The wait is almost over. My little boy will begin Yochien (幼稚園 / kindergarten) tomorrow. With the newfound extra free time and all my accumulated secret plans, I can finally take the world of illustration and handicraft by storm! [Blackcabbit let out an INSANELY menacing laugh but was immediately interrupted by a screeching 4-month-old!] Oh, I forgot, the wait has been extended for another three years. Well, back to the old drawing board… ~~~>_<~~~

Here in Japan, most kindergartens require mothers to prepare school commuting goods for their kids who are starting school. It is also a trend here that these goods are often handmade. Books teaching how to sew bags and pouches (i.e. 通園通学手づくりバッグ) are selling like hotcakes during this period.

The school, where our Fireball is going, has given us a long list of bags required (with all the measurements provided). They said that it is not compulsory to hand-make but they STRONGLY RECOMMENDED it. So strong was the “recommendation” that one would feel that if you buy instead of making, you are a bad mother who ought to show more involvement. Somehow, I can almost tell that EVERY mother who attended that school meeting, will sew the bags themselves. Sigh, the crushing “peer pressure.” Normally, whenever I sense the pressure of any sort, my defiant nature will take over and I will become a stubborn mule who refuses to budge despite good sense. However, this time I decided to be a good sport, take on the challenge and aim to make my boy proud. I think motherhood is slowly melting away my bullheadedness (I hope). 😛

 

 

The design

Like most little boys, our Fireball loves trains, cars, and all sorts of vehicles. So I decided to make that the theme. Usually, embroidery is the popular method used to decorate school bags. However, I know it will be impossible to hold a needle near a 4-month-old and a bouncy toddler. Furthermore, hand stitching can be time-consuming. So, I decided to do what I do best – illustrations. Do you remember my previous experiment with Iron-on Transfer & Printable Fabric? Well, I still have a few packets of Kawaguchi’s 100% Printable Cotton to spare.

So every night, my wonderful (but tired-looking) husband would babysit the kids after a hard day’s work, while I’d digitally draw and paint uninterrupted. These are the results of our teamwork – Five illustrations in total…

 

 

Transportation, and Animal Series:

A porcupine driving a car with balloons.

A rocket with a monkey, a lion, and an owl in space…

A submarine with an octopus, penguins, and a sea otter…

A train with a tiger, a tortoise, a snail, a boar, a tanuki, and an ostrich…

A bus with a giraffe, a rooster, an elephant, a polar bear, and a fox…

(Please visit my Facebook Page to see the illustrations’ sketches…)

 

 

The Printed Illustrations:

Because of the earlier experiment that I’ve done, I know that the printed illustrations will turn out to be less saturated than my digital ones. Even with that expectation, I was kind of disappointed at first glance. Thankfully, they blended in with the strong-colored fabric I had chosen and served well as appliqués for the bags.

To recap, here is the list of DIY projects I have done for my son:
1. O-bento Set:
a. Lunch box pouch
b. Pouch for cup & toothbrush
c. Placemat
2. Envelope pouch
3. Shoe bag
4. Lesson bag
5. Sling bag
6. Apron decoration

Okay, enough said. It’s time to prepare for tomorrow’s Nyuenshiki (入園式 / entrance ceremony). Suddenly, I’m feeling nervous (I wonder why)…