NakamaCon, Furries, and Sewing

Hm, I probably should have told about this a while ago, but I am going to NakamaCon! And am in the process of making THREE new outfits v_v; What a time crunch... I am rooming with a fellow lolita by the name of KAY! We are leaving on the 28th :)

NakamaCon is in its first year, but I expect that it will be a good one because the man who is running it has done MANY cons before. Apparently he has done so many that the venue he rents for his cons gives massive discounts, and the pre-reg price for the 5 day con (yes, NakamaCon is five whole days long!) was $30. Seriously.

There is also a steampunk Alice in Wonderland tea party on the 29th which only cost $8 pre-reg! Awesome

We are skipping the first day because apparently the first day or two is focusing on the furry fandom. I like furries (life-size stuffed animals, anyone?) but I am not really interested in their programming at all.... I have no plans to ever build a fursuit, draw furry fanart, or anything of the sort :D

Speaking of furries, there is apparently a lot of unfounded hate for the fandom.
I have no idea why, but I know of quite a few people who hate everything and anything that has to do with furries. Oftentimes, if the subject of furries come up, people will make fun of them, say "yiff" a lot ("yiff" is apparently furry-speak for "sex" or so I am told), and generally denounce all furries as bestiality-loving perverts. Which, of course, is not true. It is also fairly hypocritical when I hear lolitas say these things. Especially considering the fact that we take offense in people assuming that all lolitas are pedo-bait or sex objects because quite obviously, we are not. So why is it ok to hate on another misunderstood subculture?



Lolitas, cosplayers, furries, etc. We are all "weirdos" in the eyes of mainstream society. Why bother breeding more hate for each other? Live and let live, love and be happy!

Just some food for thought ;)

ON SEWING:

I have been thinking that I would like to make some tutorials on sewing. I sew a lot, I went to school for sewing, and I like to sew. Therefore, it seems logical that I should share the knowledge I have! What types of tutorials would you be interested in seeing? I am thinking of starting with something small, like headbows, or a simple skirt.

Before I went to school, I learned everything I could from trial and error, and the internet. There are many, many good tutorials out there to learn from, and I would like to add to the pool! Real artists share their knowledge with as many people as possible in order to advance Art as a whole. There is no such thing as a trade secret :)

Nail Art~Quick Post!

How was your Mother's Day? Did you remember to do something sweet for your mommy?
I offered to give my mom a manicure, but she did not want one =__= She is always complaining that her hands are ugly and I wanted to brighten them up with a manicure!

Well, since she did not want a manicure I gave myself a simple to do one! It is easy do dress up your nails with nail stickers and jewels. It might take some time to get used to having gems on your nails, but if you practice it you will learn how to not break them off!

Nails compliment an outfit nicely; or they can be a statement all by themselves! Here is a photo line of the nails I did



I did a simple pearlized French Manicure freehand, added a few floral stickers (bought on sale for NT$19!!), a single pink crystal, and a line of pink mini pearls. The base nail color is a pearly pink color (very old). Then I did the white in a pearly white color. It takes some practice to do a nice clean white line. Start on one edge and draw to the middle, then start from the other edge and draw to the middle, overlapping your first line. This way I find is easier to get a smooth line all the way across your nail tip!

Also be sure to paint the free edge of your nail! This is the very front "tip" of your nail. Not only will this help your manicure to last longer because the enamel wraps around to the underside of the nail, but it is also good for false nails to help them appear more realistic!

Nail stickers are a quick and simple way to make your nails fancy. Just stick them on over polish, add a coat of clear polish, and you are good to go!

If you would like to get a little more bling bling effect, nail crystals take only a little bit more time to get a lovely sparkle effect. Apply a drop of clear polish where you will be placing the crystal. Pick up the crystal with a dotting tool, toothpick, or tweezers (I wet the tip of a dotting tool to pick it up)and stick it on the drop! Then seal it with a coat or two of clear polish and you are finished!

For the small colored pearls I applied on the fourth finger of my left hand, I arranged those on the edge of my nail while the polish was still wet. Then I put a few drops of clear polish over them to set their position first, and then painted a final top coat. If you try to paint a top coat straight away, the tiny pearls will lose their position because their point of connection is too small to hold themselves in place! Dropping a bit of clear polish on top first forms sort of a coat and base around them, allowing you to paint over them without worry.

I hope that this can help somebody do some nail art! Well, it is 2:35AM here and I need some sleep!

Nail Art - Basic Care Manicure

*Note: I am going to try doing bi-lingual blogging to improve on my Chinese before I actually move. Also, it is fun!*

Previously I have discussed the importance of preserving your hands and nails. Today I decided to snap some photos (which is pretty difficult to do while trying to remove polish!) while I removed an old manicure from the last meetup!
之前我有提過保養手和指甲的重要。今天我擦指甲油時，順便照了幾張相(不容易喔!)


This is how I do my basic "taking care of hands" manicure
接下來是我個人如何修指甲和保養



This is my messed up manicure. Jewels have fallen off, the polish is chipping and peeling, and it just basically looks sloppy
這是我可憐的指甲。鑽石掉了，顏色毀了，真糟糕!

Start by removing the old polish. I used non-acetone nail polish remover, which is much gentler on natural nails. Soak a cotton ball with remover, then hold it to each nail for a few seconds. This allows the remover to start working on the polish and allows the polish to be wiped off easier
第一 步驟，把舊的顏色擦掉。用棉花球把去油水敷在指甲上。敷了幾秒後再把指甲油擦掉。


After removing all your polish, wash your hands and clean under your nails with a nail brush or an old child's toothbrush. The bristles are softer on a child's toothbrush, so this is good if you have sensitive skin! You can also give your cuticles a scrubbing to loosen any dead skin and to stimulate circulation
接下來把手洗一洗，再拿指甲刷把指甲下方刷乾淨。


Next, moisturize with a creamy hand lotion and/or cuticle cream/oil. If you have long nails like I do, I find that it is easier to take the lotion from a pot with my knuckle. This way, no lotion gets stuck under my nails!
再過來要用LOTION。如果指甲比較長，用指關節來擦才不會把LOTION弄到指甲下方!


Then you are done with your basic care! It is good to let your nails breathe every once in a while, so don't keep them covered in nail polish or false nails 24/7 - the health of your nails will suffer
完成!為了保護指甲健康，偶爾要讓指甲透透氣!


I still have a couple specks of gold polish because I got super glue on my hands and the remover couldn't get it off =__=

I love nail art and love to experiment when I have the time! Hopefully after finals I will be able to relax a little bit and take some photos of doing nail art!
這學期念完後，我有空再秀如何化有創意的指甲!

Lolita 100 Meme #51-60

(51) 駅のトイレでコッソリ着替えたことありますか?(Have you ever changed in a train station bathroom?)
Nope! There are very few train stations where I live (actually, there is mostly only bus station!) and I just wear my clothes out of the house :)

(52) 双子ロリ、三つ子ロリしたことありますか? 感想は?(What do you think of 'twinning' and 'triplet' lolitas?)
I think it is cute! Especially if it is done in "opposites"

(53) 体型をキープ（もしくはダイエット）するためにどんなことをしていますか? お勧めは?(How do you keep in shape for lolita? Reccommend us something.)
I don't... I should though! Can anyone recommend to me??
I have a weakness for sweets, though recently I have started exercising more! There are many free workouts on this website and also workout plans. I am doing the 30 Day Makeover workout plan. I am not very good at following the schedule though... ^^;

(54) 独りでロリィタは平気ですか?(Do you keep calm when by yourself in Lolita?)
Yes. Why not?

(55) 月々にかかるお洋服・小物代はどれくらいですか?(How much do you spend per month on clothes/accessories?)
Not sure... I don't keep track! And it is sporadic anyway :) Mostly I make my own clothes!

(56) ロリィタファッションを知ってから、実際にするまでのタイムラグ・抵抗はありましたか?(Was there a time lag between you knowing about Lolita and dressing?)
Yes! It takes time to get a new wardrobe :)

(57) 今まで買った中で一番高い物は?（ロリィタ関係で）(What is your most expensive Lolita item?)
The BABY OPs I have probably (original price is JPY29,000)... unless you mean the most expensive I actually paid, not its worth, then the ribbon lace-up ring cost most (USD115)!

(58) ロリィタって本当にお金かかりますよね。ロリィタ費用をどうやって捻出していますか?(It takes a lot of money to do Lolita. How do you save?)
I save up a lot and don't spend on small things, and then buy one big lolita purchase a year :) I portion out my paychecks so a percentage is for savings (for school and other necessities) and a smaller percentage is in checking for spending (for going out, conventions, meetups, etc.)

(59) ココだけでコッソリ。今までかけた総費用は大体いくら?(Just a little secret here...How much have you spent so far on Lolita, roughly?)
It is hard to know the actual fabric costs of the clothes I have made, but for Brand clothes I have spent around $330 (two lucky packs, one skirt, and one ring). The clothes I made all together are probably around $200?

(60) 近くに出来て欲しいお店はありますか?(Is there a Brand you want near where you live?)
There are no Brands anywhere near here! I would love to have BABY the STARS SHINE BRIGHT store here though... that is my favorite Brand! Though there seems to be a lot of seamstress and designers here in MN... myself included! I hope to be able to become an indie brand!

The Longest Meetup There Ever Was

On Thursday, April 29, The MN Rufflebutts planned the longest meetup in the history of Rufflebutt meetups. It consisted of three parts - Dining Out for Life, Art in Bloom, and a Communist Party.

No, not THAT kind of Communist Party. It was a club event with the FASHION of Communist times, but with none of the politics ;)

Many photos were taken, much fun was had, and I brought my mother along! :D I am sort of a tool like that


Here we are at AZIA, an fairly expensive restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. I do not plan on ever going back there again - the food was not worth the price...


My outfit of the day!
JSK by Blasphemina's Closet

I won't bore you with all the flower arrangements from Art in Bloom (the theme was Hello Tokyo!) but here is my favorite!



Samantha Rei of Blasphemina's Closet had a fashion show and presentation there, but unfortunately the group I was with missed it ^^; We were lost inside the Minneapolis Institute or Arts! Eventually we did happen to run into the other group of lolitas, and all headed out for some bubble tea at the Tea Garden

Then we went to the hardest to locate club ever - Bolt Underground. It was quite literally underground. And to access it, you had to go into a Core Power Yoga door, head down a hidden hallway, and then down a dark flight of stairs to arrive at the smallest club I have ever been to. Well, it was the second club I have ever been to, but it was small! There was a hallway half taken-up by the bar, and a dance floor in front of a very small stage. The music was mostly industrial, and the Rufflebutts wasted no time in getting the frilliest dance circle there ever was on the floor

All in all, it was a fun meetup! I cannot wait for the next one!