Iron Craft Challenge #26--Timely Crafting

More Handmade Wrapping Paper

Well, I can't believe that the end has finally come--the last Iron Craft Challenge for 2013. For this challenge, we were asked to complete our item within 1 hour. Using materials that I had left over from other projects, I decided to re-purpose some handmade wrapping paper.

One of the difficulties of being a paper artist is that people have certain expectations of you during holidays and special occasions. I had a last minute party to attend and we were playing the gift game so I had to bring an unexpected gift.

In this post, I showed you how I used my wall to expand my crafting space. Here, I showed how I made handmade wrapping paper from discarded packing supplies for Iron Craft Challenge #23--The White Challenge. 

Using the leftover wrapping paper that I had made for the White Challenge, I put it on the wall again so I could decorate it with more color.

Using the wall again for painting

I then used Emerald Green, Pine Green and Burgundy acrylic paints on top of the white and silver paper. I then used five different alcohol inks to mute the colors (two shades of green, two shades of red, and orange).

Finished with color

In this post, I suggested that I was going to use the snow stencils in a different way.  I wrapped the gift that I was going to give away in the paper from above. I then took white primer spray paint and used one of the snow stencils from Japan to paint the stencil on top of the package.

Final product.

The gift was a hit at the party especially after I told everyone how the wrapping paper was made.

I am a little sad to see 2013 go away. It has been a great year for creating, crafting, and blogging for me. I am very happy to say that I fulfilled one of my New Year's resolutions for 2013--Finish all 26 Iron Craft Challenges. If you click on the blue label called IronCraft13 below, you will see all 26 challenges that I was able to create.

More Japan Goodies; From My Stash

What many Americans don't realize is that celebrating Christmas in Japan is very popular and lucrative. Although less than one percent of the population claim to be Christian, Japanese people love to celebrate the occasion rather than the religious significance of the holiday.

On my latest trip to Japan, I came across these "snow stencils." Snow stencils used to be popular during the 50s, 60s and 70s here in the United States. These stencils are used when spraying "fake" or "canned" snow when decorating on windows or glass. Smaller versions are used when crafting with etching cream. These stencils measure about 8.5 inches by 12 inches.

Each stencil package contains two stencils. There appear to be 14 sets of which I was able to purchase 5 sets. I will not be using these for window decorations but will use them for a different purpose and I will share how they are used in a later post.

On My Bookshelf

Today's selection is a new book to my library. I couldn't continue my discussion of my crafting haul from Japan without a Japan Craft Book to add to the mix. I have collected Japanese craft books ever since I lived there while in the military. I started collecting origami books because you really didn't need to understand the text because the diagrams were enough (Japanese folders where the first to develop the diagram system that is now accepted worldwide as the standard). I then started to collect books on Japanese Mizuhiki (Japanese Paper Cords) and finally I started collecting books on Japanese gift wrapping.

As I was in the airport in Sapporo for my return trip home, I realized that I hadn't had a chance to visit any of the bookstores while in Tokyo. I happened upon an airport bookstore and asked for origami books. Within the selection of books the attendant brought me was this book (roughly translated as Wonderful Disney Cutouts) by March Sakura (I am sure that is a nom de plume).

The book contains 41 cutout projects based on Disney characters. The author provides templates for artwork, ornaments, greeting cards and candle screens. Most of the designs are self explanatory and the cover shows two framed examples of the type of projects available (note: since most of the templates are full sized models, I chose not to share any of the patterns to protect them from being used/distributed online without purchasing the book).

I might have to start collecting a new type of Japanese craft book.

(Disclaimer--I do not speak or read Japanese. I had one of my coworkers translate the title and profile for me).

From My Stash

Today, I wanted to continue my discussion regarding my trip to Japan. While there, I was able to visit Nagoya, Sapporo and Tokyo. I was very lucky to be able to stay in Tokyo for several days. Because my down time was severely limited, I wasn't able to explore the craft scene like I normally do. Also, I had to visit with some paper vendors while I was there so most of my time was spent doing business.With what little down time that I was able to use, I found this book very helpful in navigating my way very efficiently. 

I believe that Japan has to be the leader in making, marketing, and using tape in a meaningful way. Washi tape has been around for quite a while but they still manage to update/renew its properties in such a way as to make it intriguing. I did notice some different trends in deco tape (decorator tape), though.

The first product is actually from Germany and is called "paper loop." It is a stylish decorated packing tape. It has more adhesive on the back than washi tape and therefore can be used for more permanent closing of boxes/packages. There is a slight sheen to the paper used but it can be used in a variety of uses. The pattern repeats every 40cm. I used it to decorated a package wrapped in plain white craft paper. The tape can be used in parallel (shown below) or it can be used perpendicular and since the design is symmetrical, it appears as if there is a single large bow on the package. There are four options: large red bow on white, small red looped string on white, large blue bow on brown (craft paper brown) and small red looped string on brown. There are about 50m of tape on a roll so you get a lot of bang for your buck (about 55 yards). 

paper loop from German

Basic package with tape

Big Bow (image from www.abodee.nl)

Red String Loop
(image from www.abodee.nl)

Blue Bow (image from www.abodee.nl)

Blue String Loop
(image from www.abodee.nl)

Washi tape is changing as we know it. While the patterns and colors are widening, the interesting changes are due to the width of the tape. Now, the tape is coming in much larger widths. The width shown below is the 3" width but there were 6", 9" and 12" widths available as well. The trend now seems to be plaids and checks. Older trends tended to be horizontal and vertical stripes and polka dots.

Another new development in tape is Mylar stenciled cut reflective tape. While similar Mylar tapes have traditionally been used for the holidays in past seasons, the new variations are these cut out tapes that are appearing for the holidays. They are being sold in a four pack of tapes with a variety of Christmas designs. They are a little costly so I would use them sparingly (e.g., small packages) and for decorative purposes only. There isn't enough structure to the tape to use them for closing or securing packages. The tape is adhered to a mylar backing strip and you simply release the tape and place it down on the spot where you want to use it. Once it is placed, you will not be able to move it without damaging the package or tearing the tape. The product is very finicky but the impact is pretty amazing. I saw four color choices for this series of tapes: red, green, silver and gold.

New Washi tape and
Mylar tapes

Mylar tape detail

I will continue to share with you some more of the products that I was able to find on my shopping journeys.

From My Stash

Today's post is the first in a series that illustrates what it is like to do crafts in Japan. Following the guidelines from this book, I took one of the adventures to FabricLand to try and find some fabric that I could use for book cloth. To be able to do so, it really helps to start with cotton fabric. I also wanted to something kid friendly because I wanted to use the book cloth to recover composition books to sell in my Etsy shop.

Here are three of the fabrics that I found that foot the bill. The pieces of fabric measure about 44 inches in width by 12 inches in height as measured parallel to the selvage edge (this is about the same as a regular 1/3rd yard in the U.S.). The middle selection costs about $4 and the other two cost about $4.50 each.

Iron Craft Challenge #24--Miniature Christmas Tree

For the 24th Iron Craft Challenge, we were given the theme of the holidays. According to the challenge, "So, we are just going to go with the flow here at Iron Craft and tell you to make something for the holidays for this challenge. Let's face it, that's what most of us are working on right now anyway."

I had the additional challenge of being away in Japan for most of the preparation time. I arrived home on Saturday before the deadline so I decided to work with materials that I could find while in Tokyo. I went to a local florist and found this miniature evergreen plant.

Bare Evergreen Plant

Using materials found at one of the famous Craft Stores in Tokyo (Tokyu Hands), I decided to decorate the tree with: a miniature paper chain (made from quilling strips), miniature Origami cranes (made from traditional Japanese washi), battery operated colored lights, holiday stickers, and imported miniature wooden ornaments.

Angel stickers and paper chain

The tree topper is made from two angel foam stickers that are placed on either side of a top branch of the evergreen. Other foam stickers were used to decorate some of the other branches as well (candy canes and wreaths).

Origami Cranes

Origami cranes (flying crane model) were made from traditional Japanese paper.

Wooden ornaments

Miniature wooden ornaments from Hungary were draped around the plant. After the tree was decorated with miniature battery operated lights, the tree was finished.

The tree was left for the housekeeping staff after I left the hotel. I received a letter of appreciation from the hotel after I left. Apparently, the housekeeping staff took pictures with the tree.

On My Bookshelf

As you read this, I will returning home to the United States from spending 10 days in traveling Japan. I will have visited Nagoya, Tokyo and Sapporo. Last week, I mentioned an ebook that I purchased as a guide to fabric and notions shopping while in Tokyo. The second book that I purchased was the Kindle version of Tokyo Shopping Guide by Marceline Smith.

This guide is very similar to the Tour Guide Books that are available for any major city but the beauty of this book is that it highlights the craft stores of Tokyo and other major cities in Japan. The book highlights the major, and many minor, craft stores in Tokyo. There are also shopping guides to Tokyo areas for shopping and sightseeing. The author also provides many opportunities for other non-shopping excursions (many of which have the possibility of buying souvenirs). The primary excursion that I tried to fit into my itinerary was the Ghigli Museum.

The author also provides a limited mini-guide to Osaka and Kyoto. Finally, the author provides very insightful tips to make your trip to Japan even more meaningful. Highly, highly recommended.

On My Bookshelf

By the time you read this post, I will have spent almost a week traveling in Japan. I decided to get two e-books to research some of the craft shopping in Tokyo. The first book is Tokyo Craft Guide (available here) by Frances Arikawa and Angela Salisbury. Although the primary topic of crafting is fabric and notions, there are a variety of other crafting supplies presented in the book.

Rather than featuring specific stores, the authors highlight "shopping adventures" that are condensed into 6 shopping excursions. Within each area, the authors list stores of interest as well as other tidbits of information that turn a shopping trip into a shopping excursion. The authors provide information about cafes and eateries, other interesting places to shop, parks and rest areas, kid friendly areas and those secret spots to find air conditioning, dry spaces and heated areas when the weather isn't cooperating.

This is a well researched book and is presented in a concise, friendly manner. A must have guide for those fabric shoppers out there who are visiting Tokyo.