ginko

this is the project ginko leaf card, from architette on etsy.
just yesterday i was saying how it's not really that cold yet, although it's december. suddenly that has changed, and it feels like winter has arrived. i spent a bit of today under the heated kotatsu table, and that helped. for the last few weeks, the yellow ginko leaves have been blowing off the trees, and piling up on the sidewalks here and there. i love the shape and color of them so much.

abundance by mizu designs

i've been a fan of mizu designs for a while, and i am loving her new mixed media work with sumi ink drawings and japanese washi paper.
here's a detail of the same piece, entitled abundance. the theme definitely resonates with how i've been feeling recently, like my life is so very full there's no time for even blogging!

but mainly i love the materials. i've been playing with some washi paper i bought last week, designing some light fixtures. and also i've been learning a little tiny bit of japanese calligraphy, using sumi ink.
you can get a peek into kylie's studio on her blog. and her mixed media work as well as other prints are for sale at http://mizudesigns.etsy.com.

little envelopes

last weekend i made these little envelopes using origami paper, and this mini envelope template from muji, which i've also listed in my shop.
it was so gratifying just to make something, a quick project using my hands.
i still love brown kraft paper too, especially for using with cute japanese washi masking tape.
also, i tried printing with white ink on some brown waxed paper envelopes i picked up last week,
which i also really love combined with masking tape. they are not in the shop yet, but may make it there soon...

bright colors lego and paper set from muji

here's another one of the wonderful lego and paper sets from muji.
it has clear and bright colored legos, and bright colored paper too.
one main theme is undersea life: fish, jellyfish, seaweed, and even seahorses.
girls and butterflies
and my favorite: mushrooms and a gnome.
the projects above come printed on heavy cardstock, so you can just cut them out, punch the holes, and put them together with the legos!
in my shop.

merry christmas

i first learned about this image transfer technique years ago in college, and this is a great tutorial on poppytalk.

i spent most of today baking cookies: russian tea cakes, a new gingerbread recipe, and my first time to attempt christmas stollen. i realized later that i forgot to take any photos! i'll try to make up for it next time, and let you know the verdict on the stollen after it has a chance to cool.

merry christmas! i hope you are enjoying today with the people you love.

lego paper punch from muji

here's a little example of what can be done with the excellent lego paper punch from muji,da-ta! it comes with a template for perfectly sized and aligned lego scale circles, which you can then easily punch out precisely with the punch, which is classic muji simplicity plus quality.
the lego sets come with some 1 dot legos, which are perfect for this kind of project (the same reindeer shape from yesterday's post, which i copied from the lego christmas set).
or this one, which i just made up. but the point is, this is a really fun toy to use!
it's really satisfing to punch the holes and then have the legos fit just right. and i can only imagine that for a real lego fan, it would be even more amazing.
here's the template in action.
here's what the punch looks like from below, which is clear so you can see exactly where you are punching.
this side of the box shows the steps: draw, punch, lego!
and this side shows the exact dimensions of the hole punched.

i've added the punch to my etsy shop; right now it seems like the punches are available, but the paper and lego sets are limited in supply, since they have been very popular here in japan for christmas.

a few crafts in progress

here are a few little crafty projects i've been working on. i copied these reindeer from the muji lego christmas set.
more sashiko--maybe one of these days i will be able to show you this project finished!and some christmas ornaments, made with washi making tape (it's addictive, i can't stop!) and using the pattern from twig and thistle.

lego and muji

here's a sneak peek of the new lego sets from muji, which are a brilliant combination of paper and legos. the sets include lego blocks, and paper patterns that you can cut out and use as is, and more paper that is pre-punched to fit the lego blocks.
the standard set
includes paper dolls,
and this wonderful dragon. at the top of this picture is the special punch (sold separately, and on back order right now) that includes a template and is easy to see exactly where you are punching, and of course the holes are the exact size to fit legos!

there are these animals and caterpillers too.here's what's included in the christmas set: legos, and pattern paper, and plain paper.
these little card stands are clever.
and these christmas patterns are what i want to try this weekend!

i'm planning to have these in the shop soon, but if you want more info or to get on the pre-order list, just let me know at feltcafe@gmail.com. the punches are on back order since they've been very popular here for christmas, but i should have a few this weekend, which can ship by EMS in time for chistmas.

tanabata

tanabata is a summer holiday in japan, celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th month (traditionally of the lunar calendar). the story of tanabata is of 2 lovers, orihime a weaving princess (the star vega) and hikoboshi a cowherd (the star altair), who are separated by the milky way, and only allowed to meet once a year on this day. complete wikipedia info here.

bamboo trees are hung with paper strips with wishes written on them, the image above is from this site which shows how to make some of the tanabata paper crafts (sorry it's japanese only).

happy 4th

Frustrated Firecracker, originally uploaded by wildolive.

for everyone in the u.s., i hope you are having a nice 4th of july weekend.

you can print out and make your own version of this firecracker decoration by using the instructions at http://wildlolive.blogspot.com. (it's under the july 2008 printables).

i don't really mind missing the 4th of july, but i do miss grilling out (as those of us from my part of the midwest call it), and backyard barbeques, potato salad, and deviled eggs.

lisa hannigan

lisa hannigan's beautiful solo debut, sea sew, is complemented by some amazing and beautiful craft projects. for one thing, she stitched ALL the words from the liner notes onto linen.

in the first of the two videos below, she turns the pages of a wonderful handmade pop-up book, and in the second, she creates an entire landscape from cut paper.