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Kanzashi In Bloom: 20 Simple Fold-and-Sew Projects to Wear and Give by Diane Gilleland
Book Site: kanzashi-in-bloom.com
Diane's Site: craftypod.com
I'm so excited that we are the first stop in Diane Gilleland's blog tour for her new book, Kanzashi In Bloom: 20 Simple Fold-and-Sew Projects to Wear and Give. Diane is well-known for her mulit-craft talents and for her podcast/blog, Crafty Pod. In true Diane form, this book does not disappoint! I didn't know much about Kanzashi before this book and Diane gives you the perfect 101 to this beautiful art form before you dive into specific projects. Learn the history of Kanzashi in Japan and then dive into the core techniques of how to make and design a flower. Once you have the essentials down, Diane gives you 20 projects you can make from hair ornaments, jewelry, brooches, embellishments to clothing, home decor, and more. A few of my favorite projects are pictured above: Fuzzy-Flower Scarf, Flower Garland, and Butterfly Jar toppers. The step-by-step photos (taken by Diane's mom, Pam) are fantastic and help showcase the intricate details of what to do. I'm looking forward to making projects from the book for friends and family. I'm even thinking I can get a jump start on the process of making holiday gifts with this book!
Book Giveaway
Guess what dear readers? Three lucky people will win a copy of this book! Just leave a comment to this post telling us why you want this book! (Make sure to include your email address in the form field so we can contact you. Won't be published.) Deadline for comments is Thursday, July 23rd at Noon PST. Good luck!
Read on for my interview with Diane and find out more about Kanzashi In Bloom and her tips for crafting.
Natalie: Tell me more about the art of Kanzashi in Japan and your new book, Kanzashi in Bloom. Why this craft is so special to you?
Diane: Kanzashi have a very long history, but you can still see them in Japan today. Geisha and their apprentices (known as Maiko) wear elaborate hair ornaments, adorned with handmade silk flowers.
The traditional form of this craft is fascinating to watch, by the way - check out this video by Kuniko Kanawa, a modern Kanzashi master. I love the look of traditional Kanzashi, but in my book, I'm taking a simplified approach to the craft, so it's more accessible to crafters of all skill levels.
I love this craft because it's so addictive and fun. The process of making a flower is very simple, but the results are so impressive. And in the book, I had a great time playing around with making Kanzashi from unusual materials, like felted sweaters, vinyl, and tweed.
Natalie: Your book has so many great projects. What are a couple of your favorites that are perfect for a beginner to get started?
Diane: Well, beginners should have fun trying out the three different petal folds in the book, and then mixing and matching these petals to make a ton of different flower designs. From there, you can simply glue a pin back or a magnet to your flower. Or, you could make a series of flowers and glue them to some ribbon to make a garland.
I also have a simple project in the book for turning a flower into a pendant. That one's great for beginners.
Natalie: What is your process for creating a craft project?
Diane: It usually starts with a very messy sketchbook, where I'm constantly scribbling random ideas. When some of this scribbling sparks a design, I'll get busy making a few prototypes, just to see how the materials behave and what challenges come up. (And sometimes, to see how very wrong the idea was in the first place!)
As I'm making, I'm also writing notes on how I can best translate the design into easy steps. And then, I break out my trusty light box and photograph each step of the process.
Natalie: As a well-versed crafter, can you share with us a crafting tip for something you do or use all the time?
Diane: This will sound odd, but my favorite craft material of all time is low-tack painter's tape. I use it constantly. You can use it to hold an applique in place while you sew it, and then the tape peels away without any marks. It's dandy for holding jewelry pieces in place while you're gluing - I just place a strip face up on my work surface, and then set the jewelry on the adhesive. It stays put without tipping over. Painter's tape is also a great way to anchor a paper-weaving project, or a collage - it peels right off of paper without tearing it. And it's cheap!
Natalie: What are some of the upcoming projects you are working on for Crafty Pod?
Diane: At the moment, I'm working hard on the next installment in my ebook series on craft-blogging. I'm also working on this probably crazy sculpting idea using stiffened fabric and buttons. It'll either be really cool or really disastrous -- I can't tell which yet. And not long from now, the CraftyPod podcast will reach its 100th episode! So I'm brewing up some plans for that, too.
Thanks for talking with us, Diane! Congrats on your new book and good luck for the rest of your blog tour!
Precioso lo poco que he visto
I love that I wouldn't need a big giant shop to make these. I like working on things that require precision, but ribbon can be a lot more forgiving than metal or wood. Thanks!
I would love to have this book because I'd always wanted to start sweing and it would be a good way to begin.
This looks like a fabulous book. I love sewing, flowers and embellishing and would love to win. Pick me, pick me. :)
Please enter me; I'm a new sewer, and these projects just look SO gorgeous! (More importantly, they look like I might actually be able to pull them off. :^) Thank you!
i would LOVE this book because i have been a crafter since i was 4 yrs old. i am in grad school for fine art and paving a way for "crafts" within my department. i am always looking for inspiration and ways to show the world that what i do really matters! and I just love this site!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would love to win this book, I've fallen in love with Kanzashi since first discovering the craft on Etsy!
OMG, this book is so lovely. I need it because I love all kind of japanese crafts, and I think I could learn a lot from that one. It's so beautiful!
Wow! The book looks great! Love the fabric and usage adaptations as well as the simple fold and sew concept. I often admired the workmanship of the traditional kanzashi when I lived in Tokyo but always pictured it as part of the kimono ensemble, rather than an accessory in its own right. I adore origami, ribbon/fabric flowers, and hand-sewing small projects so this book would be a perfect present to myself for my upcoming birthday!
I'd love to win this eye-catching book because I have lots of fabric scraps that I would love to turn into beautiful flowers. I'd also like to learn the techniques and then see if it might work to use paper instead of fabric.
I would love to win this great looking book.
...so I can use my newly learned craft skills to make beautiful things to show off to my friends, and inspire them to go out and purchase a book so they can be just as cool as me!
this book looks absolutely lovely!
I would love to have this book to use to embellish crazy quilts and to inspire me to try fabric jewelry.
I would like to win a copy of this book because I am interested in different fabric folding techniques, and I would love to learn the exciting tecniques this book has to offer.
i have lots of little beautiful pieces of fabric...it would be perfect to win this book!!
I would love to be able to share this craft with my daughter!
::crosses fingers::
Stephanie H.
I'd love this book because I'm a newbie crafter, and could always learn more! :)
I love learning about new art forms--especially ones that integrate my love of fabric :) I never knew there was a name for this.....thanks for the book review and for introducing me to a new obsession.
I love kanzashi! I've tried making a few but they don't come out right. I am dying for clear step by step instructions.
What a great idea! I sponsor a crafts club in my middle school and this would be a great project for the girls to do. If not me, the sewing club kids would have a blast with it as well.!
This book looks amazing. Thanks for the review.
I want this book so my all-girly-all-the-time daughter and I can make flowers together!
jhspeck@yahoo.com
i had to comment again because i forgot to include my e-mail address and i really, really want to win this book! it would be my luck my original comment would get picked and i couldn't be contacted. i have been making kanzashi based on a tutorial from a website i found. i need this book because i would love to get new ideas and hone my skills at making them!
I love learning new crafts and folding origami like fabric sounds awesome! I would love this book.
I would LOVE to win this book. I love, love, love flowers and was looking for a new craft to try and this is it!!! I could see these everywhere - on cardigans, all over my house, and on the quilts I make as wedding & baby gifts. So (or should I say sew) perfect!
I love fabric and have gotten my daughter into it as well. This book would be so perfect for both of us. I could see her room covered in fabric flowers, etc.
Oh, I would love to win this book! I think it would help me to make some beautiful holiday gifts. And that garland would look awesome on my stair railing.
Thanks for the opportunity!
I would love to win this - I am a fan of Diane's and have a ton of fabric and buttons to use!
I would love love love to own this book. Every year I make little handmade tree ornaments for everyone I know and these would be great! (and get me out of my knitted things rut)
I would love to win this. I am a glutton for learning new things, and I adore the flowers and butterflies that can be made. My fabric stash overfloweth, and this looks like the perfect thing to use up my smaller pieces.
I would love to win this book. It looks like so much fun. I have never made Kanzashi flowers before. This would be great to embellish so many things. Not to mention use up scrap fabric.
I would love to get this book!! I have so wanted to make Kanzashi flowers, but haven't found the time to figure out the online instructions!!! The photography (that I have seen so far) looks wonderful.. I just really want to get this book!! and if I don't win it, I will have to save my money and buy it.
Well, you see, I have to have this book so I can wow the folks at our annual Kentucky Derby party with an enormous flower bedecked hat! Must make flowers..... many, many flowers! It looks like a wonderful book.
Sue
susan.haldiman@wolterskluwer.com
I would love this book! Kanzashi would look so awesome in my hair & on my daughter's clothes... or maybe wall art of some sort? Fun!
Yup, time for a new school season - time for a new project to make as Christmas and Thank You gifts for the teachers. Last year's apple jackets received "you have too much time on your hands" comments. Just think of all the lovely aliteration they'll come up with for Kanzashi gifts!!!!
Beautiful work, BTW, Diane.
Yup, time for a new school season - time for a new project to make as Christmas and Thank You gifts for the teachers. Last year's apple jackets received "you have too much time on your hands" comments. Just think of all the lovely aliteration they'll come up with for Kanzashi gifts!!!!
Beautiful work, BTW, Diane.
I had the pleasure of meeting Diane at a Church of Craft get together while I was visiting my sister in law in Portland about two years ago. She is very encouraging to people like me who are just spreading their wings in the crafting universe. I think about that trip often and how inspired I was by my Church of Craft experience and by Portland as a whole. I am stuck in the midwest and would love this book to keep my creative juices flowing.
brese@foxvalley.net
I love fresh flowers but feel like they are such a waste of money in the already overpriced wedding world. I've been admiring the Kanzashi flowers but haven't been able to find easy to follow instructions on making them. I can't afford to buy these wonderful little creations but this book would help me make my own beautiful bouquet.
Oooooh! This book is on my amazon wish list already, would love to have it and start making blooms!!!!
I'd love this book! I really want to try this craft..join my son, who loves modular origami folding.
so beautiful! i would love to make a mess o flowers!
thank you!
I think the book is a fabulous way to introduce someone to the craft. I often encounter beginner how-to books, or introductory books that, while teaching me something, do not have particularly inspirational projects. Kanzashi looks so achievable, practical and appealing here.
I would so love to have this book. The flowers would make a wonderful addition to my handbags.
Such beautiful flowers, would love to win this book! Thanks for the chance to win :)
I would love to learn how to make these amazing little flowers.. what amazing embellishments for my bags!!
I have been looking at all the gorgeous Kanzashi flowers online! I would love to try making some of my own!
Oh wow, I've wanted this book ever since I saw its cover somewhere online. Thanks for doing a giveaway!
I'd love to make some of these as decoration on my knitted ascot scarves. They would make great focal points on my cards as well! I can see so many uses for these beauties.
My favourite: that gorgeous pink butterfly!
I am jonesing for a new craft and I am an origami pro. I know I would do well at this.
Please? Thank you.
This book looks awesome! I love flowers and I love crafting, so it's a perfect combination for me to have a go at :)
I'd love to learn a new craft, and I love fabric flowers, so I'd love to have this book.
I'd like to make flowers to use as brooches, hair clips, anything - and make lots and lots for me, my friends, my daughter-in-law & granddaughter!
On the last day of a whirlwind two-week trip to Japan last summer, I ditched my boyfriend and our two fellow travellers so I could race back for one more visit to the Habu/Avril yarn shop. I thought I knew where I was going as I got off the train, but a few blocks past my last point of reference looked completely unfamiliar. I decided to cut back towards the main road, and the side street I used had a tiny gift shop! I went in for a quick browse, and realized that this place actually sold modern Japanese handcraft - just what I had been hoping to come across during my trip!
My beautiful kanzashi hair ornament is one of my favourite mementos from that trip: out of the handful that the shop carried, this one with its flowers of turquoise, coral and cream really stood out. I'd love to learn how to make more!
I've been interested in Kanzashi for a while, but haven't been able to decipher instructions for it yet - maybe this book will be the key!
Oh, I SO want a copy of this book. Sister D is amazing! And this book looks BEAUTIFUL!
I'm following Craftypod and I was really curious about this book. Kanzashi are beautiful, I'd love to find out how to make them and incorporate them into other projects. I'm really into making accessories and decorations from fabric right now, so that would be a perfect addition. Especially since I'm currently living in Japan! The pictures shown here make me think I would love the projects in the book.
So thank you for this giveaway and I hope it's open to international readers.
~ lholy-chan from amelienomori.wordpress.com ~
My computer froze up ... if this is a duplicate, sorry.
I saw the picture of the flower & just thought it would be great to try it.
Always, Lelia
I think this looks fabulous & I'd love to give it a try : )
I would love to win this book! I am always looking for new crafts to add to my repertoire. Especially those that utilize all the "extra" bits of fabric!
Michelle Kroll
rainmomma@mailhaven.com
I want this book so I can learn a new skill and get started on my Christmas presents, a little earlier than last year!
emniesl at gmail dot com
I love how the projects in the book do not require much fabric! Just scraps will do for the prettiest things :)
ooooh! i saw an ad for this book somewhere and i want it sooo bad! i read some tutorials online and made my first Kanzashi last weekend which you can see on yiddle.net but i would love to get this book to learn more!
This book looks just awesome! I sure do hope I win one of them... :)
I would love to have this book to get new project ideas for crafting!
#1. I love books! All books!
#2. I have a ton of scrap fabric that would look lovely as those flowers.
Thanks!
Andrea
andrealbarrett@yahoo.ca
I would love to try this technique!Great way to make handmade scrapbooking embelishments!
It sounds like a great book! I love that I can hear Sister Diane's voice in my head as I read her replies to the questions.
I would love this book for ideas for embellishing baby clothes and hair ribbons for my little girl!
How cute! I want one because I have more cute fabric than I know what to do with, and this seems like a good thing to do with it!
I love paper. I love fabric. I also lived in Japan for years as a ex-pat and was never able to properly experience kanzashi! I'd be honored to win this book and use it to help fuel my neverending obsession with Japanese arts.
I have wanted to learn how to make these flowers for a long time and this book looks wonderful. Thank you for the contest.
I want to make those pretty kanzashi butterflies!
I need a cute way to use scraps! This looks perfect!
I absolutely love the flowers ever since I saw them on an etsy shop. I have since tried to make them myself, and hopefully a book like this would help me master the craft!!!
Ooh, now I know what that box of scraps is going to be for...
I want this book because it looks like such a creative method of embellishment, and it's a way to make a flower that's totally non-old lady-ish.
It's beautiful that a simple piece of fabric can be folded into a detailed flower. I would love to try Kanzashi!
Not only would I love this book but so would my teenage daughter; who's even craftier than I am.
I'd love this book because I love Diane's blog and her craft ideas, it would be a new, fun craft to try, and it would give me something to make for gifts for lots of people and decorations for all sorts of projects! Fingers crossed :)
i have just started sharing the things i make on a new blog, and am already running dry of pretty and interesting things. this would make my little ones dresses just a little bit cuter!
LikesToMakeThings.blogspot.com
I dont know how to do this but I would love to learn. This book would help alot with that ;)
Thanks <3
When I was younger, I was an origami maniac, but as I got older I lost interest because the paper was difficult to do anything useful with. I would love this book to give me a folding craft that can be used in jewelry and clothing.
I have always thought these types of fabric flowers were so beautiful. How awesome to be able to learn how to make them! Would love to have this book!
My wife is just getting in to crafting, and I know she would absolutely love a book like this - it's exactly her thing. I'd love to give it to her as a gift.
I'm always interested in learning new crafts. Also, this looks like it would be a fabulous group craft. I'm planning on starting a craft night with some of the women I work with and this would be a fun way to start.
I'm a huge origami fan and this is the perfect extension of my interest.
i have been making kanzashi based on a tutorial from a website i found. i need this book because i would love to get new ideas and hone my skills at making them!
I have seen many kanzashi projects and I'm always impressed with how beautiful they are. I would love to try my hand at this!
that looks beautiful I want to try oh how cool!!
I love the flowers but the butterflies! oh my! They are just beautiful. There needs to be some of these in my life!
Those are gorgeous, and I just can't believe they are "easy" to do!! At all! I would love that book to show me I'm wrong... :)
I'd love to give this book to my sister. She recently bought a kanzashi flower brooch for her boyfriend's grandmother, and was looking to buy another for herself. She really loves the look of them (as do I, for that matter), so it'd be great if she could learn to make them herself!
I would love to try this! Flowers have always been a huge motif in my decorating and my wardrobe, and I would love to use some of the gorgeous fabrics I've collected to make more!
That looks like such a great book!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love flowers, even hand made ones...Making flowers would be a great gift idea for some people I know.....
oohh! pretty flowers! maybe i'll finally get a sewing machine for this.
I have received many compliments on the simple, satin ribbon roses I've created to adorn my hair. I would love to learn how to create more complex and elaborate flowers to wear. . . and share! It would be wonderful to be the newest crafter to join the long history of Kanzashi!
I've always admired these fabric flowers, and have wanted to be able to make them, and would love this book. I've eyed hairpins with the kanzashi covetously, but could not make myself fork over the money for them. If I had this book, I could make them, and gift them, in addition to adding a nice touch to other cloth gifts. :3 alas, my hair is too slippery for hair pins and sticks.
shalasbeads@gmail.com
I want this book because I have waist length hair and I love to wear it up with handmade clips and sticks. My daughter likes new techniques to modify her clothes with. *crossed fingers*
would love the book, i would really like to learn a new craft, then share it with other crafters!
i think the flowers would make a lovely little garnish to my handmade handbags!
I was sold as soon as Diane said: "...in my book, I'm taking a simplified approach to the craft, so it's more accessible to crafters of all skill levels."
That's me - I want to craft, but I'm at the lowest possible skill level. :)
I've wanted to learn this for a while!
I would love to share this book with my mom. She has done a lot of quilting and origami, and I know she would love this craft that combines folding with fabric. It seems like something we would enjoy doing together.
I have admired this craft for a while. I really would love to learn it.
I'm at that stage of life where we just spent the past few years attending weddings for almost all our friends. Now the beginning of the baby season has arrived! This book would be really helpful in coming up with room decorating and gift-wrapping ideas, as well as baby clothing embellishments!
I have never heard of this art/craft form and would love to give it a try!
I love kanzashi but always assumed that it was time-intensive and difficult. Diane's assertion that it is a good project for a beginner gives me hope, and I'm already envisioning a garland for my Christmas tree.
I have just been sale shopping and bought my daughter a load of plain tees, as well as some plain headbands - this book would help me snazz them up!
I'd love a copy of this book so I can use up my misc scraps that are too small to do anything with but too big to throw away!
I love seeing traditional art blending into or standing out from modern society! I would make flower pins for everyone I met :)
This looks like an awesome book! I'm new to sewing, but I would love to get into it and this book would definitely help me on my way to creating some beautiful pieces. Good luck to all of us!
I would love to have this book! It looks like just the thing I've been looking for. I have a little girl that I love making flower hair clips for. This is perfect! I hope I get one :).
I would like this book to give to my daughter for her upcoming 14th birthday. She is obsessed with all things Japanese and her current life goal is to live in Tokyo when she grows up.
Love the book and can't wait to see if I win. If not, I will definitely make the purchase.
My daughter and I would have lots of fun making the flowers in that book... She loves origami and sewing so it would be a perfect fit.
I need another craft book like I need another hole in my head but I MUST HAVE!! :)
I have been looking for a book to learn how to make embellishments like flowers. I work in a place that has scrap material and have wanted to recycle it, but haven't really figured out how to do it. I would LOVE this book.
I love origami. I love sewing. I love reading. I love flowers.
I know I would love this book!
I'm in the middle of teaching myself the basics, and have been learning how to form the more complicated flowers such as chrysanthemums through experimentation. This would probably help speed the process up because it looks like she included some instructions on compound petals.
My sister is a real flowery girl (she'd have flowers everywhere if she could), but buying beautifull flowers to decorate with is a sure pain in the purse for her, being a student. This would make a nice gift for her when she starts the new term in sept.
I would love to add this book to my library!
I have so many pretty scraps of fabric that I would love to recycle into delicate flowers!
i love to read craft books, and this one looks beautiful!
I'd love to have this book because I don't know anything about fabric folding and maybe it would give me the courage to wear some flowers!
This is just the thing I need to help me use up all of the scrap fabric that I have on hand. And I have a lot of scrap fabric....
I really want this book, I love making flowers out of scraps of fabric, this is right up my ally. And Since its my birthday today I have a good feeling about this.
I love folded fabric, flowers, and Diane! Gotta have this book...
I've been trying to make all of my gifts handmade lately. I think this would give me some beautiful embellishments to my handmade gifts!
I would love to win this book so I can learn how to make that garland. Seriously, it is awesome.
I would love to win this book so I can make that garland! Awesome!!!
I would love to own this book, these flowers would be great to decorate with.
I need this book because I am a beginner at sewing (and fabric folding?!), and because it is aimed at beginners like me! LOL. I also could use some lovely flower brooches for dresses and for the scarves I weave. Thanks for the giveaway.
I would love to win this book as it is beautiful to look at and I would enjoy learning about your amazing craft!
I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I can't help it: I'm immediately drawn in by the beautiful flower. And, as someone who's obsessed with all things crafty, but specifically wearable flowers and the art of folding, I simply must have this book!
Having been a suburbs girl all my life, I just spent an painful amount of money to move downtown -- into the equivalent of a colourless cinderblock. One window, yellow lights, linoleum floors from a decade in which I may or may not have been born.
Now, with little money, I'm trying my best to spruce up my little concrete slice of life as much as I can, and would love to make these flowers part of it. They're beautiful.
I have looking for somehting unique like this to tie all of my DIY wedding projects together! I love the look of the flowers for my table linens, embellishments on bridesmaids gifts, favor-jar toppers, or even corsages for the grandmas! This book would really help me bring everything together!
I would love to win this book! I have to make most of my clothes or embellish the ones I can find on the cheap to fancy them up. This would be a great way to learn the techinque--all of my previous attempts have been a little sad looking.
I absolutely love any craft that can be worn. I love origami and fabrics, and of course, Japanese art. The flower on the cover is so elegant! Looks like the kind of craft book that offers satisfying projects. (And great way to spend out scrap fabrics!)
I have looking for somehting unique like this to tie all of my DIY wedding projects together! I love the look of the flowers for my table linens, embellishments on bridesmaids gifts, favor-jar toppers, or even corsages for the grandmas! This book would really help me bring everything together!
I would love to have something to do until I am employed and something darling to accent my outfits while I am employed.
I've been green-eye-ing this book on amazon! I'd love to make some beautiful kanzashi for boutonnieres & bouquets for our upcoming wedding next Spring. Crossing my fingers! :-)
I'd love to use this book as a new source of fun-but-elegant crafting activities for a senior care center that I volunteer at. I'm sure all the ladies would love making these!
I recently saw a post on craftster on kanzashi and I have wanted to learn more about it since then! I would love to add this book to my collection of craft books, and this art to my repertoire of talents.
Oh! I love kanzashi so much! I discovered them when I had to write a paper on Maiko and found some information about the seasonal kanzashi they wear. When I was in Japan, I wanted to buy every piece I could get my hands on, but they're so expensive, and where would I wear it? I think this book would be a great way to incorporate affordable kanzashi into everyday items. And I love small crafts. I would love to have this book!
Omigosh, I have been wondering how to make kanzashi flowers ever since I saw them features in an Etsy store when I was planning a Japanese themed wedding! I would love to learn how to make them and stick them on all my crafts!
I love those butterflies and I know my daughter will too.
Looks like this would be a fun project for my sister and I to do when we take our crafty trips together.
I would love to adorn myself with Kanzashi! They would make great any season accesories and a good way to use just a little of some devine fabric.
I am a regular listener of the Craftypod Podcast, so I am delighted to hear that Diane's book is out! I would absolutely love to win a copy of it as it looks like a gorgeous book with many new design ideas. I have never tried Kanzashi before, and it seems like a great new crafty outlet for me. I've been dying to try something new! Thank you so much for the contest!
I would love this book. I've been on a crafting frenzy this year; learning to sew, knit and crochet. I've also done some quilling and oragami work and think what I can learn from this book would fit in nicely with all of that!
oh how lovely that book looks! i am a (very) beginner seamstress and would love this book to help me learn how to make such beauties!
I would LOVE to own this book. I've been slowly getting into sewing, but when I craft, my favorite projects are small simple ones that don't necessarily look that way. This would be a great way to get alot of ideas. Thanks!
I am a regular listener of the Craftypod Podcast, so I am delighted to hear that Diane's book is out! I would absolutely love to win a copy of it as it looks like a gorgeous book with many new design ideas. I have never tried Kanzashi before, and it seems like a great new crafty outlet for me. I've been dying to try something new! Thank you so much for the contest!
I would love to have this book. I think it something my daughters and I could learn to do together.
I have so many birthday-garland-project type ideas in my head already.
My older daughter is having a baby in January, and my younger daughter is getting married next year - if there was ever a crafty mama who needed more resources for hand-made lovelies, it's me!
We're doing the wedding entirely DIY (or as close as we can manage with our skill set and time) - bring on the flowers!
I have always loved the elegance of Kanzashi. I have tried to learn how to fold them properly with tutorials on the internet, but mine lack the intricate beauty that are present when a professional makes them. I want this book because it will be a great learning tool for me. Once I learn the basic techniques and tackle the projects in this book, I'm sure that there will be no limit to what I can create.
I wonder if this would be a good introduction for a total sewaphobe. I love embroidery, crochet and other handwork, but I have this terror of my sewing machine. It really intimidates me.
i JUST started crafting with fabric a few days ago and this would be such a great project!!
I once wrote a basic kanzashi tutorial on my blog which google tells me has gotten some good linkage, but alas, I myself have never moved beyond those utter basics in my flower making. Of late I've been gathering up resources for a new chain of projects, in which I hope to make (and blog) flowers by every crafty method I can discover, and I'm sure this book would be a great inspiration and teacher.
i would LOVE to win this book- i have a book on how to make Kanzashi, but it's in JAPANESE, so it's hard to figure out the harder forms.
i think this book would help me get beyond the simple 4 petal flower!