Youtube Channel Changes... Sorry!

Now, don't worry too much, as I'm keeping all my past videos, but I AM adding whole new content to my youtube channel: a ton of gaming videos!

If you've read my bio, then you probably know that I love to game as much as I love makeup, or lolita, or BJDs. (And in one case of gaming, I merged BJDs and The Sims!) I could no longer be a silent watcher of others' awesome gaming videos, and I needed to jump head first into the waters. So! I downloaded the free version of Bandicam, which works well for my simple needs, and started uploading, like, a million videos of me playing games.

At first, I didn't have a microphone, but I quickly fixed that, as I love to talk. And now, it's hard to get me to shut up! XD

Also, I'd like to thank GamerPoets for inspiring me to try and do a voiced roleplay or two of Skyrim!

And, if you ever wondered what I actually sound like (as in, when I'm talking normally, not cutely), then these are for you, 'cause so far, I use my real voice in everything but the voiced roleplay of my elf.

 (And my real voice is deep and gravelly, I sound like a smoker even though I've never smoked :P

...I blame asthma!)

This is the series with my fake, cute, voice.

After Silence... Comes FAUXDORI!! (My Traveler's Notebook)

Top view, to let you see inside~

Haha, I know, I know, crappy title. But I haven't blogged on here in a while, pretty much all of my attention was on my art blog (which you should check out, even though it's not very good), and I wanted to include that fact in the title!

But down to business... In case you can't tell by the title, I went a little notebook/journal/whatever crazy, and I made myself a fauxdori. And in case you don't know what a fauxdori is: Ahem, a fauxdori is basically a knockoff of a Midori Traveler's Notebook, which is a piece of leather with elastics strung through it so you can string through different books and such. HOWEVER, while that sounds super simple and sort of ridiculous (especially at the price it's at (cough'bout$50cough)) it's seriously awesome, purely (for me) thanks to the customization ability. You can make it anything involving booklets/books/paper. Such as sketchbooks, watercolor pads, journals, diaries, planners, calendars, folders, etc. Or, you can make it pretty much all of the above! All while wrapped up in leather, 'cause, I mean, who doesn't love leather? (Even if you don't love leather, order or make a fabric fauxdori!)

Now, my fauxdori traveler's notebook is fieldnotes size, mostly because then it would fit easily in my purse/pocket, but it'd be bigger than an actual Midori passport size. Not to mention how much easier it is to get/make inserts for fieldnote sized things... 

This isn't a post telling you how I made it, mostly because I just followed a video on youtube, and you can search 'how to make a fauxdori' on youtube and you'll probably find it. This isn't even a post showing you how I have it set up! (It is a little...) This is just a post telling you all that I made it, and love it.

My traveler's notebook

Fairytale Boutique's Website~ My Experience

Now then, for Christmas, from my gracious uncle, I got $100... Naturally, I immediately started scheming as to how I could get the biggest bang for my buck. I settled on buying two books/mooks that I'd been wanting for a while and, because it was there and said 'buy me!', a signed Misako Aoki 2015 calender. With shipping, it only cost me $2, and it cost my uncle the full $100. So, to put it simply, this was a LOT OF MONEY! And so, I ordered, all gleeful... And within the normal 2-3 business days, I got my 'your order is complete' email. But then almost a week passed, and still nothing.

I realize that I live on the east coast, and that they're on the west coast, but still, I had never had a package take that long when it was shipping from the USA... maybe when shipping from China, but never the USA! And so, I decided to contact them.
Did I mention that I bought it a few days before the new year? 'Cause personally, I think that that's where everything went wrong...

But anyways, I contacted them, and within 24 hours, they got back to me, asking for my order#. So, of course, I gave it to them right away! Then came the waiting... again! It almost reached the 48 hour mark when they emailed me back, giving me a tracking number. And, of course, I immediately tracked my package, and the tracking number said not only that my package was coming today, but also that it hadn't been given to the post office until the day they had asked for my order#. Soooo... Imma assume that Fairytale kinda lost my order/thought that they had shipped it out, but they hadn't? Either way, the new year is most likely to blame... But I was still upset, and thus, even though I am BEYOND HAPPY with the products, I am sorta complaining.

Unboxing below~

New Years Resolutions!

Yes, 'tis the new year...'tis 2015!

And I just realized that I never put up my New Years Resolutions! :9

So let's get down to business, yes??

1. GO TO JAPAN WITH SOMEONE
2. EARN ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE #1 POSSIBLE
3. Decide who to go to Japan with
4. Save at least $1,000 for a shopping spree (Hopefully in Japan!)
5. LEARN THE FREAKIN' JAPANESE LANGUAGE
6. Stop making all my resolutions Japan-oriented
7. DO SOMETHING that is truly productive
8. Get a freakin' passport, just 'cause I really should have one whether #1 is happening or not
9. Make friends (AKA stop being so stupidly shy!)
10. Make progress with my mental problems... like more than I've already done
11. Stop sounding so angry when I type (which seems to be my habit for 2015)

Soooo, basically, I wanna go to Japan and spend a ton of money that isn't my parents', and learn how to function in society properly. 

The Saga of a Girl Who Wants to Go to Japan: vol 1

あ、私の　日本語を　大半　我流でした。いいえ。。。　私の　日本語を　大半　我流です。　私は　日本を　行く　ほしい。。。でも　私は　お金を　ありません。。。えと、　お金を　あります。　でも　私は　十分お金を　ありません。＾＾；

だから、　私は　本当、本当、日本を　行く　ほしい。でも、　私が　できません。

To put it simply, I'm kinda in need of money so that I can take myself, and my good friend, to Japan.

Therefore, PLEASE, BUY SOMETHING! My shop may not have a whole lot in it at the moment, it it has stuff! And I worked hard making everything... -3-

(also, please excuse my probably horrible Japanese... but, hey, I need to practice!)

Something I'm Thankful For... (Belated Thanksgiving Post)

As you all may know, I'm not exactly 'normal'... In my hobbies or my fashion style. But, my family has almost always supported me in my weird endeavors. And if they didn't at first,  they eventually did, simply because they're nice people. 

Even my extended family, whether I'm talking about grandma/grandpas/cousins/aunts/uncles/ or my super close friends (who I consider family), even they accepted it, even though many of them didn't fully understand it. 

A part of me thinks that the only reason they accepted everything so simply is because they, themselves, already have enough weirdness to deal with... but another part thinks that it's also because they really do love and care about me. And so, for that, I'm thankful.

One of my cousins is a complete comic-book geek, not manga, comic-books. And, he actually works as a letterer for some comics (Nothing big... yet). He also has a business of making things out of old comic-books, like a cute bracelet he made for me one Christmas, though he normally makes things like wallets and buttons. But I digress, my point is that he was already in the 'otaku culture', so he knew about cosplay. So, but of course, when I came to him, dressed in lolita, he decided that it was cosplay, and still, to this day, I think, believes that it's a costume/ me pretending to be someone else. But, he accepts it as part of me. Even though he doesn't fully understand it.

In a somewhat related note, my grandparents also don't fully understand it, but, sadly, I think have a better grasp on it than my cousin. I think this because my grandparents were alive in the 50s and stuff, an era in which petticoats and big skirts were a normal thing, though the skirts weren't quite as big as ours. Also, my grandparents are able to see the influence of past eras in lolita fashion, For instance, one time, I came down in lolita while my grandparents were over, and my grandma exclaimed, with stars in her eyes, "She looks like my grandmother!"

And then, there are my otaku friends. Some of which almost fully understand lolita, very few of which are actually into lolita fashion, but are scared to attempt it, and some of which view it as a form of lolicon... UGH. Naturally, I have the most difficulty with the last ones (and aren't really friends with them...).

And my lolita friends/community are for a whole other thing.

And here is a ramble-y video that seems to tell my entire infant lolita life-story

I keep trying to sew... XD (big sewing/shop update)

I have taken a major step in my fashion designer life... I have begun to sell shirts I made, on storenvy... Only thing is... I've yet to sell ANYTHING that I've made, my polymer clay accessories included! So, to put it simply, no one seems to want them.

Naturally, because I'm paranoid, I automatically assume that this means that my stuff is not up to par. SO, now I'm wondering if I should even keep going, but that's not what this is about... This is about my eternal struggle with my mom's old sewing machine/ my lack of technique.

My mom's sewing machine is old, not as old as the only other sewing machine I can use is, but it is old. It's, like, from the 80s or something. (The other one is my grandma's and thus at least around 10 years older, I think...) But the problem isn't that it's old... The problem is that it's simply designed and not made for as much sewing as I do... It's about as simple as you can get, and it had never been used for more than fixing a little rip in some jeans, or something, before I got my hands on it. So, I think I've just about killed the poor thing.

But that's enough of me complaining about my mom's sewing machine.

I have another problem... I'm not capable of going to school for fashion design since all my options, as far a schools go, are too far away and/or expensive. And as a result, I am completely self-taught. Leaving much to be desired in my technique, I'll be the first to admit it, everything I make, is made rather sloppily. But I just keep on trying... 

Why?

Because this is one of the few things I'm good at, one of the few things that inspire me, that make me happy, and that can keep my small attention span's attention. 

I think that's enough about me... XD

Lemme show you the latest items for sale in my store! ('Cause I'm shameless like that!)

< This one was my first attempt at 'normal-ish' clothes... The result was a tank-top that was made of thick fuzzy/furry material... So basically, the result was a shirt that made no sense, but was cute.
 To the bottom left is the second one, this one made more sense... It has light, stretchy materials, and is short-sleeved, making it good for warmer weather (Meanwhile, I don't know what kind of weather you could wear the above one in).
And then came another nonsensical tank-top. Again, it was made using heavy fabrics(though not as heavy this time), denim. And this was my first attempt at some kind of tailoring, with some dart-like thingymabobbers. And then, because it felt empty, I added a giant heart  made of sparkly netting and some random purple ribbon... Yeah... I probably would've been better off with only one of those, instead of both.

Now it's time to show my lovely models wearing them~!

  -cough-you mean your best friend and you-cough-

As always, these are available at my storenvy store: http://kidforocks.storenvy.com/ 

Long Overdue, Negative Review (ilovecirclelenses.com)

I have always been a faithful, loyal person... When I find something that works, I stick to it.

However, I feel that I should address this issue, even though, for all I know, it could be fixed by now.

ilovecirclelenses.com, to put it simply, sort of betrayed my trust. After years of orders, great orders with excellent shipping, they seemed to disappear from the face of the earth. And after ordering with them again, for what ended up being the last time, that's when it happened.

Now, I don't wish to particularly discredit them, I just want to warn others.

Back, waaaay back, around May, I ordered my lenses from them. I thought that all was well... but I was wrong. After many days, past the amount of time that it would've normally taken for the lenses to get to me, nothing had happened. So, naturally, I contacted them. They said nothing. So I contacted them again, and again, the last time telling them that I wanted to avoid opening a paypal dispute, but may have no choice but to. That got their attention. They sent me a tracking number, which I stalked for a day or two... only to have nothing happen. So, I contacted them again. And got nothing. 

Throughout all of this, I gave them the benefit of the doubt, because, like I said earlier, I'm a loyal person who believes that "If it's not broke, don't fix it!"

And thus, the paypal battle began... Which is seriously overly dramatic since ilovecirclelenses did nothing. They didn't answer paypal. They said and did nothing once the dispute opened. And after a while, paypal gave up and just gave me my money back...

Sooo, yeah. Just warnin' ya, ilovecirclelenses.com pretty much doesn't exist anymore last time I checked... the website is there... but it doesn't seem like there is anyone working there anymore. :/

New York is kinda stupid sometimes... :/

I know, it's an abnormally mean title coming from me... or anyone, in my opinion.
BUT the New York City Subway System is rather stupid. (Thank God for friendly homeless people!)

Two of my friends, my mom, and I went to New York this past weekend, yeah? Well, it'd been a while since we had been on the subway in New York (which, by the way, is, like, the least user-friendly subway system out of the three cities I've been to that have subways/metros/whatevers... aka, LA and DC and NYC), and we were sooo lost. I knew which train we wanted to take, and what station we were going to get off on, but we didn't know what kind of ticket to buy... There were three kinds: Single-Ride; Metro-Card; and Quick Metro-Card. We were stupid and bought single rides, completely unaware that each credit card was limited to only two per day... We had four people and two cards, so we managed to get to the Btssb store... but we didn't know that, because of this stupid rule, we were going to end up trapped in the 2 Ave. Station, trying to get back, but unable to. BUT THEN CAME OUR SAVIOR! A nice homeless man, who noticed that we were, obviously, tourists, and were, obviously, stuck, walked up to the ticket machine and started pushing buttons for us after asking us where we were trying to get to. And his help got us back to Times Square, which let us get back to the hotel!!!

 I wanted to hug that nice man! (But didn't due to stranger-danger instincts and the fact that both of us were drenched in sweat...) Sadly, we didn't have any money smaller than a $20 (which we were saving for food and stuff), and we felt bad that we couldn't give him some money for his help, but we had plenty of water bottles! :D  So, of course, we gave him the last cold one, and he smiled, thanking us and exclaiming, "You saw I was sweatin'!"

Sooo, yeah, New York, as a city? The subway system is totally stupid... and NOT USER-FRIENDLY!! D:
But the people, or well, at least those that care about New York's thriving tourism trade, or maybe just care about people, they're nice. And helpful!

BEWARE KILLER BUNNIES!!!! D:

BUNNIES ARE CUTE, RIGHT?! Well, yes, of course, especially now with their fluffy winter coats. They're especially adorable when they have floppy ears, like my lop-ear/lionhead mix. Well, puppies are cute too. Do you know what they do? THIS! ^
Now, my puppy can't take all the blame or else this post's title would have no meaning...the giant scratch? Yeah, that'd be killer bunny claws! Granted, all the other red marks are from my puppy using my wrist as a chew toy, and I've got bruises all over my legs as well, but I can't bend backwards to take pictures of those and my family would just look at me weird if I asked them to document my bruises. OH! and btw! Those socks? BRAND FREAKIN' NEW! first time wearing them! and now, they're ruined, and my mom isn't sure if she can fix them. BEHOLD KILLER BUNNY!

isn't he cute~? (AND DEADLY!) D:

In case you're wondering why i'm sharing this, it's simply because i need to vent...also, to warn you all of the destructiveness of some adorable pets. :P