Busy Days!

So I realized that without getting ready the night before, it really is impossible to get all ready in the morning and get a blog post up while making sure that my homework is up to date. Hehe. School and homework take time? What is that? Phttt. :P

Anywho, I HAVE been taking pictures of my latest crafts and adventures so here they are!

First off is a terrible picture of a very romantic event. :D We had been out shopping late when we got home and it was just lightly sprinkling. So of course we sat on the curb and watched lightning play across the mountains. Then Ryler held out his hand and we danced under the street light in the rain! It was so fun and fulfilled a childhood fantasy of mine! The dance class we took together paid off! ;)

Next up is a display I made! Total of 10 pokeballs all made and designed by me in one week!! :D It is so fun seeing something I dreamed up actually happen and work! For those who don't know (don't worry, I barely do too) the red ones are regular pokeballs. The blue ones are called great balls and the purple ones are master balls. :D I like to call them "Pokemari" since they are pokeballs made from Temari techniques. 

Ryler and I had decided to take a jaunt to the local Farmer's Market. I was trying a new hairstyle (which I love) called "panda ears". It was fun to do and wear. Then, we both decided to get a small bag of cherries to share! They were so good! I think Ryler is eating one in this picture. Isn't that just the cutest face? Yeah, I think so too. ;)

Since we are on the topic of food, here's something we made the other night. You ar looking at homemade donuts complete with sweet glaze! Yumm! We are definitely doing this again! You can find the recipe we used by following my Pinterest board Food:Tried and True. Here's the linky. https://www.pinterest.com/underlingqueen/food-tried-and-true-recipes-seriously-though/ 

 Next time we are going to try using lemon zest or crushed raspberries in the glaze. :)

The last couple of photos were taken over the course of a few days. There's a garden outside my work with some fun flowers in bloom right now! So I decided to take a picture of my necklaces! Now, I want you to take a close look and see something. I use the same chain everyday, but made it interchangeable by using a lobster clasp to attach the Temari or origami pendant! Now I only need a few chains, but can still have lots of different looks! =D 

Thanks for not giving up on me with such a long absence! I've actually planned a daily itinerary so that should help me stay effective and on top of everything going on. If not daily, I should at least manage to do every couple of days at least. :) My priority for now is to graduate in April 2016, so that's where I'll be focusing most of my energies. 

What tricks do you have for staying organized for more than a few days? Post any suggestions in the comments below! =D

First Comission!

Someone was interested in purchasing a temari keychain from me! =D Of course I was thrilled. Unfortunately, I didn't get a really good picture of the finished product before I sold it to him, but here is a picture of the almost finished product. 

Initially, the design was going to be done on a white string base, but I decided that the tan would be better for the blue on blue design.I think you can agree with me that it turned out great! this is the first blue on blue design that I've done so I was a little uncertain as to how it would turn out, but I really love it! I definitely want to do this pattern again.

Here's the picture of the finished product. You can see well enough that I used the gold thread to outline the design to finish it off. 

This design is the most popular so far since it doesn't take as long to make.

Belated daily bag

Do you ever go to post something or send a message, then just never do? :D

Anyway! Here's today's bag contents!

Since Ididn't  have class today, my load was much lighter! Can you find the mascara? Yeah... I kinda slept in and didn't have time to do makeup before work. Hehehe. But that's okay because, yeah! :D

You guys are lucky ducks! I decided that I'd also throw in a picture of the bag that I use daily. :) 

In addition to my bag, here's a picture of the Temari I finished for the bag. 

 

I had fun working on this interlocked woven design! 

Then, because I was feeling creative, I tried my hand at making a yubinuki, or Japanese thimble. :D Don't look too closely though! It is my first attempt. 

I learned a lot on this project and look forward to making more! 

So Excited!!!!

First off, here's my bag contents!

I thought it would be fun instead of listing everything in the picture, just picking a few items and letting you play I-Spy!  So here they are! Headphones, eraser, Chapstick. 

On too my super exciting news! 

Over two and a half years ago, I served a mission for the LDS church is Nagoya Japan. I got to travel all over the place and met lots of amazing people. Today, I am meeting some of my favorite people who are visiting America and they don't even know it!!!!!!!!!! =D It's gonna be a surprise! I decided to make little Temari gifts for them while I was at it. Here are the three I just finished!

What's fun is that I actually used the exact same pattern on all three! The only difference is size, and the way the threads interact! Thread manipulation is my new favorite thing!

I can't wait to post pictures tomorrow of my friends!!! See you all then!

Tapping into Temari!

I realize it's been two weeks since I posted last... Well, I found something new and super exciting that I have been OBSESSING over!

I've been busy making these.

It's called Temari手まり. Temari is an ancient art of Japan. Surprise surprise! The literal translation is hand ball. You guessed it, these used to be toys for children to play with. Made from scrap kimono fabric and thread, mothers would wind and stitch these. While I'm not sure what patterns they used, I imagine that modern methods and stitching are inspired by tradition.  

Here's my story. I saw a pin on Pinterest and instantly fell in love! Within the day I tried my hand at it and found making Temari to be fairly simple if a bit time consuming. Instead of using styrofoam balls for the base like a lot of people do now, I used scrap fabrics for my first one then batting on the rest. After I finished my first temari, I couldn't stop! I had to try more! So many colors and patterns! The sky is the limit! 

Then I found this book.

In the above picture you can see the temari I've made so far and my new favorite book!

It's called Tiny Temari and Adorable Accessories! We discovered that we can order from the Japanese Amazon so we bought it. :) I love it! Seriously though. When It came in the mail I ran around the house screaming in delight! It took me a while to settle down enough to actually open it. Hahaha! It was exactly what I was looking for. Larger temari are nice, but not very useful beyond using it as a stress-ball or for decoration. I'm thinking necklaces and key chains. =D

Here's the first one I made! I used scrap fabric for the base, then wrapped it with black string. Once, the fabric was no longer peeking through, I marked the 8 divisions in the red thread. It's all very geometric. XD yay math?

 So once, the divisions were marked, I went in with the top stitching. All of the stitching on top anchors the thread that wraps around the ball. I used embroidery floss for this design. 

This one is about 2"

Of course it wouldn't be complete without the obi! The belt that goes around the center. 

It fits so nicely in my hand that I brought this with me to the dentist so I could trace the pattern while they were working on my mouth it helped take my mind off of what they were doing. Blegh! But it helped! ;)

Here's the second one! Same method as the first, but I used batting to make the base, then wrapped it with white string. This time I used cotton pearl thread for the top stitching. I love how shimmery it is! 

This one is 2.5-3 inches.

The obi. 

Thanks for the thread mom! 

Next up are the minis!

I just did a random wrap on this one in various colors. Just trying to do something different from the fancier stitches. I did this one before we found the book. :)

This little guy is 1 inch.

Here's the second mini and fourth attempt at temari. I kept this one simple. I didn't measure my divisions and just eyeballed everything... It's a little skiwampanidley as I like to say, or off as everyone else says. ;)

This one is also 1 inch.

I kept the obi simple on this one. 

Number 3 for the mini series! I made this one after getting the book on Tuesday. The design is called suisen 水仙 or daffodil. Ryler requested this one, so I think I'm going to make it into a key chain for him. =D As you can see I used a light blue string for the wrapping and a dark blue for the division markers.

This one is 1 inch.

The obi. 

Finally, we come to my most recent temari!

This one isn't done yet. In fact, all I've gotten finished is the division lines! It's unique from the others in a few ways. See that loop at the top? That is actually the top of a fishing weight! I realized it would be so easy to bury the weight and loop in the batting before wrapping the ball. :) It'll make it much easier to attach a necklace chain or anything else to it! 

Another difference is the divisions I used. Instead of the normal 6, 8, or 16 divisions, it's a variation on the 8 division. I'd explain, but I don't fully understand either. Hehehe....

It's pretty right? I've been tempted to just leave it as it is. But I'm excited to try a new pattern on it called bara 薔薇 or rose. Yeah... I'm pretty stoked!!!

Here's  a picture of the weights I used. 

I'll post photos as I complete the rose. =D

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Now you know what temari is! I'm so excited about making it. It's so different every time! 

What would you do with these? How would you use them? Leave a comment below! :D