Tag: white

Art Gallery – Mystery “Geisha” Doll

, , , , , , , , 0

I have mentioned it before (and I’ll likely mention it again), but I am a sucker for any sort of gacha/mystery/blind-box situation, so you know darn well when I found this listing on Etsy for a 3D-printed “mystery geisha doll” from NoirVibe Studio I had to snatch one up. I figured it was high time to share some beautiful original art that wasn’t my own silly fanart, so here she is!

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first – this lovely lady is more of a kitsune miko than a geisha. However, I don’t blame them for the name, this one is much more likely to attract attention and for the average Etsy shopper.

How these work is you purchase the listing, and you can request specific parts for the shop to mix-and-match, or you can be surprised. I told Nikolett I liked the black okobo and red hakama, but wanted a surprise for the face and hair. I’m very happy with the one I got! There only seems to be one option for the kitsune, but I absolutely love how it’s detachable and functions as a fun little fidget toy!

The quality is lovely, she’s very solid and well-assembled, and the 3D-printed parts all fit perfectly together. There are, of course, some print lines — but this is to be expected and doesn’t detract from the figure at all. The quality is good enough that they’re only visible if you’re very close, and I actually find it adds an interesting texture to things like her hair and the large red mon-like dot on the back of the kimono.

Overall I am very happy with this purchase, and am considering buying another though, in a black and white outfit and the skull face.

 

Kimono-inspired Nails with Maniology Stamping Plates

, , , , , , , , , , , 0

Back when I wore kimono regularly, I used to love matching my nails to my outfits. Obviously in recent years that’s gone out the window, but when Maniology released a set of very clearly kimono-inspired stamping plates I knew I had to give them a shot. Nothing wrong with having a fresh set even if they don’t match your outfit, right?

I knew I wanted to make a set that match this blog, so of course I grabbed the Sashiko Stitch plate. I also fell in love with the Draped in Elegance plate that featured a variety of kimono design motifs.

Where possible, I have linked to the polishes I used. However, I’ve been hoarding collecting nail polish nearly as long as I’ve been hoarding collecting kimono so many of these colours are no longer available. In one case the brand doesn’t even exist anymore! I do recommend getting a good white polish if you plan to use it for stamping, especially over dark colours, but the selection for the yuzen-style manicure has a ton of room for interpretation.

Sashiko & Kintsugi Blog Manicure

Plate used:

Maniology M650 – Sashiko Stitch
(plus the asagao from the plate below)

Polishes used:

Navy – Expressie Feel The Hype
White – Maniology Bam! (B170)
Gold – Maniology It’s Lit (B262)

fkjjdslkfsjhdljfsdlf

Golden Yuzen Manicure

Plate used:

Maniology M677 – Draped in Elegance

Polishes used:

Plum base – NARS Tokaido Express
Gold stamping – Maniology It’s Lit (B262)
Red – Nubar Sultry Red
Orange – OPI Totally Tangerine
Green –  Zoya Midori
Blue –  Revlon Blue Siren
Purple – Revel Nails Whirled View
Pink – CND Tutti Frutti

@kimono_tsuki

Kimono nails featuring @hellomaniology stamping plates マニキュア #着物

♬ original sound – Kimono Tsuki 着物月 – Kimono Tsuki 着物月

Other tools & products used:

Medium almond nail tips
Polish stamper and scraper
Nail art liner brushes
Nail stand
Silicone mat

I did standard straight-to-nail stamping for the sashiko manicure, and made my own transfers for the yuzen-style one. If you’re curious I did make a little video of the process for the transfers, but there are plenty of incredible videos out there that explain how to use stamping plates far better than I could. I would suggest starting with Maniology’s own YouTube page, they have tons of clear and helpful videos.

These plates were a dream to use and the stamping polish made things so smooth and intuitive. I’ve tried some very basic stamping in the past and didn’t have nearly as much luck, and this was my first time doing anything layered or complicated, and I can’t get over how well they turned out. If you want to give yourself a manicure to match your favourite kimono, or just bring a little bit of Japan to your fingertips, I highly recommend these! My only regret is that I didn’t buy more of them. I’ll have to snag some other ones from this collection in the future.

If you buy anything from Maniology, you can use my code TSUKI for 10% off!

 I purchased this item myself and chose to review it.This post contains affiliate link(s). If you choose to purchase, I receive a small rebate or commission which goes to the continued maintenance of this site. 

A pop of sentiment

, , , , , , , 0

Isn’t it funny how cyclical life can be? The last kitsuke coordination I did before leaving Montreal last time involved poppies, and now the last ikebana I’ve done before leaving California involved poppies.

Last weekend, Keith and I were in Palm Springs (doing an escape room – unrelated but super fun!) and I figured while were there we’d check out one of the local florists. I was running under the assumption they’d have more variety than the supermarket near home and typically I’d be right but they’d done a big event that morning and were running low on stock. I found this bundle of pink and white poppies in various levels of bloom and decided I could do something neat with them once I let the buds open up a bit.

Unfortunately, the following day I learnt the very important lesson of Don’t Put Your Hand In The Blender While It’s Plugged In. Thankfully I only pulsed one finger for a fraction of a second, and while there’s a fair bit of gnarly tissue damage it could have been so much worse. But I couldn’t exactly use my hand, or even hold the scissors I needed to cut the stems. I was worried they’d wilt before I had the chance to feature them.

So imagine my surprise when a beautiful set of proper wide-handled ikebana shears showed up in the mail on Tuesday, courtesy of my lovely friend Andrea.

I decided to just let the flowers shine, featuring them at different heights and different levels of open. I love the contrast, and how sculptural the stems are. A bit of foliage to balance things out, and the arrangement essentially put itself together. I could not be happier with it!

Beautiful Belated Birthday Blooms

, , , , , , , 0

Last month on Sunday the 16th, I celebrated my 44th birthday. My husband and I go to pub trivia every Monday with some friends and the day after my birthday, our friends Kelsey and Emilie showed up with this beautiful bouquet of zinnias from their garden for me. I knew I wanted to make an arrangement with them as soon as I got home!

The colours they planted just happen to be the same ones in the lesbian sunset pride flag, (which we all had a good chuckle about) so I figured this rainbow-shaped vase would be the perfect vessel. It’s subtle but still quite thematic.

Rather than over-complicate and clutter the arrangement with separate flowers and foliage, I decided to focus entirely on the bright, blousy flowers themselves, arranging them into a gentle but somewhat architectural-feeling modern diagonal to contrast with the organic curve of the vase.

They lasted roughly a week and brought a smile to my face every time I saw them in our kitchen.

(Also if anyone is curious, our team is currently ranked first at our local venue and third overall in the regional standings. Go team Pet The Dogs!)

 

2023, New Year’s Revelations

, , , , , , 1

Happy new year! This year I’m not going to make any resolutions, because I’ve learned that life always gets in the way. Instead, within the next few weeks I will be sharing a road map for the future of this blog. Don’t worry, it’s not going anywhere and it’s not going to stop being about kimono. It’s all good news, I promise. I just need some time to formulate my thoughts.

In the meantime, starting the year off with a new coordination seemed like a good way to open things up. My initial plan was going to use my usagi shifuku tsukesage but I couldn’t find it. This relates back to my aforementioned plan and roadmap. My collection is that much of a mess.

I decided instead to use this kurotomesode with the tagasode motif, which seemed like a good kimono-related omen to start the year off with. I paired it with a gold obi with a celebratory tabane-noshi motif and white accessories, for a more traditional coordination than I usually do. I feel like these combine for an outfit that invites good luck and celebration of kimono for 2023, which I need right now!

I apologise for the lighting in these photos, up here in the wilds of Montreal it gets dark very early in the winter, so I don’t have much light to work with. I still think they convey the essence of the coordination so I’m happy enough.

This will be my only coordination for a few months, as I’m flying out to California again on the 7th. I’ll still be updating though! See you soon!

Items used in this coordination