Daiso Dejavu

I was nostalgic when my friend Deidra took me to the Daiso 100 Yen Store in San Diego.  It was actually a real 100 Yen Store, the exact same ones they have in Japan.  Of course, it's owned by the same Japanese company Marukai, but I'm so happy that they kept the exact same look, especially inside the store.  

 

While I was there, I really felt I was back in Japan.  The workers are Japanese too and I was so glad to be able to speak Japanese even for just a bit.  The items they sell are the exact same ones they have in Japan.  The only difference is that the prices are almost doubled, which is not really a surprise because their items are already imported.

The location is actually a compound where they also have a Marukai Supermarket iand Home Store.  Going inside Maruka Supermarket was so great - seeing the Japanese food products that I love to use.

 

While I was there, I prayed so hard that we'll have a Daiso and a Marukai in Michigan.  That will be really awesome.
 
Click here to see the items I bought in Daiso San Diego.

Rose Bowl Arts and Crafts Show

I was excited to see the Rose Bowl Arts and Crafts Show during my third visit in California.  This time, I didn't care for Disneyland, Universal Studios or any other amusement parks.  I want to see the arts and crafts side of California.

 

The Rose Bowl Arts and Crafts Show is organized by R.G. Cannng Attractions, and takes place every 2nd Sunday of the month at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena CA, in conjunction with the world famous Rose Bowl Flea Market and Market Place.  When we reached the place, I noticed that there are so many booths around the stadium, and I figured it would take hours to see everything.  So I decided to head straight to the arts and crafts section right away.  To be honest, I was pretty disappointed because there were not so many vendors showcasing their "real" craft.  I almost gave up until I saw a booth called Point Five Doll Dresses by Jennifer Ventura.  She makes really beautiful dresses for Barbie dolls.  Luckily, her companion has a Pullip doll with her so I was able to actually see how the dresses look on Pullips.  They are not perfect, but still works!  And I just had to buy one for each of my three Pullips.  Too bad Jennifer didn't have a website yet.  But I was encouraging her to make dresses for Pullip dolls.  I'm looking forward to seeing (and acquiring) more of her beautiful work.  Her booth totally made my trip to the Rose Bowl Arts and Crafts Show.  I can't wait to see these dresses on my Pullip dolls.

 
I also saw a vendor selling different kinds of beads and stones.  It was hard to resist but I did pretty good.  I only bought 4 items for a dollar each.

 
Next time I go to California, I'd like to go see this place again - with a lot of time in my pocket!

 
Please click here to see the dresses and the beads.

 

Stained Glass/Ceramics Studio: First Look (plus a New Card)

Here are some photos of my stained glass/ceramic studio - still in the works.  We finished re-organizing the garage, but the final touches for my studio is all up to me.  Most probably I'll be able to work on that when I get back from California.  

 Can you tell which area is mine?

My Stained Glass and Ceramics Studio

Stained Glass Section

Ceramics Area

View from the right...

Stained Glass Organizer

Stained Glass Organizer (closer look)

Also, I was able to finish one card this afternoon.  This is a special order by a lady whose daughter just adopted a baby girl from China.  In fact, the baby just arrived here in the US last week or so.  It was a challenge to do this card because the theme is not very common.  But I put myself in my customer's shoes, and tried to think what I would say to my daughter for the very wonderful and courageous thing she did.  "Banana" is the first English word that Lulu learned, thus the banana on the card. 

I hope she likes it.

It's August!!!

I started this month in a busy slate.  I've been trying to finish and reorganize our garage for the past week to finally put up my stained glass/ceramics studio.  With DH's help, it's finally finished and all I have to do is the finishing touches.  I'll take photos of my new studio's current state tomorrow.  The thought of decorating and organizing my studio is exciting!  And of course, I can't wait to make stained glass projects again.  It's been over a year since my last one. Anyway, I want to share with you the images that I have colored last month.  I have a lot of images received from swaps and RAKs and the weekly farmer's market/craft show gave me an opportunity color some of them.  As for coloring mediums, I am very comfortable using Copic Markers and Primsacolor Color Pencils.  I think the colors are more vibrant with Prismacolor, and it's easier to blend.  But you will need a medium to blend the colors.  In my case, I like to use Gamsol.  You will also need blending stumps, and a good sharpener.  As for Copics,  I love the convenience, and you don't need any other tools to use them.  Here are two Magnolia images I colored, each with Copics and Prismacolor:

 Colored with Copic Markers

Colored with Prismacolor Color Pencils

You can see the other images I have colored here.

I still have yet to try coloring with Stampin Up Ink Pads and Blender Pens.  I have tried it once before with this card, and I would like to familiarize myself with this medium more.
Also, I'd like to share with you my creations for the month of July here.

By the way, have you guys tried uploading photos in Multiply lately?  I've just created 2 new albums, and I can't seem to change the photo captions since yesterday.  All I can do is rearrange the photos.  I can't even pick a cover photo for my album.  I hope Multiply fixes this problem soon.

Bits and Pieces

Let me start off with some good news.  I mentioned about our printer finally retiring in a prior blog entry.  And finally we got a new one.  We have been a Canon junkie, and needless to say, our new printer is also from Canon.  Kudos to Canon for giving us a customer loyalty discount and we got the Pixma MX860 at a really good price.  So far, I love all the features in this printer.  The size is perfect and better than the old printer.  We are expecting it to last us as long as the one that broke.  Hopefully even longer.

 
 

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Alpen Fest in a nearby town.  I always like to go to Town Festivals and look around, especially when they have vendors selling different kinds of stuff.  I bought this really unique album, described as a "foldable scrapbook album" by the vendor.  I always like to support crafters like her.  I can't wait to put photos in this album, and also try to see if I can make one like it.

 

 

Speaking of crafters, one of the vendors in the farmers' market/craft show in our town was selling fabric projects and even crocheted items.  She had crocheted lid holders, but the first thing I thought was a hat for my Pullip dolls.  She was so nice that she gave me one of them.  Zuora is happy and my other 2 Pullips are jealous!  hehe.

 
 

Last week, my DMIL, three DSILs and I went on a girls' trip to Frankenmuth.  We had lunch at the Bavarian Inn, walked around downtown, and did some shopping.  We went to the famous Bronner's Christmas Store.  It is a big store filled with anything Christmas and I have been looking forward to see the place.  However, I have to say that being an Asian and from the Philippines, I was quite disappointed because a big percent of the items they sell are made in China.  I was expecting more stuff locally made from different countries.  But I was so happy to see a Christmas tree topper made from the Philippines.  I've been looking for a topper for our tree and that star was perfect - especially made with Capiz shells.  For Filipino standards, the price is very expensive.  But if you're living here in the US, you can say it is pretty reasonable.  Anyway, what made my trip to Frankenmuth are the printers' drawers.

 

 

I have been wanting to have them for a long time.  I searched on Ebay before but they are pretty expensive, about $20-40, excluding shipping for a 32 1/4" x 16 3/4" size.  But I chanced upon them in one of the stores in Downtown Frankenmuth, on sale for only $9.99 each, originally $19.99.  I couldn't pass it up, so I decided to buy 4 drawers.  For now, I'm planning to use them to store my beads.  Where the location will be, I'm still trying to figure that one out.

 
Tomorrow is another day at the farmers' market/craft show in town.  I hope it will be a better day because the other 2 weeks weren't as good as the first.  I received some special orders for cards, which is really nice.  In fact, I just finished 2 of them - a birthday card and an anniversary card.  

 

 
 
Please click here to see the cards in detail.
 
I have been re-stamping the back of my card creations to show my name and craft website.  I was able to do this with JustRite Stampers.  With their alphabet sets, you can customize your stamps and convey what you want to say.  Given this, I'm considering on investing on other sizes and shapes of their stampers.

 
   

Right now, I'm busy finishing our garage.  That's where my stained glass studio is going to be.  I really aim to comlete this project before I leave for California.  Wish me luck on this one.

 
That's it for now.... till next blog!