Kawaii Face Masks!

A bit of a late post now, what with my poor Natto baby's health these past weeks, but I am still happy to share these lovely Lolita face masks!

Face masks are quite common in East Asia, so I'd wondered previously why there were no reusable Brand masks from fashion brands!  We do have fun disposable ones, but they tend to be cartoon characters, animal print, etc.  Now you can truly coordinate your entire outfit by having the same fabric!

I first saw some Innocent World masks on Misako's YouTube channel, and went to instagram to see more!

Atelier Pierrot posted some contoured masks with a really sweet strawberry print I love~

Even the ear hooks are ruffled!

Gyaru brand Secret Honey has some cute masks that would work with Lolita outfits as well.  Cherries are always a good motif to have!

My favorite, hands-down, is the adorable mask from my favorite brand BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT which features not only cherries and flowers, but Usakumyachan and Kumakumyachan!!!!

Unfortunately it seems you cannot choose the mask print for BABY's novelty fair... maybe they can make more masks in the future, though!

Restrictions are lifting as I write this, though some places still require face masks.  Social distancing, though voluntary, seems to be enforced at the shops I have been to.

The weather is improving, and I find myself wishing Natto had lived just a bit longer so I could have gotten him a harness and let him  outside again.  I'm certain the ground squirrels and birds in the yard are glad that I didn't let him out though ^_~  He's a hunter!

How are things where you are?  Hope you are all staying safe!

Eternal Rest for Natto Baby

Unfortunately Natto passed away on May 15, 2020

He had been unwell for three days, lethargic and struggling to find a comfortable position to rest/breathe in.

Then on the afternoon of the 15th, he suddenly got up and seemed completely normal for several hours.

He tried to eat a bit and hopped up onto the bed with me (I had been working) to snuggle and get scritches

He bopped me with his head and nose as usual.  His dry nose was wet again and he kept snuggling up and pressing his face against mine.

He flopped for belly rubs. He loves belly rubs.  He's a dog cat, really

He also booped me with his snoot.  Sometimes when I reach out to boop him with my finger he'll stick his nose into my finger first.  He also boops me on the nose with his nose.  I don't remember which of us started doing that first, but it's a thing we do :P

i stopped working and put on some YouTube to play in the background while we snuggled.

Then we got up when Andy came over (I'd asked him to pick up broth for Natto as he had refused food for three days) and fed Natto some broth.  He walked around as usual, looked out side at the world, and watched Andy and I set up the 3-season porch to be a work area for me.

Later, I was streaming Luigi's Mansion 3 on Twitch when he cried out.  Unfortunately he did not make it through the night, we were unable to find a vet to come euthanize him, and he passed away.  It was rather horrible, really.  He'd lost use of his hind legs and later lost control of his lower body entirely and then his body seemed to seize up on him slowly until he died.

The worst part is, this is likely because he was out of his heart medication so his heart, which is weak, was not pumping blood to his body effectively which caused it to shut down from the extremities upward.   And he was out of his heart medication because the vet had not responded to the refill orders I'd placed.  I'd called the refill line when he ran out, though got no response.  So I looked online and filled out a refill form.  The pharmacy replied to let me know they had put the refill order in the day I called, but the doctor had not responded.  Without his heart medication for two weeks, Natto's heart couldn't pump enough blood to keep him alive.

So that's a bit of a rant.  I've been crying for four days now and am exhausted.  Andy took me to drop Natto off at a crematorium.  The gentlemen there were very kind, grandfatherly folk.

I wish he could have survived until my birthday, but I hope he no longer suffers his breathing problems (congestive heart failure causes fluid to build up in the body cavity and compress the lungs because the body increases blood volume to make up for lack of pumping and it causes excess fluid to leak)

Some posts I had in the works will again, be delayed, sorry.  They may not even be timely by the time I post them but ah well.

Thank you for reading, commenting, and sticking with me throughout this time.  Keeping myself distracted is a part of what keeps me going.

Natto Baby PERSISTS!

HE LIVES!  Well, for now. Natto pulled through; the emergency vet at the university was able to drain 200ml of fluid from his chest and prescribe him some medication to keep him going.  Unfortunately, his heart condition has worsened since they last saw him a year ago.  He has very advanced congenital heart failure, as well as blood clots in his heart.  The medications he's on now will help keep fluid out of his chest cavity, help his heart pump more strongly, and help prevent blood clots.

Bald spot from where he was shaved so the fluid could be drained

Getting him to take the medication was a HUGE struggle.  Tried everything I could find online, and have settled for crushing the pills (they are chewables and also supposed to be cut) and mixing with milk and butter and smearing it on his paws. He is very upset by it, but will groom it off.  Honestly, I may buy a syringe so I can shoot it down his throat in one go -_-;

Extremely grateful for all the kind and sweet comments! He's still such a sweet boy and comes for cuddles and boops his nose on my nose and all that good stuff.

I also filmed a hair tutorial but I'm using a different video editing software and cannot figure out how to sync the audio and video O_Q  So that will be coming.... EVENTUALLY!!!

Thank you everybody for sticking around and for commenting!

Took a much-needed bubble bath with my teddy bear to relax -_-;

Hoping the Best for Natto Kitty

Hi I've not done anything I said I would partially because of work and partially because of Animal Crossing.  But now also because my cuddly, sweet cat Natto is very unwell.

While he's in the middle of turbo shaking

This morning, when he had a hard time breathing

Natto being cute

Sweetest boy

X-ray (paid for by lovely waifu zombiefruit) shows he's got fluid in his lungs and perhaps has lymphoma.  I am taking him to the emergency vet at the university this afternoon, and hoping he'll be able to get the fluid drained there.

He focus

 Hoping to come back with good news in the near future.

Thanks to everybody who reads and/or comments.  I'll try to be productive again!!

Lolita Crossing: New Designers

As a fashion-obsessed girl, I tend to add fashion and style to any games I play if at all possible!  From collecting all the outfits in Pokemon to being a "fashion hunter" in Monster Hunter.  Now, I got my very first Animal Crossing game (special thanks to lNightsidel, HentaiSpyder, and UnclePointy!) and you can design your own outfits in there!

I've decided to try and make my Lolita wardrobe in-game so my character can wear my clothes XD  Of course, with such a small frame of pixels to work with, prints will be extremely difficult.

My Friend Usakumia Judy JSK

Because of how small the space to work with is, I couldn't get any shading to work, so I had to change the color of some things to create contrast.  There is also no JSK pattern, only OP, so I just make up the sleeve part ^^;

Most of my Lolita pieces are JSK because I find them easiest to coordinate and most flattering on my body type (hello wide shoulders!)

Prints, of course, are HUGE in Lolita fashion, and nigh impossible to recreate on ultra miniature pixel pattern, so I modified this next JSK and combined the colors of the kumyachan with the heart lace motif into the print...

My Sweet Mates Kumya Strawberry & Lace Millefeuille JSK

I also added ribbons at the top as the bottom is warped more. That's another challenge for designing pixel are in Animal Crossing - it doesn't actually stay in a grid format!  The pattern will be slightly stretched and smoothed when it becomes a dress, so what looks good as pixel art may not even translate well onto the clothing!

So, if prints are so difficult, what about solid-color dresses?

So glad you asked (or that I asked for you, in case you didn't wonder this at all)

While most of my Lolita dresses are prints (and mostly of Usakumyachan or Kumakumyachan or just Kumyachan), I DO own one plain dress which was a gift from a friend (who also received it as a gift from a mutual friend)

Waist Ribbon Scallop JSK

OK I know this picture is more zoomed out, but I wanted to show my Easter room!!  The Easter event started on April 1 and you can find and collect eggs all over the island, including inside trees and fishing them up from the water!  I've already made an egg bed (yes, that basket is my bed) and wallpaper as well as some decorations.  I digress...

Again, I changed the color of the waist ribbons to create more contrast.  The pattern is also warped close to the waist, so when I drew the pattern it looked a bit strange, but I think it looks OK when it is actually on the dress.
The scallop neckline was very difficult, and you can barely see it here anyway ^^;
I did try to zoom in and crop the image to see the neckline, but it just ends up blurry.  I'm sure nobody is going to pay attention while she's running around anyway!

What outfits have you designed?  Or have you seen any fun ones online you'd like to share?

Also, if you have this game, please comment and let's be friends!  Everybody who visits my island gets two tries at a Mystery Digging Game I created, inspired by a similar game on fellow streamer Remedy's island ^u^