Traditional Japanese Crafts: Silk Folded Flowers
I run Atelier Kanawa (which means “studio to play Japanese harmony & peace”) and I would love to share my stories of my ancestors who were in Kimono business and how I am trying to keep these traditions alive. My great grandfather was an artisan who dyed Kimono designs, mainly Yukata, the Summer Kimono. My grandmother was a Kimono tailor, and both my mother and my aunt graduated from Kimono academy. My aunt has been teaching Kimono classes in Japan. Since January in 2005, I have been studying Kimono and dressing with them myself. And since March 2006, I have been learning to dress other people. I also study how to dye Kimono designs by Bingata Katazome, which is the traditional Japanese method of dyeing fabric in Okinawa (southern part of Japan), using a resist paste applied through stencil. I am also pursuing classical Japanese dance by Hanayagi-style, which includes Geisha dance, Noh, and Kabuki. Today, there are ONLY 15 acknowledged Tsumami Kanzashi artisans in the whole world. Part 1
Photoshop Effects: recreate the look of a medium format portrait
When I first got in to photography, which wasn't quite 100 years ago, there were three reasonably clear groups of camera user. The happy snappers used compacts, the enthusiasts used SLRs and the professionals used medium, or large, format. If you were a really 'serious' amateur, and every club had at least one of these Yodas, you might have got yourself a medium format system, using 6x4.5cm, 6x6cm or even 6x7cm frames of 120 roll film. If you were a professional wedding or landscape photographer you wouldn't have dreamt of using a 35mm SLR, for credibility reasons as much as for quality, and a happy snapper wouldn't have known which end of a 35mm SLR or medium format camera to look through. Not much of that has meant a great deal in the last eight or so years, and the lines between what is professional equipment and what is amateur are exceedingly blurred. Old format, old hat In the meantime, many of us have forgotten what medium format means and what medium format can do.
Tutorial: More Texturing- Photoshopcontest.com
By: ledirlo This tutorial demonstrates an effect that gets so photorealistic it led to some cheating controversies in the past. Aside from the interest of the created effect it also gives key layer technique information. The only material needed is these two photos, the crumpled paper and what we want printed on it. Let's start by opening the two photos and moving the grass photo above the paper's layer; you can turn the grass layer into multiply mode and transform it to get the correct placement. In this case I chose to avoid the darkest tree parts as they don't produce a great effect on the paper. Once finished, press CTRL+I so you invert the layer mask. The selection's edges have very little chance of being perfect already so I used the smudge tool with a large soft brush to push or draw the layer mask so it fits the paper edges perfectly. Now time for using the layer blending modes. You can now flatten all the texture layers to make a single object above the original background.
Reusing Pillowcases: DIY Ideas
Posted by ScrapHacker.com on tisdag, maj 29, 2012 · Leave a Comment Big stashes of bed linen are impractical, yet often we hang onto old sets for the love of a great print or a great memory…This post features ideas on how to inject new life into old pillowcases, instead of having them lurking around in a dark corner of the closet. If you happen to be leading a zen lifestyle (with no pillowcases around the house to hack) you could simply head to a local thrift store, where I guarantee you’ll find piles of graphic geometric or cute florals to choose from….What to make? Here are some ideas – Enjoy! Awesome cool pillowcase skirt from Kirsten of ‘Kojo Designs’, score the look by following this DIY TUTORIAL No-sew, printed pillowcase bag, one heck of a hack from Natalie of ‘Crème de la craft’, DIY TUTORIAL HERE Vintage Pillowcases made into napkins, by Diana of blog ‘Smiles go with Everything’, DIY TUTORIAL HERE! Upcycle a vintage pillowcase into a more contemporary looking pouf!
Hand Embroidered Cards
Look what I found in my desk drawer! I made these embroidered cards so long ago and then just tucked them away in a drawer to be forgotten about. What a shame! I thought these cards would make a great DIY for the blog because they're easy and fun to make, and you probably have all the supplies on hand already. If you're anything like me you have waaaaay too many colors of embroidery floss tucked away somewhere. What you'll need: Pencil for drawing your designPiece of thick cardboardEmbroidery flossSheets of blank paperEmbroidery needle and a pin with a headBlank Card Start by drawing out your design on a piece of thin blank paper. When I made my fruit cards, I actually used an iron-on transfer from Sublime Stitching, which is a really great book that you should all run out and buy right this very second. Now you can start poking holes along the lines using the pin with a head. Now comes the fun part! Once you're done, admire your work!
45 Uses For Lemons That Will Blow Your Socks Off
Most people are familiar with the traditional uses for lemons to soothe sore throats and add some citrus flavor to our foods. However the diversity of applications for lemons far exceeds general knowledge and once you read the following list, you’ll likely want to stock at least a few lemons in your kitchen 24-7. 1. Freshen the Fridge Remove refrigerator odors with ease. Dab lemon juice on a cotton ball or sponge and leave it in the fridge for several hours. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. * If you do consume lemon peel, stick to organic lemons to reduce your pesticide exposure. Source: Prevent Disease Eddie (2133 Posts) Eddie L. is the founder and owner of WorldTruth.TV.
