Dundead - are you scared yet??

Dundead is back!  Dundee Horror Film Festival hosted and run by DCA (Dundee Contemporary Arts) is back for its 3^rd season next week… be prepared to hide behind your hands people!

I have said to myself for the last two years that I HAVE TO GO! But me being me, I always end up missing it and I usually only remember when I see someone walking down the street in the awesome Dundead T-shirts!… but this year I am definitely, maybe going to make it!  (My usual commitment level at its best!) 

For those of you interested in checking out the full line up please check out the DCA page @ http://www.dca.org.uk/whats-on/films/category/dundead.html or like them on Facebook https://en-gb.facebook.com/dundead

If like me you can’t decide which one to go see then you should take advantage of the “Survival Pack” offer which allows you to buy six film passes and receive your very own bonus survival pack which contains the Dundead T-shirt, festival merchandise and more for an amazing £30. Just add popcorn and someone to hold your hand and you’re ready to face the monsters of the night.

My top picks for this year are:

1.     Would You Rather (which is a UK premier no less!), Thursday 2 May at 8.30pm.

Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator) gives a larger-than-life performance as Shepard Lambrick, an eccentric aristocrat who summons eight desperate individuals to his secluded mansion with the possibility of a financial reward if they agree to take part in a parlour game – the parlour game quickly leads to torture, sadism and death.

Billed as a film in the mould of Saw or Hostel, but with more going for it due to its restrained direction, intelligent screenplay and fine ensemble cast.

To top it off the screening will be kicking off with a selection of vintage cinema adverts and trailers and the chance to see short film Familiar (Canada 2012, 24m), directed by Robert Powell.

2.      The Hidden Face, Friday 3 May at 6.15pm

Filmmaker Andrés Baiz follows his acclaimed debut, the violent crime drama Satanás, with this tense, intriguing thriller.

Adrián (Quim Gutierrez) is a young orchestra conductor who moves into an isolated mansion with his fiancé Belén (Clara Lago). Their relationship begins to turn sour when Belén believes he is having an affair: then one morning she disappears. The police initially suspect Adrián, but the investigation is soon dropped when they cannot find any evidence. Moving on, Adrián becomes involved with a young waitress (Martina García) who he invites to live with him, but she starts to hear noises and experience strange events in the mansion.

This screening will be preceded by Human as Animal (US 2012, 4m), directed by Kristina Klebe.

3.     The Lords of Salem, Saturday 4 May at 8.30pm

The fifth feature from Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses) is dubbed as the director's most ambitious film yet.

In the city of Salem, Massachusetts (where the notorious 17th century witch trials took place), strange events occur when a wooden box containing a vinyl record arrives at a radio station. It is addressed to Heidi (Sheri Moon Zombie), a DJ who hosts a late-night show, with a note saying it is “a gift from the Lords”. After Heidi plays the music on air, she begins to experience bizarre and traumatic visions. Billed as a deeply unsettling audio-visual experience, The Lords of Salem must be seen on the cinema screen to be truly appreciated.

This screening will be preceded by a chance to see Out There (Ireland 2012, 15m), directed by Randal Plunkett.

Noteworthy – From the review I think this one may be a bit too much for me but if you think you have the stomach for it then the “ABCs of Death” showing on Sunday 5 May at 6pm covers 26 ways to die from A – Z…. see what they did their?! And they say horror isn’t witty!

Also for those of you who love the classics you won’t be disappointed.  With features such as “Blow Out” featuring John Travolta (1980), The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1922) and Body Double (1984) included in the festival line up the the vintage horror section covered.

If you guys do make it to any of the features I would love to hear what you thought so please comment below or leave a comment on the Facebook page @ www.facebook.com/pages/All-Things-Unique/118911991620797

Speak soon – as long as the monsters don’t get me first!

L

Memory Bears

Just ordered some teddy bear patterns to make some memory bears.... Never heard of a memory bear?! Don't worry they are pretty new to me as well! Wish I had heard of them 6 years ago.

Basically you use fabric that means something to you and use it to make a memory bear; this is great after both sad and happy times.

Example include; using your wedding dress (or if you want to keep it then a flower girls dress makes a perfect alternative), baby's favourite blanket or clothes once they grow out of them, grandparent shirt, etc or if you wear a uniform with logo they make great graduation or retirement gifts as well. This list is clearly not exhaustive and I would love to hear what other people have made them out of/for.

Hopefully the bears I make turn out as well as these examples! I'll post some pictures once they are all done and let you judge for yourself...

 

Magnetic board

I have been looking for ideas for a magnetic board but didn't want the normal metal sheet or white version hanging on a wall so was thrilled when I found this on Pinterest today....

And it's so easy and cheap to do!  All you need is:

1. Metal oven cookie sheet (obviously the ceramic ones won't work for this!).
2. Fabric of your choice (obviously thicker fabrics such as velvet etc. won't work as well unless you use extra strong magnets so always check before you put the cover on permanently) or if you prefer paper would work equally well; especially wrapping paper or scrapbook paper.
3. Scissors.
4. Magnets.
5. Buttons.
6. Ribbon.
7. Glue (spray glue is best for the fabric or paper so that it gives an even coverage that doesn't soak through and then something stronger for the ribbon and magnets, I would suggest a glue gun).

Once you have everything you need it's a simple as covering the board and checking your magnets are strong enough to not only hold through the material but also anything you plan on putting on the board... photos, to do list, inspiration print outs etc. then cut the fabric or paper to size and glue down.

Cut ribbon to size and glue down for a hanger (helpful hint - I often find that when gluing ribbon or other hanging strips it's best to use a bull dog clip to hold the ribbon in place until the glue has dried to ensure it bonds thoroughly).  If you want a ribbon bow as in the picture above use the same technique.

Then simply stick the magnets to the buttons and you are done!

Let me know if you guys try this and leave pictures of any of your masterpieces in the comment section below.

L.

Lisa with a capital L

I love a bargain and I couldn't resist when I seen this adorable pink gingham in Ikea for only 50p!!

Ikea in Edinburgh were selling off the old stock sample hangings (if you've never checked out the fabric section in Ikea this is pretty much what it says... samples of the fabrics hanging above the rolls of fabric so you can have a proper look at the pattern before you buy).  I decided that I would make a throw pillow for my bed to go with the new pink throw I had also picked up in Ikea (also a bargain at only £5!) and I decided that I didn't want to make another plain rectangle set or squares so I opted for my initial "L".  To get a feel for the size I folded the fabric to roughly what I thought would work best and placed it on the bed to check...

(I also made the cushion sitting on the chair to the left which is super simple and literally takes only 10 minutes - I am thinking of doing something similar soon so will show you how then)

 

I decided that this size seemed a little on the small side so I folded the fabric a couple more times until I was happy and drew a rough guide on the pillow fabric before unpicking the fabric which was sewn down one side and along the top and bottom.  I then ironed the fabric until the fold in the middle was gone and the fabric was flat (actually I can't take credit for the ironing, my boyfriend made the silly mistake of asking if I needed anything ironed after he was done with his shirts and ended up with the freshly washed bedding, the fabric and what he claims was half my wardrobe! Well he did offer...).

 

The next step was to draw a rough shape on the pillow ( I just washed some old pillows which I don't use after getting fluffier ones).

 

 

 

I then cut the pillow case along the bottom and pulled out the stuffing part.  The next step was to use a ruler to measure and make small marks as the outline of the shape before joining the marks together to make the shape in full this helps ensure that the shape ends up even and symmetrical. 

 

 

 

Once the shape was marked out fully I then traced the outline on to baking paper (as I didn't have any pattern paper to hand and this is a simple alternative)  I then cut around the outline of both leaving around a one inch margin and then pinned the two sides of the inner fabric together and pinned the paper to a folded piece of fabric and repeated.

 

 

 

 

 

I then stitched the lining fabric together leaving enough room to stuff the pillow and enough room on the gingham to allow the pillow to be put inside. I decided to do both a lined pillow and an outer cover in case I decide to do another cover in a different fabric so if you want to make one but are only going to use the one fabric cover you can skip the lining step and simply stuff the outer cover.

 

Once the inner pillow was stuffed using the stuffing out of the original pillow (I pulled small/medium pieces from the stuffing and teasing them apart before stuffing them in to the new pillow cover to help create a fluffy rather than lumpy pillow) I sewed up the seam that was left open for the stuffing to go in and then put the pillow cover over the pillow (which was much harder than I had expected because of having to make sure the points were filled properly) and then did a quick hand stitch up the outer seam before using the machine to close the seam properly.  I had intended to put a zip in the seam but didn't have one that size so if you intend on making a few covers in different fabric I would recommend putting zips in (hopefully I will get around to it at some point). 

 

And the finished item?  Well see for yourself.....

 

 

 

Obviously if you don't have a name beginning with L this can easily be swapped for most letters although I'm not sure S or C would work as well unless it you use a stiff fabric that can hold the weight of the stuffing without collapsing down on itself. 

 

I have quite a bit of fabric left over so if a Letter pillow isn't for you but you love the fabric let me know... I'm thinking a little stuffed elephant??

 

I hope you enjoyed my first blog post!  I know not everyone will be interested in sewing so if that's you don't despair!  I plan on posting blogs on a vast range of topics so check back to see what's happening here in the wonderful world of All Things Unique.

 

L.