Lolita T-shirts are a go!

I am so excited!  The Inklings/Lily of the Valley Collab shirts are now available for order!

You can order them Here!

Here are the two designs with some quick co ordinations I put together.

Crown:

Bow:

The shirts are available in many colors and several styles!  I hope you all like them very much.

I think that they could be a rather versatile addition to one's lolita wardrobe, or a nice way to show your taste when wearing jeans and a tee.


We would love to have been able to offer puffed sleeve shirts, but they seem few and far between.  Because of this I have drawn up some tutorials for altering your shirts:
Basics
Fitting
Puffed Sleeves 1 (the puffed sleeves could be really cute with a matching eyelet fabric or chiffon)
Puffed Sleeves 2
Ruffled Hem

If you would like to order a shirt and don't have a LJ account you can e-mail me directly.

Please feel free to reblog this as much as you want!  In-fact I would very much appreciate it!

Tutorial: Straw Bonnet

The winners of the EGL Hair Accessory contest have been announced!  Congratulations to the winners.  

So here is my entry, broken up into 3 images.  Click on them to full veiw.

For a first attempt I am pretty happy with it.  I do want to make another if I can find another hat to take apart; and maybe play with the brim shape and how the crown sits on my head.  

Tutorial: Chiffon Underskirt & Sash

Please excuse the bit of radio silence there, I've been a bit busy with Sweet Matryoshka orders and working on my next line.

Here is the promised tutorial for a Chiffon Underskirt and Sash:

Sneaking a better photo of this coord in!

Recipe: Candied Violets

Happy Easter!  Surrexit Dominus vere, Alleluia!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Easter so far.

Since my front yard is currently awash in violets I thought I'd repost this tutorial from my website.  Candied Violets are the perfect way to capture spring in a dainty sweet.

Intro to Tatting and Two Patterns

Doily made as a wedding present

I have to admit to putting off writing this post; it's a lot of material to cover.  But since I'm stuck at home with a spring cold; I figured I'd take advantage of it.

Tatting is a lacework technique that is done with a shuttle or sometimes a needle.  It's also somewhat of a dieing art: I've never actually met irl someone else who tats.

I have been tatting for a little over a year myself.  One of the things I love most about it is that you can make something beautiful and priceless that can be handed down for generations for literally a few dollars.  All it takes is a shuttle and some thread or yarn.

Here are some of my tatting tools: shuttles, yarn, thread, small scissors, shuttle for thick yarn, and crochet hook  for connecting picots (not shown, oops!).

You can find plenty of tutorials and video tutorials on how to tat online so I'll skip that part.  Heres a good one though.

This and Tat Tutorial

Here is the tutorial that I personally figured tatting out from.  Something about how the hands are drawn made it click for me.  Click on it to see it full sized (as usual).

From The Reader Digest's Guide to Needlework circa 1970s.

In an attempt to incite some interest: here is a tutorial for a matching daisy headdress and brooch perfect for country lolita, classic lolita, mori, otome, dolly-kei, or even gothic or sweet lolita (in the right yarn colors).  

Tutorial: Tassel Boots

One of the several looks I fallen for recently is fringe or tassel boots.  Alot of brands have come out with them and urban outfitters has also come up with a very cute pair.

But since I didn't want to spend alot of money, especially on shoes of dubious quality and comfort (in UO case); I turned my mind to figuring out how to add to my very faithful brown boots some tassely goodness.