Kirigami Craft Book Giveaway

I haven't had a giveaway for a while so I thought I would host one to ring in the new year.  I actually have two things up for grabs, the Kirigami book pictured above and a pair of tabi socks.  I purchased both the items at Daiso, my favorite store.

Pictured above are some of the kirigami projects from the book.  It comes with templates printed on the paper so you know exactly where to cut. 

And here are the tabi socks.  I liked that they had kokeshi dolls on them.  Tabi socks are designed to be worn with sandals; that's why the toes look a little funny.  I actually bought a pair for myself too.

On to the Giveaway. . .one  lucky reader will win Kirigami-Chic Japanese Patterns and a pair of tabi socks. To enter, please share if you've ever seen tabi socks before or if you wear them. One entry per household. Please leave an email address so I can contact you if you win. The last day to enter the contest is Sunday, January 6  2013. I'll announce the winner Monday, January 7 2013 on this post. If I do not hear back from the winner after two weeks, I will choose a new winner. Open to everyone.  International friends welcome :)

Contest Closed

Congratulations to Melissa who is the winner of the tabi socks and book!

As always, thank to everyone who participated.  I loved reading all your comments!

Printables to Ring in The New Year

Photo Credit: Lisa Storms

Are you ready to ring in the New Year?   If not, here's a list of printables to help you get started with your party planning. 

Printable Numbers by Lisa Storms on Basic Grey

Banner, Drink Flags and Champagne labels by Paper Muse Press

Photo Props by Oh Happy Day

Party Hats by Merriment Design 

DIY Oversized Sequins

I hope you don't mind, I'm re-posting this craft from last year.  I haven't been making much in the last week.  Instead I've been eating way too much, hanging out with family, playing games and just enjoying the winter break.

Last year's post below. 

When I think of New Year's Eve, images of glitter, disco balls, and sparkly dresses come to mind. Playing on that theme, I decided to make some oversized sequins to hang from the ceiling. I also made a few smaller ones to decorate the table. If you're still looking for some last minute ideas, these might be fun to make. They're pretty quick and easy to create too.

Supplies:
Metallic cardstock - I got mine at Paper Source. You could also use wrapping paper. If possible look for double sided metallic paper.
Scissors
Scoring tool - bone folder, popsicle stick, etc.
Ruler
Exacto knife

Cut out a circle (any size you want). If your paper isn't double sided, cut out two circles and glue wrong sides together. Let dry.

Find center of circle and cut a small hole in it using your exacto knife.

Place ruler in the center of the circle, crossing the hole you just made. With scoring tool, make two lines, one at the top and one at the bottom (refer to picture below). Turn ruler to a 60 degree angle from first line and make two more lines. Do this until there are six scoring lines on your circle (refer to picture).


Using the ruler as a guide, score the purple lines in the center of the circle to make a hexagon.

Now you will make creases on all the lines you just scored. Start with all the lines on the outer edge of the circle. Next fold each section up until the circle looks like a sequin. This might take a little finessing to get it just right. Your sequins should look something like the one in the picture above.

Here are some smaller sequins I made to decorate the table.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.

With Love,

The Okui Family

DIY Tissue Paper Garland

The other day my daughter asked me how to make paper chain people.  It brought me back to when I was a child, curious how paper chains were made.  As a kid, the whole process seemed very mysterious.  Keeping that in mind, I decided to create a paper chain garland that would be simple for a child to make.  Since it's close to Christmas, we made gingerbread tissue paper garland. We used tissue paper instead of regular paper for a couple reasons.  One, it's easier to cut through than standard paper.  And two, since tissue paper is longer, you can make longer chains.

Supplies:
Tissue Paper
Cookie Cutters - Choose your shape
Pencil
Scissors

First thing you will need to do is fold your tissue paper.  Start with a strip of paper slightly taller than the height of your cookie cutter.  Fold tissue paper in half (refer to fig. 1).  Continue to do this until you get the desired width.  The more times you fold, the more images you will get.

Place your cookie cutter over the tissue and trace the outside with a pencil.  It's important that the cookie cutter overlaps on both sides of the tissue paper.  The two white lines drawn on the folds is where the trees will connect.

Cut out the tree making sure not to cut on the folds highlighted with white lines in the step above.

Unfold carefully and admire your pretty garland.

*Tip - You can iron tissue paper.  Just make sure that the iron is on a low setting and you keep it moving.  I ironed the tissue paper so it was nice and crisp before I made these.