Sudden Dollsplosion!

I have six dolls at home all of a sudden!

L-R: Miette, Kaden, Blair, Nál, Yuna and Kiara

My four new housemates aren't mine though! Apart from Kaden, who's only here to visit, the other three girls are here for face ups (There is also another girl, Cosette, who isn't pictured here since she's completely blank and naked). Yep, I have decided to open free face up slots locally to start my face up portfolio. Aaahh wish me luck! :D

Solilor: Lolita & Casual Clothing for Less (CLOSED)

Solilor is a Hong Kong-based online clothing shop that offers a wide selection of both lolita and chic, casual clothing for girls at great prices. The name "Solilor" is a portmanteau of "solid" and "color". The shop started out by offering clothes in solid colors at first, but since then they have expanded into more colors and styles, most recent of which is lolita fashion.

Just one of the many lolita dresses available at Solilor!

As a treat, Solilor is giving away a 10% discount code to all my lovely readers! Starting today, you can use the code LOLITAJC when you purchase from Solilor. The discount code is applicable to all Solilor products: lolita dresses, fashion clothing, and accessories. What's better is that shipping is FREE worldwide! Cool right?

My personal picks from Solilor ♥

The discount code is only valid for 15 days, so make sure to use it! Enjoy your shopping! :D

ManikaManila's Halloween Meet 2012

Hello dear readers! I apologize for the lack of posts recently. Work's been eating up my blogging time. OTL  Despite my crazy weekdays, I still had energy to attend ManikaManila's annual Halloween Meet! It was held in Camelot Hotel, Quezon City.

Blair and Miette in their costumes made by Madz of Dear Resin <3

Both old and new members were in attendance. The number of attendees wasn't as big as last year's Halloween Meet, but the costumes were more amazing this time around! Last year, Blair went as Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. This year, Blair and Miette went as Totoro and Mei from Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro.

Hee~ <3

As much as I love my girls' costumes, they didn't hold a candle against all the awesome costumes made by my fellow members. I feel really honored to be a part of such a talented community. It only inspires me to do better!

To see what I'm talking about, click on "Continue reading"!

Interview with Lola of Atelier Momoni

I've been a big fan of Lola Palacios's work even before I got my first doll. As a mori kei lover, the chic and casual clothes and accessories she makes for her shop, Atelier Momoni, definitely tickled my fancy the moment I laid eyes on them.

I'm so glad she agreed to do this interview! Click on "Continue reading" to learn more about this talented lady from Spain. :)

Dolly Diptych Week 25: Making Memories

Gotta treasure every moment we have. ♥

Theme Thursday: Tan Skin, White Hair

I have a soft spot for this combination. So gorgeous. ♥♥♥

1. Sleepy Daze 2. Angel face 3. Villie Millie
4. Polkadot Dress 5. the Midsummer queen 6. Lucy tan skin
7. Youth 8. Momocolor Bonnie 9. Little elf

Dolly Diptych Week 24: Gray Gaze

I fell in love with the Miyu sculpt because I thought it looked the cutest and the most cheerful of all the Minifee female sculpts. My original plan for Blair was for her to be the typical cutesy mori girl, but as time progressed, she turned into someone more enigmatic. I never thought those big, innocent Miyu eyes could convey this much mystery. I wonder if I will ever figure her out.

Mall's Second ACEO Release

My all-time favorite artist, May Ann Licudine aka Mall, released her second batch of ACEO pieces last October 22, 2012. I was ready to snag one that day, but I got distracted by work and missed out on the ones I wanted to get. FAIL. I'll have to content myself with just staring at the pieces from my computer screen again. (_ _)

Below are my favorites from the hundred-and-one pieces she made. For the complete set of ACEO pieces, you can read her blog post about it. :)

You can find out more about Mall and her work at her blog, deviantArt, and Flickr.

Violet's Second Face Up

A few months ago, my friend Nick had her doll, Violet, stay over with me and the girls so that I could redo her face up. She wanted Violet to look more mature. I was happy to oblige! Violet's old face up was also my work. After doing her new face up, now I can honestly say that I have improved quite a bit! :'D

What a difference! I'm so happy. ;u;

It did take me four tries to get it right. My first attempt had too much blue on her eyelids, which made her look hoochie. The second attempt went awry because I made her eyeliner too thick. The third attempt got wiped because the eyelashes I drew on her sucked. XD

This was old face up I did on her...

...and this is the new and improved Violet!

Finally, my fourth attempt was a success! I'm really happy with how she turned out. I ended up buying a new set of Faber-Castell watercolor pencils because the ones I had (Derwent) were too soft and had a grainy texture, which was not ideal for doing fine lines. I love the color variation of Derwent, but when it comes to drawing detail, I'm sticking to Faber-Castell from now on. ^^

Detail shot. I had the hardest time layering the blue and purple so that it would show on camera!

Violet is home with her mom now, and I'm glad she's happy with the result! Doing face ups can still be frustrating, but I find it very rewarding. I think I might open a few slots for free face ups for practice some time in the near future. Fingers crossed! ^o^

All grown up, b'aww! ;u;

I'm Catching Fireflies is now on Facebook!

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