Rose Petal Deer 100 cuteness make-a-thon update Days 12 - 21 ♡ (100日ハンドメイド)

Still (just - a little behind) going with my challenge of a piece of creative art / project every single day, so far I have really loved it, my drawing style has changed and developed and I`ve followed through with themes and new ideas! Alongside this I`ve also been learning dressmaking (some first pieces are nearly done!) For now heres a little glimpse of some cuteness though, you can follow me more regularly on instagram @rosepetaldeer <3 Lots of love x x x x

Rose Petal Deer 100 : Days 2 - 5 ♡ (100日ハンドメイド)

More cuteness this time in the form of unicardo the avocado unicorn & some little embroideries...

Lots of love x x x x

Psilicybe dreams ♡

A little bit of trips pink goodness to sparkle up your weeks! Some latest drawings...

Lots of love! x x x x

Okinawa ♡

So the week before last I visited the magical place that is Okinawa, I have to say it was kind of almost exactly as I imagined it would be, a big mix of a totally different kind of Japanese culture (yet not totally different) and vintage america - think 60`s and 70`s faded colours and signs everywhere (its total photography heaven I can`t wait for my film camera to get developed!!!)

But for now here`s a bit of a view of the vibe - palm trees on the main street wahhhh!

I stayed in Naha, where the main city of the island is, and although quite bustling it felt a world away from what I`ve been used to with my limited experience of cities in Honshu, everything felt so incredibly slow paced, even the buses didn't seem to have a schedule, and everyone I met had such an open heart and kind mind, which is so so refreshing due to the complex history of the island. It should be a good lesson to the rest of the world, compassion and a more laid back work to live attitude is so much more healthy. Anyway enough rambling..

Wonderful food court / sake area which had Awamori (Okinawa shochu) at around 3 for 1000 yen with a food dish - so cheap and yummy! The guys there really knew their stuff as well, and as a proper shochu lover I had some seriously delicious drinks (just so cheap its a bit dangerous haha!)

A cute Izakaya I passed where you can donate extra foods to the cats of Okinawa (who are everywhere), just one part of the islands kind nature, although, not very vegan friendly - but I can see developments happening!

A super super cute shop where the owner had a cat (Habu) - habu means snake in Japanese, and he had 'snakey paws' when she first got him although you couldn't tell it now! She had created a range of cute things with drawings of habu on she was selling - think he looks pretty happy about that!

Crazy cute hipstery coffee place where they had dutch brewed style (my first time) which had big like apparatus style coffee maker with huge jars - so cool

Vegan okinawan taco rice (one of the islands main dishes is mexican fusion), this was amazing!!!!

Another cute place that did veggie curries and had a super nostalgic cute chilled vibe with old toys everywhere...

America town beach (definitely worth the trip here), although it takes a super long bus or a drive - its quite far up the island - past the HUGE american military base - it kind of felt like how I`d imagine Hawaii, but as an English girl it was pretty interesting how the past had fusion-ed into this strange town of touristyness and bars which felt so far from anywhere else!

This was in a crazy kawaii psychedelic shop in Koze music town...

Then onto the beaches....Odawari beach in northern Okinawa felt like something far remote from the rest of what I saw (and I think theres a lot of nature in Okinawa), but it was deserted (few scary habu warning signs) but look at the colour of the sea!!!!) so pretty...

Next up and an hour and a half`s boat ride away from Naha main island was the absolutely stunning Tokashiki island, with nothing much on the island but a very small supermarket and a few ramen~y type cafes and a campsite, its definitely somewhere Ill go prepared next time! But despite that the views were absolutely stunning, I don`t think I`ve ever seen water this colour, it was so deep turquoise and clear, and I did (attempt rather badly) some snorkelling, and saw a few interesting fish!
& after a long day...back in Naha - the original Barachos restaurant (Okinawan mexican) at 3am after some major mingling with locals and lots of shochu!

Lots of love x x x x x 

Few cutie newbies ♡

After I don`t even know how long I`ve decided to slowly reopen my etsy shop! Here are the first of a few new illustrations ♡ You can look & purchase here : ♡♡ROSEPETALDEER ETSY !♡♡

Lots of love x x x

Part 2 : Further Cherry Blossom wanderings ♡

Shinjuku Goen has to be a feature on my cherry blossom exploring, there are so many types of trees there that even if you go a little bit before or after season there are always so many beautiful flowers to see, this year I timed it just right going a little after the main rush, so many flowers were falling and the late blooming types like the little ball blossom you see below were just starting to fall. I even managed to find a cute little juice bar with a vegan sandwich option super close so was able to take my diary & sketchbook and have a little picnic in the sunshine. I love the constant in places like this of the nature against the harsh grey skies of Tokyo architecture..

Yummy dinner at Commune Omotesando after blossom viewing, fried soy & brown rice veggie plate..

Inokashira Koen, I only made a brief little trip but definitely worth it, its always a good park to go by yourself and wander around in..

Kudanshita..this place literally blew my mind, the amount of blossoms here were seriously insane, my lovely friend was visiting from Kyoto and we wanted to try something different so checked this place out, the blooms stretch all around the edge of the Imperial Palace and I`ve heard at night they light up, sort of overlapping each other like some magical tunnel, if I`m here again in blossom season I will definitely make a trip back!

Finally our biggest hanami day was in a super local area of Nagano, avoiding the weekend crowds we took to a few cheeky street drinks and joined in a local hanami festival. Here is one of my absolute favourite Japanese snacks, which I managed to score from a super local vendor - `Sakura mochi`, salty sakura leaf and yummy azuki beans inside mmm..

Apparently this is the longest stretch of straight cherry blossoms in Tokyo, going all through Nakano..

Lots of love x x x x