Dolly Kei Raccoon Tale Decoration/Accessory

So I'm sure you've seen the beautiful fur tail accessories from Grimoire/Dolly. If not:



Problem for me: I don't wear fur. So I'll probably never be able to talk myself into getting one from Dolly (even though, I reeeeeally want one.). Lucky for me, I came across a fake raccoon tale at D-tox (it was only 10$!), with a key fob and chain already attached.



So what you're going to need for this little project:

Jewelry pliers (not neccessary, but it will make your life easier), glue (depending on what you add to your tail), jewelry chain and/or ribbon, pin backs, jewelry findings to decorate with (broken peices come in very handy at times like this), ribbon and or/bow, feathers, whatever things you may want to add.

So I started by hanging my tail up. I find it easier when tackling things like this, since I can see how everything is going to hang.


At first I was going to make a new bow, but then I found one I had already made for a previous project and decided to use that. If you don't have a premade bow, simply use some large grosgrain ribbon (or another of your choice) to tie a bow. Make sure to sew it securely once you have it made, to keep it from coming loose later. Then take your bow and glue/sew it to your pin backing.

Once you have your bow, decide what jewelry bits you're going to be using for decoration. I chose a heart locket, two pearls and a cameo. Attach your "bits" to whatever chain you're using (the pliers will make this much easier. And if you have no chain, use some ribbon.), and hold them against your tail to figure out what lengths you want. Once decided, use your pliers to pull apart the chain to the lengths, and then attach any together that you're grouping, using a circle link but leave the circle link open).


Now you're going to attach them to your bow. You can glue, sew, or loop them through the pin back (which is what I did).
Close the loop with the pliers. I added a seperate chain with the cameo to the other side of the pin back. Once you have your peices attached to the pinback, push the pin through the top of your tail and close. You can either glue it there permanently at this point, or leave it detachable and you can use it as a brooch as well.



Now shown on my kitty tapestry bag for prosperity, but this is going right on my Lady GaGa eco-tote later, haha! And yes, that is a Hole poster under there. I love Courtney Love, I'm not ashamed (hehehe).


I kept mine pretty simple, but there's no reason you couldn't add feathers, flowers, keys, toys or other bits to it. Enjoy!

Snow and just have to say: I hate pants.

Awful blurry photos taken with my phone, Snow!





Which brings me to:

Walking around in the snow, coming home. I don't hate the snow, it's pretty. But I hate the snow melting into my hair and messing it up, and melting all over my coat. If it was feasable, I would cab everywhere in winter months to avoid this. Same goes for "spring showers". I don't like anything that effects how I look in a way I have no control over. Feel free to call me a girly-girl, call me a princess, tell me it's very unfeminist of me. None of these things are bad words to me, and I'm proud of just how much of a girly control freak I am. I also don't wear pants. I hate them. I think they're ugly and unfeminine, I don't care who gets angry at me, I HATE PANTS.

Late-night admittance: I'm not very nice.

I was out yesturday with my friend, who has come to visit me from Sweden. He's a good guy, funny, good company. I'll be sad when he leaves on the 21st.

So what I'm getting to: He says lot of "You'e too nice of a girl to_____". Fill in the blank. Swear. Have tattoos. Have peircings. Have ever smoked. Say that I prefer to emotionally destroy my enemies as opposed to physically hurt them. I do all these things, I'm not very nice.

I smile a lot, I laugh a lot, I do my best to help people if they need it. But the running commentary in my head is generally not very pleasant. I like who I like and everyone else can drop off of the face of the earth. I don't think I'm a bad person, but I don't think I'm very nice either.

So... where does the idea that I'm "nice" come from? Am I just not as awful as I think am, or maybe my admittance that I'm not "nice" somehow makes me nice. Maybe the "nice" assumption is based solely on my looks. Maybe I'm secretly a "nice" girl.

Dolly Kei for Winter

We had our first snow today. It was only mild flurries, but...still. The only thing about winter I like is that I can wear my fabulous winter coats, and extravagant scarves and hats. And all those great knit and heavy tights and socks that are much too warm for summer. The thing I hate most about winter (other than the cold), is that I have to wear my fabulous winter coats, concealing my outfits that I put so much effort into perfecting.

So, how do we wear Dolly Kei in winter?

Since your usual layers, accessories etc won't be visible, you have to look to your coat, and items like scarves, hats, boots and mittens/gloves to accessorise with. You won't be able to get the layers really, but you will be able to achieve the same "feeling".

Coats with a fur trim and embroidery details are a good start and lend a great eastern european/homemade look. I love this coat:

Dolly Kei Winter Coordinate by MolotovCupcake featuring cream jewelry

Heavy patterned tights with knee high boots, great button-edged gloves, patterned scarf and tapestry bag add rich details.

Wintery Dolly Kei by MolotovCupcake featuring a christmas brooch

The above ensemble has a great coat as well (the fur on the shoulders is amazing), but is also making use of really interesting accessories.

And of course, not everyone has access to these amazing coats (I don't!), but you can find similar ones in used clothing and vintage stores, or purchase a more plain version new and add your own fur and embroidery panels or lace.

In the case that you aren't crafty at all, or don't want to modify your existing jacket, or...for whatever reason none of these ideas will work for you, I made some examples of "dolly kei-ing" a plain black military-inspired peacoat that you can get in most stores, used or otherwise, and cheaply (this is the actual coat I have, from H&M):

Dolly Kei /Pea coat 1 by MolotovCupcake featuring vintage handbags

Dolly Kei / Pea coat 2 by MolotovCupcake featuring a black hat

Dolly Kei / Pea coat 3 by MolotovCupcake featuring a short glove

Keep in mind, you can obviously get as creative as you like. I kept these pretty simple. The main idea is to get the look from your accessories.

Some quick ideas to take your "plain" winter accessories and make them more interesting:

-You can easily take your plain gloves and sew on bows, buttons, lace and other findings. Fur trim as well.
-If you have a long knit scarf, you can pull through some ribbon (or long lace) starting at one end and working it though to the other. You can then let the ribbon end hang or tie it into a bow. You can do a single ribbon or more.
-Add brooches and cameos to a plain bag.
-Remove your boot laces and replace with ribbon or lace.
-Get some fake fur (which can be purchased at most craft and fabric stores). Trim off the edge (under the fur edge, without cutting off too much of the actual fur). You can then sew a ribbon on either side (lengthwise) to make your own fur collar to wear over your coat.
-Same a above, only sew the longest edges together to make a fur "tube". Tada! Instant fur muff!
-If the buttons on your coat are plain, you can easily replace them with more ornate ones, either vintage or new from a craft or fabric store.

Happy Winter! Stay warm!

Saturday Shopping Adventure!

I had Saturday off for the first time in what feels like forever, so my partner in paycheck-blowing, Liz, and I went to a few places to shop. Namely Fashionably Dead, Dressed in Time, Freak Lunchbox, Splurge, Envy and Value Village. Good times were had by all.

We started out at Fashionably Dead, which caters to the sorta goth and punk crowd mainly. BUT I always find somehing creepy cute there. We were in luck because they had crazy awesome sales that day! I got a cute shirt with a circus freak print (13$), some Manic Panic eyeshadow (5$) (will have review for later since I've never used their make-up before) and...this hilarious vintage-look kitty necklace:



Hahahaaahaha!

After that we went to Dressed in Time, which specializes in vintage clothing. I didn't buy anything there, but they did have some great tapestry bags that I may have to go back for. As always, their mannequin out front looks insane. Note the lack of hands:



Onwards to Splurge, also having amazng sales! It was 50% off of everything, so, I did in fact, splurge (lame joke). There I purchased a cute deer wallet (12$), Rose ring (99 cents), and a neat hanger for my necklaces (7$, will also be doing a review for this).



Envy is right beide Splurge, so it was next. There wasn't too much in there because it's very boutiquey, and when they have sales it clears out FAST. But I did get a great eyelet lace shirt for 19$, pictures soon with a coordinate.

We made a stop at the bank. This dog thought Liz was a raccoon:



Woo, Freak Lunchbox was next! If you're ever in Halifax, you must visit this candy store. Huge selection of classic and weird candy, novelties, toys, and all sorts of collectables too. And the staff is super friendly.



Huuuuge E.T. in the window for Christmas, lol.



They always have weird things outside. I ended up getting a bag of mixed candy and some adorable cupcake mints. Like everything in my life, I prefer my mints cute. And frosting flavoured.



Last stop was Value Village, huge-o-rama of new and used stuff and things. Not much in there that evening, but Liz got a hamster wheel for her hedgie hogs for 2$, And I got a bunch of cute little spoons, with which I will later be attempting to make spoon necklaces (like the Dolly ones carried in Grimoire). Tutoral for that to follow, but here are the spoons:



I was lucky to find some that are heavily decorated and detailed. I love the ones that are scalloped. And the ones that have the flower details right in the "scoop" part are neat too.

These shoes were there too, but they were not my size:



Hoping to have some tutorials and/or coordinates to post next time!

Newest Addiction: Polyvore

In case you don't know what Polyvore is, it's a web site that allows you to mix and match pictures of clothing to make your own coordinates in a sort of collage form. You can then save, display and share them on your account. AND I CAN'T STOP MAKING OUTFITS! I've spent the last six hours meticulously putting together dolly kei coordinates. So now I'll be posting any note-worthy outfits I make here, and there's also a link to my Polyvore account under my Twitter in the sidebar.

My Polyvore

An example:

Dolly Kei in Black 2 by MolotovCupcake featuring bootie shoes

I love it! And it's going to make my next blog post so much easier to illustrate...

Metamorphose! Beautiful Gloves.

Randomly browsing through the Meta ( Metamorphose ) site and found these!

"Princess Gloves with Ribbon" 5400yen


Click for the Gloves!

I think they would be amazing for a Dolly Kei winter coordinate. I need them to live. They also come in a dusty pink. I'm also thinking I can make replicas...