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 🙂
Author: Diane
Modern Tulip Ikebana featuring FloraGUPPY
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.
Undersea Adventure
Today is Gofuku no Hi (着物着ます, Wear Kimono Day), and even though I finally have some kimono that fit me well, I just wasn’t up to getting dressed myself. I’m still under the weather from allergy season and a few days ago I stepped on a very large chunk of glass and my foot hurts enormously. But I couldn’t let the day pass by without at least dressing the mannequin!
I’d been feeling sort of uninspired lately, trying to come up with interesting new coordinations with pieces I own and love but nothing was coming to mind. Suddenly, yesterday, it hit me. My beloved geisha hikizuri and octopus obi from 3Magpies Studio would come together perfectly to form an elegant. monochrome undersea outfit.
Dressing the hikizuri like a regular kimono was more of a challenge than I’d anticipated. There’s a ton of fabric folded up under the obi but I think I did a very good job of keeping it neat and tidy. I really love how the theme and colours came together, and this gorgeous octopus obidome with pearls and red synthetic coral pieces from PintoPonyProductions was the perfect crowning touch.
Back when I did the Disney Princess Project a lot of folks suggested I do villains. While it wasn’t my intention, between the purple tones and aquatic motifs this outfit has a definite Ursula vibe to it. Maybe I will do the villains after all!
Items used in this coordination
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- Araiso Geiko Hikizuri
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- Octopus Nagoya
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- Octopus haneri
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- Red Chirimen
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- Lilac with Olive
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- Octopus
A Questionable Success
Sometimes being really obstinately determined to accomplish something is the worst way to go about it. I’d been wanting to do something with the flowers from the trees in the park near my house since the forsythia started blooming about a week ago. However, the timing just never seemed to work out.
Last night, I was insistent. I’m still not feeling great and I’d had a long, painful, irritating day at work, but still I was convinced that stopping in the park and getting some branches was absolutely necessary. The forsythia are just beyond their prime and the crab-apples are about to burst open, so it was really the last time I’d be able to pick both of them and have them be workable at the same time.
As you can see though, I was not in the right state (either physically or emotionally) to try to do a decent arrangement. The branches fought me every step of the way and rather than pull back and take a moment to rethink my concept, I just pushed forward and made the best of a less-than-ideal situation. Not the best mindset to do ikebana in, really.
In the end I got an arrangement that feels balanced, at least, and I don’t hate it. But it certainly doesn’t feel as harmonious as it should, and I think honestly I’d have been better off just waiting it out and focusing on some other type of flowers when I was feeling better. Let this be a lesson to you all; sometimes pushing forward and forcing yourself is good but sometimes it’s the world’s way of telling you to take a break.
Taisho Turquoise, Take Two
How’s that for some terrible alliteration? I know the last coordination I posted was with this kimono, but I just love it so much I couldn’t bear to take it off the mannequin yet. As I mentioned in my previous entry, I also had plans for a more subtle coordination with it, and since I’m feeling a little under the weather (this allergy season has been horrendous) simply changing up the accessories rather than re-dressing her from the ground up seemed like a good idea for today.
While the first outfit I did focused on bright contrast, this one is much more soft and harmonious. The white and silver obi echoes the white parts on the hem of the kimono, and I got to use the pink and turquoise obijime that matches so perfectly. Isn’t it interesting how changing up the obi and accessories can give such a drastically different mood to the same kimono?
Items used in this coordination
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- Turquoise Tachibana
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- Platinum Roundels with Pink
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- Sakura
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- Pink Shibori
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- Magenta & Teal
Bebe Taian
CHOKO Blog
Gion Kobu