Who Broke My Holiday?

© Chromeheart / Oscura Photography

Unfortunately, I can't topcoat my coffin jewelry boxes until I locate my gloss glaze, wherever it's hiding in the aftermath of moving 200 miles southwest.  In the meantime, I'm crocheting little toys.  This adorable palm-sized ghostie is a free Lion Brand pattern available on their website.  Since the Lions are kind enough to allow the selling of finished items made from their patterns, these are going to be listed in my store as soon as I can set some time aside to take proper photos.

A close-up of Skelemouse, by request
© Chromeheart / Oscura Photography

I've been getting increasingly annoyed with the disposable quality of spooky, gothy Halloween wares in all the retail chain stores... so I'm making my own, and if all goes as planned, retailing them on Etsy year round.  Goth is a lifestyle, not a cardboard candelabrum with LED "candles" or a shitty vinyl tablecloth that you chuck on November 1st.  Don't even get me started on the cheap yet somehow overpriced costumes that only look good if you're blind in both eyes, and why does every female costume have to look like a playboy get-up anyways?  I remember when Halloween costumes were supposed to be cute, funny, or scary.  I remember when the "ladies" section of the Halloween store wasn't full of awkward lingerie.  Who broke my holiday?  No, really.

Up next: Frustrated Chromeheart makes brocade bat wing costume piece from scratch.

What's On My Desk - 9/18/13

© Chromeheart / Oscura Photography

-Coffin jewelry boxes being painted

-Black and Gold masquerade masks, waiting for eye holes.  Red brocade mask waiting for glue to dry.  They'll be ready for the store in 3-5 days.

-A crochet cupcake from a free online pattern, which looks more like a genetically engineered flower gone wrong than any cupcake I've ever seen.  Needless to say, I'm going to change the pattern significantly from its original for my own ends.  Small crochet toys are simple; the challenging part, is figuring out which combination of these simple techniques yields the most appealing result.

-Little fox providing 100% recommended daily value of hugs and smiles, according to the package he came in.  Too cute for words.

Work table snapshot 9-13-13

© Chromeheart / Oscura Photography

Most of the drawing I've done lately has been pattern designs--for these little felt critters, slowly beginning to populate my etsy store.  (link above)

Designing a pattern like this can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days, depending on the animal and the level of simplification required, with plenty of room for trial and error.  Example: the turkey (top left) was actually supposed to be an owl.  It was only after attaching the wings that I realized I made a turkey, in the perfect fall color scheme.

The flying bat and ghost are already available in my store, made to order, and the owl, turkey, and sleeping bat will be uploaded this weekend (sept. 14-15).  I'm currently working on a pattern design for a baby bat in a blanket, after the latest viral craze in the goth side of the internet.

Cafe Venezia (progress ii)

© Chromeheart | Illustration

Since the last update, I've darkened the shadow areas with a contrasting color: Diamine Ancient Copper.  The hues created by the mingling of the blue/violet and copper pigments are beginning to create some interesting depths.  In my source photo (posted several weeks ago), you can see that the lighting situation in this scene is unusual in that it's very dark due to the closeness of the buildings, although it's broad daylight.  Only the light from the shops illuminates the narrow street leading to the piazza.