Full Moon Baby Gift - 弥月之喜

Not sure if this is a good year to have babies, but some how there are quite a number of my friends are delivering this year. Since the month of May, three of my friends had given birth already. One baby girl and two baby boys. 

This is the gift I made for one of the new moms and her baby boy. 

A lovely photo frame to display special moments with the new baby

Baby toys

Baby stuff

Wow the world is so exciting!

Colourful balloons

I made a card as well. Applying my quilling skills. Haven't been making quilled craft for a while. Need to practice more. 

Greeting card for new baby

Quilling art

This time, instead of getting a gift bag, I'm making one by recycling one of my paper bag collection. I used the washi tape to transform the paper bag. Washi tapes are so cool! You can do a lot of things with it, just need a little imagination.

Paper bag (front) - decorated with colourful washi tapes

Paper bag (back)

A Trip to Bangkok 逛曼谷市集

The is my third trip to Bangkok. I love Bangkok! Love the scrumptious street food,  shopping and foot massage!

In this trip, we spent most of our time hunting for sewing material. Based on my research before the trip, there's a textile market place in Bangkok which is a must go place for fabric lover. It's called Sampeng Lane or Soi Wanit 1 located at Chinatown. Most of the sites recommend to take the skytrain then the boat to get there. We took a taxi instead haha, lazy bum! Well, actually the hotel staff recommended us to take a taxi as it was a weekend and usually the traffic isn't too heavy early in the morning. That way we could cut short our traveling time. To learn how to get to Sampeng Lane via skytrain, please read HERE, this blog gave a very clear instruction on how to get to Sampeng Lane.  

We were too busy shopping hence didn't take any photos of the market ^_^. The market place is really crowded, filled with both locals and tourists. Our focus is on fabric. So we mainly stopped at textile shops. We bought a lot from this shop called Fabric Centre. They sell nice 100% cotton fabric at good prices. Prices for one meter cut range from 99 baht to 250 baht. If you buy 10 meters and more, you get 10% discount. Well, 10 meters isn't a problem for my friend and I. We are both seriously obsessed with fabric! This particular shop has several branches around Bangkok. They have a branch called Fabric House located inside Central World Plaza. We went there too. ^o^

Apart from fabric shopping at Sampeng Lane. We visited the weekend market - Chatuchak Weekend Market as well. Crowded, but not as bad as at Sampeng Lane. Again we didn't take any photos of Chatuchak market. There are almost everything can be found here; clothing, bags, fashion accessories, wooden furniture & home deco, handicraft, ceramics wares etc. We discovered two interesting stalls selling miniature stuff. The workmanship is so fine. It's amazing! Managed to snap a few photos of the display after seeking permission from the shop owner. I only picked a few items, as they are not cheap. Well, it's handmade.

Amazing miniature display at Chatuchak Market

Miniature cake & pastries

Miniature tailor shop

If you are a stationery freak, a visit to B2S at Central World Plaza is a must. It's a chain bookstore which apart from books and magazines also carries lots of interesting stationery. The Central World Plaza branch of B2S occupied three floors. The second floors is where you should go if you are looking for cool stationery and art supplies. My friend and I spent hours in there browsing just at the second floor!

After three days of walking, we went for a foot massage nearby our hotel. It was really good. All the aching and tiredness instantly relieve and it only cost us 200 baht per person for an hour massage. So, if you are in Bangkok, don't forget to get a foot massage.

Some photos of the result of our shopping trip:

Ribbon, lace, button & charms

Retro print linen cotton

Japan cotton - love the vibrant colour!

More linen cotton

Teddy bears and Japanese slippers

Stack of polka dot & checked cotton - too sweet to resist!

Check out the miniature antique iron, isn't it cool!

Thirsty? How about a bottle of coca-cola.

Miniature shopping. Those apples & oranges are my creation ^-^

 

Interesting toilet signage at Siam Center Bangkok

Clay-tivity Part 2 - 可爱小女生相框系列 2

This is the second piece of work that created using both clay and fabric.The theme this time is 'Lady at Bakery'. 

I love the red checked fabric. I used to have that type of Scottish-like skirt when I was a teenage :) I also love the brown paper bag. We usually only get our bread packed in a brown paper bag at a more prestige bakery. It some how makes the breads taste a lot nicer :p That's the power of packaging. The normal bakery here usually wrapped the bread with plastic bag. 

Speaking of bread, I recently discovered an artisan bakery. It has a very interesting name called "The Carpenter's Daughter Artisan Bakery Cafe". They make/sell rustic looking European breads, which is my favourite! There is a lovely cafe behind the bakery where you can enjoy your afternoon tea. For European breads lover, click the link above to find out more. 

Opps sorry, gone off on a tangent away..back to my clay project. It has been a while since I last created the first piece using both clay and fabric. Actually, I have made the parts and pieces a while ago, and today I finally put everything in place. Presenting to you - Lady at Bakery!

New creation: Lady at Bakery

Lovely Scottish-like skirt with bright yellow top

Rusty looking breads

What is your favourite bread?

For My Mother with Love 妈妈的生日礼物

I have been planning to make something for my mom for her birthday this year. Something basic that she may need everyday. I have in my list, bag and blouse/dress. As I have yet to master the skill to sew clothing, I think it's safer to make a bag :D. My choice of fabric, a vibrant colour cotton linen. Despite her age, my mom has a young heart. I think she would like a lively bag.

After finishing the bag, I thought may be it would be nice to have a matching coin pouch. So I have here a matching tote bag and coin pouch.

It is a blessing to be able to make a gift for someone who is special to us. Happy birthday mom!

Matching tote bag & coin pouch

The bright colour of the fabric add character to the bag

Little coin pouch comes in handy for carrying coins

Ribbon, button & cotton tape to add uniqueness

Book Binding 手作书

It was about two years back when I first learned of book binding art from an inflight magazine. There was an article about a lady who conducted book binding workshop and also showcasing pictures of her beautiful work. I was so impressed with the craftwork created by her. I tried to get in touch with her to sign up for her next coming workshop. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the one that fit my schedule. I slowly forgotten about it after a few months and swamped with my work. 

Years passed, then about a month ago, I saw the posting in Facebook about a book binding workshop. I got so excited. I know I have to sign up for this one. I dragged my sister-in law along to the workshop too as she is as crazy as I'm when comes to crafting. 

The class was so fun. It's not as difficult as I thought it would be. The tools and equipment needed to bind a book are nothing fancy too. I have bought books about book binding and I haven't a clue on those instructions written in the book so I gave up. I'm so glad that I've signed up for the workshop. 

You can learn more about the wonderful book binding instructor here @ LittleSyam

This is my first ever hand-sewn book, I'm so proud of myself :)

Simple tools/equipment require for book binding

kettle stitch binding - isn't it beautiful

Front cover of the book - with cute little cat zipper charm as bookmark

I chose a different design of fabric for back cover, I think it's cool

My first hand-sewn book

Fabric Mobile Phone Cover 水玉手机袋

I am not a big fan of electronic gadgets. Hence, I never follow the trend of mobile devices in the market. Mobile phone to me is merely a communication tool ~ making phone calls or sending text messages. 

On my birthday, hubby gave me a new mobile phone. He said it's time to upgrade my mobile phone. According to him, with this upgraded mobile phone, we can communicate at a lower cost. Well, this new phone, though can do lot more than just a piece of communication device, I will try to keep it at making phone calls and sending text messages and may be picture messages :). I hope I won't be addicted to this piece of equipment like so many people out there ~ can't live without their smartphones! I am sure there is a way to balance technology and the traditional methods of personal communication.

Let's take a look at the new clothes I made for my new mobile phone.

Fabric cover for my new mobile phone

Leather snap button makes a charming fastener

A little lace and cotton tape to add style

逛书展

我不算是一个书虫，但是我挺爱逛书店，也很爱买书。但是在我国要购买中文书籍并不是那么方便，而且价格偏高。虽然书局里有着不少的中文书籍，但是种类有限，大部分的都是以参考书为主，要不然就是每每我们在网路上已经看到某本书已经面市的讯息，但是在这儿还是寻觅不到它的芳踪。所以每每那里有书展，我就一定不会错过。

近10年来我国开始出现了一些以中文书籍为主的大型书展。对于爱书人来说，这可说是一项天大的喜讯。因为在书展上除了有大量不同种类的书籍，我们也可以购买到最新出版的书刊，而且也可以享有特惠价格，帮助我们减少荷包的出血量。。。。

学校开始放假了，又是逛书展的季节。昨天我们又逛书展去了，琳琅满目的书籍，令到我们眼花缭乱，肾上素急速飙升，双眼发光，恨不得将所看中的书籍都抱回家。哈哈！！！

看看我们的战利品。。。

买了不少我以及小孩都很爱的绘本

除了中文书籍，也买了好几本英文丛书