Marin Headlands

In the midst of daily Muni commuting and general fogginess, sometimes I forget what a beautiful area I get to live and work in.  Luckily when we have visitors I can take some time to appreciate what's here!

On two different weekends within the last month or so, we took Sak's parents and then my parents to the Marin Headlands, specifically to the Point Bonita lighthouse. If you want breathtaking, iconic shots of the Bay - this is where it's at.

Black sand beaches at the base of the cliff..

And an amazing treasure trove of historical bunkers, gun turrets, and forts from the Civil War to the Cold War.

WWII gun mount base

Cracked civil war era bunker

Penga-Sis acting like Slenderman in a creepy concrete tunnel

Amazing "hobbit house". You can go inside too, if you're brave enough! (I wasn't). Lots of creepy graffiti inside according to Penga-Sis

Not-so-creepy graffiti. Haha

Up the hill is the Marine Mammal Center, where they rehabilitate and heal sick and injured seals, sea lions, otters, etc.

Just in case anyone needs the recipe, lol

Getting better!

On a clear day you can see seals sun-bathing on rocks.

And flocks of seagulls swiping at the fishing boats as they clean their catch and come into harbor.

The path to the lighthouse is truly amazing, with a tunnel right in the rock and everything.

The bridge was a little scary!

But it was worth crossing!

This is definitely one "tourist" place I don't think I could tire of.  And we didn't even see everything! And it's all free aside from the bridge toll :)

Next time you're in the Bay Area on a sunny day (rare, I know), check out the Marin Headlands, it's breathtaking!

DIY Kuragehime Clara Jellyfish Plush

Recently I discovered Kuragehime (Princess Jellyfish) the manga (and then the anime), and I am in LOVE.  Seriously, I haven't been this into a shoujo since Lovely Complex. It's hilarious with lots of doki doki moments, and the art is lovely too. Though season one of the anime is complete, the manga is still ongoing, yay!

It centers around a household of awkward female otaku, each with their own unique obsession. Trains for Banba-san, old men for Jiji, China's three kingdom's period for Mayaya, kimono for Chieko, and jellyfish for the heroine: Tsukimi. They don't have jobs and can't function around men or normal people. Tsukimi's jellyfish is rescued by a beautiful woman who turns out to be a dude cross-dressing, and there's a hot older brother that kind of reminds me of Sak. And really I think you should just watch the series or read the manga because I can't do it justice. It's hilarious. (It's on Youtube under Princess Jellyfish)

PLUS, there's Star Wars and movie references in the opening! Here, watch:

Kuragehime OP from Mizuiro on Vimeo.

But anyway! The point of this is that there's an episode where they make little jellyfish plushies to sell at a swap meet for 500 yen.

(screencaps from the youtube vids (ep 8))

Aren't they cute?! I wanted one. Obviously. There's a video on how to make one already, but I didn't want to bother with patterns and creating my own frill so I went my own lazy route :)

An embroidery hoop, some cute fabric, a couple buttons, stuffing and lace/eyelet trim is what you'll need:

Put the fabric in the hoop and cut a square or circle around it.

Stitch around the hoop with some strong thread (I had to do this three times due to thread breaks. Ended up using two strands of embroidery floss).

Sew on the buttons for eyes and a mouth if you'd like.

Then pop it out and gently tug the strings to gather your circle.

Add fluff and pull some more. Below is about as much as I could pull it shut without the thread breaking again.

Smooth out your face, looking pretty cute!

Sew the hole in the bottom shut to keep the fluff from coming out by threading straight through the whole thing, back and forth.

Then sew on your trim. I folded mine over in a little pleat to give it some oomph.

Cut any excess fabric off the bottom.

And finally add a little thread loop on the top of the head if you'd like to hang it!

All done! One super cute, DIY Clara plushie!

Not sure it's worth over five dollars, but it's squishy and cute!

DIY Pokemon Skirt

So I have at least three sets of Pokemon bedsheets found during multiple thrifting trips, and Penga-Sis requested a skirt similar to the Power Ranger I wore to Fanime earlier this year. This is such a simple skirt, it takes like 30 minutes for me now to finish! I'll have to challenge myself a bit and add pockets in the future or something.

I used the same dimensions as in the last skirt, only this one was a tad shorter (length 1.5') and I lined it with a layer of white muslin since the sheet was a little see-through.  I also used double fold bias tape which was wider and much easier to work with.

The pattern is so fun :)

And the other side..

And here's the model. I think she should start a fashion blog, she's a natural.