New Year Calls for a New Project...

I decided that, rather than looking at old projects, I would do something new and quick.

I have done these before, but they are fast and fun.  What better way to start a new year?

If you walked into some one's workroom and saw a box labeled "tampons", you could possibly think that was a little weird....So...I labeled the box "bolster forms".  That sounds not quite so strange...and I get out of explaining the tampons to every new person that comes in and starts reading my labels.

The new ones are a bit different than the old kind.  I didn't discover, until I started using them that once again those silly people have messed up the design.  the new ones aren't an exact fit like the old ones were.  The inner tube is much smaller than the outer tube.  So I used part of the outer tube and cut a section out, in order to make the inner box that holds the top on.  Easy enough to do.

All you need for a nice powder box is the tampon, an index card, wallpaper or another paper of choice.  Thinner is better.  No card stock.  Other than that, you need white glue and small sharp scissors to cut the Vs in the top edges.

I should have said top and bottom edges.  The reason that I specify V cuts is you don't want the paper to overlap.

After you glue it as shown in the photo, cut a couple of strips of the paper that are the same size as the top and bottom sides.

Glue those around the box and over lap about 1/16".  I used my paper cutter to do the strips.  It makes for a nicer, straighter edge than scissors.

After you do that, decorate your box any way you want to.  I put bunka around the bottom of the top of the box.  I used four beads for three feet and a handle on top. 

As soon as I finish here, I am going back and put bunka around the top and bottom edges.  After seeing the photo, I think that it needs that little extra.

The answer to your next question....Yes.  It opens and you can hide things inside...Or you could even put a bit of dusting powder in it, with a felt circle on top for a powder puff.

Now go make something for the new year....If you don't need a powder box, you can make a set of canisters for the kitchen...Just don't tell anyone what you used to make the box.  They will think that you are a bit strange....

See you tomorrow.

Icky Old Trim....

One of the things that Sue saved was old fringe trim...why?

It's Bunka!  And sometimes even cording.

I thought that, if some of you don't want to look for bunka on line, you might want to search in your fabric stores and thrift shops.

I have been known to try to unravel a tiny tip of the fringe if I am not sure if it will work.  That was in the early days.  When I didn't know what to look for.  Don't get caught!  The stores don't like unraveled trims. 

On the other hand, if it doesn't unravel, it's not bunka....If it does, you are in business. It's OK to buy.

All of this stuff you see is useable.  In the case of the stuff that Tessie draped herself in, it has many yards of bunka and the added attraction of matching silk like cording.  That's the stuff on the card to the left.

It is really a matter of knowing that you can tear it apart and finding the right thread to pull.

Most of the time, it is put together with a chain stitch machine and you can find one end or the other to pull to unleash it.

The bunka itself is sort of chain stitch braiding.

See the stuff that Tessie is holding?  That's the unraveled bunka.  It is the same as the beige on the card in front of her...That is still braided...

Again, it is a matter of finding the right end and thread to pull.  Sometimes tweezers help.

This could take hours to get apart, so I am just going to shove it in a box for now...It will be there when needed.

For those of you that are not familiar with bunka....The trim on the green chair is unraveled bunka.

The rug in front of the chair is also bunka.  It is unraveled and glued to medium weight pellon.

There are instructions under the "bunka" label on the sidebar.  I use the technique on punch needle rug patterns.

A couple of years ago, Walmart had these wind sock like things to hang on your porch  that were nothing more than long strands of bunka looped around a ring and suspended from three pieces of....bunka. For a few dollars, I bought them at the end of the season...LOTS of bunka there.  If you keep your eyes open, there are a lot of places the stuff is used.  And it is much cheaper that way than by the card, if you can find the colors that you want. 

Now go forth and search!

I am going back to the cottage to work.

See you tomorrow.

She Told Me I Could....

It's me again.  Casey is still cleaning cupboards...I still say she is ridiculous!

She said that I had to finish what I started, so here goes.

Here's the finished rug.  It is very warm and cozy, if I do say so myself.

I am not sure if it looks like a rainbow or stained glass.

I decided to put the pattern in, like Casey does.

If you want to make one, all you have to do is make it the size you want your rug and trace it on unwoven interfacing.

By the way, the line of gold around the inner edge is easier to put in before you put the final line of black inside.

Other than that, I have nothing else to say. Go for it.

If you have any problems, Casey has an entry on bunka rug making...I am going to have to sit her down at the computer and have her redo all of the labels. It was early in the game and all she has as a label on this one is "tutorials". 

Anyway, if you want to read it, go here.
http://caseymini.blogspot.com/2008/04/bunka.html

It tells you more about how to do it.

Someone accused me of jumping around on the iPad with my pogo stick....I would never do that!  I would break it and then I couldn't play with the Angry Birds anymore.  I only use the pogo stick on the computer because the keys are much harder to press down.  I just dance around on the screen of the iPad.  It works just fine.

As for me, I am going to go lie down now.  Two days of jumping around the keyboard is more than enough for me.  Casey had better be back to doing this!

See you tomorrow..  (Casey here.  I just came in and spotted this, unpublished.  Tessie was taking a nap on the keyboard.)Added note, that website on the older post no longer seems to be in business. Sorry.

Guest Blogger Me, Tessie!

Good Morning.  Please pardon any typos.  The pogo stick isn't the easiest thing to manage on the computer keys.

I went to Casey this morning and begged her to make me a rug for under the loom to keep my toes toasty when I weave.

She totally ignored me.  She is cleaning kitchen cupboards this morning.  Silly woman! 

Doesn't she know that, if you don't clean them for a while, all kinds of useful things grow there in the dark.   Mine have toadstools way in the back, a few cool green winged beetles and lots of fuzzy, furry stuff that looks like grey moss....I am not exactly sure what is there now.  I think that Cordelia cleaned(very bad thing to do) right after she moved into the town house.  I refuse to live in her house anymore, it is way to clean and orderly...I may have to put a spell on her and make her trade back.

Anyway, I kept begging Casey for a rug.  She told me to go away.  I begged again and she threw a box of cereal at  my head...And I don't even like cereal!

So....I decided to take matters into my own hands.  If the photos aren't up to par, Zar took them.

Oh!  I just bounced up and saw a squirrel in the yard, eating apples.  Cool.  Now I know why Casey likes to look out the window by the computer.

Back to the story.  I did make Casey cut me a piece of  non-woven interfacing and carry out the bunka box. I like saying that.  Bunka box bunka box bunka box...And she had to get out the books, but I did the rest all by myself....With Zar's help.

I really didn't need the books after all.  I made up the pattern myself.

First, with a permanent pen, I drew the outlines of the design that I wanted to put on the rug.

OK.  So there are a few misplaced lines....Who cares?  They are going to get covered up anyway.

Then came the fun part.  I pulled on the end of the bunka whilst Zar held the card.  I think that I pulled out way more than I can use.  It's just plain entertaining to do...Zar was even having fun!  

Then Spike got involved. Do you think that Casey will believe that a pet spider went berserk and strung all the bunka from pillar to post?....Maybe not.

First I outlined all of the black.  I used Casey's glue syringe.  Zar pushed down on the plunger and I guided it around the rug.

Then I covered the string of glue with a string of bunka. 

I keep having to chase Spike off.  He sees it as a future bed already.

Just before I came in here to bounce this er I mean write this... I started putting color in all of the spaces.

Another fun part, but it makes me dizzy.  I start at the outer edge and work my way to the center of each part.

I should have it done to show you tomorrow, but Casey will probably take away my pogo stick and tell me I can't use the computer anymore.

I keep messing around with the iPad, but I can't figure that one out at all.  I keep pressing the wrong buttons and accidentally buying new game apps.  Well maybe it isn't quite an accident.  I do like those Angry Birds.  I can't figure out why they are so unhappy, but they are fun to play with.

I guess I am done here.  My feet are getting blisters. Oh!  I just found Spellcheck!  How cool is that!?!

Casey will see you tomorrow.

But I Digress......

OK. Sometimes I forget that you don't always know what I am talking about. Yesterday, Heather asked, "What is bunka?". For Heather and others that might not know about this Japanese thread, I am going off on a tangent today. It is a really great tool to have if you do a lot of your own minis.

Bunka was originally used for a kind of Japanese punch needle type of embroidery. People still do it, but I have never tried it.

It is a rayon thread that is somehow knit and when you pull on the end, it unravels into this really neat wrinkly strand. It should be pulled out as you use it. It is best to store it un-pulled, still on the card.

The above zebra skin rug is a finished example. The "hooked" rug beside it is in progress. I started it and put it down a year or 5 ago...Yup. The six year old's attention span strikes again. In my defence, this is the second one of that design....I finished it once already.

Anyway, this is how you make bunka rugs. http://caseymini.blogspot.com/search?q=bunka+rug There are a few entries on how to do it.

You can also make buds on mini flowers in pots, among other things.

One of my favorite uses of it is for cording on soft furnishings like the Chinese Chippendale Cornice in the previous entry.

Tessie's favorite use is for trims on clothing and hats. The one that she is wearing has leaves of bunka. The peach silk that she is holding has white bunka around the top of the crown and the edge.

The three around her feet are corded around the edge and crown with it and all have some filler flowers and leaves of bunka.

The last example is one of my beds. There is white bunka around the tufted silk headboard. The lavender floral fillers are all bunka. The only flowers are the silk roses. The rest is illusion.

I rest my case. Bunka is a really good thing to have on hand. It comes in many colors. It just depends on where you order, what colors are available. I usually purchase mine at mini shows, where I can see the selection. I just counted the ones that I have. I have 91 cards, counting the ones with metallic thread in them. I have a few duplicates of colors I use a lot, but not many. The colors vary from company to company. A lot of mine are YLI or KAO.

If you go on line and put "bunka thread" in your" search", you will find a lot of sources. The first one that came up for me this morning was YLI. I like their bunka and also their silk ribbon. This is not an ad. I am just saying that it is readily available and works for me. I have never ordered directly, but know some people that have and seem to be satisfied.

Anyway, go find some bunka and unravel it. That's the most fun part of the project. Watch it expand!

Thanks for the votes. Please do it again!

See you tomorrow with more curtains.