Doll of the Month: Sumiko & Satomi

I am starting a new "column" here on the site called "Doll of the Month."  I received an e-mail from a reader that said

Christina, I enjoy your blog but I wish you posted more about your inspiration and your dolls.  These are my favorite items and I want to learn more about them.  Thanks!

I tend to shy away from posting my dolls because I don't want to come across as some kind of plug-whore.  But it is indeed rare to get such valuable feedback (and if you know something you would like to see here, please let me know!)  so I am taking her advice and introducing you to some new members of the UmeOrigami family, Sumiko and Satomi.  These are two new dolls of mine that I have been procrastinating about photographing.

I see these two as a "big sister" and "little sister."  There are certain things that unite them: the sakura with green ribbon in their hair, the green and rust colors in their kimono layers, and of course the black patterned paper.  I totally dig this paper and it really caught my eye when I was shopping.  For some reason the combination of the yellows, reds, pinks, and greens remind me of some kind of island paradise.  Plus, it is rare to find black paper that doesn't come across as manly!!  Satori also has a paper ribbon obi which is something new I have been experimenting with as seen in the Tomodachi family I posted a while ago.  I like it because it has a wrinkled texture and gives them a little more three-dimensionality.

Sumiko was created first and her name comes from the Japanese for 澄 (sumi) "clear" and 子 (ko) "child."  I had a really clear vision when I made her and I knew almost exactly what she was going to look like even before I started physically creating her.  Satomi came afterwards and I have picked the characters for 聡 (sato) "wise" combined with 美 (mi) "beautiful."  I thought it would be a nice pairing since the older sister should be a little bit wiser!  

Every so often I create a doll (or in this case, two) that really stand out to me!  These definitely do the trick.  I am hoping to create a little more regularly so hopefully I can introduce you to a new "member" next month.  Thanks for tuning in! 

New Product: Origami Doll Bookmarks (Shiori Ningyo)

Here is another photo of my new bookmarks that I finally listed! (Sora, Tamiko, Yuuna)!  I was so pleased how they came out that I took a trip to Michaels a few days ago and picked up more cardstock and ribbon to make more!  The stack I bought was "Far East" inspired, and although I hate how Asian countries are often lumped into one amorphous entity when these kinds of products are sold, the paper was textured and quite pretty so I could not resist.  I guess this is one area where my ideological leanings show, but it bothers me when all Asian countries are treated as the "same" when there are a lot of signicant differences between them.

Anyhow, most of the paper is inspired by Chinese designs so I have decided to take the sheets that are more China-specific and create bookmarks with origami floral arrangements.  For those papers that are more abstract and ambiguous, I want to use them for the Japanese Shiori Ningyo (Bookmark dolls).  I think I can offer three bookmarks together as sets for $11.00 a piece and still make out okay on costs and time.  When I get some of the new designs finished, I will post some photos!

Building an Army of Paper Dolls!

Well... I posted that first batch of six dolls and I am incredibly pleased to say that five of them have already found happy homes!  This is the largest measure of success I have had on Etsy by far!  So with that, I decided to create more dolls in more colors and styles... and now I present you with the little army who lives in a plastic box on my coffee table.

I went from having dolls in kimono and dolls with kimono and haori jackets to including smaller ones in a style called "hinasama" and then bookmark style "shiori ningyo."  Since I had so much success with the first kit I tried, I bought a different kit to learn how to make the bookmarks that you can purchase here: Amazon.  The instructions are in English and Japanese for those who cannot read Japanese, and it comes with all the supplies you will need to make four bookmarks.  You can see two of the ones I made from the kit in the image above, and I have been applying the diagram to all sorts of paper to make bookmarks in vibrant colors and styles!  The good thing about this is that you can be creative with your background, or add die cuts and all sorts of scrapbooking embellishments to personalize your bookmark.

I have been having a blast folding these between teaching, grading, and researching!  It is such a therapeutic and relaxing process and each one has his or her own little personality. I've even taken to naming each one... Such a geek!

Japanese Chiyogami Paper Dolls

So I am finally adding another product to the shop: paper dolls.  Although they definitely involve folding, I guess you wouldn't consider them "true" origami since they do require a fair bit of glue and a tiny bit of cutting.  Nevertheless, they look cute!  I saw them being sold in the origami section of the grocery store near me, and on my latest trip to Michaels, I came across a kit from the company Aitoh.  Needless to say, I picked up the kit and was on my way to making flat, cute, chiyogami people.

The kit (which you can buy on Amazon), shows you how to make eight dolls in three different styles and comes with all of the necessary goodies to get started.  I was surprised that the paper was such good quality!  So now that I have "mastered" the technique, I can apply it to some of the paper I have laying all around my apartment.  The diagram is pretty simple and I am confident that I can modify it into some different poses as well.

I like the dolls for several reasons.  They make an awesome addition to any Japan-themed scrap-booking project, great package and card embellishments, and (for my purposes) fun fridge magnets.  I am in my kitchen more than anywhere so I figured it would be a good place to display them...  I'll be adding them to my shop as well, but I encourage you to check out the kit if you are interested in making your own.

You can purchase the boy pictured here (Midori) or a girl in a pink kimono (Mariko).

EDIT: Midori is now being featured on TryHandmade!