Monday, December 9, 2013

Little update: fox brooch and other tidbits

(wrote this last week, so the talk about time refers to then)

What have I been up to art and craft-wise?

Drawing collars that I want to try and make. I also made a new pattern for the second collar style on this page. 

The carpet cleaners were coming in to everyone's apartments to do a professional cleaning so we had to get everything off the ground. Bad time to tidy up cos it feels like everything stressful is happening all at the same time. Assignment, job applications, living situations, course ending and uh .. urges to be creative. I did discover that I have a shit load of fabric I need to use, tons of snap fasteners, zips, waist elastic and the whole shebang. I need to use it up sometime ;;


Started to journal again. It kinda makes me feel more serene writing down all the mumbo jumbo in my head. Helps to organise thoughts, and to understand me vs the world a little more. And uh, remember what things I need to buy cos I'm hella forgetful.


Made a fox brooch! It's the pattern from the Mollie Makes magazine.


And I also made some envelopes out of old magazines while taking a break from the computer. They're great for storing handmade patterns in.



And I just realised something, craft makes me feel more cheerful in general.

I'm also looking forward to Christmas. This jolly season! 

As I already stated in my twitter:

"When young, Christmas is such a magical time ~ the movies, the music, the food, the atmosphere =u= Oh, I love Christmas"

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Detachable Collar Tutorial

So, I couldn't wait to do some crafts.

I thought I deserved it because I stayed at campus till late~ haha.

I'm really starting to like the girly style with incorporations of peter pan collars, bows, high waist skirts, and frills for that doll like look. I guess in the mainstream, its the super down-toned version of lolita fashion. It's good to wear for everyday clothes.

When I saw the detachable collar in fashion magazines, I fell in love! They add a little extra to a regular casual outfit, and they are quite easy to make too.

I just wanted to make the basic one for practise tonight. But now I have a better idea of how it works, so next time I shall make the detachable peter pan collar. With dun dun dun, LACE!? Ooh, I can't wait!


I also took some bad quality photos of my process, so I thought I would do a little tutorial.

If you would like to see it, please read under the cut!

Warning: Picture heavy

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Oh, I never blog

.. but I should do it more often.

It's a nice relief when I've written down thoughts or something about my day. I'm sure my future self will appreciate it even though my present self is constantly putting it off.

It's like when I thought it was a great idea to cut up photos for school projects and friendship books when I was young. Now I am horrified and wish that I had kept my scissors away to preserve those memories! Well, it was a different time back then. You didn't have a photo that last forever in digital form. You had the physical copy and if you were lucky enough to have the film too, then bravo. I think ours got thrown away ;;

I suppose in that situation, it was switched around ;;

Sometimes its nice just walking around the city, soaking in the atmosphere and enjoying my own company. Well, I did that in the weekend before I headed into the campus building to continue working on my assignment.

On my tiny adventure through the Auckland CBD, I stumbled across a quaint magazine at Whitcoulls that I had never seen before. It's called Mollie Makes.


Looks like fun. It covers topics about crafting with different materials, people in the craft business, thrifting and all sorts of handmade goodness!

If this was Asia, I would not be so surprised to see something like this. Many magazines for the sewing genre, but sadly I cannot read them. I do sometimes buy them because they have lots of pretty pictures, and in hope that one day I'll be able to understand them too.

Usually I see craft magazines that are aimed towards people in their middle ages so this is refreshing. This one seems to be aimed towards people in their 20s and 30s. It's great! And it includes a free project to make fox brooches >3< This is motivation!

What does the fox say!?

Sorry I couldn't resist, haha.
If you happen to be confused right now, please watch this video.




I would like to get back into crafts after I complete my course.

There's also the Auckland Christmas Cosplay Picnic on the 14th December. I am hoping to dress up as Christmas!Rin from Vocaloid since I have a random Rin wig lying around. We will see if I can conjure that piece of handiwork in that small amount of time ;; It's the character on the far left. Otherwise I'll go lolita.


This design also looks quite nice. Hm, decisions!

[ Credit to Tiaravandijk from Deviantart ]

If you are also interested in attending, feel free to see more information on the event page! My friend Rinelle and a few others have been working very hard to organise this ^^ [ Click here for more details ]

Oh man, I'm thinking too much about the things that I want to do AFTER the work is done. And its getting too exciting. WORK FIRST! WORK FIRST! ASSIGNMENT => GOOD! CRAFT => BAD! (Right now, anyway...)

AND, HAPPY DECEMBER! <3