This is going to be another heavily Halloween themed Updates/Blog entry, at least for the blog segment, so hold onto your hats! +_+
And remember, at this time of year, anything goes! Baseball hats, cowboy hats, top hats, balmoral hats, trilby hats, cloche hats, panama hats, berets, fedoras, tuques ... You can wear any goddamn hat you want. Pop on a fez for all I care!
... Okay, maybe not a fez. 'Cause unless you're an old fat Turkish dude, I doubt you'll be able to pull it off. And if you're an old fat Turkish dude --- Actually, scratch that, an old fat dude of any ethnicity at all --- I don't want you to visit mallorymaloney.com, so go away.
Right now. ;She taps her foot impatiently as several old fat dudes get up in a grumbling state and file out. She then slams the door behind them.; And don't come back! =_=
Alright, now that we've cleared out the riffraff, let's get on to the updates, shall we?
I removed the Linkage section to tidy things up a little. The Affiliates, Link Back, and Listed At pages can now be found in the Domain section, and the Fantastic Online Stores page is now located in Informational Lists. Hopefully this doesn't confuse anyone! @_@;
Unfortunately, I had to remove quite a few Affiliates with extremely inactive sites, as well as Affiliates whose sites were perfectly active, but who hadn't made a single attempt to stay in contact with me for several months ... Or longer. You guys do know that the idea of Affies isn't just to give and receive hits, right? It's supposed to be about friendship, interaction, and support! ;She shakes her head in a disappointed manner.; Tsk, tsk.
And continuing on with the Spring --- Fall? --- Cleaning, I also deleted the Printable Colouring Pictures page from the Downloads section, as it wasn't exactly the epitome of quality content, haha. The only problem is that now the Downloads section is looking pretty bare, so I'm going to have to seriously work on building it up! #_#;
But for now, let's jump right into that Halloween themed blog segment I mentioned earlier! Remember when I promised I'd take photographs of my house after I finished decorating it for Halloween ...? Well, for once I'm actually standing true to a promise. o_o; Check out the full sized photos by clicking the thumbnails below!
An overall look of our Halloweened house! This shot is a little too far away to make out the finer details, though, so the next photo'll bring you a bit closer.
Ah, that's better! Now you're able to see the dripping blood banner a little clearer, along with the alternating orange and blacklight bulbs, the
return of the Highly Terrifying Ghost Made Out Of An Old White Sheet, the giant spider perched upon a giant spiderweb, and the small, broken down fence guarding a mini 'cemetery'!
And here's an even closer shot of that giant spider and his giant spiderweb! I crafted this myself out of nothing but a few nails and a bunch of black knitting yarn. It looks pretty complicated, but in reality it was extremely easy to make. Not to mention cheap, considering I used less than five grams of yarn overall! The only downside is that it was insanely time consuming ... Took me about two hours to make from start to finish. However, looking at the awesomeosity of the finished project, I consider it time well spent!
A back view of the giant spiderweb, just for good measure. Adding the trapped fly was a last minute stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. n_n
A close up of the mini 'cemetery'. I made the little fence out of scraps of wood my Mum got at the local Home Depot --- She found it all in the store's 'free wood' box, haha! I then used my Dad's air stapler to tack the slats onto a five foot two by four we had lying around, so this was another insanely cheap project.
A look at one of the headstones I made within the miniature cemetery ... And in case you're wondering, I did indeed have Béla Lugosi's body shipped over from California for this special occasion. n_n Gotta make things realistic!
And next to Béla Lugosi's grave is Edward Cullen's. His death is a shame, really ... I actually liked Edward, I truly did, but the rabid Twilight fans drove me to commit this murder. I simply couldn't take their obsessive squeals any longer. >_>; Sorry, girls.
And here we have Vlad Tepes' grave! Every year around this time, I nip over to Romania, dig up his mostly disintegrated body, lug said body back to Canada, and then pop 'ol Vlad here in his temporary home for a few weeks ... Just for authenticity's sake.
And now we take a look at my house's inner front door. The glittery skull wreath is my absolute favourite! I forced my Mum to buy it this year, with the intent of swiping it to place on my own room's door after Halloween's over. ^_^
Ignore the fact that you can see me in the mirror, because I --- Hey! I said ignore the fact, not focus on it! I know my astounding beauty is terribly distracting, but at least pretend to pay attention to the Halloween decorations, would you? Gosh!
A look at the fireplace's mantel ... I think the orange and black streamers and bows are my favourite in this shot, even though we've had the bows since the bloody dinosaurs walked the Earth.
And here's a few more ancient pieces --- Which should really be in a museum by now. The bat used to hang from the ceiling of my room year 'round, and the shiny cardboard lettering's been kickin' since, like, 1382.
And last but not least, a quick view of our buffet table! The string lights arranged around the other objects is probably my favourite in this shot, but I'm also quite fond of the orange and black tinsel wrapped 'round the banister. ^^
And without so much as a breather, we're going to immediately dive right into the next Halloween subject and equivalent set of snapshots --- My black cat costume's accessories!
First up, I happily present ... ;She grabs a nearby drum set and begins a roll.; ... My completed kitty ears! ^o^ Despite their simplicity, looks wise, these were actually a bitch to make. @_@; For each ear, I cut out two identical triangles from black faux fur, ((Cutting two identical shapes out of fur is easier said than done, trust me on this,)) And then cut out a slightly smaller triangle of black fun foam to hot glue in between the two furry triangles. After that, I cut out another, smaller triangle from white faux fur and hot glued it on top of the black furry 'sandwich'. I also had to curve the base of each ear just right, so I could glue them to a thin black plastic headband a little easier. Helpful tip: If you ever decide to make ears like this for yourself, always pick a headband that matches the colour of your hair. Notice how the black headband's virtually invisible on top of my raven coloured locks!
Now for another happy presentation ... My authentic cat collar! As I mentioned in the
last Updates/Blog entry, I was thinking about buying a collar from the new pet store that opened recently in my city. However, seeing as the ones I had my eye on were $21.00 each, and seeing as I can be a cheap motherfucker, I wasn't too sure what to do ... But in the end, I decided to go for it. Sure, twenty one bucks for a collar is kinda expensive, but it's something I'll wear all the time, and plus, it's real leather ... So we're talking serious quality here. To make it look more catlike as opposed to simply goth, I added that annoyingly cutesy bell I
also mentioned in the
last Updates/Blog entry! That cost me another fuckin' five bucks, as I had to buy a rainbow happy face polyester cat collar from Wal*Mart just so I could use the black bell that came with it, 'cause apparently black bells are unheard of anywhere else. -_-;
Next up is a back and side view of my finally finished tail! ((Please to be observing my ass with nothing more than a fleeting glance. 'Kay thanks.)) This was another tough creation, man. @_@; As I explained in a
previous entry, I first folded a strip of black fur in half, good side together, and machine sewed all the way from the top and down the open edge. After finally finishing the task of turning the tail right side out, ((My Dad walked in at some point, saw I was struggling with the tail, took it from me, and turned it right side out in a matter of seconds --- He was clever enough to realise that there's more than one way to turn something inside/right side out, LMAO,)) Next, I wrapped a straightened wire coat hanger with pillow stuffing and duct tape, managed to get the wrapped wire into the tail, and then realised I hadn't figured out how to actually attach the tail to me and/or the back of my clothing. -_-; Thankfully though, I managed to come up with a solution.
I simply folded two cut pieces of knitted elastic band in half to create two loops, sealed the ends with clear nail polish to prevent fraying, and then hot glued the two loops together on a slight angle. That way they wouldn't shift and lose their positioning when I proceeded to sew the end of the tail closed via machine ... Although the whole sewing machine plan didn't quite work out. Little did I know that the machine wouldn't sew through such a thick wad of fur/thin elastic, even though it did fine when it was folded right side in. After attempting to force the machine to sew the end of the tail shut several times without any positive results, I didn't know what to do. I was stuck! >< Granted, there was always the possibility of sewing the end shut the old fashioned way, but I don't have that kind of strength in my hands. They're totally useless when it comes to any sort of heavy duty work --- Which is why, in a fight, I kick instead of just relying on punches. And I bite. Rather viciously. But, um, that's beside the point. Thankfully, my Mum told me she'd find the time to finish up the tail for me, which was fantastic, because she's fairly much an expert at sewing ... As you can clearly see in the photo above!
After teh Mummykinz saved the day, I threaded a tiny belt I stole from my little brother Craig through the elastic loops, ((Which I wear high up on my waist line, hidden under my shirts,)) And the tail was finished!
Whew! Talk about a Halloween overdose, holy shit. Thank sweet Satan I only have a few things left to figure out/get together to complete the costume ... Figure out how I'm going to do my makeup in a catlike fashion, find a suitable treat bag, and decide whether or not I should customise a pair of black gloves to look like cat's claws. After all that, I should be completely finished! #_#;
Well, with my costume, anyway. I still have to help my brothers get all their shit together ... And I still have to remind my Mum that we need to buy a bunch of pumpkins to carve. And I'll have to decide what I want mine to look like ... And then I'll probably have to help my brothers decide, too, since they can never make up their minds.
FFS.
... I love Halloween.
Mmm, sweet, sugary goodness!! I *love* how much you've been updating lately, my dear. NO. MORE. HIATUS. PLS. This was thoroughly entertaining to read, not least because of the awesome pictures. I actually laughed aloud when I saw that the terrifying sheet-ghost had made a reprise; I loved that guy last year!! You made a 'cemetery' aswell, which made me really happy, and that spiderweb looks kickass! You have such a cool house; mine's just a boring, bland, terraced piece of shit that looks the same as every other fucking house in the street. Blast. Anywhore, your costume is looking amazing -- srsly, you should create a how-to section on this site as you are lé costume-designing genius!! Wish you lived near so you could help me design my Wil Francis costume (which I probably won't do now cause the government aren't paying me properly for turning up to college -_-'). I hope you have a really stunning Halloween cause you've gone to all this trouble getting yourself ready for it! I'm just going to Lozz's with Elliot and Mo and we're just gonna drink and watch movies -- sometimes I miss the traditional Halloween, with non-alcoholic parties and trick-or-treating.
I've lost patience for small kids in rubbish costumes lately; I just roar, "BUGGER OFF OR I'LL EAT YOU!!" and watch them scatter. Quite funny, but I do feel a pang of guilt when I snaffle all the sweets.
I sound like a right bitch now :D Ah well!!
Have a good one!
-- Kayleigh
Haha thank you for commenting :D Whoa, good story idea. I should.. or maybe you should, since its your idea. ;)
Whoaa sick cat collar. Very.. awesome. Omg i love halloween too xD I'm supposedly going to be a flying crayon.. but you know. Times are hard. This may change. Also... any better suggestions that involve silver nail polish? :D I got some earlier -.- Its gawwjuss.
-Liliana
Wow, your family sounds awesome! I love my mom and dad, but they don't have what my brother calls "the Halloween spirit". Your costume is turning out wonderfully so far, I wish I could do that! I'll trade you my drawing skills for your craft ones!
P.S. Thanks for the tip on the typo, I can't believe I didn't catch that! xD
Haha, brava with the Cullen grave. Just please don't hurt Jacob. I love my Jacob *snuggles da wolfie*
The costume looks awesome. I went to the mall yesterday and bought a fuzzy kitty hat at Spencers for fifteen bucks. I plan to customize it somehow... I'll either be one of those Tokyopop anime fangirls or a creature from Where the Wild Things Are. I'm not sure which would be more fun. ^_^
I think that us females hardly ever make sense at all. ;)
Thank you so much for informing me about the IE issue with the premade! *love* And for circling it... haha. Who knows, maybe I wouldn't have noticed it otherwise. ;)
Ahaha, I love your murder of Edward Cullen. XD I actually loved the books, but the obsessed fangirls drive me crazy, too. >.>
And I love where you talk about driving out the fat old guys. XD
I love your decorations. :D
I can't wait to see the whole costume! You're going to look awesome. ^_^
LOVE the Halloween decorations. My family has never been much about the decorations for holidays, so this is really cool to see. You did an amazing job.
Woah! That's the first time I heard that FF is slower than IE. Usually it is the way around. I have nothing against IE really. I myself was a big fan of IE before and I dissed FF. It was until IE kept on crashing on me that I finally decided to not use it anymore and jump to another browser (not FF though, I still don't like it XD).
aww! Kitty ears! They're so adorable! I want a pair too.. o_O and the tail looks delicious! Mmm! Hahaha!
Hey, Mallory!
I don't know yet. I don't want to ask them.
Because they'd know if I do ask them!
Thanks for caring. :)
Wow, wow. I love that costume. The tail looked like hell to make but it was smart how you popped it on a belt like that. Foxy! XD
I also really like the ears. I have never made anything of the sort but I'll keep your tip about having a hairband the colour of my hair. :)
Your house looks amazing! You guys get into the spirit so much. I swear, I think I remember you going through this last year when I popped by your blog, LOL!
The spiderweb is my favourite part. It looks amazing.
I must see you in full costume, makeup and all. :D Make up for all the no-Halloween in Australia!
Oh, thanks for the tip about the paintbrush! I never thought of that. :D
I think vinegar is used a lot to clean things, but as to whether people know or not? I'm not sure! But my boyfriend knows a lot of tips for anything, so I'd be happy to pass them along should you make that page.
wow awesome costume.we're dressing my son as a monkey for halloween,suits him to a "t",let me know what you decide on the gloves things
LOLOL@ the gravestoneedwardcullenrealvampiresdon'tfreakinsparkle... thing. I do like me some twilight but I do hate the fangirls & I'm not too keen on Edwardo so LOL.
Your house looks soooo cool o_o; It's amazingo! I'm having a halloween party this year, and I'ma decorate my house but I don't have any decorations yet but I'll think of something xD
And AWWWW your cat ears! They're adorable x3 You're hard work paid off~ Once I tried to make bunny ears but I think I was about 7 at the time and they were made out of paper so didn't exactly work... ^^;
You wanna talk about cheap? I found a hat at Kmart that would be perfect for my flapper costume but it was $13... I may still get it though.
Its okay that you killed Edward, I wasn't much for him anyway.
I remember being just as amazed when I looked at your Halloween photos last year as I am now. It's cool that your entire family takes Halloween that seriously. I don't like decorating my home for anything but I wish my parents would decorate their house for Halloween so I could create cool stuff like you do.
I love the mini cemetery and lol at "real vampires doesn't freaking sparkle". So true, so true!
And your cat costume is adorable!
I'm loving the way you decorated your house. I'm thinking we're gonna have to go all out next year. I live in the forest, so a big spider web between a couple trees would be cool... And omigod, your costume is going to be awesome! You need claws, deffo. I was a cat for halloween once, and my cousin did my face with acrylic paint. I would not recommend that. You should try to find some nonprescription cat eye contacts though.
Thanks for the edit by the way Mallory ^.^ The outfit was debuted today, and Laurence remembered the conversation he had with me on Facebook!! Currently in the process of typing a supersuper My Passion blog entry!!
Are you surprised that I met them all? ;D
That's so cool! I love the pics of all your Halloween decorations. I'm guessing it is your favorite holiday? Mine too!
That ghost hanging down is so awesome! And I liked your graveyard. I'm surprised you were able to get to Edward Cullen what with all those swarming fangirls. But a very nice touch nonetheless. :D
Yea, I am just super crazy busy. Two APs, and now I have to study for SATs that are in like two weeks. I fail at planning. Hopefully I can find time to actually have fun haha
Thank for the get well :D I hope I do too.
Wooow your house looks amazing! I'd love to visit in the dark.....in a non-pervy/stalker way...I meant in a creepy Halloween way. For some reason, people where I live don't really go all-out for Halloween these days! Nobody decorates for Halloween! :(
Your house looks great! Looks like you put so much effort into it. I like the spiders web best. Wow, you're prepared for Halloween early. Oh yeah, and Edward's grave is hilarious.
YOur costume's amazing too. Loving the belt idea, and the headband isn't even visible. Cool collar too, expensive though.
Oh, and the thing about old men in Fez's made me laugh a lot.
xx
Sooo I found you on the Loyal forums just now! I was going through a bunch of old fanfictions I'd never finished and I started reading the Car Wreck Vanish thread and there you were. ^_^ Random but thought I'd share. Yet another awesome point for you for being a loyal. lol
Thank you for your compliments on both my website and necklace ^^ hehe, no worries that you didn't realise it was the domain I won XD I overlook things sometimes as well!!
Omg! Your house is decorated so nicely!! My family never bothers decorating -_- Not even at Christmas! :( I had to put up the Christmas tree myself last year....and take it down myself. T.T
The spider web is brilliant! I would of just bought it because I just don't have the spirit LOL. Time well spent indeed.
Aww, I love your miniature graveyard as well! You have put so much lovely effort into this ;) Ever thought of interior or outdoor designing? You are quite the resourceful sort!
Wow! Cat collar's are quite a luxury for cats nowadays for a wooping $21! But hey, as you said, it's leather so it is worth something XD
Well your Halloween outfit owns, I must see you in the full; including make up!
My friend went as a wolf last year and it was hilarious - people were so frightened of her at night. LOL.
Really makes me wish we celebrated Halloween where I live, every year again. =/
That cat costume is pretty damn awesome. As well is your decorated house! Love the shot of the spiderweb especially. =3
whooa that was a long blog LMFAOO :)
annnnywhooO! i hate inactive affiliates its so stupid its just like wtf is the point. :S
ANYWAAAAYS lol i love halloween too! parties and a reason to get crazy and dressed up LOL!
i love your house! i'm sure it looks even freeeaaaaakier at night!
i loveeeee your costume! lmfao one year i was a black cat too! WHOOOT :D
that's all pretty awesome..
yeah, i love the cold... i'm all about layering, flannels, hoodies, sweaters, you name it.
Oh, Mallory! I've totally failed you as a friend. I had every intention to respond to your amazing comment back in September... But then I just didn't. Uhg. Uhg. Uhg. *slaps self* I even read your fabulously epic Green Day blog! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and loved that I was able to vicariously live through you, as I wanted to go to the LA show.... But then I never commented. Wow.
Ignore any and ALL of the criticism in regards to your beautiful body, Mallory. You're perfect, really, and anyone who says otherwise is truly just trying to bring you down. Fuck the haters, karma will eat them up later.
Your house is so lovely. And I ADORE your decorating. God, will you fly out to California and spread your wonderful Halloween cheer here? I absolutely love Halloween, but I don't have money for good decorating and my Mom doesn't support it.
The Edward tombstone is an awesome touch. ;)
Your costume so far is ideal. Really, really. Awesome. You better take photos on the 31st! ;D
In response to your questions in that comment (again, I'm sorry for this terribly delayed reply! FAIL!), I'm going to be moving into a house or condo with a girl I met on craigstlist. :P I'll be looking at places and meeting people when I go to Colorado next week. So excited. I'm slightly nervous, but eh, it'll work out. :) It's an adventure, really.
The deadline... Well, like I told you in the email back in June (I think?), I have an agent (Rachel Vater of Folio Lit if you wanna Google her) who is super interested in my work. She already read AFOT, but she wants to read the revised version again. Hense the deadline. :) Thrilling stuff.
I wish I could spend Halloween with you! It looks so much greater from your neck of the woods.