My Favorite Etsy Shops

I recently was laid off from the office job I loved very much. It's been tough, trying to find a job that I don't think I would hate, pays well enough to survive off of and preferably is tolerant of my pink hair. I just was hired for a new position at a dessert shop that is opening up near me [hooray!] but during my time off I spent a lot of time... and I don't exaggerate when I say a lot thinking about what I could do that would hopefully fulfill the previously mentioned requirements; I know that there are numerous successful Etsy vendors that can survive off selling their crafts, but I'm not a crafty person.

So I suppose when I say thinking a lot about what I could do to pay the bills, I mean thinking about what I'd want to sell on Etsy. But as I said, I'm not artistic so what I really meant was I spent a lot of time wanting to spend all my money on Etsy.


It's true. There's too much cute stuff available! So here are a few of my favorite shops...

Jihye Lee Art
This girl's nail art is fantastic. Just admire this set of Nightmare Before Christmas nails! She generally has a lot of geek themed nails -- I found her while searching for Tepig related nail art. Video games, Harry Potter and other nerd references make my heart swoon.

When I'm in a better financial situation, I'm totally gonna have to rock a set of these babies! Until that point, you should purchase a set in my stead.

Yume's Pixel Crafts

One of my favorites in the oh-so-popular perler bead category is Yume's -- I like it best because she's got a ton of cute video game related stuff [of course] as well as some anime characters [sweet] but she's also got Winnie the Pooh and Ariel -- I'm a sucker for Disney things so needless to say, Little Mermaid = win. Rather than just offering the stand alone perler beaded pixel-spritey things, she offers a variety of picture frames.

As a warning to any of my friends who may want to get pregnant; be aware I will probably be buying you this picture frame. I can't resist.


Bunny Cartoon Creations

Last but certainly far from least is Bunny Cartoon Creations -- run by Glitter Parfait's very own Usamimi <3 Just take a look at one of her past embroideries, this super adorable Pinkie Pie! One day I'll be rich and be able to commission her to do embroideries of my favorite Pokémon so I can have an ultra nerdy house. 'Til then, I'll just have to admire her work from afar, le sigh...

TToF: They can't ALL be treasures...

Friday has rolled around again! Time for another exciting edition of:

...or maybe not?

This week I actually didn't find anything all that interesting on my thrifting trip (unless you count a couple of books. But that's not exciting to post about!). So while I was looking around, I realized that this was a good opportunity to talk about some other aspects of thrifting. Obviously, you're not ALWAYS going to find something good whenever you go looking. In fact, more often than not you're going to be subjected to something that's most commonly known as "thrift horror". What's thrift horror, you might ask? It's basically the hilariously BAD junk that you see at any thrift store or garage sale...the kind of stuff you couldn't even give away. The kind of junk you see and don't know whether to laugh at or burn so that you never have to be subjected to looking at it again.

So this week, I decided to show you a couple of thrift horrors I found at one of my local Goodwill stores.

First off, we have...a cow, wearing a dress, and holding a teddy bear. At least, I think that's what it's supposed to be?

Speaking of cows...

I'm not sure if this was supposed to be a cow, or an AT-AT Walker in disguise. XD

I've seen my share of ugly clocks in thrift stores, but this one...D: Ugh. Who would voluntarily hang something like this in their home?!

And last, but not least...

We have a sad shelf of lonely, discarded bears. (That poor "artist" bear in the right corner looks so confused.)

If you can believe it, there's way worse (and funnier) thrift horrors out there to be seen. There's the Thrifthorror blog, and even a community where people can post and share their own finds at the Thrifthorror Livejournal community. Be warned--some of these are so hilariously bad, you might spend a good chunk of time looking through a lot of crazy photos. XD

Well, that's all for this week! Maybe I'll find something cool my next trip. ;D

♥Usamimi

I tried to resist, but...

Ok, I think I mentioned it in a previous post, but I'm a fan of horror movies. I also enjoy the old classic monster movies, cheesy as they are. So I guess it shouldn't be a huge surprise that, given my love of toys and dolls...I recently caved and got a few Monster High dolls. XD;;

For those who don't know, "Monster High" is a line of dolls Mattel put out that are basically modern, girly fashion doll versions of the "children" of classic monsters. I first saw one when I worked in Target back in 2010...the only one we had on the shelf for ages was "Draculaura", which is supposed to be the daughter of Dracula (obviously ;p).

I didn't really like her, surprisingly enough. I like pink, I like vampires, but...I thought she looked really weird, and that it was just another thing trying to play on the popularity of stuff like "Twilight". (Yawn.)

But then, a few months later, we finally got some more toys in stock. One of which being "Frankie Stein" (daughter of--shock!--the Frankenstein monster).

Instantly, I liked her. I'm not sure why...I'm not terribly fond of the old Frankenstein movies (though the book was interesting), but there was something about her I found appealing. It could be that she looked sort of "zombie"-chic, with her green skin and painted stitches all over. (I enjoy a good zombie movie!) So, I finally caved and got her (while she was on sale AND I could use my employee discount! Mwahaha~)

A year later, Mattel released a variant line of the dolls called "Dawn of the Dance", which I assume is supposed to be their prom dresses or something like that. And once again, I was drawn to the Frankie Stein doll...this time, I knew exactly why, though: she looked like an extra from "Jem & The Holograms"!

I loved the cute 80's look! And pink! PIIINK~! How could I resist it?! I found it for cheap, too ($9 at a discount place! It's usually around $20-25 retail, I think), though I was a little embarrassed when the clerk tried to strike up a conversation with me by saying her 10 year old daughter loved the dolls, and asked me how old MY daughter was. *hangs head in shame*

It wasn't until recently that I noticed online there is actually quite a large group of people who are older that also collect these dolls, as well as modifying them or making custom versions. Yay! I don't feel so bad about liking them, now that I know I'm not the only one. XD (You can see some of the things people do with their MH dolls in this stream HERE! Some are quite impressive and make me wish I had the time, money, and skill to paint my own!)

I only had the 2 Frankie dolls until recently, when my boyfriend was kind enough to get me one for a Valentine's Day gift--ironically enough, the "Cupid" doll!

These are pics I took when I first got it, still in the box...she's actually quite detailed, I was surprised! Her wings are skeletal, too, which I thought was a neat idea. So now I have 3...hopefully they won't multiply too much more. XD;;

I also think it's kind of cool that little girls have a "weird" fashion doll they can buy that's not Barbie or Bratz dolls and not get flak about it. Even though I think some of the MH dolls are ugly or not my taste, I probably would've eaten this crap up when I was 7 or 8 years old! (I had a soft spot for "Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School", lol XD)

What about you guys? Anyone else have one/two/twenty of these? Or do you think they're weird? I'd love to hear other people's opinions!

♥Usamimi

TToF: Strawberries & Awesome Power!

It's that time again! Another exciting installment of--

[insert fanfare here]

Haha, joking aside, this time around was certainly a prime example of quality over quantity. I only found a couple of things...but they were pretty awesome finds, which completely makes up for it.

First up is this vintage Strawberry Shortcake figurine. I was a little confused by the large number 7 sculpted onto it (at first glance, I almost thought it was a birthday candle!), but since it was only $.49 cents, I figured, "Why not?" and just scooped it up. It's really not every day I find actual vintage Strawberry Shortcake stuff and not just stuff that was remade in the early '00s (or the new, updated look Strawberry Shortcake, which I'm not terribly fond of.) When I came home later, I did some Googling and discovered that this was a line of mini ceramic statues that were made specifically to buy as birthday gifts for little girls--the number representing their age, of course. So I guess when my first thought was birthday candles, I wasn't too off, eh? XD I was surprised to only find 2 similar ones on eBay, which were going for $19-29! Interesting.

Imagine my surprise when not even 5 minutes later, in the same Goodwill, I found a second vintage Strawberry Shortcake item! When I first saw this little pillow/cushion, I wasn't entirely sure that it was a Strawberry Shortcake item because I couldn't find a tag or copyright mark on it (though the previous owner wrote her name in neat little letters on the back of it...which I thought was kind of cute). But it was only $.99, and even if it ended up not being what I thought it was, it was still cute, so I got it anyway. Again, my gut instinct was correct! I found out that this was an official SBSC item...the fabric itself was sold as a "sew-your-own" pillow pattern, which was why I couldn't find any tag or info. (Ah, isn't it cool how much useful info you find on old stuff like this just from using Google?) I was really excited about both of these, because much like I said in my previous posts...I was a child of the 80s, and I miss a lot of the cute junk I had from the cartoons. Strawberry Shortcake was another fave, so it's no exception. Here's a closer look at the cute little lady bug on the pillow:

And the last item, which has absolutely NOTHING to do with Strawberry Shortcake!

MR. SPARKLE! Ok, I will admit to being a fan of The Simpsons...y'know, back when they were actually funny. (Awww.) If you're too young to remember this ep from '97 (or you just don't watch TV), here's a clip. But for someone like me, who has seen this episode probably a million times, this was an awesome find. I actually had a Mr. Sparkle t-shirt, but I'm not sure where it is (probably in the depths of my closet somewhere). If I can't find it, this will be a nice replacement...either that, or I can make a t-shirt bag out of it. Either way, best $1.99 I spent this week, yo.

Grand total this trip: about $3.47 + tax

Another SUPAH LUCKY successful thrifting venture! Any thoughts? Feel free to leave comments!

Until next time!
♥Usamimi

Allie's Favorite Cars of the Now List

Yikes! Sorry for essentially going MIA -- this has been an incredibly stressful couple of weeks for me! I am in the process of planning a trip to New York City to see my favorite band, L'Arc~en~Ciel when they come to the states for their second show [ever!] in the US. Also, my car was recently diagnosed with a lot of expensive to fix problems, which has brought me to the point where I've been looking for other transportation alternatives [in layman's terms, I've been looking at really cute cars].

So, boring as it may be... I am bringing you a top 5 list of Cars I Want to Drive, Badly.

5. The Hello Kitty Smart Car

It's pink, it's tiny and easy to park and gets great gas mileage... but it also only seats two people.

4. Pink Mini Cooper

It's a wonderful shade of pink and it's a convertible. So clean and lovely looking.

3. Pink Audi R8

Wow. This car just screams fantastic. Or shopped. Perhaps both! Either way, I'm in lust with it. It's a little ferocious for me, but I think I could handle it.

2. Pikachu Car

The hybrid of adorable and functional, this particular Pikachu car looks much happier than other PikaCar models.

1. 2005 Subaru Impreza STI

Okay, this is a little bit boring, I know, and it's probably surprising in spite of my pink infatuation, I don't want a pink car. The white STI -- particularly of this year -- is just so damn cute. Seeing as it's a Rally car and the STI logo is by default pink... it's just a match made in heaven for me. 2005 is the year I graduated, but it's also the best looking model. And the most reasonable, as my current car is a 1997 Subaru Impreza.

And as a secret number 0...

Peach's Birthday Girl Kart from Mario Kart 7

[I'm the one sitting in it]

Cute, pink, adorned with a gigantic bow, and not to mention a built in propeller and glider? I'll take two, please.

TToF: Pink Nostalgia edition

Has it been a week already?! It's already time for my second installment of:

I was lucky yesterday to have come to the Goodwill while they were putting out new stuff. It's fun to be able to get your hands on things first before anyone else!

First up, I found this cute pink shopping tote. I dunno about you guys, but I'm always on the lookout for reusable shopping bags that are not only functional, but look nice. This was apparently an Old Navy tote...not sure how old, but I liked the design, the pattern, and the colors. And for $.99, it cost about as much as those ugly ones you see at the grocery store all the time, so why not?







Now here's one I was really happy to find! An extra-large, 3rd Gen "Styling" My Little Pony--none other than Pinkie Pie!

I took the second picture with the "new" version of Pinkie Pie, so you can get an idea of just how much bigger this one is versus the smaller ponies. Yes, as a child of the 80's, I will fully admit that I loved My Little Pony. I will also admit that I regret having to get rid of about 99% of my old toys, so whenever I see an MLP that I think is cute from the Goodwill, well...I tend to rescue them, clean them up a bit, and either keep them; or put them up for swap on places like Listia. Since Pinkie is just so cute, well...how could I resist?! She definitely needs some TLC (especially a good hair-washing--it's all in knots!), but for a measly $.99, she was a pretty good find.

And finally...as if talking about My Little Pony wasn't enough, we have my last find of the day: Share Bear, the Care Bear. Yes, another obsession of mine in the 80's was, like many little kids, Care Bears. I used to have quite the collection, too. But of course like many toy collections of old, I reached my teen years and let my toy collection either get taken by a sibling, or get donated to charity by a parent. So, much like my weakness for cute pink ponies, I also have a weakness for these cute little stuffed guys. My favorite Care Bear was Cheer Bear, but I'm not biased. This plush was actually made in the early '00s for the reboot of the franchise, but I don't really mind...actual vintage Care Bears can be few and far between. And for $.50? Sure, why not!

Grand total this trip: about $2.50 + tax

And there you have it! What do you think of this week's finds? Feel free to leave comments!

Until next time!
♥Usamimi

Introducing "Thrifting Thursdays...(on Friday)"

Anyone who has a blog or has been on Tumblr knows that thrifting has gotten huge lately. Which I think is awesome! I love going to thrift stores, and I've been doing it for quite awhile. In fact, lately I've been browsing our local thrift stores about once a week, since now I live close to so many. I thought that it'd been fun to do a weekly post about finds, since sometimes I find stuff that's pretty awesome (and sometimes...not so awesome. XD) So here's our first installment of:

Yesterday was a pretty good day!

First off, I found this beautiful strawberry-printed tea cup! I love the pattern, and the handle looks so elegant! Someday, I want to do my entire kitchen in a strawberry theme, so whenever I see cute pieces like this, I always pick them up. And it was a steal at only .49 cents! Under the tea cup is a mini polka-dotted case (it kind of resembles a lunch box, but it looks to be made of some kind of industrial cardboard instead of plastic or metal). It's not very big, but I couldn't resist it! I think it'd be cute to hold small things (like maybe hair clips or something like that?), and for the price (also .49 cents!) I couldn't pass it up. I'm always on the look out for cute storage options! (Allie commented that it almost looks like something from Swimmer Brand, which is true! That must be why I spotted it, heh!)

This was a fun surprise--a children's book of the original story of "The Little Mermaid", anime-style! I picked it up because it reminded me of the old 70's anime version (which it might be tied to, I'm not sure! The look is definitely similar. If anyone knows, leave me a comment!) This Goodwill has all their children's book priced at 5 for .99 cents, so I scooped it up without much thought. The artwork has a sweet, vintage anime look that I really like. I've been considering doing something with it (like maybe frame my favorite pages?), but until then, I'm just keeping it on my manga shelf. Here's a couple more pictures:

Apparently there are a whole series of these books, all of classic fairy tales, so now I kind of want to see the rest!


I also took a look around our local used record store (conveniently right across the street from one of the Goodwill stores!), which periodically has great sales on all sorts of things like CDs, vinyl records, old video games, DVDs, you name it! Sometimes you have to dig around through a lot of boxes or bins, but that's one of the things I love about the place--it's like looking for buried treasure!

It may come as a shock to some people (given my love of all things pink and cute), but I'm a big fan of horror movies! And since I'm a fan of video games and anime, too; I guess it's no surprise I enjoy Asian horror movies, too, huh? This is one I've been wanting to see for a while, so I was excited to see it in the bargain bin this week for only $1.98. It looks to be an ex-rental copy, but when I checked the disc, it looked practically brand-new! Infection is a story that takes place in a hospital (and hospitals kinda creep me out to begin with!) and has consistently gotten pretty good reviews, so I'm really looking forward to watching it.

Grand total this trip: about $3.20 + tax

That's it for this week's finds! What do you think? Feel free to leave comments!

Until next time!
♥Usamimi