Tutorial: Freezer paper honeycomb fabric without the freezer paper... wait, what?

I know what you're thinking! "Ugh not ANOTHER freezer paper stencil tutorial in the blogosphere of awesomeness again!" /commence crafty eye roll

Okay first of all, you crafty punk, this ain't a freezer paper tutorial. Because I don't even have freezer paper! :( Maybe I'm blind, but I've never been able to find freezer paper here in Malaysia, and don't know anyone who has found it in the stores. I've tried the other popular alternative to freezer paper though, which is fusing black garbage bags between printing paper and the material. Which works too, but is pretty difficult for me when it comes to intricate designs. 

I've practically given up on ever finding freezer paper. Ever!! Malaysia, land of no freezer paper!!!!

But you know what Malaysia has?

Picture from http://coffeewithkakjoe.blogspot.com/ 

NASI LEMAK BUNGKUS! (This picture is seriously making me hungry T_T)

And what does nasi lemak bungkus come in when it doesn't come wrapped in a banana leaf? 

KERTAS BUNGKUS! (That picture is still making me hungry)

And what is the chemical make up of kertas bungkus which bears similarity to freezer paper?

NO IDEA!

Sorry, I was a bad science student. Anyway, to cut the story short, kertas bungkus (bungkus for "packed") is basically brown paper with a waxy side. PLUS. Easily available in neighbourhood sundry shops, and very cheap too. If you're living in other Asian countries I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find this too, because it's a common material used to wrap food for takeaway (which reminds me of roasted duck rice and chicken rice that my dad used to buy back for me :D).

RM3.80 / USD1.25 for 100 pcs. I feel like a thrifty genius.

Okay enough of waxing my own thrifty ass, let's get on to making some honeycomb print fabric!

What you need:

Honeycomb stencil*

Printer

Blade/x-acto

Kertas bungkus

Fabric paint (I <3 Dylon)

Paintbrush

Fabric

*Stencil's in PDF, for personal use only.

Trim kertas bungkus to A4 size, feed it through your printer (print on the non-waxy side) and print the stencil out.

Cut out stencil.... niceeee.

Iron on stencil (waxy side onto the fabric). Iron everything nook down, especially the thin borders between the honeycombs :D 

Start painting them combs! :-)

Lar dee dar...

Once done, allow to dry.

p/s: Erm.. okay. I didn't allow to dry. Hence the blotchiness. heh. I will touch it up tomorrow hehehe.

... Peel like Emma!

Fix the colour according to the fabric paint's instructions.*

Done! Enjoy your honeycomb fabric :D

*Dylon's instructions to fix the colour: "Cover painted area with a clean cloth and iron on a very hot setting for 1-2 minutes. Fix between layers if painting more than one coat. Fabric returns to its original softness after washing.

Edit: I've added more stencils to my Etsy store, at minimum prices! Do come take a look :-) 

p/s: Hello new readers! My blog is now at http://chingmakesthings.blogspot.com :)

Behind the scenes of an Etsy store

Happy Chinese New Year!

I've had a wonderful time back in my hometown spending top notch quality time with my parents. Things are a bit different this year because my grandfather passed away last year. But it's ok. I guess things will never remain the same forever, and over time new family traditions are born, although some do still remain.

Since my last entry here, I've taken up a new chapter to my life of working from home. I've been writing and photographing tutorials for a craft site and it's been so fun thinking of new ideas and executing them. Sometimes I'll just stay awake in bed thinking of ways to execute an idea, and I'll ask my husband for ideas and get his opinions on my proposals. He's been very supportive although most of the time I'm working pretty long hours and rarely get to spend much time with him, even on weekends. Thanks for the support, Mr Husband :o)

Anyway, I've been backing up my photos and came across these pics that were taken when I was working on items for my Etsy store, and just thought I'd share them with you here. 

I think my current favourite tools are the art knife (or what most people call the X-Acto, but mine is actually a Tamiya+Olfa that belongs to the husband hee hee), and glue (I have at least 7-8 types of liquid adhesives on my desk right now as we speak, and perhaps 2-3 more in the storeroom-- they are all for different materials and strength... I just get giddy looking at glues in shops sometimes). Most underrated tool that I like would be the single hole paper puncher... nothing like a perfect "o" to make my day!

Feel free to visit my Etsy store L.A.R.K :-)

Fresh from the ovenna: Handcut pleather accessories

I had so much fun making these! Cutting the individual strips were a pain and assembling them together was time consuming. I think I shall take a break from jewelry-making and get back into sewing :-) .... although err, I'm really not sure if I can do it.. my mind's constantly thinking of accessories to make, even when I'm in bed! *_*

Accessories available at my Etsy store L.A.R.K 

Ground rules, missy!

Our house does not have any white fluorescent lights because my husband is allergic to them. Ok maybe not medically like the kids on The Others or like vampires in True Blood (let's not even talk about Twilight and their sparkly bits because they are not real vampires), but yes his inner mental system rejects all things white light and fluorescent. 

He loves incandescent orange-tinged lights, so our lighting system in the house mainly consists of standing lamps and pendant lamps. They do cast a more romantic and cozy glow over the house, and a simple thing like having a cup of tea while watching tv seems so much more cozier than doing it in white light hahaha. I believe that with some strategically placed incandescent orange-tinged lamps, you can make almost any room look beautiful.

Which is a big problem when you're working with colours, or detail work. When I was still working in a full time day job, I only sewed at night. But now that I have the daylight to splurge on, GOODNESS ME! There is nothing like sewing in daylight. NOTHING. It's like I've gotten a new pair of x-ray glasses that gives me power to see sheen, luster, fibers, and colours like I've never seen then before. 

Sometimes I try to work through the night like I did before, but there is no substitute for daylight. I am also usually tired by then, and coupled with the lack of daylight, it's a wonderful combo for horrible success in getting good work out. So I've decided to split my work tasks by grouping them according to how much the presence of daylight (and alertness) would help them in becoming good work. A quick breakdown:

Day

Sewing

Jewelry-making

Crafting

Pattern drafting

Night

Blogging

Marketing

And I made myself this poster to remind myself of the ground rules. It's for the best of the work, and for the good of me eyes. Feel free to print one for yourself if you echo my sentiments :P

Download the full A4 printable PDF here!

Comfort over style

I was sent to a seminar once where the speaker took one look at me and said "If you were asked to choose one over the other, you would pick comfort over style."

SO TRUE ZOMG.

"Does it smell like old lady?"

.... that's what my brother in law asked me when I told him that I bought this at RM5 from the thrift shop: a gigantic dress with a gigantic dartless bodice and a low pleated skirt. Anything gigantic from the thrift shop is a win for me; more fabric to work with! :D

Anyway, check out my Vogue pose below. Super high fashion, I know. Forget the smize, I think awkward ogre arm poses are going to be the next big thing. And you know you heard it here first ;-)

I took apart the whole dress and ended up with 3 pieces to work with-- the front bodice, back bodice, and the pleated skirt. To make the new dress, I drafted a V-neck bodice (something I've been wanting to try for a while now), kept the side bust darts but eliminated the front darts for a more casual look. 

The neckline and sleeves were finished with some coral satin bias tape... not a very nice job on the inside though :-( I will need to practice working with bias tape more so I can improve!!!!! YAAAARRGHHH!!! :D

*that's not the sound of frustration, it's how I psych myself up / freak myself out / wake myself up

So anyway, back to the dress-- there's an elastic sewn to the waist to keep its shape. I love it when dresses are nipped in at the waist, just a personal preference :o)

I love how comfy this dress is! And it doesn't crinkle easily too. Yay!

Here's me looking at me being a fashionable ogre. God bless my husband for marrying this ogre.

L.A.R.K on Etsy!

etsy.com/shop/LARKnow

Charm bracelets, hand cut pleather rings, and OOAK finds. Remember to enter the discount code too!

Tutorial: Super quickie Christmas ornament in a fizzy!

Please raise your hands if you forgot that Christmas is a week away. Err.. nobody? It was just me? REALLY?? Heh :P

I was on the phone with my mom and I thought she was crazy when she said Christmas was only a week away. Clearly I was the crazy one instead 

-___-"

I'm not much of a decoration person when it comes to Christmas, but this time around I decided just to do something simple. Bought some fairy lights, made 3 Christmas stockings with some red flannel I had in the stash, and this super simple glitter ornament to hang by our lights switch box (how glamourous, I know, stop it you guys lol).

You can make these in whatever shapes you want, and hey, who says it's only for Christmas aye?

All you need is 15 minutes, glitter, foam board, white glue, and a clear spray paint to seal it at the end. I found all these at our local stationery shop.

1. Trace your shape onto the foam board

2. Cut it and pop it out

3. Paint white glue onnit

4. FUN ALERT: Shake your glitter all over it!

5. Dust it off and you'll be left with a s'wonderful layer of glitter sitting on your glue!

6. Spray it with a clear spray to seal it in, and decorate it if you want.

 7. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Sneak peak: L.A.R.K

We're almost there! Here's a sneak peak into L.A.R.K, my upcoming shop on Etsy for all my handmade items. We'll be starting off with a collection inspired by whimsical woodland critters.

Get the above ring (Eli The Elephont) for free by joining our giveaway!

WIP: Etsy store!

What to expect: Whimsical, fun accessories, postcards, prints, and fun things. Watch this space for a giveaways and shanaynays! :D

Tutorial: Recycle your yoghurt cups!

I loveeeee yoghurt! I'd usually get me a medium tub (not the single serving ones) from the grocery store  to last me a few days. Before you throw the tubs away, THINK ABOUT CAPTAIN PLANET! He's got green hair and a weird tan, but above all, he needs YOU to save the planet by recycling. *wink*

So here's an easy peasy way to recycle that yoghurt tub into a twine cup for some pretty desk organization. Put your pens and pencils in it, or use it as a little bin to collect scraps from your craft project.

This project is wayyyy easy. Here's what you need:

- Empty yoghurt tub

- Twine rope (or any other type of rope/yarn you fancy your pants off)

- Scissors

- PVA glue or UHU glue

I love strawberry yoghurt. Slurp.

Here we go! First, cut out the label like a boss.

Spread glue on the outside like a boss.

Wrap the twine rope around the cup like a... uh, you get my drift.

Done! You're such a boss.

You may stop here and use your twine cup, but if you can do a simple braid, let's finish this baby off!

Braid three strands like so:

... and stick them to the rim of your twine cup. 

Best to use a superglue like UHU for this :-)

Anddddd you're done! Tar darrrrr....

My twine cup sits with me on the table when I sew or work on DIY projects, and works as a little bin to collect stray thread, felt scraps, and little fabric remnants. Yes... pretty things make working fun for me :D