Missing My Hanji Teacher

And so it begins, another hanji project. This time I am making clamshell boxes. I had bought the forms in Insadong in Seoul when we first arrived in 2011 for our second stay. I had never taken a hanji class but I knew that I would during our stay. I bought 20 clamshell boxes not knowing how much it would weigh and poor Rocketman ended up carrying 40 cardboard sheets all around Seoul that day. I didn't do that again to him and luckily, I found my hanji teacher and I could get forms from her.

The first step is super gluing the top and the bottom to make the box. This is one part I love where a flat piece of cardboard turns into something wonderful.

I have a sister who is a Packer fan and my little sister is a Bear fan so I decided to make them a box based of the colors of each of their teams. I found the logos on the Internet.

 I was so spoiled when I did hanji in Korea. Every project was ready for me as soon as I walked in the door. My hanji teacher would cut out all the paper so that I all I had to do was the fun part, glue everything onto the form. Sometimes I would hear new people grumble to her about the treatment she gave me and she would answer them that it was because I was the foreigner. The hanji regulars knew about it and it didn't bother them at all, they were so happy to have the foreigner there.

But now that I am home, I don't have my hanji teacher to make pattern pieces let alone cutting everything out for me. I made the pattern pieces for the clamshell box and it took me the better part of an afternoon. I miss her so much.

Next came the fun part of picking out the paper I was going to use on the boxes. I don't know what is wrong with me but every time I use some paper out of my stash, I feel the strong need to replace it with more paper. It's the same feeling I get when I use any of my fabric stash. But unlike fabric, I can't jump into the car and drive to Korea.

Then next step was covering all the boxes. It is so fun to see how they turn out. And yes, that is our kitchen table where we eat our meals but after all these years, Rocketman doesn't mind eating around my crafting. The boxes have had two coats of hanji glue and they need to dry overnight. Then I apply a coat of varnish but I'll have finished boxes to show you very soon.