Coming back...?

Now this is embarrassing.  I haven't posted very often, have I?  Hopefully this will be changed with the craft-filled summer that is about to begin.

For those unaware, I was mostly busy with working on my senior thesis and BFA exhibition... as well as graduation!  Now, not that I'm trying to confuse you, but I technically haven't graduated yet even though I've walked.  I will be student teaching in the fall, and THEN I get my degrees.  Yeah, confusing right?

Here's just a few images from the projects I've been working on for my Bachelors in Fine Arts degree...

 As part of an experiment I participated at the Hatch Art Festival in Champaign, IL and sold these owl phone cases made with upcycled upholstery fabric samples.

 More birds!  Most of my exhibition consisted of these art dolls interacting with found vintage objects.

...and to top it all off, a giant centipede plush.  I still consider it an art doll though.

This summer will consist of updating my Etsy shop, and possibly re-opening my older account filled with super brightly colored pop accessories.  I may also update with costume making for Anime Central next year.  (I'm making maybe 5 costumes for various people) Let's see how this will work out!  Wish me luck!

Fundraiser Update

Woohoo!! The fundraiser was a pretty big success! We went over our goal in raising money to buy phone cards for soldiers overseas (so they can contact their family and friends) as well as writing some holiday cards for them. A small portion of what I raised at my booth is also going to PACT Humane Society to help pay for everyday needs for rescued cats.

I'm almost out of merchandise lol. I'm very happy that it went well but that also means I don't have much stuff left over to use in my next craft show event. Uh oh... time to get crafting again! (But I really need to work on my portfolio for school too urgggghh)

At the craft fair I snagged a pumpkin pie (shared it with a friend, I'd never be able to finish a whole pie), a necklace, and holiday earrings made by my partners at Noraneko Alley on etsy.

Thank you to those who were able to make it to the fundrasier!! :)

昨日のクラフトフェアーのイベントは大成功！　
ゴールの金額を超える寄付金を集めることが出来ました。　この寄付金は海外にいる兵隊が家族や友達と会話が出来るようにテレフォンカードに変えてから送られます。　
イベントで子供たちは“兵隊さん”に送るクリスマスカードを一生懸命書いてました。実際どの人に届くかわからないのであて先の名前をどう書いたらいいか迷っている子もいました。可愛かった！笑

私のブースの売り上げの一部はPACT　Humane　Society　で捨て猫、野良猫、そして飼い主に虐待された猫などの保護、世話などに使われます。

イベントが成功したのはとても嬉しいけど次のイベントの分の商品がもうほとんど残ってない！　ちょっと焦ってます。。。（ってゆーか先に勉強をしないと）

イベントでは隣のベイクセールで買ったパンプキンパイを友達とテーブルの下でこっそり食べてました。笑
ついでに友達が作ったハートのネックレスとクリスマスのオーナメントのイアリングをゲット！

Tomorrow!

Wow, the craft fair is tomorrow!!! I can't wait!

On another note, my mom and a friend of our family decided to hold another small event in the beginning of December and they said I could bring a few things along too. Yikes, that's even more crafting!

I know I should be focusing on classwork and such but crafting is too much fun to give up for a long period of time. >XD

ついに明日はクラフトフェアー当日です！　緊張するけど楽しみにしてます。

来月には母と友達がまた小さなクラフトのイベントをすることになりました。　
ついでに私のクラフトもちょっとだけ出すことになってます。
本当は勉強をがんばらなきゃいけないのに頭はイベントに何のクラフトを持っていくかでいっぱいです。
うぅ～ん、来月まで体が持つかちょっと心配。。。

More and More Stuff!

The craft fair fundraiser is this weekend, YIKES!!! I'm totally not ready!! DX<
いよいよクラフトフェアーは今週までせまってます！
ぜんぜん準備が足りないよ～ぅ！！！涙

But I did finish a few new things, so here they are!
でもとりあえず出来上がった物は紹介しておきます。笑

friends

Some co-workers of mine came over today and we took a few photos. I gave them a blue Totoro keychain that I made with felt. I don't think I would be allowed to sell those at the craft fair anyways lol.

I gave her a hat I knit for her birthday. :)

バイト仲間の誕生日にハンドメイドのニット帽をあげました。　気に入ってくれたかな〜？　同じデザインの帽子をこんどクラフトフェアーに持って行くつもりです。

fuzzy and red

A new scarf! It looks very full but is actually lacy if you look at it up close. But I still want a fuzzier look... I'll have to experiment more lol. That's me in the photo by the way. I'm terrible at taking photos of myself. I can't wait till I can grab some friends to model for me instead.

やっと新しいマフラーが出来ました！　動物好きな私にとっては本物のファーはあまり好きではありません...　写真のジャンパーも、もちろんフェイク。　代わりにちょっとファーっぽいニットを研究中です！　う～ん...まだフワフワが足りない！！！　（ファーとゆうより毛虫っぽいかも）


あ"～...やっぱり自分の写真を取るのは苦手です。　今度、友達に無理やりモデルをやってもらうつもりです！笑

Necklace

I made a simple new necklace with a sterling silver feather charm and white, pale blue, and dark blue glass beads. I love things that are simple and casual, they seem to be good for any outfit for regular wear.

また新しいネックレスを作りました。　カジュアルでシンプルなアクセはいろんなコーデで使い回しが出るので好きです。　今度は三色のガラスビーズとシルバーの羽！　次は何をつくろうかな～。。。

felt sweets!

I'll be updating with felt items today! Here's just a few little things I whipped up.
今日はフェルトのクラフトを紹介しま～す！　簡単で短い時間にできるので皆さんも試してみてはどうですか？

A pink donut cellphone strap! It's hard to tell in the photo but the bead sprinkles are red and gold colored.
ドーナツのケータイストラップ！　

A simple strawberry mousse cake magnet. The sheet magnet used on the back is stronger than I expected! I threw it at my refrigerator and it stuck to the door pretty well. It didn't fall off either. I think this magnet brand is a keeper lol.
イチゴのケーキのマグネットです。　表はフェルト、裏はマグネットのシールを貼っただけ。
でもそのわりにはけっこう強いマグネットです。　遠くから冷蔵庫に投げつけてみたらちゃんとくっつきました（笑）Here's a blueberry mousse version of the cake magnet. :)
ケーキマグネットのブルーベリーバージョン。

I've put up a tool on the side of the blog for those who are interested in going to the craft show. There's a map and details on the time and date. You can also share this blog on twitter and facebook (which will be a big help to us! lol)

Hope to see some new faces there! ^^

１１月に私が参加するクラフトフェアーの説明と地図をサイトの左側に乗せておきました。　興味がある方はぜひ見に来てください！　あと　Facebook　と　Twitter　のアプリケーションをつけてみました！　

このクラフトフェアーは私の友達が行ってる協会の敷地をかりてやるもので、商売ではなくボランティアのためです。　お金は子供のための協会のイベントや他のボランティア団体に寄付されます。　私のブースからの利益はいつも私がボランティアで通っている　PACT　Humane　Society　とゆう動物保護団体に寄付する約束です。

去年も参加したのですがバイトの予定でブースは友達に任せてしまった私。　今年ははじめてこのクラフトフェアーにちゃんと出ます！　いろんな人に会うのを楽しみにしてます！！

～マキ

Earrings!!!

So, I've changed the title of this blog to fit it better with my etsy site called Noraneko Alley, which basically sums up the relationship of me and my friends who co-own the shop lol. Noraneko means alley cat in Japanese (my primary language), and we are really like alley cats. We all go at a different pace and like different things... but we sometimes hang out in the same "alley" and just chill. Sometimes we're friendly to each other and sometimes we're not, just like cats.

Anyways, lets get to the main subject of today's post: earrings! I love wearing earrings as well as making them. They are very simple and easy projects that are very forgiving when you want to be experimental. Here's just a few I've made recently for the upcoming craft show. I won't be selling these on etsy because I really need to save enough individual pieces of merchandise for that weekend and I've been slacking on crafting because of midterms. These are little cheap earrings for everyday wear, maybe $2 or $3 each?


ガラス、貝殻とワイヤーで作ったシンプルなイアリングでーす。　ちょっとシンプルすぎたかな...？

Still Alive!

ACK! I've seriously been neglecting this place too much lately. Now that midterms are over, I want to start showcasing a bit of stuff for an upcoming craft show for my friend's church fundraiser.

I'll hopefully have lots of pictures soon! I'm making necklaces, bracelets, earrings, scarves, hats and whatever else I can think of. I'd love suggestions if anyone has some. :)