Week #36

This week, I started making bracelets with embroidery floss using this tutorial. It's amazing how I'd completely forgotten how to make these since high school (or was it junior high?). I got major backache and shoulder ache by the time I finished this one. Signs of age? I don't remember this being a painful hobby.. but I digress.

This is what happened when Mr. Lilacmoon saw my finished piece above.

Mr. Lilacmoon: Hey, that looks nice!
Me: ..
Mr. Lilacmoon: Make me one, too!
Me: Really?!?
Mr. Lilacmoon: Yeah!
Me: ... okay.

So there you have it. One for me, one for him. No rhinestone chain for him, though.

iro iro #4

Recent new favorites:

1. A relatively new Japanese restaurant in Hayes Valley called Nojo. I loved their chawanmushi, which is egg custard steamed in a cup.
2. Essie in Da Bush (the middle bottle), one of very few green polishes that look good with my skin tone.
   
3. Who knew one of my neighbors had a kitty! I saw this guy (girl?) on two separate occasions on my way home recently, and it was super cute. I'm going to pay more attention to this window from now on..

And I'm absolutely loving the two covers of Uppercase Issue #10. Oh so cute! And a little sad.. I was going to make a cute bow tie for Fifi someday..

Anyway. What are your favorites lately?
Hope you all have a great weekend!

Iro Iro #2

1. A new bag. A new ♥. And, um, that's moi.

2. Hello Sandwich's Tokyo Guide in PDF, all printed and bound with gold strings. Yup, Japan is on my mind yet again. And I'm going there soon! There's a stack of guide books I have to go through but I figure one more couldn't hurt. How could it when it's this cute?

3. Crochet hand warmers. Clearly, I was inspired by Sandra Juto's wrist worms. My hands (and feet) are always cold, and I hate how the side of my right hand has to rest on the cold surface of my Wacom tablet all the time. I've been using a leather glove but it's been rather cumbersome to put it on and off for intermittent typing. So after several failed attempts, I made these. I've been wearing them inside and outside the house; so cold these days! And it might even snow here in SF this weekend! That's just crazy talk.

Stay warm, my friends, and don't forget! The 20% off sale at my Etsy shop is still going.

I Made: necklaces + organizer

This project was all about using what I already had.
It started with a cheap, multi-strand necklace that I never reached for. It had this pink theme going, and I was like, what the heck. Why did I buy this. So, I separated the strands out into separate necklaces, using chains and clasps I had saved from who knows what. One of them, on the right above, now has a crochet string made from a pattern in my favorite crochet book (featured in one of my older posts here).


You'll recognize my old cell phone strap mentioned in the same old post, turned into a necklace charm, on the far left above. The strap part finally broke after years of use and I couldn't throw it out.

All these had to go somewhere, and then I remembered this diy jewelry shadowboxes project over at Design*Sponge. I got a pack of tiny cup hooks at a local hardware store and attached them to the bottom of three wooden frames that I wasn't using.

Voilà. That was super simple and easy.
Now I want to put cup hooks on all the frames in the house for no good reason, heh.

How do you keep your necklaces?

PS: "Just start" was inspired by Elise Joy (via seasaw) and this papernstich dry erase board tutorial. I love it because it reminds me of the Korean saying that roughly translates to "to start is to be half way done."

Iro Iro #1

1. An unusual cardboard box for mini Essie nail polish bottles. The nerd in me got a kick out of unfolding it and folding it back together. I know, I am easily amused.

2. Loose-leaf tea from Lupicia's fukubukuro. We got two boxes of these mystery sets, one with flavored black teas and one with green tea. Mr. Lilacmoon and I don't usually drink flavored teas, so we thought it would be an interesting way to try something different. And it was! It was like opening Christmas presents in January. I haven't tried all of them yet (it will be awhile) but I like the chestnut one a lot so far.

Speaking of tea, I can't wait to try this tea app, and I don't even have an iPhone (well, I use iPod Touch). Looks promising, doesn't it? It's great to see more people interested in tea (and apps for them!) because that means cafés and restaurants will start carrying more teas and brew them at the right temperatures. Hopefully.

Have a great weekend, my readers!

PS: iro iro means "various" in Japanese, one of my favorite words. I think I will use it more often here. :)

Want! Paul & Joe Cat Lipsticks

(image source: britishbeautyblogger.com)

Yay or nay? I say, why not!

I first saw Paul & Joe cosmetics in Japanese magazines and instantly fell in love with their pretty designs. So different from the ubiquitous, black boxy stuff you see in other cosmetics brands. I don't buy much cosmetics but when I do, I choose ones that are unique in design because that will get me excited whenever I use them. Well, they'll have to work well on me, too, of course. Anyway, I've been following Paul & Joe's releases, and when I saw these cat lipsticks, my jaw dropped. Check out their color palettes from the same collection, too, here. They're all so pretty!

Florals

A couple of floral things I'm enjoying these days: Rifle Paper Co. cards + Paul & Joe Beauté's Alice in Wonderland lip treatment.

Oh, I wanted to ask, do any of you use Tumblr? After a long hiatus, I started "tumbling" again recently. If you'd like, come take a look and follow me at mini lilacmoon. :) It's like a supplement to this blog, where you'll find some interesting links as well as videos and photos.

Want! Apple Pot & Memos

Some of the things on my wishlist that have an apple theme going..

(image from Anthropologie)

Isn't this little jar so cute? It is by ttyokzk ceramic design; you can see more pictures here. I love how the spoon peeks out of the lid.


(image from kok-design.jp)

I saw these kudamono ("fruit" in Japanese) memos called Kudamemo by d-bros about a year ago but I have not forgotten about them! There is a US retailer online that carries what look like these memos but after reading the designer's warning about many imitations being sold online, I'm hesitant to buy them before checking them out in person. It's really too bad.. 'cause I want to hoard them! And not use them! *shakes head*

Want! Strangebeautiful Nail Polish

(by Strangebeautiful Library of Color; All images from Anthropologie)

Um, I seem to have developed an unhealthy obsession with nail polishes. Don't these look so strangely beautiful? I'm definitely a sucker for unique product design and packaging, so these are going straight to my wishlist. :P

I'm such a dork #2

Have you checked out the Liberty of London for Target collection?
Like many of you, I was terribly excited and counted the days until the release date. I actually stayed up late on Saturday night to place an order. But after splurging on things I don't really need and haven't received yet, I'm drooling over yet even more Liberty stuff. Yup, told you I was a dork.

Have you seen the Merci x Liberty collection? In addition to pretty suitcases and envelopes, they have washi masking tapes in floral prints, made by the familiar brand, mt. Masking tapes!! *faints*

(images from liberty.co.uk)

But most of these are out of stock online. Tragic, right? They were available a couple days ago, and I had put them in the shopping cart. Oh yeah, I checked the international shipping rate. About $40 USD. Each tape about $7. Crazy, I know, but I was entertaining the idea.

Um, can anyone hook me up? Please?

Better yet, I think it'd be awesome if mt did a collection with Liberty directly and have them available in the US, too. ;) At the rate at which Liberty is collaborating with other companies these days, I don't think it's a bad idea. In fact, with the popularity of masking tapes rising and many Liberty fans all over, especially in Japan, it'd be a huge success. It's like, duh, why didn't we think of this combination before?

What, me? Desperate? No...

I Made: a ribbon necklace

Materials I used

• A piece of ribbon
• A crown charm from a broken cell phone strap
• An old necklace chain

Inspiration

• Ribbon Rainbow Drop necklace 
• This Anthropologie outfit
  

Do you wear lots of necklaces? Or make your own? I don't plan on adding jewelry making to my growing list of hobbies but this was fun. :)

Oui

I don't usually go crazy over necklaces, or jewelry for that matter, but this "oui" necklace took my breath away when I first saw it on lovely Mika Nakashima (here). I had to find out where it's from but I should've known. If it's on a famous celebrity, it's probably very expensive. Sure enough, I found out that it's made by Dior. Yup, that Dior. Doh.

Better start saving!
(Imge from eluxury)

New teacups

Recently, I visited the Heath Ceramics factory store in Sausalito to check out their annual sale. It was my second time there for the sale, and it was another pleasant shopping experience. There were lots of people there, and I saw many of them grabbing the bud vases.
How can they not? They look so pretty grouped together.

Citrusboy and I grabbed these celadon Dosa cups as soon as we saw them, and we are more than happy with them. I'm sure some of you have heard good things about Heath Ceramics but they really do feel nice in your hands, especially these teacups. They are the right size and shape for drinking tea. We got the same cups in dark color (here) last time but these celadon ones are proving to be better for green tea because you can see the color of the tea better in them. Plus the beautiful color reminds me of Korean celadon pottery. :)

Hope you all have a good week! Don't forget, my shop over at Papernstitch is still going! ^_^

Polka dot hair pins

I've been in bad moods lately, and that can mean many things. But I think I will narrow them down to bad hair. Yup, I really need a haircut. I've been procrastinating getting one because I would really prefer to go to my regular(?) hair stylist back in Chicago. He's the one I always make sure to go see whenever I go there but now that I don't get to go as often, my hair is really showing it. Good thing I'm pretty low maintenance when it comes to hair..

Anyway, so these are my new favorite accessories that I use to control my overgrown bangs. They go very well with my black hair, and they make me frown less whenever I look at myself in the mirror. :)