Japanese Hula Festival

While in Japan we stayed in the small town of Kinshicho. By accident we came upon a Hula Festival in a nearby park.  Who knew that Japanese have such a big interest in Hawaiian hula dancing? There are approximately 2 million hula dancers in Japan! These three pretty ladies were some of the festival royalty.        

There seemed to be an endless stream of performers, all dresses in authentic looking costumes.  The dancers and musicians were really good and the crowd was thoroughly entertained.

Also there were many booths selling colorful Hawaiian wearables. The prices and styles were great so I bought a couple of 'Hawaiian' outfits to wear back home.
 

We were surprised to see local Hawaiian plants for sale too.  I rarely see ohia or pikake plants for sale even in Hawaii.  The plants were healthy and sold for a song....wish I could have taken some home on    the plane.

I just spotted the muu muu I purchased from one of the vendors in the lower right of this photo. Hahaha!  Anyway you can tell I had fun browsing and being entertained at this Japanese Hula Festival.  Apparently, they have a hula festival every year in this Kinshicho park. I think the people of this little town are doing a wonderful job of promoting the charm of Hawaii and the ftradition of hula dancing.

Confetti Gel Birthday Cards

After watching Joy and Ren demonstrate the 'gel in a jar' prduct on Joy of Crafting, I knew I HAD to buy some.  After playing with the gel for awhile, I decided to try incorporating it into a card.  I started by putting some gel (about 1 Tablespoonful) into a small ( 3-1/4 "x 5-1/2 ") plastic zip bag. Next I added some confetti to the bag. Don't use confetti that are too big or have sharp edges.)  After getting just the right amount in the bag so when zipped closed just a thin layer of gel is encased, I sealed the bag with glue so that gel would not leak if the bag was squeezed too hard.  For the card I used matte white card stock (available at HM BFC in a pack) to cut a 11" x 5-3/4" piece.  This piece was folded into three panels and the center was cut out with a 2-3/4" x 4" Spellbinders rounded corner rectangular die.  Stamped images and words plus printed paper were used to decorate the card front. The corners of the cards were cut with a Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper (one of my favorite tools).

As you can see, the variety of confetti gel cards is endless and they make a wonderful, playful surprise for the recipient.  I know I'll be making more of these cards in the future and perhaps I'll try making a confetti gel cover for a gift box.  Now I've got to buy more colors of gel to play with....off to HM Ben Franklin Crafts!  

Toji Shrine Fair 2026

I was lucky to attend the Toji Shrine Fair again this year. It is held on the 21st of every month...rain or shine.  In good weather it is a rather large event with delicious local foods, gorgeous, resonably priced antiques, and lovely craft items for sale.  

I tend to concentrate on the old dishes and handmade items as I am a collector and always on the hunt for new craft ideas. Japanese crafters are meticulous, clever, and seem to undervalue their crafted items.

Over the years my husband and I have collected way too many kokeshi dolls.  I love the ones that bob their heads!  Due to house space, we've stopped collecting the really large dolls and try to limit our purchases to only special looking kokeshi dolls.  On this trip we found a much desired doll with a secret note space in it's body....of course we bought it....a steal at 200 yen!

I mostly spent my time (at the fair) acquiring tea bowls and even though I never drink tea from them, I love the look of their shape and variety of glazes.  Some of the sellers put outrageous prices on their ceramicware, but here and there a true bargain beauty can be found.

I wish I had taken more photos to show you the breadth of the fair but I was so engrossed in searching for new treasures.  I even tripped and fell flat on my face into a display of bowls spread on the ground....I didn't break a single bowl! Of all the things we do and see in Japan, I enjoy attending the Toji Shrine Fair the most.  I guess I'm a treatsure hunter at heart and enjoy meeting/chatting with the talented crafters. I hope someday you will be able to attend the fair and find your own handmade goodies, both antiques and edibles!

 

Washi Paper Covered Notepads with Japanese Fabric Charms

 

Recently, while looking for something in my super messy craft area, I 'discovered' two undecorated notepads. They were purchased a long time ago from HM Ben Franklin Crafts. The notepads were made from kraft paper cardboard and had simple magnet clasps. I'm sure you can fashion one yourself using a self-stick note pad, kraft construction paper and some Velcro tabs. Anyway, it was simple cut and paste to cover the notepads with printed Japanese washi paper (lots availiable at HM BFC).  The fabric charms were made from kits purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  At first the small parts may seem overwhelming but trust me they are really simple.  Although the instructions are in Japanese, it is easy to translate using Google Translate on your phone.  The kits are for making charms but I thought they would make great decorations for washi covered notepads.  All you really need is a sharp pair of scissors (small) and 3-in-1 glue. This is absolutely my favorite glue because it had the right viscosity to grab quickly but still allow for sliding the parts around to adjust into place.  Also this glue dries clear and permanent.The padding on the charms is just perfect for giving some dimension and interest to the notepads I think making a bunch of these notepads would be perfect for party favors or just small gifts for no reason at all. Don't you love giving and receiving unexpected surprises?

                                          

    

Cat Candy Containers

I love shopping at Daiso because I never know what I'll find there.  Both the jars and the ceramic cats were from Daiso and were simply put together with UV-LED resin. I thought about just using E6000 glue to adhere the cats to the jar tops, but then I thought the resin would give the containers a more professional look.  I simply spread a generous layer of the resin (Padico UV-LED Resin hard ) onto the wooden cover, positioned the cats and aimed the UV-LED light.  I moved the light around so I was sure that l hardedned all areas of the lid. These cat jars were so easy to create and turned out so cute that I know I'll be making more of them in the future.  Daiso carries many other ceramic animals too, in various sizes. The containers can be used for holding many things besides candy....like paper clips, cotton balls, rubber bands, etc.  Decorated glass jars like these would be perfect as party favors, so easy and inexpensive. Go check out your nearest Daiso and discover a multitude of crafting supplies for your next creative project. 

Shaker Resin Charms

Recently, I've been having fun making resin shaker charms.  It was easy because all the supplies needed (except the resin) came in a kit.  I purchased these kits from Japan and HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  Although the instructions for the charms are written in Japanese, it wasn't difficult to use an app (Google Translate) to decifer the words into English.  I was quite impressed with the cleverness of these kits to use resin to construct little pockets to hold the confetti, forming shaker elements.

Some of the kits make two charms and I printed acetate film with the designs so that I could later make multiple charms using the reuseable resin molds.  There are many shaker charm kits available and I am eager to try more as the end products are so pleasing.  You should try making a shaker charm if you can acquire a kit, UV resin and a UV-LED light (sorry not in photo).  I know you'll have fun and will enjoy shaking your charm as it hangs from a favorite handbag.

The Unplanned Card

I call this card the 'unplanned one' as it was created from bits and pieces which somehow all work together.  The card began from a test that I did on craft paper using a Hero Arts background stamp.  I thought that the stamped image looked really old like weathered wood.  In my stash of printed washi papers collected over many years, I found a damaged piece that seemed just right for this card.  I cut away the insect holes and foxing (rust colored stains) and highlighted a mountain shape.  I really like the overall look of this printed washi paper because it looks like an old block print.   

I didn't have many character stamps to choose from and most of them were too large.  I selected one that had 'success' in small print beneath the Japanese characters.  I heat embossed the stamped image on black paper with silver embossing powder..  I am very pleased with this 'unplanned card' and hope to use it for a graduation or birthday card. I always struggle to make masculine-looking cards so I am happy with this creation and I'm sure I will use it relatively soon.