Lazy Sunday Crafting - Bird Mobile

Happy Sunday everyone!

There's something about Sunday mornings that I can't quite pin down - is it because Sunday is a family day, where each family members can fully enjoy each other's company from sun up till bed time? Could be, well, at least it happens in my family :)

It is during this blissful time that I could sit down and browse fresh new ideas from other crafters' blogs for my craft inspiration, and today my attention got snagged on this work of art - it was a bird mobile project, an old post by Laura from Spool Sewing last May 16, 2008.

Check this out:

Bird mobile project from Spoolsewing

Detail on the birds

Use of various patterned fabric for the birds

Luckily, I had previously ordered some fabric pieces from a fellow Facebook onlineshop, Juvin Art Souvenir. They were supposed to be my 'guinea pig' for my headband project but they turned out perfectly cut for building my soft birdies.

Some of the recently bought printed cotton fabric (and buttons)

Laura's blog also include the free PDF pattern for the bird [click here].  This is for personal use only and not for selling.

for illustration purposes only

So I cut the patterns and trace it on my fabric with a fabric marker - [tip: during pattern cutting, I always cut on the sewing line, the additional seam line can be added later during fabric cutting; hence I get a precise trace from the fabric marker when I sew the pieces together. my rule: trace on the wrong side of the fabric]

For the fabric marker, I used my Giotto Decor that I bought from Cici Konde, another fellow FB olshopper who also sells her beautifully made whimsical crafts online.  I use whatever tools I have on hand so the Giotto Decor will do (and to my delight, it worked perfectly!).

Without further ado, I got to work, adding a little piece of scrap trimming and a 17mm heart button ... and VOILA!  My very own bird softie! 

[i know, i know .. I still need to work on the other birds but it's very exhilarating to get your first 'baby step' done, lol!)

Enjoy and happy crafting {while I'm on a hunt for the perfect twigs and branches!

DIY - From Trash to Treasure

'One man's trash is another man's treasure' 

Well, in my case, my mom's trash had become my treasure! Check it out ...

Found this one stacked unceremoniously on top of another in front of my Mom's storage room aka 'gudang'.  My hubby must have silently said 'Uh, Oh!' when he saw the sparks in my eyes ... :D

So, off went the chair (it was one of a pair) for a half hour drive to my house, where it would endure a lot of washing and scrubbing, a little bit of sanding and later, of course, globs of white paint.  

On the next morning, it took me a good 2 hours to finish painting the chair (in my pajamas) - I gave it 2 coats of paints for a smooth, classic look - too bad I didn't have any primer, but a girl had to do with what a girl had on hand, so ... VOILA!!

You can hardly recognize it, as the chair looks 'new' again!

I've put a reminder to buy some acrylic spray later, just to preserve the white coat.  

Sigh ... with a nice and comfy cushion this chair would look like a million dollar! {At least for me ... as it's now MINE, ALL MINE! MUAHAHAH!} 

Well, maybe not ... :P

Ps: Hmmm ... I'd better make a second trip to mom's to pickup the other chair .. maybe paint it black this time? Would make a great his and her chair wouldn't they? The possibilities are endless ...  :) 

Morning Walk with the Kiddos

Today is the 2nd day of Ramadhan, the fasting month.

My girls and I have agreed to take early morning walks everyday after we eat our 'sahur', as this kind of light sport activity would be very beneficial and yet not too taxing on the kids ...

Besides, there are lots of interesting things to see and explore, as you can see from the pics that we took along the way:

Well, gotta get back to work now, I hope that you enjoy today's post {actually, very short post} and I'd like to wish you a Happy Ramadhan!