cameofigure

Ball info is, as ever, over there: dickensianyuleball.blogspot.com or, you can buy directly at http://www.eventbrite.com/myevents?org_id=196942.

Thanks all!

I got a valentine this week! My first one for just me.

Thanks to whoever made it!

The description of me as PRINCE(cess) made me laugh. That works. That works.

It's a revolution via lolita valentines? 609 valentines this week? In just this week? Love is in the air again!

Hello all ☺

I'm currently investigating the possibility of taking on a rather ambitious little project, and I thought there might be some ladies and gentlemen around here that could help me.

After doing a few projects doing limited run, online-published, and self-published comics, I got an itch to do something for the Lolita community.  I'm not completely sure if it's feasible yet, but I knew this would be the place to look for an important part.

What I want to make is a little, printed, book, probably with a print-on-demand online printer, featuring a variety of articles of interest to the lifestyle Lolita. This book would give no advice about fashion, not define terms or styles, and not have any craft tutorials. It would be a book of 3 sections: etiquette, lessons, and essays considering the philosophy, symbolism, and lifestyle challenges inherent in being a Lolita. For example a essay from the first part might be "the etiquette of giving and receiving criticism", and example from the second section might be "a primer on the language of flowers", and an example from the final section might be "the legacy of Alice" or "finding your Lolita moments".

It is especially the second section that I've come here for. I'm curious if there are any among us who are unusually knowledgeable in some specific area- like fan language, flower language, the history of tea, or any other suitable topic that might be of interest to other lolitas. Or, for that matter, if any of you were just waiting for the perfect excuse to go and thoroughly research one of these topics.

If you have any questions, would like more general information, or would like to volunteer, you can comment here, or private message me. I shall, however, be honest with you. I expect little hope of significant profit from this endeavor, especially considering any profit would be divided many ways. I do, however, have high hopes that it could be a fairly widely read book, that could have lasting impact in our community.

Many Thanks,
Cameo

This is a reminder to everyone that if they want to attend the Yule Ball, that they should possibly consider registering earlier rather than later! Starting in early September I'll be starting another round of advertisements about the ball- and last time I did that we filled over 1/4th of the tickets in a single weekend. I don't want any of you left out!

Also! Pictures of the location are now up on the site. If you guys haven't seen this location yet, you should really have a look!

Ball info is, as ever, over there: dickensianyuleball.blogspot.com

So, MAC is putting out a new line of black products. High-quality black lipstick, black lip liner, and a shiny, sparkly black eyeshadow. I used to wear black lipstick ect. back in highschool...but it was always of really low quality and got all cracked and gross really fast, even with gloss. So this announcement made me all kinds of happy, and lisa and i resolved to put aside some money for this at once. We found out about this via there email service about a month ago.

Fast forward to my birthday last week- my parents get me one eye of laser eye surgery! yaaaay! I got the procudure done on monday. Everything went off perfectly.

But now I'm banned from eye makeup till my eye heals more. And even after that, eyeliner is discouraged for a full month. Hopefully the ban on ALL eye makeup should only be a week, but I'm going to have to be careful- especially with my history of eye-makeup-allergies.

Several months ago, my wife and I ran a "geek prom" for a local nonprofit org. At said prom, a young woman showed up in an ok…rather clearly home-made, but lovingly detailed lolita dress, in a nicely coordinated outfit. I'd just been hired on to the park, so pookie had to inform me that the girl was, in fact, one of our co-workers.

Last week, I was doing a shift with said co-worker. I asked her if she'd registered yet for the Yule ball, and she said no. She then freely admitted that she was well aware that there was a large and active lolita community in MN, but said that she had been too afraid to join.

See, she'd never been to a MN meetup. When she'd first discovered the fashion she'd done exactly what all lolitas hope new lolitas do- she went to research it online. And then, she turn around and ran the other way. Why? Because she read a small sample of the posts on EGL, and became convinced that if she had the audacity to show up in a home-made dress, or anything other than Japanese brand that she would have her clothing ripped to shreds, her eyes gouged out, her liver eaten, and her family deported to a 3rd world country. I really can't say that I blame her! It took me a good 30 minutes to persuade her that the local scene is nothing like the online scene- that we are there to "enjoy our ducks" together. That critique would be available if she wanted, but that nobody was going to critique her based on what she was wearing. That we accept all kinds of lolitas. I don't think I've been to a single meetup yet where I didn’t hear a homemade, thrifted, or otherwise unconventionally obtained lolita outfit praised. And as for brand-obsession….most of us have our favorite brands right here in the Midwest of the US of A!

I just wonder how many lovely people like her we've lost permanently because of all the viciousness and vitriol of the lolita livejournal forums. I mean, even pookie and I almost chickened out of attending our first meetup- and I've work with felons, for petes sake!

Is that what we're going to be? More frightening than felons? Really? Really??

I need to make some of these~!



Their cupcakes!! How adorable is that? And their so simple I could even make them in my kitchenette. I've got to find an excuse for these.

Other lolita related to-dos:

1) Get another can of crimson paint for the dollhouse
2) spend that gift certificate to SR Harris! Fall is right around the corner, and I want to get the grey outfits together. My grey britches need more screentime.
3) Get pictures of ball location, add to webpage
4) get another round of fliers for the ball & distribute them.
5) figure out something new to do with my hair that doesn't involve cutting or dieing it. The same little ponytale with a bow at meetup after meetup is so old...but i don't just want to give myself weird anime poofs. I'll never understand why thats so popular in boystyle. It looks silly.
6) get calling cards printed for future meetups, for myself and for pookie. I've got them designed, i just need to get them printed.

Also, very breif rant: what is with the striped socks???? Am I the only fan of boystyle that doesn't feel the need to include black and white striped socks, black breeches, and a black vest over a white shirt in EVERY outfit?

Sigh.

But firts- off to pookies play!

Hi all!

So, remember how cute those pictures Drayke took of Lisa and I turned out? You wished you had such pretty pictures of yourself, didn't you? It's ok to admit it. He's awesome. We're lucky to have so many talented photographers in our group.

Well, I just got an email from The Ramsey House, offering us a special deal on doing a photography shoot in their building. While they usually charge a good $500 for any group to take pictures there, they have offered to let us in for $30 per person, which I don't believe includes the people there just for picture-taking. They don't seem to have to pay. And, lucky us, I think Drayke is willing to take the pics for $15 per person. It doesn't get better than that. Also, the Ramsey House has generously agreed to waive the damage deposit for us.

Why bother paying money to shoot in the Ramsey House? Well, not only is it lovely, its historically spot-on, and offers some settings you wont find anywhere else. For example, while the rest of the house has been kept at it's original Victorian splendor, the nursery had been allowed to lapse into slight, moody decay, since the family had not had children for so many decades. Picture faded, slightly peeling blue wallpaper, and a shelf full of porcelain and wooden toys with the paint flaking off. Plus there's the study, the dining room, the parlor, and if your interested, even the kitchen! which is still working and in use, but completely period.

SO, would anyone still be interested in this? Remember, I'm planning on having personal Bio pages for each of us in the yearbook- you'll want a really great photo to represent you, won't you? And I want pages for couples and such...highly romantic place.

Anyways, for now just tell me if your interested. I'll arrange a time after that that works for everyone who want's to join in. 

Cheers!

Hi all! I just wanted to let you know that 1/4th of the tickets for the Ball have now been sold. There's been a steady stream of ticket sales since CONvergance, so make sure you don't wait too long to buy, if you wanted to come. At the end of the day, I threw this with you guys in mind, so I want to make sure all of you who want to come get to!

Yay! The paper fliers for the ball are in, and their so pretty! I'm going to paper the hell out of CONvergance in two weeks. I'm so glad Samm pointed me to GoPrint. They really do look nice, they were easy to work with, and dear lord are they cheaper than other places online.

Hopefully then someone will actually register :/

I get that people aren't really thiking "December" right now, but so far I havent actually officaly sold even one ticket. Makes me a bit nervouse. If people wait till the last minute I wont be able to get as much really nice stuff for the ball. I mean, i was planning on 100% of the ticket sales to go to stuff FOR the ball, but I wont be able to do that if people only start buying in November. I think right now, since the eventbrite site reflects 0 tickets sold, that people will look and think "oh, i have lots of time, i can do it later!" and then, some of them will forget.

Oh well. The fliers really do look nice, and con will be a good place to advertise.

They assigned a new girl to our event at the mansion- I was annoyed about that at first, but I met with her, and shes every bit as nerdy as the last guy. I actually askd her if any non-nerds worked in their event department. She thought a moment and said "you know what...no! not one!". >.< Shes a little more of a festie, and not so much fancy, but she still gets it, and still is really willing to be flexible, and work with us. Plus, shes a mix-drink fanatic, and could list several victorian holliday drinks, and their recipies, right off the top of her head. That was cool.

I've also been working on the chairity auction. Well, actually, I've been trying to. After the 3rd "I dont know, ask me in september when i see how buisness is going" i got the message. Wait till fall. Right. But, the Midway book store said that if buisness was good in the summer that theyd try to find an early edition of A Christmas Carol for us. Nerds are freindly towards chairities going to litteracy initiatives.

I know lisa and I have joked about skillet being a lolita pet- what with his obsession with tea, love of cookies, and repeated attempt to get into the lace drawer.

But today he was trying to make a bed in the petticoats. And then I find that he's been hiding magnetic poetry in his cage! Now he's into poetry? gothic poetry? Ugh, i just hope that stuff doesnt screw up his digestive system. Dumb furball. How did he even get it off the fridge? He's also made repeated attempts to haul jewelry away.

Heheheeee!

I should have figured it out sooner...the new version of Blurb (the program I'm using to make the MN_Rufflebutts yearbook) has fully custom layouts, right? So, in order to get custom backgrounds, and not have to rely on the patterns they give me, all I need to do is put one giant picture box in the lowest layer of each picture in order to get any background I want! I'm going to have to watch myself not to let that take over the pages (as can be somewhat traditional, but nevertheless annoying in lolita circles) but now I can use a little subtle texture here and there. And use more than 1 completly discreet colors. And not be limited to a few useable patterns!

On friday I am going to hit Archivers like a whirlwind. One paper per meetup. Must remember not to get anything too buisy. We have gorgeous pictures, and I musn't overhwhelm them. But now I can meticulously seek out the perfect complementary papers for every meetup and bio. Ohmygod. Bios. Thats going to be so fun to select papers for!

Good thing my scanner accepts a dpi of about 5 bajillion. I just have to remember not to enlarge the papers, otherwise they'll look grainy or pixelated.

I wish the little flyers for the Ball would be in in time for the steampunk pub crawl on Saterday. Hopefully, early next week?

So, I apologize if this is out-of-line, but a thought occurred to me, and I thought I might share it. It would seem to be of interest to this community.

I'm in the process of preparing a package to send to the G&L Bible, English edition (pictures, a craft tutorial, a letter) and in this package I request that they consider doing an article dedicated to the various masculine iterations of lolita- what they are, and some ways to be innovative with them. There are a few outfits we've all seen a million times. And, while their good outfits, I personally long for more experimentation, more unique ideas. More hair options for pity's sake.

I had just thought...if my letter request came in the context of many more such letters, there would be a better chance of our various styles getting their little feature in the next edition. I think they (the G&L Bible) tends to be able to suggest a lot of fun new ideas, and I'd love for that skill and ability to be applied to the style I prefer for once.

So, if it pleases you, I'd request anyone who would also like to see such an article to write to them. You can use the post (as I am) or email. Tell them we want a feature! And, feel free to include your photos, as well.

To contact via post, mail to:

Tokyopop Inc
The Gothic and Lolita Bible,
5900 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 2000
Los Angeles, CA 90036

To contact via email: GLBsubmissions@tokyopop.com

It shouldn't take you more than just a few minutes, so dive right in!


--Cameo

So, did anyone end up doing anything for Lolita Day? I think I heard reference to some possible meetups? If any of these happened, I want to make sure to get them in the yearbook. This is the Minnesota lolita yearbook, after all. Non-metro lolis need more love. So, if any of those meets happened, send me pictures, and write to tell me about the meetup. Go ahead and be insanely detailed. I'll edit down from there. But I can't add information I dont have.

Remember, don't just assume someone else will do it ;)

Thanks!

Today was probably one of my favorite meetups so far, in the 1.25 years I've been going. We had a pretty large sized picnic at Minnehaha Falls park, complete with a variety of snacks, kite flying, and our wonderful local photographer of fancy, Drayke, doing short individual photo sessions. Pookie and I got there a bit late, since I only got home from work at 3:15, and the meetup was at 3:30, but that just meant that when we found everyone there was already a sizeable group. There were even several new people, including a bunch of young-uns. I love that in MN lolis are nice to newcomers, instead of sniping at them or criticizing their outfits in the name of "helping" them.

The day was overall low-key and without structure. Lots of cute pictures were taken of everybody in their summer best, especially on the bridge over the falls. Although, so far my favorite pics are of pookie and john trying to get pookies new butterfly kite out of a saplings branches. It was just so nice to be able to hear everyone, and for once everyone seemed to be talking, at least a bit (some girls are still so shy!)

Around sunset people started packing up. Kuroneckohime and John lamented not having been able to say goodbye to zirconmermaid, so pookie and I asked them if they'd like to her and her husbands house, where we were going to drop off some of my old original art that I wanted cared for better than I would generally bother. So they followed myself, pookie, and skillet to zironmermaid and Gerald's place, where we wound up talking and gawking at dolls (and doll making techniques) until after midnight, at which point skillet was fussing in his carrier, so I knew it was time to take him home.

Well, that was rambley and full of peculiar structure. See, this is why I hope other people will write little things for me to use in the yearbook. Even just little things. Oh well. At least there will be piles of lovely pictures to help me remember the day. I wonder if anyone got any pictures that illustrate the caterpillars that were continuously dropping down from the tree onto us. I'm sure pics were taken of the kitten that was brought along that took to hiding under people skirts to avoid the wind. So freaking cute.

pics...when more people post things I can swipe.

I just got back from meeting with the new event coordinator at the Harrington mansion, to work out the budget more presicely, and finalise the reservation. Everything went better than I could have hoped. Turns out, the coordinator they hired to replace the one we worked with for the wedding is...well...one of us. He lit up when I said that I was doing this because I was jelouse that NYC has Dances of Vice, and I figured MN could have something just as nice. He knew what DoV was. He knows the name "Blaspheminas Closet"- appearantly he's shot some shows her works been in. He asked for advice on where to get fine quality corsetry, and was intruiged that we knew where to aquire a good waistecoat. He has made it very clear that he plans to "supervise" the event the entire time, and seemed really excited about that. This is definatly a man who belives the the Twin Cities needs more fancy.

So, not only is he doing things like waving certain normal restrictions (not requiring us to have the usual security gaurds for ticketed events is saving us $350 right off the bat), but he is willing to throw any resources the Shrine Center has our way for no extra charge. You need music? We have an antique piano, just tell me where you want it. You want some nice serving platters? I'll bring out the silver and you can pick and choose. You want christmas decorations? I'll let you loose in our basement. We have real antiques. Anything that doesnt cost them extra he's not charging us for. No setup fee, no rental-of-stuff fees, nothin'. He clearly gets what we're going for, and when we left him, he was off to research traditional victorian christmas drinks for the cash bar to have available. He even went off on a small tangent about how if there were an annual or biannual  (semiannual?) event we would outgrow this venue, and where he suggested moving up to "when" we outgrow the mansion.

He also told us not to go making our reservations with buttercream just yet, becuase he's negotiating a vendor deal with a place called "The Salty Tart" nearby, for their baked goods (in addition to asking us to just say the word if we need them to work out something special not on their current in-house menue). We stopped in there on the way home- the Salty Tart I mean...and I see why he reccomended it. The prices, even without a special deal, were not bad at all, and the food was definatly the kind one wants for a decadent event. We had some amazing coacoanut maccaroons, and a semisweet chocolate tart with salted caramel and an understaned and slightly tangy pear ganach. It was foodie food. The kind of food that can be talked about. Thought about. Savored. Should be just perfect for our refreshments buffet.

This whole thing is going to be awesome.

I'm too big for my britches. Literally. I thought for sure we could put together a may picnic couple of outfits without buying anything. But I can't fit into my white knickers anymore. How can I have gained 7 pant sizes since Halloween? That doesn't seem possible. Gah, where am I going to get another pair of $5 white knickers?

Hello everyone!

I have an announcement to make- Pookie and I have decided to host a fabulous, super-formal Christmas Ball, on Dec 5th, 2009. Yes, folks, a real ball. In a Georgian mansion, with drinks and refreshments, and waltzing and glittering decorations and everything. Tentatively, we're planning on $20 per person, and $35 per couple, with tickets officially going on sale in early may. Limit 60 people total.

I'm posting now, to see who might be willing to help me get the word out about this event. Lolitas, Steampunks, and Victorian clothing enthusiasts all welcome. I'm looking to paper the local offbeat fashion haunts, as well as getting the word out online. I'm going to make up some flyers and e-vites, and a facebook page and such, but I'm always open to new ideas. This is going to be a major event- in my opinion, one worth traveling for. So you out-of-the-twin-cities lolitas would be an extra big help! I want to get the word out fast, because I have to put down a MASSIVE refundable damage deposit, and I'd like to fill back some of that gap in my bank account as soon as possible.

So, if you have a suggestion on where to drop off information, and, if its far from St Paul, and your willing to drop them off, please let me know! Closer to the event, I'll also be looking for those willing to volunteer on the day-of to help me set up the decorations. Feel free to volunteer early. ;)

I hope your all as excited as I am :D