Wedding favors...

This week my mom and I have been busy making prototypes of the tags that will be on the candy boxes (for the candy table we're having for the wedding favors). This is the one I like the best. I bought that super fun scalloped punch from Country Needleworks here in town, and even if I don't end up using it for this, I will definitely use it later.

You also may have noticed that the stamp I used here is not the stamp I originally was going to use. Unfortunately, through the chaos of packing and unpacking, I have absolutely no idea where I put it so I had to order a new stamp. I love this one too though so it's really a win-win situation. :)

New toys

Time is flying around here. I can't believe my last post was over a week ago, where has time gone?! Japan is keeping me busy, I'm trying to cram in all that I can before I head back home in just 1 short month.

One of the things I've packed in already is stocking up on Japanese craft items. I've been searching for a "handmade" stamp that I could use for tags when I do another craft fair and I finally found [a reasonable] one! I've found a few others but they were over $10?! No thanks.

This little gem came with another stamp, both for $5 - success!

I'm looking forward to stamping away to my heart's content making cute little gift tags! I want to do the Los Angeles Unique LA craft fair again. My roommate and I did the Holiday fair 2 Christmases ago and had tons of fun! It was our first craft show ever and I loved it. I've been wanting to do another ever since.

Anyway, back to Japanese craft items. Washi tape. I already have quite the variety ready to take back home with me but when I saw these adorable Spring designs I snatched them up.

Washi tape is so versatile, you can jazz up just about anything with it.

I had a washi tape giveaway a while back and posted various ideas of how to use it.

I love the little flags, they would be adorable in cupcakes.

And since Easter is just around the corner, I love this idea from the blog To Be Charmed:

I will certainly miss all the super adorable Japanese craft supplies. Luckily there are quite a few Etsy shops that sell washi tape and Japanese fabric!

Funny Valentine

After making the tutorial about repurposing old newspapers into your own homemade paper I go this idea to do a little decoupage on them.

The cut out letters reminded me of a ransom note so I put "Be mine, or else" on the first one. Then just "love" on the next one. I think it would be cute to do conversation heart words on them like "You're sweet" and then write your own message on the back for a very personal (and dirt cheap) Valentine!

Happy Valentine's Day, again! :)

Paper Hearts from Newspapers Tutorial

I've been wanting to try my hand at making my own paper for a while so I finally just did it. I used some flyers that came in the mail and recycled them into heart-shaped pieces of paper.

It's quick, cheap, easy and pretty darn fun!

First, round up your materials. You'll need: a tray, hot water in a bowl, newspaper or any type of paper you have laying around, tulle (or anything mesh-like would work in a pinch), and some paper towels.

Tear up your paper into thin, small pieces and dump them into the hot water bowl.

Push the pieces down into the water.

Mix it around and knead the paper together with your hands. Kids would especially love this step! After about 1 minute it should look like this:

Continue to mix and knead the paper together until the pieces start to disintegrate and are sticking together. It takes just a few minutes more. It should look like this:

Prepare your tray. Cut a rectangular piece of your tulle and lay it down on the tray, leave about 6 inches hanging off of the tray...You'll need this to fold over your wet paper. Also add a piece of paper towel underneath your tulle, I forgot to add it for this pic, oops!

Make sure your paper is ready to form into shapes. Test a piece by squeeze a small amount of the paper to get rid of any excess water, if it holds it shape it's ready! If not, continue to stir and mix your paper.

Lift out enough of the paper and squeeze it out. Leave some water in so you can shape it.

Set your glob of paper on the tulle/tray and shape. You could even use a cookie cutter if you wanted to make more elaborate shapes!

Fold tulle over and gently press to remove all excess water.

Check to see if enough water has been removed, gently peel pack the tulle and if it easily comes off it's ready! If not, continue to press out more water.

Set on a paper towel to dry.

Let dry completely, about 12-24 hours, before writing on them.

I added a grommet and made a Valentine's gift tag.

Use your homemade paper hearts for a Valentine's gift tag, card, ornament or just a decoration!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Swedish stamp set

I found this precious little stamp set yesterday - I'm in love! I've actually been on the lookout for a "Tack" stamp for a while so I was so surprised to find this one here in Japan. I thought for sure I'd have to order one online or at least look somewhere in the states, but here it is!

And not only does it have a "Tack" (which means thank you in Swedish) stamp, but it came with the cute little bird stamp on the right too!

So I tested them out...

...and liked what I saw!

I'm going to have a lot of thank you notes to write after the wedding and I think this stamp will prove to be very useful.

Scandinavian Christmas, Day 7

Welcome everyone, so glad you made it over to Scandinavian Christmas for Day 7! If you're just joining in the fun, be sure to check out the previous 6 days of Scandinavian madness full of tutorials and recipes. And now...Day 7!

I'm so happy that today my dear friend, Alisha, is joining us from her blog, Turning Over a New Leaf. Alisha and I were actually roommates once upon a time and if you remember when I posted about friends visiting Japan, she was that friend. Alisha makes really awesome handmade cards with great detail and adds nuances I would never think of. She isn't actually Scandinavian (gasp!) but is familiar with many of the customs from attending North Park University and once living with a Scandinavian roommate. So here she is, take it away Alisha!

I am an honorary Scandinavian, although I have been mistaken for a Swede before, so maybe there's something I don't know about my family tree... Either way, I love cards! If you're anything like me, and haven't made your Christmas cards yet this season, here two easy options for some cute cards!

I like to start with a neutral piece of 8.5 by 11 cardstock that you can simply cut in half.

For the first card, I've chosen to recreate a Scandinavian Christmas Elf. You will need red and off white card stock. Cut one red piece out in a triangle to look like the elf hat. Then cut out 4 circles. Two very small red pieces for the hands, another red circle (the biggest) for the body, and one more (off-white) for the head.

Next glue the pieces on starting with the biggest red circle for the body and place it where you want it on the card. Next the off-white circle for the head, then the triangle for the hat and lastly the two smaller circles for the hands. If you want your elf to have a face, feel free to draw it one with a pen! Lastly add your favorite Christmas greeting, and you've got a fun Christmas Elf card!

For the next card you will need three different colors of card stock cut into increasingly bigger triangles. I like to use the same family of color. You will also need something for the trunk of the tree, I used ribbon, but cardstock or felt will work great too. Lastly you'll need pop-up foam squares.

Glue the biggest triangle and the trunk flat to the card. Then add the foam squares to the two other smaller triangles.

Now place the other two triangles on top of each other and add them to the card as well.

Now add your favorite Christmas greeting and you're finished!

Merry Christmas/ God Jul everyone!!

Thank you, Alisha!