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Archive: Japanese Crafts
November 1, 2009
Felt Cafe Japan
Our friend Liz of Felt Cafe has started Felt Cafe Japan a resource for Japanese crafting. Pictured above is a natural wool class at one of her favorite wool stores in Kyoto. Here, Liz dyed wool with gobaishi, a japanese gall.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Nov 1, 2009 10:00 AM
Japanese Crafts |
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September 25, 2009
Cooking with Dog: How-To Make Japanese Food
While on You Tube, I came across my new favorite channel, Cooking with Dog, a Japanese cooking show complete with a poodle host/sidekick. Makes me love Japan even more now. It also reminds me of one of my favorite Nintendo games, Cooking Mama. Watch this video on how to make a bento box.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Sep 25, 2009 10:00 AM
Food, Japanese Crafts, Pets |
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August 21, 2009
Intern's Corner: The Mini Kitties
Every other week, CRAFT's awesome interns tell about the projects they're building in the Craft: Labs, the trouble they've gotten into, and what they'll make next.
By Lindsey North, projects intern
On my first day as an official CRAFT intern I entered the lab for the first time. It was like entering a new dimension, a creative person's dream. There were supplies everywhere; you could build just about anything out of what you found in there. And in this lab I received my first assignment: I was to build miniature kittens dressed in little dresses.
I was later shocked to see my mini kitties featured on the cover of Volume 03 of CRAFT magazine. Turns out they're Japanese imports: we excerpted the patterns for White Cat, Striped Cat, and Black Cat from Aranzi Aronzo's The Cute Book (Random House).
When completed, each of these little creations made of felt were smaller than the width of my hand. It's surprisingly difficult to sew small pieces of felt together when you plan on stuffing them. You have to sew close enough to the edge so that you still have room to fill with stuffing, but you can't get too close to the edge or else the stitches will pull out when you try to stuff the mini kitty.
I ended up making six of these little fellows, and it took me several days to complete them all. Your fingers can get really sore trying to sew through layers of felt, so take breaks in between kitties if you choose to make a litter.
These cute little creatures make amazing presents, the purrfect addition to any gift. It's fun to play around with the felt colors. Try crafting a few!
Your CRAFT intern,
Lindsey
Posted by Keith Hammond |
Aug 21, 2009 10:00 AM
CRAFT Projects, Intern's Corner, Japanese Crafts, Plush, Sewing |
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July 10, 2009
Esoteric Programming Language For Embroidery
Japanese artists' Daito Manabe and Motoi Ishibashi have created an "esoteric" programming language called Pa++ern that translates input from visitors to their exhibit or from virtual visitors through Twitter and turns them in to graphics that can be embroidered on t-shirts.
Visitors to the gallery enjoy the movement and sounds of this highly used but rarely seen machines and can choose to operate them or witness how they are controlled by virtual visitors using twitter to send their Pa++ern program; an esoteric experience in itself.
Their Pa++ern program will be on display at the Beams Gallery in Tokyo, Japan.
[ via Today and Tomorrow ]
Posted by Rachel Hobson |
Jul 10, 2009 07:00 AM
Arts & Design, Hand Embroidery, Japanese Crafts, Technology |
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July 8, 2009
Flashback: Aranzi Aronzo's White Cat Striped Cat Black Cat
With our Crafty Travels theme going on this month, I thought we could take a little trip to Japan courtesy of this week's flashback. CRAFT Volume 03 was our Japan Style issue, and it offers a ton of Japan-inspired projects and articles. One of my favorite is the tiny sewn kitties by Aranzi Aronzo that graced the cover of this issue (as remade by our talented intern Lindsay North).
From the profile by Dave Coustan: "Sisters Kinuyo Saito and Yoko Yomura founded Aranzi Aronzo in 1991, as an extension of the imaginative play they've engaged in together since childhood. Their stable of characters comprises dozens of players, including moody and mischievous animals like a terrier (Tetsu), fish (Uo), monkey (Mankey), and Warumono, the "bad guy" who does bad things. The characters are featured on an ever-expanding line of clothing, home goods, stationery, and books."
For years, Aranzi Aronzo's books were only available in Japanese, but some are now available in English. The project we featured is an except from The Cute Book. Find out more about them by visiting their site (yes, it's adorable).
Here is the project as a downloadable PDF just for you.
You can still pick up a back issue of Volume 03 in the Maker Shed for lots more super cute Japanese style.
Posted by Goli Mohammadi |
Jul 8, 2009 05:00 PM
Japanese Crafts, Plush |
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April 16, 2009
How-To: Make Totoro Cream Puffs
Learn how to make Totoro cream puffs in the tutorial by Anna the Red's Bento Factory. [ via Boing Boing ]
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Apr 16, 2009 05:00 PM
Food, Japanese Crafts |
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March 3, 2009
Felt Kokeshi-Doll Speakers
The fabulous Lisa Katayama points to these adorable felt speakers on her equally fabulous TokyoMango blog. Whether they're Russian stacking dolls or Kokeshi, they definitely seem like something you crafty, techno-savvy readers could easily re-create at home. Send us some photos if you do, or post them in the Craft Flickr pool.
Posted by Shawn Connally |
Mar 3, 2009 04:30 PM
Fashion Tech, Felting, Gadgets, Japanese Crafts, Soft Circuits, Tech Accessories |
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February 28, 2009
Origami Empress
Girl's Day is March 3 in Japan and to celebrate Zakka Life has a tutorial on how to make an origami empress.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Feb 28, 2009 09:00 AM
Japanese Crafts, Paper Crafts |
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February 27, 2009
Small Japanese Soft Circuits Kit
I had never thought about using needle felting with soft circuits but Yoshida Tomofumi has! She makes and sells these small kits with LEDs, conductive thread, battery and a snap. I love the little tail-biting snake! If you're looking for a stateside kit like this, try my similar kit or the Sparkfun e-sewing kit. Via Fashioning Technology.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Feb 27, 2009 02:00 PM
Japanese Crafts, Sewing, Soft Circuits |
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December 3, 2008
HOW TO - Origami Stars
Zen Crafting shares a tutorial for making these modern-looking star decorations from origami paper.
Posted by Jenny Ryan |
Dec 3, 2008 08:00 PM
Japanese Crafts, Paper Crafts |
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December 2, 2008
HOW TO - Mizuhiki Cord Knots
Zakka Life shows us how to get started using Mizuhiki cord with this gorgeous gift-wrap project.
The knot on the box is called an abalone knot. It's also referred to as awabi musubi, the Josephine knot, or a good luck knot. This is one of the easier mizuhiki knots to make.
Posted by Jenny Ryan |
Dec 2, 2008 10:00 AM
Japanese Crafts |
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November 15, 2008
Japanese LilyPad Arduino Blinking Tote Bags
At a recent MAKE: Tokyo meeting, these LED Dia De Los Muertos-themed tote bags with embedded LilyPad Arduino boards made an appearance. Mike Dixon, MAKE's Japan liason found an excellent quote on their blog about the event:
More:We made our bags controlled with LilyPad Arduino (kawaii microcontroller board designed for wearables and e-textiles), we were enjoying to succeed blinking our products.
New Soft Circuit Kits in the Maker Shed and Massive Soft Electronics Roundup
Posted by Becky Stern |
Nov 15, 2008 12:00 PM
Fashion Tech, Japanese Crafts |
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October 31, 2008
Bunny Pencil Case from Zakka Sewing - CRAFT Pattern Podcast & Giveaway
Zakka Sewing by Therese Laskey & Chika Mori (Stewart Tabori & Chang)
Buy the Book ($24.95)
If you've ever wished you could understand the patterns in those wonderful Japanese craft books, you're going to love Zakka Sewing, the new book from Therese Laskey and Chika Mori. "Zakka" means "household goods" in Japanese, and the term has become synonymous with simple yet beautiful hand-sewn items that are both attractive and useful. Zakka Sewing is the first English-language book to explore this culture and its traditions, presenting 25 one-of-a-kind patterns from Japan's best zakka creators. Projects range from a squirrel-shaped teapot cozy to simple felt flower coasters, and you can even learn to stitch up a pair of cozy slippers. The variety and quality of the projects will have you coming back to the book again and again!
One lucky Craftzine reader will win a copy Zakka Sewing! Just leave a comment on this post by 12pm PST on Saturday, November 1 telling us why you need this book. (Please make sure your e-mail address is included in your profile so we can contact you if you win.)
Get your feet wet in the world of Japanese crafts by downloading our CRAFT Pattern Podcast, featuring an excerpt from Zakka Sewing. Learn to make your very own bunny pencil case, a handy and cute zippered pouch complete with ears and a tail.
Download the Pattern PDF | Subscribe in iTunes
Posted by Jenny Ryan |
Oct 31, 2008 11:00 AM
CRAFT Patterns, CRAFT Podcast, Japanese Crafts |
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August 28, 2008
Totoro Baby Room
I-Wei, a robot maker we usually see more on MAKE (as Crabfu), is having a baby boy. He painted this really adorable mural featuring Totoro from Miyazaki's equally fun and kid-friendly animated film. The umbrella's going over the crib. Check out the Flickr set to see the other elements around the room.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Aug 28, 2008 04:00 PM
Arts & Design, Babies, Home Decor, Japanese Crafts |
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August 15, 2008
Bento Box Ring
From the CRAFT Flickr pool: user FromJapanWithLove made this totally awesome tiny bento box ring, which opens to reveal its tiny (and possibly delicious?) contents.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Aug 15, 2008 09:00 AM
Japanese Crafts, Jewelry |
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July 28, 2008
New Blog - Japan Craft Journal
Check out the new Japan Craft Journal blog that features all things related to Japanese crafts. The blog has four contributors, three who have been lucky enough to travel there. Belinda (http://www.tuttifruiti.blogspot.com), Kristine (http://www.townmouse.typepad.com/), Corrie (http://www.retromummy.blogspot.com) and Leslie (http://goodness.typepad.com/goodness/) who lives in Nagoya and sells all sorts of Japanese goodness on Etsy.
Belinda writes:
[Japan Craft Journal] was created out of a desire to have a central source for all things relating to Japanese craft. It will also have details on where to find crafts and craft resources in Japan - for those of us lucky enough to travel there. We will also be featuring links to blogs and sites that offer great information too.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jul 28, 2008 11:00 AM
Japanese Crafts |
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July 24, 2008
HOW TO - Ichigo Daifuku
Instructables user Lizzio has a great recipe and photo tutorial up for making ichigo daifuku, or Japanese sweet bean and strawberry balls. This dough-covered treat looks light and refreshing for summertime, and it's strawberry season!
Posted by Becky Stern |
Jul 24, 2008 06:00 AM
Food, Japanese Crafts |
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July 16, 2008
Origami Balloon Lights Tutorial
Folding Trees has a tutorial on how to make these decorative origami balloon lights.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jul 16, 2008 08:00 AM
Japanese Crafts, Paper Crafts |
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July 6, 2008
Crochet Maneki Neko Pattern
I love this crochet maneki neko pattern that Kathy of Mountain Weaver Fiber Art Studio has made available on her blog.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jul 6, 2008 07:00 AM
Amigurumi, Crochet, Japanese Crafts, Patterns |
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June 26, 2008
Downloadable Paper Dollhouses
This Japanese site offers a bunch of really cute paper dollhouses you can download to print out and make. Check out the translated version via Google to read what the selections are (Note: for some reason in this version the download buttons aren't there so use this as a reference.) Pictured above is the country bakery and kitchen. [ via Folding Trees ]
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jun 26, 2008 11:00 AM
Japanese Crafts, Paper Crafts |
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