It’s up a little later than I had planned, but it’s finally ready.
My Sailor Moon gashapon unboxing!
For those who don’t know, a gashapon or Gachapon is a capsule toy from Japan. Like the tiny toys you see selling for 25 or 50 cents in those little machines at grocery stores.
Kind of like that, only much better. They are usually better quality and with a wider variety to choose from. For more information about them, check this video from Only in Japan.
Since opening them was so special to me, I chose to make it a separate video. And now you can finally see for yourself. Be prepared for a couple of surprises.
All the cute and/or unusual stuff I bought at the vendors hall. Mostly grab bags, I can’t resist them. One part surprise, one part bargain and full of fun.
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Here’s another project I’ve been working on for Christmas, a few accessories. Pins to be exact. I love making pins and brooches and I guess it shows (see my lace applique brooch tutorial among many others).
These are made from some scraps of felt with gems and flat back pearls. Super quick and easy to make and they make great gifts.
So to keep the giving going, I made this quick video tutorial. Yay! Now everyone can enjoy these pretty accessories.
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It may have took forever, but I finally finished a project on my craft list. Just a little something I whipped up for my dolls.
Doll sized head bands!
I made several little bitty head bands for my ball jointed dolls (check the doll blog to see their reaction). It’s been something I’ve been dying to try but couldn’t for one silly reason. I couldn’t find doll-sized blank head bands to cover.
Then I realized I could use something else as the base, jewelry wire. It’s easy to find and works great, as you will see.
This first head band is made of faux pearls strung on to the wire. I have a similar head band which is how I got the idea.
The next one is made of lace wrapped around the wire. I added a little bitty lace rosette to decorate. It probably would look cute with a tiny flower or button in the center of the rosette, but for now this will do.
For my smaller ball jointed doll, Sakura, I made these sweet ribbon head bands.
I just wrapped the wire with ribbon and added a simple bow.
For this doll, Usagi, it’s the same thing but with a slightly less simple bow.
And this headband is wrapped with both lace and ribbon. The lace is over the pink ribbon, so you can see a hint of pink color through the lace. Looks cute enough to try on a human sized head band.
Since these head bands were so cute and easy to make, I made a video tutorial.
This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info. Thanks!
It’s Sunday, and time for week 8, the final week, of this year’s edition of…
…The Five a Week Pledge.
If you haven’t been around here, it’s where you pledge to do five things each week of your choice (see here for more info). I pledged to make five small crafts each week.
This week’s craft:
Doll Sandals
I made five pairs of doll sized sandals with lace and craft foam.
The main ones are similar to some sandals I made last year (see 5 a Week: Sandals for Dolls), just with a few improvements.
I used craft foam for the soles which is a lot more flexible than the packaging foam I used last year, plus looks much nicer. And I made an extra strap piece in front that helps keep the sandal on the doll’s foot.
That being said, I still whipped up a couple of pairs like this. Super easy to make and put on, but also super easy to fall off.
I made them for my ball jointed dolls, but I think this style would be better for a larger doll foot. Something like an American Girl doll, it might stay on them better or at the very least be harder to lose sight of.
Anyway, both pairs of sandal look great on my dolls (see the doll blog for their reaction). Here’s Usagi relaxing with her new shoes.
I also made this smaller pair for my newer, smaller doll. They are a little simpler and I used elastic instead of ribbon to keep them on. Works great for tiny feet, so much so that I think I’ll use elastic for doll shoes from now on.
Sadly I still made one of these sandals for this smaller doll. What are the odds that I will go a week without losing these shoes?
Anyway, they both look so incredibly adorable on her. I mean look at those tiny little feet. Tiny dolls are so cute, right?
It seems like I made a ton of shoes. Plus there are many more to come since I also made another video tutorial. Yay! Now everyone can make sandals for their dolls.
With the completion of 5 a Week Pledge, here’s the results:
5 pieces of doll sized jewelry
5 doll sized drawstring tanks tops plus a tutorial
5 doll sized mini-skirts
5 doll bags/pursers plus a tutorial
5 cute doll sized pairs of shorts
5 lace/ribbon necklaces, not for dolls!
5 doll sized sun dresses
5 pairs doll sized sandal with a tutorial
That’s 40 crafted items plus 3 tutorials, so 43 total. Not too bad for one hectic summer.
Now let’s see if I can beat that next summer. Yep, I’m doing this again next year too. Not to say that I don’t have something planned this coming month. Look forward to it.
I know I mentioned that I was going to Phoenix Comicon this year (see Sailor Moon? No, Just a Uniform), but I never did say anything about how it went.
It’s hard to put such things in words, so I actually made a short video of it. Here is just a small taste of what it was like.
Now that you finished that, I thought I should give a few more details, at least about what I brought home.
You saw the grab bag I got at J-list in the video…
…and the random stuff that came out of it. Now what will I do with it all?
The train shaped food tray will probably be fun for lunch and stuff.
I’ve gotten a lot of use out of the travel mug. I fill it up with green tea for early mornings. Nothing like tea in a cute mug to brighten the day.
I haven’t yet used the leek pen, but it will come in handy.
I’m afraid the DVD titles aren’t very appealing to me. I may give them away or take them to Bookman’s.
I’m sure this clock thing will be useful as soon as I figure out how to use it. I think it’s really cute, but I kind of have the urge to whip out my glue gun and add bows or something to it.
The bento t-shirt is adorable, one can never have too many t-shirts. And if I don’t wear it as is, I could turn it into something cute.
Here’s a better look at the tag.
And this is the strangest thing right? I was surprised it was a Sanrio character. That’s right, the company that brought us Hello Kitty also created Kirimi-Chan. A character with a giant salmon filet for a head.
And this is a giant inflatable pork chop for you to wear on your head, because one of Kirimi-Chan's friends is a pork chop. I’m not sure what to do with it, but I kind of want to keep it just because it’s hilarious.
Now the cute stationery set. I wish I had thought to ask the vendor for a business card or something. All the stuff they had were so cute including this set. I’m still at that stage where it’s so cute that I can’t use this stuff for fear of ruining it.
When that’s over, I will probably use the cute bear pencil like crazy for drawing and designing. The pen would be great for jotting down notes, especially in the notebook. It’s perfect for shopping lists and such. The eraser is perfect because one can never have enough, and I can use the pouch to sort out these and all my other pencils and stuff.
Overall, it was super fun and hopefully next year will be fun too.
It’s Sunday, and time for week 4 of this year’s edition of…
…The Five a Week Pledge.
If you haven’t been around here, it’s where you pledge to do five things each week of your choice (see here for more info). I pledged to make five small crafts each week. Feel free to grab a button and join me. If you already have, post a comment or a link to share what you accomplished.
This week’s craft:
Cute Bags for Dolls!
I made five adorable doll sized purses using felt, snaps and embellishments.
They are perfect for my dolls (see the doll blog for their reaction.) And they were super fun to make and super easy.
It’s Sunday, and time for week 2 of this year’s edition of…
…The Five a Week Pledge.
If you haven’t been around here, it’s where you pledge to do five things each week of your choice (see here for more info). I pledged to make five small crafts each week. Feel free to grab a button and join me. If you already have, post a comment or a link to share what you accomplished.
This week’s craft:
Doll Tanks Tops
I made cute little drawstring tank tops for my doll (you can see her reaction here). I say drawstring, but will always think of them as pillowcase tops. The first time I learned how to make tops like this was from a tutorial for a top using a pillow case I saw in a magazine. Since then I have made several (see Dolly Dressing and Give Me a Doll With Hair).
The first I actually made two of, one for both of my ball jointed dolls. Simple with cute thin pink ribbon.
The second one I used lace instead of ribbon. It also has lace running along the neckline. Cute and a little dressier.
The third top has the ribbon tying in front instead of at the side. I think it’s a nice touch, or least it’s different.
And the last one is a little rough. I left the edges unhemmed and uses some fabric strips instead of ribbon for the ties. By the way all these tops where cut from t-shirt scraps from previous projects. Great way to use up the leftovers.
Now as an extra bonus, I decided to make a video tutorial for these cute doll tanks tops. Now everyone can dress their dolls easily for summer.
The next project on my craft list is something I made for Mother’s day as well as for myself.
Shoe clips!
I have a set my mom gave me that I love. I’ve been dying to make more to work with more outfits, and I thought they would make great gifts too. Which is why my mom found a pair in a cute gift bag on Mother’s day.
And the gift giving continues. These were so easy and fun to make that I decided to make a video tutorial. Shoe clips for all!
I couldn’t find clips for shoes in stores and the prices online seemed a bit much, so I used backings for clip-on earrings. Easy to find and to afford (these are a good choice).
It’s also helpful to have basic sewing supplies if you prefer more sewing and less gluing, but that’s optional. Also I do recommend using Aleene’s Jewel-It or a similar glue to attach the actual clips instead of the glue gun. But that’s just me.
I’m still working on the last two projects on my list and both of the projects actually involve making one or two little ribbon bows.
A simple thing indeed, but I realized something. Not everyone actually knows how to make these simple adorable little embellishments. So I thought, why not tell them how? So I made this quick little video tutorial showing how to make a ribbon bow.
Finally, the next project on my list is done. It's a video, and another one. I meant to make one video but ended up making two. Not exactly a bad thing right?
It shows simply how to make these lace rosettes, something I find myself constantly making and using for several different projects.
And the next video is just for fun, a kitten playing.
I found a kitten years ago while staying with a friend. We took care of it until we could find it a home. I took photos and video of it playing and napping, and I finally did something with that footage.
