New Bridal Kanzashi

It's Polar Vortex II here in the upper Midwestern US! Helen cancelled everything for today to stay in and make stuff, woohoo! Predicted lows for tonight? Somewhere in the -17 to -20 degrees F. range.

So, Helen has been working very hard for the last couple months on her latest project, the Bridal Trunk Show at Third Coast Style , Milwaukee's newest boutique. Third Coast Style is dedicated to selling the work of Milwaukee designers, and is located in our downtown's Fashion District. The trunk show goes from February 12th to March 2nd, and features the work of 14 designers.

So, I just wanted to show you some of these newer bridal things that you may not have seen yet. First, here's a large cream and beige kanzashi rose that Helen made from some silk charmeuse she got from Patrice....

....and here's a sort of stylized lotus of shantung silk that Lannette gave to Helen a while ago.....

Here's the bridal peony Helen just finished today, from ivory habutai and green moire....

......and reminiscent of the peony, here's the newest version of Helen's Yorkshire Rose.....

Finally, something older that I haven't posted here before, but is something of an achievement of Kanzashi engineering, as it coaxes a teardrop shaped crystal bead to stand on its end.....

There's plenty of other stuff, of course. Less rewarding than creating the designs is coming up with effective display, which is the next project. Let's all wish Helen some luck here, as it is not her strongest ability!

Kanzashi Bracelet, Part Quatre

It's cold. Here I am in one of my Winter Places, next to a heat duct. It's where I live. Helen lives there too, always has, I hear. She keeps the house at 64 degrees F, so who wouldn't be huddling in front of the heat?

So, more bracelets. These are bridal, and more variations and colors are on the way, I understand. The idea is similar to Helen's kanzashi headbands.....Greek goddess-like wreaths of laurel leaves, or something. First, the shantung silk single-leaf bracelet.....

...You might notice that the flower is not a kanzashi flower. Helen said she couldn't make one that small. Its purpose is to cover the snap closure, and of course, it's pretty. Here's our model wearing it.....

...and the other way.....

Buy it here . Next, a double-leaf, criss-crossed version of the same thing......

with a silk kanzashi flower. Another view...

Buy it here . So yeah, more of these on the way. Meanwhile, I'd like to show you Helen's new morning glory comb.....

Kimono silk with white tulle and a freshwater pearl. It's here in the Etsy shop. More stuff soon.

Yorkshire Rose Kanzashi

Long time, no blog! So sorry, we've been working a lot. Well, Helen has been working a lot. I've been, you know, taking care of the house, making sure I get my naps in, demanding more food, you know, like that.

Anyhoo, one of Helen's most admired kanzashi items in her Etsy shop is this one , the Tudor Rose. It's not a real rose, but a symbol of the marriage of Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York......the red rose of Lancaster surrounds the white rose of York. Tudor roses are frequently represented with leaves (or is it supposed to be the calyx?) in between all the petals, like this....

Well, a couple weeks ago, Helen got an email enquiring if she had ever made a Yorkshire rose, which is the same as the Tudor rose, but all white. Helen had not made one previously, but was game to give it a try. Next question: could it be a Christmas tree ornament? This was something new for Helen, and likely for many kanzashi makers. Well, here's the Yorkshire rose...

...and here's Helen's solution for hanging it on a tree....make a loop with organza ribbon, sew it to a small piece of fabric, glue the whole thing to the top of one of the petals (on the back), and run another ribbon through it, like this.....

It looks nice hanging, and Helen is thinking about offering more of her kanzashi flowers as Christmas tree ornaments, especially the red ones! We'll have to wait till fall to really act on that, but it's worth keeping in mind a little. What unusual uses have you found for your kanzashi?