Saturday, March 20, 2010

Pincushions, etc.

custom pincushions

What a boring title for this post, I know.
Sometimes it's so hard to come up with a good
title when I have many different things to write
about. Pincushions, wedding-related talk,
Joe's birthday talk, fabric basket, silk-screened
fabric, etsy update - not so easy to combine these
all into one short cool title.

Some of you might recall that I made lots of
pincushions just like ones above last year.
In fact, I made so many things with the penguin
fabric, didn't I? I am just in love with the print.

These ones above are custom pincushions that
are flying off to Australia soon. It seems that
it's not only me who just adore penguin designs!

susan1

This is another pink log cabin pincushion.
(I warned you that you'd see it soon again!)

susan3

But this one isn't a poodle, but a birdie.
I like it either way! The scissor print is
from a newest collection of Suzuko Koseki's
fabric which literally made me go crazy
when I discovered online. Way too irresistible!!
You can view the whole collection here and here.
I've got a few prints already, but I want MORE!!

pincushions2

This is a fabric basket I made very quickly
in the evening of March 16th. March 17th is
such a big day for us every year; St, Patrick's day +
Joe's Birthday + Our Anniversary. This year,
Joe turned 26 and we celebrated our 6th anniversary.
As a part of birthday gift for him, I made a pair
of pajama shorts and this fabric basket.

The pajama shorts didn't turn out too well,
so let me pass on the picture, haha.
(luckly, Joe likes them and he's been wearing
them ever since he's got them.)
I think the fabric basket turned out neat.
I might have told you here before, but the
only male-friendly fabric I have is traditional
Japanese fabric. Joe loves traditional Japanese
stuff, so I knew he would appreciate a basket
made with these prints. Now, it's been used
to organize his athlete foot cream and ear plugs
- even inside is male stuff!

Oh as for our wedding plan, it looks like
we'll finally be able to get a marriage license
next week! I'd heard that I'd need a birth certificate
for this process, so I asked my mom to send me
copies, translated into English, and had my
friend verify it. Joe spent an hour looking for
his birth certificate in the garage today, but
the only thing found was a photocopy of it.
(Would it work? Does anybody know..?)

be2-1-2

It's a lot of work!!!! It looks like the wedding
itself isn't too bad, but the toughest part
is going to be changing my visa status.
Since it's too much paperwork, most people seem to
ask a lawyer to take care of everything, but
I decided to do everything on my own. For one,
no money. For two, it will be a great
excuse to be staying at home while looking for
a job after my graduation in May.

Paperwork isn't the funnest thing, but I am
really excited to become "married" and
of course, to wear a wedding dress, although
we still have no clue when the day will be.
(I just bought a simple casual dress for the
ceremony at the court - good enough, right?)

pincushion3

Coming back to crafty talk, some of you have
asked me to write a tutorial on screen-printing.
Thank you for the great idea, but I feel like
there are so many cool books and youtube videos
on it so it might be silly if I wrote up a tute.
My favorite book on silkscreening is Printing by Hand
by a great painting artist, Lena Corwin.
This book is absolutely amazing. In the book,
she presents so many different ways to print
on various things like fabric, cards, and walls.
And every method is very clearly depicted in
step-by-step photos so that it's so easy to follow.
I learned a lot about silkscreening from this
book, but what I had to learn from somewhere else
was how to burn images to create stencils.
The book recommends having it done by a local
art supplies store, but since I bought this nice
silkscreen kit
that came with everything I needed
to burn images, I really wanted to learn how to do it.
Some Youtube videos helped me a lot to get hand
on it, and it turned out that it's pretty simple.
If I gain more confidence, I might write a tute
on it but until then go ahead and watch videos
like this and this and google silkscreen tutorial.
There are great free resources on it everywhere online :D

pincushion4

I've listed my newest collection of silk-screened
fabric collection in my etsy shop.
As usual, fabric sheets are sold as a set of 3 sheets.
This time, I have a few listings that are for 6 sheets
that are sold at a discount price. Each sheet of the fabric
for these sets of 6 sheets has a minor flaw such as a little smudging.
Most words
are safe, but a few words may appear to have
a small
smudge like..

pincushion5

This may not affect a big project but maybe a small
project. Again, most part of each sheet is just fine
but it has one or two words that you may want to
avoid using if it is to be used for a small project.

And again, please let me know that you came from
here when you snatch anything from my shop, I would
love to add a little gift!!

Also, Thank you so much for those of you
who have purchased my silk-screened fabrics!
I hope you liked what you received..!
If you made anything with my fabric, feel free
to make sales. And if you blogged about what
you made with the fabric, can you let me know
so that I can look at it and have a good day.
I'll also link to your post in my blog ;)

Anyways, thanks you for listening to me
for a long time..! Hope you are all having
a great weekend..!!




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25 comments:

  1. cute cute! adorable and well done as usual. I think you do need an official birth certificate and not a copy, but you can purchase one: http://www.ehow.com/how_2002271_copy-birth-certificate.html

    :)

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  2. Very pretty.

    Check with your state to see what's required, but I'm pretty sure you need an official, notorized copy, not a photocopy.

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  3. You have been busy as usual. I love that fabric basket but as yet have not made one. It is so versatile. I was recently "blogging" around and found one sitting on a German blog site with a link back to your site. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. I can't wait for my special screen printed fabric by YOU! I'll let you know when it arrives....I think it must be hanging out in customs.

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  5. Your stuff is gorgeous! (as usual) lol. I would have to agree with other commentators that only an official birth certificate will do because I had a certified extract of mine from the registry and even that wasn't good enough for obtaining replacement drivers license. They made me apply for a new official copy. (which costs money!)

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  6. Love your website! About the birth certificate - requirements do vary from state to state. I do know that the raised seal is required for a copy to be used/valid in our area. Good Luck!!!!!!!!

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  7. We got married by the Court. I had a simple dress...one that I wore out to dinner for several years after for dinner to celebrate our anniversary. 22 years this past year....who says you need a big wedding...all you need is two people who love each other. Congrats.

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  8. i truly love ur blog..its amazing ..inspiring..i lov u work...gone through each n every post of urs in past few days...keep going..best of luck with everything(this is the first time iam commenting on any blog..but i had to:)luv u

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  9. I became a citizen in 1986. It was a ton of paper work and the immigration department not very cooperative. I had to prove that I could read & write English even though I had proof that I was educated in the US. At any rate, the immigration department kept "losing" my paperwork. I complained to my congress person and everything went much smoother. Don't be afraid to complain if you think your paperwork is being "lost".

    ttfn :) Yuki

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  10. I love your cute creations, as always! And wow, so many exciting things are going on in your life... your graduation, wedding planning, changing visa status, etc., etc..!!

    かなり昔の話になりますが、私が夫と結婚した時も国際結婚の手続きは自分達でしましたよ。確かに大変でしたが自分で出来ないことはないと思います。当時でも多額の弁護士料をセーブできたので助かりました。あゆみさんならきっと大丈夫、頑張って、応援してます!! 

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  11. Oooh, wonderful random collection of sharing!

    I've been waiting and waiting for something perfect to make a fabric basket for, and Hubby gave me my very own car. I've never had my own, and I'm so excited. It needs a matching basket for car stuff.

    BTW - If you gave your fiance a guy basket and he put girl stuff in it, it would have been kinda creepy.

    Love the wee little bird cage!

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  12. I love your new pincushions! It does sound like a lot of work to get things ready for the legal side of getting married. At least you have the romantic part of the wedding to look forward to! And early congrats on your graduation!

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  13. Hi Sweetie,
    Let Joey know not to worry, I can easily get an official copy of his birth certificate if he can't find his (should be in an envelope with a copy of his immunization record and his soc. security number). I love the pin cushions. I am currently making a bag holder for myself, like the one you made for Grandma Barbara. Hope you have a good week!
    Love you,
    Kim

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  14. Very interesting collection that combines the pleasant with the useful.I love this!

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  15. Beautiful blog...I'm glad I have found you :o)
    ♥ Erika

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  16. Love your blog. It is so inspiring and I'm glad I found you, too!
    Can't wait to make some of your fabric baskets. A little worried about the boxed corners but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

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  17. Hi! I'm new here, just found you because Sew Retro speaks so highly of you. I just found her about a week ago. You two have some serious talent though and I can tell I will be highly inspired by you. Love those last two pin cushions you made. The squares are so perfect. Have to be honest with you I am terrified at the thought of trying something like that because I've never quilted. Is that one of your tutorials on the side? If so I might have to suck it up and give it a shot. I'd love to have one that gorgeous.

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  18. So lovely, I love the white-brown-pink pincushion!

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  19. What a nice and cute creation! I like it so much! The prints are so attractive!

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  20. I have officially made three dozen of your amazing little baskets and have given away every one except my first. I am especially proud of one that I offered as a giveaway on my blog (PiecefulDays.SquareSpace.com) and custom made for Duff (Bacontheneggs) to match a painting she had above her mantle. Hop over to my blog or hers to see it. Thanks for a great site!

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  21. I realy love the fabric basket, it is simply gorgeous. Thanks

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  22. Hello Ayumi, I was speaking with Jane's Fabrics and Quilts....I would love to have you as a guest blogger at Stash Manicure. our audience is growing ( today over 112,000 visitors this month) and I have been listening...many would love a tutorial on pin cushions and your fabric baskets...would you be interested? I think you are the perfect person for this...connect with me at madamesamm@cogeco.ca Love to connect

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