Etsy seller The House of Mouse creates inspired little felt mice dressed up as all sorts of things.

In addition to Axel the Executioner here (and isn’t he the snuggliest little killer you’ve ever seen?), she has Emily the Emo Mouse, Hannibal Lecter, Abercrombie the Zombie, and all kinds of famous mice, including Star Wars and Harry Potter characters. She’s in the Netherlands, but ships worldwide.

I just love how…I dunno…mouselike these look, with their little beady eyes and expectant expressions. Their costumes are just adorable, and I’m amazed at the variety of “characters” she offers. A little mousy companion would be a lovely gift for anyone from a librarian to a Rocky Horror fan.

She also does custom work; a pair of goth mice would be an adorable cake topper or unusual wedding gift (particularly if presented in the bell jars she also sells).

So! Cute!

Link (via CRAFT)

My poor little Halloweddings site has been languishing, alone and unloved, so I got crafty this weekend and put together a couple of tutorials for spooky ringbearer pillows.

Spiderwebs

Skull

Both pillows are subject to all kinds of embellishment and personalization. The skull pattern could also be enlarged and used as a throw pillow if you’re feeling so inclined.

Stay tuned! Maybe someday I’ll get around to posting something else over there. (Stop laughing. It could happen.)

I ran across this gorgeous “Bride of Dracula” wedding cake at the Pumpkin and Spice site, and realized that I’ve got a few other spooky wedding links to share.

Designs by Dorian has a number of unique cake toppers, including some cuddly bats and “‘Til Death Do Us Part” matching tombstones.

Freed’s Bakery in Las Vegas does some marvelous spooky designs which utilize the whole cake as canvas. Their Halloween Cakes section has a couple of designs, but for some reason they no longer directly link to Weblock, which is the one I like best. If you’re not in the Las Vegas area, perhaps your local bakery could use these as inspiration.

This is more than a little bit cutesy, but the Once Wed site has instructions for making a “Newly Webbed” wedding cake topper out of styrofoam balls and pipe cleaners.

Tim Burton-inspired cakes are popular, too. Pink Cake Box has some lovely designs, like this Corpse Bride wedding cake and this Nightmare Before Christmas groom’s cake. The Sugar Baker did this NMBC wedding cake; I particularly like the bone swagging on the second tier.

It’s a bit close to the date this year for delusions of grandeur, but if you’re planning a Halloween wedding next year, this would be a good time to google around and collect ideas to show your baker.

Here’s a quick project to get you in the Halloween mood:* Erin of Schlosser Design has a tutorial and downloadable pattern for making these cute fabric pumpkins.

It’d be fun to do a whole pile of these in different sizes and fabrics and use them as throw pillows or decorative accents. You could also fill them with plastic pellets instead of batting for a floppy beanbag pumpkin.

There’s lots of room for decorative excesses, too: Sew on buttons or charms, embroider pretty designs, use fabric paint or markers to give them jack-o’-lantern faces. Little personalized ones would make a cute hostess gift or wedding favor too.

Sigh. Is it Halloween yet? How about now?

Now?

Damn.

Link (via CRAFT)

*I’ve been in the Halloween mood since last January, but that may just be me.

This post was originally going to be a little heads-up about Yankee Candle’s new Boney Bunch product line, but then reader Alea wrote me with a problem: Because Halloween falls on a Friday this year, there’s a spike in Halloween weddings and Yankee Candle has sold out of the Bride and Groom.

Their reps are saying that they don’t know if they’ll be able to restock before Halloween, and this particular item is so popular that it’s selling for up to $400 on eBay right now. Alea hopes that if we all nag Yankee Candle, they might make restocking a priority.

If you’re having a Halloween wedding and would like some of these cuties as favors or cake toppers, or if you just want to let Yankee Candle know that we spooky types are a nontrivial part of their demographic, you might want to drop them a line at info@yankeecandle.com and ask them nicely to restock these guys before the big day.

(If you’re lucky enough to be a Halloween bride next year, better keep an eye on these and snap them up as soon as they’re back in stock.)

Artist Beth Church creates lovely, intricate beaded jewelry with a vintage-gothic vibe. There are some really unique pieces, and I love how complex they are; there’s always something new to draw the eye. I particularly like her bat choker and this vintage cuff.

She does bridal work, too, so this might be a good place for the goth bride to find the perfect accessory.

Link

Morbid Anatomy mentioned this menu a while back; it’s a 1907 menu for a convention banquet held by a chapter of Skull and Bones.

I think a do-it-yourself version would be splendid at a Halloween-themed dinner party or goth wedding.

The menu could be made of heavy cardstock; the slightly-smaller layer on top could be a contrasting color of cardstock or perhaps something soft like felt (it’s hard to tell from the picture, but the contrast layer looks kind of softish). I wouldn’t recommend using velvet because of its tendency to fray at the edges and get “dust” all over everything.

You will cut out:

• Two pieces of heavy cardstock for the menu front and back


• One piece of cardstock, colored paper or felt, slightly smaller than the menu front, which will be the top contrast. (I guess you could do a contrast on the back, too, if you’re feeling motivated.)


• Two pieces of colored paper, the same size as the top contrast, for the inside contrast.


• One piece of a light-colored paper, slightly smaller than the inside contrast, which will be for your menu.

Here’s a pattern to help with your dimensions. It’s at half-size, so print at 200%.

Use a glue stick to attach the top contrast to the menu front, leaving an even border on all sides. Do the same on the inside with the menu front and back and the inside contrast pieces. Let dry.

Now it’s time for the menu itself. Depending upon your level of ambition (and your handwriting), you can cut out the paper and then hand-write the menu on it. You can also print the menu before cutting out the coffin shape as long as you make sure your margins won’t intrude on the pattern edges. Alternately, you can write or print the menu on a rectangle of cardstock and just glue it inside. Once you’ve written or printed your menu, glue it on top of the inside back contrast piece. (Note: If you’d like to re-use your menus, use something like 3M’s Spray Mount or other artist’s adhesive to stick down the menu. Then you can peel it off and stick down a new one later.)

Put the menu front and back together and use a hole punch to make two holes near the top. Thread some velvet ribbon through the holes and tie the ends in a bow. Make sure you leave enough “give” in the ribbon that your guests can lift the top and read the menu. (Instead of ribbon, you could also use something like heavy jewelry chain as your menu hinge.)

Finally, use a bit of hot glue to affix a skull or other spooky decoration on the front. The popularity of certain pirate movies means that skull-and-crossbones charms are easy to find. (Here’s a cute one from Auntie’s Beads.) You can use any other charm or button that strikes you, just as long as it’s reasonably flat on the back and fairly lightweight.

You could get an assembly-line technique going and turn out a lot of these in a short amount of time. They’d be a neat keepsake for your guests to take home after a special dinner party.

The Crafty Chica has instructions for making these cute bath fizzy “cupcakes.” These would be adorable with black or scarlet icing and little sugar skulls on top.

A couple of notes:

• Her recipe calls for grapeseed oil, but any skin-soothing oil will work (we use sweet almond oil in our skull fizzies).
• I’m not sure about the whole meringue-frosting thing; I’d be tempted to use something like a tub truffle mixture instead.
• If you don’t have a silicon cupcake mold handy, stack a few foil or paper cupcake liners together for extra stiffness. I think I’d prefer to leave the liner on anyway, for decoration. (Use spooky ones like this or this.)
• Be really, really careful about moisture. The fizziness is activated when the baking soda can interact freely with the citric acid. Too much moisture in the mixing stage will leave you with a bubbly mess. Likewise, make sure you store these in a dry place.

Individual fizzies would make unusual party favors, and a set of four in a nice cupcake box would be a lovely hostesss gift. They’re fast and easy to make, so do give them a try.

Link (via The Felt Mouse)

Etsy seller loopyboopy makes these winsome little zombies out of polymer clay. She’ll do a custom pair for your wedding, and will ship overseas.

Her store has other “creepy and whimsical” sculptures as well, so you can get one for a little companionship on your desk or bookshelf. I love the big, heavy-lidded eyes and the general expression of “Meh” on their faces.

Link (via The Anticraft)

This is one of those items that’s going to be viewed very differently by we darker-minded souls than it is by the mainstream. The Wedding Ring Coffin is ostensibly to help divorced people seek closure by “burying the past” instead of selling their ring on eBay like a normal person.

However, would this not be the coolest way to present a ring to a gothy loved one? The solid-wood coffin is lined with black velvet and has four little brass handles. It even comes with a brass plaque that you can have engraved with a personalized message.

I think they’re just adorable. I’m tempted to get one just to hold my rings when I’m not wearing them.