MT Expo Singapore finally landed on our shores! It took place from 26 Jul to 11 Aug at Ion Gallery and I'm glad to have checked it out. Not as huge as some other MT Expos but I was so thrilled with my visit nevertheless. I was on a high the whole time I was there! Like a kid in a candy store. T was most sweet to let me take my time salivate over everything and fill up my shopping basket.

Limited edition Singapore tapes

I hear it took 10 persons and 48 hours to MT tape the entire space! I enjoyed myself thoroughly at the DIY table and did you check out the gacha gacha machine?

Pom Pom Making

I sometimes wander along the aisles of craft stores looking at the balls of attractive yarns in all sorts of colours and wished I could knit or crochet. Well, I can't. 

Recently, I found the perfect excuse to spend my money on 2 balls of yarn. I was going to make pom poms! I've been wanting to make pom poms for the sheer fun of it for the looooongest time but never got down to it. There was always another more urgent project/something I had to do for the shop etc. But I put my foot down this time and reminded myself that I needed to remember what it was like to craft for fun. For my own enjoyment. 

There are loads of tutorials you can find online on how to make pom poms. I went along with this one. Minimal fuss, minimal materials.

It's really simple and in ten minutes, I had my first handmade pom pom! If you want a fluffier pom pom, you can give it a brush to make it furry.

Speaking of pom poms, if you are old enough (like me), you may remember the craze back then of wearing ankle socks that came with a little pom pom attached at the back. Do you? :)

Simple Tutorial: Handmade Booklet

Last weekend, when T was snoozing away in the other room after a busy work week, I decided to do something crafty. I put on some light music and spent an enjoyable alone time with my craft supplies and a messy table. At the end of it, I had little booklet which I put together in a short amount of time! Tadaah!

Some of the basic materials I used were: papers of different colours/textures, MT tapes, printer, scissor, glue. 

Simple instructions:

- I decided on the number of pages I wanted and had the papers cut to size. 

- I folded the papers into two and ran them through my sewing machine.  

(Booklet done! All that's left is the fun part-- decorating it!)

- I had some patterns and images printed, trimmed and pasted on the cover.

- Don't forget to take out your MT stash and have fun with them.

Try it some time! Give the booklet to someone as a little present or fill the pages according to your own needs :)

Sew-a-Cat-Tote Workshop

Last Saturday was my Sew-a-Cat-Tote workshop and I spent an afternoon with some lovely participants. I am proud to say that I had male participants in my sewing workshop! They were most sporting for coming along with their female counterparts. 

It was a small group of us so that I could see how each person was progressing. Overall, I thought we maintained a cozy atmosphere with light banter and it turned out well. I hope everyone had fun and took away an interest in sewing. Hope to see you guys again :)

Everyone hard at work.

The sweet group of people who were trapped with me in a room for 3 hours.

Thank you for coming!

Envelope collages

I've been itching to do something crafty besides sewing and I'm glad I finally found a pocket of time to do so. Something that can be done in a short time, is easy and yet fun was what I was looking for. So I decided to do envelope collages! If you have a hour or less on a weekend afternoon but don't want to spend it in front of telly, try this! 

Here are some tools and materials I used which you may consider. For the paper scraps, anything you can get around the house will do. Varying textures will be great. Also snip/tear cute images you like. 

Voila! Finished product no. 1.

Finished envelope 2. 

An aside: See the bus ticket? We don't see them much around here anymore since we just tap our card when we board the bus. But smart aleck me forgot to travel with my card yesterday and had to dig my wallet for shillings. So, I heard the old familiar drop of coins and my ticket appeared! Decided to put it to use here :p 

Happy crafting!

Sew Searching - an exhibition

Hi folks, I mentioned previously that I have something up my sleeves and I'm excited to finally share this piece of news with you! Cookie Cutter will be having its first little solo exhibition-- "Sew Searching"!! 

(click to enlarge)

After months of working on it, we've finally begun the installation set up, and as we count down to the launch, I'm starting to fret all the big and small things-- what possible glitches there will be, what if no one turns up etc. Yes, worry wart, that's me. 

"Sew Searching" features Cookie Cutter's handmade plush toys and lifestyle products, and is curated by Yanda of donotdesign. In the face of cloned mails, machine regurgitated products and a prescribed route of convention, one treads a path fraught with challenges, when one does not want what many others do. This exhibition seeks to gather like-minded people to witness a journey of searching and the fruits of this search. It is an attempt to keep alive a creative community independent of huge corporations. We also hope to reshape how people consume and interpret handmade. 

Additionally, the exhibition features collaborations with 7 local creatives who share our cause. 

So please ,

spread the word

gather your friends and

come shun the mass market with us! 

I'll be there daily and I'll love for you to say hi :)

http://bit.ly/sewsearching

The Book Show

Hi folks, if you are in Singapore, I would love for you to come to a group exhibition which I'm a part of! The last week or so saw me busy making plushies inspired by a book. I'm pretty happy with them and hope you'll come have a look! Of course, there'll also be works of fellow Singaporean artists for you to feast your eyes on. Everything at the exhibition is available for sale. Here's the FB event page.

I'll be at the opening which is on 24th October, at 7.30pm. Come say hi! 

NEW in SHOP! Superman Cat Plush

Superheros. As kids, who didn't dream of being them. Some of us still do. And one of the most iconic of these super beings has to be Superman. 

Here's a plush for those dreamy moments, or those times when we need to be reminded that there lives a superhero in all of us (despite not having to wear underwear on the outside).

Superman Cat Plush is now available in my Etsy shop. 100% handmade and original in design. Click on over to see more of him.

NEW! Book Cover-inspired Laptop Cases

I'm interrupting the ongoing [Melbourne series] on the blog to share with you the launch of some new items in my little shop! 

It used to be that being associated with school and books wasn't such a cool thing. But how times have changed. Preppy is the new cool! So go on, tell the world you love books (I do!) and do it through these handmade book cover-inspired laptop cases.

The front of the “book” is covered in rustic cotton linen, with the book title and author carefully embroidered. The back is covered in a cheerful polka dot/floral fabric. The inside of the case is lined and padded. These cases come in 2 sizes that fit the 13”/15” MacBook Pro and other laptops of the same size. The smaller case also fits the 13” MacBook White and 13” MacBook Air. There is also a little additional room to store your accessories/documents.

To further indulge, I went on to make another design with my favourite quote from Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. There are only 2 pieces for this design and they are only in 15".

 

All the laptop cases are now available here in my little shop. So go on, tell the world you are a book lover!

[Melbourne] Finders Keepers

One of top highlights of my Melbourne trip was getting to visit the Finders Keepers Market which I have longed been swooning over every time I read about it on blogs and magazines. The idea of such a huge craft convention, SOLELY indie and handmade, gets my heart beating wildly. 

Can you imagine my excitement the day I stepped foot into the Royal Exhibition Building where the recent Finders Keepers Melbourne was held? I had to give myself a little pinch! With much excitement, I walked around ogling at all the amazing things these talented folks designed, created. Under the roof of that huge exhibition hall, the support, understanding and appreciation for art and craft was so palpable. It was like everyone spoke the same language. 

The lovely ladies from Frankie

Other than leaving with beautiful buys, I came away with a renewed belief in what I am doing and pursuing. The journey is long, hard and sometimes lonely, but it is neither trivial nor “not proper job” and should not be perceived as such. I can only hope that many others in Singapore will realise that one day too. 

[Melbourne] Zines

I really buy into the idea of zines. Independently published and without any regulations, it is total freedom of expression. Often zines production are driven by passion, not profit. Zines have not taken Singapore by storm (sadly) and I still get blank looks when I mention zines but that hasn’t stopped me from publishing two issues :) 

Imagine my delight when I walked into a little shop filled entirely with zines in Melbourne. Yes, there aren’t other products. Just zines. Upon stepping in and although I have yet to take a look at anything, I decided that I will not walk out empty-handed. It is about supporting fellow zinesters :). The 3 walls of the space was lined with zines. Excitedly, I decided on which side to start feasting my eyes at. It was such a joy seeing zines of all genres! Many of them were true to the “underground” and cheaply produced spirit of zines-- photocopy, staple. Voila!

I felt inspired just being there. 

Second Pouch Making Workshop

I conducted the second run of my pouch making workshop last Sunday and was delighted to meet another group of crafty people. It's nice to know that although we all have different day jobs, we share a common love for sewing. We spent an enjoyable afternoon sewing and chatting. 

Here are two completed pouches by the participants! Some of them went home to do up the finishing touches and I was so happy when they shared pictures of the finished products with me. 

A fantastic group of people. Thank you for coming by. It was my pleasure having you :)