Valentine's Day is Coming- Get Yourself some Unique Cards!

It's that time of year where the aisles are filled with red, pink and hearts. Oh yeah...Valentine's Day is coming up fast! 

I don't take the holiday too seriously, but my (now) husband and I have been celebrating every year since we first met with a small gift and usually dinner and a movie. And I loooooovvvee giving out cards and little gifts to my friends. I guess I just like any excuse to make things and give them away. While I do that all the time, it is fun to actually have a theme and reason for it if that makes any sense! :)

Anyways...I am babbling. Last year I made some cryptid valentines that I gave away for free to show my love to my followers. I thought I would do the same thing this year because I love you guys! And holy crap...I am actually early with them! 

I cannot believe I actually managed to get these done before February! I was going to post them on February 1st, but I thought I would post them now since a lot of people are already looking for and buying cards. Plus, I made it to 700 fans on facebook! Wow!! Thank you so much everybody! 

Anyway, here are this year's cards. Click on the picture to open the full version and save them. Print them out, share them, enjoy them. I hope you like these little cards, and let me know if you use them! I would love to know if they get any use. :)

Yeti Giveway Winner!

Okay everybody!! We have a winner!

This little yeti is going to be making his way over to Mandy of this lovely blog! I have seen Mandy's plush and dolls on Craftster and I love them! Thank you to everybody who entered! I seriously wish I could I send you all a yeti! Thank you for entering, for the support and enthusiasm, and for helping me reach over 200 readers!!

I plan to do another giveaway very soon if I can bring in some more blogger readers and reach 700 fans on my facebook!

So help me out and spread the word! Also, please leave a comment for what you would like to see in the next giveaway! (If I do it, I plan to send it to arrive on or before Valentine's day. :)

Valentine Monster
Valentine Skeleton
Valentine Animal (if so, what kind of animal?)

Thank you! You are all amazing!

(Mandy, please email me at spookypookycreations@live.com and we can get this yeti sent to you asap!)

A.T. Phooonnneee Hoooommmmeee! My January Ordeal!

So. What a start to 2012. If you have been following me for any amount of time or know me at all, you know I don't like to do anything small- I go all out and do everything big. Well, I do that in all areas of my life- not just art. When I get sick, I seem to get the most bizarre and rarest things ever.

It all started the first week of January. I was putting away the dishes and I poked my right index finger on a clean steak knife. A teeny-tiny prick. Itty bitty. I didn't even know I had broken the skin until the next day when a tiny cut appeared. Anyway, that same day I cut it, I had visited an empty warehouse I found with an old player piano where I busted out a beautiful ballad. Okay, I just pounded on the keys and then stole some vintage bottles that were on it. It was filthy in there, but oh-so-cool.

I thought nothing more about the cut or the warehouse. That was a Sunday. Monday rolled around and I noticed the cut was a little swollen, really red, and hurting really badly. By Wednesday, it was not getting better at all. I started my new job that day, and it was just not fun being there with a sore finger and I got thrown to the dogs on my first day of work. But I hadn't seen anything yet compared to what was about to happen! That Friday I woke up and my finger was literally the size of my head. Literally.

Okay, I am exaggerating. But it was HUGE. HUGE I tell you! And PAINFUL!! Oh my gosh, I seriously wanted to cut my finger off it hurt so bad. I went to the doctor who gave it a little slice, drained it, and sent me on my way with a couple prescriptions. I thought I would be good to go...oh no. Sunday morning comes around and it is even bigger, redder and has more blisters and hurts to high heavens! I returned to the doctor hoping she would have a simple solution. Ha! This is what happened that day:

• Prescribed more pills and was now up to 7 pills a day
• Tetanus shot to the left arm
• Six, count 'em SIX, shots to the finger. Or was it 7? Good gosh, I can't even remember. It was A LOT, okay?
• A shot in the hip (OHMYGOSHNEVERAGAIN)
• And another shot for good measure

Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. But I still remained pretty positive!

I began wearing my red hoodie everywhere and calling myself A.T. repeating "ooooucccchhhh, ouuucccchh!! and "A.T. phone hooommmmee."I love E.T. and I had to exploit this.

It was still all kinda funny at this point! I mean, it hurt like heck, but who doesn't wanna look like E.T!

That was Sunday. I returned to work on Monday and Tuesday with my alien finger, and it was kind of miserable, but I got my co-workers to start talking like E.T. so it was still fun. THEN, it got worse. Again! What?! How can it be getting worse! I had 9 shots! I am taking 7 pills a day! I am loading this ointment crap on my finger every hour!

So that is when the big guns were busted out, and I was sent to a specialist. Quirkiest darn man I have ever met! I had a hard time keeping up with everything he said, because he talked a million miles a minute and was the oddest fellow ever, unable to stay on track of one thing. You know what he told me though?

"You're not from Ontario, are you?? You look too exotic to be from around here. You look like a California artsy girl!"

I am not sure if somebody prompted him to say that to make me feel better or if it was just my lucky day and he really though that, but either way, it made this whole ordeal worthwhile. Anyways...getting off track here, much like the doctor did. He took one look at it and decided it was not MRSA, which is what I was being treated for. Phew. Sigh of relief. He took another slice (oooouuuuucchhhhh! *Said like E.T.) and told me to stop taking all my meds, stop using the ointments, and instead wanted me to do a 5-day infusion treatment at the hospital.

Woo-hoo! My finger seems to be on the mend, this guy seems to know what he is talking about, and I get to stop taking all those pesky pills. Immediately, we headed to the hospital to start my treatments. Keep in mind, this whole time I had been very optimistic and happy still. And I was even happier, because they gave me numbing stuff for my finger and took off the stupid E.T. cast and I thought I would be able to sew and do photos and art again, finally!

Oh no. Once again, I can't do anything normal and just get a simply IV. As they were prepping me for my IV, the nurses were looking and doing everything they could to find a vein in either of my arms. Unfortunately, my arms are like brittle, little pathetic spaghetti noodles and they just couldn't find any veins. Soooo...my only choice was to have it put in my wrist, right at the bend and where a kajillion nerves are sitting. This wouldn't have been a problem because the pain would be brief, but the IV catheter stays in your body for the entire treatment. So for 5 days, I couldn't even twitch my wrist without wanting to pass out. I mean, it hurt worse than anything had in this entire ordeal!!! If I lifted my arms the tiniest bit or moved a finger it was beyond painful!

I spent 5 days on the couch doing nothing. It was not fun to say the least. I was bored, missing my art, cleaning and everything else. That day of having it put in and experiencing the pain was the first time I got really down and sad about it all and the next few days were pretty rough.

FINALLY, this Monday I returned to the hospital for my last infusion and a follow-up with the specialist. The catheter was removed and while I was incredibly bruised and sore...it felt so freakin' awesome. It still hurts, but it is nothing now.

I saw the crazy, awesome doctor again that day. Turns out, I had a staph infection that I most likely got from my doing my little piano rendition. Don't play dirty pianos, kids!

But the reason it never healed? I am allergic to Neosporin! The ointment I was prescribed had the same elements and that is why it was spreading and just getting worse...the more imflamed it got...the more I added. Thus making it a vicious cycle! I have always used that since I am prone to accidents, but I guess it was just not cutting it anymore and turned against me!

But, I am back to my normal, happy self again. My hands are free of IV cathaters, needles, and big stupid wraps! I had to return to work the next day so I have not had much time to craft or get caught up, but I am looking forward to it! And my new job is going MUCH better now. :)

But I will never forget my days as A.T. And I learned some valuable lessons. 

Be careful, be watchful and aware of your own body, and E.T. is adorable. 

Yeti Giveaway! (Contest Now Closed!)

~Contest is Closed! Stay tuned for the winner tonight!~ 

Okay so much, for blogging everyday...that lasted long didn't it?! lol. I swear, I have a VERY valid excuse though! If you follow me on Facebook then you may already know the story somewhat. I will tell you about it later, but let's just say I had a tiny little cut that turned into a nightmarish ordeal that lasted for almost 3 weeks! I was unable to do anything because both my hands were messed up so I couldn't work at my job, work on my art, or work on my photography! Boo!

But now I am back! I am waaaaaayyyyy behind on orders, photo editing and I had to cancel a few photo sessions, unfortunately. But the good news is I am healed in time to do the 
January Yeti Giveaway!!


Every month is a good month to celebrate yetis obviously, but January is the best I think. And I owe all my readers, followers and supporters a good giveaway! Up for grabs is my classic mascot, Waddell. It is a 14 inch plushie and plenty big for cuddling and hugging! You can name him or her whatever you like if you win this little pal and all you have to do for a chance to win is leave a comment on this entry! If you follow me on facebook, leave a comment on the picture and you will be entered a second time! And then if you share this giveaway on your blog/facebook/anywhere else, leave a comment on this or the facebook entry for a third chance to win!

Please share the Spooky Pooky Yeti love! I would soooooo appreciate gaining some new followers and if I reach it to 250 followers, I will do another exclusive blog giveaway!

Good luck to all who enter, and thank you for all your support!!!

~Contest is Closed! Stay tuned for the winner tonight!~ 

2012 Project List

Hello everybody! How is your first Monday of the new year going? Today was pretty much my last full day of freedom. I have tomorrow off, but I will be spending the day getting ready to start my new job. So tonight is my last late night watching tv and lounging. After that, it is back to business of commissions and Wednesday is my first official day of my new job! Nervous!

I noticed a lot of people are participating in different craft challenges- 50 projects in a year, 365 crafts- one for every day of the year, etc. I don't want to commit to any one of those since I have no idea what is coming this year. With this new job and aiming for Disney and a California move, my future is unclear!

But there are a few things I know for sure I would like to make and I thought I would lay them out here! :)

1. Haunted Mansion Doll House

I have already started one of these actually! I bought a plastic dollhouse for 4 bucks at a thrift store and my dad sand-blasted and painted it black for me. I have it about 75% completed with furniture, wall paper, paint, etc. I for sure want to finish it now and it is the first thing I will start when I get my last swaps and commissions out this month. I can't wait!

2. Halloween Costume

I know it is a little early to be thinking about Halloween, but you know me- Halloween is always on my mind! And I hate how every year October rolls around and I am either left scrambling to make my costume or disappointed in myself that I didn't make something much earlier and left to wear a mediocre store-bought costume.

I would really love to be this version of Alice from Alice: Madness Returns. I am not sure my sewing skills are up to a dress like this, but man it would be amazing! If I don't end up making this, I am starting my costume asap, regardless! I want to be awesome this year! 

3. More Nightmare Before Christmas Rooftop Characters 

Making Jack and Zero was just so incredibly fun. My dad and I have decided we want to continually work on this project and add as many things as we can. 

Oogie is first on the list.

4.  A TARDIS Cabinet


I really want to make a TARDIS replica. Even if it is just a small cabinet or full size one, I want to build  or reconstruct one. I do have a very large 2 door TV cabinet that is actually the perfect size and shape for a TARDIS. Unfortunately, Kevin bought a new tv and it is an inch too big for it! I may still use it for this project and save it for later. (It is being stored in my old bedroom at the parents house since we have no use or room for it at the moment.)

I WILL build my own TARDIS eventually, though!

5. An Alice in Wonderland Installment for my Planter

Ever since this my husband and I moved in together, the front of our "apartment" has been heavily decorated to the fullest extent possible. Well, this week, I took it all down and the place looks so boring and bare!!

So now I am brainstorming and I would like to do an Alice in Wonderland installment/scene in my planter. 

I have been collecting pieces already- I want a little tea party table, banners, a door, a chandelier and some words in the window. Of course I will be screwing al the tea party stuff onto the table and the table into the ground. :)

6. T-Shirt Quilt

I have had a ton of t-shirts saved for a quilt for the longest time. This year, it is getting done! 

Basically, that is it for my personal projects. As far as little things go, I don't have a desire to make much else for myself besides an occasional bag when I see cute fabric I cannot resist and get tired of my current bag. 
(*I love side-sling bags and like to change them often!)


I promised myself I would not make myself any more plushes. I have way too many! If I do make any that I cannot part with, I made a deal with myself I have to sale one that I already have or donate it to something. :)



As for the rest of my projects and what I will be doing craft-wise? Since I am not doing swaps this year, all projects will be going into my shop!
I still have lots of wands and I plan to do another batch soon to get some more variation. I have 4 big plushes to finish and sell, and I would like to make many more big, medium and small plushes. Since I finally learned how make purses and bags, I plan to make several of those as I find fabrics I like. Plus other random things- paintings, mixed media art, maybe some digital art PDF, files.

So expect to see my store stock increase greatly!

Is there anything you would like to see in my Etsy? Please let me know! What are you project plans for the year? 

New Year Resolutions

I am not the type to make specific resolutions. It just doesn't work for me to be so detailed, because I lose sight of things or get overwhelmed. I do however, have a few general resolutions this year, that I thought I would share. 

-Mostly for my own good, so I remember to stick to them. ;)

1. No more swapping.

I am giving up craftster swaps and I will be participating in very few- if any- personal swaps. 

Not for any bad reasons or anything. I have made some amazing friends and received wonderful gifts in swaps. This is just for my own well-being. I have 5 personal long overdue ones I am finishing up this week, and after that I will just not be doing them. I have a new job I am starting so my time will be limited more than it has in a long time. 

Most importantly, Kevin and I are saving up to move away from here and hopefully to California so I can pursue my dream more seriously so I need to save every penny I make! 

Swapping gets spending with the supplies and postage! And I just cleaned my house for 4 days straight and I have WAAAAAAYYYY too much stuff, so it is just a good time for a break. 

2. Back to regular blogging.

I lost sight of my blog back in October when things got hectic! It was just impossible to keep up with it when I was doing so much in October before the trip and when I returned from Dinseyland, things got even crazier. I had a CRAZY amount of Christmas commissions and I just simply couldn't blog along side everything else. 

But now that life is getting back to normal, I plan to catch up on all my projects that I didn't get to post and then to regularly keep up with new projects. I also want to gain new followers so stay tuned for giveaways! 

3. Staying focused and not getting in over my head.

I learned a valuable lesson this year on taking on too many projects. I enjoyed making all my Christmas commissions, and of course I am incredibly thankful for it all. But I was left soooooo exhausted by the end, and I have never been more burned out in my life! 

I have always had several (we are talking up to 50 projects) going at a time. This year, I will limit myself. I will focus on only one personal project at a time instead of several, and I will only allow myself a certain number of commissions at a time. Not swapping will help this. I never want to feel so tired and sick of creating again! 

Basically, those are my main goals for the year. I want to enjoy this year to the fullest extent!  I am going to be working on my final swaps and commissions this month and the rest of my time will be dedicated to a few fun personal projects and mostly re-stocking my etsy shop. 

I want to keep up here and reactivate my flickr account because I miss being on there. 

I will unfortunately, be pulling away from Craftster quite bit. But that is an entirely different story! Just a personal choice that I can explain to you later if you want to ask or email me about it. 

Does anybody else out there have any resolutions? What are your plans for the year? 

Happy New Year!!!

Ahh...new year new beginnings!

What a year 2011 was.

I can honestly say that I did not have high hopes for 2011. 2010 was so incredible. Engaged at an AFI concert. 10 hour road-trip to Seattle to see one of my heroes in concert. Not only did I see Meat Loaf, I was allowed to go in the front row and show him my gifts. I was married in September at the most amazing wedding I could have dreamed of. And finally, the year ended with a honeymoon in Disney World and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

All this said, I did not think 2011 could top 2010. Can you blame me? 

But guess what...

it was JUST AS AMAZING.

In 2011 I had my most successful business year ever. I sold more products and commissions than I ever have since starting this little venture and I completed more items in 3 months than I have ever created in my whole life. My side business, A.R.T. Photography started as a small hobby and turned into a full job and I have come so far and learned so much! I went to concerts, participated in craft fairs. And then the most exciting part of all, my lifelong dream of seeing Disneyland at Halloween time came true! I saw the Holiday Haunted Mansion and crossed it off the bucket list (although I plan to return and see it as many years as possible!). And while I saw one hero in 2010, I saw my other in 2011 by visiting Tim Burton's art exhibit at the LACMA in L.A. 

This year was just so The most important thing of all in this amazing year is how inspired it left me. Seeing Tim Burton's art in person changed me. It pushed me into finally pursuing my own dreams. Between that and being at Disneyland and feeling the magic in my bones, I came home a new person. It has already inspired so much- Jack was a result of the trip! 

(Jack and Zero made the front page of the paper on Christmas day, by the way!!)

Anyways, what I am saying here, is 2012 has a lot of potential. I feel like I can accomplish as much as I set out to do. Of course, that is only if I work towards it. 

I have applied for Disney and while I have no idea what will come of it or if anything will at all, I will work as hard as I can towards my goal of one day working for the company. Disney gave me my first glimpse of how magical life can truly be, if you just let it. Since then, I have strived to bring magic to life through my art. 

And now it is time to take that a step further and try and bring magic to life for the world. 

2012 is a time for new beginnings, new hopes and new dreams (or old dreams in my case)-

either way, this is a new year and anything is possible!

I wish you all the best for 2012 and that you all experience a little bit of magic! 

Eureka!!! This year, Christmas will be Ours!!!!

What's this?
I can't believe my eyes
I must be dreaming
Wake up, Alexz, this isn't fair
What's this?
What's this? What's this?

 

 

 

 

Okay, you are probably wondering for real, what this is!  

First, let me warn you that this is going to be INCREDIBLY IMAGE HEAVY. Just warning you. Sorry.

I went to Disneyland for my first wedding anniversary. It was a lifelong dream come true- I went specifically to see the Haunted Mansion Holiday where they completely redo the Haunted Mansion attraction with The Nightmare Before Christmas decor. (My favorite movie of all time and what inspired me to start my art.) The ride is made to look like Jack crashed into the mansion and took it over with his idea of Christmas. I also saw the Tim Burton exhibit while there (my lifelong hero) so when I came home, my head was reeling with ideas. I felt just like Jack! I had discovered a new world with brilliant imagery and pastimes and people. I was just so incredibly inspired and intrigued and ready to burst with ideas.

Upon my return home, just like Jack, I knew I needed to share all my wonderful experiences with my tiny town and bring them some of the magic I got to experience!

I started off just decorationg the inside of my house as a tribute to the Holiday Haunted Mansion by combining my Halloween and gothic decorations with my Christmas Decorations. I redid my entire living room and put away all items that were unrelated. I mean, everything was replaced. Nothing was left out unless it fit that theme.

 

 

(Ignore the empty frames-waiting on wedding prints i the mail!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While in Disneyland, I saw birdcages in a shop with bone arms coming out and loved them. I made my own version for my living room. 

 

After the inside was covered (there is more, but I will spare you) I decorated the outside- we live in an auto-shop so I don't have a yard or anything cool to decorate and cover. Just a planter and a store front wall. So I had to get creative with my tiny space and once again, I combined my Halloween decorations and Christmas decorations. Tombstones and candy canes and a big tree. Perfect!

 

 

 

But of course that was not enough. Ohhhh nnoooo. That is when I busted out the big guns: my Pop.

If you saw my wedding post from last year, you learned that my Pop is absolutley amazing. I mean, beyond amazing. Worthy of building movie sets and masterpieces, and I am not just saying that because he is my Pop. This post will prove this.

We set forth to build a Jack and Zero- that was my plan and desire all along from the moment I saw Jack in Disneyland. And...we did.

I just want to give proper credit where it is due first of all- my Pop is almost fully responsible for this all. I just helped design and brainstorm and sew mostly. But my Pop is the true artist behind this.



We started with just Jack. We had a ton of plans, but we decided it would be better to just see what happened and go one project at a time. We completed him last weekend. And I am in love with Jack more-so than ever, now.

 

Jack stands is somewhere around 12 feet long. If he was standing up straight he would be taller! He is huge! For comparison, here is my husband standing below him. Kevin is over 6 feet tall.

 

And my hand in his:

 

Here is kind of a basic rundown:

-Started with wire and steel to make his base. Some of the pieces and joints are welded together, some are besn and shaped.
-PVC pipe was used for the neck, arms and legs.
-Body is cardboard and tape.
-Head is carved and sanded from styrofoam.

This part was all his doing after we both figured out the measurements and layout. He is built to scale of how tall he would be if he were to really visit our world! I was very insistent that we keep this as accurate as possible. Luckily, I am this way because I inherited from my father. He became more obsessive over the details than me in the end! Next came the sewing.

I just kind of winged all of that like I always do. It was really easy actually. I put some black stitching around the sleeves to give that extra Nightmare touch, as if Sally herself sewed his suit up.

 

 

My dad carved his hands from wood 2X4 scrap piece, as well as each tooth. The teeth were whittled down from the wood pieces with a point at the top of each one to be shoved into Jack's mouth. We worked together, and my mom even jumped in and helped sew, so it was quite the family affair. By the time we finished him, it was already late in the month, so we decided to scrap Zero. Until a couple days later when my dad informed me he was making him too.

 

 

 

 

I thought we were done after this. I was tired and had a lot of work to finish up and thought Jack was plenty.

That said, Zero is all on my him. He was kind of a Christmas gift to me. Awesome, right? I know...I am so lucky. If you flash back to my wedding, my gift from my Pop was a giant Mad Hatter's hat sculpture! This time I got Zero from him! He made him in a day.

 

 

 

Zero is hanging from the roof in a way that he dangles and hovers right near Jack. His nose lights up at night via a hidden plug in near the end of tail. My husband and I have been adding presents and lights each day as we find stuff and we have been getting a lot of stoppers. It has seriously just been a blast!

 

 

I am so thankful to have such wonderful parents- my Pop for jumping right into the project and helping my dream come to life, my mom for helping us and helping me sew when I was behind on my work, and my husband for letting me do whatever I want to our place!

 

Sorry for such a gigantic post with so much explanation and so many pictures. But I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for looking and Scary Christmas!