The Cranes Released


 
 
 
 
Our school auction was this past weekend. Rooms full of flowering branches and origami cranes. I must say, it looked really beautiful in its simplicity. (Many of those cranes have been hanging in my studio for a few weeks and I was kind of sad to see them go.) The multi-colored ones pictured above were the 1000 cranes folded by Ian’s 2nd grade class, and were hung from branches on either side of the stage. (We’re planning to give a strand of cranes to each of the kids, the rest for the teacher.) The 3 silent auction rooms were designated by color, the 1st one was white, 2nd was pink, and the 3rd was blue. We folded monochromatic cranes and made simple arrangements in single colors to coordinate and designate which area was which.READ MORE

Imagine Delightful Freshness

 

This is not quite the family room redo I had in mind. And frankly, I have Todd Oldham to blame. I bring home this book for the kids last week, thinking that over our 3 day weekend (Monday was no school) we could make some thing(s). Maybe weave a cool belt? Maybe make a duct tape bag? A Calder-esque mobile? You know…something small…maybe even usable…something cool.READ MORE

Origami Cranes by the Thousands

 
origami cranes
 
The origami cranes we are using for decoration at our school auction this Saturday are complete. I am now stringing the very last sets. Looking at all these cranes make me so happy, due in part to the fact that this little task, folding cranes, has been embraced by so many in our school’s community. I may have already mentioned before that Ian’s class folded 1000 cranes as part of their Asia study (those little fingers worked so hard!). We have strung those together and plan to feature them in one place. (The impact is so dramatic to see 1000 grouped together.) The other cranes folded by the school community for decoration, a small amount which is pictured here, will be hung from blossoming branch centerpieces at roughly half of the round dining tables (the other tables will have a different, but complimentary, arrangement). I will be sure to take lots of pictures!READ MORE

Origami Reduced To Size

 
Origami Reduced To Size \Origami Reduced To Size
Origami Reduced To Size
I am working on decor for our school auction and as you can see, it will involve many cranes (more than a thousand!).
I will not openly admit to exactly how long it finally took for the folds of that first crane to click for me (let’s just say mine looked more like an inchworm and I was truly worried I’d bitten off more than I could chew), but I’m happy to say I finally got it and have been buzzing along. Emma decided she wanted to try. I said “of course”, but made the whole idea sound challenging enough to be discouraging for an 11 year old, hoping she would anticipate the frustration she might feel with that first one. Explaining she just may struggle with it, but don’t give up.
But, really, I forget who I’m dealing with here. This girl has always had amazing fine motor skills. (And an added benefit, she gives better back rubs than just about anyone I know.) By the time I’d given her the “don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t click right away” talk, she was folding her 3rd crane and reading a book at the same time. I was eating crow crane.
OK then? Fine. But! Can you fold tiny ones? Super tiny? Like the ones we saw from Japan? The ones you could barely even see?
This girl doesn’t pass up a challenge-
Origami Reduced To Size
I introduce to you- the tiniest origami cranes ever folded in the wise craft house. Done with a needle.
Origami Reduced To Size
And kept in a origami box.
With origami dividers.
Origami Reduced To Size
 
I feel these are the hands of possibly a future surgeon, or maybe a fine jeweler. I know I will be putting any surgeon I’m checking out through the ol’ fold an origami crane with a needle technique.
Yep.
 

Back To Basics Knitting

Back To Basics KnittingBack To Basics Knitting
In my continued effort to use up the many craft materials I have, and finish some unfinished craft business, I am rediscovering knitting. For those who may not have read far back enough on this blog to know, there was a time in my life when I was quite an obsessive knitter. My grandmother taught me simple garter stitches when I was 4 or 5 (I had not yet started school). I managed a few stitches here and there, but it never really caught on in my head.READ MORE

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