Shod

Second shoe done. Now onto those wet-felted booties.

The shoe on the left is the second shoe. If you look, you can see the edits that I made to the strap layout. I oriented them more forward for a better fit around my ankle. They're very comfortable — I've even slept in them. I guess that could be considered creepy, right?

Thanks for following along with Creepy Craft month. I know that I lost quite a few email subscribers — luckily Google readers more than made up for the loss. I continue to be fascinated by the psychology of the interwebs. Thanks for participating. :)

"Every mushroom is edible, once."

That's a quote from one of the longtime members of our local mushroom club.

I heart snarky mycologists. Reminds me of something our friend/family doc said, "The bleeding always stops." Dark, I know, but it is Creepy Craft month over here at Green Kitchen and I do like a little macabre and cheese now and then.

Anyhoo, the mushroom is for Sonya's Handmade Mushroom Swap. Specs: All hand-stitched, vintage outer. Cotton floral cap with solid cotton gills. The stipe is 100% wool, as is the stuffin'. Accented with vintage millinery flowers.

I know I swore off swaps, but the allure of the mushroom was too great.

She Cut Off Their Tails...

and made liver cleansing juices and beet kvass.*


My friend and sustainable nut, Kelly, recently taught me how to make some fermented foods, sauerkraut and kvass, using the whey from cultured yogurt (Brown Cow makes quick whey if you are in a hurry).

Basically a beet kvass is a slightly fermented drink made by soaking cubed beets with whey, ginger, a drop of lavender oil, and some salt — everything in a sterilized container. You can see how I hurriedly wrote up the recipe on the jar as Kelly was leaving. After a couple days in a dark cupboard you end up with a fairly mild, sweet and healthful drink. Apparently it's better than just juicing beets because the fermentation neutralizes the acids. Here's a similar recipe, if you're inclined. Unfortunately my kvass turned out too salty (we experimented with sulfuric Black Salt, which was a bit gnar), but the one Kelly made was dee-lish. I even liked her green drink, which was made with weeds harvested from her alley! If you're local and looking to learn how to make therapeutic foods, Kelly's your gal.


I'm also really excited about the kraut. We have a local, kim chee-style raw kraut that we love, but it's pricey. I'm hoping to make a homemade replacement. A couple more weeks and we get to try out the stinky goodness.

More creepy beet root pics here.

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*Thanks to Blaize for pointing out that this kvass is not the same as the traditional Russian drink.

My Scary Valentine

I'm reposting this one for those who didn't already see it over at my flickr. It's one of the originals that I used for the Button Your Eyes post.

The photo is from that day I was obsessing over the Cure. As I was taking pics I was thinking that one of the benefits of getting older is that it is so much easier to look scary.

;)

The Other Mother

Take one blood-stained t-shirt, a Sharpie, some acrylic paint, and a couple buttons...


and, voilà, The Other Mother as fashion (soon to be modeled).

It's not as scary as this Other Mother, but scary enough to freak my six-year-old. I admit, he wasn't scared of the shirt until I showed him the Coraline movie trailer. Whoops, bad parenting moment there. The two-year-old, on the other hand, asks repeatedly to watch the trailer. When I showed him the shirt, he said, "That you, mama?"

Mwah ha ha ha.

Into the Woods

Inspired by Anja at Clever Nettle, I made a paper cut for a photoshoot background — I needed more spooky and less twee, so I made a small cut-out to project into a shadow-y forest. I tried using it like a shadow puppet against a sheet, but couldn't get the sizing I needed. I ended up hanging the cut-out and projecting onto a wall. I had two flashlights this time, one green, one white. It was an interesting experiment in lighting and focus. You can see the paper cut here.


The wolf is a hat we got as a gift. Can you see me?


The little red riding hood is a gift from my talented friend, Sara, who makes many clothes for my kids. Did you know she makes more clothes for my kids than I do? Like ten times as many! Here's a portion of what she's made for my boys. We have so many, in fact, that when getting dressed my youngest always asks, "My friend, Sara, made?"

Unfortunately, I'm a total slacker and never get around to posting thank yous to Sara or my other local friends. Sorry, Sara. Sorry, Bethany. Sorry, Nancy. Sorry, Sonya. Sorry, other Nancy.

This wonderful, hooded capelet is actually for my littlest guy. He was non-compliant the day I wanted to take photos, so I went into the woods alone. See a flash photo of the hood here — it's scary in a different way.

I *Heart* Button Eyes

Several of my obsessions are revealed in this picture — there's an inside joke, too. Can you find them?* It's a scary happy coincidence that the movie Coraline is coming out this weekend, just as I start my creepy craft theme.

*See bottom of post for answers.


As part of my New Year's resolution to take scary craft photos I got in the closet with a flashlight, a tripod, and a recently-made, faux fur blanket. It's surprisingly fun...


to make scary — I had forgotten.


There are several fun things to check out on the movie website: the Button Your Eyes feature (in the Other Mother's Workshop); movie poster downloads like the one below (click on the picture on the right wall of the living room); and don't forget about that Coraline sweater download in Coraline's bedside drawer.



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*The obsessions:

Big hair
The Cure
Lipstick
Neil Gaiman
Dia de los muertos
Vintage buttons
Button eyes
Red

The inside joke:
"I see a heart."

Har.

Spooky Craft

Let the creepy craft begin.

This is a retroactive post, an accident of sorts — since it's here I'll leave it. These are some of the original photos that I used in the Button Your Eyes post.

Not all of them turned out creepy.


Got to love a kid that's not afraid to get in a dark closet with his furry mama and get his picture taken.

Thanks to Alexis at Knot Sew Crafty for commenting, which gave me the idea to include this photo.

:)