japanese souvenir

it's kinda late for this, but still wanted to upload all the goddies I brought back from Japan this time.

fabric

 I got all of them on sale.

unicorn one is a gift for my friend.

 sewing notions

the bigger one is for ironing.

you put it in between folded fabric, and it helps to keep the hem allowance even(same length).

small one is for adding sewing allowance. 

when you are tracing an existing pattern, it comes handy.

especially the ones from Japanese sewing books, they don't have the sewing allowance included, 

which is very inconvenient!

sewing & embroidery books

the left one is called "She Has a Mannish Style" (気分はマニッシュ)

The right one is called "Wappen" (Uiの刺繍ワッペン)

 I had been wanting to learn embroidery.

so this one is perfect!

there were so many cool Japanese sewing/crafting magazines/books over there 

and it was so hard to choose a couple from so many,

but these caught my interest the most.

 mt(masking tape) and stamps

 these are so much more expensive to buy (via etsy or ebay) over here,

I had to replenish my supply...

no more sleeping on the floor!

last weekend, my husband suddenly decided to make a bad frame.

well, finally...

we've been sleeping on the floor(Japanese style, I guess) for... over a year....

he left to the shop saturday afternoon, saying he would be done in a few hours.

of course, things always take longer than what you expected/estimated.

he didn't get too far that day, and next morning he went working again.

came back home 1:30AM that night with all the parts.

and next morning, we assembled the bed.

taddaaaaaaa!

this is our new bed :)

it is his own design!

no nails/screws are visible.

he's planning on making drawers underneath the bed.
but we'll see when that's going to happen.

maybe in six months, or a year or two...

thanks, babe!!

having a carpenter(well, timberframer, so he prefers to be called.) as husband is definitely handy and awesome :) :) :)

if you'd like him to design/built you a bed(or anything!),

please contact me:)

rose barrettes

it's kinda early,

but is anyone getting ready for Valentines day?

we don't usually do much because my husband doesn't agree with the whole concept.
he says it is just commercialized holiday/event(well not even a holiday)
that is set up to consume more money and things...
he also thinks it doesn't have to be only one day to celebrate being in love.

well, there is a truth to that, I agree.

but it is still nice to do something sweet and romantic,
and celebrate the love you have to the people in your life.

I just saw these cute barrettes and the how-to on the purl bee.

I might have to make myself and little L some!
they are so adorable :)


before thinking about Valentine's day,
our 4th anniversary is coming up this week!
wow!! can't believe it's already been four years since we got married!!
I don't think we'll do anything fancy.
go out for dinner,
and maybe a surprise gift...?
something I can whip it up quickly??

any suggestions????

manifestation board + mini bunting

last weekend, we bought a cork board to pin stuff up.
things we want to manifest! -both material and non-material things.

we call this a "manifestation board".

we didn't like its office-like look,

so I stained the frame white and made the mini bunting just to make it cuter!

have you watched a movie called Secret?
when we watched it a couple years back, I thought it was pretty lame.

(don't get me wrong, a lot of people thought it was great. but I didn't)
it was supposedly about the most powerful law - the power to create the reality we want.
but all the examples they gave in the movie were all about 'money' and 'sex'.
well, nothing wrong with that, and I know these things attract people.
but (I thought) it was really lame how it was done...
they could have done differently in more creative ways.


anyhow, back to the topic....

it still is a good thing to set your (short and long term) goals, right?
and a great idea to write those down or draw a picture or take a photo of those things you want(to accomplish) if possible.

and if you always see those goals right in front of your eyes,

I think it will give ourselves a good confirmation unknowingly.

'yes, anything is possible!'

maybe...

I am also pretty much a visual person.

so it should help with visualizing things I'd like to have in my life.

well, whether if it is going to help us creating the reality we want or not,

I think it's going to be fun!

I'll make a post every once in a while for a sneak preview of the board :P

organizing printout patterns

I have collected a quite few patterns from Burdastyle, Fitzpatterns, and various other online sewing/pattern sites for the past couple years.


I have been putting them into so called a banker's box.
it is a box with hanging folders.

I fold printed-out patterns and put into a hanging folder.


it still was not organized enough - they didn't have name tags!
every time I went looking for a certain pattern, I had too look through the whole box,
which took me some time and was confusing.


so, this is the first(sort of) project to get my craft/sewing space organized!

last night, after little L(my daughter) went to bed, I finally got around to do this.
tagging each pattern folders !


I had so much fun stamping, too :)!!



how do you organize your pattern, I am curious?
is there any better way to organize the patterns??

coin purses & makeup pouches/pencil cases

I made a whole bunch of these for Christmas.
they were the gift for my nieces and friends.




I never worked with the purse frames,
so I web-surfed and found the following sites for references.
the purl bee
cotton cloud
U-handbag


it was pretty easy to make,
but I had a heck of hard time when I was assembling them.
I did not have a pair of pliers that worked well climping the frames,
I was using my beading pliers, but it was not strong enough and leaving marks on the frame.
so, I tried something else, and ended up using my chasing hammer to climp them down.
it worked pretty well!
I would definitely get a pair of pliers for making framed purses if I make some more in the future tough.

learning to...

a few days ago, I and little L made a trip to a local library.

along with a few baby books for little L,

I found this book on crochet.

although, my mom knitted a lot when I was little, and made me a few sweaters,

I am so not a knitter!

I do not have that kind of patience...

I know for some people it is a form of relaxation, something to do with their hands involuntarily.

some people can multitask - knitting & watching a movie or something.

but, for me, the repetitive stitches makes me bored,

and the worst thing is, a little embarrassing to say, I can't count!

I can't keep track of how many of this stitches for how many rows,

and I have to start all over again.

then after doing that a few times, I am done! I give up!! end up with n o t h i n g...

however,

I can crochet!! - if it is a small, quick project.

I've made hats and finger-less mitts before with the only stitch I know - single crochet.

the window case of yarn shop looks so pretty and cozy.

and this cold weather has been making me want to crochet.

it's perfect for this cold rainy season - something to do at home while you stay dry and warm.

AND, it is time to learn something new, I'd say.

too many single crochet stitches won't be that exciting.

so, here is the result :)

I made little L a scarf and spider mum flower pin :)

I tried a few different stitches that looked very pretty and elaborate.

but of course something here and there didn't make sense to me, and I failed...

so the scarf is done with half double crochet.

well, little baby steps at a time...

how-to - knotted bracelet

okay, here is the how-to I promised.

these are the things you need in addition to the tools we used in basic wirewrapping.

embroidery threads

chain

fish line or some kind of thread that is stiff but flexible(not in the pic)

clear nail polish(not in the pic)

clasp(not in the pic)

wire/jump ring(not in the pic)

①cut the embroidery thread in 50cm(~20inch)

and fold it at 12cm(~5inch) from one end - this is the base core end

②using a piece of fish line as a needle, thread it through a link of chain

and tie a lark's head knot: bring both ends through the loop

now, the thread is attached to the chain!


③vertical halt hitch

keep the base core end straight,

and bring the working end over then loop it around and back under the core end

this simple knot will form a spiral pattern

continue knotting until it reaches the length you wish

- I made this one 4cm(1.6inch) long, total length of 16.8cm(6.6inch)


④tie a lark's head knot with the core end onto the other end of chain

then tie a square knot

and seal the knot with a dab of clear nail polish

*do not use crazy glue, it tends to dry out the thread/cord

⑤put a clasp on the end of the chain to finish it off

- either wirewrap(simple loop & wrapped loop or use jumpring(o-shaped ring with a opening)

tadaaaaaaa!

in less than a half an hour,

you'll have this cute bracelet on your wrist :)

make them in different colors and have fun!

beading how-to - WIRE WORK BASICS #2

next:

WRAPPED LOOP

①repeat simple loop step①~③(if you forgot, refer this post),

but DO NOT cut off the end

②instead wrap the end around the stem wire using two pairs of pliers or one paie of plire and hand - one to hold the loop, the other to wrap the end wire around the stem

wrap it around a few times

then cut off the excess

it looks like this

③put a bead on, and bend the unfinished end at 90° leaving a few mm for wrapping

④repeat wrapped loop step ①~③ to finish the other end

taddaaaaa

⑤if you'd like to continue making links,

just do wrapped loop step ①, and open the loop like below and connect to the ready made loop

finish wrapping

taddaaaaaaaaaaaa :)

congratulations!

now you mastered both simple and wrapped loops!!

you can make yourself a new piece of jewelry, or fix up your broken jewelry :)