Quirkory Souls Of Nature Collection

I am SPOILING you guys! Less than a month ago I wrote on my blog about Quirkory and their previous Patreon collection, Baukery. Now, I’m coming to you with their Souls of Nature collection, which released last year through a Kickstarter campaign.

I’ve been so excited to share the goodies I backed through this campaign, but they have taken a while to arrive with me due to some issues Quirkory faced. I don’t know if this upset anyone at the time, but personally I wasn’t fussed, I knew I would get my goods from Quirkory eventually and in all honesty, they were worth the wait!

Quirkory’s Souls of Nature collection had been in the works for quite some time, with original sketches being drawn up in late 2019! The collection itself is huge, alone with a whopping forty four different enamel pin design combinations!

The collection included twelve enamel pin designs:

Twelve designs – Kitsune (fox), okami (wolf), tanuki (raccoon dog), kuma (bear), shika (deer), usagi (rabbit), uma (horse), habi (snake), tara (tiger), tatsu (dragon), neko (cat) and, inu (dog).

There was also four colour types to choose from, Hanami special edition, light, dark, and vaper wave.

Alongside the extensive variety of enamel pin designs and colours, there was also more rewards to choose, A5 sticker sheets, two different sets of mini pins, wooden and frosted charms, pop sockets, washi tapes, A5 art prints, enamel pin display banner, and deskmats.

I opted for two enamel pins, as well as a deskmat. Alongside the goodies I backed for, Quirkory also sent me some pop sockets, as well as wooden charms!

So first of all I will talk about the goods I backed.

Inu (dog) light variant enamel pin.

I have to say, this is my favourite design out of he twelve, mainly due to how playful and cute the design is, but I love dogs, alongside foxes, sea otters and raccoons, they’re my favourite animal. The inu design is adorable in itself, with the inu’s design in a running pose. I opted for the light variant for the inu design too as I felt it worked really well with the white body, blue accents and the red bell collar. I wish I’d backed for some of the other colour variants of this enamel pin so I could pop one on a backpack, or jacket. 😛

Tanuki (raccoon dog) dark variant enamel pin.

Definitely my second favourite design from the collection, and one I knew from the start I wanted to get in the dark variant! As tanuki are grey/dark grey, it made sense to go for a darker colour. I did like the look of the one variant which would have given the tanuki black and pink accents, but as purple is my favourite colour, the dark variant was a no brainer!

Hanami pattern deskmat.

This was probably the item I was most excited for! At the time of backing this deskmat I hadn’t long bought my Eeveelutions deskmat from Japan, so in my excitement I did also back for the Hanami pattern deskmat too. This thing is HUGE, it’s too big for my desk, as you’ll be able to tell on the photos above. It features all of the animal designs, which I think is adorable! It really is bringing a smile to my face whenever I’m working from home, or sitting at my desk. It’s going to be my new flat lay image too, which makes a nice change from the Eeveelution one.

I’ll also share with you guys the items that Quirkory sent me as little freebies! I was not expecting any extra goodies thrown in, so as always, a massive thank you for Quirkory for these!

Inu (dog) and Tanuki (raccoon dog) pop sockets.

Who doesn’t love a good pop socket, eh? I lived for mine during 2018 and then 2020. These days I don’t use one, but as and when I change my phone, I would like to get a case where I could use one! The two designs Quirkory sent me are adorable, especially the inu, which I can’t stop staring at whilst writing this post! They seem really sturdy and good quality! If I don’t manage to use them as pop sockets for my phone, I may end up using them as little hooks for my plushie cabinet… We’ll see. 😛

Inu (dog) and Tanuki (raccoon dog) wooden charms.

These were a massive surprise to see and to be honest, I’m so grateful for Quirkory sending me these, as I do love charms, especially cute ones! Again, they sent me the inu and tanuki versions, with the inu being a light variant, and the tanuki being a dark variant. The tanuki I received a while before my Souls of Nature goodies arrived, so that’s been hanging with a tanuki windchime I bought in Japan in 2020. I do plan on potentially popping the inu charm on my car or house keys… because why not! I’d possibly take the tassel off however as I’d worry about it getting ruined.

A5 sticker sheets.

Finally I received not one, not two, but five sticker sheets, with all twelve designs, as well as the four colour variants, and the special colour variant too! I definitely plan on sticking these places soon, which I’m really excited for!

Overall, I really love the Souls of Nature collection! I remember Quirkory giving their Patreon subscribers a sneak peak years ago and I was extremely excited for the kitsune design! I honestly hope they bring these designs to their store in the near future, as they deserve to be and not just a Kickstarter exclusive collection. 🙂

Some of the designs I’d love to own as enamel pins in the future are the kitsune, okami, shika, and tatsu. They’re such gorgeous designs and I do semi regret not getting them previously.

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

Store

Store (Etsy)

Instagram

Patreon

Facebook

Twitter

What do you guys like the most about this collection? I do love everything if I’m honest! It was such a gorgeous collection from Quirkory and since then they’ve brought out some more adorable collections, including Delicows and Baukery.

Which design(s) did you like? What colour variants would you put with them? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments!

Until next time, I hope you have a lovely rest of your weekend guys and take care!

October Wish List ’22

October is well and truly here and I’m getting hyped for Halloween! I know, it’s a good couple of weeks away (just under three!) yet but I do love Halloween, as regular and older readers will know. I really want to do something for it this year seeing as I’m not at work, but I don’t have a bloody clue what! I’m sure I’ll think of something… Any ideas, pop them in the comments!

I felt really stumped this month with my monthly wish list as I just didn’t have a clue what to add! I really do feel like at times I’ve had to stop myself buying things, some were harder than others but alas, here we are. Half of the items on my wish list this month are pre-orders, hence why they were mentioned… I was really stuck for what to add this month!

With Christmas looming, these wish lists may be easier to write as I need to stop buying goods so Dane and my family can have some ideas of what to get me. Plus with costs on the rise, I need to stop treating myself to things too.

So, on that note, on with the wish list!

• Lazy Girl Club – Ghost Smock Dress – (link)

This isn’t a wished after item, but one I have pre-ordered and should be getting by the end of the month. I love ghosts, especially when they look cute, so I really couldn’t resist picking this up. Plus, it’s a smock style too, which is a style I’ve really fallen in love with the past year. On top of all that though, Lazy Girl Club is an independent and slow fashion brand and if there’s one thing I really do want to support these days, it’s just that. I’m excited to have this for Halloween, as well as mine and Dane’s short trip away as I really do want to style it up, and wear it as much as possible! I’m planning to wear it for both in and out of work. I already wear my Black Milk Clothing ghost dresses to work, so I’m up for wearing another one. 😛 This dress will be great for laying too and I’m already planning to try and get a nice black and white striped t-shirt to wear underneath. I’m planning on writing a blog post about this piece in November, so make sure to keep eyes peeled for that!

• Komi Can’t Communicate Shoko Komi Nendoroid – (link)

This is a pre-order from back in March and I can’t wait for it to finally arrive at the end of the month! Both me and Dane love Komi Can’t Communicate, so when we saw Komi was getting a Nendoroid figure, we knew we had to get her! I love all the different poses and faces she comes with too. This will be one I’m sure me and Dane will assemble together so we both get faces and poses we love. As this was a pre-order item from so long ago.

• Lore Olympus: Volume Three – (link)

At the time of starting this blog post I DID have this book pre-ordered, but due to wanting to be good with my money, I cancelled the pre-order. This is a book I’d love to pick up, as I’m really loving reading the series, but I can always ask for this for Christmas or birthday, as before we know it, they’ll be here! There’s a volume four coming out next year too, so I could always wait and pick them up together in 2023!

• Monki Black Mock Neck Top With Heart Cut Out – (link)

This is an item that came to my attention recently as I saw it being advertised on Instagram! I’ve always wanted one of these tops from Monki where there is the heart cut out, but it’s always sold out, or no longer stocked. I have tried to find it second hand to buy but I’ve had no luck finding one. Maybe Monki was aware how popular this piece is as they’ve brought it back! I want this in a big size as it sounds like it runs on the tight side, and tight fitting clothing is not for me! Ideally I want this for work so I can wear it with trousers and skirts. I’m going to keep my eyes peeled for my size to come in stock! 😀

• Sanrio Cinnamoroll Omori Keychain – (link)

This is a keychain I would love to get eventually to keep on my car keys! I feel like they’re in need of something new to them, and this adorable Cinnamoroll ramen bowl full of yummy Japanese food is one I’d love! I’d worry it would make me hungry looking at it though… 😛

• Kate Allan Rise Above 2023 Desk Calendar – (link)

Finally as the year 2022 is starting to come to an end, it’s time for some new calendars to slowly start making their way onto my wish lists. For the first time in 2022 I’ve bought a desk calendar, which is my Animal Crossing one. I’ve loved peeling off each day and having something new to look at, so I’d love to get another one. When I saw that Kate Allan is releasing one, I knew I had to get it! I haven’t bought this yet, but I’m planning to as soon as possible! Kate Allan’s work is amazing and each item she creates includes an adorable animal, as well as an important message for anyone who needs to see/hear it that day. I’d end up keeping each day to give to people who need them! I’d also look to sticking one or two on my desk at work for when I’m not having good days and need something to look at to perk me up a little.

So, there we have it! My wish list for this month! I’m not going to lie, I am incredibly excited for my Lazy Girl Club dress to arrive and I can’t wait to wear it for Halloween, as well as Bonfire Night!

What do you have on your wish list? Have you ordered some goodies you’re excited for? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all and have an amazing weekend!

September Favourites ’22

I can’t quite believe how quickly September flew by. Literally it felt like yesterday it was the first full week of September, so the fact it’s now the second day of October… It’s just mad!

I’m rather excited for October due to Halloween, as well as Bonfire Night looming. It’s also at the end of the month when me and Dane have some time off together to celebrate the colder celebrations of the year and more. Not to mention the excitement of Pokemon Scarlett and Violet coming out next month too! November is an exciting month, but I’ll save chatter about that for next months favourites post. 😉 So yeah, October is a bit of a calm before the storm kind of month for us.

A lot happened in September with (what felt like) events left, right, and centre! I do just want the world to slow down a little to be honest… I’m wary we’re less than 100 days until Christmas and God knows how many until my 33rd birthday… I looked… 96 days…

One thing I’m especially excited for for the rest of the year is how many people I’m meeting who I’ve befriended thanks to the internet and similar interests. This time next week I’ll be meeting up with someone I befriended through a Discord, which I know we’re both excited for! 😀

I’m going to jump straight into the September favourites, as I’m wary I’m going to waffle on! 😛

Beauty – Dove Body Scrub Pomegranate Seeds & Shea Butter and Dove Body Scrub Crushed Macadamia & Rice Milk.

This was a more recent purchase that I got towards the end of September, and in a short space of time it has fast become a favourite! I love a good body scrub, especially foaming ones as I feel like they’re sort of cleaning as they scrub. Anyone else feel like that? Anyway, to be honest I mostly use body scrubs on my underarms and legs before shaving. However, I will use all over too if I feel it’s needed. I picked up two types of the Dove body scrub, Pomegranate Seeds & Shea Butter and Crushed Macadamia & Rice Milk, as at the time of purchasing (and publishing this post) they were buy one get one free from Superdrug. I have wanted to try the Dove body scrubs for a while now, so didn’t see the harm in taking up the offer! These have fast become a staple for sure as they smell really good and leave my skin feeling soft and moisturised after use. They’re not rough in terms of scrubbiness, which is ideal if you have sensitive skin. I had a horrible allergic reaction on my legs to a body scrub recently (name here) so my legs are grateful for the Dove body scrubs, that’s for sure. My only problem with the Dove body scrubs is that we don’t have as much choice as America do. For example, they have the Brown Sugar & Coconut Butter, which I would LOVE to get one day!

Movie – Kalifornia.

I’ll pre-warn you now, the trailer for this film is so cringe and typical of the early 90’s. I remember watching this film with my parents when I was a teenager, and although it’s classed as a horror/thriller, we found so many parts hilarious due to some of the stuff Early would come out with. Kalifornia is about a writer and his photographer girlfriend, who are planning to drive from Kentucky to California, writing and taking photos for his book as they go. Due to the costs of such a trip, they advertise for people to travel with them, with the advertisement being filled by Early and his girlfriend. Prior to leaving and during their trip, things go from weird, to bad. On my dad’s birthday we spoke about the film again, one Dane had never heard of before, so I decided to buy it for us to watch one evening. I think due to the trailer (and the way we sold it to him) Dane didn’t expect much from it, but by the end of the film, he commented how much he enjoyed! I highly recommend if you fancy giving it a watch! It has a big cast with Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, and Michelle Forbes.

TV Show – Bee & PuppyCat.

I’ve been so excited to talk about Bee & PuppyCat this month! As regular readers may have seen, I did talk about the show prior to it’s launch on Netflix at the start of September (which you can read here). I really loved the updated version of season one, however there were some hilarious and memorable moments from the original that I was sad not to see. I can only imagine they were so good previously that recreating them again wasn’t doable… But I don’t know. I won’t spoiler by mentioning what they are, but in the future I might write a blog post of what I thought of the Netflix version. To conclude here, I’m so excited for another season (there better be one!) as well the hype that is now around the show. I’ve always followed the hashtag on Instagram for the show so I always saw people’s posts about it. Since the show came out last month, I’m always seeing and discovering new people through Bee & PuppyCat, which in turn just makes me so happy!

Music – Electric Callboy Tekkno.

Electric Callboy’s new album Tekkno released towards the end of September, which both me and Dane were excited for! We were also meant to go and see the guys play last week but due to one of the singers falling ill, the gig has been postponed, which is a shame, but at the same time it’ll still be an amazing show! 😀 Tekkno is such a fun album and one I’ve been finding myself listening to lots since it came out, with putting it on in the morning on my way to work, whilst I’m working, as well as on my drive home! Electric Callboy are a band everyone should check out at some point, with their sound being a mixture of metal and electronic. We discovered them in 2020 when “Hypa Hypa” came out. Our friend told us about it and since then we’ve both been hooked!

Game – Bear & Breakfast.

I’ll be honest, as the days loomed for this game coming out, I did contemplate whether or not to buy. A review I watched mentioned how repetitive the game is, which wasn’t such an issue for me, but it did kind of put me off. Alongside that, I already have plenty of games to play so I was a bit torn. In the end, I bought it and have played it on and off the past couple of weeks! Bear & Breakfast is a game where you’re a bear and start a chain of bed and breakfasts in your woodland to try and encourage humans back to the forest. It’s a very basic game, but fun nonetheless if you want a game you don’t want to have to think too much about! Sadly the past week I haven’t touched it, as I’ve been working on some last minute cross stitch projects… More about that under other. 😛

Just a few of my favourite things…

Nature Centre, Birmingham.

I went out yesterday with my bestie and our best boys to see some cute animals at the Nature Centre in Birmingham, then lunch at our favourite independent coffee place. It was so lovely and I’m so glad the weather held up for us, as prior to that it has been fucking miserable! I started to really get into the autumnal feels and I honestly can’t wait for more of that. My bestie loves red pandas, so I told her it was time for us to go and see some in Birmingham! We picked the perfect day and time to go as there were hardly any people there, and with some coffees in hand, we walked around the park, in awe of the cute animals in front of us. I think the red panda knew it was the main reason for us going, as it really did do some poses for us. 😛

THIS IS HALLOWEEN, THIS IS HALLOWEEN!

Back in the summer my dad asked me if I could get him some vegetable seed packets. They didn’t have one he was after, so as I joke I decided to pick up some pumpkin seeds for him to try growing. They weren’t cheap, so I paid for them and we had a laugh about it. The above photo is from yesterday. I cannot believe just how well his pumpkins have grown! They look incredible and I’m so proud of him for giving it a go! He did give one to me to grow too, but we didn’t have the luck he did. This photo just gives me so many autumn and Halloween vibes, both of which I’m excited and beyond ready for now!

“Kiki, look it’s me!”

FYI I will be posting a blog post up all about this glass, and shirayukinikki, the store/artist behind it so keep eyes peeled for that this month! Back a couple of months ago me and one of my newer friends decided to go halves on shipping some glasses by shirayukinikki to us. Since this arrived last month, I’ve been using it for iced drinks, alcohol and even just glasses of squash. I really love the Jiji and Lily bakery design behind it and couldn’t resist. Of course if you aren’t aware, the design is inspired by Studio Ghibli film Kiki’s Delivery Service, which you should go and watch if you haven’t before!

Kawaii goods.

Finally, I want to show off some cute items that arrive the past few weeks, because why not!

The first image is of my honey bear gacha by shigematsu_kun that my friend Emily was kind enough to add to her From Japan order for me! I’d seen someone buy the four honey bear gacha and showcase them on an Instagram reel, I knew I needed them! Once Emily sent them to me, I decided to stick them on my desk monitor as I thought it was the perfect home for them! I love when I’m working from home, or sitting at my desk that I can look up and see the four little cuties sat there! My desk is growing more adorable and I love it!

The second image is of my Toast the raccoon plushie by Yencat! I backed it on Kickstarter earlier this year in February, alongside with a plush pouch too. This guy is a CHONK and I love it! It’s a lovely plush for cuddling due to this, but as I already have one mochi plush I use for cuddling, I’m going to purely keep Toast for display purposes. As I may have mentioned before on my blog, raccoons feel like my spirit animal and due to that I do adore them, but this is actually my first raccoon plush! I don’t think I could have chosen a better one, do you? 😛

So, there we have it guys, my favourites from September! It flew by, didn’t it? 😛 I am excited for October though due to more autumnal vibes and Halloween. 😛

What were your favourite things about September? Are you excited for October too? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all and enjoy the rest of your weekends. 🙂

Quirkory Patreon Baukery Pin Club Continued!

Earlier this year in February I told you guys I would be back at some point to show off some more of the Baukery enamel pin designs from the Quirkory pin club. Finally after seven months I’m bringing that post to you all today!

As regular readers (and followers of my Instagram) may know, not only are Quirkory my favourite enamel pin creators, but they’re also my friends, AND I’m their brand ambassador too! So, whenever it comes down to writing for Quirkory it’s always a pleasure to do and a blog post I really look forward to writing. Due to this I have been so excited to show off the rest of the designs from the Baukery collection, which was a Patreon exclusive. Maybe Quirkory will release these in their store in the future as limited edition items? Who knows, but even so I couldn’t resist showing these cuties off!

Since June 2022 Quirkory have moved away from their Baukery collection to other enamel pin collections  and Patreon tiers such as Pocketto Club (fan art), Pun Pals Club (animals and puns), and DELICOWS Club (cows and food). From what Quirkory has stated previously, the Baukery pins look to be coming back in the future, and by the sounds of through a Kickstarter! So, if you do love the adorable food and puppy enamel pins, make sure to keep eyes peeled for this in the (hopefully) near future!

So, for this weeks blog post I wanted to show you all the rest of the Baukery enamel pins, four in total running between February to May 2022.

As I said previously, talking about Quirkory and showing off their cute designs really makes me smile and it especially makes my day when I see new designs come from them. Their Patreon is amazing for showcasing any new and upcoming designs and for as little as £2.50 a month you’ll get access to all this and more! This price does not include their pin club. I’ll go into more detail of how much the pin club costs later on in the post.

At the start of October 2021, the Baukery officially opened! The name of the pin club comes from merging the Italian word “bau”, which means “woof” together with the English word “bakery”. Quirkory felt the perfect blend between the two languages represented them perfectly and hence, Baukery was born!

As you may have already gathered just by the name of the pin club, Baukery is all about adorable dogs from around the world bringing us their countries best and most knowable baked goods! I love dogs, (which I don’t think comes as a surprise to many) and as an avid lover of savoury foods, baked goods is something I adore, so, mixing the two together really did appeal to me when Quirkory first told me about their idea back in 2021!

The overall presentation of the Baukery rewards when they arrive on your doorstep is amazing and as always, Quirkory have really paid attention to every detail, which I always find to be unique to them.

The packaging for the enamel pins is adorable as it came in a white/brown jiffy bag for that month with a thank you sticker with the dog of that month on it. I loved these so much I cut out February to April to keep! Sadly I didn’t receive one for May, which made me a little sad. 😦

Alongside your enamel pin you also received a special sticker with the relevant dogs paw pad which also states which month it is. Unfortunately I’ve either misplaced the 7th month, or I wasn’t sent one.

Each pin comes in a little brown packet that resembles what you may get in a bakery when buying goods. Quirkory even went to the lengths of adding some nutritional facts about each enamel pin, as I’ve shown above. They’re all unique to each dog breed too, so it’s not like a generic sticker that has been added. Each brown packet is sealed with a ribbon sticker that has the Baukery logo on too.

The backing card is like a little book (if you will!) for the enamel pins and each one is the same with a bakery theme. One side you have the café door and the Baukery logo/sign and on the other side you had some seating outside of he Baukery café window. The café is decorated in wisteria flowers, which just give it such a gorgeous look and touch!

Then when you open up the backing card you are presented with your enamel pin of the month, as well as a “Puppy & Treat ID Card”, which Quirkory have partially filled in. I love how the “Puppy name”, “Adoption date” and “Owner Name & Signature” fields are blank for you to fill in.

The part of the backing card the enamel pin sits on is adorable too. When you remove the pin you get to see what the whole design looks like, which is a serving area in the bakery/café. I love that the dog of the month sits on the serving board.

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Quirkory and their attention to detail is 100% and I’m here for it!!!

Finally, it’s time to show off all of the enamel pins with you!

February 2022 – Canada – Labrador and sugar cinnamon beaver tail.

If there is something I learnt from this enamel pin design it’s that Labradors are a Canadian dog breed! I always thought they originated from America! I mentioned previously in February that the baked good in the Labradors mouth reminded me of melon pan (Japanese sweet bun) and how this confused me as it’s actually a sugar cinnamon beaver tail! It’s basically fried dough covered in cinnamon sugar that is said to resemble a beaver, which Canada are known for! I’d never heard of one until Quirkory announced their February pin, so I definitely learnt something new through the Baukery pin club! I love the little detail on the Labradors cheek of the blush, it’s so cute!

March 2022 – Golden Retriever and Cornish pasty.

Out of all seven designs from the Baukery collection, the Golden Retriever design is my favourite! This is another breed I didn’t know was from the UK, I even turned to Dane to ask him and he didn’t know either. I don’t know why, but when I see Golden Retrievers, I think of Canada or America, but I think this is due to the breed being so popular on the other side of the pond. Of course the UK pupper has to be holding a Cornish pasty, it would be rude not to. My reason for this enamel pin design being my favourite out of the bunch is purely for how bloody cute the Golden Retriever looks with its fluffy fur and flappy long ears! I can just imagine a real Golden Retriever running along the beach after stealing a tourists Cornish pasty! Back in February I was so excited for this enamel pin to arrive and since it has, I can’t stop looking at it. 🙂

April 2022 – Siberian Husky and strawberry bun/vatrushka.

When I was in my late teens and early twenties I always wanted to own a Husky, but since then I’ve gone off of the idea. Huskies are an adorable breed, but they’re definitely not one for me! They’re known for shedding, as well as being very vocal, two no no’s for me. 😛 This being said, I’m happy to finally own a Siberian Husky in enamel pin form, especially when it’s as cute as Quirkory’s design is! As the Husky originates from Russia, this little cutie is holding a vatrushka, a pastry in the shape of a ring with quark in the middle, as well as fruit. Quirkory went for strawberry for their Husky, which I love! The red and pink colours of the strawberries work so well with the black and white of the Husky!

May 2022 – Shiba Inu and strawberry matcha roll.

Finally for the last Baukery design in the series (for now!) we have the Shiba Inu, a dog breed I would love to own at some point in the future! As a massive lover of Japan and their culture, the Shiba is also a huge part of that and I won’t lie when I say Shiba merchandise is everywhere there, even Shiba cafes! We went to one when we first travelled to Japan in 2020 and it was such a relaxing experience. Due to this, I was really excited for my Shiba enamel pin to arrive! The little Shiba baby is holding a strawberry matcha roll, not really a bakery item I knew existed previously! Since finding out it was a thing, I really want to try or make one! I love how the Shiba is winking, as well as one of it’s back feet showing it’s toe beans! This is such an adorable design, I can’t get enough of it!

So there we have it! All the Quirkory Baukery designs to date. I really hope Quirkory bring the Kickstarter they mentioned to life, as I would honestly love to own all of the Baukery designs. As I’ve mentioned before, I love dogs and I’m all for pastries and baked goods, so the two together are just perfect to me.

I’m still hoping in the future for designs such as an Australian Cattle Dog holding fairy bread, a Japanese Spitz holding a Taiyaki fish treat, and especially a Miniature Schnauzer holding Lebkuchen for a cute Christmas theme!

Overall I just want to say how much I love Baukery, as well as how proud I am of Quirkory for setting themselves this Patreon pin club goal almost a year ago and really fulfilling it by bringing adorable dogs and baked goods themed pins into our lives and more! Looking at their enamel pin designs daily in my home really does bring a smile to my face and I’m excited for what 2022 brings for them. I’m planning on creating an enamel pin hoop or flag that looks like a park with a café to add all my pins to!

As always I’ll pop Quirkory’s stores and their social media handles below.

Store

Store (Etsy)

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Patreon

If you’re interested in Quirkory’s Patreon make sure to click on the link about so you can go and check it out! They offer

Eight tiers to choose from:

Tasty Pastry ʕ๑•ᴥ•๑ʔ.:*☆ – £2.50 per month

– ̗̀ Stationery Frens club ̖́- ʕ❀^㉨^❀ʔ – £12 per month

Gacha Club ̖́- ʕ „•̪ o •̪ „ʔ – £12.50 per month

– ̗̀ Pocketto Club ̖́- ₍ᐢ๑● Ⱉ ●๑ᐢ₎ – £13.50 per month

– ̗̀ Pun Pals club ̖́- ₍=^･꒳･^=₎ฅ – £15 per month

– ̗̀ DELICOWS club ̖́- ૮₍⍝• ɷ • ⍝₎ა❀° – £15 per month

ᴍɪɴɪ DELUXE Club ʕ„´ ꒳ `„ ʔ❀°。 – £28.50 per month

DELUXE Club ૮ฅ „´ ꒳ `„აฅ ♡ ʕ„´ ꒳ `„ ʔ – £36 per month

Which Baukery design is your favourite? Which dog breeds and baked treats do you hope to see from around the world as well? Make sure to leave plenty of answers and love for me and Quirkory down below!

Also if you would like to save 10% off of Quirkory’s store then make sure to use the code TMBQUIRKORY!

Until next time guys, take care and I hope you’ve had an amazing weekend!

Meccha Japan – Review and Haul

Guys I cannot tell you how excited I have been to write this review and haul! I have literally had the items I’m going to be talking about with you sat in the box they arrived in in anticipation! 😛

In 2021 I decided that I wanted to explore my options when it comes down to buying kawaii goodies from Japan, such as the Pokemon center, Nintendo Tokyo, Nendoroid figures and more. I’d heard about Meccha Japan for quite some time, but never really thought about buying from them before as I always get anxious when shopping with new places based in Japan. I decided to go for it though last month and ordered myself some Pokemon plushies, as well as some of my favourite Japanese candy. All items are soda themed by the way, which I thinks pretty cool. 😛

I wanted to write a review all about Meccha Japan, as when I searched online for reviews via blogs and YouTube, I couldn’t find anything! No one I knew at the time of making my purchase had ordered from Meccha Japan either, but as they had great Trustpilot reviews and you could pay via PayPal (always important for me!) I decided to go for it. Spoilers, my experience was pretty good. 😛

So, sit back and grab a hot drink and maybe one of your favourite plushies to cuddle as I share with you my thoughts on Meccha Japan, as well as the soda themed goodies I bought.

For those of you who may be asking who Meccha Japan are a Japanese online shop who sell exclusive items that only come from Japan, which range from Pokemon, Sanrio, Studio Ghibli, Nendoroid figures and even Japanese food! All items are ready and available on the website, so now requesting items or trying to purchase through third parties.

I discovered Meccha Japan in 2020 when I came home from Japan and was after some items from the Pokemon Mofu Mofu Eievui collection. I found Meccha Japan through Google searches and had them bookmarked since.

Recently the Pokemon Center in Japan announced they would be adding more plushies to their Saiko Soda Refresh line, including Psyduck, Mew, Marill and Chikorita. I fell in love with the Mew plush especially but Marill’s cute little face definitely caught my eye too! I couldn’t decide between which to order, so I really went for it and ordered both, calling it an early Christmas present to myself. 😛

One thing I wanted to mention and show here is how well packaged I found everything to be! The box wasn’t too big for the goodies I ordered, as well as a fair cost for airmail, which arrived a week after it being sent. The cost for all my goods to be shipped was £11.54 which I found really good considering. A lot of people may feel this is a lot, but considering it arrives in a week, I’m not complaining!

Plush Mew Pokémon Saiko Soda- (link)

The Mew plush is a gorgeous Barbie pink colour, with huge cobalt blue eyes and the CUTEST tag design I’ve seen since the Eeveelution Poke Dolls. This is a really nice sized plush for a collector, especially if you love Mew and the colour pink as well. At the time of purchase this cost me £11.32, which is a complete bargain! I couldn’t not pick up Mew, considering it’s one of my favourite Pokemon. I’ve really loved the Saiko Soda Refresh collection, but just never really “loved” anything from the collection enough to buy, until now. This Mew plush was my reason for finally taking the plunge for making my first order with Meccha Japan.

Plush Marill Pokémon Saiko Soda – (link)

This is the first (and probably only) Marill plush to come to my Pokemon plushie collection and it’s so BLOODY CUTE! Literally, “It’s so fluffy I’m going to die!” feelings came when this arrived! I ummed and ahhed a little bit about buying this plush, but due to the price at the time (same as Mew at £11.32) I thought it would be rude not to buy it and I’m so glad I did, as since then the price has increased. I only assume this is due to these plushies selling out and being harder to get? I especially love it’s confused and surprised looking face, which is so cute! Everything about the Marill Saiko Soda Refresh plush works and I don’t think they could have picked a better Pokemon for it. I especially love Marill’s tail too, which is really springy and cute, definitely something different for my collection. Like Mew, the artwork on the tag is so adorable!

Alongside the Pokemon plushies, I also ordered myself some of my favourite Japanese candy, Bourbon Fettuccine Gummies in soda flavour!

Bourbon Fettuccine Gummi Soda Gummy Candy – (link)

I discovered these ramune flavoured sweets in Japan in 2020 and fell in love, so when I found these on Meccha Japan, I made sure to order a decent amount… Aka five packets. I had ten in my basket originally, not going to lie. 😛 These are chewy strips that are a aqua blue colour with a sugar coating and taste of ramune, my favourite! These are stupidly cheap at just 96p a packet (at the time of ordering)! Some stockists in the UK are selling these over £3.00 which is a joke. I’ll definitely order some more of these on my next order from Meccha Japan, it would be rude not to.

Overall I was really happy with the service from Meccha Japan! Their costs are extremely fair, the delivery costs were too and overall I was just happy with how everything arrived too.

I’m already planning to order from them again in the near future and have some goodies bookmarked for next time, including, Pokemon Mew Cookie Roll Tin and Pokemon Fit Phanpy Plush.

Have you ever purchased from Meccha Japan? If so, how was your experience and what did you buy? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time all, have a great weekend and see you next week. 🙂

Shop Small UK Guide – Christmas 2021

We are officially less than two weeks away from Christmas now and DAMN it’s starting to feel real! I’m just about finished now with most of my Christmas presents in the run up to the big day, but in some cases I’ve been and still am in need of some inspiration. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve really struggling this year to find the perfect gifts for Dane, my friends and especially my mom! My dad has been the easiest person to buy for this year, which makes a change. 😛

Alongside my Christmas present woes, I always enjoy writing and sharing gift guides with you all and this year is no exception. Last year I wrote about independent businesses in the UK that you should buy from and I wanted to do that again this year. The past twenty-one months has been hard for everyone, especially independent businesses, whether or not they existed before or after COVID began. This doesn’t just apply to the UK, but I’ve seen a lot of small businesses struggle lately, and in worse cases close down due to not being able to make enough sales to keep going.

I really want to continue to do my bit in helping these businesses as much as I can. Not only do I hope it helps you gain some new gift ideas, but I also hope it introduces you to some businesses you may not have heard of before and decide to shop with going into the New Year!

I still love a lot of the small businesses I mentioned last year, so I will link that post here! I won’t be mentioning businesses again that I spoke of last year, just so it’s fair on other businesses mentioned here.

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this blog post today! I’ll be mentioning stores last dates to order for Christmas too.

Image taken from SplashJaguarCo

SplashJaguarCo – Kawaii home and stationary items inspired by Animal Crossing. Rugs handmade in West Midlands, UK.

Last date to order for Christmas – 2nd Class 18th December and 1st Class 21st December. However, as Royal Mail are struggling at this time of year due to Christmas AND the new COVID variant, please bear in mind delays may occur. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

If there is one thing people have been really loving towards the end of the year, it’s been Animal Crossing! With the new update and Happy Home Paradise launching at the start of November, Animal Crossing fans have gone mad even more than ever. If you know someone who loves Animal Crossing, as well as stationary you should definitely check out SplashJaguarCo! Not going to lie the Cookie washi tape pictured above is on my Christmas list and I really hope I get it this year. I plan to use it to decorate my diary for 2022 and more. There are various characters to choose from to have on washi tape including Maple, Marshal, Tangy, Roald, Stitches and more! A roll or two of these cute little washi tapes would make perfect gifts for any Animal Crossing fan of any age or gender, whether it be for Secret Santa, a stocking filler and more.

Image taken from BeaconCandlesUK

BeaconCandlesUK – Scented candles for Gamers, Readers and Film Fanatics handmade in Manchester, UK.

Last date to order for Christmas – The store will be closing on Sunday 19th December. However, as Royal Mail are struggling at this time of year due to Christmas AND the new COVID variant, please bear in mind delays may occur. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

BeaconCandlesUK is a brand I’ve known about for as long as I can remember now and have always wanted to order from. I can’t remember how but I discovered them through their Lavender Town candle that is clearly inspired by the town in Pokemon. Not only does it sound amazing, but it looks really cool with the Cubone skull and bone on the top of the candle too. Alongside Pokemon candles you can also get some inspired by Final Fantasy, Animal Crossing, Lord of the Rings and more! The scents sound delicious and I’m sure these would make great gifts for any candle lovers out there! I’m contemplating buying some of these for friends this year for Christmas. I feel like candles make amazing gifts for people and it’s one of those where even if you aren’t sure what smells someone will like, if you bought a Pokemon fan one of the Pokemon candles, they would be so thankful!

Image taken from PokieMinx

PokieMinx – Terrariums and vanity desk gifts inspired by Pokémon & The Moomins. Handmade in South Yorkshire, UK.

Last date to order for Christmas – Unfortunately orders for Christmas have now ended. This being said the store IS still open with items being sent 1st Class tracked and signed so they arrived within 1-2 business day. However, as Royal Mail are struggling at this time of year due to Christmas AND the new COVID variant, please bear in mind delays may occur. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

I couldn’t not share PokieMinx and her adorable creations! These would make perfect gifts for any Pokemon or The Moomins fan out there, especially if they’re like myself and have started to work from home part time. A terrarium with their favourite Pokemon inside sitting on their desk could really brighten their day. Or maybe a mirror? The Cubone one shown about is gorgeous and I can’t stop looking at it whenever I venture over to PokieMinx’s website whenever I take a look at it. Anything from PokieMinx’s store would make amazing and personal gifts for any Pokemon or The Moomins fans, especially as everything is handmade by Kimmy! There are also enamel pin/earring stands too so if you know someone who has started to get into collecting pins or earrings, these would make amazing gifts too.

Image taken from ARTBOX

ARTBOX – Cute character goods from Japan and Korea. Based in Covent Garden London, UK.

Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at the time of writing this blog post. If you’re based in or around London, the Covent Garden store will be open on Christmas Eve from 11am until 4pm. However, as Royal Mail are struggling at this time of year due to Christmas AND the new COVID variant, please bear in mind delays may occur. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

I wanted to mention ARTBOX here as whilst it isn’t as independent as some Etsy sellers and independent stores might be online, it’s a great place to buy Japan and Korea based items, whether it be online or from their store in London. I’m yet to come to the day where I actually order something from them, which might be later today! 😛 ARTBOX would be a great place to get items for your friends and family who love Sanrio, Pusheen, Rilakkuma and BT21. There are all sorts of different items to buy from and at all price ranges so it’s perfect for anything and everything. Personally I’m toying with treating myself to the PomPomPurin plush shown above, which you can pose and dress up! How cute is that?!

Image taken from Stitchtothepast

Stitchtothepast -Video Games Cross Stitch, Patterns & Kits! Based in the UK.

Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at the time of writing this blog post. However, as Royal Mail are struggling at this time of year due to Christmas AND the new COVID variant, please bear in mind delays may occur. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

The final store I wanted to mention on today’s post is about Stitchtothepast, which is a store I discovered in the summer. If you’re a newbie to cross stitch, or a “pro” like me there is loads of choose from. Personally for gifts the cross stitch kits from their store would make great gifts for anyone, especially if they’re into Nintendo video games series such as Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Zelda, Kirby and more. I personally really love the look of the Animal Crossing Celeste cross stitch kit where she’s stargazing. It’s such a gorgeous design and one I would love to do and display in my house in the future. The kits are really good and come with a cross stitch guide, a wooden hoop, thread and a thread organiser, pattern, a needle and more. If you know someone who would like to get into cross stitch in 2022, one of the kits might make a great gift for them!

So, there we have it, my 2021 guide to small shops you should buy your Christmas gifts from this year! All UK based of course. 🙂

What do you guys think? I didn’t cover off as many stores and themes as I did last year, but I felt like last years post was so detailed, I couldn’t really improve on it as good this year. Please do check out last years guide too, those stores are still around and amazing to boot!

Honestly guys, I hope you enjoyed this post today as much as I enjoyed writing it. I watched Christmas movies whilst writing, as well as chilling with Dane in our office. It’s made a lovely change sitting at my desk to do blog work.

Are there any small shops in the UK that you feel I should know about? Make sure to let me know and I’ll take a look for next time and promote on my Instagram page before the big day. 🙂

Until next time, take care all and I hope you had a lovely weekend. 😀

Something Japanese Halloween Japanese Candy Box

For over a year now I’ve been ordering Japanese candy boxes from Something Japanese and they’re something I really love. Especially when they bring out exclusive candy boxes for Halloween and Christmas!

I’ve always meant to share with you guys the candy boxes I pick up from Something Japanese, but me and Dane always end up eating the contents before I can even take photos FOR a post. Alas, that hasn’t happened this time, we’ve held off snacking on any of the Halloween goodies until next week and the weekend of Halloween. So, I really hope you enjoy this post today and look at snagging one of the Halloween Candy Boxes for yourselves.

This year Something Japanese have added more to their Halloween Candy Box than ever before, with over 35 Halloween themed treats inside. The box costs £34.99, but I snagged mine for cheaper due to a discount code. From memory due to being signed up to the newsletter, I have a feeling this is why I received a discount code. So many sure to sign up for the newsletter if you’d like to order any of the candy boxes in the future.

Before I share all the goodies we got inside out Halloween Candy Box, I want to share the monthly Japanese candy box that Something Japanese do! It’s call AmaiBox, which I’ve tried before and is by far one of the best monthly boxes I’ve tried to date. The AmaiBox comes in two sizes, Giga (from £28 per month) and Mini (from £20 per month) and you can choose to order the one month or three month subscription. Depending which box you pick up you’ll receive Japanese candy such as:

Candy bags, which could include Puccho (which I LOVE).

Popular snacks such as Japanese Kit Kat’s, Pocky, as well as Nintendo characters.

Dagashi, which means cheap/small candy in Japanese.

Japanese drink (only in Giga), which could range from ramune soda, canned coffee, or maybe even Japanese flavours of Coca Cola or Pepsi.

So if you are interested in that, make sure to check out the link I shared previously!

To add here by the way, Something Japanese don’t just create and sell Japanese candy boxes, they do also sell Japanese products range from food and snacks, anime/pop culture figures and merchandise, as well as traditional Japanese gifts. I discovered them at Hyper Japan back in 2015 and have been shopping with them ever since! So, do make sure to go and check them out if you fancy picking up some yummy Japanese snacks.

Now I’ve gone through the AmaiBox, let’s show off the goodies we got in our Halloween Candy Box!

Last year Something Japanese brought it with their box design and this year is no different. The box has a cardboard sleeve around it which is orange and black, with the name of the candy box, as well as the company name on the front and back of the sleeve. I was so excited when I opened the parcel it came in. On the bottom of the sleeve it does give you some ingredients as well as warnings, which I’ve shown above.

One thing I love about the Japanese snack boxes from Something Japanese is although the box is simple, you open it up and the goodies are displayed nice and neat and ready to eat! Oooft, I love that. 😛

On the lid of the box when you open it there is a postcard, which has a spooky trick or treat logo designed and a pumpkin, which asks you to turn over the card. I won’t show what is on the other side as there is an exclusive discount code for the Christmas Candy Box! I’ll definitely be ordering the Christmas box when it’s released, as I did last year and really loved it. If you guys would like to see me share the Christmas box after reading this post, please let me know in the comments! 🙂

Anyhoo, it’s time to get into the goodies we’re all ready for! If any of these items are available on the Something Japanese website, I’ll make sure to link them.

The box itself is FULL of Halloween pumpkin confetti which is so damn cute! I want to keep hold them to use in some crafts, but I probably won’t. 😦 There’s also an enamel pin in here of the United Kingdom flag and Japanese flags together, as well as a special little thank you card.

Tohato Pokemon Chocolate Flavoured Corn Puffs – These are available all year around in a standard packaging, but I love that they’re out in a limited Halloween bag too! So cute!

Pocky, Pretz and Kit Kat – You always get some of these snacks in these boxes, which I always love and enjoy! This year it looks like we have strawberry Pocky and tomato Pretz… Not sure how I’m feeling about the latter! We also have cinnamon and apple Kit Kat which you can buy on Something Japanese’s website here and here.

Umaibo Puffed Corn Stick Halloween – I feel every box that Something Japanese send out, they always have the puffed corn sticks in! Sometimes we love them and sometimes we hate them. This Halloween edition is corn potage and pumpkin Umaino. These are available to buy individually on the website but unfortunately are sold out.

Lotte – We have various snacks here including some chocolates, koala cookies (which you can buy all year around), as well as a chocolate pie, which I’m REALLY excited to have!

Fujiya – Again, various types of candies here with their character Peko featuring on all the snack packets. It feels like the packets contain chocolates and wafers, which will be really yummy! The bigger packets also have games on them, which are clearly meant for children to do after enjoying the snack.

Morinaga – It feels and looks like we have another chocolate pie, AHH! Which means me and Dane can have one each! The other packs appear/do contain chewy sweets, with the one coming from a Hi-Chew candy mix bag that Something Japanese sell on the website. I’m not a massive Hi-Chew fan and much prefer Puccho, so Dane will probably have this sweet.

Meiji – My favourite Japanese chocolate! I wish I’d tried this prior to going to Japan, otherwise I would have brought shit loads back with me. You get a couple of little bars of chocolate, ranging from black (dark) and milk chocolate. Alongside that there are some tangerine chewy sweets and by the looks of the packet, some strawberry chocolate. I’m really excited to try all of these!

Bourbon – All the Bourbon goods look AMAZING! All chocolate based and yummy, can’t wait to try these, especially the triangle, which looks like it might be cake.

Miscellaneous – Here we have loads of random candy that I lumped into one photo! These range from chewy sweets in the shape of spiders, marshmallows, lollipops, chocolate wafers, chocolate, hard sweets, etc. These will be very much shared and enjoyed whilst watching a scary movie over Halloween.

Overall I am incredibly impressed with the Halloween Candy Box that Something Japanese sent out this year! Whilst I was writing this post Dane kept asking me when we could eat the goodies… Now this post is written and photos taken NOW IS THE TIME!

What do you guys think of the Halloween Candy Box? They’re still in stock, so will you snag one before Halloween next week? Do you already have one? Let me know in the comments.

Sorry to dash, but I’m off to enjoy my Halloween Candy Box!

Until next time though guys take care and have a lovely weekend.

Nyanzilla The Elementalists Enamel Pin Collection

This is a blog post I’ve been looking forward to writing for a few days now since these adorable AF enamel pins arrived! Well, it’s been on my blog “do write” list for a while, but instead of talking about something else this weekend and wait until August to share these… I’ve sort of swapped my blog post schedule around. 😛

I hope you guys enjoy this weeks blog post! It’s all about Nyanzilla and their beautiful Elementalists enamel pin collection! None of these pins were gifted to me, I bought them all with my hard earned monies. 🙂

At the start of 2021 I mentioned Nyanzilla on a blog post of a enamel pin collective haul (which you can read here). This was the first time I’d ordered anything from Nyanzilla, which was an enamel pin from the RPG Job Class Enamel Pins – Warriors of Cute Kickstarter.

At the start of February this year Nyanzilla launched The Elementalists Enamel Pin Kickstarter. They have previewed all the upcoming enamel pin designs on Instagram and I was SO excited for it! I knew I was going to back for all of the designs and had zero regrets about it! I can’t 100% remember what happened but I know now that the Kickstarter in qu3estion is now subject of an intellectual property dispute and is currently unavailable… Which is rubbish! I wish I could have shown you guys the Kickstarter.

I know that due to being in the UK my Kickstarter pledge was cancelled by Nyanzilla and moved over to Etsy for payment and such. This was handled really well and Kanae even offered to throw some freebies in too for being so understanding.

The Elementalists collection is a Pokemon Eeveelution collection inspired by mages. As someone who often plays as mages in games (especially Elder Scrolls!) and also plays D&D, I knew I loved the collection! It’s something I haven’t seen yet. The first design for this collection was actually posted on Nyanzilla’s Instagram almost a year ago late August 2020! Eevee, Leafeon, Espeon, Umbreon and Glaceon’s designs were shown at the time, but it wasn’t until late January 2021 where Nyazilla posted about this collection again, as well as showcasing the rest of the Eeveelution designs (Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon and Sylveon).

As mentioned I backed for all nine designs, as well as one special design I fell in love with and HAD to have. Originally I was only going to back three designs, those being Eevee, Vaporeon and Sylveon. I’m honestly so excited to show these off to you guys! I’ll be linking back to Nyanzilla’s website as The Elementalists collection won’t be on Etsy. If you are from the UK/EU you can email Nyanzilla in regards to what items you would like to buy and a custom listing will be placed on Etsy for you! 🙂

I’ll be talking about these pins in their Pokemon numbers, because why not!

All designs are available in both their original colours, as well as their shiny colours too, which is an awesome touch! Just an FYI, some of the titles below for enamel pins will be missing their descriptions and this is because they don’t tell you anything more than what the title of the product does anyway!

I want to mention first of all that I didn’t receive any form of customs charges, which surprised me! I was prepared for this, as I spent so much money on these enamel pins, but alas I dodged it… Whether it was due to paying the VAT on Etsy or not, I’m unsure!

The package itself and how everything was presented was really nice! Everything was wrapped in blue tissue paper, with a Nyanzilla sticker being the first thing I saw when I opened the box. It says, “Thank you Adventurer! Happiness boost inside!” which I thought was a really cute touch.

Inside the package itself was of course the goodies I bought, but there is an adorable card/print as well as thank you for backing and supporting the Kickstarter campaign and a discount code to use on the online store! 😀

The image on the card is an Eevee making a potion up! It says “25th” along the table cloth and I wasn’t sure if this was that I was backer number 25 or something else… It’s actually to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pokemon this year! I know this happened this year but completely forgot… And to think I call myself a Pokemon fan… 😉

I received some stickers in my parcel, as well as the enamel pins. I’ll be showing off the stickers first!

The stickers are amazing quality as they’re thick and have a matte feel/look to them, so I’d like to think they’d be long lasting!

• Vinyl Sticker: Sleeping – Cute little vinyl sticker of Sleeping Elementalist. – $3.50 – (link)

Look at this little cutie! It’s an illustration of Eevee sleeping on a book outside. It looks tired out after researching mage spells! It’s such a lovely design and I’m glad I have the sticker version of it. I have a feeling this was a freebie from backing the Kickstarter. This is also available as an enamel pin, which you can find here.

• Vinyl Sticker: Little Helper – Cute little vinyl sticker of Little Helper from the Elementalist collection. – $3.50 – (link)

I’ll be honest, Mimikyu isn’t a Pokemon I understand all the fuss about… But this Eevee x Mimikyu design that Nyanzilla has come out with is adorable! I’m pretty sure this was a freebie from Nyanzilla, which is really lovely!

• Little Helper Enamel Pin – Cute little helpers of the Elementalists! – $10.00 – (link)

Alongside the sticker, Nyanzilla also sent me a freebie of the enamel pin version of this! Like the sticker it’s an Eevee x Mimikyu design wrapped in a snuggly brown hoodie, with some Eevee ears and a cute and derpy little face. I much prefer this design to the original Mimikyu design to be honest with you. 😛 This enamel pin is gold metal plating.

• Flying Enamel Pin – Elementalists are powerful magic wielders each mastering an element to aide them in their journey. But they must also master the ways of flying! – $14.00 – (link)

This is an enamel pin designed I backed for with the Kickstarter. I couldn’t resist it, it’s so adorable! As you can see it’s an Eevee riding a broomstick, with a cute little brown hat on, behind a glitter blue sky! This is a huge pin and definitely the biggest lot of the bunch I received! It just makes me happy whenever I see it and because of that it’s up there in my favourite designs from this collection! This enamel pin is gold metal plating.

• Magic Portal Enamel Pin – Elementalists are powerful magic wielders each mastering an element to aide them in their journey. This is a magical portal the Elementalists use to travel great distances. – $14.00 – (link)

From memory this is an enamel pin that came free from backing the Kickstarter campaign. It’s a gorgeous glass window style design with an Eevee surrounded by all its Eeveelutions and elements. The types of Eeveelutions look exactly like the base energy cards seen in the Pokemon Trading Card Game. This is a gorgeous enamel pin though and I’d love to see it as a keychain that’s see through or a sticker! This enamel pin is silver metal plating.

• Elementalist Enamel Pin – Elementalists are powerful magic wielders each mastering an element to aide them in their journey. Where all Elementalists begin, the first step in choosing their elemental path. – $12.00 – (link)

The Eevee design, the main one from the bunch and it’s one of my favourites! I love how Eevee is wearing a cute little brown fluffy coat, alongside with an Eevee shaped staff too! Eevee looks ready for the winter weather, that’s for sure! I love the little smile on Eevee’s face too, as well as the subtle design on its coat. This enamel pin is gold metal plating.

• Hydro Mage Enamel Pin – $12.00 – (link)

This is another one of my favourite designs, if not my favourite out of them all! Vaporeon has always been one of my favourite Pokemon as I love it’s mermaid/dog look. This design is beautiful though and I cannot get enough of it. I love the flowing blue dress it’s wearing and I especially love that their staff has a Horsea at the top! The detail on this one is amazing and I just can’t get over it, plus the colours remind me of summer holidays in Fuerteventura, which I equally love. I semi regret not getting the shiny variant of this one too, I think I will in the future. Purple is my favourite colour and as this is up there as my favourite design, it’s kind of silly not to? This enamel pin is silver metal plating.

• Storm Caller Enamel Pin – $12.00 – (link)

I love what a little rogue Jolteon is always seen to be, but this design really does show that! The snaggle tooth is my favourite bit about this design for sure! I also love how fuzzy his coat is, it makes him look semi royal and important, which I love! His staff doesn’t stand out to me as anything… unique like some of the others, but it’s definitely cool! I also love how grumpy and serious he looks too. Nyanzilla really nailed this design. This enamel pin is gold metal plating.

• Ember Mage Enamel Pin – The Ember Mage is the Master of conjuring and controlling the flames. – $12.00 – (link)

This design is up there as one of the ones I feel had a LOT of detail put into it, which I always love! I feel enamel pins can never have too much detail. Flareon is surrounded by fire, even the staff is made out of fire! The pop of blue on the outfit really does stand out, which I like as it feels a little bit like the cloaks colour got lost amongst Flareon’s red/orange fur. I feel like Flareon isn’t as serious as Jolteon, but that sort of, “Don’t fuck with me or I’ll burn you…” look going on? 😛 This enamel pin is gold metal plating.

• Mystic Enamel Pin – $12.00 – (link)

Both of the gen two Eeveelutions have a VERY similar theme going on, in the sense they are clearly have face coverings on, which I really like! It makes them appear more mysterious, which they both are amongst the other Eeveelutions. Espeon is a gorgeous purple colour (of course!) and I especially love how much detail was put into their staff, which clearly is to resemble the sun. Their face covering only seems to cover their mouth. A sun brooch is also on their cloak too. This enamel pin is rose gold metal plating.

• Shadow Mage Enamel Pin – The Shadow Mage is the Master of controlling the dark energy. – $12.00 – (link)

As mentioned above, both of the gen two Eeveelutions are sporting face coverings, Umbreon however has more covering their face than Espeon. Umbreon definitely has a darker design than Espeon with their black and yellow cloak. I love that their mouth and nose are covered up as with the darker colours it makes it look more mysterious, if that makes sense! Umbreon’s staff is of a moon and the design of it is really detailed, which I love! This enamel pin is gold metal plating.

• Druid Enamel Pin – The Druid harness the power of nature to protect and aide them on their journey. – $12.00 – (link)

I actually think this is the design with the most detailing on it and due to that it’s up there as one of my favourites! The Leafeon design reminds me of Radagast the Brown The Hobbit, but this is kind of obvious why, isn’t it? 😛 The colour scheme of this design is one of my favourites and I especially love the white themes brought into it too with the flowers on Leafeon’s cloak, hat and staff. The staff is so pretty too to boot. Just everything about this pin is gorgeous! It reminds me of my friend Sarah (Raiin Monkey) as I know how much she loves this design. This enamel pin is gold metal plating.

• Frost Mage Enamel Pin – The Frost Mage controls the battlefield by conjuring storms of snow to slow their foes. – $12.00 – (link)

The Glaceon design is so pretty and it kind of reminds me of the White Witch from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The design is gorgeous and I just love every aspect of it! Glaceon’s cold stare, the snowflake staff, to the fluffy cloak. The colours of this one are perfect too and I especially love that it’s silver metal plating too! I can just imagine Glaceon being a bad ass and not standing for anyone’s shit. Again, this enamel pin is silver metal plating.

• Fairy Enamel Pin – $12.00 – (link)

Finally we have another one of my favourite designs from this collection and one I feel is a firm favourite from a lot of people who backed the Kickstarter campaign! The Sylveon design has a fairy theme to it and the design looks so playful and happy out of all of the designs. Sylveon’s whole outfit reminds me of a cross between Little Red Riding Hood and someone who is into Japanese Lolita fashion. Sylveon’s staff is also a heart shape, similar in style to the staff that Jolteon is holding. I especially love the fact Sylveon is winking. Like Vaporeon, I would love the shiny variant of this one too. This enamel pin is rose gold metal plating.

There we have it guys, all of The Elementalists enamel pins! I’m so glad I decided to get them all, as I know for a fact I would have regretted it and scrambled to try and buy the other designs at a later point.

I know in the future I’d love to pick up some of the shiny variants of Vaporeon and Sylveon, as well as the prints of Eevee, Vaporeon and Sylveon. I’ll be looking to pick some goodies for Christmas too… 😛

Alongside the enamel pins, Nyanzilla did also bring out vinyl sticker sheets and prints of all The Elementalists designs. If you’re interested in any of these, I’ll pop a link below for where you can view the whole collection. Alongside that, you CAN also buy all nine of the Eeveelutions enamel pins in bundle set, which I’ll link here.

Store

Etsy Store (UK and EU customers)

Instagram

The Elementalists Collection

What do you guys think of The Elementalists collection? What are your favourite design(s) and which would you pick up? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time all, I hope you’ve had a lovely weekend so far and make sure to keep safe during these times.

From Japan Pokemon Eeveelutions Haul

Almost a couple of months ago now, I decided to write about From Japan on my blog with a review of the proxy service, as well as showing you guys my haul from my second order. You can read all about that here.

I’m here again with yet another haul! This time it’s from my first order I made with From Japan in April, as well as my third order I made in June.

I know you guys loved when I spoke about From Japan before, so I knew when my first and third orders arrived I wanted to share what goodies I bought with you all!

I really hope you enjoy this post today, it’s such a hot weekend so grab a cold drink (or even better an ice cream!) and get in front of the fan as you read this post. 🙂

I mentioned on my From Japan review previously that I’d made my first order with them back in April and I was still waiting for my goodies to arrive! I’d decided to ship via surface mail, which is notorious for taking MONTHS. Alas, my order took almost 3 months to arrive, but better late than never and it was definitely worth it!

First things first, if you’re happy to wait ages for your goods to arrive, surface mail with tracking is fab… But I definitely prefer airmail! Your goods come within a week and they always usually have tracking too.

Anyhoo, the first item I want to talk about on my haul post is the Pokemon TCG playmat from the Eevee Sweet Choices collection. It’s so cute and it’s actually from me ordering this that I decided to get my own desk in our front room/office.

The packaging it came in was great and it even arrived in its original packaging! The playmat is in perfect condition and has now found it’s place on my desk, which I adore so much! It only arrived on Thursday but in the short time I’ve owned it, it looks great on my desk and I’m so glad I finally made the jump at not only ordering it, but using From Japan to get it.

As far as I’m aware this playmat was a Pokemon Center USA exclusive, so I can only imagine the person who owned it in Japan before me must have imported it. It’s been a longgggg way! 😛

Shortly after my second order arrived, I started to order items for my third order. I’ve been after the Eeveelutions Pokemon Dolls from 2017 for quite some time now. I bought Flareon back when they released, then Espeon and Umbreon a year or so later and finally Vapreon shortly after that through a Facebook group.

I was still missing most of the Eeveelutions and had been keeping my eyes peeled on Facebook groups, eBay and stores similar. When I was in Japan in January 2020 I looked in stores too, the only Eeveelution Pokemon Doll we came across was the Vaporeon one, which I already owned.

I’d already starting searching for the remaining Eeveelutions I was after on From Japan, with some showing loads of results, others showing very few and one not at all! It was definitely a challenge and I wanted to share with you some of the struggles I faced this time. FYI none of these struggles are any fault of From Japan!

To try and find the Pokemon Dolls I was after, I searched for just that both in English and Japanese. As I mentioned on the previous post about From Japan, you can use Google Translate to help you with getting the rough translation. This result showed not only plushies, but figures too. This took some time when trying to just locate certain Eeveelutions, but it made for something chilled to do whilst watching something on TV.

Whenever I found the Eeveelutions I was after, I would add to my watch list/favourites and order when the time was right! Sadly, some orders were cancelled and fell through. This could either be due to someone ordering the item(s) before me, or just because of proxy seller issues.

The Eeveelutions I needed to complete my collection were, Eevee, Jolteon, Glaceon, Leafeon and Sylveon.

Eevee was the easiest and cheapest out of the five to get hold of! Before shipping I only paid 800 yen for this, which in pounds is £5.36. Complete bargain!

Jolteon was the hardest to get hold of. I’d actually found someone selling the American version (tag was different) for £45! I was close to buying it, just because I was beginning to see no light at the end of the tunnel, but glad I didn’t. I was refusing to ship all of the Pokemon Dolls I’d bought to me until I’d found this one. You get 45 days to ship your goods to you, something I was starting to get closer and closer to. Alas one day I was randomly having a search around From Japan for this Pokemon Doll and low and behold… I found it! I didn’t hesitate to order and worried a few days after that it may get cancelled for reasons. Thankfully this didn’t happen and as soon as it arrived at the From Japan warehouse, I shipped my goods to me! This Pokemon Doll only cost me 2,200 yen, which in pounds is £14.72.

Glaceon wasn’t straight forward and if anything was kind of stressful. The person who had listed the cheap Eevee Pokemon Doll also listed a Glaceon for roughly the same price. However, the order got cancelled as someone else had snagged the bargain ice Pokemon quicker than I had. I quickly ordered a back up I had in my watch list/favourites, which was painful considering how much more it was. I paid 2,700 yen which in pounds is £18.15. It was worth it though!

Leafeon was one of the easiest I ordered alongside with Eevee as it never got cancelled and it seemed to be a popular Eeveelution Pokemon Doll for sale too, making it really easy to find. It’s such a cute Pokemon Doll, it’s one my friend Sarah (Raiin Monkey) owns so whenever I see it, I always think of her. I paid 2,600 yen which in pounds is £17.40.

Sylveon was fairly easy to get hold of, but it was also the most expensive! It appears whilst people love Sylveon, they also don’t seem to love it as much considering how many of them were listed on From Japan. The prices seemed to rise every time a new listing was made for it too, which is crazy! I paid 3,851 which is pounds is £25.77, quite the price jump from the previous Eeveelution Pokemon Dolls, but totally worth it!

These arrived a week after I paid for airmail shipping and they arrived in a bubble wrap style package. I expected a box to be honest with you, but due to them being plushies it worked out fine! Some of the plushies (as you’ll see from the photos above) had tags, which I didn’t expect from some of them!

As always, I’m really happy with all the goodies I bought from From Japan and they’ve all arrived in perfect condition.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nat🦊Kawaii Content Creator🌸 (@theremightbecoffeeblog)

I posted a reel on my Instagram page all about buying these and it has done SO WELL, which has really made me smile. I’ll pop it above so you can see it. 😉

A lot of people have already asked when I’ll be making a fourth order with From Japan… But I don’t know the answer to that question yet. I’m trying to be good with money since I bought my car. I am planning to use From Japan more in the future to buy my Pokemon goodies (old and new) as well as more! In the future, would you guys like to see a post of my From Japan wish list? 🙂

What do you guys think of the goodies I ordered and had arrive From Japan? What’s your favourite? Who is your favourite Eeveelution too? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

I know the UK is not only a very warm place right now, but a bit scary too with restrictions being lifted from tomorrow. So, until next time please take care all and feel free to drop me a DM on Twitter/Instagram if you ever need someone to talk to. ❤

July Wish List ‘21

I can’t believe we’re already over a week into July! I also can’t believe Halloween is just around the corner too, as well as Christmas. Not going to lie, I love summer but damn am I excited for autumn in September! I have so many plans this year. 😛

I feel like July on my blog is turning into a strange month for posts. Nothing has really come out in the pattern/order I wanted it to and this is just purely because June felt like a long month for me and a tiring month at that. A lot of stuff was happening and although I had a week off work, I don’t at all feel rested.

My Twitch streams are keeping me busy too and I have so many ideas swirling around for the future of Twitch and more… I want to “announce” it here (if you will…) and say that I’m hoping to do YouTube in the future. I don’t know when, but I have so many ideas going around my head after a friend of mine planted the seed.

That aside, I’m really excited for this months wish list! Some items are pre-ordered and some I’m really hoping to order… More below of course. 😛

I hope you guys are having a lovely weekend and if you’re watching the football (I’m not :P) I hope you get the results you hope for. 🙂

• Pikachu Tonal Chain Wallet by Loungefly – (link)

If there is one thing I kind of lack in, it’s shoulder bags. I only really have one (my fake Samantha Vega Sailor Moon shoulder bag) which is my go to, as well as one of my favourite bags as Dane bought it for me back in 2015 when we went to Hyper Japan. The fact it’s still lasted six years later is great! However, I would like something else to use alongside this and this Pikachu Loungefly bag looks to be the one for me! It’s available from the Pokemon Center USA website, but I’m going to source elsewhere me thinks. It’ll be one to use if I’m just popping round to friends, or going out for food/drinks. Think I might treat myself to it at the end if the month!

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2022 Day-to-Day Calendar – (link)

I found out about this through Twitter and pre-ordered is straight away! As many of you know, I LOVE Animal Crossing (I stream it twice a week on Twitch too :P) so when I saw they were bringing out a little day-to-day desk calendar I was tempted. However, when I found out it have villagers birthdays featured on the day in question, I kind of knew I had to get it for my desk! It’s out at the end of the month and you can pre-order one yourself from Amazon now. 😀

• Smoko Pearl Boba Tea Beauty Fridge – (link)

As regular readers will know, I LOVE Smoko and the items they have out, especially the Asian food and potato characters. I’ve been eyeing up the fridge on their website for what feels like years now, so now it’s come to Urban Outfitters in the UK I would really like to pick it up! I very much doubt I will though, but I wanted to show it off to you guys in case you want to get it! 😀

• Pokemon Plamo Collection Mew Plastic Model – (link)

This is something that has been on my wish list for quite some time now and I’d still really love it! I think it would be so much fun to get, make a video of me putting together/stream me putting it together. I’ve not seen anyone in the UK selling this, but I have found it on From Japan, as well as Amazon Japan (linked above) so I think as and when I want to make an order from either in the future, I’m going to pick this up. I want to keep this little cutie on my desk next to my Sylveon capchara (can see and read about it here). I think there’s loads of these you can choose from too including Pikachu, Eevee, Gengar, Mewtwo, etc. If you search for “Pokemon Plamo Collection” on Amazon Japan you’ll see them all. 🙂

• PomPomPurin Bell Charm Netsuke Strap – (link)

This is something I’ve been after for a while and actually found it through a seller on Etsy, but wasn’t 100% sure so left. Now that ARTBOX has it in stock I may order it when payday comes at the end of the month! I’d pop this bell charm on my Loungefly PomPomPurin backpack! I’m planning to show that off on my blog in the future, which will be so cute! 😀 I do really love ARTBOX, but I’ve never actually made an order with them!

• The Sad Ghost Club Sad Ghost Plush – (link)

Finally we have a pre-order item that I ordered last week after it released. The owner of SGC decided to bring out a plush of the Sad Ghost and I couldn’t resist! For those who may never have heard, SGC “We’re a small creative project making comic books, apparel and merchandise to spread positive awareness of mental health.” which I adore. It makes me feel less lonely and understood when their posts relate to how I’m doing that day with my anxiety and depression. So, when I saw that they’d brought out a plush of the little cutie, I had to order! This little guy will sit with my plushies in my plush cabinet! If you’re really interested in getting your own Sad Ghost, please make sure to snap him up now because it’s only a limited edition item with one run!

Anyhoo guys, those are my wish list items for July! I’m on a spending ban this month in all honesty due to buying my new car, but I’m going to start spending less now, because I need to. I think I’ll have a few treats a month and then that’s it! 🙂

What items are on your wish lists? Do you like what’s on mine? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below!

Until next time guys, I hope you’re having a lovely weekend and take care. 🙂