Fairytale Dress

 

 Teaser from a photoshoot I did in the dress.

For Christmas my lovely friend Maura sent me some fabulous japanese fabric with a super cute boarder print. But she only sent me 1 yard, and the boarder was different on either side. But I did some creative cutting, and I think it worked out well. I designed the dress to be comfortable and warm, I used jersey cotton for the top, not something typical of lolita outside of cutsews and hoodies, but hey I'm a rebel.

Before I finished with the sleeves. I still plan on adding some lace to the bottom, but I haven't found any I liked yet.

In the top picture I'm wearing vintage gloves and beret. The green butterfly necklace is Tarina Tarantino. The bottom picture are my new rubber boots from mel. They've been super useful this winter, and cute, let's not forget cute.

Fun Jewelry

 

My mom has always though I was a little weird because often instead of buying art or jewelry I'd rather buy a book with pictures of art or jewelry.For example, when we went to the Melrose Tarina Tarantino store all I wanted was the "My Pretty" book, which they did not sell there. Lame...

Anyway, that's just me, and that's why I was excited to find this fine and vintage jewelry picture book. The copyright is 1991 but it's in very good conditions with plenty of sparkly inspiration.

On the left are jelly bellies, I'm particularly fond of the deer but it's priced somewhere between 100$ and 400$. I'll never have it, but I can dream.

New Clothing

I picked up and was gifted lots of new clothes, which is pretty much the definition of going to LA for me. I thought I'd share with you some of my favorites.

I bought several blouses, the beige blouse on the left caught my eye because of the super cute collar and little bow pocket. The leggings have owls on them and the shoes are another pair of  Bamboo Brand, I think they'll be wonderful in the summer. The dress was a gift from my mom.

1. My new giant sweater from English Laundry I picked it up at a sample sale. It's on sale at the website for 70$, I got it for 25$.

2. My grandparents gave me a Betsey Johnson winter jacket. It's so awesome, they don't have it on the website anymore but Forever21 sells a pretty close copy.

3. MurMur brand dress, super comfy.

1. Glinda necklace earring set from Tarina Tarantino.

2. I bought a bunch of owl pendants for a dollar each, and I already had a bunch at home so I but them all on one chain.

3. Close up of my owl leggings.

4. Pastel Rainbow Bubble necklace.

French Meal Daily Wear

 

I didn't get any pictures of my eyeshadow, but it wasn't too exciting, I was wearing a lot of pink so I kept it pretty simple anyway.

•  Hat: Vintage
• Scarf: Gift Made by a Friend
• Muff: Self Made
• Pins: Bow was self made, the tea cup platter was a mystery box toy
• Dress: Vintage 70's
• Jacket: MurMur Brand
• Shoes: Coach 

 I remade my muff awhile back, I wanted the strap to be thinner, and then I also put a large pocket inside of it so I wouldn't have to carry around my purse and muff at the same time.

I'm telling you though this dress is one of the best buys I've ever made. I can dress up or down it it, it's been great for all seasons, and it's super comfy. I want a truck load of these in all different colors.

Candy Cane Rhythm

 

I made this dress to use as a nightgown, but I thought it was so cute and if I just wore it as PJ's no one would be able to appreciate it, I couldn't let that happen! So I wore it for International Lolita Day it's more Otome then Lolita but I didn't much feel like wearing a cupcake petticoat just to do some Christmas shopping.

• Hat: Vintage
• Necklace: Handmade by mom
• Blouse: NikiBiki Brand
• Dress: Handmade by me
• Belt: Swap Meet
• Rose Clip: LA Fashion District
• Tights: Capezio
• Shoes: An*Tai*Na

What do you think of the fro? I was so happy with my giant hair I wish I could do it more often but it's not always comfortable sleeping on foam rollers.

On my way out I threw on a scarf and gloves and I was quite warm for the day. And while shopping at Value Village a cute girl in an awesome jacket snapped my picture and gave me the link to her vintage clothing blog Vixen Vintage. It's a fabulous read with tons of pretty pictures so I definitely recommend it.

I wanted to wear my new Strawberry Shimmer lipgloss from Morgana Cryptoria so I kept my makeup fairly simple. Just Aromaleigh Corset blush and Meow eyeshadow.

Eyeshadows are Meows Santa Honey, Bliss, and Levitation.

DIY Sparkle Shoes

 
There are a ton of tutorials bouncing around for this. One of the easiest involved mixing the glue and the glitter together before painting it on the shoe, it is quite quick and reduced fallout but I don't like this for several reasons 1: the glue creates a barrier between light and the glitter so it doesn't sparkle as much. 2: it's kind of a waste of both products.

Usually these tutorials use Mod Podge which makes sense because it dries clear, sticks to most materials, and is flexible when dry. I did not have Mod Podge but I did have a big tub of Elmers Glue, I don't know how well it might work on vinyl fabric, but I used it on some satin shoes and it seemed to work very well. These shoes were in desperate need of a makeover, I used them in a photoshoot at a graveyard and they didn't survive intact.

What You'll Need

• Elmers Glue                 
• Spray-able Fixative (spray glue)     
• Glitter                          
• 2 Trays                        
• Plastic Bags                 
• Scotch Tape (Optional)
• Blow Dryer (Optional) 

 

Directions couldn't be more simple, I used the tape to cover the buckles, you could also use it to make sure nothing get's on the outer soles or wherever you don't want glitter. Place plastic bags inside shoes to avoid getting too much glitter inside where it WILL stick and coat your socks in glitter.

Paint a section of the shoe at a time and dust on the glitter over one of the trays, completely covering the section and wait for it to dry. If your impatient like me you can use the blow dryer on low (if it's too hot sometimes the glue can bubble). Once dry tap shoe over the first tray to remove excess glitter. Move onto the next section only this time place the shoe on tray two and tap the glitter from tray one over the glue covered section. Continue until shoe is completely covered doing touch ups as needed.

Once completely dry, take shoes to a well ventilated area and cover them with the spray-able fixative paying special attention to areas that get the most wear and tear like the strap or around the bottom near the soles.

As you can see Gawain is indifferent to them, preferring to lick himself instead of stare at them adoringly like me. I'm planning on wearing these with my Christmas dress which is still in the works so look forward to that at a later date.

Christmas Wish List 2012

Time for my annual wish list. This years list was really difficult, not because there's nothing I don't want but because I don't really want anything extraordinary or exciting this year. I've pretty much given up on the idea of a Lolita coat, I still want one but it's not as important to me.

Tea Time Toffee: This is seriously the best toffee ever. They were at last year's Chocolate Festival, but Brenna and I forgot to buy a bag. We're going in on a 5lb package in 2013.

 Melissa Anglomania Shoes: I'm desperate for these. I would have preferred them in red but they're almost impossible to find these days.

Cleanse Your Soul Tart Warmer Melts: Cleanse Your Soul is so freaking amazing anyway with their 1000+ scent list. I'm really fond of the tarts, especialy since for whatever reason the hallway right outside my door sucks in any smell in the house, including the really bad ones. Tart melts help.

Spoonflower Firebird Repeat: I adore ceanirmingers work, I'd love to make a dress out of this fabric. I would need about 4 yards, and an extra yard of his matching stars only fabric.

Expidit Shelving Unit from Ikea: This would make organization so much easier on me. Plus more room for sewing supplies which would be awesome because I'm hoping to stock up soon.

Cute Soft Pajama Pants: I'm a big fan of cute, loose, comfy PJs like these Eiffel Tower ones from Forever 21. Also this, these, and oh this one too. No fleece obviously because it's gross and tacky.

White Christmas Tree: I want a white tree, I would cover it in pastel lights and candy themed ornaments that I made myself and it would be so pretty. I want it to be 3.5-4ft which would be the perfect size for my room.

The Usual:

• Makeup Samples from Indy Companies
• Awesome Candies
• Socks and Tights
• Glass Topped Sewing Pins
• Loose Leaf Teas
• Lolita Accessories

Legs Like Leopards

 I decided on an Otome look the other day, I love these leggings, they go surprisingly well with a lot of my wardrobe, I also have them in fuchsia, although I seem to wear these teal ones more often.

Scarf: Target

Necklaces: LA Fashion District

Sweater: Free People

Gloves: LA Fashion District

Dress: Self Made

Leggings: LA Fashion District

Shoes: Payless, painted burgundy by me

I know, weird pose. I'm also wearing lipstick from Morgana Cryptoria in Nevermore.

Out of Spite

 

I love this dress, it was a birthday present to myself from my local vintage clothing store. It's really comfortable, not not too formal like a few of my other longer dresses. And I am buying a lot of longer dresses lately, I like how swishy they are.

• Dress: Vintage 70's
• Shoes: Mossimo
• Earrings: LA Fashion District
• Hair Clip: Tarrino Tarantino

My eyeshadow is all Geek Chic.

Cold Feet was used on the inner corner, Champagne Toast on the lower lash line.

Companion Cube on the outer lid sweeping over in an arc, and more Champagne toast on the center lid layered over Companion Cube, with some Dream of Large Women layered over Companion Cube on the outer lid.

I did this weird braided side bun, but it doesn't look right for whatever reason.

Daily Wear: Otome Monster Mash

This was my first time getting to try Darling Girls Mommy Little Monster, Brenna got it as a free sample from the company, but she doesn't do dark colors so she gave it to me. I LOVE it! It's a dark cerulean blue with blue and purple glitter, so pretty. I decided to wear it because Brenna and I were roaming around Portland together this day. I picked up the dress at a Vintage shop while I was in Los Angeles. I ended up removing a piece of lace that was haphazardly sewn across the front bust line, looks kinda cute with my flattest petticoat underneath.

What I wore:

Boater Hat: The Village Hat Shop the band was altered by me.

Flower Accessories: My mom made it.

Necklace and Earings: Tarina Tarantino

Dress: Vintage 70's

Belt: LA Fashion District

Tights: Sock Dreams Foot Traffic Tights in Burgundy

Boots: Vintage 70's

On my eyes I used Darling Girls Mommys Little Monster, and Meows Oddity from their Carnival Collection. I also used Evil Shades Frostys Intervention as a highlight on the browbone but you can't tell. I've tried it several times and it just doesn't work well on me. And then I used some black eyeliner on my upper and lower waterline.

On my face along with my regular foundation is Aromaleighs Peaches n' Cream finishing powder and Meows Iced Watermelon blush. In the close up pictures I'm wearing Morgana Cryptorias Quark, and in the full length picture I'm wearing Morganas Galaxy gloss. I didn't end up liking either of them with this look.

All The Random Pictures

 Grandma holding her puppy Bobby, Mom with Brandy, me with Holly, they are my moms dogs.

I tried to snap a lot of pictures in LA for you all, but sometimes there weren't enough for a whole post or they just didn't really fit anywhere else. So here are some random pictures from my trip to Los Angeles.

 

 I adore Bobby! He's not your typical Chihuahua, he doesn't bark that much, he's super friendly, and doesn't have those buggy eyes typical of the breed. I think he looks like a mini-Basenji personally.

 

 Bobby really liked me too, the first thing he did when I got to LA was climb into my lap and fall asleep.

See! Isn't he adorable!

This is my cousin Cole, the last time I saw him I think he was 7 years old and maybe 3.5 feet tall. He likes baking pie, and he thinks a lot of the health stuff my family is into is bullshit as well. We got along just fine.

 

Coles mom, my Aunt Jill. She's our familys alternative health expert, they came down for the weekend to attend a free health seminar at a shop called Soothe Your Soul (not to be confused with Cleanse Your Soul, which I like much better).

 This one looks like nothing special, but the above picture is of Captain Crunch french toast. There are tons of good restaurants in LA, but very few are doing anything new or interesting for anything more then shock value. This was the only example I could find of fusion food done because it's just good that way.

There's this hill mom drives by to get to the beach, it's so amazing we took some photos there.

 

I bought these shoes at Target right before my trip to California. They turned out the be one of the best buys I ever made I wore them the whole time they were super comfortable.

 Moms friend Tracy doing what she does best, haul dogs around.

 Last but not least, this is Miss P (actually her name is Precious, but I hate that name) mom was house sitting for her owners. She's a super weird cat in that she hisses like crazy but she'll never bite you or scratch you on purpose. She dosn't like people much, but the last two days I was there I woke up her her in my face wanting a scratch. Like I said....weird.