Tartan for the Holidays

I'm not sure why I thought a tartan dress would be appropriate for the holidays, but it just seems right. I've been craving another sewing project (is that a normal thing to crave?) and went fabric shopping on Black Friday. Hooray for good deals! I wanted to make something inspired by one of the newer Alice and the Pirates prints, but also appropriate for the whole winter season. Here is the result:

More pictures and details to follow... 

Mini "Piña Colada" Cheesecakes

My husband was craving cheesecake last weekend, so I decided to do something about that. But, this is me. I couldn't make a normal cheesecake. It had to be mini cheesecakes.

Playing Catch-Up

Now that things have settled down a bit and school has gotten started, I've started thinking about things like fashion again. The local Lolita community has weekly meets at a nearby tea (boba) shop, so I've started going to those and getting to know people. Since the wedding, I've really only dressed up a few times, so here's kind of a backlog of the last month.

This is the outfit I wore for most of the wedding reception! I am seriously in love with this dress and would wear it every day if I could. Thank you, Mom! <3

Read on for more!

Cupcakes for the Guys

I recently started playing D&D again with my husband and his friends, which is a lot of fun. Of course, hanging out with a bunch of guys once a week gives me a great opportunity to do some baking! And with these guys, I can start getting creative. I'll probably start experimenting on them, soon...

This week and last week I made cupcakes for them, since my husband had been bragging about my baking to them all summer. I hope they were sufficiently impressed! Read on for more pictures and the second flavor...

Commissions!

This quarter (and possibly further into the future) I have a lot more free time than I've had in the past, and decided that I would like to start taking commissions in order to generate a little extra income. Basic items like headbows, bloomers, and cravats will have a basic price, and all other items will be priced on an individual basis. All price examples are in US dollars.

• Double headbows $18
• Head-eating headbows $22
• Bloomers $30
• Waist cinchers $85
• Traditional Victorian cravats $15 (cotton) or $25 (dupioni silk)
• Bolero jackets $60

Everything else will follow this formula: materials + $12/hr
I will estimate the hours based on past experience and how complicated the project is. I will be taking a limited number of these kinds of projects at any one time, to avoid backlogs. At the moment this number is 5. I'm open to making the following items:

• Skirts
• Jumperskirts
• OPs (dresses)
• Victorian vests (for men)
• Blouses

Shipping will normally be USPS flat-rate priority mail (usually around $10.50), but I'll send by weight if you request it specifically. International shipping is available as well, upon request.

While I'm open to taking plus-sized commissions, I do not have a larger sized dress form to work with, only a small/medium adjustable. I will of course do my utmost to be as accurate as possible, but larger sizing will be based on calculations only at this time.

Under the cut are some photos of example pieces. All of these pieces were made by me either for myself or for personal friends--none of the items pictured are actually for sale, just examples!

Adventures in Wig Land

This week, I decided that my favorite wig was in dire need of some tender loving care. So started my adventure in wig styling! I'd never done anything with synthetic hair before other than wash it, so the majority of this was done with internet tutorials and advice from a professional wig-styling friend. Read on after the jump for more pictures and details of my adventures in Wig Land!

Finally, a Lolita post!

This summer has been so insane with all the wedding preparations, I haven't really had the time or energy to really get dressed up. But now that things are finally winding down, I decided that I had to justify having packed all my dresses home by dressing up for my art class.

Makeup details and outfit rundown after the break... 

Peach Crisp!

Earlier this week, my dad bought a flat of perfect peaches from Costco. I promised I would find something to do with them, and today, I tried to surprise him and my mom with a peach crisp! Sadly, they came home before it was in the oven, but even without the surprise, it was amazingly tasty.

Read more for the recipe!

Wedding Prototype One: Yellow Cupcakes

For my upcoming wedding in August, I'm making three kinds of cupcakes: chocolate, lemon, and yellow. I've been on the hunt for the perfect recipe for each type, and so far I've found my chocolate recipe, and I recently experimented to find a good yellow cake recipe.

Yellow cake adventures after the jump...

Review: Bodyline Boots & Cardigan

I've been needing a pair of black Lolita boots for some time now, and with the wedding coming up, I needed them soon! Having been very happy with Bodyline's shoes before, I decided to go for a pair of boots--definitely the cheapest pair I could find, and quite cute. Since the $20 shipping campaign is over, I decided to throw in cardigan as well to make myself feel better about the shipping price.

Terrible packaging, as usual.

More pictures and details following... 

Let's Do the Time Warp -- Catch-up Post

So in the time (read: month) I hadn't been posting, I didn't do very much. I did go to one or two events worth dressing up for, so under the break are a photo or two from each event, and a quick write-up about what I was doing.

Still Alive

This was a triumph, I'm making a--oh, right, cupcakes. And stuff.

I've been a very bad blogger, and let finals take over my life. I did nothing but eat, sleep, and study the last three weeks of school, and then I spent the week after that moving all my worldly possessions from one apartment to another. I didn't get to dress up, or bake, or do anything fun. Well, that's not entirely true, but then the few things I did do I didn't have time to post about. So expect a few catch-up photo dumps.

Anyway, I've safely relocated back to my parent's house for the summer, to work on wedding plans and catch up on some general classes so I can graduate in the fall. I'm sure you've all been devastated by my absence, so here's a picture of a crepe to cheer you up. I should be blogging regularly again soon.

The Never-Ending Song

I was looking forward to wearing some red this week, but then the weather turned nasty again, so I was back to wearing black and white! Why are my color choices limited by the weather, you ask? Because all my warm layers are black! Makeup/hair picture and outfit rundown after the jump.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I finally made cupcakes again! I feel like it's been such a long time. (I guess it has been a while.) I decided to experiment with a "doctored box" cake. I used a Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme as the base, and turned it into Strawberry Lemonade cupcakes with strawberry Jell-O. My opinion and more pictures under the cut...

Star Wars, Bats, and Embroidered Pies

It's been a busy couple of weeks! Last week I didn't do my usual "weekly Lolita" because it was Star Wars Day--more about that past the jump--but I did dress up twice, once on Sunday for Bat's Day in the Fun Park, and then for this week's Lolita Wednesday.

The Cat and the Fiddle

The weather is starting to get warmer, so now it's time to start bringing out the pastels! I've been really happy this week because I finally finished fixing my giant beast of a desktop--I had to replace the hard drive, which sucked. Thankfully I didn't lose too much data from the one that failed...but now everything is working again! So exciting~

More pictures (including Isis!) below...

Photoshoot: Framed! The Musical

A few weeks ago, I did a Lolita photoshoot with a photographer friend of mine. We did three different outfits and several photo sets, including some with my fiancée! He was such a good sport about it, and ended up looking really great. (Of course, I'm a bit biased, but I'm sure you'll agree.)

+ 10 more!

Queen of Cards

I've been trying to get more creative with outfits recently, so today I tried layering tops and wearing a beret again!

Skirt

Cutsew

Bolero

Socks

Shoes

Wristcuffs

Bag

Necklace & Ring

Alice and the Labyrinth

Two outfits today! This weekend, I had a photoshoot with a friend, including engagement photos and some other Lolita ones. And then I was sick earlier this week, so I was glad I was feeling up to dressing up this morning. Since the weather is still a little chilly down here, I wore black again.

Read more for outfit rundowns!

Gingham Daisies

It looks like Wednesdays are going to be my Lolita days this quarter. So far things are going well--this week has been a mess, though, trying to get all my classes figured out. Oh, and so far the new shoes are breaking in well. Only a little chafing on the straps, and I think that will go away when they're more broken in! Bonus pictures under "read more."

Onepiece

Bag

Shoes

Hair combs

Necklace & ring

Review: Bodyline Shoes

Having bought shoes from Bodyline before with great results, I thought it was time for another try. 

It's Spring Break!

I just finished my last final, and as always, it feels great! I thought that since I hadn't worn Lolita to campus at all this quarter, I had to do it at least once, so I dressed up today. I only had one final and a short shift a work, but tonight is the Japanese club's end-of-the-quarter party.

Jumperskirt

Cutsew

Socks

Shoes

Bows

Wristcuffs

Necklace

Still Alive

Ahhh, it's been over a month since I last posted something! The last few weeks have been very busy with the end of the quarter, so I haven't been dressing up or baking much of anything. I did order new fabric and lace, so I'll have a new project to work on soon, but other than that, things have been pretty boring--study, homework, study, work... and so on. BUT! Next week is spring break, and I hope to do some baking when I'm home, so look for an update within the next two weeks or so.

Valentine Meetup

Sunday was the local Lolita community Valentine party at Paris in a Cup bakery and tea shop. It also happened to be my birthday!

Cake Pops!

This last weekend, I made cake pops for a Lolita meetup. Since we were still celebrating Valentine's Day at the meet, I decorated them with pink chocolate and red, white, and pink ribbons. Isis is intrigued by the ribbons...

Valentine's Day: Red Velvet Marble Cupcakes

I wanted to make something for Valentine's day that wasn't chocolate, and wasn't strawberry. I've never been a huge red velvet fan, but the idea of marbling red velvet with a plan buttermilk cake (the base for red velvet) was intriguing, and looked festive, so I tried it!

Andes Mint Chip Cookies

Hello there, white whole wheat cookies with Andes Mint chips. You sure look tasty. (And you are--I had one for quality control.)

KitchenAid Time!

For my birthday this year, my mother said I could get a KitchenAid. Amazing? Yes! I chose an Empire Red 5-quart Artisan tilt-head mixer (mostly because it was on sale and I like red).

More pictures...

Applesauce Muffins

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for muffins.

The beginning of the quarter is always so busy, I never have time for much. I did manage to make some cupcakes (lemon with blackberry whipped cream) for a big Lolita picnic a week ago, but I was in such a hurry making them that I didn't have a chance to take pictures, and they were devoured so quickly I didn't get one at the meetup, either.

My poor roommate is having an even worse time right now than me--on top of classes, she's in so many musical groups she doesn't have a spare moment on weekends. Normally, she makes these tasty, quick muffins herself, but today I decided to make them for her. Continue for the recipe...

Photoshoot: Into the Woods