The Games We Play

Home made originals tagged me on her blog recently and it's my turn to return the favor.

The rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

7 Facts About Me
1. I pole-vaulted in high school.
2. I’m a SAHM.
3. Proficient in making balloon animals.
4. I can play the drums.
5. A.A. in Graphic Design
6. B.S. in Business
7. Full fledged foodie

Tagging 7 People
1. Chace of Oh the Cuteness creates zakka style handbags which you can find on her blog and at her Etsy store. You can also find other fun accessories at her store.

2. Michelle Frae of Faerie*Dust*Dreams, dreams up enchanting crowns which you can purchase at her Etsy store. She also carries other whimsical items.

3. Togu has a wonderful blog that shows off her zakka crafts.

4. Kecia of Lemoncholy’s flight of fancy creates fabulous whimsical sculptures among other things. I’m sure you’ll find this blog inspiring.

5. Joselan of Cutesypoo makes wonderful felt toys. She’s also into zakka, Tokyo fashion, and manga among other things. Besides, anyone who can make an illustration of a poo look cute is alright in my blog.

6. Lucy at My Byrd House has some wonderful sewing tutorials on her blog. She also has a great pesto recipe, mm.

7. Lynn of Mollychicken has the best pictures of all her Japanese Craft Books. Currently she has pictures up of a lovely afghan blanket she made.

How to Make a Lace Web

I recently purchased an economy size roll of black lace so naturally I've been thinking of what I could use it for. Some where along the way I thought up the "black lace web". What's great about this web is you can throw it over any table cloth. It's also easy to store. I think a smaller version would make a great place mat as well. Directions are below. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. You can find my address under my profile.

You can click on the directions to make them larger.

Halloween Bento

Well, I thought I'd try my hand at making a Halloween bento. I had this idea for some time now and have been waiting for the chance to try it out. Tonight we had enough rice left over from dinner so I figured it was now or never. Overall I think it came out okay. They can't all be winners. My son on the other hand would disagree. He was begging me to eat it while I was taking the pictures. Funny, it's the same thing we had for dinner. I don't recall him so excited to eat then. In fact, as I'm typing I can hear him in the background slurping and saying yum. I guess everyone enjoys good packaging.

Japanese Crest Coaster

Here is just one of many beautiful Japanese Crests out there. Because most crests are round in nature, I thought it would make a lovely drink coaster. Below are the directions to make this coaster.

Supplies
crest template
two black felt circles(3 1/2 inch diameter)
maroon felt for the crest
black and maroon embroidery floss
scissors
sewing needle

Directions
1. Pin the template on the felt and cut out the crest.
2. Top stitch the crest to one of the black circles (refer to picture).
3. Place the second circle on the back of the black circle(this will hide all the stitching) and top
stitch the two black circles together. Stitch all around the edge of the black circle (refer to picture). Done

* I tried a blanket stitch for step 3, but I found it took away from the design.

reinventing the foam sticker: Part II

I had the idea one day to make stamps out of foam stickers. And I'm glad to say, it works!

All I did was stick the foam sticker to a juice cap. Make sure your cap is flat. You now have a new stamp for pennies!


To make the card above I cut out a heart to create a stencil. Then I placed the stencil over the card and stamped the inside of it. Remove stencil. Done

zakka tissue cozy

Here's a tissue cozy I designed, zakka style. Just in time for cold season.

Supplies
cream 4 PLY worsted weight 100% cotton yarn
size 6 knitting needles
large sewing needle
small piece of ribbon
vintage button

Directions
Cast on 40 stitches (leave a tail for sewing)
knit 24 rows of rib stitch (K1 P1)
row 25 bind off (leave a tail for sewing)

your piece should measure roughly 6” by 4 3/4”

* adjust the size depending on your tissue size

you can click on the image above for a larger view

If you have questions about this project, email me. You can find my email address under my profile.

reinventing the foam sticker

Here's an easy way to keep track of guest's drinks at a party. Just write the name with a felt-tip pen on a 3-D foam sticker. You can find foam stickers in just about every theme. This would be great for those up coming Halloween parties.

sippy-ki-ay!

I've been hording yogurt containers with the idea that I'll make something out them. Then it hit me, sippy-cup containers. I don't know about you, but I'm always losing them or misplacing them. Once at the zoo, my daughter dropped hers into the lion's den. No joke. It's as if I have bad sippy-cup karma, if there were such a thing. So here's my answer, disposable sippy cups made out of plastic yogurt containers. All you need to do is cut a small x on the top of the lid and pop a straw in it. Done. Even if you don't have kids, you might want to keep some on hand for little visitors. Your floors will thank you for it.

Washi Fan Card

One of my friends was cleaning out her craft supplies and gave me some pop-up sponges she was getting rid of. That was the inspiration for the card. This card would also make a great piece of artwork if you placed it into a shadow box. Here's how I used the pop-up sponge to create this card.

Supplies
washi paper (* important you use washi origami paper)
mizuhiki cords
glue
hot glue
black card stock cut to 81/2" by 51/2"
tape
scissors
pop-up sponge

Cut the pop-up sponge into a fan shape. I just eyeballed it. Don't worry about it being perfect.

Glue the sponge on the back side of the washi paper (just a tiny amount of glue, you don't want the paper to warp). Wrap the sponge like a tiny present (use tape).

This is how it should look when you finish wrapping it.

Take three pieces of the mizuhiki cord and bend into a "S" shape. Tape down in the center of card. Hot glue the fan over the tape. Last, cut out some flowers from the washi paper you used. Glue them to the card underneath the mizuhiki cord (refer to picture). It's best to do this last because it's hard to predict where the mizuhiki cord will be. Done.

Here's another card with the same concept. I used cardboard, batting, and fabric to make the heart. The possibilities are endless.

Some of my Art work

"Father and Son"

Thought I'd share some of my art work. Both pieces were done by stippling. First I draw the image out on "hot press illustration board". That's the easy part. Then very meticulously, I take a black ink Micron 005 pen and make dots to create the image. The dots are about the size of a pin head. Once the image is done, I erase any pencil marks showing. When stippling an image, keep in mind for every square inch it takes about 1-2hrs. It takes a lot of patience but the results are great. And if you think stippling is hard enough, I created the "Father and Son" piece in the middle of the night, while sleep deprived from my newborn.

It's the Little Things that Make Me Happy

A Daiso Japan Store just opened up near by so I had to check it out. I found all kinds of cute things. Here's some of the loot.

Cupcake holders (each cupcake holder has a cute picture inside it)

Self sealing foil envelopes, top reads
"Here's happy news! Learning develops you intelligence and learning makes you more sensitive"


Cafe Stationary



This was my favorite find, Monkey Mini Mayonnaise Cases! The little bananas underneath there faces are actually spoon handles. The rest of the spoon is inside the case.

How to make Felt Hair Clips

I first saw these kind of hair clips on the Angry Chicken's website. After that, I started noticing them everywhere. They were so cute that I had to try my hand at them. The above clips are my original designs. To download directions click here. To print out directions you might have to adjust your printer margins. I was able to print these on a standard printer.