A Wish a Day - Day Two

Books. We love them in this house, all three of us. We started reading to the little one when she was in my belly and have continued each day. She'll now bring us her favourites and insist we read them to her. I hope that she will always love books and that inspired today's jar.

Today's wish: May you always find joy and comfort in the written word.

Today's paper and words: From a pre-loved copy of Babar, An Elephant's Best Friend.

Thank you to everyone for their kind words on my project beginning! I have been feeling a bit silly about it, so they have all meant a lot. And as my dad pointed out, no there are not 1000 days in a year, but some days more than one crane will form a wish so hopefully I'll still get to that magical number.

Bookcase Tour Tuesday - Kabuki Costumes Paper Dolls

I just love paper dolls. Always have, probably always will. So when I saw this book, Kabuki Costumes Paper Dolls, years ago, that combines a few of my obsessions; paper dolls + costumes + kimonos, how could I resist?

The book has many costumes, each printed on a page that is blank on the back, ready to be cut out. Each outfit has a little piece explaining the role it is worn for.

Included in the book is one male and one female form in cardboard. Most of the costumes come with an accompanying mask or wig.

I actually cut some of mine out, minus the paper doll tags, laminated the front and stuck magnets on the back. For many years they sat on my fridge ready for me to play dress ups each day while making breakfast.

A Wish a Day - Day One

Well today's isn't real pretty, but I'm hoping I'll get better at this....

Today I began my "Wish a Day" project. I plan to write a wish for my daughter, our family or the world around us each day on a piece of paper which I'll then fold into a paper crane/s and put into a jar for safekeeping. I plan to do this each day for a year, and over that year fold 1000 cranes so that there is a wish for my daughter to make herself when she chooses.

Today's wish: May you live a long and happy life with each year being one to truly celebrate.

Today's paper: A piece of wrapping paper from her recent first birthday.

The candle: From her first birthday cake.

I'm quite nervous about starting out at this, nervous that I won't make the distance, nervous that I'll run out of things to say. At the same time, I am excited about the idea of getting into a creative habit, a little bit each day.

Flickr Faves on a Friday

In last week's Flickr Faves I alluded to a new project planned, well today's images form the other half of the project's inspiration. Cute little jars, sweet little terrariums...

The project is a piece-a-day-for-a-year type project and I've been scared of committing to a start date. I'm thrilled by the size and duration, but terrified of it at the same time. A few previously planned start dates have been and gone... I need to just begin. I need to commit. I need to commit for all my mum's group friends who have been saving and storing jars for me. I need to commit for my husband who has been very good to not complain (too much) about having to step around boxes of empty baby food jars or to ask even once when I was going to start. I need to commit for me, for a creative project that isn't business related. So commit I will. Monday. This coming. The "Wish a Day" project will begin.

My Creative Space

My creative space today isn't actually that different to last week's, still lots of cutting, glueing and resin pouring. I did however do a little tidy-up, and we will call it a "tidy-up" not procrastination...

I took some old notes off my board and put ribbons and other bits and pieces into boxes...

... put some pretty things into pretty jars...

... and put together a recharging station - a place for all those bits to charge phones, camera batteries and other gadgets to live with a top shelf to hold thread and other treasures.

One exciting thing about the cutting is that if you look really carefully, you might notice that I have a new size in there, well new in silver... A number of my new custom pieces arrived (late - they didn't make it in time for the Melbourne show) and I have my landscape kimono pendants back - I haven't made them since I was doing them in glass.

For more creative spaces, Kootoyoo is the place to go!

Bookcase Tour Tuesday - Nengajo Sourcebook

Every year in Japan, as the year is coming to a close there is a flurry of "nengajo" printing, creating, writing and sending. A nengajo is a New Years postcard, much like Christmas cards that are sent in other parts of the world. Stores in Japan are filled with not just pre-printed cards but also blank cards, rubber stamps, stickers and all sorts of supplies to create your own.

The first nengajo I created I used my friend's Gocco printer. In those days you could buy books filled with designs to copy with the printer. More recently however, the "Print Gocco" has been pushed aside in favour of the home computer printer and so design sourcebooks became popular.

Every year, around November, new publications are released to help people create their own cards. The books are filled with a huge range of designs, from the traditional to the cute, all saved on a cd for the user to upload.

2008 was the Chinese Year of the Rat, so this particular book was filled with many mice, mice being much cuter than rats. It's funny I remember that for the Year of the Dragon, there were many seahorse designs going around as seahorse is called a "sea dragon" in Japanese.

I really love these matryoshka mice!

Other than using the books for the Japanese writing on my nengajo, I mostly bought these books each year as they were jam-packed with inspiring illustrations and for a really reasonable price.

And lastly, my favourite piece out of the whole book...

You can see the card I sent out that year here, and a couple of the ones I received here.

Hmmm... I'm thinking... how fun would a crafty bloggy nengajo swap be.... anyone interested?


***Update - My good friend Mel from Crafty Japan has kindly offered to pick up a copy of one of the 2011 releases for anyone that is interested.  Please contact her through her Etsy store if you'd like her to get you one.***

Flickr Faves on a Friday

Origami cranes. How I love them, can't get enough of them, have folded literally thousands of them in my life and have a new project planned to start soon to fold many more...

1. Origami Crane --Chinese Rice Paper and Hand Carved Stamps, 2. 15-06-10 Lets Go I Want To Go All The Way To The Horizon ~ Explored Front Page :), 3. Window Display, 4. tattoo, 5. origami shot with a matchbox pinhole, 6. My Little Gift, For You!, 7. Sembazuru (291/365), 8. dreams of flying (18/52), 9. moonlight kite

My Creative Space

I'm making a list and checking it thrice. No I haven't suddenly taken on the job of a certain Christmas benefactor, but I'm working hard at filling orders from last week's trade fair.

The process is a little different to making stock for markets and my poor neglected Etsy store, for these I'm having to be much more methodical, making sure I don't miss any designs out. Different but still fun!

For more creative spaces, Kootoyoo is the place to go.

Booth Design

Can I just start by saying - wow, what a week that was! I'm now back in Brisbane after a huge week in Melbourne where I took part in my first trade fair, Life Instyle. There are tales to tell, but also lots of orders to fill, so for now I'll just leave you with a couple of shots of my booth last week.

Bet you can't guess my favourite colours!

My Creative Space

My creative space. Best described by the Man today as not so much being messy, but rather looking like WW3 had hit.

But I did manage to clear a little desk space to take a photo of one of the many things I'm working on this week. New brooches and a pendant, all with hand-coloured bamboo and vintage kimono fabrics.

These will join my Kokeshi brooches to form my "Kyoto" range, all using bamboo and inspired by traditional motifs.

For more creative spaces, Kootoyoo is the place to go.

The Melbourne trip and the Life Instyle show are now just days away and with so much still to do, this blog will get a little quiet for a couple of weeks. I can't wait to tell you all about it when I come back!

My Little Kokeshi

My little kokeshi. Drawn tonight using Illustrator and Photoshop.

My Creative Space

Not the most fun creative space, but a good-to-get-this-started one.

I've been working very hard planning, mapping out and photographing for a new catalogue for Life Instyle.

My ironing board photo studio has been getting a great workout today, as I've taken a couple of hundred product photos. Now a night of photoshop ahead.

For more creative spaces, hopefully more tactile and less technology reliant ones, Kootoyoo is the place to go.

Bookcase Tour Tuesday - Kokoro no Te

Another library version of Bookcase Tour today.

Kokoro no Te by Kumiko Sudo.

This is a book that I've wanted to browse through for quite a while now, so snapped it up when I saw it at the library. It's filled with lots of little projects, lots of pretty little brooches, purses and pouches. All is handsewn, there's not a machine in sight.

If you look at even just the cover, there's probably no guessing why I'm so drawn to this publication - the fabric! The photos for each project are just scrumptious!

I probably wouldn't actually make that many projects from this book, but I'd use it more for inspiration, as an eye candy piece.

The three pieces I am tempted to try are the windmills...

The thimbles (which would look just adorable as rings as well)...

... and the juggling balls, not that I can juggle mind you, but they would just look pretty scattered around.

I'll be stalking my library now to see if I can get my hands on Kumiko Sudo's Omiyage book.

Flick Faves on a Friday

Zen. It can come in all sizes.

1. solstice dreams, 2. Day 77: Zen Garden, 3. Chicago . . ., 4. color wheel, 5. つりあい, 6. totally zen, 7. an imaginary science, 8. 4, 9. perfect little white things

One

One year and one day ago a magical creature came into my life. She was so brand new, but yet somehow I felt that I had always known her, my heart knew that I had.

For one year and one day to date I have watched in amazement as she has grown, learnt, developed and explored. She is strong with a strong personality, knows how she wants things, is so independent and very social. While she loves her mummy cuddles, she really is daddy's little girl.

Yesterday we had a lovely, simple day to celebrate. A day with family and a couple of very dear friends.

And she had her very first taste of cake... Imagine tasting that sweet fluffy icing for the first time...

You see something new, a pretty colour, enticing, that just draws you to it...

You pop a little into your mouth...

And then, wow! The sugar hits your tongue...

Wouldn't you go back for more?

Happy Birthday my wonderful little one. You fill my heart to overflowing.

Bookcase Tour Tuesday - Handmade Melbourne

A library borrowed version of Bookcase Tour today.

With it now less than three weeks until I go to Melbourne, this book, Handmade Melbourne, has been getting a great workout.

The book features, as the cover page will tell you, "Beautiful things from 80 creative people". The range of what these people make range is from footwear, clothing, jewellery to bags and artwork. It's filled with lots of inspiring eye candy.

But, what I loved most about this book, especially at this point in time, was that it had each artisan list a few of their favourite inspiring Melbourne haunts. I have been madly jotting many of them down for places to visit while I'm there.

Mind you, I'll only have a couple of free days either side of working so that list is going to need some serious culling.

Are you a Melbourite or a well-versant when it comes to Melbourne? Any places you'd recommend this Brisbane girl to add to her must-see list?

And.... I don't believe I've divulged why I'm south-bound soon... well... if you're heading to the Life Instyle show, please drop by and say hello. My wares and I will be at booth 222a!

BrisStyle Exhibition

If you take a wander down to the Brisbane City Library at the moment you'll find a little more than books...

There are some very sweet frilly pants by Tutus and Muddy Shoes...

Some of Jetta's Nest's fabulous paintings...

A rosy cheeked doll and scrumptious doily patchwork pillow by Moose and Bird...

Another gorgeous doll (and another gorgeous piece by Jetta's Nest), chilling out by a Moose and Bird pear.

Some stunning stitchwork by Edward and Lilly...

And well... I couldn't resist showing you a couple of my pieces...

A kanzashi necklace/brooch by myself in good company with a beautiful richly coloured resin bracelet by Strat Designs...

And a Kimono Crane hanging out with (pardon the pun) a couple of adorable Made By Maisie dolls, one of which happens to be the sister to a doll my little one cherishes.

There's still lots more to see.

The BrisStyle Indie Designers Exhibition is running at the Brisbane Square Library on Level 2 through July and August.

And for more BrisStyle goodness, we're going Twilight again on Friday 30th July.