Visual Splendor

The Cutest Wine You Can Drink

05/04/2010

I know you probably don’t choose your wine by the bottle… but if you’re anything like me that definitely sweetens the deal! Wine bottles (after you share the contents with your best friend over chocolate-covered strawberries) can be turned into vases and lamps (DIY ala Wit and Whistle) to name only a couple of uses!

It also doesn’t help that one of the Hello Kitty Wines comes with a necklace. Are they marketing this FOR us? I’ve heard the rants about inspiring children to drink with the cartoon character but what they don’t understand is in Japan and Asia cute characters are the norm. Your average business man on a train more than likely has a cute character attached to his cellphone in Tokyo — It makes me wish we Americans understood that design can be cute. Cute can be good. It makes you happy and it delights your senses if you let it. (I promise!)

Sofia Mini Blanc de Blancs are one of my all-time favorites (pre-pregnancy of course!) and it’s a sparkling white grape wine so no staining your teeth! Perfect size can to fill a wine class and if you’re hanging around outside you wont even want one. The straws were attached, as rumored, so that women could drink the wine without ruining their lipstick, says a server at St. Elmo Steakhouse Indianapolis — a grand place to be served Sofia wine.

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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

Event Features Self Decoration

6%DOKIDOKI Fashion at The World of Popples in Tokyo

04/30/2010

I’m always excited to see what the 6%DOKIDOKI girls are up to as their shop is always one of my absolute favorite places to hang out in Harajuku. Their stage shows and events are always so colorful and delicious, it’s impossible not to want to jump right into the photos!

The girls had a fashion event in the Popple room and created the cutest outfits you could imagine, complete with large Popples surrounding their stomachs! Looks like a cute cushion when you’re not wearing it? Or rather a baby boppy? 😉

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More great photos singing with color here and here, at TokyoFashion. Fashion and show photos thanks to the wonderful girls of 6%DOKIDOKI.

Diary

Your Hostess Has Fallen Down the Rabbit Hole

04/27/2010

My pride! My joy! Miseducated, I have missed blogging inspirations and hearing from you. I’d never leave weekdays without posts unless life has taken me for ransom.

It just so happened this weekend that my never-ending morning sickness had finally gotten ahold of me. I was dehydrated and having cramps and contractions — how scared was I!

It’s 2 months early, Colette still has quite awhile to bake in my stomach.

So I was rushed to the hospital and ordered to stay while they pumped me full of fluids and monitored my little stomach dweller.

The bad news is I had to stay.. the good news is all the time spent monitoring Colette paid off because she’s *very* active and healthy for her age! It was music to our ears.

Now, as for the wonderful world of Miseducated..

We have quite the inspirational, diy, career-inspiring AND GIVEAWAY goodies coming to you very soon! I’ve been collecting some of the sweetest handmade items from artists around the world to offer you in our Spring Giveaway.

This is yet another way for Miseducated to support handmade artists. Did you know you can apply to be featured in a future giveaway? Miseducated will purchase your handmade goodies and give our wonderful readers a chance to get ahold of them.

So stay tuned for new ezines and newsletters arriving into your inbox (you can submit your email in the ezine space in the sidebar!), inspiration and of course tons of color and unconventional Miseducated fun.

I speak for all of our contributers when I say, you make everything worth it!

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.

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Design Your Life

Why So Many Women Are Afraid to Self-Promote

04/24/2010

Are you a history buff? No? Me either, but I will never forget Glenn Close in Dangerous liaisons. The scene still stuck in my mind where her life of privilege and power climaxes in ruins- because she dared to what? Manipulate people to suit her purposes, avenge herself (jilted by the man she loved who used her and tossed her aside for a younger version), seek revenge, relish the feeling of power, and revel in her own self centeredness. Gosh, this reminds me of something… what is that… I know-MEN.

Ohhhh, wait a minute, is this male bashing? Some may say so, I believe it is simply one passionate opinion about the pandemic affect of this two thousand year old inequity. What I am trying to say really is that, how come when a woman tries to bend things to suit her needs she’s a thankless whore and when men do it they are…just being men. When women are shrewd in business, arranging people, places and things to most optimally benefit her desired goals they are willful bitches and men, savvy hunters?

Am I saying we women want to adopt such scruples? Hell NO. What I am saying is enough already! And set forth a motion to do away with this reckless thinking and embrace a more lavish approach to achieving, creating and realizing what we all want and need and would like.

We will collectively grow up and subscribe to the more the merrier, there is plenty for everyone and then you wait and see what happens!! Until then lets inquire whether or not we want to continue to subscribe to an antiquated way of promoting our passions, taking care of our selves and achieving our deepest desires; groveling along, manipulating our pretty little way to success, trying to be the good girls and wives that we were taught to be.
So let me offer a few pointers and suggestions, how do I promote myself without feeling shame or frightened of how others will view me or instinctively feeling like I may offend people that I believe I need in order to survive~

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First~ Ask yourself who your source is? Go on really. Who or what is the source of flow, money etc in your life. You may not like your answer but you will see it is the source of your angst. A clue is if you believe source is outside of you, or have simply forgotten- there’s the work to be done!

Second~ There is no other! This means we are all one and whatever you see or experience outside your self is simply a projection of your own material and beliefs. Maddening isn’t it. But when you think about it really its empowering and ultimately freeing! And a stellar opportunity to embrace and heal your own beliefs and story about yourself and the world around you! Like men have power women don’t, self promotion is shameful etc. cause if you see it or believe then its true (for you).

Third ~ And last for now , have some fun and stretch yourself. Try celebrating yourself out loud and test some of those theories. Will people really think you’re a shameless self promoter? And if they do, so what? Once a woman told me something I will never forget; “She said to me’ Honey child, half the people you meet aint gonna like you no matter what you do, the other half will. You might as well get over it! So, as Don Miguel Ruiz says, don’t take it personal! Or you stand in it and feel the burn and heal whatever insecurity keeps making you feel this way! I am a big self inquiry fan and find that when I face the daemons they go away. The shadow isn’t so scary when we shed light on what’s really underneath it all!

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.

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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.

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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

Self Decoration

Fairy-Kei and More Japanese 80s Revival Fashion

04/22/2010

One of the reasons I love this style so much is because it looks exactly like my world as a little girl. I wish I could raid my closet and room from then so I could create my own little fairy-kei world again. I’ve realized this is exactly what I’m doing with Colette’s clothes and decor.. she’s getting all those adorable goodies I kept safe! Popples, Baby Brite, Avon character jewelry and more.

I guess I’m probably a big fan of decora too? Seems to be a bit of a difference in color hues with both styles of fashion. I’ve been a long-time lover of decora and that’s because it’s bright and tasty (think Barbie hot pink and an overload of rainbow accessories).

So let’s take a look at what makes fairy-kei special and what makes it different from decora…

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Fairy-kei is a candy-coated, marshmallow rainbow-covered delicious arrival in Japanese fashion. As Miseducated and SPANK! often do, it features the cute characters and motifs of the 80s: My Little Pony, Care Bears, Popples, Barbie, etc. The palettes favored seem to be all soft, light hues of the 80s marshmallow rainbow. Fairy-kei uses as many as 6 colors in an outfit, but don’t be too hasty with color — make sure that each of the colors balance each other out. Colors you use should be used at least one other time in the outfit, usually, to add icing on the cake and to tie it all together. Think bows, beads, accessories and pompoms!

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Photos are thanks to scans and the lovely places below.

All Dressed Up

Made In Girl Magazine
Tokyo Fashion
Niles Perch
SPANK!
Pop-Kei Community
La Carmina
Asia’s Vintage Clothing Explosion
Hello Reimei
Fairy-Kei Community
Drop Dead Kawaii aka Petsugar

Fairy-Kei Tips

If you’re an 80s kid, ransack through any old stuff you kept or stored and see what treasures you can find! It’s like new but has more meaning attached. If you can’t find any try ebay, flea markets and thrift stores for marshmallow rainbow 80s goods.
Tutus! They’re easy to find these days and very easy to make. You can make your tutu as simple or as decadent as you like; they’re all sweet when paired with a tee.
Pompons, bows, tulle — all in the marshmallow rainbow of fairy-kei — think of making yarn into large pompons for hair and keychains, smaller ones for other accessories.
Found some cute 80s fabric but the item is shot? Patch it onto a tee, add some glitter. Don’t wait for your favorite new t-shirt, make it!
A big pastel sweater with an alternating color of hair bow. Think big and ridiculously cute! Keep it simple if you like with a black tutu and flats, you can be Fairy-kei inspired without going over the top.

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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Downloadable Sanrio Patterns

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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).

Visual Splendor

Kiki Kinoko Juice Dolls Customized as SPANK! Gals

04/20/2010

I was just strolling through Petsugar’s blog and found the sweetest doll customizations I have yet to see. Have you heard of Kiki Kinoko Juice dolls? If you haven’t and are a geek for toys that make you squeel, you’ll probably faint. This doll customizer customizes the dolls to look like the girls of SPANK! (absolute fairy-kei eyecandy!).

The amount of detail she puts into her work is absolutely amazing! I can’t get enough of this in both doll customizations and doll outfits, especially when myself and the dolls have the same style. So much eye candy! I just. can’t. get. enough.

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Photos ar all thanks to *Super Sweet* !!