Pleated Purse

There was a typhoon here yesterday. Which means today everything is all wet, muddy and in disarray. Which is why I decided to lay low and stay in today. I tried to think of crafts I could do without making a run to the store. As most of you all know, I have accumulated quite a bit of fabric while I've been here. So I got to rummaging and came across this navy floral print I completely forgot about!

And since I'm making a purse for someone's Christmas present this year, I decided to do a trial run with this fabric. Plus, I may or may not have wanted another purse for the Fall. . .

I used this tutorial for a pleated purse. Overall, it was a pretty decent tutorial and I'm loving the purse so far. I made the mistake of linen-like fabric which made it tricky to do the pleats. I also wish I choose to make the handles all one fabric. I didn't think of it until after I had cut everything. Last, the lining I used was stuff I had laying around and it doesn't completely match, but oh well. Yay for new bags!

If you haven't already, there's still time to enter my Japanese Washi Tape Giveaway!

I've linked this post to Just Something I Whipped Up.

Washi Tape Madness! (+ my 1st GIVEAWAY!)

Japanese washi tape, or masking tape, is all the rage here (Japan). It's fair to say I've been a little obsessed with it recently. So much so that I want to share the love.

In case you're wondering, "Well, what can I actually do with it?" Here are just a few of the many things washi tape is capable of.

You can make these darling little flags out of toothpicks and the tape! I didn't have any cupcakes laying around to demonstrate what you could use the flags for, but you get the idea. :)

These precious name blocks are decorated with washi tape, can you believe the cuteness!?

Find the details over at Tinted Mint.

It's a scrap-booker's dream. And you can even make homemade cards with it, check out what this blog called Scrap Time whipped up.

These adorable vases and eggs are from To Be Charmed.

Now you're probably asking yourself, "What do I need to do to get my hands on some of that stuff for FREE?!" Well, it's too easy. All you have to do is:

1. Leave a comment on this entry.

2. Wait.

Yup, that's it. On Sunday, November 7 (Japan time, so really Nov. 6 in the States/Canada...), I will be selecting the lucky winners! Please make sure to either leave a link back to your blog or your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win. It would be a shame if you won but I couldn't get a hold of you. That would make me sad, so pretty please don't forget to leave your contact info. Ok? Thanks.

I'll be picking 2 winners who will each win 2 of these rolls (the ones on the right look funky b/c they're wrapped in plastic):

Want to get some even if you don't win? Here's an etsy shop that sells internationally for reasonable prices. And you can also buy it online here and here .

Let the washi tape crafting begin!

Update: The giveaway is now closed. Thank you!

Fighting off colds

I received these cute little Japanese citrus fruits from one of my student's mom's yesterday, straight from her garden. And I love things from gardens. They're called kabosu and are very sour and have a hint of bitterness.

Ryan and I have both been fighting off Fall colds and I tried eating some straight for the Vitamin C. It didn't work out too well for me. So I ended up juicing a few and diluting the juice with water. It tasted like an unsweet limeade. I quite liked it.One of the Japanese teachers that works at my school told me that you can use them for your bath, just slice them up and drop them in. It's supposed to be really relaxing in a aromatherapy type of way. So I tried it. And it was rather enjoyable but kinda a pain to take out all the seeds.Now that Fall weather is here I've been itching to make some hearty soups and stews. Last night I whipped up a little Fall-themed stew for dinner. It's chock full of veggies and chicken and I even threw a few pieces of pumpkin in the mix. Take that cold. We ate it with some store-bought French bread. Mmmmmmm.
But I regret to say that I woke up this morning and my cold is still very much active. Bah!

Oh well. On another note, Happy Halloween! If you haven't yet, check out Picnik's new array of Halloween effects, pretty fun!

Boo!

PS - I'm going to be hosting my first giveaway this week so stay tuned!