Posted on 03/04/2012 by alli woods frederick

I am in creation mode.  Maybe it’s because spring is beginning to poke its flowery head up…or maybe it’s just because – just because.  The creative muse is a fickle creature and I often find it best not to question the why’s.  So enough with all that.  Let’s get to the creating, shall we?  Yes, let’s!

    • We all know I love bones and skulls and cuteness…so naturally I love sugar skulls…and naturally I feel an overwhelming need to make some…and if you feel the need to make some too then here you go: a sugar skull tutorial.  (and that image totally has me wanting to cross-stitch too…I need more time…and more arms.)
    • While this ceiling is stunning (and seems to be a pretty easy project, provided you don’t suffer from vertigo or acrophobia) it looks so much like a floor that I would be tempted to go all Alice In Wonderland on it and glue my furniture to the ceiling and put my lighting in the floor.
    • Looking for something quick, cute and easy?  How about these adorable miniature megaphones.
    • I love leggings but I am so infinitely bored with what you can find in the shops…though not the most amazing seamstress in the universe, this diy legging project doesn’t seem too daunting at all.
    • Wildly comfy and easy to rock…this circle knit shirt tutorial is written for a child’s size, but can easily be adjust to fit us “grownups.”
    • Shoes.  Glitter.  Enough said.

If you have any awesome tutorials/diy ideas you’d like to share, I’m all ears!  Please pass ‘em along in the comments.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have shoes to glitter and megaphones to make.  Smooches!

 

Kisses & Chaos,

Alli Woods Frederick

 

image credits:  sugar skull by Lindy  *  bronze nail ceiling by Kate Pruitt  *  megaphone by Grace Bonney  *  leggings by Cal Patch  *  circle knit top by Raechel Myers  *  glitter shoes by Elsie Larson
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Posted on 03/03/2012 by alli woods frederick

XXXII

a man who had fallen among thieves

lay by the roadside on his back

dressed in fifteenthrate ideas

wearing a round jeer for a hat

 

fate per a somewhat more than less

emancipating evening

had in return for consciousness

endowed him with a changeless grin

 

whereon a dozen staunch and leal

citizens did gaze at pause

then fired by hypercivic zeal

sought newer pastures or because

 

swaddled with a frozen brook

of pinkest vomit out of eyes

which noticed nobody he looked

as if he did not care to rise

 

one hand did nothing on the vest

its wideflung friend clutched weakly dirt

while the mute trouserfly confessed

a button solemnly inert.

 

Brushing from whom the stiffened puke

i put him all into my arms

and staggered banged with terror through

a million billion trillion stars

 

-E.E. Cummings

 

Kisses & Chaos,

Alli Woods Frederick

 

image credit: portrait via http://www.cprw.com
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Posted on 03/02/2012 by alli woods frederick

In January I was contacted by Sivonne, owner and chocolatier behind Sweetly Demented, about doing a review of her dark, dreamy and occasionally disturbing confections.  Morbid and unusual chocolate?  Seriously?  How could I say no to that?  Yeah.  I couldn’t.

Sivonne’s creations live in a land where the beautiful and bizarre not only meet, but get all flirty with each other…complete with coy smiles and meaningful glances.  With products that range from skulls with brains exposed to gorgeously crafted silver deer antlers to (and no matter how good this probably tastes I just don’t think I could bring myself to eat it) rainbow sprinkle covered chocolate poo, this chocolate is far from run of the mill.   My care package consisted of a blueberry Hypnopop and a bag of raspberry Bye Bye Birdie Bites.  Before I dish on her delicacies, I want to give Sivonne an opportunity to tell you a little about herself and how Sweetly Demented came to be:

“Sweetly Demented is something I started out of having a lot of ideas, some free time, a love for anything dark in humor or shabby chic. Things in nature like deer antlers and anything with wood grain pattern are also things I love. I am also a chocolate whore and took a chocolate class at the French Culinary Institute. I have always loved making things since I was a little kid and started experimenting with making my own chocolate designs and making my own chocolate molds.”

  

     I must say these are delicious.  Not only were they a treat for the tummy, they were also a treat for the eyes.  The Bye Bye Birdie Bites were perfectly sculpted and have just enough raspberry to enhance the flavor of the chocolate and not overpower it.  I still have one left that I’m saving for a rainy day.  Yup.  They’re that good (and cute…I have a thing for bones.  Is that weird?).

Next:  the blueberry ganache Hypnopop.  First of all I like swirly things.  Second of all…um, blueberry.  I love blueberries.  I will eat them till I’m sick.  Sad and gross but true.  I freakin’ love ‘em…and I could smell the blueberry the second I opened the wrapper.  Heaven?  Almost.  While the aroma of blueberry was strong, the flavor was very subtle, which disappointed me, but that had more to do with my expectations than the actual taste (which was super melt-in-my-mouth yummy).  My only real complaint about the Hypnopop?  What ever Sivonne used to get that gorgeous bright metallic blue hue on the chocolate also got all over my lips.  But it didn’t stain too badly.  My kisser only stayed blue for a little while – unlike a Kool-aid moustache which, as we all recall from childhood, lasts forever and a day.

(The blue lip in question…I told you it wasn’t bad.)

 

    In short, I would totally snag the more morbid confections for bridal or baby showers for my goth & darkness-loving gal pals.  For sure.  Oh!  And just so you know – she also has elegant offerings fit for any indie fete.  Stop by.  Check her out…and if any of you actually order the rainbow sprinkle covered chocolate poo, please take a photo of you eating it and send it to me.  Seriously.  I’m not even kidding.

Kisses & Chaos,

Alli Woods Frederick

 

image credits: image #1 © Sweetly Demented  *   all others © 2012 Alli Woods Frederick

 

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Posted on 02/29/2012 by alli woods frederick

 

If you read Kisses & Chaos with any sort of regularity or follow me on facebook or twitter then you have heard me talk (and talk and talk) about the completely kick-ass podcast “We’re Alive: The Zombie Story of Survival.”

Harkening back to the bygone era of radio serials, this is what podcasting is meant to be.  The show is not to be missed, with superb production quality, excellent acting and a riveting storyline.   I fully encourage you to get your hands on Season 1 & 2…get all caught up…and then subscribe to the series so you can catch Season 3, which is currently in progress.  You can thank me later in the form of shoes, handmade postcards or interpretive dance.

So what does any of this have to do with today’s guest, Kc Wayland?

Kc Wayland is the co-creator, director, writer, sound designer, & show-runner of “We’re Alive” and to say I’m pleased as punch to have him as this week’s “The Same 7” is an understatement.  If you think the only reason he’s rad  (yes I still use the word “rad.”  Don’t judge me.) is because of “We’re Alive” then I suggest you check out his biography on their website.  It’s pretty damn impressive.  He’s pretty damn impressive.  So it is with a crazy-huge grin that I now present to you…

The Same 7 with Kc Wayland

 

Kc Wayland

1) In 10 words or less tell us what makes you so freakin’ awesome…and don’t be modest. Let ‘er rip.

I am job.
Is that too much?
But seriously. Um…..
“I love what I do and I do what I love.” DAMMIT! 11 words.
“Love what I do and I do what I love.” There.

 
 
2) Did you (or do you currently) have an imaginary friend(s)? If so, tell us a little about him/her/it/them.

They wouldn’t like that…

 
 
3) Do you believe in ghosts?

Not really, but then again I haven’t ruled out the possibility. I follow a lot of the scientific perspective of provable by repeatable results of testing, so I’m more of a skeptic.

 
 
4) What one thing scares the ever-loving crap out of you more than anything else in the whole wide world?

The separation of people from their body parts. The scene from Saving Private Ryan where the guy picks up his arm and carries it is burned into my head forever. Uggg.

 
 
5) Sunrise, sunset, new moon or full moon?

Twilight… NO! Full Moon.

 
 
6) If you had to live the rest of your life inside one book or movie, what would it be and why?

Harry Potter. I love the idea of limitless power through knowledge. The more you know, the better the wizard. Maybe I should have become a lawyer? Naw- don’t have the stomach for it.

 
 
7) It’s the zombie apocalypse. The person you love more than anyone, anywhere, ever has been bitten by one of the walking dead. It is inevitable that they will turn into a flesh-eating monster. What do you do?

Walk away. Don’t kill them, and don’t have knowledge of what happens to them. The degree of separation would be easier to deal with. The unknown is sometimes more comforting.

 
 
Here’s a little space that’s all yours.  Do with it what you will.  Draw a picture, tell us about a current project, pet peeve, new product, write a haiku about unicorns, recount your bigfoot sighting…you get the idea. It’s all yours.

Hmmm… Ok, here’s a saying I came up with in the middle of the night. Might take me a second to remember it…
OK.
“Things do happen for a reason. It’s called ’causes’ .”
And then he walked back into his corner.

 

Thanks so much, Kc, for coming out to play.  And by the way – the other day someone told me “everything happens for a reason…” and I couldn’t stop laughing.

Don’t forget to check out “We’re Alive,” ladies and gents.  You’ll love it.  X my heart.
 
 

Kisses & Chaos,
Alli Woods Frederick

Posted in PEOPLE, ZOMBIES | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Posted on 02/28/2012 by alli woods frederick

I know I am late to the game, but I, Alli Woods Frederick, am addicted to Instagram and it is consuming more of my time than pinterest or *gasp* zombies as of late.  To be fair, the primary reason it’s so time consuming is because I don’t have an Iphone…I have an Ipod touch so I shoot with my phone (HTC Surround) and then bounce back and forth between the two editing, editing and editing some more in all the different photo apps before finally posting.  Below are some of the end results of my iphone-ographic (so to speak) endeavors.  Are you on Instagram?  If so leave your username/link in the comments.  I would love to see what you’re shooting.  Smooches!
 

OBSESSION DU JOUR: BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
*CLICK CLICK*

 
 

“She’s Got Legs”

Obsession Du Jour

 
 

“waiting for the morning that never came”

Obsession Du Jour

 
 

“The Outlands”

Obsession Du Jour

 
 

“Hypnopop” (details on this tasty treat to follow later this week)


 
 

my thoughts, my words…

 
 

“rural goodness”

 
 

“Tunnel of Love”

 
 

“Quantum”

Obsession Du Jour

 
 

“2-27-12”

Obsession Du Jour

 
 

Kisses & Chaos,

Alli Woods Frederick

 
 

image credit:  all images © 2012 alli woods frederick.  all rights reserved.  (that means no stealing, s’il vous plait.)
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