New Year's Resolutions

It seems like I say this every year, but I really cannot believe another year has passed by. It really is true that the older you get the quicker time goes.
I'll jump right into it - here's my 2012 New Year's Resolutions!

• First and right on top of this list is to gain my independence. I've expressed my desire to step away from Etsy on my fb page, and I really want to go through with that, and sell at my own free standing URL. And I've sorta already got a start on this resolution... ^_~
• Sell my wares at a show. I was pretty certain I'd get to do this at the upcoming anime convention, Ohayocon, but I was wrong. After I got denied entry, and my heart crushed, I now have the vigor to apply to other shows! I've got a few conventions in mind, and I just hope I'll be good enough now to get in *crosses fingers*
• Start vlogging! I teased this idea earlier in the year when I did that video of me trying on my first wig :p I really enjoyed doing that, and I'd like to possibly start a YouTube channel. I don't think I'll be doing tutorials or anything like that, because that's a lot of work, and I don't have a ton of time to devote to this. It'll probably mostly be vlogging about what I'm working on, showing you all my fabrics and studio space, etc. Now that I've got a new computer and camera for Christmas, this is looking more and more doable.
• Get embroidered labels! This is a really easy one, and something that's been in my mind for months and months, but I always seem to put it off. Currently I'm using the fabric paper ones I print myself, but embroidered ones would be worlds better.
• Have a photo shoot! Since I got a new camera for Christmas (thank you, bf! :D) this is looking more and more like a possibility. I'd really love to show my clothes in a light other than whatever daylight happens to creep into the corner of my bedroom. But I'm not a professional photographer, and I have no idea where I'd even do this. Oh yeah, and I don't have any models.... =___=; 

These are all things that I should be able to accomplish in the upcoming year. I do have a few long term goals which may or may not happen this year, but I've always got them in the back of my mind: 

• Design and print my own fabric. Yes! Okay, so the thing is - I already know how to do this. I did this in school! I designed and printed my own fabric and t shirts and everything. But it's just... well... I don't have a dark room, or an exposure machine. I'm pretty sure if I had these two things, I could get right to work! I know there's a few options of printing fabric easily at home which include things like the Yudu machine. But that's not a very good solution for printing yards and yards of fabric. I also know of Spoonflower and Fabric On Demand, which I'll probably end up going with the former. But there's something that's so gratifying when you do all the work yourself.
• Upgrade my machine to a tank. Believe it or not, this is the machine I learned to sew on, and it's what I'm most comfortable with. I thought this might happen this year for Christmas, but it didn't. I'm currently working on saving up for one, so hopefully I can acquire it in the upcoming year. 
• Participate in a fashion show. I've never had the opportunity to do this, and right now it seems like an unreachable goal/dream. I'm pretty certain the only ones I'd be able to participate in are ones at conventions, since Lolita is so niche. I'd love to have the opportunity to showcase my clothing/designs at a show ♡

Well, I suppose that's it. Reading back over it makes it feel like a lot, but spread over a year, I'm pretty certain I can attain at least most of them.

Thanks to all of you who've supported me throughout this year, and into the next one! Happy New Year to all of you~

♡
MissChubi

This Month's Rose Printed Dress Commission

Here we are, another lovely rose-printed dress! This is a dress I got commissioned for nearly a month ago. But due to my pile of orders on top of ordering in fabric, and my own latency on ordering in lace, I wasn't able to really fully dive into working on this dress until... Monday. Yes, two days ago. 

^Have a look at this delicious print! It's a bit washed out in the photos below, so take it in while you can.

^Please excuse the quality of photos - it'd been raining/overcast all day (of course -__-), so this was the best I could do. Looking at these photos now it seems like I meant to set it up this way as the lighting is so dramatic! 

Anyways - this dress is just so dolly. It honestly makes my mouth water to look at it. I don't meant to get all self righteous or whatever, but sometimes when I look at my work, it's hard to believe that I actually created it with my own two hands. The only thing I wish was different was the poofyness   (isn't it always?). As always it's definitely got the potential for it! The dress is just a bit longer than my petticoat would like.

^It's official. I've fallen in love with the flat peter pan collar. Before in my designs, I've always used a standing peter pan, but after creating this, I'm totally sold on the flat! I love how innocent and instantly-dolly it looks.

^This lace. So delicious. I was quite lucky to find this lace in the exact quantity I needed. I believe it's "vintage", so I'm not sure if it can even be bought anywhere in stores. Not only does the color match perfectly, but I also think the sort of leaf motif thing goes together really well with the rose print.

^In this photo the sleeve looks like an actual doll's sleeve! It looks so tiny, especially with my fingers in there :3 

^Last, but not least - the headband. Of course it's sewn made with my new found professional-looking technique. Yummy!

This OP dress is pretty similar to this one I made nearly two months ago, hence the almost identical blog title. However, the small differences almost make it look like a totally different dress! It's really amazing (to me at least) how each of these dresses are totally different in personality, yet have nearly identical design elements~

♡

MissChubi

Wha..? December's almost over!

Well that went by really fast! O: It feels like I just blogged about the end of Novemeber a few days ago, not a few weeks ago! Wow. I suppose this is a good thing though, because it means I've been really busy. Let's see what I've been up to for the past three weeks~

^First, I got to make my lovely bloomers in.. pink! Of course this means I also got the pleasure of dyeing the fabric~

^I sold a lot of these blouses during my Black Friday sale! I made two of them in straight white, and a third in white, with a scrumptious mint bow (which of course was hand dyed by me). Stay tuned for more mint clothing in the future! (I've already got a handful of mint commissions on the books~)

^If you've been reading my blog long, you may remember this skirt from the petticoat comparison I made waaaaay back. Ironically, this skirt is not very poofy here, as this was made in plus size, which my petticoat is not T__T. This skirt does have a lot of poof potential, it's just not being used to it's - fullest here. I did, however, get a chance to make my lovely long sleeved blouse up in cream - yum! I love the lace and buttons I ended up using for this blouse - detail just below.

^My headbands have also been upgraded! I've figured out how to make them worlds better by covering the headband part with fabric instead of just lazily glueing ribbon to it >_<; I'm so proud of how these look ♡

^This of course is my punk lolita high waisted skirt.. which is not looking very punk anymore! Done up in a lovely pink and yellow plaid, this skirt is now sweet (and kinda reminds me of delicious pink lemonade in person :3). I've also created my charcoal turtleneck cutsew in ivory, to match - detail below. I don't have photos, but you see the small bow on the blouse? At my client's request, I also made one in pink and one in plaid for ultimate outfit coordinating!

^Lovely lovely ruffly blouse lightly inspired by a Baby, the Stars Shine Bright garment. Ruffley ruffles look mega ruffley in this photo - mostly because this particular mannequin is really curvy, and her bust is.. really pointy. So that area of the blouse is a little bit exaggerated. The sleeves are elasticized, ruffled, and laced, and I've sewn a ribbon in the front to tie into a lovely bow. Of course, the pink was dyed by none other than myself~ See this blouse with the plaid skirt just below.

I suppose this just about sums it up! These past few weeks have just been insane! I'd been sewing 10-12 hours a day, getting 4-5 hours of sleep at night and feeling like a total robot. BUT I've loved every bit of it! I wish I was busy like this all the time. Yes, I was completely stressed out and exhausted, but getting to do what I love is so completely and totally worth it. ♡

So the lesson I've learned in this chaos is... to have more sales? That Black Friday one was the first and only sale I've done, and as I've mentioned before - it was an overwhelming success! Since Christmas and the New Year are coming up, maybe I should do something for that? Hm...

^In all this chaos and confusion, I somehow managed to add new items to my shop as well - ear warmers! I got the idea to make a lovely pair of Lolita ear warmers when I visited the mall nearly two months ago with a friend/fellow client ^_^ I picked up a pair of ugly ones at FXXI and wore them about the store. I would've bought them if they weren't so... ugly, lol. It's also my personal dogma/philosophy/way of thinking that if I can make something, then I should do so instead of buying it. I don't really like to support slave labor/harsh working conditions in garment factories overseas, etc. (let's save this conversation for another day, shall we? Gee, all this talk just over a pair of ear muffs!?) Anyways. I've had the idea to make ear warmers since then, and I just had to clear away some time to play around and figure out the design last week. The idea was just eating away at my brain and I had to produce it. In addition to the pink, I've also made them in black and white.

^Ugh, black on black on black on black on black. Yeah, I know it's hard to see, but this is currently the only wig I have!

*Whew* Okay, that's the last of everything, for real this time! I actually did just finish a super lovely dress commission, buuuut I'll save that post for tomorrow ^_~

♡

MissChubi

So long, November~

So, this month was very roller coaster-y. I started off the month with a custom commission (my favorite type of work) and getting my first - hopefully not last - consignment opportunity. Then I hit a dry spell. A very dry spell. It's times like these that I tend to get really down on myself and become super pessimistic. Because when I'm not creating, I feel incredibly worthless.
However, I took the opportunity of having a bit of break from orders and turned my negative energy into creating new pieces for my line. I put out five new pieces this month, so it's safe to say I've kept busy. Let's have a look, shall we? (Click on the photos to enlarge so you can read the text.)

^^I started off the month with a Lolita essential - bloomers. Now, I've made bloomers before, but they were of the super-fast, hastily-put-together, not-very-fun-looking variety that I made for myself one night when I realized I wanted to wear Lolita daily. But I needed a really nice looking, lovely pair for my shop - and I really wanted to upgrade mine. I really like bloomers, and as I stated above, I believe they're an absolute must. Not only do they help give your skirt more poof under that petticoat, they also - um... cover your behind if you were to say fall down, or have the wind blow up your skirt. These can be found in my shop HERE.

^^A long-sleeved button up! This is an essential as well, especially as the days grow colder, and winter sets in. My short sleeved blouses have done exceptionally well, and I hope to say the same about these. This addition also came out of a personal need - I have no long-sleeved blouses! I think it's quite lovely, and everything about it makes me feel more doll-like when I wear it. (I actually just shipped out two of these in white this morning!) This can be found in my shop HERE.

^^Ah, the plaid skirt. For some reason, I have a lot of plaid fabric in my stash. However, since most of it was bought two years or so ago when I worked at a fabric store, I can't find any of it anymore as it's been clearanced out/discontinued. That little fact was stopping me for a while, but the need to create overtook my fear of not being able to reproduce this skirt in this exact plaid. I decided to just go for it, and have the client and I find a plaid particular to their liking when they order one. This way, well... it really can be one of a kind! (I think it looks just magical when paired with my long sleeved blouse!) This can be found in my shop HERE.

^^This idea has also been brewing around in my head for.. oh, as long as I can remember. I've had a similar animal ear hoodie in my shop for about a year now, and they've done really well! I was just... kind of done with the faux fur. Every time I'd work with it, it'd get everywhere, including my nose and throat; it's not super easy to wash; it's not particular warm or soft feeling, in my opinion. Not to mention, cheap faux fur really isn't Lolita. So I found this lovely, plush-fuzzy-super-soft-super-warm polyester fabric. I love it! It's exactly what I've been looking for, and this is my favorite hoodie I've ever made - which is saying a lot, as I've made lots of different hoodies. Why bear ears, you ask? Well, it wouldn't be a lie to say I was heavily inspired by one of my favorite anime, Lain :3 This can be found in my shop HERE.

^^Last, but certainly not least! I released this gem over the Black Friday weekend, so it's only been in the shop for a few days. A long sleeved cutsew is something that I've been wanting to pursue for a while, as I don't have any (or many) long sleeved blouses/shirts. This idea came into my head quite rapidly one day while out grocery shopping, so once I got home and settled, I go to work, and here it is. Turtlenecks are typically not my piece of pie, but I remember seeing a lovely coord by someone on Tumblr (I honestly cannot remember who or where I saw this - believe me, I searched forever) and the girl was wearing a turtleneck. I immediately fell in love, and I suppose this elusive turtleneck was in my subconscious while designing this blouse. Needless to say, the turtleneck does not bother me in the least, and I absolutely adore this blouse! (I wore it out while fabric shopping over Black Friday weekend~) This can be found in my shop HERE.

Also, my Black Friday sale was a huge success! So thanks to all of you who took advantage :D This was my first sale I've ever done, and I'm quite happy with the turnout. I definitely plan to do more sales/promotions in the future.

So now that November comes to a close, it's starting off exactly opposite of how it opened. I now am up to my neck in orders - mostly from Black Friday - and I'm feeling very optimistic.
Hopefully December stays the same~

♡
MissChubi

Happy Thanksgiving~

I'd like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all my lovely followers! If you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, well - I hope you had a Happy Thursday, nonetheless. Now let's get down to business.

First off, the Thanksgiving Giveaway has come to a close. I announced the lucky winners yesterday on my Facebook page, but I'll go ahead and give them a shout out here as well:

Surprisingly, I haven't heard anything yet from the winners, so if you were one of the lucky ones, well congratulations, and hurry up and claim your prize! 

Secondly, since today is the biggest shopping day of the year, I decided to jump in on the excitement and host a sale (my first one ever) myself! Since tomorrow is Small Business Saturday, and two days later it's Cyber Monday, I figured, why not just hold it over the whole weekend?

Hosting sales and promo codes isn't something I do often, so if you've been eyeballing a certain something in my shop, you may want to get ahold of it now! I'm not sure when/if I'll be having a sale again, but 20% off is by far the best price of the year. Keep in mind that this can also be applied towards custom pieces ^_~

I wish everyone a good weekend, and if you are going out in the madness, I wish you safe travels and happy shopping~

♡

MissChubi

Thanksgiving Giveaway~

Basically, all my fans/clients/followers are amazing, and I’m incredibly thankful for all the support ♡ This giveaway is my way of saying thank you~

♡ GRAND PRIZE —> $50 credit (must be used on a purchase of at least $130 before shipping)

♡ FIRST PRIZE —> $25 credit (must be used on a purchase of at least $75 before shipping)

♡ SECOND PRIZE —> $15 credit (must be used on a purchase of at least $50 before shipping) ^^The credit can be put towards anything in my shop - custom commissions included!

TO ENTER:

As this is my first time ever doing anything like this, I’m keeping it short and sweet~

1. Simply “Like” this post on my Facebook page, and be my FB fan! (facebook.com/elegyclothing)

AND/OR

2. Reblog this post on Tumblr (http://tinyurl.com/7udt3dy) and Follow me on there (http://misschubi.tumblr.com) One reblog per person/account please! Multiple reblogs and likes are appreciated, but will not count/increase your chances.

^^ You don’t need to do both of these, but doing so will increase your chances! :D

YOU HAVE ONE WEEK! READY, SET, GO!

CONTEST ENDS NOVEMBER 23, 2011 @ 11:59p EST

The winners will be chosen using random.com and announced on Thanksgiving Day. Winners will be contacted personally (via email/pm, etc.) with the details on how to redeem their credit, as Etsy is not particularly fun to do shop credit through. The credit is only valid/redeemable at and through my Etsy shop (elegyclothing.etsy.com)

My First Consignment Opportunity~

A few weeks ago I was contacted on Etsy about the possibility of selling my plushies in a nearby local floral shop. Being the slightly paranoid person that I am, of course I thought it was a scam or something. You see, in the past I have been contacted by somewhat sketchy sources on Etsy, and those opportunities felt a little wrong or just plain weird. But after some research, and paying the shop a little visit, I decided to go through with it. 

The shop is called EcoFlora - they're a cozy floral shop that sells locally grown plants and flowers, and it's run by an incredibly awesome woman. Their website can be found HERE if you're interested. They also sell a lot of handmade gifts, art, and plushies - which is where I come in! :D

Today the contract was settled, and the deal was made! I'm only starting out with a few pieces, and depending on how they sell, I'll bring in more or whatever. 

^^Hehe, Miss Chubi poses with a bag full of plushies :3

Below you'll see my Bunny Faces and Zombie Face set up with the other plushies - see if you can pick them out! ^_~

I'm super stoked and incredibly optimistic about this opportunity! Seeing as they haven't sold super well online, I'm hoping they'll do much better in person. I'll definitely be keeping tabs and posting about their success (or failure ;__;).

♡

Miss Chubi

Khaki Corduroy Jumperskirt~

Earlier this week I was working on my most recent commission, a khaki corduroy under-bust JSK. I haven't had much experience working with corduroy, so I was totally excited to dive into this. After finishing this, I realize it's actually really nice to work with - it washes great, irons great, and sews great! I really think there should be more corduroy in Lolita fashion ^_^

^^ My original sketch~ I love the look and colors my client and I decided to go with. It's simple, but with a touch of school girl, and a little classic thrown in.

^^Materials and fabrics. Cotton lace is so lovely~

^^Bodice and lining, cut out and ready to to be sewn together and laced. I decided to go with d-rings down the back seams so it can have lace up functionality. I'm a big fan of using this technique, as it guarantees a perfect fit.

^^A detail of the bodice lined and laced. And my tag!

^^The skirt hems. This is actually two skirts - an over and an underskirt. I decided to "line" the skirt with an under layer of cotton in order to give it a better shape, as the corduroy was pretty light weight.

And the finished piece! 

I really enjoyed working with corduroy, and I love how this piece turned out. (I may need to make one for myself, in black :3) As I've been working on a lot of things for cold weather, I think something like this might become a regular piece in the shop~

♡

Miss Chubi

Another Rose Printed Dress~

Over the past few weeks, I've been hard at work on this gorgeous dress commission. This lovely rose-printed fabric is super hard to find, so my client and I got to scavenger hunt across the web for a week or so in order to find it. But it was definitely worth it!
In addition to making her the dress, I also made one of my newest additions to my shop, the simple double ruffled skirt. However, this time there was on more step involved before I got to sewing: dyeing. In college, this was actually my favorite class, and I'm so happy I get to incorporate this into Elegy. For the solid colors in most of my clothing, I use a really nice, super soft cotton that has a slightly shiny finish to it. I think it makes my clothing look richer and more elegant, not to mention it feels just lovely against the skin. Unfortunately, it's only available in limited colors, so I got the pleasure of dyeing it light pink!

^^ It's always a good idea to do a test swatch, before committing to dyeing 5 yards of fabric.

^^ The finished yardage. This actually started out cream - there wasn't enough white at the fabric store - and I'm quite happy with the results!

^^ The aforementioned double ruffled simple skirt, finished. It can be found in my shop HERE. And onto the dress:

^^ The initial sketch. I admit, it's a bit hard to see all the details here /:

^^ I got straight to work on the skirt part first, being the most simple part of the dress.

^^A detail of the 6" wide ruffle, finished with 1" wide satin ribbon and 1/2" venice lace.

^^A peek at the bodice, and lining. (You can sorta see my new tag!)

^^Working on the bib. This was definitely the most challenging part of the dress, hands down. The bib had to have functional buttons, while the lower part of the bodice did not. I definitely spent the most work on drafting this pattern and figuring out how to put it all together.

^^The bib is in! The pin tucks are sort of doing whatever they please at the moment, because I haven't yet basted them down. The back has also been sewn on.

^^Almost finished! This is probably now my favorite collar ever. It's mega simple, and totally lovely. It's a double collar, with the lower one being laced, and they're both ruffled and stay closed with a 1" wide satin ribbon.

 

^^Alas, it's finished! This is just so dolly I could drool. The sleeve has been set - a simple long sleeve with a slight puff at the wrist, single button closure, and 2.5" wide ruffles, trimmed in lace. 

^^Check out that collar profile! Yum~

^^Extra long waist ties! (I actually went back and shortened these a bit, so as to not show from the front and appear sloppy.)

^^I know it seems I say this after every commission, but I think this may just be my greatest work ♡

^^Back detail :3

^^Sleeve detail~

 And that's it! I'm sure it'll look just lovely with the bonnet I made out of this material a few weeks ago~

Lately I've noticed that I only blog about once a week now. I wish it could be more! But I've just been so unbelievably busy these past several weeks, that I haven't really had time to (or update the Facebook page for that matter). I have a lot of things I'm working on, but I'm not complaining! I'm extremely grateful and incredibly thankful for all the attention and business I've been getting recently (especially after not getting a table at Ohayocon).



I also have another update/super good news concerning my plushies! It's still tentative at the moment, but I can't wait to share once it's final!~

♡
Miss Chubi