Thursday, November 29, 2012

The Artsy Craftsy Blog on Social Media Week 2013

Thursday, November 29, 2012

image credits to http://www.facebook.com/MalaysiaSocialMediaWeek

Hello my fellow readers!

I would like to announce that The Artsy Craftsy Blog has been nominated on the Social Media Week 2013, under the category of Favourite Lifestyle Blog. Online Voting starts in January 2013.Hope to have your support to bring this inspiring blog to the next level. See you there!

To view my nomination, click here: http://www.socialmediaweek.com.my/2013/awards/category.php?id=17

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

How to Make Your Own Doll Clothes

Wednesday, November 28, 2012
by A Girl for All Time
*Award-Winning Dolls, Novels & Keepsake Books*

If you’re a doll collector, buying many different outfits for your dolls can be a difficult process; sometimes it’s hard to find the perfect clothing for them and even if you do, good quality clothing is usually unreasonably expensive. But, making your own doll clothes can cost practically nothing and even better, you can literally conjure up any outfit you can imagine! This guide will show you how you can make fantastic doll clothes at home on a budget.


The Design

Before you actually start cutting and sewing any fabric, you’re going to need to come up with a great design for your new doll clothes. If the doll you’re working on has existing clothing that fits well, then you can always unpick the stitches on these and use them to create a template for your new garments. If not, get some newspaper and cut out the required shapes and alter them until when held together, they fit your doll nicely. Remember to leave some room to seam the pieces together and you’ll have made yourself a brilliant template. The best thing about this method is that once you've made a template for a particular piece of clothing, you can use it again and again with different fabrics to make as many different outfits as you want.




Cutting your Fabric
Once you have designed your template pieces, 
take some small pins and attach the templates to your chosen fabric. Next, take a pair of sharp scissors and cut around the templates, being sure to leave a few millimeters extra around the edge of each piece to make sure that you have enough fabric. Offer the pieces of fabric up to the doll to confirm that you still have all your measurements right before you waste any time sewing/gluing something that isn't going to fit. 

Also check to see if you haven’t frayed or ripped any of the fabric whilst you were cutting it. If the fabric is unusable for any reason, grab your template again and cut out some more.


Making the Clothes

Here comes the hardest part, fastening the fabric together to make your doll’s new clothes. You can do this one of two ways, firstly, you can simply get a needle and thread and sew the clothes together, or alternatively you can use a glue gun to attach the fabric to itself. If you use a glue gun, be careful as they use hot glue and can be dangerous. 

Making sure that you only sew the back of the fabric, fold over the small allowance you left for a seam and couple it up with the seam on the other half of your fabric. 

Sew them together slowly, as to minimize mistakes and ensure your doll’s new clothes look as good as they possibly can. Once everything is sewn together, you can use anything like sequins or beads to decorate your new doll clothes to give them the kind of look you would associate with a luxurious designer label.


About Contributor: A Girl For All Time provide award-winning dolls, novels and keepsake books that bring the past to life with cool fashions, exciting stories and original activities to share with friends and family. Author: Frances Caine

*Images and article provided by A Girl for All time
Copyright 2012. A Girl for All Time. All Rights Reserved

Monday, November 26, 2012

Announcement: Sewing Class with Sew Sweet Designs

Monday, November 26, 2012
Image credits to Sew Sweet Designs. Copyright 2012. Nadhrah Maidin. All Rights Reserved

Whether it is adding on to your wardrobe or pick up a new hobby, sign up with Sew Sweet Designs' chic sewing class and learn how to create amazing crafty fashionable items!
To enquire about their classes, log on to:

Blog: http://sew-sweet-designs.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sSweetDesigns
Email: nadhrahmaidin@gmail.com
Contact: +6012 608 1898

Friday, November 23, 2012

Fine Artist: Sarah Blake

Friday, November 23, 2012
sarah_blake_fine_arts
Artwork by Fine Artist, Sarah Blake
Image credits to Sarah Blake
To visit her work, click here: http://hellozso.com/


Thursday, November 22, 2012

DIY Rocker faux leather bracelet

Thursday, November 22, 2012
November is a FUN Month for me, and I often dread spring cleaning during this time of the year. Not until recently. When I was clearing off some of the unwanted items in my craft trolley, I came across an old bag strap from one of my favourite bags, which I’ve turned it into a large clutch purse. I kept it aside at first hoping to make something good out of it, and was also tempted to throw it away because the end of the strap was already worn out.

Even though I hardly buy them, but I can’t resist some of the leather bracelets I’ve seen in malls. I have always fancied the ones that are plain black or with studs, rather than the ones with exaggerated designs. Already I am quite particular with choosing the right accessory to suit my personality, DIY is the surest way to go when you can just personalize it to however you want it to be.

Go SAVE with UPCYCLE! 

And thanks to my back-to-back craze phase for Rock music and style (and also because I just painted my nails black for Halloween) I thought, Hey! This would be great for a leather band! Perfect pair for a black t-shirt, jeans and sneakers!

What you’ll need:

1. Bag Strap
I think this part is pretty easy; you just need to find the right unwanted bag strap that you can imagine it upcycled into a leather wrist band.

2. Tools
All-Purpose Scissors (optional)
It would be useful if you have additional tools such as an All-Purpose Scissors- which I think you can purchase it from the Hardware store in the mall. I got mine from Daiso, the RM5 for all shop in Sunway Pyramid. (OR just opt for a Regular Scissors)

3. Glue
You will need hardcore glue with stronger adhesive compared to the ones we have used. I recommend brands like ‘Super Glue’ or Elephant Glue’

4. Buttons
Snap buttons definitely! Not the normal ones for sleeve shirts

5. Clothes Peg
Whether it is wooden or plastic, it doesn't matter. You can even use a large paper clip; it just for holding the glue together later on in the process


6. Lighter
For burning the strap edges so that you wont have strands sticking out

If you want to add additional embellishments, that is up to you. Just add in to your list of materials. What I’m about to teach you is just the basic to get you going; then the rest is up to you to explore. As you can see from the photos I've taken, the steps are pretty simple. Just follow it step by step and adapt your own style along the way:

how-to-make-a-fashionable-faux-rock-leather-bracelet
Here is the strap that has been ripped off from the bag!

how-to-make-a-fashionable-faux-rock-leather-bracelet
Some of the tools that I often use. You don't have to use the same,
but most important tool is the scissors (see next pic)

how-to-make-a-fashionable-faux-rock-leather-bracelet
All-Purpose scissors- you can purchase one too.
Great for cutting almost anything.

how-to-make-a-fashionable-faux-rock-leather-bracelet
After measuring it around your wrist and how long you want it to be,
cut it with a scissors. Make sure it's the right length for you.

how-to-make-a-fashionable-faux-rock-leather-bracelet
Test test! Put it around your wrist and gauge where the buttons
would go. (Pardon me, I am a solo camera man)
Important!!: After you've cut the strap,
use a Lighter to lightly burn the edge of the strap
so that no threads will stick out

how-to-make-a-fashionable-faux-rock-leather-bracelet
Prepare the heavy duty glue and buttons.
Separate the buttons so that you know where the glue would go*

how-to-make-a-fashionable-faux-rock-leather-bracelet
*This is my own method, but you can adapt your own too.
In my case, it was easier for me to immediately put two buttons
together. Find which way is easiest for you

how-to-make-a-fashionable-faux-rock-leather-bracelet
Once you have glued them, use a peg (or anything similar)
to hold them together

how-to-make-a-fashionable-faux-rock-leather-bracelet
While waiting for it to dry, you can still make more if you want.

how-to-make-a-fashionable-faux-rock-leather-bracelet
More for me!!!
how-to-make-a-fashionable-faux-rock-leather-bracelet
Once done, you're ready to rock on!

how-to-make-a-fashionable-faux-rock-leather-braceletTIP: Try to let it dry up overnight; few hours wouldn't do justice because the glue hasn't really dry up yet. Same goes for the rest. If you are in quick need for an accessory, use it first. If it comes off, fix it up after your event/function. It won't do much damage.

More ideas for you; even old belts can be upcycled into a bracelet too! You can even personalize one for a friend or family. You can girl it up, or even make one for a guy too! Have fun!













Wednesday, November 21, 2012

A Chance to Become a Crafty Fashionista!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Arts & Craft vs. Fashion: To some, it may seem like two different worlds, but not at all in today’s pop culture.

At one time, Arts & Craft was stereotyped as products created by villagers from outskirt areas. Some even said that Arts & Craft are usually created by poor artists and crafters, and is sold at places like Central Market. You would have probably come across weaved baskets, stones painted, wooden keychains, etc. made for tourists.  But of course, that was then; weaved baskets and wooden crafts are valuable now, and artists & crafters are joining the ranks of entrepreneurs. Plus, the world of Arts & Craft has evolved in the whirlwind of our curr ent creative culture;

Everyone wants to MAKE-MAKE-MAKE to showcase at the latest hip bazaars and events in Malaysia.

Along with the whirlwind of creative culture, more and more young bloods are emerging with personal DIY styles & needlework skills to add to their wardrobes or on their way to become the NEXT Fashion Stylist! And this passion wasn’t nurtured from yesterday, more like vintage yesteryears of their mothers, grandmothers! Thus, began their glorifying passion to create a fashion statement with a wearable art- the art of craft and fashion.

This is where Sew-Sweet-Designs come in!

Offering you a crafty sewing class enough for you to kick start your deep DIY passion. Sew- Sweet-Designs are the creator of chic handsewn handbags perfect for a creative girl’s everyday use. They are expanding, now diving into producing whimsical plush owls and even customizable range of apparels. Their selection of fabric supplies is stunning, with a touch of soft hues and adorable patterns from Midwestern-inspired styles.

So, when you sign up to learn from Sew-Sweet-Designs, you are learning from one of the most talented crafters of today’s creative culture.


For those who are interested in signing up for Sew-Sweet-Designs sewing class, log on to http://sew-sweet-designs.blogspot.com


*Photo credit Sew-Sweet-Designs
*This blog post was sponsored by Sew-Sweet-Designs                                           

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Zalora: Massive Year End Sale You Can’t Miss! No Way!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Image Credits to Zalora Malaysia

I always believe that Creativity isn’t just about picking up a brush to paint, or crafting a piece of accessories with beads; I always tell people that Creativity can be explored in Fashion too. Especially in the clothes that you wear, the colours in clothing designs and items that you pick to portray yourself as an artist, crafter or a writer!

Yes! With a WISE BUY practice, you can be creative too when you shop; be creative in picking out the right items, and be creative at looking at the right places to shop. And you can do this at Zalora, for an amazing online shopping experience *whistle while you work*. Did I tell you that it isn’t just clothes you’d find in Zalora, but an extensive catalogue of home furnishing and more?

I’m excited to share that the popular ZALORA is having a YES Year End Sale Campaign, offering up to 70% discount on thousands of its products!  

To quote the infamous Zalora:

“From 15 November onwards; the sale will start with thousands of exhilarating products sold at truly amazing discounts with participating brands including Embros, Z Homme Cheap Monday, Zang Toi, Glam and Curvy, ZIP, Love by Z, Kyla Ruiz Brazil, Dolce Soles, Catalyst, Alain Delon and so on.”

With the latest technology and evolved shopping concept, you can still find what you need by shopping online. “Year End Sale is a great time for everyone to shop. Rather facing traffic jams and the shopper’s crowd, Zalora Malaysia provides a less-hassle and user friendly online shopping experience to all shoppers with the discount they’ve been waiting for.” said Leow Wee Jonn, Co-Founder/ Managing Director of ZALORA Malaysia. “In additional free shipping service, everyone can shop at comfort of your own home.”

As a writer, you might be surprise if I told you that I don’t like use too much words to describe a particular event. Why? Because I believe my readers should get the first-hand experience when looking at a picture or visiting the website. I am here to redirect you to a highly recommended event, so that you can experience the best.

So my advice is, haste not and log on to ZALORA immediately! 

Here are the details:
SALE
YES YEAR END SALE from 19th November to 25th November

ACTIVITIES: Treasure Hunt!
Shoppers will have to find an icon hidden in the website to stand a chance to WIN 70% discount entitlement on that particular product. New Activity Updates with 20 NEW ITEMS EVERYDAY!

SPECIAL ‘FACEBOOK’ DEALS for FACEBOOK FANS
From 3rd December to 9th December 2012
Offering Zalora Malaysia Facebook fans the “Facebook Deal” with special discounted items.
FIVE (5) Additional On Sale items will be added everyday on Zalora Malaysia’s Facebook fan page. 
For more details, like www.facebook.com/ZaloraMalaysia


Did you Know?
Zalora Malaysia provides user-friendly hassle-free online shopping experience. With customers as their main priority, Zalora is the fastest growing online shopping mall with a wide range of products, carrying up to 600 local and international brands and 30, 000 products online. Zalora offers fast and free delivery nationwide with a 30-day return policy! Zalora is rising in the top charts, aiming to be the No.1 in Online Fashion Malaysia. 

-----
ABOUT ZALORA
ZALORA Malaysia (http://www.zalora.com.my) is the fastest growing online fashion shopping mall in Malaysia. ZALORA Malaysia is part of ZALORA Asia group with Southeast Asia regional presence in Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It is rapidly becoming increasingly popular in Malaysia through its great services and extensive product catalogue. ZALORA Asia’s founders include local and European investors with highly successful online e-commerce sites around the world, such as Zalando (Europe), The Iconic (Australia), Dafiti (Brazil), Groupon.com, Lamoda (Russia), Locondo (Japan), Jabong (India) and many more.

For more information, visit Zalora Malaysia at Website: www.zalora.com.my |
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ZaloraMalaysia | Twitter: twitter.com/ZaloraMalaysia |
Blog: blog.zalora.com.my/ 



*Information and picture courtesy of Zalora Malaysia
*This blog post was sponsored by ZALORA Malaysia

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

[Closed] Craft Haven Voucher Giveaway Winner!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Congratulations to the 
Craft Haven Voucher Giveaway Winners!

Special thanks to Craft Haven
In the Craft Shopping Voucher Giveaway competition, participants were asked to describe The Artsy Craftsy blog in their most creative way. I officially received 5 entries when the giveaway ended on the 13th November 2012. Even though there wasn't much entries, I was still very happy because 5 was just the perfect number for me to select one winner and also one surprise winner too.

Here, I am glad to announce the winner of ONE(1) RM50 Voucher to SHOP at Craft Haven, 1Utama- the most awesome craft shop in Petaling Jaya.


Congratulations to winner Pauline Tan! 
And here is her poetic entry:
There goes my brain
seeking inspiration to gain,
Each time i twitch
i turn on the computer switch.
I click and i click
and scroll through pages quick,
to find a place
where the art which suits my taste!
"The Artsy Craftsy?" I say
full of inspiration and give aways!
Art so wonderfully amazing
Crafts so colourful and exciting!
LONG LIVE Artsy Craftsy and its creator!
May he/she give the voucher to this little crafter :3

And to the SURPRISE winner, here's to Clay Crafter & Design Student Ling Hooiyin of Tinypinc.
Her entry:

The Artsy Craftsy Blog has given me inspiration in crafting and designing.
It's great to look for crafting stories in your blog.
Keep calm and craft on.:)

I always enjoy Creative Writing. I think that besides painting and crafting, it's an alternative way to express one's self; to speak what's from your heart. I learned from someone wise before, a writer as well; when you write, your soul writes. And I am glad to know the entries I received came straight from their creative soul. 

And so I would like to thank each and every one of your creative souls for participating in my giveaway. For those who did not receive the reward from me, fret not, because I have LOTS MORE of rewarding giveaways coming very soon!

Stay tune, join more and keep winning!

How to Dress Up a Brown Paper Bag

by Paper Bags Galore


Brown paper bags. A common, everyday item that is easily taken for granted. Well, did you know that they are as versatile as they are common? Think gift bags and you have opened up a whole world of crafty opportunities.
I’ve recently started a new venture selling different kinds of paper bags and I currently have all these paper bags surrounding me, calling out to me saying, “Pick me! Pick me! Do me up so I look pretty!”. Now, who knew paper bags could rhyme?

So I thought, ok-lah let’s try dressing them up! I’m no craftsperson and I imitate better than I create so it’s a great relief to see so many better examples out there (see links below) to learn from. So today I’d like to share what I did, with a pictorial on decorating a good ol’ brown paper bag. Enjoy!











The paper bag above can be used for anything. A gift for a friend or even a simple gift bag at a wedding. Here are other designs you can work with:





(This article can also be found on EtsyMalaysia.com posted on 02 Nov 2012.)

*Article and Photos by Charis of Paper Bags Galore

When not hearing strange voices from paper bags, Charis is married to Samuel and is a full-time mommy to a baby boy named Jared. She loves crafting in what free time she now has and has several small online businesses on Etsy and other social media platforms. You can find her on Deejai Supplies, Square Art and Paper Bags Galore.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Travel Art: Genting Highlands: My First Attempt on Travel Journal

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Day 1 - Arrival

I got the room for free for my birthday, courtesy of Genting Highlands. Can't complain, cos I came here to blog peacefully.

I have arrived in the little city of Genting Highlands. I think you should know that it is one of my favourite getaway spot, and so you might be seeing alot of my work inspired by this place. To some individuals from Malaysia, this might seem another place of hustle and bustle. True that, because it's primary entertainment here are the casinos. Many foreigners and locals have come here to visit the cha-chings! But if you take a look closely, you would notice that this place has incorporated artistic elements I personally think that it is these things that makes this place worth visiting again and again. Visiting here in the month of November/December, I thought I would be seeing alot of Christmas decorations. The cold air and the deco would probably go well together, but unfortunately, they have yet to start their decos. Except the cafes, like Starbucks or Coffee Bean.

Day 2 & 3- Blogging in the Cold Magic

Photography

I have taken a number of pictures of using the coolest app- Retro Camera, downloaded from Google Play Store. I have spotted a variety of things ranging from sculptures, decorations, wall arts, and much more. The one thing I've noticed is that Genting is filled with colours too, with lots of lights. And so I have captured these for you to enjoy them.

You can enjoy the pictures in colour or black & white mode.

I truly hope that these pictures would be able to inspire you creatively. I am happy to be able to share with you my unique experience and creative finds. And I hope that when you visit Genting (again or first time), you would be able to see the atmosphere here in a whole new level. Perhaps you would be able to spot your own creative finds too.

Here's a clickable picture that will direct you to my gallery, or you can preview it first at the slideshow here:

copyright 2012 shia lynn   


Creative Journal

Moments

These are my journal entries from my stay at Genting Highlands. I only did a couple because I wanted to focus more on taking photos; however, these are some examples of my own for you to refer if you are up for making travel journals. I also want you to know that these pictures weren't originally shot this way; these pictures are edited in one of my favourite Apps for picture editing (credits to Google Play Store). It is called Pixrl-O-Matic by Autodesk Inc.



Artistic Elements

One of my favourite things to do when I am taking pictures is spotting art elements. If you are also doing a journal series, remember that there are various entries you can opt for. You can journal about art elements and colour combos; perhaps you can use a mini printer, print out the pictures and paste them on a sketchbook. Include your thoughts on it too. Otherwise, you can do what I do. Just blog about it. 
It's a profound experience when you learn how to open your eyes and see art in everything around us. Creativity is everywhere, and everything you see is a source of inspiration to you and your work.
Here are some examples of my own art element finds.













Colour combinations

As a child, I hardly enjoy the process of colouring. I often felt that it was a dreary routine having to colour the same spot over and over again. As I grew older, I was so used to the idea that I eventually, I lack the eye for colour combinations. It affected my work and even my inner self. My journey with colours is all about growth; after some soul searching I realized that actually, deep down inside I had a connection with colours. For someone who loves Black, dark red and other darker hues; I still see colours in everything, and enjoy incorporating them in my work. I have reconnected my soul with colours.
Being surrounded by colours during my trip to Genting Highlands, I made sure that I took note of the colours around me, take lots of pictures and observe each and every colour combination whether it is in the decorations, packaging, food, nature, etc.







You should know that this particular entry is my first exploration on journalling. And I hope that it would be able to inspire you, just like how some of the other creative journals I have come across have inspired me too. Perhaps you would like to give it a try on your next travel. Remember, it can be anywhere in the world you are at, because creativity is everywhere. Narrow down to the smallest thing that could be the least important to others such as, a twig, or a leave, or even a piece of sweet wrapper from the location you are at. The best part about this little activity is that you don't have to plan your destination on purpose.