Make It The Best Mother’s Day Yet!

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and we know you are looking for the perfect way to shower your mom with the appreciation she deserves. That’s why we’ve put together a very special Mother’s Day outing that will transport your mom from Delray to Japan with neither airfare nor passport required. In addition you could win FREE mimosas at the Cornell Cafe by following the instructions below. Scroll down for contest rules, or continue reading to see what you can expect this weekend!

Cornell Café:  A delicious Pan-Asian brunch overlooking the beautiful Morikami gardens. Enjoy a prix-fixe menu, as well as a passion fruit mimosa drink special (an additional $3.95). Reservations are being accepted between 10:30am – 11:45am only. Otherwise, seating is first come, first served.

Morikami Museum Store: Say thanks with a special item from the Museum Store, and enjoy a free gift with a purchase of $30 or more – this beautiful floating heart candle!

Roji-En: A serene walk through Roji-en encompassing six distinct gardens, a koi feeding area, Japan Through the Eyes of a Child (an interactive children’s exhibit) and our world-class bonsai display will be the perfect way to surround your mom with the beauty of nature.

Kids’ Craft: Handmade gifts are always mom-approved, and the perfect gift for kids to make!  Visit our craft table in the lobby where our education department will be on hand to help kids make a special origami bookmark for mom on her special day. Write mom a special message in a one-of-a-kind creation.

Give the Gift of Membership: Join our Morikami family and give your mom the gift of membership! On Mother’s Day only, moms get 10% off new memberships or renewals and a free gift.

Don’t miss out on all that Morikami has to offer! Find more details on Mother’s Day happenings here.

Mother’s Day Contest

Raise a glass for mom! Leave us a comment below (you’ll need to leave us your name and email in the comment form) by Friday (5/10/13) at noon, and tell us why your mom is the best. The lucky winner will get a coupon for FREE mimosas at the Cornell Cafe on Mother’s Day! What a great way to toast your mom and show her how much you appreciate her.

Fold, Post, Win!

To kick off the first Sushi & Stroll of the season (which is bonsai themed) we’re giving away a beautiful grow-your-own-bonsai kit and 2 tickets to Sushi & Stroll. All you have to do is fold one of these cute origami bonsai trees, and post your photo to our Facebook wall!

Step 1: Make your origami bonsai

Here’s a pretty simple origami tree we made. You can fold this one, or one of your choosing. Make sure to use a square piece of paper. It can be any size or type of paper as long as it is a square and not a rectangle. This is how we did it:

Click here to see the full-size diagram.

Step 2: Show us how you did

Now that you’ve folded, take a photo of you and your tree and post it to our Facebook wall. If you haven’t already liked our page, you’ll have to like us first!

Some of our trees

Step 3: Check back to see if you won

We’ll be choosing our favorite tree tomorrow (Friday, May 3rd) at noon, and we’ll tag the winner on facebook. If you win we’ll send your digital tickets by facebook or email (or hold them at the door), and you can pick up your gardenia bonsai kit at the museum.

Good luck, fans! Now get folding!

The winner will receive this grow-able gardenia bonsai kit from the Museum Store!

 

Update 5/3/13

Congrats to our winners Montgomery, Crysilin, Claudia, Katie, Kaylie, Alynn, and Courtney! Each of you have won 2 tickets to Sushi & Stroll 2013, and Alynn will be taking home the lovely gardenia bonsai kit. Thanks for participating!

Bunny Origami

Since the Museum is closed this Sunday for Easter we thought it would be great to show you how to make an origami rabbit. But we couldn’t pick just one, so here are some of our favorite origami bunnies (and a carrot!) to brighten your day in lieu of being able to enjoy the gardens.

We’ll start with the simplest project – the carrot:

And here’s ours

The carrot should be simple enough for younger children (though they may need some help when it comes time to fold the stem). We suggest some orange printed paper.

Next there’s a fairly simple balloon-style bunny:

 

This one is great for kids a little older, and you can add some real spunk by using stick-on eyes (like we did) and giving your bunny a nose (ours is a push pin).

The next bunny is a little more involved, but still adorable:

 

Lastly we made this mini-basket bunny, which is great for holding candy. We put some delicious Hello Kitty Strawberry Marshmallows inside (they’re not in the online Museum Store just yet, but these treats should tide you over till then). This bunny takes more time – and patience – but the video below will guide you to an Easter treat-ready finished product.

 

We hope you all have a great weekend, and we’ll see you on Tuesday!

P.S. If you’d like to see some other wonderful origami animals, and learn about some of the techniques used to make them, head over to our website and check out our online Florigami exhibit. And make sure to join us for our annual Origami Family Fun Day, coming up Saturday, May 18!

Chocolate and Kimono

If you haven’t gotten your sweets fix after this weekend’s festivities, check out the world’s first chocolate kimono.  New York-based chocolatier MarieBelle will reveal the kimono at its Kyoto store later this month.  While not an edible or even cocoa-scented garment in its final form, the kimono is painted with a dye rich in white chocolate.  “A sweet chocolate scent filled the air in the process of dying” said the wife of kimono designer Nobuaki Tomita.  The kimono’s pattern features a brown and blue cherry blossom display on a beige background. 

Chocolate-dyed silk kimono fabric

The final product

Hungry for more?  We don’t carry chocolate kimono at our Museum Store, but we offer the best of both.  Pick up the classic sweet and salty Japanese treat, pocky, in chocolate, chocolate almond, and strawberry and get a peek at our stunning kimono collection.