More Necklaces and a Pin

Helen and I have both been very busy, of course, but we found time to make a few things in between working, trying to garden a little in this very cold weather, and trying to organize a few reviews of Helen's new recording (check out the super sexy new press release and a couple tunes here). To begin with, Helen made her first nanohana.

Nanohana is the flower of the rape plant. Despite its unfortunate English name, rape is a very tasty vegetable, and I understand its seeds are also useful! Nanohana is a kanzashi flower for March, and is usually portrayed in clusters. Helen just made one as a pendant from vintage kimono silk with a wonderfully crinkly texture...

 

Buy the necklace here. What else? A colorful little star-shaped flower from the remains of a beautiful silk blend jacquard that Helen's friend J9 gave her.....

 

 

....a red habotai flower with yellow jade.....

 

 

.....buy it here  . And finally, a flower that just had to be a brooch, made from an old silk scarf that J9 gave to Helen...

 

 

We just love the colors. It will probably end up in a gallery. We can see making some ume or plum flower pendants from this fabric.

 

OK, that's all for the moment. Soon, kanzashi bracelets.

Kansignment Kanzashi

 

Well, it's been a looooooong time since I posted anything.......many apologies, as always! Helen's boss has been in town for the last month, which means lots of working with this group , and after months of recording and editing, Helen has finished a new album with this group . And of course, I've been very busy with my own creative work......finding new places to sleep, new things to play with, you know how it is.

So, Helen has been making consignment items, lately. In a way, this can be liberating, as the pieces can be very colorful. Seems to us that it's a little hard to sell multi-colored pieces online because shoppers often search by color, usually just one color. Is it our imaginations? I don't know, but if any of you would like to comment on it, please feel free......

Also, Helen is honored to have been recently invited to sell her wares in the museum store at the new Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, WI. So, she had to do a little work over the last few very busy weeks to pull together some old and new items for the both the museum and also the Morning Glory Gallery .

So, here are a few of the consignment things to show you, just for fun. First, some pins.....

 

...and a few snap clip pairs......

 

 

....and an earlier pin that got changed around a little.....

 

 

...and a new linen flower brooch made from fabric that Helen's friend J9 hand-dyed....

 

 

....this star-shaped pin....

 

 

.....this....

 

 

 

.....and finally, a new butterfly.

 

 

So, that's most of it. Helen has an awful lot of things to replace in her Etsy store, now, some of which could use a re-design. And some new ideas for necklaces and bracelets to experiment with. Stay tuned.

 

 

 

Kanzashi Peony

The kanzashi peony, or botan, seems to have two different forms. Both involve rounded petals, of course, but there are different kinds, you know? Both forms are beautiful, so here are some examples.

First, the more common one, I think. This composition of two flowers and a bud is from Magpie Creations on Etsy. Helen and I love its romance, delicate coloring, layered petals.....

Here's a slightly different interpretation from Polished Kanzashi on Etsy. We love the coloration, the beautiful vintage chirimen silk, and of course the trademark handmade clay stamens....

OK, now for the other form. These gathered-looking petals are made by AtelierKanawa on Etsy. We love the hand-dyed fabric and the very rounded, luxurious petals.....

OK, now for Helen's very first botan. Helen had to spend some months figuring out how to make a gathered-looking, rounded petal. While she clearly did not use the same method as the above peony, the petals are still quite round and broad......

Helen used habutai silk and a yellow jade bead for her peony. It is not yet mounted on any hardware, so it can be a hair accessory or brooch......buy it here!

It Starts With Squares

Ready for Round 2? Here goes. Kanzashi making starts with squares, and the squares have to be measured pretty carefully. Helen uses a sewing gauge and pen to measure hers. As you can see in the picture, I was supervising this morning as Helen measured and cut her vintage kimono silk. She's lucky to have this nice garden window to work in.....nice big flat surface with lots of light. I let her use it as long as it doesn't interfere with morning naps. I'm a white cat, so I'm always a little chilly and have to warm myself in the sunshine.

So, squares. After you've cut them, you fold and sometimes pinch them in various ingenious Japanese ways to make petals. Once you have your shape, the fun begins. Use a bobby pin or something to clamp the petal into place and sew (or glue, which is the correct Japanese way). Then the real fun begins---forming them into a flower or whatever you're making. That's the scariest part, and the part with the most creative potential.

Helen had a little fall leaves pin project for this morning. She used vintage chirimen and dupioni silk. It involved a leaf stem that she made from wire, which caused a fair amount of angst. Here's a picture:

The leaves represented are Japanese maple, birch and oak. Well, part of an oak. It will be in Helen's Etsy shop soon. Did I mention the Helen had an Etsy shop??? She has all kinds of fabric hair accessories and brooches. You can find it here www.empressbarrettes.etsy.com

UPDATE: This pin has already been included in a fall leaves themed Etsy treasury, after being listed there for only a few hours! Check out the treasury here http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MjI2NzY5ODR8MjcyMDYxMzg4NQ/ode-to-the-magnificent-leaf

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: Another Etsy treasury in just a few days for this pin http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQ1NjgwNTB8MjcyMDYxNjUxMQ/love-to-step-on-crunchy-
leaves-i-do

STILL ANOTHER UPDATE: A third Etsy treasury for this one http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTk3NDgwNHwyNzIzMjMxMjI0/golden-fall?ref=af_shop_tre

SON OF UPDATE: Here's number 4 http://www.etsy.com/treasury/OTc1NjIwOHwyNzIwNjcyMDk5/leave-ing-summer-behind?ref=af_shop_tre

BRIDE OF UPDATE: Number 5 .......who would have thought this would be so popular an item with Etsy sellers? http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTEyMjI4MTZ8MjcyMzI0MzUxNA/fall-fashion-trends-2012

GRANDCHILD OF UPDATE: Number 6....... http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MjIxOTUyNDh8MjcyMDY5NDg2Nw/the-right-colors-fall-reds-browns-greens

GREAT-GRANCHILD OF UPDATE: Number 7 is here http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTUzOTI5Mjh8MjcyMDcwMTk0MQ/fall-leaves?ref=af_shop_tre I think the reason this item is in so many Etsy treasuries is that Helen did such a good job of tagging it so as to optimize for searches with the keywords "fall leaves".

DISTANT RELATIVE OF UPDATE: Number 8 http://www.etsy.com/treasury/OTIyODIwNXwyNzIwNzE0MDkx/the-changing-of-the-leaves?ref=af_shop_tre

NEIGHBOR OF UPDATE: Number 9 http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTYwNDg3NTV8MjcyMzI4MzMwMg/fallin?ref=af_shop_tre

UPDATE'S BFF: Number 10.....unbelievable.... http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTAzMDMyMTh8MjcyMDczNTMyMQ/september?ref=pr_treasury

REMEMBER THE UPDATE?: It took a while, but here we are at Etsy Treasury #11 http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MjE2OTY3OTJ8MjcyMDc5OTgxOQ/fall-leafs?ref=af_you_favtreasury

MORE UPDATE: Helen just renewed this item on Etsy, so we're expecting a rash of new treasures, like this one, #12 http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQyODIxNzF8MjcyMzQwODUxNg/autumn-love-gifts?ref=af_you_favtreasury

BETTER UPDATE: Here's #13 http://www.etsy.com/treasury/OTUyNDY2NnwyNzIzNDE2ODcy/cottage-in-the-forest