Thanksgiving has come and gone rather quietly in Tokyo. No national holiday. No days off school or work. No Black Friday shopping extravaganza. Just a delicious buffet at the American Club with many of our friends and fellow Expats where we stuffed our bellies full of turkey {a rare commodity in Japan!}, all the trimmings, and of course still sushi and gyoza!
But even though things are quieter here about the holidays in general, it’s like my body knows it’s supposed to be kicking into gear and getting ready.
So this weekend was spent ordering holiday cards {yet another new trick to being an Expat ~ finding a company that will both produce and address and mail my holiday cards domestically so I don’t have to pay international postage! Answer: Tiny Prints}.
And beginning to bake for our school’s Winterfest Bake Sale next weekend {sorry – those pics will have to wait for another post!}.
And while I couldn’t quite bring myself to pull out the big Hanukkah Rubbermaid bin since the calendar has yet to roll over to December, I was itching to craft something to get me in the mood. I have seen some of the loveliest mobiles in my wanderings through crafty shops in Japan and of course I no longer have babies, but I’ve been toying with a way I might still be able to justify making a mobile….
I started with my scrap bin, a pair of scissors and a very comfy spot on the couch. I just freehand cut circles out of whatever I could find in the bin in the colors I wanted.
Once I had a bunch, I then played around with different color combinations and stacking them several deep. No method to my madness other than trying to mix it up.
Then I glued the layered circles together and began attaching them to some lengths of thin grosgrain ribbon with tails cut on the ends.
At the top of the ribbon, I left some extra “blank” space and folded my ribbon over to form a loop and glued it down.
Then I simply slipped all of the loops onto a book ring.
Now I can easily open and close the ring onto my ugly rental apartment light fixture or slip the long ribbons off to use somewhere else down the road.
Nothing earth-shattering, but cheers up the flying saucer light fixture a bit and will look even cuter when I pull out the glittered dreidels and other fun Hanukkah decorations in another week or so.
Of course you could easily do this in red, green and white for Christmas, or simply string them on a single garland across a mantel if you wished.
Now for two very important questions:
Who caught the room rearrangement we did tonight?
And which of you armchair psychologists are deeply concerned about my longing for Target? 😉
Felt So Cute 
You reoriented the table and the sideboard!
And such a cute fix to a typical Japanese apartment light!
I wish I had one ounce of your creativity. You never cease to amze me with the ideas tyhat you come up with!
Love
Shelli
Just lovely!
Hey,
I’m from Turkey (the country) and have been visiting your blog for a while. Your mobile made me think of the “nazar boncugu” beads we have here, they are believed to ward off the evil eye…
Enjoy your time in Japan.
SO VERY CUTE! I think that is genius for Hannukka and you are right, the same concept could be used for many different types of events by changing the colors. I saw your post at “Under the Table and Dreaming”.
love this idea! perfect for the kids to make as holiday gifts!
Good idea. I can see the same thing in gold, red, and green for the holidays too. Easy with a big impact. I like things like that.
That is a cute idea!! Thank you for stopping by Inspirations by D. I enjoyed your visit and hope to see you there again. I’ll be stopping on by here too, love the creativity!
Very cute. I would love to try this for a baby’s room too.
I would love if you came and checked out my linky party. It’s new. http://www.eyehearttoday.blogspot.com
Super cute! And the sky is the limit with color combos. If you have a moment, I would be thrilled if you shared this on my Inspiration Board {link party}. I know my readers would love it.
http://carolynshomework.blogspot.com/2011/11/inspiration-board-link-party-26.html
carolyn – homework
What a great idea. You can use these in so many settings! A baby mobile or even a Christmas card holder. I am visiting from Todays Creative Blog. Nice job!
Very cute decoration! I’m inspired to do something like that dangling down from my (bare) large kitchen windows. Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving celebration and were able to get your holiday cards printed and mailed conveniently. Thank goodness for the internet, eh?
Laura
Synergistic Acres – Kansas City Natural Farm
Your post took me back to my visit to Japan which included lunch (and video rental) at the American Club! I don’t think longing for a Target is crazy at all, given that a traditional American department store is not to be found in Tokoyo.
Wait… There are places in the world that don’t know the joy of shopping at Target?
I wouldn’t be able to survive.
What a fun lamp decoration. I love that you call it a flying saucer. My friend and I visited Japan, and whenever we turned off the light, we called it a galaxy, cause that’s really what it looked like.:)
This is so whimsical and cute! Consider, if you will, sharing with my readers at http://sassafrassalvation.blogspot.com/2011/11/although-i-must-say-that-link-response.html
Blessings!
So much fun! I think i’m going vertical with my Hanukkah garlands this year too! Thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling Sunday, have a wonderful Hanukkah and hope to see you back when the party resumes the first Sunday in January!
I love your garland and yellow is a perfect color to add with the Hanukkah colors. I know they have Disney Tokyo, probably IKEA but no Target? lol I can understand missing Target and nothing wrong with missing something very American, like Thanksgiving. Well I’m glad that there is the American Club and Schools for people like your family.
LOVE this idea! I’m an art teacher looking for some ideas to get me through the next few weeks of school & this is it! Thank you!
I LOVE this.. 2 cute
On the light fixture, what did you attach the book rings to/how are they attached to the light?
The ring is attached to the rod/pole where the fixture is attached to the ceiling (I chose one that was just wide enough to go around it)