Noisemakers in Maris
One thing that can make a Temari
even
more fun is to pop a noisemaker in the mari as you are making it. It
adds
just
another little element of surprise and fun to the finished Temari.
Generally this means a small jingle bell, or something that will
rattle. It's
easy
to do no matter what you use for your mari base.... here are some
helps
on doing it and having it still make noise when you are done (this is
the
thing that catches most people - depending on what the mari base is
made
of and how the noisemaker is made, they can muffle your noise plans.)
It also adds another traditional element to your work - noisemakers
(mostly rattles of whatever materials and types) have long been used in
temari - remember, temari were originally toys that were indeed played
with.
What you use for the
mari
base will determine what you need to do to keep them "noisy". If you
begin
with Styrofoam or dylite balls, then all you need to do is slice it in
half, then carefully scoop out a hollow in each half, a little larger
than
what you are going to use to make the noise. Be careful to not
crack
through the shell of the ball. The object is there needs to be a
small
hollow area around whatever you are using for the noisemaker. The
easiest
thing to tuck in is a small jingle bell that you can buy by the package
in
craft stores. Or, use a few dried beans etc., for a rattle. I also like
to
pop a penny with the current year as its mint date in also for good
luck
- watch people's faces when you tell them it is in there. Put the two
halves
of the ball back to together and being your mari prep, either with the
batting
layer or the yarn wrap.
If you are making the mari from
scratch
from something like old nylons, plastic bags, socks, yarn, fabric etc -
then
sound tends to be muffled a bit by the material of the mari. You need
to
use (or make)
a hollow container for the noisemaker that you can stuff inside the
mari
as you form it. Keep an eye open for any small container that you can
use (limited only by imagination and size!), or you can make a
simple one. This can be done very easily by making a tiny box
out of a
lightweight
piece of cardboard, such as cardstock. And remember -
it's deep inside the mari. This is one time when neatness does not
matter - no one is going to see it. Focus on getting good sound but you
don't have to worry about what it really looks like as long as it
"works" for holding the sound. If you want to eliminate the
"rattle" of the ball hitting the side of the holder, use a "twist tie
wire" to suspend the bell in the container you are using. And - believe
it or not as noted below, the quality of the bell you use will make a
difference. If you want a nice jingle/ring, don't expect to get it from
the most inexpensive bells in a bag type you can buy. They are made of
metals that don't "ring" to begin with, especially for this
use... try to find a decent quality brass or nickle. Other hints
to get a good "ring" are to size the bell container appropriately - if
the bell has a lot of room to bop around you'll get more of a rattle
than a ring. It needs a little wiggle room but the object is to move
the clapper ball in the bell, not the bell itself. Also, be sure that
your container for it is sturdy enough that it will not collapse in the
wrapping process, especially if you are using soft mari materials.
While you may start out sure that the box is fine, as you wrap the
pressure of the wrapping gets distrubuted through the stuff of the mari
(it's a law of nature so there isn't anything you can do about it)
unless you are using styrofoam or dylite. If the box or container
collapses around the bell, it will become more of a rattle and be
muffled than if it remains "free". I've found two good options for
clear "rings" - even though I make my own mari cores, I will purchase
small (key word - small -) styro balls and split them open as described
above to hold a bell. I then use this as the bell container (remember,
I said small styro ball) and make the mari around that, using my
regular methods. Or, a great sized-to-fit container are the little
capsules that come in gumball machines. Similar capsules can be
purchased from the Temari Accessories Section of Ai's Store (I have
no business connection with Ai).
I make all of my mari cores, and
my
favorites are making rattles using
soda/water bottle tops with some driedpeas or rice - tape a piece of
paper
over it
to hold the rice inside, or butt two caps together and tape. Or,
I'll
often
put a jingle bell in a card stock box. The
lattice pet play balls
also work great and are "premade" but it helps to put them in a corner
of a plastic bag or cover with a tissue so that if you are using small
bits in the core (such as rice hulls or small yarn, paper or fabric
bits, they don't leak into the noisemaker ball. If this happens it will
eventually muffle the sound of the noisemaker, sometimes completely!).
There is no "rule" for what you use -
basically anything that will hold something that rattles or rings
works, as long as you can insert it into the center of your mari base
and it makes noise. For rattles, think of things like dried peas,
beans, rice, small stones or pebbles, beads, marbles, steel shot or
bb's, small fishing weights, paper clips.... (you get the
idea).... if you want a bell, any craft store will have
small jingle bells available. I have found that this is a time when
quality can make a difference - better quality bells will be made of
different metals that "ring" with a nicer and clearer tone so if you
really want a good clear bell effect, consider going a bit more upscale
for bells. Very inexpensive jingle bells can end up "rattling" rather
than ringing, and this can be due to the type of metal the bell is made
of. Similarly, the larger the pieces of stuff you are using for
rattles, the different the sound the rattle will make. The container
you use
for the noisemaker can "adjust" the sound the bell or rattle makes,
especially when combined with the mari materials and density. Hard
containers -
plastic, metal, etc, will give a sharper sound than something like a
card stock box. This
often becomes just a matter of personal preference - when you find
something you like, you'll end up sticking with it.
This is and has been a frequent
topic on
TalkTemari discussion; here are some
collected thoughts with thanks to the TT members:
- Common holders are two soda, beer, or other beverage bottle
tops (either twist off or regular), both plastic and metal - taped
together with something inside them.
- Use a plastic bag
twist-tie and put a small bell on it, then suspend it
between two plastic soda caps and tape them together. The only sound
is the jingle, since the sides of the bell don't hit the
plastic.
- Hollow out the inside of the Styrofoam, placed several 3
inch
skewer sticks parallel through the middle with a few seed
beads. It sounds like the "rain sticks" that when you turn them
over
they sound like rain.
- Grab some hollow plastic practice
golf balls from the dollar store. They're the same
size as the plastic "kitty balls" with the bell inside, but instead of
being the hard plastic they have a little bit of give to them ... so
you can slit them and slide in whatever you want as a noisemaker and
they still retain their shape. This idea also works for: ping
pong balls, mini "whiffle" balls (they are sold for all sorts of
ball-sports practice, from golf to baseball)
- Use small round, plastic
Christmas
ornaments for a center; just clip off the hanger loop on them.
- Containers from gum ball machines, that little
toys
come
in.
- For very big temari, try small food storage containers -
but this one
is difficult to get a perfectly round mari out of.
(July 2008: contributors' tips have been
consolidated into flowing text, for ease of use. Thanks continues to be
offered to all readers who contribute hints and tips)
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G.Thompson and Talk Temari members