Introducing the new stamp from the 365 regular series, "365: Nippon - Natsu," released in May.
This month's theme is the summer version following the hugely popular " 365: Nippon - Aki ," " 365: NIppon - Fuyu ," and " 365: NIppon - Haru ."
It's clearly "the ultimate Japanese summer!" It reminds me of the summers I spent in Japan as a child. It wasn't as humid and hot as it is now, but rather a much crisper and more refreshing summer. Perhaps it's the effect of global warming. I remember taking my radio calisthenics card and going to the park. The bottled Calpis that my grandma made for me at home was delicious. The Showa era vibe is obvious from every word I say, but it's a warm-hearted summer memory.
The best thing about "365: Nippon - Natsu" is the food stalls! When I was coming up with ideas, I was planning on having two or three stalls, but the moment I saw the rough draft, I decided on one right away! They were all too cute and I couldn't choose.
You can also use stamps to express summer festivals, such as Bon Odori, a bear wearing a happi coat, and Hana-chan holding cotton candy.
The Bon Odori stamp reminded me of the word "Bon Dance," which shocked me when I first moved to Hawaii. For some reason, my mother and I both got hooked on it, and for a while we called Bon Odori "Bon Dance." But these people dancing are so cute. The stamps are in groups of three, so I recommend stamping them together several times!
---Other stamps
■ Summer foods include somen noodles, eel rice bowls on Doyo no Ushi no Hi, takoyaki on festival days, ramune soda and shaved ice! I think I'll be using these repeatedly in my summer planners and journals. Ramune and shaved ice in particular have coloring stamps, so I'm looking forward to playing with them with ink. Shaved ice banners? Tapestries? They look kind of cool, too.
■ A rhinoceros beetle and a stag beetle for the insect-catching bear. I hate insects, but because of my children, I go to the park every day to look for insects and say hello. I'm afraid that he might end up asking me to raise them, but maybe the stamps of the rhinoceros beetle and the stag beetle will come in handy!
■ Hydrangeas and morning glories are also flowers that give a sense of the season. I think you can create a field of hydrangeas by masking them. ( See this blog for instructions on masking .)
■ For Tanabata, I considered Orihime and Hikoboshi, but I decided to make bamboo with paper strips attached.
■ The watermelon-smashing bunny looks like it's fun. By the way, watermelon is included in " 365 : Food ". It also seems to go well with the stamps of bears playing on the beach in `` Re-Explore '' and the stamp of a girl sunbathing in the sea in `` 365: Activity .''
--And many more stamps covering spring in Japan from June to August! Will summer festivals, fireworks displays, and other summer-only events that were canceled due to the effects of COVID-19 be able to resume this year? Be sure to record your summer memories in your planner or journal!
Tomorrow I'll be talking about memory keeping using stamps from "Day By Day." I hope you'll come back and check it out when you have time.