Alina Boloban has been making kanzashi flowers for quite some time. They are striking in their uniqueness, but at the same time they are quite simple to manufacture. This technique produces unique hairpins, headbands, necklaces, wedding pendants, brooches, bracelets and much more.
Kansashi Technique
The kanzashi technique itself appeared more than 400 years ago in Japan. It happened by accident. During these times, Japanese girls stopped styling their hair in a traditional hairstyle. Long curls with pins, combs, hairpins and sticks fit into intricate shapes. It was then that the idea came to decorate the ridges with unique and beautiful flowers from ribbons.
Jewelry made using the kanzashi technique has become a tradition, and in terms of quantity, shape and value, much could be said about the owner.
knapweed
You can watch and admire the flowers from Alina Boloban’s ribbons for hours. By the example of making a cornflower, we will master this ancient Japanese technique.
So, first you need to decide on the color that will be the main one for the flower petals. In nature, you can find cornflowers from pale blue to deep blue and even with a purple hue. For the flower you will still need a green ribbon.
There are a large number of petal manufacturing options for cornflower. Here you need to be guided by your personal preference and, of course, skillful abilities. For beginners, it is better to use a simple, but not the worst option for making petals, which we will meet.
Materials and Tools
To make a field cornflower, you need a ribbon of the main color for a cornflower, 2.5 cm wide. For the production of leaves, you need a green tape one centimeter wide. Of the tools, scissors, a lighter, tweezers and a glue gun will be needed.
We cut the blue ribbon into 2.5 cm squares. From the green ribbon we cut two pieces of 15 centimeters.
Flower making
For this species, the flower Alina Boloban decided to choose a petal with a wing. To make it, you need two squares of a ribbon, therefore, when preparing the material, you must immediately decide how many petals will be used in the work and, multiplying by two, cut the squares. One small flower will need from seven to nine petals.
We take a small square and bend it, forming a triangle, and then bend the resulting triangle again and use a lighter to burn a corner so that it does not fall apart. We do the same manipulations with the second square, but do not cauterize the corner. In the second triangle we insert inside the first, which was fastened with a lighter.
Two triangles inserted one into one squeeze in the middle with tweezers and bend the edges of the double triangle. Using tweezers for such small petals is very convenient, as Alina Boloban claims.
Using the example of the previous triangle, we fasten the corners of the petal with a lighter. Before fixing it, you need to straighten it and see if it is correctly executed. To press such petals is more convenient with tweezers. To give aesthetics and to make them even, the back should be cut a little and, of course, cauterized so that the product does not bloom.
The next step in the work depends on which middle you choose for your cornflower. Alina Boloban chose stamens for this, but for the middle you can take any rhinestones or beads. We will describe two options for collecting cornflower.
Methods of fastening a flower
The first way. Kanzashi cornflower Alina Boloban decided to decorate with stamens. For this, stamens of different colors are taken. You will need three light blue, four blue, and eight black stamens. We collect them in a bunch so that in the center there are blue, and on the edges - blue and black stamens. So that they do not fall apart, it is necessary to fasten the "bouquet" with a glue gun.
We proceed directly to the assembly of the petals. Alina Boloban does this on weight, gradually attaching the petals one to one in a circle with a pistol. Before fixing the last petal, you need to insert the stamens into the cornflower. When they are placed inside and straightened, you can glue the last petal by connecting it to the first. We cut the stamens and fix the finished flower with the glue gun to the base. For her, a circle with a diameter of one centimeter is suitable. If you are afraid that not everything will be covered by the foundation, you can make it one and a half centimeters.
The second way. If you take a bead or rhinestone for the middle, then the petals must be attached immediately to the base, gluing in a circle one after another. After the circle is formed and fixed from them, the middle of the cornflower should be placed on top with the glue gun.
Before fixing the flower on the base in the first method and before gluing the petals, as in the second, it is necessary to cut leaves from the green satin ribbon . If you cut the tape in half or lengthwise, be sure to use the lighter to process the edges of the cut, otherwise the product will disintegrate over time.