getting christmasy

With uplifting holiday mood, most before-the-holiday-stuff taken care of, and feeling a bit sick = spending more time at home, I'm frequenting my blog these days.

Today was last day of school for my daughter & my mom-friend gifted me with a freshly baked gingerbread. With the centerpiece my daughter brought me home, the table is holiday-ready.

"I choose a blue candle because you like blue, Mama!"

Mmmm. Couldn't resist. Real grated ginger!

Centerpiece in use.

bye bye bunny year

妹の所属する熱帯森林保護団体のスタッフブログを覗いたら、


「ウサギ年よさようなら
辰年よこんにちは！」


と書かれていて、よくわからんけど吹き出した。
卯年だったのも忘れていた。
よく思い出してみたら、折に触れて母が「今年は卯年だから、あなたのうさぎのバースデイ・カードは丁度よい」とかなんとか言っていたような。


とにかく終わるとなると何か寂しいけれど、本当はいつものように一晩明けるだけ。そう言ってみたものの、日本人のDNAなのか、やはり大晦日には心が変な盛り上がりを見せる自分がいるんだろうな。


卯年にちなんで、今年最後のうさぎさん：

名前は「キュッキュ」
娘が命名。
着なくなったズボンをアップサイクル。

もう数日でクリスマス。

Bibs and things

I think I'm over another illustration deadline! Woohoo!
Can't wait till those publications come out.

It had always been crazy before the holidays and this year was even more so. Since last Thursday when I went to buy some fabric for making bibs, I was either cutting & sewing, drawing & Photoshopping, crocheting, or doing house chores. I literally had no time to just sit down & do nothing. I was a total busy-body.

I came up with five bibs this time:

  

I'm happy with how they came out. They are sold for $18 - 20 at Creators' Co-Op in Astoria, or you can contact me & I'll let you know the additional shipping cost.

Today I had a private Photoshop lesson at my home with two friends. It was fun and once again I am amazed with all the things you can do with this software.

Another highlight of my week was my last after school fiber arts (crochet) class with 12 girls. They enjoyed working on their assignment: pompoms. In the end of class, they were happy to receive those red & white holiday bracelets I made for them, which is shown in the post below. I thanked the girls for their good work and in response they said, "Thank you for teaching us!" "You inspire us!" They are so adorable.

crocheting in the winter wonderland

Made one illustration deadline today and feeling a bit relaxed.

It has gotten so cold since the last time I updated this.

My daughter is singing Feliz Navidad; lights are illuminating the streets; feeling the holiday spirit! If you haven't sent out any cards yet, it's not too late!

Lately, I've been into making those crochet cords. It's variations of chain, but it's really intriguing that the direction of stripe changes just by changing the order of how you hook the yarns.

The colors uplift the holiday mood, too!

Hope you all are having a wonderful remainder of the year.

cheery projects

Lately, I've been spending my nights working on those holiday decorations.

I'm totally in love with making those less useful objects. It's about their shapes, colors, and the feel, rather than their functionality, technique and clean finish that is needed when making bags, clothing, etc.

Hope they'll look good in the store windows.

Those fluffy yarns drape beautifully.

Not-so-traditional-holiday-color garland,
but I think it will compliment
Kazuki's babySOLAIRE creations. 

Kili loooved those pink stuff
& was sad to see it leave to the store...
Sorry, buddy!