Winter Party

There is evidence that people often threw a party during the change from summer to winter to mark the end of the harvest and give thanks to higher powers. Modern Heathens call it Winter Nights, and we use it as a day to celebrate our Dísir, the female ancestors who watch over and protect us. As an extension of the Dísir, some practitioners also give thanks to Frejya, the Lady of the Dís, and some to her twin brother Freyr, the Lord of the Harvest. 3
This link to the Disir, the spirits of our ancestors, gives us some similarity to Samhain (Halloween), the more well known Pagan holiday. But while Samhain has more to do with a general thinning of the veil between this world and the next, Winter Nights is a day to celebrate the good things our Disir have done for us and to honor their contributions to our living family. There are many ways to honor the Disir, but the basic one is to name your ancestry as far back as you can then pour a libation and share a bit of food in a special dish. For Heathens, that recitation of names is a way of showing respect and assuring our kin that though they have died, they won’t be forgotten.
  This little creature was created after reading about the Winter Nights celebration and I appreciated the inspiration.  For more views of my little creatured check me out at GothB4play or at mystic2awesome at Etsy.com

Nevermore!

Nevermore, Nevermore... Quothe the Raven, Nevermore... This piece inspired by one of my favorite Mr.  Poe poems.  This little Raven, or Crow if you will it so, was once loved and now ready to be loved just one more time in it's new reincarnated form.  With a sporty gothic new hair do and tattered fabric designer "Vampsace" dress, she is ready to be adopted by a lover of Ravens, or Crows if you will.

Halloween Untucked

Sometimes a mistake has to be corrected and sometimes not.  The first little creature I used a copper bell on as a robot skirt and found I could not remove the "dangle" was by chance.  Maybe meant to be the little robot had a mind of it's own and I being just the laboring hands must obey.  This little Robot Tranny is ready for his/her Halloween closeup, and ready to be adopted at gothB4play at Etsy.

9/11 Memorial Timeline

9/11 Memorial Timeline

Respect and remember 9/11!

Voo Doo Woman

You make the sun up
In the sky forget to shine
And you are driving me
Out of my mind now

You make a bell forget to ring
You make a bird forget to sing

You make a weeping
Willow tree forget to cry
And you bring clouds
That cover up the sky now

You're a voodoo woman
That's plain to see
You're a voodoo woman
So stay away from me

You make a dog forget to growl
You make the wind forget to howl

And voodoo woman
You break every heart you see!

Lucid Dreaming of Dragons

Lucid dreaming is awareness of the fact that you are dreaming. This awareness can range from very faint recognition of the fact to something as momentous as a broadening of awareness beyond what has ever been experienced even in waking life. Lucid dreams usually occur while a person is in the middle of a regular dream and suddenly realizes that he or she is dreaming. The possibilities are endless, you can be anything in a Lucid Dream from a Dragon tamer to a flying super hero.

Edgar was HOT!

“It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.


I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.


And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.


The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.


But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.


For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.”
― Edgar Allan Poe

This is my all time favorite poem.

Silly Horse

This piece was by request and the first attempt at embellishing a horse, but a fun challenge for me.  I'm not sure I want to make another since larger items take more of my limited storage space.  This piece is now happily at home in the state of Florida.

Me and my Lucid Dream self

This photo of one of my little hand altered, embellished dolls reminds me of my self when I realize I am dreaming.  Usually I look into a mirror in my dream and realize that the image I see isn't really me.  Then I have the power to "edit" my dream world. 

"Unreasonable fear can be defused by facing up to the source, or going through with the frightening activity, so that you observe that no harm comes to you. In a nightmare, this act of courage can take any form that involves facing the "threat" rather than avoiding it. For example, one young man dreamt of being pursued by a lion. When he had no place left to run, he realized he was dreaming and called to the lion to "come and get him." The challenge turned into a playful wrestling match, and the lion became a sexy woman (NightLight 1.4, 1989, p. 13). Monsters often transform into benign creatures, friends, or empty shells when courageously confronted in lucid dreams. This is an extremely empowering experience. It teaches you in a very visceral manner that you can conquer fear and thereby become stronger."

Incantation Bottle

The color green Conveys: Tranquility, good luck, health.  Green conjures lush images of nature - from tropical forests to parks on spring days. It’s the color of life and growth, and a symbol of fertility. (Brides in the 15^th century wore green wedding gowns.)  A bit of green tint can be seen in this lovely one of a kind Art Bottle of gems and incantations for positive energy.

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The sky is NOT falling!

 Half through the Doomsday year and the weather IS acting a tad weird. It's still raining and cool here in Oregon and I'm not complaing at all. It's not hot enough for airconditioning and not cool enough for the heater so I'm feeling lucky. If the world is coming to an end though I guess I'd better start maxing out those credit cards.

Chicken Head Spirit Jar

O.K. I've got this clear glass chicken head.... what do I do with it?  I added purple and aqua tint mixed with diamond point glitter and clear resin. Then set about finding a jar or bottle that would hold the head up.  I put magenta tint and clear resin with some silver paint in the jar and let it dry then added some gemstones, shells and beads.  A few protective incantations and a circle of rhinestones and the Chicken Head Spirit Jar is ready for a new home to protect!

Glass Skull

There is an old medieval legend of the dance of the skelletons in which twelve strokes of the harp announce midnight and this is when the Devil tunes his fiddle.  The dance begins with the rattling of bones and before dawn approaches the dancers must return to resting place.  This glass skull, which is available for sale in my gothB4play shop, has dangles on the sides which replicate the "rattling od bones" and was inspired by the poem "Dance Macabre" by Henri Cazalis 1840-1909.

Photography

I just cannot for the life of me photograph anything using only white backgrounds.  I start out with honest ententions but then the color addictions overtake my brain and the search is on for that fabric of color and I'm off the wagon again.  In photographing a doll I went from first white then draped a bit of darker blue hues and a sheer color over it all.  Even photographing the framed print I had to go overboard on the color.

Emerald Sanity

Sometimes green is just green!  I've been playing with my macro setting again (note to self...clean the glass first!)  Not being a slave of time and schedules I find that I enjoy time much more than before when deadlines and office cubicles were my domain. 

Sometimes you just have to wear tangerine to brighten up that darkside that is creeping up on you!  My wish for a little Sunshine went from a chilly 50 degrees to suddenly 80 degrees!  Whatever happened to the sweet inbetween of Spring??

Sweetness

Sweetness from a repurposed little blue Vintage Avon jar, repurposed jewelry pieces and other odds and ends.

Breathtaking Blues by gothB4play on Etsy

Breathtaking Blues by gothB4play on Etsy
Sometimes you've just gotta be blue all day long!

Bad Girls!

Am I a Bad Girl because I love, love, love Diva Dresses and hair extension tresses! She's a fun fashionista and has her very own pedistal to stand upon with lots of glitter and bling.

Eye Need Coffee

She's an Eye full and she needs her coffee just to get out of bed and into her pink boots! It's another dreary cloudy day here in Oregon and I'm wishing for a little Spring in the weather and in my step. Ooops, just looked outside and it's raining...again and even the Crows are hiding out of sight!

Vintage Vehicle

A Mad Max style vehicle created using vintage sewing machine parts, repurposed jewelry pices, buttons, bobbins, wires and rhinestones. Each one is unique and different, no duplications ever! See more at my gothb4play shop at Etsy.

Black Sssnake

A once loved black snake belt now has been magically transformed by a not so sweet witch (me) into a Crystal Ball holder to protect that fortune telling device so dear to your Gothic heart. The belt was much too small for my waist and I had loved it and kept it in supurb condition and felt it deserved another chance to be loved just once more. For more views see my shop gothB4play at Etsy.

Doomsday

The Doomsday clock is ticking and the world is just moments away from going to Hell in a handbasket, or some say. Me, I think it would have to get a whole lot worse than this to call it quits. This porcelain Doll has her own Doomsday clock attached to her head at the Doomsday time which can be moved either way (who knows maybe we'll be granted a little more time).

Art Doll Commissioned Piece

This little Nymph Doll in green is a commissioned piece just finished this month and ready to go. She's got her hair braided and twined with copper beaded wire, tattered fabric costume and a jewel encrusted pedistal.

Cyber Steampunk Kneeling Girl

She's magical and musical and you can reposition her wire wrapped, beaded braids to your heart's content. She is kneeling upon a platform with a wind up key on the bottom. For more views you can see her at my Etsy shop just click the link.

My Heart

Created using a Vintage red glass Avon bottle, recycled jewelry and belt pieces and just in time for Valentine's Day a Love Spell jar just for you to attract the perfect love!

Doomsday Basket Case

Are you a Doomsday Basket Case? As if we don't have enough worries as it is, now we have to worry about the Doomsday predictions! In this piece, which is 99% recycled materials, I have combined futuristic cyber robotics, a basket of gold colored metal, a solid silvered insect and other odds and ends. This little Basket Case girl has lost her marbles and her world is topsy turvey as mine is at times and she is waiting for that special someone.