One-Week Hiatus

I’m going on a holiday together with my mother on Sunday and will be at her house two days prior (everything without the aethernet), so I’ll be absent from July 29th until August 9th.

I wish you all a wonderful first week of August!

Computer Treats

I finished the second holidays project! Using this tutorial I made treats holders for the stuff I need to find when I’m working at the computer – external hard drive, webcam, several chords… and another one for my really impressive collection of ten DVDs.

Aaaand…

…meet my new terminal!

I finally got me a scanner of my own, no more annoyed Bambi when I try to get something scanned. Lovely.

As for the treats holders, those are definitely not the last I’ve sewn. I love the design, and don’t only think about making some for my closet to organise it, but also about a handbag or something like that.

Salt Water

They are the first finished project of my holidays, and I call them my saltwater wristcuffs.

I guess they couldn’t decide if they wanted to be Lolita or Mori, so they went and became both. The fabric is from an old flannel shirt of mine – the cuffs, simply,- and the lace is made of linen. Flax. Greenlesk. What a wonderful word!

I’d really love to be by the sea right now.

First Holiday Project

I shouldn’t be here right now if everything had went like planned. If everything had went like planned, I’d be climbing in the Dolomites right now, but as the weather’s too bad, my father and I canceled our trip and I had the chance to already start the most unnerving project of the summer:

A rag rug.

As we all know, I’m completely insane. And have woven about 15cm in about three hours. I think I’ll do something else tomorrow…

 

P.S.: Don’t forget to vote on the latest poll! Thanks!

Matching Monday: Hogwarts Girls

I wanted to capture the spirit of the houses rather than picturing the school uniforms in Lolita shape (that’d have been boring).

I was a little surprised myself on how it came out. But instead of boring you with the long journey to a set, I’ll give you the single ingediences instead:

1. Coat: You may remeber it from my wishlist post during the 30 Day Lolita Challenge. I noticed that it came in four colourways, matching the Hogwarts houses, and here we go, rich red velvet for Gryffindor.
2. Blouse: Not too feminine and with crochet “edges” at the bow, that reminded me of a lion’s mane in their pointiness. Off-white, nevertheless, because snow white doesn’t fit into the wizarding world too good, it simply seems to be at the wrong place. And white, because Gryffindor are so incredibly obviously the good guys. ^^
3. Trousers: Yes, trousers! One of the point that really surprised me, but in fact, leather breeches like these are perfect for adventures at the Forbidden Forest. They’ll beautifully gain patina during the years and a reliable pair of leather pants are a piece of clothing that will accompany you forever and a day.
4. Socks: Unconcious of the coat of arms I was going to use for the set, I chose AatP sock with a red-and-white diamond pattern. Somewhere between regal and tomboyish they were quite the right choice for the breeches, which actually came in afterwards.
5. Shoes:  Buckled, belted and somewhat peculiar they look like fancy boots a prince or princess would wear on adventures. They seemed to scream “we’re the right ones to tame dragons and ride hippogriffs with!” to me, and what better recommendation could I get?
6. Bag: A crown, because the lion – here as Gryffindor’s heraldic animal – is often called “king of the animals”, and also Gryffindor’s colours – gold and red – are associated with royalty.
7. Jewelery: It’s a rather simple pattern, golden lion heads. Here as a ring, bracelet and necklace.
8. Other: Braces, because the blouse would have looked a little bit weird without something else to break the white, and because braces are cool. Red leather gloves to add some extra fancy and because they might come in handy when handling wild beasts or swinging on ropes, and especially for broom rides so that your hands won’t freeze.

Slytherin had to be something elegant, maybe even gothic. The style had to be simple, nothing with too many details, since a Slytherin doesn’t show his or her fortune and class through quantity…

1. Coat: The dark, bluish colour was the base for the other colour decicions, even though Slytherin’s green is more likely to be depicted as a more “common” green in the movies. I like to think that members of the house would approve this decision.
2. Blouse: The bell sleeves hide whatever potion or dagger or fluffy pink merchandise item that you’re embarassed of you’ve got in hand. The jabot hints nobility – not royal blood, more like the ones that draw the strings from behind the scenes. And black just for the contrast to white knight Gryffindor.
3. Skirt: Something solid coloured that – again – could hide cheat slips, small portions of poison or whatever small thing might come in handy to make your way to the top – wether it might be the top of class or of society.
4. Stockings: The pattern reminded me of a serpent’s scales. The stockings themselves are quite revealing without letting the legs seem naked, and add an mature charm to the outfit.
5. Shoes: A pair of my dream shoes, I’ve got to admit. The velvet is again a symbol of class, the straps suggest fragility and Victorian elegance.
6. Bag: The AatP book strap bag in black. To carry your forbidden knowledge and black mail. Or simply love letters to that Ravenclaw you’ve been crushing on since first year.
7. Jewelery: The earrings are the official ones released by WB merchandise. The ring was an obvious choice, similar ones can be found at Claire’s at the moment, and I knew I had to use one like that on Slytherin. A bracelet in snake form would have been great, too. The feathered comb counts as jewelery, too. The colours were quite right, and a sturdier piece could also be used as a weapon, I guess.
8. Others: The lace gloves were something I wanted to symbolise the distance most Slytherins keep, even amongst equals. Plus, they matched the tights. The scarf looks like a snake’s skin and was a nice break from the polished surface of the rest of the outfit.

Ravenclaw was the first outfit I made, and I wanted it to look more classic than the rest, a little bit old-fashioned, maybe, or oldschool.

1. Coat: The same one as before, but in a very deep midnight blue.
2. Dress: Ravenclaw is the only house to sport a onepiece. Nothing too fancy, no print, something that doesn’t take to long to put on but looks serious and sophisticated nevertheless. The blue of the dress is a lighter shade than the coat’s, for a little bit of variety.
3. Stockings: My “third colour” for Ravenclaw – the original ones being blue and bronze – is champagne, here in shape of sheer silk stockings. Very classical again without looking too much like an old maid.
4. Shoes: Boots again. They look like granny boots, in a very elaborate manner, and are unique enough to fit into the wizarding world.
5. Bag: Another book bag, this time by Innocent World. As you can see I didn’t really use bronze anywhere in this coord, so I subsituted it with brown and antique gold/ brass.
6. Jewelery: The small watch necklace at the upper left is something I’ve got myself. Time pieces seemed adequate for Ravenclaw, something precise and useful. The (nearly invisible) gold collier in the middle is a classic break from this usefulness, that I tought nice for the house, though.
7. Others: The umbrella simply had the right colours, but it might be quite usefull, too, when you don’t want your precious books to become wet under the influence of Hogwarts weather. The cashmere scarf was another take on classic style, nothing too fancy but a remarkable piece, nevertheless. The brass instruments are a model of Kepler’s theory and a caleidoscope.

Last but not least: Hufflepuff. When the Scoundrel saw this picture, the first thing he said was “Wait, that’s you!”. Yes, I’m a Hufflepuff. Badger pride!

1. Coat: This time in black. Nobody would wear a yellow coat, anyway, except oilskin.
2. Blouse: White, again. The upper rows of buttons remind be of a chef’s uniform, and the ribbon around the neck can transform an outfit from serious to relaxed and back in a couple of seconds.
3. Bodice: Simply blouse and skirt wouldn’t do for Hufflepuff, every time when I think about this house I think layers. And so I ended up with a black bodice, but I imagine the boys would wear corduroy or velvet waistcoats.
4. Skirt and Dress: I couldn’t quite decide, so I took both. The skirt is Innocent World’s Antique Book, the dress is from Meta and I liked the cozyness of the ruffles and fabric buttons.
5. Socks: AatP again, this time with grey and black stripes to match a badger’s fur.
6. Shoes: I simply adore them. The’ve got low heels, rounded toes and a pretty ribbon for laces. The down-to-earth look seemed to fit Hufflepuff quite well, but of course the shoes had to be well made.
7. Bag: A leather school bag, to hold lots of treats to share with friends, and of course school books and occasional other tools.
8. Jewelery: For me, Hufflepuff yellow isn’t canary, but a little darker and more toned down, so amber seemed the best choice. The earrings are made of amber and the necklace at least is of amber colour. The headband is made of feathers that sport all colours that are present in the rest of the coord.
9. Others: Huffelpuff’s scarf is in comparison with the others the most “common” but also the most sturdy  and practical-looking. It also has a certain “cozy” aspect, especially together with that soft beanie-like cap.

Now… which house is yours (if you don’t know or can’t decide, there are enough quizzes to take)?

I think…

… now everybody knows that I adore Manufactum. ^^

Excuse today’s problems, I fixed them as soon as I heard of them.

Thank you.

Porcelain Sunday: Harry Potter

Yes, I’m jumping onto the bandwagon of saying goodbye to one of the greatest phenomenons of my childhood.

Honestly I don’t think that there’ll be another generation of children that will have this bond with JK Rowlings work – we grew up with these characters, we waited every year for a new book and after that for a new film… and now it’s over.

And even though I stopped reading after the Order of the Phoenix and stopped watching even earlier (but maybe I’ll catch up some day – but I had my reasons to stop), I consider myself a fan. I participated in Hogwarts forum RPGs, I took innumerable Sorting Hat tests, I drew fan art and wrote fan fiction. I thought about and discusses the characters’ and story’s progress and which kind of pet I’d take with me to Hogwarts and was delighted when a friend of mine compared my room to the Burrow the fist moment he saw it.

All pictures in this post belong to WB

The inspirational part of Harry Potter on fashion or style behalf is mostly thanks to the movies, and even though I didn’t like some decisions they made I love the look.

In fashion I especially loved the quidditch equipment, but also all the fancy robes. Dubledore’s below is only one example, and I think the costumers did a splendid job!

I’m glad to study at a university nicknamed “Hogwarts”, but it’d be even better if we had rooms and surroundings like this:

(All right, we've got something like Diagon Alley)

Now, enough with the nostalgia… I’m going to re-watch the movies now. ^^
And by the way, I’ve got to try this recipe for butter beer some day…

Another Question: Paper Dolls

I’ve been thinking about this lately, actually since I discovered Paper Thin Personas (and it got even worse with The Paper Collector). And now, with so much free time during the holidays…

So what do you think?

Finally!

Since I just had my last lesson for this semester, it’s finally holidays! Gone is yesterday’s melancholy. The last month have been very challenging on university behalfs and in the end I didn’t do much more than study, sleep,go to training and work for projects and presentations. And some times eat.

Dear Alma Mater... see you in October!

But now that I’ve got the prospect of nearly three months of sweet freedom I have the time again to do as I like and check off some points on my endless to-make-and-sew lists.

Remember the poll I put on some time ago, about which kind of crafting you’d like to see here more? The results were in favour of drawing and sewing, which comes in handy as I wanted to do the deviantArt 100 theme challenge as well as I have got a two-pages sewing projects list.
Mad Hattering came in second, and I’ll hopefully have the time to finally finish the give-away hats! It’s about time…
The other choices got not that much interest, but I’ll show things that fall into the categories of modding, cooking, making jewelery, baking and maybe even sculpting, anyway.

The next great event that’s coming up is Jules’ birthday treasure hunt and picnic. His birthday was in fact back in May, but we both hadn’t the time, and it’s way more fun when everybody is relaxed instead followed by thoughts of school or deadlines or the like during the party.

Another goal of the next month is that I’ll be working on my daring deeds, planning for the next LARP and maybe even tidying up my room (and then finally show it to you as I promised). ^^
Oh, and I’m determined to start making bentō this summer! In my “I’m really to busy to put on a real project, but I can read endless blogs with crafting ideas” phase I stumbled across so many cute food ideas, I just have to! Any recommendations where to get my boxes and smaller stuff from? Or inspirational links?

The Semester ends with Rain

I’ve been craving for holidays lately. Really. But now that the last exam is written, the last papers are handed in, I’m a bit melancholic. And it’s raining, too, very picturesce for my mood.

Every time before a certain time at school or university ends, I’m looking forward to it, but then, when it’s actually the day to leave for the summer, it’s weird. Parting with people you may see again three months in the future and try to be still friends with is not something you do every day. Leaving a building you’ve spent so much time in has its drop of bitterness, too. Sure, I’ll see it all in October, but still…

And I think I’ll miss my routine too, somewhat.