon, or planning a trip there, I highly suggest Zingerman's Deli. I got the cuban conundrum which was a very spicy and totally delicious sandwich! So all you spicy fans now have something new to look forward to sinking your lil fangs into. The coconut gelato was a perfect finish to the little luncheon my uncle and I had together as well. I got the Cuban because I was curious about the cuban pulled pork sandwich, Dexter fans anyone?? :)

While we were waiting to place our order I almost had a heart attack darlings, it was terrible. I saw a guy behind the counter who was a 100% exact clone of my ex. I started and turned around in a frazzle attack only to realize my mistake and make a complete fool of myself.Thank goodness the place was so busy during the lunch rush no-one really noticed. It reminded me a doppelganger it was so exact.

Well I have nothing else to add today, I actually feel the need to crawl back into my blanket cocoon and sleep for a week straight. I might have to make someone run out and fetch me another green tea latte. I have a slight obsession, they're so tasty!

Have a pleasant weekend darlings.

http://mitakashika.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=48

Skeletal Sunday

Hello Darlings!

I feel like I've finally eased up a bit when it comes to the idea of blogging in my mind. Does that sound odd? Let me explain. It's as if I'm receptive now. I was stiff and nervous about what to write almost, now I just let it flow.

Anyways! I had a rather eventful weekend and I'm already thinking about my next DIY. I saw this AWESOME "DIY bleach skeleton shirt" from Darkly Dreams blog. Instant desire. I will not rest until I do this! Feast your eyes on it:
  http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/bleach-print-skeleton-shirt

I also had the joy of seeing family this weekend. When I'm with family I feel like a re-charged battery.I just soak up all the love and acceptance and it really electrifies my week. My grandma loves my ear plugs, my little cousin loves my red hair and my black nails. It just one of those times when there was no bullshit or drama, just peace. It was nice to tell you the truth. [Who are those people and what did they do to my real family??]

I also found out that my boots have finally shipped and I should get them in 14-17 days. I'm beyond excited! Here's what they look like. Yes... they're nothing special. I know. I just need a fresh pair of boots, my old ones were worn to the nubs.  I'm really upset though. I found a cute pair of halloween earrings at Kohls. They have cute Halloween jewelry out, shock! I found bat and tombstone earrings. But I have stretched ears. Boo! Then bodyartforms.com was my savior!! They have a bat cartilage piece so I'm much better.I know that doesn't really solve my 'earring dilemma' but it made me feel better because they had something I liked for a cheap price. Under $5! Have you figured out that Lady loves bats yet Darlings? It's true. They're so cute.  I know this post isn't exactly relevant but it lends to my next DIY.
However this isn't going to turn into a diy blog. That would be too tedious. I have craft ADD. I would never get anything done and everyone would get mad at me from impatience, haha.

Well have a ooky-spooky night Darlings. I'm off to paint and listen to Kittie.

September 14th

Hello Darlings!
How was your Friday?
As we all know life is a chaotic thing and things never go as we plan them. I've decided to make this post a "before post" on my lamp and list what I used and the step-by-step process of my batty little lamp. Ah! I spoiled the surprise. However, yes, it's true. I decided on a bat print for my lamp. But I'll get to that in a moment. So. I had a very boring lamp. Something that looked like this...

 You can see why something had to be done with this bland lamp!! I decided on a basic but adorable bat outline. See! I instantly fell in love. :)

I cut out the bats so I could trace them onto the lampshade. I'm using dermacoat acrylic paint for this project as well as a sharpie. For those of you who don't have a steady hand, or are to worried about making a mistake I suggest a pencil. I simply chose a sharpie because a pencil wasn't leaving a dark enough outline for me to see it, plus I have a "heavy drawing hand" which means I tend to rest my hand on my work and smudge everything to high heaven. Ugh.

 

 

See? I personally think it was a fine idea. It leaves the area open to decide where to place your bats and then you aren't worried about crinkling the bat or having to move tape to copy the design etc. etc.

So after what seemed an eternity (Trust me if you trace and paint it will feel like that!) I had a finished base to begin painting.

In the beginning I had spray-painted those two thick black lines. You can see the spillage lines where my tape didn't hold. No problem! I decided to balance the design with white. Which cleans up the run-on and will give the lampshade a nice proportional feeling. Truth be told I love symmetry so I'm more than happy right now.
Right now I plan to go back to painting. I think this will need two coats for everything; white, bats, the thin black lines.. no worries. I will post a finished photo soon! I wanted to post something to show that it's a tedious craft and I'm not slacking off.

Night Darlings!

Lady.

photo credit to: http://uminga.deviantart.com

What's to Follow

Hello Darlings.

I mentioned in my last post that I had a GIY in the works, a lamp to be exact, and that is more than true. You'll probably laugh at me but I was so excited to get started I didn't get a before photo. Ah well. With my perfectionist tendencies (tracing every part of my design out by hand before painting)
I have yet to finish said lamp. It's 80% done. But! I promise I'll post my how-to and finished photos tomorrow or Saturday morning at the latest.

However darlings, I am more than excited this week. I recently got my order from "A Little Touch of Magick!" and I would like to do a Portland Black Lipstick Co. review on three items.
I bought undead red lipstick, corpse paint and the complexion powder. It was a little pricey but quality is quality. Besides a one time splurge has never killed a lady.

Keep your eyes peeled for my lamp post ( I made a pun!) and have a lovely evening darlings.

~ Lady Levana.

photo credit to: Arehandora.deviantart.com

Beginnings

Hello Darlings. 

Levana here. I'd like to thank you first off for joining me here on my blog and I hope you stay tuned for all the goodies I have planned for my site. I sit here asking myself, "Does the Internet really need another blog?" Well why not! If all the little kiddies are going to run wild and have a shot, I'd like to as well. 

This is a project I've been converting for a while. I've had a couple tumblrs but they didn't strike my fancy. Besides with the amount of type I put into every post I'm sure I was boring everyone to death...not that I mind that. 

My hopes for my baby batling of a blog is to do a little bit of everything. So if there's another blog you read and there's no future in sight for your tutorial, DIY or recipe ideal there, well, throw it my way!

I had a lovely idea from GIY blog about this nasty old lamp I have. Looking around the web I found the cutest bat pattern and I can't wait to get my hands on a can of spray paint tomorrow. You know where this is going. I can't wait to show you the before and after.

That's all for now my darlings. Stay tuned! 

picture credit to: Arehandora.deviantart.com