May
16

site renewal

I've just renewed the whole site. Do you like the new design?

In addition to changing the appearance, I removed the useless bugs as much as I can. So the whole site was totally cleaned.

The template I used before was from Thingamablog. The new one is my own, though the elements are from a book written by Sachi. The book is a collection of web materials but those are copyright free. I selected some of romantic ones, edited and collaged them to fit the theme. Maybe you already noticed that the theme is "Alice in Wonderland".

Do you see a girl is running after a rabbit in the picture above? The sun, the moon and the stars express day and night. The girl fell from the sky and running after the rabbit day and night. Forever like a merry-go-round.

As Sachi's materials are very beautiful and romantic, I love them very much. I'm thinking of creating more colourful theme with them. The following pictures are the books.

By the way, I collaged the picture for a textile first. How about using the picture to make flocky print items? My favorite Jane Marple once produced a flocky Alice series and that is now a legend among their fans.

Just imagine a JSK or a one-piece dress with the flocky printed picture at the bottom of the skirt, or a dress which is made of printed back-satin. At least I want them!

Categories: others

May
13

Coordinates for spring2

The JSK is named "Rose Princess Doll" and it's from Angelic Pretty again. There are three colours of them, white, pink and blue.

As AP usually makes some variations using the same material, there exist a one-piece type dress and a skirt. I have a one-piece type, too.

The white based orange flower print in the picture is graceful, while the decorative design is very gorgeous. I think it's one of the typical AP dresses.

See the lace and printed cloth layered frills at the bottom and a big ribbon on the front. Ribbons are also on the back. Moreover, some of them are covered with lace, which makes the dress look all the more luxurious. It seems that this kind of detail is effective to impress the quality.

Do you see the round shaped head dress at the top of the torso? The hd is made of the same material of the dress itself.

And the blouse with a big bow is made of cloth called cut boil, which is sheer and lacy with small dots are embroidered all over the surface. Not only the cloth but also the design is very beautiful and elaborate. Layered chemical lace is around the stand collar neck and the satin ribbons are lace-uped on the side of sleeves.

Though the designs are very decorative in this way, the colour combination of white and orange is light and refreshing. It's suitable for spring, isn't it? I love the colour, and of course, the designs very much. This is one of my favorite AP coordinates.

The white boots are an easy choice for this set but it's also good to match the strap shoes named "classic ribbon shoes". This type was reproduced many times in the past because it's easy to coordinate with many dresses. The colour variations are white, black, red, pink, wine and blue. Though I cannot imagine what kind of socks are the best match for this set yet, I think small flower printed ones would be appropriate.

The strap shoes are from AP but the boots are from a lolita brand called Baby SSB, which is also popular among lolita girls.

Many lolita brands tend to make simpler dresses recently, but I love the decorative and elaborate ones like this. I hope they make more of them as before.

Categories: fashion

May
5

the golden week

We're in the middle of the golden week. You may know that three national holidays are in a row in the first week of May and there is another national holiday at the end of April in Japan. So, if the timing is good, you can get a week off from work. It's called the golden week.

May the 5th is traditionally called Tango no sekku and it's originally a festival for boys. But it's called kodomo no hi means "Children's day" recently. Yet, the traditional custom is still alive. We raise some carp streamers outside to celebrate the day because a carp is regarded as a symbol of courage since it swims upstream against the current. Those carp streamers are koi nobori means "rising carps or carp flags".

We also display special dolls called Mushaningyou which are modeled after the warriors of the Middle Ages. Both of them are for wishing boys to grow up strong. So the day is turned now for wishing all the children (both boys and girls) to grow up healthy and strong.

See the handcraft frame in the picture above. There are some koi nobori shaped items and a boy with kabuto is sitting on a wood shelf. Kabuto is an old-fashioned helmet which was used in the Middle Ages. Shoubu or Japanese irises are also in the frame because the flower is a symbol of Tango no sekku. The word shoubu is also means "win or lose", which is a symbolic word for brave warriors. I think it's a pun.

As you know that the Japanese summer is hot and unbearably humid, this is the best season for us before the rainy season called tsuyu in June and the unpleasant summer.

Categories: events , handcrafts