Thursday, March 20, 2008

Cool idea for Origami paper....

I found this on another blog - Craft Avenue.
Using seed packages to decoupage on a flower pot. The idea made me think and why not use some Japanese origami paper to create an Asian flower pot.... Put a hibiscuss flower in it and it will become that Asian gift for a friend or a hostess......

I have added a link on the left below my etsy store link - so go and check it out!

Have not done much crafting this week!

My computer just took a dump: I have no internet, but my husband is workin just fine. I have tried everything I can think off, but nothing... So now, I will pay someone to look at it!
We went to the Local Azaela Festival on the north end of the island. It was stunning and we took over 200 pictures : everything from a butterfly resting on a piece of railing in a jungle, some really funky trees against the sun and of course the blooms..... Since I can not access them right here to add a picture please check out my husbands site. The link is on top of the page to the left!

I have however been shopping and I found stamps, stamps and more stamps. Some rather usual and some a bit unusual.... I will be listing them on etsy this week and next week. We are going to Thailand for spring break the beginning of April (we moved here to see Asia and now is as good as a chance as ever...) and will be gone from 4/2 until 4/11.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

The restrictions have been lifted....

The restrictions imposed on us by a general were partially lifted after 2 weeks. We are now allowed to go anywhere between 5 am and 10 pm. For the service members alcohol of base/camp is still not allowed and there is a curfew of 10 pm for all. We can however go to a movie on base at 9pm and go home, we can just not be walking the streets or be in restaurants, bars etc. The local business owners are pretty happy with the exception of the bar/strip joint owners....
The local English paper had quoted some of the local Japanese activist on the lifting of the restrictions. One comment by a lady in charge of a women's organization made me pretty upset: she thought that 2 weeks were not enough and we were not all sorry and apologetic for what a few have done (see my previous post on the subject) She suggested a 3 month or longer restriction for all including women and children. I am sorry, but I did not do anything wrong nor will I do anything wrong in the near future (drinking and driving, breaking into residences or kissing on 14-year old girls) . I am as disgusted by the behavior of a few, but I do not need to apologize for them, nor do I need time to reflect.... I do however agree with the alcohol ban for service members and the curfew, since most of the bad things have been happening late at night and often involve alcohol!!!!
Since the restrictions (or as the military called it: period of reflection) have been over I have been trying to be extra courteous and polite when I am out amongst the Japanese. I want them to know, that not all Americans ( I am not, but they think I am) are ruthless, thoughtless, selfish brutes (that is how we have been described in the papers here). I think, that is what all of us here one Okinawa need to do. This is their country after all and we are invited guest.

My newest craft - japanese Washi


Since we live in Japan it is time to indulge a little into the local culture and to me that means the local crafts. I have a friend, Reika, who is half Okinawan and half Philippine. She taught some of us the traditional are of folding that beautiful origami paper into a Kimono design.
We added the little shoes (with string to make them the traditional shoes) and the fan. The wire behind the fan was taken from a typical Japanese greeting card (I have a few in my etsy store)... All the items were attached to a special almost square pretty decorated cardboard as a picture. From what I learned during the class this is a pretty traditional craft. I am still debating on how to frame the 3-D picture and who to give it as a gift to.

All together this was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to my next "cultural" craft class. I just signed up for 2 free classes on Camp Kinser for the end of the month. One is for decorating an egg with washi (Japanese paper) and the other one is for Japanese gift wrapping (that involves cloth, paper, string etc and looks always pretty elaborate to me). The egg decorating class made me think of beads (well, I can not hide it I am a beader at heart) and the idea of decorating some wooden beads with the washi is floating around in my brain. I will know more after the class....

Monday, March 3, 2008

New cotton cloth tape !!!


It has taken me a while, but I just have to write about it : cloth tape. I had never seen something like that before. It is a 100 % cotton fabric with adhesive on the back. The tape is backed on the spool by peel-off paper. How neat - no sticky residue.... And it is pretty cool looking too. The majority off it has a very Japanese feel to it, but there are also a few spools with typical Aimee/Kawaii Figures on it. I have been using some off it to deck out some old picture frames and am giving them a new Asian look. Each spool is 5cm wide and 100 cm long (approx. 2x40")... My son was using it for his homework assignment in Japanese class - he cut some off the fans and balls out and combined them with origami paper for a collage..... So it seems the possibilities are amazing .....

Stil under restriction.....


It has been almost 2 weeks since the restrictions were put upon us (all service members, Civilian employees of the military and every ones family members) here on Okinawa. The rules say that we are not allowed to go anywhere, but to the military installations on the island, churches of base, for medical appointments and to and from home (if we live off base). Okay, that does not sound too bad, but it is : just imagine you work downtown and are not allowed to pick-up your children from school on the way, stop for a coffee or run real quick to the post office.... You can see it, but you can not go!!!! Last week we had two incidents in our house that made me question the rules: our car needed to be jump started (the battery was old and I have since gotten a new one), it was 5 am and time for my husband to go to work. He called his boss, so one of the guys could come by for the jump start. His boss had to put that on hold to find out, if that was legal first.... The other situation involved our son, who just had gotten a new soccer ball. He was playing with it in the parking lot of our apartment building. The ball ended up bouncing over a fence and going down the ravine behind our house. The ravine must be over 100 feet deep - it is more like a cliff... We had a long discussion about it being legal for us to go look for the ball down below. It is not legal for us to do so! Even every day little thing require us to think "Are we allowed to do that?" It is pretty bad to be here on a beautiful island and we can not take advantage off it!!! There was a statement by the General in charge of all troops in Japan ( General Zilmer) that there would be a review of the restrictions and the policies today March 3rd. Well, it is almost 9pm Japan time and nothing has been said.... Not even a give us until tomorrow. So here we are with an open-ended restriction and no answers to be found. I think, I could live with this, if I knew when it is supposed to end.....

Just to remind the reason for the restrictions was mostly the allegation of rape of a 14 year old Okinawan girl by a 38 year old Marine . Those charges have been dismissed by the Japanese police and the guy is now in US military custody. He had always admitted to kissing the girl, but denied the rape. (What a 38 year old is doing picking up a 14 year old is beyond me and it was wrong!)Also there had been a few other incidents involving drinking/driving, breaking/entering a Japanese residence and an alleged assault on a Philippine bar worker in a hotel. Since we have been on restriction it has been pretty quiet except for two incidents last weekend: an air man breaking into a Japanese office after climbing the fence to get off base (the guy was intoxicated) and the husband of an air man (woman) being caught in a raid on a drug house... So there are more thing to hold over our heads.

My husband spend 4 hours (from 11 pm until 3 am) on courtesy patrol outside the gates of our local base going through the bar/club district together with some Marines, Soldiers and Air Men. The bars were mostly closed and they ran across nobody breaking the rules....

Most of the problems have been happening during the overnight hours and are alcohol related.... So how about the day time???? Freedom soon, hopefully.......
The picture on top is Shuri Castle here on Okinawa (now we can not go there either).....