Today's kanzashi - Ivy Love

“I never thought I'd cry for the love of Ivy”

Green is not the most obvious kanzashi colour you would choose but green is actually a lovely colour. These tiny plum flowers are made from a dark green cotton fabric and have a short fall on each flower to give them the cute factor.

Ivy Love is a one of a kind pair of hairclips as I no longer have any more of this lovely fabric. Each hairclip measures 3 cm wide by 6 cm height by 1 cm depth and the clips are alligator style so will be suitable for all hairtypes and hairstyles.

The little red box in the picture is for display purpose only and not for sale. If you would like the little red box with your purchase then convo me and I will give you my prices.

Although I do not have the fabric anymore, I have many other fabrics available for you to choose from so if you found a kanzashi that you like but would like to customise it to your needs, taste or occasion then let me know. I am sure I will be able to create a kanzashi that will meet your expectation.

Wedding Kanzashi - Part 4

Decisions, decision, decisions.

I thought I would leave the bouquet last because I want to make sure that my parents and future in law had their buttonhole flowers ready but what sort of design?

Previously,  I just wanted to use the kanzashi but I have this lovely lace which is calling me to use it.  Therefore I thought of the following designs.

As you can see there is a common theme.  One big flower with a purple lace fan at the back but how should I make use of the smaller flowers?  

There was a lot of hmmmm and arrrrrrr at this point so time to ask my partner what he thought.  My previous design did not appeal to his eyes but as soon as I added the lace he said the overall design was less girly.  Those were his words by the way not mine!

So we deliberated and here are the winning designs!

The first one is for the groom, best man and groom's mother.  

While this one will be for my parents and my maid of honour.  For the maid of honour I plan to attach it onto a hairclip but I will ask for her opinion.

Wedding Kanzashi - Part Three

For the past week, all I have been thinking about is my wedding. My partner and I have sorted out the reception, menu and guest list. Table decorations have been brought and they are all around my future mother in law house ready to be assembled closer to the date.

Oh and my own mother is constantly changing her mind on the type of cake I'm having. First it had to be a three tier cake because it will look good, then it was mini cakes and one large cake because she saw them in a wedding magazine and thought they look good and now it is back to the three tier cake because she is having trouble finding boxes. Sigh.........I don't need this at all.

So to calm my nerves I decided to make my kanzashi and following my partner's excellent advice, I made the kanzashi that will be used to decorate my hair!

I had trouble deciding on the arrangement because I actually do not know how big my hairdo will be on the big day since it has grown a couple more inches since the wedding hair trial and I'm torn between having flowers all around the bun or just concentrating them on the top.

Therefore the solution is to mount them on individual hairpins which will allow the hairdresser the freedom to arrange them.

The pins I used are 6.5cm which may seem long but my hair bun will be huge so the length will ensure they stay in the hair.

As normal, the pearls are not glued onto the flowers because in the past they have fallen off on my own personal kanzashi. Instead they are attached to the flower and hairpin with a thin wire which keeps them in a stable position.

I am now tempted to make them for my etsy store now.

What do you think?

Wedding Kanzashi - Part two

Playing around with silk dupion is fun but I also got sent some purple lace as well from Bound by Obsession.

I have always wondered what kanzashi would look like made from lace and at first I was a little hesitant to cut up this lovely lace but I bit the bullet.

And now it is time to make the kanzashi.

The flower at the back is not a kanzashi but a rose that I made because it dawned on me that I may need some more substantial flowers in my bouquet.

What do you think?

And so the adventure begins.....

My wedding day is fast approaching and it is time to begin the mountain of kanzashi I have to make for my hair, bouquet and buttonhole flowers for the wedding party.

I though wouldn't it be good to make the flowers from the same fabric that my dress will be made from and I was lucky that Bound by Obsession was kind enough to post me some of the fabric. The fabric is lovely, there is something about dupion silk that I just love the look of.

So as you may have gathered that I couldn't wait to use it and I wanted to take more photos of the process however I got a little carried away and by the time I realised what I have done I have already finished the first batch.

What I can't decide is what to make first?

I could make the buttonhole flowers. This one is for my mother and father to wear.

And this one is for my future husband, his brother/best man and his mother.

Or I can start to arrange my bouquet.

I haven't had a chance to think about my hair ones but it will be very similar to the buttonhole flowers but with something extra.

Merino Needle felt kokeshi doll - Mimi

Hello my name is Mimi the kokeshi doll and I am pleased to see you!

Made from merino wool, I am wearing a gorgeous blue kimono with a purple and black obi.

My hair is styled into casual chignon as I am out for the evening with some friends. I also have a little white obi-dome on my obi-jime for decoration.

I am only 6.5cm tall but I am a feisty doll. I hope you enjoyed my description and see you soon!

The waiting game!

So the kokeshi doll are waiting for their owners to contact them so what are they doing in the mean time?

Of course play a little bit of computer games.

They discovered that they were rubbish at playing games because they couldn't co-ordinate themselves quickly enough, nevermind.

After the failure of the game playing they decided to meet their neighbours that live down the hallway.

They may look scary at first but the robots where quite nice and they got on very well!

Fun with Felt Kokeshi Doll

Lately I have been absorbed in making kokeshi doll via the needle felting and now I have a small army of them it is time to start posing them!

Here are three of them trying their best type an email.

They are having a little trouble because they are only small and they have to jump really hard to push one of the keyboard letters.

Then there is the problem with the mouse!

They are only small and this mouse is somewhat big for them.

And after all this hard work sending an email it was time for a well earned break.

These three kokeshi dolls were trying to contact their new owners. I wonder if they were successful?

Guest post on Kiss My Tulle!

A while ago, the blogger of Kiss My Tulle was asking for guest writers for her blog as she was busy. Therefore I decided to throw in my name in because at the time I was thinking about my wedding.

I decided to write about my experience in table decoration! Not the biggest question that needs an answer because clearly there are more important things to think about when planning your wedding however it would seem odd if you left it alone.

So my solution was to look for elements that I like and dislike. Now I have my ground rules, I can shop for all the bits and pieces that I need.

If you want to see the rules that I have set myself then why not read it on her site?

http://www.kissmytulle.com/2011/08/reception-table-decoration.html

Flush Joy-Japanese inspired Kanzashi

“Flush it down with a white shade of pale”

Oh this kanzashi is quite unique so you must have a look! These kanzashi are made from a salmon pink coloured cotton fabric and have been decorated using some gold mizuhiki cord. As with all my work, they made using the “tsumami” technique and a lot of love and attention have been put into them.

Flush Joy is a one of a kind pair of hairclips as I no longer have any more of this lovely fabric. Each hairclip measures 3 cm wide by 4 cm height by 1 cm depth and the clips are alligator style so will be suitable for all hairtypes and hairstyles.

The little red box in the picture is for display purpose only and not for sale. If you would like the little red box with your purchase then convo me and I will give you my prices.

Although I do not have the fabric anymore, I have many other fabrics available for you to choose from so if you found a kanzashi that you like but would like to customise it to your needs, taste or occasion then let me know. I am sure I will be able to create a kanzashi that will meet your expectation.

Merino Needle felt kokeshi doll - Ume

Hello my name is Maiko Ume the kokeshi doll and I am so happy to see you!

Made from merino wool, I am wearing a lovely pale yellow kimono with a stunning orange darabi obi. My hair is styled into the "wareshinobu" style and I'm wearing a cute little orange kanzashi that co-ordinates with my obi.

I maybe only 7cm tall only but I am full of character. I hope you enjoyed my description and see you soon!

The needle felt ball in the background is not part of the listing however if you would like one then please convo me.

Tangy Surprise-Japanese inspired Kanzashi

“It’s no surprise, I won’t be here tomorrow”

I hope this kanzashi will not be here tomorrow as it will mean it has gone to a lovely home. And who wouldn’t want to give these little hairclips a home? They have been lovingly made by me using the “tsumami” technique so a lot of love and attention have been put into them.

Tangy Surprise is a one of a kind pair of hairclips as I no longer have any more of this lovely fabric. Each hairclip measures 3 cm wide by 4.5 cm height by 1 cm depth and the clips are alligator style so will be suitable for all hairtypes and hairstyles.

The little red box in the picture is for display purpose only and not for sale. If you would like the little red box with your purchase then convo me and I will give you my prices.

Although I do not have the fabric anymore, I have many other fabrics available for you to choose from so if you found a kanzashi that you like but would like to customise it to your needs, taste or occasion then let me know. I am sure I will be able to create a kanzashi that will meet your expectation

Kimono De Jack Meetup in Birmingham

It was only a two weeks ago since Hyper Japan but yesterday was August meetup and this time we decided to have a picnic at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

Here are the other members posing in the Japanese garden by the bamboo water feature.

We all made too much food for the picnic but that is never a problem and although Lyuba could not be there with us I took along the Lyuba kokeshi doll.

It was a fun day as you can see here where April and I were testing the see saw in the children's playground.

The next KDJ meeting will be in London for the London Matsuri. I'm not sure if I will be able to make it because it is on a Sunday but that doesn't stop all you other people who live closer to London.