“Armchair Treasure Hunt” books were immensely popular in the 80s (remember Masquerade?), and Tony Meeuwissen’s The Key to the Kingdom is of that general vintage and ilk. However, unlike most of the other books of its type, this one is worth picking up even though the original treasure is long gone. The puzzle involved clues found in custom-drawn playing cards, and the book includes a full deck of cards that are simply gorgeous.
The artwork on the cards is by turns whimsical and dark, featuring everything from spiders to tadpoles, and despite the intricate detailing they’re actually “real” cards: The suit and number of pips have been incorporated into the artwork of each card, so you could actually play pinochle with them if you wanted. In particular, they’d be perfect for tarot spreads.
Although no longer in print, the book and included cards are widely available secondhand. The puzzle solution and images of several of the cards are here. Limited-edition prints of some of the cards are also available at Folio Boutique.
It’s sort of my opinion that anybody who goes, “I’ll just let a random stranger beam any image they want onto my monitor,” (which, at its heart, is what Chatroulette is) probably deserves what they get.* Which is why what Lionsgate did is hilarious: They leveraged the service to create a highly amusing ad campaign for their upcoming The Last Exorcism.
This is their “best of” reaction reel, with the faux-possessed girl on the right and various Chatroulette users’ reactions on the left. Hee.
Skull Cup – Very attractive hand-made metal cup. Not a bad price, either.
Jessica Harrison – Artist with a penchant for gory sculpture. The dainty porcelain figures juxtaposed with decapitations and eviscerations are…arresting. (Hat tip to Skye)
Defunct Fashion – Photoblog featuring “historic fashion and exceptional recreations.” Some fantastic inspiration.
America’s Next Top Vampire – One of the “Top Model” episodes involved the models posing with a vampire in a bathtub full of blood. (Hat tip to Kitten Herder)
Occasionally whilst surfing the ‘Net, I’ll find a site that puts me in danger of spending way more than I should because everything is Just! So! Cool! The Bone Room is one of those sites.
They call themselves, “the web’s premiere natural history store,” but “the goth decorating superstore,” would also be appropriate. They’ve got all kinds of bones both genuine (including legal-to-sell human ones) and reproduction, and they even offer instructions for cleaning your own finds. They’ve got other bits of animals, ranging from fairly mundane things such as coyote claws to somewhat more arresting items like a purse made out of a cane toad.
Their natural jewelry features earrings made of real beetle wings, and lovely pendants made from real spider webs (they also have a lot of other mounted webs).
If you’re local to their brick-and-mortar store in Berkeley, CA, they also offer The Bone Room Presents, a “natural history salon” where they present lectures and other educational materials.
Many of their items are surprisingly affordable and would make a lovely addition to a cabinet of curiosities. There are also some wonderfully unique gift ideas: Even the person who “has everything” probably doesn’t have a Pleistocene bear tooth.
Bonus Link: Check out their video, The Perfect Pet, offering “an overview of the process of turning your ‘late’ (high maintenance) companion into an articulated skeleton.”
Here’s a brilliant use for a bunch of thrift-store belts: a fantastic Edward Scissorhands-style cincher.
craftygoths member hkcreations riveted them together using leather strips that she cut and dyed herself. If you want to use the same technique you’ll need a few specialized tools: CRAFT has a great article on making a dog collar which discusses the same kind of leather-working equipment you would need for this project, and the accompanying photos will give you a pretty clear idea of how to attach the strips to the belts. (As a bonus, you can use the same equipment and technique to make your own studded collars and bracelets.)
If you don’t want to invest in a lot of tools, you could hand-rivet or sew the belts together (use pieces of an extra belt for the leather strips): This post has a short overview of different ways to join leather, but the basic idea is to punch a hole with an awl and then stitch or rivet through it. (If you’re brand-new to working with leather, get an extra belt or two at the thrift store and use them for practice.)
This is a wonderful project: Inexpensive, fairly easy, and a really striking result. Lovely!
This is one of those simple, brilliant ideas where you smack yourself in the forehead and wonder why you’d never thought of it before. Over at Kootoyoo, Kirsty has a super-easy tutorial for making pretty “lanterns” out of jars, a recycled lace tablecloth, and some LED tea lights.
These would be great as centerpieces for an evening wedding reception, or just to add a little ambience to a room.
The tea lights she mentions seem a little on the pricey side ($10 AU = about $9 US), which may just be the brand she’s using; these appear to be about the same price. If they’re really long-lasting the price might be worth it if you plan to use the lanterns often, but for a one-off event like a reception you could probably get away with the much-cheaper (around $1 apiece) flickering tea lights often sold at craft stores. (If you don’t like flickering, there are also these, which are slightly more expensive but have the advantage of being submersible.) I really do love the idea of using electric lights rather than something that gets hot; it definitely expands the number of ways you could display the lanterns.
Kirsty’s tutorial also involves sewing the lace into a tube and slipping it over the jar. If you’re really hopeless with sewing (or if you use an oddly-shaped jar), you could also hot-glue the lace in position. Glue a pretty piece of ribbon or other decoration over the seam to conceal it.
A whole bunch of these massed together would be a very striking decorative focal point, particularly if you varied the jar size and the lace pattern.
Steampunk Buttons – Buttons shaped like gears and such; nice detail for a costume. This link goes to JHB’s wholesale site, but since the brand is widely available you could probably request that your local retailer stock them. (Hat tip to Kitten Herder)
I love beer, and although I’m not quite so far gone as to choose one based solely on the label, I have to admit that if all other things are equal I can be swayed by eye-catching packaging; this is particularly true if I’m choosing something to serve at a party, where I’m fond of theming my drink selections.
I can only hope that the newly-opened Grimm Brothers Brewhouse has a quality product, because their labels are awesome.
The brewhouse, located in Loveland, Colorado, specializes in German-style lagers and ales. It’s named, obviously, in honor of the German collectors of folktales, and each of their microbrews are named after one of the stories. The first three they plan to produce are Snow Drop (an alternate name for Snow White), The Fearless Youth (based on Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was), and Little Red Cap (aka Little Red Riding Hood). They chose those stories because “They’re a little darker, a little bit whimsical…more adult story lines,” and the labels bear that out; I particularly like Little Red Cap’s sly smile and hidden hatchet.
The Grimm Brothers site is fairly sparse, and doesn’t currently list any non-local distributors for the beer. I do hope they’ll eventually make it outside the Colorado area; I’d love to try them.
Haunt Style recently pointed to this interior decorating design, which included consolidating the customer’s extensive collection of Carrie memorabilia in the home office.
Preferring my spookiness to be more Gorey than gory I’m not wild about the theme (although I do think the blood-red walls are a clever touch), but I really love the idea of designing a home office or other space around a collection of movie posters or other related images. Walls full of Hitchcock movie posters or vintage absinthe ads would present a rich visual environment at relatively little cost. Paint the walls a complementary color and perhaps add a few related curios (a framed dagger, absinthe spoons, or whatever fits your chosen theme), and you’d have an appealing space that reflects your interests.
As a bonus, the posters are a good choice for renters because they don’t harm the walls (use those sticky hooks instead of nails), plus you can move them around or change them out if you get tired of them.
“Armchair Treasure Hunt” books were immensely popular in the 80s (remember Masquerade?), and Tony Meeuwissen’s The Key to the Kingdom is of that general vintage and ilk. However, unlike most of the other books of its type, this one is worth picking up even though the original treasure is long gone. The puzzle involved clues found in custom-drawn playing cards, and the book includes a full deck of cards that are simply gorgeous.
Occasionally whilst surfing the ‘Net, I’ll find a site that puts me in danger of spending way more than I should because everything is Just! So! Cool! 
Here’s a brilliant use for a bunch of thrift-store belts: a fantastic Edward Scissorhands-style 
This is one of those simple, brilliant ideas where you smack yourself in the forehead and wonder why you’d never thought of it before. Over at Kootoyoo, Kirsty has a super-easy 
I love beer, and although I’m not quite so far gone as to choose one based solely on the label, I have to admit that if all other things are equal I can be swayed by eye-catching packaging; this is particularly true if I’m choosing something to serve at a party, where I’m fond of 