I was introduced to illustrator Gaynor Carradice's work last year with the release of The Creepy Cute Goth Coloring Book.

Call me strange, it wouldn't be the first time, but I think that there was always a sense of cuteness included in post-punk and goth culture. You see elements of the style in books like Alice in Wonderland, movies like The Corpse Bride, and musicians like Strawberry Switchblade who sang some of the best sugary pop to ever exist.

To that end, Carradice's work isn't revolutionary or controversial. It is simply a celebration of something that was already there. The Creepy Cute Goth Coloring Book isn't an act of heresy (unless that makes it more fun for you). It's simply a wonderful aknowlegement that being spooky couldn't be rediculously similar to unicorn and rainbows. Sure, it tends to be the skelletons of unicorns and our rainbowns lack some of the brighter hues (but even the brightest of pink and softest of yellow all are welcome).

This month sees the release of Carradice's second creepy cute books. This one comes with stickers. You can put them on your love notes, books, guitars, folders, and water bottles. Perfectly normal from a distance. They're only a bit kooky up close.

I thought of reaching out to Carradice and haver her help design GlittlerGutterTrash by making backgrounds and logos. Maybe someday. Wouldn't that be cool?

The Creepy Cute Sticker Book will be released on July 23, 2024.

Here's some information from the press release:

The Creepy Cute Sticker Book Illustrated by Gaynor Carradice

They’re creepy! They’re cute! And they’re about to be stuck everywhere! The Creepy Cute Sticker Book is filled with 500 stickers that are sinister yet sweet, so get ready to get creepy (and cute!) with stickers that celebrate all things adorably dark all year round!

Forget black on black on black: the goth aesthetic has expanded to include bright colors, pastels, and cute twists on a traditionally macabre mode of expressing yourself.

The Creepy Cute Sticker Book

takes a page from that evolution by providing 500 spooky, silly, cute, and fun twists on seasonal imagery so you can channel your inner Wednesday Addams while stickering your notebooks, water bottles, coffins, and more.

Celebrate with springtime cemetery scenes, ice cream cones with

skulls and crossbones, and snowmen covered in spiders with the perfect mash-up sticker book that’s sure to please even the most tortured soul.