30 may

I received my pin/button making machine last Friday and I've been having fun ever since! I ordered a bunch of 1 1/4" pin backs - I think they are the perfect size actually - still small enough to be cute...but big enough to see clearly what is on them.

So....I made lots and lots and lots of buttons! I swear, it is addictive! For these pins I didn't use paper, but rather, I used vintage kimono fabric. I didn't put the plastic cover on them when I made them as I love the the look and feel of the matte fabric texture.

I think I made about 50 of them so far:


Two close-ups:

I made what I call "Puchi Pouches" last night and added them to the store! I also added the bingata kinchaku although - I'm not sure if I can bare to part with it...at least I have enough fabric to make another one for myself...

They are all made out of kimono fabric – all of them, except the one with the cute chrysanthemum are made of silks and silk blends – the red chrysanthemum is vintage cottons. I am absolutely in love with them – as they are small enough to fit in my bag – but, big enough to hold a decent amount (credit cards, paper money, make-up, girly “things”, business cards, etc) and they add just the right touch of “Wow, that is lush!” to my bag contents ;P



You can see how big they are in comparision to my business cards:

















I also finished off a woven strip pouch I’ve had sitting around for a while – I absolutely love how it turned out:



Lining and Back:


Yay for productivity!

I finally finished the bingata kinchaku last night! For those who don't know what bingata is - it is a rather unique and vibrant traditional dying technique from Okinawa - it contains a lot of traditional Japanese patterns, but, is highly influenced by the various islands and countries surrounding it also giving it the unique flavour that it has.

This kinchaku would be perfect to be used with kimono or yukata - or even contempoary clothing. It measures around 7 inches across the bottom and 7 inchs tall...and 3 inches wide at the base. Both the outside and inside is silk. I'll be putting this up on my website later today.



Lining:


Flat View:


Bottom View:


I also made this kinchaku for my own personal use. It has a basket bottom and is lined with purple cotton. The outside fabric is a soft pink silk with this awesome metallic woven floral pattern.



And last, but not least - I made a tiny green shibori frog for funlast night:

Last night I performed a "Japanese Style" dance at a resturant. I was still quite nervous about performing, but I was much more confident this time round - and did a better job :]

This time round, I wore my gray/orange kimono that has patterns of kiku, ume, take, matsu and some others - it has longer sleeves than my other kimono - so it was much more visually appealing in the dance. I made a make-shift obi-age out of a light/dark purple silk fabric I have, but I really should have made it out of green, I think - that would have contrasted much nicer against the outfit. I had to wear my same red-white obi-jime as well... I don't have any others! :P I think when I make my green obi-age, I'll make a matching obi-jime.

This time round - I was able to tie my obi myself - rather than having to resort to using a two piece obi. I finally taught myself how to tie my obi at the front - it makes it SO much easier! I didn't do the best job - but, it held up good...so I think I'm on the right track!

Anyhow - photos!

The back of my hairstyle:


Dance photos! (pardon how grainy/blurry/dark they are - it was hard for Alex to take a good photo in that light)
The song I dance to is called "autumn sorrow" - so I made up a dance with the storyline of a young girl falling for a guy while viewing maple leaves...she tries to keep him...but in the end he spurns her. Hence the happy smile at the beginning...and the sadder face towards the end.













I'm just not sure if I can get used to dancing in public yet! :P

I received my printed business cards the other day - Alex did such a great job on the design...I'm happy!

The front is white - with the Puchimaiko logo and little ume scattered about. The back is turquoise with the logo and info. The colours look a little bit off because of the lighting in my apt right now.



Thank you Alex!

I haven't had a chance to make tsumami flowers lately - so it was a lot of fun getting back into this. These flowers are around 1.5 inches wide. I'm debating on whether to turn them into brooches or hairclips - OR - to let the person choose themselves (when they eventually go on my store, that is). I've got tons more cut and prepared to make. Fun!


Yummy flower brooches


You can see how big the brooch is. Pardon how tired I look.


Cute little pouches. I still need to find a nice drawstring for both of these. The blue pouch was an awful lot of fun to do because of the shape.


More Tabi Pouches. Can you tell I like making these?


Showing the lining of the pouches...the indigo pouch and the pink pouch have the most awesome linings in them - I wish I was in the position to take better photographs of them.


Kimonolets <- a word my husband made up. These are wrist cuffs/bracelets that are reversible. One side has a cute kimono print - the other side kanoko shibori! hmmm yum!


The other sides!

I found these minature baskets the other day and I immediately envisioned them as pin cushions - they were just so tiny, cute and perfect! I have used kimono and juban fabric for all of them: the bottom right is kanoko shibori silk - the rest are made from cottons and muslins.