Torino Comics 2013

La scorsa settimana (come ogni anno, da che mi sono trasferita in zona Torino), ho visitato il Torino Comics.

Quest'anno sono stata in fiera Venerdì, per fare shopping con Dani e il nostro amico Moreno; e Sabato, per fare i fighi con i nostri costumi da gioco di ruolo dal vivo XD (è da un pò che pianifico un post sulla mia esperienza con i gdr live, ma a quanto pare io e il mio gruppo siamo bravissimi a schivare le foto agli eventi e, non avendo quindi foto decenti dei nostri personaggi, il post non è mai venuto alla luce, ma abbiate fede...).

Come dicevo, Venerdì mi sono dedicata interamente ad esplorare la fiera e, nonostante il budget molto ridotto di quest'anno, alla fine mi sono portata a casa lo stesso qualcosina:

Last week  (as every year, since I moved near Turin) I visited Torino Comics (a local comic convention).
This year I attended the fair on Friday, to do some shopping with Dani and our friend Moreno, and Saturday, to show off our live action role-playing game costumes (it's been a while that I plan an article about my larp experience, but apparently me and my group are very good at dodging the event photographer so, not having some decent pictures of our characters, this post has never come to life, but have faith...).
As I said, on Friday I dedicated my visit to exploring the convention and, despite this year's very low budget, I brought something home with me:

Il portafogli di Mike Mignola dovrebbe ringraziarmi.../ Mike Mignola's wallet should thank me...

i miei acquisti (decisamente monotematici) sono stati l'ultimo volume di Hellboy, in cui compare anche Batman, l'8 e il 9 del BPRD (sempre di Mignola) e l'action figure di Abe Sapiens dal film di Hellboy. Considerando che il prezzo standard di queste action figures varia tra i 16 e i 24 euro (Hellboy l'avevo pagato 18€), non era nei miei progetti prendere anche gli altri personaggi, ma quando Moreno ha pescato Abe da uno scatolone "tutto a 5€" (lo spesso strato di polvere sulla confezione spiega cosa ci facesse lì dentro...) non ho saputo resistere e l'ho preso :) (anche i fumetti erano scontati: c'è un banco che trovo praticamente ad ogni fiera, che fa sempre il 20% di sconto su tutti i volumi Magic Press).

Sabato invece, non dovendo preoccuparci di portare in giro sacchetti e borse per gli acquisti, siamo tornati in fiera indossando i costumi dei nostri personaggi di Bollaverde, il gdr live a cui partecipiamo dallo scorso Agosto. Eccoci qua in tutto il nostro splendore (e nel mio caso, scomodità XD sì, la mia armatura è in metallo vero) in alcune delle poche foto che sono riuscita a recuperare:

my purchases (definitely monothematic) were the latest volume of Hellboy, which features also Batman, volume 8 and 9 of BPRD (always by Mike Mignola) and the action figure of Abe Sapien from Hellboy movie. Considering that the standard price for these action figures varies between 16 and 24€ (I paid Hellboy 18€), I wasn't planning to buy the other characters, but when Moreno found Abe  in a box that said "Everything at 5€" (the thick coat of dust on the packaging explains why he was there...) I could not resist and bought it :) (the comics also were on sale: there is a seller that I find at almost every convention, that always have 20% of discount on all Magic Press volumes).
On Saturday, not having to carry around big bags for shopping, we went back to the convention wearing our Bollaverde costumes (the larp association we play with since last August). Here we are, in all our glory (and in my case discomfort Xd yes, my armour is real metal) in some of the few pictures I found online:

photo by Simone (my college friend)

photo by ComicsLoverCollectorItalia

photo by Giulia Hepburn for Eclisse Magazine

In conclusione devo dire che la fiera, pur essendo quasi identica (stessi espositori, stessa disposizione) a quelle degli anni passati non mi ha delusa: certo, non ha le dimensioni e la varietà di fiere più importanti come Lucca Comics, ma considerando che ce l'ho vicina a casa e che in questo periodo dell'anno solitamente non  ci sono altre fiere importanti (ci sarebbe il Romics, ma il viaggio è decisamente fuori dalla mia portata), val sempre la pena farci un giro :)

In the end I have to say that the convention, despite being almost identical (same stands, same place) to past years, didn't disappoint me: of course it doesn't have the size and variety of bigger ones, like Lucca Comics, but considering that it's close to home and the only one in this period of the year (well, there's also Romics, but Rome is definitely too distant and costly for me ^^) Torino Comics is always worth visiting :)

Easiest doll skirt tutorial

A while ago Ginger Lola of Lola's Mini Homes asked me to do a tutorial for Operetta's black and white skirt

I admit that I've tried my best to create something understandable, but my sewing skills are very amateur and seems like I'm not very good at writing tutorials too ^_^

But I didn't wanted to disappoint my readers, so I searched the web for an easy rectangle skirt tutorial.

I found this one by Dolly Outiftters very easy to understand, plus it's already doll-sized (it's more difficult to start from human clothes patterns). 

Anyway if you want to sew a skirt for Mosnter High dolls, you'll need to modify the patter a little: in fact Monster High dolls have a greater waist/hips ratio than the doll used in the tutorial so, if you want your skirt to be poofy enough you have to measure 2 times and a half the hips circumference of your MH and use this measurement for the widest side of the fabric rectangle (side B in my drawing below). Side A is up to your choice: if you want  a knee lenght skirt, 8cm are enough.

Since MH dolls are quite small you can also use instead of fabric a piece of tall satin ribbon (as I did for Operetta's skirt) and save some sewing, since ribbon won't fray on the upper and lower side (B), so you'll only have to sew hems on the shorter sides (A).

The last thing you have to consider when sewing for MH is to get the tiniest elastic band you can find (I used a 4mm tall band) or else you'll skirt will end up having a huge waist in proportion to your doll. For the lenght of the waistband don't use the exact waist circumference of the doll, I usually measure 1 time the doll's hips circumference minus a cm: this way the skirt will be reasonably tight on the waist to look nice and the elastic band doesn't stretch too much when sliding over the hips.

If you want to see another example of this pattern on MH dolls, here's another skirt I made using it (again for Operetta, she's one of my favourites!)

I hope my instructions were clear enough, if not or if you still have some doubts feel free to ask ;)

5 useful tips for DIY doll clothes on a budget

Crafting supplies may be expensive, but sometimes it only takes a bit of creativity and inventiveness to save some money. Speaking specifically of sewing doll clothes, while making my tailoring experiments for Monster High dolls I learned some cheap ways to gather supplies (like fabric, trims, lace...).
Here they are, I hope they'll be useful for you too!

1) Raid your house (and closet)

The cheapest way to find some fabric is using old clothes (or blankets, pillowcases, tableclothes, ...) you no longer use but are still in good condition: even a plain black t-shirt could be turned in a doll-sized cocktail dress (that's how I made Cleo's dress in this post)!

2) With a little help from your friends

If you have friends (or relatives) that are into sewing, ask if they have some unused fabric scraps to give you (when I was I child I started sewing for my dolls using fabric leftovers my grandmother gave me).

3) Party hard!

Party and wedding favors are often decorated with ribbons, lace and small fabric flowers: all these things can be used to add elegant details to your doll clothes and accessories.

4) Fat quarters

Dolls are way smaller than humans, so you don't need great amounts of fabric to dress them, a single fat quarter is enough to sew a lot of doll-sized things: try searching for quilting fabric fat quarters, usually they're reasonably cheap and come in a great variety of patterns (you will soon see my Sweet 1600 Draculaura in a Valentine chocolate themed dress ;)).

5) Chinatown

Chinese shops and dollar stores often carry a selection of basic sewing supplies at very cheap prices. Here's what I took home from my nearest chinese store for only 5€ (about 6.50$), when I started sewing for MH dolls:
- 1 spool of golden embroidery thread;
- 1 package of velcro straps;
- 1 package of snap buttons in different sizes;
- 1 package of tiny hooks;
- 1 set of silk ribbons, in 5 different colors (each color was 2m long, about 80")
- 1m (40") of elastic band.
- 1 package of pins
That's a lot of stuff for that price, just think at how many doll clothes you can sew with it!

Make up review: Essence Stampy Nail Art Set

Stamping kits aren't a novelty in the nail art world, I always found them interesting, but since they usually weren't easy to find in italian stores, I have never tried them. Until Essence (a brand that can easily be found also here in Italy) released a basic stamping set, with different design plates and special stamping nail polishes, sold at a very low price, how could I resist?

Well, I haven't, so last Sunday I went to the nearest shop and bought a basic Stampy set plus an additional design plate and black matte stamping polish, all for 6€.

The basic Stampy set contains a design plate, a scraper and a stamp, sold separately there are four different design plates and three stamping nail polishes (black, white and silver, but I only found black).

Since it was my first time trying it I decided to watch and follow the tutorial provided on Essence's Youtube channel (here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9ofLFhtYfc&list=PLDg6S58u7v-cccGEL-j8cpmk2KLLJXovD&index=4&feature=plcp ). 

After several attempts (including three complete manicure failed and redone), the best I could get was this:

Maybe I'm not the best nail artist of the world, but honestly I was expecting someting better after all these attempts :-/ as you can see better from the picture below, the stripes don't cover entirely the nail and are a little smudged.

The truth is that this "technique" isn't so easy to catch: you have to be very quickly applying the polish on the plate, scraping and then stamping it on your nail because it dries very fast, also it takes some practice to obtain smooth and clean stamps. Another problem is that the smallest designs, like the heart, paws and swirls  of the basic set, are carved with very little depth on the plate so they didn't work very well, only the patterned ones gave me some decent results.

My last complain is about the stamping nail polish: not mentioning that you waste a lot of polish (and dirty a lot of paper towels and cotton swabs) during the whole process, you are forced to use it, because normal nail polish don't work with the design plates (maybe it's not enough dense), and this limits a lot the color choice, plus once applied on the nail it scratches away very easily, so you have to be quick putting on the top coat, but be careful, use some very light brush strokes or the design will smudge!

My overall rating: 2/5

The idea (and the price) is good, but if you need a quick and easy nail art solution , nail stickers or fake nails are still the best in my opinion. Once you learn how to do it right and quickly, you can obtain some nice results (I've seen beautiful nail arts on the web), but I don't think I'll buy other Essence design plates in the future (but I'll probably try again with these when I'll have some spare time).

Bonus pic: one of my failed attempts using a different pattern

The adventurous life of Mini Blythe

Last Sunday I received a mail from Frankie of Dolls From Planet Mu (check out her blog, she does very interesting and accurate reviews of dolls and toys!), noticing me that I had won her  Blythe Littlest Pet Shop giveaway! I was very happy because it was a while that I wanted to buy one, but usually when I'm in a toy shop my attention is more focused on the Monster High shelf, so this is my very first Blythe!
I was prepared to wait about 10/12 days for the package to arrive (that's what it usually takes for packages from the U.K.) but surprisingly on Friday morning the package was already here (thank you Frankie for the fast shipping, I hope you didn't spent too much for it ^_^).
And here begin the adventure of Mini Blythe vs Giant Dog and the Postman!
Usually when there's a package or registered mail to deliver, the postman rings the bell and deliver them in person, but this time he had the brilliant idea of just leave it unguarded on our gate, without ringing the bell (me and my boyfriend were at home, so I'm sure he didn't ring :-/).
 As you may know, I have a dog, Leila, who is good and loving, but still behaves as a puppy, in fact her philosophy about new things is something like: " Gnaw it, eat it, and see what happens". Could she resist a mysterious package left justin front of her nose? Obviously not, so she started fighting with the external packaging.
Luckily, at this point Dani accidentally  looked out to search forthe dog, and saw her gnaw something colourful, surrounded by pieces of bubble wrap and paper.
He immediately remembered of my package and ran to save it. Luckily again, Leila only destroyed the packaging and the cardboard box, while the doll and her accessories were saved by the rigid plastic casing inside.
Despite this small accident, the doll is safe (only her hair were a bit messy, but it's easy to fix) and incredibly cute!

I had already seen Blythe LPS sets in stores, but out of the box they look a lot more beautiful, what I like the most of her are the eyes: I wasn't expecting them to be inlaid, (from the shadow of the box they looked just painted on) and they also have long lashes.
The outfit is cute too, her tartan dress make her look like a mini human version of Frankie Stein (I put her near Frankie and Rochelle on my shelf), and she also has removable shoes and some accessories, my favourite is the flower headband.
I'm very happy of this prize (and I will probaby buy more Blythe in the future ;-)),thank you Frankie!