Quirkory – Mostari Mystery Pack Review AND An Exciting Announcement!

Guys I’m back to talk to you about Quirkory, what an amazing independent artist/store they are… As well as some exciting news, which I’ll be sharing first because I just can’t contain my excitement!

drumming adam pally GIF by Team Coco

Image taken from GIPHY

Drumroll please… I have become Quirkory’s brand ambassador!

Not only has this made me really happy (because we all know how much I love Quirkory as a brand, he couple behind it and of course their kawaii designs!) but I feel honoured too. I’m honoured to be able to become an ambassador for a brand I really do love and especially love talking about on my blog, to people on messages/social media and more!

Quirkory were lovely enough to recognised how much I loved them and offered me to become an ambassador towards the end of 2020, with it all starting to become official on my birthday! If you didn’t know, Inari and Mosted are based off of the couple behind Quirkory and are their kawaii mascots for the brand. So, when they suggested me becoming an ambassador a while ago, we also discussed them creating a mascot all of my own to represent me! I gave them an idea and on my birthday they sent over the finished design, which I’m happy to finally show you all!

I went for a raccoon, as they are for sure my spirit animal (as well as one of my favourites alongside foxes, dogs and red pandas), so it seemed right for me. As well as that, I went for a purple bow around their neck, as that’s my favourite colour. I loved the idea of having my mascot with food/drink of some sort, especially considering the name of my blog is to do with coffee! We didn’t go with coffee however and instead opted for a matcha bubble tea, as this is one of my favourite beverages! The end design is so adorable and I couldn’t be happier with it! I’m planning to buy a print of it from Quirkory so I can pop it in a frame and hang it in the house. I’m honestly a mixture of happy and proud to now be more than just a fan/buyer of Quirkory, but now working with them too.

Of course, with being a brand ambassador I do get a special discount code for you guys to use to snag yourself a bargain or two! This code will be “TMBQUIRKORY” and gives you 10% off of Quirkory’s Etsy store. Don’t worry if you need to quickly grab the code in the future and can’t find this post, there’s a few ways this discount code will be accessible.

I’ll be adding the discount code and image, as well as this post under the “Quirkory” section of my blog, as shown in the image above. As well as that, I will of course have the discount code image on the right hand side of my blog, which will be added after this post is live!

Anyhoo, exciting announcement over, it’s time to talk about Quirkory’s Mostari Mystery Pack! This is an item Quirkory revealed and launched towards the end of 2020 and it’s something I KNEW I had to pick up for myself. It’s always nice to pick up a surprise box/bag to see what goodies you get. I know I often talk about Quirkory on my blog and for people who may have never bought anything from Quirkory before and interested, the Mostari pack may be a great way to introduce you to Quirkory!

I’m going to explain what the Mostari pack is all about, as well as prices, what you’ll expect as well as what I received in my pack! I have also done an IGTV video about this over on my Instagram account, which I will post here if you’re interested in watching that alongside reading this post.

The Mostari box comes in three different sizes, bag, mini box and large box.

Bag (Β£20.25) – You will receive three different pins or two different random pins and one surprise item.

Mini Box (Β£27.98) – You will receive three different pins or two different random pins and one surprise item. You will also received one art print and either two jumbo vinyl stickers or one stick pack/sheet.

Large Box (Β£41.59) – You will receive five different pins or four different random pins and one surprise item. You will also received one art print and either two jumbo vinyl stickers or one stick pack/sheet.

I went for the large box, because why not? πŸ˜› It arrived before Christmas and I was SO HAPPY with all of the goodies I received. Quirkory made sure that I didn’t receive any duplicate items and I couldn’t thank them enough for this! To be honest, if I had of received some duplicate enamel pins, I would have gifted them to my friends. πŸ™‚

Mostari Mystery pack: Box or Bag  Pins  Prints  Paper Vynil image 4

Image taken from Quirkory’s Etsy store.

First of all the image that Quirkory designed purely for the Mostari pack is absolutely adorable! It’s Inari and Mosted looking inside the Mostari box in front of them, which is full of sparkle! The name Mostari is also a mash up of Inari and Mosted to sound like mystery!

Inside the box it is full of shredded pink and blue tissue paper, as well as the goodies all in their packages and such. I’m going to talk about all the goodies I received, honestly I couldn’t be happier with them! There is also a thank you card in there with some cute animal designs on! I’d like to think these are Quirkory’s pets…

Every box may contain common, discontinued or new/unreleased items. Due to this each box will have a random different rarity grade:

Common- if containing items with a stock of more than 30 pieces.

Rare – if containing items with a low stock.

Vaulted – if containing items no longer on sale or out of stock.

Surprize – if containing a new item not yet listed for sale/not yet shown to the public.

  • Sticker Pack – Chillin’ Pals Sticker Set (link)

When I saw this in the box, I was so surprised! I’ve been meaning to buy this sticker pack for the longest time, but just keep leaving it for a rainy day when I fancy a treat. I finally have them and they’re so cute! The stickers themselves are matte and not shin. There are four stickers in the pack, all to do with dogs and cats and are original Quirkory designs and even have their own names.

Luci is a black cat and white cat with a blue beanie on and a book in front of them. The book has sparkles and swirls, which I assume are to show Luci getting into the magic of the book.

Doteki is actually my favourite from the bunch and looks to be a shiba who is chilling on Petflix with some film/TV show snacks and even a hot water bottle! Plus, he’s got cute little feet pads and a little cross to show his bum… So cute!

Snoozin is a ginger and white cat who is asleep under the blue fluffy blanket. They’re dreaming about sleeping in a box in the sunshine. Snoozin also has a cute little red bow around their neck.

Yuki is the final design and is a cute little shiba wrapped up for winter months. I don’t know why but this design reminds me of Japan in winter. Yuki is a brown and white suba, with pink earmuffs on, a massive chunky blue tartan scarf and some cute little pink mittens.

  • Art Print – Happy Togedeer Art Print (link)

I’ve seen this print before receiving it in my Mostari pack due to being a Patreon and it was actually a design they released as wallpapers for computers, phones and tablets so it was so cute to receive in my pack! It’s two deer snuggling together, one is white and one is brown, with a little heart above them both. The pale blue background works really well and it says, “Happy Togedeer” at the top. It’s printing on photo paper and feels really lovely. I’m planning to keep either stick this on my plushie cabinet, or keep it somewhere safe for when I eventually get my own desk. πŸ™‚

  • Rare – Mew enamel pin from the Mythical Rising Star collection (link)

This Mew enamel pin is from Quirkory’s first Kickstarter which launched back in March 2019. It’s crazy to think that was almost two years ago! I hadn’t discovered Quirkory at this point but if I had I know for a fact I would have backed for this enamel pin design. Mew is one of my favourite Pokemon and they really captured how playful and cute the psychic Pokemon is with this design! Mew is sat against a blue stained glass design, with a purple bow design on its tail and some star designs hanging from its tail too. This is a chain design enamel pin so it does have something dangling off of it. With Mew the design is a pink and purple swirl, which I assume is based off of it being psychic Pokemon. It’s on a rose gold enamel, is a two back pin for the main body of the design and then another back for the pin for the dangle/chain swirl design too. As well as that on the back of the main design of the piece is Quirkory’s logo. There are loads of designs similar to this one including Diancie, Victini, Celebi, Shaymin, JirachiMarshadow, Manaphy, Zeraora and Meloetta.

  • Rare – Flower Eevee enamel pin from the Cute Eeveelutions collection (link)

This series of flower Eeeveelution is from the Kickstarter that helped me to discover Quirkory after buying some of the Greek Eeveelutions designs through it, as well as after (you can read all about the Greek Eeveelution designs here). The first enamel pin I opened from my Mostari box was this design and it made me smile so much! This cute little Eevee is laid back on a white flower, with it’s fluffy tail dangling below it, I think it’s having a snooze! I love the big green leaves for this flower too, as it compliments the overall colours of Eevee and the flower. This is a gold enamel pin, with two backs and Quirkory etched into the back.

  • Rare – Flower Flareon enamel pin from the Cute Eeveelutions collection (link)

Again, we have another Eeveelution design from the Kickstarter I backed back in 2019. As you can see I also received the Flareon design which really did make me smile. Back when I discovered Quirkory they thanked me for all their support by sending me the Flareon Greek God design, so it’s really nice to get Flareon again! The Flareon, like Eevee is lying on it’s back, but Flareon has its paws up to its face, almost like its giggling at something. It is lying on a purple flower, which like the Eevee design compliments the colours of Flareon’s orange and yellow so well! Alongside the Eevee and Flareon designs, you can also pick up the other Eeveelutions too – Leafeon, Vaporeon, Sylveon, Espeon, Jolteon, Umbreon and Glaceon.

  • Rare – Yamper Corgi enamel pin (link)

The Yamper design is adorable and one I’ve toyed with buying for a while. I actually think the Quirkory design for Yamper is better than the original by Pokemon… πŸ˜› It’s not an overly complicated design and the Yamper definitely shouts corgi when you look at it. It also has a little blep going on, which makes it even more adorable, alongside with the way it’s sat. This is a gold enamel pin, with two pin backs and Quirkory etched into the back of it.

  • Vaulted – Bulbakura Enamel Pin (link)

Alongside the Mew enamel pin, this Bulbasaur enamel pin is also from Quirkory’s first Kickstarter from March 2019. To me this Bulbasaur design is different to anything Quirkory has done since and because of this I’m glad to finally own it! It’s a gold Bulbasaur with a pink cherry blossom on it’s back instead of the bulb we all know and recognise the Pokemon for. Due to the Bulbasaur being gold, of course the enamel is gold too and like pretty much all of the pins I received, it has two backs as well as Quirkory etched into the back of the enamel pin. It’s quite a thick enamel pin to be honest, which is really nice to hold. I can’t wait to display this in the future, the gold makes it lovely and shiny so it’ll definitely be a conversation starter in the future.

  • Surprize – Totodile Patch

This was actually such a surprise and was the first thing I opened when in my Mostari box! I’ve never seen Quirkory sell patches before so if this is an upcoming project I’m excited for it! This is a patch with Totodile on and he’s holding a hose pipe which he’s shooting water out of. It took me a while to realise what it was, but coming out of his head is a needle and thread, which looks really cool and unique. I’m not sure what I’m going to put my patch on yet but I’m sure I’ll find something soon. πŸ™‚

I also received some other goodies in my pack, but this was more of a thank you from Quirkory for supporting them, plus as I’m a Patreon, it was also a thank you for that too! As always, Quirkory also sent a really lovely thank you note. I’m not going to share it as it feels more personal, and I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned before on my blog, but all the thank you notes Quirkory have sent me, I’ve kept. πŸ™‚ They also sent me a special discount code for their store as a thanks for being a Patreon.

  • Detective Pikachu Sticker (link for sticker pack)

This Detective Pikachu design looks to be from a sticker pack, but I honestly love the design I was sent. Detective Pikachu is holding his little takeaway coffee cup and looks adorable as anything! Why do I feel Quirkory sent me this because it’s to do with coffee? πŸ˜› It’s a matte sticker by the way. I don’t have a clue where I’m going to stick him yet, but I’m sure I’ll find something.

  • Whipped Ghost Sticker (link)

This is another design I’ve seen floating around Patreon and one that reminds me of autumn/fall in America. It’s a pumpkin pie with little candy corns on it, as well as a happy dollop of cream! It’s so bloody cute. This is a vinyl sticker. I think Quirkory should definitely do more food themed designs. πŸ˜›

  • Inari & Mosted Christmas and Autumn Stickers (Sorry no link…)

Quirkory sent me some of their mascot stickers and I always smile when they send me some! They’re so cute and I actually have quite a lot of the mascot stickers on my iPad case, including the Christmas Inari and Mosted they sent me from last Christmas (2019). Inari has reindeer antlers on, whilst Mosted wears a Christmas hat. These are small stickers and matte. The other two designs they sent me look like they’re from autumn. Inari is dressed up a cream squirrel and holding onto an acorn whilst Mosted is dressed as a squirrel too but is a dark brown and is holding onto a toadstool/wild mushroom. These two designs are adorable!

Sadly neither of these designs are available to buy on the store, however here are some Inari and Mosted designs you can check out instead – Halloween Stickers and summer stickers.

So that is the Mostari box! I’m so glad I picked one up before Christmas as it was so exciting to open it up! I don’t know if any young Brits from the 90’s remember, but there used to be such a thing as a “surprise” bag you could buy from the shop where it was a sealed bag full of exciting goodies to keep you busy! It would have an activity book, some crayons, as well as a toy and sweeties. My mom would buy me one every now and then and I really did love it. I just googled it ad FOUND IT! It was called Dick Turtle Surprise Bag. This is exactly what the Mostari box reminded me of and it definitely brought back some nostalgic memories, which have been lovely.

I’m going to add all of Quirkory’s social media pages and especially their store below:

Store (Etsy)

Instagram

Patreon

Facebook

Twitter

So, do you think you’ll pick up your own Mostari box? If so, what size would you opt for and what goodies would you hope to get inside your box? Of course if you are interested in getting a box of your own, you can use my discount code to save yourself some monies as well, which is always good! πŸ˜€

Let me know what you think in the comments below and make sure to say hello to Quirkory from me if you find yourself making a purchase, posting on their social media and more. πŸ™‚

Until next time guys, I hope you’re all doing well and keeping safe during lockdown with everything going on. Take care all! πŸ™‚

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Shop Small – Claire Likes To Doodle*

Can you believe Christmas is now less than a month away? With Christmas comes Christmas present shopping, have you started yours yet? I have and I’m almost finished! I know some people who wait until the last minute to buy their presents and some who buy them throughout the year.

I like to get my shopping done early and always have done so that I have more money for Christmas parties and trips to the German Market throughout December… None of those are happening this year due to COVID… πŸ˜›

However this year I have decided to shop small and mostly buy Christmas presents through small and independent artists. Some own their own stores online and host on websites like Etsy. I’ll be writing and sharing more stores with you in the coming weeks.

Today I want to talk about my good friend Claire, who owns Claire Likes To Doodle. I spoke about Claire and her commission work last summer (which you can read here) and we have decided to work together again, but this time to talk about her online store!

Claire opened her store again around July this year and since then she has filled it with loads of amazing goodies – especially her original character Bernard.

Since working together last year Claire wanted to share an update in regards to how her work has changed since then, as well as how Claire Likes To Doodle will be in 2021!

The last time I was featured on Nat’s blog, it was primarily for my chibi work. That was my main focus for commissions and merch too. I’m still a commission artist, I do watercolour pieces and portraits, MTG alters and tokens. My personal work has changed up a fair bit though!

The great (and sometimes frustrating) thing about being an artist is that you’re constantly evolving and changing up your work and style until you settle into what you love creating best. I found that when I was doing Inktober 2019 and I introduced a little monster called a Bernard. Since then I’ve been creating more and more work around Bernards and their world, and people have fell in love with them! I now have an active shop with Bernard goodies, original art and other oddities.

I’ve got big Bernard plans for 2021, watch this space… Once again, thank you Natalee for featuring me and letting me introduce Bernard to your lovely readers!

I really love when independent stores/artists I work with have an input in my posts to tell me all about them and how they got started, their store and plans for the future.

I have been friends with Claire since 2006 and our friendship has grown more and more as the years have gone by. I’m so proud of Claire for how far she has come and I have a feeling 2021 will be her year!

Inside this package there was a lovely note from Claire that really made me smile. As someone who has anxiety and depression this note is very much appreciated. Whenever people write down words like this, whether it be on a letter or a text I keep them and read them back when I feel down. I’ll be doing the same with this note too. πŸ™‚

Claire kindly gifted me all the items in this post (apart from one item which I bought with my own money) for reviewing purposes. Apart from the quote above from Claire, all words are my own and items that are gifted will be marked with an *.

Claire has a variety of goodies on her store to buy from stickers, badges, original work, paintings, stationary and more. I was sent a little bit of everything to show to you today!

First things first – if you are UK based like Claire is – she offers Free UK shipping on certain items. If she does offer this, it will state it on the item in question e.g. stickers and badges. I felt this was an important note to add as I know a lot of people in the UK may be looking for small gift and stocking ideas for Christmas and throughout the year.

The cut off point for ordering in time for Christmas is Monday 14th December 2020. Commissions are now closed until January 2021.

Finally before I start to share the goodies share sent me – Claire Likes To Doodle is having a Black Friday sale! When you use the code “YOULLBEBACK” at checkout you will snag a cheeky 20% discount on everything in her shop. This is valid between Friday 27th November 12am GMT – Sunday 29th November 12am GMT. So, if you like the look of anything here, make sure to go and grab a bargain.

Oh… I also have an exclusive 10% discount code for Claire Likes To Doodle’s store, which will be on the right hand side of my blog moving forward. I have added it here though too for readers who my see some good below and want to make an order. πŸ™‚

Finally… I’ll share with you the amazing goodies that Claire sent me! πŸ˜€

  • Autumn Bernard – Square Sticker (link)*
  • Autumn Bernard – 38mm Square Badge (link)*

A square sticker/badge with a cozy autumnal Bernard, enjoying her favourite pumpkin spice beverage and wrapped up warm. Take a bit of autumn with you wherever you go with this unique sticker.

As regular readers will know, I love enamel pins, badges and stickers! Badges remind me of my emo kid self back in the day, I would stick badges all over my bags and jackets to try and show off who I was as much as possible. This autumn Bernard is so perfect to me purely because I love autumn. It’s my favourite time of the year and Claire has captured that perfectly with her autumn Bernard design. My favourite colour is purple so I love that Bernard is wrapped up in purple accessories and is holding a warm drink. I also love the little pink flushed cheeks, just showing how cold it is where Bernard is. You can show really off your love of autumn all year around with both the badge and the sticker, as well as show off and support Claire’s original character.

  • Chill AF Bernard – 32mm Badge (link)*

Need a little calm in your life? I get it. So does Bernard. May this 32mm button badge be a reminder to take a step back every now and again.

This chill AF Bernard is a reminder for everyone right now to take a deep breath and relax whenever you can. With the way the world is at the moment I think everyone could do with this badge as a reminder to step back and take a few minutes for yourself. It can also help with anxiety too to remind people to take care of themselves. I really love this badge and I think I’ll be sticking him on my work laptop bag to remind me to relax for five during the busy work day and grab a drink and maybe a casual chat with colleagues. πŸ™‚ To add as well by the way that both of the badges I received from Claire are amazing quality. They feel really well made and sturdy!

  • Flower Crown Bernard – Sticker (link)*

Original design – take this summer-themed Bernard wherever you want to go!

This Bernard reminds me of the summer, drinking with friends in beer gardens, going to festivals and basically summer vibes and activities with friends and loved ones before COVID. This is a sticker that reminds me that we need to be patient, because when COVID is gone – we can all have fun with our loved ones again and make some amazing new memories. The flower crown Bernard is so precious and I love how colourful the crown is! I wish my garden could look more like this. πŸ˜›

  • Halloween Holographic Stickers (Halloween exclusive piece – not available to buy)*

Sadly these stickers aren’t available anymore, but Claire sent them me so I wanted to show them off to you guys! These were exclusive for Halloween and only stuck around the shop for a short period of time. There were two designs released with a baby Bernard inside of a pumpkin and a Bernard flying on a broom. They’re both so adorable and the fact they’re holographic too makes them feel even more spooky and seasonal for Halloween. The quality of these stickers is thicker than the other two stickers Claire sent me which is really cool! I might not stick these anywhere and actually use them as decorations for the Halloween season and stick them on my kitchen window! πŸ˜€ In the future keep your eyes peeled on Claire’s store for more store exclusives!

  • Round Cat Painting (Twitch stream piece – not available to buy)

This is a painting I purchased on one of Claire’s streams in the summer during lockdown and sold pieces she painted on stream. Due to to COVID I’ve only recently received it due to not being able to meet up and such. I paid Β£10 of my own money for this print and have been so excited to add it to my little growing collection by Claire. It’s a little round cat that looks like a Siamese breed. It’s so derpy and cute that I just had to buy it! I’m not a cat person to be perfectly honest with you but the derpy look in this cats eyes just had me! It feels so… Expensive(?) if you will due to the special art paper Claire has used. It was so relaxing watching Claire paint this piece, it’s cool to now have it in person. πŸ™‚

  • Artgust – Original A6 Watercolour Paintings – Electric (link)*

Through the month of August 2020, I did a painting every day based on a prompt list put together by myself and my wonderful Discord community. A mix of funny pieces, sad pieces, portraits and Bernards done over 31 days! Each piece is A6 size, painted in watercolour.

The final piece I want to talk about that Claire sent me I was taken back by. I didn’t quite expect her to send me one of her watercolour paintings but I’m not going to complain, especially considering she sent me a Pokemon themed print! Back in August Claire took part in Artgust where you draw/paint something everyday of the month. This was day 28 of August and it’s titled “Pikachu”. As you can see it’s Claire’s original character Bernard who is surrounded by hearts and has a Pikachu on his head. It’s so bloody cute and I love it! This is going to go on my plushie cabinet alongside my other prints. I’ll be keeping it in the cellophane packet it came in to keep it safe. For an A6 print size it packs a punch and not only looks amazing, the quality of the piece itself feels high quality too and expensive.

Claire still has quite a few prints left from the Artgust challenge, as well as one she took part in in October called Annarack October that are all looking for homes! The prints created during October are all Bernard themed too, so if you like the look of Claire’s original character and would like to pick up something with them on, definitely go and check those prints out!

They’re all A6 size and cost Β£15 each. They’re also unique one of a kind pieces, no reprints here. Once they’re sold, they’re gone. For example if you go onto the website the Electric print is sold out, because of course I own it now.

I’ve had my eye on one for a while now and definitely contemplating buying it soon! It’s the Black design from Artgust. I’ve always loved the look of it and if there’s one style of art Claire does really well it’s the blackout style. She did it for a time on her Instagram page and it’s one I always find myself gravitating towards. Who knows, I may end up buying it after this post is live… πŸ˜‰

'Distanced' A4 Year Planner - 2021

Something else I may pick up soon for when I return to the office for work is the ‘Distanced’ A4 Year Planner 2021. Not only is it handy but also really nice to stick on the sides of my desk for a bit of artwork… Nothing wrong with livening your desk up, eh? πŸ˜€

So there you go guys, the first of many independent artists I’ll be talking about during shop small in December! I’m so happy that Claire Likes To Doodle could be the first one I talk about.

Store

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Twitch

What do you guys think of Claire’s designs and store? Will you be adopting a Bernard of your own in the form of a sticker, badge or print? πŸ™‚ Make sure to let me know in the comments below!

Until next time, take care guys and stay safe. πŸ™‚

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Quirkory Lunar Plushie Spookies Enamel Pins – Review

I can’t believe Halloween has now come and gone already… Was it really two weeks ago? It feels like a lot longer to be honest with you! I was so hyped up for Halloween this year but when it came down to the actual day it wasn’t as spooky as I’d hoped.

We visited a pumpkin patch and grabbed ourselves a huge pumpkin each to carve. Dane carved Calcifer (Howl’s Moving Castle) and I carved a spooky Pikachu. It was so much fun to do and they looked really cool in our kitchen window… They only lasted a few days though and I was a tad gutted. πŸ˜›

Back in August Quirkory released their Halloween collection Lunar Plushie Spookies enamel pins on their Etsy store for pre-order. I was on it as soon as they released and purchased two of the designs as well as some stickers.

I know Halloween has come and gone now, by spooky season is here all year for me, especially after this year and the designs Quirkory brought out aren’t just Halloween exclusives either.

I want to pop this here that this past year I have fallen in love with Quirkory’s designs and I get along really well now with the owners of the brand. We talk often and they’re so lovely to talk to! In September they opened their Patreon and I LOVE being able to see their updates weekly now about upcoming designs and projects, as well as some Patreon exclusive goodies.

For now let’s get down to the review of the spooky pins I picked up! I also want to mention here that due to being a Patreon and as a thank you from Quirkory they sent me some free goodies too. I was over the moon to see some extra goodies in my package. I won’t be marking these down as gifted but I will state which goods I bought and which were gifted.

The Lunar Spookies originally came out last year alongside the Eeveelution Greek Gods Kickstarter campaign and around a year later Quirkory decided to revamp those original characters to bring them into a plushie form! They even brought out a couple new characters too! Personally I much prefer the plushie revamp versions to the originals. Don’t get me wrong, the originals are adorable, but I feel with the plushie versions Quirkory’s unique style and eye for detail has really come through now.

Originally there were only five designs which consisted of Moodey the Spider, Tab the Bat, A-Ghostine the Ghost,Β Meowny the Cat and Moose the Mouse.

These have all been revamped, alongside with some new characters added to the mix too including – Poomkin (a mini enamel pin), Froogie Boogie and Meowny the Cat (lilac version).

I will pop a link here so you can check out all of the Lunar Plushie Spookies.

To start this post fully I’m going to be talking about the two enamel pins I bought, as well as one that Quirkory kindly gifted to me. πŸ™‚

First of all, all designs are on a gold enamel with two pin backs, which is always good at making sure your pins are extra secure! They also all come with the etching “Lunar Spookies by Quirkory” on the back of them, even the mini pin! I always love when enamel pin artists have their brand names etched on the back of the enamel pins. It’s great when looking/showing pins off to people so you can tell them there and then who designed it. I have so many enamel pins, sometimes I forget who they’re by. πŸ˜›

Another thing to mention here is how cute the backing cards are! They so spooky with the full moon in the background. Did you know, on Halloween this year we had a blue moon? I ended up forgetting about it due to eating McDonalds and watching horror movies. πŸ˜›

One final thing to add that I love about this collection is the cute little tags that they all have on them to symbolise they’re plushies! This is what I mean when I say how I love Quirkory’s unique eye for detail. They put so much intricate detailing into their designs, whether they be enamel pins, prints or even stickers!

Flapping here and there, faster than wind, he’ll come on Halloween night to… suck… all your lollipops, and candies he can find!!!
Little Tab here has no qualms… He’s too much evil muhahahah.

Tab Enamel Pin (link) (original design)

I love bats and always have when it comes down to Halloween, which was down to a bat blow up decoration my mom bought me as a child. So when I saw the revamp of Tab I fell in love with him. He’s a mixture of light purpleΒ  with darker purple wings and patches on his body. Tab has clearly been loved and cuddled very much OR been through some battles as he has two patches, one on his ear and one on his body. I love the detailing of the patches with the little stitch marks and where it’s obvious a different material was used to fix him up. He also has a cute little smile, which makes it look devious due to his fangs. I think deep down he’s a little cutie, especially with his blushing cheeks and stars dotted around his body. I love this design so much! It reminds me of when I was a little kid with that bat toy my mom bought me. If Tab were to be a real plush, he’d definitely become a part of my collection!

Woooohhhhh… woooooohhh… scritch scratch… Strange creaks come from the room next door. Chills down my spine… the air is suddenly turning cold. S…s…some…something touched me?!?! A high-pitched squeal breaks the silence! But it’s not mine…
*DUMP!* Heyyyy is that you, A-ghostin?? What are you doing here in the dark?! And you… turned the air conditioning on?!
You scared me with all this noise and fuss!
You weren’t that cheeky last year! Since when you’ve become famous, met lots of people and went around their homes… you’ve also become all puffed up! And now you even do everything all on your own, tinkering here and there. You used to hide yourself always underneath that lil’ pumpkin… didn’t you?
How much has changed in a year! From a shy and curious lil’ thing to an effusive cuddly “soul” of the party! He now DEMANDS for YOUR cuddles.

A-Ghostin Enamel PinΒ (link) (original design)

I think A-Ghostin has stolen my heart. I forgot what his original design looked like and honestly it’s so adorable! It’s safe to say that out of all the Lunar Spookies, A-Ghostin is my favourite. I love ghost designs, there’s just something so adorable and mysterious behind them and throughout Halloween this year I have bought SO MANY ghost themed things. Out of them all though, A-Ghostin is up there as the best and my favourite. Like Tab, A-Ghostin’s design received the same attention to it’s design and it works so well! Of course A-Ghostin is white, he’s a ghost but he too has been through some wars of his own and has needed patching up. I love the Halloween themed colours of orange and purple that were used on him. The design of the patches are the same as Tab too, which is good. I especially love the cute little :3 smile that A-Ghostin has. He’s a shy little boy and his smile shows this, alongside his little arms and blushing cheeks. I love this design and if Quirkory don’t bring out a plushie of him… πŸ˜›

Ohhhhh but… yeah, it’s just Poomkin!!! He’s still too young to join the team, but he tries whenever he can to take part in their forays against crime! Such a little naughty rascal! After all, his dream is to become a real member of the team one day… and even the leader, no less! 😯 Well, it will certainly not be an easy task… but he’s already trying his very best aaaaand who knows, maybe thanks to his determination he might succeed at some point!

Poomkin Mini Enamel Pin (link)

This is the enamel pin that Quirkory sent me as a thank you for not only being a Patreon, but for also supporting them throughout the past year. So I just want to say a HUGE thank you to them for sending me this little cutie!

Poomkin is new to the Lunar Spookies and he’s so small and precious! I’ve never been a massive pumpkin fan in anyway shape or form, but I really do love this design. For a mini pin he packs a punch and as always there are those unique details from Quirkory in there. I love that his stem is purple, keeping with the Halloween themed colours. His smile is so precious and baby like, but all with the Jack ‘O Lantern theme too!

As I mentioned alongside the enamel pins I also ordered some stickers as well! I decided to order a pack of the Lunar Plushie Spookies vinyl stickers, but Quirkory sent me LOADS for free as well as a thank you. πŸ™‚

Lunar Plushie Spookies Vinyl Sticker Pack (link)

I knew I wanted to get some of the stickers of the characters from the Lunar Plushie Spookies as whilst I loved all of the designs my heart truly fell in love with just the two (three if you count Poomkin after he arrived!). The stickers are so cute and I’m glad to not only have Tab and A-Ghostin, but the whole gang! They’re a great size and the quality feels lovely. Each character also has a colour background around them which I thought was a nice touch. Most of the stickers I own by Quirkory are paper so it makes a nice change to have vinyl. I think I also received a sticker of everyone in one big signed due to pre-ordering my enamel pins. This one is especially cute! πŸ˜€

Inari & Mosted Halloween Sticker Pack (link)

This is another extra thing that Quirkory sent me as a thank you! It’s almost like they read my mind as I’ve been meaning to order the Halloween sticker pack ever since I discovered them! Now I don’t really need to and I’m so grateful for that. :’) As always, thank you so much to Quirkory for being an amazing independent store to make my geeky and kawaii purchases from.

I didn’t get a full sticker pack but I got a lot of stickers from the pack and more! I was set a small and large size of both Inari and Mosted dressed up for Halloween! Inari is dressed as a witch and Mosted as a vampire, he even has tiny little fangs. SO CUTE! I also have a large sticker of three pumpkins and some little ones of bats, a sweet/candy and candy corns. πŸ˜€ These are so damn cute!

Inari & Mosted Little Summer Sailor Popsicle Stickers (link)

I know these aren’t Halloween related BUT I had had my eye on the Inari & Mosted summer stickers for ages and forgot to order them when I placed my Lunar Plushie Spookies order. I mentioned this in passing to Quirkory and they sent me them anyway. Honesty Quirkory make me feel so loved. πŸ˜₯

The Inari & Mosted designs are so cute and I really do love them! I love how they’re both dressed as sailors and clutching onto their ice lollies (which is what we call them in the UK). Inari is holding a watermelon ice lollie and Mosted is holding a lemon one. Not going to lie, I think I’m with Mosted with lemon! πŸ˜€

Finally one thing I received was a print, which I think may have been an exclusive item for Patreon subscribers. This print is gorgeous in so many ways, for a start it’s super spooky and PERFECT for Halloween! It was a design that Quirkory put on their Patreon for Halloween and it was downloadable to have as a wallpaper on you phone, laptop or tablet device.

The print itself has a matte/velvet sort of feel to it and it feels really plush in a way and expensive… I hope it wasn’t expensive for them to make! I’ve kept this away somewhere safe as I worry if I pop it up somewhere on my plushie cabinet it may get damaged. I’m going to try and find something to put it inside so it doesn’t get damaged when I do put it up. πŸ™‚ As this is an exclusive print I can’t link it back, sadly.

So that is everything I picked up (and some bits I was kindly sent by Quirkory!) from the Lunar Plushie Spookies collection! πŸ˜€

As always I am so impressed with everything I ordered as well as how well packaged everything was. I haven’t shown it, but I also received a lovely hand written note from Quirkory that really made me smile. Since buying from them last year I’ve kept all the notes that they’ve sent me, personal or not. πŸ™‚

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Also if you enjoyed this review, make sure to go and check out my other Quirkory reviews below:

Eeveelution Greek Gods Enamel Pin Review

Animal Crossing Gimme My Joy-Con Review

What do you guys think of the goodies that I picked up? I know Halloween is over now until next year, but would you pick these up? Oh and do you think spooky season isn’t just once a year? πŸ˜› Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time guys I hope you’re staying safe during lockdown two and are having a great weekend. πŸ™‚

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September Favourites ’20

Wow, did September fly by or what?! I can’t quite believe it’s October and I’m still saying and writing September down when referring to this month.

As I mentioned this time last month, September is my favourite month of the year, for autumn and it’s always the month I have associated with as a “fresh start”. This is down to starting education in September and preparing myself for that. I was one of those teenagers who started a new year of school with a “new year, new me!” approach… But never really changed much. xD

However, September 2020 for me has been… Shit. Due to lockdown I haven’t been able to do stuff I usually would in the run up to autumn, which sucks, but without saying too much, I’ve been grieving during September and I can only see October being the same. This is also why there wasn’t a blog post last week.

Aside from that September was just bland really. I had to “take a stand” and look after my mental health. I’d found being part of group chats and Discord chats to be too much for me and I’ve ended up muting them for the foreseeable future. That “new year, new me!” stance I’ve always had since the age of 13 appears to have been used this year for sure! xD

This months favourites are strange. I found that a lot of beauty related items I’ve loved have been holy grails for me, especially for my hand, which flared up with my dermatitis. SO, I hope the one product mentioned may help others out there who have dermatitis like myself, or eczema.

Image

Image taken from The Latest Kate

Anyhoo, enough of me waffling and being depressing (ha! xD), on with the monthly favourites for September!

  • Happy Place Cosmetics Wild Child Body Scrub.

I got this body scrub towards the end of July/start of August in my Happy Place Cosmetics monthly box. This is my favourite item that was in the box, but I was wary I wasn’t going to like the scent after reading the description on the website. It’s described as being a dupe of Lush’s 29 High Street scent. This is a definite dupe, but back in the day when I was a Lushie, 29 High Street wasn’t a scent I particularly liked. However, it’s really grown on me and actually reminds me of Christmas! It’s a warm foral, but fruity scent! Lush say that 29 High Street is said to be the scent of a Lush shop when you walk in. I think this has changed the past 8 years however…

Honestly though, the Happy Place Cosmetics body scrubs are AMAZING and by far the best I’ve ever used. They’re really scrubby, but they also foam up too depending on how much water you add. I don’t feel like I’ve had a body scrub work as well as these do. I use them once a week and they make my skin lovely and soft. At the time of writing this post (evening of 30/09/2020) there are some body scrubs available on the Happy Place Cosmetics website, so if you’re interested in them, go and check out the website.

  • Lyonsleaf Calendula and Marshmallow Balm.

When I say this product has been a lifesaver, I really mean it. I’ve mentioned on and off on my blog how my eczema/dermatitis is really bad on my hand the past year and at one point over the past month it got so bad and uncomfortable. So much so, it was waking me up in the night due to how itchy it was. I decided to research what products I could buy and use on it after washing my hands and in between the ointment my doctor had prescribed me. Lyonsleaf came up and after doing a lot of reading and watching of reviews on YouTube, I decided to order myself a little tub. It’s honestly amazing stuff! It’s greasy in consistency but a little goes a long way. It doesn’t have a scent or taste when applied to the skin, but in the jar it does remind me of a Sunday dinner/gravy sort of smell, which is so odd! I really do recommend this though if you have really dry skin and need something to soothe it, especially if it’s just patches like what I have.

  • Doll 10 Doll Skin Perfecting Treatment Powder.

This is something my mom bought me as a gift quite a while ago. I’ve only really started to use it during lockdown whenever I’m popping out for the day, or fancy wearing doing myself up as if I’m going out for the day. Lately I’ve been venturing out a little more, whether it’s going for a shop, getting my nails done or running errands out and about. This is a light translucent powder which goes on pretty straight forward. It’s been my go to really to remove any excess oil on my t-zone. I couldn’t say if it actually keeps the oil at bay all day but it works for me enough at the moment during “lockdown” and whilst I’m working from home. I’m never usually a fan of loose powders as I find they often don’t get picked by the brush (if that makes sense?) which can wind me up a little as I feel like I’m constantly trying to get an even coverage on my face. This being said, this powder is pretty good for that!

  • Nivea Blueberry Blush Lip Butter.

I mentioned this a couple of months on my monthly favourites and I’m mentioning it again! This lip butter by Nivea is so lovely to use and as sad as it sounds, it’s a treat for me to use throughout the week during work. It’s buttery, creamy and a little goes a long way. It feels really nice and moisturising on the lips and it smells absolutely gorgeous! I love blueberries and especially love blueberry scented things so this is right up my street. I usually go to Vaseline when it comes to lip balms, but I’m really loving the Nivea lip butter lately, so this is definitely a product I’ll repurchase in the future. I highly recommend it is you want a good lip butter/cream. It’s not greasy or sticky, yet it lasts ages on the lips!

  • Bath Bake Love White Cocoa Fluffy Whip Soap.

The final product I want to talk about for the beauty side of my monthly favourites is Bath Bake Love, an independent beauty brand I have fallen in love with during lockdown. I’d like to write a blog post about them in the future, but I don’t know when it’ll be. Anyway, this is the first and only fluffy whip soap I’ve tried by them and it smells of white chocolate/white hot chocolate. It’s divine and it isn’t just me who loves it too, my boyfriend has really taken to this and has been using is everyday to wash with in the mornings. It’s a thick creamy soap, it looks more like a buttercream than soap and it smells like it too. A little goes a long way and when used in a sponge or a shower puff it really foams up and leaves you with loads of lovely smelling lather/bubbles. This can also be used in the bath, which my boyfriend has done. Bath Bake Love has definitely become a must have for our shower and I cannot wait to try and own more of their products in the future. They currently have their Halloween range on their website, so make sure to go and check them out. πŸ™‚

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Fuck You Amazon Prime Video GIF by The Boys

Gif taken from GIPHY

Favourite TV Show –Β The Boys.

First of all, sorry for the C word being used on the gif… Butcher is one of my favourite characters for the way he is, so I had to include that gif. πŸ˜› We are already six episodes into season 2 of The BoysΒ and so far I’m really enjoying it! There’s been loads happen since season 1 finished last year, which is always good. One of the episodes so far felt really slow and I know I wasn’t the only person saying this. Monday morning meetings are spent with my team discussion the episode of The BoysΒ from the weekend and what we thought of it. We’ve all had the same feelings about it and so far we are all loving it! I really do look forward to spending Friday night or Saturday morning watching the latest episode with Dane.Β The BoysΒ reminds me ofΒ Preacher, which ended last year, just afterΒ The BoysΒ began. They’re both based off of comics of the same dark comedy, so they’re good in my books! I definitely recommend checking out The Boys andΒ PreacherΒ if you have Amazon Prime, as that’s where they’re hosted.

Favourite Movie – I’m Thinking of Ending Things.

Although we watched this film at the end of start of September it’s the only film I’ve reallyΒ watched lately that I could think of adding to my monthly favourites this month. This is one that Dane had watched the trailer for, heard about online and really wanted to watch. We popped it on and I swear throughout we were constantly questioning what the fuck was going on. It’s a psychological drama about a young woman who is contemplating ending the six week relationship with her boyfriend as they drive to his parents house so she can meet them for the first time. It spirals from there, but I don’t really want to say much in case it reveals any spoilers but it’s based off of a novel and is directed by Charlie Kaufman the guy behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.Β If you have Netflix or are able to watch it another way I highly recommend it. πŸ™‚

Chris Evans Oops GIF

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Book – Oops…

Oops indeed. I didn’t read anything this month. I really need to just have an evening off of my phone, Nintendo Switch and laptop and just read! Sometimes though I just don’t feel like I have time. I’m always trying to make way for everything and reading takes a back burner. Earlier today I ordered Aggretsuko Vol. 1 comic book! I love Aggretsuko so I’m rather excited for that to arrive tomorrow or Friday to read over the weekend… If I’m able to! Honestly though, I have so many manga volumes and comics to read. I really need to get on it!

Favourite Music – PVRIS –Β Use Me.

PVRIS new albumΒ Use MeΒ came out at the end of August and it’s one I’ve been listening to on and off throughout September, but I definitely need to listen to it a lot more. I wanted to share one of the songs from the album that I’ve already fallen in love with, starting with “Loveless”. This song is clearly about a breakup but it’s got such a lovely acoustic melody behind it, as well as powerful lyrics that a lot of people who have or are going through a breakup can relate to. I just love it so much and after I heard it for the first time, I replayed it a few times and got the lyrics up to read as it played and sing along to. Who else does this? πŸ˜›

Overall I really loveΒ Use MeΒ but I think it’s one that will have to grow on me. I love PVRIS’s previous two albums so much, but that isn’t it. I think due to the fact 5/11 songs on the album have come out gradually the past year as singles and EP’s, nearly half of the albums isn’t a “surprise”, if that makes sense? Even so, I still love it! PVRIS has fast become one of my favourite bands the past year and a half and that’s not going to change.

Favourite Game – Not Tonight: Take Back Control Edition (Nintendo Switch).

I only bought this game about a week ago but it’s already earnt it’s place on my monthly favourites for September due to how much I’ve played it already! The week I bought this was when I received some bad news and I looked on the eShop for something simple to play, but not for a lot of money. I pickedΒ Not TonightΒ up for a BARGAIN price of Β£1.94! I think it was 90% off so the game was roughly Β£19? Crazy how cheap this was, but totally worth it! It’s set after Brexit and you’re playing a bouncer with European in their blood. You live in a dump, work for shit money and have loads of bills and taxes to pay. You have to check the ID of people coming in pubs, clubs, festivals, events and even on the border of the UK. I love it, it’s such a “relaxing” game to play which has a dark sense of humour about it. Some people I’ve spoken to about the game said it sounds depressing. It’s really not. If it’s still on offer on the eShop I highly recommend it, I’m sure you won’t miss Β£1.94 eh?

So, there we have it, my favourites from September. I’ve had to write this post the day before it’s due to be out and I honestly can’t believe tomorrow is going to October. This year has flew, even with the circumstances of COVID. I wish September hadn’t gone by so quickly and I wish myself and my family hadn’t received the news we did… I’m kind of glad for a new month due to that, but at the same time, I don’t know what October will bring. Fingers crossed something good, eh?

What have you been loving throughout September? Are you excited for autumn, the nights starting to draw in and Halloween? I’m excited for Halloween! I’m going to try and use October as the month to watch Halloween movies I’ve always meant to. πŸ™‚

Speaking of, what’s your favourite Halloween movie? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time, stay safe and take care all. πŸ™‚

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Kawaii Face Mask Wish List

Guys we are less than two weeks away from September. Can you believe it? It has also nearly been a month since the UK were told to wear face masks in shops. That month has flew by and it only feels like yesterday I was panicking about buying some more face masks.

Well, that mini panic is what inspired today’s post, which is all about face masks and which ones I have on my wish list (as well as one I bought). I know a lot of people went into panic over getting face masks before the 24th July, which thankfully wasn’t me. I was just panicking about which one to buy! I didn’t buy any funky ones, just a couple of black ones for both me and Dane. However, I would still love some funky and fun face masks, hence the wish list. These are also all going to be reusable!

I really hope this list helps people who may want to get some fun masks to wear during (and after) these times we are facing at the moment. Whether you believe in it or not, wear a face mask if you can and keep yourself and others safe.

  • Firebox Smoko Pearl Boba Tea Reusable Face Mask (link)

This is the first cute face mask I found and typical it was after I bought my face masks in July, boooo! This one is sold by Firebox but is by American brand Smoko (who also made my Elodie ramen bowl – which you can read about here) who I love! They have three different designs on the website – Little Bao Dumpling, Tayto Potato and the one I’m mentioning here, Pearl Boba Tea. The little bubble teas are adorable and some have cute smiling faces on them too. They sound and look really good quality and I would love to pick one of these up in the future, especially as I love (and miss) bubble tea. πŸ˜›

  • Society 6 Igor Canova Shadow Sneak Face Mask (link)

This is a face mask designer my good blogger friend Sarah (Raiin Monkey) has bought herself and told me about. There are so many face masks to choose from, all with adorable Pokemon themed designs, 21 to be exact! Out of all of them, the ghost Pokemon design jumped out at me and I really would love to pick it up in the future. The design itself has various ghost Pokemon – including Gengar, Misdreavus, Shuppet, Litwick and Phantump. Alongside the Pokemon there are some ghost type moves dotted around, which make for a good print overall!

  • PaperandPotionsArt Soot Sprite Face Mask (link)

It wouldn’t be a wish list on my post if it didn’t contain something Studio Ghibli related! I discovered PaperandPotionsArt years ago at Comic Con and straightaway followed them on Instagram. When I saw they’d created this Soot Sprite mask I knew I had to add it to this list. It’s nothing too elaborate and is a rather “simple” design, which I like! It works with it being white too, due to the Soot Sprite’s being black. I have some black face masks similar to this style and to be honest, they’re not the best due to how thick they are and with how warm you can get whilst wearing one of these, this may get a bit stuffy.

  • Sunflower310 Japanese Shiba Face Mask (link)

My Instagram friend Emily (Meimi132) shared some face masks stores and designs with me and this is one of them. It’s a gorgeous Japanese inspired design that has various Shiba in different poses, Mount Fuji, sakura, geta footwear and dango. The design just screams Japan to me and reminds me of my trip there, as well as my love for the country. This is a face mask I would really love to pick up in the future, especially for any future trips to Japan.

  • ClumsyCritters Animal Crossing Celeste Face Mask (link)

This is another face mask that Emily shared with me and it is so adorable! Celeste is so precious and I’ve always adored her since Wild World but I feel in New Horizons she’s so precious and adorable. Walking around, give you recipes and more to do with the stars. It makes me smile. Aside from the design, one of the things I like about this face mask is how the ear sections have adjustable beads on them, which I think is such a good idea.

  • LenacchiStore Pikachu in Space Reusable Face Mask (link)

Finally we have another Pokemon themed face mask that I would really like to pick upΒ  in the future! It’s a gorgeous space themed mask, but with Pokemon! Pikachu and Pichu are in space alongside various Pokemon including Mew, Jirachi, Clefairy, Clefable and various more! Both the Pikachu and Pichu are dressed in little astronaut outfits, which look so adorable! It’s just gorgeous, I love it so much.

I thought I would mention below the face mask that Dane bought for both of us as it’s amazing and deserves a recommendation!

Face Covering Fast UK Delivery Washable Reusable Face Mask Snake Black

  • AALTRADE Resuseable Face Mask (link)

I didn’t want to add it onto the wish list but these masks come in various different colours, but we picked up the black one above. We got 2 each to ensure we had enough and we certainly do. You can pop filters inside, but when we’ve gone to do that it’s really awkward, so sadly we haven’t bothered. We both wear glasses and personally I haven’t had any issues with fogging, but I think Dane has from memory. If you don’t want to go for a kawaii design, you can always go for one of these plain black ones. πŸ™‚

So there we have it! My kawaii face mask wish list! I know this weeks blog post isn’t anything special, but I thought it was both cute and important considering the planets current situation with COVID.

What do you guys think of the face masks I mentioned? Any you like, or already own? Do you have any face masks you recommend? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time, take care all and keep safe. πŸ™‚

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Jenni Illustrations – Haul

August is the month of a very much needed spending ban… Which may go into September as well to be honest with you so I can try and save up some more monies ready for when Christmas is upon us.

I’ve mentioned before on my blog how during lock down I have saved and spent a lot of money on things I’d had my eye on for ages but never had the spare monies or urge to buy. I decided to on some things and have had zero regrets, even if my bank account doesn’t agree. One of the independent artists I finally took the plunge and bought from is Jenni Illustrations.

Jenni Illustrations is a Australian kawaii illustrator/designer who draws all sorts of designs from cute animals, some Ghibli inspired characters and even some of her own original characters, which I adore.

Jenni had recently closed her store and reopened it, just in time for me to make some purchases. I bought three things in total and I am here to show them off to you today in a little haul post. I really hope you enjoy it, as I’m so excited to share the goodies with you! πŸ˜€

As I mentioned before I picked up three items, a print, a sticker and of course an enamel pin.

  • Soda Dog Sticker (link)

One of Jenni’s original characters that I have fallen in love with is her Soda Dog design. Not only do I love dogs but the colour of the soda being blue reminds me of Japanese ramune, which is what I think it’s actually meant to be. The sticker is a decent size and bigger than I thought it was going to be, as well as amazing quality. On the store it does tell you the size and about the quality, but I didn’t check to see how big or small it would be as I didn’t mind either way. πŸ™‚

As you can see the design is of a soda bottle with some blue soda inside, a red lid and Soda Dog as the mascot on the label. There is some Japanese on either sides of the bottle too, which in all honesty I cannot read. I tried to see if the Google Translate app on my phone could help, but the only bit it could translate was the part on the left hand side which read “Soda Dog”. It struggled with the part on the right, but kept trying to say inu which I knew was wrong. After a lot of playing around with Google Translate I worked out that it says, “ramune”. Which makes sense! The Soda Dog design is so adorable, but I want to go into more detail about him when I talk about the enamel pin I picked up next.

So far I’ve not stuck my sticker to anything, as you can see. Instead I’ve stuck him on the side of my plushie bookcase.

This sticker cost $5.00 AUS, or Β£2.69 which I think is really decent for a sticker of this size and quality.

  • Soda Dog Enamel Pin (link)

This is where I’m going to talk more about the Soda Dog design itself as I can’t not talk about it! I mean, look at it. πŸ˜€ Soda Dog is a little white puppy, but the bottom half of his body is blue ramune soda! He has a little red bottle top on his head, a floppy ear in the shape of a heart and massive pink cheeks. Oh and a red collar to match his hat red bottle top! This Soda Dog is of course supposed to be a bottle of ramune which has almost been finished and I think it’s such an amazing idea. When I saw that Jenni had an enamel pin design of this cute boy, I KNEW I had to buy it!

The enamel pin itself is really good quality! It’s on a gold enamel and has one back. The enamel pin itself cost $14.00 AUS, which is Β£7.54. I think this is an incredibly reasonable price for an enamel pin and I plan to buy more in the future from Jenni, which I’ll be showing at the end of this post.

  • Kiki A6 Print (link)

First things first, at the time of me writing this post this print is currently sold out… I hope it comes back into stock because the Ghibli designs Jenni does are gorgeous! I’ve always liked Kiki’s Delivery Service, but I especially feel since my Japan trip in January that I really do love it. Japan especially love it, so whenever you go into a Ghibli store (or at least one that sells Ghibli goods) there will always be plenty of Kiki’s Delivery Service items to choose from. I actually regret not buying more. Before my trip to Japan I had my eye on this print, I love so much about it. The one thing I always love about Jenni’s designs is the eyes. They’re so three dimensional and gorgeous, I could stare at them for ages.

As you can see from the photo, it’s a design of Kiki holding Jiji, the overall design is adorable and it really brings joy to my day whenever I walk past it in the bedroom. Like the sticker, I have stuck it onto the side of my plushie bookcase. I would love to see more character from Ghibli movies drawn similar. I feel like Jenni did one of Chihiro from Spirited Away ages ago, but I can’t remember…

This print cost $8.00 AUS, which works out to Β£4.31, which is reasonable! If anything, I would have loved the option of having a bigger print. I would have definitely gone for an A5, maybe at a push an A4 as I honestly love this design.

So, those are all the goodies I picked up on my first order from Jenni Illustrations.

Due to COVID the items took just under a month to arrive to me. I have to be honest here and say I didn’t think shipping was cheap at Β£9.69, almost Β£10 for shipping from AUS to the UK. I didn’t care about paying the costs at the time as I really wanted the items but next time I make an order I’ll feel like I need to order plenty to make the shipping worth it.

This was a MASSIVE treat for me as I’d wanted these items for a while, but if you think the shipping is a little on the high side for you, it might be worth making an order with a friend whose also after these items and you can split the shipping fee.

Overall I am in love with my Jenni Illustration goodies and I’ll definitely buy from her store again and plan to in the future! I already have loads of items on my wish list that I plan to buy in the future and wanted to share them with you below.

Blue Clues Sticker Sheet – I loved Blue’s Clues growing up so these would be a nostalgic trip for me!

Animal Crossing Sticker Sheets – I don’t need to explain why I want these, but I do want them all!

Froggy Chair Sticker – I explained on my July Wish List ’20 post why I want this sticker.

JiJi and Lily 6×6″ Print – I would love this print to go with my Kiki print.

Dragon 6×6′ Print – This print shouts Haku fromΒ Spirited Away, who in turn is my favourite Ghibli character. I need this print in my life!

Lucky Kat Washi Tape – Whilst in Japan I discovered a love for washi tape. I would love to add this lucky cat washi tape my collection.

Chester Pin and Fern the Fox Pin – These are two more of the original characters that Jenni has drawn. Chester is a cute little red panda and Fern is an adorable fox. These are two of my favourite animals… What’s not to love, eh?

Soda Dog Keychain – I actually regret not ordering this at the time of my order, as I would have loved to add this onto one of my bags, or a set of keys. I definitely plan on adding him to my basket next time I make an order with Jenni Illustrations.

So there you have it guys! What do you think of Jenni Illustrations? Which item(s) are your favourite that I picked up. Plus, have you bought anything from Jenni Illustrations yourself? If you haven’t yet and plan to, let me know what you’re going to buy!

OH and don’t forget to check out Jenni Illustration over on Instagram too, where she shares new designs all the time. πŸ™‚

Until next time all, take care stay safe and see you next time! πŸ˜€

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August Wish List β€™20

I can’t quite believe it’s August already and to be honest with you, I’m pretty damn glad. July was good because it meant my bathroom was completed, however it was incredibly stressful and I wasn’t very well for the majority of it.

I’m glad for August to bring a fresh month, something new and also a month for me to save the money I spent on the labour for the bathroom too.

Although I amΒ tryingΒ to save my money this month, it doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to still have and share my wish list with you this month! That and I bought three pieces from the Black Milk Clothing x Pokemon collection last week… Oops! πŸ˜›

I’m really loving the variety on it and I hope you do too. πŸ™‚

  • Insert Coin Persona 5 Morgana Hoodie (link)

If there is one thing I love seeing, it’s when Insert Coin reveals they have a new collection out and it’s clearly Persona 5 related. They recently announced more items that were joining their ever growing collection and I for one love everything! I especially love that not everything is a high cost too. The new pullover hoodie they’ve brought out is so gorgeous! I don’t have a red hoodie, so this red is right up my street and I love that Morgana is on the front of it too. I wont be purchasing this for a while… But the time will come when I do decide to pick it up!

  • Goodsmile Company Nendoroid A Clockwork Orange Alex DeLarge (link)

I feel like I haven’t had a Nendoroid pre-order arrive for quite a while, so I’m definitely overdue now. For those who may not know, I’m a big fan of A Clockwork Orange and have been since I was about… 15/16 years old. When I lived at home I used to have a canvas up of Alex DeLarge, I dressed up as him once for Halloween and I own some t-shirts with Alex DeLarge on. SO, when this Nendoroid was announced when I was in Japan in January, I asked YY Kawaii if she could get him for me, which she could and did! I’m so excited for Alex DeLarge to arrive this month! He looks perfect. If you haven’t watchedΒ A Clockwork OrangeΒ before then definitely give it a go, but it is a dark film, with some strange themes. There was a lot of controversy surrounding it due to a lot of the themes that went on in the film and I think it was banned from the UK for a time. I still recommend it though. πŸ™‚

  • Pokemon Four Seasons Collection Re-ment – Vulpix (link)

I was recently gifted an amazing parcel by YY Kawaii which contained some items she was giving away over on Instagram (the giveaway is now closed!) and within that there was some re-ment figures, including one from the four seasons collection. I was really hoping for the Vulpix re-ment but instead I got a Wartortle and Sandygast one which is really summery and cute. As Autumn is one of my favourite months, this Vulpix autumn re-ment is shouting out to me! I’ll buy it eventually, but for now I can wait. πŸ™‚

  • Kickstarter Adorablush Pokemon Fruit Salad Enamel PinsΒ KICKSTARTER NOW ENDED (link)

This Kickstarter is adorable and it’s one both me and Sarah (from Raiin Monkey) have backed together to save on postage… Smart, eh? πŸ˜› We both loved the look of this Kickstarter campaign for fruit Pokemon enamel pins. There are eight designs to choose from, I’ve gone for the watermelon Shaymin and strawberry Eevee and Sarah has gone for the strawberry Eevee too! Alongside the enamel pins you also get prints that match, which will be awesome! I’m so excited for us to receive our pins. I’ll be sending Sarah’s off to her when it arrives, with some other goodies too… πŸ˜›

  • Lunaticgumis Puppycat Sticker (link)

If you guys didn’t know by now, I am a MASSIVE Bee & Puppycat fan! I’ve been after some more merchandise from the TV show/comic book for a while, but it’s lacking AND not easy to get hold of in the UK. This sticker is from Spain and delivers to the UK, which is always good. It’s really cute and would love to add it to my “sticker collection”. DuringΒ  lock down I’ve gathered quite a lot of stickers but I don’t quite know what to do with them.

  • Cushty Co Unicorn Blood Soy Wax Melt (link)

About 10 years ago I discovered a brand called Lily Flame and their gorgeous scented candle called Fairy Dust. I’ve owned a few since then and they’re amazing. However, I can’t justify buying any new candles right now and sadly Lily Flame aren’t exactly cheap. Cushty Co do a dupe of this scent, which I’d love to give a go myself in future! I’m still trying to get through my candles and wax melts at the moment, but sadly they’ve been hurting my throat so I’m trying not to use them too frequently at the moment.

  • Disney Store Lady Small Soft Toy in Box (link)

This Lady plush is very much sold out/out of stock at he moment and I’m semi gutted. My favourite Disney film isΒ Lady and the TrampΒ for so many reasons so when I saw that the Disney Store were selling this lady in a box, just like in the film I knew I had to have it. Of course, I’ve missed that window due to setting myself on a spending ban, but at the same time I was being indecisive. I’m really hoping the Disney Store bring it back as I would love to purchase this cute Lady plus.

  • Costa Coffee China Unicorn Mug (link)

Finally we have an item I pre-ordered through YY Kawaii a month or so ago. I saw her mention that Costa Coffee in China were making unicorn mugs and merchandise, which looked and are adorable! There were two takeaway mugs and two mugs. I went for the glass unicorn mug to drink my teas and coffees from. I don’t exactly need anymore mugs in my life, but this was kind of too cute to pass up and as I used to work at Costa Coffee many moons ago, I thought it would be nice to add one of the unicorn designs from China to my kitchen!

So there we have it, my wish list for August! Some of the items are pre-orders or have arrived already, such as my Nendoroid Alex DeLarge, which arrived last week. This being said, as I mentioned at the start of the post I’m going on a spending ban for August. I will only buy items that are essential or occasionally buy items that are limited edition or limited time, but that probably won’t happen much.

What items do you have on your wish lists this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments below, as well as to what items you like from my list!

Until next time all, take care and stay safe. πŸ™‚

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July Favourites ’20

I can’t believe it’s August already, can you? I for one am glad as July was so bloody stressful and it drove me mad due to that fact. I just couldn’t wait for it to end to be honest, it started to affect my mental health, which is never good so to have a new month will be good. Plus, September is my favourite month of the year and I want to make sure to have a relaxing month before that favourite comes up. I could write a post every year as to why I love September… Maybe I’ll do it again this year? Let me know if you’re interested.

July wasn’t just a month of being stressed out however, it was also a month of getting good things done, including our bathroom and my nails. We had some issues with our bathroom in May with water damage and decided instead of just getting the water damage repaired, we would look and see if we could justify getting the whole bathroom done. Alas we did justify it and a couple of months later the work was completed and we now have our gorgeous new bathroom! We’ve had the work completed for two weeks now and I have loved it so much. I was going to show off the completed bathroom on my blog, but I have since gone against that as I’d like to keep some privacy.

As well as my bathroom being done, nail technicians were able to open their salons again, so I went to get my first gel manicure done in almost 4 months, which I was very happy about. Yesterday I went and got them done again and I went for black and holographic silver, because why not. πŸ˜›

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Image taken fromΒ The Latest Kate

As always I like to share a positive photo here from The Latest Kate as I find her images are really sweet and the message behind them meaningful.

Here’s to August being a relaxing month, before my favourite comes. πŸ™‚

  • Bath Bake Love Cherry Lime Sugar Whip.

I have know about Bath Bake Love for quite a long time now through Instagram, but I’ve never bought from them until now. I feel like I’ve been missing out for a long time as I honestly love their products. So far I’ve bought quite a few of the sugar whips (including Frosting Fairy, Billionaires Shortbread) and some other items they create and sell. The one sugar whip I have fallen in love with is Cherry Lime, it smells just like it and it makes me so happy. I haven’t used it as much as Frosting Fairy, but that’s because I’m savouring it a little. The sugar whips are really creamy in texture and like a mousse, which make it really easy to lather them up and wash with. They make you smell really good and feel soft! The Cherry Lime scent is very zesty and summery, hence why I’ve loved it so much this past month. I can’t wait to use it more and I’ll definitely buy it when it’s restocked next. PLUS look how pretty the product is with the bright pink and green foil inside! It’s actually inspired me to potentially get my nails painted in these shades towards the end of the month.

  • Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau de Toilette.

I decided to use some of my “older” perfumes up that I’ve had for quite some time. Years ago my mom bought me a set of mini Marc Jacobs perfumes and I’ve never used them… Until now! These bottles are TEENY and they aren’t the easiest of bottles to work with, but I just dab some of the scent on my neck, wrists and inside my elbows. For an EDT this scent lasts ages! It’s really light and I rather like it, although I doubt I would buy the full sized bottle. I’m not a massive fan of the Marc Jacobs scents, although I really do love Decadence.

  • Revolution Skincare Blemish and Pore Refining Serum – 10% Niacinamide + 1% Zinc 30ml.

My good friend Claire recommend this serum to me a while ago, so I decided to buy myself a bottle of it back in June and since then I have on and off used it. I do really love it and I ended up buying some more niacinamide items from Revolution Skincare too, which I’ve been using alongside the serum. Niacinamide is good for oily skin types as it balances oil production and improves texture by making pores look smaller. Considering how warm it’s been towards the end of this week, after using this on my skin in the morning with my moisturiser, my skin hasn’t been as oily on my nose as it usually is! I’m going to keep trying this though, as I do feel like it’s starting to do something for my skin.

  • romand – Juicy Lasting Tint Autumn Fruit Series Shade Cherry Bomb.

In June I ordered some goodies from Yes Style and it was a mixture of regret and happiness. I was happy to finally own some more Korean lip tints but regretted it due to the fact it took a whole month to arrive and I was paranoid about customs charges. However, looking back I don’t really regret it and I think I was just on edge and anxious. I’ll happily order with Yes Style again, especially as I’ve seen some stuff I would love for the future. That aside, I ordered two lip tints by romand and out of the two, Cherry Bomb has been my favourite. It’s a gorgeous cherry red lip tint that really does last ages on the lips. I’ve found myself wearing it on the rare occasions I’ve left the house, but I’ve mostly worn it whilst working from home. I recommend these lip tints to everyone and I already know I’ll be buying more romand products in the future.

  • The Body Scrub Peppermint Candy Cane Body Scrub.

This is one that I received a couple of Christmases ago and have FINALLY gotten around to using! It’s one of The Body Shop scrubs and I honestly wish I had used it sooner as it’s amazing. It’s a very thick sugar scrub which really does scrub away! I’ve been using it on the tops of my arms, bum, thighs and even my feet. It’s worked amazingly on the latter but has left me feeling a little smoother than usual everywhere else. This was only a small pot as it was part of a set, but if I ever see this pop up in sales on the website in future, I may have to buy a bigger pot. It also smells AMAZING by the way!

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Favourite TV Show – I May Destroy You.

First of all, this TV show is amazing and I cannot recommend it enough to you right now. In all fairness this does have some warnings due to scenes of sexual abuse/rape. The show is written and stars Michaela Coel (who also wroteΒ Chewing Gum) and is about a writer who goes for a night out to take a break from her work. The next day she can’t seem to remember what happened during the night out, or how she even got home. Everything begins to unravel and she soon grows to realise she’s been raped during her night out. With the help of her friends she gains support, as well as tries to get justice for what happened to her and more. I definitely recommend watching it, it’s an amazing show.

Favourite Movie – A Whisker Away.

This film was an absolute delight to watch and after a takeaway me and Dane snuggled together and watched it on the sofa. It’s about a girl who is in love with a boy and the only way she can get close to him is by turning into a cat. We watched it dubbed, but it is subbed on Netflix as well. The story itself is adorable and we have all been there at some point in our youth with lusting over someone but not being able to get them to like you the same way! My only gripe with this film is that both me and Dane felt like it went on for a little bit too long… Which started to ruin the film for us. This being said, I would happily watch this film again as it did make me smile and the kitten that the girl turns into is adorable!

yay maids | Tumblr

Image taken from Tumblr

Favourite Book – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid manga.

FINALLY I HAVE READ SOMETHING! Can you believe it?! I had a quiet weekend in July and decided to start making my way through some of the volumes I haven’t read yet in my manga collection. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid was a priority to me as it’s one of my favourites and I know quite a few volumes have come out for this and the spin off volumes (Kanna’s Daily LifeΒ andΒ Elma’s Office Lady Diary) too. I feel so much better for catching up on my manga series but I do need to read more! I feel like I need to just assign myself two evenings a week to just read, as I’m terrible these days for reading and I don’t know why? I’m going to blame gaming as I feel since I bought my Switch Lite I’ve neglected reading, which is a shame. Not only do I have manga to read, but comics and even “normal” books to read too!

Favourite Music – Dai Numo – SUITED.

Years ago on Soundcloud I discovered Dai Numo and I have never regretted that day. I LOVE his music and keep wanting him to release more. I listened to his album on and off to and from Japan, whenever I visit Fuerteventura and when I really need to knuckle down with work of any type (work or personal). I thought I’d share a couple of songs above, but I’d highly recommend you go and check out his Soundcloud AND Bandcamp where you can download the album. I can’t describe what kind of music this is… It’s like chillout hip hop? I love it either way and I definitely recommend it for everyone to check out.

Red Panda Rage GIF by NETFLIX

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Game – Aggretsuko: The Short Timer Strikes Back.

First of all guys I just want to say, I am still playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, however I am not on it ALL the time. It has began to “bore” me a little, but lately I decided to sort out my island and redo parts of it, so every other day I’ve clocked onto Animal Crossing a couple of hours. However, recently an Aggretsuko game came out, ready for when the third season hits Netflix at the end of the month. This isn’t an in depth game in anyway shape or form, but towards the end of July I got addicted to it! It’s a free game and I can’t recommend it more if you want a puzzle game to play.

So those are my favourites from July! Again, I can’t believe it’s August already, the eighth month of the year! Next month will be my favourite month of the year and then before we know it we’ll be in autumn, Halloween, Bonfire Night, winter and then Christmas before we get a new year!

2020 hasn’t been amazing due to COVID, but we’re over halfway through this year now.

How has July been for you? What were your favourites? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time, stay safe and take care all!

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Life Lately – March – July 2020

Just over four months ago the UK was told to lock down and stay inside. It was scary but at the same time I was relieved that the UK FINALLY did something about it and was happy to stay inside for a while and hermit away. I wanted to share with you all how lock down has been for me, as well as how things have been throughout July so far. Not going to lie, it’s been good but very tiring! You may want to grab yourself a hot drink as this postΒ mayyyyyΒ be a long one.

To get this out there swiftly, I’ve been working from home since the lock down happened in March and I don’t have a date set yet for when I’ll be heading back to the office. Working from home has been amazing to be perfectly honest with you, but I do miss seeing my colleagues five days a week and having a laugh with them all.

Working from home has made me think more about adding an addition to our family… One with a wet nose and grey fur… No babies here I’m afraid! As well as that, working from home has also made me think lots about how much I loved our trip to Japan in January and just how much I’m craving to go again. I already want to look at going again late 2021 OR early 2022 for Dane’s birthday this time around. Try and visit when the cherry blossoms are out and travel to Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and of course Tokyo! That will be a big trip, may even go for three weeks if we can justify it!

Although I have bought loads of shit over the past four months, one of the best things me and Dane bought was a new bathroom! Back in May around one of the bank holidays we discovered a leak in our kitchen ceiling, which had come from the bath. We called our insurance and called someone in for a quote. Two months later the work has been fixed and our bathroom COMPLETELY redone. We are both over the moon with it! Sadly I won’t be sharing it on my blog, which I had contemplated before. I want some privacy for us two from my little space on the world of the internet. I know my readers will understand. πŸ™‚

As we all know, Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out in March JUST BEFORE lock down happened in the UK and I know so many people who have loved and enjoyed it, and who still are. I also have a couple of friends I helped source Switch and Switch Lite consoles so they could get their hands on Animal Crossing to play. It’s amazing having more of my close friends playing the game than ever before and that makes me so happy! I’ve calmed down a little of late with Animal Crossing, although I have picked it up of late to redo parts of my island.

I’ve done some baking during lock down and more so of late I’ve REALLY stepped out of my comfort zone to make something I hadn’t before, Millionaires Shortbread. I added a twist by adding salt to the caramel, to of course make salted caramel. πŸ™‚ It was amazing and it was so simple to make. I was just worried about the caramel more than anything as I’ve never made it before. It took 30 minutes, which felt like too long, but it was worth it. Instead of milk chocolate, I put dark chocolate on top instead. They were amazing and really went down a treat with Dane, as well as my family.

As I mentioned previously how I’ve bought loads of shit, mostly shit I don’t need but has cheered me up during lock down and passed the time. I happened to save money too, even though I’m not 100% sure how I’ve done it! There are many brands I have wanted to order from for years and I finally have during the lock down, including Happy Place Cosmetics, Bath Bake Love, Cushty Co, Kittynaut and Jenni Illustrations who is pictured above.

I have been showing off the bath and home products on my Instagram pages stories (theremightbecoffeeblog) so if you’re intrigued by this, make sure to go and check out those stories highlighted on my profile.

I’ll be talking about the goodies I bought from Jenni Illustrations very soon, as well as when the enamel pins I’ve bought from Kittynaut have arrived. I for one am excited to share those with you. πŸ™‚

Another item that I am planning to talk about in the future is my Yapfrog Isabelle ita bag! I’ve recently filled it full of enamel pins and although I may change them around in the future, I’m really happy with how I have it at the moment! I bought a piece of green gingham cloth to fabric to keep inside the bag so it looked a little more like Isabelle. So far I have enamel pins in there by Yapfrog, Quirkory (which you can read about here), Appleminte and Illustrator Jake. By the way guys I have a 10% discount code you can use on Illustrator Jake’s website which is – THEREMIGHTBECOFFEE10. πŸ™‚

I honestly can’t wait to share this bag with you, but I want to make sure to spend plenty of time on it, as I’ve been excited to share it for God knows how long now! πŸ˜€

I’ve missed many things during lock down, including seeing my friends, going for coffee dates, sushi, spontaneous geeky shopping trips to town with Dane and my friends and getting my nails done! The nail salons opened up again recently and I finally went and got a much needed manicure. The last one I got was just before Animal Crossing and I got blue and green similar to the joy cons that came out for the limited edition Switch.

It was amazing to go and get my nails done against though and I went for this gorgeous creamy purple colour and a holographic blue/purple on the ring finger and thumb. I love them so much and have felt myself again in regards to feeling pretty. I’m getting them redone next week and I’m already torn at what I’m going to have. I get them done every three weeks, but I am a bit tempted to go every fortnight… We shall see! Any suggestions of what colour(s) to get, pleased let me know!

One of the last things I’m going to natter on about on here is how I have started reading manga again! πŸ˜€ Been too bloody long, I swear to God! I’ve been reading all the volumes in theΒ Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon MaidΒ series, including the two spin offs too about Kanna and Elma. I plan to read and catch up on all my manga series I have to buy more in the future. I need to continue on with it, but lately playing games or watching crap on my iPad have taken place.

So, that is everything I can think of lately and that I wanted to share with you all.

Throughout July my blog feels like it’s been quiet, but that may have just been because I had a break last week as I had a lot going on. The bathroom took a while to get started and finished, but now it’s done we are so happy! That was stressful though, which you can only imagine why.

Alongside that I’ve been busy at work, as well as personal matters. For some reason this week I have been so tired throughout the day and especially in the evening after work. I don’t know why, but I hope some lie ins this weekend help sort it all out.

I’m excited for August now to be honest with you. I want to be able to go out and do more. Me and Dane treated ourselves to a McDonald’s last weekend as we really needed food and that was the easiest thing to get at the time. I’ve missed their fries and milkshakes so much! We also popped to Homesense and The Range to get some house stuff we needed and for a while I felt a little bit normal, even with a face mask on.

Eventually the world will be back to some normality and we’ll all relax a little again.

For now however, make sure to let me know in the comments how you have been during lock down, what have you been up to and most of all what you have missed and can’t wait to do again!

Apologies for what may feel like a rambling post, but I wanted to get a lot off of my chest onto this post today. πŸ™‚

Until next time all, take care, keep safe and can’t wait to speak to you all soon!

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Quirkory Animal Crossing Gimme My Joy-Con Enamel Pins – Review

I cannot believe where July is going already. How are we already at the end of week two of July?

The past week for me has been a bit of a nightmare. I’m in the middle/towards the end of getting my bathroom redone and we’ve come across a few issues (not builder related). I just want it finished now to be honest with you so I can FINALLY start to relax and enjoy my bathroom in it’s completed state.

For today’s blog post I wanted to talk about my favourite independent artist/store, Quirkory. A few weeks ago I received some goodies I backed in their recent Kickstarter AC Companions ~ Gimme my Controller, which I have been so excited for!

I just knew I had to share these with you, as well as some special goodies that Quirkory sent me as a thank you for supporting them since I discovered them nearly a year ago through their Kickstarter campaign A profusion of Eeveelutions & Lunar Spookies, which I also spoke about on my blog here at the start of the year.

Quirkory’s designs are chunky, kawaii and make me smile so much when I look at them! Literally, their work brings a smile to my face whenever I look at it and when I see new things posted up by them on Instagram. I even get excited for spoilers they announce!

I’m here today to share with you the Animal Crossing designs overall, as well as the ones I backed and was sent as a gift. May I add – these were not gifted for blog purposes, but between “friends” if you will and as a thank you for how much I have supported them this past year. πŸ™‚

I’m so excited to share all the designs, they’re so adorable and really do put a smile on my face.

The Kickstarter campaign for these Animal Crossing enamel pins had a cute and unique design of Animal Crossing villagers holding Switch Joy-Con controllers, hence the name “Gimme my Controller!”. There were nine designs to choose from, as well as a special Timmy and Tommy Nookloop design.

The nine designs on offer were/are:

Marshal with a right handed light blue controller.

Stitches with a left handed yellow controller.

Merengue with a left handed pink controller.

Lucky with a right handed purple controller.

Kicks with a right handed green controller.

Reese with a left handed blue controller.

Tom Nook with a left handed gold controller.

Isabelle with a right handed indigo/blue purple controller.

Daisy Mae with a right handed light blue controller.

I backed four pins and added the Nookloop design as an additional item. I knew straight away which designs I wanted to go for, but towards my enamel pins arriving, I did realise there were some designs I wish I’d backed for and gotten too.

The four designs I opted for were Lucky, Kicks, Isabelle and Tom Nook. I also added on the Nookloop pin too as an additional item.

I thought I would show you all of the enamel pins I opted for, as well as some freebies I received for backing them on Kickstarter. I’ll also be showing the two enamel pin designs that Quirkory sent me as a thank you…

I’ll talk about the items I received as extras first and then go on to talk about the enamel pins.

I was sent some stickers of all the designs available, as well as a print of Inari and Mosted and a thank you note from Quirkory.

I always love, appreciate and keep the little thank you notes that Quirkory send as they really make me smile. Plus I always think it’s such a nice personal touch when you get a thank you note in your packages, don’t you?

As I mentioned they also sent me a print of Inari and Mosted, which is a design they created back in April for the virtual mall event they were a part of. If you bought anything from their store at the time, you would get this exclusive print for free! I ordered some goodies from the website and this finally arrived. πŸ™‚ It’s so adorable and I even got the digital wallpaper though few months ago too, which I have set as my iPad’s wallpaper. I love how it’s the loop style design that they’ve done a few times now, including with the Eeveeloop from the Eeveelution God collection and of course the Nookloop from the Animal Crossing Controllers collection.

On the back of the print is the shop logo that Quirkory designed for the virtual mall event. It’s so adorable! When I’m eventually back in the office at work, I’ll be sticking this print up next to my laptop so I can look at it whilst I work. πŸ™‚

There was a little pack of stickers in my parcel, which to my surprise not only contained all the characters and designs of the enamel pins, but also two Nookloop stickers. One of which I’d ordered from Etsy months previous as I didn’t realise I would be getting one as part of my Kickstarter campaign.

Animal Crossing Stickers Pack (link) – These stickers are so adorable! They’re matte and on the back of them, the paper you peel away to reveal the stick has Quirkory’s logo all over, which I thinks really cool! I can’t say as I’ve seen this before. I love being able to have the stickers of designs I may have loved, but not wanted to get as an enamel pin.

Nookloop Sticker (link) – This sticker is different to the others in the sense it’s glossy, whilst the other stickers are more matte in texture? The sticker is so cute and I’m really glad I have two. I’ve already stuck one on my iPad case (where most of my Quirkory stickers have found themselves!) and it looks adorable. I absolutely adore the Nookloop design. Both Timmy and Tommy’s faces are so sweet and it just shouts the first day or two of playing New Horizons to me, which I won’t forget.

Finally I will be sharing the four designs and the Nookloop pin. I hope you’re excited to see them all properly!

They’re all made out gold enamel and have twin backs to them. The only design that is different all around is the Nookloop enamel pin, but I’ll talk about that in more detail when the time comes. On the back of the enamel pin they all say have, “Quirkory Gimme My Joy-Con” which I think is such a lovely touch. It shows what collection they’re part of too, which I love.

Lucky Enamel Pin (link) – This is one of my favourite Animal Crossing villagers, plus the dog villagers are my favourite types so I’m always a sucker for Lucky. He’s on my island for the time in any Animal Crossing game, which is amazing! All with thanks to amiibo cards. The Lucky design is adorable and it’s one I instantly fell in love with when it was first shown on Quirkory’s Instagram page. I love the little pink blob on his cheek and that he’s hugging a purple joy-con, as it reminds me of Halloween. This is my first Lucky enamel pin and I’m so excited to add it to my Isabelle ita bag! This is definitely up there as one of my favourite designs from this collection.


Kicks Enamel Pin (link) – This is actually my favourite design from the collection. I’ve always had a soft spot for Kicks but never really known why. When Quirkory showed off the design they had put in place for Kicks, I fell in love. His little face is just so precious and adorable and I want to squish it! I most of all love what he’s wearing, with his brown cap and the blue colouring of his fluffy tail. The mint green joy-con that he’s holding reminds me of the Animal Crossing Switch… Which a part of me to this day STILL regrets not buying. 😦 This pins design just makes me smile so much and I can’t wait to pop it in my Isabelle ita bag!

Tom Nook Enamel Pin (link) – This is definitely one Quirkory thought about and I love that about them. They think about such tiny detailing and I honestly adore them for it. First of all the main thing about this design for me is the gold joy-Ccon. I didn’t see that coming when they announced Tom Nook, but it really does make sense! I also love that he’s wearing his New Horizons outfit, even the khaki shorts! I don’t own any Tom Nook pins yet, but I’m really in love with this one. As much as I love Tom Nook designs, I’m kind of bored of seeing Tom Nook with bags of bells and saying how much he wants yours. This is simple and effective and I love that!

Sadly for some reason I couldn’t get the photo of Isabelle’s pin to take the same way as the other designs.

Isabelle Enamel Pin (link) – I couldn’t not order the Isabelle design. She’s my favourite character from Animal Crossing and I can’t believe she’s only been with us since New Leaf… It feels like she’s been with us forever! I adore her design so much. She has so much personality to her with the fact she’s winking and smiling as she cuddles the joy-con. She’s also in her New Horizons outfit and I love the coral red colour of her shirt, it really compliments her yellow fur. Oh and how about that little tooth showing, eh? KAWAII! I really love this design.

Nookloop Enamel Pin (link) – The Nookloop design is up there as one of my favourite designs in the collection. Tommy and Timmy are so precious and I adore them both… Especially Tommy. They both just look so adorable with this design, especially Tommy with his little flag! Everything about the design is so precious and it really makes me smile. I also bought the wallpaperwallpaper so I could have it on my iPhone, iPad and laptop! I’m planning to set it as my work wallpaper in the future.

Next I want to show off the two designs that Quirkory sent me, which are Marshal and Stitches. When I was showing off all the goodies I received from my Kickstarter on my Instagram stories, I mentioned how I regretted not getting Marshal and possibly Stitch as well. I didn’t see the appeal of Marshal for years… Until he moved into my island on New Horizons! He’s such a cutie and the fact he loves coffee makes me smile so much. I’d like to think he’s me in an Animal Crossing character! πŸ˜›

Quirkory also attached one of their thank you notes, but this one was more personal than the others. It was so lovely, especially the “Thank you for everything!” message and the little photo of the couple behind Quirkory. It really put a smile to my face. They also sent me a high quality version of the Inari and Mosted print, which I now have on my plushie cabinet.

Marshal Enamel Pin (link) – This design is so simple and yet adorable! I see Marshal all over it, especially with his grumpy looking frown that he’s pulling and his matching frowned mouth. He also has his fringe and navy t-shirt on. He’s cuddling up to a light blue joy-con. His little cinnamon roll tail makes me smile! I do just love this design and I’m so happy to have it in my collection. I’m definitely going to pop him into my ita bag.

StitchesΒ Enamel Pin (link) – Finally the last design I’ll be talking about it Stitches. An adorable and unique looking bear that I have always wanted on my island… But just haven’t gotten… Yet. πŸ˜› Out of all the designs I think this one is the most colourful and eye catching, which is one of the reasons why I regretted not buying him. This is where Quirkory’s attention to detail is amazing. They’ve added all the colours to Stitches on his fur with the orange, purple, green and blue as well as the different coloured stars on his white t-shirt. Plus, he’s cuddling up to a yellow joy-con which is the PERFECT colour to compliment all of Stitches colours. I just love this design so much.

Well, you’re probably wondering how you can get hold of one or two of these enamel pins yourselves? Well, currently at the time of writing this review, all the pins are on pre-order! So, if you would to get hold of one, two, or more of these enamel pins I would recommend getting some orders in now before you miss out. I know this collection will be permanent but I also know how busy Quirkory are at the moment as they finish shipping Kickstarter orders, Etsy orders and prepare for exciting things for us shoppers and fans in the future… Including a Patreon. I’m so excited for that! πŸ˜€

I already know that Quirkory have mentioned plans to bring out a second collection of the Gimme My Joy-Con collection and I HONESTLY HOPE THEY DO! I can already imagine so many more villager they can create, as well as what they could do with them. I have some ideas of my own…

I’d love to see Digby holding a left joy-con (so it’s opposite to Isabelle) and either wear his little yellow rain coat OR be holding a yellow joy-con so it represents his raincoat.

I’d also love to see another one of my favourite villagers – Bones, Cookie, Goldie or Eunice. I would love to see a sheep villager in the collection as they’re my second favourite villagers after dogs.

If you’re maybe not one for enamel pins, but love the chubby kawaii designs of the Animal Crossing villagers, there are other ways you can get your hands on them. You could buy some colouring pages, OR big or small wallpapers. All are digital so you won’t need to wait long before they hit your email address and you can start using them. Make sure to go and check out their Etsy store for more.

As always I will of course link below to their store and social media platforms:

Store (Etsy)

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

So, what do you guys think of Quirkory? This is the second time they have featured on my blog now and they have fast become my favourite independent artists and good friends over on Instagram. I feel like I interact with them all the time and they always reply so sweetly and are always happy.

If you didn’t think their designs could get any cuter after the Eeveelution Gods collection, then we were obviously all wrong! What do you think of the Animal Crossing Gimme My Joy-Con enamel pins? Which design(s) would you like to buy? Which was your favourite? AND most of all, which Animal Crossing villager would you like to see? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time all, take care, stay safe and I hope you’re having a lovely weekend!

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