Innovations

Helen and I are very fond of taking things to the next level, so to speak. Since Helen has no traditional training in kanzashi-making, she's had to learn everything herself, except for a few online tutorials. There are precious few books, at least in English, about kanzashi. The most well-publicized one just doesn't look that good to us. We'd love it if someone with a lot of experience wrote a thorough how-to.

But in any case, Helen likes to make up her own way of doing things, and there's nothing wrong with that. She and I also admire the innovative work of others. Here are some neat things we've seen lately!

Inna Stradomska from Innagoldfish on Etsy www.innagoldfish.etsy.com has created this wonderful spirally petal that we've only seen from some of the Eastern European kanzashi makers....

Maegan from Mountain Musings on Etsy www.mountainmusings.etsy.com has a trademark petal pictured here that we just love. It reminds us of meringue peaks on the one hand, and elf slippers on the other.....

Cathy from Designs In Blooms on Etsy www.designsinblooms.etsy.com has created an unusual shape
which reminds us of liatris flowers.....

 

The Monkey Moos on Etsy www.themonkeymoos.etsy.com has also come up with not only an unusual shape and an unusual way of gluing petals together, but also an innovative way of layering petals...nothing traditional about this one!

 

 

Elizabeth K from ImlothMelui on Etsy www.imlothmelui.etsy.com has gone to extremes with long, long petals that form these ginko leaves...

 

 

And also from Elizabeth is this unusual rose....

 

 

Lastly, I can't resist showing you this wonderful tiger lily from Regina of Little Cookie on Etsy www.littlecookie.etsy.com . The petal types are certainly recognizable, but the way they are used is an innovation, for sure....

 

 

So you see, kanzashi is a fascinating art. Artists are limited by the kinds of petals they can produce, but the variations in the ways artists use those petals is their real genius. Gosh, this was fun. I'm looking forward to more.

 

 

 

Fan Kanzashi

It's cold. Well, it's way colder than it was back in Houston, where I used to live with Helen's friend Jason's sister, and with my companion cat Babu, who died in July. I go around the house chasing sunbeams and finding places to huddle and stay warm. I'm not much of a lap cat, but every once in a while I sit on Helen's lap, which is hospitable enough. She's not home much these days.....her boss http://www.mso.org/about_mso/meet_the_orchestra/musician_roster/edo_de_waart was in town last week, and she had lots of rehearsals to be at, besides other stuff. So, I'm cold, and no new kanzashi were made here this last week. But here's one that we forgot about a few weeks ago.

See, a few weeks ago, I did a post on non-flower kanzashi http://sadieskanzashiblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/when-are-kanzashi-not-flowers.html and Helen showed me her non-flower pieces and pointed me to other people's non-flower pieces. So, that was fine, but we forgot one. It was part of  group of kanzashi sitting in a store http://www.magpiejewelry.com/ for kind of a long time, and needed to be traded for fresh stuff. Here it is, the one and only tsumami kanzashi fan hair clip in existence:

 

Seriously, I can't find any others. This one is silk brocade with an amethyst bead and some grey freshwater pearls. It looks like sort of a peacock feather fan, the way its shape curves. Buy it here https://www.etsy.com/listing/109939133/blue-hair-clip-kanzashi-fan-silk-brocade  Really, buy the thing.....you can be assured that it is an exclusive, as Helen has very little of this fabric left. And a jeweled fan is a very elegant thing to have in your hair, n'est-ce pas?

September's Flower

I know it's been a long time since I last posted something for all of you! Helen went back to work for these people www.mso.org and made a music video with these people www.jasonseedmusic.com . So, where does that leave kanzashi-making? Dead in the water, I'd say. It being September, Helen finally put her mind to the traditional September kanzashi flower, the Chinese bellflower, or kikyo.

Now, Helen had never made one of these before, but figured she could do it. They are usually blue on the outside, and layered with something white or lighter blue on the inside, but this is not always the case. Kanazashi-making is about interpretation, and everyone does their flowers a little differently. Also, most bellflowers have pointed petals. Typically, you make a rounded ume-type petal and put a point on it with some glue. Here are some examples: first, a delicate two-toned dyed version of a bellflower cluster on a fork, by Marissa Rojas of MJR Designs http://mjrojas.com/.....

 

...Next, another dyed example with leaves by amaebi79 on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/10936702@N07/sets/72157601291671947/ .....

 

 

....Here's a red version with an added leaf by RandomCatGirl on Etsy www.randomcatgirl.etsy.com .....

 

 

....which brings us to a colorful bobby pin

interpretation by AtelierKanawa on Etsy www.atelierkanawa.etsy.com ....

 

....and a lovely plain blue version with falls by KanzashiHime on Etsy www.kanzashihime.etsy.com ...

 

 

OK, now to Helen's first ever kikyo. Not bad for an amateur, I guess. She used blue and white dupioni silk, and a freshwater pearl.

 

 

Add some buds and leaves, and it becomes this lovely brooch...

 

 

 

Hmmm, well that photo got tampered with, didn't it? Better photos and purchase ability here https://www.etsy.com/listing/118826268/blue-flower-brooch-kanzashi-kikyu 

 

 

 

 

Knowing When to Quit

Helen likes to invent new kanzashi petals. She had the highest of hopes over the last few days, that her new filigree petal, while not the easiest shape to get right consistently, was going to make a nice flower. And why wouldn't it? Here's a small one:

Isn't it lovely? What could possibly go wrong? Helen made 12 of these in black, a little larger than the one pictured, and set about gluing them this morning. That's where she ran into trouble. In a flower of 6 petals, connecting petal #6 to petal #1 created a distorted shape and just didn't work. Disappointed, Helen threw out the rest of them, made a pair of ume (plum flowers) snap clips that she had planned on making with some tricky kimono silk and snowflake obsidian beads----

---and called it a day. Buy 'em here https://www.etsy.com/listing/109118774/black-flower-hair-clips-kanzashi-silk You know what, though? She's got another invention to try out, eventually. Here's one...

Ooh, that's some dry skin! Anyway, it's possible that other people have made this one, but Helen came up with it on her own. Here's another that Helen has successfully used...

....and here it is in the center of a flower....

As you can see, it works quite well with dupioni silk. A slightly different version of this flower is for sale here. But what about today's petal? Ditch it forever?Try it with a different fabric? Try gluing it in a different way? Any of these are possibilities. We'll just have to see.

Linen Kanzashi

Most kanzashi are made from silk, but for some things, there's nothing like linen. Particularly if you are just starting as a kanzashi maker, linen is an exceptionally well-behaved fabric. It's stable (not too floppy), stays put, lightweight, easy to sew, makes good clean lines, and stately. Helen has a linen daffodil posted in her Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/72414841/daffodil-brooch-or-hair-fascinator , as a for instance......

and here are some fall colors linen bobby pins https://www.etsy.com/listing/108613446/fall-colors-flower-hair-pins-bobby-pins ...

Let's look at some linen creations by other artists. Sheri from Bungalowquilts on Etsy www.bungalowquilts.etsy.com has made a gorgeous cream linen ring bearer's pillow....

Natasha Fields from Sixit on Etsy www.sixit.etsy.com has made a wonderful striped flower, a realtive rarity for kanzashi....

....and an anonymous artist I found from Google images has made this beautiful pink creation....

So! Don't forget linen.

Layered Kanzashi

Kanzashi makers sometimes use more than one fabric for a single petal. There are many ways to do this, but the reason is to add color and texture. Helen www.empressbarrettes.etsy.com has only been moved to do this once, when she had two kinds of fabric (outer fabric and lining) from the same fall colors vintage kimono. The two fabrics together made such a great combination. Here is Helen's mix-and-match snap clip pair, made from chirimen and habutai silk, with gray coin pearls in the centers...

 

 

Buy it here https://www.etsy.com/listing/79138993/yellow-flower-hair-clips-kanzashi-gold

Let's look at some layered kanzashi pieces by other artists, and there are lots of them. Jiaxin Wang from Deepwinter on Etsy www.deepwinter.etsy.com has made a complex piece using layered sakura petals and layered pointy petals, plus beads and jingles....

RandomCatGirl on Etsy www.randomcatgirl.etsy.com  has made an excellent butterfly, using this same technique...

Emily Wright from Cuttlefishlove on Etsy www.cuttlefishlove.etsy.com has not only added color, but also depth to her brooch.....

SoSaucy on Etsy www.sosaucy.etsy.com has created a unique pinwheel effect by layering two different kinds of petals on top of each other....

So that's what I have for you today. I don't know when Helen is going to try to make another one of these. I hope she at least becomes inspired by my blog post to take the plunge. But then, when does she ever listen to me?

Kanzashi Roses

I am a cat. I have no opposable thumbs. I really don't have any thumbs at all, so I can't draw pictures for you, but I can try to tell you how to make a kanzashi rose.

Cut a square of fabric; silk, cotton, linen, even synthetic, as long as it is lightweight and not too slippery. Try to measure it accurately; you'll thank yourself later. It's important that you cut it with the grain. Don't cut on the bias, OK? I think solid-colored fabric works best for this particular item.

Fold a corner to the opposite corner to make a triangle. Repeat. You now have a triangle-shaped petal (the rudiment of several other kinds of petals). Helen likes to fold in the corners a little (so you won't see raw edges) and baste the thing together. You can also glue it. Make four really small ones, and then three that are 1/4 inch bigger, three 1/4 inch bigger than that, and so forth, depending on how big you want your roses. So, let's say you are cutting squares that are 1.5 inches, 1.75 inches, 2 inches, etc. Whatever your largest squares are going to be, cut 5 or 6 of them. Again, 4 of the smallest ones, 3 of everything else, except the largest ones, which should be 5 or 6. So, Helen's larger roses usually have a total of 15-16 petals.

Take one of the smallest ones and roll it along its hypotenuse so that it resembles the center of a rose.....you can glue it this way (see photos below). Glue the remaining small ones around the center so that it surrounded as evenly as possible on all sides. Repeat with the next largest petals. At some point you might want to glue the petals so that they lie flatter, spreading out your rose. That's pretty much it. Your flower will resemble an angular hybrid tea sort of rose. For a softer, rounder effect, you need to use a different sort of petal, and Helen hasn't even tried that yet.

Here are some of Helen's roses: the first one is silk crepe with vintage kimono silk lining leaves on a comb https://www.etsy.com/listing/105026803/ivory-flower-fascinator-kanzashi-rose ...

And this one is a synthetic amazing reddish purple one that Helen sold to a colleague she spent some time with at a big orchestral musician pow-wow conference www.icsom.org/ in Chicago last week.....

Here's a gold satin rose on a barrette with black satin leaves, both synthetic fabrics....note the onyx bead in the center https://www.etsy.com/listing/58803424/black-gold-hair-barrette-kanzashi-satin ......

Here's a red synthetic one that became a brooch for a gallery....

And finally, here's a pair of coral silk charmeuse snap clips.....

Buy the coral clips here https://www.etsy.com/listing/100582370/coral-flower-hair-clip-fascinators-silk  and there's a rose brooch made from the same fabric here.

So there's your little tutorial. It's probably the only one you're going to get, because you know, I can't draw you pictures, and I can't help Helen take photos. It's hard not having thumbs.