Kanzashi Chrysanthemums

So sorry it has been such a long time since I have posted (again!.....what's with that?)! Helen has had a lot of heavy lifting at work, and I've been sleepy, but I've also been practicing bottle cap hockey....you can see in the photo that I am absolutely dominating my game! Anyway, Helen made a couple of new chrysanthemum shaped flowers, and I thought I would write an article about it. I know, I know, it is NOT chrysanthemum season!

Helen's chrysanthemums are somewhat less formal than the ones that other kanzashi artists have been
making. In a way, they're really not true kiku chrysanthemums at all, but just large pointy flowers with something convenient in the middle. Such a sellout. Most chrysanthemum kanzashi will have several layers of these pointy petals. Here are some REAL kiku.


First, a Kanzashi Temple piece, large, dark, mysterious, and complex....

  

....and next, a simple and elegant snap clip by Wisteria Gardens ....

Next we have a brilliant and flashy piece by KatyaFantasy ......

.....and a complex assemblage from deepwinter ....

.....A luscious comb from MizuSGarden .....

.....and one of our favorites, a colorful pair of pastel kiku from Keikonoheya

As you can see, kanzashi chrysanthemums are as varied as real ones.....so many flower forms and colors.

So, back to Helen's rather casual interpretations......here's a black and white little number to go with today's new fashions.....

Buy it here...black dupioni silk, white shantung silk, and a freshwater pearl. Now here's something similar in a crisp raspberry silk satin that Helen got from Susie F, with yellow jade......

Buy this one here , and true to form, here's a pin made from a vintage silk  kimono Helen got from Suzanne C., sewn with a freshwater pearl.....

Buy it here .

So, in the end, Helen's chrysanthemums look pretty stylized and really don't resemble the real flowers, but you know, nobody much seems to care, and kanzashi is all about being stylized. So, enjoy.

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.

Christmas Kanzashi (with a little tutorial)

Goodness, it's been so long since I last posted anything! As you can imagine, Helen and
I have been extremely busy. I had some....uh, digestive problems which needed two different courses of anti-biotics to resolve. Then, I had another sort of digestive problem which needed an antacid. Then, there was the matter of this one area I was using as a powder room, which apparently isn't a powder room. Helen got very upset about that....how was I to know? Meanwhile, Helen has been playing a million concerts this month. She managed to squeeze in as many as two kanzashi pieces since I last posted, a headband for her friend Robin, and a Christmas wreath pin!

We're starting to see more and more Christmas kanzashi....some inventive poinsettias and holly, as well as this beautiful snowflake from Ivanna on Etsy www.ivanna.etsy.com ....

and this fabulous Christmas tree from Designs In Blooms on Etsy www.designsinblooms.etsy.com ...

 

Helen loves wreaths, and decided to create one. Here's what she did, and you can try it too! First, she made 30 pointy petals (yep, 30, it's a labor intensive project). She used 1.5 inch squares, but you can probably use any size you want. She glued then together in groups of 3, like this...

 

 

...then, she glued the groups of 3 on top of each other at a slight angle, in the following manner...

 

 

See where I'm going with this? Just glue them on top of each other so that you can form a circle once you've got 10 of them.  OK, once you have your circle completed, decorate it with things like a bow, or some beads to represent Christmas ball ornaments or something! Helen made hers into a brooch...

 

 

The beautiful green taffeta that Helen used is really hard to photograph effectively, so Helen is going to sell this one at her friend Angela's craft fair in a couple weeks, rather than post it on Etsy. If you're in Milwaukee on December 22nd, find them at the Last Ditch Effort Holiday Bazaar at the Kings Commons Studio and Gallery, 2767 Martin Luther King Drive. It's hosted by The Zen Dragonfly. See you there!

 

 

The Morning Glory Fair

Today, Helen went with her friends Rebecca and Mary, to the Morning Glory Fine Craft Fair in downtown Milwaukee. Helen didn't have a booth at the fair, but she does sell on consignment at the Morning Glory Gallery, housed in the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Helen has been selling hair accessories and brooches there for the last few years, and made a couple pins specially for the fair. Both of these are made from vintage kimono silk. As you can see, one is a sunflower. It was time-consuming making all those little teeny things for the center. The other one is a bright fall colors thing with a carneliam bead in the center.

While they're at the fair, I took care of the house, the way I always do. You know, keeping an eye on things from an elevated vantage point. Helen came back in the late afternoon with a bunch of jewelry and some ceramics.

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