Amber Renee

DIY

The Magic of Creating and Sending Packages

10/07/2010

What makes you happier than a kitten at a sushi carnival? Is it a super special gift in the mail especially for you? Handcrafted and prepared with love?

It’s almost like a holiday everyday that a package comes in the mail, packages from friends stuffed with glitter, tissue paper and sweet smelling fragrance.

Shake it and it almost sounds like candies are inside.. small trinkets rolling around under larger, sweetly wrapped gifts stored in cupcakes and hearts. When you open the package the smell of perfume and a cloud of glitter dust fills the air. When you look inside you see bags, paper and stickers decorating the precious gifts inside.

Packages, and even envelopes stuffed with surprises, are a favorite past time of many friends who have ever experienced a long distance relationship or taken a trip from home. There was nothing I loved more than stuffing packages with gifts of cuteness when in Japan, so excited when my best friends would recieve the silly gifts and laugh.

Give it a Try

They’re as fun to send as they are to recieve. Try it.

Package decorating and stuffing is a bit of a crazy obsession in cute land. I know many girls use character tape (myself included), markers and more to make a statement before the box is even opened. If you’re sending a package, why not make it really special miseducated style?

You can make package contents as well as buying them. I have friends whom I swap kitschy antiques with and friends whom I share all of my ‘oldskool’ saved stationary with.. (I might as well use it before I die, right? What point is there in hoarding all of this cuteness??)

It’s easy to try. Start by sending your best friend a letter stuffed with some cute trinkets next time you go on a trip — chances are you’ll inspire her as well! Send a letter filled with stickers and stationary, it doesn’t have to be quite so taxing in these crazy economic times.

Who said you have to grow up and leave penpals behind? Slipping in a letter is sweet too, in the world of emails we all appreciate to see a little handwritten note every now and again!

4 Comments

Escapeland Giveaway

Our Very First Etsy Goodie Bag Giveaway WINNER

10/04/2010

CONGRATULATIONS to the winner, Kate Barber!

(and a HUGE thank you to everyone who entered)

An ezine about this and other new features was sent to all fans on Facebook, if you would like to receive these rare but important messages and are not a member of Facebook you may also submit your email address.

Stay tuned for another exciting giveaway coming up soon!

[Giveaway Closed: Sep 24th]

Hello and welcome to the second ever Miseducated Giveaway! We plan to have these much more often, it’s been way too long! Check out the details here.

We wanted to especially thank our readers and guests for being so creatively cute and wonderful to us everywhere we go. The truth is giveaways are a great way to find new friends and readers and to expose them to new and seasoned artists. We select our giveaways from our favorite handmade art shops, antique shops and more.

The Prize

You can win a Hello Kitty tote bag filled with handmade and diy goodies from great sellers on Etsy!

1. Sweet Star and Strawberry accessories from Strawberry Latte

2. Limited Edition Miseducated Deericorn pendant

Original DEERICORN Pendant - limited edition-1

Original DEERICORN Pendant - limited edition

3. Victorian Spats by Mademoiselle Mermaid

Victorian Spats with Bows in Oatmeal by Mademoiselle Mermaid-1

Victorian Spats with Bows in Oatmeal by Mademoiselle Mermaid-2

4. Paper glittery macarons by PaperCakes

5. Postcard set by Amber&Co with cupcake pencils

6. Bag o’ kitsch charms, beads and goodies to get your DIY tastebuds wet especially from Miseducated

The Rules

To enter simply leave one comment below, make sure to include a correct email address in case you win. This giveaway expires in a week on Friday, September 24th and the winner will be chosen at random and will be announced on Monday, October 4th. All readers, including international readers, are welcome and encouraged to participate!

Bonus Entries

All entries will be checked for accuracy!
+1 Entry: Become a fan of Miseducated on Facebook and add a comment below announcing you’ve done so.

+1 Entry: Subscribe to our blog by using Google or another reader and let us know by leaving a comment below.

+1 Entry: Link to Miseducated on your blog and comment with the link here.

+1 Entry: Feature this giveaway on your blog (or tell others about it) and let us know here.

If you would like to be featured in a future giveaway, let us know and Miseducated might purchase something from your shop for our next goodie bag!

Thanks so much for all of your support.

47 Comments

Visual Splendor

Middie Blythe is Here!

10/01/2010

All of the information about Middie Blythe has been officially released from BlytheDoll.com.

A new sized model for your creations and photos awaits!

Middie (Middle) Blythe is here — but she doesn’t have a middle child complex because she has a super cute charm that the other’s don’t have. She can turn her head to the side!

Not too big, not too small, she’s just right!
For everybody who was wondering who Middie Blythe is, your wait is over!
Middie looks slightly younger looking than a Neo Blythe and slightly more grown up than a Petite Blythe.
She is called “Middie” because her size is in between Neo and Petite, but it spells “Middie” instead of “Midi” so it sounds like a cute girl’s name.
Her head is table to tilt to the left or the right with eye move technology enhancing her charming gaze!

[ Middie Blythe Stats ]
Size (height): About 20cm
Eye color: 1 color (eye direction is moveable from left to right)
Eyelids: Set (do not close or open)
Neck: Moveable to left and right
Arm: Moveable
Waist: Stable (does not twist)
Knee: Stable (does not bend)

.. and as if you needed any more reason to love and want a Middie Blythe of your own, CWC is releasing an exclusive “Macaron Q-Tea Party” in collaboration with Q-pot.

Check out all the information directly from BlytheDoll.com:

Tea time is the perfect time to retire to the garden for a relaxing escape.
The intoxicating aroma of the flowers in the sunshine fill the air.
The light colors of the pink tea roses resemble the color of sweet Parisian macarons.
Once the treats are done baking we will be ready for our luxurious afternoon tea party, make yourself at home and enjoy this time with us!

“Macaron Q-Tea Party” has a soft and welcoming look coordinated with her sweet and romantic styling.
Her strawberry pink dress is embroidered with the Q-pot. brand, signature “Q” and whipped cream print.
Her apron is light and airy, and brings to mind fresh whipped cream.
Her gorgeous little hat is a little tea cup filled with mint tea!
Like any proper tea cup, it features a beautiful rose and lace motif to make it truly festive for our afternoon tea!
Her necklace and earrings have the signature Q-pot.’s “Q” and are made to look like strawberry and mint green Parisian macarons, how sweet!
She wears lace tights and mint green strapped shoes.
Her hair is a lovely honey blond, and has a slight wave perm giving her a romantic and sweet look.
She wears mint green eyeshadow and has fresh pink lips and cheeks, just right for an outdoor party.
Her eyes are blue and are so inviting and warm.
Her skin type is Very fair.

[ Skin Type ] Very fair
[ Make-up ] Eye shadow: mint green, Lips: blushy pink, Cheek: warm pink
[ Eye Color ] Blue
[ Hair Color ] blonde with a touch of brown (two mixed saran colors!)
[ Earrings ] Q-pot. Brand signature macaron earrings in mint green and strawberry
[ The set includes ] Doll, pink dress with decorative print, apron, tea cut hat, Q-pot. brand signature macaron necklace in mint, Q- pot. Brand signature macaron earrings in mint green and strawberry, tights, mint green shoes, bloomers, and new Middie Blythe stand.

Scheduled release Date: October 2010
Suggested retail price: 14,490yen
Limited to 3500dolls

0 Comments

Event Features Visual Splendor

Sweet Streets LA Brings Kawaii Home to Play

09/25/2010

I’m happy to show you a little glimpse of the amazing exhibition of Sweet Streets (a Harajuku Kawaii Experience!) in Los Angeles at Gallery Nucleus by my sweet friend, Caro. (Yes, I designed that shockingly bright logo.)

Sweet Streets features an array of magnificent artists inspired by Japanese street fashion. The event featured a fashion show with our favorite sensational shop, 6%DOKIDOKI.

Caro wants to bring the magic of Japan to the States and I’m absolutely thrilled about it. It’s one of my own missions in life and I’m so excited to join her in the inspiration melt-down.

I wish I could buy each and every Miseducated visitor a ticket to Tokyo so you could revel in the inspiration found in every corner and under every stone. Maybe someday? Thanks to Caro you can experience Japan and Harajuku style right here in the States!

All photos of Sweet Streets were taken by BigWhiteBazooka, Tadatime and LA Weekly. Do to my little pregnancy circumstance I could not tear myself away long enough to enjoy the exhibition but I’ll be better prepared next time.

The photos below are by LA Weekly.

Lookie who it is! — our good friend, Maria of Locketship donning unicorns as cutely as possible~

Some more cute friends you might recognize, the 6%DOKIDOKI shop girls!

2 Comments

DIY

Let’s Do It Ourselves: What do you want to learn/make?

09/22/2010

Remember in the past when I had spoke of tutorials lasting several articles, learning to do things together and tackling more wonderful worlds of expression?

Well..
that time is now and I need *you* to suggest your absolute best and worst ideas for things you’d like us to learn to do together.

Please make suggestions here, by email or on Facebook.

I’ll keep all of your ideas, add my own and soon we’ll be sucking up a whole new rainbow of creativity!

7 Comments

Escapeland

Adopt a Deericorn: Blog Widgets of Color & Whimsy

09/21/2010

Deericorns live in a land in the clouds, protected by starlight.

Adoptable ‘cyber’ pets.. what are those? The largest agencies took a delight in hightening the imagination and fantasy. They spoke of their pets and the history surrounding them, carfully woven together to produce a cute, pixelated web dream escapeland.

So what do you do with these little images? You add them to your website generally, sometimes even devoting whole pages and areas specifically to them. That’s what we did then. I suppose now you add them to your blog’s sidebar or somewhere on your online profile?

Sometimes adoptables are limited, only one of each kritter to be adopted. When you adopt the website may give you a silly certificate to place with it and a link back from their website — if they’re a big artist, this can even bring similar funloving visitors.

My favorite adoption agency was Starluck’s Sweetwater Valley. The combination of Erika’s art, imagination, fantasy tales and passion for creating fantasy worlds created a very sweet and fun site to explore. I remember I was always so excited when there were new areas updated with new images inside — pixel art was a bigger deal then. haha.

I believe it’s common to trade or sell adoptables now on Gaia, artists create adorable pixelated creatures and goodies for others to buy and place on their signatures. Starluck even created a few! 😉

HERE’S YOUR VERY OWN MISEDUCATED ADOPTABLE to shoddily place somewhere on your little web presence for both protection from webasaurs and to proudly display your support for pointlessly cute things. If you appreciate the love for cute things (no matter what your age!) show it, always. Also remember that these were inspired by one of my favorite artists Ayumi Uyama.

How to Adopt

1. Upload the image to your server.
2. Link it here.
3. Enjoy Deericorn protection.

Dainty Deericorns

Spread whimsy and the love of Miseducated with your own Deericorn!

pink: love & friendship
purple: status & power
blue: happiness

Adopted

Because you know there are other dorky artists like me, right? These adoptions are simply one of the cutest, most magical and most nonsensical ways to express yourself online. <3

2 Comments

Magazine Clips Visual Splendor

French Magazine Clippings: MiLK Home Decor

08/29/2010

You’ll be noticing some changes around here.. mostly just cleaning things up and preparing for more change.. there are so many things I’ve wanted to get done but have continually put off!

Don’t throw tomatoes yet! .. remember, I’m a new mother!

I’ve decided that when you’ve figured out how to work with a baby on your lap you must be really driven. Ha!

So here I am preparing a move, trying to work and giving Colette every free moment and busy moment I have. I want to build her a world of dreams and wonderment — color and whimsy. I cannot WAIT to move and finally unpack. I’m starting to forget what my real office even looks like anymore..!

So in the middle of all of this I’ve been feeling the insatiable need to travel again.. and so I’m planning a couple of trips to cities in the USA but I’m having urges for more international travel. I miss my friends and family in Japan and I would love to go on a shopping spree for our new place. A trip back to Paris wouldn’t be so bad either, have you seen MiLK Decor in France? I’ve been EATING home decor magazines lately.

Do you want more??

0 Comments

Magazine Clips Visual Splendor

Japanese Magazine Clippings: Decorate Everything

08/27/2010

I’ve been meaning to update things here for quite awhile! I had an extremely long checklist and had to actually go through each and every one of our old entries.

Whew!

As you know the thing I love about Japan and modern Japanese design is that absolutely anything can be decorated and that even the most minute task is done with the utmost care.

After scanning through a collection of Japanese deco books I decided I would clip out my favorite ideas.

Are you inspired?

2 Comments

Visual Splendor

What’s Inside My Cigar Box?

08/16/2010

Why would you want to know WHAT’S IN MY CIGAR BOX?

You know how many ladies magazines feature what’s in “their” handbag? I decided it was time to go through some goodies of mine from childhood and feature what might be hiding inside. As you can see, 80s toys, accessories (my necklace collection!), scented-erasers and rainbows. I also had a major obsession with Minnie Mouse and her cat Figaro.

Same song, different verse. As much as I’ve changed in some ways, I’m still the same in others.

See my collection of twist-up necklaces? My favorite one is missing, not sure where or if I can find it! I loved to switch these up with different colors and styles of dresses as a little girl. The one that’s missing had popsicles and beads.

Does anyone remember toting around ‘Pocket Pretties’ ?

5 Comments

Mise en Snap Visual Splendor

Mise en Snap: I Love You Alice B. Toklas!

08/10/2010

It’s about time I did another mise-en-snap!

I Love You, Alice B. Toklas is a deliciously tacky film from 1968 that parodies the 1960s counterculture. I watched it once and didn’t really pay attention.. the next time I saw everything and couldn’t stop laughing. (I always get a little mesmerized by 60s decor, trying to find ways to incorporate the hippie’s lounge pad into a family home.) The film is directed by Hy Averback and stars Peter Sellers and Leigh Taylor-Young (in her film debut). It features music by Harpers Bizarre, including the theme song that I still cannot stop singing — haha!

The title is a reference to writer Alice B. Toklas, who wrote a recipe for making cannabis Brownies released in 1954. I had the pleasure of learning about Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein during a college Hemmingway class and trip to Paris — they were both pretty cool cats.

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