Punk Outfit

So yesterday, I mentioned that I ended up making mistakes in construction on an outfit, so I ended up working on a new outfit. Well~ today! I finished it!!

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the results! Granted the pictures of the garments by themselves doesn't look very good. lol.

The skirt~ the original pattern that I made was awful and I had to REALLY work with it. And... it ends up becoming an A-line skirt... which would've been really easy if I had planned to make it A-line to begin with.

The top! I'm really proud of it! It's abstract!! I ended up messing up my original design by forgetting my breasts... so I ended up cutting the fabric, then added in different fabric. I really like how it turned out!

 So~ those are the key aspects of the punk outfit. It would've been more military style if I had leftover military styled buttons... I wanted buttons on the skirt, but I really like the safety pins.

So~ after finishing the product, I ended up throwing on quick makeup. I wanted it a bit gothic. lol.

I love silver lips for some reason~ I felt like adding in the silver to match the safety pins! As for the eyes, regular black artistic pen for the eyeliner. I also had on silver and red eyeshadow... but none of these pictures really show it. lol.

So~ the full completed outfit together~! Yes... I make a crappy model. lol. With the outfit that I ended up making, I decided to add one of my favorite hats to wear! It's been awhile since I wore it, so I was happy that I could wear it again~ As for shoes... I chose my "Zelda shoes". No, it doesn't refer to the video game. lol. It's a loooong story. xD But, mainly, they're shoes that I bought from Adam and Eve. They're awesome and high as all heck. lol. Anyways~ on with the pictures:

And a close up on the shirt~

Overall, I'm happy with the results and what's great is that I can use both these pieces for everyday use!!! That's always a plus~

So, let me know what you think. And yes... I do need to cut off some of the loose strings that I missed (until I saw the pictures taken). lol.

New Wig & Progress

So~ I'm attempting to make a post using my phone... The settings are different,  so I hope that it all works out.

Firstly~ I got a new wig. The quality is nice. The color isn't really what I expected,  but overall, I'm pleased.
It's a brand new wig too~♪ The brand is one I haven't heard of before. It's DIY then a kanji combination.... I can't read the kanji. (T_T) Sorry~ but the model is A18 and color 27/613/33.


I ended up taking a couple of pictures. One,  I used on instagram. Btw,  I'm not sure whether to be impressed or upset with editing that gets done for instagram. Literally,  the original photo turns completely different. I wonder if people prefer the original or the edit... Sadly,  probably the edit,  since it makes me look cuter.... Anyways~ let me know (^.<) And~ if you're on instagram,  feel free to add me (ninomihime)~♬

Instagram Picture.

Original Picture that was used for Instagram Photo

Alright,  now a while ago, I mentioned making two outfits that are my original design. Well, I've been working on them and as expected,  the designs have changed a bit. The ouji style is going rather smoothly imo. The main issue in original design is the shorts. Since I've never made shorts like these before,  making the pattern became interesting. The idea was tbere,  but I designed it so close to bloomers that there was waaay too much fabric,  so it's not laying perfectly,  but I'm ok with that for a first-time thing. I won't go into lengths on this,  because when the outfit is complete, I'll make a better post. As for the vest~ it's fancier than intended. The jacket (surprisingly) is going the most smoothly.


Now... the gothic lolita coord... I messed up big-time,  which is waaaay out of character for me when it comes to dresses. So,  in the midst of forgetting my boobs existed,  I came up waaaay short of fabric. Then,  I fixed up the top into something neat and abstract. I really like it,  but it's soooo off from the concept that I'm making a new outfit. I plan to eventually do the gothic lolita coord,  but I'll need new materials to accomplish that task.


So~ in news... I bring my newest idea~ Military/Punk Gal style. I'm really enjoying the new design. More information will be in the post when I complete the outfit~♬
As for other things.... progress on my Kagamine Rin cosplay is going great~ And.... I'll soon have my tomato kigurumi accomplished. I've had the kigurumi done for weeks,  except for the finishing touches. So~ look forward to that post in the near future.

Crappy cellphone picture of the idea of design....

Learning Japanese Hiragana with Alpacas~

So... I got bored the other day and started doodling, then figured that I would write hiragana. xD So~ I decided to do a small learning hiragana kind of thing. It's not that great, but I like it. So far, I only have the first 5 vowels... I think that I'll eventually go through the entire hiragana alphabet. If I get motivated, I might do katakana after that... then maybe teach some kanji. Idk... I have a BA in Japanese and don't really do anything with it, so I might as well do something with my Japanese knowledge.

Anyways~ here's my (pretty pathetic) teaching of Japanese hiragana!

Chibi

Nothing real special about this post, but I decided that I wanted to try to draw chibis. So... with that said, I attempted making a few small snippets with two chibi characters. They don't have names or anything... the whole concept is friend zoned.

I apologize for the fact that the Japanese isn't neatly written. I usually just speed write... so, it may be a bit hard to read.

Permanent Markers

So, the other day, I got a bit bored, then I found permanent markers... which then followed with me coloring. xD

The result is this:

From right to left:
キミはダレ? (Who are you?)
私は... (I am...)
あなたの人形です (Your doll)

Ideas~♪

So, lately, I've been wanting to make a gothic lolita inspired outfit, as well as an ouji inspired outfit. Today, I finished up sketches of my concept ideas. ^^ Be prepared for some awful drawing skills. lol

Gothic Lolita Coord Idea~♪ 

I love birdcages and the other day, I really thought about how fun it would be to have a birdcage as a hat. ^^ So with the birdcage as my focus... I figured that  I would have a "breaking free" kind of theme. I'm not sure if it's noticeable or not. ^^;;; So, to keep with that idea, I figured that I would have a bird outside of the cage... hence why there's a bird ring. I want to have a red and black theme as well, so I'm thinking that it will be a cardinal.

Breakdown of outfit.

Since birds are related to nature and such, I decided to have a crown of flowers for the base of the cage-hat. So far, I don't have a color theme for the flowers, but I'm thinking probably neutral-ish colors. The blouse is going to be completely red. I actually have an old work shirt that I'm hoping to mess with... the lace will also be red. Yet, I plan to add a black bow center, under the collar. The dress will obviously be going over the blouse. I plan to have a fully, simple black dress with red lace. I will be using large safety pins to construct a faux corset, which I will run some red ribbon through. I'm think that the dress will be anywhere from knee length to a few inches under the knee. Since I love Grimoire, I will probably put on a pair of their printed tights. They have so many choices that I think would go great with this. If not... maybe just a boring plain color for tights. lol. And~ to finish off the look, I'm planning on having a nest attached to a small bag for a purse. Though, if it doesn't come out well, I'll just use an ordinary purse. lol.

I'm planning on wearing flat, black shoes; however, that may change. As for jewelry, I'm going to play it by ear... perhaps something nature-y or vintage-y. If I get creative, I might throw some twigs in the coord somewhere. I'm thinking of a fairly long, wavy chestnut wig... but, that also can change. lol. I pretty much change a lot of my original ideas when I test things out, so we'll see. :)

Idea of how it will look put together.

Ouji Coord Idea~♪ 

Alright, so... when it comes to guy type clothes, I've cross-dressed as Ciel and Boris... so I'm confident that I can pull off guyish clothes; however, I've never really tried designing my own type of guy clothing. lol. So, here's an attempt at a boyish style~

I originally planned to have this coord with the gothic lolita one that I was making, but it really isn't all that similar. lol. I actually pulled my hair out coming out with this design. I had the concept in mind, but didn't really know how to draw it out. So... I wanted a kind of Grimm theme originally, but I think that I kinda tossed that away... unless I can locate a Grimm tale that has these elements. lol. 

So, as per always with my designs, the focus is on the hat. (I just love hats...) This time, the hat's theme is lantern. Yes... as in a real lantern. lol. I ended up going to The Dollar Tree today and found these adorable LED lanterns! I bought two... but when I picked it up, my first thought was, "I MUST MAKE IT A HAT!" xDD (This happens more frequently than it should...) Yet, I must admit that it was designing the hat idea that was the hardest for this project (followed by the coat). 

So, for starters, this theme is mainly black and white, but I'm planning on throwing in either red or blue in the mix (with a little bit of purple). So, for the style, I really, REALLY wanted a cravat. I absolutely love the look of cravats in general and it really makes things look elegant. My cravat will be very fluffy~ because I love fluffy things. xD I'm planning on having a jewel in the center and possibly, some black ribbon. As I play around with the fabric and such, I'll have a better idea on this. I decided not to sketch out a white blouse... mainly because it's not going to really be seen. lol. With that said, the vest. The vest is going to be really simple... just a simple, black vest with a few buttons. Since I have the cravat, I didn't want to take away from that with the vest. So, simple is best~ 

Then, we have the shorts. I decided that I wanted a little flair to the shorts so that it didn't look so plain. So, I decided that white ruffles at the bottom would look nice, and match the cravat nicely. I'm also debating small black bows, but we'll see on that. lol. The coat was an utter pain for me design... I seriously went through eight different coat designs until I came up with one that I liked. So, I finally decided on a black coat with no collar and 3/4 sleeves. I didn't like full sleeves for this design, but I think that 3/4 sleeves pulls it together well. At the end of the sleeves, I plan to have a small area of color with some sort of bling on it. xD It will all depend on my resources at the time, but I'm not planing on having anything too crazy there. Just something, small and classy, then of course, more white ruffles! I'm really going all out on ruffles here, but I just think that the ruffles look good. The coat won't button or anything of the sort, but I do plan on using two large safety pins (or something else) to attach two pieces of chains in the front. Idk... I just like that kind of concept. I feel that it pulls things together... or maybe, I just have  a chain fetish. lol. I'm not sure whether to wear socks or tights... I'll figure that out when I have the outfit created. As for shoes, I've got some in mind... they're mainly black. I'm not really sure if I'll want accessories or not with this... of course, the hat is a must, but I'll just play around with things. Though a pimpin' cane would make me feel like a badass....  

Lastly, the hat. As I mentioned earlier, the hat is the main focus, but that's because I love hats. The lantern is key here. Think of it as the top of a top hat, and that's what it is. (It's battery operated too xD) I don't want to take apart the lantern at all, so I'm keeping the handle, which is why I drew a butterfly on the design... and quite honestly, I didn't think that it was a good idea at first, but I needed something there. After drawing the butterfly, I thought "I really like this." So, the butterfly is purple, but will have accents of either red or blue. The reason that the butterfly is purple is because I have a purple butterfly.... ^^;;; As for the rest of the hat, I'm thinking of a little bit of moss and a few flowers to finish off the effect. I'm not sure what color flowers yet though. 

Idea of how it will look put together.

So, those are my current ideas. I really like them. ^^ So, I plan to put them together soon (so long as I get the fabrics and such).

Painting

So... this post, I decided to upload a painting that I made!

I was in a REALLY lousy mood earlier in the week and started to sketch on a canvas. With all the snow in the area, I finally decided that I would break down and finish it.

The colors aren't anything that I wanted them to be originally, but stupid me decided that it would be a good idea to paint in a pitch black room. ^^;;;

So, the meaning behind this painting... well, the best way to describe it is being held back. It's not obvious in the photo, but the two women are one in the same. The woman on the bottom of the painting is everything awful in the person. It's the side of the woman that she doesn't want to be; however, she's unable to break free of that part of her. As you can see, she's fairly normal, but a bit off. (At least imo) She refuses to disappear, even though she's surrounded by darkness. The Japanese hiragana lettering above her (on the right of the painting) says （「ここにいるよ」）"I'm here!" In-between her and the chains on the left, is Japanese katakana （ズット）　lettering which reads "Forever".

The woman on the top is trying to break away from her other self. She can't stand being held back in life by her; however, she's forever chained to her. She can't break free from her no matter what, which causes her pain. I originally had 怖い Scary written to the right of her, but I got rid of that... mainly, the acrylics weren't cooperating and I painted over it. Though, I think that it's better without it. The green represents a peaceful area that she's trying to reach. Yet, she can't make it. By trying to break free, she's causing herself harm... hence why I have blood throughout this entire piece.

The area in the middle is just something that I felt the piece needed. That actually was the first part of the painting that I drew out. I wanted a clear separation in this piece... and that's what that is. Interpret it however you want. As for the Japanese in that area (その言葉が自分を消してくから）... It roughly translates to "Those words were erasing myself". The kara at the end indicates that there's another part to the sentence, but I left that open.

So~ that's my painting. In all honesty, it represented how I felt a few days ago.

IchibanCon 2o14

I figured that I would start my blog off of just 2014 in general... so, that means IchibanCon!

I've been attending IchibanCon since the first year. It was my very first con, so it kind of feels like home. ^^

For starters, I was extremely excited about Thursday. I didn't care about anything but the Arashi panel. Being a huge Arashi fan myself, I couldn't wait to walk in there with the Popcorn themed lolita coord that I made. I messed up my first skirt, so I let Patti use that one and I made her a Popcorn hat.

I remember that I drafted the idea of my design on a receipt paper at work. lol. With that, my friend Celena freaked out about how adorable it was.

When the Santa season ended, I had a total of 2 weeks to get everything accomplished before the con. It was rough!

Luckily for my Popcorn outfit, I had all the items needed (since I've been planning on making this coord for awhile now). I designed the patterns on my own and luckily succeeded in making a successful outfit. I was pretty pleased with the completion of the outfit.

Patti on Left, Me on Right.

When Patti and I walked into the panel, the person running the panel was SO EXCITED. The panel itself was fabulous... everything that I wanted it to be~ just a bunch of fangirls well, fangirling. xDD

Other than that panel, Thursday was pretty uneventful.

Friday, I decided to wear my wa-lolita outfit. It was a bitch to make. I followed somewhat of a pattern.... and that means that I started with a pattern then threw it aside later and did things my own way. I had SO MANY issues with making this one. I originally wasn't going to make a wa-loli outfit, but I got the BEST deal on fabric. I wasn't too excited with the completed outcome... even though A LOT of people told me that it looked cute.

I had no intention of participating in the fashion show, since I thought that I looked awful... but a bunch of people pressured me into it. *gave into peer pressure*

I think the main thing that I disliked was the fact that the bottom of my fabric was frayed... badly. If my sewing machine wasn't a bitch... I could've fixed that easy, but... meh.... ran out of time and patience. It took me about a week to finish this outfit, so I was fed up.

(Photography By: Double Stomp Productions)

(Photography By: Saturn 7 Photography)

(Photography By: Double Stomp Productions)

During the fashion show... you can see how awful the fraying is. >.<

I also met a fantastic friend in the midst of this all. After I went back to the hotel for a bit, I returned in comfy clothes to watch the Chii Sakurabi concert. SHE WAS FANTASTIC! So freaking adorable and fun!! I ended up buying her cds~ and got to take a picture with her!

Me and Chii~ She's so sweet! It was fun practicing my Japanese with her too!

Saturday... talk about a bitch.

I finally was able to wear my home made Kneesocks cosplay. I was proud of the work that I did on it. It wasn't perfect, but I was happy. A lot of the people at the con enjoyed it too. ^^. What I was MOST EXCITED about though... was going to get my picture taken by Jayce! I LOVE JAYCE to death! He's the ONLY PHOTOGRAPHER that I know who can get really good shots of me. (Otherwise I look so derp it's not even funny >.>)

I met Jayce back at Animazement 2012. He ended up taking a few FANTASTIC shots of me there.

(Photography By: AnimazeGuy-Photosnxs)

Derp lol. (Photography By: AnimazeGuy-Photosnxs)

(Photography By: AnimazeGuy-Photosnxs)

See! He captured me so well!!! Anyways, after that, I ended up talking to him a bunch online and he said he wanted to work with me again. We never were able to be at the same places at the same time... so I kind of convinced him to come to IchibanCon. I was SO HAPPY he came! To be honest, I didn't care about anything going on at the con that day... I only cared about finding Jayce. lol.

So, for starters, Emi (my Scanty) and I started body painting around 2:30 am. We finished the majority around 5:30ish. We then went to bed. When we woke up... the flooding from hell came. lol. It was intense rain and everything. We freaked out. lol. We went back to intensely painting outselves and finishing our makeup. I still kick myself for not making my eyebrows white. *stupid move*. But... overall, I was impressed by the outcome. When I first looked in the mirror, I was like "Is that really me?" On top of that, I was proud with my first completely leather outfit I completed. I made the pattern myself. It was a pain! But, it came out great!

On top of that, I styled the wig and ended up attaching a shit-ton of kanekalon white hair for the ponytail. MAN WAS THAT A BITCH! But, the effect was there.

Due to time restraints on completing the outfit, I was unable to finish it how I would've originally, so I used a LOT of velcro. The velcro method works great, but not so well on the choker... for when my hair got stuck in the velcro, it stopped staying up. lol.

So, we ended up venturing out in the storm from hell... I was horrified by the heavy winds! It really messed up my wig. T__T But luckily, the wig was salvagable before getting inside the con.

Once inside, I had fun walking around like a badass. xDDD For some reason, I really enjoy evil characters. Anyways, I ended up having a photoshoot with my friend Bruce. We promised to take pictures with him along with Jennifer (Panty) and Kelsey (Stocking). It was fun.

(Photography By: Saturn 7 Photography)

(Photography By: Saturn 7 Photography)

But of course... I was overly excited to see... Jayce! Who took FABULOUS shots!!! <3 He also took a couple of us with Katie (Panty)!!

(Photography By: AnimazeGuy-Photosnxs)

(Photography By: AnimazeGuy-Photosnxs)

(Photography By: AnimazeGuy-Photosnxs)

I also managed to see my friend Damien while wandering around!

(Photography By: Saturn 7 Photography)

I wasn't really able to catch up much with him, but it was nice to touch base with him. :) I did go out of my way to see his performance. After that, it was a mad dash back to the hotel to get out of it all! I couldn't handle the high maintenance for much longer... my time at the con on Saturday = 2 hours. LOL.

It took 6 hours of BRUTAL scrubbing and multitudes of product to get the paint off... but man~ was it worth it! Afterwards, I threw on a kigurmi and went to see Chii Sakurabi's concert. It was so much fun! But... I was exhausted and ended up spending hours just being comfy and playing online. lol.



Sunday~ There was one thing that I wanted to do on Sunday... and that was the Street Fashion panel that Amara and Sydney were doing. I LOVE Amara and Sydney, so I had to show up! I decided to wear my popcorn coord again~ just this time... I actually wore a wig and looked cuter. lol.
Anyways, I wandered around a lot... then ended up being spotted by my new friend that I met Friday. We all then wandered in the street fashion panel. Afterwards, I really had nothing in mind to do and none of the panels seemed to appeal to me. *usually interested in fashion*

So~ I spent several hours just talking to people. It was really relaxing. I can't even recall everything that was spoken about, but it was a good time.

After that, I spent some time with my love~ a $5 Box from Taco Bell. It was delicious~ But then, I was pretty much done in, so I headed on home.

Overall, the con was a blast. I didn't really do much at it though. lol. But it was great meeting new people and just having a break from insane stress.