We've been featured in our first ETSY Treasury

Great News!! We've been featured in our first ETSY Treasury, Funlandia! Being recognized by a fellow etsian is an honor. I'm so proud of us :) I think all my hard work to improve my photos is starting to pay off. I can not stress how important clear pictures are in a online sales venue where the customer can't actually handle the merchandise prior to purchase. Along with worshiping an awesome photo editor Etsy application FotoFuze I'm learning how to use my camera beyond "point and click."

I have some lovely items that are simply sitting and waiting for me to get them stocked on ETSY. I am working to make more listings but I am pretty busy with getting ready for baby and gestation itself is very distracting. In the meanwhile I decided to offer a sneak peek of some
upcoming items...

Baby Shower

Listening to Aqua's new single " My Mama Said" and Pet Shop Boys, just a mix of their work from 1980's-now and synth- pop and goth rock like Cruxshadows and Beborn Beton

K... so it's rather obvious that I'm into "the dark side" but for Belladonna's shower I'm planning something more traditional with a modern twist. It's gonna be a couple's shower! Since Nate has friends and co workers who will attend it makes sense to include everyone: boyfriends, hubbys, kids, etc. I want it to be inviting and casual, with drinking and few/no games, just friends gathered to celebrate our procreation. The decorations will be pink, purple, yellow, green, baby pastels.

The setting will be early evening and we'll serve a full buffet dinner of southern style food. I'm still not sure what beverages will be served, but I'll offer both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. I've found it pretty easy not to drink too much because it makes me a bit queasy, but a little social lubricant won't hurt my guests. Nate is a fantastic cook and baby makes me tired, so he's going to make most of the menu with myself and Marcasia helping out. We don't really do store bought pre- made food so it'll be entirely homemade except for the cake.
Menu:
Fried Chicken
Macaroni and cheese
Cornbread
Black eyed peas
Deviled eggs
Greens
Pasta salad
Crudites
Cake and ice cream
I'm planning our fete for early January since it's a quiet month and the holidays will be over with. Of course I'll probably still be wearing black, since it's my go to color. Maybe an excuse to go shopping? We'll see :)

DIY and Cheap Goth Baby

I'm 20 weeks along and I just found out it's a girl! I'm very happy about that, even though I had started collecting some boy gear already. My only real issue is: baby's wardrobe. DH Nate hates pink, and I agree that pink is so over done. So far I mostly have yellow and green, but those colors are pretty ambiguous. Since I'm all about cheap I happily accept all hand-me-downs, but I've been looking for ways to spice up my little Bella-Donna's clothes. Hello DIY!!!
I wear black and white and purple, and my little girl's clothes are going to be based on a similar black, white and red theme. Just an overall goth/rocker thing. My sister Marcasia was aghast and said "I hope your not going to dress to dress you're kid in all black". Why not? Look, dark covers stains, plus my baby will stand out in a sea of yellow and pink. Recent studies show that newborns recognize black, white and red visually first. So I'm helping her developmentally AND style wise. Double bonus.

There are some great online shops where you can buy cool baby gear, but $20 per onesie is too much for something she'll barf on, crap on, and quickly outgrow. This site has some wicked gear. Inspired, I've decided to dye white onesies and hand stencil or draw skulls, zombies, and other dark themes. Also Walmart has $2 white onesies and black baby pants- totally cheap and easy. A tip for dyeing: I use dylon but be careful about the amount of material you are using because too much makes the black color more a navy. Also I leave my clothes in the dye for an hour longer than recommended, and rinse and rinse for baby. Cotton works best for dying, synthetics aren't really good next to baby's skin anyway.
I've been on the prowl for cheap items too:Here's an awesome and inexpensive tattoo art baby sling on amazon. It's only $12!


Here's my niece Nika wearing a custom hair bow I made, wouldn't matching mommy/daughter bows be so cute? Don't be afraid to make accessories! Beats pastel pink on the coolness scale.If you are a crafty mama you can try this easy no sew tutu tutorial. The $10 in material sure beat $36 for a purchased punk goth tutu, and this way the color choices are infinite. I made this insane tutu for a live theatre performance. YES, I'm a Renaissance woman. The top layers are based on the no sew tutu. Yes, that is Nate in the wig, our show was gender bending and cross dressed.


This picture is from Homemade by Jill: It's from a ridiculously easy custom wipes case tutorial. I love love the purple, but wouldn't a skull print or polka dot theme be cute too? You could even embellish it more with charms, bows, lace, etc. My diaper bag and changing pad are black, I got them for next to nothing at a local thrift shop. Carrying a pink teddy bear bag just isn't me. I told Nate, " I normally would never carry a pastel bag, so why would I change that for a baby"? You have to carry that thing everywhere, might as well reflect your sense of style. I also bought red fleece so I can make no sew fleece baby blankets. My girl is coming in February so the warmer gear the better. It's too easy! I just cut a blanket size square and snip the edges into fringe. You could even knot 2 layers together for a warmer blankie. When I'm not so tired and lazy I will make some baby hats too, and I want to make satin bonnets. I worship the Victorian inspired romantic goth look.

Hope this helps you to get inspired! Happy Crafting!!