Fall Fun Series - Hanji (한지) Halloween Pencil Holder

This post is a bit late. I underestimated how long this project would take from start to finish (about 60 hours). Oopsie. Anyway, here's my contribution to today's Fall Fun Series post: a Halloween themed Hanji pencil holder!

First, I may have to explain Hanji a little. Hanji is a traditional handmade paper from Korea, typically made from Paper Mulberry (dak) trees. Lots of functional and artistic pieces can be made using a combination of Hanji, a sort of cardboard/wood base, and some hanji paste (it's corn starch paste, or wallpaper paste). This craft is used to make lots of exquisitely beautiful pieces, my favorite of which simulate wood grains and staining by using a combination of black hanji paper, wrinkled layers, and a bleach water solution.

I'm not nearly that complex in my hanji crafting, so we'll settle for a very un-Korean version of this craft. Since I also promised a step-by-step process of this several months ago, I'm going to go ahead and make this a two-in-one post. Will that make it long? Very likely. Am I sorry? Only partially.

Haul: Doorihanji in Insa-dong!

See that piece of Hanji above? I made that with the items I am about to show you. This store even has an online storefront for those who are curious: doorihanji.co.kr. It's all in Hangul, of course, but using Google Translate has helped me navigate the page enough to find prices. Looking at the page, though, I realize that I definitely get a cheaper price in store. I know I did not pay the price on the website for my paper.

Anyways, on to what I got! I will try and include the prices I paid. I even have a handwritten itemized receipt. The only problem is my receipt is in Hangul, and it's not written big enough for a translator app to pick up on. Sooo.... I might be guestimating on some of these items! :) (But Liz, why don't you just learn Korean? Shhh, I am. I still don't know enough to understand what I'm reading)

Stop & Chat: June 6-8 - Coex Aquarium

Monday was an exciting day for M and I. We went to the Coex aquarium, which is a 20 minute drive from our house!

The entrance to the aquarium is in the middle of Coex mall, which is a  basement level mall that sprawls several city blocks and lies underneath the Korea World Trade Center. This mall is unlike other ones we've been to in Korea in that it's very Westernized in design. Each store has its own set of walls and doors, versus in other malls where entire sections of the mall are completely open and one vendor/store melds into the next seamlessly. That plus the massive hallways made us feel like we were back in the States. I think I've touched on this before, but Korea is a very trusting country. While we were in Dongdaemun there were several times where we were left alone with merchandise or saw a closed stall with items still on display. At the electronics market, M and I were left alone in the middle of a computer parts store so the owner could go pick up an item we had just bought. M and I have talked several times about how this is completely different from back home, and it's nice to not feel like wherever we go we're being watched as if we have bad intentions.

Stop & Chat: May 25-30 - Ikea, Insa-dong, Hiking, & More!

Are you ready for a long post? Because I'm sure not! :) I don't know if I will get this post completely typed up and posted in one sitting as I'm currently dogsitting and the pups are having a hard time missing their Momma. :) (Spoiler: I wasn't able to. I originally sat down for this post on Thursday. It's Tuesday morning right now)