Chiyogami Stickers (千代紙シール)

In the package I received couple days ago, I got this---Assorted Chiyogami Set! Even though I already have a lot of Chiyogami in my studio, I still love them, never get enough of them. Since I had some time yesterday, I decided to turn these beautiful papers into something. I've seen many talented people turned these end papers into beautiful Chiyogami pendants, magnets and coasters...etc. I don't know how to make those things, and these papers were not big enough to make tags, so I thought I would make them into some beautiful and useful stickers!





Little tips on how to recognize the real Chiyogami:
(source from The Japanese Paper Place)

1. Intense color and resistance to fading. The pigment-based inks used in authentic Chiyogami create a distinctively intense color that stands up well to fading and use.

2. Color layers. You can often see or feel the different layers of color applied on the base sheet.

3. Paste residue. On the back of each sheet of genuine Chiyogami you will often find a harmless paste residue. This comes from the papers being temporarily pasted to boards as they travel from one color station to the next.

{Right: Offset reproduction; Left: Hand-silkscreened.
image via The Japanese Paper Place}

Now on the market you can see digital-print-out Chiyogami, Offset -pint-out Chiyogami, Hand-screened and Woodblock Chiyogami, and the price varies.

Happy Package!

It's always a happy thing to receive packages, especially from my families and friends from Japan. I just received a package from my aunt yesterday, it's full of Japanese snacks and food! I love these cute cookies made by her friend's daughter, they are so cute, so buttery and not too sweet!

Tea Calendar (カレンダーティーパック)

{images via trendhunter.com}

I like this adorable idea of the Calendar Teabags designed by Cho Hee Ha. A variety of teas are packaged in for the dates of that month. A novel idea for tea buffs and those who appreciate niche products. This makes the whole drinking tea session a little more fun. Have Earl Grey one day and Darjeeling Oolongs the other--- you never know what you are going to get!

Chocolate Pencils (チョコレート色鉛筆)

{images via Nendo}

I came across another beautiful chocolate today, the Chocolate Pencils.

Chocolate-pencils is a collaboration between Design Studio Nendo with patissier Tsujiguchi Hironobu (辻口博啓), the mastermind behind popular dessert shops like Mont St. Claire and Le Chocolat de H. He created a new dessert based on his impression of Nendo, and Nendo designed new tableware for the dessert.

The chocolate pencils come in a number of cocoa blends that vary in intensity, and chocophiles can use the special pencil sharpener that comes with the plate to grate chocolate onto their dessert. Pencil filings are usually the unwanted remains of sharpening a pencil, but in this case, they're the star!

Better not eat this in front of very small children so as not to confuse them!

Chocolate Pie Chart

{images via Mary & Matt's}

Made of 70% milk, 20% dark and 10% white chocolate, the Chocolate Pie Chart looks so gorgeous and yummy. If I may, I would like to make it 75% dark, 20% milk and 5% white chocolate, cause to me, white chocolate is not chocolate. But I also think it's necessary to have some on the chart so it looks pretty.... Available at Mary & Matt's General Store.

Magazine Wall (雑誌の壁)

Do you collect magazines? If you do and you have tones of them, you can do this: make it a wall!

Designed by Elding Oscarson, the interior walls of this graphic design office in Stockholm are made up of literally thousands of magazines! I like how this original idea of a wallpaper reflects on a creative business company. Simple yet stunning!

{images via vectroave.com}