DAISO

I am always looking for new places to find stuff, because as I have mentioned before,  I live for cute things. Over the summer, my sisters kept bringing home cute things from a store called Daiso Japan. It's a chain, and I didn't think there were any near me, until I googled it, and turns out, there are ten in California! I found the one closest to me, and it was worth the little drive to get there.

Daiso is a Japanese store that sells (almost) everything for $1.50. The prices do vary a bit, but I haven't found anything over $10. So basically, it's like going to the 99 cents store or dollar tree but everything is adorable. The journals, the brooms, even the squeegees for your car windows. Thus, it is easy to go a little crazy in there.

The thing I love about this store is that it makes strange little everyday objects into something cute. What can I say? It makes me smile when my or notebooks or gardening gloves or staplers have a little frog face on them. Daiso makes the everyday so much happier, and so, I must share with you some of the beautiful finds I have taken home with me.

I have a ton of these house-boxes that are super adorable!

The patterns on these towels add some beautiful color to my otherwise lacking bathroom.

Floral fabric tape!

Strawberry Bento Box.

A cute little tray that was in with the cooking ware.

The cutest sticky notes you've ever seen.

Embroidery floss..look at those colors!

Daisy nails. So cute.

So in conclusion, please go to Daiso if you are anywhere near one. Or at least, shop online.

SHOP @ DAISO!

How did I get here??

Sometimes I find myself blogging, and I wonder, how exactly did I get here? Given that I've been at it for a while now, I thought it was time for some background!

I was assigned a project for school to spend a year studying a topic of my choice. ANY topic. Quite a tough decision to make, right? I am about as indecisive as they get, so I had no clue what to do.  But somehow, I ended up picking small business. It seemed like a simple, universal, and pretty do-able option, I thought. But business, you ask? What's exciting about that? I asked myself the same thing...Not exactly my first choice of study, but I was hoping that I could somehow mold my project into something more interesting.

I ended up leaning towards the marketing aspect of small business, which seemed like the most logical thing to do. I certainly wasn't going to go into the financial aspect of it all, and marketing sounded like it could be fairly painless.

And then I came to the realization that I could make the project a bit more fun. I decided to create my own little small business out of something I love - crafting! And thus, The Strawberry Donut was born.

I can't say much about my choice of name except that I simply love strawberries and donuts - But generally not strawberry donuts...unless they're from The Donut Man:

The Donut Man strawberry donut.

So anyway, I was super excited, since I finally felt more interested in this project. My love for handmade goods started with little polymer clay earrings, so I started there. But then I tried experimenting with paper crafts, and it was love at first cut. I made some banners for my new shop.

I also like sewing, knitting, etc, etc, so I admit my crafting can be a bit scattered sometimes. But for now, I'm making whatever feels right, and bloggin' as I go.

So now here I am, almost done with my project. All I can say is that it's been a long journey, but it's been worth it. Who knows what will come next...

So Much Stuff (Workspace Tour)

Stuff is pretty important to me. Whether it be strange knick knacks from elementary school, handmade gifts, craft supplies, beautiful things; I am very attached to my possessions. Sometimes I feel overly materialistic. People are always promoting minimalism and "less is more" ideologies, like stuff is a bad thing. But I think, no matter how much stuff you have, the things you do own will always have a certain importance to them.

I came across an article by Bruce Hood in Scientific American Mind (it's a magazine), about why possessions are so important to us. He talks about how our things express our self identity. These objects are essentially an extension of our selves. Even from the moment when we are little kids, we cling on to our blankets or teddy bears, as they bring us so much comfort. Then, over time, our possessions keep their importance and significance, changing as we change. Thus when someone takes something that belongs to you, no matter how small, it can be a very emotional and personal experience.

Reading about how important stuff is, I thought it would be interesting to show you some of my things. My workspace, in particular, is where I keep a lot of my things, since I will see them there everyday.

This is honestly one of my favorite part of reading blogs: house tours, room tours, desk tours; I think it's really neat to see what kinds of possessions other people hold on to, love, and draw inspiration from. So how could I not make one of my own?

Books & cacti are all you need.

Also Dala horses.

The beautiful bookcase.

The purrfect box for me.

Stuff & things

A sad face from Herman Marie

And my good old desk!

I will never cease to enjoy decorating my space. All I need is a few cute knick knacks and some color to make me happy.

Flora Repro Depot Pattern Book {Book Party #5}

Patterns are a true love of mine, but florals? You can't get any better. I recently got this book, and it is like heaven. Full of pages and pages of retro floral patterns, it's very pretty to look at.

It's similar to the layout of the other pattern book I talked about - Heather Ross Prints. There is a CD in the back with digital copies of the patterns, so that you can use them for various crafts that they also include in the back. I wish I could use every one of these patterns as textiles in my house because they are the prettiest! But for now, I'll just gawk at them through the pages of this book and the screen of my laptop.

Sadly, my printer is down, so I couldn't find a way to make anything from this book. But, I thought it was a beautiful enough of a book to make a post about anyway.

Best Of's

Here is my list of "best-of's" of the moment. I figured everyone is used to the usual clothing finds, so I wanted to feature some more random objects, so to speak. These items don't get enough credit, so I think they deserve this post, strange as it may be.

1. Lighting Fixture:
Ice cream lamp! Technically we have two winners here, but how could I resist? I got my own ice cream lamp back when Fred Flare was around, but now that it is so sadly gone, I had to look for alternatives. Luckily, they still sell the same one through other sites. (see below) But I also saw this mini ice cream lamp that couldn't be left out of the mix.

Old school ice cream lamp: choco, vanilla, and strawberry.

Mini vanilla lamp.

2. Umbrella
I do love rain, but I admit, it can be a tad gloomy sometimes. Thus, all you really need is a snazzy umbrella to cheer yourself up. Again, I chose two...oops. I guess I'm breaking the rules, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I couldn't pass up a robot umbrella. And I've been seeing these clear umbrellas all over, but hearts? C'mon.

Beep bop.

<3<3

3. Backpack
Everybody should love backpacks, because they are about the most practical things out there...and you might as well be carrying around a mushroom shaped house if you can, am I right?

Fungi House!

4. Washi Tape

Washi tape is perfect because you can tape anything and then peel it right back off. Might as well do it in style, with the most beautiful flowers you could ever wish for...Just saying.

ah, Etsy

5. Contact Lenses Case

I admit it: I don't even wear contacts. But that won't stop me from shopping online for them. And it shouldn't stop you either.

you know you want them...

And there you have it: some items that I'm sure were not on your shopping list before. Hope you enjoyed!

Stitch 'n Bitch {Book Party #4}

Knitting makes me feel like a cute old lady who is full of wisdom and a pro at making beautiful scarves. I am certainly not at that level yet, but I'm getting there. This book got me back interested in knitting, because I often forget how fun it is! Sitting, chilling at home, school, literally anywhere, you can simply pick up some needles and go to town. I thought you should behold the cute illustrations and titles in Stitch n' Bitch.

I admit, I have been sticking to pretty basic as of late. I kind of zone out while knitting so if it gets too complicated I am easily confused.

But, I'm always for new things. So, the new goal? This beauty:

wow

Wish me luck.

Some of my failures

I make a lot of stuff, and thus, I make a lot of mistakes. I often see a DIY project and take it on like it'll be no problem. People making the tutorials make crafting look like a breeze - no uncooperative glue, weird stray marks, or ugly end products. But the harsh reality is, sometimes you fail. So I wanted to share some of my more comical efforts.

1. Rosettes.
Rosettes make some of the cutest little "awards" so I was really excited when I got (yet) another craft book. I saw the instructions, got my materials, and dove right in. I should've known, it's never that easy.

Craft book

I pictured in my mind what my beautiful rosettes would turn out to be. Then I picked up the scissors and glue, and well...

Expectations.

Reality

My results were quite interesting. As you can see in the picture above, it turned into somewhat of an abstract art piece. Something about taking a rectangular piece of paper and folding it into a circle just didn't work for me. So as of now, I have not mastered the skill of rosette making.

2. Sewing
I've been sewing for a few years now, so you'd think I'd have it down pat. I know the basics; I've made aprons and bags and pouches and skirts. But a shirt? Who knew it would be so hard. I started this creation two years ago, no joke, and have been grappling with it ever since. I was going off a pattern, nothing too difficult, but it never got finished. Perhaps this one is more of a forgotten project rather than a failure, but all I know is that I probably couldn't wear it out of the house.

At least the fabric is cute.

In which my shirt looks like a potato sack, because that's essentially what it is.

3. Clay creations
I love polymer clay and it tends to be easy to work with. Squish it around. Make a mistake? Just roll it back together. I actually made a pretty cute flower for this one, but the problems came after the fact. Whenever I make things out of clay and after I bake them, I have a terrible habit of breaking them in any which way. This little flower only sacrificed one petal, but still, it's a bit tragic. Perhaps it's time to invest in some glue.

When tragedy strikes.