#I was going for a sticker sheet vibe!

[galewindstudios]

Artfight Attack #12 | @[FearMePlease]'s OC, Lenny!

[determunition]

g0lly is going to be joining the p03 sticker sheet and i've never really drawn her before now! i mean she's got basically the same design as him lmao but it's kind of a different vibe

i don't think about her too much but drawing her big ol eyes enough times warmed me up to her a lot haha

[notgilderoylockhart]

Interview with the Vampire | faux rebind

When my copies of Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned arrived I was shocked to discover that every single one had a sticker on the cover. Except it wasn't a sticker. It was PRINTED on the cover. Who does that?

And after finishing the first book I wanted them to match the vibe of the show. So I do what I always do when I love a book. I rebind it. Not a full rebind, I still wanted to preserve the cover after all, but a faux rebind, a protective book jacket that would look great on my shelf and keep the book from getting even more roughed up. I'm using the tutorial made by bindrebindery on TikTok or on Instagram . I love her work, she's incredible.

The first thing we gotta do is measure our book. It needs to be extremely exact, since we'll be working with millimeters here. The width of my copy is 10.4cm, and its height is 17.5cm. As per bindrebindery's tutorial we'll subtract 5mm from our width measurement and then add 3mm.

10.4 - 0.5 + 0.3 = 10.2cm

For the height we'll just add 3mm to the bottom and the top, so 6mm each

17.5 + 0.3 + 0.3 = 18.1cm

And for the back, we just copy the height measurement of 18.1cm and simply measure the width of the back which for my copy was 2.3cm.

I'm using 2.5mm thick cardboard and I would also suggest investing in a box cutter and a self-healing mat to not damage any of your surfaces. Now that we've got our pieces cut out, we can draw where we want to glue them to the book cloth. The space for the hinge in between the cardboard pieces depends on how thick your cardboard is. It's the width of the cardboard times 2 plus 5mm.

2.5mm x 2 + 5mm = 10mm

So the gap in between is 1cm wide.

We're also leaving a 2cm gap all around. I also like to invert-round the corners, to make it easier for me to fold it down later, but it's also possible to just trim off the excess on a straight line.

Now it's time to cut and glue everything down. I'm using bookbinder's glue for this and folding down the long pieces first. While the glue is drying I'm cutting out 2 more pieces with the measurements of our cover. These will be the sleeves that will hold our book in place.

I'm folding it and making sure it's not too tight on the book so it can slide in and out easily and then I'm cutting off the excess, a little more than 2cm in this case.

I also spent a hot minute designing a few embellishments. I got a few sheets of vinyl to play around with, to test my new cricut and ironed them onto the velvet, which worked fine for the bigger pieces, but those pesky little letters just did not want to stick. It took me a hot minute to iron each letter on individually. But it was totally worth it, I think. I love the look of it.

Look at that shine. Gorgeous.

Now all that's left is glue on some decorative endpaper, turn it over and go over the hinges with something (I like to use the bow handles of my scissors) and add our sleeve-pieces. I also like to slide in some paper just to make sure the glue dries properly and doesn't seep out and (God forbid) glues the sleeves shut. And that's it.

[polycraftory]

Getting Started: Junk Journaling

So you want to get started with scrapbooking/junk journaling? This is a craft, like many others, that you can get started on with very little supplies! However, we'll get a little deeper into stuff as well for some additional tips and supplies that might be fun or helpful.

What You Absolutely Need

Scissors / Cutting Implements - If you can, buy a nicer pair of scissors for your own sanity, but any scissors will do starting out! Detail scissors specifically are really helpful. Exacto knives can also be helpful, but you'll also need a cutting mat if you don't already have one. This category is worth investing in because dull scissors are a nightmare.

Adhesive - ZipDry is designed for paper so it doesn't bleed through thin stuff and it dries quick and clear. Double sided tape rolls are also very helpful, especially with large areas or gluing a bunch of stuff quickly. This is an area worth investing in earlier! Thin paper and magazine paper will have bleed through with certain glues.

Notebook/Paper - Use what you have! If you, like me, have a million journals lying around, use that! As you get deeper in, you might find it helpful to specifically look for notebooks that lie flat when opened. You can also use sheets of art paper if you want to go more independent collage style rather than journaling. Watercolor paper/notebooks are nice because they are thicker, but you can use whatever.

Materials to Actually Cut/Glue/Use - Okay, here's where you really can do whatever you want forever and spend as little or as much as you want. You can cut up books and magazines you have on hand. If you have a printer, you can print stuff out! People sell really amazing curated mixed packs of materials (you can support some great shops on etsy doing very cool and niche stuff! If you are really on a budget, amazon sells some bulk packs as well).

Material Tip

If you don't have a husband that works in a mailroom (we are very lucky) and you don't have a lot of magazines on hand, try going to your local post office and dig through the recycling bin! A lot of people will throw out magazines/ads/catalogues there and you might find some gems. You can also get a free trial for some magazines and just cancel once they want to charge you money. Nic finds Vogue and GQ helpful for people. National Geographic can be helpful for backgrounds and animals.

Leveling up details below the cut!

Level Up

Slide Cutter - Make sure you get one with a replaceable blade! Super helpful for bulk cutting out big shapes.

"Okay, but I see people online with fancy stuff and I want to get in on that action!" you may say. Here is some fun stuff to play with!

If you see someone whose junk journaling content you like, you can also just reach out to them! A lot of people are happy to share links to the stuff they use and a lot of junk journalers online run their own shops/have affiliate links to the stuff they use!

Fun Junk Journaling Variety Packs - truly this is where a lot of people spend a lot of money because you can buy all sorts of fun niche packs depending on the vibe/focus you want to go with. You can also buy packs of quotes / letters / sayings. This can be helpful especially when doing character focused stuff. My wife really likes the packs from PengellyCrafts on etsy.

Washi Tape - People really like using washi tape, especially the transparent ones. These can be surprisingly expensive.

Transparent Stickers - These are fun because you can get a lot of detail and layering without intricate cutting. If you are careful with detail cutting you can cut the white border on normal stickers if you can't swing transparent ones.

Stamps - Like transparent stickers, this can add fun depth and layering, though with perhaps slightly less detail. The best part about stamps is that they are infinitely reusable and you can get all sorts of stamp pads. The downside is they are surprisingly expensive. You can even get stamps that help you make backgrounds like stars or wood texture. There are also "container" stamps like jars and bottles that you can put stuff in!

Embossing Powder - You can pair stamps with a glue stamp pad (or get glue markers) to use with embossing powder and a heat gun to create embossed details that add depth and texture. Make sure you are careful about what order you do things in when using heat!

Distress Ink (or Distress Oxide) & Blender/Diffuser - Make things look aged! This is a stamp pad you can use to make any paper or image look older than it is. Make sure you also get the little foam blender they also sell for application since it'll go on too thick if you try to use it directly on the paper.

Wax & Wax Seals - Wax can be fun to play with because it is both an adhesive and also adds dimension. Note: a lot of embossing or wax in a journal can make it hard to close a notebook.

Old Books - You can buy used books or use books that you don't want anymore for backgrounds to cut out words. Things like recipe books and encyclopedias can be especially helpful/vibe-y.

Fun Edges / Frames - You can get scrapbooking scissors or edge punches to add fun details and shapes to paper edge. It just depends on whether you like that look! Something like a simple round edge punch can be helpful.

Have Fun With It

Do you do other crafts, like painting or cricut? You can pair so many different crafts with junk journaling to make a cool multi-media piece. The most important thing to remember is to use what you have and have fun with it! Don't put off starting because you want all the bells and whistles or think you have to spend a bunch of money like the people who create junk journaling internet content! Create joyfully and lean into the chaos.

Please let us know if this guide was helpful and if you'd like a more specific buy list or tutorials on anything! We are here to help make crafting more accessible <3 You got this! Go junk journal!

If you want to see Nic's junk journaling, we are going to queue some in the next few days. Check our pinned post to find our junk journaling tag for inspiration!

[boin-de-bindery]

(this is the part where you find out who you are) - @kae-karo

A fanbinding of this hilarious & heartwarming Blue Lock Mall AU: thanks again to kae-karo for agreeing to let me make this! After I'd finished, I took my copy to an Auntie Anne's to mark the occasion 🥨 only recently learned that she sells pretzels across the Atlantic!

The bind includes an illustration of Hot Topic Employee Rin by nanabee ✨

This was my first time making two copies of a fic, and I ended up refining the typeset and design elements midway. The bindings are siblings rather than twins as a result, but I'm very pleased with them both. Went for a Hot Topic/2000s grunge vibe.

The cover title is a collage of lettering from the stores that the characters work at in the fic + a few others that would be familiar to American mall goers. I used printable vinyl sticker paper for the author copy, covered it with transparent film then layered metallic red HTV on top.

The personal copy has regular sticker paper for the title while the HTV is unbacked. It's hard to read on the stripy bookcloth, hence the adjustment.

clock the typo on the personal copy idk how that happened :(

This is the most thought I've put into a typeset so far. The chapters have unique character POV headings based on their employer's branding or their personal vibes (e.g. since Kaiser makes me think "expensive & European", he has a Chanel-inspired POV font). The fonts have their own credit section at the end.

Technical details:

A5 binding with rounded spine.

13 signatures of 8 sheets, for an overall page count of 416.

Glitter card stock endpaper for the author copy, regular cardstock for the personal copy.

Handsewn headbands with a ribbon bookmark.

Homemade bookcloth (heat 'n' bond method) made from a fat quarter for emo/Beetlejuice flair.

Edge painted with red metallic gouache. This stained the interior in places but, y'know, 𝖆𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖙𝖎𝖈.

One final difference between the two copies is that the author copy benefitted from the arrival of my 20-sheet guillotine. While not perfect, the edges look much more even on the author copy. This will be my main method of edge trimming going forward.

[rott1ngbra1n]

Sorry for being sudo inactive!! I’ve been on a trip, where I got to see Sweeney Todd on Broadway!! Genuinely such a good show. If I went on about how amazing it was, we’d be here all day

But on the note of me being gone for a bit, ya boi has been crafting! Along with some more ramblings as usual-

More art below the cut (under my ramble-)

The chapter one outline of the Alley Cat AU has been completed! Now it’s on to drawing some panels out and finalizing the draft! Of course I will probably post more concept work before then, as some details still need to be worked out. But we are making headway!

I’m going to also work on making a masterpost here soon, so that way everything is in one neat spot. But the story will be hosted here! Here’s some more smaller concept work to tide you guys over until the next post! I obviously want to finish a couple chapters but I’ve also started work on a chapter explaining how Morro met his cat! Originally the cat was unnamed but I think Wisp works well for them, I will try to finish the reference sheets for all of the characters before I post any chapters.

I’m also going to finish up my work on chapter one, before posting any of it. So that way the wait between isn’t as awful (fun fact that’s been my New Year’s resolution- to try and post more-) but please be patient with me, I’ve never really worked on a project this big before and I am a full time college student with a job. So I will do my best!

I want to let you guys know as well, the ninja and their dynamic with Lloyd will stay pretty similar to that of the show. With them obviously being suspicious of Lloyd and his “cat”, but because they find him and Lloyd doesn’t try to do anything regarding the Serpentine (because Morro shook some sense into him-) there’s no residual “you unleashed the snakes on us-“ vibes. Instead right off the bat Kai takes one look at Lloyd and says “You are now my little brother. You cannot deny this.”, adding more fluff.

That also means we have to find another person who unleashes the serpentine. Because plot reasons and all that jazz, I’m working on it but I think it would be funny if Jay did it by accident or one of the other darkly boys did it. I’ll toy with both ideas and some other ones before I settle on it, I have time. I hope.

I’ve got some other things I’m cooking up, some Ninjago related, others pertaining to other fandoms I’m in.

Aside from that, I also have a Redbubble! There’s some stuff in there I’m reworking, so a minder and apology for that, but I’m going to try to get some more Ninjago works posted up there. Along with some original works! Here’s the link if you’d like to check it out!

I also have a KoFi that I am also redoing and working on! If you’d like to commission me, that would be the spot! I’m still trying to figure it out so if you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask! KoFi link here!

I really appreciate all of your kind words and reblog tags (I do see them, they make me laugh and smile), it means a lot and I hope you all enjoy what else I’ve got in the oven!! Thank you so much!!

[hotcryptidsinyourarea]

Falling for the Frogman of Loveland, Ohio

story synopsis: Molly is a 30-something cookbook editor who has decided to move from New York to Loveland, Ohio after a bad breakup and a desire for a fresh start. She is instantly attracted to her neighbor Jeremiah's midwestern charms, but this local guy is much more than meets the eye...

human (she/her) + interdimensional humanoid frogman (he/him) cw: social anxiety, existential pondering, negative self-talk

Chapter 3

My body and mind are so exhausted, I sleep in an hour later than I usually do. The fact that my new bed is very comfortable also facilitates this late start, but I don’t really have it in me to complain about that. I finally pry myself from between the sheets and get dressed for my first full day in my new home. First thing’s first: coffee. 

I do a quick search for the closest non-chain coffee shop to my place. Part of the appeal of moving to a smaller community is supporting the local business culture. Never again will I spend $10 on a tall, burnt-ass latte from the Bucks. There’s one on Loveland Madeira alongside all the other fast food chains, but I’m going to avoid it like the plague. It’s the weirdest thing in New York: everybody talks about how much they love their neighborhood coffee shops, but no matter when or how you see them in real life, there will always be that ubiquitous siren-logo’d cup planted firmly in hand. It’s like some grand delusion we all pretend we’re not a part of. 

No that I think people in a small town are paragons of virtue or anything. I know there is hypocrisy and assholes everywhere you go. But you spend enough time in one place and eventually you have the right to gripe about it as much as your little black heart desires! Or that’s what I tell myself, I guess. Part of me will always love New York and I truly look forward to going back and visiting. But the agitation I feel at just a passing reminder of the city tells me I made the right move leaving town. I just hope this place ends up being where I’m supposed to be. 

Well, what better way to get a feel for a new town than running a couple of normal, domestic errands? Namely: coffee. Let’s fucking gooooooo!

_____________________________________________________________

I’m loving the decor at the Blue Chip Roasters coffee shop. The amount of hearty wood furnishing and exposed burl fixtures gives it a Twin Peaks vibe without being derivative. It’s warm and homey and the scent of fresh coffee brewing makes my mouth water. There’s a huge wraparound counter that isolates the staff area behind the machines and cash register, which lines up with the doorway so you can walk right up to it. On the other side of the counter are bar stools occupied by various coffee drinkers who are all immersed in their books or laptops. It’s simple but welcoming. A satisfactory first impression, for sure. 

It’s a blessedly simple menu. They only have two types of milk, whole and oat, but I’ve never strayed from the classic whole milk-coffee combination anyways. Full fat means full flavor and that’s what I want. I order a double iced latte and a cinnamon roll for breakfast. As I drop in a dollar for tip, I notice the jar is covered in stickers and such all depicting some artists’ renditions of an anthropomorphic frog. In big block letters it reads: 

>> DON���T FROG-ET TO TIP! - LFM <<

“Who is LFM?” I ask the girl working the register. 

“Oh, it stands for Loveland Frogman. You’ve never heard of it?” 

“I can’t say that I have, but I’m new in town. Like, brand new.” 

“Oh, well it’s just a dumb local legend. Years ago, a couple cops saw a lizard standing on its hind legs and told everyone they saw a Frogman. Locals have kind of taken it on as a mascot of sorts even though it’s fake as fuck.” 

“It’s NOT fake,” says the kid behind the espresso machine pulling shots. “The Frogman is real. That lizard story is a cover-up ordered by the FBI. Ask anyone from around here and they’ll tell you a story about them or someone they know spotting him at some point.” 

“That’s ridiculous,” the cashier rolls her eyes. “The people that claim to see him are just dumbasses lying so they can be the center of attention for a moment. Either that or meth heads.” 

“It wasn’t a frog at all,” says a third worker sweeping something up behind the counter. “It was an alien. A being from another dimension. That’s why the FBI wanted to cover him up. No one cares about some overgrown science project.” 

The local color of it all has me stunned silent. I am not used to talking this much with strangers. Honestly, I felt like I was pushing it by asking the cashier in the first place. I was half expecting a snide fuck-if-I-know dismissal. And now after instigating the conversation, I find myself at a loss for words. Great! I have no idea how to get out of this in the correct, polite way. I’m a decade out of practice. Thankfully, a voice coming from a bar stool in my periphery offers me a blessed interjection to keep me from looking as dumb as I feel.  

“Don’t listen to them. They’re just messing with you because you said you’re new in town. We don’t get a lot of ‘new’ around here often. A lot of the same,” says the guy. I turn to look at him, remembering the most rudimentary of manners, but what I see doesn’t help my muteness because this dude is good looking. 

Very good looking, one might say. 

Ridiculously, if you’re so inclined. 

I get that feeling in my chest that makes me feel like I’m twelve years old again and my friend Jessica’s older brother Adam would walk in the room while we watched TV– like it’s suddenly difficult to to take a full, deep breath and a heat spreads across my shoulders and chest. I can’t remember the last time I felt this way. I am completely flustered. I break eye contact to fumble through my wallet for an extra couple dollars to throw in the tip jar. Fuck! I need to work on my spontaneous conversation skills. I wasn’t expecting to experience culture shock quite to this extent, but I guess even just one state away is a whole other place, isn’t it? 

“Where are you from?” asks the guy. A straightforward question that I am perfectly capable of answering… hopefully. 

“I moved here from New Yor–” I manage to croak out, stumbling over that last syllable. I clear my throat. “York. I moved here from New York.” 

“New York City?” 

“The very one.” 

“Why would you leave New York to come to Loveland of all places?” he asks. “Most people are doing everything in their power to make it out of here.” 

“Oh, you know, sometimes the place a person needs is the last place you’d expect,” I reply. Looking back at the cashier, they have an incredulous look on their face like I’m speaking crazy talk. 

“Whatever you say, lady.” They hand me my coffee, my transaction finally complete. I lift the cup in salute and give a tight mouthed smile to the hot guy at the bar. He lifts his cup in return, a good humored smile plastered on his face. 

As I leave the coffee shop and settle into the driver’s seat of my car, I’m suddenly hit with the realization that I answered that hot guy’s question with the kind of trite bullshit normally reserved for Pinterest quotes. 

“Sometimes the place a person needs is the last place you’d expect,” I repeat back to myself. “What the FUCK does that mean, you dumbass weirdo bitch?” The heat I felt across my chest has definitely spread across my face. Luckily, there’s no cute coffee guy to see my embarrassment as I drive back home. 

_____________________________________________________________

Once I’m back home with my coffee and cinnamon roll, I park it back outside on the iron patio set and enjoy my breakfast. With a little food and caffeine in my system, I realize I may have been overreacting to the little interaction at the coffee shop. It probably wasn’t as bad as it was in my head. I was just hungry and fatigued from moving. No big deal. 

I hear the doorbell and go to let the internet installation technician inside. I’m impressed that he showed up so early in the estimated service window. It wasn’t uncommon for me to wait all day for a tech in New York only for no one to show up when they said they would. The next day or so, I’d often get a call while out and about. 

“Hi ma’am it’s George from Concast. I’m here to install your internet. Can you let me in?” 

“Let you in? You were supposed to come yesterday. I didn’t get any notification that you’d come today– I’m not here.” 

“Well, I need to be let in to install your internet…”

“But I’m not there. We’ll just have to reschedule.” 

“Next availability is in two weeks.” 

“GODDAMMIT. Wait right there– I’ll be back as soon as possible!” 

But none of that rigamarole is happening now. At this moment, I am reading a book on my back patio with an iced coffee and a cinnamon bun while Lyle sets up my fiber internet at the exact time he was scheduled to do it. Life is good. 

Okay, I may be looking at everything with rose colored glasses, but I’ll allow myself to bask in my new home serenity for a little while longer. What can it hurt to take the time to enjoy the fact that things are going smoothly? Back in the city, it felt like I was constantly having to strive for things to work. They rarely did and any hint of them possibly doing so was dashed with such expedience I never allowed myself the luxury of thinking that I possibly deserved for things to be easier. 

There was no way for me to get to that point when stuck in constant survival mode. The city is a beast, constantly growing. So even if you get to a point where you’re realizing some sort of comfort, the beast will continue to expand and shift until your complacency gets you displaced. It’s exhausting! I guess the hustle gives you something to live for– that’s why you see so many 80-year old women wandering around the streets of Manhattan. But they’re a hard eighty. And you can’t help but think they’re not there because they want to bust their asses just to make it through a day, but because they simply don’t even know there are other ways to live. Humans are creatures of habit. We find comfort in conformity. We create these confines and then tell ourselves because we made them, we must also work within them. 

It’s logical: as animals, we are bound by evolutionary instinct to find and keep a lifestyle that enables us to be productive– namely, reproductive– so that drives us to make choices that are safe and keep us connected. But I don’t think it’s extreme to say we as humans can and should continue to evolve past base evolutionary drive. It’s not imperative for all of us to be constantly productive. We have machines and programs that help us do a lot of the heavy lifting so that we may spend more time enjoying the world we’ve been gifted. And just as these advancements further separate us from any quote/unquote “natural way” of existence, we should consider the possibility that breaking free from our patterns and choosing not to conform to the established expectations may serve us positively. 

Of course, it’s that “new is better” mindset that led Mark to breaking up with me. He saw moving in together as conforming to the established expectations of those around us and he couldn’t do it. So perhaps I’m a hypocrite waxing poetic on the evils of conformity. No ideology would’ve stopped me from moving in with him. I was dead set on doing the expected. 

Except, I didn’t see it as settling. I saw it as an exciting new experience that just happened to promise a bit of security alongside the novel. There is adventure to be found alongside someone you can rely on. I guess at the end of the day, we broke up over a difference of perspective. If you’re going to build a life with someone, you should both see your future from the same vantage point. 

_____________________________________________________________

With the internet working and full stomach, I’m ready to continue unpacking. It’s not so much the unboxing that’s taking up my time. But with every essential item I unwrap, I’m reminded of something I’ll need to buy in the process of turning this house into a home. It feels a little consumerist, but I fully intend to take my time in accumulating these items and purchase with quality in mind, so I don’t sweat it.

Well, I don’t sweat the prospective shopping. Unpacking boxes does work up quite the literal sweat, however. It’s almost 6 pm and I am in desperate need of an end-of-the-day shower. Before I hop in, I pull up a food app and find the best rated Thai restaurant in my delivery area. I put in an order for pad thai and spring rolls and receive an hour delivery estimate– plenty of time to get clean before dinner, so I hop in the shower. 

I’m right in the middle of rinsing the conditioner from my hair when I hear the doorbell. An hour was either an incredibly inaccurate delivery estimate or it took me much, much longer to wash my hair than it normally does. 

“WAIT!” I holler towards the door as I wrap myself in my favorite extra large, super fluffy bath towel. “I’M COMING! I’M COMING!” I scurry as fast as I can to the door, probably looking like a drowned rat. 

“I’m so sor–” I halt as soon as I see who’s on the other side of the door. It isn’t my Thai food at all. It’s the guy from the coffee shop– the hot one who rescued me from my social awkwardness. He has that charming smile on his face, but it fades a bit as he gets a good look at me. In a breath of realization, his eyes go up to the sky as a pink blush spreads across his face. It’s kind of adorable, to be honest. 

“I am so sorry,” he says. “I’m your… we’re neigh– I live a couple doors down,” he fumbles through. “I wanted to come over and welcome you to the neighborhood.” 

“We– we met earlier, right? At the coffee shop?” I find myself once again in a situation I haven’t experienced in quite some time. Fourteen years in New York and not once did I have a neighbor come to my door to introduce themselves. I’m not even certain if I’m expected to invite him in. I certainly don’t know how to proceed when I’ve opened the door but a single layer of terrycloth between my nude body and the– admittedly gorgeous– welcome wagon. Thankfully, the wagon in question seems steady on the trail. 

“Yes! Yeah, that was me. Hey– I can, you know, wait here a second if you want to…” he makes a vague gesture towards the towel. 

“Oh! That would be great, yes. But you don’t have to wait outside. Please, come on in.”

He gives me a wary look. “Are you sure? I don’t mind…” 

“Yeah, I guess it’s not exactly best practice to let some guy I just met into my home while I’m changing, huh? I’m sorry, I just don’t want to be rude.” 

“You’re not, I promise. Go ahead, I can wait here. I’m patient.” 

Now I’m the one who’s blushing. Blushing a nude in front of a strange man. Mother would be so proud. I give him a sheepish smile as I close the door then scurry back to my room to throw on the nearest clothes I can get my hands on. I make a pit stop to take a peek in the bathroom mirror, rub the smudged mascara from under my eyes, and run my fingers through my hair. It’s not much, I think looking at my sorry state, but it’s what I got. 

I head back to the front door and take a moment to compose myself to come off with a false air of nonchalance. Fake it til you make it, right? 

I open the door and see him leaning against the wall and looking through his phone casually. I notice for the first time he’s holding a bottle of wine in the other hand. He looks up and catches my eye. A smirk sprawls across his face. 

“Woah– that was quick!” he says. 

“Yeah, well, I don’t have a lot of things unpacked here at the moment, so I don’t have much to sift through. Cuts down on the decision fatigue when choosing what to wear, for sure.” 

His smile brightens and it puts my entire body on high alert. I may not be nearly naked anymore, but looking at this guy makes me feel so exposed, like he’s seeing things about me that I’m not even aware of. I’m a grown ass woman, but this guy has me feeling bashful for the first time in years. 

“Come on in,” I move aside and open the door completely to let him inside the house. “I think you’ve proven you’re trustworthy enough.” 

“Cool, yeah.. I mean, thanks.. Yeah.” His stammering is endearing. There’s something comforting in the shared awkwardness as if the meeting of two awkward nerds cancels us out into being normal. “I’m Jeremiah,” he introduces himself and holds his hand out to shake. 

“Molly,” I grasp his hand in return. “It’s nice to officially meet you.” 

“Yeha! I hope you don’t find this creepy, but earlier I noticed the internet guy in your driveway and realized someone had finally moved into this place. The for sale sign was taken down about a week ago and I was wondering when you’d show up. Then when you said you just moved here at the coffee shop earlier, I thought maybe the new owner could be you.”

“And it is!” I interrupt. “I mean, I am. That is to say… It's kismet.” Jesus Christ. Is that something people say? Can I even define “kismet?”  Am I just embarrassing myself here? 

“Exactly!” His smile breaks my shame spiral. “It’s always worth noting when we get to witness the stars aligning in real time.” He holds the bottle of wine up to eye level for me. “I brought you a housewarming gift. It’s nothing special– I wasn’t even certain if bringing wine to a stranger is appropriate. But it’s a pretty dry red. I thought if you don’t drink, you can use it for cooking.” 

“I do! I mean, I do drink. Thank you, you’re very kind and I feel quite welcome.” I take the bottle and scan the label. It’s a Chianti I’ve never tried before. “This looks beautiful. Would you like to have a glass with me?” 

“Um… sure! That sounds nice. Do you have glasses?” 

“I don’t have stemware, but I have a couple cups that will do. Plus,” I pause to rummage in the drawer where I stashed my well loved wine key the night before, “I have this!” I grab the water glasses I have from the cupboard and start working the corkscrew into the top of the bottle. 

“Please, allow me.” Jeremiah takes the wine and key from me and effortlessly drills deep into the cork, angling the bottle away from him. He looks me directly in the eye as he pushes the lever away from him and removes the cork with an muffled POP.

What in the actual fuck? How was that so… hot? 

He grabs the glasses and distributes even, modest pours in each of them before handing me one. “Cheers,” he says, lifting his own glass, “to your new home.” 

“And new neighbors,” I clink my cup against his, immediately questioning whether that was smooth or just pathetically thirsty. Either way, I take a sip. I notice his eyes darting around, taking in the details of the house. 

“This place is almost the exact same layout as my place, just reversed.” 

“Really?” I ask. “Is that unusual?” 

“Not really, no. These subdivisions are financed and built before they’re ever sold. Developers will have a handful of blueprints and rotate between them while building. I guess keeping everything as uniform as possible allows them to churn out houses quickly and reduces the risk of error. You build the same house over and over again, you can probably throw them up in your sleep.” 

“Or they get so overconfident and cocky, they begin to slack off and make mistakes.” 

“Oof. You’re telling me. Complacency can definitely lead to miscalculations.” He takes another sip before continuing. “Happens in my work all the time.” 

“Oh yeah? What do you do?”

He winces. “It’s kind of hard to explain– not that it’s beyond your understanding,” he reassures me and my heart melts ever so slightly. “But, basically, I track and predict rainfall.” 

“You’re a meteorologist?” 

“No. I don’t really know much about weather in general. It’s more like I use statistics to estimate which places will experience flood or drought in the near future. I then use those estimates to inform the purchase and sale of certain commodities.” 

“Commodities. Like food?” 

“Food is a big part of it, yes. But also a lot of precious metals and whatnot. And oil. There’s always oil.” 

“So you’re a gambler,” I tease. He grins in response. 

“An informed gambler, yes. But, you know– no risk, no reward.” 

“Well it does sound pretty interesting. More so than what I do.” 

“Which is?” 

“I am an editor for a publishing company that specializes in highly stylized cookbooks. A lot of Housewives for housewives kind of content. I basically make sure that what the authors– or, at least, their ghostwriters– put in their drafts all make sense. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve caught cups– multiple cups– of salt from being added to a dessert recipe.” 

“That sounds interesting to me,” he says, being polite. I appreciate it nonetheless. “So does that mean you know how to cook a lot of different things?” 

I guffaw. “In theory, at least. I’m not a talented chef by any means, but I can make a meal.” I realize that at every chance I get, I’m diminishing myself in this conversation. When did I fall into that little habit? But before I can think much more about it, my doorbell rings. “Speaking of meals, that would be the takeout I thought you were.” I answer the door and thank the delivery person after they hand me my order. When I come back, I see Jeremiah rinsing out his now empty glass of wine before gently placing it in the sink. 

“Well this seems like the perfect opening for me to make a graceful exit. I’ll leave you to enjoy your dinner.” He gives me a genuine smile and reaches out to shake my hand goodbye. “It was really great meeting you. I’m excited to have someone cool in the neighborhood. And if you need anything, anything,” he gives my hand a squeeze on the emphasis and while making some very effective eye contact, “don’t hesitate to ask.” 

Damn. My new neighbor is hot.

[osleeplessflowero]

undertale headcanons because i'm bored

💜🩵

Frisk carries sticker sheets with them everywhere and just slaps those bad boys on stuff wherever they go. You want to give them a birthday or christmas gifts? Stickers are the way to go, they'll never put them down. -----

Both Papyrus and Frisk don't like masked mascots, Papyrus thinks of them as untrustworthy figures and Frisk just gets uncanny valley vibes from them. (They make sure to walk in the opposite direction when it's Easter time especially) -----

At group sleepovers, Mettaton would put everyone (that has it)'s hair into unique styles. Like I could see him making shapes with Frisk's hair to make them smile and them giving him a thumbs up as a response, then Mettaton just posts a pic of them to his socials -----

Frisk is a bit of an artist, they like to draw the things and people they like doing silly stuff. They give a doodle of Flowey to him and he says he hates it but then admires it every time he sees it in his new room -----

Frisk and Sans always go to restaurants together on the weekends, just to have a chance to talk and have some good food together. Sans still tries to prank them with a whoopee cushion, even though they always notice. (He still thinks it's funny) -----

I feel like Toriel would like painting. Just expressing her emotions through artwork and stuff. And then she'd hang her art on the walls of her house right beside Frisk's drawings(after they completely cover the fridge) -----

Papyrus would have Gyftmas light competitions with his neighbors. He WILL win, so help him. Mettaton would do the same thing and they'd go shopping together to get lights. Like it's a mutual agreement that they HAVE to be the best in their neighborhoods -----

Papyrus' favorite superhero is Batman. He is a "pretty brutal kind of guy", so I'd imagine he'd like him -----

Sans collects snowglobes and puts them in his room to simply shake and admire. The thing is, what's IN the snowglobes are ALWAYS random. You don't know what you're gonna see in the next one -----

Mettaton would be the type to hit his head against the wheel of his car after dealing with stressful fans you cannot tell me otherwise. Like there's just this loud prolonged honk before he leaves and the staff is like 😨

[arttreyn]

Draw out your picture, can be directly on the page or a cutout. For this piece i did a cutout

I use more of my memo paper and scrapbook paper when I use cutouts, and before sticking anything down, I arrange everything into a design I like.

At this point i try to keep a color scheme in mind, I match the papers to the main colors of the piece, or for whatever vibe i’m going for. For instance if i was doing an underwater theme, I would stick to mainly blues.

In this case my colors are black, pink, and white. I sometimes deviate from the color scheme when its small stickers, but the majority follows the scheme.

Take note of any negative space, focus on those areas first.

Washi tape is one of the first steps for me. I tried to think of both the color scheme and theme. Theme isn’t super important, especially if you only have a few rolls of tape, but I try to match it with the image even vaguely.

cat, maid, cute- I tried to match these themes. If you really want to you could even go with a tech theme. I usually try to make the theme either what is explicitly shown or what matches the personality.

The biggest stickers go down before anything else. This is the time I use my planner and decal stickers. Most of the time the planner stickers have words on them but have no actual meaning, they are there because of their color, sometimes however, I put a couple planner stickers with a cheeky saying to poke fun at the characters, the “get it girl” being an example. Decal stickers are to go with the theme as well. Neko milk sticker is self explanatory, kuromi fits the cutesy theme.

Now is when i try looking for smaller stickers, and stickers of different types.

Following the theme, I put paw prints around the page

I like for nearly all my stickers to have some relevancy towards the plot or character or theme. This is not necessary and I don’t always follow this

Easy stickers to find/use regardless of theme are hearts, stars, and smiley faces. Hearts are always my go-to

I add more stickers to places that feel too empty, and I remove a few stickers I feel clash with the image. At this point I could consider this page done, however I want to get rid of any blank paper showing through.

I finish off with deco stickers, as they are very small. Whenever otacon is involved I like to use my computer themed stickers- and with huey I like to be either mean or ironic, hence the bad and devil stickers and then the “angel” sticker near him

Completely optional step- cover the page.

Be sure to take off any 3D stickers or embellishments beforehand, put them back on after covering.

In my journal, color/ink transfer happens a lot- especially if i use my gel pens. Instead of busting out the fixative spray, I like to cover my page in a shimmery laminate sticker. I also use clear plastic to cover the page, taping it over the page. The clear plastic is always Recycled, mainly from sticker sheets, the packaging or the sheet itself. Sometimes i use ziploc bags, once I even taped in tissue paper as a divider.

That’s everything!!! Feel free to ask any questions!!!

[window-view-orion]

I miss Zombaes Forever so much.

My first was She’s Shady last July after having seen those coffin-shaped boxes in the doll aisle for a while. Cringily, my first thought the first time I saw them was “pah, Monster High ripoff”.

Not everything spooky-themed is a MH ripoff, 9-months-ago me.

Anyway! Funnily enough, I’m almost positive that box had been opened in store and put back. Her sticker sheet was missing and she was out of her little paper body bag already. She still had her character card though, and she was so cute!

Then a few days later I went back. The first series was running out of stock at the only two Targets I went to back then, so I picked up three of the second series instead. ✨ Wild Vibes ✨

I opened them in my car because I was pumped. It’s so funny I got the three beach themed ones all at once! She’s Got Bite was the first I opened, and still feels special. Her cracked goggles, little swim trunks, and one-eyed shark are great examples of the absolute best of Zombaes.

I picked up the rest of Wild Vibes over time, with liberal use of the codes. I never got the rare ‘Spacing Out’ though, which I’m still bummed about. I would go into Target very frequently to check, and anytime there was a So Chill (the one who had the same code as her), the box would be roughly open and rifled through. People really have no shame, though it definitely is frustrating that I ended up with multiple So Chill’s myself from all that searching 😅.

When I finally found a good Walmart in my area and started shopping there too a couple months later, I found they somehow still had a few boxes of series 1, so I ended up getting a Miss Everlasting and a Rock in Peace.

(I had to rubberband Shady’s parasol to her hand because she kept dropping it, as you can kind of see here)

It’s such a shame that this line seems to have been quietly canceled. I have the pet shop set and the bride-and-groom set now as well, and I hope to eventually get the other sets too as they lower in price. But there is such potential for more in these guys! They’re all so bursting with creativity and incredibly clever and cute designs. The art is so good, the collectible cards and little stands and coffin box, the little paper body bags you unwrap them from! They’re my spooky little zombie Polly Pockets, and Spinmaster can pry them from my cold undead hands.

And honestly, with Wild Vibes especially, the price was pretty good too. $9, and then $7, for all of that?? The big sets aren’t even expensive! Though maybe that was the problem in the end, along with people cannibalizing the displays as I saw all the time.

I did email Spinmaster’s media relations about a month ago to ask for any info they could give out, even though it’s a long shot, and I’ve not received a reply. In the unlikely event that ever changes I’ll update this post I suppose, but at this point I’m sadly considering these girls as dead in the water. It’s a tragic cancellation, but I’m really glad I got into the hobby just in time to experience them. And I absolutely love all of the ones we got. 💕

[dullahandyke]

yippee yippee yippee yippee eimear con haul!!!!

Hi. It was my birthday recently and I'm bad to shop for so instead of gifts I got money to spend at Kaizokucon. So here's a haul. Under the cut bcos I couldnt fit it nicely in one picture and I wanna ramble

ok we're gonna take it one picture at a time ^_^ the ID in the alt text explains what everything is if u just wanna see what i got without the rambling sure to come with it. links in rambling r to the artists of the fan stuff where i can find em ^_^ only one of them is a direct link to the product tho bcos some ppls shops r down and some ppl dont have all their stuff online. lemons_arent_green youre a real one

Ok the flat stuff!!! black rock shooter poster bcos i already have a figure but i liek her... badass anime girl ily.... was so so sure i saw a reigen keychain but when i went to go get one there weren't any so i got this sticker sheet instead :3 SPEAKING OF KEYCHAINS!!! yippee yippee kaguya i love you youre my special little tiempsy. yue you are a gay anime boy with a cool design. tomoyo ive always felt a kinship with you and its because im a desperate dyke. monokuma is here ig 🙄 i put him on my carabiner and hes fun to stim with. i am not immune to the sdr2 fanboying. also full disclosure ive not watched naruto (its in the spreadsheet) i just thought funko pop sasuke keychain was really really funny. my son who stares into my soul. comparatively i dont have as much to say on the badges!! luka luka fever for real girlie ily. the bandori ones were blind bags and i got himari on my first try <3<3<3<3<3<3 sorry eve i kind of dont care. 🙁 the dr girlies i kinda picked at random based on who i've been vibing w lately.

THE POKEMON DIORAMA!!!! its soooo cool, staff were setting up the trade hall so i was in there all day friday and this shop was one of the first to set up their stands and i was literally staring at it all day... so fucking awesome. the rings n the necklace r from the same shop look at them... im fucking obsessed w the catgirl necklace. literally look at her. i dont thiiink shes supposed to be a specific character but she might be. oh well. cat girl ily. aaaand the arisa stand is actually a little clip for papers n stuff!! she was also a blind box but specifically for popipa so i was gonna b happy w whoever <3

MIIIIKUUUUUU MY PRINCESS MY EVERYTHING!!!!! she was calling to me she beckoned..... shes actually rlly big irl shes the biggest figure i have, replacing my kokoro one... shes the one where i audibly said 'it was my birthday i can buy things' bcos figures spencey... she wasnt too bad actually i just like bitching. 6 euro axel for scale

BOOKS 💥💥💥 i was reading nana a while back and i dropped it but i gotta pick it up again... rlly pretty and awesome... aaaand the summer hikaru died!!! kay if youre seeing this then know you posting abt it convinced me <3 i originally got it bcos i was on door duty in a quiet area and didnt wanna spend my time draining battery life on my phone but after i bought it i realised that that was literally a terrible idea so <3 we'll get around to them soon

FINALLLYYYYYY TSHIRTS!!! the top yellow one was my staff t-shirt, it has 'staff' on the back i was wearing it all weekend and yippee i love it.... emotional bond.... and if this is a safe space can i just say. if kaito was a woman? would. next up FAYE FUCKIN VALENTINEEEE!!! do u remember that post i made going thru all the sellers that were gonna b at the con that started like 'i hate shounen fans. name a woman'? well this is the seller i was talking about but all was forgiven in the name of FAYE ! GODDAMN ! VALENTINE ! ugh i love you girlie. and the last t-shirt was given out free to staff after the closing ceremony!! it was the tenth anniversary of kaizokucon so we got this awesomes design yay.... wore it to classes today hoping somebody would comment on it and nobody did 😌and in the middle i got CLOW CARRRDS BITCHES!!!!!! i saw them and immediately all thought left my fucking brain. i needed them. so important. the seller also recognised the axel in my fanny pack yippee!!!! a few people recognised him over the weekend actually and i was always like yes!! the him

anyway. yippee! yippee! yippee! yippee! yippee! yippee! yippee! yippee! yippee! con con con con con :)

[noisytenant]

i have a soft spot for kitsch. i love compulsively collecting those stupid sticker sheets with bijons and bunnies and bears in all kinds of expertly designed inoffensive situations. i love heart and star and flower hair clips. i'm staring at a phone strap with beads that are shaped like fried eggs and you bet your ass they've got little smiley faces on them. i got it without even knowing what i'd attach it to

so anyways, i think of kitsch as kind of like, an aesthetic lubricant, or a sort of balm. it's easy to swallow because it aspires to be exactly what it is; in the case of my favorite, it aspires to be--and is by generally agreed-upon metrics--cute.

i think perhaps what separates typical kitsch from corny art is that a corny piece seems to aspire to something greater, often something political or cultural, yet ultimately is seemingly nothing more than exactly what it is. a frog with a sassy catchphrase, maybe a pun. the deeply personal and political nature of queerness captured in a few vector lines and a gradient. there is nothing to "figure out", you have everything you need. no questions at this time.

i think perhaps the idea is for the cutesiness to be a spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. one might think combining those thorny and often painful feelings associated with politics and identity and suturing them to something saccharine and simple makes them more bearable.

but i feel like the "what you see is what you get" nature of kitsch isn't something that can easily transfer to things adjacent to it. a political slogan or symbol, ostensibly, reveals an ideology, a context, a history. a cute drawing of a frog rarely does the same (not to say it never can). when placed together, do you want to flatten the political message into an unquestioned notion, a "vibe", or do you want all your artistic decisions to be considered and exposed as they might be in any other context?

it feels like a kind of art that doesn't take itself seriously, so i think those of us who hold a great deal of seriousness find it jarring. because of the kitschiness, the implicit message to not think about it too hard, it ends up being confounding, because how could i not think about it? at times the underlying politics seem to slap you in the face, the simplicity of the motifs lay bare the careful calculation involved, and all you can think is, "this is really corny and lame".

i don't feel deeply wounded by much of it because i'm lucky to surround myself with people who have more personalized and thorny artistic tastes. and in general, i have lower stakes for politics in images because i seek politics in my life. but it is tiring to see, and it sometimes reveals deep and troublesome assumptions about the world, and worst of all--it's uncool. so yeah, pack it up. but i will be taking one of those cute cat stickers on the way out, yes, thank you

[tundrakatiebeanart]

I’ve got some new stickers incoming to my shop! A sticker sheet going for the same kind of vibes those “great work” stickers your grade school teacher gave you, but with a bit of a revamp! I also got singles of five of these green guys and one of them is holographic 👀 can you guess which ones?

As always huge thanks to Sticker Ninja for their incredible work!

[kathybluecaller]

guys the digital nightmare is real. ive been trying to do stuff for a project but almost everything has gone wrong in some way. here’s a portion of the list detailing the times technology has failed me ;-;

CRT won’t display picture Tv won’t turn on properly Kept losing THE ONE CHARGER There was a dvd stuck in the back of the crt??? Couldn’t set up the dvd reader/burner Didn’t burn the dvd at all Burned the dvd incorrectly Couldn’t get scaling to match for printing Couldn’t even correctly draw with vectors Procreate dreams keeps goofing around Couldn’t set up a dvd menu right Couldn’t even open the dvd menu maker software Was struggling to export the sticker drawings Couldn’t find the file File was found but wouldn’t upload Had to fight a P D F FILE Printed while forgetting margins are a thing Couldn’t get the sticker cutter (machine) to pair (And before that couldn’t open the app because it had to update then go with the process of making an account) Couldn’t scale correctly again Cut incorrectly +5 times (Lost the charger again) Decided to finally calibrate the machine™️ but I was yet again struggling to print the sheet Printer was straight up offline Saved the file onto a flash drive but the printer didn’t pick up the pdf file Cried internally and tried to watch a YouTube video to guide me through this only for it to never load…

the current vibe

[karinamorenoart]

My Inktober plans!! I want to make some sticker sheets of witches! So I’ll be drawing witchey knick knacks (almost) every day with a different theme each week. I’m also back to my original black, white, and gold.

Inktober has always been a big event each year for me, but I decided to take a step back and make something for myself. Instead of meticulously planning each day, I decided to keep the challenge more organic. I want to create as I go and create original designs.

The last slide are parts of my Pinterest board for this project so y’all get the vibes 🌙✨🪄

Stream schedule would be Sun, Mon, and Wed at 7pm!

[oberthinkin]

i have a suggestion if thats ok! rook caregiving for epel, fluffy preferred!! or malleus caregiving sebek, and comforting him? up to you, ofc! i have a few more twst ideas actually, if youd like to hear. no pressure to write them or anything!

minty anon or applesauce anon, whichever you prefer to call me '^^

Hi applesauce anon!! I did Epel and Rook playing! Epel gives me lowkey pet regressor vibes, so I decided to write fluffy stuff about a common occurrence when Epel gets zoomies!

+++++++++++

"Rook... Are you busy?" Epel began texting, pausing as he saw the three dots immediately, showing Rook had read his message.

"Non, not at the moment, why?"

"I'm feeling small. Zoomies."

"!!! I am on my way!"

Epel rolled over in bed, wiggling and ruffing into his pillow excitedly! He can't wait to play with Rook! Rook can be a little bossy, but Rook also lets him play tag and wrestle and playfight and all sorts of fun things! Playing is more fun with someone anyways!

Rook agreed to help Epel when he was small, and while that mainly meant keeping the little one out of trouble when he was small and feisty, making sure he went to bed on time, and making sure he ate, it also meant playing with the little boy when he got zoomies. Rook especially likes that Epel has so much energy when small, content to sprint around the front gates, empty sports field, and any unbusy place where they wouldn't get in trouble. It means that tag would never get old for the little one-- especially not when Rook introduces a keep away aspect with a ball or stick, the two chasing after each other like mad!

Whenever Epel got tired, they'd take a break and sit for a bit, Rook handing Epel a water bottle, a fruit-snack pouch, and some beef jerky to snack on while Rook asked the little boy what game he wants to play next, 'who's ball is that-- is it his? Is it Epel's ball? Hmm? Is it?' And riling up the little into yet another case of zoomies! These zoomies, however, are spent getting the little one corralled back into his room for some games that will calm him down.

Epel flops down on his sheets, panting as he squeezes his ball in his hands, before Rook tucks a stuffie under his arms instead, grabbing the ball before it pops and setting it aside. Rook sits down at Epels desk, working on homework while Epel catches his breath, and shifts into squeezing the stuffed animal, stretching, and enjoying his semi-nap before dinner time.

Rook boops the little boy's nose as he gently rises him an hour before dinner. If he wants, before they have to go, they have just enough time to play with some toy motorcycles or for the little one to colour something. Rook even offers the little boy to use some stickers to decorate whatever he'd like.

Epel sits criss-cross on the floor, on a small carpet, while Rook watches, praising Epel for his masterful use of colours and expressionism! Such an artisté!

Rook always makes sure to tell Epel he had fun taking care of and playing with him, and that if Epel wants to play again, he's always a text away!