Chinese Knotting Jewelry... Yay or Nay?

I currently have a few decorative Chinese knotting pieces in my Etsy shop, like this blue wall-hanging:

I've also been playing around with the idea of expanding these knottings into other accessories, like jewelry.

I did experiment with a few knotted rose hair ponytail holders, like this pink set, but now I'm thinking of trying my hand at necklaces.

I'm actually pretty excited about this, because after a few tries, I worked out a way to make an adjustable necklace -- basically, you'd be able to decide how you'd like to wear it. Short, like a choker? Long for a more dramatic look? Somewhere in between?

So the pictures below are my prototype! I want to play around with different knots, colors, etc... and maybe add some nice beads/pendants in there (do any of you other crafters have a good source??).

So what do you think? Is this something people would be interested in? Chinese knotting necklaces, YAY or NAY?

A Cat Named Kitty

I used to not like cats at all. The reason? I was deathly allergic to them. At sleep-away summer camp I once had a roommate who had a cat back at her house, and I guess had packed some cat hair along with her luggage. Every night for the first few days until we figured it out, I had to sleep sitting upright because once I laid down, I would have trouble breathing. I thought I was coming down with the flu... in the middle of July! Needless to say, I switched rooms.

This is not the case anymore, and I'll tell you why. Actually, I'll introduce you to the reason why I am now a cat lover!

She's a 7-year-old dainty old lady named Kitty. She was my boyfriend's cat when he was younger, and now lives with his parents.

Isn't she the prettiest cat you've ever seen?! (Maybe I'm a bit biased.) She's just the sweetest Kitty ever, and she's still so playful!

Anyway, I was going to upload a video of her playing, but I realized that all of them are so dark and grainy (it was nighttime) that I would give anyone watching them a migraine or something equally unpleasant. I just wish I had had my camera with me on Christmas! She was going crazy with these strands of curled white ribbon... So cute! (Am I gushing? I may be gushing.)

The point of the story is, because of Kitty I now love cats. And I'm actually getting allergy shots so that I can actually play with her when I see her! I have about one month left in shots before I'm on a maintenance dosage... So I'm crossing my fingers that maybe in a few months, I'll be able to get a little kitty of my own!

Let me introduce myself...

A few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to start a blog, and so I began one on Mycraft. However, I quickly realized that blogger is a much more common way to go, so I'm switching over!

So here I am, introducing myself... with a Chinese brush painting tutorial! This is a painting I completed this morning for my boyfriend's parents for Christmas -- enjoy!


Step 1
For this painting, I'm using a 12"x16" sheet of rice paper. I first took a stick of charcoal to lightly mark out an estimate of my painting.

Step 2
Once the charcoal was done, I could start painting! I mixed 3 shades of ink by adding differing amounts of water -- dark, medium, and light -- and painted the initial ink outline with the horsehair brushes.

Step 3

Next, still working in ink, I added more detail to the trees and rocks/land. The picture is small, but basically I just added leaves to the trees, and texturing to the rocks/land.

Step 4
Now that the initial ink outline was finished, I could start applying "washes" -- watered-down layers of ink or color applied after the previous layer has dried. This process is continued until you reach the darkness and depth that you want. The picture to the right is after a few layers of ink washes. I then applied some color washes as well.

Step 5
After the ink and color washes were completed, I added some more color to the tree trunks, mountain houses, and far away blue moutains. I also went back to ink to add some finishing details to the rocks and the mountains. Once that was done, I signed my name in the lower left corner in dark ink and applied my name chop (a signature stamp).

Step 6
Rice paper is so delicate that it crinkles during the painting process, and can easily be ripped. Therefore, I then used a thicker backing paper and wallpaper adhesive (a dry powder that can be mixed to water), which not only backs the painting to make it sturdier, but also flattens it out. I then stuck the painting to a glass door to let it dry completely flat.

And you can see the first snow of the season outside! My first Brooklyn snow... =)

Step 7
I let the painting dry on the glass door overnight, and then this morning carefully took it down, making sure not to crease it.

Then I just matted and framed it in a redwood frame, and I'm finished!

The painting is all ready to be wrapped and gifted to my boyfriend's parents, just in time for Christmas!