Staying Cute and Staying Warm

Let's face it: Winter can get really cold and knee length skirts can leave your legs freezing. So what's a girl to do? We want to look cute all year round, but we don't want to be so sick we can't show off our ensembles. Well, with the right additions to your wardrobe, you can look cute year round. Here's a list of my top four ideas for keeping warm while dressing cute.

#1: Headgear

This first one might seem a little obvious, but it still doesn't hurt to point it out. Be it a knit cap, earmuffs, or cat eared hat, anything that can cover your ears will help prevent issues such as frostbite in colder areas. In windy areas, knit hats aren't as useful as woven fabrics such as fleece or faux-fur since the wind seems to blow through every crack in the knit. Hats with ears sewn on or other items such as pins, charms, and flowers can be just as functional as plain ones while still allowing you to dress cute. Can't find one? Take a simple fleece cap in a color you like, some ribbon, flowers, or any other decorations you like and hot glue or sew them to your hat. Don't want to mess up your hairdo? Earmuffs keep your ears covered without covering your whole head.

#2: Tights

To keep your legs warm, tights are a must. I highly recommend getting multiple pairs of dance tights as they are thick and durable. I can't tell you how many times I've pulled on a pair of regular nylons just to have my thumb go through them the first time I wear them. Unlike regular nylons, dance tights are designed to be pulled on and off quickly for fast costume changes off-stage. Having been in dance since I was a kid, I know for a fact that dance tights are made to last. I have pairs that I've had for nearly eight years now and they still work wonderfully. Don't be afraid to layer on multiple pairs as the more you have on the warmer your legs will be. I personally have one pair each of pink, tan, and black tights that I layer in that order for warmth or wear one or two at a time for days that are still cold, but not excessively so.

#3: Coats

Like hats, this may seem a bit obvious, but the type of coat may not be quite as obvious. Coats that end at your waist can look cute, but your tush can get a lot colder than with a knee length version. I personally recommend a thick wool coat if you live somewhere that can get especially cold. I got one that's surplus from the Swedish Air Force from Sportsman's Guide, a seller of military surplus as well as hunting and fishing gear. You can also get really cute Lolita themed coats from places such as Bodyline. I can't say how warm Bodyline's coats are though as I haven't gotten one before, so feel free to comment if you know.

#4: Layers

Layers upon layers is a key to staying warm. Wearing a long sleeved T-shirt under a long sleeve blouse, wearing multiple petticoats, or  wearing legwarmers are all examples of how you can help keep warm. Be careful not to overdo things though! While you might be perfectly warm outside, you have to be careful you don't over-heat inside. So make sure you have layers that can easily be removed such as a coat or cardigan and always be prepared to slip into a bathroom to take off a layer of tights of petticoat.

Stay warm lovelies, this season and many more yet to come!

Follow me on Twitter: @animlolicouture

Drawing: Then and Now

Over the years, my drawing style has changed and improved. I've learned how to draw clothing on after sketching the figure instead of drawing on the legs after drawing a skirt. I've shirked drawing hands by creatively hiding them and avoided feet by having the paper cut them off. I've drawn eyes just like some of my favorite mangas. I've drawn so many drawings that I never finished that I couldn't find ones that I had finished. Now, I'm changing my style and forcing myself to draw hands and feet as well as to make my drawings more realistic. What initiated this change? Mainly the fact that I was tired of my drawings having gigantic anime eyes and wanted to have a more realistic art style. How am I making this change? Well, I'm practicing. I'm taking the time to practice drawing hands in different positions without drawing the rest of the body. I'm adding nails to my hands and drawing more realistic placements of facial features. And I'm picking up drawing books that aren't in the anime/manga style.

While I still enjoy the simplicity of the anime/manga style, I've started to yearn for a more realistic style. Fpr the longest time, I've compared my figure to that of anime characters. They have such long, thin legs and mine are so thick in comparison. Their eyes are so big and elaborate, I wish my eyes could look like that. I've gotten tired of trying to fit my body image onto an anime character with seemingly "perfect" proportions and instead decided to change my art style to fit into more realistic standards. Girls with larger hips and proportionate busts (OK, maybe a bit big) have become more common in my drawings, and it's making me feel better as an artist and a person.

While I still enjoy the look of anime/manga artwork, I just don't feel it's what I want to be my go-to style for drawing anymore. In the long run, I feel that having a more realistic drawing style will bring me more happiness than an unrealistic anime/manga style.

And, yes, here are some of my drawings. (I apologize for the low quality image resolution on some of them. My camera isn't the greatest.)

When I was still fairly new to drawing.

One of my first drawings on a drawing tablet.

One of my more recent drawings. A redrawing of the above character.

Pet Bunnies: Pros and Cons

About a year ago, my sister decided she wanted a new pet, as she had greatly been missing having a cute, furry little hamster to play with. Originally she had been planning on getting another hamster, but later decided to get a bunny rabbit from a local bunny rescue. As I write this article, I have a sweet little bunny cuddled up on my lap enjoying head pets. We've enjoyed having him in our family greatly, but he can be a little brat at times. In this article, I'll be talking about my personal experience with having a pet bunny around.

So, why get a pet rabbit? For starters, they're small, aren't too hard to take care of, fluffy, and sweet little animals. Our bunny is a very adventurous and smart little guy, making him a lot of fun to be around, but also causing him to be a stinker at times. He adjusted to being around us all fairly quickly after we got him and he behaves differently for each of us. For example, he likes to push his luck with my sister, his mommy, to try and get her to pay more attention to him whereas he tends to be on much better behavior for the rest of the family. Bunnies need a cage that is big enough for necessities such as a box, food and water as well as some room for them to move around in and a higher section they can jump on to. Bunnies also need plenty of time to run around and "shake their sillies out" to keep them healthy and in good shape. My sister and I like to let our bunny run around our room at night before bed, or at an earlier time if we'll be tired at night. We have wire shelf pieces strung together to block off areas we don't want the bunny to get to, such as under our beds as he thinks it's a bunny cave and doesn't like coming out. We also have a harness and a leash so we can let him run around in our yard and nibble on the grass there.

Something to be aware of is that bunnies like chewing on cables. Both my laptop and cell phone chargers have little nibble marks on them from when I wasn't paying close enough attention to him. The worst damage he's done is ruin a charging cable for my sister's laptop by chewing through a decent portion of it. Things like this can be prevented by setting up blockades that prevent the bunny from getting within tasting distance of cables. Also, letting the bunny run around in a room with fewer cables will make it easier to prevent damaged cables. As mentioned above, we have a cage made out of wire shelves set up to keep him at a good distance from cables. We also have a small rug covering cables on the ground. Our bunny sometimes digs at the carpet (or our laps) to point out he's unhappy or just to get our attention. He's never caused any significant amount of damage to the rug, though he has pulled up a strand or two and decided it was grass.

Over all, bunnies are very sweet pets. One of my other friends has a pet rabbit that he spoils with lots of fresh veggies and he loves his little bunny rabbit. He mostly just lets his bunny run around her cage, which is a fairly large cage, so it's not as necessary for her to run outside of her cage as much. Just make sure you have resting pads for your bunny's cage as the wires can hurt their feet if they don't have anywhere else to sit.