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Buddy taught me how to make these mini books years ago after he made one in his writing class in school. It's brilliantly simple and creates a six page book (plus cover and back) with a single sheet of paper and no glue or binding. I made this bunny version for Buddy and thought I'd share a tutorial and PDF file so you can make one too.
But first, here's what the inside pages look like:
PDF file and instructions after the jump.
One thing that happened during my bloggie absence was the publication of this book in September by Penguin Australia. Some of you may remember the wonderful Softies book from last year which I contributed two patterns for. Penguin Group has once again done an amazing job putting this beautifully photographed book together featuring 22 new creations from many of the same crafters and designers from the previous edition. I'm beyond excited to once again be a part of it!
They've has also created a website just for the two books which features an exclusive pattern, and wallpapers to download including my little pup shown above. Fun!
Updated: The American version of More Softies was released in February 2010 under the title "More Softies Only a Mother Could Love: 22 New Friends to Sew and Crochet" you can buy it from Amazon here.
Yesterday I read on Prairie Mouse's blog that she had received her copy of the Softies book that we contributed to earlier this year. It was exciting to finally see it but I thought for sure it would be at least a week or so before my copy arrived because it always takes forever for mail to get to Hawaii. So imagine my delight when as I left for work this morning my postman handed me a package from Australia!
I was so excited that I kept sneaking peeks at it as I drove to work. It looks amazing and I really like how the publisher laid it all out, with wonderful photos of all the projects. There's instructions and patterns for 22 different adorable softies from a bunch of talented crafters. I contributed two patterns, the little donkey on the cover and my kangaroo softie and joey finger puppet I posted about earlier this year.
The book is published by Penguin Australia, but I don't have all the details yet for where it will be available. In the meantime here's some information from the publisher.
Yeah! Have a great weekend everyone!
I was hoping to post today about some halloween witch pins I planned on making for Buddy's teachers, but they didn't turn out quite how I envisioned so that will have to wait for another day. Instead I thought I'd show some pictures from my latest find.
It's a magazine called Kimono Hime which means Kimono Princess and it's full of kimono and yukata with a very modern edge. You can find more pics at my flickr site.
I couldn't find the link but I remember reading some time ago that kimono and yukata have experienced a resurgence of popularity among young girls. I'm not sure if the new found interest was a result of designers using new materials or vice versa, but I love this new style of kimono. It's very fresh and innovative, and so fun.
One of my favorite sites featuring these nouveau kimono is by designer Yamamoto Yumi. She designs gorgeous kimonos and accessories using non-traditional fabrics like these Alice in Wonderland tabi socks (scroll down), or this very sweetred gingham kimono and strawberry print obi.
She also mixes western and Japanese design elements like with this red velvet cape and this story book tapestry obi (scroll down) and cowboy print obi.
And I absolutely love her little touches like these knitted bunny geta sandals and I thought these geta using photographs of strawberries were pretty cool too.
Well, back to my witches, happy hump day!
Like Tania, I've been hush-hush about a project that I still can't believe I was asked to be a part of. I'm so excited and proud to share the news about the Crafter's Companion!
Anna has done an incredible job over the past year putting this book together and it's finally here! It features wonderful craft projects (including patterns) from seventeen amazing crafty bloggers! Here's a little sneak peak of some of the projects (can you guess which one is mine?).
It officially hits the stores on October 18th, but you can preorder the book now through October 14th for only US $19.99, including shipping, to anywhere in the world!!
Click here or use the pre-order button in my side bar. I can't wait till I get my copy! Yah!!
I think I need to start a vintage cookbook collection. Look at my latest find! It's the Metropolitan Cook Book, a pamphlet of sorts, published by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1957. And like my Art of Chinese Cooking, it's chock full of animated food illustrations.
Oh, Animal Fair. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Well, it's because of this,
A couple of months ago, I found this cute little cookbook at a local church bazaar. It was printed in 1956 and written by Benedictine Nuns. I was initially drawn to it because of the neat illustrations, but the foreward was fascinating as well.
Sister M. Francetta writes in March of 1956 that she and Sister Regia arrived in China in 1930 as missionaries at the Catholic University in Peking. They learned Chinese cooking from Ta Shih Fu, their cook, and came to love the "tastiness and infinite variety of Chinese cuisine".
They were living in Kaifeng, Honan Province when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and within two hours of the atttack the Japanese army (who were already in Kaifeng) rounded them up and placed them in a civilian concentration camp for the duration of the war. After the war they remained in Kaifeng for a while until the Communists arrived and forced them from Kaifeng to Shanghai and later to Formosa. In 1950, the American Consul thought Formosa might be too dangerous so they were sent to Tokyo. They arrived in Tokyo with literally nothing and decided to eke out an existence by starting a cooking school using the lessons they learned from Ta Shih Fu. Their school started with six students a week and quickly grew to 150 a week by 1956.
It's such a sweet little book. I wonder what ever happened to Sister Francetta and Sister Regia and their cooking school, or Ta Shih Fu for that matter?
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And speaking of cute little things, Amanda's hosting a teeny tiny swap. Go check it out, sign up ends this Friday.
I enjoyed a rare Sunday alone as my parents took Buddy to the museum and Mr. T was at work. I slept in late and woke up excited about the possibilities the day might hold. I've been dying to see Pride and Prejudice, so maybe a trip to the video store and some take out? But I haven't been to the fabric store in months and the 40% coupon from the craft store expires today. Decisions, decisions. Then I walked into the kitchen and the dirty dishes from Friday were staring back at me, as were the piles of laundry overflowing from the hampers. So I spent my Sunday doing six loads of laundry, tackling my messy kitchen and vacuuming the house. Not exactly a perfect day, but it always feels so much better once the house is clean again.
But all was not lost. I did get some craft time in between loads, and almost finished an embroidered patch I've been working on. Which coincidentally, has a housework vibe to it and features the March Project Spectrum colors, pink and red.
I also had time to enjoy my ebay win which came in the mail on Saturday. I think I mentioned a couple posts back that I finally won a vintage children's book that I had bid on a bunch of times, but kept losing. It's called "Fun to Cook Book" but its actually more of a pamphlet and it was published by Carnation Foods in 1955. I spotted a copy of it on a Japanese antiques website and was drawn to the cute illustrations. You can see more of it here.
And thank you everyone for all the wonderful comments about Buddy's intrepid Space Travelers. Hopefully Biff and Suzie will survive the hands of a 4-year old and carry on for more adventures.
Happy Monday!
I called my Mom up the other day because I wanted to borrow a copy of Crow Boy by Taro Yashima to read to Buddy. I loved this book so much as a child. The story of Chibi, the outcast boy from a remote village, always made me cry.
My Mom has the best collection of old childrens books from her years as a schoolteacher. When I ask her for something, not only will she have several copies of the book but often times there will be a first edition in her collection as well.
So when I asked her for Crow Boy she casually told me that she had a copy signed by Taro Yashima! As you can see it's a well loved copy. But that's one of the things I love most about these books, that they were well loved over the years, by many many children.
