SEPTEMBER UPDATES - ETSY SHOP OPENING + NEW WORDPRESS HOME COMING SOON

Well, hello there! What have I been up to since my last update? A LOT. Too much, maybe. But fun stuff! 2016 has definitely been the year of 'making things happen', as it were, and I've finally reached some goals that I've had for a long time.

Whimsy and Noir is now on Etsy

First up, my Etsy shop is now open for business! Click the "shop" link in the top menu bar, or here! For now, it's simply art prints I had made of last year's Drawlloween challenge on Instagram, and I recently added some one of a kind Supernatural inspired sketch cards. Buy something, dammit! ;)
The dream is to have it full of my original art and handmade "Whimsy and Noir" goodness. Something that will come to fruition over time...

Upcoming Webcomic

What else is there? Oh yes. I've been furiously planning for releasing an original webcomic since 2016 started.. I've been aiming for a Fall/October release since it has to do with SPOOKY elements! I'm setting it up as you read this, with a coup le of beta readers who have previewed the first 9 page introduction and given me some pointers.

Which brings me to my next (and biggest) update:

WhimsyAndNoir.com is moving to Wordpress 

Nothing against Blogger - I'm very thankful for what it's given me since I started this blog, but ultimately, it doesn't give me exactly what I'm looking for, 'tech' wise..?? Obviously, blogging itself has not been a priority for me for a while now. My new focus is currently my art (and webcomic), so I have to move my home on the internet to somewhere that can help me with getting that all out into the universe in an easier, more intentional way. (If that makes sense?)  I will still have a blog section and update it just like I do/did here, (and I'm even migrating all of these old blog posts and comments over there!) but the focus will be the webcomic.

With all that said, I hope the few followers I've amassed over these past couple months/years(?) of my being here on Blogger will still follow me?? Please do! Bloglovin updates should stay the same, I'm sure.. so follow me there ;)

And, of course, I can always always ALWAYS be reached on Twitter and Instagram. Seriously, if anyone currently reading this, who has been keeping up with my shenanigans for some time, ever needs a digital friend to chat with I am here. I know I tend to go into 'hermit' mode a lot these days, and I do have tons going on, but I never forget the wonderful people I've met through having this blog. I think about all of you often, and just please keep in touch!


Oh gosh, what else? 

• GISHWHES came and went in August. I participated for the second time this year, and even wrote a blog post about it for GeekGirlPenPals.com! Read it here

• I can't stop listening to Julien-K's "Nightlife in Neon/California Noir - Chapter 2". Like, holy Chuck, that is some good music. Also: Aesthetic Perfection.
• Stranger Things and Penny Dreadful have become my new/latest "tv" obsessions
• Supernatural returns October 13th - it's moving back to Thursday nights, which I'm actually extremely bummed about, since my day job requires me those evenings.. so no more live watching/tweeting for me. Yikes :(

And I guess that does it, for now!
I hope the official migration to wordpress goes smoothly, but in case whimsyandnoir.com experiences hiccups between now and then, you will know why. Just stay tuned, please!

Love and HUGS to everyone

<3
Gaby

I've been nominated!

Howdy folks. The other day I got a tweet from the lovely Katya of KatyaOwu.com that she chose me and ten others as nominees for a Liebster Award, which is a fun award given to bloggers by bloggers! I do have some rules to follow, which are:

1. Link back to the person who nominated you
2. Answer the questions given by the nominator
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers
4. Create 11 new questions for the nominees
5. Notify all nominees via social media/blogs

Ok! So let's get to this, shall we?  Here are the questions that Katya posted for me and the others:

1. What made you want to start a blog?

I've had different blogs, on and off, throughout the years. Each a bit different, but all with the purpose of having a space of my own to chat about the things I love, the things I learn, and sharing a little bit of my world. And if others happen to read and enjoy it, then awesome!



2. What is your all-time favorite blog to read?

 Oooh, that's such a hard question! It's difficult to pick just one, because there are SO many good ones, but I have to say that I've been a fan of Veronica Varlow's Danger Diary for a couple of years, now, and I still manage to get sucked into everything she writes, and can spend hours and hours reading and re-reading.



3. What is your all-time favorite film?

Yikes! I kind of don't like when I get asked this question, because I honestly can't give an answer! There are so many movies that I enjoy, for different reasons. So it kind of just depends! ;)
  


4. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Of course, Europe has always been the dream. Everywhere in Europe, but especially the U.K. or Rome in Italy, or Prague in the Czech Republic!



5. What t.v. shows are you currently watching?

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I enjoy live-tweeting along to Supernatural on Wednesday nights. I'm quite obsessed.

I'm also excited that Orphan Black is back on, but I still have a tiny bit of catching up to do with that one.



6. What books are you currently reading?

Currently, I'm about to finish a YA novel called "the Name of the Blade" by Zoe Marriott. I shall have a blog post about it soon! I also just started "In the Shadow of Blackbirds" by Cat Winters.



7. Do you have any pets?

Sadly, no. I used to have a cat many years ago, and I would love to have another but it's just not possible right now. I'm content with my dozens of dolls and stuffed animals, though ;)

8. Besides blogging, how do you like to spend your free time?

Doing anything and everything that could be described as 'creative': I love drawing, sewing, embroidering, crosstitching, crocheting.. I even started learning how to knit the other day. I just love MAKING things. And of course, there's reading, listening to music, and watching t.v. and movies.

9. Who is your favorite YouTuber?

 I love Annika Victoria (of the Pineneedle Collective)'s "make/thrift/buy" video series. AlbinWonderland is pretty cool, too.



10. What is your favorite food?

I have a soft spot for Italian-style anything.. pasta in delicious tomato sauce, and cheese! Yum.



11. Where is the best place you've ever visited?

New York City!!!

That's me on the far left, with my friends in Times Square, in 2011

I hereby nominate the following bloggers:

1.Melissa of  Eris-Discord42
2. Megan of Fangirl Twirl
3. Kat and Cam of Our Nerd Home
4. Ginny of Ginny in Boston
5. Lacey of  Lacey Surprise
6. Ann of the Nerdy Gimp
7. Kate of Chiksolo's Nerd Cave
8. Usagi of Usagi in Wonderland
9. Dulce of Hello Sunshine
10. Emilee of  Emilee Speaks
11. Kendall of Distracted Blogger


And my questions for you guys are: (sorry if some of these are recycled/not very original.. It was hard coming up with eleven!)

1. If you could travel in time, (to either the past or the future), where/when would you go?
2. If you had a million dollars to spend on whatever you wanted, what would it be?
3. Who is your favorite character from a book/movie/comic/tv show/video game and why?
4. Do you speak any other languages?
5. What is your DREAM job?
6. What is a skill you haven't learned yet, but would love to?
7. How did you get into blogging?
8. Last song you listened to?
9. Last movie you watched?
10. Where would you travel to for an extended stay, if you could? (it can be a fictional place!)
11. If you were a super hero, what would your special power and your name be?


Have fun! To my nominees: let me know if you decide to participate!

A look back at my 2014...

It's no secret that 2014 was a rough year for me, filled with loss and stress but I suppose it wasn't ALL bad. Here's a look back at the highs and lows:

January - February

In January, I turned 26. One of the 'gifts' my shutterbug friend gave me was a fun and 'whimsical, and dark' photo session in the woods. The resulting photos have been some of my favorites, ever, and have been used throughout my social media accounts this whole year. They really helped me solidify the vision I had with calling my blog "Whimsy and Noir":

March - May

March was certainly the worst month, as it was when my grandfather passed away. Naturally, I don't really remember much positive things from it.

April was when I decided to try out the 365/photo-a-day challenge from the International Geek Girl Pen Pals website... Here were some of my daily photos:




Unfortunately, I was only able to get through 100 of the 365 photos that the challenge called for. Basically, I realized I wasn't enjoying it as much as I thought that I would. I had mainly taken on the challenge as a means of trying to distract myself from the recent loss of my grandfather, and it just wasn't making me happy.

Moving along...

May marked the one-year anniversary of graduating from fashion school, and with it came the closing of a chapter, so to speak. (more on that in the next section):

June - July

In June, I wrote one of my longer blog posts that I was actually quite proud of, called "we are all goldblooded". Here's an excerpt!

 It's tough to carve out your own niche, especially when you've spent so much time on one thing, that people have come to associate you with it exclusively. Since graduating from college last year, I've found myself at a point where I'm having a tough time deciding where to go next.  I've spent seven years studying fashion design, only to realize at the end that I don't even know if it's what I want as a career anymore. And believe me, it hasn't been easy admitting something like that. I have moments when I feel like a failure. Like I've wasted so many years on something that I don't even want to pursue anymore. And it's not that I don't fully enjoy it any more, it's just that I've changed so much as a person, and I want to try new things. I'm still searching for my own voice and my own place in the world... And that is completely okay.  My heroes have shown me time and time again that it is OKAY.

In July, I only wrote one post, and it was a tutorial!

August - October

 In August, I not only got to attend my first-ever wedding, I also got to be a part of it! The bride, (i.e. my friend) graciously asked me to assume the title of 'maid of honor'. There was an Alice-in-Wonderland-themed bachelorette party in which I dressed up as the Mad Hatter!

***Aaaaaand... This is when 2014 started becoming really exciting: there was new music being released from some of my favorite artists!***

August was the month when Frank Iero, (former guitar player in one of my favorite bands, My Chemical Romance), released his first solo album, Stomachaches!

And quickly following that in September: Mat Devine (of Kill Hannah), and Gerard Way (also of My Chemical Romance) released their own solo debuts! Goldblooded and Hesitant Alien. Pure musical joy!!!

In September, I also started taking a watercolor-painting class at a local art center, as it's something I had wanted to do for a long time! It was also the month when I started discovering so many new awesome blogs thanks to the Nerdy Girlie.



My first active-participation post was my "confessions of an inconsistent blogger" post! And of course, October was full of blogging fun thanks to the start of "Five Fandom Friday". Relive the first post in that series here: Five Fandoms that Made Me Who I Am Today

November - December

In November, I shared a drawing I did for the first time on my blog. People seemed to really like it, so I shared a couple more!

Books I read throughout the year:

**not pictured are most of the graphic novels I read...


PHEW!!

Alright, so while 2014 may not have been the most exciting, it was definitely full of new things and accomplishments on my end.

I look forward to a fresh start with 2015. I hope to do even more reading, more blogging, and have lots more fun experiences, memories, and ART to share.

Until next time,

G.

My Must See List of Halloween Movies!

I love to watch Halloween movies any time of the year, but something about these makes them especially fun to watch in the Fall, when the weather outside starts feeling cooler. It was so hard to narrow my #FandomFriday list down to five, but here are some of my favorites! I don't really do horror movies, so these might be kind of lame for some of you, but oh well!

As always, thanks to Superspacechick and the NerdyGirlie for these Friday themes!



(in no particular order)

5. The Addams Family

I can't get enough of both the first one and the Addams Family Values sequel. Christina Ricci  will always be the most perfect Wednesday Addams for me.

4. Nightmare Before Christmas

I'm sure this one appears on most people's lists.. you just can't have Halloween without the Pumpkin King! I also used to love the one-off album soundtracks they used to put out of the NBC songs sung by well known bands/artists.. Do a youtube search for Amy Lee's rendition of "Sally's Song" or "Jack's Lament" by the All-American Rejects!

jack by whimsyandnoir 

3. Coraline

Ok, so this isn't technically a "Halloween" themed movie, but the spooky-factor is definitely there. Not only that, it's also based on a children's book by one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman! I adore the character animation in this movie, and the music, and everything about it. Especially the involvement of dolls, of course!

coraline by whimsyandnoir

2. Beetlejuice

 Oh, look - another Tim Burton movie! I can't help it! Like Christina Ricci, Wynona Ryder is one awesome chick, in my book. Her character (Lydia Deetz) in this movie is my style idol... In fact, the outfit I wore for the profile photo I use on this blog (and on my banner) was sort of inspired by her.. I adore her! Oh, and the Beetlejuice character is pretty cool, too! And the trippy visuals of the land of death! Such a classic movie.

lydia by whimsyandnoir

1. Casper

This is the last repeat, I swear! It's another Christina Ricci movie! I don't know how many people actually remember this one, though? I was obsessed with it as a kid. I hadn't watched it in a long time until recently, and I still find myself loving the setting, (perfect haunted mansion by the sea in Maine, where they have perfect Autumns!) It always gets me in the mood for Halloween.
 



So that's my list! Some other movies that didn't make the cut: Hocus Pocus, Tim Burton's Dark Shadows and Sleepy Hollow, the Woman in Black, and I always love when my favorite t.v. shows do Halloween episodes, too. Pretty Little Liars isn't doing a Halloween one this year, but the ones they've done in the past are so good, with such great costumes! And I miss the cartoon "the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy". That's always fun to watch in October!


In case you missed them, check out my previous #FandomFriday posts:

1) Five Fandoms that have made me Who I am Today

2) Five Characters I'd love to dress as for Halloween




Until next Friday!

5 Characters I'd love to dress up as for Halloween

 Time for the third edition of Five Fandom Friday! I was unable to participate in the second week, but here is my third week's contribution.  In case you are new to #FandomFriday, it's a series of weekly blogging topics started by Super Space Chick and the Nerdy Girlie. For more info, check out the first week's post, "Five Fandoms that made me who I am today", and join in the fun!

This week's topic could not have come at a better time! For the past few years, I've always managed to put last-minute Halloween costumes together using clothes and accessories that I already own. For example, two years ago I was Minnie Mouse, and last year I was a female Darth Vader!

Halloween 2012

Halloween 2013

But this year, I've been having some trouble deciding what (or WHO) I want to be... And if I want to just cave in and buy a ready-made costume...  Here are five ideas I'm currently thinking of, (that could also double as everyday-cosplay inspiration, if you're into that kinda stuff! :)  

Because every day should be Halloween!!!

5. Monster High: Draculaura *or* Skelita

Ok, so technically these are two different characters, (and really, I'd be happy dressing up as ANY of the MH characters!), but they're from the same world! Draculaura is my top favorite of the Monster High dolls, (the daughter of Dracula). She wears a lot of pink and black and ruffles and platform heels and her makeup is adorable.  Skelita, on the other hand, is the daughter of a Mexican Dia de los Muertos Sugar Skull, and seems to wear more casual, but brightly multicolored outfits inspired by ethnic Mexican-costume styles, and of course the calavera face makeup! I think both would be fairly easy to pull off with just regular clothing, but I would have to maybe buy a wig, and thankfully they make licensed Monster High ones.

HalloweenDraculaura by whimsyandnoir

HalloweenSkelita by whimsyandnoir

4. Edward Scissorhands

 I have always, always, ALWAYS wanted to dress up as a female Edward Scissorhands! I don't know why I haven't yet... All I'd need to buy is the wig and the actual scissor-hands!

HalloweenEdward by whimsyandnoir

3. Doctor Who: Harlequin Robot (Girl in the Fireplace)

One of my all-time favorite episodes of Doctor Who is "The Girl in the Fireplace". I absolutely adore the harlequin-masked villains who are after Madame de Pompadour's brain! I actually already have some masks that I've made, (I have a tutorial for them up on Cut Out + Keep if you want to see!), but I would need to hunt around for some uber fancy Rococo-inspired items! I think a general store-bought Marie Antoinette-costume could work, along with the mask, and maybe buy a plastic dagger or pirate hook to hold in my hand. But maybe I can also thrift similar items like brocade jackets!

 

HalloweenDWHarlequin by whimsyandnoir

2. Harry Potter: Luna Lovegood

 She's my FAVORITE Harry Potter character! She's just so quirky and sweet and cool, and doesn't care what anyone thinks! Dressing up as her can definitely be left up to interpretation, but I thought all of these items made me think of  her  ;) 

HalloweenLuna by whimsyandnoir

1. Princess Bubblegum 

  This one certainly needs no explanation.. she's entirely PINK from head to toe... How can you NOT want to be her?! I'd have to hunt for a good bubblegum scented perfume, though... just for the final touch! 
 

 

HalloweenBubblegum by whimsyandnoir

   

 And so there we have it. Five characters I'd love to dress up as this Halloween. I can't say for sure if I'll actually choose one of these, or something else entirely different. We'll just have to see what inspires me the most!

Let me know what you think and what characters you'd want to be ;)

Until next Fandom Friday! 

Gerard Way's Hesitant Alien Merch Unboxing!

Boy, last week was rough. Between the health scares, feeling ill, missing my art class, and car and family drama, it was just all around suckfest. However, on Thursday I received a package of pure H-A-P-P-Y  in the mail that made everything better. Gerard Way's long awaited, first ever solo album was finally released September 30th, and the pre-order c.d. bundles were mailed. Check it out:

The pre-order bundle consisted of  a t-shirt, a very special copy of a zine, handmade by Gerard himself, the c.d., (and yes, I'm still one of those people that HAS to have a c.d. I've always loved the liner notes, and besides, I can only play c.d.'s in my car!), and if you were one of the first 50 or so to place an order, (like I was!), you also got a bonus pack of pins!

The zine itself is SO cool. Like, I can't even stand it! If you don't know what a zine is, it's basically a self-published mini magazine that you put together yourself by writing/drawing/collaging literally whatever you want onto a bunch of pages, xeroxing them, and binding them all into  little booklets by yourself, that you can then either give away or sell. It was something that was big in the 1980's and 90's. In a way, I guess it's also like a physical or manual form of blogging! As a teen, I remember trying my hand at making a zine, myself... I believe I called it 'Cupcakes and Crossbones', but I only managed to put out two measly issues.

But I digress!

If you're not familiar with Gerard Way, he is (first of all) known for being the lead singer of the now defunct band My Chemical Romance, (which I blogged about Friday!), and he is also an accomplished artist and writer of comic books.

excuse the chipped nail polish job!

My favorite pages in the zine are the ones with his little doodles, the one where he talks about the research and planning involved in his newest "look", (second photo), and I didn't picture this one, but there is also a page of collaged photographs that he took of his work space.  I love love love getting a look at artists' work spaces, so I'm so glad he chose to include it! He has shelves full of books and comics, toys, coffee cups, and there is even a child sized desk set up right next to his own drafting table for his five year old daughter to sit at, and make some art right next to him... SO amazing.

I am also completely obsessed with the clean graphics he's been using on everything. A big letter 'G' ! Especially because my OWN name starts with 'G'!!! :)

I can't wait to put these pins on my backpack!

This last photo is the pull out liner notes, with a poster on the back! One of the things us fans have been trying to figure out is WHO exactly is this fuzzy pink character named "Lola" that has been following him around everywhere... Needless to say, that poster really throws me off because he claims he himself isn't Lola!! Yet there he is in the costume! How very interesting, indeed!

(He did also make Lola's face/mask by himself, too. I remember seeing the photo on Twitter earlier this summer and I can't get enough of it).

So yes. I'm so thrilled with all of this. I always appreciate when bands/music artists put out such unique and special merchandise. (I also happen to own a VERY unique piece of merchandise from another band, but I'll talk about that another time!)

I haven't decided if I'm going to wear the tshirt as is, or cut it up/modify it somehow. OH DUH, and the music itself is amazing.  Such a radical change from what MCR fans are used to, but it just feels so right.

I'm very proud of this guy for all he's accomplished, and continues to accomplish. He's definitely my hero and biggest inspiration. You can just feel all the love and thought that goes into making these things, right down to the artwork/packaging and everything in between.

I can't wait for more from my Hesitant Alien!


How about you? What's your favorite piece of merchandise you've ever bought from a singer (or movie, or anything) that you admire?

Until next time,

G.