Month: June 2019

Refreshing Stripes

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Summer is here in full force. It’s like Montreal finally got the memo that it was June and boom, oppressive heat and humidity. So when this gorgeous, crisp, cool-feeling unlined kimono arrived it seemed like a great time to do something with it. It’s not in great shape so I got it for less than five dollars, shipping included. But it’s such a gorgeous design I was itching to coordinate it anyway.

It has such a crisp, refreshing feeling and I thought this hakata obi with the same colours would help reinforce the palette and coolness of the outfit. I love how the obi gives the eye a bit of space to rest, but almost feels invisible at the same time. A few watery blue accessories finish things off and evoke even more breezy, refreshing vibes. I couldn’t help trying out this cute bow obijime style I saw on Instagram recently, and I think it adds a really sweet touch to an otherwise almost-masculine outfit.

I knew this kimono was stained when I bought it, but the extent of the damage is more severe than I’d realised based on the photos. Now that I’ve made at least one outfit with it I am going to use it for some cleaning experiments. I’d like to try a few different easily-attainable stain remover products on different areas and keep track of the process to help anyone else who may have stained pieces.

The kimono is too new, and somehow this obi escaped my cataloguing process so for the time being I can’t insert the detail gallery. Whoops! I will add it in later, once the items have been cleaned and properly photographed.  😳

Perfectly Harmonious Pairing

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I’m back! Sort of! Still not feeling 100% better, but definitely improving. I’ve got a few low-stress things in the works for the next week or two.

For today, a coordination I’ve been itching to put together since I bought this obi. About a month ago I went to a rummage sale at the Montreal JCCC and while I had no real intention of buying anything, I found this amazing cream-coloured obi with Arabic script on it and knew it had to come live with my mosque kimono. I honestly can’t tell if the writing on the obi actually says anything or is just sort of an artistic interpretation, so if anyone can tell me what it says, I’d very much appreciate it!

I cannot get over how perfectly these pieces pair together. The background colour of the obi echoes the yellow-gold clouds on the kimono and the green script and design elements bring out the palm trees around the hem of the kimono. I also used that colour as inspiration for the accessories, a gorgeous olive-green obiage and obijime that also weren’t a set but happen to match almost perfectly. I chose a very simple haneri with just some white and gold sakura. I wanted all the focus to be on the beautiful pairing of the kimono and obi.

Items used in this coordination

Short Term Sick Leave

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If you’ve read most of my recent posts, you’ll notice there’s been a recurring theme of me complaining about allergies and feeling a bit icky. Turns out I’ve got a nasty sinus infection and bronchitis! Whoops! I’ll be taking a short break but hope to be back to posting regularly soon! Thanks for understanding 🙂

Modern Tulip Ikebana featuring FloraGUPPY

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After last week’s relatively unsuccessful ikebana I was determined to redeem myself. I received this really neat little tool that I’d ordered called the FloraGUPPY and found three perfect red-orange tulips in the garden so I figured it was time.

One of the tulips had a bit of a bend in it, so I carefully emphasised that into an organic-feeling curve and then did the same to the other two, for a really nice shape and flow. I framed them with two lucky bamboo stems, and really like how sleek this feels. I’m definitely much happier with it than I am with last week’s!

The FloraGUPPY is a clear plastic two-part sphere that clips together with a number of different-sized holes. You can feed the flowers through the holes at different angles to achieve all sorts of cool arrangements. While not completely invisible, the clear plastic does look much more seamless than a heavy metal kenzan or other traditional tools. This makes it ideal for sparse modern arrangements in glass containers, exactly like this one. It’s also slightly flexible in its default state, which is ideal for putting in odd-shaped vessels. But the really cool part is that if you dunk it in hot water, it becomes even more malleable, making it suitable for pretty much any container! I can’t wait to find more uses for it.

 I purchased this item myself and chose to review it.If you have a topically appropriate craft, product, or service you would like me to review, please contact me.