Short Week / Long Weekend

Today is the first day of my work week, but since my birthday is this Sunday, I have taken a few days off, so it'll be a short week! Yay! It's been a long time since I had a mini-vacation. I wish I can go out of town, but maybe rest will be good enough.

Anyway, I gotta run and get ready for a crazy night at work! Have a wonderful weekend!

++ Today's pic is my Felt & Wool Flower Brooch ++

My Handmade Stuff...

It's been a tough couple of weeks lately, with work being busy and my computer getting eaten up by viruses, I feel like I have a lot of catching-up work to do. Unfortunately, even though the computer is fixed (thanks to my wonderful boyfriend!), I still don't have much time or energy to devote my attention to my projects. This is one of those times I miss being a child: having all the time in the world to obsess over some projects. It could just be hours of making pretty paper tissue flowers, or days of designing and creating dioramas, there always seemed to be time and energy for them. Now, with the pressure of life, bills and what not, I find it difficult most days to even muster up enough energy to sit down in front of my work table. Think it's time for a vacation...

On a brighter note, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that one of my favorite gift tags are featured in AlynCarlson's blog, Colorgirl. I love embroidery and she has included many very beautiful and whimsical embroidered items! Please check it out! :)

Last little fun tidbit, in addition to creating paper goods, I also like to design little accessories, such as pins, jewelry...etc. I would like to know what you think of them. Be honest please! :) Thanks so much!

++ Today's pic is my Peacock Flower Necklace ++

Featured Seller: Koide Studio

One of the vendors at my SMASHED! Craft Fair/Party was Kiyomi from Koide Studio. She creates these beautiful ceramic wares that I completely fell in love with. Please read on and learn about her journey in becoming a ceramics artist, and don't forget to check out her shop, Koide Studio!

Hi! I am Kiyomi from Koide Studio.

Even when I was a child, I liked crafting but I’d never imagined to become a ceramist. In college, I studied architectural interior design and worked for an architecture firm after graduating. The work was a bit away from creativity, and most of my creative juice went into ceramics.

 I think food is my first passion. “I wanted to make my own cup and bowl for everyday use!”, that was my motivation. Eating is an everyday activity so I wanted to make it more personal and fun. I also imagined that eating from your own bowl, or made by somebody you know would be healthier (I mean spiritually).

 For the first time I discovered of joy of ceramics was in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. That was long time ago, and I kept that passion hidden and I started taking ceramics classes again in 2002. Since then, I’ve been obsessed with making ceramic pieces.

My passion is making functional pieces. I want to use them, and I want them to be used. Not for special occasion, but for everyday life. I am from Japan, but I wouldn’t describe my pieces very Japanese. They are more mixed in many different cultures as I traveled and lived in some colorful countries. I like funky style, drawing with colors, round shape, kitties, etc. I also believe a bit of oddness makes pieces more interesting and special to each person. So I let modern technology to make perfect merchandises and in the meantime I make funky stuff. My inspiration comes from everywhere and from every aspect in my daily life, the changing color of the sky, falling leaves on the street, door knobs, some sweets made by a friend, etc… My ultimate goal is to travel somewhere, let’s say Spain, and find my cups used in a café I stop by. Wouldn't it be cool?

www.koidestudio.etsy.com

One Treasury, Two Treasury...

I woke up this morning with two wonderful surprises waiting for me! A couple of my tags are currently featured in two treasuries! I always think it's amazing when other people actually find my items in this humongous haystack that is Etsy.

The first one has a XO theme in black and red and is curated by Monical. Please check out the whimsical treasury here!

The second one is curated by TBead with a very dramatic black and white theme. Check out her beautiful treasury here before it expires on late Friday night!

Last, but not least, is a treasury I created when I had a little down time last night. It's called the "Softness of Spring", please take a look at my treasury here!

One little note before I go, I will no longer be posting screenshots of the treasuries here. I do think that they make my blog prettier, but I would rather post the links to the actual treasury so comments can be left for the curators and the selected sellers.

So...on that note...please leave comments and support your fellow Etsy peoples!

A Blast on Sunday!

So last Sunday was my SMASHED! Craft Fair/Party in my backyard, and I had a lot of fun! It was such a beautiful sunny day and I couldn't have ask for more. Along with my two crafty neighbors, we had three more vendors who set up their tables to sell their items. Sometimes, I forget how much better it is to see people's creations in person!

We set up a bar in one corner serving beer and Madras, and a table of food on the other. One of my friends, who's a chef, created a prawn dish and a marinated asparagus dish for the party, while my neighbor baked very delicious vegan muffins and cookies. Since the event was from 2 to 6pm, after we broke down our tables, most of our friends just gathered around our picnic table and continued the party until late in the night.

In retrospect, I wish we had a little more time to promote this event, but it was such a wonderful afternoon for all of us to enjoy: the beautiful Sunday outdoors, the company of our friends and new acquaintances, delicious food and refreshing drinks, and selling some items while doing it all!

Before I run, please check out my neighbor Megan's Etsy shop, Tapiseria. She makes the cutest jewelry using shrinky-dinks!