Archive for the ‘Craft projects’ Category

Midwinter mandarin lanterns

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

Midwinter, winter, mandarin, lantern, oil lamp, oil, lamp, project, make your own, diy, craft, clementine, satsuma

I’ve been quietly celebrating a few things this week: Monday, of course, was the Winter solstice; on Tuesday my man returned home to me after several weeks away visiting his family on the other side of the world; and on Wednesday my lovely friend Amy had her birthday… So this mandarin lantern is a warm, glowing, citrus-scented kiss sent out to cosy winter nights in front of the fire, to loving and being loved, and to dear women friends.

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Here’s what you need for making a mandarin lantern:

  1. Mandarins – the loose-skinned variety are the easiest to work with 
  2. A sharp knife
  3. Cooking oil – I used sunflower oil, but I’m sure you could use whatever oil you have in your kitchen
  4. Matches
  5. And a husky dog with a penchant for fruit (although if you don’t have one of these to hand, you could simply eat the fruit yourself, or perhaps find a willing child to help you)

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Start by cutting the mandarin horizontally around the middle about a third to a half of the way down. Try not to cut into the fruit too much, although if you do, it’s not the end of the world (just a little bit messier later on!).

Gently ease your fingers under the rim of the top part of the skin and remove it, being careful not to split the edges (this took me two attempts).

You now want to lift all the segments out from the bottom half of the fruit. I found the knack to doing this is to hold onto the inner corner of each segment and pull outwards. Again, be careful not to tear the peel (and again this took me two attempts!). Note: The internal pithy “stalk” will become your lamp’s wick, so try to leave at least a little stub inside the base of the lamp.

Dog, husky, malamute, fruit, eating, mandarin, citrus, orange

This last step is where your husky-dog-with-a-penchant-for-fruit comes in handy. Our magical, David Bowie-eyed husky-cross dog, Silver loves most fruit and was a devoted helper during this part of the project.

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Cut a chimney hole in the top of the lantern as shown. Your lantern is now finished and ready to be filled with oil and lit!

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Trim and pinch the central pith bit in the bottom of the lantern so that it resembles a candle wick. Pour a little vegetable oil in and light the wick. It may take a few moments for the oil to be absorbed into the wick so don’t worry if it doesn’t light immediately.

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Put the lid on the lantern, place on a plate (I used a vintage Art Deco plate with Chinese lantern fruit on it), and enjoy! As the lantern heats up it releases a delicious, citrus aroma – perfect for dark, wintery nights. I love how each individual skin cell glows. Isn’t it beautiful?

Did you celebrate Midwinter in a special way? Or Midsummer of course, if you’re reading this from the Northern Hemisphere! If you posted about it on your blog, please do put a link in the comments. I loved reading Maya Donenfeld’s Summer solstice post on her blog maya*made.

Kimono paper tape PREVIEW!

Monday, June 7th, 2010

I can’t wait any longer! I have to give you a preview of something fun I’ve been working on recently for my soon-to-be-open shop (which will be up and running this week for sure!). I’ve been creating sets of kimono paper tape from images of my own vintage kimono fabric collection. So far there will be two different sets to choose from: a hot range of colours (reds, pinks, orange), and a cool range (purples, blues, green).

kimono, paper, tape, japanese, vintage, origami, stickers, bunting, projects, gift wrapping, red, pink

The tape is perfect for all sorts of creative projects – scrapbooking, gift wrapping, collages etc. Here are some little ideas I’ve been experimenting with today, using some of just one set of the hot colours to complete all the projects.

The first thing I made with the tape was mini bunting. I got the idea from a great tutorial that Lisa Tilse gave over on her blog the red thread.

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I made my bunting by sticking pieces of tape at even intervals along the edge of a sheet of paper, leaving a little bit of each piece of tape sticking up at the edge. I then placed thin string (you could use embroidery thread, cotton, dental floss etc) along the edge of the paper and folded down all the ends of the tape over the string to hold it in place. Finally, I simply trimmed each piece of tape into a little flag (being careful not to cut through the string).

Isn’t the finished result so pretty? It makes me happy every time I look at it! The card in the background is one of a set of kimono cards I’ve designed which will also be for sale in my shop.

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Other uses for the kimono tape I played around with today: collage artworks made from cutting out shapes and letters. My sweetheart’s on the other side of the world at the moment, so this is a little shout out to him. Hey, baby!

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…and of course gift wrapping. Simple brown paper, ribbon off-cuts, a cute little Japanese decoration… The cards in the background are two more of my kimono postcards.

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More fun with kimono paper tape coming soon! …and of course it will be available to buy online very shortly.

Hope you’ve been having a good weekend.

Vintage kimono palette

Friday, June 4th, 2010

I’ve been spending a lot of time these past few days being creative with photos I’ve taken of my vintage kimono collection over the years, as I get stock ready to launch my Etsy shop. Below is part of a label I’ve designed for some of the things I’ll be selling in my shop. All will be revealed soon! 

kimono, vintage, japan, japanese, fabric, silk, yuzen, shibori, meisen, obi, antique

I thought I’d show you some pictures from the very first bundle of vintage kimono fabrics that I ever bought over the internet, direct from a seller in Japan. 

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It was a mixed lot of about 30 pieces, each cut neatly into a rectangle not much bigger than a post card. Many of those pieces are now long gone, made into purses or lavender wheat pillows and sold at markets in London or at Reiki events that I went to, but I took photos of each of those pieces and still use them as inspiration or the basis of designs and prints that I’m working on now. Such a beautiful range of pattern and style and colour.

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Later I also bought many whole kimonos. Each time a new one arrived in the post I’d lovingly hang it up in our home for awhile so I could admire it whole, before painstakingly unpicking all the hand-sewn seams and sewing the fabric into new creations.

Display jars for treasures

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

I seem to have a bit of a treasure theme going on at the moment…and in particular, ways of storing treasures. First there was the pirate’s treasure bag, and now it’s a beautiful way of displaying flotsam and jetsam and other bounty we find at beaches, on our travels or scavenging at flea markets.

I don’t know about you, but I’m always bringing home shells and pebbles and bits of polished glass or broken pottery, beads and vintage buttons, a patterned feather… and then I never quite know what to do with them.

Well, my lovely friend Amy has come up with a great solution.

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On the windowsill of her bathroom she has a collection of large, vintage jars filled with found treasures. Once the jars are full, the lids are screwed back on, the jars turned upside down, and voila! simple, beautiful glass display cases. 

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There are shells and bits of coral, a smooth pebble, mint coloured kina shell (sea urchin), and the wings of a monarch butterfly. 

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Don’t you love how the lettering on the jar looks against the shells inside? She’s also used a jar to create a terrarium with a succulent plant inside.

Simple, beautiful ideas using recycled jars to preserve found objects. Perfect!

Pirate’s treasure bag PART TWO

Friday, May 28th, 2010

You might remember from my original Pirate’s Treasure Bag post that I was making the bag as a 5th birthday present for a little boy that we know. Unfortunately in the end we weren’t able to go to his actual party, but on the plus side it’s meant that I’ve been able to do more work on the bag and its contents before giving it to him.

Thanks to Amy and Tipsy for the feedback on my original post and for their helpful suggestions of ways to do the skull’s face.

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I followed Amy’s suggestion of embroidering the teeth with one long horizontal line and then several vertical lines, and I did Tipsy’s suggestion of doing the skull’s eyes in reverse applique: sewing an outline around the eyes and then cutting the felt away within the outline (very carefully, while not breathing!), so that the fabric underneath shows through. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about doing this. What if I cut a hole right through the bag?! But it was actually much easier than I thought – using very fine and pointy scissors – and I’m really happy with the result. Thanks, girls!

Now onto the treasures inside the bag!

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I cut out a square from some Japanese-Hawai’ian rayon print fabric that I have, and hemmed it to make a headscarf. To that I added a bought eye patch and clip-on pirate’s earring. Arrr!

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I then made two little pouches out of the same fabric as the headscarf, sewed simple ties on the sides, and filled them with “pieces of eight.” In one of the pouches I put a collection of cool foreign coins (picked up on the pirate’s various voyages, of course!), and in the other pouch I put a few chocolate coins. Once the chocolate’s been eaten, the empty pouch can be filled with whatever treasures the little boy finds to put in there himself.

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Time for a sea shanty, me pretties!

Pirate’s treasure bag

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

This week has been very busy for me, and I’m afraid it’s meant I haven’t managed to post as much as I wanted to.

This afternoon I grabbed some time to make a present for a little boy whose 5th birthday party we’re going to tomorrow. Mum had the idea of making him some kind of treasure bag that he could put small, precious things into. I developed the idea further into a pirate’s treasure bag. We’ll put some old, foreign coins into it -”pieces of eight” if you like – and he can add his own treasures after that.

pirate, skull, crossbones, flag, treasure, pieces of eight

I started by creating a skull and crossbones pattern from a piece of scrap paper, which I then cut out of dark blue felt. I then gathered together various fabric scraps: denim, vintage kimono silk, indigo Japanese print, some red and white linen upholstery fabric… The idea was for the bag to look like it was made out of various bits of old flags. I then sorted through my metal buttons and mother of pearl buttons for added embellishments.

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I wanted it all to look like it had been roughly patched together so I sewed everything a bit wonkily with stitches showing in contrasting colours. I sewed a little hidden patch pocket inside. The skull and crossbones I sewed on by hand with small red backstitches. I then added little brass beads from India, vintage mother of pearl buttons, and three old metal buttons. The bag closes with a blue zip, and has a long strap so he can wear in slung diagonally across his body.

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Here’s the (almost) finished bag, front and back. The strap is actually only held on by pins but the light was fading and I wanted to photograph it in natural light! I’m still undecided whether the skull needs eyes or not. I’m thinking of maybe embroidering them on in red. What do you think?

Birthday bunny

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

Yesterday we went to the first birthday party of a little man called Arthur Bunny. I’m all for making presents (more personal, saves money, more fun!), and Mum and I thought that the obvious gift was to make a bunny, for A. Bunny!

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I made a very simple pattern from scrap paper (uneven peanut shape for the body and long ovals for the ears), and chose two different green polka dot fabrics. 

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While I cut the fabrics out and sewed the ears, Mum embroidered some green felt with a. bunny to go on the front. Then, while she turned the ears right way out, I zigzag stitched the felt onto the bunny’s tummy.

I then sewed the front and back together (with the ears pinned inside), turned everything right way out and pressed it all.

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The ears somehow ended up a little wide and just needed a couple of stitches to give them more shape and reposition them.

Then stuffing and sewing closed, button eyes, embroidered mouth and a jaunty little rick rack scarf… 

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…and voila! One cute little bunny.

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A bunny for A. Bunny! Happy birthday, little man.


Matryoshka kimono dolls

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

I have always loved Russian Matryoshka dolls. I’ve had one since I was a child and, even though it’s now a bit cracked, and the dolls don’t fit together so well anymore, it’s still one of my most treasured possessions. It’s the magic and delight of opening up each perfectly painted sweet doll, and revealing yet another equally perfect but smaller sweet doll inside. Mine also has a certain smell of wood and lacquer that instantly transports me back to my childhood.

Matryolshka, Russian dolls, vintage kimono dolls, Japanese dolls, doll cushions

I also love vintage kimono fabrics (as you may have gathered!), and had the idea a while ago to combine these two loves of mine together into Matryoshka doll cushions. 

Vintage kimono

The dolls below are ones I made for Christmas presents a year ago for my closest friends. The faces were simply hand drawn, then scanned into Photoshop and finished there. They’re then printed onto transfer paper and ironed onto white cotton fabric.

Most of the kimono pieces are from the 1930s. Probably the most time consuming part of making these dolls is choosing the fabrics and cutting them out. The kimono is then appliqued onto a cotton background.

Vintage kimono matryoshka Russian dolls cushions

My new crafting space

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone, but at the moment, only about 4 people (other than myself) even know about my blog! Now, I know that’s not exactly the point of having a blog but… You see, I decided I’d start blogging on the quiet at first, just while I was learning the basic ropes of this bright, shiny, new blog world. OK, I’ll admit it straight up: I’m a terrible perfectionist, and I couldn’t bear for people to see my blog before it was “ready” (whatever that means).

This last week, before the “world” knew about my blog, I thought I’d grab a few days away from the computer and do some much needed Spring, or should I say, Autumn Cleaning. For five days in a row I’ve been sorting and moving things and cleaning and tidying and rearranging. I’m not quite there yet (the house is in that horrible disheartening place where you’re nearly there, but it feels like it’s even more disorganised than it was when you started).

Anyway, the most exciting part of the Autumn Clean for me has been the claiming of the spare room / library as my own craft space. It feels so great to have my fabric collection properly organised. Just looking at these piles of sorted fabrics inspires me.

vintage fabrics, Japanese Indigo, Rajasthani, quilting fabrics

There’s quilting fabrics, printed and woven striped fabrics that I bought in South India, Japanese indigos and Rajasthani prints…

Ahhh, and then there’s my treasured vintage kimono collection. Here’s just a little taster. Don’t you love the quality of the colours? Dusky mauve, bright salmon, inky purple…

Vintage kimono fabrics, meisen, shibori, yuzen

Here’s some of my vintage embroidery collection. The left-hand pile is mostly family heirloom pieces either embroidered by my grandmother or collected by her in Palestine when she lived there as a child in the 30s-40s. There’s also some pieces done by my mother and some I’ve picked up in op shops and flea markets.

Vintage embroidery Palestine Palestinian India Indian Pakistan Pakistani Afghanistan Afghani Rajasthan Rajasthani Gujarat Gujarati

The right-hand pile are pieces that we’ve bought on our travels in India, Pakistan and Thailand. Some of the Rajasthani work was old when we bought in 20 years ago. I love the contrast between the rich, colour-saturated Asian work, and the restrained, delicately coloured European work. Both beautiful. Both using a whole variety of different techniques.

Ah the simple pleasure of organising sewing threads and embroidery cottons into colours! The wooden tray that the sewing threads are in is an old nail and screw organiser that I bought at a garage sale.

coloured sewing threads, embroidery cottons

I think it might be time to let the secret out. I’m a blogger! And I love it. Let me know if you like what I’m doing, I’d love to hear from you. It feels a little scary letting the proverbial cat out of the bag!

Friendly cat toys

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

I made these cats a little while ago as presents for two special babies in our lives. They’re made using a mixture of new and vintage fabrics, patchwork detailing, and hand embroidered faces and claws.

Cool cat toys

The mint and yellow one was for a first-born son of some great friends of ours in London. We haven’t yet been able to meet the little man in person, but sent him a parcel of handmade uncle and aunt gifts (including this cat), shortly after he was born.

Cool cat toys

My brother bought me the crazy vintage brown and yellow print from a flea market (he thought it was revolting but knew I’d appreciate it!).

Mint-and-yellow cat fabrics

The green and pink cat was a first birthday present for a little girl whose entrance into the world I’d been lucky enough to be part of (giving hands-on Reiki to her mum during the birth).

The flowery piece is a print I bought in Rajasthan, India, in 1997.  I’ve just rediscovered it recently and used it as detailing on a top, for a cushion, and this cat. So far…!

Green and pink cat fabrics