Halloween Pull-Tab Card

During my time away from social media I've been getting back into making interactive cards.  This card is unfinished, but I really only need to put it on a card base and write PULL or put a pull ribbon on the tab so I thought I'd share it anyway! 

Pull tab extended

The card has two ghosts hidden behind little houses that pop out when you pull on the tab! 

Ghosties hidden!

I did mess up a LOT on this card.  I watch many card-making YouTubers and whenever they mention how long a card like this takes, it seems they usually get it done in around 1 hour.  This is 4+ hours for me and I am STILL not done!  I want a matching background paper (the one I originally bought is orange/white stripe and I don't think it matches) to mount this on, plus the card base of course.

Texture of the black paper

The images are all stamps that I stamped and colored on white cardstock, and the background is yellow construction paper that I tried ink blending on!  I don't have any of the specialty ink-blending brushes, so I used a cosmetic sponge.  It was a bit difficult, but I think the final effect at least is recognizable as a moon in a night sky.

My first time trying ink blending!

Despite the struggles and frustration, I still enjoyed making the card and am pretty happy with how it turned out.  There are mistakes you can see from certain angles, but overall it's still ok!

Thanks for reading and I hope you are doing well!  I hope to be able to make more interactive cards in the future!

Soda Can Upcycle

How many of you purchase things 100% for the packaging?  I definitely fall for packaging a lot, and back in 2016-2017 or so, a Taiwanese soda water brand, Ocean Bomb, collaborated with Pokemon to create limited-edition cans.  I don't drink soda water, but I sure do like Pokemon!

I've been moving the cans around with me from place to place, and finally, one of the cans accumulated enough air inside to misshapen and explode. Given that I cannot get these cans any more, I wanted to save it!

Explosion!

Resin Cat Charm Video

Resin videos or resin tutorial videos have been taking up a lot of my instagram browsing recently, so I decided to try and make a little video of my own!  I couldn't find a proper surface to stabilize my camera so the view changes between cuts, but I hope it is still clear!

Resin Cat Key Charm Video

I've posted it over on my new instagram @resinate.my.heart (am I punny yet?) and hope to make more videos!

Though the video is short, it's because I had to cut out so much of the fiddling around with the colors of resin.

For reference, this is the cat I was making:

Miyoko trying to be a part of our role play group

The charm is a gift for my friend who hosts the role play groups with her boyfriend (our game master) and I hope they like it!

While I used to do YouTube videos on the computer with editing program, the instagram video is edited on my phone, which is why there is a watermark in the full view, but on instagram it is cropped out due to the size limitation.

Miyoko was a fairly simple hesign because she's black and white and the colors don't mix anywhere.  I was thinking of doing one for myself of Natto, but he's gray on gray with a touch of white O_O

Sleepy boy

Why does Natto look so grumpy here?  He's NEVER grumpy!

My handsome baby! He doesn't mind accessories around his neck so that's awesome

I feel like a gray on gray look is above my abilities right now!!!

Thank you for reading and commenting!  Do you have any favorite resin video accounts or resin artists?  I'm always looking for more!  The tags can get a bit crowded on instagram though, so there's a lot of sifting through!

Mishmash

Hello lovelies~ It's been a while since I really had anything interesting to post. I've always been concerned with my blog looking very neat or whatever, but I think I ought to relax a bit. So I'm posting photos from my phone because if I took a photo of something, it must have been important or meaningful.

My first time making a freeform needle-felted critter, I decided on Usakumya-chan!  Unfortunately, using felted red eyes rather than plastic doll eyes makes it look a bit.... creepy....

"Your soul is mine"

Craft Along Goth It Yourself! Rhymes with "That"

There's a delightful blog I follow called "Goth it Yourself" which is exactly as the title sounds: the author takes regular items and turns them into Gothic creations.  This month's Craft Along theme was "Rhymes with 'that'" and I took this opportunity to revamp my black "flats" and join in the fun!

While these shoes are cheap and comfortable, the ribbon often comes undone and the metal ends swing around, hitting my ankles.  I started out by snipping the stitching keeping the suede material on.

Next, I decided I wanted a skull stud to cover where the stitching had been, and so used an awl to puncture the material without cutting it.

After inserting the back of the stud from the inside, it was a simple matter of screwing the skull on.

I added some basic pyramid studs to either side.  They easily pierced the faux leather shoe and I used a thimble to protect my fingers as I pressed the point ends of the studs down.

Everything needed to Goth a pair of flats yourself!

 I am extremely pleased with the new look to these flats!   While I had considered spikes, they didn't seem fitting with flats, so I opted for the pyramid studs instead.

While not exactly a tutorial, I hope you found this post inspirational and can Goth up something yourself!  Also be sure to follow Goth it Yourself blog!

Washi Tape Chopsticks Case (Using Corner Punch)

Recently I've been playing with other video editors some more! So I'm filmed some crafts that I've done and practiced editing them. Though I don't have a good way to set up for easy filming, and my laptop is not quite powerful enough to run the editing program smoothly (it overheats easily and I have to stop) it's been a new skill to learn.

Here is one of the videos I made! Though there is no voiceover or instructions, I think it is very easy to understand. I was originally inspired to make a custom chopsticks case because Doro has one from Daiso Japan that she put a strip of washi tape on. I have this Cardcaptor Sakura tape I bought at a convention and it fit this case perfectly, but I wanted a neat and pretty end, so I came up with this idea to allow the tape to be firm enough to be punched into the scallop finish.

This allows me to bring my Pikachu chopsticks with me when I go out! At many roadside vendors there are only disposable chopsticks, which is wasteful, so having your own is much better for the environment!

I have a small collection of washi tapes by local artists because they are so cute! I bought five sets of Pokemon tape and cannot bear to use them because there are so few repetitions in one roll T^T  This Cardcaptor Sakura one repeats many times so it's OK to use up some of the images for me!

Thank you for watching and reading!
Do you collect fanmade goods? It's so common for fan artists to sell these items, such as tape, postcards, stickers, keychains, etc. at conventions. They're so well-made and affordable as well! It's easy to spend lots at conventions because all the little things add up.  Just tell yourself that you are supporting your local artists and it's all OK (I am convincing myself...)

Easy Gift Idea: DIY Earmuff Decorations

Winter has been very strange this year. It is suddenly warm (30*C!) and then suddenly cold and rainy (like today =_=;) so I'm not sure how practical earmuffs even are for this year... but hopefully future winters will be back to the normal, chilly weather. I made these earmuffs for gift exchanges! Because I was shopping during one of the cold spells, my ears were very frigid and painful, and these fluffy earmuffs seemed like a really good gift! To make them more special (especially for the Lolita meetup gift exchange) I added some customization.

Three varieties

It is so simple, this should not be a tutorial, but more of an inspirations post!  I will show two types of customization.

Materials:
*Quality earmuffs
*Ribbons and charms (Version 1; you can make fancy ribbons using this tutorial)
*Faux fur (Version 2)
*Needle and thread

Easy Changeable Custom Phone Case

When my old phone died back in April/May, I bought a new phone but was unable to find many cases for it. In the end, I decided to buy two clear cases and customize them myself. One I intend to do decoden, and the other I am using as a "changing" case by making custom inserts.

It's a very easy project so this is not so much a tutorial as sharing my process :3
This is an affordable way to be able to change your phone to match your moods (or outfits if you are really into a completely matching aesthetic??)

Recent Sewing and Other Projects

It's been quite some time since I've done a sewing post.  After dropping out of school I actually completely stopped sewing for about a year, taking on only a few commissions and very few personal projects.  Then, at the beginning of this year, I suddenly took a big style change, but did begin sewing and crafting again.  Here are some photos of things I've made so far this year!

First is quite a simple fishnet sweatshirt that I made for Ano:

Then I made some simple hair accessories.  The bat wing clips are available on my Storenvy currently!

 

I also made a kinda silly "monster" set of hair ribbons.  Haven't actually worn them yet.  They were a bit spur-of-the-moment!  When inspiration and motivation happen to strike at the same time, you don't hesitate!

 Then I moved on to more clothing items.  First is a spiderweb pattern tank top with a lace back:

 Then a couple of chokers.  The base is actually detachable bra straps!  They are from old bras, so I thought I'd repurpose them.  The inside is plush and soft and comfortable to wear; perfect for chokers!

Spooky skull moth thing

Crown

 Then I finally completed this old project.  It was originally going to be a kigurumi pajama, but I did not have enough fabric so I made it into a hoodie instead for Ano!

Then I made a spooky dress:

And you've seen this skirt in my last meetup post.

This jacket uses the same print in a different color, red.  I'm not completely happy with it because  it's quite loose-fitting.  I would have preferred a tighter fit to avoid looking baggy or chunky when worn, but the overall look I'm quite satisfied with!

Then I made another necklace on the whim.  I plan to add some decoration to the bears!  It's quite the statement piece, but I wore it out to ART2016 as seen in my post.

Finally, some custom lower lashes!  I've since added more gems in varying sizes to this particular pair.  Custom lashes is quite fun, though it's incredibly finicky to work with something so delicate and small!

That's all for now.  I hope to continue creating things as I figure out just what it is I want to do with myself.  It's quite anxiety-provoking to not have a plan for your future, isn't it?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everybody!
Sorry for the lack of blogging. School has taken over my life, but while I did have some free time I made cards for my friends. Here are some more cards I have made!
Click on the photos to see them full size.


Christmas Cascade Card The Santa and dinosaur are on clear acrylic sheet so they look like they are flying!

Chinese Christmas Center-Step Card

Christmas Pop-up Card (the trees pop out)

Christmas Pop-up Card with failed Spring-up dinosaurs.  They don't actually stand up on their own :(

Happy Holidays! DIY Cards

Happy International Lolita Day! I was not able to celebrate this year, but I thought I would share some mechanical cards I have been making for a variety of holidays. I am no professional by any means, but I will give the names of the styles and you can look online to find tutorials :) For some of them I used tutorials, for some I just looked at the photos and figured it out myself!

It is really neat to gift handmade cards because it's much more personal than store-bought ones. Plus, cards with moving parts or unique folds make everybody happier!

My favorite card so far is this Thanksgiving card! The tail opens and closes :)
This is called a fan card



This is a Christmas side-step card

This is a (failed) cascade card)

This is a pop-up gingerbread house card

This is a New Year tri-fold card

This is a Christmas waterfall card.  The tree becomes more and more decorated as the pages are flipped

This is a Christmas easel card.  It's nice for displaying!

This is a bunny swivel card.  The bunny has cotton on it and it turns as you open the card so it's visible from the front and the inside

Christmas tri-fold or tri-shutter card

Chinese New Year side-step card with a sliding fairy that slides across the cityscape!

A general card.  The idea for the words came to me while I was sleeping, and I made it into a pull-tab card!



I hope these were fun to see!  What did you do for International Lolita Day?  Are you going to be making cards for anybody this season?  Hope you have a good holiday season!