A typical Life

It’s nice to be getting settled in Japan and our apartment is nicely furnished with the exception of art.  There are some stray hooks on the walls from the previous tenants that I have been itching to put to good use.  So here’s what I did….I took a trip t0 my local 100 Yen Store for supplies and created my own wall art.  Here are the steps:

Step 1 - Buy a frame and some origami paper that you like

Step 2 - Unwrap everything and choose your paper.  Green is my favorite color- so that was easy for me!

Step 3 - Cut the origami paper to the desired shape (I used the insert in the frame I purchased as my template), insert into the frame and hang your new artwork on the wall. 

You now have a new piece of wall art that cost you 200 Yen (around USD $2 ) and it looks great too!  This one is hanging proudly in my bathroom on on of those stray hooks and I even have some left over paper, Sugoi! 

First of all I wanted to show you all my finished elephant Amigurumi rattle:

Isn’t he just adorable? Well I think so and I hope my friends baby enjoys playing with it.

I also discovered an new item for my Japan to do list - I want to take part in a Stamp Rally which I discovered through DannyChoo.com. These stamps can be collected at various train stations and at other popular destinations in Japan.  Some of the stamps look absolutely stunning and I can imagine tons of uses for them. I’ll be buying a stamp book at the 100 Yen store to carry with me when I am out sightseeing so that I won’t miss one!

I also found one item that I will definitely not be purchasing while I am in Japan - a suit that is washable in the shower and doesn’t need to be ironed! The Mainichi Daily News wrote an article on this and there are versions for both men & women. I just can’t imagine how it would look after a few washings but it’s certainly very innovative!

Have a great weekend!

In you have read my about me page you will know that I love to knit and crochet. A couple of months ago I found out that two friends of mine are pregnant so I decided to make them baby blankets and amigurumi dolls as gifts. I was very fortunate to run across a pattern for these wonderful Japanese inspired creatures at CrochetMe a while back. Amigurumi are knitted or crocheted stuffed dolls that usually have a large head in proportion to their body and are just adorable. You can use your imagination to create anything that you want….

Last year I made my hubby a Baseball Dude which is proudly displayed in his office bookcase….

And now I am working on an elephant to go with the baby blanket that I just completed. I have decided to make a rattle out of the toy by inserting a hollow plastic egg filled with beads into the body. Here is the work in progress….

I’ll be sure to post a photo of it when it’s complete….