Tutorial: Steampunk-friendly millinery flowers

Japanese hana kanzashi flowers turned into
Steampunk-friendly millinery flowers!

I've taken a bit of a detour from my Victorian and 1912 day dresses and started to flesh out an idea I had for a Steampunk hat trim.  I usually don't make my own hat trims -- heck, I have trouble using pre-made trim and silk flowers on my hats -- because I just don't have the right kind of imagination to come up with something that looks good.  A few years ago I was at Costume Academy -- a one-day costume conference put on by the Greater Bay Area Costumer's Guild -- and ended up taking a class on hana kanzashi, or the delicate, elaborate flower-bedecked hairpins and headdresses that Japanese geishas wear. Making them involves doing origami with tweezers and 1/2 inch squares of hand-painted China silk ribbon to make the individual flower petals, and is very time-consuming and fiddly.  I didn't really know how I would ever use the information, but because I was getting ready to help with the costumes for a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's Mikado, I thought it might come in handy for making headdresses for the women in the cast.  While I didn't end up making any headdresses at that time, I did start thinking about how to alter the design and production for theater costume purposes.  I ended up with cool Steampunk propeller-flowers for my hat (which I don't have yet, but that's another story)!

Cheery little May baskets!

Photo: Elizabeth Urbach.

Making Victorian-inspired items can require a lot of skill and time, not to mention money, but if you choose the right project, you can make something that's inexpensive and cute, in practically no time!  Well, if you consider 30 minutes "no time" ... Here's what you need to make a Victorian-ish May basket to hang on your doorknob:

an assortment of silk flowers
one sheet of fancy scrap-booking paper
12 inches or so of baby ribbon or other narrow ribbon
hole punch
wire cutters or sturdy craft scissors
roll of floral tape
Scotch tape/regular clear tape
pencil
ruler or compass (remember those from math class?)

March Tea and Craft Workshop in San Jose!

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Join the South Bay Ladies' Tea Guild for our March meeting.  We'll be making a Victorian tussie-mussie of cute paper flowers! 

Crepe Paper Flower Workshop: we’ll prepare for spring by making a bouquet of paper flowers.  Older children welcome!

Date: March 12, 2011. 2 p.m.
Location: a private home in San Jose.  E-mail the South Bay Ladies' Tea Guild for the address. 
Tickets: $20 (Ladies' Tea Guild members)/$25 (non-members)
Suggested Costume: modern dress. 

Please R.S.V.P. and send your food and supply fees by Thursday, March 10, 2011.  We need to know how many people will attend so that we can make the food and purchase the workshop supplies!  We can accept checks as well as payment through PayPal.  Contact the South Bay Ladies' Tea Guild for more information.