after a whirlwind of a year, christmas night is almost through, and the new year just ahead. this year’s holiday season greeting cards were a simple dedication to my tokyo life.
the inspiration came from this photo i took in marunouchi, this past january. which reminds me of when i lived in wall street, nyc.
1月に撮った東京駅、丸の内の写真。学生時代に住んでいたニューヨークのウォール街を思い出させるこのショットが2018年を通して、一番お気に入りだったのです。
december is already halfway through! the past couple months has flown by faster than light years! exaggerating? yes, but really… i still had to squeeze in this batch of handmade holiday cards for friends and fam. once an idea comes to mind, i just must. do. it. here, i share the process!
i started off by creating the layout on adobe illustrator
パソコンでレイアウトを作る
handcut letters
文字の切抜きはすべてハンドカット
these transparent origami sheets are from daiso. i’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use them! instead of using traditional christmas colors, i wanted to go with a “holiday neutral” color scheme. a bit of 90’s and a bit of neon and every bit pop!
以前にダイソーで一目惚れした透明のおりがみ。使う機会を待っていました〜!海外の友人でクリスマスを祝わない方もいらっしゃるので、あえて赤とグリーンにこだわらないカラーテーマを考えました。90年代風なネオン&ポップになりました!
after covering the backside of the transparent sheets, i wrote in the “holidays”. i’ve been practicing my lettering, and these are the perfect opportunities to put them to use!
friends and family won’t judge 😉
おりがみの裏面をカバーし、手書きで 『holidays』 を入れました。最近レタリングに力を入れていて、家族や友人に贈るカードであれば、プレッシャーなく実践できます ^_^;
i switched the string to this glitter thread i found at another 100yen shop!
最後の最後に、キャンドゥーで見つけたラメ入り糸を見つけたので、こちらに変更!
last month, i hosted a dual baby shower for two of my expecting friends. both of them are due around the same time, and both are boys! i was limited with set up time and decorations, so i made a volumy tassel garland that’s easy to put up and instantly brightens up any party space. i didn’t have time to take many photos but here’s what the garlands looked like.
now onto the MAIN subject of this post. a simple and easy baby shower favor d.i.y.! i know i do a lot of “simple and easy”, but seriously not many of us have all the time in the world, and efficiency is key. as long as your heart goes into making these favors, your guests will truly appreciate the gesture!
what you need / 材料:
small paper gift bags / ギフト用紙袋
chocolates, candies, or other small wrapped snacks / 個別包装されたチョコレート、キャンディー、お菓子
washi tape / 和紙テープ
printed (or written) thank you message / 手描き、もしくは印刷されたサンキューメッセージ
scissors / ハサミ
ribbon / リボン
1. print and/or handwrite/draw a thank you message to match the width of gift bag. / 印刷もしくは手書き/描きのサンキューメッセージタグを作る。幅はギフトバッグに合わせて。
2. cut out thank you message tag. i left some white space at the bottom where the tape will go, but this is optional. for some extra fun details, cut top edges in a curved, scalloped, or zig-zag pattern! /
メッセージタグを切り抜く。下端の白紙部分はテープを貼るのり代として残しました。面白みを出すのに、タグの上端は、カーブやスカラップ、ジグザグで切り抜くと良いです⭐︎
3. fill gift bag with candies and snacks and tape closed. / ギフトバッグにお菓子を詰めて、テープで閉じる。
4. tape washi-tape to the bottom edge of tag. make sure to leave about 1/3 inch of the tape from the bottom edge of the tag to attach to the gift bag. / メッセージタグの下端に和紙テープを貼る。ギフトバッグに貼り付ける分量を半分残す。
5. tape tag to gift bag. let the detailed top edge stick above the gift bag. / メッセージタグをギフトバッグに貼り付ける。先ほど不規則に切った上端は、紙袋の上から出るように配置してね♥
so Halloween this year is on a weekend… meaning a bigger turn out for your Halloween daytime parties… meaning after a week of work… you have pretty much zero time to prepare original decorations….. today, i myself in the same dilemma came up with a easy DIY for a Halloween garland, to make your holiday home feel a little more festive with a little effort. (see parentheses for simpler options to make life a little easier for you!)
what you need / 材料:
orange patterned card stock (B4 size) x 5 / オレンジ色の柄の厚紙 (B4 size) x 5 (as long as it’s a rectangular shape, size is not essential. smaller paper will result in smaller flags. /
紙は、長方形であればいいです。サイズが小さければ、フラグが小さくなります。) if you have extra time you can make your own patterned card stock:
時間があればオリジナルの柄をお作りください:
B4 size water color paper × 5 / B4 水彩画用紙 × 5
newspaper / 新聞紙
water colors (i used acrylic) / 水彩絵具(アクリル)
ruler / 定規
scissors / ハサミ
halloween colored washi tape (or black colored tape) / ハロウィン色和紙テープ適量 (もしくはシンプルに黒色テープ)
black card stock (or black marker) / 黒い厚紙 (もしくは、黒いマーカー)
glue / のりやボンド
twine / 麻紐
// makes 20 flags (14 for H A P P Y H A L L O W E E N + 1 between the two words + 2 for beginning + 2 for end = 19 plus 1 left over)
計 20 フラグ (H A P P Y H A L L O W E E N で 14枚 + 間に 1枚 + あたまの 2枚 + おわりの 2枚 = 19枚 と あまり1枚) //
(SKIP THIS PROCESS IF YOU HAVE ORANGE PATTERNED PAPER / オレンジ色の柄の厚紙のご用意があれば、こちらを飛ばしてください)
1. if you decided to use water colors, dry the paint. / 水彩画で柄を作られた場合は、十分乾かしてください。
the first d.i.y flag garland i did also used water colors, for a softer feel. this time, i’m using water colors to play with the bold and soft contrasts. / 初めて作ったガーランドは、優しい印象のため水彩柄にしましたが、今回はカラーの強弱をつけるために水彩にしてみました。
2. once your paper is dried and ready, fold them length-wise (hot dog style). / 紙が乾きましたら、長い辺に沿って半分に折る。
3. measure and cut the folded paper into fourths. / 長い辺に沿って4当分に紙を切る。
4. washi-tape (or black tape) the edges opposite of the folded side. / 短い辺同士を和紙テープ(もしくは、黒色テープ)で止める。
(SKIP THIS PROCESS IF YOU HAVE A BLACK MARKER / 黒いマーカーのご用意がある場合はこちらを飛ばしてください)
5. sketch letters on black card stock. if using a pencil to sketch, i recommend drawing the letters (flip the letters horizontally for P, L, E, N) on the back so as not to leave pencil marks on the front side. / 黒い厚紙に文字を描く。できれば、裏面に描いた方が、仕上がり面に出ないのでよりきれいに仕上がります。(P、L、E、Nは、左右を逆に!)
6. cut out and glue letters onto flags. if you have a black marker, draw your letters directly onto flags. / 文字を切り抜き、フラグにのりで貼る。マーカー使用の場合は、直接フラグに描く。
7. thread the flags with twine. / 麻紐を通す。
8. tape the twine to the inside of the flags on the folded side. / フラグの折れ目の内側に麻紐をテープで止める。
(without the tape on the inside, the flags will go haywire… / テープで止めないと、フラグが重なって大変なことに…)
FINISHED! / 出来上がり!
fast, easy, simple! i hope this helps to make Halloween preparations slightly easier for you! / 簡単、早い、シンプル!これで、少しでもハロウィンの飾り付けの準備が楽になるといいです〜
this week’s #tbt #fbf post is the final one of the S+H series. i will be introducing the miscellaneous pieces that i made! it was such an honor to be asked to work on this wedding and it will always remind me why i enjoy helping in the preparation of wedding events.
the couple had found guestbook inserts at a store, but wanted to change the cover to match their wedding theme and colors. so i made use of my high school book binding class, and sewed together some linen and cotton twill to make this cover.
there were three dogs in the wedding party. mr and mrs S+H had a dog named Sakura (whom has sadly passed away, but is now looking over them in heaven) and two of the bride’s dogs from home. the white one was a tuxedo collar for the boy dog, and the orange ribbon’s for the girls.
this is a mock-up of the welcome board / seating chart. i covered a board with the linen used for the guestbook, and printed the table letter labels on muslin. the photos are the groom’s own photography (i totally think he should be a professional photographer! who’s with me??) and you can see their beloved Sakura in one of the photos. see the following photo for a better look! i used green cord (also used to bind their wedding programs seen in my past post) to decorate.
here are the table letter cards handed to guests. on the backs of these cards are a simplified map of the venue. / ゲストの皆さまにお渡しされたテーブルアルファベットになります。裏面には会場のマップを印刷しました。
– t h e m e n u –
here we have the menus. likewise with the previously mentioned invitations and programs, letterpress brings warmth and depth to a simple design. / こちらはS+Hさんの念願の活版印刷メニュー。招待状と式次第と同様、活版印刷の存在感と温かみを活かした厚紙を使用しております。
– f a v o r g i f t b a g s –
yes! these are handmade gift bags! i also designed these stamps and used fabric-safe ink to stamp each one. to have a truly handmade / homemade wedding brings such happiness and feeling to the special occasion. it was a lot of work, but to see their happiness was definitely worth every seam!
i can’t believe it’s already been a week since last friday!!! this past week was “golden week” in japan, where a string of national holidays + the weekend make an extended vacation week. i try not to leave the house during this time, because out-of-towners from all over japan and the world crowd the whole city. in fact i always recommend to friends planning to visit from overseas to avoid this time of may. that said, since it is officially friday in japan, here’s this week’s #tbt #fbf post! explaining something a little different at japanese weddings.
first, to explain a little about seating charts in japan. in western weddings, a seating chart may be found at the entrance into the wedding reception and guests find or are handed a name card with the table number of where to sit. in japan, all guests are handed something called a sekijihyo (or “seating chart”), which tells them exactly where to sit (not only the table number but also the exact seat, at which their name card will already be placed). this seating chart has all the guests’ full names, relation to the bride and/or groom, and if the guest is a work acquaintance, their job title as well.
no matter the country or culture, the great thing about being a wedding item designer is that i can be creative, have fun, and see my clients and their guests enjoy the creativity.