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April 27, 2009

Happy Mondays

Happy Monday 幸せな月曜日(shiawase na getsuyoubi)

The kanji character for Monday is Moon and Day...!

...

Mondays are my day off.  Rain or shine or cloudy (like today), I am happy on Mondays.
Sunday evenings are good too.
Yesterday after work, I went to a cafe in Osaka with a friend I had not seen for over a month.
She gave me a birthday present, so it was like I had a second birthday!
I like how she pays attention to detail and has used cute wrapping paper for the ribbons as well.She knows what my favorite animal is too.

...

My new job does not require any creativity.  
I use to work in creative fields so my new job can be quite stressful...lots and lots of memorizing.  (My pea brain is about to pop like an egg in a microwave...)  

This assortment of materials finally got my creativity flowing again.

So today, Happy Monday became Happy Sewing Monday.
I made a book cover and stuck two buttons on both sides.  When I take the book outside I can wind the ribbon around the two buttons so that the book will stay closed in my purse.  

I deliberately gave it some red stitches to add a homemade touch and because I currently do not own a sewing machine... 
Oh, the buttons are made of some kind of very light wood with a four leaf clover motif.

The red ribbon you see sticking out from the top is also sewn at the bottom to keep the cover from sliding off of the book.


Other blogs with great stories and ideas about book covers:

I may have mentioned her site before but just in case you haven't seen it check out loritimesfive.

This one is in Japanese ... so is this one... but they both have pictures...

And I also like this idea at a Hazy Moon because it has given me inspiration for a new book cover project!  I bet you can guess what it is!

Oh and in case you missed my last post about book covers...here it is.

Happy Monday!

12 comments:

Polly said...

Oh, lucky you! I wish my Mondays were off... Oh well, in the meantime I'm stuck at work and my Monday's definitely not been as creative as yours, in fact I've spent past four hours replying to students emails and I'm slowly losing all faith in this world as a result... your home made book cover looks lovely!

Delwyn said...

The book cover is adorable - I love the way that the Japanese a have a cover, container or bag or all three for everything...I have a growing collection of drawstring bags and lovely fabric squares for wraps...
I'll catch up with you tomorrow...

Tess Kincaid said...

Love the cheery book cover! Happy Moon Day!

June Saville said...

What a great little project for a person who loves books and items artistic. Good to meet up with you ...
June in Oz

Unknown said...

I really like your book cover! And I'm sooo jealous that you have Mondays off!
PS. You have moved 20 times? I get tired and stressed only thinking about it! :)

Unknown said...

I really like your book cover. And I'm very, very jealous that you have Mondays off!
PS. You have moved 20 times? To stressful and tiring to even think about it! :)

Hope said...

The book cover you made is lovely! I like creative crafts too and I understand what you mean by doing a day job that's not creative. I really appreciate the chance to do an activity that's creative after a days 'not-creative' work. Somehow, doing creative things makes me feel it's so especially enjoyable!

Hope said...

Hi Tulsa

I love the book cover it is really lovely! I relate to what you say - when you have a 'non-creative' job... I appreciate more... when I have the chance, sitting down to do something creative makes me to feel so enjoyable!

I_am_Tulsa said...

Wow! Thank you everyone for such nice comments!

June, I have seen your blogs and have been inspired to write more and more now!

Polly please don't lose faith just yet! ;-)
Delwyn...thank you for listening to my rants! lol

Willow, I hope you had a great Moon Day too!

B, yes at least 20 times I have moved...since it started when I was really little, to be honest, I am quite use to it now!

Hope, you seem to be VERY creative! Hopefully we will both have more time to be creative!

Lori ann said...

Happy Birthday Tulsa!
What a sweet friend you have! and what a thoughtful gift. I love your book cover. I can't wait until I have more time to sew again, did you say you made it by hand?
take good care,
♥ Lori

Lori ann said...

oh! i forgot to say Thank you for mentioning me, that was so sweet of you! ♥ :)

Butternut Squash said...

That was such a wonderful gift. It means so much to be remembered like that. The gift giving culture in Japan is not like anything I have seen anywhere else in the world. It really is very touching.