I want to show some of the origami flowers I made during my afternoon with my friend @kai.kianu. Origami (as I hope most of us know by now), is the art of folding paper to create both 2D and 3D shapes.
I loved origami since I was a little girl and I was always fascinated by how a single piece of square paper could transform into an object! It made me feel like there were endless possibilities. I was saving scraps of paper to fold paper cranes and animals.
This is a Lily I made and I included the instructions so maybe you can make one too. 😊
I recently had a fun get together with my friend @kai.kianu! He's really into flowers and I'm really into crafts (obviously 😜) so we decided to get together and combine our worlds and make origami flowers -- it was the perfect collaboration for our worlds and we had both a relaxing (and challenging!) afternoon making the flowers. Some of the flowers were actually really hard to make 😂.
Wow it’s been such a crazy time in LA! I am so blessed to say that I am safe and away from the fires. Thank you for your care and for checking in on me. ❤️
I’m getting back into making things. Something I explored recently was how to make rope. I really loved the process of making rope. It’s something I use a lot in my crafts— from kite making two tie-dying, it’s a very important material for me!
Learning about how to make it was so cool. I used a friends antique wrote making machine she found on eBay. I used hemp thread to make my rope. First, we need thread, preferably linen or hemp or jute, because those fibers are long and strong. It takes many threads to create one ply. Each ply can contain anywhere from 5 to 8 threads. And those threads get twisted together simultaneously with the two other plys, to create one uniform coil, it’s so neat!
Praying for Los Angeles right now as we are experiencing the most intense wildfires in LA history. I worry about my studio and I really hope it will all be ok. Thinking of all the friends and animals being directly affected. 😭😭😭
Happy 2025 dear ones! 🤩. How is everyone starting off their year? 🩵
I can’t believe it’s a new year already and already four days in. As for me, it’s that time again with my indigo plants. Today I separated stems, leaves, and seeds from my plants. I have to start gathering the seeds so I can start planting them very soon! I keep the leaves to make the indigo dye so I have to remove them from the stems, it’s like destemming kale. And I have to separate the seeds from the flowers to use those for planting.
It’s a long process and took me a few hours. I still need to remove the seeds from their husks. Due to the climate in LA, I can start planting these anytime between January and February.
I can’t believe it’s already time again to start planting in indigo. I had a few months off from tending to the plants after their growing season stopped in September/October. Here we go again, another year with my indigo. 💙
Crafting and getting to know some really awesome people on here has been the greatest gift. Hope everyone has a great holiday. I’m going to see my family and friends. 💖
How to wrap 5 oranges using a piece of cloth I dyed with indigo...
I've been really interested in the art of Furoshiki lately--the art of wrapping gifts and objects using a piece of cloth. In Japanese culture, gift giving is a big deal, because signifies thought and care. People give gifts to maintain relationships, especially in business. Wrapping the gift in cloth shows care because it protects the object whilst also helping to transport it.
I was looking at a packaging book and got inspired to try this out. I love the simplicity and elegance of Furoshiki, as well as it's efficiency with only one cloth. It makes me want to dye more cloth so I can wrap more things.
It’s been such a busy holiday season! Forgive some of my absence here. I’ve been busy trying make gifts, see family and friends, and seeing art and some traveling. What have you been up to? How do you like to celebrate the holidays?
I finally have a moment to sit down and be chill. A friend gifted me this hand stitched round bottom bag kit, and I am going to focus on making it today. I haven’t made anything with a drawstring before, so I’m excited to dive in. 💙
I had such an incredible day today! I’m visiting one of my favorite cities, New York, to look at art and get inspired. This is one of my favorite sculptures in the world. It’s by Louis Bourgeois. She was an incredibly talented sculptor, painter, printmaker… definitely one of my favorite artists ever! Her spider sculptures are her most famous, I believe. She has a couple of documentaries out about her, check her out!
I can’t wait to go home and craft some more work! This always gets me so inspired.
I took a trip to San Diego to go to the Mingei Museum to see this fabulous and amazing show about my favorite subject: INDIGO!
I spent hours at the museum nerding out on all the different techniques and beautiful art pieces made with indigo dye. This show was so special because it explained the intersection of the science, art, and history of indigo. Indigo is a plant and there are different species of it. It all yields the same color though. Depending on the region, the way the plant is grown and extracted is different.
I feel incredibly elated and inspired. I’m just so grateful to be working with this very sacred medium. How special it was to go to the museum fully dedicated to this plant. Also to see pieces from Japan, India, Britain, West Africa, China and more under one roof was so mind blowing. 🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙
Went foraging for willow along the river :-). Hehe, it was so bright, don’t mind my squinting… ☀️
Willow is an incredible material for basketry. I wanted to collect some to make more baskets. It’s very flexible, strong, retains shape well, and grows very long. 🧺🧺🧺🧺🧺
Cutting it also helps it grow longer for the next season, so it’s a win-win! Once I cut it, I stripped all of the leaves off, and then let it dry for a couple of weeks. Currently, it’s in its “green” state. Once it reaches its “brown” state it will be ready for weaving!
I also found so much trash along the river. It’s really important that we keep our earth cleaner than we found it. I make it a point to pick up any trash I find, especially when foraging. It’s an exchange. ♻️
I also found some cool “Oothecas” - which are praying mantis egg sacks! They look so alien! 😳 Praying mantis are some of my favorite insects though! They are garden warriors and protectors!
Have you ever made your own homemade vinegar before?
I love vinegar, it’s a staple ingredient for me. I use it for pickling, adding to foods, and adding a splash of it to my drinks.
I had more ripe persimmons than I could finish in time. I didn’t want them to go to waste. So I decided to make some homemade persimmon vinegar 🧡
Making vinegar is super simple. It only requires one ingredient—the fruit itself! All is takes is consistent daily stirring. And in a couple weeks you will have vinegar! You can use fruits or fruit scraps like the skins.
To make vinegar, it first needs to become alcohol – so the sugar is there so that the yeasts on the persimmon can consume it, and then bacteria converts that alcohol to acetic acid, making a vinegar! Since these persimmons are so high in sugar content, I did not need to add anymore sugar. In some cases you do, in order for the yeasts to colonize your solution faster than mold spores could.
All I had to do was remove the stem and Calyx (the too part), then put them in the sterilized jar, stir them together, and cover with a cloth (in this case I used a double ply napkin). Then leave it in the dark place and stir everyday.
And that’s how vinegar gets made 🧡 I love how my love for craft intersects with science and zero waste processes. It helps me learn so much about sustainability!
Fall is hands down my favorite season. I feel like it’s when I get really cozy and get to take my time with things, just like how mother earth begins to rest herself. I really enjoy home cooking whenever I can.
Decided to ~craft~ up a homemade tomato jam today. A friend from the South used to make it for me. I had a few leftover tomatoes and thought this would be a good way to preserve them! You should try it too! It’s super easy and delicious. I love having it on toast. 🍅
In my studio today ~ cleaning & organizing before I start on a new project. Having a clean blank reset always helps me clear my mind to focus and make space for the next thing. I’m thinking of doing some quilting next. So I need to search for my scrap fabrics….
Spent my weekend making Hoshigaki. It’s my favorite autumn activity! I love making dried persimmons and giving them a gifts later, they’re such a treat. It’s my ultimate favorite dried fruit, tastes like candy! The whole drying process takes at least a month. I’m drying them in my apartment right now. 🟠🟠🟠🟠🟠🟠🟠🟠🟠🟠🟠🟠🟠
So proud of myself and the string of fruits absolutely delights me.
You can make your own at home too! This only works with the Hachiya persimmon, not the Fuyu. And the persimmon should still be hard and not ripe.
First you prepare them by washing. Then remove the skins, a fruit peeler makes this go by quickly. Then you sterilize the peeled fruit in boiling water for 5 seconds. Then you tie them to a string and dry them. After one week, you start the massaging process. This helps to distribute the sugars around and gets the lumps out. You massage them everyday for about 2-4 weeks. Then they are ready to enjoy and share. 🧡
I am SO happy right now because a friend gifted me all of these Hachiya persimmons from his family’s tree. This is my favorite fruit in the whole world. I feel like it’s Christmas right now!!!!
I love this fruit so much because not only because it is so delicious, but also because I can use it as dye. However, with this batch, I am going to make “Hoshigaki” — which is dried persimmon fruit. It’s my favorite autumn activity to do. I love giving them away as gifts when they’re ready.
Will post more about the process of making Hoshigaki 🧡
Omg I made my first tabi sock! Tabis are a Japanese style of split toe shoe/sock. The toe is split so that traditionally people can wear it with thong sandals. 🩴
It took me a while to figure out the sizing, but I am happy with how it fits! I’m going to try to make it with some better fabric now.
Today I’m working on making slippers as part of my costume project!
Each foot needs to be traced individually because our feet aren’t always the same size. It’s my first time ever making slippers or any sort of footwear, wish me luck! 🐾✨
I’ve been trying to take it easy. I’ve been tasked with creating some costumes for a performance. I haven’t made clothes in a while, but I sure do miss it. I’m currently looking at this book on how to make Japanese clothes and I’m getting inspiration. I’m really excited for this next crafting project!
It’s interesting to be thinking about clothing again. Style can say so much about a person.
What is your favorite thing to wear and what does it say about you?
My indigo seeds are starting to ripen 🥲 I can’t believe how fast time is going! I think in a couple of more weeks they will be more mature. I can’t wait to harvest them… it’s a magical thing. Marks the end of a cycle. 💙
Just went to the Rare Book Fair in LA. Heaven for a nerd like me…
I came across this one of a kind, rare book about botany. It was so thick. Every page was incredibly detailed and letterpressed (a very old printing technique that uses cast metal type to print). This book was very inspirational and showed me how I could potentially use some of my pressed flowers in a book. :-) I have a tutorial on flower pressing if you scroll a few posts down! 💐
I just finished a workout and was craving a pomegranate. I really enjoy peeling them. But also did you know that pomegranate can also be used as a natural dye? But the dye is in the rind itself, not the seeds! 😋
So I am saving the rind and I will leave it to dry for later use. The dye properties are found in both the rind and the flowers. Each pomegranate has a tough, leathery skin or rind, basically yellow, more or less overlaid with light or deep pink or rich red. The color of the natural dye a pomegranate rind can achieve ranges from a bright yellow to a deep brown, depending on how the fabric is prepared 💛🤎
I’m officially addicted to wrapping rocks 😅 It’s my new favorite way to shut my mind off by doing something repetitive!
I started wrapping this rock with some silver wire and I feel like it somehow elevates it! I’ll post a pic when it’s fully wrapped but I love seeing the progress.
I’m gonna start making these for all my friends for Christmas! It makes a rock feel so significant. I 🩶 rocks!!!! 🪨
