Tag Archives: feathers

Custom Haunted Mansion Barrette

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Dax is one of my clients from the UK who first discovered my work 7 years ago while purchasing one of my pre-made Dead Girl Decay barrettes. He gifted it to his wife and she loved it so much he reached out to me the following year asking if I could make her something more custom. Every year since then he returns with a new theme to have a new hair piece made for his wife and it always gets my creative blood flowing! Not to mention how honored I feel knowing it’s the first thing she opens every Christmas!

So this year Dax got into the “spirit” of things by requesting the theme be Disney’s Haunted Mansion! Some requests included the branding colors, Madame Leota, the iconic wallpaper, and of corpse…the hitch hiking ghosts! This was right up my alley so I was super stoked to get working on it and very happy with how it came out…

The first thing I envisioned was Madame Leota front and center but most importantly I wanted her to have a dome like – crystal ball appearance. I was lucky enough to be able to up-cycle a Madame Leota cabochon jewelry piece that was perfect for what I was envisioning. I used charms to add the hitch hiking ghost accents and found the iconic wallpaper on ribbon! On top of adding flower petals and feathers to tie in the branding colors, I chose to add sheer flower petals and iridescent glitter to represent the holographic ghostly spirits that haunt the mansion! When I sent photos to the client for pre-shipment approval I was happy to get this message in return…

“Perfect! You’ve outdone yourself again! She’ll love it! ❤️❤️”

As alway, the wait to get confirmation that it made it to the buyer (especially overseas) is always a nail biting experience for me. If it gets lost or damaged in transit, you can’t get back the time, unique materials, and the heart and soul you put into an original creation. However my mind was set at ease when I got the message that it had arrived…

“It arrived today!! It’s beautiful! Thank you again, Nicole. Nailed it. 💀💀🦇🦇”

And just like that I was doing my artist happy dance again. I must say no matter how big or small, the custom creations I have made for clients are always extra special to me. It’s one thing for me to envision something and bring it to life in various mediums. It’s another for someone else to have a vision and then trust that I am the right artist to bring it to life. Especially when it has to do with creating something that someone wants to gift to someone they love and is a part of making the holidays even brighter.

Want to see the other custom barrettes I have created for Dax (and other clients)? Be sure to visit the Dead Girl Decay page of my portfolio website and scroll down to Custom Themed Decay!

Looking to have something custom made? Contact me for details, turn around times, and pricing.

Did you receive a piece of my art this holiday season? Contact me or send me a message via my Etsy shop to submit your photos and be featured here and in my Freaky Fanatics slideshow!

✨💀✨
Stay Spooky & Magical,
LDG Nicole

Irie Takes Flight With Custom Butterfly Barrette

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How adorable is this Freaky Fanatic photo I received today!!

This is Irie and she insisted that her Mom take a photo so I could see her wearing the special butterfly barrette I handmade for her! I am so glad that she did. Thank you so much Irie (and her Mom Mari) for brightening my day with this priceless photo! 🦋

See more of my Dead Girl Decay barrettes as well as other Freaky Fanatic Happy Customer photos on my portfolio website.

Looking to have something custom made or want to submit a photo you have with one of my creations? Contact me!

Stay Spooky & Magical!
LDG Nicole

What’s This? A Custom Jack Skellington Barrette Makes The Perfect Gift!

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What’s this? It’s a Jack themed Dead Girl Decay Barrette that I was commissioned to make for a return client in the UK! For the last 5 years he has commissioned me to make a new themed hair piece for his wife and its the first thing she opens on Christmas morning. This year he chose Jack Skellington. A character I have held dear to my heart since I was a kid.

Due to me always wanting to make my creations unique and there being so many Nightmare Before Christmas things out there, I decided to hand sculpt and paint the center piece for this one instead of resurrecting something store bought. This included Jack’s face, his bat bow tie and some whimsical Tim Burtonesque swirls for each side. I had never used this specific medium for sculpting so I challenged myself to try something new and am so glad that I did. Here is how it came out.

Since the barrette was going to be just black and white I added a touch of iridescent glitter here and there as a sparkly representation of when Jack first discovers snow. I found the perfect feather fringe from Moonlight Feather Inc. I loved how thin and wispy it looked and the alternating black and white gave it a striped look that gave me total Jack suit vibes.

When I sent photos to the client weeks ago he loved it and could not wait to gift it to her. Today I received these photos and a message from him on Etsy telling me how much his wife loves it too. She even made it a point to pose with a little Jack figurine! How great are these?….

It means so much to me to know that my creations continue to make someone else’s holidays brighter and I truly look forward to the “Ok I got this year’s theme picked out” message I get a few months prior to the holidays. I have always loved doing custom orders because I feel like they are a creative challenge and they really get my creative blood flowing. This one in particular also allowed me to discover a new medium that I am already using in my other creations. A win win all around.

Check out more of my Dead Girl Decay barrettes as well as other Freaky Fanatic Happy Customer photos on my portfolio website. Looking to have something custom made? Contact me for details and pricing. Did you receive one of my pieces of art this holiday season? Contact me to submit your photos and to be featured! You can also submit by sending me a message via my Amazon or Etsy shops!

Stay Spooky & Magical!
LDG Nicole

Dead Girl Decay: Royal Air Force Memorial Piece

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A return client contacted me before the holidays asking if I could make a custom hair piece for his wife. This was not just any hair piece but one that was very special and meaningful. Her Dad had passed away and was a squadron leader for the Royal Air Force. The goal was to make the barrette in his honor. A memorial piece she could wear and cherish for years to come to help keep her Dad close to her.

First we needed fighter planes and that is when the wonderful world of 3D printers came into play. The client was able to help me find the exact planes he wanted. Since they were 3D printed they were “clear” in color so I painted them with model paint to get them the right shade of grey.

Next he wanted me to stick with the colors of their emblem. He sent me this photo to use for inspiration He didn’t care how I did it but the colors were important. Which when I saw it immediately thought of one of my favorite movies.. Tank Girl but I had to stay on course ha ha.

I decided to use the emblem as my basis for the barrette itself. I wanted to stick with the same layout as I felt that would make it much more meaningful and literally symbolic. I kept the same layout with the feathers. Alternating the colors exactly the way the emblem was.

Here was the end result….

The client was very happy with what I came up with and said his wife absolutely loves it. I could not be more honored to be asked to make such a memorable piece of wearable art. One that brought light and happiness into someone’s holiday and when they look at it they can think of someone that meant so much to them.

Making this barrette reminded me of one of the reasons I love making hair pieces and how different they are from what you can buy in the store. What I create is not only unique or customizable, but when it is not being worn it can be clipped on to something as a decor or put on display. Sylvia Soska recently told me her and Jen have their American Mary barrettes I made them on their alter. They are very versatile pieces which is why I refer to them as wearable art… because really that’s what they are.

Check out the Dead Girl Decay page of my portfolio site to see more of the hair pieces I have made. I also have some pre-made ones in my Amazon Shop and I absolutely LOVE doing custom orders! So feel free to contact me if you have something in mind. Let me bring your vision to life! Buy handmade!

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole