Posts tagged DIY

Check Out Blueprints While the Foreman Resolves It

10 years ago
by cranialspasm in ,

I absolutely love Hijinks Ensue. Trust that there will be a review from me one of these days. Until then, get into it with a little teaser.

DIY… Sunday? Pretty Flowers!

10 years ago
by Jackie DeVore in

Sorry for the delayed post this weekend; busy jackie is busy.

But so anyway.. here I am, about to go to some awesome shindig, and don’t know what to do with this mess of hair of mine… BUT.. i have this awesomely shiny red fabric.. so let’s make something –

Here, I shall grasp the beloved plastic cup, lay the fabric flat (shiny-side down), and trace some circles on the back of the fabric with a pen. Then cut these out. Important things to know: the fabric needs to be something synthetic that will melt, not burn (seriously). Additionally, I cut four circles, two larger ones, two smaller ones. Then, proceeded to cut four slits in each circle toward the center, but not all the way to the center:


click to enlarge this or any of the following photos


Here comes the fun part.. We’re going to take a votive candle, and literally burn the edges of each circles, down the seam of the slits, so that they wilt into a flower petal pattern. It’s important to NOT SET YOUR FABRIC ON FIRE. ..just hold it within close proximity of the flame, not IN the flame, and carefully wilt the edges:

Now, we’re going to stack those four petal rings on top of each other, and using a double-threaded needle, just sew these together in the center. I used black thread, so that it looks sort of like a shiny poppy. Then, very simply, just take a plain black bobby pin, and slide the top of the bobby pin underneath the thread on the bottom of the flower:

and VOILA!!

Now I’m ready to go to the par– …okay, you caught me. I’ll be sitting here writing html code all night.. but there’s no reason I can’t be cute in the process. And seriously.. my dog has already seen my happy octopus bow*

ENJOY! And as always.. if you have comments, questions, or requests about DIY Saturdays, leave a note! If you do one of these little crafts yourself, we absolutely want to see pictures!

♥ Jackie

*happy octopus bow made by JesickaHorror on Etsy

DIY Saturday: Double Dose

10 years ago
by Jackie DeVore in

So, let’s start with a story. Don’t worry.. it’s a short one. About a week or so ago, a friend of mine posted a link to this REALLY cool-looking Rising Sun belt buckle:

Pretty, right? I know. We were both lusting after it. Turns out, the damn thing is about $40 with shipping. You know what? Screw that. Time to brush off the creativity. I went ahead and got two blank belt buckles off of eBay for less than $5 each. The rest of the tools, I had laying around. These came just the other day:

So I busted out the spray paint:

Laid the buckles out over an old magazine [totally a ThinkGeek magazine], and first sprayed them black.. this is spray paint that specifically bonds with metal:

Once those dried, I took out the painter’s tape.. covered them completely, then cut out the shape of the red in the Rising Sun with an X-Acto knife to make a stencil. You can use a ruler and such and mark it out if you want, but I went ahead and did it free-hand. Like a boss. –

Laid those out again, and sprayed on two coats of red:

After that dried, I carefully peeled off the stencil, touched up any lines with red/black paint pens, then took a sheet of sandpaper to it. To get that weathered look similar to the original, I softly sanded down the edges of the buckle, and across the face of the buckle [very gently]. Then, to set the design, coated it with a spray-on gloss/sealant. What do you guys think:

Now.. for your second part of DIY Saturday. As an addendum to the Bullet Holes post from a couple of weeks ago, our lovely CranialSpasm asked about realistic-looking zombie bites. Interestingly, these are done VERY similarly to the creation of a bullet hole. However, to be a little more precise –

First, follow those same steps with the liquid latex and the stretched-out cotton, but form the cotton into an oval shape, and with a wide, flat-tipped object (I used a small screwdriver), poke the shape of tooth marks into the cotton while it’s still wet. Then dust this with baby powder to set, and cover with foundation make-up to match the color to your own skin tone:


click to enlarge

You’ll notice how that third image has color on it. Using a paintbrush and red and blue cream make-up (in very small amounts), I dabbed the blue first within the teeth marks, and in a circular pattern within the bite, and along the outside. Then went over the blue with red.. creating a bruising look. Honestly.. that’s really all there is to it.

After this, I added a little bit of fake blood to make it look particularly gruesome:

That’s all I’ve got for you guys today. Have any follow-up questions or requests for DIY Saturdays? Post them here! Enjoy your weekend.

♥ Jackie

Nerd Nom’ing

10 years ago
by Jackie DeVore in ,

Have you ever seen Arrested Development? Well.. I was watching it the other day, and naturally.. got a hankering for a Bluth Frozen Banana.. Unfortunately for me, there is no banana stand at the corner of my street.. Soooo… Macgyvering it was the next best option.
Here’s how to make yourself a tasty, frozen summer snack.. with what you probably have laying around the kitchen. The night before, I took three bananas, unpeeled them, wrapped them like cigars in wax paper, and stuck them in the freezer.

Here’s what you’ll need: your frozen bananas, chocolate chips, something microwaveable to melt the chocolate in, peanuts, and a plate/tray for your peanuts.

Now… with those chocolate chips, we’re going to melt those the quick and easy way.. so put those in the microwave on MEDIUM heat for 2 minutes.. you’ll just barely see the chips start to get glossy. Then, mix these up with a fork- they will melt as you stir them. If you need to melt these more [or need to reheat them at anytime during your banana shenanigans], put them back in the microwave [still at 50% heat] for no more than 20 second increments at a time. 

As for the peanuts.. suuuure, you can get crushed peanuts. And suuuure, even if you have whole peanuts, you can crush them with a culinary mullet or whatever.. but screw that. I felt like using a REAL hammer.. so while the chocolate is melting, crush your peanuts the badass way: put them in a ziploc bag, and BEAT them with a hammer. Have fun. Then pour them into your peanut tray/plate.

LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE ALL READY TO GO…

Here comes the messy part. 

One banana at a time… first dip it in the chocolate:

Once it’s coated.. move it on over to the peanuts: 

That really is all there is to it.. Now you have your very own Bluth Frozen Banana (or in my case, Bagwell Frozen Banana) to sink your teeth into! 

DAAAAAMMMMNNN TASTY.

Happy Banana’ing!

♥Jackie

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