Vintage Ceramic Treasures Discovered

While traveling, I often peek into antique shops in the hope of finding something unique and irresistible.  During a quick stop at the Cambridge Antiques store in Boston, I uncovered two vintage ceramic pieces. This first one was made by the Roseville company in 1944.  The glaze color and unique shape made it stand apart from all the other 'stuff' on the shelves of ceramic items. For a piece of pottery 82 years old it was in great condition, having a lovely glaze with no cracks or chips.

From the top view, you can see the frog holes that are meant to hold the flowers or greenery.  I need to find a large glass bowl to set the frog in so I can arrange some flowers in the piece.  I think gardenias from our garden will look great blossoming from this vintage piece.  I paid very little for this flower frog and after research I discovered it was a real 'find' worth several times what it cost.

The second ceramic piece that I 'discovered' at the same antique store was this small matte glazed pitcher.  Although this piece doesn't have an impressed mark to identify the maker, I think it probably at one time had a foil sticker with the maker's name and date of production.  If I would have to guess, I think it likely was made in California during the 60's or 70's.  It just has that west coast 'hippie' vibe...like me!  It doesn't take much to make me happy and for just a few dollars this little pitcher really brought a smile to my heart. I'm sure many would disagree (especially my kids) but I believe that we should surround ourselves with items and people who make us smile and bring back memories of happy times.  Yes, I've become one of those old ladies who has a story to go with everything in her house.  I can tell you stories about every collectible so don't ask unless you have lots of time. LOL!

Chiikawa Figure with Macrons on Jar Top

 Here is the second Chiikawa figure jar that I've made.  Like the prvious blog post the components were adhered to the cover with Padico UV resin that was set with a UV light.  The little hearts are actually confetti (HM Ben Franklin Crafts). 

The macrons were made from Hearty clay and were formed in a silicon mold.  I can't remember where I purchased the mold from but I think you could hand form the macrons.  Like the previous Chiikawa jar, this one is waterproof so it would make a great washable food jar...I suggest a sweet treat! It doesn't take many supplies to make a cute jar like this and it comes together quickly because of the 1 minute setting UV resin  available from HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  You don't have to use a Chiikawa figure...look around and I'm sure you'll find something that will make a perfect cover topper. Cute, useful and handmade are the perfect ingredients for a great craft project. Give it a try!

Chiikawa Figure with Flowers and Butterflies on Jar Top

When in Japan we saw many people eager to purchase some figures with large round heads and expressive faces so we bought some, too! Hahaha! Copycats!  I later learned that these figures were the rage because of their association with Manga.  The packages I purchased were mystery ones meaning that I couldn't see which one I was getting.  It turned out that two of the six figures were duplicates so I decided to use them to deorate some glass jars from Daiso. The first one had a very bald head  and I decided it needed something whimsical so I added a butterfly.  On the rest of the jar lid I added flowers, leaves, and another butterfly before pouring Padico UV LED resin over them. It just took a few minutes to harden the resin with a UV light.

Some of the flowers were actually confetti and others were tiny artificial ones. Both of them and the plastic leaves (from Daiso) were easily adhered with resin (Padico) and cured under a UV light. A bit of resin was also applied to the sticker butterflies to firm up their wings.  This jar lid is waterproof so it can be washed and used to hold edibles.  I think this jar made good use of an extra plastic Chiikawa figure and it will probably will make a Manga fan very happy. I was really pleased to make another pretty and useful container. You can do it too....really!

 

Moru (Chenille) Doll with Hearts and Sweets on Glass Jar

 I made the Moru (Chenille) doll a long time ago from a kit I purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  I liked it so much that I kept it on my desk to play with....I bent the limbs and added a hairclip. One day I had the great idea to glue it onto the wooden lid of a Daiso glass jar (like I did with the ceramic cats in a former post).  I glued on a plastic lollipop and some other treats that I purchased from HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  Next, I applied some Padico UV LED resin around the doll and arranged some plastic heart beads (available at Daiso) onto the resin before turning ont the UV lamp. After a few minutes, the resin was set all around the jar lid. Just like that....it was done!  I am really pleased with the outcome of this instant project.  I plan to keep hair clips and elastic hair bands in this sweet jar.  Because the Moru doll is not washable, I will only keep non-edibles in the jar. This is an easy project that you can easily do in a few hours. Use your creativity to make a jar that makes you happy! I did and I am so HAPPY!

Banana Bread Studded With Persimmons, Raisins and Chestnuts

I had some dried persimmons, raisins and chestnuts from Japan and I thought that they would be nice in a loaf of bread, but I didn't want to make kneaded, yeast bread to try my idea out. I opted to make a simple banana bread (my Mom's recipe) and add the chopped fruits and nuts.  My cooking experiment turned out attractive and yummy.  The recipe usually makes one large loaf but I divided the batter into two small loaves...one to try and one to freeze for later.  Because I like giving baked goods for gifts, I am happy that this test bake was a success.  Time is always short during the holidays so having a quick but special looking treat to give to friends and family is always swonderful.  To me, baking like crafting is full of experiments.  Please share the results of your creative ideas!

Japan Hobby Show 2026

Always a highlight of my craft year, this is the entrance of Big Site where the Japan Hobby Show has been  held for over a decade.  This year as always... rain or shine, tired or not I move my feet through the long walk to the showroom doors.  Once inside I forget all the time and effort it took to make it through to the giant craft area.  

One of the first incredibly irresistible handmade crafts I spied were these dessert cats.  I thought I would circle around and buy one later, but I forgot....sigh, maybe I can figure out how to make one myself.  If only I can find some miniature dessert dishes I'll be in business!

Another booth that I was entranced by was one that had  a variety of paper products. Some of the items for sale are already in our HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  I especially love the paper dioramas...so intricate and beautiful. Japanese crafters are also very talented at creating gorgeous cards.  I think they do way more correspondence by mail than we do in the U.S.

If I could have gotten a bonsai plant arrangement back to Hawaii, I would have purchased one.  They were so fantastic and artistic in a refined, simple way.  The seller had most of the bonsai arrangements encased in plastic like individual greenhouses.  I loved the way that the arrangements were so perfect that I had to go up close and touch the leaves to realize they were real.  I'm sure the booth owner really loved me touching everything....my hands were clean...really!

Another favorite booth was the one with ceramic bowls and handmade wooden utensils.  If I didn't just buy a bunch of wooden spoons and gorgeous tea bowls from the Toji Shrine fair, I would have made the booth owner very rich and happy.  Sadly, I really couldn't add more weight to my suitcases.  I didn't have an inch or ounce to give to the acquisition of handmade Japanese treasures.  Ah, but there is always next year and I understand that the Japan Hobby show will be at Big Site again. Hopefully, the show won't be at the tail end of my trip when my suitcases are bulging. LOL! I don't think I've ever left Japan with even the tiniest space in any of my many suitcases! I hope that this post has whetted your appetite for Japanese crafts and you'll make an effort to attend the show nest year.

Confetti Gel Card for a Dog Man Fan

Since I had fun making my confetti gel cards and loved the look of them, I decided to make one for my grandson. He is a big fan of the Dog Man book series so I made a copy of a Dog Man image, sprayed it with a matte clear coating and cut it out. Like the previous gel cards (see earlier post) I placed gel and confetti in a small baggie before sealing it with glue.  This baggie was then glued into a decorated window card which had a piece of white card stock behind the gel bag.

I couldn't resisit making a Dog Man gift card with the extra image that was printed. I sized the image to fit a small card and envelope that I had in my stash. The result of this card was so pleasing that I think I'll find out the favorite characters of other relatives to make them gel birthday cards too! What other gel crafts can I create?  Visit this blog site to find out!