Halloween Lust, Luster & DIY

Ways to Spook Things Up

listening to "I put a spell on you"-Nina Simone

I am delighting in the creepy skulls that would stay on in a prominent place in our home after El Dia De Los Muertos! These fit our aesthetic perfectly and they're cast not real so they're vegan friendly, found objects upcycled and repurposed!

I want to make this or buy it. It's amazing! It was on etsy but I forgot where. Forgive me, please! I am way too busy to focus.

So smitten with black feather wreaths

anatomically correct decorating

A Bit of Freaky Fashion

Who say's you can't dress the part while you are out buying supplies or making these creepy creations? Check out etsy for most of these cool wares all over this post! Google skull, vintage vase, feather wreath or pumpkins and great things pop up. I found some great things under Halloween decoration...etc.!

Some DIY Halloween Inspiration

Throw some black roses in these or stick with the black and white theme and find some white flowers that suit your fancy to display, but display all these vases together for full impact. These have to be in a prominent place on a table with some glitter covered skulls and/or painted pumpkins. I also like the idea of hanging black crows on fishing line and/or using them in a centerpiece on your dining room table with these vases and some dark curly willow branches or maybe dried spiky flowers like thistles. Ghoulish.

Bedazzled and painted pumpkin perfection! You can do it if I can!

I can paint or stencil. This is way too cool for school!

Who wants to decoupage pumpkins? I do!

I die! This is so major!!! Black glitter everything. It's almost as good as sequined everything! Dope show!

A cool idea from The Martha Stewart Show! It's on her website with video and a tutorial. I would do them all in white or black with white candles or black candles since I want a simple color scheme.

I would probably do this with black tissue paper or paper doilies. I think the vintage creepy factor is what I am going for this year. However, the upcycled coffee filters are pretty cool and have an effect that I like. I also love the idea of a DIY black feather wreath. I love how chic and sleek that look is and black turkey feathers are really cheap! I would go to the fabric district and buy a black feather boa and attach it to a foam, floral frame using floral pins that can be purchased in DTLA in the floral district or at any basic craft store. You have to buy some acrylic paint and glitter anyways. Right? Right!

Supplies That Look Appetizing

Have fun and happy crafting! Happy Halloween! This is by far my favorite Holiday! I can't wait to show you all my tricked out treats and treasures. I am going to make some decorations this weekend and I am going for a theme. This year, I can focus on the home and not my costume since my snow white costume is done. I made it last year. I am going to go as a post-poison apple, zombie state, snow white and the hubby is going as a legalize Dopey dwarf! All he needs is his purple beanie and a pot leaf patch! Too funny! He's very straight laced so it's an oxymoron. Te he!

There's a lot more to come. As a theatre gal, I have a good time with costumes and the whole Halloween "event"! I still have to post a few pre-Halloween outfits, jewelry by a dear friend and some Polaroid play! I will try not to get too bogged down at work, teaching and producing our fall play! I am staying on top of all my responsibilities in order to post! Have fun & Happy haunting!

Getting Spooky With DIY Halloween Ideas!

This is going to be fun! I have so much DIY Halloween related spookiness to show the next few days! This is from the style list! Rad! 

Set-Up on Sunday: our loft's interior & the inspiration

-Our Loft, Our Home-A Project & Our Work in Progress-

-Revision-

These absolutely are not working with our new space. the colors are all wrong and I need to add some interest with stripes to our couch, chairs and love seat. I already updated the bedroom with the red and white pillows, but these two floral throws above are next. I have chosen the fabric, cut and designed them. I'll sew them this week.

The updated bedroom pillows. I think they brighten up the space a  lot. Sorry it's a blurry photo. I really need that new camera. This is getting ridiculous.

-The Inspiration-

There are a lot of similar components going on in that space. The hide rug, the natural wood colors and washes, a variety of textures, the rustic juxtaposed with ultra sleek modern and the abundance of slick white. We are simply missing stripes and our space desperately deems stripe support to be the appropriate and most simple fix. I plan to set-up the striped pillows and show them to you by next Sunday at the very latest. Wednesday, I celebrate my birthday and I know that I already plan on keeping myself very busy celebrating the entire week. I have Birthday related plans and a grown up, champagne, tea, crafts, treats and delicious foodie inspired, super girly, fancy, Happy Un-Birthday Party slated for all day Wednesday at our loft! This is followed by a wine bar excursion with all our guys since the day-time party is girls only! I hope to finish the stripe swap out before the party, but I am doing a load of decorating too. I have paper lanterns to hangs, food to prepare & planning to passionately ponder! 

I always include clothing when seeking inspiration for a color scheme in our interior in addition to simply interior visual images. I like to combine and blend things I like so I get a fuller sense of what I am aiming for in our interior's look. Dressing onself is so similr to dressing the bones of one's home!

-The Set-Up for the Swap Out-

This is the stripe I am bringing into our space. The before picture is just below along with the step by step progress one needs to know to make your own throw pillows.

The way our window seat is right now, but won't be for much longer. We need a change. The striped fabric above and below will be integrated into out loft's look this week. I am setting you up for the change. I sure wish I would have documented the massive changes in the living, dining, kitchen, bathroom, and especially are bedroom! I overhauled the color scheme completely from an olive green, mustard, rusted orange, off-white, yellow and black all over to this new color scheme. I made the transition before we moved, but I have not accomplish a fully cohesive look in the color composition I am working with now. 

Obviously, the loft allowed me to choose my paint colors and that has made a world of difference. The color on the walls anchors the space and allows me to work from there. I have added and removed pieces since we have been here, but it keeps getting better. Before, in the former palette, I felt trapped and nothing ever came together seamlessly the way I wanted it.  Currently, we are working with the following colors: Dark slate gray, light gray, crisp clean bright white with sheen, light blue, pale yellow, turquoise (sparingly in four areas), bright orange (in two painting), red (as an accent in the bedroom only contrasting with navy blue and white), slick shiny black and a paisley print that integrates two shades of green and the former colors (moss and sage) are used sparingly on the pillows only. At the bottom, I will pull the swatches for you to see how the colors are paired in each specific area.  

  

So, I got the machine out and began ironing the hems for the openings. I will sew them tomorrow! Now, you have a great set-up and know that you get to see the final product!

Saturday's Stake Out: stalking Sushi-Gen in a new dress!

-Worn to Stalk Sushi-Gen on Mission: Little Tokyo-

Dress: altered vest (found in the outskirts of the fashion district at an overstock store in a men's sz. 4XL...YIKES), Laced Stiletto Booties: Guess from Norstroms, Bracelet Black Leather Clutch-J crew circa 2003, Jewelry: layered multi-colored metal necklace-The Extras from Karmaloop, Attached Jade and Knotted Buddha Charm- found at a trinket shop in Little Tokyo, A turquoise and Jade Buddha Necklace-gifted (from step-mother) high end designer, Turquoise Feather Earrings-gifted by my hubby from EVE in LBC, Sunnies: Quay, Noir Feathered Rosette Hair Fascinator: Self Made from a satin ribbon rose, hot glue and three long black feathers secured with a bobby pin, Red Hair, courtesy of my own Wella color mix of dark auburn and deep cherry with 10 volume developer & Nail Polish-Essie Petal Pink!

-"I want to go to there!" by, Liz Lemon on 30 Rock-

I ate the delicious appetizers (cucumber seaweed sunomono, miso soup, seaweed salads, fried salmon skin salad with a organic spring mix and sprouts etc.)! I received my sashimi deluxe platter, rice, tempura & sauce, and my hubby received his sushi deluxe platter so we were ready to feast. Right there, I have my soy sauce in hand to mix with wasabi. I ate fresh ginger that wasn't dyed pink (right!) and my palate was cleansed and ready to enjoy the freshest way fish in all of Los Angeles! Yelp was correct and Sushi-Gen lived up to all the all the hype, supposed long wait lists and ridiculously "perfect sashimi & sushi" expectations! The chefs were cheerful all night long, singing and chanting as they received high tips and when they served special dishes to the customers sitting at the bar (who were willing to eat and pay for whatever the sushi chefs' made for their delighted customers)! Our server was so sweet and pleasant was quick on her feet and always checked to make sure we were satisfied and enjoying our choices. She explained the menu with expertise as well as the portions. There weren't a gimmicks, hype or up-sales on her end and I personally appreciate that aspect of the service.

 In college, I worked numerous years as a server in upscale and in mid-range restaurants. I loathed being forced to up-sell crappy food/specialty drinks or price pointed not discounted items on are menu or not. Additionally, I hated the gimmicks unless they were truly special cuts of fresh fish, interesting scallops or tuna that came in because the chef got lucky, went fishing or his friends did. Sometimes specials were cool because the sous chef or the chef went to a mid-week farmer's market on a whim and found something extremely special, fresh and in season. This can also happen if an employee working at the restaurant or the chef's garden started exploding with way too many vegetables or fruit and then those specials mean something. That's why you ask questions and determine if the special is actually special. 

Occasionally, restaurants run weekly specials and they purposefully order extra of the ingredients to meet the special's requirements each night. That is not really a special but a price pointed weekly meal plan that is a restaurant gimmick. I think why isn't on the dang menu. Good lord! Otherwise, avoid specials at like the plague unless you are at the most upscale, highly reviewed, perfect palace of a restaurant or you will be unimpressed my mediocre, at best, or miserable food that is rarely fresh and basically tasteless.  That's the American way! 

Fortunately, most ethnic restaurants do not subscribe toe following philosophy! Moreover, no matter how cheap and how much food. Up-sales and specials are meant to clean out the older items in the cooler and I hate when the server gets stuck trying to beg us to buy these things and trying to up-sell drinks and things probably don't not want or that the second in command is still developing as his signature dish when the chef has a night or lunch off. Don't fall for it. Cort and I always know what we want and usually end up making good decisions. We tend to ask if we have questions as expert foodies! This was not a problem at Sushi-Gen. We avoided the lines and made a reservation early (over two weeks before) and we were ten minutes late and there were no problems!

-Costume-Long Sought After Asymmetrical LBD-

-A Light-Weight Sweater Dress, a DIY!-

To make the dress I pinned the shape I wanted around my figure. I took it off, cut straight down the edge where the seam was, put the dress right side together by folding it over, I created asymmetrical sleeves and sewed up the sides leaving tiny slits that are different lengths on each side of the sheath. The finished product is streamlined, classy, sensible and comfortable. I love it, a lot! Make one if you like to sew. This is the easiest DIY projects I have ever completed and I complete a lot, including customized tailoring work! Do it! You know you want to. I can re-do and video when I get a camera and post it on Vimeo for you on here if there's interest! Keep me posted!

I have a slight cold and the camera situation is a bit murky until it's replaced. I am on a hot trail for a nice new canon rebel, but expect some posts next week to be the bare bones basics (i phone pics & hipstmatics). Posting may be a bit spotty until I am feeling less yucky, eew! Thanks for your following and to all the new buzz that's being generated! I am so grateful for your genuine interest and your nice comments! You are appreciated! It's still Saturday! I made it! Phew! Take time to enjoy a fabulous week all! xoxo
^.  .^
> ^ <