Hi! Here are some macaroon charm necklaces I made using paper clay. Next time I think I’d use resin clay to try to give a little more weight to them (they are extreme light weight), and maybe try to make the macaroons a bit flatter…. I haven’t put these in my etsy shop yet, but I think I will… just cause I don’t know what I’d do with 6 necklaces like this, lol. What do you think?
Handmade paper clay macaroons with little gem decorations…
Hi All… here’s one of those shameless plugs for my Etsy store, which I just added a few things to.
Mostly I added crystal memory wire wrap bracelets, but I also added one kawaii / pastel goth / gothic lolita necklace / bracelet set. Its made with purple stars and pink glass pearls.
The crystal and pearl bracelets are $5 + s&h, and the kawaii star bracelet/necklace set is $8 + s&h.
New additions to my store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Kurolace
Hi! I have another set of good Etsy finds for you. This time the search term was one of my favorite accessory/decorations: Black Heart / Hearts. I love simple black hearts, and also sometimes not so simple (like filigree). It think they are the perfect mix of cute, elegant, and sophisticated.
So here we go….
Silver Trumpet Jewelry
To start off the list is a nice charm bracelet with large black hearts from Silver Trumpet Jewelry. There are a few other nice charm bracelets in that store as well. $32 isn’t exactly cheap, but keep in mind that making charm bracelets takes time and lots of materials. I would prefer if this bracelet had either bright silver metal parts, black, or bright gold. These days I just am not a big fan of the aged-bronze/brass look. (Although at one point that’s all I liked)
CBDahlia
The next item is a bit of a twist on “Black Heart”… Typically I’m not into these anatomically correct hearts, but I thought it was clever in this case, and the fact that these are carved is impressive. So if you like that sort of “sarcastic” type of thing, these black heart necklaces are for you! The shop is CBDahlia and each necklace costs $38.
fikashop
Of course, we can always make our own custom items, embellished with these cute black heart studs! They’re on clearance too! Just $4.52, from fikashop. I’ve never used studs before, but I’m under the impression that they are relatively easy to use.
The Washi Shop
If you aren’t familiar with Washi tape, its similar to masking tape because of its paper feel. I love it. Mostly I use it for mailing / packaging items in a pretty way. So you know I just love this black heart, lacey washi tape! Its from The Washi Shop and costs $2.50.
ecofriendly notebook from thisisit
For anyone who likes to horde collect notebooks like I do, check out this “ecofriendly” notebook from thisisit. Its 8.5″x5.5″ and costs $18. You can choose between lined and unlined pages too, which is nice. I love cute school supplies and stationary – even though I’m no longer in school, hehe. Seeing this notebook actually made me think about trying to do something similar by using fabric… hmm I’ll have to try it out and maybe make a tutorial! 😛
nurdanceyiz
Oh, I came across this great throw pillow during my search. Its a little bit pricey, but really cute. I wish my room was a little bit more “in-theme” and that my bed was big enough to have another throw pillow on it! I think I might prefer it with lace instead of that leaf stuff… but still, this is very cute. $42 from nurdanceyiz.
GlitznGlass
Lastly I found this mug with pained on hearts. The hearts kinda look like they have eyes! I’m sort of a sucker for mugs.. lol, I think it might have something to do with my tea obsession… The mug is hand painted and costs $18 from GlitznGlass.
Well, thats it! Hope you enjoyed looking at the pretties and maybe you have gained some inspirations! See you next time! 🙂
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:
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:
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:
Volume 4 (Winter 2009)– This issue includes all the regular stuff, plus:
Cover of the Winter 2009 issue (Vol 4)
Volume 5 (Spring 2009) – “The Wedding Issue” This fifth issue features plenty of articles on, you guessed it, weddings. Included:
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.
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!
Kurolace 