The DIY Mermaid Tail

A number of delays set me back from doing this, including internet, weather, injury, new job stuff, and spouse.

It's basically 2 sets of old bike shorts/capri pants/leggings, that I cut up into segments, and reassembled them.

The fins are 2 SCUBA fins/flippers and an old vintage skirt over top.

My sewing machine broke several times, then I had to disassemble, fix, then reassemble multiple times.

The photo shoot outside was delayed several times due to job interviews, leg injury and hospital visit (me). I got so fed up, that I just went late in the mourning, not ideal lighting, and just shot some stuff w/my crutches.

There were also random storms on my free time days, and basically, "shit happens".

Whatevz...

Here's the video footage I shot on my iPhone:

If you want the songs/music  you can download them for free from my SoundCloud or NewGrounds.
The songs are totally FREE, and are licensed as Creative Commons. 
So have fun!Donwload 'em, share 'em, use 'em, keep, 'em. Whatever u want.

Here's my gallery on PicsArt so go follow me on the app. 

On virtually all of my public social media profiles I'm Always "BlackUniGryphon" unless I say otherwise... No, sluts please. Keep ur junk in ur pants, n keep it to urself. Nobody wants to see that. 

DIY Mermaid Tail: Preview

This was a makeshift mermaid tail I threw together due to the constant pestering of my daughter, since springtime, about wanting a mermaid tail. there was NO END to the begging, pleading, pestering, blubbering, sniveling, and whining!

She must've begged me to get a tail from "Fin Fun Mermaid" three thousand times! Then, she showed me uptteen-ba-jillian DIY videos, blogs, instagrams, and so on, of all kinds of dumb yuppies making complete fools of themselves & their money on junk, when they probably could've just bought one from "Fin fun mermaid" to support a small business... but, whatever....

Anyways, I'm broke as dirt!

So, what did I do?????

I got 2 old pairs of tights/pants/leggings/bike-shorts or not-quite-capri-pants from Old NAVY that were gonna become rags, or trash anyways.... my kid is also going through a sudden growth spurt, so there's no friggin' way I'm buying a mermaid tail, tailored to her June-sized-body, when she's already outgrow her swimsuit, n had to get a new one on clearance!

I cut up the pants into segments.

Then, I sewed them together w/my sewing machine using honeycomb stitch.

I kept the extra pants' elastic, to tie up the fins part later...

It took forever, because my machine kept falling apart, malfunctioning, or breaking, so I would have to disassemble my machine, and reassemble it multiple times. Also, in the middle of it, we had a major heat wave, humidity finally arrived, then power surges & thunder storms... oh, and I had a job interview.... That, and trying to juggle fixing the situation w/our food stamps, and getting them reinstated... financial conferences, and I sprained my ankle, and had to go to the E.R.

The fins are 2 main components:

* Flippers (S.C.U.B.A. Fins)

* and an old 2002 Boho scarf skirt overtop of the S.C.U.B.A. Fins.


That's it!

I sewed the segments, made sure it looked right, then, she puts on the flippers and the skirt over top, then you tie with the leftover elastic.

#mermaid #mermaidtail #sewing #DIY #summer #Summer2015 #August #August2015 #child #girl #teen #kid #cosplay #costume

A photo posted by Kandice Zimblemam-Wang 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Aug 1, 2015 at 8:43pm PDT

#mermaid #mermaidtail #cosplay #costume #girl #teen #kid #child #DIY

A photo posted by Kandice Zimblemam-Wang 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Aug 1, 2015 at 8:26pm PDT

#mermaid #mermaidtail #sewing #DIY #summer #Summer2015 #yoga #girl #child #teen #kid #cosplay #costume

A photo posted by Kandice Zimblemam-Wang 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Aug 1, 2015 at 8:22pm PDT

BR>

Repost reedit #mermaid #mermaidtail #cosplay #costume #sewing #DIY #girl #child #kid #teen @sillysmartandsuper

A video posted by Kandice Zimblemam-Wang 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Aug 1, 2015 at 8:18pm PDT

S.O.S.! #mermaid #mermaidtail #sewing #DIY #cosplay #costume #girl #child #kid #tail #teen #summer #Summer2015 #August #August2015

A video posted by Kandice Zimblemam-Wang 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Aug 1, 2015 at 9:02pm PDT

Here's a preview of her getting ready to swim in the pool. I expect to have a lot more photos of my daughter, Heidi, in her mermaid tail.... but, I have to start training at my new job tomorrow....

#Mermaid #MermaidTail #preview #cosplay #costume #DIY #pool #swimming #summer #child #girl #teen #kid

A photo posted by Kandice Zimblemam-Wang 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Aug 5, 2015 at 4:25pm PDT

#Mermaid #MermaidTail #preview #cosplay #costume #DIY #pool #swimming #summer #child #girl #teen #kid

A photo posted by Kandice Zimblemam-Wang 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Aug 5, 2015 at 4:27pm PDT

#Mermaid #MermaidTail #DIY #cosplay #preview #costume #kid #child #girl #teen #swimming #pool @sillysmartandsuper

A video posted by Kandice Zimblemam-Wang 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Aug 5, 2015 at 4:32pm PDT

#Mermaid #MermaidTail #preview #cosplay #costume #pool #swimming #pool #kid #child #teen #DIY @sillysmartandsuper

A video posted by Kandice Zimblemam-Wang 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Aug 5, 2015 at 4:43pm PDT

#Mermaid #MermaidTail #preview #DIY #cosplay #costume #girl #teen #child #kid

A photo posted by Kandice Zimblemam-Wang 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Aug 5, 2015 at 4:46pm PDT

Coming Soon!

Expect to see more, of my Mermaid Daughter in the water, in the following blog posts. 

Fathoming Oubliette from BlackUniGryphon on 8tracks Radio.

WIP: "Balcony" Decor; My New Bistro Table Set & 'Garden'

Work-In-Progress: 
"Balcony" Decor; My New Bistro Table Set & Garden

I generally say: My so-called "balcony" (in quotes) because my property documents call it that.... but.... I'm on the first floor... }:-/

I've been wishing & wanting to actually comfortably use this space, but there's a number of issues with it, besides being stuck living in Boston.... which is cold... and this specific angle means I only get sunlight at the summer solstice period from about mid June to mid July... add on top of that the bushes that grow, and the rude upper neighbors that dump litter on me frequently, the condominium office personnel, the squirrels,  and.... I'm broke. All of those are very long complicated stories... and I'd RATHER NOT think about it, or I'll be in a not-good mood....

So, I'll just focus on the positive side (and suppress the bad... far-far-far, and deep-deep-deep within for some therapist to MAYBE dig out someday... or perhaps in nightmares, or meditative trances gone wrong... but I digress).

Where to start.... hmmm.....


Oh yes:

I used to have a charcoal grill, and some really old lawn furniture... but, due to a stupid story of some idiot in a different town that's NOT mine whom burned down the side of a poorly built apartment building, the following year some idiots in my town forced through some idiotic legislation about no fire grills with charcoal or gas at all EVER.... also, I used to have some old lawn furniture... but they were always dirty, and my spouse wouldn't allow me to clean them in the shower, because his imagination would be aware the outside dirt had once passed through the tub/shower even tho' it was washed & cleaned away, but the ideas bothered his imagination of his ego, ergo I was NEVER allowed to wash them... and also hoses DO NOT EXIST IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.
So, you also cannot hose them down, and spray cleaners also couldn't get the dirt off either... and if I sat on them using a towel, my spouses' imagination would be bothered again, even if the towels were washed, and he would throw away the towels, and we'd have no more towels, and couldn't afford to constantly buy new ones... so, about the time when we were legally forced against our will and without due process to throw away our high end grill, those chairs went with them... }:-(

So, around 2012... our store closed down, and we had some left-over stuff... and since then, the only thing I had to sit on was a Taoist Porcelain  Chinese Stool.

Also.... trying to get anything to grow out there was quite a challenge... and then I stumbled onto permaculture... so, I've been experimenting and learning since then...

By summer 2013, I used to sit outside with my tiny somewhat pathetic piddly "garden" (just some pots with barely anything growing in them, and my wind-chimes and listen to philosophy or zen stuff, like by the late Alan Watts, or music, or out in the rain... contemplating my situation, or journalling, or playing music, or drinking hot tea whilest it rained, and rained, and rained some more...

And, In the winter, I started to notice balcony decor & Boho decor popularity on Pinterest, so I actually have my own Pinboard there now. So.... I started wishing for my own style, or something to happen... I dunno... *shrugs*

Anyways, I actually DID get stuff to grow. ^_^ Permaculture FTW! W00t! :D



Greens, Blueberries, lentils.... the only problem was pests: squirrels, thieving neighbors, aphids, and slugs.  But, I'm making major progress! The aloe did better than expected!


I assumed for sure the chives would grow easily... Nope! Totally wrong!















My Greens: Mustard Spinach









I spent about 2 weeks in New Jersey this month (August 2014), and when I came back, my so-called "balcony" got power-washed by pricks. Making it covered in debris, and busting up one of my wind-chimes, which I JUST refurbished. Check the other blog HERE of that.

And, they FINALLY trimmed up the bush... but it's TOO LATE, because all the good sunlight is past the correct angles... but... somehow, the parsley managed to burst into some kinda major growth!

Gonna have to make a salad with those parslys this week!
And, I dunno what kinda crazy growth happened with those celery stalks. I might have to just pluck them out in the fall.

Anyways.... My step-mother, Libby, bought me a LOVELY wooden Bistro Table set, that folds up, so I can take it back inside in the winter, or if it rains! ^_^


Here's the view from my favorite spot sitting at my new bistro table, where I can drink my tea or coffee, and journal, check my smartphone news, twitter, do knitting, eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner, meditate, pontificate, sketch, or do whatever the heck I want! Drink rum or wine! Whatever!

 The herb pot was also a gift from Libby, which I will try to transfer my herbs into WHENEVER I CAN GET A BAG OF ORGANIC POTTING SOIL. In these shots, it has freshly cut Sunflowers from New Jersey, also a gift from Libby, that were drying outside...
However, the infamous squirrels discovered the sunflowers when I moved them onto those chairs in the corner (that Libby found) and made a big mess all over the place!
The sunflowers have since then, been moved indoors....

If you'd like to see what these sunflowers looked like BEFORE they got cut down check out my album from My Flickr Gallery (which is STILL in the process of being updated daily, since I took lots of photos.)

 Those chairs have also been mended, and ALSO moved indoors...

And, here's my lil' Boho Party Spot at My Father's Pig Roast Picnic a few weeks ago where I parties & got rather drunk with my friends, including my buddy Pirate Pebbs.You can see THIS table set up there, with some other bohemian stuffs... I figured Boho-chic was the other end of the spectrum of yuppy fads... sorta faux Hippie-ish.

It was my lil' mini haven under a tree from the the yuppies that got all into the recent trendy fad of pretending to be a faux hick or redneck and blast so-called "Country Music". I wonder what the next NJ fad will be! Fear not! I'll surely bee there with my camera! ^_^

I was near the giant water-slide, so my daughter could find me.

 The chairs are mingling!
Well... as of now... as I stated earlier, these chairs are inside the house... but the Chinese one is still out there... 

Wow!!!! Is that it? 
Yay!!!! I think I'm done! 
Typing this entry too FOREVER! 

I'll see if I can add an update to my so-called "balcony" decor... because it's changed, yet again...
And, let's hope that NO MORE S.N.A.F.U.s, nor random problems, just up & occur! OK?

DIY: Refurbished Chinese Dolphin Wind Chime

Refurbished Chinese Dolphin Wind-chime

This dolphin chime is so old, that I've had it since the first term of G.W. Bush when my daughter as just an infant baby. I got the thing from a business associate of mine, maybe around 2003 Christmas Season who's push-cart was next to mine at the Hanover Mall (Mass). That year, my spouse did another cart at the Plymouth/Kingston Independence Mall (Mass) whilest my in-laws from China flew in from China to take care of my baby. It was very hard.

 My business associate was another entrepreneurial merchant like me named Andy, whom was ethnic Chinese/Former Vietnamese-National. I wouldn't call him old, but since I was only in my early 20s at the time and he was in his mid 40s, I'd say that was significantly "older" than I was. If I recall correctly, his wife (also ethnic Han Chinese) was slightly older than he was, but they both has 2 young wiz-kid children in elementary school, whom are probably on their way to college by now.

Andy was a really cool, and really nice to me. I worked very hard, which I guess to old-school Southern Asian/Southern Chinese is considered an excellent personality trait or quality. He used to buy me lunch, snacks, or dinner, or cooked stuff at home. (That's the Chinese "way. It's generally called "guanxi".) Whenever I tried to return the favor, he would always try to give me another favor and out-do me, I guess because he looked upon me like a "little sister" (Xiao Mei-Mei) and he often hugged me. He also talked a lot, and spoke more languages than I did. He also made lots & lots of jokes in Chinese (Mandarin), with his Southern Asian accent.

We watched each others' push-carts when the other needed to use the rest-room. his wide also had a push-cart in the same mall my spouse did that year, which I think was also next to his. Some days Andy's wife would come instead of Andy. And, she often came with new stock for the cart... usually it was funny sex trinkets that looked like a fish, or some other animal, or plant, shape on a keychain that you opened up, and inside was some kind of sculpted relief of 2 lovers engaged in sexual positions which were inspired from Qing Dynasty, or Ming Dynasty China.

Anyways, by the end of working EVERY F*@#ING DAY during the ENTIRE Holiday Season, working your butt, fingers, feet, and eyes off you start to get incredibly worn out, but I just kept going. The ONLY day I had off was Christmas Day... So, before New Year's Eve. It's kinda normal for other small business merchants like myself to swap left over stock/goods.

Andy, and even his wife, used to give me stuff all the time anyways... but, Andy knew I liked this blue dolphin chime, and he saved 1 for me. So, that last day he told me I could pick whatever I wanted, and I picked lots of dragons, and all kinds of stuff. This was 1 of the things he gave me. 

This chime has fallen apart, and I've mended it so many times: Hurricanes, snow blizzards, northeasters, hail, etc...

AND, I've mended it more times than I can recall.

Well, this time is a bit... or more than a bit... different.

Well... here it is inside a bucket. The office here at my condominium is run by draconian nasties, whom use any reason they MUST do their job as an excuse to be villainous, and nasty deliberately. Let's NOT turn this into a rant (because I COULD TOTALLY GO THERE) but, this is what they did to my wind-chime while "power-washing".

It was absolutely disgusting this morning soaking in muddy water.... But, this is after washing it.

 And, here it is in shambles on the table. This nylon is terrible. It always seems to decompose over time, and become brittle.

So, what I need to do is remove ALL of the old nylon line/string and replace it. 

I'll be using Chinese Jape/pearl grade chord/line from China. You can see it here on my new Bistro table set. ^_^

Those goose feathers sticking out of that pewter antique/vintage tea-pot (that's another project for another day to refurbish. PLANS!-PLANS!-PLANS!) will be going onto the wind-chime.

I have ALWAYS loved working with feathers since I was a child (probably because I am of native American Descent).  
I have found that using Goose feathers helps to increase the amount of tinkling, & chiming of the wind-chime.

Why Goose and not others? Well, you could also use ducks, or other water-fowl like seagulls... but, Goose feathers weather especially well, because they are water & weather proof. I've had goose feathers outlast metal wires, nylon, etc... other types of birds' feathers get mildew on them, or fall apart with wind weathering & erosion. Goose plumes are exceptionally sturdy, and tough due to the large size of them. The best are from wild geese. These are from Wild Canadian Geese.

I will also be adding more beads, and brass jingle bells.




When I lived in Northern China (Shanxi Taiyuan/Northern Manchurian Industrial Region several times from 2003-2008) it was a common belief that the color red, means strength or to hold something in place. It might sound like superstition, however, many of my necklaces which I frequently wore that broke a few times a year no longer break once we began using the traditional red chord... it could possibly be due to the higher quality... but, who knows? *shrugs*

So, here it is, now, having been restrung with red silk/pearl chording string. I also added faux pearl beads, Manao Jade beads, and you should be able to see the brass jingle-bells.

The feathers catch more wind and knock more into the chime cylinders, and the bells & jade or crystal beads ad a variety of tinkling & jingling chimes, tones, and sounds. before you could only hear this chime if it was VERY windy. But, now even a slight breeze will cause lots of relaxing chimes.

I noticed this with my other chime that I mended & refurbished. I only added ONE feather with beads & bells to it, and I could ALWAYS here it, but this one was quiet... well... I can hear it RIGHT NOW.

Unfortunately... I lack the fine tools to do true "pearl knots" for the beading work. But, it'll have to do for now...
If you want to learn about that, seriously, go check youtube. there's lots of variations on that.

Now my wind-chime has a very Bohemian/Boho-Chic look & feel to it. 
(That's kinda been my thing for quite a while now, and also when I was a kid.)

If you're looking for more tips, tricks, or how-too stuff for this sort of thing I recommend searching: Google, YouTube, Tumblr, Deviant Art, and Pinterest.

Fathoming Oubliette from BlackUniGryphon on 8tracks Radio.

DIY Custom My Little Pony FIM Gingerbread Cookies

Sorry I put this off. But, here goes nothing!

Like most children, my daughter enjoys making 7 baking cookies, as well as arts & crafts, and she LOVES MY LITTLE PONIES!

These were intended to look like the "Friendship Is Magic" series styles.

If you would like to make your own, you will need the basic shape of the pony silhouette. I drew my own with a pencil, and cut it out with an X-ACTO knife. 

You will need to make the tail separately, as well as wings. and if you want to ads more of a main, or an exaggerated main, you can do that AFTER you cut out your basic shape.

Then, you will need to roll out your Pony shapes ALSO with the X-ACTO knife, so be sure it's VERY CLEAN.

You can use any brand or gingerbread mix, or find any number of recipes online. Just go do a search engine search, like Google or Yahoo! and see what you can find.

My daughter made the "Apple Bloom" Pony, So, it out for you.

By making the tail separate, it eliminates LOTS of frustration in cutting your shapes, and you can just attach it later. It also allows you to use more space efficiently on the first rolled out bit of dough.

I like things to be done efficiently, with the least amount of work, and logically. I hate doing measurement projects that are willy-nilly, not thought out, not thought through, and waste materials, time, energy, and cause unnecessary frustrations...

This also give you more freedom + consistency to do more with your gingerbread ponies if you make a foundation structure of how you want to do it, instead of just jumping in without a clue, and hoping something happens... Only fools do such things... not I.



My Little Pony Gingerbread Cookies 004 by BlackUniGryphon on deviantART



My Little Pony Gingerbread Cookies 003 by BlackUniGryphon on deviantART



My Little Pony Gingerbread Cookies 002 by BlackUniGryphon on deviantART



My Little Pony Gingerbread Cookie 001 by BlackUniGryphon on deviantART



Fluttershy My Little Pony Gingerbread Cookie by BlackUniGryphon on deviantART



Gingerbread Cookie Ponies by BlackUniGryphon on deviantART

You can decorate your gingerbread however you like.

If you are doing this FOR CHILDREN you should do all the cutting yourself, and let them deccorate, and keep it simple.

If you are a serious artist, baker, or chef, you can look into many other techniques, and ingredients, if you care to spend larger amounts of cash.

As it is, I only spent a few dollars on this. The X-ACTO knive I've had since the 90s.