Mayoi as a bunny? Why not? :3 I was beyond happy when I finally got her last weekend and had already posted a few shots of her that day which was posted on my Facebook page. She's such a cute Nendoroid and I've already made a few photo sets for her together with the others but I'll be sharing this one first.

I used a cute pink bunny costume (from an old doll) and made major alterations to it so it would fit Mayoi. It was such a good day to shoot outdoors and the morning sun just made the lighting so perfect. :) 

Here's what I did to make the costume fit, I taped the loose part of the costume behind her back, making her look chubby but she looks super cute anyway, so it's okay. :3

I also have white bunny and a brown bear costume which I've yet to shoot together with my other Nendoroids. I wish I could find a tiger costume for Taiga LOL. 

Love, Pinkcheeks~

It's thelove month and I'll be sharing my first ever couple shoot (LOL) of my Danboard pair. I choose the prom theme because it's romantic, and it brings so much memories during my highschool years. I made this mini stage at the floor (as usual) complete with christmas lights and folded foil wrappers to create a flashy yet subtle backdrop for them.

I've always wanted to have one! I made this out of frustration because I couldn't find any tutorial out there. I'm also feeling crafty lately so I became totally resourceful and decided to just make my own. 

So here I'm going to share you how I made my own Japanese table, not a Kotatsu, this one is uhh, simpler. XD Using all the materials you could find at the bookstore, I'm pretty sure you can make your own table in a jiffy. ;) BTW, I made this for myself and I just like to share what I learned during the process and suggestions/comments/reactions are very much welcome! I'm still a newbie when it comes to building things for my precious toys. :D

To make your awesome table, you need the following:

Pencil

Chopstick

Cutter

Scissors

Illustration board

Brown cartolina/board

Ruler

Glue

1. You need to measure the table first. I took the ruler and the chopstick, then used my Nendoroid to measure the height to its scale. Mine was half inches, almost up to Sawako's knee. 

2. I've started with making the table's feet first, so after measuring half an inch, I took the cutter and proceeded in cutting little 4 pieces. 

Be careful in using the cutter! :)

It should look like this after cutting a small piece from the chopstick. 

3. It would look awkward if the table's feet has a different color than the table itself so I cut small pieces of brown paperboard and wrapped it around the feet so it would look even.

4. It should look like this...

Now make 4 pieces of those as well.

5. Now as for the table, I took the illustration board and measured it by 3" x 3" inches. (this is just my size, you can make any size you want :)

After cutting the board, it should look like this.

6. Placing the small board I made on the brown paperboard, I measured half inches per side before cutting it. This extra measurement will get wrapped around the table so it wouldn't look edgy.

7. I then glued the brown paperboard to the small board I made, making sure I covered all edges.

8. This part is where I folded the edges of the brown paperboard around the small board so it would look even and not too edgy.

9. I also made sure that I glued the sides completely. 

I might take a while for the glue to get dry, so I asked for Sawako's help to press it down. XD

VOILA! There you have it, a DIY Japanese table! Again, this is my idea, my own way of creating things, if you have questions, message me at ilovepinkcheeks@gmail.com and I'll be happy to chat you up!

Oh, I've already posted some pictures at my Facebook page for this table and I'm pretty much happy with it already. I've already started using it in my Valentines theme photoshoot, so see you again in my next blog post!

To the readers of my blog, I'm sure you'd all notice by now that I always take Mayoi with me. She's a great travel buddy and looks like a traveler too like myself, with that pink back pack and all, She's always ready to go places! 

Last weekend, we went camping at Mt. Batulao in Nasugbu, Batangas and the view on top was breathtaking! Nature tripping feels like therapy for me, and as I have mentioned previously, that's where I belong when I do toy photography! ^_^

See that? I went up and down those ridges!

Mayoi seemed to enjoy trekking too, here she is walking around the grassy trail with her pretty umbrella.

Hiking is a very tiring activity, but she doesn't mind, she still looks cute!

Mayoi enjoys the scenic view on top of Mt. Batulao.

I hope you enjoyed this set! Oh and thank you Good Smile Company for sharing my photo! I super appreciate it! 

I really encourage you to travel with your toys! Go out and have some fun! ^_^ 

Love, Pinkcheeks~

"Why do you love toys so much?"

Just answering that question makes my right eyebrow raise for the lack of indefinite subject that question has. It's indefinite because I wouldn't know if I'm going to answer on the collecting part or on the photography thing which I usually do. 

I'm sure all toy lovers/collectors/enthusiasts would agree with me that they've heard that question so many times that they already had a pre-made answer to their brains to snap back to that clueless someone. To name a few, well, they're your parents who even include the age talk to back up that question; then there's your non-collector friends who just stare at you like you're some kid stuck in your past; then maybe your BF/GF who even gets jealous of your precious toys and demands the unknown just to take you away from them (oh the horror!). 

Those are just a few people who would dare to ask the above question, I'm sure you have others. As for me, I give them answers and I never expect them to understand me, which I'm sure they never will, but what do I care since I'm happy with my hobby. "Non me ne frega" an Italian phrase I use to say when someone's nose is up on my business again. (I've been studying Italian for quite some time now ^^,)

Here's my reasons why I couldn't get enough of this wonderful hobby life (I coined that from GSC XD)

1. It takes me my own special world.

I've taken photos on different fields like portraiture, landscape, events  photography, but there's something so different when it comes to taking photos of toys. There's this kind of immersion between you and the subject and it's like you're on another world together with them.

I felt I was fighting ninjas along with Momohime as she sweeps and clears the fields.

Saber took me chasing cars on the street during our night photography session.

I lazed in the sun together with the Mayoi and the Minions at the beach.

2. They became alive in pictures

I have discussed this before that toy photography is an art of bringing toys to life. If landscape photography lets you capture the dynamism of a picturesque view, toy photography makes you bring the life out of a toy's stillness. For me it takes skill and I've seen a lot of awesome toy photographers who have taken this skill to a whole new level. Here's my example and some others from those awesome toy photographers that I admire.

Ryougi Shiki here just finished her last kill for the day...but that stare makes you want to think she's ready for more. My most gruesome photo to date.

A favorite from Kixkillradio, Kirino looks like she's inviting you to hang around with her in this cozy model of her room.

Just a recent favorite from Klon, whom I saw at MFC, the impressive post processing in this image made Saber look so life-like.

3. It makes me happy

Yes. The bottom line of this all. It makes me really happy, combined with the reasons I mentioned above. I don't care if I looked like a kid stuck with my toys, or an idiot crouching on the street or wherever, just to take a good angle of a photo. The joy of seeing the output is what I'm after. Toy photography opens me up to become young again, the part where I see the magic and boundless creativity within my imaginative mind. 

How about you, what are your reasons? :D

Love, Pinkcheeks~

Someone is pretty happy with what she got last Christmas...

It's a brand new pink bike!

It fits her just right, she could go places with it!

Oh look she found Psyduck!

Now they can go places together! Hope he doesn't get confused along the road though. XD

There goes my first set this year! Ohh my it took me so long! I had been busy during the holidays and stuff.. T^T I haven't even organized my PO list for this year. I'm so getting a Nendoroid Mayoi! ^_^