This. Yikes, big time, to the jammed front door and the mushrooms growing in the ceiling! That's definitely some stuff that should be more thoroughly taken care of.
Hey, to fix the things-falling-off-shelves issue, have you considered museum putty or museum gel? They are removable object-safe substances that work wonderfully to keep knickknacks from falling over- and the transparent gel is very useful if you have any glassware or small objects that wont hide the putty so well. I use it in my miniatures and i cant recommend it enough.
There's another stuff called "Earthquake Putty" that does the same thing. It isn't transparent, but it does the same job. Museums and households all over the country use it. It's non-staining. We live in California and we mount down fragile, decorative objects that are high up on tall furniture.
I bought display dots for small knick knacks on the dash of my car. They work great, and I can't even pull them free without really putting some oomph into it. But a touch of rubbing alcohol takes them right off, no damage left behind
I really appriciate your oppenes to failure and honestly sharing it with the world. I hope this video will help everyone not to be too seriously in life and keep on trying. Thank you for this video and for the view behind the scenes. ^^
The mushrooms are the most shocking to me out of all of them. I have lived in my native NYC 46 years out of my entire 56 years of life and I have lived in many different apartments over the decades. But I have never witnessed mushrooms growing out of the walls and ceilings. Plenty of mold issues? Yes. Ceilings crashing down due to flooding and burst pipes? Absolutely. Very old rusty pipes leaking and staining the white walls and white tub yellow? Yep, had that issue for 7 years in our current place before maintenance finally replaced the pipes. Large clump of dirt flowing up through the pipes into all the bathrooms in the building everytime it rained hard outside? We use to have that problem for decades in the projects. But mushrooms??! THAT is an absolutely new on me! I so feel for you. Just WOOOOOW! 🍄😳🤯😱🙊
@@RainyDayWolf You're right. I meant to say mildew. Sorry about the brain fart I had. Though I have seen "mold" problems in NYC apartments on the news plenty of times as well. That's a problem here when you are dealing with slumlords or city owned low income housing that have really bad maintenance. I have been lucky enough to have never lived in one that got that bad. But the mushrooms are still new to me. Never seen that one before. LOL! 😉😊
I hardly hear what's bugging you. Just shoot through the noise. I don't think it would bother us. Unless you are using headphones 🎧. Then it's just another layer to your videos 😎
I went back to listen to the sounds again, I really have a very hard time hearing any of it honestly. And like another said when you add your background music, you can't hear anything but that. I almost want to hear what you're talking about better because it would be like being right there visiting you! 😎
Honestly when it comes to the blue beetles, you could make a horror wreath for a door or wall decoration. Even the bone fragments can be glued in to add a bit of morbid flair. If one project idea doesn't work, consider your options or get ideas from the community. When something turns out to be out of your skill range, figure out how to use the same materials in another DIY that is. That's how I feel better about failures.
About the blue bees project: How broken is the animal skull? Is it broken in an aesthetic way? Can you make it look like the bees built their comb inside the skull? 'cause that'd be pretty interesting.
On the pumpkin tools: You should be picking light-colored pumpkins because the skin is thinner, and you should cut the bottom of the pumpkin instead of the top so you can balance the thing easier after gutting and carving. My wife and I [mostly her] carve a dozen pumpkins every year for Halloween. Another option would be to make paper mache or get foam pumpkins. If you're 100% set on the darker pumpkins ['cause face it, they look great], grab some pottery tools and scrape out the inner walls of the pumpkin to thin them out where you're gonna carve after gutting. Also, painting white glue or Podge in the cut areas will make them last longer. :) Man, you really should consider moving the Lair to a new location. Getting out of the city would make filming so much easier!
If he moves, he loses his locked in rent controlled apartment in New York City, which he has said he never wants to give up because of how hard it is to get.
Voltaire, you remember what Bob Ross used to say. "There are no mistakes. Just happy accidents." Go back to the Blue Bee project. Skulls are not always pristine in the wild. Artfully arrange the pieces. It can still work. I know it. I often have to stop a project and pivot my idea to make it work. Sometimes it winds up better than my original plan. Nature is messy. Nature is vicious. Nature is Raw and Beautiful. Channel that into your shadow boxes.
A project is like a child. Regardless of what you expected them to become. They grew to be themselves, in every possible way. And I love every one of them. Especially the failures.
One thing I learned for pumpkin carving, Xacto knives, wood carving tools and clay modeling tools work better than the flimsy cheap pumpkin carving tools
Maybe it should be time for a new Lair of Voltaire. Having an apartment where no fungus grows would be a great thing, because it can't be particularly healthy to breathe in there!! And if he got a place with less noise, maybe we would be lucky to get more videos again. We all know New York prices are insane. But a new place would be incredibly inspiring. And provide many opportunities for new home making projects. And I think we would all love to see that. At least I know I would.
Voltaire himself has stated that he never intends to move out of that apartment, because he can't afford anything better in NY. That's why he's put so much time, money and effort into making it the perfect Lair, because he's in for the long haul.
If the bones of your furniture aren't of good and sturdy quality, there's no point bothering with the expense of reupholstering them. Such a shame as they look amazing
I learn the same way, never tell anyone a project until you have all figured out, INCLUDING the fucking timeframe in which you will do it, otherwise you are constantly reminded when you will have it done: "you already have everything there, so why haven't you done it?"
Try acrylic protective varnish on Orville's face, the kind used for paintings. Or a high quality acrylic hairspray if you can find some. They protect against material oxidation and add a supportive layer on the surface.
Voltaire you are very hard on yourself. We enjoy your creativity and that’s why we watch your show. Your ideas trigger other ideas and that’s why it is so fun! Thank you for sharing!
How did I miss this episode! There are a few things to say... First of all, this just makes me appreciate and understand your work, and you and Mayumi even better. Reality isn't always glamorous! We trip, people make noises around us, constructive, our phones bumping into things... If anything, it encourages me to do so much with what I have, and I am sure other fans feel that, too. Indeed, you are making this masterpiece of a series without a huge crew, and I can't get tired of it 🖤 Now speaking of the house, I've seen all kinds of mold but literal mushrooms?! I hope this problem has officially ended by now. Everything else looks fixable. Your bathroom renovation was a tedious process, and you deserve to enjoy it in cleanliness and peace. Sad about the couch, I've never seen furniture of such design break within a few years. But as we saw recently, I believe the new loveseat is even better 🖤👄🖤 and I adore the wings of the throne. Fit the theme, as well as the black labyrinth aesthetic. The door was the worst. It has to be taken by the landlord and replaced for sure... Lastly... Goodbye, Orville!
as someone who has tried to do DIY and who has almost put more holes in my hands after just trying to put up a shelf than swiss cheese, i have to give you a huge round of applause for all that you do on this show.
Voltaire, I have to say. You have not lived through your failures, but you embraced change to be better and afford new things to lights. I do feel bad about the sheas lounge. I really did enjoy that. It's sad, whatever success brings to you and your fiancée is going to magical in the Lair of Voltaire.
'The project went so sideways I abandoned it and then felt like crap for years' oh big mood I have what was *supposed* to be a beautifully-lined long vest shoved into my abandoned-fabric basket because I foolishly sewed on the lining bits *before* sewing the whole piece together. if 'rage-quitting' encompasses rage at one's own stupidity, that's what I did.
Comedy is a sign of creative intelligence. An epic talent you have. Background noise makes your vids authentic. Luv them with or without. Imperfection makes it real.
I really like it when youtubers posts their mishaps with their diy projects, it helps me feel better about my mishaps that happen with my own DIYs (i had to go donate my costume monster high doll as nothing worked out and there was no fixing it)
I honestly love these behind-the-scenes moments. Esp in showing the reality that sometimes things eventually break down or don't end up looking exactly how you want.
I wish you would do more videos. You're so natural,open, and honest . You do things that we all can do. I love this video. As a crafty person, it's good to see someone just like the rest of us . I like seeing the fails. Some of the best laughs I ever had are from diy fails. I hope your partner Orville can be saved someway . Please bring more diys or just videos of some kind.
Those mushrooms!!!😆 I was gasping and laughing actually out loud! This was so relatable especially about the sound. I live on a somewhat busy road in a small town where people make their cars loud on purpose. Soooo much footage of me looking annoyed waiting for a car going by. Clearly Mayumi is so patient because she loves you. 🖤💀🖤 Thanks for reminding us that perfect doesn’t exist and we’re all doing the best we can. RIP Orville.
24:52, oh my friend, you and every other creator that cares about production quality. I also have hours upon hours and retakes and wasted footage from airplanes going over, dogs barking, trucks driving by, people stomping upstairs, etc. So, we feel your pain.
When it comes time to move out of that leaning tower, you should set up a bunch of hidden cameras and film the reactions from the movers when they see your stuff! Dress like a normal guy when they first see you! Lol! Make sure the brain section is the first thing they see and have to pack! 🤣🤣 Make a few special items too....like a wrapped bundle shaped like a body or two or five! 🤣🤣
I laughed so hard, when you were scolding yourself, because you knocked off some stuffs on the shelves. But, the reindeer ornament falling on the floor was the funniest one ! The fact that you were laughing as well, didn't helped XD
27:11 I think moments like these are funny as hell and should be included in gothic homemaking. I would just roll with the noise and makes comedy out of it
OK so pumpkin tip...poke holes along the lines you want to cut with a tooth pick or skewer then join them with the tiny knife like a spooky dot to dot.
Hearing what you were planning to do with the bees and hearing how it didn't work made my brain immediately light up with all kinds of ideas for similar projects that changed the vibe just a little - From a recessed mount version to a velvet mounted skull with bee surrounds (Like a macabre heraldic shield). I understand that you may never go back to the Blue Bee Well due to the disappointment, because let's face it - when something disappoints you, that just kills the desire to work on it. But by telling us about it, even though it failed, I and I hope other people now get cool ideas for things to do with their own bees. A gap is a place for new things to grow. And also a place for Mushrooms to grow, rather annoyingly. I expected the bathroom to look way worse when you said it was a room of disasters, so you're doing great so far! So sad about the Chaise Lounge because it looked beautiful, and the lounge back still looks excellent - but the structural strut breaking like that is just a no-go for chairs. That fabric is so prone to rips though, so I can't say I'm surprised that it tore so quickly. I hope the next chair gets to have purple velvet or something a little more tear-resistant. Or that some dedicated Urban Scrumper comes and picks it up XD
As shown in my own first gothic d.i.y video. the center gemstone, the centerpiece of my cigar humidor shattered. But instead of giving up I turned the tragedy into art. Never give up. Always find a workaround and look for beauty in disaster.
This video is so relatable and encouraging. Thank you so much for sharing all of this, especially that there are some areas where you could do better if you tried. Seeing an artist I admire admit to that makes me feel more like an artist myself.
It really surprises me how Voltaire always comes off as a very intimidating guy in the sense that he's... Well, gothic. But honestly, once you get into his content it's super chill and smooth.
As someone who does a lot of DIY for my home decor, I appreciate this! Also I just realized I think we have some of the same wall shelves! They're Syroco (or similar) right? I love having them
*Sirocco.* That's the proper spelling. And it's not an art style, it's a dry wind storm that sweeps across the Mediterranean Sea from Africa. I think you mean *Rococo,* with asymmetric lines and heavily ornamented, floral and leafy decoration.
@@DrachenGothik666 No, I did not misspell it and it's not an art style I was referring to. Syroco is short for Syracuse Ornamental Company based out of Syracuse NY. They're known for their wall decorations, mostly from the 1950s-1980s.
The sigh at 16:11 is the sigh every DIYer makes when something they carefully positioned falls over*. I really loved this episode! Thank you for sharing your hard-learned lessons with us! *Source: Me. I’ve done it too 😂
That bathroom…dear gawd Okay so acrylic (to packing tape…anything clear that can be wiped) to cover the paper while allowing it to be wiped and cleaned (hair dye wipes off of it too) and keep moisture out. You can/should also keep a dehumidifier in smaller bathrooms in high humidity climates (or times like post bath). Looks nice but needs to be safe and cleanable
Voltaire talking about being trapped in his apartment... this makes me anxious. Please have the door professionally trimmed... Just to be safe. 🥺💜🖤 I love your Gothic Homemaking videos. But, it makes me a little more sane to see it is a little more common to not get it right the first time. 😅 Oh my goodness, that wall paper is beautiful! I'm glad you were able to save it from the bathroom shrooms! 🖤🦇💜 Also, my husband wants a cool gothic throne, so THANK YOU for the tips!🖤💜
omg my love Voltaire ! I just found out your channel !!! You're the most charming man, we've met and took a picture together in Montréal in 2011 when you came to play your latest album To the bottom of the Sea. I'll never forget meeting you, you stole my hearth away.
I'm sorry, some of these made me laugh. Nice to know that the first pie, despite looking ugly, tasted good. And the motorcycle farts, construction, and outside traffic noises? So relatable. Especially when you're recording fun stuff by yourself or with someone.
Just discovered your channel recently and I. LOVE. it! You commenting on your simple, single camera, no crew, low budget makes this perfect. Your channel reminds me of those local TV stations from the 80s and 90s introducing the scary B-movie of the week. Joe Bob Briggs, Svengoolie, Elvira vibe. Don't change. It's perfect as it is.
I think one of the many reasons that your videos feel so professional is because of all of your amazing music that you add to the background. Your soundtrack makes it feel like a TV show. That's something most vloggers don't have. And the finished products that you make or build always end up looking great! Hope you continue Gothic Homemaking for many years to come!
In case you don't know. You can use rubbing alcohol on a microfiber towel to wipe up your little hairdye dots. Should work on the old ones too. But it may be a several try process. Hope this helps!
Yup, I use a multilevel process: rubbing alcohol (at least 70%) & dabbing with bleach. The two are safe to use together & don't form nasty gases. Just dab or swab each stain, don't soak. It'll take off most of the dye & entirely remove the smallest spots. Larger ones will likely need stronger treatment. Swab gently with a dab of bleach & let sit for a few minutes. Allow one to dry first before you use the other.
Damn! Your comments that being completely invested in your passion is never a fail, but half a$$ing it makes it fail ,really resonated. Thanks man! As far as production values, it's you & your content that are top notch, it keeps everyone watching, listening, & feeling inspired. Thanks for having so much heart...dark heart! *)
No worries Voltaire ! I've been failing all my life , my dad always told me the "F" in "Fallon" stands for failure ! It turned out to be true , but I will say - it's led me down some super interesting paths ! I was born to fail ;) 🖤💜💙
Thank you for taking us on a trip down memory lane. The failing is good sometimes because it makes us appreciate things more when we finally get a right.
Regarding the skulls falling, there are products called Museum Putty and Earthquake putty that are pretty cheap and are designed to secure ceramics and other objects to shelves and tables so they won't fall off if bumped. You can usually get a small package for under $10 and it's enough to secure 1-2 dozen objects depending on weight. It keeps my treasures all in place in 5-6+ quakes.
🖤 thank you for your honesty. Any attempt at making art has a 50% success rate. I enjoy watching all of your episodes over the past years. I hope you continue entertaining us with your wit and DIYs 🦇
Don't loose heart over a failure. You gave us amazing episodes full of dark humor and original projects. Some last years some not but it always gives room for something new. P.S: I won't ever agree to Orville's passing. There must be a way to revive him ;)
I have two RUclips channels and I understand more than you will ever know about the issues with videoing in good old NYC. My apartment is right next to an elevated train. The noise is massive and it comes often. Plus of course, there are the noisy neighbors. Sometimes I wonder what's worse. The train or them. Yeah, they can be that bad. LOL! 🔊🙉😆 But with that said, I still wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I love this awesome native city of mine way to much. I am just far too passionate about it to ever want to move. There's no place like it. 😉👍 🗽🌆🖤❤️🔥❣️❤️🔥🖤
I say keep the rat fights and church bells 🖤🐀🔔 Also, I really appreciate knowing The Lair is just as much a shit show as the rest of our crappy apartments.
Can we please have a carpenter please make this man his shadow boxes....PLEASE. In the whole of YT there has to be SOMEONE! So he can show us his amazing and probably creatively epic idea!
"failure" makes me better I've noticed. it help w thinking outside of the box and sharpens my refining skills. people think I'm creative but I'm just really good at putting out fires and making it look intentional 😅
I wouldn't actually call all of these fails, some were fixable and still turned out. Thank you for showing these, it shows that I am not the only one who can bungle a project (and I was waiting patiently for the blue bee project, I even bought one myself they are so cute!!) I wish the audio wasn't so poopie with Wicked Makers, they are a favorite of mine. Carry on good Sir, we love your videos and as always...thanks for sharing💜💜💜🦇
Ha I love these BTS bloopers! I had my own when trying to make that lamp with the cemetery gates topper. I can't tell you how many times those cemetery gates have fallen off and hit me in the head😂😂Texas melts everything! Looks pretty though🖤🦇😆🤣🤣
You couldn't be more correct about failure. We learn best from discomfort. Like I told my daughter when she was little. A battery doesn't work with two positive terminals. Play-Doh works well for cleaning wallpaper.
As far as the door goes, you should have called the land lord. Something like this is HIS problem! If he doesn't do anything about it, call the fire marshal.
When it comes to the door issue I'd have grabbed a repertoire and wetted the door to minimize dust and kept cutting but then again I work for a demolition/recycling company so aye haha
Wow, having moved to the burbs now - all those noises! I do not miss that part one bit! I’d love to see a video on how u found the lair, why u stay/if u will stay there forever - could u summon an entity to help u “find” a lair to buy? The rental market here in the UK is crazy and the quality of properties is varied at best…
I just packed away my Easter decor, and after watching this I can't stop thinking about shopping for more fall/Halloween decor! That's OK, some stores start putting the fall/Halloween stuff out in July, a mere three months from now. Seriously, I really enjoy watching your videos. It's always interesting to see what you're creating, where you get the materials etc. Keep up the great work.
Had a thought about the shadow box (especially after seeing the Michael's shadow boxes for myself the other day...those things really _are_ skinny). Maybe, instead of a shadow box, you could incorporate the skulls and blue bees into a cloche or a terrarium kind of thing? I've seen lots of examples of them from the fancier Halloween decor makers, including a few from Michael's over the last couple of years. They had a really great light-up cloche with a miniature of a deer skull and a whole bunch of dark flowers and creeping moss the last couple years, that feels like it might be a step in the right direction. A terrarium could also be done in a similar vein, and can be done either with something actually meant to be a terrarium, or with something else that just happens to be glass-sided. I've seen some interesting art terrariums done inside of glass lanterns, and a wrought iron-style lantern with a small skull or two, and the blue bees might make for an interesting piece. Plus, lanterns in various sizes are easy to find in craft stores nowadays, and if I recall, also at Ikea for a surprisingly reasonable cost.
This was a joy to watch. As someone who does DIY projects sometimes, I really enjoy Gothic Homemaking, as well as your decor hunting videos and I'm looking forward to more of them in the future.
Thanks for the laughter!!!. I was dying of laughter when you were in the stores, butter fingers, creepers following you around and everything else, lol, lol. I ❤ ❤ ❤ your videos. My house has the same decor as your place, black and gothic, minus the purple stuff.
Subbed and loved based STRICTLY on the leaning houses issue. I've been here 16 years, and um.... yes, I have to fight with my 'front door' to get it open, and my garage door won't go up anymore. *sporfle* I have a ton of stuff around here to do and .... yeah, I just can't still, though I'm getting a bit better... I hope to find many more wonderful things here.
It honestly reminded me of the house I once rented with my fiance and some friends...he and I were the last to move out at the end of our lease, and as we were going over the house one last time to be sure everything had been gotten out of closets and corners, we realized that there was a large gap between the floor and the baseboards on some of the walls, which basically told us that the foundations were somehow steadily sinking toward the front and back of the house, which meant that it would probably one day just pull a House of Usher and split straight down the middle. Glad we left when we did.
Sticky tack is my best friend for precariously placed decor that likes to fall over. 💀 and one of the best things I've found for hair dye stains is magic eraser, or on white surfaces the soft scrub with bleach. I live that you're sharing some "fails", it makes me feel better about my own crafting mishaps.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm trying to record podcasts in my spare bedroom. I live in a suburban townhouse, a good distance from pretty much anything -- in fact, my townhouse backs up to a golf course (which I can't afford to join) so I don't even have a lot of other houses around me. I did the math once, and for every minute of podcast that actually gets posted, there are at least three that cannot be used due to cars, motorcycles, HVAC noises, noisy neighbors and/or dogs on the sidewalk... even the occasional mating cats out back or fox noises (a sound akin to a drunken banshee whooping it up at a howler monkey concert). All this happens during my normal recording window which is from about 11pm until 3am. Oh, and the chair I sit in while recording is held together by duct tape. I feel your pain...!
I absolutely love that you’ve shared that real, and sometimes disappointing sides of those DIY projects we all do. Thank you for showing us you awesome successes and wipe-outs! 🖤
I love this. Thanks for sharing the real behind the scenes stuff. It makes me feel better about my design fails. 😊😅Also the bathroom mushrooms made me want to jump into a volcano. I would cry 😢😢😢
I always thought you had at least one other person filming for you - the show is anazing quality home made or not 😁 As for the background noise i really couldn't hear the majority of it and especially with your background music i dont think it would be noticeable Look forward to seeing more gothic homemaking!
Seeing an honest rundown of your failures on Gothic Homemaking is very refreshing. Content is all so curated and edited sometimes that it can feel like everyone is just flawless and you're the only one messing up. It's nice to see someone you admire take their mistakes with grace and humour. As for Mr Orville Deadenbacher, you could make an episode where you channel your inner Dr Frankenstein and try to repair him?
tbh the biggest fail on this list is the landlord not doing proper maintenance to the point that it potentially endangered a tenant's safety, YIKES!
This. Yikes, big time, to the jammed front door and the mushrooms growing in the ceiling! That's definitely some stuff that should be more thoroughly taken care of.
I was going to say the same thing
There are no mistakes, just spooky accidents
Ah yes, Bob Ross couldn't have said it better ^^
🤔🤣
😂😂😂 perfectly said!!!
Is Voltaire our little goth Bob Ross ? Maybe
The entire city of New York: 💃🕺🪩🚛🚛🚛🐀👞🏍️🚜👷♀️🚧
Voltaire just trying to film:😑
I wouldn't call the pie a fail, that face is just the right combination of spooky and derpy to set me off on the giggles.
I had an epic bake fail once. Attempted to make st. Paddy's day brownies and they wound up being dubbed zombie brownies. Still became a win-win.
I love the raw, real, and welcoming feel of the show. It wouldn’t be the same with a full crew!! 👍🏻 🦇
Hey, to fix the things-falling-off-shelves issue, have you considered museum putty or museum gel? They are removable object-safe substances that work wonderfully to keep knickknacks from falling over- and the transparent gel is very useful if you have any glassware or small objects that wont hide the putty so well. I use it in my miniatures and i cant recommend it enough.
There's another stuff called "Earthquake Putty" that does the same thing. It isn't transparent, but it does the same job. Museums and households all over the country use it. It's non-staining. We live in California and we mount down fragile, decorative objects that are high up on tall furniture.
I bought display dots for small knick knacks on the dash of my car. They work great, and I can't even pull them free without really putting some oomph into it. But a touch of rubbing alcohol takes them right off, no damage left behind
I really appriciate your oppenes to failure and honestly sharing it with the world. I hope this video will help everyone not to be too seriously in life and keep on trying. Thank you for this video and for the view behind the scenes. ^^
4:53 "Remember folks, if you have te power to make something... you probably have the power to fix it."
I like that 😊
“If you have the power to make something, you have the power to fix it.” - #9
Appreciate this vibe!
The mushrooms are the most shocking to me out of all of them. I have lived in my native NYC 46 years out of my entire 56 years of life and I have lived in many different apartments over the decades. But I have never witnessed mushrooms growing out of the walls and ceilings. Plenty of mold issues? Yes. Ceilings crashing down due to flooding and burst pipes? Absolutely. Very old rusty pipes leaking and staining the white walls and white tub yellow? Yep, had that issue for 7 years in our current place before maintenance finally replaced the pipes. Large clump of dirt flowing up through the pipes into all the bathrooms in the building everytime it rained hard outside? We use to have that problem for decades in the projects. But mushrooms??! THAT is an absolutely new on me! I so feel for you.
Just WOOOOOW! 🍄😳🤯😱🙊
Mold is a lot worse than mushrooms though
@@RainyDayWolf You're right. I meant to say mildew. Sorry about the brain fart I had. Though I have seen "mold" problems in NYC apartments on the news plenty of times as well. That's a problem here when you are dealing with slumlords or city owned low income housing that have really bad maintenance.
I have been lucky enough to have never lived in one that got that bad.
But the mushrooms are still new to me. Never seen that one before. LOL! 😉😊
Life finds a way.
I hardly hear what's bugging you. Just shoot through the noise. I don't think it would bother us. Unless you are using headphones 🎧. Then it's just another layer to your videos 😎
plus with the background music it smoothes out the overall sound.
I didn't hear it at all... I was also today years old when I realized how much noise from the street was coming into my own apartmemt 🙃
I went back to listen to the sounds again, I really have a very hard time hearing any of it honestly. And like another said when you add your background music, you can't hear anything but that. I almost want to hear what you're talking about better because it would be like being right there visiting you! 😎
Honestly when it comes to the blue beetles, you could make a horror wreath for a door or wall decoration. Even the bone fragments can be glued in to add a bit of morbid flair. If one project idea doesn't work, consider your options or get ideas from the community. When something turns out to be out of your skill range, figure out how to use the same materials in another DIY that is. That's how I feel better about failures.
Good idea
About the blue bees project: How broken is the animal skull? Is it broken in an aesthetic way? Can you make it look like the bees built their comb inside the skull? 'cause that'd be pretty interesting.
I don't mind the extra noise! Just give us more episodes!! I love your show!
On the pumpkin tools: You should be picking light-colored pumpkins because the skin is thinner, and you should cut the bottom of the pumpkin instead of the top so you can balance the thing easier after gutting and carving. My wife and I [mostly her] carve a dozen pumpkins every year for Halloween. Another option would be to make paper mache or get foam pumpkins. If you're 100% set on the darker pumpkins ['cause face it, they look great], grab some pottery tools and scrape out the inner walls of the pumpkin to thin them out where you're gonna carve after gutting. Also, painting white glue or Podge in the cut areas will make them last longer. :)
Man, you really should consider moving the Lair to a new location. Getting out of the city would make filming so much easier!
I've had more injuries using pumpkin tools than I have from using my kitchen knives.
If he moves, he loses his locked in rent controlled apartment in New York City, which he has said he never wants to give up because of how hard it is to get.
Awesome tip on the mod podge for the cut out areas! I never heard of that before! Thanks
@@cecilyerkerhe needs a second home/studio for sure! 😏
Voltaire, you remember what Bob Ross used to say. "There are no mistakes. Just happy accidents."
Go back to the Blue Bee project.
Skulls are not always pristine in the wild. Artfully arrange the pieces.
It can still work. I know it.
I often have to stop a project and pivot my idea to make it work.
Sometimes it winds up better than my original plan.
Nature is messy. Nature is vicious. Nature is Raw and Beautiful.
Channel that into your shadow boxes.
A project is like a child. Regardless of what you expected them to become. They grew to be themselves, in every possible way. And I love every one of them. Especially the failures.
Oh no! For real, if you have to retire Orville, that truly is the saddest one of all.
One thing I learned for pumpkin carving, Xacto knives, wood carving tools and clay modeling tools work better than the flimsy cheap pumpkin carving tools
Maybe it should be time for a new Lair of Voltaire. Having an apartment where no fungus grows would be a great thing, because it can't be particularly healthy to breathe in there!! And if he got a place with less noise, maybe we would be lucky to get more videos again. We all know New York prices are insane. But a new place would be incredibly inspiring. And provide many opportunities for new home making projects. And I think we would all love to see that. At least I know I would.
I agree, I know Voltaire likes NYC but I think it would be much less stressful for him and the show
Voltaire himself has stated that he never intends to move out of that apartment, because he can't afford anything better in NY. That's why he's put so much time, money and effort into making it the perfect Lair, because he's in for the long haul.
I always look forward to Gothic Homemaking :)
And So do I! I realy love them, the fails included!
If the bones of your furniture aren't of good and sturdy quality, there's no point bothering with the expense of reupholstering them. Such a shame as they look amazing
I learn the same way, never tell anyone a project until you have all figured out, INCLUDING the fucking timeframe in which you will do it, otherwise you are constantly reminded when you will have it done: "you already have everything there, so why haven't you done it?"
Try acrylic protective varnish on Orville's face, the kind used for paintings. Or a high quality acrylic hairspray if you can find some. They protect against material oxidation and add a supportive layer on the surface.
Voltaire you are very hard on yourself. We enjoy your creativity and that’s why we watch your show. Your ideas trigger other ideas and that’s why it is so fun! Thank you for sharing!
For a one man show, filming in a studio apartment, you do some incredible things! Mayumi is so patient 🖤
How did I miss this episode!
There are a few things to say...
First of all, this just makes me appreciate and understand your work, and you and Mayumi even better. Reality isn't always glamorous! We trip, people make noises around us, constructive, our phones bumping into things... If anything, it encourages me to do so much with what I have, and I am sure other fans feel that, too.
Indeed, you are making this masterpiece of a series without a huge crew, and I can't get tired of it 🖤
Now speaking of the house, I've seen all kinds of mold but literal mushrooms?! I hope this problem has officially ended by now. Everything else looks fixable. Your bathroom renovation was a tedious process, and you deserve to enjoy it in cleanliness and peace.
Sad about the couch, I've never seen furniture of such design break within a few years. But as we saw recently, I believe the new loveseat is even better 🖤👄🖤 and I adore the wings of the throne. Fit the theme, as well as the black labyrinth aesthetic.
The door was the worst. It has to be taken by the landlord and replaced for sure...
Lastly... Goodbye, Orville!
as someone who has tried to do DIY and who has almost put more holes in my hands after just trying to put up a shelf than swiss cheese, i have to give you a huge round of applause for all that you do on this show.
Voltaire, I have to say. You have not lived through your failures, but you embraced change to be better and afford new things to lights. I do feel bad about the sheas lounge. I really did enjoy that. It's sad, whatever success brings to you and your fiancée is going to magical in the Lair of Voltaire.
“I nearly split my butt in fourths!” 😂 I’m dying!
'The project went so sideways I abandoned it and then felt like crap for years' oh big mood
I have what was *supposed* to be a beautifully-lined long vest shoved into my abandoned-fabric basket because I foolishly sewed on the lining bits *before* sewing the whole piece together. if 'rage-quitting' encompasses rage at one's own stupidity, that's what I did.
Comedy is a sign of creative intelligence. An epic talent you have.
Background noise makes your vids authentic.
Luv them with or without. Imperfection makes it real.
I really like it when youtubers posts their mishaps with their diy projects, it helps me feel better about my mishaps that happen with my own DIYs (i had to go donate my costume monster high doll as nothing worked out and there was no fixing it)
Ho no, sounds sad.....
Hope you could do try again ! 💚
I honestly love these behind-the-scenes moments. Esp in showing the reality that sometimes things eventually break down or don't end up looking exactly how you want.
I laughed at the electric knife trying to cut the pumpkin: it looked like you were giving it a lobotomy! 😄🦇
I wish you would do more videos. You're so natural,open, and honest . You do things that we all can do. I love this video. As a crafty person, it's good to see someone just like the rest of us . I like seeing the fails. Some of the best laughs I ever had are from diy fails. I hope your partner Orville can be saved someway . Please bring more diys or just videos of some kind.
Those mushrooms!!!😆 I was gasping and laughing actually out loud! This was so relatable especially about the sound. I live on a somewhat busy road in a small town where people make their cars loud on purpose. Soooo much footage of me looking annoyed waiting for a car going by. Clearly Mayumi is so patient because she loves you. 🖤💀🖤 Thanks for reminding us that perfect doesn’t exist and we’re all doing the best we can. RIP Orville.
A camera and an idea with ambition and a heart full of creativity is all you really need my friend 🙌.
24:52, oh my friend, you and every other creator that cares about production quality. I also have hours upon hours and retakes and wasted footage from airplanes going over, dogs barking, trucks driving by, people stomping upstairs, etc. So, we feel your pain.
When it comes time to move out of that leaning tower, you should set up a bunch of hidden cameras and film the reactions from the movers when they see your stuff! Dress like a normal guy when they first see you! Lol! Make sure the brain section is the first thing they see and have to pack! 🤣🤣 Make a few special items too....like a wrapped bundle shaped like a body or two or five! 🤣🤣
I love that you shared what happened trying to film in the stores!
I laughed so hard, when you were scolding yourself, because you knocked off some stuffs on the shelves.
But, the reindeer ornament falling on the floor was the funniest one !
The fact that you were laughing as well, didn't helped XD
27:11 I think moments like these are funny as hell and should be included in gothic homemaking. I would just roll with the noise and makes comedy out of it
If I only talked about projects that I 100% knew I was gonna finish,... I would never get to talk about projects. 😢😂
OK so pumpkin tip...poke holes along the lines you want to cut with a tooth pick or skewer then join them with the tiny knife like a spooky dot to dot.
Hearing what you were planning to do with the bees and hearing how it didn't work made my brain immediately light up with all kinds of ideas for similar projects that changed the vibe just a little - From a recessed mount version to a velvet mounted skull with bee surrounds (Like a macabre heraldic shield). I understand that you may never go back to the Blue Bee Well due to the disappointment, because let's face it - when something disappoints you, that just kills the desire to work on it. But by telling us about it, even though it failed, I and I hope other people now get cool ideas for things to do with their own bees. A gap is a place for new things to grow.
And also a place for Mushrooms to grow, rather annoyingly. I expected the bathroom to look way worse when you said it was a room of disasters, so you're doing great so far!
So sad about the Chaise Lounge because it looked beautiful, and the lounge back still looks excellent - but the structural strut breaking like that is just a no-go for chairs. That fabric is so prone to rips though, so I can't say I'm surprised that it tore so quickly. I hope the next chair gets to have purple velvet or something a little more tear-resistant. Or that some dedicated Urban Scrumper comes and picks it up XD
Your bathroom almost became a dark Alice in Wonderland room 😅 That's crazy though, I've never seen that happen!
As shown in my own first gothic d.i.y video. the center gemstone, the centerpiece of my cigar humidor shattered. But instead of giving up I turned the tragedy into art. Never give up. Always find a workaround and look for beauty in disaster.
Can’t wait for that CD collection package🦇🦇🦇
The unwanted sounds in the background part had me laughing so hard 😂 Especially seeing you absolutely fuming haha 😅
This video is so relatable and encouraging. Thank you so much for sharing all of this, especially that there are some areas where you could do better if you tried. Seeing an artist I admire admit to that makes me feel more like an artist myself.
It really surprises me how Voltaire always comes off as a very intimidating guy in the sense that he's... Well, gothic. But honestly, once you get into his content it's super chill and smooth.
As someone who does a lot of DIY for my home decor, I appreciate this! Also I just realized I think we have some of the same wall shelves! They're Syroco (or similar) right? I love having them
*Sirocco.* That's the proper spelling. And it's not an art style, it's a dry wind storm that sweeps across the Mediterranean Sea from Africa. I think you mean *Rococo,* with asymmetric lines and heavily ornamented, floral and leafy decoration.
@@DrachenGothik666 Syroco is a company. Syracuse Ornamental Company :)
@@DrachenGothik666 No, I did not misspell it and it's not an art style I was referring to. Syroco is short for Syracuse Ornamental Company based out of Syracuse NY. They're known for their wall decorations, mostly from the 1950s-1980s.
The sigh at 16:11 is the sigh every DIYer makes when something they carefully positioned falls over*. I really loved this episode! Thank you for sharing your hard-learned lessons with us!
*Source: Me. I’ve done it too 😂
I love that the show's as DIY as the decor showcased in it, personally.
That bathroom…dear gawd
Okay so acrylic (to packing tape…anything clear that can be wiped) to cover the paper while allowing it to be wiped and cleaned (hair dye wipes off of it too) and keep moisture out.
You can/should also keep a dehumidifier in smaller bathrooms in high humidity climates (or times like post bath). Looks nice but needs to be safe and cleanable
Voltaire talking about being trapped in his apartment... this makes me anxious. Please have the door professionally trimmed... Just to be safe. 🥺💜🖤
I love your Gothic Homemaking videos. But, it makes me a little more sane to see it is a little more common to not get it right the first time. 😅
Oh my goodness, that wall paper is beautiful! I'm glad you were able to save it from the bathroom shrooms! 🖤🦇💜
Also, my husband wants a cool gothic throne, so THANK YOU for the tips!🖤💜
omg my love Voltaire ! I just found out your channel !!! You're the most charming man, we've met and took a picture together in Montréal in 2011 when you came to play your latest album To the bottom of the Sea. I'll never forget meeting you, you stole my hearth away.
I'm sorry, some of these made me laugh. Nice to know that the first pie, despite looking ugly, tasted good. And the motorcycle farts, construction, and outside traffic noises? So relatable. Especially when you're recording fun stuff by yourself or with someone.
Just discovered your channel recently and I. LOVE. it! You commenting on your simple, single camera, no crew, low budget makes this perfect. Your channel reminds me of those local TV stations from the 80s and 90s introducing the scary B-movie of the week. Joe Bob Briggs, Svengoolie, Elvira vibe. Don't change. It's perfect as it is.
Welcome aboard!!!!
I think one of the many reasons that your videos feel so professional is because of all of your amazing music that you add to the background. Your soundtrack makes it feel like a TV show. That's something most vloggers don't have. And the finished products that you make or build always end up looking great! Hope you continue Gothic Homemaking for many years to come!
That mushroom part lol. Good God man, that building sucks 😞 wow! Move and start over! ❤️
In case you don't know. You can use rubbing alcohol on a microfiber towel to wipe up your little hairdye dots. Should work on the old ones too. But it may be a several try process. Hope this helps!
Yup, I use a multilevel process: rubbing alcohol (at least 70%) & dabbing with bleach. The two are safe to use together & don't form nasty gases. Just dab or swab each stain, don't soak. It'll take off most of the dye & entirely remove the smallest spots. Larger ones will likely need stronger treatment. Swab gently with a dab of bleach & let sit for a few minutes. Allow one to dry first before you use the other.
Damn! Your comments that being completely invested in your passion is never a fail, but half a$$ing it makes it fail ,really resonated. Thanks man!
As far as production values, it's you & your content that are top notch, it keeps everyone watching, listening, & feeling inspired. Thanks for having so much heart...dark heart! *)
No worries Voltaire ! I've been failing all my life , my dad always told me the "F" in "Fallon" stands for failure ! It turned out to be true , but I will say - it's led me down some super interesting paths ! I was born to fail ;)
🖤💜💙
Oh My Goth I Can't Wait The Anticipation Is Killing Me! 💀⚰🪦
Edit: I wonder if we'll find out how Voltaire's sofa died?
I LOVE YOURE STYLE! First video I saw and I'm obsessed with your style
Thank you for taking us on a trip down memory lane. The failing is good sometimes because it makes us appreciate things more when we finally get a right.
Please don't be to hard on yourself. Remember when your feeling down your a inspiration to a hell of a lot of people.Your only human ❤
Regarding the skulls falling, there are products called Museum Putty and Earthquake putty that are pretty cheap and are designed to secure ceramics and other objects to shelves and tables so they won't fall off if bumped. You can usually get a small package for under $10 and it's enough to secure 1-2 dozen objects depending on weight.
It keeps my treasures all in place in 5-6+ quakes.
🖤 thank you for your honesty. Any attempt at making art has a 50% success rate. I enjoy watching all of your episodes over the past years. I hope you continue entertaining us with your wit and DIYs 🦇
Don't loose heart over a failure. You gave us amazing episodes full of dark humor and original projects. Some last years some not but it always gives room for something new.
P.S: I won't ever agree to Orville's passing. There must be a way to revive him ;)
I have two RUclips channels and I understand more than you will ever know about the issues with videoing in good old NYC. My apartment is right next to an elevated train. The noise is massive and it comes often. Plus of course, there are the noisy neighbors. Sometimes I wonder what's worse. The train or them. Yeah, they can be that bad. LOL! 🔊🙉😆
But with that said, I still wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I love this awesome native city of mine way to much. I am just far too passionate about it to ever want to move. There's no place like it. 😉👍
🗽🌆🖤❤️🔥❣️❤️🔥🖤
I say keep the rat fights and church bells
🖤🐀🔔
Also, I really appreciate knowing The Lair is just as much a shit show as the rest of our crappy apartments.
Can we please have a carpenter please make this man his shadow boxes....PLEASE. In the whole of YT there has to be SOMEONE! So he can show us his amazing and probably creatively epic idea!
"failure" makes me better I've noticed. it help w thinking outside of the box and sharpens my refining skills. people think I'm creative but I'm just really good at putting out fires and making it look intentional 😅
I wouldn't actually call all of these fails, some were fixable and still turned out. Thank you for showing these, it shows that I am not the only one who can bungle a project (and I was waiting patiently for the blue bee project, I even bought one myself they are so cute!!) I wish the audio wasn't so poopie with Wicked Makers, they are a favorite of mine. Carry on good Sir, we love your videos and as always...thanks for sharing💜💜💜🦇
Ha I love these BTS bloopers! I had my own when trying to make that lamp with the cemetery gates topper. I can't tell you how many times those cemetery gates have fallen off and hit me in the head😂😂Texas melts everything! Looks pretty though🖤🦇😆🤣🤣
Whenever you place beautiful videos with skeletons. Always reminding me how much I love Brook from the anime One Piece♡♡♡
You couldn't be more correct about failure. We learn best from discomfort. Like I told my daughter when she was little. A battery doesn't work with two positive terminals.
Play-Doh works well for cleaning wallpaper.
As far as the door goes, you should have called the land lord. Something like this is HIS problem! If he doesn't do anything about it, call the fire marshal.
When it comes to the door issue I'd have grabbed a repertoire and wetted the door to minimize dust and kept cutting but then again I work for a demolition/recycling company so aye haha
“The Man Upstairs” is oh so crazy lol
Wow, having moved to the burbs now - all those noises! I do not miss that part one bit! I’d love to see a video on how u found the lair, why u stay/if u will stay there forever - could u summon an entity to help u “find” a lair to buy? The rental market here in the UK is crazy and the quality of properties is varied at best…
Don't bury my friend!!!!! 😱 I'll bring him to Mexico 😋
I just packed away my Easter decor, and after watching this I can't stop thinking about shopping for more fall/Halloween decor! That's OK, some stores start putting the fall/Halloween stuff out in July, a mere three months from now. Seriously, I really enjoy watching your videos. It's always interesting to see what you're creating, where you get the materials etc. Keep up the great work.
4:16 I'd never thought I would see the day that Voltaire DABBED! 🤣🤣
Had a thought about the shadow box (especially after seeing the Michael's shadow boxes for myself the other day...those things really _are_ skinny). Maybe, instead of a shadow box, you could incorporate the skulls and blue bees into a cloche or a terrarium kind of thing? I've seen lots of examples of them from the fancier Halloween decor makers, including a few from Michael's over the last couple of years. They had a really great light-up cloche with a miniature of a deer skull and a whole bunch of dark flowers and creeping moss the last couple years, that feels like it might be a step in the right direction. A terrarium could also be done in a similar vein, and can be done either with something actually meant to be a terrarium, or with something else that just happens to be glass-sided. I've seen some interesting art terrariums done inside of glass lanterns, and a wrought iron-style lantern with a small skull or two, and the blue bees might make for an interesting piece. Plus, lanterns in various sizes are easy to find in craft stores nowadays, and if I recall, also at Ikea for a surprisingly reasonable cost.
This was a joy to watch. As someone who does DIY projects sometimes, I really enjoy Gothic Homemaking, as well as your decor hunting videos and I'm looking forward to more of them in the future.
The rat throw at the end was perfect.
Thanks for the laughter!!!. I was dying of laughter when you were in the stores, butter fingers, creepers following you around and everything else, lol, lol. I ❤ ❤ ❤ your videos. My house has the same decor as your place, black and gothic, minus the purple stuff.
4:15 Gothic dad does a gothic Dab
Subbed and loved based STRICTLY on the leaning houses issue. I've been here 16 years, and um.... yes, I have to fight with my 'front door' to get it open, and my garage door won't go up anymore. *sporfle* I have a ton of stuff around here to do and .... yeah, I just can't still, though I'm getting a bit better... I hope to find many more wonderful things here.
It honestly reminded me of the house I once rented with my fiance and some friends...he and I were the last to move out at the end of our lease, and as we were going over the house one last time to be sure everything had been gotten out of closets and corners, we realized that there was a large gap between the floor and the baseboards on some of the walls, which basically told us that the foundations were somehow steadily sinking toward the front and back of the house, which meant that it would probably one day just pull a House of Usher and split straight down the middle.
Glad we left when we did.
Sticky tack is my best friend for precariously placed decor that likes to fall over. 💀 and one of the best things I've found for hair dye stains is magic eraser, or on white surfaces the soft scrub with bleach. I live that you're sharing some "fails", it makes me feel better about my own crafting mishaps.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm trying to record podcasts in my spare bedroom. I live in a suburban townhouse, a good distance from pretty much anything -- in fact, my townhouse backs up to a golf course (which I can't afford to join) so I don't even have a lot of other houses around me. I did the math once, and for every minute of podcast that actually gets posted, there are at least three that cannot be used due to cars, motorcycles, HVAC noises, noisy neighbors and/or dogs on the sidewalk... even the occasional mating cats out back or fox noises (a sound akin to a drunken banshee whooping it up at a howler monkey concert). All this happens during my normal recording window which is from about 11pm until 3am. Oh, and the chair I sit in while recording is held together by duct tape. I feel your pain...!
I absolutely love that you’ve shared that real, and sometimes disappointing sides of those DIY projects we all do.
Thank you for showing us you awesome successes and wipe-outs! 🖤
I love this. Thanks for sharing the real behind the scenes stuff. It makes me feel better about my design fails. 😊😅Also the bathroom mushrooms made me want to jump into a volcano. I would cry 😢😢😢
I always thought you had at least one other person filming for you - the show is anazing quality home made or not 😁
As for the background noise i really couldn't hear the majority of it and especially with your background music i dont think it would be noticeable
Look forward to seeing more gothic homemaking!
Voltaire, I like it with you filming, it keeps it real and 100% better. You're doing great. Thanks for your work.
Seeing an honest rundown of your failures on Gothic Homemaking is very refreshing. Content is all so curated and edited sometimes that it can feel like everyone is just flawless and you're the only one messing up. It's nice to see someone you admire take their mistakes with grace and humour.
As for Mr Orville Deadenbacher, you could make an episode where you channel your inner Dr Frankenstein and try to repair him?