Pastel Raindrops ♪

A Fairy in Tokyo ♪

2013-05-23T02:31:00.000+02:00

Hello cuties! ♥

I'm BACK! Back with some news that may interest you~

The hiatus is over, at least for now!

Why?

Because I got quite some things I'd like to share with you, beginning with this post.
It's been quite a while and in all of this time I haven't been just busy with university, work and my general life but I was also lucky to spent the time of my life. The title might have already given you a little hint and those of you who are carefully following my tumblr and facebook have already heard the news.

I've been to Tokyo!

Thanks to Kawaii.i who have chosen me to be one of their 5 Kawaii Leaders, I got to see the city of my dreams. And even though I had to tone down my pastel business so much due to my daily schedule I was able to dress up in my favourite clothes every day over there. It was truly, truly, truly the best time I ever had and it was even better because of all the people I got to meet there.

So in the upcoming posts I will write more about my journey around the globe and will tell you all the stories I can tell you ♪

As for now, let me introduce this project to you a little more~

"Kawaii Leaders" is, like I already mentioned above, a project that was brought to life by Kawaii.i which produces the TV program "Kawaii International" on NHK International. They were looking for girls to represent Japanese kawaii culture and fashion from Japan to the world and vice versa.

Our group consisted of Stella from Indonesia, Marie from France, Kaila from the Philippines, Eva from Hong Kong and me, Mio from Germany and while I'm at it I got to say I miss them so much, it's ridiculous. These four girls were really so much fun to be around and I'm so, so grateful for having been with them on this tour. But also being invited to be a part of this whole thing was the amazing and I wish I could just go back now. Because we experienced so many great thing but also since everyone on the team was plain wonderful and it was a fairly tearful farewell in the end.

However, and here comes the hopefully cool part for you, there is going to be a whole episode of Kawaii International on our adventures in Tokyo THIS WEEKEND! ♥

Yep! If you're interested in what we've been up to over there, please tune in!

Here's the schedule:

In Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) it's:

May 25, Saturday 15:10/19:10/23:10

May 26, Sunday 03:10/07:10/11:10

So please convert your accurate time and go to Kawaii.i's webpage to see our program!

In the meantime you can also check out their Facebook page to find looooots and lots of pictures from all the days we spent in that huge city and also for Kaila's Kawaii.i Giveaway!

Hope to see you again soon and I hope you will enjoy the show as well as my upcoming reports. Until then please take care ♪

Mio~

Kiss Me! Hug Me! Love Me! ♪ (+Hiatus)

2013-01-26T02:01:00.001+01:00

It's been... a while. No, not just a while, it feels like an eternity.

Did you all have lovely holidays? I hope so, even though it seems odd and funny to ask that when it's almost February.

As you can read in the title, I'm going to officially announce my hiatus for Pastel Raindrops.

I'm terribly sorry for this, especially since there are lots of lovely peeps always coming back to this place, hoping for an update. I'm sorry for disappointing you once more but there are several reasons for this and I've thought about this for a very long time. There's also more things connected to this and possibly there will be more announcements in the future but as long as things are not thought through carefully and as long as I'm not 100% sure on everything there won't be any news.

Now, I have no idea how long this hiatus will be, I merely know that I need a break from all this and that this doesn't have any future at all if I don't do it now. Besides that, there are a lot of things going on in my life and my head right now that are very time consuming so you can be sure that this break will be well used.

In the meantime you can take a look over at my tumblr since I have a couple of things explained more carefully over there and you might get a better insight into my thoughts on many things (also concerning this and other connected issues), and I will likely update more often over there as well. Not regularly but if there are any news I write them down there first.

After the kind of, sort of bad news I also have a little something to show.

Some pastels? YES!

In form of a little illustration!

It's nothing very new but I didn't post it here before and if you are not frequenting my instagram it's likely you didn't see it yet.

This was done for a little project and the topic was 'Lolita' but of course I had to give it a little Fairy twist (and you all know I love salopettes, right?). It was nice in general to some illustration works again at that time. In fact, I'd like to get back to it again right now but I lack the time for it and I'm afraid I just don't feel it either. Instead I'm filling my sketchbook up with random things and drawings of the people inhabiting my brain, which nobody ever sees.

And that's it for now.

We'll see when I'll be back, I hope you won't forget about me in the meantime.

Much love,

Mio ♥

Frozen Breath & Warm Thoughts ♪

2012-12-04T00:14:00.002+01:00

Are you all ready for winter to come?

Up here it gets colder by the day and last weekend we this first snowflakes came down as well. It's almost crazy how quickly this year passed me by. Christmas is only around the corner and so it the new year! If -as it's popular believe- it won't end before all that.

For today I thought of showing you some of my latest gets to give you an idea of my winter's wardrobe and outfits. Sure there's plenty more but these here are my favourite pieces right now, as well as the warmest ones. Especially after the latest incidences I need a cosy, warm embrace even more - even if it only comes from a nice sweater.

Yes, you guessed it! Half my wardrobe is still Monki and so I don't think it's really a surprise this one has become the most favourite sweater I own right now. I'm not even sorry.

What certainly is a bit new though is the fact I started wearing pants again. Like, legit, actual pants with two legs, a zipper at the front and everything. It started this summer when I didn't know what to do with a Weekday giftcard, so I got a pair of Cheap Monday high waists. That's also my one condition about pants: They need to be high waist! And these ones? They are perfect! These two are from Monki as well.

Another pair of cord pants (so, so comfy!) and socks by Monki. Also, a shirt from Illustrated People (hurry up, it's still on sale!)

I actually found that old Lacoste cardigan at the flea market just a few weeks ago and it's absolutely lovely, especially because it's so big. Yes, oversize everything for me as always. The skater skirt is from Sparkle & Fade at Urban Outfitters and I really love wearing it with my good, old, Underground creepers!

This Acne cardigan is probably the most amazing thing ever. Yes, it's Acne and to be honest I always wanted to have one of their amazing things but it's also very warm and lovely. The cute velveteen shorts are from Miracle Eye and the shirt is from H&M. A cute hair bow is always a go, obviously!

This Monki cardigan is SO HUGE! But also just SO great for this cold weather (especially since I don't have a warm coat yet) and best about is that I got it 50% off ♥ Old Martens are always lovely, too, of course and one can always use a cool shirt, Illustrated People again in this case.

What you see above is the first pair of pants I talked about earlier, the Cheap Monday pair. A simple cardigan from H&M's Men's department is also nice to have and one of my two Illustrated People sweatshirts I love so much ♥

OH NO! THE SHIRT THAT FITS MY SOCKS! Hell yeah! Yes, of course from Monki! The skirt, which has almost turned into a daily-wear-skirt for me is from Miracle Eye and the cardigan is from H&M Divided. Here are also my absolute favourite heels right now. They are from last year's Akira collection and incredibly comfortable. I call them my witch booties, they are just magical ♥

Now then, I better hurry to bed now, still need to pack my 'school bag ' ♪

Hope you enjoyed this little insight to my closet and that you could get a little idea about my very own winter.
Stay warm & much love!
Mio ♥

Shine on ♪

2012-10-26T01:06:00.001+02:00

Pardon my long absence but these crazy, new times I'm working my way through right now don't exactly allow me much time to dedicate to blogging and internet things in general. To be honest, I've actually thought of closing PR♪ in this time but the thought of abandoning it saddens me too much. Leaving it for so long makes me feel weird already as it is.

Just to outline some of the past events in short:

University started about three weeks ago and before that there were a couple of other things to take care of, as well as me being pretty ill once again. Now things slowly regain some sort of normality and I try to adjust to my new schedules as well as I can. Which is fairly tight, including my working hours, so it's not all so easy.

Nevertheless, I'm currently very well balanced and happy with how things are going and how my days at the university are. I must say, it's a really nice place with nice people and I like how it's not so big, yet leaves you so many possibilities.

But that is that and we'll see how it all continues ♥

Guess I could tell you all a million things about all what's happening in more detail but like I said - I'd like to keep it short.

So just for this blog to make some sense again and to show something new to you all I got around editing some photographs of a past 'shooting' I did with Nechan and Anni. There are still like a million pictures to edit and a million other ones but I don't have the time and mind for that at all, sadly. On the other hand I'm much more inspired again and put my sketchbook to some more use but more of that maybe some other day.

Instead some pictures:

Salopette, Headbows, OTKs - Angelic Pretty; Platforms - Superga; Shirt - Banana Fish; Backpack - ManiaQ

That day I also took photographs of my friend's Kuragehime Cosplays so while we were at it I decided to dress up as well and try on my -then- new salopette. Hopefully I can find some time to edit the other photographs as well since I think some of them turned out rather nice.

Also as a ~~stupid~~ extra:

~~I'm not even sorry.~~

Hopefully I can be back without such a long break and soon as I can. And I also hope you didn't forget me after all the days and weeks.

Marie ♥

Can too much glitter kill you? ♪

2012-09-10T00:43:00.000+02:00

I say it can't!

But I didn't get a complete diagnosis of this matter yet, so there's no way I could guarantee this for you.

The above picture may already be a hint and if you didn't guess it already (or seen it elsewhere), I've been quite crafty again! Once more with shoes - creepers to be even more specific.

Within the past weeks I simply couldn't keep my hands still, even drawing is a piece of cake these days, how weird! Is this a sign? Did aliens visit me to inject me creative energy? So far there is no answer to this but the results make me happy.

Painting a pair of creepers was actually a thing that has been haunting my mind for quite some time but I never found the right pair for this as I already saw the finished shoes right in front of me, I knew exactly how they were supposed to look. Then a few months ago I finally found a proper pair on eBay (which is now out of stock, sadly - but maybe the keywords can help to find a similar one) to get it started.

Almost half a year ago I already made a cheap Photoshop edit with my old creepers to visualise about what I had in mind:

Of course they didn't turn out exactly like this - after all my exact idea was slightly different.

So here is the final result of them:

This is what I meant when I called 'death by glitter'!

In person they are even more shimmery and glimmery, I love it so much. And I was surely very much content with how they turned out in the end.

For these I basically followed all the steps from my recent tutorial, just in case you were wondering. The only thing that's different here was the glimmery topcoat I made by mixing transparent fabric paint with loose glitter.

And since I felt like pictures weren't really enough to show just how much they sparkle, I prepared two gifs as well as a short video for you to show you the shoes in motion. Please bear with me, though, I'm by no means good at filming or editing videos but I tried my best.

Hope you enjoyed this sparkly journey!

See you soon~

Mio ♥

Neon, Blood & Glitter ♪

2012-08-27T01:43:00.000+02:00

It's weird but in all the past weeks I've actually been fairly creative - for my own standards at least - and my mind to hand communication functioned pretty decently. There's plenty of artworks I've yet got to show you and I'm not sure whether I should be presenting them little by little or all at once.

It's a fact, though, that I'm more than happy to draw more frequently again, that I actually use my sketchbooks again and that I get to really finish some pieces.

Yes, I do finish them. And not just after months and months, some of these were finished in just days and that's something that probably didn't happen in years.

The artwork that I want to show you today was merely the result of an experiment and isn't something that I usually do, at least not colour and material wise. It's just that I recently got infected with a severe case of neon-addiction, due to some of the application works that I did. That's why I'm having a couple bottles of neon acrylic paint around and that paired with my normal love for all that glitters and glimmers brought up this thing.

I finished the drawing and its colouration within one day and even though it wasn't done in as much detail as usual I was quite content with it. Using Copic Ciao markers and coloured pencils together with text marker ended in what I hoped for, some neon-mess.

The more unusual part for me was probably the acrylic paint and the fact I put everything together on a canvas, which gave me a very hard time until everything was completely finished.

The problem was to get the drawing which was done on paper onto the canvas and it took me three tries because the glue I used would always wet up again once I put a layer of clear paint over it and wrinkling everything. I had to wash everything off after each try and that washed out the colouration a bit, especially the textmarker that vanished completely. After two new colouration touch-ups everything was finally done, even though I almost had some minor break downs in between since things just wouldn't work out. Ultimately I had to work all wet in wet and used the clear acrylic paint as a glue as well as a top layer.

Even though I cursed this artwork at some points I think I'm now quite cool with it. It didn't turn out quite as expected but it didn't end up as wrecked as I though it would be at some times.

It found a new home at my sister's place now, too - even though I'm not sure if she already found it. I hid it in the things my dad brought her last week and didn't tell her about it yet so I'm not sure.

That would be it for today ♥ Expect some more art related stuff in the near future~

&& See you again soon!

Mio~

Can't you see I'm fading fast? And that this shot will be my last ♪

2012-08-23T22:53:00.000+02:00

Here I am with blacks and white once again with another casual outfit. It's been quite a while, huh?

These days I've spent some lovely times with friends once again, had to say good bye and could welcome some from other cities. Had endless rain and got desert temperatures but all in all it was all good ♥

Some time ago I got a lovely parcel from SheInside, delivering me a wonderful T-Shirt! I was glad I finally got to wear it, and I absolutely loved the print for fairly obvious reasons. The Stones have been one of my favorite bands for a long time now and my dad has been playing them in our house ever since I can think. Well, what can I say? We're a rock'n'roll household and I was early vaccinated with it.

Shirt - SheInside; Cardigan - H&M; Leggings - Monki; Boots - H&M; Jewellery - Flea market

It was truly a wonderful day I had with my dears Maikel and Roya and the sunny, yet not too hot weather got me into the mood for autumn. I can almost feel it now, it feels like burgundy red, copper, lots of black and velveteen touches. Maybe now I finally got to wear the dark vine lipstick I got some months ago, that sounds like a plan!

Until then, take care ♥

Mio~

Hearts and Pastel Twirls - A Shoe Painting Tutorial ♪

2012-08-06T02:29:00.002+02:00

Another long absence lies behind me as well as more exhausting times of work, nerve wrecking waiting periods and lots of pencil work and paint. At last it all paid off in the end, if I may say so.

How? I finally made it through to get a place at university and starting this October I'll be a student of Integrated Design at the University of Arts Bremen! To be honest, I still find it hard to believe I made it through in the end, it's like the rough ending to a roller coaster ride that was far too long and sometimes even scary. And though this also means that I'll have to stay in my little hometown for a little longer than planned I'm still incredibly happy and relieved about this turn. Besides that, this university is actually quite sweet and I feel I'll have a good time there, I can't wait to start studying!

Another thing that paid off at last was a little personal project of mine that I finally finished yesterday, which I will show you as we read on. I prepared a little tutorial for you all on how to paint your own, lovely and unique shoes ♥

I'll show you step by step how I created this pair of sneakers, with a design based off on one of my favorite dresses from Spank! Don't be afraid, it's a piece of cake with this method and you have countless ways and possibilities to create your very own design ♪

But first things first, here are the things you will most likely need for this.

Pictured are the things that I personally used for this and products I've used and can recommend. However, you are not limited to those and not all things are a necessity or will have to be used in this form.

A pair of shoes you want to customize

I suggest to use white canvas shoes or shoes made of some sort of fabric or else you will need a different type of paint. Fabric has the benefit to absorb paint very well and thus helps it to last longer. With a white base your colours will turn out more vibrant and will be easier to apply opaque.

I found my hi-top sneakers in a little shoe store in Berlin that sold non-brand shoes but you will easily find good shoes at stores like Primark, sometimes H&M or other high street shops as well as online on eBay for example. Just search for things like "Canvas Shoes", "White Sneakers" or "Plimsoles" but make sure to arrange the listings by price to find the best bargains.

Fabric paint

Here you can go wild and chose any colour you would like of course and also have a brand paint of your choice and trust. You don't need the most expensive ones but ones that dry well, not sticky, have good pigmentation and I also suggest to go for rather opaque colours, especially for white! Maybe pay a visit to your local craft supplies store and see what they have available and if they have some test charts for you to look at check those out as well. My brand of choice is Marabu and Javana for the black but I'm not sure if those are available world wide.

Most importantly - different paints will require different handling so make sure you buy a paint that dries through waterproof on its own and in generally follow the given instructions carefully for the best results!

Brushes

My favorite kind of brushes are broad synthetic ones since the fibers are soft, yet don't bend as easily as they do with pointed brushes. They give you great control over what you do with them and work very precise. Mine are from Da Vinci and very easy to handle. In case you need some more precision for your designs it's also handy to have very, very tiny brushes, something like a 0 or even less depending on what you are going for.

A closable palette or small containers

This is something very convenient, especially when you are working longer on your project because it allows you to keep your paint wet to be used over several days or even longer. It's also nice because you can mix and store bigger amounts of a certain colour without having to mix it again and again. You won't have to worry about getting the shade spot on with something like this. It's not necessary for you to have a palette like this, though. Small bottles or jars do the same job as long as they don't leak out or allow air to get inside.

A painting palette or some cardboard to mix your colours on

Some q-tips

Paper towels

Masking tape

A pencil

Some other things that are optional buy nevertheless great to have and use:

What I have pictured here are special effect paints, glitter and clear fabric paint all again mostly from Marabu and Javana but also Knorr Prandell and Eberhardt.

With special effects I'm talking loose glitter, glitter glue, glitter pens, 3D pens and paint, velvet powder and paint, glow in the dark paint, pearl pens, decoration gems, fabric dye and in general all that helps you to create your very own, sweet design. There are so many materials you could use for your crafting and art supplies stores usually have a wide range of those things. You could also wander blindly through the alleys of your favorite store and simply get inspired by the products they offer and imagine how you could work them on your project. If you're going to work with loose things like glitter the transparent paint is very useful because you can mix many things within it and apply like normal paint. If you're going to attach things like gems on your shoes make sure you find a very strong glue or stuff that can also be sewed on so you don't lose any of your pretty decorations.

Now that you have all your materials and things ready it's time to prepare your shoes!

Make sure they have a clean surface, if necessarily throw them in the washing machine before you start on them, and remove your shoe laces if you have any. Next you want to cover the sole carefully with masking tape so you don't get any paint on it because in some cases it may be impossible to remove the paint afterwards if you mess up on some spots, so you want to take care of this beforehand. Eyelets or any metallic parts don't need to be covered because they can easily be cleaned.

Once you have your shoes all prepped you can start with all the painting! In my case I did a base colour first, covering all the visible fabric parts and I think this would work well with many designs one can create.

It's good to mix a big amount of colour for this because you have quite a big area to cover up! And remember to work in your paint very well into the fabric so you don't end up accidently having and left spots.

If your shoes are any other colour than white and you want to cover them, make sure you have a fabric paint that is for darker fabrics or your colours will hardly turn out opaque and you will have to go over it all a couple of times.

Another option would be to completely colour them using a fabric dye following all the giving instructions.

Once your paint has dried completely you will want to grab your pencil to start drawing on the design or pattern of your choice. I already had a model to copy mine from but if you don't it may be easier to draw yours out on paper first since it can be a little hard to remove the pencil lines from the surface and it's goodr to have a clear scheme or idea to follow. Also don't put too much pressure on your pencil and try to keep your lines as sheer as possible because you will have to cover them up later without them shining through.

If you finished this important step you can finally get to really start on your little piece of art so surround yourself with your paint, brushes and water once again to get all started!

Some advise for these next steps:

♥ Your fabric shouldn't be too liquid as it'll takes away it's coverage and when mixing different colours together stir them carefully so you don't have any lumps in your paint and will be able to have a smooth application.

♥ Remember that wet paint always appears lighter than paint that has dried. When in doubt - or when following a certain colour scheme - rather mix everything a shade lighter than you normally would.

♥ Start building up your paint by using the lightest colours first. Darker ones will always cover up the lighter ones better, this will give you the cleanest results.

♥ Some colours will need multiple layers in order to be completely opaque and to cover up and lines or paint below them so just be patient and built up it up.

♥ It's very important to always let your paint dry thoroughly so you don't accidently mix to layers of different shades or create unwanted fuzziness, unless you want to create gradients.

♥ If you do want to have gradients you will have to paint wet in wet, using a soft brush for the edges and possibly help it with carefully adding a couple drops of water while blending.

♥ In general, don't be afraid to play around with your paint and try out different techniques. If you are unsure about the results you will get you may want to use a piece of fabric to test everything on.

From here on you just continue to carefully paint on your patterns and creations, little by little.

When you really let each layer you've painted on dry through completely it'll also be a lot easier to clean up any mistakes that you may make. For smaller flaws it could already be enough to scratch off excess paint and spots with your fingernails or a sharp-edged tool but if that doesn't help use a clean, wet brush to rub it off and then dab the surface try with a paper towel. For the case that you do mess up worse it may be a good idea to keep small amounts of the colours you've used for any touch ups.

Then you just paint and paint and paint and paint and paint and paint...

After all that you may or may not continue by adding some glitter, sticking on some sparkling gems or adding some more funky detail to your shoes. Optionally you can also seal them off with some clear paint or Mod Podge afterwards to make them wind and waterproof if your regular fabric paint didn't already do that for you. Mine dries up waterproof on its own after a couple of days but another top layer may also be nice to have a glossy finish for example.

When all your work is done at last and your parts and pieces are all dry and neat it's your turn to take a bunch of q-tips and start cleaning up the metal parts you might have covered in paint.

This is very simple and works well - just dip them into water and attentively rub them over the metal and eventually all the excess paint will come of with barely any effort at all.

Then it's finally time to remove your masking tape if you used any - or in my case - grab a damp towel to rub off all the last spots and flaws from your sole and any other parts.

What I did lastly was to have me some fabric dye and use that on my shoelaces to make them fit the rest of the shoes. If you want to, this may be another lovely detail for yours but it's important your laces are made from cotton to soak up the dye well and that you use it all accordingly to the given instructions.

Given that you don't want to add anything else to your wearable, little artworks you are now all finished and can show the world all that you created! But just in case it gets rainy outside, you better wait until your paint has become completely waterproof - you wouldn't want to ruin your work now after all this effort, would you?

Now this is what my sneakers looked like in the end after this whole, long process. I'm much content and satisfied with their outcome! I finally have the perfect shoes to wear with my Spank! dress and even better: something pretty and unique to wear outside

I hope this tutorial was useful for you guys and that you will have as much fun as I had while customizing your plain shoes. If you need any further help or have any other questions concerning this please let me know about it and I'll do my best to solve it out with you.

And if you did end up trying this out I'd be more than curious to see your pretty results so don't be shy to show them ♥

Until next time!

Mio~ ♪

Kitsch Impressions ♪

2012-07-10T01:01:00.001+02:00

Busy times, busy times!

I'm freshly out of my so-called 'vacation' a.k.a. the-time-I-pretty-much-only-spent-drawing-and-focusing-on-my-application. Yes, I believe that sums it up all well! I've buried my head, mind and fingers in all that is art, worked on some fine illustrations and in between had a little life crisis in between my entrance exam and almost missing the interview that came along with it. Let me tell you, there wasn't much vacation there.

Only the second week of it, when I spent 3 days in Schwerin with Flau and Mi and on one lovely Friday when I teamed up with Maikel, Nechan, Roya and Anni ♥

There aren't any that exciting pictures of those event to show you, only little lovely random shops from my iPhone but if you care and are able to you can find them on my instagram, my username is 'pastelraindrops' over there.

Apart from that there isn't much anything to show, really, or at least I don't have anything I feel like writing about from my archive. Maybe some other day, but not now. Today, though, I have some little impressions to show you from my ever growing toy collection.

I'd never pass an opportunity to get some lovely old toys, whether it may be at the flea market or online. If I'm in love, I better buy it. It can't be helped, I'm afraid. There are still lots of toys, dolls and plushies I'm dreaming of but they are hard to get for me. I wish flea markets in Germany would offer more for a toy obsessed girl like me but I'm already happy about the occassional Keypers or Polly Pocket find ♥

How about you? Do you have a little secret obsession as well or something that you've always collected? Or would you like to see more from this collection of mine perhaps? ♥

I hope you are all alright and that you all have a sweet week! ♥

P.S.: I updated the Press section with some new reads. If you'd like to, please check out what's new in there ♪

Much love~
Mio

Minty Magic ♪

2012-06-18T01:36:00.000+02:00

I swear, I have an explanation for this way too long absence!

It may be not the best one but nevertheless it is an explanation of some sort. Once again it was time for assignments and applications again for me, no I didn't lose my faith in getting a spot at university yet, and so I had to sit down and do some work to send in some neat little results. Thus far at least some time I spent on all that paid off since I've made it into the entrance exam scheduled for the end of the month that is taking place in Bremen. The other one was for a university in Berlin but I guess I need to wait some more for the results of that one as the due has only ended past Friday. All fingers crossed I can make it this time, I'm doing my very best at least.

Apart from all that I more or less enjoyed my life with all it's up and downs, work, friends and some thick bronchitis that I finally got to fight completely - or so it seems.

I hope I can also update more frequently for now since I really hate neglecting you all.

What I was initially going to show you today was actually a more or less boring review but I decided to take you on a little Shopping Update instead. The title already suggests it - it'll be minty. Colourwise.

These mint Pearl Doc Martens from last years S/S collection were such a must have, let me tell you. It was a long way too get them, though. When I first saw them on Ebay I sadly missed buying them in my size and only later I found them a size bigger than I usually wear but bought them regardless. Turned out they were way too big and I already lost my hopes on ever wearing them out until I found a German shop that carried them. Sadly they appear to be sold out everywhere now, I would've loved to get the other colours or maybe the Oxfords version as well.

Some more pastel shoes? YES! And sneakers, too. Reeboks even!

I'm not going to lie, I love Reeboks. I simply do. I 'only' really have them in two colours so far but I wouldn't mind having some more.

These were a lucky find on a German used clothing site (Kleiderkreisel, some of my German speaking fellows might know it already) and I just love them! They are so comfy and cute, too ♥

This jacket is definitely one of my absolute dream items from Angelic Pretty!

I still remember when it was released and how I fell deeply in love with that little collection but it wasn't until recently that I could call this my own, thanks to a egl_sales_comm ♥

It's simply perfect in every way possible. At least for me~

Lastly I treated myself two other Angelic Pretty items~

They're from the recent re-release of the print series 'Toy Parade' which was pretty much my first dream print ever since I discovered Lolita. Back then I always wanted to have the white OP version of it but having the skirt in the new mint colourway I have to admit that it's even better now ♥

And this would be all again for today ♥

Did you like these few items? I hope you did!~

In other news, as you might have noticed, I have a new watermark for my pictures but this time it's a real logo rather than just some writing. The main reason for this change is that in the past it has often occured now that people would crop off my watermarks and re-posted them online and so I've decided to put something a little bigger and bolder onto them for now at least. I hope I don't have to make it even bigger in the future as I, of course, would like to obstruct my photographs and pictures as little as possible but with some people acting so unfair this just has to do.

Please remember that I really don't mind others using my pictures for non commercial purposes and I'm even fine with them being posted to sites such as tumblr but please don't edit or change them in any way. Especially don't crop out my watermarks, give me at least that much credit, that would be kind.

But enough of these things now!

I hope you'll all have a great start into this new week and that you're all well ♥

See you again soon~

Mio

Walking through the clouds ♪

2012-05-09T02:47:00.001+02:00

And there she was gone again for a couple of weeks, oh no!

But she's back again in good spirits and something new to show ♥

Where I've been? Well, t'was mostly just the usual daily life that caught me, regular work, meeting friends, celebrating my birthday and working on some things including a little bit of a surprise that'll come up sometime soon!

Back in March I also managed to finish another drawing that I've been working on way too long and after that didn't get around to scan until today. It's been for a lovely girl who once did a little drawing for me when we decided to do a little swap. It's been too long since that and I'm just very, very slow at drawing (which is why I'll probably never be able to do things like comissions, oh woe is me) but after all, I finish what I want to finish. Even if it'll take me centuries.

Just a lovely, little Lolita girl in her own little, dreamy world. Drawn with Copic Ciao markes and coloured Pencils as usual.

It's nothing really special but maybe someone likes it anyway ♥

Until next time ♪
Mio~

Tell them I'm a dreaming kind of guy ♪

2012-04-20T01:03:00.000+02:00

A guy who has been so dreamy they completely forgot to write a proper little something for this little bitty blog.

This was definitely not my intention but those days passed by almost unnoticed until it was time for me to leave my vacational comfort zone to go to work again this week.

The daily grind has gotten back to me just as I have gotten back to you to show you something new from the past. This time it's pictures from a Lolita meet up in my hometown the week before Christmas.

It has been a really sweet little meet up with lots of nice peeps, glorious cake and darling hot chocolate. All of that in the somehow-snowy-but-not-actually-really-snowy Bremen ♥

(The following pictures are all courtesy of Kira ♪)

Dress, OTKs, Bag, Bow, Blouse - Angelic Pretty; Jacket - Primary; Shoes - Secret Shop; Accessories - Cute Can Kill, Chocomint, Offbrand

It was also, I have to admit that one, an excuse to wear Lolita again since I didn't do so in a long while! Though I actually really love this style and I wish I could wear it more often. What keeps me from doing so is just blatantly the fact that I consider it a fashion that needs it's own occasion and most of all friends who dress up with you. Neither are offered to me that often, so I'm thankful for any time I can go and wear my favorite dresses, even if there aren't that many that I can call my own.

The one I've worn that day is still my latest fad Lolita wise and I think I've fallen in love with mint even more after having gotten this. Dreamy Dollhouse is still one of my favorite prints ever and I was so happy I could finally buy the jumperskirt version of it. I can't even really put my finger on what it is that makes me love it so much but I simply do. I really do love this dress ♥

Now my lovelies, I won't bore you much longer with my love declarations towards clothes, I'll continue by wishing you a wonderful, dreamy, good night and an even more wonderful weekend!

Take care ♥

Mio~

Neons make my eyes sore ♪

2012-04-08T02:55:00.000+02:00

Hellow my little kitsch addicts ♥

Posting so soon again? HELL YES! Only very quickly though because I meant to go to sleep - what - 3 hours ago?

So let's do this! I have something new to show you and this time it's art relates.

Getting curious?
Then have some more ♥

H-o-l-y! I would've NEVER thought I'd actually finish this but somehow I did?
It all just started as a junk sometime last year whilst thinking about how I didn't draw anything just because I wanted to in a long time. Meaning, nothing except for portfolio stuff and things for others.
So this was merely supposed to be something little for me but on its journey it got bigger and bigger. At first I really didn't want it to be so clean and detailed but simply something to fool around with but then my darn perfectionism shimmered through again and took a turn into it all.

Then in early march I picked it up again, did the lines and quickly finished it step by step. Within maybe 2-3 weeks I had it finished and yes, that's pretty quick for me at least because I usually start something and then eventually work on it on and off over months.
Now, here have some progress pictures taken with Instagram ♪

And lastly some close-up progress pictures of this babe ♪

So, how do you like it? ♥
It's a little different from the usual pastel stuff but not less kitschy, perhaps a bit more like some of my older artworks from the Decora times only with an 80s vibe, haha~
Or at least that was a bit I had in mind with this. It's should be funky ♪
I for myself am surprisingly pleased with it and most of all I had lots of fun drawing it - like I didn't have in a long, long time ♥

Happy Easter!
Mio~ ♥

Kitsch && Pastel Overload ♪

2012-04-07T01:58:00.002+02:00

It's probably better to apologize beforehand for the massive picture spam that is coming up in this entry and I'm almost positive that your computer is going to hate me for it. Just sometimes, you have so many things to share and you want to share them all at once and simply can't decide which ones to choose. So, sorry if you browser will freeze because of this, I take all the blame~

Now it's been a couple of weeks again and I meant to write about it already some time ago but yes, it was time for the Leipzig Bookfair again! The LBM - as everyone calls it shortly - is certainly one of the nicest conventions of the year and pretty much the only one I visit still. Though this year I've only got there because of a chain of lucky events and only spent a couple of hours in between all those colourful, crazy and lovely people ♥

Nevertheless, it's been wonderful as always and I took the opportunity to go a little bit more wild with my outfit again and wore some of my newest purchases.

Let's go ♥

Cardigan - Paraphrase; Shirt - milklim; Skirt && Ring - 6%DokiDoki; OTKs && Headbow - Angelic Pretty; Bag - DoL; Sneakers - AmiAmi; Accessories - Chocomint, Cute Can Kill, I'm Your Present, offbrand

Not enough yet? Then have some of my beautiful friend Anni ♥ That day she cosplayed as Kuranosuke from Kuragehime ♪

Lastly, we'been a little bit dorky and kept it on pictures, yes! Actually, there are way more dorky pictures but we also had the idea to make some little gif pictures, so here they are!

And this would be about it ♥
It was a truly wonderful day and it was nice to spend it with some beloved people, even if there weren't that many of my friends there this year. But I also met some very nice people on this little journey and made some helpful experiences for me. The only downside is that - once again - Mimi and I forgot to take pictures together. As always. We don't even know ourselves but we always end up forgetting it, which is a pity.

I sincerely hope your computer is still alive and despite this massive amount of pictures at once that you still enjoyed them a little~

Have a sweet weekend my lovelies ♥
Mio~

All good things come from above ♪

2012-03-29T18:24:00.001+02:00

...in a parcel. From a plane.

In February - or was it January? - a long awaited parcel was handed over to me, containing all the things that dreams are made of and a skirt I have been lusting over for the longest time.

So with the help of a sweet girl I finally had a little dream come true for me and wearing that skirt for the first time was like a revelation. Maybe I'm a little too dramatic about things like this but there is very little in the world that makes me as happy as clothes do and receiving new things in the mail can brighten almost every gloomy day in an instant.

So I guess I just start off showing you this wonderful thing~

Yes, this is the skirt of my dreams, eversince it came out a few years ago. Now 6%DokiDoki made a re-release of it and when it came out it almost looked like I still wouldn't be able to purchase it but in the end it all went good ♥

Then next up I got some things from milklim again ♪

A pair of shorts, a dress and another sweatshirt that I just couldn't resist. And really with my big love for sweatshirts right now and the fact that milklim's ones are especially comfy it was a little must for me again. But I also just love these kind of milklims things too much, I really can't help myself.
Though I also love the fact that all of the little moons on the dress and the shorts are embroidered, it's nice to see and feel ♥

Lastly there was a release from Angelic Pretty that was simply made for me, Sugar Hearts ♥
Later they also released a special version JSK of it which I think I might be looking to get in the future but for now I just got the skirt and some accessories along with it, also because I always wanted to have an AP skirt like this ♪

This skirt is just so much love and fun to wear, I tell you! Especially this lovely chiffon that it's made of is really amazing, so soft and lovely ♥
Now I also finally have a lavender skirt to wear with light colours and not with blacks, unlike my milklim one.
And another reason why I love this so much is simply the print - conversation hearts all over the place ♥

Now that's it for today but I'll be back soon I hope with more things to share like drawings and pictures from the Leipzig Bookfair!

See you soon ♥

Mio~

If nothing lasts forever - say, can I be nothing?

2012-03-12T01:59:00.000+01:00

Another week gone, another yet to come ♪

And it seems that it spring slowly peeks out from behind all that grey winter gloom that is still left in the streets. Spring, we are waiting for you so please come soon, will you?

Apart from working more again I don't do a whole lot of things lately. When I'm not at work I mainly dig through my records, have a nice cup of coffee or two and - guess what - I'm drawing!

Extraordinarily much for my oh-so-low standards even! This won't be the topic of today, though since I didn't get to finish what I'm currently working on yet. Hopefully I'll do so this week, so I can show you some of it ♥

Speaking of art, would anyone be interest to take a little glance into my current art portfolio?

Onto what I was actually going to show you, some pictures from September and October, back when I finally got my hands on a pair of those absolutely stunning Black Milk leggings! They surely aren't exactly cheap for a pair of leggings but they surely are something very special, to me at least, and worth every penny.

I've treated me a pair of the purple ones after thinking of them for so long ♪

Jumper - Monki; Leggings - Black Milk; Wedges - Vagabond

After all these months I can still say that I love them awfully dear! They simply feel wonderful on my legs, almost like a second skin and I wouldn't want to miss them anymore.

I also absolutely adore my Thelma Vagabond wedges which I've found at a small flea market last summer. That was one lucky day, let me tell you! Vagabonds for 9€? Always in on that! And out of all the wedges and heels I own they are certainly the most well made and most comfortable ones. I can walk an entire day in them without having sore feet, which is great!

Lastly I wanted to talk a little about the little Google Friends Connect widget that I also have on my sidebar because I've read that Google stopped that service for non Blogspot user with the beginning of March.
To be honest, I don't know how that worked in general because I've always only used it in Blogspot but I suppose if you didn't it comes in handy to have an alternative. So, I've just wanted to do a little shout out that you can still follow me on Bloglovin' in case you've lost track of Pastel Raindrops ♪ because of this issue. It works just as fine, if not even better, and it's a great surface to follow blogs in general, just in case ♥

And with this, I say good bye for tonight ♥
Have yourself a sweet week y'all!

Mio~

All that stardust, glimmer and shimmery things ♪

2012-03-06T02:10:00.000+01:00

It was in September, I take, when I received a huge parcel from Japan all stuffed with pastel-y goodness and very sweet things which I collected at my shopping service over the summer.

Guess I never got around to show them to you, though you may have seen me wearing one or another thing already.

No, I won't talk too long about it, I'd much rather show you the things that I got back then ♥

Let's start off with some clothes I purchased from milklim, yes?

There's no use in denying it, milklim has to be one of the most adorable brands EVER.
Just everything they make is wonderful and they surely have some of the cutest prints, patterns and cuts ever. Actually I was going to buy from them a lot sooner but they were always out of stock with the things I wanted until then. No regrets, though - they have good prices, good quality and and their clothes are super comfy, too. Only the mint skirt it very short, sadly but it offers enough room for a little petticoat or another skirt to wear underneath so it's all good ♥

I also got some stuff from mbok for pretty damn cheap. Sometimes Japanese auctions are really awesome when you're looking for some cool stuff ♪

These wonderful MILK sneakers were only ~2500yen, I almost couldn't believe it! When they were released a few years ago they cost well over 12000yen! Guess I don't need to add how happy I am about them ♥

Jewelry Jelly & Colourful Sherbet OTKs from Angelic Pretty ♥ Finally some lavender overknee's!

I also got these two tee's from Banana Fish ♪ With them I finally have all the BF shirts I always wanted to have the most. Banana Fish will always be in my heart ♥

The last and, well, biggest thing I got was this~ ♥

A dress from Angelic Pretty ♥
I know Vanilla-chan wasn't an exactly popular print but I always really loved it! I just have a thing for long sleeved dresses and for me the print was purrfect ♥

This was all for now but in other news that you have probably already noticed now that you're here: Pastel Raindrops ♪ has a new layout!
I worked on it last weekend, made some new graphics, along with a new header, some new adjustments and now I also have a new comment form which allows to write replies. How do you like it? ♥
I really hope it works alright with your browsers and screens but if there appears to be anything wrong please tell me and I'll work on it~

Hope y'all had a great start in the new week ♪
Much love~
Mio

I want some candy and I want it now! ♪

2012-02-28T01:58:00.000+01:00

Back on a warm and sunny autumn Sunday I took the train off to Hannover with some friends of mine to spend a lovely day together. It's surely been one of the loveliest days from all of last year. Trust me, you don't need much for that except for some good friends who are ready to be fun and a little dorky.

Initially we went to a very small convention called 'NiCon' but in the end we only got there fairly late because of reasons and as we got there we just spent the time on the playground next to the house where it all took place. I for myself wasn't there for the convention anyway so nothing was lost.

Sweater&&Skirt - milklim; OTKs - Angelic Pretty; Shoes - AmiAmi; Accessories - CCK&&Chocomint

DUCK LIPS BBY! ♥♥♥

Bonus: Super Mio to the rescue!

Now when I look at those pictures I can't help but think: HOW LONG WAS MY HAIR?!
Am I the only one who never happens to notice how long their hair is unless they see it on photographs?
Well, my hair wasn't in its best condition back then (and for some reason it got kind of messy during the day even though I ironed it) but it surely was longer than I always thought.

Why I write about it this way you may wonder now? Well, I guess those who follow my tumblr don't happen to know it but I cut off my hair in December to get rid of all the damaged parts once and for all. Since then it has grown already a bit again and I'd say it's slightly above shoulder length now.
For me it's kind of unusual because: 1- I hadn't had a haircut like that since I was 9 and 2- I've always wanted long nice hair and chopping it off wasn't an easy decision for me at least.
Now it can grow all healthy again, even though it'll take some time.

I hope you enjoyed my little outfit post ♥
Much love && take care!
Mio~

The Pastels are back! ♪

2012-02-23T02:14:00.000+01:00

Is this... real?

Yes, yes indeed! It is!

Goodness gracious, I'm not sure whether to just feel ashamed for being absent for so long or to be joyful for being back. Perhaps it's a mixture of both but above all I'm happy being able to continue blogging here again ♥
Let me tell you just how much I missed Pastel Raindrops ♪ and everything connected to it because I surely did. At some point it almost got me nuts for not being able to post anything in here and not being able to edit photographs and such. So with this I'm more than grateful for things getting back to normal now, let's hope it won't happen again.

What happened in those nearly 4 months you may wonder? Many, many things happened and you will see more about some things in all my upcoming posts because I have to catch up on a lot of things. But in short I've worked a lot, had some wonderful days I spent with friends and family, I've been crafty and artsy, worked on my portfolio once again, been to Berlin two times again, was awfully lucky and awfully sad, just as always. Now however, I'm in best spirits again and fully loaded with new energy and as the days become longer and brighter again so does my mood brighten up as well. I can't wait for spring to come ♥

Something I worked on, which many, many, many people asked me about, was taking care of my Giveaway and picking out the winner. It took me longer than expected (but I also didn't expect so many people to join it, so thanks for that! ♥) but in the end I managed to make my list and roll the dice.

Out of more than 500 participants, Jenni aka Yoshh from Drink me. has won the giveaway ♪

And on another side note you should really check out her blog, too because she has some lovely things on there and very pretty Lolita outfits as well.

In the end I also decided to throw in a little drawing of her because her pictures inspired me somehow~ ♥

Lastly I want to say that I so appreciate the patience you've all had with me. I know that some of you probably left in the meantime for my lack of updates but I thank those who stayed over all the time with all my heart. I'm sorry for have taking so long to continue here and I never intended to abandon PR♪ like that but you never know what can happen and this time it just wasn't in my hands. But I hope everything will keep on going well again from now on and I'm happy to have you guys by my side for this ♥

See you soon && much, much love!

Mio~

The not so voluntary hiatus of PR ♪

2011-11-26T01:21:00.000+01:00

HEY! I'M ALIVE!

It may not look like I really am but indeed, blood is still flowing, brain still working and the heart is still beating so I take I must be alive.

Then, why is it there are no more updates coming here?

In short:

I'm in the middle of the biggest technical disaster I've yet to face. Or so it feels for me.

In long:

Yes, I though I've overcome this after my last technical crisis, that I solved the problems if only temporary. No, I didn't think it would get any worse and I was hoping to have everything completely fixed soon.

That did not happen, obviously. My tower computer still isn't repaired and I have no clue when I'll get it back. It's very much necessary for me, though, because I have very, very important files saved on there that I would've needed after I had to reboot my laptop 2 times in a row.

I got my programs running for a short time, was happy I could work with them again, had so many pictures ready and nice entries planned out in my mind until - CRACK!

I literally broke my laptop in two. Not even in a stupid accident. I merely wanted to open it like I always did when I heard that horrible cracking sound and everything was blocked. Apparently the screws that kept the hinge in place and working broke out of the plastic frame and my monitor got lose. Trust me, I've seen many laptops over the past years and never did I see a similar damage. So, we sent it off to get it fixed and I'm hoping to get it back soon. Whenever that 'soon' will be.

Meanwhile I'm sitting in front of an itty, bitty netbook that's incredibly slow but at least it's working somehow. Still, I don't have anything I'd need to make a proper blogpost and it's very annoying to work with this tiny thing so I'm rather staying offline these days. Which isn't so bad anyway, as work is pretty stressful right now.

This is only meant to be a little update for all of you to know what I've been up to lately and why I'm not updating at all. Trust me, I'd love to but I simply can't the way things are right now.

I'm very optimistic, though and I know things will get a better again soon. Including a little Pre-Christmas treat for me I'll go to pick up on Monday that's going to make things a lot nicer for me and this blog.

I hope you guys are all well and good during these last days of November and I really hope to be back 100% soon. Please wait for me and I'll do my very best.

P.S. Now I at least have this netbook I could also continue working on the giveaway list with everyone's names on to pick out one lucky person. It's not finished yet but I'm working hard on it to announce the winner soon so stay tuned!

Until next time,

Mio~

The Spiderman is having me for Dinner tonight ♪

2011-11-02T00:24:00.002+01:00

The spook is over, the creeps went home!

Hopefully you all made it safely through this years Halloween night and could all crab lots and lots of candy ♥

I for myself spent a lovely night with a friend of mine, watching a movie, drinking a bit and eating way too much pizza. It was a quiet yet funny night since there's not so much you can do on a Monday Halloween night in this hole called Bremen.

However, I could still take some pictures of my dress up for Halloween and certainly I'm not here to keep them back from you ♪

Bones Dress - Lazy Oaf; Skirt - milklim; Shoes - Demonia; OTKs - gift from London; Accessories - Kreepsville666, Monki, CCK, Chocomint

I always do love me some eccentric, almost disproportionate lashes - this time I used a pair of Dolly Wink one for upper lashes and cut up an old, unloved pair of Claire's lashes for the lower part. Nothing I'd wear in bright daylight for a regular day to work but Halloween has always been a completely different thing anyway.

And there goes this years scary daydream again and all that's left is a bunch of candy and sore tummies.

Though I'm sure it won't be the last time for me to go all crazy like this so the parting isn't too deep.

Now quickly onto another subject: Pastel Raindrops ♪ Giveaway!
I just wanted to thank everyone who took part in this to make it such a blast! Seriously, I was simply overwhelmed by all the entries I got for this and surely it'll take me a while to write everybody's name down in my not-so-little list. I'll do my best, though, so I can announce the lucky winner as soon as possible.

Until next time my lovelies ♥
Mio~

Hello Mister? We need more blood! ♪

2011-10-26T02:53:00.000+02:00

Blood. Blood, blood, blood. Blood.

I can't deny it, I am very fascinated with blood. Not real blood though as it turns my tummy round like a record.

The less I can't stand the real deal, the more I like to play with the fake one and one of the things I liked for the longest time now is playing around with special effects make-ups. Just trying out new things, turning simply ingredients into realistic wounds, moldy skin and bruises or other things can be quite nice. It's nothing that pays off but comes in quite handy when Halloween gets near and you're still missing that final touch-up.

So, how would you like to make your very own open flesh-wound?

I promise you, it's simple as can be and you can scare the living shit out of your friends or strangers on the streets ♥

All the things you'll need for this:

For the base:

♥ Liquid latex (you can get that in art supplies stores, Halloween sections, stores specialised on theatrical make-up and costumes or online)

♥ Either some acrylic paint in colours of your skin tone to mix it or some foundation. But you can go with only foundation as well, you'll need it later anyway.

♥ An old brush that's ready to be ruined!

For the make-up:

♥ Some theatrical/face paint

♥ Eye shadows (best are non-shimmery ones!)

♥ Fake blood

♥ Make-up sponges, an eye shadow brush and tissues

Start with mixing some liquid latex with either acrylic paint or some foundation together until the colour is even but don't worry if it starts to clump a little bit.

Then you can go over to start putting on the first layer of the latex on your skin. Just dab it it on with your brush in the shape you want to have and let it dry. No need to be extra careful, the rougher the texture becomes, the better!

Make sure your skin is completely clean and oil-free before you do this! Also, don't apply the liquid latex too close to your eyes or mouth, especially if you're not used to work with this material yet. It can make bad damages and even if everything goes well, it still stings a lot in the eyes because of the vapours coming from the latex.

If you want to extra depth to make it look like a deep wound you can take some leftovers from the drying latex and just roll it up or make some bigger clumps and chunks out of it. It's very easy to do that when the latex got too sticky to apply but isn't dried completely yet.

You can also rip some tissues in thin layers, roll them up and coat them with some latex, works just as fine!

Then you just stick your freshly made rolls on top of your first latex layer and again shape it the way you want it. You can really go wild with this, the shapes to make are barely endless. Just keep in mind how an actual wound might look to keep it realistic!

Once you're done with that, coat your rolls in some more latex so nothing can fall off and it looks a little bit smoother all in all and wait for it to dry up.

Another neat-o thing is to take some more latex and to paint a thin layer of it somewhere on your skin. Wait for it to dry, carefully peel it off and voilà: some loose skin that was just ripped off!

Now you only need to place it on you 'wound', fixing it with some more latex. And make sure the side that was facing you skin is now on the top because this will show-off the natural texture of your own skin!

Now comes the fun part!

Wait for everything to dry up and start with covering everything in foundation with your sponge to match your skin tone. If needed, put on some more layers of it so every bit of latex is well covered up.

Then it's time to grab your theatrical paint in a nice, bright red colour to make the base of your bloody wound.

Just roughly cover all the places you want to be blood red for the first step. For this I recommend using a sponge or perhaps a softer brush to work your way into all corners or holes.

Take a darker red next to start shading the wound to give it some more shape and detail. I recommend to stay inside of your wound-edges as a guideline but you can also play around a little bit.

Up next is the colour black to add more depth inside of the wound. Personally, I like to keep the middle of it still a little lighter, though. Just put the black all around the inside of your latex edges and blend your way to middle. That'll also mix it nicely with the red for a nicer colour.

Now just keep on adding more colour or touching up the places you already painted until you're satisfied with the look. Here I added some more red on the outer edge, smudged the colour a bit and coloured the piece of 'skin' with black and reds. To create a more rougher texture you can use a stiff-bristled brush or a bigger sponge.

If you want to you can now paint some more around the wound just to have a more complete composition. For this, take a sponge and just blend a little amount of paint into your skin. To the same as for the wound: first some light red, then some darker red and lastly some more shading with a bit of black. You can even add some purple or green to make some bruises along with the smeared blood. Or add some more dark red colour with a brush to make effusions or blood splatters? Just be a little creative, everything's allowed as long as nobody gets hurt!

And now the last step?

You guessed it! Fake blood!

The one I used here is particularly nice because it dries up pretty realistic after some time and gets darker and slightly crusty.

But just do as you please here! Maybe add some to the inside of your wound, some around it, maybe some smeared, dripping and smudged? However you do it, I bet it'll look extra gross and scary with this ♥

Now Zombie, you're ready to scare all you neighbors, friends, family, strangers and possible even yourself! While it was pretty easy to do, you got to admit! And once you're tired of all the fear and terror you spread you can simply peel your wound off again - and possibly even use it over and over and over again!

All you'd need for that is some spirit gum/mastix glue to stick it back onto your skin ♥

I hope you could maybe make some use out of this tutorial and I didn't gross you out too much with it. But after all, it's all just paint an latex and I promise my hand is doing just fine ♪

And don't forget, less than a week until Halloween's finally here!

But until it's time for that you all be nice little zombies, monsters and ghosts, will you? ♥

Much love~

Mio ♥

Ready for the Monster Mash? ♪

2011-10-19T01:25:00.000+02:00

Greetings my little Bony Buddies, Maniac Monsters and Undying Undead. I take you are all ready for a little bit of a spooky showing featuring some eerie things perfect for Halloween, so if I may I'd like to take you on a little trip. If you're brave enough for it, that is ♪

Less than two weeks and it's Halloween once again! My favorite holiday is just around the corner ♥

Actually, it still isn't common to celebrate it in Germany but it has gained a lot of popularity within the past years and I myself am 100% ready for it! I've been eagerly collecting creepy goods for my outfit and though I should share them with you. Perhaps I found the thing you're still missing for yours?

While I was in Hannover with some friends a while ago I found these glow-in-the-dark skeleton earrings at Accessorize that I found just perfect for me. They are just so delightfully awful and kitschy, I couldn't walk past them.

All eyes on me? No, not quite.

I found these kreepy babies at Kreepsville666, a neat-o shop I detected some time ago. Cranky things for the average mall goth but as well suitable for a sweet, yet spooky, Halloween outfit. Or well, just any other outfit because I like eye balls. And nine eyes are much better than just two anyway.

However, I must admit the ring runs quite big even though I ordered a small one. It's easy to fix with some layers of Pattex or glue, though.

And now onto two awesome things from and old new favorite brand of mine ♥

LAZY OAF!

Bones, bones, bones - these lazy bones!

Hell, I don't regret one cent I've spent on these because they are bat shit crazily adorable. Honestly, they are.

The crop top is even on sale right now and the dress was just the absolute must-have for me and for this years Halloween. Though I've worn it a couple of times now as well, collecting one or two weird looks ♥

So, that would be my personal recommendation for Halloween, I guess and I hope you enjoyed at least some of the things I showed you ♥

Perhaps I'll even have another Halloween related post for year in the next two weeks, who knows? How about a little tutorial for open flesh wounds? Halloween themed outfits and looks? Or even some crafting tutorials? Feel free to comment on what you'd like to read and I'll see what I can do - after all, I have enough eyes for that now ♪

Knife, Fork, Scissors, Flames, have no Place in Children's Games ♪

2011-10-16T21:24:00.001+02:00

Or so the saying goes.

Some of you might've read this on twitter or the PR♪ Facebook page, I've been on a little hiatus due to technical issues. In fact, I still sort of am experiencing them but as for at least the next two weeks I found a way to skip them and go on as regular.

What happened in the meantime? I've worked many hours in my new job, which I like a lot, spent some funny days with friends and for right now - I'm being sick. Yes, I fetched a cold once again and it just won't let me go even though I'm being a good girl by drinking nasty teas, sleeping a lot and feeding myself with healthy cough drops and soups. And while I though I got better yesterday I've just spent a horrible night coughing my head off and ruining my throat.

But before all of the things I've mentioned above took place I've been a little bit crafty and made some lovely things which I'm dying to show you today ♥

I take you've most like seen these tie-dye ankle socks in another post before, huh? They were the beginning of another series of too much dye and too little fabric, here all completed on a pair of Monki socks ♪

Oh! Speaking of Monki - Have you already heard the great news coming from the fantastic woods of Monki land? They've recently opened an Online Store! At last!

Well, sadly it's not opened world-wide yet but I'm very sure they'll open up to more countries very soon ♥

What used to be a tube top from H&M is now a a colourful pencil skirt. Dyed and reconstructed of course! ♥

This Popples jumper is actually a project I've started very well 2 or 3 years ago! I just never got around to get all the material together in one piece. Made from a regular sweater, some old children's pajamas, way too much lace, bits of rickrack trim and some shiny appliques.

Poor Dolly has to continue living as a brooch ♪ But at least she still looks pretty, right?

Glitter, pastels, polkadots and puffy lines - ARE YOU READY, RIOT SISTERRRS?!

This vest is all my pride and joy! I've worked on and off on it over a couple of weeks and I don't think it'll ever be finished. I just take it as an ever evolving project of mine. And all work on this is made by my own two hands, of course. Dyed it like I dyed my shorts a while back, then hand painted it and lastly added lots of cute&kitschy detail to it. If there'd be one piece of clothing to represent me it would probably be this vest.

Most of the pins, brooches and buttons on it are from the flea market. Right after I 'finished' the vest I found myself lacking pins to spill all over it and what do I find the next day? Two hands full of glorious brooches and buttons for a total of 10 cents. I kid you not and I myself had to ask for the price twice because I refused to believe my ears.

Another recommendation from me:

3D Liners! And let me tell you, they are THE SHIT! I used them for all the lines on my vest ♪

I think I paid 2-2,50€ per pen and they come in a wide range of colours and effects. The white one for an instant glows in the dark and there are also glittery ones. Along with Mimi I got them from the art supplies store but you should most likely find them online as well.

They're also pretty easy to use:

You apply them like a window colour pen and let it dry for 6 or more hours. So far the colours will look very weird but prepare yourself for the next step: 'Puffing' it up by using heat. Personally I prefer using a blow-dryer but you can as well use a flat iron or even put your things in the oven (as long as the surface you used is heat resistant, that is).

Once you're done you should have puffy, smooth lines with a velvet-y feel to them ♥

And that'd be it for this day! Actually there are some other's things I've finished but I don't flood you with so many things today.

On another sidenote: don't forget to enter my Giveaway if you haven't already ♥

To be honest I'm still very surprised by the amount of entries it got so far and the deadline only ends in two weeks from now!

But please make sure to post your name, your e-mail address and the direct link to your blogpost!

I've seen many people forgetting about that and I don't want to exclude anyone because of things like this so better check twice if you're unsure about anything and feel free to leave another comment to complete all your information for me ♥

I guess that's it for now ♪

I hope you have some lovely autumn days, my dears!

Mio~

I'm drowning in Opium ♪

2011-09-24T01:56:00.000+02:00

I seldom wear a perfume but whenever I do I can't seem to get enough of it. Is there really anything that could enrobe somebody better and with more intent than a well chosen scent can? Oh even if there was, I wouldn't care. To me, there still isn't a more loyal companion than my favorite fragrance.

And though I don't know if my Opium really had something to do with it or whether is was the sunny weather, today was rather fine. Maybe one of the finest days I had all this week?

Perhaps I should drown myself in Opium more often, Yves Saint Laurent would surely approve.

Enough with this little study trip to perfumes and dreams. Actually I wanted to show you some of my most recent, as in I-found-most-of-this-moths-ago, flea market jewellery finds. Yes, yet another Shopping Update, sort of. I'm so full of creativity these days!

Today, I've walked over to our jeweller with my mom and as always we've stayed for such a long time, chatting about this and that. We also came to the topic how every person seems to have on piece of jewellery they love above anything and on the barely even wear. Our jeweller himself likes big necklaces and big rings, my mother brooches and earrings and big, big necklaces but can't really stand rings and I for myself have an obsession for big rings and big pendants.

But what I certainly inherited from my mother is the fact that, even if I may not wear it often or perhaps not at all, I do have a faible for every beautiful piece. And in case you don't know or wonder, my mother collects old jewellery of almost any kind and any time, which is why I couldn't ever say no to a beautiful gem.

Well now, Starting of which what I ever so love: Rings!

Among all the other more or less eccentric silver rings, some with my favorite gemstones: moonstone, amber, onyx, falcon's eye, aventurine, pyrite, opal and amethyst. No, you can never have enough rings. Never, ever. I'll never stop loving them, wearing them or collecting them. And oddly enough, you can find so many precious rings at flea markets for super cheap, it's almost a joke. Take the gold one for an instant: I've paid 1,50€ for it and it's not even a fake. Show me one other place where one could find a ring like that for so cheap. Flea market, I'll always love you ♥

Carnelian and Coral ♥

These two Acme brooches featuring the infamous Marilyn Monroe piece by Andy Warhol were a souvenir we found at an antique market in Düsseldorf and the earring is actually an older piece from my mother's jewellery case ♥

No, my ears can be as sensitive to silver as they please but I won't stop wearing these! Aren't they like, the most perfect earrings ever? For what more could a cat lover like me ask? ♪

I have no idea why but for the past year, or perhaps a little longer, amethyst is calling me like mad and I can't refuse it. These are also the two pendants I wear most of the time at the moment.

Two kitschy brooches and a (too) tiny but very lovely crystal pendant. I can't wait until all the leaves turn yellow and red here, that's going to be the day I'll start wearing my leaf ♪

I really LOVE the upper bracelet because its pattern is so interesting! And the lowest is one of my all-time favorite bracelets as well. Such a charming face carved into the onyx ♥

Now, I'd like to know: is there a certain piece of jewellery you can't stand to wear at all or one you absolutely must carry around with you? Or what is you favorite piece of jewellery in general?

I must admit, I feel almost naked if I don't wear at least a little ring or a nice necklace when I go out. It's kind of weird but to me it's these little details that make everything round. You can wear the plainest shirt you have, a pretty gem will always make it complete somehow.

With this I leave you into the weekend! I hope I didn't write too much, why do I even rant like this?

Anyhow, take care && much love~

Mio ♥