In another installment of Grae finds household objects and turns them into art — a.k.a mundane magic🪄 — today we’ll learn how to make your very own sticker sheets using toner-printed images, packing tape and waxed or parchment paper! This craft has it all: it’s easy and engaging; astonishing and adorable; low-cost and endlessly customizable. Moreover, thankfully stickers never seem to go out of style, which is probably all thanks to Lisa Frank. Thanks, Lisa!🦄 Continue reading “DIY Sticker Sheets 🐸✨”
I know we aren’t very far into winter (not even a month since the longest night of the year), but TBH I’m already over it. Don’t get me wrong I’ll be complaining about the heat too – there are two weeks in the fall I will find happiness, the rest of the year is debatable. Anyways! If you need a quick craft pick me up this one is super simple and BONUS you can use the excess nail polish you have lying around from NOT giving yourself a pedicure. Below I’ll show you how to transform a few household objects into a marbled piece of artwork! Read the supply list and directions carefully before attempting this project. It is very easy, but it also needs to be very quick otherwise the nail polish will congeal – it’s not bad, but it may not be the look you are going for either. Continue reading “DIY Dip Dye Ceramics”
Start the new year off with some crafts! One of my favorite resources you can access with your library card is CreativeBug*. Really, I can’t recommend CreativeBug enough – they have everything! You can learn to sew, cook and more. If you want to start a new habit I highly recommend seeking out anything by Lisa Congdon. You can find her books at the library too! She has a great month-long series about making your mark. And on January 31 she’ll be doing a FREE online class about mark making! You can sign up here.
Tomorrow is a precious day for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere: tomorrow we mark the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year that, if you’re tuning in from mid-Missouri, will give us roughly 9 hours and 26 minutes of sunlight. Maybe it’s my Leo Sun 🦁 and Capricorn Rising 🐐 tendencies that have made the Winter Solstice into one of my favorite days of the year, one that I anticipate and celebrate with both the majestic calm of a vulture sunning its wings and the mischievous relish of a (non-murderous, just mischievous) Gremlin fed after midnight.
Among the more unexpected social media trends of summer 2023, to me, was the “Pinegrove shuffle,” a viral dance described by the New York Times as floppy, hypnotic, sad, and cathartic. We have 19-year-old Garrett Lee to thank for the dance trend, set to the aching, quietly frantic “Need 2,” first released nearly a decade ago as the seventh track on Pinegrove’s 2014 album “Everything So Far.”
The “shuffle” rose to fame just as Pinegrove was dipping out of it. On May 12, @pinegroveband made an Instagram post explaining their upcoming transition: “to anyone who may have missed the memo, pinegrove, while not over, is moving into a different phase which will not involve touring as a band, at least for a few years.” A month later, Lee posted his video. Soon, new and old Pinegrove listeners alike were flopping and shuffling across the world. Continue reading “Pinegrove’s Best Album”
Calling and/or caterwauling all ghouls, goblins, gargoyles, gremlins, and giggling green ghosts: Spooky Season has arrived with all of its ghastly delights and gnarly frights. Hip-Hip-Horroray! Which means it’s time for another installment of Spooky, Not Scary™️, a watch-list of titles for all of us soft goths, tender terrors and nervous nellies. A quick recap for those of you just joining in: while Halloween and all its eerie marvels are my top vibe, I avoid the deeply distressing and downright disturbing imagery and atmosphere of most “scary” movies, tv, and even musical soundtracks, mostly because I have always had an immersively detailed dream and/or nightmare life, which often means I don’t really need the help or inspiration or taunting hauntings that that kind of media provides. Thanks, horror genre, but I can terrorize myself all on my own! 💀
So, to still celebrate this terrifically chilling time of year, I give you the following titles that are avowedly Spooky, Not Scary. Each title is rated on a scale of 0-5 smashed pumpkins. The more smashed pumpkins (which I’ve metaphorically dropped out of terror), the closer the tv show/movie/video is to being truly frightening.
This time of year is perfect for some creepy crafts, but if I’m being honest I love all things spooky any time of year! See below for some of our favorite spine-tingling projects. Happy haunting! Continue reading “DIY Creepy Crafts”
Do you like journaling? Do you like art? What if I told you that you could combine the 2? And I’m not talking about bullet journaling. I’m talking tarot!
Tarot has been around for centuries in various forms, but we’re not going to dwell on the past here (the history of tarot is very interesting and if you want to learn more I encourage you to look it up). Nor are we here to predict the future.
If you’re anything like me, back-to-school time has become more stressful the older you become. When I was a small child, it was exciting. I got new school supplies! I had so many opportunities to make new friends! It felt like the world was in my hand. For me, that changed around middle school. Instead of excitement, I felt trapped by the weight of expectations. Instead of being happy to meet new people, I feared to learn what they thought of me. Instead of excitedly anticipating fun activities, I began to dread homework. It all felt frankly overwhelming. If this sounds like you, I promise you aren’t alone, and you don’t just have to grin and bear it. Over my years in high school and college, I learned ways to manage this back-to-school stress. Whether you’re just starting high school or you’re in your last year of university, hopefully, some of these hard-learned tips will be helpful for you! Continue reading “Managing Back To School Stress”
We had 42 entries for this year’s Cosplay Costume Contest and they were all wonderful and unique! After much deliberation, this year’s winners were selected. Thanks to our judges and all of our participants! Be sure to check out the DBRL Teen Instagram (@dbrlteen) for more pics!