Washi Tape Stop Motion Video

 

It should be no surprise by now that I like all things washi tape.  So when I stumbled upon this stop motion video by MT Tape, I had to share. The MT Youtube channel has other videos as well.  I haven't viewed all of them but it looks like most of the videos showcase their events. Enjoy.

Washi Tape Label Maker

Have you seen this washi tape label maker?! I just discovered it and I love everything most things about it.  First the obvious, it can print on washi tape.  Two, it looks just like a little vintage suitcase. Cute. However, I don't care for the price ($100 on Etsy).  Also, you can only use the Coharu brand washi tape with it.  What do you think about it?  Would you buy one?  What would you use it for?

Examples of fonts and images it prints on the tape.

Origami Totoro Finger Puppets

Have you seen the animated film My Neighbor Totoro?  The film is about two sisters (Satsuki and Mei) who move to the countryside.  There they discover their new neighbor is a forest spirit called Totoro who can only be seen by children.  The film is directed my the famous director,animator and manga artist, Hayao Miyazaki (who just recently announced his retirement, BTW) . The film has been around for awhile, 1988 to be exact.

Promotional poster for the movie My Neighbor Totoro

During the summer my children watched this movie for the first time and they absolutely loved it.  That inspired me to see if there were any directions to make an origami Totoro.  I actually found quite a few but I chose this one to share because it's very easy to make and it's a puppet.  It's very similar to folding an origami cup. 

 

For the grey Totoro I used 6-by-6 in/15-by-15 cm paper.  For the little blue guy I used 3-by-3 in/7.5-by-7.5 cm paper.

Hello Sandwich + Martha Stewart = Awe-Inspiring Crafts

Most of you are familiar with Martha Stewart's blog and maybe even and the Hello Sandwich blog.  But did you know there's a Hello Sandwich x Martha Stewart craft blog?  I stumbled upon it a while back and have meaning to share about it.  There aren't a lot of posts on the site yet.  However, the crafts you will see are absolutely delightful.  Check it out and tell me what you think.

A Christmas Card with A Surprise

 Photo Credit: The Witchcraft

The other day I was just clicking link to link, looking for new sites.  Ever do that?   Usually it ends up being a big time waster but that day I made a wonderful discovery.  I found the The Witchcraft blog which I promise you has nothing to do with witchcraft and everything to do with lovely, lovely crafts.  One of my favorite projects on the site was this Christmas card.  One of the first things I thought while I was looking at this was, "what happens when you pull the string".  Want to see?  Scroll down.

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 Photo Credit: The Witchcraft

Ta-da! What happens is you get the cutest little paper Christmas tree.  There are even directions on the site how to make this ornament.  Click here for the full tutorial on The Witchcraft.

Happy Friday everyone!

Glow In The Dark Lucky Stars

Look what I found at Kinokuniya,  glow-in-the-dark lucky star paper!  Have you heard of such a thing?  I've seen a lot of glow-in-the-dark products but never paper or lucky star paper for that matter.    Well, for $2.50 I had to test it out.

Like a child with a new toy I closed myself into the closet to see the paper glow but nothing happened.  So I figured they just needed to charge up with some light.  After a few good hours of sunlight, I tested the paper out again.  Still nothing happened.  I was starting to think I got a dud but I refused to give up.  Finally, I decided to take the paper out of the package.  And low and behold that's all I needed to do.

*This paper is shorter than most lucky star paper.  It's only about six inches long.  It's barely enough to fold the stars.

And here they are, all in their glorious glow-in-the dark state.  

These little stars might come in handy for Halloween as part of a costume or decorations.  One could dress up in all black and glue these on to make star constellations.  Or you could make them into  bracelets for children when they go trick-or-treating.  Curious, what would you use them for?

If you've never seen lucky stars before, check out this tutorial on how to make them.

Craft: Mizuhiki Bracelets

Hope all of you had a nice weekend.  I spent mine doing a little crafting, one of my favorite things.  It all started with some leisurely reading of CardMaker Magazine. While I was looking through the magazine I came across a card made with mizuhiki (Japanese paper cord).  That inspired me to get out my mizuhiki stash and play around with it.  Some how I went from cards to bracelets.  Inspiration is a funny thing.

These mizuhiki bracelets are easy and quick to make, perfect for a craft party.  Make them in assorted colors and stack them on your wrists.

Supplies:
Mizuhiki Cord - You can find the cord online.  You can also find it at Daiso.
Needle nose pliers
Cutting pliers
Scissors
Gold Closures - I found these at Michaels.  You could also use extra large crimp beads.

1.  Cut three 9 inch strands of mizuhiki cord.   With all three strands, tie one knot in the middle of your cords.  It's just a basic knot, nothing fancy. 

2.  Trim edges of cord so your piece measures 8 inches.  Make sure both sides of edges match up.  You might want to make your cord shorter or longer depending on your wrist size. 

3.  Cut off loop on jewelry closure (pictured above).  If you can find a closure without the loop, skip this step.

4.  Place one side of cord inside the closure.  Then place the other side in closure (refer to picture).

5.  With needle nose pliers, crimp closure together.  Refer to arrows in picture. 

*This was the hardest part of the project.  It took me a little while to figure out the best way to hold it in place and crimp it closed at the same time.  You might want to have someone help you but it can be done by one person.  Once I got going, it took me about 30 seconds per bracelet.

You can also make these bracelets without the knots but I think they look a little more interesting with them.  If you do decide to make them without the knots, start out with 8 inch cord.

One of the pluses of using mizuhiki is that it's light and it doesn't make any noise when the bracelets brush up against each other.  I like wearing stacked bangles but I don't care for sounding like a wind chime every time I so much as breathe.

Origami + Ribbon = Oribbon

Photo credit: Kamigu

Sometimes a craft product comes along that's so unique, so inspiring, it stops me in my tracks. Today that craft is Oribbon.  Oribbon is a strip of sticker ribbon that's scored so you can easily fold it into geometric shaped ribbons.  The ribbons can then be applied to gifts and such.  Below is video so you can see the craft in action.  Tell me what you think.

Pom Poms & Finesse

I finally got a chance to make some of the projects from that pom pom book I posted about last week.  Even though the book is in Japanese, the directions were easy to follow.  The hardest thing about the projects was the finessing.  For me, finessing is sculpting, molding and manipulating a craft project to look its best.

It occurred to me I've never really talked about this final step in the crafting process.  The truth is, I don't really think about finessing when I do it so the step gets left out.  Once in a while I might mention in a tutorial, "needs a little finessing" but that's as far as it goes.  I guess the best way to explain finessing is with a few pictures of how I made one of the pom poms.  This is not a tutorial.

First I started off with a pom pom maker and wrapped and layered the yarn around the ring.  I added this picture in because I know some of you were curious on how the pom poms were made.  It's basically all done with layering different colored yarns.

Once I cut the yarn off the pom pom, it looked like this.  In most craft books it would say, trim down to an apple shape.  The reality is it's all about trimming and finessing.  When you see that perfect project in a craft book or blog, chances are there was some finessing involved.

Big difference from the last picture, right?  Here's where the finessing comes in.  First I did trim the pom pom down to an apple shape.  But then I realized that where the red and white met on top needed to have more of a widow's peak shape.  Since the white part was receding too much, I had to trim down the white yarn much more than the red. Then I combed the red forward to overlap the white a little.  I also had to trim the white yarn on the sides shorter than the red.   Besides that, the seeds were too big.  I had to cut out quite a few of the brown strands and push the white yarn over some of the brown yarn.  While I was doing all this trimming, the white yarn was getting all over the red yarn and I had to keep picking it out.

Any time I follow a craft tutorial I assume there will be finessing involved and make adjustments accordingly.  Curious, do you strictly follow the directions or do you modify the project as needed?

How to Fold Origami Diamonds

This craft came about from a Twitter conversation I had with Marisa (Omiyage).  She mentioned she was on the hunt for some neon origami paper.  That instantly sparked my interest and had me pondering all the cool things one could make with neon origami paper.  Marisa offered to send me a sample of the origami paper so I took her up on the offer.  The original plan was to make a shoe but somehow that got derailed and I ended up creating origami diamonds instead.  You know how that goes, one craft project leads into another project which transforms into yet another project.

Supplies:
Origami six inch square paper - If you're interested in neon origami paper, you can find it at Marisa's online shop Omiyage.

For this origami fold, we're basically making the traditional water bomb with a few alterations.  If you already know how to fold a water bomb, you may want to skip down to the last steps.

1.  Start with paper wrong side up.  I took the photo of the paper right side up by accident.  Just pretend that top square is white.

2. Fold paper in half.  Your paper should now look like the bottom picture.  Fold the paper on dotted lines and unfold.

3.  Bring the bottom left corner of the rectangle over to the right bottom corner.

4.  Flatten it down so it looks like the bottom picture.  Turn paper over and repeat on opposite side.

5.  Your image should now look like the top photo.  Fold bottom left and right flaps up and fold on dotted lines.

6.  Your paper should now look like the bottom photo.  Turn paper over and repeat on opposite side.

7.  Your paper should now look like the top photo.  Fold left and right flaps to meet in the center on dotted lines.

8.  Your paper should now look like the bottom photo.  Turn over and repeat step 7 on opposite side.

 9.  Pull down top left and right flaps and tuck them into opening where arrows are pointing to.

10.  Your paper should now look like the image below.  Turn paper over and repeat step 9 on opposite side.

At the bottom of your paper is a little hole that you will blow into just like a balloon. Your paper should puff up into the diamond shape.  If you have trouble with it blowing up all the way, you can use a toothpick to push out all the corners.

Now I feel like singing Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend.

Origami Fish Envelopes

While most bloggers are sharing craft projects for Teacher Appreciation Day, May Day, Mother's Day and maybe even Cinco De Mayo, I'm here to share the obscure and uncelebrated holiday, Boy's Day with you.  It's kind of funny, every year I share crafts to celebrate the Japanese holiday and yet I know most, if not all of you don't celebrate it.  Still, here I am another year with a Boy's Day craft.  And I even have another craft lined up for Friday, ha!

All joking aside, these fish origami envelopes are perfect for Boy's Day.   Fill them with candy or even better, money.  You can find the how-to at Origami Club.  At the site you'll find step by step directions and an animation for the origami fishes.

Not celebrating Boy's Day?  Use this origami fish for a chopstick cover instead.  

I made the fish with double-sided paper I found at Daiso.  I thought I would share since it's hard to find two color sided origami paper.  And at $1.50 for 60 sheets you can't go wrong.

Crafting with Washi Tape

ModeS4u recently asked me if I would like to review some of their new washi tapes.  Of course  I said yes.  For one, I love crafting with the tape.  And two, I have worked with them in the past.  Last time they sent me some fabric to review, and not any fabric, Japanese fabric, the good stuff. If you've never checked out www.modes4u.com before, you should give them a visit.  Anything that you would call kawaii they have, from Re-Ment miniatures to DIY eraser making kits. Plus, they have lots of crafty things too.

Want to see what I made with the tape they sent me?  Here's a little tutorial to start with.

When I first saw the flowers & pattern tape, the print reminded me of a Cath Kidtson bag so I decided to play off that idea and make a card.  Here's what you'll need to make your own:

Flowers & pattern washi tape
Card-stock
Black pen
Small food & flower images cut from a magazine
Scissors

Place your magazine clippings where you want the center of your bag.  Place one piece of tape on top of them.  The top of the tape will be the top of our bag.

Layer pieces of tape on top of each other until you have the bag at the length you like.  Next, cut the tape into thin strips for the bag strap.  You'll notice I placed the tape underneath the bread to give it a more three dimensional look.

*Optional - outline the bag with black pen.

In the picture above, I used two different rolls of tape, deco seals and deco letters alphabet.  The seal tape is actually wider than the traditional rolls so you get a larger image. The deco seals come with four images: key, heart clover, and treble clef. 

For the letters you get the entire alphabet.  Naturally I wanted to spell something with them but didn't want to waste any letters.  To solve this problem, I rolled out one complete alphabet and stored the extra letters on parchment paper (pictured above).

 

Saving the best for last, here's a look at the deco plant tape.  This also comes in a wider role with miniature vintage illustrations of botanicals, figs, leaves and fungi.  The tape is the perfect width to decorate a matchbox (pictured above).  I even lined the inside with it.  I know this print has more potential.  I'm still brainstorming ideas with this one.  If you have any suggestions, please share.

Japonizer: Japanese Background Generator

via Pugly Pixel

Japonizer allows you to create you own traditional Japanese patterns with just a few clicks. Simply choose a pattern, color and size and Japonizer will generate a background tile for you to download. What you decide to create with it is up to you. Have fun.

Patterns offered on Japonizer

Washi Tape Gallery

Screen shot from mt Gallery

Anytime I post about Japanese masking tape (washi tape), one of the big questions I get is, "What can I make with it?". There are a lot of washi tape tutorials online but today I thought I would share about the mt Gallery . The mt Gallery can be found on the mt masking tape site. The mt gallery consists of masking tape projects submitted from fans. I've found the gallery to be a great source for inspiration and project ideas. If you've got a couple minutes to spare, check it out and tell me what you think.

How To Fold a Furoshiki Easter Basket

Here's a nice alternative to the traditional Easter basket, a furoshiki folded into a basket. Wondering what a furoshiki is? A furoshiki is a traditional Japanese cloth used for wrapping and transporting items. But don't worry, you don't need one for this project. You just need a square piece of fabric.

Supplies:
Furoshiki or any piece of square fabric. Silk scarves work great for this project. You could also use bandannas, fabric napkins, or embroidered handkerchiefs.

One shallow bowl - any size/kind you want. The larger the bowl, the larger the piece of fabric you will need.

Click on directions for a larger view.

How To Make a Japanese Money Envelope

This Japanese money envelope is also known as kinpu. Often money is given for special occasions and presented in one of these beautiful folded envelopes. These envelopes come in many styles, some more elaborate than others. For this tutorial, I thought I would share a very basic style with you.

Supplies:
Mizuhiki cord - can be substituted for ribbon
12" x 12" green washi paper - scrap-booking paper works just as well
1" x 9" strip of decorative washi paper
7 1/4" x 4" pink paper
Glue Sticks
Acrylic varnish
Tape
Wax paper
Plain white money envelope or money wrapped in tissue

Making the Envelope

Place money in center of the decorative envelope. Fold in where you have scored the paper starting with the bottom flap first. Fold facing left flap in. Fold facing right flap in.

Your envelope should now look something like this.

Making the Mizuhiki Knot

Take three strips of mizuhiki cord and tape down on wax paper. Brush one side with acrylic varnish. Let dry. In the mean time you will make your mizuhiki knot. For directions, click here.

Wrap decorative washi paper around the envelope and glue in back. Do not glue the washi paper to the envelope. You want it to be able to slide off. Wrap mizuhiki cord around decorative washi paper and tape together to hold in place. Hot glue mizuhiki knot in front. Done.



Here are a couple elaborate mizuhiki knots from some money envelopes. If you feel like a challenge, you can try and recreate these.

Sorry this post is a little late. Friday night I had to go to the ER due to a tension headache. I'm fine now but I was out of commission for the weekend. I'm just now getting back into my regular schedule.