Bunkasai

So on Saturday it was my school’s “Bunkasai” or culture festival.

Most high schools in Japan have this. Each homeroom chooses a theme and transforms the classroom. The school is then open to the public all day Saturday and the classes and clubs present their themes. Usually the guests are parents, friends and prospective students.

In the past I’ve seen some amazing transformations at other schools. A hospital, a climb through Alice in Wonderland theme, a trip through an over-sized rubbish dump.

My school for some reason tends to mainly be food, it’s like there’s twenty-odd mini cafes! Each class serves only one types of food usually for between 50-100yen. This year of the ones I saw we had pancakes, frankfurters, parfait, a tapioca bar, yakisoba, okonomiyaki, yakitori, popcorn, tortilla chips and choco-bananas.

The non-food themes I saw were a giant Othello board in one class, a haunted house and my class, our theme was eco-crafts.

I made a bunch of samples and the students had to make their own version and an original eco-craft of their own choice.

My desk tidy:

All the samples I made:

Each student had their own crafts on their desks and we had a gallery. We didn’t win but I think the students had a good day interacting with the public!

Nagoya Weekend

Went to Nagoya to see one of my best friends for the weekend. No plans, no schedule, just the way I like it!

Candydoll Nail Art & Tweet from Tsubasa

So last night I decided to do some nail art for the first time in months...

Nordic Nail Art

I got started on my sets for the open day! My kitchen table is now covered in nail art gear, I like it!

I've got two sets half done and one completed, the Nordic design:





I took the design the teacher showed us and some ideas from magazines and came up with this, hope my teacher likes it!

No Sew!

I'd love a sewing machine and to learn how to use one properly but until I get settled somewhere I'm avoiding heavy purchases! If I see one second-hand I might get one but for now I'm discovering the joys of iron-in webbing tape stuff (not sure what it's really called!).

It's a rainy day so it was the perfect time to give it a go and so I made a book jacket! It's a little wonky in places but I'm still rather proud of myself for giving it a go.

Now I can try and do things with the pretty bits of fabric I always seem to come back from craft shops with!

Creative Journal: All Good Things

I started dabbling not too long before my brother passed away. Then, along with all other creative hobbies I left it alone until now.  I made this page last night. I don't know how much I believe it right now but it's there in the book when I need it.

I like the idea of creative journaling, there's no pressure to fill a page with words when just an important question or sentence is all you need. I can play with colours, textures and arrangments. When I had a normal diary it always just turned into a list of what I did rather than what I felt.

This journal has my thoughts, hopes and fears. It's a bit scary putting some things down on paper but it's a Good Thing.

Knitting

This is my very first attempt at knitting! It was going to be a scarf but it's turned out a little narrow so I don't know what it's going to be but I'm quite excited to find out...

Vase

I made a vase yesterday, it was the first time I've tried pottery. It was more fun than I thought, I'd like to try again someday.

Home Painting

This is my first painting on proper canvas, it was really fun to do! The background is more purple than the picture though, I couldn't get it to look right.

Christmas and New Year Cards 2010

These are my Christmas and New Year designs. 2010 is the Year of the Tiger.
Happy New Year!

これは私のクリスマスと年賀状のデザインです！2010はトラの年ですね！

皆さん、良いお年を！