My favorite season in Japan is spring. It’s the start of the cherry blossom season and a time for picnics and fun!

To spread my joy of the season, I’m creating a beautiful set that will be shown within the next week!

I love throwing different kinds of parties, but I especially love to try out different decorative pieces to visually entertain my guests.

While going all out with shimmer and shine or totally cutesy are very common themes (among others of course), I decided to mix the two and see what kind of response I would get.

Please tell me what you think of my centrepiece using a metallic string of beads, wooly teddy bear (made by one of my friends) and a simple glass vase:

Simple, inexpensive and quick for any party or last minute get together.

If you want a little more fun, surround the piece with tealights to bounce light off the shimmering beads.

This is the newest addition to my handbag revamp project. If you missed part one, please check it out and let me know what you think.

Since I’ve changed the handles, I would like to make some other changes to create a seamless look.

I thought I could add a strip to cover the front seam (going right down the middle of the bag) with the same fabric as the handles.

First, I cut a piece the length of the seam plus 4cm (they will finish the ends later).

To create a seamless look (ie. no visible stitching), I started out by folding in in half lengthwise.

Then folding in one side to the middle…

and then folding in the other side to the middle, pinning it down, and finally, sewing it together (making sure not to stitch through the front side).

I turned it over to hide that seam and sewed it to the bag with a simple stitch along both sides and folding in the ends to hide the rough edges.

Another piece to my handbag project complete!