PAX East 2012 Cosplay

This outfit is going to be a new experience for me. I have never made any cosplay with armor but now is my time to shine. I have watched videos and read many tutorials on it and I think I can make it happen. 

This is my Gordon Freeman outfit. Ah, more like female Gordon Freeman. I really loved Half Life 2 and Mr. Freeman and I think this is a nice idea. I have all the fabric and supplies that I need so I just have to get crakin. Here I go.

PAX East 2012 Lolita Dress

PAX East is fast approaching and I have to get going on my outfits. I have sketched out what I am making. The sketches for the Lolita Minecraft dress are a little sparse but the general idea is there. I am not positive about the colors but I want them to be vibrant. The JSK is going to be an under bust with a dropped waist. A small bustle over a full skirt with a Minecraft print. I want to take a screen cap of the game and have it printed on the fabric. A simple peter pan collared blouse and wrist cuffs will make part of this coord great for after PAX East. I am going to make a life size sword and pick to carry and attach to the skirt.

I am going to make accessories that feature Minecraft diamonds. I think it will be really cute. I am sure it will change a little as I go on but the idea is there.

The Most Productive Week Ever _Maybe Not So Much

I think I might have to stretch this out. My health has not been great this week. It kind of gets in the way of making all types of goodies. I was able to make stuff but not nearly as much as I had wanted. So, I think we will do a redo.

Sailor Moon Brooch

My love of Sailor Moon is flaring up and I like it. I have always loved Sailor Moon but there was a bit of a lull there. I think since I found Tumblr and joined it is really easy to look at tons of cool pictures under any label or tag. Anyhoo, I was browsing the Sailor Moon tag and I spotted this little gem. Well, not this one but the one for Chibi Moon that was for sale on an Etsy shop. 

I love the pink Chibi Moon brooch with its big gem and lots of pink but I just couldn't buy it. As much as I love Sailor Moon I kind of hate Chibi Moon. I have always found found her really annoying. I wanted to see more of the shop where the Chibi Moon brooch came from and I saw the Sailor Moon brooch. I knew I had to have it. I think I thought about it for 3 seconds and I was already clicking purchase. Each one is special order so I have to wait 3 more weeks for it to come in the mail but it is worth the wait. I will have to take some pictures of it when it comes. The best part is I can wear it with Lolita since it is not costumey.

I bought it from Kuma Crafts. They have lots of really cute and cool stuff. The prices are very reasonable. They have everything from a necklace with an ice cream cone, ninja cat shirts, and everything in between.

Kawaii International World Lolita Contest

Here they announce the winners and talk about the fashion.

Here you learn how to do simple and fresh make up.

The Most Productive Week Ever - Making Lolita Clothing and Accessories

I had an interesting weekend and I was not really excited to start the work week so I decided to do a 180 and make myself super excited about it. I am doing a challenge of sorts I guess. This week I am going to make as much as I can. Jewelry, accessories, clothing, and whatever else I can think of. I spent today making jewelry that I love. Pretty pearl bracelets and a new necklace. I also made my first resin charm. I have to wait 2 or 3 days for it to dry completely but I can't wait to see it when it is ready. I hope it comes out well. I believe I will works my buns off this week and post the pictures of everything on this coming Monday. I will still do blog posts because they are part of being productive. I am excited to see how much I can make.

Lolita Spotted on a Non Lolita Blog

I spotted a nice little surprise in my daily blog reading. A little bit of Lolita where I don't really expect it. I read the blog 1000 Things About Japan, which is a fun read. It is written by an American woman who has lived in Japan since 1989. Every other day she writes about a thing she will or will not miss when she leaves. I am not even sure how I found her blog but now it is a regular read. I really like it.

Yesterday, her post was titled Won't Miss #420 - talking to people in masks. Here is a blurb .....

I think it's quaint and somewhat endearing that you see Japanese people running around wearing surgical masks. It speaks to a certain meticulousness, paranoia, and, yes, even consideration for others. It's also the only way people ever seem capable of covering their mouths when they cough and sneeze. On the flip side though, there is an issue when they keep wearing them even when they are indoors and in a conversation with other people........ It's harder to read expressions and feels like I'm having a convivial conversation with a bank robber.

And here is the photo that was attatched to it. Do you notice a cute little Baby The Stars Shine Bright bag? She isn't dresses in Lolita but I have a feeling she has a cute little goody in her bag. Perhaps a necklace or a pair of new socks. New socks are so much fun. It is cool to see things like this. Lolita in the wild. I never see anything Lolita where I live so spotting it on the internet is cool. I highly recommend you hop on over to her blog and give it a read. She always has an interesting view and point to share.

 

What I Got For My Birthday

This past weekend I celebrated my birthday. I had a nice quite time with my husband, friends, and family. On Saturday we went to Moe's Southwest Grill and got yummy food. If you sign up for their newsletter they send you a coupon for a free meal on your b-day. I got a tofu bowl with extra black olives. So good. After that we went and browsed Target and Good Will. I picked up some chap stick at Target and a couple new blouses at the 2nd hand store.

My husband gave me my presents at 12:30 in the morning because I get too excited and don't want to wait. We do the same thing on Christmas. Why not? We are adults and can exchange or give presents whenever we want. It is nice. I think he read my blog post on what I wanted for my big day because he gave me quite a few things that I asked for. He is such a sweet man. He got me a $50 credit for Amazon because he knew I wanted books but didn't know which ones.  In addition to reading he got me 2 Monster High dolls. He got me the Skull Shores Ghoulia Yelps and the new Operetta doll. They are great. Ghoulia is my favorite out of all the Monster High characters. The last and best gift he got me has yet to arrive. He is buying me the one year subscription to My Glam. Yea! All of the subscriptions are sold out and have been for a bit. But, once they are available again one of them is mine. It will be exciting when those packages start showing up in the mail.

Dinner was spent with my in laws for a nice quiet time. My father in law did some grilling and made way too much. Chicken, pork chops, hot dogs, and hamburgers were yummy. They also got me a sunny birthday cake with pretty frosting flowers on it. I had a small piece. Sunday was dinner with my parents and my mother made a Thanksgiving style dinner. She made lemon squares for dessert because they are one of my favorites.

All in all it was a nice low key birthday. I like low key. I made my wish when I blew out my candles and I hope it comes true. It will come true, I will make it happen. I can't tell you what it is though. you know that.

Monster High Treasury on Etsy

 click to view page

Making Treasurys on Etsy are a bit addicting because the more I make, the more I want to make them. Instead of making another one that is Lolita inspired I decided to make a Monster High one. I really like Monster High. Since I don't have the money for ball jointed bolls like Super Dollfie I will buy something a few steps down. They are pretty cool dolls. Perhaps I will in the future do a post on my dolls but for this post it is about the treasury. Enjoy!

How To Save Money: Save a Little Automatically

 photo from Tokyo Rebel

Saving money is not always easy. It is pretty darn hard sometimes. A nice easy way to save money on a regular basis is to automatically tuck a small amount away every time you get money. Whether it be a paycheck, allowance, birthday money, or anything tuck some away. A good example is direct deposit for your paycheck. For quite some time I had my paycheck automatically deposited in my bank account so this means that I don't have cash in my hands at any time. People tend to spend when they see cash in their wallet. In addition to never having cash in my hand I also had $15 per week automatically deposited into my savings account. It is so easy because it is no effort. 

If you are younger you can do this with your parents and your allowance. Just ask them to tuck a certain amount away every week. I am sure that they would be more than happy to do this for you and probably proud of your saving ways. You will be surprised how quickly your saving will add up when it is automatic and you don't have to think about it.

It is also awesome to think about the future and how much money you will have saved in a certain amount of time. For example, if I save $15 per week for 6 months I will have $360! That is a brand spankin' new brand dress. Nice. You will not even know that the $15 a week is missing but you will notice a nice new dress in your closet in 6 months.