Merry Cretaceous!

Well, the past couple of days have been hectic with the usual Christmas frenzy - last minute gift wrapping, making, buying, giving and receiving, feeling guilty about receiving gifts without having anything to give in return, debating whether or not to try and scramble up some gifts, ultimately deciding to give a "New Years" gift instead and making up something about it being a Japanese tradition to give them their Christmas present on January 1st. And all the while trying not to lose the actual spirit and meaning of the holiday season. Today Phil and I thought he had a dentist appointment at 3pm and when we showed up, we were told it was that morning at 10am - even though I was and still am certain it was at 3pm - we ended up taking a spontaneous trip to the Museum of Natural History. Above is the beautiful rose garden where I spent a lot of my childhood.
This is one of the giant diorama-like scenes in the Hall of African Animals. Though the scenes are somewhat creepy and sad, it's all so nostalgic for me nonetheless. Phil's parents also took him here a lot when he was little, so we had a fun trip down memory lane.
Here's the tyranosaurus and stegosaurus in the center of the great hall. I just like the snowflake projections on the wall - even the dinos get to have Christmas.

We have a busy Christmas Eve tomorrow or today I should say. Phil's family dinner first and then off to mine! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Watashi no Wagashi

Another wacky J-Town find - a set of ceramic woodgrain tea cups with matching saucers - sitting on wagashi (Japanese sweets) printed fabric A smattering of gingko leaves from a tree that towers above our favorite store in Little Tokyo- Jungle Anime!
I have not been posting any pics of projects lately, mainly because they are Christmas gifts for my family and friends who read this blog. More soon............

Get Your Fresh Matcha Cakes!

So I made some matcha cakes last night and they came out pretty good. I had gotten some of these cute bakery style baking cups from the Marukai 99 cent store yesterday, they come about 5 or 6 in a pack. I don't think I'll ever use regular cupcake liners again! This is a cherry blossom stencil I was playing with last night, trying to figure out what to use it on.
And these are the fabrics my mom gave me - does she know how to pick em or what!
Some Japanese stationary and a business card holder from Kinokuniya..............
a little lined notebook from Kinokuniya also - I love the brown craftpaper look of it, I can never resist a new notebook

I Need a Reinkoto (raincoat)

Today we had a very lovely, gloomy, rainy Saturday! Phil and I got a lot of Christmas shopping done in J-Town. My mom also brought me some awesome fabric - which is good because I am gonna have to be in a bowl making frenzy tomorrow. EPS wants more for her shop! We got home when it was dark so I will photograph our finds in the morning with the better light. This is our reflection in the window outside Kinokuniya.
We had a great time last night at Phil's company Christmas party. I managed to finish my dress in time and Phil looked quite dashing on his outfit. Notice the Venti Chai Latte in Phil's hand, we did'nt get to sleep til about 4am.

Well, off to work on some more Christmas presents and baking that Matcha Cake (Trader Joes' Box Mix)!

Some Random Things

While shopping for some Christmas presents at Sanrio yesterday, I just could'nt resist getting this wooden Hello Kitty memo holder And this Tenorikuma bento box for my lunch.
This is my to do list - some are long term projects, others need to be done sooner than later - but it mostly only makes sense to me.....

Mat-tacular!!

I've been working on another big order for E.P.S. Several table mats - not really placemats - just mats for your desk or an entryway table to put a grouping of ceramics on, you know, that sort of thing. Anyways, these here are about 15"x15" square and now I just have to make a few of the smaller 10"x10" ones.
This is what I have been occupied with for the past couple of days. It just seems like there is never enough time after one gets home from work.Anyhoo, I time to get to work. I'm going to try to wrap some presents, work on my dress, paint my nails, and get at least 5 hours of sleep tonight.

Mele Kalikimaka

Yet another busy week is behind me - and a full one ahead of me. But I dare not complain when my family and friends are all safe and healthy. I was so sad about James Kim this week - I cannot even imagine what his family is going through. It's so great what Lisa and her family are doing. I totally missed the boat on participating in the auction, but there are still other ways to help out. These are just a few of my favorite Christmas cards from my vintage (60's-70's) collection. They were all my Mom's actually - one's that she has given and received. I love these Hawaiian ones. They were sent to her by her relatives after she moved here from Hawaii.

Today, I'm actually going to start working on some Christmas gifts that I've been meaning to make. I already dropped off all my goods to The Kids Are Alright and Elizabeth Paige Smith last week, so now I feel really freed up to just jam away on presents!!

We went to a Christmas party last night in the pouring rain - but we had fun. We have another one coming up this Friday which I am hoping to make a dress for - but we'll see how that goes. Well, off to sewing and watching the new Pirate's of the Caribbean!

More Updates

This was my original idea for the ornament swap - it's filled with lavender also - but I just wasn't happy with it. So for now, it remains the only house on the block..... A stocking for my beagle Zero.............
A tree-o of soft trees for my mom..............I need to work on my circular sewing!
Another Tie-the-Knot purse
Let's see, there's been a lot that's happened the past couple of weeks that I have'nt really posted about. The most exciting thing is that I'm going to be an Aunty! My bro and his wife just found out it's going to be a girl!

What else..... I finally splurged and got myself a nice, heavy-duty, but very quiet Husqvarna. Phil and I have decided to learn Japanese - my Rosetta Stone kit just arrived today actually. The weather has finally cooled down a bit and it even rained one day!! I quietly turned a year older and have been addicted to one of my gifts - a Nintendo DS - it came in very handy at the dentist office this past weekend!

Happy Monday!

Updates all Around

This is my new 2007 purse calender. I got it at Kinokuniya of course and it is adorable! And I am finally finished with my ornaments for the swap! I decided to do an "ornament" that can be used long after the holidays are over. My theme leaned more toward the holiday shopping aspect. It's a little tote bag sachet filled with lavender. It's about 3"x3" with little twill tape handles and a turquoise glass flower button.
And off they go....phew!
I'm finally feeling a little better. It must be the Turkey A La King I've been gorging myself on. My parents made it this year after Thanksgiving using the extra turkey they cooked. It's sort of like a thicker chicken soup but with turkey.

Well, I've got a lot to keep working on. More things for Elizabeth Paige Smith Atelier - there is a late night shopping night on Abbot-Kinney Dec. 8th. All the shops and galleries stay open really late and everyone comes out and shops and it just feels Christmassy. Then, the next day

The Kids Are Alright are also doing the late night shopping thing with all the shops in Sunset Junction. So I'm getting some stuff ready for them too! I'm excited, but feel a little frantic and hurried. I need to slow down, relax, and just do what I can do....and try to have some fun in the process!

Max and Sock Puppies

A scene from my sewing table............. A new find from Kinokuniya. It teaches you to make all these little stuffed animals using either one sock or one glove! The ISBN # is 4-579-11061-7. Hopefully I'll get around to it when I am feeling better.

Blogger Population - A Billion.....and One

I'm a bit under the weather today. A lot of sleeping, Zicam, Alka Seltzer, watching the Rob and Big marathon, and more sleeping. However, my Philip did start a blog today. I'm so excited! See it here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just thought I'd post one of my favorite pics of Zero - it's from Thanksgiving a couple of years ago - before I was a blogger. Don't worry, she did'nt get the pie...

Night Owls

Last night, Phil and I were so tired when we came home from work. So, we decide to go to bed at 9:45pm. And we slept alllll the way til.............11:15pm. It was so weird - be both just could'nt sleep anymore. So we got up totally refreshed and I ended up having a very productive night. I made a large placemat type thing for our little eating table. It's coated with that clear iron on vinyl.I also made this tote bag which I am very excited about. This past weekend was my first experiment with Bubble Jet! It was so much easier than I thought it would be. I printed one of Phil's drawings onto some army green ripstop. This is one of my FAVORITE drawings he has ever done - it's one of the characters from Seven Samurai named Kambei Shimada. See the original here. I really like that it looks vintage and faded. We're going to work on some more stuff over this long weekend. He's really excited about it too!
I also tried experimenting with a new shape for my fabric dishes. A rectangular , sunglass holder type size and shape. I also practiced using my machine embroidery on some natural colored 1 1/4" twill tape, to wrap presents with or something.
Yeah, so we ended up going to sleep at around 3am. But today was kind of a short day for everyone, so I had a bit of a nap.
Anyways, I gotta finish up my ornaments for the swap this weekend among other things. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Night That Almost W A S N 'T..........

Well, it's been a fun weekend. My bro and I hit the Tenacious D concert last night. For the FULL eventful story (and the explanation to the title of this post) go here. I like to focus on the positive side of things. A.) The show was awesome and B.) My Green Tea Pocky did'nt get confiscated at the gate even though they searched my purse. It was definitely a memorable night of good times with my bro!

I am very late posting about all this. I woke up at 1pm today! I felt like I had been asleep for centuries. Phil and I headed to J-Town to get some presents and then I spent the rest of the night jumping between projects and cleaning up. I got a lot done, but it still feels like I have'nt put a dent in my "list". Well, I'm sure looking forward to this short week coming up - lots to do!

the visitors....

Happy Birthday to the best momma in the whole world! This is one of my favorite pics of my mom, my bro, and me - probably from about 1979 - taken by my dad. My mom always made us matching mumu/nightgowns which I loved. I lived in those little dresses and I've been meaning to recreate one for myself, they were so comfy! This is what Phil and I gave her today for her birthday. It's a piece called "The Visitors". Phil drew this group of "beings" and I embroidered over some of them with my sewing machine, and appliqued some dot print fabric. It represents the slew of guests that always seem to be coming through my parents house. Their house has sort of become a headquarters, meeting place, base camp, haven/home for wayward friends if you will. This picture also represents how any and all creatures/beings/people are always welcome in their home. And being that both my parents come from restaurant families, they always have at least two pork roasts at the ready!
Happy Birthday Mom!!

Oh where is my Fall weather? It seems to be blustery, rainy, gloomy, and grey, in every other part of the country. I know it might be hard for some people to understand, but that is my favorite type of weather. Being born and raised in sunny L.A. and having parents from Hawaii, everything in my DNA says that I should love the sun, surf, and sand - but I just don't. I mean, I do in small doses, and I love going to Hawaii. But my ideal everyday environment would be 55 degrees, grey and cloudy, with some drizzles and rain here and there. Until then, here are some of my favorite Fall colors................ and this beautiful candle we've been burning. It's a warm, musky rose that makes it feel all wintry and cozy inside our loft .

Super Bowl Sunday!

...well Rose Bowl actually. I went with my mom and my cousin and we had a great time. This is a panel from a white linen 50's style dress I got for $7! It's just about a half size too big so I'll have to get it altered a bit. These are some fabric finds - a cool blue Dutch print, a retro 50's graphic pattern, and an awesome polka dot. I'm so in love with this dot print. It's hard to see in the photo, but the way the dots repeat are so unusual, and it's on the most beautiful shade of mermaid green!

Also found some wooden letters from an old letterpress - I was super excited to get these.
We also scored a few wagashi (Japanese sweets) molds. Very hard to find. This one is a traditional Japanese motif - the moon rising over pine trees.......
...and this one is a kiku (chrysanthemum) which is our (my mom and I) birth flower.
What a fun day, very tiring, but fun. I slept like a rock. Now I can't wait to get sewing!

More dishes and coasters....

These are some large fabric dishes I was working on all last week. They all went to Elizabeth Paige Smith's Atelier.

They can fit 10 stacked coasters...........

or nest with smaller bowls...................

I am so excited to be working with Elizabeth. She contacted me last week after buying one of my pencil pouches from The Kids Are Alright. She is an amazing furniture designer and is responsible for inventing the Kitty Pod! We went to her party this past Tuesday at her gallery. It was also sponsored by Paper magazine, and Hearts Challenger was there! Very cool event. Anyways, you should definitely check out her gorgeous gallery/shop if you're ever on Abbot-Kinney. I was honored to have my bowls and coasters on her tables! :)

Silhouette

I 've had a very busy, exciting week. But I'm way too tired to post about it all right now. I just wanna chill and watch Wolf's Rain (a purchase from Kinokuniya tonight) with Phil. He did this silhouette of me the other day. I like that he chose not to use the traditional black and white. Hopefully I'll be up for a longer post tomorrow! :)

Tree Rings....

These are some Tree Ring Brooches I was working on this past weekend. My bro had cut these "cookies" for me a while ago. Anyways, I just did some simple drawings with Phil's micron pens and markers, sealed it with a matte, water-based varnish, and glued a pin back to them. Then I mounted them on some felt rectangles. They're about 1 3/4" in diameter and vary between 1/4" - 3/8" thick. I just thought they would be a grwat Fall accessory, pinned to a purse or a scarf!