Japan Day

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at Edinburgh University's Japan Day, organised by their Japanese Society. There was so much going on that unfortunately I couldn't see everything I wanted to, but I stayed for about 4 hours before being driven away by hunger!

The first thing I went to was an origami lesson. We all made a cute and useful square box with pointed petals. Then we could choose what to make from all the available worksheets, and I made a jumping frog. I also went to a demonstration of the board game Go.

After this I managed to squeeze in to the first tea ceremony of the day. We all watched the tea ceremony, and a few people got a chance to taste the tea. After that they asked for some volunteers to try making the tea, so I gave that a try. Now I know how to use my Japanese tea whisk properly!

Next I went to a calligraphy demonstration, which I think was my favourite part of the day. Umon Tachibana demonstrated Yose-moji, a particular type of calligraphy used in rakugo theatres (a type of entertainment he compared to stand-up comedy, but done sitting down!). He explained various types of calligraphy, such as those used for sumo wrestling, kabuki theatre, and chochin paper lanterns. Yose-moji is designed to have very little white space within the characters, since white space would symbolise an empty theatre.

I then saw part of a dancing lesson, where about a dozen people were being taught a fan dance by a lady who was giving her instructions only in Japanese. After this was a demonstration of the sword technique Iaido.

Finally I went to another calligraphy lesson, this time with Shigeo Tanaka, and got a chance to try some calligraphy myself, and a Japanese lady came round and wrote our names in katakana.

My new handbag!

After doodling my perfect handbag, I started to wonder whether I could perhaps make it. I happened to have some fabric handy, so I set to work. I didn't make a pattern, but worked out some rough measurements to work from. First I made the lining, using the last of the charity shop curtain, and I included plenty of pockets. The outside of the bag was made from a remnant of patterned canvassy-type material that I bought for £2. The background of the fabric is grey, not white, but if it does start to get dirty the bag is completely washable.

Under the flap, a panel containing a zip was a last minute addition to the bag, after I had sewn in the lining, so this is sewn in by hand. This was my first attempt at sewing in a zip (that bit I did using the machine!), and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. The strap was pieced together from three pieces of fabric, as I had not left a long enough piece. The bag took me about two whole days to make, working on it non-stop!

Most of the pockets in the bag were designed to be the correct size and shape for the items that I frequently carry in my bag, which are shown in the photos (I was taking the photos with my new camera, so I included my old one in the photos instead).

The inside of the bag has a padded bottom to protect my camera and lens. There is also a padded divider, and pockets for:
1. Moo cards, lip balm and memory stick
2. Tissues
3. Sunglasses
4. Lens
5. Painkillers
6. Pen/pencil
7. Pen/pencil

Under the flap of the bag are pockets for:
8. mp3 player
9. Comb and mirror (I cut the mirror from a sheet of plastic mirror). This pocket could also be used for pens or pencils
10. Purse
The purse and mp3 player pockets are pleated to give extra space, and this was my first time trying this.

On the strap is a pocket for:
11. Mobile phone

On the back of the bag are two open pockets for:
12. Moleskine (and my small kraft paper sketch pad fits in there with it)
13. Paperback books

On the ends of the bag are pockets for:
14. Water bottle
15. Umbrella

I also managed to fit my watercolours and waterbrush in somewhere! I'm also planning to add a little studded loop to hang my keys on.

The perfect handbag

For some reason I started doodling my perfect handbag. Since I got my new camera, I'm struggling to get everything in my old Marks & Spencer one. I did get a big patent leather one from Next, but it is a bit too heavy to carry around if I'm in Edinburgh or Glasgow for the day.

Photo coasters

I bought these coasters at the pound shop last year, not necessarily to use as coasters, but to create a photo display that I can rotate between the four images. These are just some random photos from my China trip, but I may print some photos in sepia to go with the ones of my Japan trip I have on the wall.

Autumn leaves

My first attempt at shooting a photo in RAW format then combining three exposures into one image. JPG version of the original shot shown below.

Fashionable buttons

Hue and Cry

Last night I went to see a free Hue and Cry concert in Frasers in Glasgow, with my old schoolfriend Katrina, my work friend Pauline, and her friend Heather. We had a quick coffee in the in-store cafe first, then dashed out onto the balcony just in time for the start of the concert.

They played a great combination of tracks from the new album and old favourites. We were given free goodie bags, containing a copy of the album, a bottle of juice, a cotton tote bag, and lots of samples of face cream, mascara, perfume etc.

Afterwards we had a meal at Ichiban, a Japanese restaurant nearby. It was a really fun evening.

Glasgow School of Art

Yesterday I went on the guided tour of Glasgow School of Art. I had already been in the building a couple of times, during the degree show, but my friend Miki recommended the tour. I'm really glad I did go on the tour, because I learned so much about the symbolism in the architecture and the rooms I had not seen inside before were very impressive. I'm also glad I waited until now, because they have recently opened up a new area in the basement. I made some sketches during the tour, and finished them up later in Borders bookstore.

Vintage buttons

Found these when Mum and I were clearing out the Rumtopf (a big ceramic jar that she keeps buttons in). It's amazing how much fun two people can have just looking at buttons!

Eraser alphabet part 2

These are my finished alphabet stamps. I sawed and filed them, then painted the ends and wrote the letter on each with black pen. I had this little box which is a good size to keep them in.

Craft toolbelt

A few months back I bought a summer dress from Matalan for £3, and when I got home and put it on it didn't fit. But I decided that I could use it for another purpose, and I've finally got round to turning it into this apron with pockets, which I can use when doing crafts or housework.

The dress already had the frill round the bottom and the little pockets on the front. I cut it down the back and folded and sewed it to create larger pockets all round. It is fastened using what were the straps of the dress - they now wrap round the back of the apron and attach to the buttons.

Bento bag

I've been doing a bit of sewing recently, and this is one of the things that I have made. I'm not good enough at sewing to make anything complicated, but this little drawstring bag for my bento box was really easy to make. I had fallen in love with some really cute ones on JBox but decided that there was no reason I couldn't make my own.

The fabric is part of a pair of cotton curtains I bought years ago at a charity shop in Helensburgh, knowing I would be able to make use of the fabric which was in two layers: one red with hearts, and the other beige with a floral pattern. I think I originally intended to use the fabric to make furnishings for dollshouses, but it has served many purposes, including the pencil roll I made earlier this year. The toggles were from Mum's button jar, and the Totoro charm was given to me by my friend Miki.

Chocolat

I was having a look back through my current Moleskine sketchbook, and came across this picture that I drew more than a year ago, and realised that I hadn't posted it here. I'm not sure why - perhaps it didn't turn out quite like I'd imagined, but looking at it now I quite like it.

When I drew the picture I was re-reading Chocolat by Joanne Harris before starting The Lollipop Shoes, and I decided to draw all the kinds of chocolates mentioned as being in the chocolate shop. I was revisiting old territory, because I'd already taken inspiration from the same passages in the book to make the roombox below and all the polymer clay goodies to go inside it.

Eraser alphabet

I bought a pack of pencils at a pound shop a few months back because I thought the container they were in might be useful. When I saw the pencils sitting there today with their neat little erasers on the end, I realised that I could make them into a set of alphabet stamps. Half an hour with a woodcarving tool, and I had a set of stamps for next to nothing. I'll probably cut the pencils with a bandsaw so that I can use them as pencils and keep the stamps in a little box. I may have to buy some more so that I can make a lowercase alphabet and some numbers to match!

Tote bags and tiny bags

I have just about as many tote bags as a person could ever need. But I still keep looking for the perfect one! The orange Ikea bag on the top left is the best so far - spacious, light, lined, soft fabric, structured, and with a really useful pocket. The Kimmidoll one is almost as good - it has a cleverly hidden zipped pocket which I can keep my purse in, lots of internal pockets, and it looks really cool. The only thing that could be better about it is if it had some sort of fastening at the top, so I'm going to add either studs or velcro. Then there are the huge Boots bag and the tiny Paperchase one - I like having a bag of just the right size! I just drew the tiny bags to fill up the other page.

Fused carrier bag wallet

Today I tried fusing carrier bags for the first time (ironing many layers to produce a stronger plastic). First I tried some Morrisons bags for practice, and once I had got the hang of it I used some bags I had brought back from China and Japan. This little wallet, which is the right size for a Moleskine or some pens (or a Moleskine and some pens), is the only thing I have made out of the resulting fabric so far.

I haven't decided what sort of fastening it will have, so at the moment I am just using a ribbon, which made me think that this would be an unusual (and reusable) way of wrapping presents (a bit like the Japanese method of furoshiki - wrapping in fabric).