I wanted to do something special for close friends this year as holiday gifts. My two criteria?
1. something that can't be bought with money
2. something meaningful...
... and the result was
{WISH for 2011}
I was really inspired by "Osechi" the traditional dish we have in Japan to celebrate New Year. Every component of Osechi has a very special meaning behind it. Chestnut for wealth (because it's golden), Konbu/seaweed for joy (because it sounds similar to the word "joy" in Japanese)..., etc. etc. It gives special contexts to all the food and makes sharing Osechi so much more thought provoking.
So taking the idea of "Osechi", I have deconstructed the wish for New Year.
Growth, Happiness, Creativity, Forgiveness, Love and Karma...
with each wish being represented by small artifact/s I have either handmade or customized and wrapped in the translucent envelop using a roll of vellum and my favorite Japanese masking tapes... accompanied with the wish tag.
You can scroll down and see what I have included for each wish. I had tons of fun putting these together and was so thrilled to hear my friends loved them too:)
These are my first few thoughts I captured in my sketchbook when I was brainstorming. From the very beginning, I knew I would have a blast with this project. 
Growth: I packed a handful of seeds in the package... because it's healthy to "see something grow...
it’s good for your heart:)" I loved seeing the seeds through transparency. Aren't they pretty?
Happiness: I have selected special photos from 2010 because "smiles go a long way". Some with little roo (because her name means happiness in Japanese) and some I found from my friends facebook page from their 2010 adventures. Then I have printed these pics using MOO cards online service. It was fun seeing these digital pics turned into these wallet size photos! They are like happiness in the pocket:)
Creativity: Pencils with laser etched scripts to inspire more ideas because "sky is always blue. Always..." These two phrases, "What if...?" and "Follow your curiosity!" is our mantras when it comes to imagination and idea generation so I think this was a perfect match made in heaven!
***in the design industry we use "blue sky" to describe conceptual ideas.
Forgiveness: Monopoly inspired Get Out of Jail Free card because "letting it go is {almost} always a better solution." and little bit of humor doesn't hurt when we're having one of those days, right?
Love: custom designed tiny little stamp that says always+forever to "stamp it like you mean it". We use the phrase "always+forever" in our household to share our commitment and dedication to each other. I also like using it to describe my relationship with close friends and family because I am not quantity type of person when it comes to relationship but I always want to be there for my important people in my life.
Karma: Fortune in the walnut shell because "today counts as much as what you did yesterday and you will do tomorrow". I got this idea to seal something precious in the hollowed out walnut shell from my mother-in-law. "Good karma" is the seed inside of the nut... such an appropriate place to keep the new path that might unveil in the near future.
Final touch: I packaged these little wishes in the craft paper and shipped them away for my friends in distance... while my friends in the city got them in the vintage Ball glass jars.
