Kumihimo

Posted on 20 May 2012 :: 2 Comments

Kumihimo.

Sounds interesting, right? That’s what I thought when Mrs. Hanley over at Roscommon Acres started posting about her new line of jewelry making, making kumihimo articles for her etsy shoppe. I like finding out about other cultures and their ways of doing things; it’s really neat all of the things they do. I have always liked the whole Japanese culture; I think it’s really interesting. Well, Mom ordered some things from Mrs. Hanley, because she wanted us to learn how to do this sort of braiding. I was thrilled! The photos that Mrs. H posted of her work were beautiful. Simple, but still beautiful.

this is the ‘hole’ in the simple foam disk that we have.

Some of you may not know what ‘kumihimo’ means. Well, I’ll tell ya: “Kumi” means to plait or gather together, “Himo” a string or cord. So “Kumihimo” means plaited or braided cords. Which is exactly what you do when making kumihimo.

From this site, I found the following paragraphs:

Braiding is traditionally done on a Marudai, a round braiding stand, generally made of wood.  The ancient braiders would kneel at it to do their braiding. Todays braiders, either sit, or place it on a table and stand to braid.

The modern and more portable versions of the Marudai are the Kumihimo Disk [which i am using] and Plate, which are made of durable dense foam.

Braiding has been part of almost every culture throughout the ages.  The Japanese began braiding cord and silk for the Samurai warriors to lace and decorate their armour and scabbards. They also developed different styles to use more decoratively as an obi-jime, the final and most beautiful cord used to fasten the Kimono.

coming out the other side of the ‘hole’, you can see the braid.

I made a bracelet [not yet finished tho!] using a simple braiding method. It was really easy. Even my 6 and 8yo brothers made their own too. See how simple it is. :)

I used a keychain to weight it a little bit, which was attached to the part of the string which is through the middle. This helps to keep tension and pull it down through it while you braid.

my choice of colours were a purple and two different grays. I quite like the way it turned out.

So, yeah, that’s a new things I’m learning. As well as my siblings. Hannah and Eric have also made some kumihimo bracelets too. I want to try and do a hollow braid next. :)

as ever,
-Ra’chel

…when you ran, the ground shook…

Posted on 18 May 2012 :: 0 Comment

“You are a great champion.
When you ran, the ground shook,
the sky opened and mere mortals parted.
Parted the way to victory,
where you’ll meet me in the winner’s circle,
where I’ll put a blanket of flowers on your back. “

From the movie, Dreamer: Inspired by a true story.

a little duckie

Posted on 16 May 2012 :: 5 Comments

Mom has these duck glasses that we got for her in Tilaran.

They are really cute. Sorry, I don’t have a photo, but trust me, they are cute.

They remind me of those vintage/retro glasses like what you would find yourself drinking orange juice out of at your great-grandparents house. Or at least they do to me. :)

I was sitting one day, and I was using one of these duck glasses, and the ducks are so cute.

So I drew it.

:) I likes me wee little pato. [that's spanish for duck, btw.]

as ever,
-Ra’chel

Living Learning Moments Meme: 12-05-12

Posted on 13 May 2012 :: 2 Comments

Hey, join in with me if you want to. Just copy my post and put in your own answers to the bolded parts. :) Disfrute!

For My Week: Town trips for groceries, packing stuff, more artwork, house keeping, and some school. What’s on your list?

A Photo:

Little flower pod that all the petals fell out of and then it closed. :)

The favorite thing I did: Made some empañadas! :)

The weather outside is: Sunny, but there are some clouds, so it could rain.

I am reading: I am currently reading several books: Reference Guide for Essential Oils by Connie and Alan Higley; Make a Healthier Choice with Essential Oils by Jane Tess Davis; Baldwin’s Readers: Sixth Year; High School English: Book Two; Moby Dick by Herman Melville. I am also reading The Mama’s Torah: The Role of Womeni by Batya Wooten. It is a very good book.

My projects around the house: Keeping things clean. Illustrations and getting things organized.

I learned about: …the effects of candida on the body. pretty scary what that stuff messes with.

I made: …art. :)

I am working on: art and a knitting project. [still. being sick for two days with an unknown bug was not conducive to completing anything.]

I am looking forward to: …a lot of things!

My Scripture verse for the week: Psalm 9:7-8:

But HYH abides forever, He is preparing His throne for judgment. And He judges the world in righteousness, He judges the peoples in straightness.

On my prayer list: My family, myself, and friends. Too many to name them all.

I am thankful for: photos. :) I love them.

Musically inclined: Bourne Vivaldi by The Piano Guys. :) I like the Bourne Series.

Poetry+Prose:

Another by Walt Whitman.

Among The Multitude
Walt Whitman 

Among the men and women, the multitude,
I perceive one picking me out by secret and divine signs,
Acknowledging none else–not parent, wife, husband, brother, child,
any nearer than I am;
Some are baffled–But that one is not–that one knows me.

Ah, lover and perfect equal!
I meant that you should discover me so, by my faint indirections;
And I, when I meet you, mean to discover you by the like in you.

*smile*:

ROFL!

as ever,
-Ra’chel

Those Little Obscure Articles…

Posted on 11 May 2012 :: 8 Comments

…are sometimes those things that capture our attention.
Like my braided hair laying on my sketchbook.

Si, si. I am trying to get more artistic.

those obscure little objects are needed to capture my attention and make me creative.

I hope you enjoyed it. :)

as ever,
-Ra’chel

Deliciosa Empañadas!

Posted on 10 May 2012 :: 5 Comments

Empañadas… yum! I love simple meals. Simple things are, well, simple. I love simplicity, and these are pretty simple. Now, you may not think so, but they would be much easier if I did them in an oven. Having no oven at present, I must use my creativity and do them on the stove, in a ‘primitive’ manner. hehe! no, not really. Just joking here.

Actually, it was Jocelyn’s idear. She wanted me to make some empañadas and told me to try to make them on the stove. I was skeptical, not wanting them to be a complete mess and not work, but I was proven wrong. The first time I made them, a couple of days ago, I rolled out the dough, and then cut long strips with it. This time, I cut them into circles, like normal empañadas are made. These are awesome!

What you do is: make a filling with whatever you want really. I used the taters ‘n veggies, but added some hamburger this time. You could do barbecue, or chicken; whatever you want. Then, while the veggies are cookin’, make up a bit of dough and get a rolling pin. [Had Beatrix Potter's The Rolly-Polly Pudding running through my brain there! haha!] I just used a simple bread dough, with a bit of yeast in it so they would rise a bit.

Roll out the dough, then cut them into circles. Mine were about 5-6 inches roundabouts. Then put some of your filling on one side of the circle.

Flip the other side over and pinch it with your fingers to seal it.

Pinch it good now.

Heat up your cast iron skillet, and add a bit of oil. I used olive oil and sunflower oil.

Stick them babies into the pan and cover it with a lid. I didn’t have a pan lid that fit the pan, so I put a metal cookie sheet over it to lock in the heat. Worked pretty well. :)

then let your sister do the fillin’ and the pinchin’ while you make more circles to fill and soak some lettuce for cleaning.

Lettuce cleaned: check. Empañadas made: check. Mango cut: check. We’re ready to eat!

YUMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Hope you enjoyed this recipe. Life is good. And yummy.

as ever,
-Ra’chel

I Got Me Some Snails

Posted on 09 May 2012 :: 1 Comment

I did a couple drawings of some snails… very pretty ones too. :) The photos are way better than my artwork, but I think I captured something of their likenesses. :)

This was the snail that started it all:

I drew it off of this photo.

And I found a couple more shots of snails so I did these two.

what do ya thunk? :)

as ever,
-Ra’chel

Hanging In A Tree

Posted on 08 May 2012 :: 3 Comments

I have been working on some artwork. My poem I wrote about when I posted my first sunrise post is still a work in process. You see, I want to turn it into a children’s book. I incorporated Spanish words in for some of the more important words, like the animals and colours and such. I just thought since I’m living here, I might as well use it as a way to make people happy. So I decided to try my hand at illustrating it.

The first part is about howler monkeys. Those are easy to draw, right? I’ll be done in no time with this page! Hahaha… no. it took me three days to be temporarily satisfied with it. But I am not yet done nor am I satisfied completely with it. I think it has nice composure and the shapes are proportionate, but I feel it is lacking something. I can’t figure it out.

I am going to redo it on a new sheet; Samuel thought he’d add some love to it and add a smudge to the main monkey’s face. Uh, right. Hehe. He liked the monkeys though, which I was happy about. :) It’s meant for little children, isn’t it?! Haha! But children can be satisfied with simplicity… as can other people too. :) But here it is for now. I’ll be adding some ‘texture’: hair and a bit of shading when I put it onto a new sheet.

^click on the photo for a larger view of it.

So anyhow. Tell me what you think about it. :)

as ever,
-Ra’chel

sailing into the clouds

Posted on 07 May 2012 :: 1 Comment

…thus completing the beautiful play which the sun put on for me a couple of days ago.

nearly gone…

she has sailed.

as ever,
-Ra’chel

Living Learning Moments Meme: 06-05-12

Posted on 06 May 2012 :: 5 Comments

I caught myself before it become quite a long time since I have done one of these. I remembered… and now I am doing it! Join in with me if you want to. Just copy my post and put in your own answers to the bolded parts. :) Disfrute!

For My Week: No plans are definite for this week [again]; I might have to go town in the next couple of days, to go grocery shopping. I’d like to take a walk a couple of times, go up to the soccer field and play ball, get some more school work done, really get on my reading, and do some illustrations.

A Photo:

He’s a darn cute boy, ain’t he? I just loves him to death!

The favorite thing I did: drew. I seem to be doing that a lot lately.

The weather outside is: Sunny with a chance of rain. clouds are moving in.

I am reading: I am currently reading several books: Reference Guide for Essential Oils by Connie and Alan Higley; Make a Healthier Choice with Essential Oils by Jane Tess Davis; Baldwin’s Readers: Sixth Year; High School English: Book Two; Moby Dick by Herman Melville [still! but actually enjoying it now that The Red Badge of Courage isn't confusing me so]. I am also reading The Mama’s Torah: The Role of Womeni by Batya Wooten. It is a very good book.

My projects around the house: Keeping things clean. Illustrations and getting things organized.

I learned about: …the Blue Morpho Butterfly. know about them? I love them and they are like soooo Costa Rican. :)

I made: …food. yep. I made food.

I am working on: art and a knitting project.

I am looking forward to: …being home. and having a working oven.

My Scripture verse for the week: Psalm 9:7-8:

But HYH abides forever, He is preparing His throne for judgment. And He judges the world in righteousness, He judges the peoples in straightness.

On my prayer list: My family, myself, and friends. Too many to name them all.

I am thankful for: flowers.

Musically inclined: Masquerade. I like musicals and I love masquerades too. And I like this song.

Poetry+Prose:

Adieu To A Solider
Walt Whitman

Adieu, O soldier!
You of the rude campaigning, (which we shared,)
The rapid march, the life of the camp,
The hot contention of opposing fronts–the long manoeuver,
Red battles with their slaughter,–the stimulus–the strong, terrific
game,
Spell of all brave and manly hearts–the trains of Time through you,
and like of you, all fill’d,
With war, and war’s expression.

Adieu, dear comrade!
Your mission is fulfill’d–but I, more warlike,
Myself, and this contentious soul of mine, 10
Still on our own campaigning bound,
Through untried roads, with ambushes, opponents lined,
Through many a sharp defeat and many a crisis–often baffled,
Here marching, ever marching on, a war fight out–aye here,
To fiercer, weightier battles give expression.

*smile*:

“I prefer to describe myself as ‘delightfully difficult’ and it would be easier if you would just agree.”

“I don’t get nearly enough credit for managing not to be a violent psychopath.”

hehehe

as ever, be blessed!
-Ra’chel