Lolita 52 - Something that I made

Well, this is something that I can speak at length about, but I'll try to only share a few things.

I have a tendency to make a lot of accessories for my wardrobe, however regrettably my crafting frequency has decreased in recent months in favor of just buying things. My life has become significantly busier since beginning my new (more lucrative) job this past January, and since time is money I've begun exchanging more of it through buying accessories as opposed to making them. I really need to get back into the habit of making of things, because I do enjoy it and ought to put my skill set to use.

wired head bow, summer 2014

I'm particularly fond of Baby's head bows. But finding plain ones is particularly difficult on the secondhand market since they're such a wardrobe staple, and $40 for a single head bow new seems a bit steep to me - especially once you factor in shipping. So this summer I attempted to make my own wired one, and I'm pretty happy with the results. This one is not quite ready for wear because I need to redo the bottom layer since I made an obnoxious error when it came to gathering and attaching the lace, but considering I wasn't using a pattern I'm pleased with the results as this was my first time making a bow in this style.

necklace and bracelet - summer 2013, hair comb - spring 2014

As my first piece of lolita had a strawberry theme, one of the first things I made were some accessories to go with it. It's far from perfect, but again this was one of those firsts. I'd never sculpted with polymer clay before so the strawberries are not the greatest, but I love them anyway. The hair comb came this spring, but I've yet to wear it out. Now it's the season for chocolate themes... so I guess it'll have to wait until next year.

sash - fall 2014, necklace - spring 2014

One of my most recent accessories, I made a sash to wear to this year's AWA. Sashes have become quite popular recently when looking to put together OTT outfits, so once I knew I was going to attend the Baby tea party I set out to make my own. Considering the time, effort, and cost it took to construct even this simple one it might have been worth my time to purchase one from an Etsy seller, but it came down to being one of those things where I wasn't sure if the gold sashes available to buy would be the perfect match for my outfit, seeing as there are so many different shades of gold. Also, after a disappointing purchase from an Etsy shop last fall where the item did not match the stock image, I've realized I'm far too nit picky to be buying things from there. When I do buy accessories now I tend to have an easier time stomaching flaws in craftsmanship when it comes to a $10 accessory from Taobao as opposed to a $40 one from Etsy.

Also pictured is one of my most recent and favorite necklaces. I was fortunate enough to find the pendant at Michael's and knew it would be perfect. The only problem was that there was only one of them! Otherwise I would have picked up several to make more. Since I've been adding so much gold to my wardrobe recently I find myself reaching for it more often than not when putting together coords.

Well, looking at this small sampling I've just about represented most of my skills. But it seems that I have nothing that demonstrates knitting or crocheting, so it would seem that would be next on my list! Fortunately it's fall so those things are starting to become necessary. So dear readers keep an eye out, I think I'll be posting the results of that soon!