Adventures in KawaiiLand: Ciali in KawaiiLand Review! [ 08-29-2012 ]

Hi, bunnies! It's that time again! What's in the box today?(Fair warning - I might use the words cute, kawaii and adorable a lot in this post xD )

This sweetie lives all the way in Italy and makes just as sweet jewelry and accessories. Her rings, necklaces and earrings all resemble cute things like bunnies and cookies and very delicious looking cupcakes.She is ♥ Ciali in KawaiiLand ♥! (That is the English version to her shop's site. Of course, she also has an Italian version of her site)

For the longest time, I have wanted to own some of her work and I finally got the chance to! Since it was the middle of convention season, I caught her at the right time just as she was making many more goodies to sell. I got quite the haul!

I was able to get a few necklaces, a couple of bracelets, two pairs of earrings and about four yummy-looking rings! She was so very nice to work with. And I even got a free gift!

Now, I know a lot of the people I follow or buy from come from all different art backgrounds but I seldom see graphic designers. I appreciate that she is one and her sites look great. Everything is just too adorable and her hard work shows.

The packaging is another thing I love - very pastel and kawaii, just like the things she makes. I was really happy with the tiny purple stars confetti that dressed up the little packages even more. The first things I opened were the rings I chose. Almost all of her pieces are made with polymer clay and silicone "icing".

I got a lilac bunny cookie, a violet shooting star creme and cookies, a lime green bow creme and cookie, and a very cute pastel rainbow. All of the cookie rings are tall layers with alternating cookie and creme. On the top, there is more creme with different decorations. As you can see, I had to get one of the rings with a bunny. The rainbow ring is the only one that is not layered but still just cute as the rest of them. Each ring comes in their own little gift box with a bright bow.

Next is a pair of candy-looking earrings. These remind me of multicolored twisty marshmallows.Three different colored pieces of polymer clay twist in a spiral up to little yellow stars which are then connected to fish hook earrings. My friends are always tempted to eat them xD

I also got these very delicious-looking macaron earrings. They're pastel blue with little pink bows and white creme in the middle.

The first of the necklaces is a very Fairy-Kei piece. It's a silver chain holding a baby blue rocking horse and a polymer clay rainbow with clouds and a star. I never saw a necklace put together like that but I love it. I wear it often!

The next necklace is actually very similar to the rings I bought. Except this one is an actual cupcake. It's a pink cupcake with lilac icing with a lot of whip cream and star cookies with of course a lot of glitter. And just in case you found yourself really wanting to eat it, there is even a tiny spoon hanging from the silver chain as well.

Another necklace in this batch is more like a set along with one of the bracelets I got. First, the necklace is a long black chain with two little pastel blue stars on either side of a black bunny face. The bracelet has the same bunny but with a rainbow, a lightning bolt, a little moon and a heart all on a baby pink plastic chain.

Another "set" is also from Ciali's macaron section. I got two bracelets, one with regular rounded macarons in different colors and another has heart-shaped ones with mini stars in between. The necklace mimics the bracelet with the star-shapes and mini hearts in between.

 












Of course, I couldn't go without a hair accessory! One of my favorite shapes is the star so I was really excited when I could get a cute little shooting star for my hair. Like all of the other pieces in my order, it is made out of polymer clay. The tail has blue, pink and yellow while the star itself is yellow with a super adorable smiling face.

And finally, my free gift! I thought it was so sweet of her~ It turned out to be a cupcake necklace! It's a very good sized polymer clay cupcake with purple icing and sprinkles. It sits on a silver chain with 6 little stars in similar colors.

I'm so happy that I finally got KawaiiLand stuff! It's very easy to work with her, she makes it a totally fun and painless experience and you get very awesome jewelry that is perfect for any Lolita.

Thank you so much, Ciali! I will definitely be shopping there again!

 Until Next Time~

Cuddles & Kisses,

~ Kieli ~

A Twinkle in the Dark: Lolita Dark CD Review! [ 08-22-2012 ]

Hello, lil bunnies! Today is a new "What's In the Box Wednesday". Inside the box are a lot of goodies from my new favorite band - Lolita Dark! If you are looking for good and pure rock music with a mix of Japanese and English, then this band is for you.



A few weeks ago, a Twitter user had contacted me with a direct message, asking me if I wanted to hear some of her friend's band's work. I said sure, why not! I am so glad she did. I have been hooked since then.

Lolita Dark is a rock band from California. (And they dress in Gothic Lolita too! I love it!) It consists of: two Japanese singers - Ray (Vocals/Guitar) and May (Vocals/Keyboard), Rain Balen (Bass), Patrick Cabrera (Lead Guitar) and Joey Felix (Drums).

More often times than not, whenever I buy a CD I'm disappointed and only like maybe 2-3 songs out of a CD that's holding at least 10 songs. I am very happy to say that this is not the case here.

Tokyo Status, Lolita Dark's first album, displays a very good portfolio of the variety the band shows they can do. When looking for music in the rock genre, my biggest problem is finding something with a good melody and guitar that can keep up with the drums and the vocals. I love the fact there is harmony and it's beautiful.

The tracks on the CD are:

Zesshou

All Tyranny

Who's the One

Death to Iris

Insane

Legacy

Girls

Nothing At All

Tokyo Status

Mad Times

They're all really great tracks. Though if I had to choose my top favorite, it would probably have to be a tie between "Zesshou" and "Legacy". "Zesshou" just has the most catchy sound and I always find myself singing along to it. And "Legacy" makes me want to make an AMV.

Along with the CD, I also got a thank you card written by actual members of the band, business cards and this gorgeous signed poster! I am super happy with the package they sent me. And it feels so personal too! I feel very lucky to actually have been in contact with them because they're so nice and the friend that introduced me to them is just as sweet.

So definitely check them out! You can hear samples of their songs and more on their site ♥ Lolita Dark ♥.

Thank you so much, Lolita Dark! I wish you guys all the best and make your dreams come true.

Until Next Time~

Cuddles & Kisses,

~ Kieli ~

The Cutest Team Ever! Violet LeBeaux and Ms. Bergamot Review [ 08-15-2012 ]

Hello my dear little bunnies! Finally getting back on track this week. I would have done so after Otakon except my job was preparing for our big anniversary party for this past Saturday. Hee hee...

But today we are back on posting schedule and getting in all those awesome posts I have planned for this blog! Today we'll be looking at one of my favorite blogger's shops! This lovely Aussie gal is well known for her awesome pink-tipped hair and her very cute and easy to follow DIY tips. Please meet the lovely ♥ Violet LeBeaux ♥!

Violet is very creative when it comes to revamping clothes, accessories and even your living space. On her website, she has tutorials with very detailed descriptions and videos. She also has great instructions on very cute hairstyles. Yet another thing I love about her is her love for bunnies~ She recently introduced us to a very adorable bunny which she created and designed named Ms. Bergamot!

This little bun's popularity is soaring as high as Violet's!She appears in comic strips, shirts and accessories. So of course I had to get one of these adorable bracelets.

The bracelet came in very cute packaging that reminds me of a scrapbook page with Violet's caricature and design from her website.  Inside was a thank you note, the bracelet, a black and white flower, two business cards and another larger card with all of the things you can find on her site!

The sweet Bergamot bracelet is made of faux pearls with 4 different colored stars and the Bergamot charm sitting in the middle with a little purple crystal. The charm itself is made of sturdy acrylic and is just the right size to see the details of this adorable design and still be comfortable when wearing.

And this is just one of the many things she has in her shop. You can find the adorable bunny on cell phone charms and even earrings! Please be sure to check it out!

Thank you very much, Violet! You and Bergamot have stolen my heart!

Until next time~

Cuddles & Kisses,

~ Kieli ~

Sweet Sunday Special: Otakon Report! [ 8-5-2012 ]

Hi All!

So sorry about the lack of updates - kind of had a long week at work so I missed the update on Wednesday! But now it's officially been a week since Otakon has ended and I am back in my normal daily life. Today's Sweet Sunday Special is my Otakon Report!

For those of you that have yet to attend their first Otakon, you really should! It's one of the biggest events on the East Coast of the States and is held every year in July (though next year it will be in August). I have been to a few cons and it's actually one of my favorites. It's a big event and you can check out all kinds of panels, famous guests and buy a whole lot of goodies for all of your Otaku needs.

My friends and I arrived Thursday evening and practically ran to our hotel to check in and for some of them to get started prepping up in the Artist Alley. Only two of us were just regular con attendees and not selling. But we still had a great time. After throwing everything into the room, one of my friends and I went over to pick up our tags while the others got themselves together to pick up their special "Artist Alley" tags and to prep their tables for selling. There were a lot of cute choices for this year's tags. Madoka, Eureka 7 and Gundam to name a few. To continue along with Otakon's theme of Crabby the plush crab, there was even a tag of him. Very cute! I got Eureka 7 (it reminded me a lot of Macross) while the friend I was with got Crabby.

Since there wasn't much else to do, the con wasn't officially opened until the next day, we decided to head back to the hotel room and catch up on some R&R and TV so we would have enough energy for the next 3 days. After a while, the rest of the group joined and we all hung out in the room till everyone fell asleep.

The next day, everyone woke up bright and early, most to head back to Artist Alley to finish the preparations for when the doors opened at 10 a.m. and my friend and I to get into our cosplay. After a couple of years attending, we finally got to do a group cosplay! Three of us decided on Tales of Abyss to celebrate the game coming to the Nintendo 3DS and get some love again. The three of us cosplayed as Ashe, Ion and Natalia.

We were really excited by this point because that meant the con has officially started. I was so happy that the pre-registration pick up line had moved so quickly the day before. It was really hot in Baltimore! I was in Natalia's "Beloved Princess" costume and I was feeling really warm but I saw there were others in almost full body suits and I felt so bad for them...

Ashe and I had prepared the night before and circled all of the panels we wanted to check out during the course of the weekend. We decided it wasn't necessary to go to the guest signings as they tend to mostly fill up completely and we weren't really interested in the guests this year.

During the con, we got to see panels for Genshiken (I have officially become a fan because of that awesome panel!), Lupin III, Pokeholics Anonymous, and the Legend of Zelda. I had wanted to see the Lolita Fashion Show but we missed the time so we ended up not seeing it. I also heard that there was a Sailor Moon panel but I heard it was just ok.

I had a lot of fun at all of the panels except for the Legend of Zelda one. It was nice to hear some of the history of the series but sadly it was mostly the panelists' opinions on the games. Oh well, the others made up for it.

One of the best parts about this year's Otakon is that three of us got to attend the Tales of... photo shoots held by one of the members from Cosplay.com on Friday and Saturday. We got to meet a lot of very nice people and it's because of this group, that I now have an account on there! I will post all of my cosplay photos on there and selected ones on my Flickr. So please check them out!

On Sunday, things were a little more relaxed and we were done with our Abyss cosplay for the weekend. I decided to dress in Lolita in a very Alice in Wonderland and bunny themed set. But since it was the last day, I usually like to go to the Dealer's room to make sure I didn't miss anything. I was so thrilled to find a booth with nothing but sweet and classic and even some kuro Lolita! I am very happy to say I now own my first official Lolita dress! The booth was called Rakuen and they have so many cute designs! The one I got has an adjustable ribbon and thankfully the woman measured me so I fit into it perfectly! Of course we ran back to the hotel to drop off everything we bought and I had to get into the dress. I love it so much~

For the most part we shopped around in Artist Alley. I would rather support the independent artists there just as much as I support the ones on Etsy. I will have to make a second post to include all of the things I bought!

I also got my photo taken by a very awesome photographer named Vask. Since my friends decided it would be easier to leave on Monday instead of right after the con (which was a very good idea), we spent the night (and had an AMAZING dinner at the Cheesecake Factory). I hung out with one of my friends at the nearby port so when we were walking back to the hotel, we ran into Vask as well the group he was with from Otaku Haven which are known for taking gorgeous photos of aspiring cosplay and Lolita models! I hope to work with them in the future since I would like to become a model for either of those!


Overall, the con was quite fun this year despite a few issues that went on both inside the con and outside. But I managed to accomplish a lot of my goals and renewed my passion for a lot of things I still want to accomplish. A con sure is wonderful for inspiration when you need it! Sorry this turned into such a long post but it was a really great con! Don't forget to check out my photos!

Until next time~

Cuddles & Kisses,

~ Kieli ~