JAPANESE DECORATED CELL PHONES HOW-TO TUTORIAL. DIY LAPTOP DECORATIONS, CUTE MOBILE CHARMS & STRAPS, SAMSUNG FOREVER TOUCH SCREEN PHONE.
My cell phone had a cracked screen and dented case from the zillion times I dropped it. Time for a replacement. I’m too poor for a Blackberry or iPhone (the plans are so expensive), but I’m very pleased with my new Samsung Forever. Texting-wise, the touch screen is a vast improvement.
A new mobile means… time to customize! First, I peeled away the protective plastic covers and turned OFF the keytone sounds (two of my pet peeves). Then I bought a new ringtone — Combichrist’s All Pain Is Gone — because I like industrial, and for the laugh factor (when someone calls, the phone screams, “This is the dayy, the dayy I dieeeee! Alll painn is gonnnnne!”). Next, I took a photo of my squishy Scottish Fold cat and set it as the wallpaper.
The best part: decorating the backside. I looked at blinged-out Japanese cell phones for inspiration (above). However, I didn’t want anything too three-dimensional, such as a plush teddy bear or giant strawberry — it would surely come off. And I didn’t want to buy new craft materials.
So I covered my mobile with Alice in Wonderland stickers and gems from Daiso and Tokyu Hands. I coated the bare areas with glitter nail polish, taking care to avoid the camera and stay within the lines. Finally, I painted several top coats with clear nail polish, to make sure the stickers adhered. (Tip: open the windows. How I was woozy from the fumes!)
You may remember my laptop and notebook decoration tutorials. (Click here to refresh your memory.)
My new laptop runs circles around the old one, but it wasn’t sufficiently heavy metal. While at Magic clothing tradeshow in Vegas, I picked up free stickers from Goth and alternative clothing brands. I stuck them on my laptop lid; ta-da, J-rock computer. (Isn’t Basil Farrow’s mouse toy scary? It looks so real.)
You can decorate your Nintendo DS case, hair clips, cell phone straps… anything in your possession! (Check out the Fancy Pocket examples above.) All you need are basic kawaii/decora items such as stickers, charms, nail polish, gems, beads, glitter… and your imagination.
Have you tried decorating your laptop or cell phone? Do you have a photo of your pet as your mobile’s wallpaper?
PS: come check out my latest CNNGo articles…
† The 5 worst (meaning best) Asian bad-girl b-movies. Pinky Violence Japanese killers and kung fu madams!
† 10 moments of pure Asian geek brilliance. Rickshaw robots and otaku choreographed dancing changed the world. Or didn’t.
Song of the Day #331: Combichrist – All Pain Is Gone (What is your current ringtone?)
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HOLLYWOOD MAGIC CASTLE, PRIVATE VIP CLUB FOR MAGICIANS, MAGIC SHOWS & LIVE PERFORMANCES IN LOS ANGELES.
Adventure Team, assemble! Our mission: to infiltrate the Magic Castle, a private Hollywood clubhouse open only to accredited magicians, wizards and their honored guests.
The Academy of Magical Arts gathers in what was once a private mansion, built in 1909. The manor is teeming with Victorian paintings, howling gargoyles, red-velvet-and-gold theaters and other accouterments fit for Harry Potter.
To enter the castle, the Adventure Team had to whisper a secret password to an owl sculpture: “Open Sesame.” Our journey though the labyrinthine halls was full of inexplicable phenomena. A piano played by Irma, the Castle’s resident ghost. Tables that spun; portraits of ancestors with moving eyes.
In the Close-Up Gallery, we sat before Jheff, a young magician who bewitched us with his sleight-of-hand. He was usually a whiz at remembering names, but ours (understandably) gave him some trouble. “Your name is what? Carmina? Ok, and Yu… how do you say it? Yoo-kee-roh. And your names are… Lemon. Ementhy. Oh Jesus.”
Jheff: “What brings you to the Magic Castle?”
Me: “We are the Undead Heavy Metal Adventure Team, and this is a stop on our epic journey!”
Next, we saw 23-year-old Nathan (winner of 22 awards) perform close-up magic in the Parlor of Prestidigitation. He wowed us by shuffling a deck with one hand, predicting our pick and pulling the card out of thin air. “And that’s just ridiculous,” he’d exclaim to the cheering audience.
Onward to M Cafe on Melrose — my stomach rumbles as I recall our macrobiotic, organic feast! (It’s one of our favorite places in LA to eat — remember these photos from last fall?) Brown rice sushi, soy lattes, eggplant and shiitake inari… heaven.
No meal at M Cafe is complete without dessert. The strawberry cupcake is amazing, and the chocolate raspberry fudgy cake… you may have to fight over it!
Are you enchanted by magic? Have you or anyone you know been inside the elusive Magic Castle in Hollywood?
Song of the Day #330: Mylene Farmer – Desenchantee (One of Mana-sama’s favorite artists. We blasted as we were driving in our Goth-mobile!)
LA CARMINA
