Kanzashi In Bloom Giveaway & Review

Kanzashi in Bloom by Diane Gilleland

I was recently sent a review copy of Kanzashi in Bloom for the blog book tour and was excited to be included. I've known Diane Gilleland (author of Kanzashi Bloom) for at least two years now from her site Crafty Pod. As I've mentioned before here, I always enjoy craft books from blogs I read. You know what to expect and you have a little background about the author before you even pick up the book. I have always been impressed with Diane's creativity and attention to detail when it comes to her craft tutorials. So of course, I expected nothing less from her new book.

Kanzashi in Bloom is based on the traditional Japanese art form, kanzashi. Kanzashi are traditionally hair ornaments made from squares of fabric folded much like origami. In the book you will find a more thorough explanation of kanzashi and it's origins. The chapters include, Origins of the art form, Materials and Core Techniques, Projects to wear, and Projects to give. In the book Diane shows six different designs for the petals alone. There are 20 unique projects to create with the kanzashi such as hair accessories, earrings, Christmas ornaments, and more. What I personally enjoy about the projects is that they are contemporary and applicable for today's use. Below are a couple examples from the book.

Stretch & Bloom Headband

I tested out the petals in the flower above and was able to duplicate them with ease from the instructions.

Super Star Tote

This was one of my personal favorite projects due to the beach theme and sandy colors. Along with showing you how to make the kanzashi star fish, Diane has a detailed tutorial on how to make the handbag.

* Contest Closed *

Please leave in the comments your thoughts about kanzashi and if you have ever heard of it before at the bottom of this post no later than Wednesday, August 5th, 2009. One entry per person. Please leave a way for me to get back to you if you win(enter your email address in the comment form). The email address is only used to notify the winner, I do not save the addresses. I'll choose one winner at random and post their name Thursday. Good Luck!

US and Canada Residents only

How to Make a Beach Ball Lantern

Just last week I was introduced to these small paper beach balls. One of the missionaries from our church brought the balls back from Japan and gave one to my son. Upon examination I discovered they're very easy to blow up compared to a beach ball. And unlike a true beach ball, they hang in the air longer making it easy to bat them with your hands. Something about the fact that they're small and made with paper makes them extra charming. So of course my first thought was, could I find them in the states. I turned to my favorite store, Daiso and they didn't let me down. I found a pack of three for a $1.50!

Somewhere along the way it occurred to me that they would make cute lanterns since they're paper. I could picture them lined around a pool at night for a party. Or maybe gracing the table for an evening barbecue. One thing to keep in mind is they're purely for ambiance. They do not give off enough light as a main light source. Simple directions below.

Supplies:
Paper beach balls
electric tea lights
scissors

Here's what the package of paper beach balls look like.

Electric tea light - you can often find these at the dollar store, craft stores, and party supply stores.

After you inflate the balls, they will stay filled since they're made of paper. There's no closure as you can see from the picture above.

For making the lantern you will need to cut the hole slightly larger. You want only the tea light faux flame to fit in the hole.

Here's what the balls look like once they're inflated. They come in two sizes. I recommend using the smaller size ball.

Just place the ball on top of the tea light making sure the flame fits inside the opening of the ball. Done.

*If you want to have hanging lanterns, I recommend using a small flashlight instead of a tea light.

Somen Salad Recipe

If you were to attend one of our church potlucks, there's a good chance you would find this dish, somen salad. It has all the characteristics of a good potluck dish: relatively inexpensive ingredients, easy to make, can feed a crowd, and most importantly, tastes good. Lately I've found myself craving this salad and realized I can't be waiting around for the next potluck. So I asked for the recipe and made the dish. It turned out just as I remembered so I'm now sharing it with you. Enjoy.

Somen Salad Recipe

1pkg. somen noodles - I used four bundles (refer to pic below)
1/2 head of lettuce shredded
ham or char siu pork, cut "matchsticks"
2 eggs + 1-2 tsp sugar, cooked into thin sheets, cut "matchsticks"
1 pkg of kamaboko, cut "matchsticks"
3 stalks green onions, chopped

Somen Salad Dressing
6 tbsp sugar
6tbsp cider vinegar
2tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp pepper (or to taste)
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp shoyu (soy sauce)

Mix eggs with sugar. Fry eggs like you would an omelet. Pat dry. Cut into matchstick strips.

For those not familiar with kamaboko (fish cake), this is what it looks like. You don't cook it, just cut and serve. The best way I can describe the taste is it's similar to fake crab meat.

Cook somen as directed. Cool. Place somen in a 9 by 13 dish. Layer on top of somen noodles in this order, lettuce, kamaboko, char siu, green onions, and egg.

Mix all dressing ingredients together. Drizzle dressing all over salad when ready to serve. Enjoy.

Delightful Candy Favors

A while back I fell in love with these cupcake liners and new I had to create something with them. After playing around with them for a while this is what I came up with, candy favors. I'm thinking they would make delightful wedding favors? Almost makes me wish I had a wedding to plan. Simple directions below, as usual.

Supplies:
*cupcake liners - you need a strong cupcake liner that can hold the weight of the candy. I purchased mine from Bake it Pretty.
*double stick tape
*toothpicks
*paper
*tape
*scissors

1. Tape two cupcake liners together using double stick tape.

2. Tape a strip of paper to the top of a toothpick.

3. Fill the cupcake liner with candy. Place the toothpick flag inside. If the toothpick flag doesn't hold up well poke it through the bottom of the cupcake liner. Done

How To Make Yo-Yo Balloons

Ever heard of a Yo-yo balloon before? As one would suspect by the name, it's a balloon that you play with like a yo-yo. I often see them at small fairs and parties. It's a great outdoor activity for the summer and keeps the kids entertained. Yo-yo balloons are easy and inexpensive to make. They're perfect for entertaining a large crowd and make nice favors as well.

You can also purchase pre-made yo-yo balloons. The only difference is the balloons are striped and you have pre-cut rubber bands with finger loops. That's really the only thing that separates making vs. buying. Simple directions below.

Supplies:
water balloons
large thick rubber bands
balloon pump - optional

Cut a large rubber band to make a string. It should measure about 10- 12 inches. Tie a loop on one end for it to fit a child's finger (refer to picture).

Fill the water balloon with water until it's roughly the size of a golf ball. Now fill with air until the balloon is the size of an orange. Tie shut.

Tie the rubber band onto the balloon. Done.


Have Fun!

Don Pedro Chicken Recipe

As promised, here's the recipe for Don Pedro Chicken. We served this at the Star Wars birthday party. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take a close up picture of the chicken. My aunt however, snapped a shot of the table and I figured this was better than nothing. You'll also notice on the table there's the Chinese cabbage salad and the spam musubi. See, I give you all my best recipes. There's also a fabulous crab macaroni salad on the table which I'll save for another time. But until then, here's the Don Pedro recipe. Enjoy.

Don Pedro Chicken Recipe

Prep time: 15 min. (plus marinating time)

5lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 cup shoyu (soy sauce)
1½ Tbsp miso (red or white or mixture of both)
1 cup sugar
1½ Tbsp smooth peanut butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 slices of chopped ginger
2 Tbsp mirin (rice wine)
½ cup green onions, sliced
1½ Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds

1. Combine all ingredients in a marinating dish.
2. Marinade chicken overnight
3. Grill chicken till done.

Craft Project: Table Centerpieces

A couple weeks ago I mentioned I was busy at work making tissue flowers for table centerpieces. Above is a picture of all my hard work. They worked out perfect for the event. I made the centerpieces for long rectangle tables. And maybe it's just me but I find long rectangle tables are always the trickiest. Round tables on the other hand are easy. You create one tall centerpiece and it's done. But with long tables you have to fill the space. Anyone else feel this way? Anyhow, below are simple directions on how I made the arrangements.

Supplies:
Tissue Flowers
Glass Vases - I purchased mine at Target but you can find them at Michaels, dollar store, etc.
Curly Willow branches - I purchased mine through a local wholesale florist shop but you can also find them at craft stores or the farmers market. They're very common.
Glass half marbles
Washi paper - any decorative paper will work
Removable Glue dots
Hot Glue

1. Cut paper to size. Wrap around vase and adhere with glue dots. The reason I used the glue dots was so I could remove the paper after and reuse the vases.

2. Cut four branches to desired length. Arrange branches, hold in place, drop glass marbles into vase to hold branches in place. This will also prevent the vases from tipping over.

3. Hot glue one tissue flower to each branch. For each vase I used four tissue flowers. It added just enough color. Done.

I was able to take this single picture amongst the craziness of setting up. Sorry it's not that good. To lengthen the table and add color I used Hallmark's textured gold wrapping paper. No one even knew it was wrapping paper, it looks that good. I placed to vases on each table. With the remaining washi paper, I used a sakura flower punch and sprinkled the flowers along the gold runner.

*Side note - Last week I mentioned I would be sharing a chicken recipe, I'll be posting about it Wednesday.

Let them Eat Star Wars Cake

The talented Aunt Susan has done it again! She made the perfect cake for Evan's Star Wars themed birthday party. Evan specifically requested the cartoon version of Obi-Wan Kenobi on his cake with blue lightsabers. Most artists will tell you people are the hardest images to draw. So considering she created Obi-Wan with icing, I think it's pretty amazing. And if you're curious, the cake was vanilla with chocolate filling, another request by Evan.

Image from Cartoon Network

This is the image Aunt Susan used to create the cake.

How to Make a Lightsaber

This had to be my favorite activity at the party, make your own lightsaber. All the boys had fun making and customizing their own lightsabers. It was fun to see what each child made. Some went with traditional handles while others decorated theirs with lots of colors and stickers. My son came up with the idea of making a dual lightsaber (picture above). I thought this was very clever. I think he's inherited my craftyness, what do you think?


Supplies:
toilet paper rolls
twisty balloons - make sure they are new, old balloons are weak and pop easily
markers and stickers - for decoration
balloon pump


Have children decorate toilet paper rolls with markers and stickers. While the kids are doing this, I recommend blowing up the balloons. Leave about an inch of the balloon unfilled. This will prevent the balloons from popping while the kids are playing with them.

Stuff the balloon into the lightsaber handle. Depending on the size of the balloon you may want to add a little glue inside the handle. For these ones I didn't need glue at all. Done.

It's inevitable that a balloon or two will pop so I recommend making a few extra.

Jedi Games

*Have children duel with their lightsabers standing on one leg. The child that can last the longest on one leg wins.

*Make an obstacle course out of whatever you have at your house. We used soccer cones and training ladders (the kind that lay flat on the ground). You could use chairs in replace of cones, get creative. Have children run through the course with the lightsaber in one hand. You could time them for more of a challenge.

*Pop bubbles with lightsabers. I recommend using a bubble machine if possible. This would be a good game for toddlers.

Star Wars Birthday Party

Over the weekend we had a Star Wars Birthday party for my son. Above is a picture of the game cards I made for the kids. I made them into necklaces so they wouldn't lose them while going from game to game. Each time they completed one of the tasks I stamped the cards. Once the card was completely stamped, they received a special "surprise". I found this helped motivate some of the kids to participate in all the games. I also added some easy tasks, like eat a snow cone and a piece of cake. Needless to say, most of the children were up for the challenge.

Throughout the week I plan on sharing more details from the party such as the cake, how to make lightsabers, and one of my favorite chicken recipes. But for now I'm just recovering from all the party planning and cleaning. Is it just me or do parties wipe you out?

How To Make Firework Balloon Decorations

Here's an quick a easy decoration you can make for your "Forth of July" party. What's great about this project is it's cheap, covers a large space, makes a big statement and adds a lot of color to any event. Simple directions below.

Supplies:
long twisting balloons in red, white and blue
balloon pump - these are easy to find at party supply stores and even craft stores
paperclips

Blow up at three balloons in each color with the balloon pump. Leave about two inches of a tail at the end of the balloon. This will help prevent the balloon from popping. Thread the tied knot of the balloon onto a paperclip (refer to picture).

Thread all nine balloons onto the paperclip (the more balloons the better). Close paper clip shut. Hang to decorate. Done.

Have a fun and safe Fourth of July everyone!