One of my favorite blogs puts together gift guides for the holidays, and today Saké Puppets is featured! Pop over to Design Sponge to check out a great collection of DIY gifts, and of course, you can find Saké Puppets’ Sashiko Kits in my webshop. Happy crafting!
I spent the weekend keeping shop at the Make: Tokyo Meeting 07 with a group of top-notch Etsy shop owners.
Maker Faire, as it’s known in the United States, celebrates all things DIY and hosts major gatherings in New York and San Francisco every year. Tokyo’s version is smaller and focused a bit more on robotics, but the craft scene carved out its niche.
Each person in our Etsy group had a small box to decorate and fill with our shop goods, and during free time we gathered around a big common table for craft shenanigans. There were monsters, markers, and disassembled computer parts. It was heaven.
As an Etsy shop owner and a (somewhat) new arrival in a foreign land, I sometimes feel a bit isolated. So it was fantastic to spend the weekend with others who are also passionate about making things, who I could talk shop with, who were creative and inspiring, and who were just plain fun to be around. And so, I’d like to introduce you to my new Etsy friends!
From My Atelier: Yuki-san’s embroidery is beautiful. She hand-dyes her own embroidery thread using indigo from her grandparents’ yard. And her wrist warmers are rad.
Harukaze Designs: All weekend Sarah was whipping out adorable drawings of monsters. Monsters on frames. Monsters on buttons. It was awesome.
Necocoa: Neko (cat) + cocoa = so darn cute. Necocoa is hand drawn in a variety of leisurely poses. Darn cute.
Flat Packables & Tokyo Craft Studios: The quality is amazing. Flat Packables are all made from solid wood using a laser cutter and fit into little boxes for easy shipping. Partner shop Tokyo Craft Studios makes lovely porcelain tea light holders and lighting. So nice.
sushifactory: These handmade silver charms are so. incredibly. detailed. I don’t know anything about cars, but these tiny silver ones looked just like the photos of the big ones.
The House of Lau: Lulu’s cheeky screen printed underwear was a bit too much for the old folks, so she switched it up with t-shirts, aprons, tags, jewelry, and all sorts of great holiday gear. This gal is seriously talented.
Do me a favor and show them some love — check out their shops on Etsy.com. Not only are their handmade goods all gorgeous, but they are some of the nicest people I’ve met.
Handmade for the holidays, hip hip hooray!
Black Friday always makes me excited, though I rarely went shopping that day while living in the States. When I was a kid, my mom and I did the get-up-and-go-early thing once, and I remember getting some sort of grab bag for free, then heading home for my dad’s chili for lunch and an afternoon of Christmas tree-trimming and cookie baking. It was a 12 year old’s dream day.
Perhaps Japan doesn’t have a Black Friday Shopping Extravaganza Day of Crazy Sales, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get in on the fun. From Friday, November 25th through Monday, November 28th, all purchases in my Etsy web shop will receive a special gift. All sashiko kit purchases will receive a leather sashiko thimble:
All other gift purchases, such as sashiko coaster sets and Tokyo Craft Kits, will receive a roll of washi masking tape (you can read more about my love of masking tape here).
But wait, there’s more. MORE! On Friday, you’ll also see some new items in my shop. These single coasters are just right for holiday gift giving. Add a mug and some tea or hot cocoa and you’ve got a thoughtful little gift for a friend or family member. How cheery!
I hope you’ll pop over and take a peek. Happy holiday shopping everyone!
I tried to explain Thanksgiving to a Japanese acquaintance.
“So the Indians and Pilgrims were having a party?” … “Hmm, sort of,” I replied.
“So you have a party to celebrate the party?” … “Eh, I guess. Sort of.”
“You shove the stuffing WHERE?!” … “I suppose it is a little gross when you think about it that way…”
Celebrating American holidays in Japan is a little strange. The holidays are often acknowledged, though the interpretation is a little off, like you’re looking at the holiday through kaleidoscope glasses. But Thanksgiving flies under the radar. Japan jumps right from Halloween to Christmas, so I was delighted when some friends offered to host Thanksgiving dinner.
I love to cook the whole meal — preparing everything from scratch, of timing it so it’s all hot at the right moment, of baking pies and then eating pies and then having pies and stuffing for breakfast. But this year we did something I thought I’d never do. We had it catered. Martha Stewart would be so ashamed. Well screw you, Martha Stewart.
Our friend Miri (who I met at this time last year) cooked our dinner, and it was amazing.
Photos of food at Thanksgiving dinner are always kind of gross, with their heaps and gravies. You’re welcome.
The gathering was also fantastic. Friends from the States, Japan, Australia, and the UK made fun of jellied cranberries and told inappropriate small pox jokes over turkey gravy and plates of pie. At about the 4th bottle of wine we decided our day-before-Thanksgiving gathering should be called Gratesgiving. Those Brits always have to do their own thing.
It also happened to be my birthday. A great day for a Gratesgiving.
This is a story about a girl with nerves of steel. Maybe just bones reinforced by steel, and nerves of … (Dan, what is something kind of wimpy?) … a wet tissue. (Ew Dan, that’s gross.)
It is a story about this:
My elbow, which I broke in a freestyle walking competition six years ago. Though the night led to surgery and 6 months of physical therapy, I still think of it fondly.
I blame many factors for the broken bones. It could have been the increased confidence I felt after spending the afternoon at a fancy gym with a free trial pass. It could have been the documentary on krumping that I watched later that evening. Or it could have been the beer.
While walking home from a party, my 7′ roommate wowed the crowd with a heel click. Granted, he is a 7′ tall basketball player who gets major air, but I was not to be outdone. I’d been practicing my freestyle walking, planting on curbs and the occasional lamp post, and I thought, “this is my time.”
I took a running start, park bench in my sights.
I missed the park bench.
I landed in a completely horizontal layout, elbow cracking pavement first, head cracking second.
I was deemed the winner since my roommate could not duplicate and elaborate, the first rule of a freestyle walk-off. Then I went to the ER, where I sat for hours across a waiting room from a guy with a gunshot wound. He was called back first, the jerk.
The friend who drove me to the ER sends me a little note at this time every year, and he never fails to mention his favorite part of the story — that while in the exam room after being given painkillers, I threw up my juice and a whole mushroom, a remnant from the quiche I’d eaten 12 hours earlier. Krumping makes me so excited I fail to chew my food.
I told most people that I tripped. Though I had been a dancer for over 20 years, most people accepted this explanation immediately.
At a follow-up appointment with my orthopedic surgeon, he took x-rays to examine the 3 mm thick metal plate he told me was attached to my humerus with 4 teeny tiny screws. He clicked on the x-ray screen:
Then turned to me and said “oops.”
It was just a matter of too many patients to remember, but you can imagine my surprise at seeing two gigantic 3″ screws embedded in my arm. I’ve since grown quite fond of my bionic elbow, though, it never sets off airport metal detectors like I hope it might.
Dear 7′ roommate of yesteryear — you know who you are — I’m ready to defend my title. Better practice your heel clicks, chump.
And to all the friends there that night, thanks for having my back, er, elbow. xo!
The caffeine and crafts continued through the weekend.
When it turned dark, craft by candlelight.
Spending the weekend in cafes, stitching. I am very caffeinated.
Etsy and Better Homes and Gardens teamed up to create a list of handmade gifts for the holidays, and Saké Puppets’ Tea-for-Two DIY Sashiko Kit was featured in their roundup!
I’m delighted and honored to be included! I also love many of the other projects, and am planning to try a few for myself , like the tea set or sewing kit in a jar — so handy!
You can find other projects online or in their November issue. Thanks again, BHG!
New! in my Etsy shop, just in time for the holidays! ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆
The Tokyo Craft Kit, $25
As I mentioned earlier, I have a slight crush on masking tape. It is inexpensive and colorful, and so it always finds its way into my shopping basket.
I’ve started carrying masking tape with me everywhere I go. And a notebook. And stickers, colored pens, a sewing kit, the occasional hair bow, and embroidery floss. It is important to be prepared when when inspiration strikes.
And so, the idea for a Tokyo Craft Kit was born. Each on-the-go DIY craft kit includes a handmade drawstring bag full of whimsical and fun craft goodies: stickers, notebook, 4-color pen, a self-inking stamp, a dainty bow pin, and 2 rolls of masking tape.
Last week I went to the mt tape expo in Shibuya. mt tape is a Japanese washi paper masking tape. It comes in a variety of colors and patterns and is delightful. At the expo, all of the walls and floors and windows were covered in masking tape. They hung pretty little globes from the pretty tape-covered ceiling.
I wandered through the expo then found myself at an impromptu craft party, sitting in the sunshine with strangers where we ooh-ed and nodded our approval of the evolving tape masterpieces around us. A few girls squealed the occasional “kawaii!” It was a charming afternoon.
I love mt tape, and am doing my part to keep this company in business. I walked away from the expo and pop-up shop with this haul:
What do you do with fancy masking tapes (and pudding stickers), you ask? Well, I tape stuff. I decorate packages (if you’ve ordered from my Etsy shop, you might have noticed). I tape up gifts, notebooks, pencils, my umbrella. I use it to say “hands off, this pen is mine!” I mark special dates on my calendar and embellish notes to friends. Sometimes I even use it to tape something to something else.
Saké Puppets 