A Simple Delight

It’s amazing how such a simple work can be a delicate, fanciful work of art. This beautiful wrap shirt made my night. I found it on Etsy (of course) and boy, do I wish I had the money for it.

I Must Learn To Sew Better…

so that I can make things like this!

Both items can be found on Etsy, by the way.

A Prototype – Black Swallowtail

This is something I created over a recent gloomy day. I couldn’t sew (people were still asleep. Night shift folks.) so it was back to kanzashi for a bit.

I’ve been itching to use the peacock feathers I’d bought for over a month now, but couldn’t come up with a design that I truly liked. Then this one came to my head. I really, really like it and don’t know if I’d be willing to sell it. It’d be so classy in a bun or updo, but I don’t have the hair for it. Heh, unless I get a wig. ^_^

I may change the shape of the wings, making the top two wings the same as the bottom two. But hey, this is just a prototype so I’ll have much to work on. Can’t wait!

Going Gothic – a walkthrough

Remember my first butterfly? (Check a few posts back.) Well now, Mr. Butterfly has a lot of company.

Gothic Lolita Kanzashi 1

I first added him to a nice little bell flower. BTW, the entire piece is made of black and purple silk. This flower is HUGE! I made it from 3″ squares and measures just under 3″ across.

Next, a few more flowers were added to the kanzashi. They’re only about 1 1/2″ across. Since I made the original butterfly’s body out of Swarovski crystals, I decided to use crystals as the center pieces of the smaller flowers too. You can see in the next picture that Mr. Butterfly has a little friend. ^_^

Since I had just one of the japanese silver colored prongs left, I figured what the heck and used that for the base.

From this point there were a few tiny little 1″ butterflies that had to be constructed. What a learning experience that was! With such small butterflies I had to use smaller crystals as their bodies. I’m talking teeny, tiny 4mm crystals. They didn’t want to glue together and then I realized that the opening wasn’t big enough for both antanae to fit in. It took some creative experiemnting to get those together.

After several days, it’s finally done. It’s my most intricate kanzashi to date with four flowers and four butterflies. I’m ecstatic about how it turned out. I learned a lot on the way and even picked up some new techniques. I ended up with a lot of glue on my hands, but I was so worth it. I hope this one goes home with a very happy lolita girl. Maybe I’ll see it at a con one day. Now that would be neat.

Of course you can check this out at my Etsy Shop if you’d like to buy it. wink,wink.

Little Butterflies

So this is the fruit of my labor over the past few days. Not that it took me that long to make them. I spent about an hour on them, not including drying time. I wonderful project to do in the afternoon when my littlest one was napping.

This is the start of my next wedding item push. I’ve always wanted to make accessories for weddings because I wanted something “unusual” for my own wedding back in ’05. If I’d known about kanzashi way back then, I assure you, I would have been sporting them.

I think these would look so cute in a little flower girl’s hair. ^_^

My Very First Butterfly! WIP

I made this little guy about a day ago out of some black and purple silk. All of the other fabrics that I’d been working with lately have been really sunny and bright so I wanted to switch paces for one piece.

I like the gothic lolita color schemes and the creativity of the whole movement so black and purple spoke to me. I even managed to scrounge up a few deep purple swarovski crystals to make the body.

Now that I’ve this fella under my belt, it’s time to start making some more! I think my bridal section is going to get a little fatter over the next few weeks.

I have more silk!!

I constantly find it amazing how  this:

 

Can turn into something like this:

I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but anyone’s crafts or skills just sometimes amaze me. The amount of creativity that goes into taking sometimes some very unrelated objects and bringing them together into beauty and functionality is mind boggling.

I just love my crafters!

Featured Seller – Big Ass Bindis

Man, that is one of the best shop names ever!

This weeks featured seller goes by the shop name Big Ass Bindis. She is a seller of jeweled bindis. What’s a bindi, you ask? I’m glad you did. A bindi is a form of body decoration, usually associated with the Hindu faith. It is traditionally a symbol of the god Shiva’s wife, Pavarti, and is a symbol of hidden wisdom. Bindis are usually worn between the eyebrows.

Modern women have taken this tradition and made it a true fashion statement. I even owned a sticker like set when I was in college. They make a great addition to a daring outfit, adding a drop of color and bringing attention to the eyes.

I particularly like the bindis made by Big Ass Bindis. They are traditional yet fashionable at the same time, lovely creations of gold, silver, and jewel tones. They can be easily attached with eyelash adhesive or spirit gum. Can’t you just imagine wearing them on a night out at the clubs? And they’re all so, so affordable!

She even makes cute little mirrored boxes for you to keep your new treasures in. You can also check out her CafePress store for those who love their, *cough*, big asses. 😉 (Oh, relax. It’s just clothing.)

Featured Seller – Sky Creation

This week’s featured seller produces items for a clientele that I’ve just been reluctantly joyously become part of. I was very skeptical of the lolita fashions that have become popular with the anime crowd (which I am part of) but little by little I learned more of it and finally fell in love with the fashion. Most importantly “waloli” which combines lolita inspired dresses with Japanese kimonos and this seamstress is most accomplished with this style.

So with out further ado, I present Sky Creation!

Under this label she creates absolutely beautiful dress of various styles: waloli, sweet babydoll dresses, and even custom kimonos and yukatas. The waloli-like dresses are my absolute favorites. They have the traditional long kimono sleeves but have had a contrasting ruffle added to them.

I love the fact that the obi ties in front in a bow. All of these accents give it a very romantic and feminine feel. Not that a kimono isn’t fiminine!! I just like ruffles! ^_^

Now I do like lady-like things, but girly things usually turn me off. Miss Sky has seriously changed my mind with her adorable babydoll and jumper dresses. Gosh! What else can I say? They are seriously the cutest I’ve ever seen. You must buy one right now!

Finally not only does she have dresses but she makes hoodies, scarves, pajamas, hoodie scarves, and even bikinis!

You can check out either her personal website or her shop on Etsy to see more of this fantastic designer’s creations. You’ll be glad you stopped by.

A Belated Feature – Sumomosuki

I know I’m a day late with the feature. I spent yesterday catching up on my inventory.

This week I’m featuring a shop and especially a shirt that I have absolutely fallen in love with: Sumomo Suki on Etsy. Check this out.

I’ve always admired people who could design and produce their own clothing and boy can this woman do it. Her tops are so original that you’ll just have to go through her gallery to appreciate it. She’s also a maker of kanzashi and using recycled material at that! I just discovered her and I think she needs some more love so go visit her. ^_^