Everyone is Japanese Fundraising Charity Event



Today, I have an announcement to share with you about the upcoming fundraising event for Japan Relief.

My girlfriend belongs to a nonprofit organization called Melting Pot Moms, in the Orange County area of Southern California, and they are having a fundraising event "Everyone is Japanese" on this Sunday, May 1.

The event will be held at:

Flintridge Clubhouse
28112 Roanoke Drive
Ladera Ranch, CA

On Sunday, May 1, 2011
6 - 9 pm

$10 donation is suggested for entry, and the event will feature Japanese traditional dance, origami crafts for the kids, hors d'oeuvres and beverages, an opportunity raffle, and all donations will be sent directly to Miyagi Prefectural Government of Japan.



As for my part, I plan to donate several of my handmade items, including  flat zipper pouches, wristlet key fobs, and reversible mini drawstring bags, to this fundraiser.  My handmade items will be up for sale during the event, and entire proceeds will be donated to Japan by the organizer.

On top of the zipper pouches, key fobs, and drawstring bags, I made these reversible tote bags using Japanese fabrics for additional donated items.

The first bag I made is a Hello Kitty tote bag.   Initially, I purchased this fabric in Japan a while ago for my girls, but I thought it is a good chance to use this lovely fabric for this occasion.



The reversible side is solid pink.



The bag has flat bottom and is roomy enough to carry everyday items, or it is a good size to be used as library tote for young children.



Another bag I made for this fundraiser event is this one.  The bag is also reversible, and the exterior is made of Japanese fabric (linen cotton blend).   I used pink x white polka dots flannel print for the handles and the pocket.



The reversible side is also pink x white polka dots flannel print.  I love the combination of dusty pink and white dots of this soft flannel fabric. 


Unfortunately, I may not be attend the event myself... but I hope you can join if you are in the area ;)

Thanks for reading and thank you for your continued support for Japan Relief...!


Patchworked flex frame pouches


Hello, there! 

Today, I wanted to share with you about my latest additions in my shop - flex frame pouches.

The exterior of these pouches are made by combining several different fabrics, mainly featuring the floral prints from the "Betty Dear" line from my favorite fabric designer Darlene Zimmerman.  I love these beautiful floral prints!


For those of you who are not familiar with "flex frames", these are the 12 cm (4.5 inch) sized flex frames that I used to make these pouches.   By the way, flex frames are very popular in Japan.



The opening area is approximately 12 cm (or 4.5 inches) wide as shown below.




Flex frames make the pouches very convenient to use.  You only need one hand to open the pouch, with just a touch of a "squeeze"!




These pouches are fully padded with fusible fleece, so it's safe enough to carry your valuable items such as cell phone, smart phone, digital camera, other gadgets, jewelry, cosmetics, craft items, etc. securely inside.




The pouches has flat bottom of approximately 1.5 inch (4 cm) in depth.   With the fleece batting used throughout, these flex frame pouches are pretty sturdy and they can stand on its own like this.



I think these pouches will make wonderful Mother's day gift ;)


And here is just a few update about my fundraising efforts through my online shop sales proceeds...
As of today (4/19/2011), I've raised approximately USD $400 from my shop's sales proceeds, which I continue to plan to donate 100% to the American Red Cross Japan Relief.   I am short of $100 to reach my initial goal of $500 in sales proceeds... which I think is great!!!  

My fundraising effort continues, and here are some of other new items added to my shop recently. 


More Reversible mini drawstring bags in eye catching fabrics...



And this is a newly added padded long zipper pouch in Roses on blue stripes, which is made of Japanese imported quality cotton.


Thank you so much for reading my post, and I just can't thank enough to all of you for supporting my fundraising efforts for Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief, through kind words and encouragements, and through purchases from my shop

*Arigato* to you all, and I'll be back soooon!


Reversible mini drawstring bags and more


Hello my fellow crafters and bloggers.  Hope you're enjoying your crafting moments, as much as I am enjoying mine :)

As you may already know, I've been selling my handmade items in my online shop for about a month now to generate money for Japan Earthquake/Tsunami fundraising.   And so far, I've raised over USD $350 (as of 4/16/2011) and I am thrilled!  Thanks to all of you who continue to encourage and support me and my shop in many ways.  I truly appreciate your kind heart and generosity.

Well, my fundraising efforts continues, and I've added new items in my shop recently. 
These are mini drawstring bags, that are reversible and comes with fun cotton prints.


Grosgrain tapes (3/8 inch / 9 mm) are used for the drawstring cords, and it's a good sized pouch to organize small items in your purse such as cosmetics, keys, cell phones and gadgets, snacks, kids' toys, etc.

I think it's also nice to use these mini drawstring bags as gift wrapping, to hold small gifts such as hand cream, chap sticks, soap, jewelry, gift cards, etc. inside, and present it altogether to your friends and loved ones.


This is the reversible side of the drawstring bags.



   I love the unique *dew drop* shapes of these pouches!


Also, in an effort to raise more money for fundraising, I will be selling some of my favorite Japanese craft books.  I selected the ones that are used gently and are in very good condition. 


Some of the craft books are already listed in my shop.  The remaining will soon be listed, so go check out my shop if you are interested. 
Well, thanks for stopping by and hope you continue to enjoy your April days.  See you soon ;)



2 way tote bag



Hello!  I am back in town from our family trip and our kids are back in school from today, after one week of spring break.   My online shop is now open, too :)


Well today, I'd like to show you this 2 way tote bag that I whipped up for my younger sister who recently had a baby boy in January...

I call it a "2 way tote" because this bag can be used as a regular tote bag (with two bag handles), or it can be carried as a shoulder bag/messenger bag (using the attached long strap).


From my experience, I know that new moms need to carry TONS of baby stuff in their bag... and I thought it would be convenient if one bag can be used both ways as tote bag and a shoulder/messenger bag.


Side view


I added a small *tree* tag on the side of the bag exterior...


 I used this polka dots fabric for the bottom of the tote (home decor weight).


This is the reversible side of the bag.  Both the floral print and the blue polka dots print fabrics are soft flannel.



This 2 way bag is pretty roomy.   As you can see here, 2 half gallons of milk (1.89 liters each) can be easily packed into the bag.




The exterior elephant fabric is one of my favorite.  It is a sturdy home decor fabric that is thick and strong.
Hope my sis likes the tote!



And here is just a few updates from my online shop...

I've added more padded flat zipper pouches in my shop. These pouches are all made of quality Japanese imported fabrics, and are fully padded with fusible fleece.   9 inch (23cm) zipper is used for the opening.



As of tonight (4/11/2011), I've raised $280 from my shop's sales proceeds, which I plan to donate 100% to the American Red Cross Japan Relief.  I will continue my fundraising efforts until I reach my initial goal of $500 in sales proceeds.   






Thank you so much for visiting my blog, and thank you so much for supporting Japan Relief!!

Hope you all have a wonderful week :)

Tiny pincushion made with crochet, linen, and a hand carved eraser stamp



Hello!  

Today is April 1st, and here in Southern California where I live, all of a sudden we are experiencing a springlike weather with temperature rising as high as 82F (28C) during the day... Our girls went off to school with T shirts and shorts, and I had them bring big bottles of icy waters to school this morning. Talk about sweaty kids around here :D



Anyways, today,  I wanted to show you something I made several weeks ago but hadn't had a chance to post here.  It's a tiny pincushion made with crochet, linen, and a hand carved eraser stamp.



Side view



The pincushion bottom is crocheted with wool yarns in gray and white, and the cushion part is made of 100% linen,  filled with poly fill.  I stamped my hand carved eraser stamp on the top of the pincushion to add a finishing touch.


Bottom view



The round bottom makes it somewhat unstable when placed on the sewing table...  but I really like the simple look of this pincushion.




By the way, I have few announcements about my etsy shop

As you may already know, I reopened my shop in the end of March, in hope to raise money for the Japan Earthquake Relief.  


Images of padded flat zipper pouches sold in my shop.


I am very grateful to announce that so far, I've raised $227 $267 (as of 4/2/11 midnight)  from sales proceeds, which I plan to donate 100% to the American Red Cross Japan Relief.    I still plan to continue my fundraising efforts until I reach my initial goal of $500 in sales proceeds, but I can't thank enough for those of you who continue to support me for this cause.   Thank you very much!!

 Also, I will be closing my shop temporarily from tonight, 4/2/2011 midnight, for a week, until 4/8/2011, as I will be out of town with my family members to visit our elderly relative who lives out of state.
I will be taking a short break from crafting and blogging, but I plan to go back to my sewing table when I return home, to continue to raise money for the Japan Relief.

Thank you very much for visiting and reading my blog, and hope you all have a wonderful month of April!!




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