Doll post! So where did she go…

June 1st, 2010 by April

Long time no doll post >.< Robin has been complaining that I’m not giving her enough attention, so I thought I’d show off her new wig as well as the new dress I made for her!!! (Actually it’s BEEN done for like two months now… just too lazy to post :/)

It seems that overcast days are the perfect days for taking pictures, at least for me when I use my DSLR. If it’s sunny it’s too bright, even with the ISO turned down. Oh wait I’m supposed to be showing pictures lol. Not getting into tech stuff :P

So I present to you my beautiful lonely girl:

I looooooove curls on her XD

Just chillin’ :D

And bonus, her curls in an updo XD

Well there you have it. I added a little more blush over her default faceup. I’d like to add more to it, like sparkles around her eyes and really make her look like a Kera model XD However my skills with faceups are pretty pathetic at this point (and I need an EVEN SMALLER BRUSH!!! BAHH!!!). And that’s why I haven’t shown her brother Leo (or just his head at this point anyway XD) yet. The blushing is fine, but I always seem to mess up the eyes and eyebrows. I met a friend’s boy dollie (a Domuya sculpt to be exact ^^) at a lolita meetup my friend Nikki had this past weekend, and I noticed what a nice natural faceup he had. His owner had told me that she used a brush with like, three little hairs on it lol. So when I have some free time I will be scouring for a brush like that (if I can get to an art store before they close… gotta love downtown, everything closes when you get off work >.<) Which reminds me, I didn’t post photos of Robin lately because she had gone through at least 3 body changes, and is now settled with her Volks SD Body, which was really old and yellowed from its previous owner. So I decided to do the works; seam sanding (well the roommate and I alternated with the sanding), and a UV protective coat!!! Let me tell you it was NOT FUN. I’ve probably cut my life span in half with some of the resin dust I accidentally inhaled. But she is pretty much seam free and looking smooooooooth XD and I need not worry about her yellowing. I actually sanded the yellow off of her resin! And it seems to match her Elfdoll resin color more O.o And then I sprayed MSC on ALL of her parts. Would I recommend anyone to self sand their doll? Not if that much work is involved O.o If it’s just the hands or something minimal, by all means. But a WHOLE BODY SANDING??? Please don’t do it >.< Unless you just really know what you’re doing (because obviously I didn’t)

I also sanded a few mm off her neck! It was way too long and thick for her tiny Elfdoll head. And while I did shave probably at least 3-4mm off, it’s still a bit too long and thick in my opinion… but I’m just about exhausted with flying resin dust (yes I wore a mask!!!) so I figure she looks fine when her wig covers her neck XD

On boy doll news, I have yet to afford a body for Robin’s brother Leo (if you haven’t read my dollie profiles yet, please check them out! You can find out what sculpt Leo’s head is XD They are in the works but are always going to be added onto). And my plans for getting a Volks SD17 Hijikata Toshizo definitely did not happen lol. But he is still my dream boy!!! Ahh, one day I will have him TT.TT

So plans… I am joining my lolifriends and heading up to Canada this weekend!!! Ahhh it’s going to be so much fun XD We’re going to be riding a train, and we’ll be meeting some of the Canadian lolis! It’s going to be an awesome Loliday :D Just this past weekend my friend Nikki held a crepe meetup, and she made yummy crepes for us all to eat XD We played lolita pictionary and we fangirled over David Bowie while watching the Labrynth lol. After dinner we headed back to Nikki’s place and eventually watched Zoolander again!!! That movie never stops being funny lol. And David Bowie makes a cameo in it lol. Does he ever stop being gorgeous??? Did I mention my favorite song was “I’m Afraid of Americans” that Trent Reznor jointly made for him? (yeah only for the bajillionth time)

All righty. Countdown begins!!!

HOLY MOTHERLOAD BATMAN

March 23rd, 2010 by April

I got my enchanted shoes lucky pack set from Baby today! I saw the HUGE box waiting for me in my landlady’s office this morning when I was heading out to work, or rather my landlady exclaimed “OH! THERE’S A PACKAGE FOR YOU!” and I saw the box lol. So I took one look and she must have seen how wide my eyes got at the size of the package, and said “Do you want me to have Brent take that up for you?” And I told her that would be great >.<

And so I thought the day would be good, the first song that played on my iphone this morning was “Lonely in Gorgeous” by Tommy February6 (I love that song lol). But it was interrupted by one of my bank customers spotting and asking me a ton of questions about work, but what can you do, he’s an elderly man and one of my nicest customers ^^. Had to switch buses because ours broke down… and then work. Let’s not talk about my day job.

ANYWAY. Roommate failed to pick me up (or forgot to) and had to wait for the bus. Didn’t want to wait another 30 minutes for my normal bus so took a different bus and walked halfway home. Felt like poo after walking for only 15 min (I’m out of shape) and finally got to my apartment building. My eyes met my landlady’s and she said “OH YOU WANT YOUR PACKAGE?” So she must have not seen my roommate come home early, *sigh* So I carried the HUGE box back to my apt and knocked on my apt door with my foot (lol) and set the box down. On to the important stuff, it’s what you want to see right? XD

From Akinori Isobe <3

Then I began to attack the box like a crazed maniac lol. I was really really curious to see what I would get! As for what I wanted? Anything really lol. All their designs are cute!

HOLY MOTHERLOAD

AND THEN HOLY MOTHERLOAD. Two pairs of boots!!! The ankle boots I had soooooo coveted last year!!! (sure they’re in pink and I wanted white, but hell they’re cute!!!) AND THE ALICE AND THE PIRATES BOOTS. WHOA MAN. Small sizes must not sell or something lol. I really really got an awesome pack!

PURE AWESOME.

And the extra gifts it came with were the black Baby logo tote bag and the 2010 calendar! Cuteness!!! XD And of course I was curious to see how great of a deal I got… The luck pack sells for 12,000 Yen, plus shipping it was about 17,000 yen, and since the exchange rate bites it was about $191 total. And here are the tags:

:O

I nearly fainted!!! The AaTP boots were nearly $400!!! (actually with the current exchange rate, over $400!!!) The BTSSB victorian ankle boots were about $250!!! For a grand total over $650!!! I got them for a steal!!! I really think I got the motherload of lucky packs!!! Whoever packed mine must have thought, “DUDE, this girl is getting the most awesome one! Whoever gets this is one happy person!!!”

And happy I am. Melted away all the work agony lol. Forget the fact I still have a cold. If the lucky packs are STILL going on I am tempted to get another (because I did want to get a pair of flats or cool platforms! So why not try again??? I wonder if they are still up… must go check…)

Now I’m off to eat my cold dinner lol. Got too excited for the blog post >.<

While we’re on the Hijikata subject…

March 20th, 2010 by April

….thinking of the doll I did not enter to win (and horribly regretting lol. I hope I can do the after event at least) and how fans on Den of Angels are talking about the character from Gintama (Hijikata “Toshiro”), my friend Lee and I were also talking about Gintama and how I need to catch up on it lol. And she suggested I sing “Pray” by Tommy Heavenly6, which is also the opening theme to the show. Of course I love Tommy Heavenly6 (or Kawase-san in general XD) so I had to oblige :D

So here is my newest video, covering Tommy Heavenly6:

And the mini photoshoot that ensued!

Oh, and it was a pain in the butt running around and trying to pose with the self-timer lol. Ah funny memory. I was trying to be artsy-fartsy >.< The first shot is actually my reflection in the mirror, kekekeke.

And one full outfit shot. My outfit for spring/summer.

And now to go catch up on Gintama… :3

It’s been AGES post, photo post, and whinery WANT post XD

March 13th, 2010 by April

Um wow. I should be making the most of my wins from NameCheap, after all I’m technically getting this domain free for another year and a half O.o Anyway now’s the time for a post!!!

So one major reason why I haven’t posted was because I have moved into a new apartment!!! Goodbye old stinky moldy COLD damp and LOUD apartment! Hello nice new 1 yr old building apartment with energy efficient windows and elevator <3 Anyway, I’ve kind of organized the living room (along with the roommate) into something viewable, so I thought I would go about sharing my gothic lolita coordinate :)

RRAWR. I'll appear in your sleep mwahahahaha.

Outfit breakdown:
Mini Hat = Candy Violet opera hat
Blouse = handmade by me :) (a little too big though. Will work on tucking in those shoulders >.<)
Corset skirt = Moi Meme Moitie
Tights = I got them from Target. Great place to get plain opaque tights!
Shoes = Bodyline

Yeah it was really cloudy out. So didn’t get good detail shots of the whole coordinate. Oh well, next time.

In other news, I was on a real work mode last month. I have the blue Hawase Doll OP from Baby the Stars Shine Bright. It came out a few years back, but I failed to buy the headbow to coordinate it with. And I really wanted a blue version of Momoko’s (from the movie Shimotsuma Monogatari; aka Kamikaze Girls) signature outfit. I needed the full coordinate like I need meat man. >.<

And in January there was a loli from Spain selling a similar embroidered fabric BTSSB headbow, and I was thinking hey that might match!!! Of course when it came to me, apparently it hadn’t been packaged well T.T There were rust stains on the headband and a little on the bow part too. But it wasn’t the right blue anyway, and since I had butchered one of the long dettachable sleeves from the OP to make a headdress once, I decided I was going to use the other sleeve for this headbow!!! It was simple actually! I just carefully took apart the old rusted headbow and used its pieces like a pattern:

The bow before I took it apart, and the Hawase Doll embroidered fabric around it.

The bow before I took it apart, and the Hawase Doll embroidered fabric around it.

After about two days worth of toiling (between work and sleep and food and all that) and straightening the hell out of the wire from the headbow, I came out with a beautiful new headbow to match my OP:

Kekekeke. Now I have my spring/summer coordinate (more suited for summer since spring in Seattle is still pretty darn cold). Since I have decided not to spend too much on lolita clothing this year (let’s see how long that will last), I have already come out with my coordinates, and since I don’t go out much anyway I figure it should be fine for the year. The only thing i will splurge on are blouses, I didn’t realize I have a lot of OP’s, so I never really stocked up on the basics like blouses and petticoats >.< I think this year will be a blouse and petticoat year XD I at least need one good blouse so I can wear it with my jsks and skirts. I already have the design in mind, unfortunately everything I want is sold out, but it’s a design that Baby comes out with regularly so I will probably see it again in the fall I hope. I have a really nice black lace petticoat that I had bought from Candy Violet a few years ago, and I bought the white one a little after that to go with all my sweet stuff. However the white isn’t as poofy as the black one. The black one gives the perfect amount of poof, but it’s not the it’s not the IN-YOUR-FACE poofy where it’s hard to sit down XD I was disappointed that the white one wasn’t as poofy, but I make up for it’s lack of poof by pairing with a baby petti that came with one of my jsks. So stiff tulle (that’s not really poofy) plus white petticoat (that’s not really poofy either) makes “decent subtle poof.” I think I’m going to buy another white petti though, if it ends up being as small as the first white petti than I will just combine the two together!!!

And now for my other dilemna. I have completely fallen in love with a boy. He’s made out of resin, has purple-grey eyes and is supposed to be one of the MEANEST Shinsengumi members. And it’s all Volks’s fault that I am smitten with him:

*sigh* There have been boy dolls that have piqued my interest, but I must say he takes the cake. Meet Volks SD17 Hijikata Toshizo. Since he’s special only lottery winners can win him (I don’t mean government ran lotteries lol!!! I mean Volks holds a lottery entry in order to win the rights to buy the doll. Long story, you can probably find the full details on Den of Angels). I’m tempted to TRY and enter the lottery to see if I can get him. But you see he has a hefty price tag, though of course for most doll owners it’s an understandable price seeing how much work goes into crafting a BJD. People who do not know the world of BJDs just wouldn’t understand why people would pay so much, but then again most of my family members and friends think I am crazy for buying brand lolita clothing. Why are all my hobbies expensive??? Anyway, I’d love to get my hands on this boy. He’d make the perfect boyfriend for my Robin <3 Speaking of the lottery, it is going on RIGHT NOW. It ends the 16th though, so if you even want a small chance you gotta do it before then. Meanwhile I am going to fret about whether or not I should use the ol’ credit card to try and get this boy >.<

InnoSera Swap meet

February 25th, 2010 by April

Guess who is going to be there???? Yours truly :P

http://swap.innocenteseraphim.com/

Lolita, steam punk, indie fashion, and ball-jointed doll swap meet! I’ll be bringing a lot of my Japanese street fashion clothing there to sell/swap, so come to our table!!! Here’s a sample of what I’m bringing:

Nikki will be there too, and I have to rub in that she’s got a loooooooooot of cute stuff <3 So come get it before I get dibs on it lol. It’s this Saturday (FEBRUARY 27th 2010) University Heights Community Center in Room 209. Nikki will be at our table first, and I will be there later in the afternoon (I’m going to see a dentist… I haven’t seen a dentist in a while so I’m scaaaaaared >.< I hope I’m not stuck there too long…) So come see us (and me probably with half a numb face O.o) on SATURDAY!!!

New skirt~~~

November 17th, 2009 by April

In a recent trade I received a lovely Metamorphose skirt- It’s definitely one of the more classic-ish pieces in my wardrobe now! I looooooooove the train thingy in the back XD It’s so flowy <3 I don’t really have anything in my wardrobe to match, so please excuse the poor coordinating for now. And the self-cam shots hahaha.
DSC01101

DSC01090

*sigh* I can’t wait to get stuff to coordinate it with. And can I say I love my new shoes? I think I like them more than the expensive burando ones I have XD Sad, but so far I just like them more XD And they’re from Bodyline. I bought a pair of Nana-style engineer boots (the short version for my frickin short legs lol) and some creepers. I love love LOVE the boots but the creepers are really huge on me and I’m not digging them too much. Doesn’t help I have nothing to match them yet XD Buying all 3 of them from Bodyline was cheaper than buying one pair of burando shoes. *Sigh* I’m going to become a Jusco victim one of these days. Maybe not.

Ever since I found out that Amazon has a universal wishlist thing (I found this out through vivcore <3), I’ve been adding things to it like crazy. Mostly stuff from Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Volks, and Candy Violet XD I have a feeling it’s going to be about 10 pages long in just a few days XD

Purikura~~~

November 6th, 2009 by April

About two weekends ago Nikki and I met out for an impromptu meetup at the Seattle Art Museum! We saw the Michelangelo exhibit with our significant others, it was a real treat for the eyes. Though I think he had a real passion for the male anatomy, even his women had very muscular bodies XD All the tendons and veins and skin O.o I got several of those “what are you all dressed up for?” or “Halloween costume?” comments. I’m starting to run out of ways to explain, I want to keep it short but I also want to be nice. And then again I wish i didn’t have to explain that it is NOT a costume, but just a really extravagant outfit XD

After hanging out at the museum we headed over to Gameworks for purikura. Though I felt tempted to grab both guns on House of the Dead and start a zombie massacre, or see if they had Tekken 6… but then that would have strayed us off the path of purikura lol.

After waiting for some girls to finish, we hopped in the photobooth and rushed to take several photos XD After the series of shots we went around to decorate, but since everything is in Japanese we were kind of confused lol. Nikki managed to get some cute decorating done on our first photo while I did some random funnies on one of our group shots. And here they are:

I like Nikki’s handiwork photo the most XD She did the name decor and pretty shinies on the first photo, while i did the goofy animal ears/faces/sunglasses on the horror-theme-ish photo XD And Nikki barely got some decorating done on her hubby on the second horror-theme photo when we ran out of time, kekeke. I wish we had more time to decorate our other two photos!!!

Anyway, we headed over to eat some crepes afterwards, which was only the second time I’ve ever eaten crepes, the first being at a Todai (I think the one in Texas) about 6 years ago? Jeez I feel old. Anyway the crepes were yummy! I had a breakfast kind of crepe; with cheese, eggs, ham, and spinach. Brent ordered a dessert crepe, and we shared each others crepes. Mmmm I want another dessert one now that I think about it XD I’m not much for sweets but the crepes had just the right sweetness. We must do that again!!!

And then we did some shopping at Uwajimaya, where I found a real treat :) I found a lolita-themed artbook with Imai Kira artwork in it. And a small, sparse breakdown on how she did her work. Which reminds me how much I want to draw again, but never have the time. I have so many story ideas BEGGING to pop out of my head and get on paper. This is when I wish I had other artist friends so we could be like the next CLAMP, kekekeke XD Then we could split the drawing workload too O.o My only problem is my hardheadedness, the whole “my-way-or-the-highway” syle of thinking. Which has always kept me from working with others. I’d like to learn how to compromise though XD

On the day before Halloween (which is technically Halloween on a work day) at work I wore the same outfit, different wig, with no real theme in mind; I thought I would say something like I was dressed like a doll or something. Most people asked if I was Little Bo Peep, one of my customers said I looked like a courtesan from a nursery rhyme??? I felt a little offended at that, but I’ve been into lolita fashion so long that I already know I look better in it than I do in average attire. I feel pretty when I dress up in lolita. I feel almost noble and elegant. When I’m in average t-shirt and pants kind of clothing, I feel so bored. Even if it’s casual I feel like I have to punk it out.

Which leads me to my dilemna, I have an audition to go to tomorrow! The company I am auditioning for is primarily pop/hip-hop style…. which is not my preferred style; don’t get me wrong I love all kinds of music, even some pop, but I just don’t like singing it very much, compared to jazz or rock. But I have told myself over and over that I’d rather sing and make minimum wage than do what I am doing now; a boring customer service-oriented finance job. Bleh. Even if the singing isn’t my favorite style. It’s still better than the uncreative life I am leading at the moment. I have another audition to attend on the 22nd as well! I just got my passport so I can finally travel to other countries, tee hee hee. It’s my first passport so it was expensive T.T But now I’m free to see the world!! (I just need the monies…..)

I think I will go to school if the auditions don’t work out. I already promised I would go in the summer anyway, and since the classes I want to take don’t start till summer anyway. I want to take Japanese definitely. I’m interested in doing voice acting, and maybe theater too. I’d love to do musicals XD I think it would be very exciting to work for!

Like many people I have insecurities, but I feel that I may be right about mine. I don’t really think too much about them anymore though; yes I’m too short to be some glamorous celeb, but it’s never too late to debut as a real musician, which is what I want. I want to write my own songs, and sing…. I’d like to play the guitar too. Suga Shikao-san debuted when he was 33, and he is definitely one of my favorite singers. So I feel like it’s never too late… though lately people have been telling me otherwise….

Don’t want to sleep too late XD So better get some rest for my voice tomorrow…

BTSSB Friend Usakyuma JSK love

September 23rd, 2009 by April

I got it about a week ago!!! XD Haven’t had the time to play dress up yet, so I did that today. However, I am sad because there was hardly any daylight left. *sigh* Oh well. Horridly DARK and yellowy-orange evening photos ensue!!! *EDIT 2.19.10* I color corrected my photos! So they are not as yellow and dark anymore XD

My coordinate *^^*
I’m proud of the coordinate I came up with XD And happy that the only pair of shoes that fits me is still in my possession. But still, so sad I missed the matching bonnet!!! T.T *Edit 2.19.10* About a week after this post, I was lucky enough to find a girl running a shopping service for the new Baby the Stars Shine Bright store in San Fran! She was taking reservations for the bonnet and I asked her to get one for me :) Now I have my dream coordinate!!! XD

Cocker Spaniel Pose :P
One of those…. toy dog poses lol. I look like someone’s pet cocker spaniel XD
Circle lens = <3
You TOO, can be glamorous (or have the illusion of big eyes) with circle lens lol.

And here is one video I did today. A better, clearer, longer version to come this weekend XD

……………..

I didn’t want to change out of my outfit T.T I only feel pretty when I’m dressed up in lolita! I feel like poo in everyday wear… when I go to work… or see my family. I feel much more confident and princessy in lolita clothing *^^* Alas, Cinderella turned back into a slave, her carriage back into a pumpkin, her horses back into mice… all good things come to an end. (Will I get her happy ending someday, I hope?)

Speaking of happy endings, I had the most awesome dream last night/this morning. But let me explain a few things before going into the dream. I watched the first episode of Honey and Clover last night before I went to sleep. In the episode, the art school boys share croquettes with various condiments like mayo (there’s a very specific mayo they had in the anime that I use in real life lol. You can get it at the Asian grocery. It’s a squishy bottle with a red cap and a baby printed on the front).

Anyway, I dreamed that I was a trainee at “some” music company in Japan. My celeb crush was looking out for me, albeit in an odd way. He didn’t show it, but rather the opposite, in that playful almost annoyed attitude XD He gave me a croquette. As I was munching on it, I noticed the mayo bottle (the same one with the baby printed on it lol!!!) was in his hand lmao!!! Anyway he told me to give him one, to which I replied “you have the whole bag in your hand there.” He grabbed my hand and took a bite of my croquette O.O And that’s when I was called out for my stage performance *_*

Two fantasies in one dream. *sigh* You wouldn’t believe how grumpy I was when I woke up XD *sigh* Let me dream again!!! I have a feeling I had such a vivid dream because I exercised that night. My body is probably like, WHAT BE THIS HEART THUMPING??? WE PUT STRANGENESS INTO THY BRAIN~~~

And now I’m off to work out again XD Gotta lose the E.T. belly!!!

New video!!! But it’s short XD

September 20th, 2009 by April

Covering Nana Kitade’s “Kibou no Kakera”

I didn’t realize that I messed up the lyrics >.< Time to learn Japanese… ( I need to take classes!!! XD )

They shipped it!!!

September 10th, 2009 by April

Baby shipped my dream dress!!! (err, dream print rather lol.)

I bought this gorgeous jsk, same color and design in a size small:

And now I am officially broke T.T I am selling off more than half of my Gothic and Lolita bible collection, as well as half of my lolita wardrobe lol. Not only am I lacking funds for rent, and 3 bills that need to be paid, I also want to buy the matching bonnet. Crazy? Yes indeed. I need this dress like I need food. I was always too afraid to venture out into OTT lolita, but this is it. This the dream dress that urges me, WEAR THE BONNET. AND WEAR THE TEDDY BEARS. I wanna buy the bears when they come out too T.T However will I afford them? Crazy crazy crazy. But I really wanted that dress!!!

And thank you Nikki, I really wouldn’t have acquired my dream dress if you hadn’t texted me lol. We should do twin photos when they arrive!! XD I’ll be your short… frumpy… twin???

I would have gotten a lucky pack instead had this jsk had not come out. I could have really used the size small lucky pack:

XD Oh well… and the A&P Marine Skirt Set:

And the seacret cake factory lucky pack…. if I see the black jsk on the sales comm I will freak XD

*sigh* Money woes… I know, I know, I brought it on myself. Stay tuned for sales links!!! XD