Pictured above: sticker sheet from little apple crafts, $4.75. Animal Mascot book, $35 from Purl.
If you read craft blogs all the time like I do, you are no doubt familiar with the term kawaii. It refers to the cuteness that seems to be embedded in Japanese pop culture. Think Hello Kitty and all things adorable. Now the term zakka confuses me a bit because it seems to encompass many things, but this definition from wikipedia captures some sense of it. As I understand it, zakka is a simple style of handmade functional objects that bring beauty to your life and home.
Japanese culture is somewhat of an enigma to me. My husband is always pointing out music that is oddly popular in Japan. For example, musical relic Boz Scaggs is big in Japan (this link is to a Japanese man singing a karaoke Boz Scaggs song because I thought it was funny). Another strange phenomenon is that Japanese tourists have stopped our family on several occasions to look at our children and/or take pictures with them. We can’t quite figure it out, but we need to take the girls to visit Japan so they can feel like rock stars.
I digress. Here are some great places to look for cute Japanese stuff (kawaii). And these coveted Japanese craft books are so beautiful — who cares if you can’t read them?
From Japan with Love: Etsy shop with a huge selection of stickers, stamps, fabric and notions.
good-ness: Etsy shop featuring books, fabric, stamps, gocco supplies, etc.
kitty-craft: books, fabric, supplies.
superbuzzy: fabric, notions, supplies, etc.
nuno plus: fabric, bags, craft supplies.
Karaku: Etsy fabric shop.
little apple crafts: Etsy shop featuring stickers and craft supplies.