It was my husband’s birthday on monday, and we celebrated with just the two of us at home. I wanted to surprise him this year, so I hid the cake in the oven and rushed to buy grocery, flowers and balloons in the afternoon. The dinner menu was Scallops with Beurre Blanc Sauce, Shrimp with Bisque Sauce, and Flat Iron Steak. Oh, and served with William Hill from Napa Valley. The birthday cake went very well, and he enjoyed it. I added some gelatin in the whipped cream this year to give it a firm and mousse texture. At the end of the day, I was proud of myself to surprise my attentive husband.

After discovering different print methods on Lotta Prints, my friend and I decided to do a day project using potato stamps on linen fabric. Potato Stamps are called “Imo Ban” in Japanese, and has been a popular print method for decades. I personally made the stamps with carrots, and it worked perfectly! Our next challenge is to make furoshiki’s for the upcoming craft fair.

Since the memorial day weekend, my spare time were spent redecorating the house. Our house just seemed very bland with the high ceilings and it was definitely time for some wall treatments. Although I would love to have these beautiful walls, I wasn’t confident painting the walls or even repainting it back to white.

Looking for other ideas, I recalled a beautiful illustration by Mariko Jesse that would just be perfect for the wall above the unused or more like unusable antique fireplace. I decided to draw on a big white canvas bought at Lee’s Art Shop with a Gold paint pen at Paper Presentation. And to add more love, I placed our paper cutout initials and frame on each side. Although it depends on what kind of look you are trying to achieve for, I’ve always thought rectangle motifs are easier to arrange and makes a room classic with a modern twist. Is it time for your walls to get some attention?

Inspired by Mariko Jesse’s drawing on the Martha Stewart Wedding.
See her illustrations here

My husband’s friend just had a baby, and I wanted to send them a heart warming handmade gift. So, I searched for a baby gift and found this cute Nested’s Basic Bib tutorial.

The tutorial itself was easy, but I had to pay particular attention when sewing on the curved edges. It took me about three hours including the cutting and sewing altogether. It’s almost a half-day project, but it would be a great baby gift.

Walnut embroidery inspired by the baby’s name

A CD cover for my nephew in Japan. I hope he enjoys it.