Hello Craft. I have a confession to make….

When I was in high school, I was fairly preppy. The early 90’s were the days of v-neck Gap sweaters and pegged jeans. I fell in line with my geeky friends and lived a happy, although boy-less existence. That is until Paul started working at the craft store in the mall. I worked one store front over at the movie theater concession stand and Paul was the slightly odd, drama guy in all black who worked at the craft store. He started sending me cryptic notes about dreams and wolves and vampires during the long work days. I thought they were funny and interesting and Paul in his quirky way was as far from the Gap as I was going to find. He wore vampire teeth for fun. He wrote poetry about crows. He was different. So the preppy geek started dating the happy goth and my tastes in fashion and entertainment and nearly everything else changed forever.

I will admit it, part of me is still secretly goth. And I am drawn to buying (and making) handmade items that are secretly goth like me.

This vampire ring by Richmond Art is on the top of my secretly goth wish list.

I could wear this ring and still be my usual sunny self. I don’t need to express my dark side with black eyeliner or fangs if I can just wear this little ring made of polymer clay.

Speaking of polymer clay, I wear these eyeball ponytail holders by Polymer Posies nearly every day.

No one has to know that I am crocheting the grim reaper with a pattern from Creepy Cute Crochet by Christen Haden.

And the strange creepiness of Sarah Ogren’s Cat Twins Pendant is perfect for the secret goth in me.

And for the record, as a secret goth, I tend to shy away from rotting doll heads like this one from Blarg.

I like to think that if Paul still knew me now, he would be proud of how much he influenced what I make. I know I would have never thought about zombies ruining Christmas if it weren’t for him.

Hello Craft wants to know how your life experiences influence your style and what you make. Tell us in the comments!