A Year in Kbatz Krafts aka 2020 🥴

 

Late last year, I put out a Kbatz Krafts survey for my work at HorrorAddicts.net, asking if the community not only enjoyed my Halloween crafts, but wanted to continue to see spooky DIY, goth sewing, and vintage upcycle crafts year round. When everyone said YES PLEASE, I kind of didn't know what to do. This January, I though a craft per month theme around a holiday, season, or event would be a good way to start. Masquerade Masks! DIY Flower Pens!

Then of course, you know, 2020 went to shit. I was in the middle of organizing my craft space and fixing up my basement with some Dark Shadows inspirations. So I went with it, deep diving into one project after another. From hot glue guns and a needle and thread to paint brushes and power tools, I documented everything at HorrorAddicts.net, doubling my content with DIY articles and step by step How-tos as well as Videos both standalone and 3, 4, or 5 part vlogs. This has been the most productive I've been since having had Lyme Disease, and while it's somewhat disappointing that this creative energy didn't manifest in the form of fiction and the completion of a novel like in those days of old; I strove on in my quirky, crafty endeavors if for nothing else but to keep me occupied from watching the rage inducing, scream worthy, and sob despairing news.

Here then is a rundown of this year's Kbatz Krafts to date – because most of them are Halloween (which begins on August, honestly) and I do still have a few tricks up my hand sewn sleeve for November and December. Blogger had to go and change it's format and be a dunce, of course because 2020, so if the pictures and videos don't work here, please click on the links for the spooky scoop.

Upgrading Masquerade Masks

Gothic Alterations & Thrift Finds

Strolling Through the Pine Barrens Tours

Goth Parasol Upgrade

DIY Flower Pens

Silver & Black Spider Ball Topiaries

Gothic Dark Shadows Mock Sconces

Decorating Like Dark Shadows Basement Series

How to Do Your Own Gothic Gallery Wall

The Unfinished Purple Modern Regency Sewing

Drab to Glam Lampshade Trimmings

DIY Halloween Repairs Video Series

How ~not~ to Make Mystical Glowing Orbs

Halloween Thrift Haul aka “Haulloween” and Trip 2

Halloween T-Shirt Pillows and Masks

Halloween 3D Canvas Art

Love is Love Rainbow Skeleton Wreath

His and Hers 3D Skeleton Frames

Mini Macabre Bone Wreath

Pot O' Bones Tower

Halloween Cat Shelter

This smorgasbord also led me to the equally technologically troublesome Instagram and a new Kbatz Krafts Facebook Page. Neither is the best resource, but I wanted to be able to have photos of my work somewhat organized and easy to find. I don't know that the masses are looking for any of it, but perchance you may also be inspired into discovering your own artful peace of mind. Or at least you can laugh at my admittedly totally crappy camera angles and cheap trash. I look at something and see not what it is, but what it should be.

Conferences, 'Grams, and Craziness

We're 1 WEEK away from the HorrorAddicts.net Online Writers Conference coming February 25-27! Are you ready to chat with authors near and far and get your writing brain on in your pajamas from any and all time zones? 🙋

On one hand, it's much easier to plan an online conference than a real world one. Last year I didn't participate in or host and cover any writing events. Was I too busy, were there not that many events anyway, and did real life just get in the way for a lot of my local literary friends? Time, surgeries, families, travel, work, and more can all impact the energy and inclination to just sit down and write.

We've all been there. In fact, one of my workshops for HOW addresses real world setbacks and finding inspirations. There is of course, a different apprehension that comes with an online event. You begin soft promotion in December inviting participants, but people can have a change of plans in the coming months, forgot about it, sign up and not come back, or just plain forget. With an online event, sometimes people don't realize it is a real thing until you tweet about it fifteen minutes beforehand while I panicking and pray there are no technological issues as people continually ask where is it, what is it, and how does it work? 😕

HOW is just a forum message board, presenters post workshops, articles, and writing tips and you can comment and they will get back to you. There are real time Shout Box live chats with publishers and authors, so the platform runs on ye olden time boards and chats, you know, like what us oldsters used before social media - leave a message and I'll get back to you after the beep and party lines with everyone talking at the same time.  ☎

(on top of the crazy, exercise for Lent!)

On that note, somehow I made the decision to join Instagram as Kbatz Krafts. Of course, after the fact I realized making it two Zs would have been cute, but meh. In no doing Craft DIY articles and Halloween How-To videos year round, I need another place to put photos and step by step documentation. The trouble is, when you are doing a project, I find it very difficult to...stop and take photos and document everything step by step. I don't use a smartphone - gasp get over it - so I video and photograph with my tablet. I'm not in the habit of taking it everywhere, and for me, projects aren't about stopping to show everyone everything at all times. Accomplishing a goal is reward in itself, and as a writer first and foremost, my second joy comes in then writing down everything that I've done.

To me, one reading how I did it is what's the best part, not waiting for the little heart thing on Instagram to light up. It's a little extra craziness to keep refreshing to see who liked a picture or how many views a Youtube video has. Look at that SPAIF segue there! I've never been one to seek attention and validation, so all these like me, please like me social media promotions to highlight my work still feels weird to me, oldster that I am. 👵

This month almost feels like it is more craziness than I can handle. The heck with timeliness and deadlines! Kick rocks 2020! Yeah right. So join HOW if you can, morning, noon, or night, and follow me on instagram, subscribe to my youtube channel, and follow me on twitter but above all, read what I write, mkay? 🙏

Crafts, Capes, and Carols, Oh My!

Tis the festive season my friends, and that means like most of us, it is the busy, busy, busy time of the year for me. Most of that I brought on myself in making Christmas gifts, baking, baking, and doing yet more baking, and did I mention there's more baking yet to come? Pizzelles, people, pizzelles. 

Some of my efforts, however, can be found at HorrorAddicts.net, as I've taken my crafting skills from Halloween into the merriment with some kind of pseudo Victorian ensemble featuring an outrageously tacky bonnet, shiny red cape, and a goofy little muff made with the leftovers. Oh, there's a bell brooch, too, so I can jingle all the way. What I thought was going to be a day's worth of hot glue and done turned out to be a quadruple fold project that took more than a week. You can head over to our Horror Addicts Facebook Group and discuss how I rolled with the sewing punches and made my lemons into some spicy ye olde wassail or you can laugh at my video of the glue gun drama. Whenever I actually get to finishing the video and putting it on Youtube, that is. It should have been today!

Naturally, this means a lot less of priority number one aka writing has gotten done this month. For me the point of documenting projects and making crafts, videos, audio, and all the other bells and whistles is to notify each audience of the writing behind it – the how to article, reviews, and essays. So, it's tough to balance doing everything in December when all the happy festivities intervene moreso than the rest of the year when real life obligations always push the pen and paper to the back burner. My fellow authors know exactly what I mean! Will the craziness chill by time we get to the next Horror Addicts.net Online Writers Conference in February 2020? I hope so.

And did I almost forget about our Horror Addicts special holiday Pumpkin Podcast? Yes I did. 

Fortunately, for those two of you who have missed my literary events, author panels, and speaking engagements, I will be taking part in A Christmas Carol reading alongside a Carol Hymn Sing at the FUMC Hammonton! If you are looking to belt some old time Christmas tunes or are just local Dickensian trash like me, feel free to join us 6 p.m. Sunday December 15. My spats, pocket watch, and top hat are ready!

"Wake Me on Christmas Morning."

Halloween Crafts at HorrorAddicts.net!

It's that time of year again!

Time for Yours Truly to take over HorrorAddicts.net with another batch of How-to, Do It Yourself, Cheap and Loving It Kbatz Krafts!

October's burning Daylight Savings, so let's cut the fluff and get to all the crafts from this year and last because there's even MORE to come:


How to Make Cardboard Tombstones Video

Re-Purposed Black Topiaries
Halloween Candle Clusters
Yogurt Turned Ghost Candlesticks
Pumpkin Ottomans, Oh Yes

It's a Pumpkin Cat House (that the cat didn't like but at least I'm not bitter...)
Creepy Cloches
Tea Stained Labels and Spooky Bottles
How NOT to Make a Spooky Spell Book
How to Make Stuffed Pumpkins Video

Visit HorrorAddicts.net or join our Facebook Group for new and upcoming crafts and decoration conversations including:

DIY Cardboard Coffin
Mini Coffin Trays
Cardboard Tombstones Photo Shoot
When in Doubt, Paint it Black

Whew! We're NOT stopping until Thanksgiving, either, so stayed tuned for MOAR Podcasts and Audio Specials thankyouforyourtime.