Terribly Messy Maker Nichola “Knickertwist” Battilana decided to express her love of Sherlock Holmes by re-creating 221B Baker Street inside an Altoid Tin (she’s since made several additional versions, shown here).

I think these are simply adorable; I love the notion of a whole little world that you can carry in your pocket. It’s like dollhouses taken to the next level of twee.

I’m apparently really late to the party in being surprised by Altoid-tin art, however: Nichola has done other awesome designs like this Halloween vignette, and googling “altoid tin diorama” turns up a ridiculous number of amazing designs.

Artfully Musing did a Mini Apothecary. Miss Lorna Rose did a neat Nosferatu version. The Uniconoclast does neat Halloween ones.

Sabrina of Split Coast Stampers made a creepy Halloween tin. Jabauer did a zombie-themed one.

Jim Doran combines the tins with carefully-cut paper to create a whole series of “miniature worlds.”

If you like Altoids anyway, you suddenly have a whole new reason to buy them. The dioramas would make really interesting party favors. You can create personalized scenes for all of your friends. And after you’ve gifted everybody you know with a teensy diorama, you can squeeze out a few more tins with an Altoid Advent calendar like the steampunk version done by Over the Crescent Moon.

This isn’t precisely goth, but it’s such a brilliant idea that I have no choice but to share it. Over at She Knows there’s a splendid tutorial for making a mailable slice of cake.

It’s a wonderful trompe-l’oeil whose main ingredients are a sponge and some caulk. The result is apparently quite durable and is certainly a memorable way to send a postcard. There’s a related pumpkin pie postcard tutorial which could also be repurposed as a cheesecake.

Either of these would be a really unique party or wedding invitation. You could up the Goth Quotient a little by making the cake “red velvet” with black icing; since caulk is usually available in only a few colors you could either carefully tape the “cake” and paint the “icing” after it’s applied and dried or custom-color it before application.

If you aren’t feeling up to making these yourself, there’s an Etsy shop which sells them pre-made. A bit pricey if you want to send a lot of them, but reasonable for a one-off where you really want to make a splash.

I shared a recipe for sugar scrub recently, but there’s another variation on the theme which takes only a little more time and effort: Sugar scrub cubes.

Their qualities are slightly different: Regular sugar scrub is made with oil, so it’s great for dry, chapped skin. The cubes are made with a soap base, providing the same exfoliating sugar without being quite as, y’know…oily. They’re molded into little single-serving chunks, making them easy to use (and easy to package as a gift); they can also be molded into other shapes for visual interest.

There are two main methods for making the cubes, one with a melt-and-pour soap base (available at many craft stores, online soap-supply retailers, or Amazon) and one using a grated bar of soap. The latter method uses only materials you probably already have around the house, but the former doesn’t require you to grate a bar of soap, so use whichever strikes you as easiest.

Method 1

• 1/4 C mild, skin-safe oil: Olive, almond, avocado, grapeseed, jojoba, coconut, etc. You can also use cocoa butter if you prefer, although it’ll give the finished product a slight chocolate scent so bear that in mind if you decide to add scented essential oil.
• 1/2 C shredded or grated soap (plain, unscented soap like Ivory will give the most uniform results)
• A few drops of skin-safe essential oil (optional)
• 1-2 drops Vitamin E oil (optional)
• 3/4 C sugar: Granulated sugar, raw sugar, or a combination.

Mix the oil and soap in a glass bowl and microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring in between, until the soap is melted and everything is thoroughly combined. You can also do this in a double boiler if you prefer. Stir in a few drops of essential oil and Vitamin E oil, if using. Add the sugar and mix thoroughly. Pour into molds (see below) and cool. Note that the mixture will set up very quickly once the sugar is added, so be sure your molds are ready in advance.

Method 2

• 6 oz melt-and-pour soap base
• 4 oz mild, skin-safe oil
• A few drops of skin-safe essential oil (optional)
• 1-2 drops Vitamin E oil (optional)
• 18 oz sugar

Cut the soap base into small chunks and melt according to manufacturer directions. Stir in the oil, essential oil, and Vitamin E oil if using. Add the sugar and mix thoroughly. Pour into molds (see below) and cool.

A mold can be as simple as a metal baking pan lined with plastic wrap: Once cool, turn the block of scrub out and cut into cubes of the desired size. You can also use ice cube trays: Either spray them with cooking spray or use a silicon mold to ensure they’re easy to turn out.

You can also get a little more creative and use candy molds. The texture of the scrub is a little too rough to show fine detail, but bats, pumpkins, or maybe even spiders

There’s a lot of room for variation in both of these methods: You can add a few tablespoons of dried herbs like mint or lavender for both scent and visual interest. You can use colored soap (especially easy with melt-and-pour) and match the color to the scent: Scarlet with a rose scent or orange with a spicy cinnamon-vanilla fragrance–especially nice in a pumpkin-shaped mold. If you’re really feeling fancy, you can pour the scrub in layers and use a different color for each; this is easiest to do in a large mold and then cut into individual cubes later.

To give as a gift, pile several in a pretty box, tin, or jar. Include instructions to not let the cubes get too warm (lest they melt); they should last up to a year.

(Photo from Rustic Escentuals)

A couple of summers ago the Shadow family vacationed at the beach, and one day we wandered into the year-’round Christmas shop that all beach towns are apparently required by law to have.* The store had a small Halloween section which I automatically gravitated toward, and one of the display items was a little bendable fabric-wrapped mummy…for $45.

I thought, “That appears to be a wire armature covered with muslin, which is about $2 worth of materials. I bet I could make that.” And the other day I finally got around to it. So this is my cheap knockoff version (hence his name).

	You only need two materials: Bendy wire and fabric. (Click the thumbnails for larger images.) I had some plastic-coated wire left over from another project; it was a bit thin so I doubled it. If you have a thicker-gauge wire, you can just use one strand. Bend a long piece of wire in half; this is the head, body and one leg. Wrap the middle of a shorter length around the “body” up near the head for arms. Wrap one end of a second piece a bit lower for the second leg. Bend the tips of the arms and legs at a 90-ish degree angle for hands and feet.
	Cut or tear some fabric into thin strips. I used some plain white cotton that I had lying around, which tears nice and straight; just make little cuts along the edge and then tear from that point. The strips I used were around 1/2″, but you can use larger or smaller depending upon the size of your finished mummy. Tie the end of one strip to the wire armature somewhere and start wrapping. When you get to the end of one strip, knot on another one and wrap over the knotted spot.
	When done, stick the final loose end under the wrapping. If desired, secure it with a touch of fabric glue. That’s all there is to it. I made the torso on mine a trifle long, but since these take around 20 minutes to put together (and you can always unwrap it if you really hate it), it’s easy to experiment.
	Since they’re bendy, you can change their pose as the mood strikes you.

Fun! Super-easy! Make a whole army of these guys and let them lurk around the house. They’re also a really great make-your-own favor project for kids’ parties, and since they can be bent to hold signs they’d be a fun placecard at dinner parties.

*No, really. There is some bizarre symbiotic relationship between beach tourist destinations and Christmas shops. I have yet to encounter one without the other.

This is completely marvelous.

Mieljolie of All Things Crafty likes to do steampunk cosplay, and she got to thinking that it would be nice to not have to tote beverage containers that detracted from her costume. Thus was born the Bustle Bar, a “rum-dispensing bum” which puts her beverages where her bustle should be.

Her initial design concealed everything but the pump, but in the spirit of steampunk she rejiggered all of the working parts to be exposed on a custom leather belt. The rig holds three 1.75-liter tanks which are dispensed via a trigger on her hip. It’s a gorgeous unit, and although she doesn’t include exact build directions, there are good photos to use as a jumping-off point.

She also discusses the costume she wears with the bustle, and describes how it all goes together. It’s really a great idea.

Be sure to check out the rest of her blog as well; there’s not only a wealth of other steampunk tutorials, she does awesome Witch BOO’ts and other cool stuff.

I’ve been fascinated by Hands of Glory ever since I first read about them in The House with a Clock in its Walls, and when Dave Lowe posted a prop he’d made, that was the motivation to try my hand (har!) at something similar.

A Hand of Glory is the mummified (sometimes pickled) hand of a hanged criminal; it’s often specified as being the left (“sinister”) hand, or if he were hanged for murder, the hand that “did the deed.” It’s topped with a candle made from his fat mixed with virgin beeswax; in some traditions his hair is used as a wick. It is variously described as making its holder invisible, rendering anyone who sees it motionless, or causing the residents of a house to remain asleep as long as it’s present inside; sometimes it’s also credited with the power to unlock doors. Such a device would, obviously, be of great use to burglars or others who wish to remain undetected.

I wanted to make my hand a little less cartoony-looking than Lowe’s version, but I quite liked his notion of crudely lashing the forearm to a candlestick; it looks just like the sort of jury-rigging born of convenience.

I used the same pantyhose-and-glue method as for my mummified fairy, and I’m quite pleased with the result. If you’d like to try it yourself, I’ve posted a full tutorial here.

Intrepid reader xJane turned me on to the infamous Miss Cakehead’s Kraken Edible Autopsy event. It was done to promote The Kraken Rum (which, incidentally, has a marvelously gothy label) and featured hyper-realistic bits of kraken made from cake.

As is typical of Miss Cakehead’s stuff, the baked body parts were: a) Highly ooky and b) Mainly beyond the scope of the home baker. One exception is the bit in the photo above: I think it’s supposed to be a kraken mouthpart, but xJane likened it to a Sarlacc pit and I can definitely see the resemblance. That, I suspect, could be replicated by mere mortals using a bundt mold and fondant.

Make your favorite bundt cake: I’m fond of Smitten Kitchen’s chocolate stout and lemon bundt recipes. Frost as desired; if you’re doing a Sarlacc (which would be a fun centerpiece for a Star Wars themed-party) use a sandy brown color. For squid parts–or, for that matter, a Pit of Hell–reddish-purple is a good choice.

Make the fangs/radula/whatever-those-Sarlacc-things-were from fondant: Although it’s possible to make fondant from scratch, the store-bought stuff is a lot easier to work with. Roll it like clay, and affix each fang with a toothpick stuck into the back.

Reasonably easy, and undeniably attention-getting. You could also make individual cupcakes with a fondant tentacle or two questing skyward.

I recently found–and then promptly lost the link to–some stripey little Tim Burton-esque tentacles peeking out of a mossy flowerpot. They appeared to be pretty straightforward to make, so I took a crack at a DIY version.

They’re almost too simple to require a tutorial: All you need is some sort of modeling compound (I used some Model Magic that I had left over from another project, but polymer clay or something similar should work fine). Roll pieces into “snakes” the way you did in Kindergarten, but taper them along their length so that one end winds up pointy. Gently form them into tentacle-y poses; I wrapped a couple loosely around pencils and draped the third over a cardboard tube. Let dry.

When they’re nice and hard, hit ’em with spray paint–I used clothespins to hold them upright so I could get all sides evenly–and let dry thoroughly. I decided to leave mine a plain glossy black, but you could use a contrasting color (or two) to add stripes, polka-dots, or similar decoration. If you want to get fancy, spray them on just one side with a contrasting color, holding the spray can far enough away to mottle the edges.

You can stick them down into the soil in an existing flowerpot, or give them a pot of their own. To do that, use a little modeling compound to hold them in place; I used a tiny flowerpot to make the tentacles appear comically oversized. If you want to add live moss, fill the pot with potting soil and then carefully press the moss around the tentacles (be sure to water the moss occasionally). You can also top off the pot with pretty stones, fake moss (found in the floral section of craft stores), or even–again, if you’re feeling fancy–wax or resin to represent water.

The number and size of the tentacles is entirely up to you; mine are all similarly-sized, but a pot studded with lots of different sizes would make it look less like some dirt-dwelling monster and more like the shoots of a really peculiar plant.

They’re the perfect low-maintenance desk accessory, and small ones would make really unique wedding favors (especially if they were striped in your wedding colors). In my case, Shadowboy asked to adopt the tentacles as a pet and tried to feed them snacks.

Start to finish these take less than a day, and 90% of that is drying time. The actual active project time is closer to 15 minutes. Easy! Super-cheap! Both are things that I like in a project.

Need a last-minute gift that doesn’t look like it was last-minute? This recipe has got you covered: It’s super-fast (ten minutes or less), inexpensive (you probably already have the ingredients on hand), and still manages to make you look all thoughtful and crafty. It’s a perfect hostess gift, and you can easily make a large batch to give to deserving co-workers or use as party favors.

This makes about 1 cup of scrub, which is a nice gift size; scale the recipe up or down as desired.

Ingredients

• 1 C sugar (white sugar will give the finest results; use brown sugar or “raw” sugar for a little more graininess/exfoliant action; you can also mix different types for more variation)
• 1/4 C cocoa powder
• 1/4 – 1/2 C olive oil (you can also use almond, avocado, grapeseed, jojoba, or any other mild skin-safe oil)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or a few drops of mint extract or essential oil
• 1-2 drops Vitamin E oil (optional)

Mix together the sugar and cocoa powder. Stir in 1/4 C of oil, then add more 1 Tbsp at a time until the scrub reaches the desired consistency; the more oil, the “wetter” the result. Stir in vanilla extract or add mint extract/oil a few drops at a time until the scent is to your liking. Stir in Vitamin E oil if using.

Boom. Done. Package in a wide-mouth container of your choice: A jam jar is fine, but your local craft store should have plenty of other options. If you’re feeling extra-fancy, top the scrub with a few mini chocolate chips or cocoa nibs before putting the lid on. You can also tie a small wooden scoop (or even a plastic tablespoon measure) to the jar with raffia or pretty ribbon.

You can design and print a pretty holiday label on the computer–handy if making a large number of gifts–or just hand-write instructions for use (which amounts to, “scrub over wet skin in shower”) and a note that the scrub will last about 3 months at room temperature.

All gift-giving should be this easy. (And while you’re making up gifts, don’t forget to make a batch for yourself as well; it’s a great pick-me-up for dry skin.)

This is much more adorable than it has any right to be.

I recently mentioned Evil Mad Scientist Labs’ Snap-o-Lantern kit, which allows you to animate a mini-pumpkin with snapping jaws and light-up eyes. They’ve used the same kit to create a Peek-o-Book: An innocent-looking book which periodically opens and peeks out with its LED eyes before snapping shut again. Here it is in action:

It just looks so…coy.

The mechanism does require that the book be hollowed out, so it’d be best to use a thrift-store find rather than a beloved personal book. You can always cover it with paper if you don’t care for the subject matter.

The book could also be decorated: Painted, decoupaged, covered with pretty gift wrap or ribbon; you could even go the full Harry Potter route and make a prop Monster Book of Monsters that opens up and snaps at you. The only caveat would be to make sure that the cover doesn’t get too heavy for the li’l motor to lift.

This would be a great candidate for wiring up with a motion sensor rather than a timer, so it could wake up and take a peek whenever it detects movement.