Yamamotoyama - Tea!

I found this tea in my local Korean grocery store - and it is love in tea form. Yamamotoyama sells many varieties, including jasmine, green, roasted green, oolong, and orange pekoe. They sell their tea either in bags or as loose leaves. Some of their tea is organic. You can download an order form and send it into their main office to order the tea.

Yamamotoyama also sells dried seaweed on their website.

I own three boxes of their tea - jasmine, green and roasted green. They are all very, very good. I highly recommend their tea for any enthusiast, or for anyone who just wants to have a good cup now and then. Perfect for winter nights.

Merry Christmas, to all, and now back to my cup of jasmine goodness.

Luster Studio Brings Sparkle and Shine

"I'm obssesed with bright colors, glitter, fun designs, Japanese
fashion, fruits, kawaii, decora, lolita, little big girls, heart,
stars, candy, rainbows, and everything else that makes the world
prettier!

I run this site mostly by myself. I get some help from my mom and
sister on occasion (whenever I'm desperate!) but otherwise it's pretty
much me. I've got a Visual Art degree from the University of Northern
Iowa. I've painted, done graphic design, sculpted, made clothes,
jewelry and pretty much anything I can get my hands on. I've always
liked making things, and I've had the good fortune to find people who
like what I make."

-Kris

Kris of Luster Studio has watched her online store blossom in the short span of six months. In light of her success, she actually had to close down, reorganize, and reopen to keep up with customer demand. It's easy enough to see why: her products are adorable!

Specializing in kitschy jewelry and accessories, Luster Studio features one-of-a-kind accessories for those of us who like fun colors and designs. Her products range from Sweet Lolita choker necklaces, bracelets, and hand bags, beaded charm necklaces and earrings, to original pop graphic buttons(!), bags and necklaces. My personal favorites are the lolita chokers and the polka dot buttons.

Up-and-coming products include gummy bear jewelry, hair clips, head bands and Japanese sticker jewelry - as in jewelry made from Japanese stickers. Kris also has a collection of holiday jewelry up, which includes earrings and necklaces.

Prices are reasonable and international shipping is allowed - always a plus.

Crochet World - February 2007

I recently ordered a bunch of craft magazines via my little sister's school magazine sale (to benefit the arts program) and decided to purchase Crochet World in addition to several others. I got the February issue just the other day, and figured I'd share it with you guys as sort of a magazine-review thing. Did that make any sense? No? Oh well. Here's some of the patterns of interest:

- The Pattern of the Month, a "shruggie," aka combination of a shawl and a shrug. An interesting idea, but unfortunately it doesn't come off as elegant or cute.

- "Lemon Pot Holder", as well as matching coasters. These are super-cute and simple to make, using the half-double crochet stitch.

- "Simple Mesh Vest," good for a summer project, in my opinion. The design is cute but the stitches are tiny and it would take you forever to get it done, unless you're a super-fast crocheter, in which case, I applaud you.

- "Little Girl's Snowy Purse," was so, so cute. It's a purse in the shape of a snowman's face and hat, complete with carrot nose and coal eyes. Eeeeeeee! Also, everything is done in single crochet, which makes life so much easier - no funny stitches to learn!

- "Inca Bird Hat," super cute, but complicated. Recommended for advanced crocheters who like Central American influences.

- "Lacy Mini-Rosary Case," is cute, but I'm hardly going to carry around rosaries. If you're looking for a pattern for a coin purse, though, this is a nice one. It's a shell stitch/double crochet stitch combination, though, so practice before you dive in! There's a pattern guide in the back of the magazine, or you can check out About Crochet for some tutorials.

- "Hangin' Monkeys," I think I just died from a cute overdose. You guys remember the Barrel o' Monkeys toys we used to play with ages ago? This is the crocheted version, complete with arms, legs, tail and cute monkey muzzle. This would be a fantastic gift idea for any young child in the New Year. To make things better, these adorable creatures are made entirely with single crochet. Hallejuiah!

- "Turtle Float Pal," this goes without saying, of course. A soap-bar covering to prevent slippage in the bathtub, or as a potpourri holder for your clothing drawer. It looks complicated, but most of the stitches are double crochet - just make sure you pay extra attention to the pattern first! This looks like another one to practice before doing.

Ms.Turtle's Top 5 Skin Care Must-Haves

There are so many products on the market nowadays, and the majority of these products are things that the average person doesn't need. Here are my top 10 skin care must-haves, links to an online vendor are included, so you can get an idea for the prices and competiting products.

1. Vaseline - AKA Petroleum Jelly. Find a generic or a store-name brand, because it works just as well as the 'vaseline' brand, for less. Unlike vaseline look-alikes such as Aquaphor, which may contain trace elements of wool composites, so says my dermatologist, vaseline is pure, hypo-allergenic, and can be used on virtually any part of the body. Slather it on your lips, arms, elbows, etc, before bed for soft, moisturized skin, especially in the winter months.

2. Nonalcoholic toner - Granted, even nonalcoholic toner is 1% alcohol, but the nonscented hypo-allergenic brands are great to help reduce the acne on your face. Toner is the only skin treatment I use to get rid of acne, and it works wonders. Toner also comes in 'deep cleansing' and 'refreshing' types, but the basic kind works just as well. Dermatologist recommended!

3. Exfoliating face scrub - I use St. Ives Apricot exfoliator, but if you're low on cash, just take a bit of table sugar and work it in with your favorite face soap to achieve the same effect - for much less than $3.97!

4. Olive oil soap - Now, you can get olive oil soap from specialty online sites. Check ebay for bargains. Olive oil is good for those of us who have sensitive, dry skin. It doesn't smell great, but it makes you feel all shiny and clean.

5. Baking soda (available at your local supermarket! :) )- Baking soda is another cheap exfoliant. Stir a spoonful into the water you use to wash your face and wash normally, and then top it off with your favorite moisturizer.

Takara® Singing Cubees!

I first found these amazingly cute gadgets at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and immediately fell in love. They're uber-adorable, first of all. Press the button on top and watch them sing! Stack one on top of the other and you have a cubee doo-wop group, ready to serenade you into a mooing, chirping, meowing nirvana of goodness.

I bought the entire set, and scuttled home to see if Takara had a larger array of products, and thankfully, they did! Their merchandise ranges from singing flower cubees to cat toys to those annoying singing bird sculptures that overly cheery people stick on their cubicle walls.

The Museum of Contemporary Art has a bundle of other goodies as well, including music-making robots, Alexander Calder-esque mobiles, and innovative accessory designs for the contemporary kitchen.

Yum.