Konad nail stamping

When I was researching gothic lolita, I read through an article which mentioned nail stamping so I looked it up and the main brand in charge of the trend is Korean brand KONAD. The best way to explain it is you have a metal disc with an image engraved into it, you put some nail polish on the plate, scrape away the excess and use a stamper to transfer the image to your nail.

Here's a picture of the instructions on the back!

I bought this set about two weeks ago which comes with their image plate M3, two small nail polishes for stamping, a topcoat and the stamper/scraper set.

It looked really intriguing and I was itching to try it, although a friend I met recently did mention it wasn't as easy as they made it look and offered to lend me her set, though I saw her rarely so I thought, I'll buy it if I come across it. One of the websites I came across, Cosmetic Cupcake happened to be a Sydneysider and mentioned that Konad could be either purchased online from the US or through Konad Australia's eBay, there was also a store which had closed down, boohoo T_T.

A little while ago I noticed a new store in the place where they sued to sell Konad. Next to it was a small sign saying the old store had moved into the plaza just a few steps away... could it be???

After walking in, I noticed there were several clothing and beauty stores which I glanced in, I finally found the right one and saw a small display with Konad items but alas, "back in 5 mins"! I know, I know, the lady probably just ran to the bathroom or to get a snack but I actually wasn't in the shopping mood so I thought, I know it's here so I'll come another time!

The next time I came, the lady inside gave me a quick demo on how to use Konad and she said they only had one set left, and I could add another plate for $10 but I said I would think on it because I couldn't decide on the plates. In the end, when I went back yet again, I just bought the basic set XD

The results!

Her demo:

First time trying Konad:

 You can see some images have a lot of excess nail polish, I didn't clean the plate before re-using the image!

Cleaning:

Some good tips I came across for the cleaning process:

http://www.rina-alcantara.com/2010/08/personal-tips-on-using-konad-stamping.html

and also:

SMASH convention part 3

Not much more to say! I had a lot of fun at SMASH but I felt a bit guilty I didn't mind the stall as long as the others because I couldn't fit between the tables due to my petticoat! I looked after it at the end of the day and did witness two of my cards being sold, yay! ^^

I think my favourite parts would have been the mini photobooth from Japan Foundation and the official photobooth :)


This is my goodie haul from the day...

Hair clips from Romance Noir which match my GL coord and some cute charms from another stall (trying to figure out which one)
Stalls: Romance Noir & (unknown)

Badges and keychains from our neighbouring stall! I was totally eyeing the 'Alphonse chasing the cat' all day ^^ It's actually a keychain/bottle opener. I also bought another badge (not pictured) so they gifted me with the other Alphonse badge which matches perfectly with my Totoro bag ^^
Stall: Popo Studio

These were gifts from Frejya, the panda key holder was from a cute stall she was next to last year, trying to think of the name! The felt cookie was one of her creations!
Stalls: (unknown) and Frejya

I won vol 4. from Madman (I thought I was winning vol. 1 lol!) so I went to their stall where they were selling manga for $10 =D but they only had 2 and 4 in stock :(
Stall: Madman

Free postcard in vol 2

Very cute artwork from j-b0x (I purchased her cards last year too and they're displayed on my bookshelf!)
Stall/Artist: j-b0x (http://j-b0x.deviantart.com/)

Cardcaptor Sakura poster (free from Madman) as the V.A Tange Sakura was in the house! Though I didn't get the chance to meet her :(

Very cool Mario Kart art
Stall/Artist: (unknown)

A3 of only Pikachu, so cuuuuuuuute! :3
Stall/Artist: (unknown)

Cutest handcarved stamp ever! I was actually browsing from the opening time but when I went back to the store the artist only had one left in a stamp set and she graciously pulled out this single stamp to sell me ^^
Stall/Artist: (unknown)

Edward art, so cute!!!
Stall/Artist: (unknown)

Free poster from the above artist ^^
Stall/Artist: (unknown)

SMASH convention part 2

So my friend Frejya also invited me to share her stall space with her and another friend. So for the two weeks leading up to it I was frantically making some cards to sell, some of my general any-occasion cards and some anime/gaming themed cards.

I made some Pokemon and Mario themed cards (designs I've used previously for friends) but it ended up that I only sold one of them O_O My most popular was a 3D hot air balloon design I had lol!!

I now have an Etsy store for my remaining stock! My friend Frejya will also be uploading her headdresses and accessories to it very soon! :)

Frejya Headdresses (http://frejyahd.blogspot.com.au/)

Romance Noir (http://www.romancenoir.com/) - This is the other girl we shared our space with, a friend of Frejya!
 
My etsy store! (http://www.etsy.com/shop/PandaStory)

Before and After of the stall!

 

A close-up of my cards!

 

Sorting everything the night before

 

 I decorated this business card holder about two nights beforehand, so proud of it ^^

 

 Some making-of pics of my cards!

 

Business card holder (Making-of)

 

Samples of the stock I sold!

SMASH convention part 1

Wow, another month passes and I haven't posted >.<  The most exciting thing since the last post was probably SMASH, the anime and manga convention I went to! It's only the second time I've been to an anime convention (the first one being the previous year's SMASH!!)

Last year I purchased a head dress of my talented friend at Frejya Headdresses, so I sort of promised I would dress up this year. (Technically it wasn't cosplay so I still can't say I've cosplayed yet) I did lots of reading up on gothic lolita and finally settled on getting this skirt from Anna House in Hong Kong, there were so many chances I missed but I finally had my aforementioned friend's parents purchase it for me :)

photo from annahousefashion

 I matched it with the following:

Top from Tokyo Fashion (on YesStyle)
 Tie-Neck Lace-Trim Ruffled Blouse

photo from yesstyle

Cardigan 1 from Tokyo Fashion (on YesStyle)
 Ruched-Sleeve Cropped Cardigan
Not sure if I liked the ruched-sleeves with the ruffle cardi in the end, but I had to wear something because gpthic lolita should be modest!

photo from yesstyle

Cardigan 2 from Dangerfield (Brand: Revival)
I wore this less as it got quite warm inside the con even though it was mid-July. I actually bought the black with pink dots but I misplaced it in my room somewhere so I'll just have to stick with the shop's photo

Cute dot patterned thick stockings from Big W

Petticoat (handmade) - but since I used netting it scratched up my stockings a bit T_T as I didn't have time to fix the edges
I used the rocknrollbride tutorial to make one petticoat and was going to layer a second on top which I just pieced together from reading various other tutorials and from my experience making the first petti, but I ended up only using the second petticoat as it was super fluffy. This is because I sewed two layers of netting to the fabric underneath in two rows.

Accessories

Head dress from Frejya Headdresses

Crocheted bag with bows
I handmade the bows from felt using rainbowholic's Kawaii DIY tutorial, on the way to Frejya's house, I thought to myself, I should have put pink bows on my shoes, boohoo XP

Black boots with bow - purchased in Japan
 They're not really shoes that fall under the gothic lolita umbrella but they did have bows and they did match!! Although my feet didn't thank me at the end of the day especially since it's a bit of a(n uphill) walk to the station. This photo is actually from two years ago, my sister and I had lots of shoes, some of which shared boxes lol so I photographed all our shoes so we could stick pictures to the boxes!

Random matching jewellery (various)

Manicure

Nail stickers from Face Shop
Have to admit I ran out of time so in rushing I stuffed up the stickers :( but generally they are quite easy to apply! I used them over a light OPI pink (I'm not sure of the colour atm as my sis borrowed it). This photo was from the first time I used them for a high tea session ;)

I also bought these two items from yesstyle when I bought the cardigan and top!

Bear in Hot Air Balloon Necklace
from Cuteberry
http://www.yesstyle.com.au/en/info.html/pid.1030521118 

photo from yesstyle

Bow-Accent Shoulder Bag with Cross Strap
from Nillie Shop
http://www.yesstyle.com.au/en/info.html/pid.1024503872 

photo from yesstyle

P.S. Most of the final look, gah, eyes closed -_-