Sparkle Stitches~ wrist stops

I've previously done a tutorial on wrist stops but here is a different one. I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things and don't have internet so this is a mobile post 

First is materials. You need lace and elastic. I got an elastic with lace edging to add frills to the finished project. Cut the elastic to your wrist measure!

Place the lace and elastic right sides together, lining up the raw edge or the lace with the plain edge of the elastic.   Stretch the elastic as you stitch.  Stitch along the dotted line.

Next, flip up the elastic so you are looking at the right sides. Stitch along the dotted line, remember to stretch the elastic as you stitch!

Now to make your gathered lace band into a circle, place WRONG SIDES TOGETHER and stitch the opening shut as shown.

Trim the seam allowance as needed if it's too wide. Two millimeters should be fine.

Then turn the cuff inside out and stitch the short side again.   This will encase the raw edges inside, creating a French seam.

Turn right side out and you will see you perfect closure.

 Add any decoration you'd like to the front.

Repeat and you're done!!

Afternoon Tea with Friends

Not specifically a Lolita meet up, but we all ended up wearing Lolita anyway!

Gomaji is a great way to find cheaper group options, much like Groupon. Doro purchased several coupons for a fancy afternoon tea place and we all met up to be fancy and eat fancy!

There was no theme this time so my point of fashion was bunny tea time!

The food was surprisingly filling

After a relaxing afternoon of chatting and eating and gossip (erm, and group order for socks because every meet up ends up having one or more impulse group order...) We took group photos

It was a great way for me to recharge!  I feel more motivation to sew some new clothes as well. I've been cleaning the house bit by bit and ANO will help me make a work room. I also want to borrow his camera for starting to make tutorials again!

Any requests for tutorials you would like to see?  Check my Sparklewolfie Stitches page for past tutorials if you haven't already!

Everyday Kawaii~ TsumTsum Time!

Previously I've blogged about how convenience stores in Taiwan all offer point systems (we have the highest density of convenience stores!) and each round they collaborate with different companies for gifts to exchange.  Normally I shop at 7-11, but this round FamilyMart has collaborated with LINE TsumTsum!

Taiwan really has an awesome cute-collection culture ^_~



This crazy popular mobile game by LINE Naver Japan makes every character so adorable!  They regularly put out little videos on facebook as well.  I'm super excited and want to collect so many!  Even characters I normally find ugly, such as Disney Cheshire Cat, become kawaii in TsumTsum.

Every NT$69 earns one point and you can exchange 3 points + NT$89 or 60 points for one "egg."  The shell is a coin bank and inside is either a clip, a magnet character, or paper tape.  They are coordinated so the shell matches the contents!  You can see all the combinations on the webpage here!  Even if you are not going to be in Taiwan during the event, the webpage is adorable and has interactive tsums you can toss around using your cursor.

The event has only just begun, and I found out through some other Lolitas, since we all share super cute things with each other.  Lolita life \m/(-_-)

Gaming Lolita?

Show of hands: how many of you love to play video games or played pixelated games as a child? *raise and wave both hands*

Recently my boyfriend Ano is creating a game story and we are designing characters together.  For a large department store (新光三越/Shinkong Mitsukoshi in 信義/Xinyi district) project, he got two of the characters made in voxel (3D pixels) in fiberglass and today we went to take photos!

Though one of the characters is based on me in a Lolita dress, he actually changed my hair and eyes color so it doesn't look like me at all...

Anyway, today I wore a dress similar to the one in the pixel drawing, which will be revealed at a later date ;)

First up is Roast Pig, a fat guinea pig that I helped to design:

 Turns out my boyfriend doesn't know much about guinea pigs, but finds them adorable!  I miss my own guinea pig terribly much.  He passed years ago.

Next is GM, the protagonist of the story.  Can you guess who he is based on?

 Here's a hint:

Haha GM is Ano himself, in exaggerated form!  Today he cosplayed himself!  I shortened his jean jacket for him this morning and dyed his hair last week.

I have a fondness for pixel art, though I'm not good at it.  On my mobile I downloaded the dotpict application, which is a pixel art program.  It's quite simple, but the palettes are limited!

What is your favorite non-Lolita past time?

Belated Tomb Sweeping

Sunday I went with my mom to see my grandmother and great aunt. I've actually never met my grandmother in life, and only seen my great aunt a few times. We went up a mountain to the tower where many ancestors are staying now. 

 since my mom had spinal surgery during Tomb Sweeping Festival we didn't go then, and made up for it this past weekend.

You can purchase a vase and flowers to hang on the door. We found them overpriced but are going to see if we can bring our own. 

this is a different type of case which is clear and you can put souvenirs from life inside. We saw many miniature bottles of alcohol and old cell phones. Also some model cars and even an electronic cigarette!

There were Christian options too, with a cross instead of Buddha. 

Afterwards we went for fresh seafood.

 I tried my first sea urchin!  Didn't taste like much to be honest.

What traditions or burial/grave rituals do you observe and practice?  With the convenience of cremation and these towers, we don't need to maintain gravesites any more, just visiting. However I feel I'd rather have a greener future and be buried without a box with dirt and seeds to return to nature. Save on cremation energy and costs as well!