I going to open up the pre-orders for the first round of kits on Sunday afternoon at 12 noon PST. E-mail me with your request, I will take the first 25 orders for this round and no more than 2 per person. I will need a paypal address so I can invoice you when the kits are ready, along with your choice of leaf by # and if you want glazed cotton fabric or rice paper. The kits come with either glazed cotton or glazed Rice paper. There is a button below for the gift card below.
I’ve recreated 4 fans from the mid 19th C and I’m worked to create kits so you can make one for yourself. These styles are perfect for day use and not so much for fancy evening, Three of them are Butterfly cockade fans because when open they are not round but have a shape almost like a butterfly and one is round.
Below are pictures of the historical fans I based my artwork on.
#1 This one is from the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum. It has small bundles of roses in 4 colors and a lot of gold work around the edge.
#2 This fan is from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. And is the model for the sticks and clasp that will be in the kit.
#3 I’m not sure just where this one came from but I wanted to offer it because it just makes me smile.
I will not charge for them until I ship. You can order the gift cards now, I will ship those right away but the kits will not ship until after Christmas.
The kits will be $25 dollars each (plus shipping which should be around 3-5 dollars to most US cities). Shipping on two fans in the same order will also be between 3-5 dollars.
Gift cards will be #1 dollar for a sheet with two cards.
Gift Card If you do not see a add to cart button e-mail me
The kits will include:
| Glazed fan leaf in cotton or rice paper. |
| Brass cotter pin, escutcheon pin and 14 gauge ring for clasp. |
| A set of hardwood fan sticks ready to paint, stain or color with rub-n-buff. |
| Petersham for hinge. It will be black but it you think you want to do white sticks let me know I can change it. |
| Thin brass metal plate for the tip box and a sticker so you can see where to cut and score the metal, enough for three tries. |
| Practice folding paper. |
| Step by step pdf how-to. |
| You will need these supplies to finish the fan: |
| Tools: craft scissors, metal cutter (snips), pliers (needle nose and standard), wire cutters. Heavy thread, sewing needle, acid free white glue and some Becon’s fabric tac glue, Spray paint for the metal tip (optional). |
More on the difference between the rice paper and the cotton fabric. In this photo the rice paper leaf is in the background on the left of the picture and a folded version is in the foreground, on the left. The cotton fabric versions are on the right. As you can see the background of the rice paper is mottled and the cotton is not. The image is lighter on the rice paper and the over all leaf has a warmer, yellower color.
It is possible and fun to add more color to the fan with permanent markers, not watercolor as both the paper and the cotton are water proof. You can add gold leaf paint and use other paint markers. I over colored the design just in the area that will be cut away after the fan is folded to test what it looks like.
They each have pluses but, if you want to add something like thin metallic lace to the outside edge of the fan, which can be done with the butterfly fans because the extra thickness of the lace is spread out because the outside edge of the folded edge does not all fall in one straight line you can do that with the cotton not with the rice paper.