A visit to Daiso (The "Japanese Dollar Store")

I want you to imagine for a moment that IKEA and the Container Store had a baby.

Now imagine that somewhere in the gene pool there were also hints of Michael's, Sur La Table, and maybe even your favorite party store.  

That my friends, is the best way I can think to describe DAISO, also known as The Japanese Dollar Store.

My first trip to a DAISO was several years back while visiting my brother and sister-in-law in the Bay Area.  My sister-in-law is one of those people who knows all the fun spots. (If she ever invites you to go shopping, say yes.)

Needless to say I fell head over heels for DAISO (where most items actually cost $1.50) and was thrilled to hear that one was opening five minutes from my house.  

Below is a picture-tour of my most recent trip.  

(It opened five days ago.)

(And I may or may not have been three times already.)

Enjoy....

First up is the extensive selection of dishes. These pieces remind me of the bowls I've been seeing lately at Anthropologie and West Elm.

The decoration on this teapot (which is kind of pricey at $4) reminds me a little of the Cathrineholm Lotus Pattern.

Of course there are tons of basic white dishes.  

These are great to use as staple pieces.

They're also incredibly tempting for people like me who like to paint on ceramic and glass...

This next item is a beautiful drinking glass.  There were several sizes to choose from and pictured below is one of the smaller ones.  The wider version is virtually identical to the one that Emily Henderson discusses in this post.  Unfortunately DAISO was out of them when I stopped by with my camera.  (Apparently someone who made three visits in the last week bought them all.  They will make their blog debut in a future post.)  Admittedly, the CB2 version is only forty-five cents more expensive than these but for those of us with no CB2 nearby, this is an excellent (and less expensive!) alternative.  

Of course if thin glass isn't your thing there are plenty of other glasses to choose from:

Speaking of glass, I recently replaced all of my plastic tupperware with glass.  I was thrilled to see so many glass storage containers at DAISO (in case I ever need more), and they're cute to boot!

If glass storage isn't your thing, maybe you'd like metal.

(I might have to get that polka dotted beauty during visit number four...)

From metal we move to paper.  Just look at these cupcake wrappers.  I'm dying from the cuteness. 

And check out these great paper loaf and bundt pans.  I know where I'm headed when the holiday baking season rolls around.  

Oh my word was I obsessed with these brightly colored plastic cups!  Made in Italy, they will be perfect for serving the kids drinks by the pool this summer.  (I may or may not have bought every color...)

These polka dotted paper cups look an awful lot like this more expensive version from one of my favorite party shops.

And the utensils?   C'mon!  And not only are they gorgeous, they are also super-sturdy!

Now let's turn our attention to organizing.  

No matter what your storage needs are, DAISO has you covered.

There are sturdy (but colorful) baskets,

plastic bins in every size and shape imaginable,

cabinet shelves,

(I bought two.  They're a significant savings compared to the Container Store version and I like them better.)

buckets,

gorgeous cardboard boxes,

and office storage.

I am in love with these colorful book ends.  I bought a set for each daughter and look forward to embellishing them with my Silhouette. 

Another item that caught my eye was this beautiful pressed flower wrapping paper.  

There were also these colorful rolls.

These bows are actually teeny-tiny. 

For bigger gifts there was plenty of ribbon.

And how fun are these twist ties?  In addition to being colorful and cute, they are also thicker and sturdier that your average twist tie.  I picked some up to use on treat and favor bags.  

Although I don't do Origami, I absolutely loved the selection of Origami paper.  

And there were notebooks galore.  

Am I the only one who has a thing for sticky notes?  These colorful beauties had me at hello.  

Of course a girl who can't stop making pin boards can always use more thumbtacks!

Bunting washi tape?  I'll take two, please!

(There was a ton of Washi tape--it is, after all, a Japanese paper tape.)

I think we all know how expensive craft punches can be.  It was great to know that DAISO carries them.

Look at all of these paint supplies.  

A thirty marker set for $1.50.  Wouldn't this make a great party favor?  (Perhaps paired with a fun pad?  So much nicer than a bunch of trinkets...)

I got one of these knives to use for weeding vinyl on my Silhouette projects.  

I did not buy an under mat.  (But I should have.)

I did get some clothespins as I like to work with them.  

And I will leave you with these colorful rolls of felt.

(Because just looking at them made me happy.)

At the present I think DAISO is primarily located on the West coast here in the US.  THIS is a link to their Facebook fan page if you'd like more information.  

People Freaking LOVE Painted Dinosaurs

So it turns out that people just love painted plastic dinosaurs.

Who knew?

When I posted these little lovelies earlier in the week I expected people to be underwhelmed. 

After all, as far as I was concerned they had been done to death.

Boy was I wrong.  

Within minutes of posting them on Instagram and Facebook the messages came pouring in:

"How can I get a one of those?"

"I need one of those immediately!"

...and my personal favorite:

"I want a KEY Rex!"

I am happy to report that now you too can own a dinosaur key chain!  Just check out my etsy shop to buy your very own.  

...............................................................................

And while I wait for those orders to come pouring in, I'm having even more fun with painted dinosaurs.  

Check out this cute ring holder:

To make it I bought an inexpensive hobnail dish at Michael's.

Then I added dots of gold on the hobnails with a Sharpie Oil Based Paint Pen.

Finally I glued a painted dinosaur in the middle of the dish.

Seriously, isn't he the cutest thing ever?  I think he looks a little like this Loch Ness Monster in the shot below:

I'm thinking about adding the dishes to my shop as well.  I'd love your feedback on that.  

Linking:

http://igottacreate.blogspot.com/2014/03/wildly-original-link-party-95.html

Done to Death

Wanna know what's been done to death in blog land?

The painting of plastic animals.

In my own defense, I did hop on the bandwagon pretty early.

(See HERE and HERE.)

But still...

... I kind of thought I was done with them.  

That is until I saw THESE.  (<-- click that link!)

Be still my heart:  painted animal keychains.

(I just had to make some.)

So I added screw-on eye rings to some dollar store dinosaurs.  (I just did it with my fingers; no drill necessary.)

You can also buy plastic dinosaurs HERE.  

Then I got out my spray paint.

And my spray paint box.  (Seen HERE.)

And I got to painting.

And while gold has been my paint color of choice for plastic animals in the past...

... I branched out a little this time.

And since I only have so many keys, I added a few gold dinos to these pretty little jars:

I might put them in my etsy shop...

...or I might add them to my new desk space...

...where they would go nicely with the newest addition to my office: Mr. Mouse.  (He's a receipt spindle.  Yes, I still keep my paper receipts.  Don't judge.)

So while painted plastic animals have kind of been done to death, they still make my heart go pitter patter.  

Here's hoping they don't go extinct any time soon ;)

Great News!  If you're interested in making your own "Key Rex" Key Chain, you can buy everything you need through Whimseybox.  Just click on the links below.

Shrinky Dink Silhouette Jewelry

Sometimes I get a good idea and I just have to run with it.

And run...

(...and then run a little more)

My most recent good idea?

~Shrinky Dink Charms~

Last time I wrote about them the charms were part of my daughter's "You're So Charming" Valentines.

This time I went with silhouettes.

(And yes, the silhouette is of my younger daughter--and it's being worn by my older daughter.)

Wouldn't this be a great gift for a kid to make for Mother's Day?

Just place the shrinky dink film over a profile picture, trace, color, punch a hole, and bake.

Easy peasy!

(Of course I was lucky enough to have these cool ornaments to trace, but a regular picture would work just fine.)

So since I'm on a roll I have to ask: what would you make with some shrinky dink film?

Linking:
http://yesterfood.blogspot.com/2014/03/treasure-box-tuesday-12.html

How to Wrap an E-Card

... in three easy steps!

E-cards make great gifts and for my daughter's last birthday a dear friend sent her one via my email address.

It is always so sweet when friends and family from afar remember my kids on their birthdays.  For that reason, I wanted the e-card pack the same punch as the the prettily wrapped presents purchased here in town.  My solution?

1.  I printed out the e-card.

2. I rolled it up and inserted it in a tissue tube.

3.  I wrapped it with tissue paper and twine.

The end result was a gift that looked as good on the outside as it did on the inside.  :)

Shrinky Dink Charms for Rainbow Loom Bracelets

This is the post wherein old-school kid craft meets new-school kid craft.  (Prepare to be amazed!)

One might wonder how such a fabulous collaboration came to be...

You see, it was all part of my quest to find a fun Valentine's Day gift for my daughter to give out in class.  (Preferably one that didn't involve high fructose corn syrup.)

We began with shrink film.  This is the stuff you use for shrinky dinks, but you can buy it on its own, without a shrinky dink kit, HERE.  

We traced some hearts onto the film using a sheet of hearts from the internet.

Then we colored them in.  (All of this was done with Sharpie.  I found the brush tip worked best.)

Then we punched some holes and popped them in the convection oven for three minutes at 300°.

Unfortunately, the charms turned out a little bigger than we had hoped...

...and some were just a hot mess!

So we tried again, this time with free-form hearts...

And we added initials...

And we baked them in the real oven  (also for three minutes at 300°).

And when they turned out okay we added a jump ring to each one...

...which connects the charm to the bracelet:

Then it was just a matter of adding a cute note:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Looking for more Rainbow Loom posts?  Click HERE.