Plushy Week! Day 1 (and a whole lot of other stuff)

Remember when I posted those plushies a while ago? (And they're in a few of my recent pictures I've posted too.) Well I haven't actually put them in my shop or said anything more about them until now... I declare this week to be Plushy Week! Each day this week I'm going to be officially announcing a plushie, which means posting pictures and making it available for purchase. This week is also a really busy week for me, so I'm going to post about a few other things I'm working on before talking about today's plushie face.

First things first - Monday Preview! I'm super excited to get started on this huge project this week - which I really hope, and am aiming to be finished by Friday. You're also going to be getting a glimpse at my sketches for the first time! Please be nice.
Anyways, it's a commission for a super lovely Wa-Lolita co-ord for MatsuriCon in August. ^___^ It's definitely the biggest co-ord/piece/garment/project I've worked on, but I'm totally confident in my skills, and I know this garment is going to be freaking awesome. Have a look at my preliminary sketches:

As you can see, it's going to be very big, very full, and very lovely. ^__^

I got the fabric in today, which was a lot quicker than I expected! But I'm not complaining, this is a good thing. Have a look at the lovely fabric below, it looks much better than the swatches I pulled from their website in my sketches above:

I'm really excited to get to start working on this!! I've known what Wa-Lolita is and what it looks like, but after doing extensive research, I have a new appreciation for the style and think it's absolutely beautiful. Stay tuned, as I will be documenting my progress throughout this week ^_^

Onto something a little less beautiful, and more DIY.

So I mentioned MatsuriCon above, and it appears I will be attending! Yes, I still need to get to work on a co-ord for not only myself, but my boyfriend as well who will be attending in Kadona style, but I want a parasol. I spent a lot of the weekend searching and searching online for something that I'd fall in love with. Which I did. Hard. For this piece of lovely from Baby, The Stars Shine Bright: 

I'm totally in love with not just the general loveliness of this, but the silhouette as well. I love the top and the point on the end. Ahh. Like most people, I should've just bought it. But I'm not like most people. Where most people in most situations buy, I elect to make. 

So I found this tutorial last night on how to recover an umbrella, searched my apartment and car thoroughly for any umbrella, and had no such luck. This afternoon I took a trip to the thrift store, and came out with two possible options:

Yes, they're both hideous. Right now they are. But there will be at least one beautiful piece that arises from this ugliness to accompany me to MatsuriCon this August. Right now I'm torn between the two because they both have different things I like about them. I really want to go with the blue one..

..because of it's shape, and the lovely point on the top. But that point scares me, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to take that part off in order to recover it. So that's why I got the brown one..

..as a backup, because it too has a nice shape, and although there is no pointiness at the top, I know I'd be able to take it apart in orde to recover it. So we'll see. Wish me luck, as I will be working on this along with the commission above, and the two outfits I'll be needing for myself and my boyfriend by August.

Onto the plushy! If you've read this far, thank you! Your patience is finally paying off ^__^ Today's plushy is...

..Bunny Face! She's totally adorable, and a great companion for you if you're a magical girl, or simply a sweet lolita ^_^ She's super soft and cuddly, and will fit great in your arms <3

Bunny Face can now be found in my shop! Be sure and check back tomorrow for Tuesday's plushie, and more project progress ^_^

<3

Miss Chubi

A Little Update

Hello blog! It's been a little over a week, and I've been missing you. Sorry for the lack of  Monday Preview this week - I've been majorly busy with commissions and orders all coming in at once! Believe me, I'm definitely not complaining, because it's truly an awesome thing.

Okay, so last week I mentioned getting some headbands finished in order to have every skirt/dress in my shop come with a matching headband. Because well, the finish to a nice loli co-ord is having matching hair accessories, and there's nothing more iconic than an Alice bow. Feast your eyes:

I believe clothing looks much better on a living human, rather than a mannequin. So last week I took the time to have a huge photo shoot in which I shot everything in my shop that needed these types of photos. That turned out to be four different garments. I've updated the listings in my shop, but here's a peek below of some of my favorites and a few I didn't end up using:

^My absolute favorite from this session. I am in no way a photographer, and this was a total fluke with bad lighting. I still think it turned out quite lovely <3

^Failing attempt at pulling of sweet loli - definitely not my personal style.

^Also, another fluke with bad lighting. I think the general shape/silhouette is really intriguing.

That pretty much brings me up to what I've been working on this week. Well, I got a request to do a chibi panda in my wristlet style! I think she's going to have to be a new addition to the Elegy family, and I'll probably be making some plushies of her too, because she came out so cute! You can find her in my shop now, and see a few pics below:

^ I realize I'm not in loli in this pic, and I apologize! I've been so crazy busy though, I didn't have time to get all dolled up.

In addition to finishing the above wristlet, I also got in orders for two others, and a Giant Sprinkle Face Backpack! I'm trying to shift my focus away from backpacks, so I'm not sure if I'll be re-listing that item in my shop or not. Honestly, they take a whole lot of work and materials, and a lot of time to put together. I love my characters I've created, but I'd rather be doing clothes with some plushies and wristlets on the side. Anyways, take a gander of my finished wristlets, and some new pics of the backpack:

On a totally side note, I applied that bumper sticker I got a few weeks ago at the Midwest Craft Caucus! Ummm, I totally took a picture of it, but now I can't find it! I may have accidentally deleted it D: I promise I will have that up next blog entry!

Now that I've finished all those wristlets and things for this week's orders, I suppose I'll let you in on what I'm working on. I'm actually busy with four different commissions. One of those is needed for MatsuriCon, coming up in August. I guess I must be dense or something, because I had no idea that was in Ohio, and now I'm definitely wanting to go. If that's the case, I really have a lot of work to do. My boyfriend would like to dress in Kodona style to match my gothic/kuro dress that I have yet to make. I do have sketches though! I have so many sketches.. I will probably be doing a blog post just on all the sketches I have done, or are finishing up for all my commissions.

Speaking of which, I need to get back to finishing up some more sketches that I have only partially finished.

<3
Miss Chubi

Capelet Commission, Finished

So I've been working on this lovely capelet for a client, and I've got lots of pictures to share. I don't mean to brag, but the capelet really is lovely. I'm almost wanting to make one for myself. You can check it out in my shop, and enjoy the pictures below.

^A bit of my bloomers are showing, woops! >_<

I've always been a huge fan of capes, and was really happy when I got the commission for one. Hopefully this means I'll have more capes/capelets in my store in the future. 

For now, I'm going back to sketching because I've got a lot of commissions for future projects to work on. I promise to upload those when the time comes ^_^

<3

Miss Chubi

The Midwest Craft Caucas

Months ago, I bought "early bird" passes to attend the Midwest Craft Caucas this past weekend. There were a lot of people who came in from out of state, and hours away. It was basically a conference for those who own or are planning on starting their own handmade business. It was put on by the local craft community, which I had no idea was so prevalent in my city. It was really inspiring to see that people around me were successful in the same way I dream to be.
I of course attended in full out Lolita, and took a lot of notes. I feel like I knew a lot of the stuff already because I've done countless research online, etc. but I still learned a lot of valuable information. It took place Saturday and Sunday, and started super early in the morning. Well, it probably wasn't super early for most people, but for those who know me, I'm pretty nocturnal. So I spent the entire weekend exhausted, getting about 2-3 hours of sleep a night, but it was definitely worth it. I brought my camera the whole weekend, but I didn't take any pictures at the event.

^Swag bag! The tote on the left was packed full of stuff, but I've pictured my favorite things. I still need to put that awesome bumper sticker on my car...

^What I wore on Saturday.

^What I wore on Sunday.

Going to the conference really made me happy to be a handmade business, especially since I feel like I'm always doubting myself and my abilities. I feel so energized and inspired to do some new things and really make my Elegy dream a realization. 

<3

Miss Chubi

NEW Jumper Skirt

Monday preview: revealed!

^It's Bear Face! :3

I bought this fabric way back before Easter, in like February or something. It really caught my eye because well... it's a toile print. I think toile is really lovely and has a great classic look. This particular print has a sort of classic Peter Rabbit storybook look to it, and if that's not Lolita, then I don't know what is. I also made my first Alice bow headband! Yes, I've done headbands before, but not a classic Alice bow. I think it turned out quite nice - and it doesn't look as ridiculous on me as I thought it would. ^_^

You may also notice a change in quality of these photos from last time - this time I had the A/C on! Lol. So I'm not super hot and sweating and miserable in this shoot.

Anyways, go ahead and check it out in my shop, it's finished and ready to ship out! :D

Miss Chubi

<3