Origami Mommy

Sushi play food tutorial

One of my favorite memories from my boys' kindergarten years in Japan was an event held every year. The oldest children in the school would work for weeks preparing all sorts of items for a huge play store. They'd make toys, fruit and vegetables, sushi, sweets and ice cream, jewelry and bags, all from recyclables. Some of the materials they used included newspaper, milk cartons, water bottles, straws, shopping bags, gift wrap, plastic wrap, cardboard, toilet paper rolls, etc. Meanwhile, the younger children in the school would make their own little shopping bags, wallets, and money, and then the store would open, the young ones would troop in, and the older ones would proudly "sell" their gorgeous little creations. This always led to weeks of exciting follow-up play in our own home. 

Making handmade items for house play or store play seems to be really popular here.  Adult make things like felt sweets.  Children make their own versions from paper and recyclables. The sushi shown here is quite easy for children to do.

First of all you will need a few of these or some other similar styrofoam packing. Here,  this is used to wrap fruit in in the grocery store. To be honest, I'm not sure if they even use this back home - if not, you can easily substitute with styrofoam peanuts, shredded paper, or even small amounts of wadded up paper towels or tissue.

Make a small cylinder using the stuffing of your choice, then wrap it with black construction paper and tape. Cut to the length you want your sushi to be. That's all there is to it! Add on bits of red maguro (tuna), green cucumber, or yellow pickles with glue and then line them up in a little container (such as take-out sushi containers). You can cut the green "grass" that comes inside take-out sushi, and then use a wadded up small piece of green construction paper as wasabi and pink paper as pickled ginger.

Children get a real kick out of play food, especially if they make it themselves. I'll be posting more tutorials for other play store items in the next few weeks.

Felt shapes and an exciting shopping trip

(Hi all and welcome - I'm so glad you're here. if you're visiting from the Crafty Crow be sure to check out this post for a little, bento-related giveaway)

I love working with felt -  it is so easy for the novice sewer like me and it's suitable for handsewing, which is easier to do in a house with constant distractions. I have a few Japanese craft books about making homemade toys for children and I fell in love with this project - an utterly adorable little geometric shape set made of felt. 

My boys loved this sort of thing when they were little - all the pieces (usually wood or plastic in commercial sets) come in triangles, squares, and circles, and you can make endless patterns and pictures with them.

What I saw in the book was made with primary colors, which I think looked fantastic. In the colorway I chose here, organic, natural shapes might work better than severe geometric lines - I can even envision basic shapes like trees (with little apples to put on them), simple houses, cars, animals, people. 

Now, this wasn't handsewn and it was incredibly tedious to keep changing thread on my sewing machine (and to sew those tight little circles), but I think the end result is a lot of fun. It goes in a little cloth bag and makes an ideal travel toy. Here's my quick tutorial - all the pieces are made of double pieces of felt sewn together. Trace squares, triangles, and circles onto paper first and then cut two layers of felt for each piece. For variety some of them can be different colors on each side - just choose a thread which looks good with both. After sewing, do a final trim with scissors.

On another note, I had so much fun the other day. I went to a huge Japanese craft store called Yuzawaya. It's quite far from me, so I rarely get to go these days - no more than once or twice a year. It was such an exciting day for me.  

I've been wanting to build up a fabric stash for so long. I have so many projects burning away in my head and I can't even begin until I have a few more scraps and pieces here. Plus the boys are always coming home from school telling me they need an extra handkerchief (required), lunch mat (also required), little bag, etc. I'm still not happy with my stash - I love Japanese fabric and feel lucky to have such sheer variety here but I am longing for more vibrant patterns by my favorite designers who are hard to find here. But the longing is eased somewhat. One thing which helped was that I was able to pick up a bunch of fat quarters as well as a bias tape maker. As soon as I got home I started experimenting: 

I'm really looking forward to being able to trim things now! One of the first things I tried doing was making a skirt for Mia out of linen and putting on a newly trimmed pocket pocket, but she wouldn't try it on so I could hem it. I'm afraid she might not be a linen girl....Or it may be that she was disappointed that it wasn't pink.

I'm hoping it will help if I add some of these 

but I think she would really prefer a riot of color, the brighter and pinker, the better.

I don't know if she's going to be happy with the material I picked in this pile below to make her a little dress. It's a very light fabric but definitely lacks the vibrant punch she seems to love - it's a dark navy with teal colored flowers. The purple floral and solid fabrics are also for a dress for her, and the brown mushroom and blue dotted quilted materials will become book bags for each of the children.

I also picked up a bunch of plain linen and linen-cotton blend fabric. I love the soft colors. I have a few secret projects planned with this, mostly gifts so I can't say more right now!

Then, I found myself on another floor which I had totally forgotten about. The seventh floor of Yuzawaya in Kichijoji is chock full of beads as well as zakka kits. Amazing! I got so excited. There were a bunch of zakka kits on sale and I picked up a few, including this little kit for a water bottle holder

There were many other kits there too - for placemats, coasters, even fabric slippers. I already started one kit, though the embroidery and button and strap are not on there yet. This is for a cup bag which is, again, another required item at Japanese school (preschool, not elementary). You bring your own little cup to school for lunch. 

and then I picked up a bunch of little bits of trim. 

This is also the kind of place where you can pick up small bits of cotton fabric bundles like this, which is so fun to dream about.

There were so many other goodies- I picked up an embroidery hoop as well as some beading tools I'd been needing and some packs of beads, like the ones below. No matter what craft you do, there's something there - for needle felting, basket making, flower making, metalwork or leathercraft,  mizuhiki, lots and lots of washi (Japanese paper), knitting and crocheting, etc.

There! Now don't you feel like you went to Yuzawaya with me? minus the sore arms (no shopping carts!) and legs...

Slices of life

I felt well enough to take Mia to the park yesterday. (Pregnant with number four and had been on bedrest for an interminably long spring). A welcome opportunity to take photos of my girl. It's tsuyu here, rainy season, though yesterday was just cloudy. These photos were taken at Arisugawa Park, a small park which boasts a lovely bridge and two waterfalls, lots of ducks and turtles, crayfish and tadpoles. A small, welcome oasis for city-dwellers like ourselves.

I also got to walk my younger son to school. Children typically commute to elementary school on their own in Japan, but I like to walk along when I can, especially with the younger one.

First graders wear these yellow hats so they'll be more visible. My older son wears a blue hat in winter and a white hat in summer. Children also all use this special kind of backpack called a randoseru. Other than this and the gym uniforms they have, they don't have any uniforms or required clothing in public elementary school. They do have lots of required bags though. The little bag hanging down from his backpack contains his lunch mat, his toothbrush, and a cup. They also need bags for swim wear, gym wear, art supplies, and other such things. My next sewing project is to make some handmade bags for school.

First graders at my sons' school also cover their backpacks with this neon yellow cover, again to make them more visible when walking to school. There's nothing like the sight of new first graders in the spring, which is when the school year begins here. They are referred to as pika pika no ichinensei, or bright and shiny first graders.

Tiny Origami Basket tutorial

I encountered this little basket in a couple of children's origami books, so it should be easy for adults and children alike.

Start with a square piece of paper and fold it in half from corner to corner. If you are using origami paper, the color on the inside of these first few folds will end up on the outside of the basket. (The paper below is dark pink and pale pink and the basket will end up being light pink). 

Unfold, and then fold again from the other corner to the other corner and unfold again. You are doing this to create creases.

Now fold from side to side in both directions and unfold again. Your square piece of paper will now have creases crisscrossing it from corner to corner and side to side. 

This next part is tricky so I've provided a few photos. Fold it back in half again from side to side, grasp the two sides in your hands, and sort of squeeze them together so that it all comes together as shown below.

You'll end up with this square.

Put it down on the table with the open edges and corner at the top, make it nice and flat, and then take the top corner of the top layer and fold it down towards the bottom corner. 

Press down on the crease.

Next, as though you were turning the pages of a book, take the right corner of the top layer and bring it over to meet the left corner.

Repeat the steps you just did above - take the top corner of the upper layer and fold it down to the bottom corner again, and then "turn the page" - take the right corner of the upper layer and fold it over to the left.

Smooth out the paper and press down on creases after each step. The folds you just did should now be on the inside. Both sides of your square should look like the photo below. 

Now, take the right corner of your top layer and fold it about two-thirds of the way towards the left. 

Repeat this step for the left hand side, overlapping the two sides, and then tape down to secure.

Turn over and repeat again on the back side - fold each side in towards the other so they overlap and then tape in place.

It's best to use the smallest piece of tape you can.

Next fold the bottom corner up and press on it to make a crease, then let go.

Now, gently grasp the basket on both sides and open it up. The last crease you just made helps form the bottom of the basket. 

Use your fingers as needed to help sharpen the creases and give the basket some shape, especially around the bottom and the sides. Tape the bottom in place.

Now take the two handles and secure them together at the top with a little bit of tape.

You're done! Use a craft punch and contrasting paper to decorate as you like, or leave it as is. Little ones love these baskets for carrying tiny toys, acorns, pebbles, and other treasures. 

Easiest scones, retro popovers

Because I am constantly distracted by my toddler, I need quick and easy recipes.  Here's a super-fast and easy scone recipe which hardly requires any mixing. The best thing about it is that it is very, very easy and forgiving - I can adjust or substitute mix-ins and it's just fine.  It's perfect to make when you have little ones clamoring to help in the kitchen, need something fresh-baked in a hurry, and don't have time for anything complicated. 

Easiest Scones (adapted from Better Homes and Garden's Pat-A-Cake Scones)

1.5 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup white flour, and have made with all whole wheat flour before)

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cups whipping cream

Cinnamon to taste, other add-ins as desired (chocolate chips, cranberries, nuts, raisins, etc.)

Preheat the oven to 375. Mix dry ingredients, then pour in the cream, and mix together with a spoon and then your hands. Pat it into a pie pan, brush the top with cream and sugar (I used cinnamon sugar), and bake for about 15-18 minutes until golden brown.

Popovers 

There are times when I am lucky enough to have a 15 minute break here or there to actually try a normal (not speedy) recipe. This morning for Father's Day I made  Maida Heatter's Popovers, which first appeared in the New York Times in 1966 and was recently reduxed, that I'd been meaning to try for awhile. I think they turned out well, although I'm now eager to try my hand at a less heavy popover recipe - send any suggestions my way!

Baskets, boxes, and bowls

I thought it would be fun to share a few simple origami projects and ask - is there anything you'd like to see more of? I'm already preparing a tutorial for the baskets below for next week:

These are from a Japanese book on children's origami I have and are pretty straightforward.

These star boxes are popular among children and are quite easy:

if you tuck the ends under and secure them, they make pretty cool looking bowls:

Origami for the home is my new favorite thing - here's another kind of bowl:

and yet another which you may already know how to do - I know I learned this as a child growing up in the U.S.  It's one of those little things children make and write on to tell fortunes. Using pretty paper and turning it upside down makes a huge difference, doesn't it?

Are you wondering what those little balls are? Those are snacks for babies and children - they melt in your mouth and are considered safe for little ones.  They're plain, but a bit sweet. The flowers are just little plum-flavored rice crackers.

I've also finally mastered tiny boxes, which are so much fun! There are lots of variations of those; here are 2 of my favorites. These here are very simple, classic boxes with a lid (I know they're a bit crooked!)

and this one is sort of similar to the origami cube I showed you a few days ago:

What I like about origami is that once you master a few basic folds and get a few projects under your belt, you begin to develop an intuitive sense for how other projects should go. You may even begin to develop the ability to create new projects of your own, although that hasn't quite happened to me yet. I love the feeling of doing multiple folds that seem to be going nowhere and then suddenly seeing it all fall into place at the end. I think that children learn a lot from experiencing that sort of magic.

Let me know what you'd like to learn how to do!

Recent random projects

Yesterday Daniel came home from school and proudly showed me this:

Such a happy dancing boy! I so love the joy that bursts out of children's art. This was made from a piece of recycled cardboard, around which he wrapped a piece of used, crumpled foil which he had smoothed out. On top he put a piece of substantial plastic wrap (the kind that might be used to wrap flowers or produce), taped all in place, and then made his drawing with permanent marker.  I like the way these layers, and especially the foil, give his piece texture. 

While he was making more of those, I made a few of these:

These paper stars are so, so easy and addictive. 

I find I'm doing more papercrafts these days because I really crave the meditative zone I fall into. Like origami, these stars satisfy because they are logical and geometrical but charming and beautiful. It also helps that I can complete a batch quickly as opposed to my never-ending, languishing fabric and yarn projects. The boys like to simply make and collect these stars but Mia loves to steal them and feed them to her dollies.

Mia's latest crafting endeavors mostly consist of drawing on random bits of important papers she finds lying around the house, along with the occasional wall or piece of furniture. For her the whole world is a canvas. She's also learned how to use our craft punches, and I keep discovering random piles like this in secret little corners: 

which kind of makes up for the just-as-random but less delightful scribbles on the walls. 

Our great, big, almost-9-year-old Benjamin is serious about his work as an artist, and works slowly and methodically. He's been putting touch-ups on this mountain scene for awhile. 

What I like is how he has pulled many Japanese countryside scenes out of his memory even though we are stuck living in a city. I like to think that maybe our infrequent trips to the Japanese mountains have managed to leave imprints on his heart, and that makes me feel a little bit less sad about our Tokyo urban surroundings.

Speaking of heart, DH and I celebrated our 11th year anniversary recently. The children secretly prepared confetti and showered us with a burst of color. 

Cutting was as much fun as tossing. A sweet end to a sweet day.

Tissue paper flower tutorial

One of my favorite things about living in Japan is the fact that my children have learned so many beautiful crafts at school on a daily basis. Their Japanese kindergarten, which each of them attended until age 7, was completely play-based and all the children burst out of school every day with recycled shopping bags filled to the brim with playthings they made. Our job as parents was to regularly provide the school with clean, empty recyclables (milk cartons, plastic bottles, shopping bags, miscellaneous boxes and ribbons and papers), and to find a place for all these treasures once they came home. The best thing about making your own playthings is that your child learns to see treasure in trash and found materials, and gains confidence that he can always make something for himself to play with. Daily crafting gives fine motor skills a real boost, too.

My younger son Daniel graduated from Japanese kindergarten this past spring. Graduates are sent off at a beautiful ceremony and party. Parents work in secret for weeks beforehand making all sorts of handmade paper creations to adorn the party room.  My favorite decorations were the garlands of tissue paper flowers like the ones shown above. These are a simple yet beautiful craft which both boys learned to do during their kindergarten years. These are quick and easy for little hands to make.  My children love making these celebratory garlands for us to use at home for anniversaries or birthdays or just-because days. They're also beautiful on top of a wrapped gift in lieu of ribbon.

Here's how you get started.

Take a few sheets of tissue paper (5-10 sheets). Contrasting or complementary colors are nice. Lay them out flat on a table in front of you, stacked on top of one another.

Begin to fold them from one end, accordian-style, like a fan (very important). 

When you've folded all the way to the end, fasten a rubber band or tie a piece of string to secure in the middle.

Lay it down on the table and begin fanning the ends out on both sides, as shown below.

Now start to gently separate the papers from one another and fluff them up towards the center one layer at a time.

You're done! Try this with different colors or different sized pieces of paper. The bigger the paper, the more sheets you'll need to fill out the flower. One neat variation would be to trim the ends of the folded paper with craft scissors to make little zigzags or wavy edges after you fasten it in the middle (but before spreading out the edges). 

Let me know how your children enjoy this project!

Origami Cube tutorial

I've been making a lot of these lately. 

They're pretty addictive because they're like little puzzles. I'm never quite sure until the end if all the pieces will fit together, yet miraculously enough, they do. It's very satisfying. Kids love these cubes - both creating them and playing with them. They're lightweight and great for stacking or creating designs with. 

You'll start with 6 pieces of square shaped paper. I used standard origami paper about 15 x 15 cms or 6 x 6 inches, but you can use any size, as long as it's square. 

One tip: when doing origami, fold as precisely as possible and press down on the creases and folds to make them nice and sharp. That's particularly important with this cube. (I'll be doing other tutorials for simpler origami designs to do with younger children that are more forgiving). 

Fold it in half to create a crease, then open again.

Now, fold each side down to the crease and press down hard.

Now you have a rectangle. Turn the paper over (very important; you want the open fold to be on the bottom) and fold each corner towards the center so that you create a trapezoid. First one corner to the middle of the opposite side 

then the other corner in the opposite direction.

Next you will fold the corners of the trapezoid to the center on the opposite side so that you form a square. Make sure to press down on the creases hard. 

Now release those corners. Repeat the above steps for each piece of paper until you have 6 pieces that look like this. 

Now comes the fun part - assembly. Take two pieces and insert a triangle from one paper into the opening on the square of another paper. 

Then insert a second triangle into the other side of the same opening.  Each opening in each square accommodates two triangles from other adjoining squares. Keep inserting triangles into squares until all the sides are connected and a cube is formed. 

Here's an example of the same cube in different colors, and what it might look like once you've fitted three together. They will be loose but will stabilize as you add more panels.

adding a fourth panel

tucking in the last few triangles..

You're done!

First dress

I just sewed my first little girl's dress for my daughter, Mia. I'm not much of a sewer, but this was a great project for me. I first learned to sew years ago when I lived in Japan as a student. My homestay mother and another friend's mother taught me the basics of deciphering a pattern (Japanese patterns too, no less). That summer I made lots and lots of sundresses for myself, but have hardly made anything since. Now I'm back in Japan, where I have access to the most adorable sewing books, and I have a little girl to sew for. Sewing tiny dresses is so gratifying because it is so quick. I envision making this dress in lots of different materials....and will have so much fun experimenting with pockets and other embellishments. 

The pattern is from one of my favorite sewing books at the moment, Koharu no fuku (Clothes for Koharu). There are lots of other projects in here that I want to try, like a scarf and some basic skirts. I love the simple construction of the clothes and how so much of the beauty of the finished products comes from clean lines and fine material.

Next project for me is a sleeveless sundress with some beautiful drapey Naomi Ito material I picked up a year ago. 

My boys, of course, were not to be neglected....each of them helped me with his own bag project, and both are getting adept at using my humble little sewing machine.