Charmedseed Studios

50% Off Everything at Charmedseed!

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:11:10 GMT

Ready for the Holidays?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:04:56 GMT

Check out our new lower prices, just in time for holiday shopping! Jewelry (especially one of a kind, handmade jewelry) makes a thoughtful, meaningful gift for anyone! Free 1st class shipping, as always!

Don't forget to visit us at the LUMC Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 14th!
Date: November 14th, 2009
Location: Littleton United Methodist Church
5894 S Datura Street
Littleton, CO 80120
Hours: 9am-4pm

Do your holiday shopping! Homemade food and bake sale! Shopper's Bingo; stop at each vendor and get your card stamped to be eligible for door prizes! Come see Charmedseed Jewelry on the Lower Level of the building, and enjoy!

New pieces for fall shopping!

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:09:27 GMT

Upcoming Events!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:42:18 GMT

Holiday Bazaar
Date: November 14th, 2009
Location: Littleton United Methodist Church
5894 S Datura Street
Littleton, CO 80120
Hours: 9am-4pm

Do your holiday shopping! Homemade food and bake sale!

Shopper's Bingo; stop at each vendor and get your card stamped to be eligible for door prizes!

Come see Charmedseed Jewelry on the Lower Level of the building, and enjoy!

Also... are you an Etsy fan? I have several pieces up there currently, including a one-of-a-kind Anne Boleyn style necklace! You can visit the Charmedseed Etsy store here!

Sailormoon Wig Ordering Form!

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:11:25 GMT

So, to cut down on confusion and make ordering easier for both you and I, I've constructed an information and ordering page for the Sailormoon wigs! It's over here, at the Charmedseed Cosplay site. It gives specific details on the timeline, shipping, and other options for ordering. If you have any questions, head there first!

I am currently available for other wigs, so if you're interested in anything, feel free to drop me a line at beverly@charmedseed.net! Thanks! =D

ORLY.

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:15:11 GMT

So, if you're ever bored, or can't sleep, or need to put yourself in a coma for two weeks, you can now check out my documentation for Rosa's costume here. More photos are in this directory over here, but the documentation explains what I actually did.

Also I updated my website finally! =D Yay!

What I did on my summer vacation!

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:59:34 GMT

Whew! Two cons in a row, I'm finally recovered. So here's all the stuff I did at D*C and NDK!

BIG exciting thing: ROSA

ngmaster took these great photos!

Eeeeee, I got to meet Doug Jones (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, Buffy, etc)! He's SO TALL. He squished me and said I was adorable. All this while wearing Flutterina. XD

Also, I got to hang out with Samus and her awesome She-Ra costume. For like 5 minutes, aw.

Nick and I went to the Georgia Aquarium!

We had sushi afterwards, because all the fish looked so delicious.

Dahlia and I were Dr. Horrible fans. <3 <3 <3

THIS WAS MY ROOMMATE, YEAH. SHE'S HOT.

At NDK we also did our Valkyria costumes! =D

~~I like Nick's hat. =D~~ Which he's not wearing in this photo. D= Boo.

I am now taking a break and still trying to find a teaching job while doing temp work and making wigs. I think for Halloween Nick and I will be Peter Venkman and Dana Barrett from Ghostbusters! XD Woooo, 80s hair!

Wooo, Dragon*Con!

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:56:29 GMT

IS LIKE NOW.

I'll be arriving on Thursday and getting settled in, and then off we go! Here are my costumes:

Dewshine [ElfQuest]
v. Original
v. Sorrow's End (If I get it done LOLOLOL)

Rosa [Final Fantasy IV DS]

Flutterina [She-Ra]

Chii [CLAMP in 3D Land]

Shilo [Repo!]
v. Opera Gown (I honestly don't know why I'm bringing this other than it's done XD, not entirely certain I'll wear it)

Dahlia and I will be entering the Masquerade on Sunday night with our Rydia and Rosa costumes. Please cheer us on!

See you all there! *wavewave*

Good morning!

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:01:20 GMT

To start off with, I wanted to share this great photoshoot I was a part of! Idolatry Studios worked with our CLAMP in 3D Land group and took these wonderful photos. You can see the set here.

And secondly, OMG D*C. It'll be here veryvery soon, and followed superfast with NDK the weekend after. I'm really excited for this year's D*C, as I have a lot of fun costumes with groups planned, including more Elfquest, Flutterina from She-Ra, and Rosa from Final Fantasy. For NDK I'll add on Alicia from Valkyria. That's all on ALL of the burners right now!

And lastly, the DCCS met up yesterday for a nice summer picnic, enjoying a uniquely cool August day in Denver! Gosh it was nice!

DCCS August 16th Picnic Gathering!

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:20:22 GMT

Hey all! Let's get together and have a picnic! This is a simple ya'll come; bring yourself (in costume, though not required), some noms, perhaps a blanket and a wiffle ball? Let's enjoy the beautiful Colorado summer! Please wear a moderately comfortable costume, and don't forget the sunscreen!

PICNIC EVENT:
LOCATION: Washington Park in Denver (Downing and Virginia)
The park is large, but we'll meet in the northwest corner, just to the northwest side of Smith Lake and right across from E. Center Ave, there's a parking lot right off Downing next to the lake. Please look for the green shade canopy!
Time: Sunday, August 16th at 1pm-whenever!
Bring: A snack for yourself, and some to share if you like! An outdoor game, a blanket, water, and sunscreen are recommended! Wear a comfortable costume!

Real life update, blah blah blah.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:27:40 GMT

OH HI.

So I don't normally do this sort of thing, but since I fail at internet, I just thought I'd bust it out and say HI ALL and let you know what is going on with my WHOLE LIFE.

So I think last time I talked about anything personal was in February when I posted about my cute little apartment in the city. That was a good one. Everything was pretty much awesome for a while. I was in a happy relationship, work was good and I was learning, and my quest to get back into education was proceeding nicely. I was very happy and healthy! However.

In July I got laid off from my office job. Whole scenario was NOT surprising given the state of the world at the moment, but I still did a little OMG! And then got on the temporary roster again and am filling in at an office in Downtown Denver (which is where I am posting from now). I am currently attempting to secure a teaching position, as I've been approved for the Alternative Licensing Program in Colorado (because while I have a degree in teaching, I never student taught, and subsequently don't have my Colorado license. This program will rectify that). It sounds exactly backwards, which it sort of is, but the idea is that I end up with a job and a license. =D Sweet, right?

So in the mean time I am doing temp work and picked up a few costumes to do on the side for a little money, so I'm making it, little by little. Of course there's still jewelry going on, and I'm busy with something all the time (because I don't know how not to be).

Not that any of this is making me any less healthy or happy (though it did admittedly stress me out for a while), so really things are okay! I like to say that I was of course planning on leaving my office job to pursue teaching... just not quite so soon. And it IS a little fun to work for a few weeks in a different place, especially in Denver, which I love a lot. And now I'm happy to be spending a lot of time sewing and making wigs, which of course I love.

Things are settling out now to be really stable and happy again, and I have to thank all of my friends and loved ones for looking out for me and supporting me while it was tough there for a while. All that's left is to find that classroom... then I'll have everything I want. ^^

OKAY SO THAT WAS FUN.

Anyway, Dragon*Con is STILL ON (everything was already paid for in like February, whew), and I am SO EXCITED, because not only do I love going to D*C, I also love the food court in the Peachtree Center (sweet tea!) and I am totally excited about Doug Jones being there. I'm planning on bringing a few new costumes, especially the new Rosa (DS style, woo!). And then of course the WEEK AFTER THAT, because we're insane, is NDK, and we're working on a whole group of Valkyria kids for that one. And other assorted things.

I'm a little annoyed because it's halfway through the year and I only have ONE COSTUME to show for it, and seriously, that's just not enough. I will be more proactive!

Thanks for hanging around here! <3

So it's a little late.

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:15:57 GMT

Okay so there really WAS an update (to the website) after the last post, but I didn't post about the ACTUAL update, so how would you guys remember? Super updating fail!

But anyway, I DID update the website, everything is tidied up and here are a few extra goodies to check out, aside from several new pieces!

NEW wordspell 'whispers'! These larger pendants have smaller text than the originals, and can fit whole phrases onto them! This one is available now, and more are to come!

There are also a number of items on SUPER $5 CLEARANCE. Seriously, get them out of my house.

Enjoy!

Last Chance!

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:18:08 GMT

Tonight's your last chance for 25% off Charmedseed Jewelry! Tomorrow will be a BIIIIG update! =D

Accepting Costume Commissions!

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:37:37 GMT

~~Please see my post at the cosplay.com marketplace or email me at beverly@charmedseed.net for more info!~~

Need to see what I can do? Check out my website here! Don't forget, I can do custom jewelry, too!

Thanks all!

Jewelry still 25% off!

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:44:27 GMT

NEW AND IMPROVED Sailormoon wig tutorial!

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:51:57 GMT

I've redone the tutorial (here's the original for info on wefting the back of an existing wig, the new tutorial starts with a prepared pigtail wig) with all new images and some upgrades to the process... like if you didn't like the 'dimples' in the original, hey, we're covering them up now! =D

Check it out, and don't forget, if you don't feel like doing all this work yourself, I do take orders for these! Please click here for the order form and additional information!

Please feel free to link to this tutorial and share with anyone! Enjoy! ^^

STEP ONE: MATERIALS

"Innocent" wig in your color choice
At least 3 packages of matching bulk extensions (aka silky straight)
Styrofoam spheres (or other shapes)
Hair clips
Giant curlers
Hot glue gun and sticks
Foam wig head
Wig head holder/stabilizer of some kind
Pins
Scissors
Heavy thread, matching wig color
Tapestry needle (or any large needle)
Craft knife
Pen
A lot of patience

STEP TWO: GET READY

Load that wig up on the foam head and pin the crap out of it. Lots of pins, all around the edge.

Be sure you stretch the wig out over the head so you don't end up with a wig that's too small in the end. You can also 'fill out' your wig head by putting batting or foam inside the wig, if you like.

I really like my clamp-style wig holder because I can clamp it sideways on a door to adjust the ponytails.

Get out your needle and thread.

The tails aren't high enough (or tight enough) on the base wig to really get everything aligned correctly. Be gentle and loosen and shift the tails up a little higher, toward the center part. Tie off with the needle and thread. Weave in and out between going around the base of the tail to get it secure.

A good secured tail. Complete this with the other side, and make sure they're both even to each other. You'll look silly with a lopsided wig. ^^

STEP THREE: START YOUR BUNS

So now you have this, a base wig with a little higher tails.

Set that aside safely and get out everything else. This is the fun part.

We'll start with the styrofoam spheres.

Use a pen, boba straw, whatever, to 'drill' a hole through the center.

Get a good quarter inch hole, at least. You may need to widen it later.

I like my buns to sit a little more flat against the wig, so I lop off one of the ends.

Take that knife and probably your fingernails and carve/scrape the inside of the ball out.

You may want to lay down a dustcloth, this can get messy.

When you've done that, carve a little bit out of the side of the big opening. This is where the tails will poke out.

And Voila!

STEP THREE AND A HALF: STEAM YOUR TAILS

I like my tails only about 3/4 the length of the 48 inch packages they come as... so that's like 36 inches? Math? Anyway, I chop off about a quarter and save that for the buns. More on that later.

You're going to need some hot water for this next part.

Know how the extensions come all tied up and kinky? (I thought you said you liked kinky!)

AUGH! HOW WILL WE EVER GET THEM STRAIGHT??

There's a slight change in the process here that's not in the photos. 'Stub' the ends of your tails with hot glue BEFORE you straighten them. GENTLY comb them out with a wide-toothed comb to remove any lose fiber, THEN proceed with the steaming/straightening.

Well, we just take that hot teapot and hold the tails in the sink and pour the hot water on them! Be sure you tighten up the elastics on the end before you do this.
I don't have a pic of this because I can't pour hot water, hold wig fiber, and take a photo at the same time. Sorry.

Once you've drowned and subsequently straightened your fiber, wind it around one of the curlers and secure it with one of the clips. That will add a bit of a wave to the bottom of the tails and eliminate that nasty kink in the middle. Leave them alone for like a day or two to dry completely.

STEP FOURISH: MAKE BUNS

This is the longest and more difficult part. Bring in your extra patience here. Fortunately, if you screw it up, you're not wasting that much in materials.

So, I had you buy three packages of that wig fiber, right? Here's where we use the third one. You've already got two chunks of about 12 inches of fiber left from the tails. Cut two more 12 inch sections and put them with the tail leftovers.

Just like you did with the base wig, sew-wrap one end together securely.

This makes it thick enough to be sure you can cover the whole bun.

Heat up your glue gun while you trim the end down neatly.

NOW GLUE THE CRAP OUT OF IT. Make sure you get glue INSIDE the little bunch there on the end, and all around the thread. Let it cool.

Add a little more glue, and insert it into the small hole in the end of the styrofoam ball!

Hey, while we've got the glue gun hot, we might as well stub that base wig. So go ahead and chop the curly tails off. Save some of the curls for later!

Glue the stubbed base wig for security!

It won't look great, but we'll be covering this part up with that bun!

Sad, isn't it?

Anyway, back to the buns. When your minitail is secured inside the foam ball, start by taking 1/4 inch sections and pulling them taught around the edge of the ball.

Dab glue on the end and press inside the hollow in the foam ball. BE CAREFUL. The glue is hot. Use a lower temp if you can. Also, if you wet your finger (lick it, dip it in a bowl of water or something) before you press the glued end down, you won't burn yourself or stick to the hot glue.

Keep going in little sections all the way around, then around again, then around again. Be patient, this takes a good hour and a half per bun. Put on an old movie.

Once the ball is done, we'll cover the dimple in the top. Cut a small swatch from your leftover silky fiber and make a small weft by dabbing a little hot glue on the end and pressing it with your (wet) fingers. Glue the end into the inside of the ball.

CAREFULLY, pull it taut over the dimple, adding a little glue if you need to. This works best with SMALL wefts. Hairspray can also help secure as you go around. Secure on the inside of the opposite side of the ball.

Then you have a VERY pretty bun, with no dimple! Ta da! You're done!

PART WHATEVER I FORGET: ADD TAILS AND BUNS

Once your tails are dry, I like to tie them with ribbon, and then we're ready for installation. Thread your needle and string it around the base of the tail.

Secure the tail with the thread to the stub on the wig. Place it a little to the back to keep the tails more behind you.

Once it's stitched on, add a little glue for ULTIMATE STAYING POWER!

Tails are now on, we can now glue on the buns. Just use glue for this; the buns themselves don't take any stress, so we don't need to stitch them on.

Put glue around the edge of the bun and on the base wig stub.

Press firmly to the base wig, with the little notch in the bun over the tail. This will hide the thread on the tail and make the wig look tidy! Let everything dry.

PART NOTHING: YOU ARE DONE!

You're done!

If you want, you can come in with some of your leftover curls and glue them into the wig if you want a more 'manga' style, or to help cover your own hair.

Be prepared! You will need a wig cap and bobby & U pins to keep it secure. While the wig isn't terribly heavy, and it's rather well balanced, because it's a 'bigger' cap under all the fiber, it might want to shift around. You can install toupee clips near the hairline for the best security!

Fluff up the bangs with a little hairspray and you're good to go!

And there you are! Sit back and enjoy your awesome Sailormoon wig.

25% off Everything Sale!

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:06:16 GMT

This Saturday!

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:55:24 GMT

BALLPARK MARKET

OPENING DAY

APRIL 11th, 2009

* Place: Downtown, on Larimer Street between 21st and 22nd Streets
* Time: 8:00am to 2:00pm
* Admission is FREE!
* All Events Go On RAIN or SHINE!

The Ballpark Market is an open-air, European style flea market with distinguishing urban flair. Hunt for must have, one-of-a-kind treasures among antique & vintage furnishings, primitives, retro collectibles, eclectic home & garden accessories, hand-made jewelry, vintage clothing & other very cool stuff. Experience the urban setting of Denver’s Historic Ballpark Neighborhood while you grab a coffee and a pastry and shop this unique, warm weather venue!!

Visit ballparkmarket.com for photos and more info!

Charmedseed Jewelry will be a vendor here! Please stop by! ^^

I promised!

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 03:15:23 GMT

And I am here to deliver!

I added an ordering page for the Anne Boleyn Replica necklaces, as promised! This should make viewing the samples easier and requesting a necklace easier! Check it out!

<3

Stuff and stuff!

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:11:01 GMT

Hey guys! Back from Animeland Wasabi! The DCCS-sponsored cosplay events were once again a great success this year, thanks to all the hard work of the members and participants. I really had a wonderful time and can't thank everyone enough for their energy and great attitudes, even in the face of some adversity. ^^

The CLAMP group made it's debut at AW, as well! You can see some photos here at my freshly updated website! It was SO much fun and everyone looked absolutely amazing!

Cuuuuuute!

In other news, I updated the Anne Boleyn Necklace entry, 'cause I made some new ones, woo! =D I'm definitely taking orders for them, so if you're interested, please drop me an email! I swear I'll add an order form to the website soon. O.o

Also, I'll be over at the Ballpark Market on April 11th! It's an open air market in Downtown Denver, on Larimer Street between 21st and 22nd Streets, and it goes from 8:00am to 2:00pm. They have LOTS of awesome stuff besides handcrafts, like antiques and a farmer's market, too. I'm so happy to have been accepted, and I'm really looking forward to the event! Oh, hey, it's free, too!

Okay, I think that covers all of it. XD

Cosplay Contest Registration at AW is OPEN!

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:27:19 GMT

OKAY, Animeland Wasabi 2009 Cosplay Registration is open!

Don't know anything about AW? Well, why don't you just come on down to the forums and find out!

Please bring your questions there! Thanks!

Animeland Wasabi!

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:30:42 GMT

Hey guys, if you're interested in AW, the cosplay contest preregistration will open tomorrow, Feb. 20th!

Please to be seein' the AW site for more info.

If you have questions about AW, please ask them there, or email me at charmedseed@gmail.com! Thanks!

Totally OT.

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:07:23 GMT

So, uh, in case you didn't know, I moved in December. Since I secretly dream of being an interior decorator, I've been busting my butt working on a good design and having a really fun time decorating my apartment! It started out with a lot of charm of it's own; it's a vintage apartment in a cool part of Denver, I've got hardwood floors and really nice windows and pretty textured plaster.

I'm a big fan of stores like Anthropologie and Crate & Barrel and Urban Outfitters, but I'm typically on a VERY strict budget (LOL, gotta have the money for all those costumes, heh), so I use a lot of secondhand stuff, and I do a lot of shopping on Craigslist and at Goodwill and ARC.

So anyway, I just wanted to share some pictures of my place! Here it is!

TV stand and my cat Morgan looking kind of annoyed. XD I'm working on groupings with framed wall art. TV was on this show about steampunk, LOL!

The America map was made by my grandmother; it's all cross stitch. I liked it as a child and told her a LONG time ago that I wanted one. It is HUGE, probably 4 feet across.

The flower things I got for $7 for the pair at Goodwill, and I'm really happy because I left them once, and they were still there when I got back! =D I also feel like they could totally be something from Anthro, only without the price tag. XD

The living room chair and the dining area. No, I couldn't be bothered to put my serger away. =p The chair is my typical $15 craigslist purchase. I put the grey and black throw over to break up all the white, and I liked the kinda funky contrast of the fuzzy modernish blanket with the classic setting of the chair. Also I made a pillow, 'cause I have a lot of extra fabric.

You can see the grouping in the dining area as a whole now, too. I'd started out with the Matisse (the train in the fireplace XD) in the middle of the wall, and decided I didn't like it/it was too formal. So I've started a grouping on that wall...

My friend Snowhite Dahlia got me this teapot from Anthro because I'd been coveting it for literally a year. It is MAYBE my favorite thing ever, and easily my favorite teapot. =D

More of the new grouping. I need to get a frame for the Matisse that's not cheap like that one. =p The rest is all secondhand finds. It needs MORE, but I'm just waiting for the right pieces to come along.

So I bought two old cameras off ebay, simply for decorating purposes. I had this empty frame up on the wall, and thought it was sort of hilarious and witty with the camera IN it. The other is hanging on the chalkboard, but this one didn't have a strap. I just stuck a little hot glue on it to make it stay in the frame. I kind of love it. =D

Entryway. Yes, I'm a nerd and I put a picture frame around my peep hole like in Friends. I know, I know. But the front door is really awful.

Also the desk/office. The lamp and shade is secondhand... they were both purchased separately.

Again. Also, that white mirror is my other favorite thing in the apartment. =D It is from Urban Outfitters.

The shelf on top of my computer. I'm going to hang letters off the hooks to spell... well, something. I've decided to just collect letters and see what I end up with. =D

Some living room and the bookcase. No, I couldn't be bothered to put away the iron, either. =p

I LOVE this couch. I bought it used from Craigslist for $200, and it's pracitically brand new.

So that's it! =D Welcome to my apartment!

New Charmedseed Jewelry!

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:01:38 GMT

NO SRSLY

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 23:17:50 GMT

Okay guys, I swear, I'm updating the jewelry website TONIGHT, and I'm totally making things. I'm hoping to finish Haruhi's Ending Dress from Ouran like THIS WEEK, and then... Uh, well, yeah. XD Then it will be done.

Also, starting to get excited about AnimeLAND Wasabi coming up in March! This'll be the second year, and it should be a good one! We'll be working on making the cosplay events even better this year, of course, so come and enjoy them, or feel free to help out! You can get more details at the community page, or of course at the DCCS website.

Next time, PICS. Of something.