Monday, July 28, 2008

Japan!


Handmade gift from a friend
Thanks a lot for the many comments on my last entry
with happy birthday wishes ;) I sure had a great
Birthday and now am having a fantastic time in Japan!
Back Home here in Gunma, Japan! Hooray!
It's been only a couple of days since we got here,
but I already have lots of pics that I want to
share with you. This is a crafty blog, so let me
start off with crafty talk.


I think the best part of blogging on crafts for me is
how I can meet people through online who share the same
interest. I met this girl through my Japanese blog a long
time ago. She is seriously absolutely one of the most 
talented girls I've met. (well, I haven't met her in person
unfortunately though.) She makes great soap, grows natural
herbs, and owns a store in Nagasaki, Japan, where handmade
items from lots of people are sold. She does things I like
to do or would like to do. I love meeting this kind of people.


Anyways, this set of the little pouches is from her ;)
She used vintage linen from Czechoslovakia which she dyed
with Marigold flowers to create this little pouches.
How fun?! I absolutely am in love with it.


She included other handmade items that I believe aren't
made by her, but they are fabulous as well!
Two linen coasters with a cute key stamped on it.


Back view. These are just so cute!!
All of a sudden, I felt like I want a surger!
It must be super easy to make this type of coasters
and they will make great gifts, won't they?


And some hair accessaries! I love the items themselves,
but I really am inspired by this presentation too.
Such a pretty way to wrap up gifts. Inspirational!!



Ok, I've been inspired pretty much everywhere since
I got back to Japan. Zakka stores, craft books at
bookstores and at my home, and of course fabric stores!
Where I'm from, Gunma, is not a place where you can
find lots of cute things compared to big cities like
Tokyo and Osaka. Since I used to live in Tokyo for a
couple of years, I always thought Gunma to be a boring
country place, but let me tell you..this place isn't
bad at all now that I have an experience of living in
a place like San Jose.


I'm not a big fan of zakka, but I think zakka stores
are awesome, because it's a nice place if you're looking
for gifts or simply just inspiration. Zakka stores are
seriously everywhere in Japan.


They are always full of fun ideas!


Oh how I loooove this character.
What is this called? 'Moomin' is what we call.
I used to watch this cartoon as a kid.


My 3 kitties here would be jealous of zakka if I
didn't write how cute they are too. This kittie is named
Oto. Very furry and such a cutie! He has been at my home
for the longest so he's got a little attitude against
other two, but he is so cute.


Blacky, who my sister found on the street and brought
home a couple of years ago. He is the most mellow one
and loves everyone. Now he is purring next to Joe.


Shiro. He is a brother of Blacky and was also found
by my sister at the same time. He is the very sensitive
one of all. He wouldn't let anyone pick him up.
He scratched Joe's finger yesterday when he was
sitting on Joe's clothes in his suitcase.

They are all so cute. I'm a big cat lover!
I missed being around kitty cats!


Lastly, let me show you a couple of pictures that
show more Japanness!! This is Joe's third time in
Japan. He keeps trying to convince me that we should
move to Japan. It's so funny how someone who grew up not
knowing almost anything about other cultures can
suddenly change their viewpoints/lifestyle by
exposing himself to a new culture. I always think
about this looking at him eating fish and miso soup
for breakfast with a facial expression that shows
as if he's been doing this since he was born.


I find this picture to be a great representation
of how things are a lot smaller in Japan.
Joe is only 5 foot 8, less than the average in
the U.S. Look how gigantic he looks in this country!
No wonder he loves Japan!

Ok, it's time to get going to get a haircut
from my friend! Thanks for reading!!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Drawstring Bags

drawstring bags

Oh my oh my! I feel bad slacking off on updating
my blog these days! I've been super busy. That's all it is.
Busy life equals the least creation coming out of my sewing
space and that results in the lack of things to write about here. haha

Anyways, these drawstring bags above are the most recent
things I've made. I made these for my friends to give on
my birthday. Oh, yes! I had my fabulous 26th birthday
on July 23rd! I got to get together with my friends and
had a great dinner at the Elephant Bar Restaurant.
My friends are so super sweet!!



Vy gave me this really nice, cute bag.
Isn't it lovely?! The best thing about this is...


it's reversible!! I truly love it!
I want to make a bag like this. Such inspiration!


skirf

Another cute thing I want to show you is this vintage
scarf I found in one of vintage clothing stores
up on Haight street in San Francisco.
I love that area. There are so many stores that carry
vintage stuff that thrills me.


Joe and I are leaving for Japan tomorrow morning and
will be back on the 21st of August. Unquestionably,
I'm REALLY excited. I'm sure I'll take hundreds of pictures,
and I'll show you ones that are somewhat craft related
like fabric I find there and/or cute zakka stores.
And!! Remember I'm having a giveaway of things
from Japan once I get back. I'll try my best to find things
that are super cute and rare, so please look
forward to it if you're a big Japanese things-lover!


Here comes another pretty fabric basket!!

heartFabric Basket by Nanette

Rickrack on top! What a great idea!


Thanks for reading!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Great America


This amusement park is just 5 minutes drive from where
I live, but I never had a chance to go there for some
reasons, but I finally made it yesterday.



I hadn't ridden a roller coaster for the longest time ever..
probably it'd been several years since the last time.
Oh my how those roller coaster drove me crazy yesterday!
But it was simply a BLAST!


Justin getting soaked because of splashes from everywhere.



Me and Jennifer riding a log.
Such a fun time!!



While I don't have any new sewn stuff to show,
I have these crafts to introduce for you guys!

heartAnother camera case by Eve

heartFabric Basket by Pina

heartFabric Basket by Rhonda in OK


These are so pretty and looking at them makes me
want to spend a lot of time with my sewing machine!


sewing



Thanks for reading!



Monday, July 14, 2008

Pouch Completed!

my 4th logcabin pouch!
my 4th logcabin pouch!

Here is the fourth logcabin pouch completed!
4th one? Oh my goodness! I never thought I would make
that many out of this challenging project!
When I worked on the very first one, which I think was
about a little over a year ago, it took me
a couple of months to complete. Seriously.
I was way overwhelmed with how difficult it was
to bring the logcabin into a pouch, so I procrastinated
finishing it up for the longest time, hoping that
that was the most difficult thing I've ever made.

But the fact is I can clearly tell that I'm just
getting better and better at working on it!
By repeating this project, I have learned what I
was not good at and what I could do to solve the problems.

I still can't say I'm fully confident with this project,
but I am feeling more and more comfortable,
partly because of your cheerful encouragements, guys!!
Thanks sooooooo much for sweet comments on my logcabin
pouches and custom orders of the pouch!
You sure help me gain confidence and make my life sweeter!


B-day gift from Kim ;)

Oh here is another happy thing!
Kim, Joe's mom, my American mom I would like to call,
sent me this surprise birthday gift for me!!!
The birdie which she made using this great pattern
by Spool Sewing and the pincushion beneath it are her handmade items;)

Aren't they so cute??!! I love what Kim makes and
love making her creation my own. *smile*


Kim was one of the people who motivated me to
start sewing. Among all the fascinating things
she's created, I was absolutely in love with...



Christmas stockings she's made.
When she showed me the stocking (the 3rd one from the right)
and said it was mine, I felt something really warm
inside of me and knew I want to be a mother who can
do that kind of things for my children in the future.


Thanks a lot, Kim, for your sweetness
to send me such a great gift...!
I love everything you got for me!!


Thanks for reading!




Saturday, July 12, 2008

4th logcabin pouch / thrift


My fourth logcabin pouch in progress

Here is a shot of my fourth logcabin pouch in progress. ;)

Patchwark Pouch

The very first logcabin pouch that flew to my sister's in Japan.

Logcabin Pouch
Second one as a custom order that also flew to Japan.


Another logcabin pouch
And this third one that has recently left for Australia.

Logcabins are so much fun. There is something about a logcabin that is so interesting,
happy, and entertaining. I love working on it. I smile seeing my logabin
getting larger and fancier as I work through. Fun!



My favorite kinds of fabric changes often.
I was once really into traditional Japanese fabric and
collected a bunch but soon lost much interest in it,
(which I now really don't know what to do with besides keeping
in the stash in a drawer..) Once I was in love with some modern
designers' fabrics and again collected a lot. My point here is
that my current passion has been toward vintage fabrics!!!!
When I start liking something, I go as far as I can. Nonstop!

This beautiful vintage fabric is what I purchased from
Magpie Mary in her etsy shop. This awesome seller carries very
pretty vintage items for affordable prices. If you like this fabric
I just bought, go ahead and grab some for yourself , otherwise
I might go back and buy all up!



Here is one of my recent thrifted fabrics. I've been thrifting as usual
and making my thrifted goodies go out of control a little.
Isn't this pink fabric pretty though?! Not sure if it's vintage or what,
but this can make a nice bag, I bet.



When I caught a glimpse of this purse, I almost gasped. "Are you for real?
New Amy Butler's purse at this thrift store?!" As soon as I grabbed it,
someone walked by and told me that I was so lucky to find it.


No kidding! Even though I am usually not interested in purses at
secondhand stores (because I can make them), I could tell it was
such a great find and there was no question whatsoever I was getting it.
It will be for my middle sister. She loves girlie things like this;)



The last showoff here for today is this super duper cute paper!
The direction says it is to place in drawers because it's repellent
against bugs like ants, roaches, and silver fish.
I'd never heard any paper that could do that! Oh my!
I just thought this vintage design is so cute.


Time to introduce nice creations!!

heartFabric Basket by …Pensieri…

heartFabric Basket by Jodi

heartCamera Case by Elizabeth

Cute Cute Cute!! Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful works!



Thanks for reading!