Roses

What I like very much at the moment is ROSES. I cannot stop thinking about it. I've read lots of magazines and books how to choose and grow roses. But I still cannot decided which one to buy. There're too many great roses with beautiful colors. So hard to choose one or two to start with.
So I visited the local botanical garden called, Ohfuna Flower Center here in Kamakura with my daughter. This is a Kanagawa Prefectural Institute and famous for its collection of roses. And It's in our neighborhood!! There're more than 360 kinds and 1200 trees of roses. The rose garden is full of beautiful colors of roses. And of course lots of people were there!! I've never seen anything like that before. Simply gorgeous...
It's so amazing that those professional people can bloom roses so beautifully and so richly. It's an art of work!!

love for cute fabrics!!

As you may know, I collect tons of fabrics at my atelier. I don't know how many pieces I own, let's say countless. And I'm still collecting them! Nobody or nothing can stop me, he he he!!

I adore cute fabrics and here are some photos you can check at my online store.
And if you like to see them in bigger size, feel free to visit my flickr!







http://www.h7.dion.ne.jp/~atelierj/
http://flickr.com/photos/atelier_jade/

new goodies at Atelier JADE

Hi everyone. Today I updated some goodies for my shop! Some new items from DECOLE! The brand new series called, French Egg is really CUTE! The bigger ones are tape dispensers/cutters and the smaller ones are staples.
I got so many e-mails where to buy for those cute stamp sets as soon as I uploaded the photos on flickr. So here they are!! 5 kinds of stamp sets with a cute wooden box. They're selling very well at local shops here in Japan. They're so CUTE and I couldn't stop myself from buying them!!
Enjoy stamping with cuties!

















Atelier JADE
http://www.h7.dion.ne.jp/~atelierj/

Da Vinci Code

Have anyone already seen the movie?
Tell me how it was!!

the Steam Locomotive in Shizuoka

Have you ever ride on a steam locomotive? My dauther loves "Thomas the Locomotive" and she has so many toys. So my husband took us to a ride one Sunday. For all of us, it was the first experience and we were so excited about it!! In Japan there're some places where you can ride on the "real" steam locomotive trains. We went to Oigawa in Shizuoka. It's so popular to get the seat, so my hubby made a
reservation for us a week before that. We left our car in the parking lot, and got on the train!! Yeah, the real steam locomotive!!
Look at the lunch box we bought at the station!! No plastic
at all. Everything is made from the nature. We really enjoyed the ride. One way took about 2 hours. But we were so busy looking out from the windows to enjoy the beautiful view.
The car train was so aswesome. These were actually used in 1940 - 1950s in Tokyo. We loved the retro ride!!
But my hubby later told us the ticket was really expensive!

new goodies at Atelier JADE

I've been getting e-mails from my customers asking for Cram Cream goodies for the past months, and now they're here finally!!
Here're 4 kinds of flip flops with cute print!! It was so hard for me too pick up 4 kinds out of so many cute collection from Cram Cream.
And here's some adhesive tapes with cute print. The shop I bought these had more than a dozen kinds of it. Oh, they're so cute!!



If you like to know more about Cram Cream items, come and visit Atelier JADE!
http://www.h7.dion.ne.jp/~atelierj/

Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day. How was yours? Mine was great. First of all, I got a nice picture from my little one. Jade spent hours drawing it at her nursery. I was so happy to see her picture.
It used be just lines and dots just a couple months ago, but now she can draw a circle and other shapes! But, wait a minute! Why are there two faces???? Jade says "It's mommy and me!!" Wow.
I got this hair-care set from my hubby, too. Recently I got a hair cut and my hair is the shortest I ever had in my whole life (but longer than my shoulder level, though)! And he cares about my hair now? How sweet!
He took us to a drive on Sunday to have nice afternoon tea at the sea side Denny's. They got one of the best view to see the Pacific in the area.
We're having wet days for the past week, but it got a bit sunny in the afternoon. So we had a nice time on the beach afterwards. The weather forecast says we'll have the reainy season very soon here in Tokyo Metropolitan Area, too.
Sigh...
When we got home, we had a florist delivery. Look at the pretty colors of these carnation flowers! They look like cotton candies, don't they? So lovely!!

fun time

We did so much things during the Golden Week holidays. First of all, I was invited to visit the park where Flower Expo was taken in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka in 2004 by a friend who lives around there. Hamamatsu is where my mom lives alone and it's on the Pacific Coast. Shizuoka Prefecture has the famous Mt. Fuji and it's knows as its warm climate. So lots of people in Tokyo Metropolitan area move to here after their retimrent.
In 2004 we visited the Expo together with my dad who passed away last spring. I have good memories visiting here. The park was still full of beautiful flowers! We spent hours walking down the huge park.
And my husband joined us after he finished working at office in Tokyo on May 3, and we visited Hamamatsu City Zoo for the first time. The zoo is old, built 56 years ago!! We were so lucky to arrive on time for giraffe's lunch time. It was my first time to see a giraffe so close! I could almost touch her (his?) face. Jade got scared to give the leaves, so I got the honor to feed the giraffe. Oh, I felt so happy!! You know, not only kids
but adults can enjoy zoo just like a small kid!! That gives you so much happiness.
And look at the cutie we had met!! So cute like a stuffed animal. There're a couple at Hamamatsu
Zoo and I learnt that this zoo is well-known as a successful breeder of cat-bear here in Japan.
More fun stuffs are coming up later on. I have taken so many photos!

May 5 - Children's Day in Japan

Hi ladies!
I'm back from "Golden Week" holidays. I has such a great time with my family for a whole week. I'll post some photos today and again later this week!
May 5 was a national holiday here in Japan, called "Children's Day". Doesn't it sound so nice? I used to love this day when I was a child myself. Many facilities are opened free to children, like zoos, museums, theaters and so on.
If you have a grandson or son at home, many families celebrate this day with "koinobori" as the photo shows. It's a family of carp streamers.
For hundreds years, we're putting a high pole in the garden to have those carp streamers swim. This has a special meaning, of course. Wishing a steady growth and lots of happiness for their small sons in the
future, parents and grandparents buy those special ones.

Also, we Japanese eat this sweets, "Kashiwa-Mochi" on the day. The leaf you see is called "Kashiwa".
You cannot eat the leaf, but enjoy the beautiful smell of it. Inside of the mochi (stickey cake), there's sweetened black beans.
Yum yum!!

"Golden Week" is coming in Japan!!

In Japan, we have a long holidays called "Golden Week"from the end of April to May. This year it's from April 29 to May 7. Banks, post offices, companies and schools are closed except May 1 and 2. I took both days off from work so I have a long ones!! He he he!!
Those pink peony is from my garden. Every year around this time, it gives us so much happiness with beautiful flowers. I love this gorgeous flower and I think I took a great photo of it!!

And I'm adding more photo of my new bag collection for the up coming season!! This one is special one with retro-like flower. I do love the fabric a lot!!















The right-sided fabric is showing the traditional Japanese summer scene. A golden fish. This pattern is often used for Yukata (summer Kimono). Very Japanese-like fabric and I love the colors.

The left-sided bag is also using Japanese traditional pattern called "ya-gasuri", but in a modern way.

I used the new bag pattern I created on my own.

new collection of bags

HELLO, my dear friends. I've been busy with new bag collection for up-coming season at my shops. Here're some photos. Every day, I spent hours in front of my sewing machine for two weeks.
I'm so excited as I met so many great fabrics at the local shops. In many cases, an idea what to make occur to me right after I see the fabric for the first time.
The area I live is called "Shonan" and people say it's "Japanese Hawaii". We're facing to the Pacific and surrounded by some mountains, people enjoy surfing and other marine activities and so on.
At my Japanese bag shop, I make lots of bags with fabrics from Big island of Hawaii and they sell so well. I have many local customers who love Hawaiian kinda feeling. It's so much fun to choose the fabric, too. I myself love these kinds of fabric, vivid colors and lovely flower print. It gives me so much power! Those fabrics you see are brand new. I just got from Hawaii a couple weeks ago.


I just signed a paper that I leave the company I've been working for the past 8 yrs at the end of July. I'm now working on a project with big money, and I feel bad to leave in the middle of it. So I'll stay here until this project is completed.
What will happen to me, then? Who knows!! Let's just hope things won't be that bad. I'll be free, anyway! Right?

Sorry for my silence...

I know I've beeb very bad updating my journals these days. Sorry about it. I'm so busy with my online shops and other things. It should settle down by the next month or in June, I hope.
I just made a big decision in my life. I'm quitting my work as soon as I finish my project at work. I'll say goodbye to all stupid work,boss and commuting time!! Gee, I feel so happy and free now.
I've been unhappy with my new boss and new assigment for the past year, and now I decided to go on my way!!

Last weekends

Last weekends, we visited the Forest Park in Fujisawa, our neighbor city for the first time. Look at this shot. So beautiful with gradation of colors with Sakura flowers. As I keep telling you, now is the best season to enjoy the scenery all over the Japan. Since we're surrounded by lots of mountains/hills, it's so beautiful to see pink/white here and there.
We found a very old Japanese farm house in the Park. This house was built in Edo Era (18th Century)!! So old!! And it's so huge!!
You see how huge the house is!! It's still in beautiful condition. How nice!





Inside of the house is so sophiscated even though it was built more than 300 yrs ago. This is "zen", eh?

Ohanami picnic

Last Saturday, we had a "Ohana-mi" picnic at the park next to our house here in Kamakura.
"Ohana-mi" means "cherry blossom viewing". It's a special event during the season and I believe all Japanese do this at least once!!
Japanese have been enjoying this activity for hundreds years now. We have a park next to our house and there're lots of big cherry blossom trees.

My husband prepared our lunch boxes right away. Since we both works, he takes the turn to cook on weekends. Fair enough, eh?
This drink is called "Ama-sake", sweetened sake. Very typical drink for Girls Festival on March 3 and Ohana-mi. He also prepared this for us! Can you see the Sakura flowers on it?
Here's a happy girl with daddy's yummy food!
Umm, oishii!!