Candy Cane Wig

Hello again! Isn't it amazing to see another post in less than a month? lol I wanted to share a pic of my newest wig real quick:

It's very festive and I actually got to wear it to work on our "Casual Friday" (which was actually Thursday, since we were given Friday off), since it was just in time for Christmas! I wore it with my white santa hat and everyone at work loved it! I had to give it a nice brushing when I got it because it got a little frizzy in transit (and everyone knows the post office is notorious for not being gentle with packages when they need it), but it didn't take very long and I really love how it came out afterward. I really want to get a bunch of the others in the same style because it's so cute! So what do you think? I'm hoping to be able to put together a photoshoot with it one day soon, but I don't really have much that goes well with it... ^_^;; That's what happens when you don't have much red in your wardrobe!

I don't remember if I mentioned it in my last post, but I bought a yummy crochet kit with one of my Christmas giftcards. I've been busy working on the cupcake pattern that's in it (since it comes with the right materials for the cupcake and a donut) and I almost have it finished! I managed to get the top piece done and put together, so all I have left to do is stuff it and stitch the top and bottom together! Be on the lookout for some pics when I finally get it done.

And since my last post was SUPER long, I think I'll leave things there. Happy new year everyone!

After-Christmas Post

Hello everyone! I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season so far! Christmas is finally over and it was wonderful, despite some of the really sad things that have been happening. For those who haven't yet heard, a friend of mine died on the 23rd, so I've been pretty sad. I'm just really happy to have my boyfriend beside me to give me hugs when I start crying. It makes things a little bit easier. Then I found out recently that one of my friends had a house fire and lost her dog in it...and one of my aunts had a house fire and they're really lucky that my aunt that was staying over woke up or they all would have died. I'm just glad to hear that everyone is okay though.

So on to the happier news, Christmas was awesome! My boyfriend and I did two weekend of Christmas in a row because his brother had to leave for Korea the week before Christmas. We went up to his parents on Friday night and did dinner and Christmas with everyone. I got the new Zelda game for Wii, DDR for Wii, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind from his mom along with TONS of giftcards (I still think she spent WAAY too much on me), and he got a bunch of blu-rays, a couple games, and the keurig coffee maker (which I suggested to his mom since it wasn't on his list). His sister also got his brother (the one leaving for Korea) some salt and vinegar crickets, so there was a lot of amusement going around. Although it was weird to think about, they really didn't taste bad. YES, I tried one. It actually wasn't gross at all. It just made my tongue kinda dry. Oh, and they were dead and dried....so no live bug eating! We went home afterwards even though it was late since no one else was staying, and he set up his coffee maker as soon as he got home. It came with 12 different cups to try too, so he's been testing out different flavors. We have 6 boxes of them now tho... O.o I got hot chocolate for us to share and a box of butter toffee flavor for myself, and he bought a box of hazelnut flavor from dunkin donuts for me, since I like the flavored ones best. There's still a few left of the trial box and his mom got him a box of donut shop stuff to go with it, and I bought him some chai latte ones when we did our grocery shopping the other day. Saturday we played with our new toys and Sunday we headed down to the airport in Lansing (a 2-hour drive) so he could say goodbye to his brother before he got on the plane. And then we drove straight back. It was a long drive with a short break, but I know it was worth it for my boyfriend to be able to give his little brother one last goodbye before he heads off to Korea for the next 2 or 3 years.

And now on to Christmas weekend! I had Friday off, so I slept in till late while my boyfriend went to work. I got up when he called me to meet him for lunch then came home, took a shower, and relaxed some more till it was time to head over to my mom's to meet up with a friend of mine who was visiting from Alaska. She ended up being busy till later then planned, so we just met up at my mom's and hung out for a while then the three of us went for Chinese and did a lot of chatting. After dinner my friend came over to my place for a while and got to meet my babies and play with them for a bit (she had a light that made a target shape on the floor that they loved chasing), and then she headed home when we were too tired.

Saturday (Christmas eve) my boyfriend and I did a little shopping in the morning because he needed to get a replacement headset for his computer. It was a really nice, expensive one and it broke when he turned his head to look at something. Luckily they have a manufacturer's warranty on them and we didn't have to deal with too much hassle. That night we drove up north to his parents place to get ready for the BIG family get together (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.). It wasn't until 7, so we hung out with his parents and siblings for a bit before heading over to his grandparents' place. I started crocheting a cupcake while we were waiting ^-^ because I bought a "Yummy crochet" kit from Barnes and Noble with one of my giftcards. So we headed over to his grandparents and had a nice dinner then everyone opened presents. I got a pretty box for storing my crafty stuff in and a bunch of home goodies (washcloths, hand towels, a pretty potholder, some jingle bells and christmas ornaments, and a candle) and a McDonald's giftcard, since it's just down the road from where I work and I can connect the card to my Upromise account and save up a little money to help pay off my student loans! And here's a pic from that night:

His Aunt was taking a bunch of couples pictures, so of course, we got our picture taken. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate having my picture taken with the flash on? lol So Sunday morning we got up and had some breakfast with his mom then headed back home to get ready for lunch with my mom. We got everything unpacked from one outing then packed everything up for another one and headed out. Then we had to grab my mom some salt on the way because she ran out. Luckily the party store around the corner from her place was open for business! So we began with presents...I had my mom open hers first because I got her one of the E-cigarettes. I know she really wants to quit and since the habit is the hardest part, I'm sure this will help her. They even come in nicotine-free, so she'll be able to quit with the worst part of it as soon as she's ready. I also had my boyfriend open what I got him first, which was a new stereo and pair of speakers for his car, since the back speakers in his car were bad when he got it and he really wanted the stereo. Then I got to open what he got for me (and I forgot to say it, but he had me open one of the boxes he had for me after his family Christmas the weekend before...it was three wig heads, 2 bottles of colored hair dye, and a pair of really nice hair cutting scissors). He got me a dressform! So I can start making clothes that fit me right! ^-^ I can't wait to figure out what to do as my first project on it. There's so many possibilities! Aside from that, we got a bunch of nice, little things from my mom. I still have one more on the way, but I guess they won't even be shipping it out till the beginning of the year, and my mom was really bummed that it didn't show up in time for Christmas. I don't mind though.

After that, it was just relaxing. I finally tested out my DDR Christmas afternoon (and was ready to die after playing a step below my usual level and for a shorter duration...proof I'm WAY out of shape), and my boyfriend got his stereo installed at Best Buy on Monday night. The guy was really nice too and only charged $90 for the install when it should have been more because the whole backseat had to be taken out to replace the back speakers. He'll also need to order a special part to be able to make his steering wheel controls work again (but it needs to be ordered directly from the company that made the stereo), but it sounds really nice.

And I'm almost done with the cupcake I started on Christmas Eve. I have the cup finished and I'm just putting the edging on the frosting top. Then if I want to do the extra icing part, I'll need to make that, otherwise it'll just be a little assembly! So I'll get some pics of that up when I'm done.

And I guess that's pretty much it. I need to go buy a new red nail polish (the one I had finally died on me after...my whole life pretty much lol) and some fabric to make something on my dressform, but that's all I've got going for now. I have next week off before classes start (ugh), and my boyfriend and I are looking to move into a new apartment cuz he finally got himself a new job. ^-^

Okay...I'll quit rambling now. If I don't post again before, happy new year everyone!

Website almost ready!

So once again I'm really bad at keeping up with a blog on a regular basis, but I've been working on the design for the Dex Studios website and I think it is coming along very nicely. I have changed it around a lot since I started designing it, but I am really happy with how it's looking right now. Here's what it looks like for those who haven't seen the design yet:

Well, okay, so it's still a LITTLE bit different than that now, but that's basically it. The only real difference right now is that I made the pink box look less boring. It has a bit of a pattern in the background so it's not so plain, but it's not too much to be distracting. I'm not sure when the site will be going live, but hopefully it will be soon. I need to take some new pics of all of the items that are currently available so they all look nice and then I'll be putting them on etsy for sale. I think once I have that all set I'll be putting the site up officially. I also need the pics for the products page. So does anyone have any other suggestions for the website design? I'm still up for new ideas! I'm also aiming to have the site all ready in time for Almacon.

And speaking of Almacon, it will be February 10-12! I'm not sure about the official opening times and stuff, but that's the weekend for it. You can always check out their website or facebook page for more info as well. As of right now, my friend Ashley is planning on selling with me there. She'll be selling amigurumi plushies and possibly some hats. My friend Alyssa may be joining us as well selling some prints and fused glass pendants.

After that is Shutocon! Ashley is planning on joining me there as well, so we'll have lots of fun stuff to sell! Unfortunately I didn't win the t-shirt design contest though, so I didn't get the table for free. Oh well. It was still fun to enter. ^-^ Shutocon is in March...but I can't remember the specific dates right now.

I can't think of anything else to talk about right now, so I guess I'll end it there. In case I don't post again before, merry Christmas everyone!

After Another Long Break...

Okay, so I still don't update very often, but I do have a few things to talk about just because. Most of them aren't business-related though.

First, I went to Youmacon in Detroit with some friends a few weeks ago. It was a last-minute thing because their fourth roommate bailed on them, even though he said he would give them money for stuff whether or not he ended up going. So they asked me to come and I went. I had a lot of fun, though I think I would've really loved it if I'd gotten a table in Artist Alley.

I got there around 7:30 Friday night and we didn't do a whole lot after that. We wandered just a little bit, but I wasn't feeling the best, so my friend and I decided to head to bed around 10 while the boys wandered off and had their own fun for the night. Saturday I dressed up as Mokona from Magic Knight Rayearth/xxxHolic/Tsubasa Chronicles and people seemed to like it, though not many recognized the character. There were only a few people that I could actually take pics with, so when I found them I did.

This is the only full body pic I have of the costume, and the girl on the left is Sakura from Tsubasa Chronicles. I'm not sure about the one on the right though. After wandering around in heels all day, my feet were pretty sore, so we headed up to the hotel room to relax for a bit before getting ready for the Rave. We went around selling glowsticks to people and it was a lot of fun. Here's what I wore for the rave:

It was a lot of fun, even though I'm not much for dancing. On Sunday we packed everything up to head home and went down to the dealer's room for some last-minute purchases. I brought $30 worth of snacks home to share with my boyfriend. lol The snacks are way over-priced, but it's hard to resist when you can't find them anywhere but cons.

Since I'm going to be in the Artist Alley at Shutocon and they are doing a couple contests, I decided to put something together for their t-shirt contest. I think it turned out pretty cool.

It's only their second year and one of the requirements was to have their mascot, so I did a second birthday theme. Cute, huh? If I win I'll get my table for free, so that would be really cool. They said there hasn't been a lot of entries, so I'm really hoping to win. That would mean I'd only be paying for gas!

On Monday last week I also got my Konad Nail Art Kit in the mail. It showed up on Saturday, but I didn't have the chance to pick it up till Monday. And I didn't get to test it out until just a couple days ago. I painted my nails pink on Friday and tested out the konad Saturday night. It turned out pretty good...till I put the topcoat on. Then it smeared a bit, but most of my nails aren't too bad. Guess that's what I get for buying a cheap topcoat though...haha I looked up some tips to keep it from smearing though, so I'll be testing it again soon.

In some other news, it's getting pretty close to the end of the semester. I have a midterm due this week for my online class and the rest of my classes are just.....well, boring. Once the semester is over I should have a bit of time to work on art stuff before the winter semester begins, so you can be looking forward to *hopefully* more posts in mid-December.

Until then, happy crafting and happy Thanksgiving if I don't post again before!

Forgive Me, I'm New at This...

Okay, so I know it's been a while since I've updated on here. I haven't known what I should post lately, but now I have a few fun things to update about. I even have a preview that won't be anywhere else!

To start off with, I finished my friend's clip-in ponytail! She is going to Youmacon next weekend and will be cosplaying K-san from Gravitation. She has naturally blonde hair, but it isn't quite long enough for the character, so I made her the clip-on ponytail and it's a really nice match to her natural hair. ^-^

That's a pic she took of herself wearing it with her costume once she got home. You would never know it wasn't real! And she said her dad didn't realize it wasn't her hair either. lol

So now to the next project...I was reading a blog last week and the girl who writes it had a tutorial up for making your own lipgloss. Of course, I had to try it. So I went out and bought the things I needed for it (stuff you'd normally already have in your house, but for whatever reason we didn't) and went to it. Here's what I came up with:

I tested the red one (the second one) and my friend tested one of the pinks (the middle one). The red one definitely had some color to it, though just a bit darker than my lips, which is what I really wanted. The one my friend tried seemed to just be glossy. I haven't tested the other ones, so I dunno whether or not they have a noticeable tint to them. But I'm curious if anyone would be interested in buying some if I sold them? I'd prolly sell them for $2 a piece or something. They smell really nice too...and I'm thinking about adding flavors. I like them though. ^-^

Finally I have a little preview that is ONLY going to be on here. While I've been bored at work, I've been working on a package design. It's not very fancy, but I think it will be nice for selling the charms and stuff. So without further ado....

You know how you go to the craft store and there are a lot of things that are in little plastic bags and there's just some cardboard-like stuff stapled to the top with all of the item information? Well it's like that. It will be folded in half, so you can see the front on the left and the back on the right. The white space at the bottom is where the item name will go and the circle is where the price will go. I feel like a genius...haha So what do you guys think? I haven't had any printed yet since I don't need them till February, but I was thinking about getting them printed soon so I can get things ready early.

Well that's really all I have to share for now. I am working on some needle-felted stuff and hopefully I'll have that done soon. The zebra is just taking longer than I expected... ^_^;; Wish me luck and hopefully I'll have something to show on here again soon! ^-^

Happy Monday!!

Happy Monday everyone!! I know, it's a horrible thing to say, but if you start the week out on a good note, it's bound to end on a good note as well, right?

Well I have a lot of little updates today because I did so much over the weekend. Like I said on Friday morning, I got to hang out with one of my friends over the weekend. We actually ended up hanging out on both Friday and Saturday and hung out with some other friends Saturday night and played some Uno. It was fun because I haven't played Uno in forever.

So first, my friend and I made our cyberlox. She made a pair of black and yellow that she plans to add some extra stuff to and wear to the Youmacon Rave. Mine are pink, blue, and white. They both also have double the plastic lacing on them for extra decoration.

You can check them out on my facebook page too: Black and Yellow and Pink, Blue, and White

My friend's cyberlox are at "single" thickness and mine are "1.5" thickness, and roughly 1 foot long. Here is the pricing for them:

Normal: $30 (like the black & yellow)

Extra (x1.5) thick: $40 (like the pink, white, & blue)

Super Extra (x2) thick: $50

That night we went out to dinner wearing them and people kept asking us about them, so I was able to hand out a TON of business cards. There was a lady that was sitting at the table next to us that asked us about them because they looked like the hair on the "la la loopsy" dolls. I'd never heard of them, so I checked it out and it kinda does. So I figured I could make some "kid size" pairs of cyberlox that would work for halloween. They would be roughly 8 inches long and be $20 or $30. The $20 ones would be "single" thickness and the $30 ones would be "double" thickness. That was just an idea tho.

I also worked on a cute, giant lolita bow while we were hanging out. They're pretty simple to make, but involve a little bit of sewing. I only made one, but I have the fabric all set to make a second one.

You can check it out on my facebook page too: Giant Lolita Bow

I figured I would sell them for $5 each, and I currently have fabric to also make them in blue, pink, purple, and a pink flower print. I think the coloring is a bit off in this pic, but it's actually a bit of a mint color.

And because I mentioned it in my last post, the wigs that I got came in and I got to try them on and takes pics over the weekend!! So I thought I would share some pics of them with you.

So those are the two wigs I got from Gothic Lolita Wigs. The one on the left is their Wavy Creamy Mint (and the two ponytails are detachable), and the one on the right is their Choco-Black Bob, which I got for free because they were doing an awesome promo where you could get a free bob if you spent $39.95 or more. I want to do some photoshoots with these too, and I REALLY love the mint wig. There's also a lolita contest going on hosted by one of their muses (and you can find details on their facebook page) and I really want to enter. I just don't have anything lolita... ^_^;;;

Aside from that, I still need to get the needle-felting commission all set and I'm gonna make some more bows soon. I'm having so much fun with all my art stuff right now. ^-^ Oh, and my friend that did the cyberlox with me said she thinks it would be awesome to "join my company", since she does a lot of crafty stuff too. I'll update again once we get some of that figured out.

Well, I guess that's about all I have to say for now. Hope everyone has a good week!

Update: Maneki Neko!!

Hello everyone! I feel kinda crazy because I already have an update to make, but here goes....

I've been pretty bored at work so far this morning. I'm building files, but it's nothing more than a couple clicks then sit and wait till the machine's done with what it's doing. So with having so much wait time, I decided to remake my maneki neko design!! I think this one is a lot cuter than the original and will do well as a t-shirt. I'd like to get some opinions on it though, so let me know what you think.

He is on my facebook page here too: Maneki Neko!!

Aside from that, I'll be putting together some more cyberlox with a friend this afternoon and I'll be working on the needle-felting commission I have. I may even end up making something more while I'm sitting here bored at work too. Guess we'll see on that one. I just wish I had my tablet here to play with instead of only using illustrator. Ah, well. I can use it at home, I just don't like using it with gimp. I want my photoshop back at home!! The only version I have that I could install I believe is too old to work with a tablet. Maybe not though. But it may be too old for Windows 7... ^_^;;;

I will probably have another update later tonight or tomorrow with some of the cyberlox stuff. And my friend will be helping me model them too, so you won't be having to stare at just me for all the pics. I'll also be picking up a couple packages from my mom this afternoon (one is stuff I ordered for a friend, one is mine), so I may update with some info about that. It's the new wigs I ordered from Gothic Lolita Wigs. Oh, and everyone should buy some stuff from me so I can keep paying for my new wig hobby...haha.

Once I get them home I'll have four wigs from them, and if you have five, you can get your own muse album to showcase how you wear their wigs. I have almost all of their wigs on my wishlist, so it'll take me a long time to get them all. Oh, and one of the ones I'll be picking up this afternoon was a freebie too, cuz they're really nice like that.

I'll also be ordering some stuff from BodyLine once I have some money. I've got a set of stuff to order, but it'll be $137 to get it, so it'll take some saving up. Of course, $42 of that is just shipping, but that's what happens when you order stuff from Japan.

Alright, I'm sure everyone's getting bored with my senseless babbling now, so I'll leave this here for now.

Happy Friday!!

First Post

Hello everyone!!

So I decided I would make a blog for myself related to me and all of my "business" stuff. I make tons of different crafty things all the time and I sell them too. I'm going to be at a few anime conventions during the next year where I will be selling the things I've made. I make things in such a wide array of mediums that I don't really know where to start.

Well, okay, I guess the best place to start would be with the things I have been doing more recently. I have been getting into a lot of hair-type stuff, such as cyberlox falls, hair extensions, clip-on bangs, and wigs. I haven't tried my hand at making any wigs yet, but I have bought a few that I really love and I'm sure I'll get to making some eventually.

I actually made a pair of cyberlox falls for a friend of mine last night and I think they came out really nice. They are pure silver and roughly 1 foot long. I tried them on for pictures and she is really excited about them. I can't wait till she gets to see them in person and try them on herself. ^-^ I'm going to be making more soon too, and another friend of mine will be coming over to join me and make a pair of her own.

Here's the link for it on my facebook page too, if you'd like some more info: Cyberlox!

Aside from that I have a few commissions that I am working on for different people. Another friend of mine has requested a clip-on ponytail for a cosplay she wants to do. I just got the hair for it in yesterday with all of the cyberlox stuff and I have it matched to her natural hair color, so she doesn't need a wig or anything...just a little extra hair. lol I also have a request for a needle-felted owl and zebra from a friend's friend. I'll be getting to work on those and hopefully have them done sometime next week. Finally, I'm making a needle-felted unicorn for my mom because I can. I'm going to give it to her for x-mas. I've got a few other things to make as prizes for contests run on deviantArt too.

Well I guess that's all I really have to say for the moment. I will update more as I have more to talk about. Have a great weekend everybody!!