Go Ducks Inspired Bracelet

GO DUCKS INSPIRED BRACELET

Available for sale at my ETSY: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mautio

The body of this bracelet includes stars which are started with a combination of circular peyote with petals jutting out. They were then stitched together one by one and larger circular peyote with embellishment star flowers were made with emerald toned Czech firepolish beads. The bracelet is closed with a yellow duck button which was made in Japan. Very cute and shows "Oregon Duck" spirit: perfect for any fan of green and gold or duck and colorful beaded jewelry lover anywhere.

Halloween Class Ideas

Pre Halloween Week Decorations!

It's holiday time at my school in Japan!

I've been invited and given the freedom to get as involved as I want at my school next week!

I'm inviting the children to come dressed in costumes. Some may show in costume, some may not. I may keep some ears and impromptu costumes. Good thing I have small classes! Four kids is the maximum size!

Here are some good FREE websites for Halloween Activity ideas:

ABCteach.com

http://abcteach.com/directory/seasonalholidays/halloween/

Disney Family Fun.com

http://familyfun.go.com/halloween/halloween-printables/halloween-printable-games-activities/

Enchanted Learning (Not all Content Free)

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/halloween/

Consulate Trip Part II, Seoul, Dongdaemun

Seoul View: Traditional Meets the Modern Corporate

Again, Black and White Cars Only !?

Dongdaemun Shopping Area, 5th Floor: Beads and Components

There is an A, B, C building, all connected. More like Bead Universe

Thank-you for chaperoning me, Sweet Husband Max.

The Building has Two Floors of Fabric and Clothing Components Vendors

The Bead Floor had these Handbag Components

Cute Teddy Bears, Naked, Ready to be Dressed Up and Turned into Accessories

This Photo Just doesn't Reveal the Scale

Components Galore

These are for Shoes or Hair

But Let your Creativity Wild and you Could Work these into Anything

We got our visas today! After all that. I'm glad I don't have to go into the city again for a while. It's now only about one week away from us leaving.

Although I'm a bit confused because the visa is for one year, which means if I go before my job begins to settle in, then the year begins, and my visa expires before my contract does. So that's confusing.

I went back to Dongdaemun and got a loot of beads and beading supplies! They're so much cheaper than back home... all the components and everything. It's basically like a huge bead show except it happens all year round.

If you know anyone who is going to Korea who is also into designing fashion or accessories, the Dongdaemun shopping center is a good place to go. You can also see Korean traditional dress (Hanbok), Korean Bedding (Also very colorful and pretty), Korean spoons (including "silver spoons" which are really silver and cost just as much...), and pretty much anything you can imagine.

If you're a crafter, visiting this place should be on your short list of places to go in Seoul! But have something in mind of what you want, or plan more than one trip, because I have seen crafting goods that I never imagined in my wildest dreams.

Hanbok Shopping and More

Hi folks.

I arrived safely in Korea! Asiana is a pretty good airline. But we also were on one of their new passenger jets so everything is a little cleaner and they're fully equipped with toothbrushes and all kinds of plastic wrapped odds and ends that wayward travelers may need. But travel anxiety and "travel gut" got the best of me at about 5 hours into it. Traveler gut is still bothering me, but psyllium husk powder and Max's mom's good food is helping me through it. Bibimbap at 40,000 feet wasn't bad either, although the western style dishes were as icky as other airlines' food.

One of the first things we had to do here was go hanbok shopping! We're eventually going to do a ceremony here in Korea, and ideally my folks will come and we'll be able to take photos together. And we must do it right wearing the Korean traditional dress, hanbok. It was a very interesting hole in the wall shop, full of silk fabrics and embroidered tapestries with fanciful scenes of mountains, peaches, cranes, tigers. It reminded me a bit of a room in my grandmother's house where she kept her buttons. My words can't do it justice, so I will let some photos speak for themselves. The original design hanboks are so beautiful.

Scarves of the Year

As promised, the scarves I have made this year.

View one is the entire collection:

White, Green: Garter stitch, 100% acrylic, Lion Brand Yarn "Homespun" (I don't like it personally but I got a great deal on it at Goodwill)

Pink/White: 100% Wool (very soft), garter stitch alternating color.

Brown: 100% undyed Wool (coarse but not overly so and very warm), garter stitch/ 3*3 seed stitch, and stockingnette with garter boarder (although that doesn't keep it from rolling.