Felt Kanzashi Adventure continued......

So I have been a little quiet in the kanzashi scene because of the regency event but now I have some free time I thought I would get back on the kanzashi making.

Kusudama is one of my favourite kanzashi to make.  They are just adorable to look at.

These ones are a little different to the ones I use to make in that they are brooches as well.

And since it is Autumn / Fall, I thought it would be nice to make them in the colours of the seasons.

The grey one is particular apt for me since I am going to be seeing grey skies for a long time.

But then again, seeing the golden leaves in the Botanical Garden is quite nice.

And purple because I love purple.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/250389357/felt-kanzashi-brooch-hairclip-for

Adventures in felt kanzashi - part 7

My felt kanzashi adventures has been a lot of fun but I have to say this one has to be my favourite so far.

The iris kanzashi!

I posted it a while back but here are some nicer pictures.

Love how the felt leaves curl.

And those little yellow highlights are just perfect.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/239309963/tsumami-kanzashi-iris-flower

Now that I have finally got some nice pictures this flower is finally for sale!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/239309963/tsumami-kanzashi-iris-flower

Adventures in felt kanzashi - part 6

Time to look to the future and think about Christmas.

Yes Christmas, it is 5 months away but then again wouldn't it be good to start thinking about presents so you can get them out of the way and not join the annual scrum.

So for me Christmas is about family and food, mainly food but there is one thing that always reminds me of Christmas and that is poinsettia.

So one just needs a poinsettia kanzashi.

I haven't made them before because I had such a hard time finding the right petal shape for the leaves of the poinsettia.

However like all things, I had a little inspiration and voila!

But a poinsettia is not a poinsettia without the green leaves to I add them on as well.  #

I am quite pleased.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/239392656/poinsettia-tsumami-kanzashi-christmas-in?ref=shop_home_active_1

Adventures in felt kanzashi - part 5

There is finally some sunshine in Belfast and since it is June I thought I should make a kanzashi that is June related.

Hydrangea flowers!

Now you can not just make one flower but a cluster of them because when have you ever seen a hydrangea flower on its own?

The minimum number I could possible make is three and I had to include some leaves as well.

The hydrangea flowers are actually made from two colours of felt as this is traditional however the flowers need a little bit more so I added a pearl centre to each of the three flowers.

Isn't it cute!

Adventures in Felt Kanzashi - Part 4

So many flowers, so little time!

This is one that has been on my list for a while for traditional tsumami kanzashi because it is a flower that I see every spring!

Well I never got round to making it in silk for some reason but I had a chance today to try it with felt!

Finally I have a daffodil!

Adventures in felt kanzashi - Part 3

So far my adventures in felt have led me to make the following.

Now to make a flower that I always lived the look.  Iris!

I love the colour purple and something about the rotational symmetry is very pleasing to my mathematical mind.

Luckily I ordered a selection of coloured felt as making irises requires three colours, purple, yellow and green.

As normal, I cut the require amount and set about creating the iris.

Unlike the other flowers once the three large base petals are attached, the remaining petals all require a gentle touch.  This is due to the fact that each set of three is essentially balancing on each other.  However I have been making tsumami kanzashi since 2007 and this has taught me that with a steady hand and patience nothing is impossible and within no time this little blossom came into existence.

Is it not sweet!

Kanzashi experiment continue!!!

So I have taken a break from making new flowers and came back to my old favourite KUSUDAMA!!!

I do love kusudama as they are little balls of cuteness and it took me ages to perfect them.

However I have only once made one from cotton fabric so I thought I should make some more.  Therefore off I want to my fabric shop, brought some quilting fabric (and a bit more for kimono project) and here are there results.

The fabric I use is a beige/cream fabric with little pink/red roses all over it and it has created a kusudama with a country chic feel to it, don't you think?  It is always interesting to see what sort of kanzashi one can create when they use non-silk fabric.

What does a kanzashi maker do on a rainy day? - Part 2

So earlier I told you that the top two flowers were my attempts to create a white lilac flower.

What about the other two?

The next one I decided to have a try to recreate is the primrose.

I think you can guess why I wanted to create.  Don't the heart shape petals look cute?  Now I could create this flower using the same method as making cherry blossoms but I felt it deserved a new way. 

Therefore using the round petal as a base, I decided that adding additional pleats in the centre would give the petal a flatter look.  Then of course the only thing left to do is add the little pinch at the centre to create the heart shape.  Unfortunately some of the pinches didn't last very long as I used un-starch fabric but you get the idea.

As always comments and criticisms are welcome.

New kanzashi design!

So I have been toying with the idea of making a rose kanzashi for a long time and after a conversation with a good friend of mine, I have decided to make them.

Another reason why I made them was that fact that the weather has once again forced me to stay indoors.  It is raining cats and dogs right now!

Here were my trial ones.

The first one was one made using round petals and give a soft romantic rose.

Whereas this rose design is made using opened pointed petals.

Both are very cute especially the second design which has a modern feel to it but as I am making these for friend of mine who is into reenactment I went for the first design.

So the next stage is to make them with proper fabric.  I had some soft white cotton fabric leftover from a dressmaking project which I thought would be perfect as I wanted the kanzashi to fit in with her reenactment.

Now I need to get them into some hair to see how they look.

It has been so long since my last kanzashi post!

Hello my followers!

Things have been very hectic for me in the last couple of weeks.

If going home for Christmas was not stressful enough, I had to organise a tiny relocation.  Tiny being that I moved all the stuff from Sheffield to the lovely city of Belfast!

Yep everything had to be packed away and it was a bit sad moving away from Sheffield as I did love living there but my partner got a job here in Belfast which he couldn't refuse so off we went.

It has been just over a week since we got here and so far to good.  We have located all the shops which we need to survive and found the most efficient route to his new work place.

For me, I still need to re-organise my work table but it will slowly be done.

Anyway Kitty Kanzashi is back in business but now operating from Belfast!

Don't forget you can buy any of the following kanzashi from my etsy store.

Midnight Sparkle
https://www.etsy.com/listing/88859163/kanzashi-navy-blue-hairclip-midnight

Union Jack Kusudama
https://www.etsy.com/listing/96383555/tsumami-kanzashi-union-jack-kusudama

And as it is Valentine Day coming up how about some valentine day kanzashi?

Two Hearts
https://www.etsy.com/listing/92459099/kanzashi-red-fabric-flower-hairclip-two

Intertwine
https://www.etsy.com/listing/92459099/kanzashi-red-fabric-flower-hairclip-two

Side by Side
https://www.etsy.com/listing/91564668/red-heart-kanzashi-hairclip

Kanzashi bouquet - part 3

As soon as I have started a bouquet I get crafter's block!

Last week I had this in my hand.

It was pretty but it need something else.......maybe more flowers and made in a different colour as well.

Well I settled for teal because it is the one colour that went well with the dark navy blue that I had.  Then my mind went blank!

How was I going to decorate the bottom of the bouquet?  I didn't want to use lace as I didn't want to introduce another fabric into the bouquet and I really wanted to use the same white organza that I used to make the little dainty white flowers.  But how was I going to do it?

This sat in my mind for 3 days and it was very annoying.  I want it to be light and fluffy to contrast against the bold kiku that I made but everything I tried just didn't work for me.  Not fluffy and stiff enough for my liking but then yesterday it struck me!  Why not try some musubi folding techniques?

I spent so much time learning how to tie my obi that something must be suitable for finishing my bouquet and it came to me, make a series of round petal folds with the organza and voila!  

Well I am glad to report that it worked and here is the result.

I rearranged the original bouquet I found the rotational symmetry was not pleasing to the eye.  Normally a certain amount of symmetry is attractive but since all the flowers I made are all symmetric, I didn't want the bouquet arrangement to be the same.

A little bit of asymmetry adds a little bit of excitement.

I am also happy with the size as well, it is a nice round bouquet which will sit nicely in a bride's hands.

Here you can see how the organza round petals nestle the bouquet.  It makes the bouquet look softer.

And I can't resist a closeup of the flowers.  

This bouquet will be appearing in my etsy shop very soon and it is a truly one off piece. The chances of finding another scarf like this one is going to be impossible so whoever buys it will be acquiring a unique kanzashi bouquet.  I think I will be pricing it around the $300 if you are interested.

Kanzashi bouquet - part two

I have the main flowers for the bouquet but I need something else to fill in the gaps.

How about some little flowers!

They are not made using the tsumami technique because I wanted to add a little bit of "fluff" to the bouquet so I made pom-pom style flowers.

I tried to take a picture to show how large the bouquet is relative to my hand but unfortunately it didn't quite work out.  I had my hand spread out to support the kiku on the edge.

Now to think about adding a layer of leaf like creation along the bottom to set it off.  What should I do?

Kanzashi Bouquet

So tsumami kanzashi are synonymous with making flowers therefore the next stage in kanzashi making is always making bouquets.

Now this is not a new thing for me.  I made one for my own wedding just over a year ago.

Well I have been meaning to make another bouquet for a while because they are very pretty and I am a sucker for things that are pretty.

But what material to use?  

Then it dawned on me what to use.  A couple of years ago I went to a vintage kilo sale and brought 5-6 scarves for the purpose of making kanzashi from them.  How about making a unique bouquet from one of those scarves?  

So the scarf I choice a navy blue and cream dotty one.  

I was a little bit eager with the rotary blade so I forgot to take a picture of the original scarf but the black and white one shows you the size of the one I used.

Now I had to decided on the the type of flower to make.  Normally I make medium size five petal flowers but this time I wanted to go all out and make kiku or crysthanamum.  However not one large but seven little ones!

I had to find out what the seven kiku look like so I make a casually arranged them into a bouquet to see what they look like.  The look very pretty!

With some extra white flower and accents this will turn into a lovely unique bouquet!

Here is a closeup of one of the flowers.

Being on TV!!!

So back in August I went to Jinney Ring Craft Centre in Bromgrove to film my segment of the Paul Martin's Handmade Revolution and today it was shown on BBC2!!!

I decided to watch myself on tv because when am I going to see myself on TV again and overall I am glad I came over not like a nervous wreak that I must have been on the day.

My friend took a picture of my on tv.

I was not the judges favourite but I do not mind.  It was a fun experience and I got a chance to show off my kanzashi on national TV which I never dreamed would happen when I started making them 6 years ago.

Time to get back to making more!

If you happen to want to watch the episode and you live in the UK then you can click on the following iplayer link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01nhgbq/Paul_Martins_Handmade_Revolution_Episode_7/

You Sew Should...: Shake, Rattle n Roll Crafters!

I love making kanzashi and there is nothing better then making a kanzashi for a charity event!

So when one of the organisers of Shake, Rattle n Roll contacted me to see if I can help out with a prize for their raffle then how can I resist!

What did I donate then...............................well this little beauty!!!!

Made from a vintage scarf which has seen better days, I thought I would give it a new life as a kanzashi.

It is perfect for any occasion.  Whether it is for a party or you just feel like wearing something pretty to go shopping.  You can win this at the raffle.

The link below is from one of the organisers blog if you want to read more about the event and find out what other prizes are available.

You Sew Should...: Shake, Rattle n Roll Crafters!:   Gosh, time flies. It's already the 9th of October, that means there's only 3 days until Shake Rattle n' Roll, the charity event we're h...

Programme Date!

I received the email from the BBC that the episode that I will be featured in will be shown on the 16th October!

Will I be able to watch it?

Here is the homepage to the programme series if you want to know what is being shown.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nd2pt/broadcasts/upcoming

I Love Kanzashi - Mother Nature

I enjoy mixing vintage with modern fabric when I am making kanzashi.

Mother Nature by Kitty Kanzashi

Why?  Because I like using the bright vibrant coloured modern fabrics with the muted colours of the vintage fabric.

UK kanzashi maker

 Of course not all vintage fabric are muted in colour, some are quite stunning but that is for a later date.

Kanzashi by Kitty Kanzashi, UK

 These ones are a little bit bigger then my standard pair hairclips at 5cm in diameter but they are perfect to wear for all occasions.

You can wear then as an everyday clip to brighten up your outfit or maybe as an accent piece for a special occasion.  And if you are the suit of person who is not comfortable with wearing floral accessories then these would be perfect because they do not attract too much attention.

So if you are interested in these one then you can buy them here!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/88859339/kanzashi-green-and-gold-hairclip-mother