Hand-stamped Batik on My Etsy Shop

Most of the batiks on my Etsy shop are hand-stamped.

Not a few think that hand-stamped batiks are not handmade or hand-crafted, which is incorrect. Hand-stamped batiks are so handmade. It does not involve machinery and it requires a lot of time to make.

The difference between hand-drawn and hand-stamped is when applying pattern on the cloth. With hand-stamped batiks, patterns are made by hand with a copper printing block dipped in hot wax. This process speeds up the whole process of making batik. The dyeing is done by hand too.

Most hand-stamped batiks have contemporary designs. Some have traditional designs.

My favorite hand-stamped batiks are the ones from the North Coast of West Java Island, Indonesia. The prints are really cute and quite modern. And they are so colorful and yet simple. Some of the hand-stamped batiks on my shop also come from the North Coast of Central Java. I love those too.

 

These batiks are perfect for any sewing projects. They're cotton and very comfortable for spring and summer clothing.

My New Etsy Shop

Happy new year!

Well, I know it's way too late to say that since it's been over 2 months since the new year started.

I've been very busy lately. I opened a new shop on etsy selling vintage and supplies in December last year.

I had been thinking about doing that for many months before and decided it's time to do that. The idea came when my mother in-law show me some vintage kimonos and jacket kimonos that she had kept for many years. She said she didn't know what to do with them. So I thought why not selling them on etsy. That's how it began.

I also have tons of batiks that I haven't had a chance to make into a dress or blouse. Since I began making tsumami zaiku/kanzashi, I haven't had the time to sew.

I'm planning to fill up my shop with other supplies and more vintage. Can't wait to do that! But for now I have vintage kimonos and batiks only on my shop.

If you love Japanese vintage kimono or Indonesian batik, you might find kimono or batik you're looking for :)

Favorite Etsy Treasury April - June 2015

My favorite treasuries from April to June 2015 are as follows.

April Finds by Monica of Grandma's Dowry.

Saturday Night Blues by Ivy Starshine of Starshine Beads 

 Colorful Loveliness by Kitty Karma of Karma Kitty Jewelry 

 Love You Mom by Maiko Sucich of AmiAmiGocco 

Gifts for Mom by Yevheniya Shcherbyna of Woodberry UA

Life by Woolpaw

Captivating Corals by Ivy Starshine of Starshine Beads.

Enjoy these beautiful collections by very talented artists and crafters on Etsy. If you find some items are not in the collections anymore (when you click the links), it means the sellers may have withdrawn their works.

Favorite January - March Etsy Treasury 2015

I'm always honored when a work of mine is included in a treasury by a fellow artist or crafter. Many artists/crafters have included my works in their treasuries. I wish I could post all of them here but again I don't have enough time to do that, so I can only post some. But I DO appreciate all of them.

Here are my favorites:

The Cold Winternoses by Florence Jewel Shop

PINK PINK PINK by Lea Marino of Calico Juno Jewelry 

Handmade Beauties by Katarzyna Blachowicz of Kaila Jewelry 

When you find that the actual treasury has fewer items than the number of items shown here, that means the sellers may have withdrawn or sold their works.

Tsumami Zaiku Statement Ring Floral Jewellery

Some acquaintances had asked me what if I tried to make ring with tsumami zaiku. I thought that was not a bad idea but I never really thought about it seriously. Then about a month ago, after having received the kanzashi hair pins I'd made for her, a customer complimented the hair pins and suggested that I should try making a ring with tsumami zaiku. So, I thought this was the right time to seriously put this idea into production.

Since chrysanthemum is the seasonal flower in October according to tsumami kanzashi calender, I decided to make some Chrysanthemum rings. Some are made of habotai silk, silk crepe de chine and vintage kimono. The size is about 4cm (40mm or 1.6 inch). These flowers are mounted on nickel-free metal rings in various tones such as silver, gold, vintage bronze.

These rings will make beautiful corsage rings at weddings or on special occasions such as prom or other special celebrations. Check out these rings on my Etsy shop.

Yellow Green Chrysanthemum ring is made of habotai silk.

Teal Purple Chrysanthemum Ring is made of habotai silk.

 Orange Chrysanthemum Ring is made of vintage kimono.

 Purple Chrysanthemum Ring is made of vintage kimono.

Mahogany colored Peach Flower Bouquet Ring is made of the lining of vintage kimono and habotai silk.

Maroon and Mauve Flower Bouquet Ring is made of the lining of vintage kimono and habotai silk.

 Pink Chrysanthemum is made of silk crepe de chine.

 Aqua colored Chrysanthemum Ring is made of silk crepe de chine.

And oh, Christmas is coming, so I think why not shopping early for Christmas? So, from 27th September to 27th October there's a special offer: FREE SHIPPING! Yup, if you shop before 27th October, you can get free shipping for any item you buy from my shop. Use this coupon code EXSHP1 when you check out the cart. I will ship your order by Standard Airmail Japan Post. The order will be packed in a box.

Tsumami Zaiku Kusudama Flower Ball Oriental Home Decor

This post seem kind of late since I listed the items months ago. But better late than never they say, right?

The items I mentioned above are tsumami zaiku kusudama flower ball oriental home decor. Sounds like a long phrase. I'll break down the seem-so-strange words.

First of all, the word kusudama. Kusudama is written　薬玉 which means literally medicine ball. Kusu is from kusuri which means medicine and dama is from tama which means ball. Kusudama dates back from ancient Japanese culture where kusudama was used for incense or potpourri. They may have put herbs or dried flowers inside. Kusudama is made of units of folded paper (origami) that are assembled into a ball shape. Therefore, kusudama is actually more familiar with origami art. However, now kusudama can also refer to  flower ball.

Tsumami zaiku itself can be freely translated as fabric flower works. The misunderstanding arises when kanzashi is interpreted as fabric flower by many crafters outside Japan (America, Europe, etc), which is not right. Kanzashi itself means hair stick. And tsumami kanzashi is a hairstick decorated with fabric flower. Now that the fabric flower can be applied to brooches even jewelry, in Japan it is called as Tsumami Zaiku. So the items above can't be called kanzashi flower ball because they are home decors and not hair sticks.

I made these flower balls with styrofoam balls. These styrofoam balls come in many sizes, from 10mm to 80mm. For the flower ball home decors I used size 55mm to 65mm.

These styrofoam balls are so useful depending on what you want to make. I make pip berries with the smallest size, make crochet balls etc.

To make a flower ball, first I wrap a styrofoam ball with a piece of fabric (chirimen, vintage kimono scrap, batik scrap etc) using white craft glue. Then decorated with tsumami zaiku or fabric flowers. Extra decorations include beads, tassels etc.

This is a colorful flower ball - green, peach, purple, maroon - which I made with vintage kimono linings. I added a beautiful tensha bead and a tassel.

This one is also made of vintage kimono but not the lining. It's a combination of plain white and flower patterned vintage kimono. This flower ball comes with a flower-painted flower charm and a silk tassel.

This flower ball with green yellow flowers is made with vintage kimono. Each flower is decorated with olive green faux pearls. This kusudama is also a wind chime. I added a cloisonne bead and a tassel with chinese knot.

This one is very unique. This flower ball is decorated with pink red flower bouquet and covered with white petals. I made the pink and red flowers with batik and the white petals with vintage kimono. I added a pink tassel with chinese knot as additional decoration.

For this blue flower ball, I didn't cover the whole surface with petals like the previous four. I just filled up the plain areas with fabric flowers. I made this with Japanese chirimen. For additional decoration, I added a wooden filigree.

Another one is almost the same as the blue one. This green flower ball with peony flowers is made with Japanese chirimen and a green tassel with chinese knot.

Last but not least the purple flower ball with iris flower. This flower ball comes with a bead and a purple tassle with chinese knot.

For further details about these items, click the banner to visit my shop or click the bold title above each picture.

A Weekend Getaway Part 3: A Visit to Izumo Taisha

Finally our final leg of a one-day trip to Izumo. (Read A Wekend Getaway Part 1 and A Weekend Getaway Part 2)

After Izumo shrine and the museum, I thought we would go back straight to Matsue city but apparently my husband and his friends  had come up with another plan. We were passing a meandering road when I saw a roof of an ancient building portruding among a lush valley. Then I realised that was our next stop.

We arrived at a shrine which is closely related to Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine. This shrine is called Hinomisaki Shrine. Unlike the Izumo shrine, the Hinomisaki shrine is painted in bright vermilion. This shrine is located about 8 km north of Izumo shrine.

Not far from Hinomisaki shrine stands Izumo Hinomisaki Lighthouse. It is the highest stone lighthouse in Japan. It is also listed in top 100 historic lighthouses in the world. The lighthouse is open to public. You can enter and go up for 200 yen. But I didn't. I was just pretty exhausted.

Next stop was kind of refreshing. After a long ride on a long winding road, we stopped at Shimane Winery. The shop offers abundant sweets made of grapes and other types of local snacks. Also, of course, all kinds of wine produced there. There are over 10 bowls of wine which you can sample. I wasn't driving so I could taste some. I found one that I really like. But I didn't buy it because basically I don't drink.

The visit to the winery ended our trip for that day. I was soooo exhausted.. But, it was a really good trip overall.