Gotta Catch 'Em All! Pokeball embroidery + sketches~

I've been promising Mr. Mao an embroidered pokeball patch for his DS since December (oops!) I finally got around to doing it since the Spottie Dottie attempt went so well. I also got really motivated since he downloaded my free copy of Pokemon X for me and have not been able to put it down since! Now I'm thinking I should maybe make my own! (Perhaps a Love Ball?)

It came out so good! I'm also surprised at how quickly I stitched this one. It took me 3 or 4 sittings of about an hour each. It took me much longer to do my first piece so I'm proud! I didn't use a pattern for this one. I just traced a teacup and some coins a and used a ruler. Resourcefulness or laziness? (haha!)

I've also sketched ideas for one of my next peices. I'm stitching a cute maneki neko (lucky cat) for my Japanese professor to thank her for her work this semester! Her class has been my favorite this semester and I've learned so much!

What am I? -- Embroidery Progress!

The other day I was thinking that it was high time I finally started posting on this new blog. So I thought a fun post idea to keep up on the blog would be to post close up progress shots of whatever I'm embroidering at the moment. I'm almost done with my current little patch so I thought it'd be fun if you tried to guess what it is!

Sooo what is it?? Post your guesses in the comments! (This might be an easy one, though haha!)

Answer and finished product: Here!

ModCloth Stylish Surprise Review - Positive!

Image belongs to ModCloth

"Are you ready to take a chance? The rewards could be huge! For just $10, you might get anything from a terrific top or sassy skirt, to a dazzling dress or cute coat. There’s a beautiful bevy of mystery items with retail values from $29.99 to $299.99 - now that's what we call a real deal! Ready for some fashion fun? Simply select your size, then add a chic secret to your shopping bag. Hurry - supplies are limited, so snag a Stylish Surprise while you still can!"

As soon as I got an e-mail from ModCloth presenting this offer, I was immediately like "take my money!". I know it was a gamble, but I'm a sucker for these mystery deals (I do them all the time on TeeFury haha). I was lucky because most sizes were sold out by the time I ordered, but my sizes were still available! I was a wee bit nervous about what I'd be getting because, although I love sooo much of their vintage 50s style dresses, they also have plenty other style dresses that are totally mehhhhhh.

Shipping: I ordered on Saturday night 3/22 and they shipped out the dress on Wednesday 3/26. They said typical processing time is 1-3 business days and it was accurate (it took 3 business days). Estimating shipping time was 4-9 business days and I received it on 3/28 (so it took only 2 days!) Impressive since it was from CA to NY!
Total wait time: 6 days.

Super cute packaging!

Packaging: The item was packed up really nicely! The package is instantly recognizable and sealed up really tightly. Inside, you find your invoice (receipt), your item and a little postcard prompting you to post pictures in your stuff on the modcloth style gallery or hashtag it in social media sites.

Finally The Dress: So as you can see, I received a dress! It's not something I would've picked out for myself but quite cute! It's from the brand Little Mistress London and their dresses are in the $100 range so I definitely got a great deal (I paid $10!) Specifically, it's  their Little Mistress Dress with Metallic Jacquard Bodice. I'm also very happy to say that it fit like a glove! I was worried because according to the size chart (which I failed to check beforehand) I'm  size small, but the size medium feels perfect! (Now I'm a bit worried to receive my second Stylish Surprise in size small... oops!)

Not a great outfit, but I was impatient to try it on!

Overall: I'm happy with my Stylish Surprise! It's a style I wouldn't have otherwise picked, but got lucky! I also got major bang for my buck. I know others don't have great luck with these things, but I'd still recommend trying. You never know, you could get really lucky for only $10!

Spottie Dottie - First Finished Embroidery!

Omg... I can't believe I actually finished! It took me around a month, but I actually did it! (Leave it to me to pick a fairly complex design for my first project) It wasn't easy since I decided to embroider this little sucker on canvas (ouch, I've regained calluses in my finger like back in my jeweler days!)

I satin stitched the spots,the nose, the bow and the background. The center of the bow was done with a french knot. The headband and heart outline were done with split stitches. The outline for Spottie Dottie was done with stem stitches and back stitches.

In case you were interested in the pattern for this, I made it from a phone background I had saved on my computer. I've decided to attach it here in case anyone wanted to try it!

Embroidery and Victory Rolls

That's what the past few days have been about in my little bubble! Lately, I've been trying hard to make good use of my free time. I'm notorious for spending all my free time either watching TV or scrolling on Tumblr. I really want to fill my time with more productive things!

A couple weeks ago I started my first embroidery (but then left it untouched for a long time...). I picked it up again this week and made a lot of progress!

My smile here is strange but I love my eyes in it so I kept it ha!

On Friday I had to run back home in between classes because I forgot my Japanese textbook and had no idea where it was. Well the first place I decided to look was under the bed. And in typical Aleks fashion, it most certainly was there because I slept with the book on the bed... So that left me with a bit of free time until the next class. I decided to practice my Victory Rolls since I'm getting into pinup fashion and they didn't come out too bad! The hairstyle really spruces up any outfit. My roommate thought it was dumb I did such a nice hairstyle for jeans and a sweater but whatever. I do what I want!

2014 Goals (a bit late but better than never!)

I never properly posted a list of goals for 2014 (mostly because I never really make any and when I do I don't stick to them!  ). In the past few weeks though, I realized that I once again made a few goals to accomplish this year. Maybe I should make a conscious effort to accomplish them!

☆Learn to embroider already! I mean c'mon Aleks, you bought 2 embroidery hoops in December along with who knows how many different colored embroidery flosses. It's time! (Actually, I just started my first piece :D)

I've had this pic saved since 2010 and can finally read what it says!
(It says "kawaii" in hiragana)

☆Take Japanese classes. For my Bachelor's degree, I have to take 2 foreign language courses. I am already fluent in Spanish and English and want to challenge myself with a totally different language. People told me to just take Italian or French but those are way too similar to the languages I already know! Besides, I love Japanese culture, so why not try out the language too? (I also have already started this goal!)

Earrings I made in 2012

☆Make more jewelry. Ever since I graduated from Jewelry Design, I am ashamed to say I haven't made anything new. I kind of didn't want anything to do with jewelry after those stressful 2 years of my life, but I took a semester off from jewelry and that's enough. Time to get back to it! (I have a goldfish brooch in the works)

☆Take advantage of NYC. I've been living in NYC for 2.5 years now and I feel like I have definitely not taken much advantage of that! I have not really done any intense exploring and definitely have not gone to many of the free events that float around. Time to change that. I'm starting by going to Sebastian Masuda's exhibition this week. Also I should probably do more things off the Free in NYC this Week list...

☆Learn to cook more things. I hate cooking, but what I hate more is the fact that I waited to learn to cook until I moved out! Now I'm living on my own and can cook maybe a total of 5 things (that might actually be an overestimate...) I want some variety!

I need it!

I think this set of goals is nice and tangible. It involves lots of things that would be really good for me in all aspects of life! They're also goals that can get as complex as I want/can and I really think I can stick to this one! Wish me luck xoxo

DIY: Free Printable Scratch Off Valentine!

Click here to download this card
After clicking the link, right click the picture and choose "save as"

Sometimes I like to pretend I'm a Graphic Designer and that I know what I'm doing (hint: I'm not and I don't haha!). I made this cute little valentine for my boyfriend after seeing this super cute tutorial for making homemade scratch-offs on Spoonful.com. I designed my card with our favorite dog breed and filled it with prizes I thought he'd enjoy. (In case you're wondering about the 3rd prize, he's been wanting me to learn a song of his choice on my ukulele since forever!) If you like my valentine, you can download it by clicking the link under it!

Not really feeling the prizes I chose? Want to personalize it yourself? Make up your own prizes and fill them in yourself on my blank valentine!

Click here to download
After clicking the link, right click the picture and choose "save as"

To make the valentine, print it (can be either on good ole printer paper or cardstock). Then cut around the perimeter and use a glue-stick to glue it on a slightly larger piece of red or pink construction paper/ cardstock. Then follow the instructions on Spoonful to make the scratch off part (but I suggest instead of black paint, use red or pink!)

On mine, I'll be adding a bit of extra cuteness by gluing ruffles of fabric or lace along the top and bottom. Feel free to deco this! Add glitter, sequins, rhinestones or just make a whole different design of your own!

Hope you liked my little card design!

Are you making valentines this year?