Link Love No.77!

How was the link party everyone? I saw some really neat ideas and projects; it is awesome to do this again. Besides the couple projects that I have been working on, I started mending clothes. When I went through my closet, and kids’ closet, there were a bunch of clothes that needed attention. I guess I will share some of the projects worth sharing in the future. It is kind of fun and make me feel like I am being resourceful and domestic. :)

Here are the link loves for the month of March!

This beautiful belt was created by Melly Sews. I have a similar belt with a different color of leather, but I really love her design too!! Amazing work!


I cannot believe it is almost Easter! Alderberry Hills created these pretty Easter eggs. As I mentioned before, I am not really big into holiday decor but I would love to see something like them on my table or entry way.


Another Easter decoration that caught my eye was this Easter bunny silhouette by Uncommon. I love how she combined the frame, the silhouette, and the burlap together. They look perfect!


I don't get too many drawing projects on my link party, but I really like this water color art by Grow Creative. She calls it progressive watercolor painting, and shares the how-to on her blog, make sure to check it out!


These crochet flip flops for babies by Crochet Dreamz made me smile, how adorable!


Thank you everyone for your participation. Now, the next MONTHLY link party at Tea Rose Home will be on April 25th, make sure to link your project for the month!

I will see you on Monday!

Link Party No.77!

Wow, the last link party was on December 4th! I had to go back and find out exactly what number I the link party is on. It's been a while...

I am so glad that you are here today. We may not have many links this time, but I hope you all will enjoy linking up and visiting each other.

I have been a bit consumed by a couple projects lately, and they are not ready to share with you yet. I will share the picture of a chocolate cake that I had the other day though... :)


Just imagine, wouldn't it be fun to sit around and chat while we have a piece of chocolate cake?

Well, you know the drill. I can't wait to see what everyone has been up to!

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.


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Spring...and About the Link Party

While I was running some errands last weekend I saw a sign of spring... I just had to stop and take some pictures.

Growing up in Japan, I always looked forward to seeing the full blooming cherry blossoms in spring. People in Japan would take a Bento and drinks to the parks, mountains, where ever you can find cherry blossom trees and have a picnic there.

My sister bought a house a few years ago by a river. I have been to this location in spring; there are 1,000 cherry blossom trees along the river bank. Can you imagine how beautiful it is too see such scenery? It gave me really peaceful and happy feeling to just sit and be there.

I saw this in the news the other day that there are about 3000 cherry blossom trees in Washington DC, and they were actually a gift from Japan 100 years ago. I can't go to Washington to just see the cherry blossom, but it is nice to know that a part of Japanese culture is enjoyed by so many people in the United States too.
Perhaps, maybe there are more cherry blossom trees where I live and I just don't know it. I think I better have some snacks with me just in case I need to break out a picnic. :)

Ok...now let's talk about the link party. You guys might have been wondering "Is she ever going to have link party?" or knowing you kind hearted Tea Rose Home readers, you might have been really understanding and patiently waiting until my series of procedures are over. Well, I have been doing some thinking, and I have to make some changes.

Yeah, I took break from hosting link parties, because it got really difficult with so many procedures and long recovery, I simply couldn't keep the regular posting dates every week.

Now though... I am taking a break from the procedures, it's not because I am doing better, but because of MASSIVE medical bills. We received a couple bills, and the first one, we know our old insurance company is supposed to pay, but they are saying that they are not responsible. The second one is for the new insurance company, and we knew we had to pay some but not that much, and we are not sure what is going on and are trying to straighten things out. Until we know exactly what is going on, we decided to take a break... sigh...

There is always a silver lining on things right? Here comes the good news. Since I am taking a break I can host link parties now!!

But, this is the part I need to talk to you about. I have decided that instead of doing the link party every week, I am only going to hold the link party once a month. As much as I enjoy the link party, hosting a link party every week, going through the links, leaving comments and writing a post every week took lots of effort.

While I was recovering I had a lot of thinking to do, and one of them was what I wanted to do with link party. I thought about it long and hard and "Once a month" that's what I decided to do. I think I need to spend more time on designing and working on my projects right now, but I really really want to keep the link party too. I felt like that was part of what makes my humble blog unique and fun.

I will host the Tea Rose Home monthly link parties on the last Wednesday of every month and I will post the link love by the weekend. I thought you could show off what you made or accomplished that month.

So, what do you say friends? Are you in? This 28th happens to be the last Wednesday of the month, so gear up and link up I am so looking forward to seeing what you all have been up to! It has been quite a while, so I will appreciate it if you can spread the word out.

See you at the link party! :)

Olive Garden Gift Certificate Winner!

Oh how silly of me, I contacted the winner, but forgot to announce the name on my blog! So, here goes.

I have a one lucky winner.
That person is...

Sandy

Congratulations!!
Enjoy the $100 gift certificate with your loved ones. :)

Thank you everyone for playing, Have a wonderful weekend!

Silhouette Chalkboard Vinyl

Last Summer I shared a post about how much fun I had with tattoo paper.

This time, I was given a chance to review their Chalkboard Vinyl. I had heard about it and I was very curious, so it was perfect timing!

There were several ideas that I wanted to do. I got together with my friend who has a Cameo (and let me tell you she is a master!), we decided to play with it. :)

Here are the couple things I did...

A place setting for my refrigerator to write the menu of the day.


I used a cut out design of a place setting my friend already had in her library, and instead of the plate, I used a doily as a plate. I really LOVE this! I have a thing for doilies, and Silhouette offers so many stylish and pretty designs, it was so hard to pick "the one".

I also cut out some tags. There are many places that I want to use these cool labels, but I used the first one on this can... I am quite happy about this treat can, isn't it so fun?


Great thing is I can always erase the words and use the can for different purposes. Hmm... What else can I make?

Liberty of London Fabrics

I received a surprise package from my mom this week. It was filled with Japanese candies and treats for the kids. As you can easily guess from the title, I received more Liberty of London fabrics.

The reason why I didn't put "!!!" after the last sentence is, I have mixed feeling about this. L of L fabrics are not cheap; I would rather that she spend that money on extra food, drinking water and other supplies for them to prepare for the earthquake, since they are saying that a big one might be coming. I told her that several times on the phone, but she always tells me that she loves going to the fabric store and looking at the beautiful flower prints and it is very therapeutic for her. (By the way, she is not a sewer...). Then, she can't help herself from buying some for me.

After I thanked her and hung up the phone I kept looking at these beautiful fabrics...

My mom thought that this would make a beautiful summer dress for me. So, she sent 3 meters of this one.


They are all so pretty, but my favorite is the top one.


Then, this last one... When I opened it, it literally took my breath away. It contains 17cm X 18cm of 96 different prints! It has been a couple days but I can't stop staring at it and admiring each of the prints. I am so tempted to pull them out and open each fabric, but then I don't think I can put them back in to the case like before. I am contemplating to either use the whole fabric to make one quilt, or use them little by little over time. There are some big decisions to make. :)


I am grateful that my mom cares about me so much that she wants to do something to make me smile even from far away.

Psst... I am designing a special quilt for her birthday this year, and she has no clue. I will write a post about it when I am done making the quilt, just thinking about her reaction makes me giggle.

Ready for More Eye Candy?

I know, I know, I have been posting jewelries a lot lately, but once I started working with pretty cabochons and other parts I couldn't stop! I LOVE fabrics, whether I am making a quilt or doing a refashion, but it is equally fun, exciting, and refreshing to make jewelries. Do you like the necklaces above?

I also made some rings. How about pink and pepper mint green?


Or maybe gray speaks to you better?


These are one of my favorite rings. So springy. :)


I totally agree with the statement "money (or things) can't buy happiness", but cheerful pieces of jewelry certainly makes our day a bit brighter don't you agree?

I also wanted to say thank you for kind comments about the necklace I shared in my last post. There are many people interested in purchasing the necklace, but I don't have the exact parts to create the same necklace. As of right now, I don't think I am going to make them for sale, but you know, I never say never. I am thinking about listing some of my jewelries on my Etsy shop, but it depends on how busy I am with other obligations and such...but really, thank you SO, So, much for your interest, I appreciate it!!

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One more thing... The giveaway for Olive Garden is ending soon; make sure to enter for a chance to win the $100 gift certificate here

She Wears Flowers~ Necklace~

I usually prefer simple jewelry, but I came up with this necklace with lots going on, with a bunch of colors... why not, it's spring.



It took me a couple days to really decide on which parts to combine, how, and the balance for the whole thing. I just LOVE the designing and the thinking process when I make jewelry.
I wore it twice already since I finished making it. Yea! to warm weather. :)



I know I will have lots of fun with this necklace during the upcoming season. Even though there is so much going on with this piece, it will go with so many different outfits. I was celebrating the early arrival of spring with the necklace.

One Year Later

March 11th is not just any other day passing through anymore. One year ago, the date held heavy and special meaning to me forever as it does to hundreds and thousands of people.

I am originally from Sendai, which was affected deeply by the 9.0 earth quake, and tsunami. Thank goodness, everyone in my family was ok, but they still live in the same area and it is less than 80km (almost 50 miles) away from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Also, they are getting minor earthquakes daily. If you are new to my blog, you can read my posts from last year after the earthquake here, here, andhere.

I just want to say thank you to those of you who ask me about my family in Japan. Right now, there is not much to say except what I wrote above. My husband and I have been trying to convince them to move out here, but they have all the reasons not to, and I don't think it is happening.

Most of the survivors are still struggling to rebuild their lives, and their grant money from the government is ending. Because of the one year anniversary, there are special programs on the Japanese television and I have been thinking about what I can do to help lately...

I posted the picture on top, because that picture spoke to me so strongly among so many disaster images. That picture was taken when she was looking at the direction of her son’s kindergarten, and didn't know if he was alive or not at the time. I saw her interview a few days ago, and I am happy to tell you that she was reunited with her husband and son a few days after the photo was taken, and now they are trying to move forward. As a mother of three, I cannot imagine being in her shoes for those several days.

I am going to keep praying for the people of Japan, and hold my family a little tighter today.

Bracelet. Made.

Ever since I bought flower cabochons, there are so many ideas for jewelries swarming around in my head.


I have made some simple necklaces and currently am working on a necklace with lots going on, and I LOVE how it is coming along. I am so excited about it, and I can't wait to share the picture when I am finished... in the meantime can you check out the bracelet I made?


Ahh... I am longing for warm weather, so my wrists are not hiding underneath a sweater or coat.

Vintage Pillow Case Quilt Finished

Several posts ago, I shared my vintage pillow cases quilt project in process. I don't know about you, but it is such a big deal for me to decide what to do next each step whenever I create something. Especially in quilt making, a quilt top can look totally different than what I first intended depending on what kind of quilting I do on the quilt. It is not unusual for me to complete a quilt top and not be able to finish it for several months (sometimes years!) because I have a hard time deciding how I want to finish it.

I already shared the process of cutting and piecing...




Are you ready to see how I finished this one? Ta da!




I thought about applying my newly developing (I can't say "developed" yet, it is in progress though) machine quilting skills on this quilt, but I couldn't help going back to the idea of doing hand quilting with large stitches.

I actually made another quilt top using the same blocks that I used for this quilt with some other fabric, but those two quilts look different so far. I can't wait to share the finished quilt with you...well, someday. :)

Pinwheel Necklace

While attempting to learn machine quilting, and doing some hand quilting on a quilt, I am also trying squeeze some "jewelry making time". It is taking me such a long time to make up my mind how I would use flower cabochons I just bought. Since I don't wanna mess it up!

Meanwhile, I finished this pinwheel necklace today, and wanted to share the picture...



Just call me silly, but the color of red on the pinwheel is so fun and lively, I feel like I can be cheerful and busy creating!

I think I just created my new favorite necklace. I can't wait for spring to arrive. :)