|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D.I.Y.: New Year’s Greetings
from Japan |
|
|
|
|
Puffy Lucky Oxen Card |
|
by Deirdre Shiozawa |
|
|
|
YOU'LL NEED
- Red and brown ink pads (try Tsukineko brand)
- White puffy paint (try Tulip brand)
- One 4” x 6” blank white card
- Heat/embossing tool or hair dryer
- OX Lucky stamp set, Happy New Year stamp (from Kodomo Inc.)
- Washi tape in green (from Kodomo Inc.)
|
|
Another fun and fabulous DIY New Year’s card from Kodomo Inc.
Christmas cards might be traditional here in the States, but in Japan, nengajo, or New Year’s post cards, are the customary holiday greeting. While you can buy nengajo at stores (like you can buy pre-designed holiday cards in the US), why not craft your own with a few stamps, colorful ink, and a little imagination?
Not the creative type? Lucky for you, Assistant Director Akiko Nakamura of Kodomo Inc.—a favorite and familiar stamp brand among Japanese crafters—designed a simple yet eye-catching New Year’s card based on the 2009 Year of the Ox, especially for Shojo Beat! For a complete catalog of Kodomo’s stamp designs and where to buy them, go to kodomoinc.com.
Instructions:
| 1. Stamp the ox image in brown ink and the Happy New Year image in red ink onto the card, as shown.
|
|
|
2. Using the puffy pen, lightly color in the ox images.
|
|
|
3. Fan the heat tool or hairdryer over the image to puff up the paint.
|
|
|
|
4. Create the cow pasture using torn pieces of the washi tape, as shown. The placement of the tape doesn’t have to be perfect—the randomness makes each card design fun and unique.
|
|
|
5. Finished!
|
|
- The kanji for ox is fuku (福), which means “luck” or “good fortune.”
- The kanji in red says geishun (迎春), meaning “welcome spring,” which is often written on Japanese New Year’s cards.
|
|
"D.I.Y.: New Year's Greetings from Japan" has been edited for shojobeat.com;
the complete article appears in the January 2009 issue of Shojo Beat Magazine. |
|
|
Want more articles like this PLUS six of the most addictive shojo manga from Japan delivered to your doorstep every month—before
they hit the newsstands? Click here to subscribe now! |
|
| |
|
|
