this past month has been quite a hassle! i had some sort of stomach flu combined with a cold, that led to sinusitis… after 3 weeks in bed, i’ve slowly tried to come back to my daily routine. rolling around in bed so long had me restless and got me into an organization frenzy! which brings me to today’s topic: handwritten spice jar labels.
during my visit to santorini, i had bought some wonderful herb and spice mixes, which i had been wanting to find the perfect spice jars for. after much brainstorming and contemplation (of whether to buy a label printer or which jars to buy), i decided to go analog and handwrite labels to put on these jars from the 100 yen shop (seria probably has the bestest trendiest selection!).
i had A4 size printable adhesive label sheets (the kind that isn’t pre-cut) leftover from a past wedding project. these are great for handwriting or printing any size stickers up to A4, and you have the freedom to create any shape (as long as you’re willing to cut them yourself!). not to mention, the grid lines show through a little bit, helping out with measuring out multiple labels.
when researching accommodations in thira (the main island of the santorini caldera), i read that the capital city, fira, tends to be pretty busy and populated even through the night. fira is well known for the beautiful white buildings and colorful chapels built among the steep cliffs, making for photogenic scenery against the aegean sea.
fira and especially oia (pronounced EE-ah, silent “o”) is especially known for THE superb sunsets, which i will share with you more about my experiences later (if storm chasers exist, i would be the sunset chaser, with all that i went through to catch it). so, gathering that fira is 1. expensive (oia, even more so), 2. noisy (as in—the center of night life), 3. sunset central, i went in the opposite direction. if the sun sets in the west, i went to the east of the island, and found a way more affordable hotel in kamari. and i was SO right to do so, because:
every day (well, except 2 days of gray mornings, but thira sunrises account for all of the beautiful sunrises i see out of my window in tokyo—zero). come on. i came here for the sunrises and sunsets. you will see a lot of them. lucky for you (at least for the sake of my blog), i woke up (without an alarm!) right before the sunrise every morning. =)
after a continental breakfast, my day started. here is a view of kamari city from the hotel, which is located at the top of a hill.
ホテルの朝食後、早速カマリ市から探索をはじめました。ホテルからカマリを一望できました。
first things first, i wanted to get to know kamari a little better. kamari is known for its black sand beach. though, not so much like the black sand beaches of the big island of hawaii, that i visited in 4th grade. here the sand consists of black pebbles.
カマリは、黒い「砂」のカマリビーチで知られています。でも、ハワイ島の黒い砂を連想していましたが、ここは「砂」というより、「小石」の浜辺でした。
there is so much more about charming kamari to share later. this was a busy day—off i went to fira by bus. カマリについては、また今度。この日は、バスでフィラへむかいました。
. . . . .
gasp.
breath.
taken.
i’ll let the photos do the talking.
あまりの光景に言葉を失いました。
donkeys!! / 人生初めてロバを見ましたー
(↑this is walking towards oia, looking back to where i started, near the first hotel built facing the santorini caldera, atlantis hotel. see next photo.↓)
i wasn’t in a rush to reach oia this day, and cleverly so, since i got pretty hiked out after i reached this spot (in fact this trip is the home of my newfound joy for hiking). this is skaros rock, a fortress against pirates in the middle ages:
oh yeah, pretty darn hiked out. like, super energetic going downhill… not so much coming back, eh?
疲れました。勢い良く降りたのはよかったものの、帰り道は登り。ヘトヘト。でした。
not to mention, getting to the top required a short but scary bit of rock climbing. i haven’t been bouldering for a while, but the thrill was =)
しかも、この頂上につくのに、ちょっとロッククライミングしました・・・(久々のクライミング、楽しかったですが;;)
in tokyo, we walk a lot. but this isn’t daily life, and obviously nothing like this. i decided to start heading back towards atlantis hotel and the bus station with what little energy i had left.
東京での生活は、必然的に歩くことが多いと思いますが、非日常的なこのような歩き方はしないですよね。アトランティス・ホテルとバス亭までなんとか戻れました。
energy or none, i was constantly exhilarated by the bright, bold colors of santorini like these bougainvillea against a cloudless sky backdrop.
疲れきっても、島中のカラフルな自然と晴天のコラボに常に元気付けられていました。
with that, here is a view of the sun going down back at the hotel, facing toward fira.
カマリに戻り、その日はフィラ方面の夕日が背景になった山のシルエットを見ながら黄昏ていました。
hello world! it’s been months since i’ve properly blogged. it has been, and still is, a period of so-called soul searching―as a person and artistically. during this time, i went on a secret trip to santorini. over a series of blogs i plan to share with you a travelog of my trip, and maybe if i go on new trips around the world i’ll add it to my travelog series. enjoy!
first of all, to explain why i chose santorini are the following key points
まずサントリーニを選んだ理由は:
1. l a n g u a g e / 言 語
i’m from the states, i’d just been to paris twice in the past year, and i wanted to go somewhere else where english isn’t the native language. of course, knowing english helps, but being in tokyo where my native languages, japanese and english, are used everywhere―whether i like it or not―i always seem to be picking up on random conversations in the train. for sure, i take bilingualism (is that even a word?) for granted, too. i wanted to go somewhere where i could have a taste of helplessness, at the same time a place to tune out.
2. s a f e t y / 安 全 性
i wanted to find a place that would be safe for a “big, big girl in a big, big world♪“ to travel.
このご時世、女性のひとり旅ができそうな旅先をよくよく考えました。
3. g r e e c e / ギ リ シ ャ
it has always been my dream to see the place with blue seas and dozens of adorable white walled buildings. plus, ever since discovering greek myths in 4th grade at my school’s library, greece has been a place of interest. i can go way more into the presence of greece in my life, but not here.
4. s u n a n d p e a c e / 太 陽 と 静 け さ
living in the suburbs of tokyo, the sky and stars are very precious. i know mother earth has so much more to give in terms of nature. as an island girl, i need sunsets and sunrises. although i love the constant hustle and bustle of the city, my human existence was feigning to hear and feel the goodness of nature―beyond my sleep app’s rain and wave sounds that lull me to sleep every night.
@ athens airport waiting for my transfer to thira (santorini).
アテネ空港にて。ここからサントリーニのティラ島へ乗り継ぎしました。
of course, i had to get a taste of my most favorite salad in the world, greek salad (no surprise here), and most favorite yogurt in the world―yep, you guessed it―greek yogurt. i’m sure to every grecian, airport greek salad and airport greek yogurt ain’t nothin’, but hey, from tokyo, it was awesome to get the real thing.
after about 25 hours from departure, i arrived at thira around 9 pm. in my next travelog post, i’ll share with you day 1, a very full day of exploring!
[SHOP ANNOUNCEMENT] VACATION FROM APRIL 16TH ~ APRIL 26TH
as i will be out, my ETSY and CREEMA shops will be on vacation from sunday, april 16th to wednesday, april 26th. please come by again from april 26th!
it’s been ages since i’ve posted anything!! i will one day update you all with the projects i’ve been a part of! / 最後の投稿からかなり時間が経ってしまいました m(_ _ )m 落ち着いたら、なぜ忙しかったかまた報告しま〜す!
in the meantime… for a very limited time (until the end of november 2016 to be exact), i have been selling these 2017 illustrated calendars on my etsy and creema shops!
ただいま、期間限定(2016年11月いっぱい!)で2017年のイラストカレンダーを etsy と creema にて販売しております!
if you follow me on instagram (aww thanks!!!!), you may have seen me posting a “52 week 2016 memories” illustration every so often. it all started late 2015, when a friend had asked me to create an illustrated calendar that she would later be able to keep around the house to display. so i decided to start this 52 week project where i would illustrate a memorable moment of each week; selecting my favorite of that month to put into the calendar. for october, november, and december, i selected my favorites from 2015! インスタグラムでフォローしてくださっている方(thank you★)はご覧いただいているかもしれませんが、この1年間、『2016年52週間の思い出』を載せてきました。これは、2015年後半に友人にお願いされ、イラストカレンダーをデザインして欲しいと言われました。それも、カレンダーとして使用後、インテリアとしてディスプレイできるものが良いと。そこで『2016年の思い出』プロジェクトを考え、毎週思い出になった光景を描き、その月の一番気に入ったイラストを選出してカレンダーにしました。10月〜12月は2015年の思い出を使用しました。
since the calendar is made for use in japan, it only reflects japanese national holidays. i’ve especially chosen illustrations that represent japanese holidays or traditions, or western holidays that japanese ♥. there are 13 cards total (one for each month, plus the cover), of which each month is double sided—calendar + illustration on one side, single illustration on the other. also included is a sturdy plastic frame stand that can be used vertically and horizontally.
日本仕様のカレンダーなので祝日は、日本の暦通りです。イラストは、日本の風物詩や風景を中心に選びました。全部で13カード(各月1枚+表紙)のうち、12枚は、両面です(片面イラスト付きカレンダー、片面イラストのみ)。頑丈なプラスチックのスタンド式フレームもセットにしています!
if you need a holiday gift for friends or family, come stop by my shops to see the calendar! / 親戚や友人などのプレゼントにどうぞ!是非一度ショップを見てみてください♫
otherwise, it’s been a whirlwind autumn since getting these calendars printed, i haven’t been able to keep up with the 52 week illustrations, but i will definitely continue them once the holiday hustle and bustle allows me a breather!
カレンダーを印刷してからは毎日バタバタしており、なかなかイラストが追いついていないですが、ひと段落したらイラスト投稿も続けますね!
the idea started when i had a leftover ikea curtain material that i wanted to put to good use 🙂 the curtain was just enough fabric to make a full teepee! i patchworked my favorite fabrics and used a chic gray alphabet pattern + chambray to keep it adult-aesthetic-friendly. it was a great challenge but tons of fun to make. i made a second one for keeping or leasing out. (feel free to email me if you are interested in leasing)
[SHOP ANNOUNCEMENT] VACATION FROM JUNE 26TH ~ JULY 6TH
as i will be out on a business trip, my ETSY and CREEMA shops will be on vacation from sunday, june 26th to wednesday, july 6th. please come by again from july 7th!
please keep an eye in july for this teepee. i have yet to decide on which shop to sell it on!