crafty adventures | kimberly ah

Oct 07 2015

Renegade Recap 2015

Our trip to Renegade happened by accident this year. It fell on a busy weekend and I had kind of resigned myself that we weren’t going. But Naoto and I had a coffee date with one of his coworkers (and fellow cocktail enthusiast) and since we were in the neighborhood, I bribed Naoto with a beer and a promise that I was only going to go to a couple of booths. I broke my promise because Renegade didn’t offer vendor maps this year (Annoying!) so I had to go through the whole fair to find the people I wanted to see. Darn! Hasegawa Happy Hour at Renegade But it was a gorgeous weather day and we had a mini happy hour, so I made it worth his while. I’ve been following Eling from Migration Goods on Instagram for as long as I can remember. It’s so weird following someone for a long time and then meeting them in person for the first time after feeling like you “know” them through the internet. But, it was so great to meet in person and put a voice and personality with those pictures of her fun products and Daisy the Dog. I just love Eling’s style and of course, I love her Sasquatch and Yeti lines! I got a few postcard sets (bears and tomatoes, pictured at the top) and the sweet Big Foot holding “Presley” ornament that will go on our Christmas tree but hang out all year long, too. The detail on her felt goods is so amazing…tiny stitches, tiny pieces…seriously I want to know how Eling has the patience to sew a grumpy brow on Big Foot? I’ve been shopping with La Familia Green for years…since Mollie was selling Gocco-printed cards and VHS cover journals. Now she has a huge card line (two of the three cards I bought are on the top left corner in the top picture), great wrapping paper (the cat paper in the background of today’s pictures is LFG!), and quirky buttons (like Chicago weather man, Tom Skilling above). I’m obsessed with the weather and will stop my day to watch summer storm or winter blizzard weather coverage, so I had to have the Tom Skilling button. I’m going to wear Tom on my winter coat to remind myself not to kill the messenger when it’s 30 below in March. I picked up some mail-themed stickers from le petit elephant, Genevieve Santos. I’m going to try not to be hoard-y with them…now I’m wishing I had bought two sheets… Her illustrations are just so sweet and I love that she has some sweet pen pal themed options (like these sweet rubber stamps!) I happened upon Arthur’s Plaid Pants by accident, drawn in by a Golden Girls sighting. I couldn’t resist the thank you cards and the magnets (which are now hanging out on my Ikea RÅSCOG bar cart). I love her quirky drawings and Midwest focus. And last but not least, I picked up a few buttons from Nerfect, our Berwyn “neighbor” to the south. Abe is a gift, but the others are going on my bag.

There were a few other sellers I wanted to see at Renegade but we somehow missed them. I didn’t have the energy to go back through the crowds to hunt for them. This is where a fair map (and maybe better booth signage?) would have been helpful. The good news is, Show of Hands is coming up in November and maybe I can get some Christmas shopping done there.

Any good craft fairs happening around you?

Tagged adventures, crafts, shopping, snail mail

Aug 19 2015

5 Comments

crafty adventures, snail mail

Mail Again, Mail Again, Jiggity Jig

I’m finally making some progress in my mail pile! Over the weekend and each night this week, I’ve tried to tackle a letter or two. When I get behind, I always have high hopes of catching up in one sitting and then I get burnt out before even starting the first letter. (The same thing happens with cleaning–I have high hopes of cleaning the WHOLE apartment perfectly, then I just give up and don’t do anything.) Taking the pile one letter at a time has been a lot less stressful and way more productive! I have a drawer in my desk that is dedicated to random paper scraps (used wrapping paper, junk mail, stickers, scraps, bits pen pals send me) to use for mail art. That drawer has gotten so stuffed that I couldn’t close it! So, I’ve decided that a “use it or lose it” policy needs to be put into effect. If I’m going to save something, I need to use it right away, even if that means making an envelope ahead of time. The colorful paisley paper has been around since 2014. It was wrapping paper from a gift Cath sent to me. It was really a joy to use on these envelopes. The green and white Japanese paper was from a gift Jess sent. I used it on her (late) thank you note and some other (late) thank you notes that day. I’ve shared this before, but I always take an extra popcorn bag when I go to Rural King. I like to think of it as spreading the good word about my favorite farm equipment store. I’ve barely made a dent in the map from the Letter Writers Alliance Mail Art Workshop kit. But at least I can close my drawer now…almost!

Tagged crafts, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, washi tape

Jul 27 2015

4 Comments

crafty adventures, Japan 2015, Office Supplies

Sakura Ballsign Knock Pens

Every time I step into Loft, my second favorite stationery & more store in Japan, I head directly for the pen displays. I stand there, section by section, trying out all of the different pens, different colors, different styles. This time, I was shopping for a new pen that I could use for letter writing. (My reliance on the Frixion pens has gotten risky for letter writing since some of the ink disappeared on the way to Tacoma, Washington recently.) So I was shopping for something a little bit more permanent. I found and fell in love with these Ballsign Knock gel pens. They come in a few different varieties, but I ended up getting a pack of the metallic ones that can write on dark and light paper, a pack of the shimmery ones that glitter in the light, and a single neon one. My favorites are the metallic ones. I love pens that write on dark papers, and I was excited to have some that went beyond the normal white, gold, and silver options in my arsenal. I love the metallic gold (it’s almost a white gold), green, blue, purple, and pink colors, but sadly, they don’t show up as strong colors on black paper. (It’s hard to tell from the picture, but they read more silver metallic on the black paper.) I think part of the reason is the colors aren’t very dark to begin with and that they have a 0.6mm point. (I like a thinner point on my pens, but I’m also not sure that this style comes in other sizes.) I still love the way that they write and the way that they look on dark paper so I’m pleased with my purchase. (Plus I have these other Ballsign gel pens in my pen stash and their true colors show up perfectly on dark papers. I’ll be sharing more about them in a future blog post.) The glittery ones are a lot of fun, but only show on lighter papers. I purchased the 0.8mm points in these (again, I think that was all Loft offered) and the thickness is perfect for showing off the shimmer of the ink (the box calls them lamé). The colors are very opaque and the ink flows really well. These will be fun for addressing envelopes and making mail art. I almost bought a box of the neon pens, but I decided that I should leave some pens for the other people. So I just bought the red one. (Neon is out of style now anyway, right?) But I like the width of the neon red pen and there was a tiny bit of skipping at first, but it got better as I used it a bit. It’s hard to tell from my picture, but the ink really pops off the page.

Sakura also offers a pastel version that can be used on dark papers and a regular ol’ gel ink version (in a 0.4mm point). All in all, I’m really happy with these pens. They are nice and slim and comfortable to hold. Time will tell if they are good workhorses for letter writing and list-making. I’ll have to put my precious Frixion pens away to find out.

Tagged crafts, I *heart* Japan, Japan, mail art, office supplies, snail mail

May 01 2015

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crafty adventures, Office Supplies, Peggy's Parties, snail mail

Simple Spring Birthday Invitations

Continuing the cherry blossom mail theme…

Peggy and I are hosting a tiny birthday celebration for Karen and Susan in May. I thought I’d try to set a special tone for the celebration by sending out paper invites. There are only four of us, so it was an easy task. Using my trusty typewriter, some washi tape, those cherry blossom cellophane bags, and some 4-bar cards that magically fit inside, I came up with a simple spring design. cherry blossom, spring birthday invites, washi tape, typewriter My only regret is that I placed the mailing labels over the information. I think they would have been more fun and colorful if I’d left the invitation side blank (as shown above) and put the mailing label and the stamp on the reverse side. That way, the cellophane didn’t even need to be opened. But I do like seeing the stamp on those washi tape stripes, so all is not lost I suppose.

Sigh…I do love a paper invitation, don’t you?

Tagged crafts, diy, mail art, office supplies, snail mail, washi tape

Apr 29 2015

2 Comments

crafty adventures, Office Supplies, snail mail

Cherry Blossom Mail

cherry blossom mail I’m a bit late for cherry blossom season, but last week, I sent out some pink blossomed mail to a few pen pals. What can I say? I’m inspired by those postage stamps. When we were in Japan last year, I picked up a bunch a sakura stationery and of course I tucked it away to use this spring. I wrote letters on the kaishi papers, folded them around a Japanese tea bag and tucked them inside these sakura printed cellophane flat bags. The tiny sakura flowers on the papers showed through the bags…flowers everywhere! I sealed up the bags with washi tape and used labels for the addresses. Easy!

I got a bit behind last week on the Write On Challenge and National Letter Writing Month but I’m all caught up and looking forward to finishing strong. I can’t believe April is almost over! How has the challenge gone for you?

Tagged crafts, I *heart* Japan, Japan, mail art, office supplies, snail mail, washi tape

Mar 27 2015

4 Comments

cocktails, crafty adventures, homemaking

Hasegawa Happy Hour Menu

In a sign that I *may* have too much time on my hands (or that I was avoiding doing something productive), I typed up a menu for our Hasegawa Happy Hours. And when I say “typed” I mean typed on the typewriter because that’s how I roll. I know a menu seems weird and excessive, but honestly, if I didn’t have a set cocktail planned for our HHH guests, I was looking through my archives for suggestions. This way, I have all of my favorites in one place. I typed the menu on a piece of 8.5×11 card stock scored and folded the long way. It’s very simply “formatted” since it was done on the typewriter and it’s spring-centric, which means I can type up another one for summer (ooh, for balcony cocktails! I can’t wait!) I have a section for “Think Spring” cocktails, which are coincidentally all gin-based. (Eagle eyes will notice that I messed up on the Vieux Mot and typed the wrong ingredients. Womp, womp.)Then there’s a section for “Cozy Nights” that includes mostly whiskey cocktails, perfect for right about now when it’s damp and cold outside. In the “Deliciously Bitter” section, I have a small list of bitter cocktails. I’ve added several bitter liqueurs to my collection this year and these four are tasty winners. And, on a removable tiny business card, I typed up two Hasegawa originals, the CAP Cocktail and Pining for the Queen. It’s harder to keep those ingredients readily on hand around here, so I like to be able to remove the card if we don’t have any pomegranate juice or rosemary in the house.

We tested the menu out last weekend when we had friends over for a little sushi-making party. It worked like a charm!

Tagged cocktails, crafts, diy, office supplies, washi tape

Mar 25 2015

5 Comments

adventures, crafty adventures, Forest Park, Oak Park, gardening, Office Supplies

Seed Swap 2015

On Sunday the Forest Park Community Garden hosted their fifth annual Seed Swap. Have you ever been to a seed swap? It was my first time, so everything was new and exciting for me. Basically, you bring packets of seeds to the swap–either something you no longer want to plant, or something you have in excess–and trade them with other gardeners’ seeds. It’s a perfect concept for city gardeners and community gardeners who do not have the space to plant an entire packet of seeds in their tiny plots. The swap was held in a school gym, plenty of space to allow for milling around, browsing seeds, and chatting with fellow gardeners. LaManda Joy from the Peterson Garden Project and The Yarden gave a presentation about gardening, her experience as a home gardener, and starting a community garden. The Lisle Seed Library was also there sharing seeds and information about their library’s programs for gardeners.

I brought six packets of seeds to swap (pictured at the top)–lettuce, broccoli, loofah, eggplant, beets, and snow peas. I made my packets from baby envelopes that I had on hand, my favorite Yellow Owl Workshop garden stamp kit, and a little bit of washi tape. (They *may* have been crafty overkill, but I didn’t care.) I came home with edamame, milkweed, malva, alyssum, morning glories, ornamental grass and a clipping from an oregano plant. I worked registration at the swap, so I missed out on seeing the wide variety of vegetable seeds, but I was kind of more into the flower seeds anyway. I wanted some perennials to plant on the balcony and some edamame to try in our plot this year, so I came home a happy camper.

Speaking of gardening, this was the scene when I left for work on Monday morning. Forest Park got about seven inches of snow…I hope it was good for my winter sowing project!! I’m working on planting some more this week. Spring gardens are just around the corner, right?

Tagged adventures, crafts, food, forest park, garden, gardening, rubber stamp

Feb 25 2015

4 Comments

crafty adventures, holidays, Valentine's Day, vintage

A Tiny Matchbox Valentine

At work we exchanged Valentines, grade school style with a handmade Valentine box and everything. I made a simplified version of my vintage stamp Valentine and I got a lot of great ones, too. One of my favorites was this tiny matchbox Valentine from Laura. It’s hard to see in the pictures, but it’s a plain matchbox covered with map paper–in my case, a map of Japan!Inside, there was a tiny piece of chocolate and a vintage stamp tied up with pink twine. Once I untied the twine, I saw that the stamp was actually two stamps sewn together to make a little card. There was a kind message inside.

I love that Laura used non-traditional Valentine colors and created something really special. I love working with such creative people!

P.S. Laura has a blog! And she wrote up a little tutorial about her Matchbox Valentines in case you want to make your own…for next year or another occasion! 🙂

Tagged crafts, diy, holidays

Feb 13 2015

5 Comments

celebrations, crafty adventures, holidays, Letter Month, Office Supplies, snail mail, vintage

Vintage Stamp Valentines

I’ve been making some handmade Valentines for pen pals and friends since January. Yet, somehow, I am not done. I get distracted too easily, and Presley joins me and naps on my supplies, which slows things down too.

I decided to make some cards that looked a little bit like envelopes (similar to my calling cards for ex Postal Facto last year.) I started with some 4-bar cards and added pink and red vintage (or Japanese) stamps and a variety of washi tapes. I typed the message “You put the stamp on my envelope, Valentine!” on labels or directly on the cards. The labeled ones kind of look more like envelopes, but hopefully the silly message kind of makes sense.

They were a lot of fun to make and I was happy to be able to spend out some of my vintage stamp collection…although now I feel compelled to build up my red and pink stash again!

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope your mailbox is full of love this weekend!

Tagged celebrations, crafts, diy, holidays, mail art, office supplies, snail mail, vintage, washi tape

Feb 05 2015

6 Comments

crafty adventures, holidays, snail mail, Valentine's Day

Easy Printmaking For Kids (& Adults)

Last week, I quickly shared about my thrift store find, Tomie dePaola’s Things to Make and Do for Valentine’s Day. When I got to this printmaking craft, I was really excited because I’ve done something like this before. I think it’s a really fun project–for kids and adults–and a good introduction to block printing without investing in a ton of materials.

Here are the instructions starring Tomie’s cute kids and cuter cat: Tomie de Paola Things to Make and Do for Valentine's Day A few notes:

I know styrofoam is a horrible thing for the environment and a few cities in the U.S. are banning the use of styrofoam take-out containers. Think of this as re-purposing something evil. I got my styrofoam trays with fish and vegetables at Mitsuwa.
I used a brayer because I already had one on hand from a printmaking class, but a rolling pin works just fine and may be even better for kids since it’s bigger and easier to handle.
The book suggests poster paints. I used Martha Stewart craft paint because I had some already. It worked fine, but it did dry quickly. So, I tried oil-based printmaking ink, which I also had. It worked perfectly but I would highly suggest you don’t use it if you are working with kids. It’s messy, permanent and dries so slowly.

I made my “block” by tracing the outline of the Japanese character for “friend”. I flipped it around and traced it onto my styrofoam with a sharp pencil. I went over the outline a couple of times to make a deep enough channel to get a clean outline. If I had pressed too lightly, the outline would not be as clear.My prints are imperfect, but that’s okay. It takes some practice to get the right amount of ink on the styrofoam–I need some more practice! And, if this oil-based ink ever dries, I will cut them apart into little cards and send them out as Valentines.