Monsters are Real Quote Art

Content warning: Anxiety, panic disorder

     Today's post is not a typical craft post.  Sure, there is a craft, and if you just want to print this quote art I designed and use it for your personal use, it's at the end of the post.  However, I wanted to use this space to tell you a little about how this art came to be.
     The beauty of Stephen King's "Monsters are real..." quote is that it resonates with many of us, even if our struggles are different.  We all have our own monsters and ghosts that we are grappling with.  When I see this quote, my mind goes to the main monster living inside of me: anxiety.

My Anxiety Journey

     Before we get into my inspiration, I want to give you a brief overview of my anxiety journey.  Feel free to skip this section if you already know what it's like to live with anxiety and don't want to be reminded of how much it sucks.
     I have exhibited symptoms of anxiety from a young age, but it took me until I was in my mid-20s to piece together what was going on with me.  Up to that point, I thought I was just cautious and a bit of a worrier.  I didn't realize that there was something atypical about the way I reacted to the world.
     Everything changed during the summer of 2014, when I had to get my wisdom teeth removed.  During the weeks leading up to the surgery, I had to attend a couple of consultations with my oral surgeon.  Something about these appointments triggered in me not only anxiety, but also panic.  To quote from my old anxiety blog I started that I never did anything with, "I would sit there in the waiting room sweating buckets, my heart hammering away a mile a minute as my stomach churned like a washing machine, wanting to flee to the safety of the car and feeling trapped and helpless because I couldn't."
     In retrospect, I had probably had many panic attacks before this series of events.  Since I did not know panic disorder was a thing, I thought what was happening to me was a physical ailment.  I have dealt with bouts of gastrointestinal unrest since childhood, and these instances often seemed to correlate with events happening in my life.  For example, during my first two years of college, I would feel sick for the first week of the semester, missing some, if not all, of the classes that week.  I was afraid each time a new semester approached that I would get sick and - lo and behold - I would then get sick.
     So the issues had existed long before my wisdom tooth extraction, but what happened after my surgery was that any time Brian and I would go somewhere, I would feel anxious, and that anxiety would quickly escalate to panic.  We would get three quarters of the way to our destination and then it would become too much and I would be on the verge of tears, begging Brian to turn back.  This was when I finally realized that I wasn't getting sick all the time; I was having panic attacks.
     I've been in treatment twice for my anxiety and hopefully will be back in treatment again here soon.  I was hoping that once I finished my Ph.D., I'd finally be able to relax and get things under control, but then the world turned upside down and here I am, as anxious as ever.  I was rereading my old anxiety blog as I was writing this post, and even though these entries were from four years ago, so many of the issues I was experiencing then I'm still struggling with.  Anxiety sucks.

The Meaning Behind My Quote Art

     Anyway, that's enough about my anxiety.  Now let's talk about what this quote art represents to me.  I wanted to find some way to visually represent my anxiety.  Since it is a part of me, I thought I could achieve this by having two Ambers in the image, one to represent me and one to represent my anxiety.  The Amber that's curled up behind the tree crying?  That's me in the throes of a panic attack.  The Amber with the red cape is the physical manifestation of my anxiety.  To me, anxiety is red.  It is screeching red, alarm sirens blaring ad infinitum red.  That's why anxiety is wearing a red cloak and red lipstick.  Anxiety can bring with it feelings of helplessness and despair, which I envision as pitch black, the hopeless color of a starless night.  This is why the rest of anxiety's outfit is black.  I'm sure there's a lot more symbolism you can read into this image, but if there is anything else there, it probably wasn't something I consciously invoked.

Printable Monsters Are Real Quote Art

Materials:

*Printed 8.5"x11" "Monsters Are Real" Quote Art
*8.5"x11" photo frame.

Directions:

*Print out a copy of this quote art, ideally on matte photo paper.

*Place the image in the photo frame.

The Completed Harley Quinn Costume

     Here we have my finished Harley Quinn look!  To be honest, when I started piecing together the full look, I was not sure how it was going to come out.  I had put so much time and effort into sewing the parts of the costume that I was hoping that it would work, but there was a piece of my mind insisting that I couldn't pull off Harley.  However, I tried it anyway, and I'm so glad that I did.  I love how my look came out.  If you haven't seen them yet, here are the links to the tutorials for the top, shorts, bat, and jacket.
     I originally intended to do a video tutorial for this, but I can't apply makeup without staring into the mirror, so I wasn't sure how to accomplish the filming process while still making my makeup turn out okay.  I've included a written tutorial, but if you're looking for a video tutorial, you may want to check out one of these ones.  I haven't tried any of them because I just kind of winged it with my look, but they look like they could be useful.
     This post is organized in two parts.  First up I have a bunch of pictures of the costume so you can get a good sense of what it looked like.  After that I have somewhat of a tutorial.  I had good success with the makeup I used, so I've included links to all the products, but feel free to use whatever products you have on hand.  These are not sponsored products, just what worked for me.

Harley Quinn Costume Photos

     You can probably tell by how vibrant the picture at the top of the page is that it was taken using a filter.  These first three pictures were taken without a filter, though, and you can see that the hair and makeup are still vibrant.

     The picture above Brian took using the camera's red filter.  With the desaturation like that, this picture kind of looks like one of Harley's black and red looks.

Harley Quinn Makeup and Hair

Makeup:

*Face primer (I used e.l.f. cosmetics's tone correcting primer)
*Eye primer (I used Urban Decay's Anti-Aging Eyeshadow Primer)
*Foundation (I used e.l.f. cosmetics's foundation in porcelain)
*Black pencil eyeliner (I used Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil in Perversion)
*Black liquid eyeliner (I used Urban Decay's Perversion Waterproof Eye Pen for the upper lash line and e.l.f. cosmetics's liquid liner in Jet Black for the heart detail)
*Black mascara (I used Urban Decay's Perversion Waterproof Mascara)
*Red eyeshadow (I used the red from the Harley Quinn palette from Hot Topic)
*Blue eyeshadow (I used the color chaos from Urban Decay's Wired palette)
*Setting spray (I used Urban Decay's All Nighter Setting Spray)
*Translucent powder (I used e.l.f. cosmetics's HD powder in sheer)
*Red lipstick (I used F*ck Kavanaugh by Lipslut, which is currently out of stock)

Tools:

*Makeup sponges
*Eyeshadow brushes
*Two hair elastics
*Cotton swabs

Hair colors:

*Blue hair color (I used Colorista Spray 1-Day Color in Blue)
*Red hair color (I used Colorista Spray 1-Day Color in Red)

Makeup Directions:

*Apply your face primer, eye primer, and foundation like you normally would.

*Apply a black eyeliner pencil to your lower lash line and water line.

*Next comes the eyeshadow, and this is where it gets especially tricky to explain things.  The nice thing, though, is that Harley's makeup often looks messy, so you don't have to worry about perfection here.  I started by applying red eyeliner to the lid and underneath my eye using a makeup brush, and did the same thing to the other eye with blue shadow.

*If you look up pictures of Harley Quinn's makeup online, you'll notice that she often has these makeup smudges under her eyes.  To create this effect, I used a cotton swab to drag some of the eyeshadow down beneath my eye.

*I also used a cotton swab to blend the eyeshadow along the upper part of my eye a little.

*Apply black mascara.

*Use liquid eyeliner for your upper lash line.

*Add translucent powder to set your foundation and mattify your face.

*Apply red lipstick to your lips.

*Draw a little black heart on one of your cheeks with black eyeliner.

*Set your makeup with a setting spray.

Hair Directions:

*Divide your hair into two roughly equal sections and pull into pigtails.  Secure with hair elastics.

*Over the bathtub or some other area of your house that you don't mind getting messy, apply your hair color following the directions on the packaging.  If you're using a spray color, I highly recommend wearing gloves to apply the spray.  Even though temporary color should wash off your hands fairly easily, it's less mess and less hassle to just wear gloves.

*I've found that spray dyes tend to transfer a lot.  I had red and blue patches on either side of my neck a few hours after applying the hair color and I couldn't touch my hair without getting color all over my hands.  If you're looking for a less messy option, I'd recommend Colorista Hair Makeup in pink and blue.  I've used their bronze auburn color before, and it does not transfer nearly as badly.  I'll be using that next time I attempt this look.

DIY Vaporeon Fin Headband: Pokemonbounding Episode 5

     For September's Pokemonbounding video, I finally got around to putting together the Vaporeon look I've been talking about.  I have both a video tutorial and a written tutorial.  However, I forgot to take pictures to accompany the written tutorial, so if I'm not clear in places, the video can probably help.  I've included the video below, and keep reading for the written tutorial as well as some more pictures of my completed Vaporeon look.

DIY Vaporeon Fin Headband

Materials:

*9"x12" medium blue felt sheet
*9"x12" light yellow or cream colored felt sheet
*Scissors
*Fabric pen or metallic marker
*All purpose adhesive
*Dazzle tac or other strong adhesive
*Copper wire
*Wire cutters

Directions:

*Print out a copy of each of the fin templates given below:

Side of Head Fin Template

Top of Head Fin Template

*From the light yellow or cream colored felt, cut out two copies of each of the full fin shapes.  You'll want to trace one copy from the front side of the template and one from the back, so that when you cut them out, you'll have pieces that are mirror images of one another.

*From the medium blue felt, you'll want to cut the uppermost segment on either fin out and trace that onto the felt.  You'll need two copies of each upper fin piece type, again cutting one with the template facing printed side up and another with it facing printed side down.  Once you've cut out your pieces, you should find once again that they mirror one another.

*Glue the medium blue fin pieces onto the top parts of the respective cream fin pieces.

*To create the ridges in Vaporeon's ear fins and add stability, cut off small sections of wire and glue them to the backs of the fins along where the fin lines on the template are.  Let dry.

*For the top of the head fin, glue a piece of wire in where the fin line is on one of the pieces of felt only.  Then glue the two top of the head fins together, wrong sides facing.  Let dry.

*Turn the top of the head fin so that it is oriented like it is on Vaporeon's head.  Cut off a long, narrow strip of medium blue felt and glue that to the front of the fin to hide where the cream colored felt is showing through.

*Using Dazzle Tac or another strong adhesive, glue the side fins to the sides of the headband.  Make sure you are in a well ventilated area, if your adhesive calls for this.  Let dry for a couple of hours.

*Drape the headband over an object (I used a folded drying rack) so that you can attach the top of the head fin.  Let dry for 24 hours, or however long your chosen adhesive calls for.

Vaporeon Look

     Here are some more pictures of my completed Vaporeon look:

In this close up, you can see that I have some pale blue teardrop earrings on.  I chose them for this look because Vaporeon is a water type.

I just thought these blue filter pictures Brian took looked cool.

This post wouldn't be complete without an AR photo.  Unfortunately I forgot to take one until the evening, when the lighting wasn't great.  I guess I'll probably have to wait until another time to get the perfect Vaporeon AR photo for my photo dex.

     Enjoying my Pokemonbounding series?  Stay tuned for a spooky bound next month!  Also, if there are any Pokemon you'd like to see in particular, let me know.  No promises I'll be able to make the looks, but I'll definitely give them some consideration.

DIY Creepy Toy Box

     Thinking about dressing up as a creepy doll for Halloween?  Why not make yourself a spooky toy box prop to go along with your look?  Or if you have some haunted dolls to add to your Halloween decor, perhaps they could use a spooky toy box of their own.

Creepy doll Amber emerging from her spooky toy box.

Materials:

*Large cardboard box
*Black acrylic paint
*White acrylic paint
*Red acrylic paint
*Brown acrylic paint
*Orange acrylic paint
*Wide paintbrush
*Thin paintbrush
*Removable vinyl
*Scissors or die cutting machine
*Metal brads
*Black duct tape
*Box cutter
*Water
*Paint palette (I use plastic container lids for my palettes)

Directions:

*Take your cardboard box and cut off the two shorter flaps.  Set them aside, as you will need them soon.

*Next, cut off one of the longer flaps and then attach it to the remaining flap using the duct tape to create the lid of your toy box.

*To stabilize the newly formed lid, cut one of the short flaps you've cut off in half "hot dog style" (as in, instead of folding it the hot dog way, we're cutting along what would be the fold line if we were instead to fold it).

*Use duct tape to attach these segments to the inside of the lid to provide the lid with added stability.  Make sure that your added cardboard segments are going across the seam in the middle of the lid, as this is likely the weak point in the lid.  Depending on how stable or flimsy your lid seems after this step, you may want to cut apart the other short flap and tape it on as well.

*Using scissors or a die cutting machine, cut out the lettering for your toy box from removable vinyl.

*Affix the letters to the front face of your toy box.

*Take some black paint and add just a little bit of water, then brush it across the front face of the box.  Let dry.

*Once dry, take some white paint, add a little water, and brush it over the front face of the box.  Let dry.

*Take some slightly watered down black paint and brush over any places where the white is too bright.

*Paint the remaining sides and top in the same fashion, starting with some black paint, then adding white, and finally adding some black in any needed places.

*Gently peel the removable vinyl off the front face of the box.  It's okay if some paint has seeped underneath the letters, as long as you can still see where you need to paint.

*Paint the letters red.  You could either use plain red paint, or add a little bit of black and brown to your red paint to create a more bloody red.  Let dry.

*Using a thin paintbrush, paint thin black lines to create the appearance of boards.  You'll want to do this to the sides and top of the toy box.

*Tape around all the edges of the toy box with black duct tape.

*Combine orange and brown paints to create a rusty color.  Paint the tops of four metal brads with this mixture.  Let dry.

*Poke the brads through the corners of the front of the box to give the appearance of nails.  You could do this with the other sides of the box too, although I didn't because I didn't have enough brads.

*If you're going to be opening the toy box a lot or leaving it open, you may want to paint the inside black to conceal any awkwardness in the duct tape.  I didn't this time around, but if I make another one of these in the future, I will probably do that.

Foam Tombstone Carving Plus Halloween Cemetery Tour

     I'm super excited to share with you my newest foam tombstone.  If you've been following my blog for a while, you may recall that I have posted several foam tombstone tutorials in the past.  For the first time, though, I now have  a video tutorial as well as a written tutorial.
     The video is part foam tombstone carving tutorial, part Halloween cemetery tour.  In the first part of the video, I go through the tombstone construction process, from the design stage up to the finished product.  In the second part, I'll show you my Halloween cemetery and tell you a little bit about each of the tombstones.  My Halloween cemetery is one of my favorite Halloween decorations each year, and I'm jazzed to be sharing it with you all for the first time in video format.

     If you're looking for a written tutorial on how to construct a foam tombstone, keep reading.

DIY Foam Tombstone

Materials:

*Pink insulation/crafting foam (can be found at home improvement stores)
*X-acto knife or box cutter (preferably with a fresh blade)
*Pencil or pen
*Painter's tape
*Fine grit sandpaper
*Sanding mask
*Goggles
*Hand saw or other implement to cut foam to size
*Metal tombstone stakes
*Drill (optional)
*Paper
*Scissors
*Paintbrushes in various sizes
*Gray acrylic paint
*White acrylic paint

Directions:

*Decide what size tombstone you would like and cut your foam to size.  I was working with scrap foam that was already the appropriate size this time, but in the past I've used a hand saw or a box cutter to cut the foam.

*Sand down the edges using fine grit sandpaper.  If the edges are really rough, you could start with medium grit paper and then work your way down, but I've found fine grit works well.  Make sure to wear a mask and goggles to keep from inhaling the foam particles or getting them in your eyes.

*Before you start adding design elements to your stone, you'll want to insert your tombstone stakes.  If you insert the stakes at an angle accidentally, the stakes may poke through the front of the foam, ruining your stone, so it's best to do this early in the stone making process.  Insulation foam tends to be soft enough that you can poke the stakes through the bottom of the foam, which is what I do, but if you are experienced at drilling, you can minimize the chances of damage by drilling.

*Now it's time to focus on your design.  I've included the rosebud design I made for this stone if you'd like to use it, but there are all kinds of designs you could use.  If you're new to foam carving, though, I would recommend keeping things fairly simple, as it can be a bit tedious and challenging cutting out a lot of fine detailing.  The design is also completely optional.  I've done a lot of stones with just an inscription, and they have turned out pretty well in my opinion.

*You'll also want some sort of inscription.  Again, if you're new to this, I'd recommend keeping it fairly simple and using a larger font to make it easier to cut out your letters.

*Cut out your design and inscription, leaving some extra white space around the edges, and tape to your foam with painter's tape.  When you're taping your design pieces down, try not to tape over the image or text, as doing so will make in more difficult to imprint your design on the foam.

*Trace along the design and outline your letters using a pencil or pen.  This will leave a faint imprint on the foam that will guide you with cutting.

*To darken the imprint, you can trace along it using a pencil or pen.  If the imprint is clear enough for you to see without doing so, then you can omit this step.

*To carve your stone, begin by tracing the imprinted lines using an X-acto knife or box cutter.  Make sure your blade is reasonably sharp, as duller blades may not cut through the foam as well.

*To remove the excess foam, I use a scraping technique, where I slide the blade into the foam that I'm trying to remove and lift up, pulling out a small chunk of foam.  See the video for a demonstration of this technique.  This is what gives the foam around my design and inside the letters a speckled appearance.  Be careful especially when working in small areas of the design, as you can nick the design or scrape out foam you weren't intending on removing.

*Once your stone is carved, it's time to paint.  I usually begin by painting the whole stone a solid gray color.  Make sure to paint all of the crevices really well, using a second coat if needed to make sure no pink foam shows through.  Let dry.

*To make the lettering and design pop a little more, the next thing I do is I paint the raised surfaces of the stone with a slightly lighter shade of gray.  You'll probably want about one part white paint for three parts of gray paint roughly.  Let dry.

*Once your stone is dry, pop in the stakes and stake it in the ground.

Introducing the Halloween 2020 Zine!

     I know I haven't said much on my blog recently about current events, and you may be wondering why I'm posting my typical Halloween content as if there's nothing unusual going on.  Part of this is because I don't want to bog you down in dreary thoughts when you're here.  Halloween is a place of joy for me, and I want this blog to be a reprieve from all the COVID news that we are constantly bombarded with.  It's important for us to be aware of what's going on, of course, but we also need spaces where we can breathe and forget about our troubles, if only temporarily.
     But the fact of the matter is that Halloween is going to be different this year.  A lot of the festivities that we hold dear this season, from parties to trick or treating to corn mazes are going to look different, if they exist at all.  I still want my blog to be a refuge for you, but I also want to make sure that it is relevant and meeting your needs.  For this reason, I have put together a 'zine filled with Halloween activities, crafts, costume ideas, and so much more, all of which are relevant for our current situation.
     Here's the link to the zine.  If you have trouble accessing the link, email me at hathaway.amber@gmail.com and I'll send you a PDF copy.  For optimal viewing (so it feels most like a printed magazine), choose a two page layout with cover in your PDF reader's settings.  Feel free to print it if you'd like for your own personal use.  Let me know if you like the 'zine, if you'd like to see more issues in the future, or if you have any suggestions for future improvement.
     I'm also hoping to dedicate some posts on here to things like how to put together a Halloween costume from your closet, so if you can't get out to the stores, you can still celebrate in style.  If there is anything in particular you'd like to see, let me know and I'll do the best I can to incorporate it into my Halloween schedule.
     As some of you may know, I have a recipe blog in which I document some of the meals Brian and I come up with.  I have plans for some spooky/fall recipes, and a lot of the recipes that are already up are good for when the weather turns cooler, like savory corn chowder or the Hathaway family classic, taco soup.  All of the recipes are vegetarian, and each recipe has an IC rating to let those of you with IC (interstitial cystitis) know how safe the ingredients in the recipe are.  I also offer ingredient substitutions when possible, and most of the two star recipes can be made completely bladder friendly with the suggested substitutions.  I don't currently have any other dietary tags, but if there are others you think would be useful, let me know, and I'll see if I can incorporate them.
     I hope this Halloween season is one of fun, joy, and good health for you and your family.

Amber

Red Riding Hood Cape Made from Sheets

     I've been wanting to do a Little Red Riding Hood costume for a while now.  Most of the store capes I've seen are pretty meh, so I figured I'd sew my own.  Last year I went ahead and bought a cape pattern.  I usually order my fabric at the same time as my patterns, so I pay attention to how much fabric the pattern takes, but for some reason, I decided I would buy the pattern and wait on the fabric.  I didn't check the amount of fabric because I think I assumed it couldn't be too much - I've made a cape before from about two yards of fabric.  However, when I took a look at the pattern, it turned out that it took six and a half yards of fabric.
     Fabric is not cheap.  That is, if you buy it as fabric.  I spent countless hours scouring Joann's website, looking for red fabric that I could afford to buy 8 or 10 yards of because apparently you can't just buy 6 1/2 yards online, and I came up empty handed.  However, satin bed sheets cost way less than raw fabric.  I would have loved to try thrifting some and saving even more money, but given our current circumstances, I went ahead and ordered a king sized red satin sheet set online.
     The sheets worked out fantastically.  If you are thinking of making your own cape, I would definitely recommend considering something like sheets or tablecloths for your source material, as it will probably save you a good chunk of change.  Since in person thrifting isn't really viable for most of us right now, if you don't want to order online and you don't have some sheets at home needing a new life, you could potentially try asking around and seeing if anyone you know has a sheet set they would be willing to part with.
     Now the pattern I used also calls for the same amount of lining material.  The nice thing about satin sheets is that they're finished on both sides, so if you're using this for a costume, you really won't need a lining.  I opted not to use a lining, and the process I describe will take that into account, but if you do want to line your cape, you'll essentially need a second sheet set.  Because I used a pattern to make this cape, I'm going to tell you what I've done differently from the pattern.  The rest of the instructions you'll find with the pattern itself.  Also, it's worth noting that I used the XS pattern size.  By inspection, it looks like you could get away with cutting even the large from a king sized sheet set, but that may not be the case, so be aware of that if you are planning on making a larger size.

Materials:

*Simplicity Cape Pattern
*King sized satin bed sheets
*Red thread
*Sewing machine
*Iron
*Scissors
*Metallic marker or fabric pen
*Red ribbon (optional)

Directions:

*Cut the elastic off of the fitted sheet, and cut open the corners (the sewn bit that fits over the corners of the mattress).  You need to be able to lay both sheets flat for cutting.

*Iron both sheets.  Seriously.  Especially if your sheets have been lying in their packaging for a while and have some well set in creases.  I did not do this, and I ended up with some pattern pieces that were longer than others.  Save yourself suffering down the line by ironing everything before cutting.

*Choose your cape style.  The body of the cape is the same for all three styles, but each one (A, B, and C) has a different hood.  I opted for the simplest one, pattern C.

*Trace and cut your pattern pieces.  If you're using sheets instead of fabric, you won't be able to line up the pieces in the exact diagram that they show on the packaging, so you'll have to Tetris your pieces around.  Pay attention to grain line, if that's important to you.  I forgot about it, and while I don't think it made a big difference, it may matter to you.

*I didn't bother with Step 1 of the sewing directions because I don't understand stay stitching, but you may want to do that.

*I then followed Steps 2 and 3.

*Since I was using pattern C, I then jumped ahead to Step 18.

*I didn't have a lining, so I skipped ahead to Step 21.  For that one, I just pinned the hood to the neck of the cape, right sides together, and sewed them.  I didn't do the basting stitches, and I also didn't do Steps 23 or 24 because I didn't have a lining.

*Since I didn't do a lining, I next hemmed the edges.  Satin frays a lot, so to further protect the edges and hide the fraying, I hemmed the edges twice.  I folded over the edge of the fabric all the way around and sewed it down, and then folded it over a second time, making sure to hide all the fraying, and sewed it down again.

*I ended up deciding to use red ribbon for the ties, so the last thing I did was sew a piece of red ribbon to either side of the cape along the neckline.  If you'd rather do the fabric ties that are part of the pattern, you'll have to go back to Step 12 to make them.