Mad Crafter at Work at Craft Gossip :)

Remember my Felt Label tutorial?

I followed an advice from a good friend of mine, mba Dini Capungmungil, to submit it to Linda Lanese at the Craft Gossip and here it is! [mba Dini had her own tutorial featured here earlier]

Mad Crafter at Work has a FELT LABEL – Just for the Fun of it tutorial that may get your creative juices flowing.  This is an adorable project we can all do. 

Thank you, mba Dini and Linda^^

Want to share your own original tutorial at Craft Gossip?  Just submit by clicking this 'Send Us Gossip' folder. You would need to fill in a simple form (i.e.: email, link to your blog, simple description on your tuto. etc/ :)) and click to send ^^ 

Happy Sharing (and crafting!)

DIY - Glass Pendants Tutorial

Every Friday we share crafting tutorials in the Indonesian Crafters group on Facebook, and today I'm going to share mine.

You have probably seen my store updates on the latest Sister Love Collection glass pendants, and this is how I made those darlings:

awesome, this had just arrived yesterday!

my favorite supplier always give a top notch service. i totally {heart} this

i forgot to include the cotton bud, but it's readily available in you household [i hope!]

if you're using a purchased collage sheet, make sure it's okay for commercial use, always check the seller's TOU!  NEVER use something that's not yours to sell.

sorry for the blurry pic, I was half asleep when I took this :P

leave it until the glue is completely cured ... for smaller tiles it's okay to leave them sunny side up:)

[i always glue at night and let them out to rest]

i used a different glass tile just to illustrate

i'm sure you could trim better than this, lol!


note: the sealant would make your image looks a bit darker, but if you're going for that vintage / old feel then just go for it, if you don't want a darker shade, just use modpodge

yay, you're almost there!

just add another coat of modpodge lightly onto the back and place it firmly on the frame setting/bezel, and have another coffee/tea/jog around the yard

when you return, check if the glue has dried off and no stain appears on the image [when it did, just wash everything in the water, peel the sheet off and do it all over again :P]

... and VOILA!  there you have it! ^^

if you had purchased one or a couple of my glass pendants, and had accidentally took them for a swim/bathe, just peel everything OFF and place your favorite photo/picture as replacement. 
it will go on and on like this and you will have so many memories that you could share with others through a simple glass pendant.


oh I almost forgot, as the nature of glass is prone to chipping/cracking, these pendants are not suitable for children. you could replace the glass with a resin sticker instead ^^

happy crafting, y'all!

FELT LABEL - Just for the Fun of it!

An easy tutorial for the weekend ;)

Materials:

1. Hard (used) paper for pattern;

2. Felt (duh, of course!)

3. Pen

4. Hole Puncher

5. Embroidery + sewing threads [if you like]

6. Embroidery + regular sewing needles

Step 1 & 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5 & 6

Step 7

Add more embellishment such as buttons, rick racks, lace, ribbons, use different stitch patterns and just HAVE FUN with it!

My Sue Sunbonnet creation for the Indonesian Crafter Monthly Challenge :D

Take a peek here to see the lovely handiworks of other IC-MC participants {heart}


Happy Crafting y'all! ^^

DIY - From Trash to Treasure ep. 2

Last Sept. 19, I posted this picture of my 'On the Go' Mini Pincushion on BBC's status, entitled 'Recycle - from trash to treasure'

Quote:

'Dari rol karton bekas gulungan benang smok, sisa kain katun print dan flanel, satu kancing kayu uk. kecil dan kertas karton, hotmelt glue, sedikit dakron dan jahitan, jadilah kreasi seperti ini .. :)'

And from my last post, I promised you some quick trash to treasure tutorial, so here goes:  

Mini Pincushion Tutorial

1. Collect the materials that you have on hand: scrap cotton fabric, used cardboard tube, 2 pieces of felt scraps, leftover lace for decoration, wooden button (if available), and some polyfill (dacron) and a length of thread;
2. Measure one of the felt to fit the bottom of the core - trim it nicely;
3. Cut the bigger felt scrap into a rough circle, doesn't have to be perfect as you will sew up the bottom  anyway (see step 4);
4. Sew the felt (see pic. 4) and pull the string - filling the felt with the polyfill as you go ... make sure to make it nice and round;
5. Place the core on the wrong side of the fabric to measure up the length needed for wrapping;
6. (I used zigzag fabric scissor on one side of the fabric, to prevent fraying) - place a double tape on one side (yep, I used double tape - or you can use hotmelt glue instead) and roll the core to a perfect wrap;
7. (picture of a wrapped core - don't worry about the excess fabric on the sides)
8. Line the inside of the core with hotmelt glue and tuck in the excess fabric, be careful when using your fingers to do this as the glue is very hot (duh, that's why they call it 'hotmelt glue'!), I prefer to use a stick to press down the fabrics instead.  When done, add some more hot glue on top of the tucked fabric and pop in the round felt 'ball'. Push it in and check if the glue had secured the 'ball'  perfectly - then finish up the other end just like the first;
9. Lastly, add some hotmelt glue to the end part of the core and place the felt from step 2 (see pic. 9).

There, all you need to do now is add some embellishment as you like (I used a stretchy lace that I bought from Irmawati Sewcraft, an FB onlineshop!) plus a green wooden button to add more charm and ... VOILA!!

Not bad, eh? You can do this in a jiffy :)

And check out what our friend Mba Ichii from Goodthinks had created, for her version of the mini pincushion:

Total cuteness!!

Hope you like this post as much as I do, and don't forget ...

REUSE and RECYCLE! :)

Happy crafting y'all!

DIY - Vintage Inspired Art

I don't know when did I start liking vintage things - but I do know that my collection is growing more and more each time.  For sure, my mom's antique gallery-like house has the biggest influence on my artistic expressions/collections, if I might say so ...

Oops, wrong house! Heh heh .. :P

It so happen that I didn't marry a billionaire (which is okay by me) - even if I couldn't buy expensive artworks - the solution is actually very simple. 

I make my own art.

Yeah, you  could do that, too - for yourself and for others, even. :)

For me, there's nothing more artfully satisfying whenever I succeeded in turning an empty 'canvas' (or even a packet of white cement) into something beautiful, something that I could appreciate and cherish ...

{aaawwww ... starting to get mushy here! Some one please get me a swimming pool!!!}

Let's start with some of my personal favorites!

My first choice would be this little garden statue - she was born from a mold that I purchased directly from England.  Isn't she a real beauty?  I just love every details on her.

An english garden mini statue - white cement

And here are some  of the collages/artwork that I had done in the past few months ...

in remembrance of my cat, Tigerlily
(been missing since last month) :'(

Two commissioned scrapbook-influenced profile logos that I did for an FB friend

This one was the first vintage logo I made for BBC

Some of my friends had asked me where did I get those honest to goodness, gorgeous vintage graphics ... did I buy them online, googled them, etc. But the answer is a big 

'nope'. 

You could get all the vintage graphics you want for FREE!

Don't believe me? 

Check out the Graphics Fairy. 

It's a very special, special blog managed by Karen - God bless her soul! :)

You could 'process' these images with your favorite program, even a Microsoft Powerpoint would do.  Well, if you're good at Photoshop, that's even better.

You could even make some money selling your art, check out Etsy.com or even Ebay.

So, start creating people!  Your art is waiting for ya ..

My next post will be another DIY - Turning Trash into Treasure ep. 2, stay tuned!

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 - Mad About (Wooden) Buttons

A couple of days ago I put up 100 pcs of 18mm heart floral buttons for sale at Blessedly Blissful CraftStore, and sure enough, they got 'adopted' pretty quickly by our customers. 

But the funny thing was, most had no idea what to do with them (yet!) :) 

bigger 3mm floral wood buttons

Soooo, hopefully this post could provide some simple ideas on what to do with these little cuties, and their bigger cousins {of course! :P}. 

You could:

1.  apply it on your plushie, it sure would make a pretty accessory to your soft toy collection

before

after
{now Ellie has a heart! well, two hearts really, as another heart is placed on her other side ;) is it me or does Ellie seem to be smiling now? awwww .. how cute!} 

2. apply it on a hair clip (with the help of mr. glue gun) - you can add extra ribbons, yarn or even glue on smaller buttons on it (in the case of the bigger wooden buttons - which are also on sale at BBC).

3. add a magnet to the backside of the button - and VOILA! Your very own beautiful fridge or message board magnet(s)! Imagine if you have different sizes and kinds of these buttons decorating your fridge/board, oh wow! -- absolute eye candy!

4. put it on a rink shank (and use it as a ring) or assemble it into a necklace - awesome!

This one is for illustration purposes only

Pretty easy, right?

So, go get your stuff, have fun and happy crafting! ^^

Hand Embroidery Tutorials

Morniinnnng ~ hope your day is bright and sunny and filled with happiness, amen.

Today I'm sharing with you a link to the awesome world of hand embroidery. These video tutorials by one of world's widely honored expert had changed my world forever!

Check it out (it's FREE!) Yay!

Click on the link below and pay attention ... :))

Don't thank me, thank Mary Corbet & the internet! :)