Style Focus Update = Wa Lolita!

Coming this Summer I am excited to announce Metamorphose's Summer Yukata!



This lovely yukata is done in Meta's newest Print, 'Jewel Butterfly', in Mint. This print has three different colors to choose from....

Black




Pink



And as previously seen, Mint!



I saw this print earlier in the spring when they released the plans for the traditional Lolita silhouetted dress and skirt, and fell in love with it. It's elegant and colorful, while at the same time holds a certain elegance and grace that is hard to keep in this Over the Top market of saturated border prints.

Spring has Sprung and that means....

Ladies and Gentlemen! I am pleased to announce that I am not dead and am in fact very well and good.

Life has been busy, but that is no excuse for neglecting the blog! So, to make up for it, I am planning a tutorial on simple headdresses for Next weeks post!

As for this post, I thought I'd show you the fabrics I am planning on turning into skirts for this lovely new year!




This is the newest fabric to my skirt collection. It's busy and really not for me, but the more I look at it, the more I like it, so I think I'll make a skirt out of it anyways.




This one is more me. Simple and Sweet and ...orange? Lol not a color a lot of people can pull off, nor a color a lot of Lolita's even bother with, but I fell in love with it and I'll make it work. There was only 3 yards of this fabric, so when I make this skirt I'll be adding a bustle in the back.




Again, a different choice for me, but it was only a dollar a yard and it's so pretty! Again, this is only 3 yards, so it'll have a bustle as well.




And Ta Da! This one is actually a finished skirt, though it's folded at the sides so I could get a good picture of it. After loosing some weight I neglected to compensate for the mesument change and it is -way- to big! A couple of stiches will fix it right us though and I'll post the finished product soon ^_^

Hope ya'll liked the look into my late spring closet!

New Year's Eve!!

Happy 2010!

Did any of you make resolutions you actually plan to stick to? I know I was debating whether or not to make one and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to. I really hate lying to myself. I think it's a bad way to start off the new year.

But as I was eating dinner and taking pictures of everything, It occurred to me that I have forgotten a lot of events in my life. That I know I did something, but I can't seem to pull up an image of it to retell a funny story, so my resolution was to take more pictures of the events in my life. Be that event be as simple as getting pie with my mom on Saturday or attending a big Lolita Meet.

So To start off my resolution right, I have a few pictures to share with all of you ^_^



This is me and my mom waiting in line for the buffet. She looks so pretty in her teal wrap dress, I felt a little dressed down, even though I was in a very nice brown and cream Lolita look of my own.



A toast! As it was New Year's Eve, we sipped Champagne with desert.

I have other pictures, some elegant and others silly, but they will be posted on my Live Journal rather than here.

I hope everyone had fun and a safe time last night and let's make 2010 a beautiful year!

Another Year....

Everyone is talking about 2009. They are reviewing their outfits, what they bought and what they did with it, flooding their blog with pictures and I'll be honest...if I had pictures of everything I did this year, I'd be flooding as well.

But I am usually to busy having fun to bother with pictures or the thought to remember my camera, I really need a small Digital one to keep in my purse.

This post, I'd like to review 2009 in my own way and I encourage you, my lovely readers, to respond with your own '09 reviews.

This year I started it off with family! It was nice to be around so much love, even though they don't really understand me, they tried and that makes all the difference. From there My Mom and I spent some time in Georgia, with my Grandma, and went to Panama City from there.

I love the beach so much! My Mom and I found the cutest little shop, whose name I can't recall, and I got a pair of bejeweled flip flops, an adorable Bebe style sweater dress imported from Japan that I finally get to wear again, silver shimmer tights, and a pink and white sailor tote/purse that has anchors and sail boats on it!

Really, the tote was bought for my mom and she loves it, but it got a hole in the side and I need to sew it back up.

We collected shells on Shell Island and swam in the ocean until our skin turned pink...or red in my case. We went to the 'Ripley's Believe it or Not' museum and had a lot of fun tacky souvenir shopping, but in the end all we got were towels, which are still cool!

Panama was A Lot of fun, and boy did I want to stay!, but the wind blew and we moved on to Louisiana, where We were again surrounded by family and love....and dogs. Lol It was great relaxing and getting over the terrible sunburn I procured while swimming and collecting shells, remember ladies and gentlemen, Sunscreen is your friend ^_~

I love my family, but Mom talks with my Aunt more than I do, so I feel like a third wheel from time to time, but while I was online during their chatting, I was on Twitter at the perfect moment, or so I thought. I caught the last of 25 tables being offered at Anime Expo!

Oh, I was so excited! I jumped and squealed and rushed to tell my mother who gave me 'The Look'. I explained that it was the biggest con on the west coast, other than Comic Con, and she agreed, so I rushed to get the table and yay me, I got it!

From Louisiana we came home, cleaned, and planned our trip. LA was beautiful! It was wonderful to walk around and fun to see some of the sites as we drove to our hotel.

To be honest, I was VERY disappointed with the con. Half of the panels were canceled or misleading, such as the 'Midnight Tea' that turned out to be nothing more than a still life expose. More than half of the artists sold nothing, sadly that included me and my mother, but the dealers room boomed.

44,000 people and we lost money.....I couldn't believe it.... to be honest, I wanted to cry.

Well, needless to say, nothing good came from the con but the stories and the experience of LA. Four other conventions had to be canceled due to our lack of ability to pay for them, which was sad, but it gave me the time to practice my art, refine my sewing, and pick up DECO for the next season of conventions.

August was my birthday month and wow what a party! Friends came from all over, cakes were had and I had a table filled with heart felt gifts. I was lucky enough to receive not one, but TWO Metamorphose Parasols and a wonderful copy of Alice in Wonderland. I got jewelry for me and my Pullip Doll, Avalon, and a cute little plushie that I named Vixen.

My doll's birthday is the 28th, because that's when I took her out of her box two years ago. She received a small pink sweater from my friend Den, Den truly is a special person.

September flew by and I couldn't even tell you what happened during it, but October, wow, October was a blast!

I worked at a Haunted House called 'Screamers' all month. The people were awesome and for the fist few weeks I worked in the Doll room as a living doll, my cute Lolita cloths came in very handy there ^_~, and for the other half of the month, I worked in 'The Doctor Room'. I played the role of the abused nurse and boy I met there played the role of the doctor.

Oh goodness did we have fun! Running around and screaming every night, popping out from under tables and touching people unexpectedly in the dark....I really suggest working at a Hunted House for a little extra money and a lot of extra fun in October.

November is my mothers birthday and also the same month of Anime Nebraskon. This year, the con was held in Omaha and my mom and i opened our house to our out of town friends that were attending.

I was lucky enough to host not only one of my best friends and her long time boyfriend, but a very special friend of mine who blew me away with the presentation of my second Pullip doll, Ariel Elizabeth.

The convention was a wild three day ride. My mother and I ran an artist table, did close to eight panels, chit chatted with almost everyone, drove back and forth, and still had time to purchase some snacks for a second convention that month, not a week later.

After the second convention, which was a small second year collage get together, my mother and I packed up and went back to Louisiana for Thanksgiving where we were once more surrounded by family and gossip.

We ate and talked and ate and tried to take food home with us, but that failed due to the weather temps. Three specialty pizzas from the most stop in your tracks, beg worthy pizza that can only be found in the state of Louisiana, ruined because of the cold...it was so sad....

But that brings me to December!!!

What a strange month. Living in Nebraska isn't a picnic in the winter. We were snowed in not a week after we returned from Louisiana, a got ourselves dug out and were able to do a small amount of Christmas shopping before we were snowed in again, were we laughed at our situation and did our shopping online.

And that's not mentioning the fact that we have been snowed in, dug out, and snowed in again since then. Talk about a White Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, this year was packed full of Wii stuff. My mother and I got Wii boards, Wii games including Cooking Mama, Circus Star, Science Papa, and Wii Fit Plus. A new Wii controller, a $20 Wii play card, and a Wii Mat.

On top of that, I received a wonderful gift of Kera Max, Betno Cups, Deco supplies, a sturdy case to keep all of my small Deco parts in, coloring books, and stickers!

On the other side of that, I got my mom a new heated back massager, Two amazing rings that will blow her mind when they arrive, and a pair of bloomers from ITS. Lol Laugh if you will, but she wanted them and I had to get them for her.

The day after Christmas I was once again packed up and this time was heading down to Arkansas to meet and visit my best friend's family. It was a week away from the snow and cold, for which a I happy to go.

I rode a four wheeler, sat around a bon fire the burned so hot the top flames were blue, I helped make a porch slingshot out of blue jeans and launched things across the yard... All in all I had a good time while trying not to be offended by the rowdy redneck crew.

I only just got home yesterday night, and immediately went to see Sherlock Holmes, which I suggest everyone go see, it was amazing!

And now am planning my outfit for tonight, New Years Eve. My Mother and I are going to our favorite Casino for a nice dinner and some slots. I may even play a table game or two ^_~

Have fun and be safe tonight and I'll see everyone in the new year!

Happy New Year!

Merry Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Hello Ladies, and also to the wonderful gentlemen that read as well ^_^

It is almost the magic hour! It's Christmas Eve and I wanted everyone to know I was thinking of them and wishing them warm thought and Happy Holidays, no matter what you're celebrating this year. Be it Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Yule!

In my heart!

Kat

Style Focus = Wa Lolita

Recently I have been thinking about doing something wild and different! Something normally undone!

'But you already dress in light blue frills and wear cakes and bows on your fingers. How much more different to you want to be??' You may ask, and you'd be right. I do wear light colors and heels in the snow, even though it's completely impractical, but I've never been one to be happy unless I am shoving at the envelope of fashion, so I've been exploring the normally untouched sub categories of my much loved life style.

One my friend has wanted to dive into is the sub category, Wa Lolita, which is a Japanese Kimono adaptation. I think this is a very beautiful, over looked corner stone of the Lolita community and I'd like to take this week to speak on behalf of a style that can't speak for itself.

When one thinks of Wa Lolita, one thinks of the traditional cupcake style skirt with a Kimono top and that's good for envelope pushing beginners, but for those of us that look at that mild rebellion and think, 'Sure, but what else is there while still following along the guidelines?', I present two other perfectly viable and rule acknowledging choices...

The Traditional Kimono, to the ankles and all, is accepted in this odd sub category. In general, simple silk or matching cotton ruffles are added to the edges and around the bottom of the clothing. Geta of varying heights are worn with the Wa style more than the previously mentioned cupcake style and the as yet unmentioned third option.

Choice three is Much like the dresses one is used to seeing. Jumper Skirts and OPs are made with traditional Kimono print fabric. Bold and whimsical with added lace and bows is exactly how one would describe this sub style look. You can see an example of this style at the beginning of this article.

Accessories for this style include Hair sticks, Draw string purses, Fans, Rice paper parasols, Kanzashi,the possibilities are endless!

I hope you have fun breaking out of the box Lolita's have created for themselves ^_^

Winter Wonderland

Hello my lovelies!

It's been a busy time in my life lately and though I have managed to come out unscathed, I am severely behind on my e-work.

As I woke up this morning, slipped on my slippers, and shuffled into my kitchen for some hot chocolate, I happened to look out the window and realize it was snowing. Not the nice snowing, with big flakes and snow days to follow, but the 'it's to clod to snow, but it's still trying' kind. The kind that only leaves a light dusting of white on the ground and makes one hate to run out to there car to go anywhere.

But that got me thinking about all the fun things that I'd get to do this winter, now that it's officially warm clothing time. For example, It's time to put away my thin broadcloth skirts and pull out my thicker velveteen and wool ones. I get to wear thick tights and hooded cloaks.

Caroling and sledding, roasting marshmallows over an open fire, sipping hot apple cider and baking fresh cookies for holiday parties. I look forward to it all.

But today, let's talk about holiday shopping for those of us with low funds. I know I have found myself in a jam with season. So many people to buy for and very little to buy with.

I recommend buying a hot glue gun from your local craft store. Wal*mart has a cute pink one for three dollars and the glue sticks are about fifty cents a bag. Pretty good deal if you ask me.

Hot glue guns are great for all types of crafts. Handmade gifts are cost effective and easily personalized which helps save money and makes the holidays special for the gift receiver.

Do you knit or crochet? I don't myself, but if you do yarn ranges in price and can be bought in any color you can think of! Scarves, hats, mittens, purses, ponchos, the ideas are endless and always well received.

Your local craft store has small paint containers for low prices and small trinket boxes for a dollar. Toss some glitter in the mix and you've got an amazing gift. I did this for Loliday yesterday and Deco'd the tops with pearls I'd gotten online for a couple of dollars, They turned out great.

Get the supplies for hot coco and a few mason jars. Mix the ingredients, fill the jars, and wrap the tops with scrap fabric or a square from your local fabric store. Add ribbon and a gift tag and ta da! (This can also be done with loose teas, but that gets a bit more expensive.)

I'll be adding two gift ideas every time I update from now on. There are plenty of times in our lives we need to buy or make gifts.

I hope you get some good idea's from my suggestions.

A little to loose....

The time of year has come where sweets start becoming more of our daily eating routine rather than treats. And that my dear is how the upcoming holidays play their tricks on you.

My mother has noticed her clothes getting a bit tighter, so we tracked down a scale at Walmart and for the first time in about 12 years, we are now the proud owner of a little black box of judgement.

I hate checking my weight, to be honest, but since we have it, I decided to give in to the peer pressure and stepped on the small black square. I was horrified to actually see the numbers I had been avoiding for so long.

Now, I hold my weight well, one would never suspect my numbers, but now that I know them something needs to be done.

I'd like to talk about easy ways to both gain and loose the few extra pounds that seem to stick to us like glue.

Let's talk cake! I know we all love it and some of us, namely me, just can't seem to resist that extra slice of sweet fluff! During a season that is practically shoving cake recipes and whipped desserts into your hands and onto your plate, what is a girl to do?

First, we learn to say no! Well....maybe , No thank you, may be more appropriate, but still, there is nothing wrong with resisting that second helping you just 'have to try!'. Next, opt for fruit if you can. A bowl of strawberries can be just as satisfying as a large wedge of Aunt Celia's Double Chocolate Death Cake. For a little extra fun, lightly dust the berries in sugar or the substitute of your choice and a little dollop of sweet cream.

Next let's discuss the weather. If all of us are honest with ourselves, we tend to stay in more in the winter due to the cold. Thus we put on weight just because of our inactivity! I know it seems like Jack Frost has ruined your fun, but cheer up!

Winter is the perfect time to put on your favorite coat, mittens, hat, and ear muffs to go sledding, ice skating, or even caroling! You'd be surprised how much exercise you can get by just walking around your neighborhood and singing. Plus, this is the one time of year that you are aloud to sing loud and proud and not get in trouble. In fact, some people even give you treats!

Ok...so the treats may not help you loose weight, but if you've ever caroled and been offered a box of Hershey's Pot of Gold chocolates, you tend to forgive that extra pound that comes along with it.

Just Add Water!

I know, everyone says it, but it's true. You don't need to down eight glasses a day, but at least two to start with would be good. With all the tea and hot coco we'll ingest shouldn't we have something cool and clear, something that allows our taste buds to reset? You'd be surprised what adding those two glasses a day will do for your body.

There are plenty of other ideas, such as shopping! Who hasn't lost three pounds on black Friday? It's like combining Boxing, Slam dancing, and the 500 meter dash into one activity. Or what about going to play Lazer tag in the brightest colors you can find in your closet?

Remember that eating isn't the only fun thing to do this season!

By the way, just on a small little off note, I've done the Lazer Tag Idea. It was so much fun and I ran around a lot more due to the fact that everyone could see me. I really recommend trying it out.

One is silver and the other gold....

It happens every winter. I look at my multi colored pastel wardrobe and think, 'Can I possibly shove one more skirt in here?'. The sad answer to my query is No. So, with tears in my eyes and a dirge in my heart, I begin the process of saying goodbye to some to say hello to others.

October is here my dears. it's time to go to your closets, decide what you'd like to carry over into the new year and clean out the pieces you know you have no problem giving up.

Why so early, you ask? Why now and not December? The answer is simple.

Our favorite stores and designers have been hard at work over the summer while we were out frolicking around in the warm sun. They are now releasing their darker colored creations so that we, their targeted audience, can 'oooo' and 'ahhhh' and spend more money than we intended.

Our money well spent deserves a proud place in our closets, but if it's to full, that simply won't be possible.

Keeping clothes is ok, but it's ok to let go. There are plenty of communities on-line that you can sell your choices at. I know mine will be going to wonderful homes to be well loved and cared for.

Personally, I like to sell to girls that are just starting out and include a small letter that tells the life of the piece they have just bought. The letter talks about what it meant to me and what I hope it means to them. I encourage them to not be afraid of actually wearing the dress or skirt and remind them that it is only a piece of clothing.

I hope your coming months are filled with Beautiful feelings and beautiful clothes.

Change, They name is not...

I consider myself a well rounded Lolita. I love everything from Baby, The Stars Shine Bright, to Innocent World. I'll admit, my eyes are drawn to the more vibrant and sweet colors of Metamorphose and Angelic Pretty rather than Juliette Justine and Pina Sweet Collection, but In my fight to stay equal opportunity, I happened to come across a dusty link in the back of my favorites folder.

What was it you ask? Non other than the wonderfully exquisite Mary Magdalene!

'How Exciting!' I thought to myself. 'Just the feeling I wanted for Thanksgiving with my family!'

Well, I double clicked it as fast as I could, practically vibrating with pent up joy to lay eyes on the most elegant of classic fashion lines. In the short few moments I had to wonder about the newest classic looks, my mind raced and my heart pounded. But when the page loaded I wasn't just let down, I was dropped six stories.

Not only had Mary Magdalene's site not changed in the past two years, but neither had their clothes! Same colors. Same cut. It was like a smack to the face, not just a blast from the past.

I still feel as if this line is the most elegant of the classic lolita lines, but In the world of fashion either you evolve or you die. I fear Mary Magdalene has gone still in the water. And in this Over The Top market, it is of my opinion that this particular line has lost it's edge, beautiful though that edge still may be.