Christmas Redux Pt. 2 ~ Friends (aka Family No. 2)

In addition to my family, I also got presents for K- and Miss M. It's a running joke that they might as well be married, since they are such close friends and are together all the time, so I decide to get them matching travel mugs (they are also both addicted to coffee).

I was inspired by a travel mug I saw in CVS, but the mug itself was really really ugly, so I decided to just have my own custom printed. I found Tervis through a quick Google search, and they seemed to be reasonably priced and have no minimum order (I had no need for 100 coffee mugs...).

The design I put on them was text-only, so I can't say how nicely actual images print, but what I got was nice and crisp, and the mugs themselves were really sturdy.

To top off their presents, I filled K-'s with gummy bears, since he loves those, and I filled Miss M's with foldover elastic hair ties that I made myself. And then I drew them some bird-tastic cards so I could include a little note for each of them ^_^

I'm really happy that they liked the mugs, and hopefully it'll be something useful for both of them! I know at least the gummy bears and hair ties will be well used :-P

Christmas Redux Pt. 1 ~ Family

Now that Christmas has come and gone, and all my presents were safely kept secret until they were to be opened, I can make my posts showing off the things I designed!

For my family (mother, father, and sister), I decided this year to draw them all little graphics representing things that they enjoy and do. I then had those graphics printed on various things ordered through Zazzle.

For my father:

Printed on a mousepad and a mug.

For my mother:

Printed on a wall clock.

For my sister:

Printed on a notebook and a tote bag.

Everyone was really pleased with their presents, yay!! Overall I was really pleased with the printing quality, as well as the general quality of the actual items! The only really disappointing one was the tote bag. The graphic came out really fuzzy and with really bleedy edges, and I didn't realize how yellow the "natural" color option was, so it distorted the colors pretty badly. All the other items were great, and the printing was nice and clean!

Weekly Favorites #6

Modcloth Clear Agenda Flat ~ Who wouldn't want a pair of pastel saddle shoes? These would look super cute with a variety of styles, and could easily be dressed up or down as needed. Replace shoelaces with ribbons for extra frilly power!

(via Modcloth)

Modcloth Legit's a Beautiful Day Umbrella in Cream ~ I've been looking for a new umbrella that's a bit girly but still a practical (ie compact) size for carrying around daily. This one fits the bill, and I have a weakness for both ruffled edges and polka dots, so it's just perfect!

(via Modcloth)

Barry's Farm Owl Laptop Sleeve ~ Owls are cute, and every laptop or tablet deserves a nice sleeve for protection. These can be custom sized for a huge range of laptop brands and models, so that's even more convenient!

(via Barry's Farm)

Forest Girl Fans Floral Mori Pleated Skirt ~ Patchwork clothes always look so whimsical and comfortable to me, and this pleated skirt is a lovely combination of girly and country casual. The waist is fully elastic, so it's sure to be comfortable for a range of sizes.

(via Taobao)

LUSH Magic Wand Bubble Bar ~ Here's the magical girl item for this week... Bubble baths are fun, but they're 20% cooler if you can make pink bubbles appear with a pink magic wand! It even comes with ribbon streamers and a bell!

(via LUSH)

Happy New Year, and may your coming week and coming year be filled with wonder and joy!

[Outfit Post] Black and Red and Dotted All Over

This was a simple easy outfit for going to an appointment and then running a couple of errands. My love affair with cardigans continues, and I think I just might have to acquire a few more before winter is over. They're so useful for layering in any sort of outfit, and if they're patterned or embellished, they can really jazz up an otherwise plain outfit. I did learn from this day, though, that white socks are less than a good idea on a rainy day and if you're prone to bumping your knees on everything around you...

OP: Innocent World
Necklace: Kumacrafts
Cardigan: Cherokee Kids
Socks: Sockdreams
Boots: Skechers

[Lolita Blog Carnival] New Year's Resolutions for Lolita Fashion in 2014

I'm actually terrible at keeping resolutions of any sort; it's almost like making them curses me to fail. However, I enjoy making lists of things, so I thought this would be a fun one to do!

1. Sell pieces I don't really wear anymore.

I've been amassing a closet in various buying spurts over a span of 2 - 3 years now, in terms of main pieces as well as accompanying accessories. I'd obviously like to continue developing my wardrobe, but I have limited space in my apartment, so it would be good to filter out things that no longer fit with my current tastes.

2. Collect more simple headpieces.

Since I do wear Lolita on a semi-daily basis, I'm usually too lazy to deal with elaborate or fussy hairstyles. Unfortunately, very large bows/flowers/etc. don't look very good on plain hair >_< I'd like to accumulate (buy OR make) some more simple headpieces that I can wear with plainer hair.

3. Learn how to use clip-in bangs.

This is probably seems sort of random, but it's something that I've been thinking about for a bit. Now that I'm dancing so much, it's actually kind of a pain having bangs cut into my real hair, because they're hard to pull back cleanly when I'm dancing. I think the best solution would be to invest in a couple of good clip-in bangs (I'm thinking one blunt cut and one side-swept), and just grow out my own hair. This way, I can have the best of both worlds?

4. Develop a better petticoat collection.

I have quite a lot of petticoats, most of which are medium-poof at best. While I do have one that I like for more daily wear, I'd like to get at least one REALLY poofy one so I don't have to wear 3 or 4 petticoats at a time to get the amount of poof I want for heavier skirts or more elaborate outfits. I tend to get a rash on my waist from elastics as-is, and multi-petticoats don't help that.

5. Go to more meetups.

This ties into a more general life resolution I want to make regarding my socialization patterns. I don't think I'll stop being shy, but the last year or so I've really sort of isolated myself into my own world due to a lot of converging issues. But honestly, I miss hanging out with people, which only makes me feel worse. Since I always really enjoy Lolita meetups, I think forcing myself to go to more of them will really help me actually feel better about life in general ^_^

So there it is, my list of Lolita resolutions!

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Make sure to check out all the other blogs in the Lolita Blog Carnival who participated in this topic!

~ The Cute Lifestyle | Mary Hazelbelle | Her Lumpiness | Lace Teapot | Breiðholt | Lolita Glamour | Beyond Kawaii | New Vogue Children | Fire Extinquisher | Wearable Magic | Northern Star | Hello Batty | Ramble Rori | Jess Cosmic Delight ~

Merry Christmas!!!

I can't believe it's Christmas again already!! In the spirit of tradition, I recorded a Christmas-themed cover song again this year. I even went a bit fancy and put actual video of myself in it! So here it is!!

"Winter Bells"
Original by: Kuraki Mai
Cover by: Kyttyee

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... in which I dance with my dear old friend Big Moo and do various other silly things on camera ...

I can't believe it's been another year already, and it's Christmas again!! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and all that jazz ^_^ I know I've been lax in updating here the last few months, and I have no excuse for that other than not having my stuff together enough.

I hope you enjoy this video, and here's to a new year, a fresh start, and hopefully being better at making more videos for you!

May the rest of your year be filled with love and pink ponies, and here's to a sparkly sugary sweet new year!

Weekly Favorites #5

As the weather started turning cooler this fall, I got really into scented candles. I'm not generally a huge fan of fragrances and such, as a lot of them induce super terrible headaches in me. However, I decided to put up with walking through fragrance bombardment to find the few nice candle scents and try them out. There's just something very heart-warming about a little candle flame.

My favorite one so far has been this one from Pure-Clean-Soy in the Pink Magnolia scent. I found it in the home section of Target. This is the first time I've used a soy candle, so I'm not sure if the lightness of the scent is this particular fragrance or because it's a soy candle. Either way, this candle gives my room a nice hint of sweetness and floralness when it's burning, but isn't overpowering. This is great if you like subtle scents or have a sensitive nose, but perhaps less good if something more in-your-face is desired for your room fragrance.

I definitely enjoyed this candle, and will be buying some in their other scents to try out. When I was test-smelling them in the store, all of the candles from this brand had a nice light scent, so I'm hoping I'll be pleased with more of them.

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Hope your coming week is full of warmth and cheer! Merry Christmas if you celebrate it, and good luck with all the preparations! ^_^

[Outfit Post] A Pocketful of Cozy

Snuggly oversized sweater season!! Actually, it got super cold already a month ago, but sweaters feel even more snuggly now. I've been really liking the oversized sweater paired with sweater tights and a shorter skirt recently. Since I'm vertically challenged, skirts falling above the knee help make my legs look at least a little bit longer. That's probably the one thing I am less fond of Lolita for, because the skirts are all pretty long on me - usually 1~2 inches below my knee. I enjoy Angelic Pretty sizing (at least their more recent skirts anyways) because it's short enough to not make my legs look like nubs, but not so short as to be in mini-skirt range and thus outside the Lolita silhouette. I get that I'm exceptionally short though, so their trend towards shorter has actually been a bit of a bane for average and tall people.

Sweater: JC Penney
Skirt/Shirt: Target (Circo)
Tights: BonTon
Boots: Skechers

Drawing ~ Illustration Friday: Spirit

This week's topic: Spirit.

I decided to go with a J-fashion interpretation of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future from A Christmas Carol.





Copic Sketch + Prismacolor Fine Line markers on mixed media paper.

Drawing ~ Super Mommy

I love my mommy... because my mommy is a superhero! Or something out of a Mario game?

Copic Sketch + Prismacolor Fine Line markers on heavyweight sketch paper.