Goth Girl Outing

I guess you can already tell that we had a pretty awesome yet random day. 

 My friend Natalie and I went out on a day of shopping and random! We tend to do this every now and then. We load up on sunscreen, wear sun-protecting layers, sunglasses, and venture out into the bright (and HOT) California world.

 Natty checking out some monochromatic lace shirts. :3

 I find that random stores with a lot of accessories have the best stock of Goth bits. I found this earring and necklace set as well as other spooky jewelry too.

 Moving on to another store, we found ourselves in the pet aisle. Lo and behold! A wildly cute, devilish bunny appeared!

 I love bunnies sooo much! And though the thought of buying this bunny for the sole purpose of watching my puppy rip it to shreds ("D'aw, he ripped off his face. Cute!"), I had to turn my attention to more pressing matters. Like the unhealthy bond between a girl and her hedgehog.

 COINCIDENTALLY, the pet aisle just HAPPENED to be directly across from the toy aisle. Accident? I think not.

 Yeah, we don't even... why?

 Though Natty does not like things that bounce, she does like round things. Particularly when they are twisted, bare and dead.

 There was a SMALL Halloween aisle to the store! You can see the price tags, we were tempted.

 Why don't those witch shoes exist in real life? :[

 Le glitter candle stick holders were my favorite.

 We soon departed from said store of gloom and despair for sustenance! It was soo bright and soo hot, Natty decided to stake herself in the heart. ... yeah, I don't even know where she found that thing. XD

Yeah, summer in Cali sucks. But the tacos were awesome! <3!

Liebster Award

Thank you to CatacombxKitten from Graveyard Picnic for nominating me for the Liebster Award! You should definitely go and have a look at her blog. :3


The Rules

• Each person must post 11 things about themselves
• Answer the questions the tagger has set for you
• Create 11 questions for the people you have tagged to answer
• Choose 11 people and link them in your post
• Go to their page and tell them
• No tag backs

11 Things About Me

1. I am going to college and studying music with an emphasis on Classical Vocal Technique (aka I sing opera).

2. I was born November 21st, 1987 in Long Beach California. 

3. I am a Scorpio which is a water sign. I think this and my birth place have invested a deep love for the ocean inside of me. 

4. I love astrology, the planets, the stars and constellations. I don't live by it, but I find it fascinating. There is this order to the universe which many view as chaos (Big Bang theory, elements, heat, explosion, and yet order is made from that very chaos). 

5. Despite the Big Bang comment I just made, I was raised Christian and have a love for ALL religions. I am very open minded.

6. I like to make my own clothes whenever I can, or buy clothes really cheap on ebay and personalize them.

7. My grandfather, grandmother, and father all died before the time I was 8 years old. Their passing's really influenced my life- I'm very emotional, I look deep into stupid small things, and I truly Truly love all my friends. 

8. I love to read and write. I have stacks and shelves of books in my room on various topics from serial killers, sexuality in Victorian America, faerie tales, King Tutankhamun's treasure (I love Egypt), vampires, and spirituality. 

9. If you have given me roses, I have most likely preserved them or bound the petals in a book for safekeeping.

10. I am allergic to mangos. My aunt brought some over when I was 14 and I ate 2 then went to sleep. I woke up covered in hives and was rushed to the emergency where they thought I had anthrax poisoning. Haha, best Christmas Eve ever. 

11. I have an older brother named Marcos Anthony. He is one year older, we're entirely different, but we get along every now and then. 

Questions I was asked to answer

1. Your favourite item of clothing?   My corsets.
2. Are you more of a pessimist or an optimist?   Optimist when it comes to others, pessimist with myself.
3. Your biggest guilty pleasure?   Dark Chocolate. I love dark chocolate. 
4. What's your Hogwarts house?   Ravenclaw.
5. Any languages you want to learn?   All of them. I love languages and wish I knew them all. 
6. Anything you wish you were better at?   Singing! You can always get better.
7. Any books to recommend?   The Asylum For Wayward Victorian Girls by Emilie Autumn.
8. If you could live in a TV show/film/book, which one would you want to live in?   The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls by E.A., Daughters of the Moon by Lynne Ewing, or Pandora by Anne Rice. 
9. Do you collect anything?   Books.
10. Favourite kind of chocolate?   DARK. I loooove dark chocolate. 
11. When in doubt, do you dress up or down?   Up. Always. I'm never dressed down except for camping, and even then I have fishnets. :P

The People I Am Tagging

I honestly don't have 11 friends to tag on this so I wont tag anyone. You should though, it's my fault I'm a shy shut in. ^^;

Since I don't really have anyone to tag, I ask you my followers who read this post to answer these questions. 

My Questions
1. Using your own words, how would you describe your own distinct style of Goth?
2. What is your guilty pleasure?
3. What kind of books do you like to read about?
4. What is your favorite band(s)? These do NOT have to be Goth.
5. When did you know/accept that you were Goth?
6. What is your "normie" pleasure?
7. Stockings, leggings, or socks? 
8. Tea or coffee?
9. Headstone or mausoleum?
10. Do you play an instrument? 
11. What is your favorite movie(s)? 

I Won A Goth Outfit Contest!

It's true! I did! I've never won ANYTHING before, and I'm super happy that I did!

On YouTube, there is a vlogger named Synthetic Doll (a GORGEOUS British Goth with porcelain skin that makes the moon weep with envy) and I entered into her contest for Outfit of the Day and I won! She starts talking about the winners about 1:07 if you're impatient, but the other girls outfits are pretty beautiful as well.

I had posted my outfit a while back in December for Christmas, but I'll repost them here. I got swag, PIRATE SWAG.

 I made my lace sleeves and my parasol (I posted a tutorial a while back). Everything else was store bought but I modified somehow.

 Haha, back when I was still new to that corset.

 I have a veil cap, a red glitter skeleton hand with a black rose attached, and a red, hear-shaped eye patch that my friend Jessica gave me as a present.

 And yes, a small heart under my other eye. I have to match! :P

One thing that made me really happy was that I've been getting some flack lately on people rating my "gothness" factor. Being a girl with brown hair, brown eyes, mid-to-normal paleness, no piercings, no tattoos, and no crazy hair colors or hair cuts, I'm ... average. People might say I'm pretty, but I'm very average looking. I can put on a Gothic outfit and look Goth, or put on a pink dress and look normal. And there are people (I'm looking at you YouTube) that "judge my gothness" based upon these things. 

Just because I don't have tattoos, stretched earlobes, studs in my lips, or pink hair shaved on one side does not mean that I am not Goth. We cannot all be Joji Grey. I don't look good with colored hair, shaved hair would look bad on my misshapen head, piercings would be a nuisance in my long hair, tattoos aren't my thing (I think they're gorgeous on others and had a subscription to Suicide Girls, but they wouldn't look good on me). 

And you know what, that doesn't matter. As long as you are comfortable with YOURSELF, no one else's opinion matters. 

So be you. Be your own signature brand of Goth. If being Gothic is about being unique, just be you. You're doing just fine. :] <3!

Mail Call Number Two

Another day, another package!

Today, I bought some more "casual gothwear" for my wardrobe. I needed some cool but normal shirts to wear out every now and then, and I think these were just right. 

 Opeth! I'm a new fan, but I love them. Also, this pink bunny shirt.

 Look familiar? It is the pink bunny from Sucker Punch, and I love him. I only wish I knew what this means. Can any of you translate it for me? I'm at a loss of words. (Get it? Punny).

 This is what the shirt looks like on me. I am suddenly reminded of why I normally don't wear white, it's because it makes me look super tanned for some reason. O.o  

 I hate high necklines though (I feel like I'm being smothered), so I cut it into this shape. I just followed his ears really, I think it looks fine. Still normal/casual for any given day.

 And a new belt buckle! I think this will look great on my bullet belt when I go for more of a shredded deathpunk look.

It's a plain rubber band bracelet, but I think the black/red Manson look is always a given for any Goth.

And this little number. I don't remember if I posted this or not, but I kinda feel bad so imma post it (again?).

 My friend recently came back into my life and bought me this exquisite necklace that I LOVE. He knows my taste well. :P

Remember when I bought this skeleton slide a while back? I think this necklace and bracelet will get along very nicely. 

Time to start changing up my wardrobe, I've been very boring lately. :P <3!

Mail Call

I got some new treats in the mail this week! What can it be? 

 I love the black bag, it's so mysterious.

 Alas, this beauty lie in wait inside!

 Yup, your eyes do not deceive you- Mother Misery got a new corset!  

 It's super nice. I wanted something different from the black and red corset I first bought, and I think this sapphire blue corset is just what the doctor ordered.

 It fits perfectly.  

 I think this corset would have been a better beginner corset for me, but I would not trade my black and red beauty for the world. It has a modesty panel too, something my other corset lacked.

 And what could be inside of this strange box?

 Bam! A new black parasol! UNFORTUNATELY (as you might see in the above photo), the box was bent and, yes, my parasol was broken. Something I learned when I pulled it open and almost sliced my hand off on the splintered wood. Alas, I love the fabric and build of this little darling, and immediately contacted the sellers and ordered a new parasol. It's due any day now. :D  

 A while back, I received this in the mail and completely forgot to post it. Eep!

 Super tightly packed into this box were these two brightly encapsulated objects.

 And the reason for all the packing peanuts? A tea saucer!  

 AND tea cup. A friend was getting rid of some of her belongings, and she wanted these to go to a good home. Who am I to refuse a tea set? There is always room for one more in my home. No tea set shall ever be turned away. :3

 All in all, I think this mail day was just what I needed- a corset, a parasol, and a tea set. What else could a Goth girl want? <3! 

Fingerless Gloves Tutorial

I realized that I didn't have many pretty things to cover my hands in the summer time, so I sought out to make gloves!

For this tutorial, you will need: 2 contrasting fabrics, scissors, and a needle and thread.

Lay out your two fabrics, decide which you want to be the inner color and which you want to be the outer color. I'm making mine out of two old t-shirts. 

 With the inner color chosen (red), cut out a shape similar to your own hand. Just eyeball it. I'm using t-shirt material, so it'll stretch some.

 Make one of these shapes for your right and left hand, or be lazy like me and use your left hand as a prototype for both hands.

 Cut out two prototypes of each hand so you'll have 4 pieces- two for your left hand, and two for your right hand.

Lay out your outer shell of fabric (black), and take one left hand prototype and one right hand prototype. Lay them on the FOLDED fabric and cut them out. When you fold your outer shell fabric, you will be making 2 left hand and 2 right hand shells at once. Make sure to cut the outer shell slightly larger than the inner shell.

 So now you have 2 outer shell fabric pieces and 2 inner shell fabric pieces for each hand.

 Put two inner shell pieces together and sew the sides shut, like this.

 All of my fingers pop out and my thumb looks awkward. Don't worry, we'll fix that later.

 Do the exact same with the outer shell pieces, then flip it inside out.

 This way, the seams you just made are on the inside of the shell. Line your seams up like this, and start cutting slashes on the seam we just created. DO NOT CUT THE SEAM WE JUST MADE. Cut to about a finger before it, leaving some room so you don't accidently cut the seam.

 Your finished product should look like this.

 Put on the inner shell and pull the outer shell on top, so your two pieces look like this.

 See the raw edge where the two fabrics meet? Sew these together so you get one edge at the top and the bottom.

 Like this.

 With your hand back in the glove, sew a seam between your thumb and pointer finger like this. Make several passes so it's pretty sturdy.

 And there you have it, your very own gloves! I like that these have the color showing through the outer shell, so it adds some interest to your hands.  

It only took a few minutes to make, and will keep your hands sun-free for the summer. Hope you enjoyed!