Browsing Tag

DIY

Day With a Camera Visual Splendor

Day With a Camera: Craft Day

05/08/2010

Do you need an excuse to dig out your favorite crafts you’re working on and spend the day crafting and laughing with your best friend? No! So why aren’t you calling a friend now and planning some relaxation time with color? You never know what ideas might come out of a craft day either.. maybe you’ll find your passion.

Again I urge you to take along your camera always! I used to get looked at funny for this but now everyone I know does the same. When you are creating such beautiful memories it’s often fun to take photos of them for future albums — I love looking at photos, don’t you?

craft day

jamie's afgan
This is a beautiful afghan crocheted by Jamie.

Crafts DIY

Make a Tiny Fawn For Your Flower Pot

05/07/2010

This craft features pictures from Martha Stewart Living — it’s a simple and cute craft for kids. I absolutely love fawns and deer, it just so happens I’ve been lucky enough to live in a place as a child where they often came into our yard to visit.

So how about a few little fawns to top your indoor flower pot soil? Or strewn around your desk? On a cupcake? The possibilities are endless!

All you need are a couple of brown pipe cleaners, a section of a tan pipe cleaner and tiny white spots — just glue on tiny sections of white fabric or ribbon.

Also, you must send all photos of these if you made them for any purpose so I can display them here!

fawn

Visual Splendor

A Delicious Scoop of Etsy Shops You’ll Adore

05/01/2010

Etsy is a marketplace of artists, diy-ers and more from all over the world. You can search for absolutely anything and usually find quite a few choices to pick between. Best of all? Everything is either handmade or vintage and you’ll be sure to find something your heart desires. One of a kind items are a unique kind of special and most often delivered as such in hand-prepared packaging to seal the deal.

Not only that, Etsy is a great community.

So you’ve probably already heard of Etsy and have spent countless hours skimming through the goodies or even sprucing up your shop to sell your own wares. I adore shopping there most of all but I have recently opened my little print shop back up — also to feature OOAK goodies for Miseducated readers in the future. I had some bad experiences with a buyer (whom I did refund and who did receive the print) but all in all I’ve met a lot of great people there.

These shops aren’t my absolute favorites nor is this a list of the best, but they each have an adorable product and they each made me squeal.

Your Highness To You Doll face Necklace

Featured Shops

Printable and plush toys at Fantastic Toys
Cute, modern necklaces and more at Joo Sweetie
Pizzicato Kei creates adorable Fairy-Kei and Japanese street fashion inspired accessories
So much more than perler beads at A Self Portrait
Kawaii Friends Cafe serves up permanent handmade sweets
Pony dresses and party corsets at Lexi Bee
Mon Sherry lolita shop with adorable cat scarves

Artist & Designer Features Self Decoration

Emma Bell: Decadent Fashion and Accessory Designer

04/25/2010

Emma Bell is a fashion designer that has what you need if you’re into kitschy decadence like I am. Now only are her creations adorable but she’s always been as sweet as can be, we met long ago online while I was living in Tokyo — she sent me the sweetest email ever and we’re still planning a collaboration.

So enjoy her delightfully kitschy cuteness that is sure to make your eyes drool for cake and fast food. Her look book radiates sweet rainbows making me want it all. Enjoy her color covered candy for your body! With collaborations with companies such as Irregular Choice you certainly have quite the amazing selection ahead of you! I cannot wait to see what she does next.

emmabell
DIY

Get Started Blogging and Have More Success

04/23/2010

So blogging is quite a huge trend these days, it’s a hobby many creatives and non-creatives alike can get into. It opens up communication and discussion online, offers anyone the ability to make their own specialty of knowledge accessable to everyone. A new way to share inspirations and ideas alike. (I love blogging.)

If you’re getting into blogging (or are already into blogging) for the business aspect, this is not that kind of website. (I’m sure you noticed when you first looked around!) There are many great websites and blogs online devoted to business advice however, the information highway is in your hands.

We, as you may have guessed, are more of an artistic/personal expression and lifestyle blog — business is not the purpose here but is becoming a large chunk of time — we simply love sharing and creating.

bloggingsm

Comments

As you know, comments do not mean good content but they are a great encouragement to new and seasoned bloggers alike. Readers may contact you using a variety of the methods that you have available and the one that most bloggers obsess about is, you guessed it, comments. Comments do not mean quality or share-worthy content, they simply mean your post has started a discussion for a variety of reasons.

A great way to encourage comments in posts is to ask your readers questions and invite discussion into the topic you are writing about. The great thing about the blogosphere is that there are so many different bloggers and readers alike that opening up discussion is always a great idea.

The Best Way to Generate Lots of Comments on Your Next Blog Post via Problogger

Subscribers

Itching for more subscribers? Make sure that a subscription button is in a highly-visible area and create good content. Encourage your readers to subscribe at the end of your posts if you like, give them a reason to subscribe.

bloglovin

Bookmark and Share

Content Ideas

This is my absolute favorite topic of blogging! I have this endless list of silly content rolling through my mind all the time, I have a ton of drafts waiting to be finished and even articles I’m too afraid to post. Now that I’ve forced myself to add a post a day, I save a lot of content, ideas and drafts. I often give our writers article ideas and always have a list of inspirations available on demand for all of our contributers.

Content is what is MOST important about your blog, how much people search for it, visit it, read it, like it, share it. That is what makes and breaks blogs because essentially that’s what they are, logs of content. Who wants to read a droning, slow, uninformative article very often?

Create an exciting, visual post of your inspirations or even your day.
Write about a topic people are invested in and offer a new perspective.
Write about a topic you are passionate and knowledgeable about, teach your readers about something or how to make something.
Write a valuable review.

Layout and Imagery

This is something I am often emailed about from visitors and something I really felt should be addressed. By using Google search you can search for free themes available for a variety of blogging platforms, myspace, etc. Customize the theme to suit your taste and don’t forget to give credit to the designer.

Keep it simple, the content is what’s most important and you’ll more than likely pick up skills for customizing your blog further along the way.

..and Remember

Success in Blogging is made of Little Victories also via Problogger

Visual Splendor

Adorable Japanese POP Art Embroidery Patterns

04/21/2010

I recently stumbled upon Danielle Thompson‘s world of deliciousness online, Kitschy Digitals, and have fallen in love with her sweet take on embroidery! She offers embroidery patterns and digital scrap-booking materials that are kitschy-sweet.

I’m definitely digging the cameras and I cannot wait to give these a try!

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IMG_2990

Downloadable Sanrio Patterns

patternview

My Melody Tea Party & Sanrio Rainbow Pattern

If you’re also feeling embroidery and pop colors try these Sanrio patterns I’ve had stashed for ages, both free for personal use! The wonderful J Tan made these and previously uploaded them for us to try (RIP Geocities).

Crafts DIY

Blythe Clothing Pattern Collection

04/15/2010

One of the best things about Blythe is she’s just the right size to whip up an adorable outfit for in a couple of hours (or less!) .. and she looks adorable in anything!

Blythe is known as a model among the community and a creative inspiration. Some of my favorite outfits were handmade painstakingly with a cute photo in mind — yet another creative way to spend your free time.
berrycloth

Sewing Patterns

Puchimadam
XOXO Blythe
Jam Fancy (new)
Jam Fancy (old)
Tshirt

Knit Patterns

Wooly Rockers
knitty

Crochet Patterns

Suncatcher Eyes

.. and remember we have a pattern here as well you should try!

Crafts DIY

Customizing Blythe: How to Paint Lips Like a Pro

04/15/2010

Hello! I customize blythe dolls for both fun and for some profits. So far I have been doing it for just a little over year. I started when I was 15 and my first doll was quite terrible (as I wasn’t very careful), but I got better and better with every doll,and have now done 20+ dolls. So here is a tutorial for re-coloring or customizing the lips of a Blythe doll, hope you like it!

blythe lip tutorial

Step 1

Gather your supplies: Blythe, fine-grit sanding sponge, a small flat paint-brush and a bigger softer paint-brush, chalk pastels in a lighter and darker color, and watercolor-pencils in a darker color and white.

Step 2

Sand off the original lip color (you may have to scrape the paint in the crease away with a some-what dull x-acto knife). With the small paint-brush, brush the darker pastel color in the crease of the lips and lightly outward.

Step 3

Use the darker watercolor-pencil to define the crease and add some lip wrinkles.

Step 4

Use the white watercolor-pencil to add texture with quick strokes, and lightly color with it to blend with the darker color.

Step 5

Brush the lighter color pastel on with the bigger paintbrush and you’re done!

… and it make take a few tries to get it right, so don’t get frustrated! 😉

blythe

Diary

Miseducated Scrapbook: Online Art Journaling

04/12/2010

Yikes! I’ve missed you so much lately and getting to be creative in both work and play. This past week was entirely draining but I left it feeling much more enlightened (..and slow ..and tired .. and pregnant).

I have never experienced happiness like this, absolute fulfillment.. Colette opened a new book of endless inspiration and motivation to create the world we want.

Did I tell you she’s kicking now?

So anyway, as of recently I’ve been getting back into keeping my sketch/idea book up to date and I’ve found out that still the craft of art journaling is still so fun and addicting. I decided to share it with you and inspire you to do your own journal, letters or scrapbooks! Big plans for these so if you’re interested in contributing please let me know!

So I’ve written you a little letter..

As for inspiration.. hit up your local thrift store and flip through the vintage magazines. When I feel uninspired I take a break with my magazine collection and then I imagine ways to translate home decor into web design and graphic art. It’s even great for inspiration to just relax and read as I’ve said before. Remember, a 20 minute break can help tremendously!

Until later, stay sweet, inspired and colorful.

letter