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Monthly Archives: January 2010

Japanese Craft Books

Next week I’ll be in New York and this blog will be quiet. One of the many things I hope to be doing is shopping at a few crafts shops the likes of which just can’t be found around my little hometown in West Virginia.

On a previous trip I bought these Japanese craft books at Kinokuniya Book Store, located across from Bryant Park. Although not a traditional craft store, they do carry a nice selection of books and some good quality Japanese craft supplies. And no, I can’t read Japanese. Thankfully craft books offer lots of pictures. (Although I was surprised to realize after I got home that the cat book is not just about making cute cat themed items. You’re supposed to make felt from your pet’s shed fur to create a very true-to-life likeness. Kind of creeped me out, really.)

I also stumbled across the English version of one of the books and bought it for my sister in law. (Now I can call her for a translation if I get stuck making a Cute Dog!)

Hopefully I’ll have some fun crafty stuff to tell you about when I get back – have a great week!

3 Comments

Posted by Sarah Cooper on January 8, 2010 in Craft Books

Tags: Craft Books, Japanese

Moo Card Boxes

06 Jan

One of my Christmas gifts this year was Japanese washi tapes in a delicious range of colors. This tape is addictive! It’s like a masking tape, but is transparent enough that you can use it to highlight words or layer with other colors of tape to create different hues. It tears or cuts easily and will even peel up and remain adhesive enough to stick back down several times, which is very handy for crafting. I’ve seen it used quite a bit in scrapbooking, but I decided to use it to dress up a Moo card box.

Peeling back the tape I’d already applied let me weave the pieces together somewhat.

I love subtle sheen of the tape and the way the colors look together on the finished box.

Next week I’ll be in New York for a conference where I’ll meet lots of new people. Usually I transfer my business cards to a smaller holder, but for times like this I like to bring the whole box along with me. I decorated a few other Moo card box tops (I have lots!) and think I’ll take this one with me:

This one was made with origami paper cut just smaller than each side of the box, applied with a little Mod Podge.

The Moo cards in the box have a different picture from New York on each card. My hope is that when meeting new people, I can let them choose a card with sights they like, which gives us something to talk about. Shy people plan ahead like that. :)

5 Comments

Posted by Sarah Cooper on January 6, 2010 in Oddball Crafts

Tags: Japanese Washi Tape, Mod Podge, Moo Cards, Origami Paper

My Last Craft of 2009

04 Jan

This was one of those out-of-the-blue crafts that sneaks up when you least expect it. Early on New Year’s Eve, I suddenly wondered what my favorite version of “crap” would look like if it were embroidered and framed by its own embroidery hoop. Because you know if you frame it, it’s art.

This word comes from a real estate agent friend of mine who uses an MLS service of nearly the same name. The MLS doesn’t quite work as described and creates a decent amount of frustration. I’ll finish this and mail it off to him, and being a guy he’ll probably have no idea what to do with it.

But sometimes you just craft stuff because the idea was there and it couldn’t be helped.

4 Comments

Posted by Sarah Cooper on January 4, 2010 in Oddball Crafts, Personalized Crafts

Tags: Embroidery, Redwork