Modern Origami Wall Decor

It has been two weeks since I wrote the last post. I had been pretty busy for about a month to prepare the event and make staff for fund raiser and so on. After those busy days, somehow, my motivation went down very low and I didn't have much energy to face to my PC. I kept working on some custom orders but it is going slow. I think I mentally have been tensed since the Earthquake hit Japan. It was unconscious though, after a month of electric period, I think my nerve got tiered out and needed some quiet time. Then I wanted to do something different. Something very simple that I can really concentrate on it.

Knitting and crocheting help calming myself down sometimes. But this time that was Origami. I made some cool wall decoration with simple origami technique and I want to introduce it to you all. Oh, and I have to tell you that it worked pretty well to recover myself from the minor depression.

These cool geometrical shapes are made of 16 units of origami. Each unit is very easy to make (actually, the red and brown one is made by my 5 year-old daughter!). It only takes half an hour to make one. Do you want to make? OK, I will write a tutorial soon on this blog.

There is another Origami wall decor. Doesn't it look like a piece of contemporary art? I just loved it. The making process was very fun and also easy. It is made of 25 units of origami. I put it up on the wall of Nina's room. I am planning to make some more of this in different colors and sizes for my living room. It seems hard to write how to make this. I might need to take video for the tutorial. I will think of that.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend. Happy Origami making!

Up-cycling Challenge #4

Here comes my "Up-Cycling Challenge #4" Purse! Today's bag is a frame purse made out of an old feed suck. This fabric is given by Char from Junk Evolution. They changes their shop theme every month and they had French Market Month in February. They restored a pair of old ugly chairs using this feed suck and it turned into beautiful swans. Char gave me a little piece of remnant of the feed suck just for reference. Then it inspired me to make one chic frame purse with it. I made this for Char. So I added a cross stitched letter "C" for personalizing it for Char.

Since it was a remnant of a vintage fabric, it had a light stain. So I soaked it in a bowl of coffee and dyed it slightly darker. The stain is still there but I think it blended in.

This is a closer look of the embroidered initial. I cross stitched "C" using wasting canvas and added a little blue flower.

The handles are also made of the feed suck. I didn't waste any of the material! I love the faded red and blue stripes. I added vintage buttons for embellishment.

I am glad I was able to put a pocket with the stripes perfectly placed in line.

I picked out a modern geometric print of cotton canvas for a lining. It is always fun for me to think something surprising for lining.

I used my original pattern for this purse. I made a lot of bags in this style. I like this pattern pretty much so I think I will make more and more in different tastes from now on.

By the way, Char wrote about the event we had Yesterday and myself on their blog. She is giving a lot of compliments to me and it tickles me a little. But I would like to say thank you to them for sharing a wonderful moment with me.

Eventually the Spring break is over! I will have one more Spring cleaning day and be able to go back to sew.

Up-cycling Challenge #3

Today's item of  my "Up-Cycling Challenge" is this Spring-ish tote bag. It is made out of skirts I got from a thrift store. I used A-line shape of the flowery skirt up side down for the bag front. That means I didn't use any patterns.

The flower print is 100% cotton and the plaid one is linen blend. They were quality and in very good condition. I just love the colors of these fabrics.

I picked out a vivid yellow zipper for a pocket in back. It matches very well with the plaid I used for the side of the bag.

And also I made a flower brooch which is detachable. You can put it on your coat, sweater, scarf, or hat etc.

The lining is durable cotton duck canvas. There is one inside pocket and I added a set of magnetic snaps for a closure. It keeps the shape of the bag nice and neat.

I am so excited about taking custom orders on Saturday at Wabi sabi Saturday at Junk Evolution. I will bring in my books and some more purses I made. I am looking forward to seeing customers and friends over there. If you are in Michiana, please come to see me! 

Up-cycling Challenge #2

My Up-cycling Challenge #2 was making a neat shoulder bag out of this old wool Jacket (Right in the picture).

I like the masculine look of this herringbone wool. I picked out the red striped ticking for an accent and a lining. This bold combination of the wool and a ticking, somehow brought clean and sophisticated feeling to the bag.

I put the front panels of the jacket to the bag front and utilized pockets in my design. Those pockets are still functioning. Red striped trims and the tuck in center work very well to add an interesting element.

I sewed cotton webbing and wool together to make the shoulder straps. It made the straps durable and also look cool.

There is one pocket inside hanging from the top. On each side of the opening I put a set of magnet snaps to hold the contents safely and adjust the capacity of the bag.

The original label from the lining of the jacket is sewn on the back of the bag. It adds a character to this piece.

This project was a kind of improvisation. I didn't use any patterns. I enjoyed it so much and I really love the result. I would love to have this as my everyday bag. This bag is displayed in the store of Junk Evolution for promotion of the event "Wabi sabi Saturday".

Thank you for reading and hope you all have a beautiful Sunday! Happy Up-cycling! ( Challenge #3 post will be coming soon!)

"Wabi-sabi Saturday" and "Up-cycling Challenge #1"

My friends Char and Linda from Junk Evolution and I are planing to have an event named "Wabi-Sabi Saturday" on April 9th. Doesn't it sounds interesting? This event is mainly for Mother's day. For customers who are looking for something very special for a Mother's day gift. On that day, I will be at their shop Junk Evolution (in Down Town South Bend) all day long and take orders for custom bags and purses. The fun part of this event is that customer will bring in some materials for making purses like old clothes, tablecloth,  scarves and so on. Something like a special piece of clothing from someone who passed. 

Wabi-sabi  represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience.  The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent and incomplete"......(excerpt from Wikipedia)

Wabi-sabi is a very profound idea but we simply interpreted it "finding beauty in old or imperfect things and loving them for what they are." That is why we picked the word "Wabi-sabi" for the title of our special event. There is a poster Char made for this event below.

I made four bags out of old clothes from thrifty stores as samples for showing to customers. I found those lovely materials in pretty good condition. Some skirts and a baby girl dress.

And Char got these old wool jackets for me. They are old but very well-made using high quality wool. I made one large shoulder bag out of one of them by now. And I am going to make another soon.

Today, I show you this little purse made of the adorable baby dress in the picture above. I call this project "Up-cycling Challenge #1".

I loved the details and colors of this little dress. So I didn't converted it so much. I am glad it turned very well. This little purse looks so cute and lovely. I hope people will come to this event and give me a chance to face to this "Up-cycling Challenge" some more. I will post about "Challenge #2,3,4" soon.

Lastly, I would like to say thank you again to Junk Evolution and Circa Arts Gallery for having the donation jar for Japan Earthquake Relief. And also to their customers who donated for Japan.

Report of the result of the fundraiser in NYC for Japan

On the last two Saturdays the fundraiser held by my Etsy friend Aki, other Japanese Moms and some kids in NYC. Some other artists from Etsy and I donated handmade goods to the sale. There you can see pictures of what we donated at Aki's blog. They are so beautiful! It was really cold days in NYC, and it was outside event. So people helped this event must have been frozen. I appreciate their effort at raising money for Japan Earthquake / Tsunami Relief. According to the report from Aki, they raised $3,429.49 total. It is going to be donated to the American Red Cross for Japan relief. Great! I am so grateful to everyone helped and donated for Japan. I am still donating 1/2 proceeds in my Etsy shop. Please stop by and help if you can. (There are many artists donating from their proceeds on Etsy too. )

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a beautiful Sunday!

HELP JAPAN SALE IN NYC

As I wrote in the last post, one of my online crafty friend Aki from Oktak organized fund raising sales in NYC. She and some other Japanese Moms held a booth at the green market in NYC today and sold some baked goods and handmade stuff. I am so impressed of Aki's quick action and leadership. They will have another sale next Saturday as well, so I made some accessories and sent them out to NY yesterday.  I didn't have much time to prepare many goods for the sale but I made six crochet necklaces and eight felt brooches. I am glad that I could do something with them. Actually it is not only for helping the victims in Japan but it is for myself to calm down. I needed to move rather than just worrying. And it really worked to me.

The brooches are made of felt. It was a No-Sew project. I needed to make as many as possible so I picked out this method. It is very easy to make but the finished brooch look so cute. I would love to write a tutorial of this sometime soon.

I used Japanese lace yarn in my stash which has some bright accent colors in white. I simply crochet it with single crochet stitches and many picots. I added little flower motifs on both ends of the necklace.

It can be used as a long necklace or a neckband. And also could be a unique bracelet.

I liked this necklace a lot. So after I sent out the package which contains these items I made, I made another one for myself. I still have some yarn left. I probably will make some more for my Etsy shop.

Aki and Moms sold many many stuff and they made more than $1300 today! Awesome! And a lot of people donated money for Japan! Thank you so much New Yorkers! And you ladies did a super good job today. They will have another sale next Saturday and there will be my stuff and beautiful items from other talented artists. If you are in NYC please don't miss it! There is more info about the sale in Aki's blog. She is also donating 1/2 of the proceeds of her Etsy shop for Japan relief. Her purses are beautiful and stylish. And I am still donating 1/2 of sales of my Etsy shop too. Please stop by and help if you can.

Did you see the moon tonight? It is so bright and beautiful. Thank you for reading and have a super-Moon good night.