How To: Straighten Ribbons

Published February 14, 2012 by kurolace

I use a lot of ribbons to make hair accessories and jewelry… and sometimes I buy those “grab bag” deals at my local craft store. Inevitably, some of the ribbons are crumpled up… to the point of being unusable. But ribbons are expensive… so I don’t want to throw those crinkled ribbons away. Fortunately, there is a very easy, and fast, way to straighten ribbons.

Hair straightener & wrinkled up ribbon

All you need is the crinkled ribbon and a hair straightener. I think a large curling iron would also work, because large, loose curls in a ribbon aren’t obvious in most projects.

The process is simple and probably obvious to most people, but here’s a quick step-by-step:

Plug in the straightener and turn dial to lowest setting. Remember most ribbons are made from synthetic materials, which can melt if you use too high of a setting.

Slowly and firmly start to straight iron the ribbon. Start ironing just above the wrinkled part, moving slowly along the length of the ribbon to the end. Repeat this over and over until you notice the ribbon looking much better.

Depending on the type of ribbon you are working with, some creases might still be visible. The red ribbon pictured has a more paper-y feel to it, and still has creases… but it’s now much more workable than when it was all wrinkled up.  Straightening works very well on satin ribbons, although I sadly don’t have any pictures to show you that.

Yes, still creased, but much better than before!

So, there you have it… No reason to buy a fancy “ribbon straightener”… (yes, they do make these).

Anticipating Spring

Published February 14, 2012 by kurolace

Spring is my second favorite season… autumn being my favorite 🙂 . So although today was cloudy and cold, I keep thinking spring should be here soon… Fortunately I live in a warmer climate, so spring does actually come a little bit earlier here than other places…

But flowers are a long way away… So I thought I’d post some pictures that I took last year, just to remind us all what we have to look forward to!

Here you go:

Blue Blossoms

Cute Craft Kit: Fuwa Fuwa Fun

Published February 10, 2012 by kurolace

Boxed kits and a package of refill clay.

About a year ago I discovered some cute clay modelling kits from Japan, called “Fuwa Fuwa.” (In Japanese “fuwa fuwa” means something like “very soft.”) They follow in the tradition of cute miniature foods… which can be used in “deco-ing.” The kits include some clay, molds, glue, and rhinestones & other embellishments. The clay in these kits is something like paper / foam clay, which is extremely lightweight and air dried. While the clay is still moist, it smells a tiny bit, but that goes away once it dries. Some of the kits come with a special “mousse” clay which is very soft and can actually be pipped just like frosting. If you use up all the clay that comes in the kit, you can also buy extra clay (the normal bricks or the mousse clay). It comes in a several different colors, including pastels colors, “chocolate” colors, white, and even some “sparkly” colors.

The kits have different themes like: chocolates, doughnuts, deli, ice cream, etc… The first kit I bought was for making miniature sweets to use as charms / cabs. It included the eyepins, charm loops, and even a ball chain necklace. It even included a bonus antique key plastic charm. Although the instructions are in Japanese, there are illustrations – not to mention that its pretty easy to figure out how to use the kits in general: put clay in mold, remove excess, carefully take out of mold, arrange pieces and glue together, allow to dry, and voila! – you have a cute mini doughnut, cookie, or whatever. The only annoying part was that the molds often leave seams – although you can work these out if you are willing to take the time to do it (in the picture below, you can see that I did NOT take the time to do this with all of the charms in the first batch I made, lol).

After having used up all the clay in my first kit, I thought it might be fun to get another couple of kits to make different things. I mistakenly assumed that all the kits made charm-sized items – which is not true at all. In fact, the last time I looked at etsy (which is where I bought my kits – in the “supplies” section), most of the fuwa fuwa kits make larger items. So please pay close attention when you’re choosing a kit.

I suppose that its fairly obvious that these kits are aimed at a younger audience, but I like them because they are so easy. Sitting and playing with the clay – pressing it into the mold, putting the pieces together – these are great stress relieving activities, in my opinion. Perfect for a day when I want to make something, but I’m feeling a little too tired to be super creative. I played with these a lot while I was studying for my comprehensive exams last spring! Also these kits might be a good starting point for someone who wants to get into making mini-foods – later you can graduate to making them without molds!

Fuwa Fuwa Charms

Review: Gothic & Lolita Bible – American Version

Published February 5, 2012 by kurolace
American / English Version

The 5 English language Gothic & Lolita Bible issues

Back in 2008 & 2009, TokyoPop published 5 English / American Gothic & Lolita Bible issues. The “mook” (magazine + book) was a quarterly publication, and based on the Japanese original. Each issue was full color and featured tons of pictures of Lolita fashions, new releases from Japanese designers, DIY projects, patterns and more. Sadly TokyoPop only published 5 issues before apparently abandoning the project. For a long time I had hoped that it would be picked up again, but then Tokyo Pop closed its North American publishing office. So I doubt that anymore of these Gothic & Lolita magazines will be published, and if they were, it would be done by a different company.

Here’s a run down of what’s in each issue:

Volume 1 (Feb 2008) – The cover of this issue is the same image that was used on the very first issue of the Japanese Gothic & Lolita magazine. The artists name is Mitsukazu Mihara, and has  done a number of cover illustrations in Japan. A few of the features in the issue are:

  • street fashion (Japan)
  • photo features (“Mana (Moi Dix Mois) Moi-Meme-Moitie – Demigod,” “Snow White (AYA)”, “The King, the Prince, and the Frog Princess,”  “The Other Me Inside Myself (Jui of Vidoll and Aki of SID)”, and “Angel Stripped Bare by Her Devil (Novala Takemoto)”),
  • introduction to most of the major Japanese designers including: h.NAOTO, Black Peace Now, A+LIDEL, Putumayo, MA & MAM, Union Jack, Excentrique, Atelier Boz, Atelier~Pierrot, Na+H, Miho Matsuda, elements, Kikirara Shoten, Baby Doll, Stigmata by Sexy Dynamite London, Algonquins, Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Mary Magdalene, Angelic Pretty, Victorian Maiden, Innocent World, metamorphose temps de fille, Visible, Fairy Wish, Shot gun Wedding, and Chocochip Cookie.
  • interview with musician Nana Kitade
  • interview with an American designer (Vivien Hoffpauir of Violet Candy)
  • patterns and instructions to make a wolf hat & gloves, a bunny ear cape, cat ear headgear, Alice head bow, and Alice tote bag.

There are a few other articles, and at the very back of the magazine there is a short manga called “Till Dawn” by Asumiko Nakamura.

Volume 2 (Summer 2008) – “The Flower Issue.” This issue featured the usual sections of new releases from Japanese designers and Japanese street fashion. There’s also:

  • Reader Spotlight (Ashlee Foster)
  • Various flower special articles including the meaning of flowers and how to make ribbon roses
  • Shop review for NEKO (Brazilian company)
  • Photo features: Mana: Melody of the Rose, Hakuei (Penicillin): The price of Roses, A Gift from the Winds: Fairies in the Forest of Flowers, The Other Me Inside Myself (BAN)
  • Interview with designers Megan Maude (of Megan Maude) and Victoria Michel (La Dauphine)
  • Event Photos from New York Anime Festival, Winter Chocolate Festival (Portland), Tea Time in Texas, and Pacific Media Expo 2007
  • Reader photos
  • Patterns: flowered skirt with musical print, puffed-sleeve blouse with balloon collar, and a polka-dot skirt

There are several other articles as well, and another manga at the back: “Perfect World.”

Volume 3 (Autumn 2008) – This third issue includes “Halloween hair, makeup, recipes, books, quizzes, and more.” Once again there are photo features, street photos, new designs from Japanese designers, as well as:

  • “Je Desire” – a collection of products from various websites.
  • Patterns: ruffle blouse, knickerboxers, 3-tier ruffle one-piece, georgette blouse, bat mini hat, double-ruffle lace headdress, and wrapped rose corsage
  • Designer Spotlight: Samantha Rei of Blasphemina’s Closet
  • Interview with Mana
  • Event Snaps: Gothic & Lolita Bible Launch Party (LA), Michael Grecco Photoshoot, Sakuracon Lolita Fashion Show, New York Comic Convention, Greeting Spring in Stockholm, and Grand Calena Getaway
  • Interview with BLOOD
  • Asumiko Nakamura’s manga “Looks Like a Teaspoon Part I”

Volume 4 (Winter 2009)– This issue includes all the regular stuff, plus:

Cover of the Winter 2009 issue (Vol 4)

  • Interview with Arika Takarano of ALI PROJECT
  • Interview with designer Lynleigh Sato of Sweet Rococo (American brand)
  • Hair styling guide
  • Event Snaps: Summer Darkness (Netherlands), G&LB V2 Release, Anime Expo, Kakkoicon, and G&LB V3 Release
  • “Tips & Tricks for Tall and Curvy Girls”
  • Patterns: flower brooch, flower mittens, round headdress, bear-head belt, odekare chocolate-chan knit muffler, angel rose skirt, knit ribbon headband, fur mini cape, fur muff, ribbon corsage, and knit plush skully
  • “Looks like a Teaspoon Part II”

Volume 5 (Spring 2009) – “The Wedding Issue”  This fifth issue features plenty of articles on, you guessed it, weddings. Included:

  • patterns/tutorials for making rose comb, rose brooch, gloves with corsage, angelic princess hat, veil headdress, leg warmers, bunny cell phone case, candy-style purse, candy tote bag, candy polka dot pouch, and feathered fascinators
  • Interview with musician Kaya
  • Event Snaps: Rococo Rendezvous (LA), Dances of Vice (NYC), Wonder Party (Brisbane), and Texas Holiday

The fifth issue doesn’t give any indications of it being the last one and even asks for reader submissions and all that stuff. So obviously the decision to cancel the project must have come after the publication of this last issue.

I seem to recall reading some critism of the English G&LB issues, along the lines of “not being like the Japanese ones.” Since I haven’t actually had the chance to look through a Japanese G&LB, I’m not exactly sure what that critism was about exactly… BUT I’m willing to guess that it might have been that the English version was too “dumbed down.” Of course, one should take into consideration that while the Japanese G&LB magazine has a wide, established reader base, the English version did not – therefore part of the purpose of the magazine was to introduce people to Gothic & Lolita style.

Overall, if you have a chance to get a hold of these English G&LB issues, I would recommend doing so. If only for the patterns, tutorials, and lists of  Western designers.

How To: Put Together a Crafting Kit

Published February 4, 2012 by kurolace

When it comes to craft supplies, there are a few basic, general items which you’ll use over and over – even as your crafting interests evolve and change. In today’s entry, I’ll list a few things that you might consider gathering together if you’re new to the world of crafts, or if you want to make a present for someone just getting started in crafts.

Image

Just some of the items you might like to include...

 

Here’s a list of some of the things you might want to include in your kit:

  • Scissors: One of the quintessential of crafting. You should (and probably already do) have more than one pair. Smaller, school-supply type scissors are usually good enough for paper cutting, getting into packages, trimming stay ends, etc… but having a nice pair of big utility scissors is handy too.
  • Measuring Tools: “Measure twice, cut once” holds true for crafts other than just sewing. Make sure you have at least 1 ruler on hand, but it can be nice to have a few extra so that you have multiple options. If you really can only afford one ruler, make it a metal / aluminum one – or one with a metal edge. That way you can use it as a straight edge when cutting with an Xacto blade. Also consider including a measuring tape, which is useful when you need to measure something that isn’t flat.
  • Glues: You should have at least one, good, multipurpose glue. A multipurpose glue is one that can adhere to a variety of materials / surfaces. Other specialty glues can be useful too, of course. Also, a basic glue stick is perfect for paper projects because wont wrinkle lightweight paper as badly as a liquid-glue will. Hot glue guns can be really useful, both for gluing and decorative purposes (using colored hot glue). One other alternative to glue is clear nail polish, which you can use for a varnish if you can’t justify buying an entire bottle of mod podge or spray varnish.
  • Sewing Kit: Having a few rolls of thread and some needles can come in handy whenever you want to use a few stitches to help secure something, or repair something. Sewing needles can also be useful as a tool to clear out a glue tip or to texture clay. You can buy sewing needles and thread separately, or you can just buy yourself a travel sewing kit.
  • Toothpicks: There are so many uses for these… like needles you can use them to help clear out the tip of a glue, but there are tons of other things you can do with them. I like to keep a box on hand because you never know when having that disposable, tiny tip can be really helpful.
  • Container / Box: Of course you’ll want to have something to store your supplies in. Depending on how much you have, you might need a big box or a little one. Or you might want to separate some of the items in to two groups for storage. You can get as fancy or as basic as you want: go the cheap way by using a large shoebox, or go ahead and get yourself a fancy-shmancy plastic art supply tote. Make-up train cases and Tupperware work well too.
  • Additional / Other Items: Razor blades, acrylic paints (the mini type), a compass, different types of tape, permanent markers and pens, colored pencils, cotton balls, Q-tips, or anything else you find useful on a regular basis.

(Keep in mind that if you’re putting together a crafting kit for a child, there are obviously some things that you might want to leave out.. such as Xacto blades and superglue.)

As you collect crafting supplies, you’ll find products that you like and don’t like, products that you use more than others, etc., so you’ll want to go through your crafting kit from time to time to update it. You’re also likely to develop more than one crafting supply box. For instance, I have a small one for clay & clay tools, one for jewelry tools, one for sketching, etc…

Thanks for reading and I hope this article may have given you some ideas for your own crafting life. 🙂

Review: Gothic & Lolita by Yoshinaga

Published February 3, 2012 by kurolace

Review: Gothic & Lolita (book)

Cover of the book.

Masayuki Yoshinaga – Phaidon Press Inc. – 2007- 200+ pages

ISBN 978 0 7148 4785 6  –  Amazon: $22.83 (at time of review)

I bought this book about 3 years ago, so it’s not exactly a new product. However I figured it didn’t hurt to add a review for it here!

To start out with, this is a photography book, so it’s not like it provides a lot of actual information on gothic lolita fashion or street fashion. That being said, the photographs are great and beautiful to look at.

One important thing to note about this book is that the photographs are not limited to people in Gothic Lolita fashion. There are quite a few photographs of people in other types of alternative fashion – cyber/club wear, western goth, and a few real oddballs. However a majority of the pictures are of girls in some kind of lolita fashion (mostly “gothic” but also a few sweet, classic, wa, etc.). This fit my needs well, as I was primarily looking for a collection of good lolita photographs so that I could practice drawing lolita style dresses.

On each page there is a photograph of either one or two people. The model’s name and age are written vertically on the side of the photo, and there is a small bit of text toward the bottom of each photo which I’d call a “stats box.” This text includes things like: current obsession, clothing brands, and “point of fashion”.  These bits of info vary from person to person and convey a bit about the model’s personality and preferences.

While I wish the book had a little bit more actual “Gothic Lolita” and Lolita subtypes pictured, and less western goth / club goth outfits, overall I really enjoy this book. I get it out from time to time to do a quick sketch or two in order to practice drawing, and also just to look at the pictures. Since this is Gothic Lolita / Goth that we are talking about, each person has a unique and interesting outfit on, so looking at the pictures never gets old.

While $22 might be a bit pricey for some strangelings’ wallets, I think its worth it, and I would certainly purchase this book again!

Jewelry Photography Accessories

Published February 1, 2012 by kurolace

A simple set up using a wooden tray and black background

Browse through Etsy, DeviantArt, or any number of jewelry maker’s blogs, and you’ll see that jewelry photography often makes use of a variety of props in order to enhance the presentation of the jewelry. In the past when I’ve photographed my jewelry, I’ve only had the intent of posting the photographs on deviantArt in order to share my creations. The quality of those photographs were mediocre and often didn’t include any props other than a black flock background. However, recently I’ve taken an interest in listing my jewelry on Etsy.com with the hopes of someday selling a piece or two. In order to do this, I decided that I need to try taking my photography up to the next level. 🙂

Today’s post is a summary of a few of the things which I’ve decided to use in my photography, and perhaps this post will give ideas to others like me.

Basic Jewelry Photography Equipment:

  • Camera  – In the past I used a Nikon Coolpix S203. It’s a true P&S pocket camera and fairly decent. It has a slew of presets and a few creative settings, but it doesn’t exactly have the greatest macro, and it doesn’t have the PSAM controls that I wanted. So I finally gave in and bought a Nikon Coolpix P7100. While it’s still technically a P&S camera, it sure as heck isn’t a pocket camera. Jewelry photography isn’t the only photography that I like to dabble in, so having this “pseudo DSLR” is ideal for me. The P7100 has great image quality – a huge improvement over my other coolpix camera. If you’re into photography and can afford a PSAM camera, I would suggest getting one – it helps when shooting macro. Otherwise you can stick with a P&S pocket cam.
  • Tripods – Yes, multiple tripods. You can probably get by with just one, but I like having both the tall, stand alone type (50″), and the tiny table top type (4″). I also fancy my dad’s gorilla tripod, which can wrap around things like rails to take pictures at fun angles… In case you didn’t know, having a tripod dramatically reduces the shake you experience when you take a picture without a tripod. Less shake = higher quality, sharper images.
  • Backdrop – A bed sheet, some card stock / poster board, or a blank white wall… each will do nicely as a backdrop for photos. I decided to go with the poster board method: I bought 2 sheets of black poster board and 2 sheets of white poster board. One sheet serves as the horizontal surface, and I tape / hang up the second sheet to be the vertical background. This gives the photograph a nice, clean background.

Additional Photography Props:

  • Jewelry Displays / Forms – These are available in sooo many different sizes and models. You can order some fancy ones from stores like

    My recently acquired props.

    Fire Mountain Gems, but you can also find them on the cheap at stores like Michaels. This past Sunday Michaels had one of those coupons for “25% entire purchase,” so I finally was able to buy a few displays. I bought a black flat necklace board, a white necklace form, and a set of 3 black pillars. I already also have a 3-tier bracelet display and 2 earring displays, but I use those more for storage of finished jewelry than as displays.

  • Trays / texture pieces – Trays can be useful in displaying the jewelry. I recently bought a wooden centerpiece dish from target for about $20. I love the way wood looks with a lot of my jewelry. I kinda wish my new wooden tray was a bit darker and a bit smaller, but its pretty nice as is. I also bought a pink ceramic flower dish.
  • Scarves / cloth – One of the quickest ways to add interest to the photograph is by using scarves or pieces of cloth. I like to sometimes spread the scarf out to cover the entire background, but other times I just use it as an accent around the piece of jewelry. Throw blankets and towels can work sometimes too. Today while I was at the craft store I saw variety of really nice looking plush / fur cloth, which I  think I’ll add to my “props wish list” 🙂

One thing about these photography accessories that I’d like to mention is that I prefer finding things to use that I have other uses for as well. For example, the wooden centerpiece. I fully intend to use that as a centerpiece tray when I’m not using it in photography. The same goes for the flower dish (I’ll use it as a ring dish on my dresser), and the scarves. I live in a small, cluttered room already, so I can’t be adding too much more stuff to my collection!

Some of my scarves

A few other props I’ve seen used that I don’t currently have / use are: glass stones (like they put in the bottoms of vases), stones / rocks, nature, and fake flowers. Of course, if you have the space for all that stuff, then you’re lucky. The larger variety of items you have to use, the better chances are that you’ll be able to set up a photograph that matches the feel of that particular piece of jewelry.

I’m hoping that tomorrow I will have some time to go out in the backyard in the morning and make good use of the indirect sunlight. Trying to take photos indoors with flash or with light-bulb light tends to cause a lot of glare with glass beads.

Kurolace is born.

Published January 31, 2012 by kurolace

If you’ve ever named a blog, you know that many of the good names are already taken… Especially if you don’t want to have any numbers or whatever in the name… So after some thought, and many bad ideas, I’ve decided to name this blog “Kurolace.”

I wanted a name that reflected my interested in not only the cute and frilly, but dark and strange… If you can’t already tell, the name is a combination of two simple words: kuro (or kuroi – Japanese for black) and lace … Not terribly creative, but I like it! Some people don’t like Japenglish …. and sometime I agree, but I hope that those few will forgive me. One of my interests is gothic lolita and other things “kawaii,” so a Japenglish word seemed appropriate 😛

As to what I intend to put here… well, I figure that I’ll have to wait and see what inspires me. To start with I’ll add some beading photographs… maybe a how-to or a recipe every now and then. Maybe a few “words of pseudo-wisdom,” or a product review. Whatever strikes my fancy. Perhaps that isn’t a good approach for generating traffic, but right now that isn’t really my concern.

I think now I’ll go make a list of ideas!

So for now, my sweetlings and strangelings, farewell!