Fabric Mask Making

I have been using Craft Passion’s fabric mask pattern.

If you’re looking for a fabric mask listing here, you won’t find one. Like many other makers, I too have been sewing fabric masks. I’m currently not offering them for sale. I have been focused on supplying my family and friends with them. There are many makers offering them for sale online, a quick search or Etsy will lead you to some. I’ve linked the pattern that I have been using in the photo above if you’d like to make your own. I made the decision to make masks for those close to me because of my limited amount of 100% cotton fabric stash.

In the video above, you can see my fabrics are from the early 2000’s. I haven’t really purchased new commercial fabrics since the days of my tote bags and baby blanket making. My commercial fabric stash has been stored away in my garage in big rubbermaid bins for years. Some call it hoarding, I call it being prepared, at least in this case. I would’ve never imagined that I’d be sewing fabric masks for an 100 year pandemic. I’m sure no one did.

Mask making is a three type of scissors job.

I have stream lined my process. I pre cut the masks in mass quantity. Then I sew them in mass as well.

It is surreal still. Even with being in the initial epicenter for the COVID-19 outbreak. I know some are struggling with the mental weight that comes with life events like this. It’s hard to see friends struggling to cope. For me, I am filling my time with projects that can help others as well as tackling a few personal projects that have been on hold for a time “when I have the time.” I’m just one of those people that struggles with being in idle. Finding ways to help relieves my mental weight.

I’ve even tapped my vintage thread stash.

Not many orders are coming through these days for either of my businesses as to be expected. We are completely grateful those that are coming through though (Thank you!). It’s just another reality check of what a delicate life circle we have. While our laser isn’t running as often as it would normally be this time of year, we are firing up our 3D printer to contribute to the medical professionals in need. We are aiming to create components for face shields and mask extenders for long wear.

Please be safe at home. We are all in this together.

-Thea

Love in a time of COVID-19: Grant's Long Con, The Extended Version

For about two years, my eldest daughter Jina has been engaged to her guy Grant. We often joke that Grant has been precisely executing a long con to get Jina to marry him. They have known each other for a very long time and went to the same high school. They did not date then or even in college. Or did my daughter know that she was going out on a date with Grant, when they had their first date. They are a handsome couple who are really two peas in a pod. They will have a few good stories to tell their children someday. With the bonus of the pandemic causing a postponement of their wedding.

This is what I shared yesterday (March 25, 2020) on my private social media accounts:

Today, if there wasn’t a world wide pandemic going on I would’ve been walking my daughter Jina down the aisle.

The handsome couple: Grant & Jina.

Jina and Grant had long planned an intimate destination wedding out of the US. After it became unsafe to travel they modified their wedding plans - twice. Then they ultimately had to postpone it. It has been a stack of disappointments one right after another for J & G. Everyone in our clan felt completely defeated for them.

Their wedding day will happen. No sympathies necessary. Just do your part in helping to slow COVID-19. Don’t ask them when it will be either, there is no way to guess that at this time.

On the side lines as Jina’s mom, there has been very little I could do aside from being there to listen. Grant and Jina are master taskmasters for 25 year olds. They are both highly ambitious people and get things done. However, even they had disheartening moments with the over flowing river of changes to not only their personal plans, but the whole planet’s too.

They shifted to having the wedding on originally planned day at home when non essential travel was dissuaded. Once that idea came about, both parental units went into action. His family secured a place and food and drink. We were in charge of decor, music and any thing Jina needed. (Her dress was designed for tropical weather.) My youngest son Trevor became ordained to perform the ceremony. Boxes of decor pieces and bridal accessories poured through our doors. Each one got sprayed with Lysol. Sketches of signs that we were to laser cut were done. Miniature bottles to put the coveted hand sanitizer in for each guest were acquired. Then our Governor started to introduce words in his daily briefings that we all knew a “shelter in place” order or the like was coming. The inevitable postponement was going to happen.

Defeated on making it happen on the planned day, but not on the ultimate goal. They are safe and healthy as well as both of their parental units. That’s all that matters right now. Tune back in post pandemic for the rest of the story.

xo-Thea

Social Distancing.

* The links below are affiliate links.

My new lightbox. After it was set up, I questioned my life choices. She’s huge!

Vintage Sunset Embroidery kit.

Today began my “baby’s” (She’s 18) first day of online instruction. Our school district announced last week that they would do online instruction for two weeks due to the COVID-19 outbreak in our area. She’s a senior in high school so not a huge deal to us. Personally, our family is mostly low risk. Two family of our members do have underlying health conditions so, we have stepped up our self care of eating healthy, taking supplements and partaking in heighten personal and home cleanliness. My “baby” does work in the health care system though and the district’s move to online instruction was a good precautionary measure in my opinion. I think people tend to forget that many teachers are 60+, I’ve known a few to have cancer and I’m sure some care for elderly parents too. Prioritizing teachers in this situation with many unknowns is good.

Over the past few weeks of individual commentary, FB groups “debates” etc., I’ve personally had it with the hostile posts about everything under the sun. I feel like everyone wants to fight about something on FB so, I’m choosing to avoid it. I feel like that energy can be used to do better things, even if you are cooped up at home.

For me, aside from doing some greenhouse and backyard clean up, I bit the bullet and purchased a new light box. I take a ton of pictures for work and need a consistent setting. My old light box was and is great for small stuff. However, I would struggle with cramming bouquets and even some formal kanzashi pieces in it under the lights just right. So I decided to go big. Like super big, see the photo at the top to this post.

I discovered that I needed to move around within the photo booth to get my angles. After some research I decided to go with the big mama one. After it was set up, I honestly questioned my life decisions. One thing is for sure, I have no more excuses to not take photos of my work. I did hold off on that due to my photo issues but also my lack of interest of listing on Etsy. That will be another post though. Hahaha.

Lastly, my eldest and I planned on keeping this vintage Sunset Embroidery kit for our Bunco prize box. But, I might break into this bad boy for a little calming project to do. I’ll share more pictures of it on my Instagram. (The only social media I do enjoy.)

xo-Thea

Recipe: Hot & Sour Soup

Well, I might as well keep this recipe train going.

Homemade Hot & Sour Soup in a vintage Fire King soup mug

Hot & sour soup is an easy meatless Monday meal. It’s deceivingly filling and you can make it vegan by replacing an egg with Just Egg.

Many of the ingredients can be found in the Asian section of your grocery store.

Hot & Sour Soup

Ingredients:

• Dried sliced Shitake mushrooms - I never measure I just grab a handful. Soak in hot water for 30 minutes then drain.

• 8 cups of vegetable broth.

• 1/4 - 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar (to your taste)

• 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce (to your taste)

• 1-2 tablespoons of hot chili oil (to your taste)

• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil

• 1 package of firm tofu (drained and cubed)

• 1/2 cup of frozen peas & carrots

• 1/2 cup of thinly sliced bamboo shoots. (They usually come canned.)

• 2 green onions chopped (for topping)

• 1 egg beaten (or Just Egg replacer)

Like I mentioned, get your dried mushrooms hydrated before you get your soup going. No one likes a chewy semi dry mushroom.

In a large pot on medium heat add your vegetable broth, vinegar and sesame oil. Add in the vinegar, making sure to taste as you add it in. Some people get prune faced when they eat vinegar. Me, I’m pretty sure I can drink that shit like water. My mom legit used to do that. So I probably go over that 1/2 cup measurement.

Do the same incremental tasting when you add the soy sauce next. If you’re using store bought broth or veggie bullion, the bummer is that it can be pretty salty. So don’t salt yourself out.

Get a decent bubbling going on with the broth and add the chili oil, tofu, peas & carrots, bamboo shoots and mushrooms. Don’t forget to stir so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.

Final stage is adding the egg. If you’re not using Just Egg, you’ll need to beat the egg. Slowly drizzle the egg into the hot broth. Give it a very light stir so it doesn't disappear to the bottom. Kill the heat top with green onions and serve.

So what you’ll find missing from my recipe is cornstarch. While it does have it’s place in my kitchen, I don’t like in my hot & sour soup. I like the ingredients’ individual textures and don’t need it masked with a cornstarch slurry, like gravy. Its soup not gravy.

Enjoy!

xo-Thea

Recipe: Afritada (Filipino Chicken in Tomato Sauce)

So, this is out of the blue. I technically have a few posts to kick out that are business related and other relevant stuff for here. But here I am posting a food recipe, because that’s what the internet is for. It’s like my old Blogger blog or my old Livejournal! Hahaha!

On my private Instagram, which is basically a food/thrifting/family life/feed - I often share what I am eating/cooking. I am lactose intolerant/have a dairy allergy and a side effect of that is that I often opt to eat vegan when I’m out to save myself any woes. I share what I’m cooking (dairy free experiments) like every other dork on the interwebs. However, this recipe is not vegan. It’s “vegetarian” in some Filipinos eyes because it’s chicken. My sister in law Erin and I had a conversation once about when she was vegetarian and was eating with her husband’s family (Filipinos) who knew she was a vegetarian and her MIL offered her chicken. Hahaha! That’s such a Filipino move.

There are Filipino food bloggers that are attempting to convert some traditional recipes to vegan dishes that I have dog-eared to try and I will report back on that. But for now, this Afritada - is a recipe I learned from one of my step-mothers; Angelita. She passed away a few years ago from brain cancer. She was eccentric, loved Elvis Presley and high fashion and was an excellent cook. I think of her fondly every time I make this.

Afritada = Chicken in tomato sauce stew.

Afritada

First - get your jasmine rice going. You will eat this with rice.

Ingredients:

• 2lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (most use bone in - but I’m a hapa/mestisa and I’m fancy.)

• 1 large white potato (peeled and cubed)

• 1 medium onion (sliced)

• 1 bell pepper (wide slices usually -yellow or red - can use frozen)

• 3/4 cup peas and carrots (I just use the bagged frozen ones)

• 2 cloves of garlic (minced - actually I’m lying I usually use like 6 cloves because that’s what I like)

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tablespoon fish sauce (Patis is best for this - can sub with soy sauce)

• 2 tablespoon lemon juice

• 8oz tomato sauce

• 2 cup Chicken broth

• Vegetable oil for frying.

• Salt and peper to taste

In a large pot, (I use my Dutch oven) on medium add a splash of oil and heat toss in your onions and cook until translucent.

Add potatoes to slightly crisp up the sides.

Add garlic and chicken next. (If you are using bone in + skin on chicken you’ll want cook that first.

Next add everything but the peas & carrots and bell pepper. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. (Add water or more broth if needed.)

Add the held back veggies, lower heat to low and cover again for 15+ minutes or (until your chicken is cooked through).

Fish out those bay leaves prior to serving and serve with rice.

Treat yo’ self and serve with Jasmine rice. It’s the best!

This recipe takes a little prep but you can cook it in a slow cooker too. Something a little different to add to your food repertoire. (It took me five times to spell that. Spell check was not helping me.)

Enjoy!

xo-Thea

Annual Thinning Of The Stash.

At least once a year, I go through my vintage kimono stash and try my best to either use, clean, or sell pieces. This is extremely hard for me to do as a fabric lover and Japanese fabrics are by far my favorite.

When thinning my stash, I take into account its usability. There are quite a few fabrics that I cannot use for kanzashi making. They typically are very thick fabrics, heavily adorned/embroidered or are a bad synthetic. Many moons ago, I would repurpose the heavily embroidered pieces into scarves or headbands. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep up with demand so I discontinued those products. They were usually made with fabric from vintage tomesode kimono. They often have beautiful detailing near the hem. I’ve never had many in my stash, probably a dozen at most. They are a married woman’s formal kimono.

I have a vintage kuro (black) tomesode kimono to rehome. She’s still in great vintage condition.

Some light fade, lining discoloration and unfortunately - but not uncommon - a bit of the old kimono smell. Otherwise, she’s in fantastic vintage condition.

The colors of the design are stunning. The embroidery is thick and neat.

This piece has the Ageha (swallowtail butterfly) mon (crest).

The kimono itself is quite heavy due to the quality of the fabric.

I am selling her a very reasonable price. Feel free to contact me or leave a comment below for more details.

I’m sure more will be on the way as I sort though my collection.

xo-Thea

A Jaunt To CA + A Granny Chic Singer Sewing Machine

John & I were in California for a few days to visit some friends and to attend a wedding.

The ceiling in the Rita House - Los Angeles, CA. January 2020

The wedding was intimate and beautiful. It was held at a little hidden gem in Los Angeles, Rita House. Such a beautiful intimate place. Taken from the Rita House website about who Rita was; “Costume Designer Rita Riggs purchased the building and made it her studio for her work with everyone from Alfred Hitchcock to Norman Lear and many, many more in between.” There were lots of interesting things to look at even among the wedding decor.

Aside from the quick jaunt to California, we came home to snow, were snowed in for a few days and celebrated two kids’ birthdays.

Homemade birthday cake - January 2020

I’m finally settled in/down from all the happenings mentioned above. I’m now ready to tackle some projects. A few days before we left I was gifted a vintage Singer sewing machine from a neighbor. I’ve never actually owned a Singer machine before. Many other brands though. So I am very excited to add this vintage beauty to my collection. She needs some restoring, but that’s right up my alley.

According to the serial number, it’s from 1931. I’ve discovered many online resources to help me restore it. I’m so excited! Plus the “granny chic” with a touch of industrial vibe aesthetic, is my thing. I just like looking at it. I can’t believe the generosity of my neighbor.

I’ll be sure to post updates of the restoration process as I accomplish it. I have a couple of kimono to tidy up and reheome (sell) on my plate first. I’ll post more about them on my Instagram.

xo - Thea

My Dad's Birthday

When I was little, from around December 20th to January 2nd (at least) was a block of birthday/holiday celebrations. My birthday is December 25th and my dad’s was January 2nd. That timeframe was an excuse to do extra special stuff.

Today my dear old dad would’ve been 87. He was in his 40’s when I was born and passed away when I was in my 20s. I miss him dearly. He was my best friend - I was quite the daddy’s girl. (He raised me.)

I do a sort of ritual of his favorite meal for dinner and do something in his honor annually on this day. It has been evolving since 2004 when he passed. This year, I am spending the evening creating. I am working on an extra special personal project that requires a lot of design work from me. It’s a laser cutting project which I think he would’ve been excited for me to have a laser cutter. He was a very gifted mechanic (before and after his Navy career). You know when someone has a talent and they just shine and make it look so easy. That was him with any machine. I unfortunately did not inherit that gift from him as he had me working on small machines like lawnmowers or doing auto body work.

I usually wear aprons when I cook/bake. Apron (and most of my aprons was made by Kristine Ann.)

My dad and I. I was probably around 5 or 6 years old here and this was not an uncommon scene. Heavy machinery was this girl’s jam. I actually tried to start one of our backhoes up myself. I got it into neutral and my dad had to chase me.

Thanks to him, from a young age I’ve been comfortable around various types of machines and mechanical gadgets. That has come in handy many times over in my life. From being a single mom having to do a quick car repair on my own to fixing a horribly over complicated office printer.

I currently have nothing to share with you about my current project. But I feel like working on something creative that will turn into a tangible thing is the best way to honor my dad today. He would’ve kicked my butt if I just moped around on days like this. :)

xo-Thea

New Decade Day 1

Last night John and I were up really late researching movies from 20 years ago. It was weird to use because to us, 2000 doesn’t really feel that long ago.

December 2019 - Process shot of a custom piece for myself. It had been a long time since I created a piece for myself.

I’m totally in the phase of life where everything is a blur. My children are grown. Big life events come at me like a freight train. Long gone are the days of routine and filling my days with planned snacks and naps. Although, I think John would enjoy that. But here we are, day one of a new decade. This year alone there are two big life events happening. My eldest is getting married. Then my youngest is graduating high school. We know how to start a decade off with a big bang.

December 2019 - Jina is 24, I figured it was time to get her the expensive dollhouse she’s always wanted. (Presents under the tree for 8 people and 2 dogs. + My birthday presents.) Photo edited with A Color Story - Cozy Filter.

Rolling back a minute, included in this post are photos from Christmas. Which also happens to be my birthday. I share many photos on my private IG, 6 by 6 and I’m just now getting back into the groove of sharing on my public account. I’ve long neglected this blog and my shop because of 6 by 6 . Last year we were able to hone in on some products and discontinue a few, which allowed us to streamline many things. It’s funny that even though I have experience with manufacturing with this company, I still made many of the same mistakes I did when I first started this in 2003.

December 2019 - My custom made kanzashi for my birthday.

December 25, 2019 Me on my birthday.

Dress: VooDoo Vixen Purse: Little Rooms

With all that said, I finally feel free to create a bit. I love January - also known as “Pajamuary” in the maker’s world. Post holiday rush I actually feel energized to work on things that I’ve shelved. It’s weird how much of a rollercoaster life can actually be. To complete the conversation from the first paragraph of this post, last night we settled on watching one of my favorite movies; Chocolat. Which I hope serves as a whimsical inspiration for me this month.

Happy New Year - New Decade!

xo-Thea

Purrrfect Day

Hello Friends! I’m still alive and kicking. I haven’t been able to find time to post and restock here as much as I’ve wanted to this year. I’m truly just sitting on a ton of inventory waiting to be photographed. 6 by 6 has required the majority of my attention still.

I did manage to kick out a few fun personal projects for Halloween.

Vintage kimono kanzashi hair clip topped with a laser cut kitty. Hand painted by Thea Starr

A laser cut spiderweb wreath I designed and topped with hand-painted snakes and vintage silk flowers.

A little corner of our front porch. Including a handmade tarantula spider, created from instructions by Christine McConnell.

A little domestic fun before I head off to California for a few days for 6 by 6. I’ll be attending the AdobeMax conference. I solely use my hands for my kanzashi work, but for 6 by 6 we use all of the Adobe products. It’s such a fun event and I’m honored to be one of the selected vendors.

I post on Instagram much more frequently if you’d like to keep tabs on me there.

xo-Thea

Urban Craft Uprising Summer Show 2019

Its that time of the year again! This weekend is Urban Craft Uprising Summer Show. I will be there with my other company 6 by 6 Arts in a shared booth. Gotta keep it simple for myself. I will have lots of my super popular mini clips, tons of my circle kimono fabric clips - which are $10 and my classic single clips. What I won’t have on hand at the show: formal pieces and bouquets. I am choosing to leave those at home this time around. I am still making them, but I wanted to streamline our display at the show.

In other news, I have a had a bizarre experience with my email. Long story short - please email me at thea@6by6arts.com. I believe I have everything forwarded there already, but just in case please use that email.

As always, I love this show and am very excited to see everyone this weekend. If you plan on coming by, please stop and say hello!

xo-Thea

Circle clips are back!

Well hello! For the first time in forever I posted on my IG today, so I figured I should post a little note here too.

If you’ve been following me for awhile now, you’ll know that I’ve been working on my business with my husband John. We’re actually into our 5th year this month. My fire and inspiration for kanzashi making had cooled a bit with the laser cutting adventure. However, I have had a recent rekindling of wanting to create again. It feels totally awesome. My long time assistant - my daughter Jina is engaged now and I’m sure that has everything to do with being inspired again.

First thing out of the gate is a new batch of circle clips!

Thea Starr | Vintage Kimono Circle Clips

I’m totally in love with these. They are super easy to wear and are a bit of eye candy. I currently have them available in a couple of color ways as noted in the listing. Apparently hair clips are “in” again this summer. Honestly, I didn’t know they were “out”. I need something to keep my flyways in check since I’m not into using product in my hair. I’ve been rocking these for my everyday wear.

New kanzashi is on the horizon as well. I mean it! I did a little polling privately among my friends to see if everyone still loves pink and purple. The answer was a big “duh Thea”. So be on the look out for those.

xo- Thea

Urban Craft Uprising THIS WEEKEND!

And just like that in a blink of an eye we are here. End of June and time for Urban Craft Uprising's Summer Show. 

John and I set up our booth today. We're doing a shared booth for both of my companies. We'll be there this weekend from 11 am to 5pm. Seattle Center Exhibition Hall booth number 25.

This will most likely be my only in person show with my kanzashi this year at this point. Much of my kanzashi work happens during "wedding season" so I've switched to just doing shows during that time frame. Also 6 by 6 eats up 90% of my time. For my non locals, I will freshen up the store post show.

If you're in the Seattle area, I hope you'll stop by the show! For more information check out : www.urbancraftuprising.com

Bright Bold Summer

Can you believe that we're half way through the year? We're entering the time for bright colors and hot weather here in the Northwest. I personally don't mind the PNW drizzle weather that we have most of the year, but I also gravitate towards brighter colors on a daily. I like reds, yellows, oranges and bright blues. I think that is pretty evident with my work too.

While working on custom wedding pieces, I am also creating bright cheery pieces to have on hand at Urban Craft Uprising's Summer Show. It is likely to to be my only show this year due to time constraints with also managing 6 by 6 Arts. I'll have a shared booth with 6 by 6 at UCU.

I've spent a lot of time sourcing brighter pieces of vintage kimono to work with. I'm really into avoiding neutrals right now. I will of course have some versatile white pieces on hand that are always a fan favorite, but this year I am fully embracing color.  I love looking at bright fun colors, it makes me feel happy. I'm a firm believer that color affects your mood. Who doesn't need a bit more happy colors in their lives? So be ready to eye guzzle some color if you're coming to visit me at UCU this summer!

xo - Thea

When you can't come up with your own original ideas...

I have been in the maker business since 2002. I have been copied (down to the exact style of design) many times. I've even had my work bought and sold and passed off as someone else's work too. 

It should come as no surprise to me that someone on the Glowforge community created a file exactly like my original work and is sharing it there for other Glowforge members to use. 

How do I know? They linked directly to my work here on my site. 

Unfortunately for me, there is nothing illegal about this. It is just disappointing. I know "nothing" is original anymore and no one "cares" how something is made. Its just sad that it is my exact design, including the star in a recreated file being shared. It is called a STARR flower for a reason. I created it to expand my use for vintage kimono fabric and have a collaboration product with my laser cutting company. I'm sure in no time there will be a new Etsy shop filled with Starr Flower copycats for sale as the file gets passed along. My husband John and I have experienced this a few times with our business together in the past 4 years. An Etsy shop opened up with a Happy Rain Cloud keychain copycat as it's only product. Just like this and previous experiences, I'll just shrug it off and create new original designs. Imitation is the best form of flattery right? But it doesn't feel that way though, I am human. An actual person who creates for a living. 

As creatives, there are so many ways to take inspiration from a design and make it your own. Create something totally new with your own flair! If you like something you see made by a maker, compliment them, buy their work, be inspired by their work to make something of your own in your own style. When I teach classes on kanzashi making, I assure my students to do just that. You disappointment me Mr. Copycat. You could have at least removed the star(r).

xo-Thea 

Enjoying Spring With My Favorite Flowers

I’ve spent a lot time looking and studying flowers over the years. I used to focus on more realistic looking kanzashi pieces. That is the traditional way. Over time my customers always seemed to gravitate towards my stylized pieces.  

My customers are like me, color lovers. My pieces tend to be saturated and high contrast. So, I’ve moved away from creating realistic looking pieces and focused solely on stylized pieces. Which tend to look like the flowers on patterns on vintage kimono.

This topic is currently floating around for me. It’s spring and my favorite flowers are in bloom. Wisteria and lilacs top my list. 

I’m also already getting ready for my first and perhaps only show of the year. I’m planning out how many classics and new goods to bring.  

By my side (and wherever I can stick them) are my beloved lilacs. I had two large lilac bushes in front of my bedroom growing up. I loved opening up the windows and filling the house with their smell. I just love them and try to enjoy them to the max while they are here.

Have an excellent weekend friends! And remember to stop and smell the flowers.  

xo-Thea

About an inch around.

Whomever I come into contact with while I am working, they always stop and marvel how tiny the pieces of fabric are. 

The standard sizes that I cut my fabrics are either 2"x 2" or 1" x 1".  The typical cuts for my regular sized and my mini sized kanzashi.

Small Bamboo Leaves Clips

It can be tedious work with the tiny delicate folds, but I equate it to knitting. I've done the repetitive motions for so long now, it is soothing and familiar. For the tiniest pieces I will often use tweezers to maneuver petals into position. The smaller they are, the harder they are to make. It is totally well worth it though!

Many of my tiny kanzashi sets become bridal gifts, flower girl hair pieces and even Blythe doll accessories. There are a few minis available in the shop right now with more on the way. I had hoped that I would have time to list them this week. But alas, my youngest had all of her wisdom teeth removed and requires a bit more assistance we thought. (Mom life!)

Happy Friday!

xo-Thea 

Circle Clips

It me - Thea

I might be a little too excited about these. This is the second collaboration product between my two companies. As some of you know I own a laser cutting and engraving company with my husband John called 6 by 6 Arts. We primarily make home decor items. However, I've found a couple ways to marry my two companies.

This time around I wanted to keep things simple. Sometimes that is the best thing! Circle Clips frame vintage kimono fabric within a walnut wood frame. These are more simple yet more showy compared to my Starr Flowers.  

With simple barrette clips attached to the backs, these were designed for everyday wear. 

I have my first batch (all one of a kind pieces) available in my Etsy shop. I'll soon have multiple prints in quantity available here very soon. 

Let me know what you think of these. Happy Friday the 13th too!

xo-Thea

Fresh Kanzashi Mini's at Momo Seattle

A fresh batch of kanzashi minis are at MOMOseattle! Including exclusive to Momo mini brooches. For those of you outside of the Seattle area, I’ll have a handful of minis available in my shop next week. 

xo - Thea 

Out with the old and in with the old.

Kanzashi Brooch Flower paired with a floppy felt hat. | Model Nieves Starr

I am one of those makers that has storms of creativity or complete dry spells. Right now it's full on hurricane mode over here. 

I know I don't post much here as much as I used to a few years ago. 6 by 6 gave my creative life a new adventure. I have a deep love and appreciation for the art of kanzashi making. I was completely self taught. Learning during a time with hardly any online general craft tutorials let alone kanzashi tutorials. I dismantled a small kanzashi piece that was affixed to a doll from Japan that was given to me when I was a child. I romanticize that learning curve when I do sit down to make forever flowers.

While I do make many traditional pieces for bridal or formal events, much of my work is worn on an everyday basis. I try to create examples of various ways to wear kanzashi for those who want to wear one but don't know to. The easiest way is in a brooch form, an example is pictured above. A beautiful but simple adornment adds a bit of color and something special to an everyday item. I have more examples to share and I would love to hear of any creative ways you might have worn one too. Let me know below!

The model pictured above is also an original by Thea Starr too - my youngest daughter Nieves. If you've been following me for a bit, you know my maker's journey started soon after she was born. She is 16. :)

xo-Thea