God Bless America and Japan

Last Friday, while returning from a trip north, we experienced a moment that I thought should be shared...

As my husband and I drove into the city of Nago and were slowing down to stop for a traffic light, the JAL tour bus pictured, pulled up beside us. The tour-guide in the photo began waving excitedly until she got our attention, at which point she raised the handmade sign you see in the photograph. We were both very happy and extremely touched by this unsolicited show of affection and gratitude towards America. To us, this is yet another reason that we love Japan and her people. It is also a testament to the level of support we all, as Americans, have provided. Our military has jumped in with both feet and we have all opened our hearts and sent or given whatever support we can. Given the political differences we have experienced in the past, it is nice to know that not everyone thinks our presence is a bad thing.

God Bless America and God Bless Japan!

In March of 2010 I visited the beautiful Shukkei-en gardens in Hiroshima. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and it must have been an auspicious day for a wedding as the gardens were filled with happy couples posing in their wedding finery.

I can only imagine the very different scene that took place this year as the country recovers from the damage that has been caused by the terrible earthquake and tsunami.

Though I currently live in the southern island of Okinawa, my heart remains in the enchanting Honshu province of Japan. I would like to share with you some of my Mosaic Moments pages of my time in Japan in the hopes that if you have not yet helped out the tusnami victims, you might still find it in your heart to consider a donation to the Red Cross .

All these pages were made with Mosiac Moments papers. If you would like to purchase some Mosaic papers, click the SnapNCrop link to the right of this post. Thanks for stopping by!

I'm soon to be a Guest Designer at Scrap a Little

I recently applied for a Guest Design Team position at the Scrap A Little blog. Helen is a fun person, with a spunky personality, great design sense and is always thinking up new ways to make scrapping fun. So of course, I wanted to play along with her sketches. I use her sketches quite often to complete my pages and even use them in some of my own scrapbook classes.

I had fun with the sketch (shown below) she provided for this challenge. I decided to use one photo instead of a series of photos and turned the sketch on its side. And here is what I told her about the page I made for the call:

Even though Okinawa is a beautiful place, someday we get more homesick than others, don't we? I used to watch every launch while in Florida; no matter where I was I would stop what I was doing to watch - as did everyone else in our county. We were all attached to the Space program in one form or another. It's so sad that Obama is putting an end to this program. I particularly love this photo as you can see Atlantis breaking through the sound barrier.

After a great three-day weekend attending some of Okinawa's local events, I'm feeling a bit less homesick today. Once Helen assigns me a month (or week?) to be the Guest Designer, perhaps I'll showcase something of Okinawa's beauty. I really can't wait to see what all the new GDs come up with as all the submissions were so different, so unique.

Here is a list of supplies I used for this LO:

• BoBunny Paradise Flight patterned paper
• Mosaic Moments Birch Grid Paper (Mosaic supplies can be purchased by clicking on the SnapNCrop link to the right) 
• Close to My Heart inks 
• Ranger Glossy Accents 
• EK Success 3-D Dots 
• And I used my Cricut for the journal block, arrows and title.
• And of course- this sketch from Scrap A Little

 

 

 

 

Learn to Mosaic!

I love showing off my mosaic layouts to friends and family because they are so beautiful that everyone thinks I'm some sort of scrapbook genius! The truth is that it is really quite an easy technique. Though non-scrappers look at me skeptically, my scrapping friends clamber to learn more.

Recently I signed on to be a Consultant/Instructor for Tami Potter's Mosaic Moments. If you are in Okinawa and would like to learn how to make one of these mosaic pages, simply drop me a line and I'll be glad to get you started.

For a quick preview, check here for my article at Design Each Moment and see for yourself how simple this technique can be.
And once you are ready to give mosaics a try, Visit SnapNCrop.com via the link to your right to begin shopping for your own supplies.

How to make Origami Flowers

It's been a while since I've had a chance to post as I've just moved into my new place and my scraproom is still in boxes. So I've decided to share with you my most recent post at Design Each Moment- just in case you missed it there of course.

I received this Petal Pink Grid Paper from Tami Potter and Mosaic Moments at a perfect time of year as April in Japan turns pink with the blossoming of all the cherry trees. Though in the US pink is associated with little girls, in Japan the color pink has a masculine association. The spring blooming of the cherry trees is said to represent the young Samurai warriors who fell during battle in the prime of their life.


Everyone in Japan celebrates the arrival of spring with a picnic or a stroll through the park simply to take in the pleasure of all those pink blossoms. Rain or shine, it’s a celebration and gratitude just for being alive. Though our stroll under the cherry trees was taken on a very rainy day, it did not take away from the pleasure of viewing these beautiful blooms.

As I began to scrap my cherry blossom photos, I looked for a way to add dimension to my mosaic page. Why not layering? This page used four 4x6 photos and one 5x7. Once my 4x6 photos were in place, I trimmed around the main subject of the 5x7 and placed it over the mosaic. The tree is a piece of Microsoft clip art enlarged and layered over the mosaics. The title – which says Sakura (cherry blossom) -- is cut from a package of cherry blossom noodles (yes, this time of year everything is made from the edible blossoms) using an EK success extra large retro flower punch. The cherry blossoms are origami, made by folding a 1 ½ inch square of paper. I’ve included a tutorial at the end of this post on how to fold the origami flowers for those who are interested. It’s my first video tutorial so please go easy on me!

Photo-focused Scrapbooking

The sun is out this afternoon and I'm really feeling the urge to hit the beach. Living in Florida that was an easy thing to do, but here in Japan it's still a bit too cold for beaching it. So, this afternoon I'm going to get my beach fix by sharing my Beach Mosaic layout with you.

A mosaic layout really makes the photos the focus of your page, and making mosaics is such a great way to scrapbook if you are on a budget. All you need are a few photos, a mat with one-inch grids and a good ruler, preferably one with a cork backing so it does not slip.

Cut your photos into one-inch squares. Just use caution when cutting a photo that depicts people; always be sure that you do not cut through someone's face. When making a mosaic, you do not have to use every bit of each photo you choose. You can use only the squares that feature something you would like to showcase in your finished page. Beach Mosaic uses 9 photos from different beach scenes, including the larger picture of my husband which I matted and used whole.

For the best results in arranging your one-inch squares, I recommend Wish in the Wind (http://www.wishinthewind.com/) grid paper. Now the only other item you need is your glue stick. Arrange your photos on the grid, glue them down --Wha-lah!

I love using the mosaic technique for photos with lush scenery, but I've also used this technique for zoo photos and my layout came out amazing. I would love to see what you come up with using the mosaic technique. Drop me a line with a link to your blog and let me peek.

And don't forget to sign up for my blog candy (post below) to receive a great gift from Japan, courtesy of me!