I’ve always had a bit of an adverse reaction to fear. If something scares or bothers me, I might avoid it for a while, but eventually – especially if it’s not something that should actually be scary or detrimental to me – I will confront it head on. For example, I used to really struggle with sagari – the fluttering petals that are often seek as part of tsumami kanzashi. It wasn’t that they were really all that difficult to make, but I felt intimidated by them.

So, I created the Wisteria Halo Headband, which is almost entirely made using the sagari technique. The result came out pretty well; and of course, I am far less bothered by making sagari now.

This particular project came about for similar reasons. I have used reversed or inside-out style tsumami petals before, but only sparingly – because I found them intimidating.

When the opportunity came around to create an original design to cap off my Tsumami Zaiku Certification, I knew that I wanted to challenge myself; do something that made me a little bit uncomfortable, and something that would show my skill. That’s when I decided to do craft a spray of hollyhocks and a nightingale. These pieces combined show that I can do the basic maru and ken tsumami as well as the more advanced techiniques – reversed tsumami and wirework leaves.

I also wanted to pick a flower that was relevant to my locale, and hollyhocks are very popular in Saskatchewan – running riot in peoples gardens during the spring and early summer months. Hollyhocks are a relatively uncommon kanzashi motif for the month of March, and I also felt it would be good call a bit more attention to the motif.

Originally, this was going to be one piece – with the bird resting on the large spray of hollyhocks. But, as I was arranging the completed pieces, I realized it would work better as two separate items.

I also thought that if this was a bridal or special occasion set, the larger piece could be used for the big event, and the smaller piece could be used more often – as it’s a bit easier to wear. Quite often, we pay a premium for items because they are for our wedding, or some big special occasion, but end up never using those items after the big day.

I think by making a larger and smaller piece and pairing them together, it gives this set a bit more longevity. I know that I personally enjoy wearing things that remind me of special times, and that’s what I was going for here.

Overall, I feel like I achieved what I was meant to with this set. I’ve shown my skill, and created something that has an heirlooom quality to it – but which is still very wearable and accessible.

If you like this set and want to see more of my work in the future, be sure to join the Mailing List to get notified whenever an update is posted. You can also follow me on Instagram and check out my Youtube for videos showing my crafting process, travel, shopping, and gaming. 🙂 Check back here again next week for more crafty projects, and at the end of the month when this set and more will be dropping into the Shop!