Collecting hearts

DS and DD went door-to-door with a friend to collect these from the free TODAY paper that we get in this neighbourhood. They managed to cover only 1 block just now but they're continuing later. Hopefully the haul will be greater later.

If you want to do your part, you can do it online at http://info.singtel.com/personal/foldaheart 

Have a blessed day!

Rainy days

It's been raining the whole afternoon but it has stopped now and the sun's out.

What do you do on a rainy Sunday afternoon?

Made this 7-strand braided bracelet. Actually, I like the toggle. It's super shiny and I like the clean simple lines. It's rather heavy, definitely not aluminium. I initially braided 4 strands of suede but it was too big for the toggle's hole. I switched to 4 strands of Chinese knotting string and it was too small. I tried 7 strands and it's just nice :-)

I have a bunch of these snappy clips and decided to try the fabric button on them. I think I like these better than the paper clips. Hmm, I've not taken a pic of those, it seems. Soon?

Have a blessed day.

ps: I wonder if there'll be a rainbow later :-)

Tassels and charms

Made some bracelets and dust plugs and added charms and tassels.

Have a blessed day!

Afternote: made one more

Point of view

Everyone's entitled to their own opinions despite hearing or reading or even seeing the same things. One man's meat is another man's poison?

I'm musing 'cos there'll be some changes coming. It's not confirmed yet though, but it'll affect BunnyBags. I'm also considering narrowing the range of items I craft for sale and also how they'll be sold.

It's been more than 2 years since I started this. Since then I've lost count of what I've made and sold. I've also forgotten to take pics of them too. I hope many of these items are still in use today. I know DS and DD's items are, many of which are more than 2 years old 'cos I started out making stuff for them.

Random musings aside, I'm still crafting :-)

These are the before and after views of single-wrap 4-strand braided suede bracelets.  

And this is an amazing crystal dust plug. Swarovski elements, the shop said. The shine or bling factor is very high and I don't know how to take a decent pic to show the many faceted capture of light. It's clear when lying on its side but look at it top-down and a burst of colour shoots forth. DD and I were playing with this at the shop. I'll make hers soon :-)

Have a blessed day!

Afternote: made DD's with her choice of size of the Swarovski element which is the largest one I bought. Even the lady at the shop commented that it's a bit big for a dust plug, LOL! I won't take a pic. It's just like this one, but a bit bigger. She chose the multi-coloured one, not the clear one. Bling bling!

Starlight

I said, "Oh my, what a marvelous tune"

It was the best night, never would forget how we moved.

The whole place was dressed to the nines,

And we were dancing, dancing

Like we're made of starlight

Like we're made of starlight

This bling charm reminds me of that song from Taylor Swift's latest album. It's attached via a Byzantine chainmaille weave with a grass green suede tassel on another chain.

Have a blessed day!

Afternote:
Made another one.

Suede straps

Made these suede straps on a whim. The suede was meant for braided cuffs but I took some and trimmed it and made into these straps. In the past, the detachable straps I've made were always from the same fabric as the main body. This suede strap is therefore a stark contrast. I like it anyway :-)

All have a swivel hook to attach to any pouch that has a D-ring.

Have a blessed day!

No headphones

I've always wondered where the dust plug goes when the headphones or earpieces are plugged in. I think I might just add a tiny lobster hook so it can be hooked somewhere. Maybe onto the keyring?

Made this with a bling dust plug that just arrived. Detached the Byzantine chainmaille from a shepherd hook's bookmark and attached it here. Hmm, maybe I should just have a lobster hook so you can have a two-in-one. Bookmark or dust plug. LOL!

Have a blessed day!

Buttons, again?

Cover buttons are so fun. They're even more fun when the print of the fabric matches the size of the button, like these. Lecien's Minny Muu Plus Animal Dots are just the right size for 22mm buttons. There are more than 15 different circles (I didn't bother to count after 15). I like the bees. There's a bee with a sting and a bee without a sting.Most of the animals have a match.

Anyway, made some dual loop hair ties with two of the 22mm buttons.

Managed to get hold of some more 27mm button starter kits. Each Daiso outlet is different and what you find at one outlet, you may not at another. Even if it's the largest outlet, you may still not find the items found in smaller ones. You can reserve items though. Just give them a call and if they have stock at that outlet which you call, they can reserve it for 3 days.

I have two sets (only!) of 22mm cover button starter kits. Will be posting these to Facebook tomorrow. Found some coloured hair elastic to go with the fabric circles.

Have a blessed day!

Tutorial - braiding suede

Braid your own suede bracelet in Christmas colours!

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Material

12" strips of suede (8pcs)

1" ribbon end (2pcs)

jump rings

lobster hook

Method

Crossing means going under if the one next to it is over, over if it's under.

1. Arrange the strips in the colour sequence of your choice. I used a hair clip to hold everything in place.

2. Clamp on a ribbon end.

3. Cross 5 over 4

4. Cross 3 over 5

5. Cross 6 over 4 and 3

6. Cross 2 over 5 and 6

7. Cross 7 over 4, 3 and 2

8. Cross 1 over 5, 6 and 7

9. Cross 8 over 4,3,2 and 1

10. Cross 5 over 6, 7 and 8

11. Cross 4 over 5, 1, 2 and 3

Repeat steps 10 and 11 with the rightmost and leftmost strips till desired length, cut ends and clamp. Add jump rings and lobster hook.

Have a blessed day!

ps: The finished bracelet was made from a different sequence of colours, not the one shown in the steps. The final bracelet will vary based on the colours you choose and the sequence you arrange the strips. Plain one added for your reference.

Giveaway!

Christmas 2012 giveaway!

Remember this drawstring bag from the tutorial? This can be yours along with other handmade items in your choice of colour. I'm thinking books, magnets, hair ties, pouch, bookmark, scrunchy...etc. It'll be the most I've given away to date :-)

What you'll have to do by 24Nov 8pm is to SHARE this pic on Facebook and leave a COMMENT as to what colour items you'd like if you win this. I'll try to best match :-)

Have a blessed day!

ps: If you don't have a Facebook account, you're welcome to leave a comment here instead.

OOAK

This might well be the only one. I had such a hard time sewing the PU leather snap onto the Japanese laminate. Surely there must be an easier way to attach it but I've yet to figure out. Maybe it'll be easier with the canvas laminate. I'll try that soon.

Fourteen pockets here made out of dark chocolate cotton-linen blend and bound with oatmeal of the same material. I like how the colours go together for a cheery and functional card wallet.

Have a blessed day!

Zippity do dah!

I had two different requests for zippered pencil cases. While both have 10 zips each, the bottom one is much larger 'cos of the method of sewing.

Top - seams sewn from the inside 'horizontally'. This results in a smaller pencil case because of the puffiness and seams.

Bottom - seams sewn in zigzag stitch from the top. This results in a larger pencil case. I attempted to match the thread colour to the zip so I ended up having to change the thread and bobbin often.

The seams are the easy part. The toughest part of this is binding up the seam where all the zips come together. You can't see it from here but I've not done it yet for these two. I just wanted to get the pic out first, LOL!

Have a blessed day!

In another colour

This reminds me of maple syrup, of pancakes and caramel corn. :-)

I like the simplicity of this bracelet. It wasn't easy at the start but once you get the hang of it, it's rather simple to braid it.

Have a blessed day!

DEAR season

I like this time of the year, it's DEAR season :-)

Drop Everything And Read is on (has been on) till 31 Jan 2013 and you can borrow twice the usual number of books.

I used to lug DS' and DD's books till I told them that if they want to read, they'll have to carry their own books. Grin! Thing is, it's cold and wet weather here so I'll bring a jacket and brolly when I go out and with the extra books, I need a large enough bag to hold everything. Actually, this is my excuse. I've made many bags but I wanted one for myself and when I saw this cotton-linen blend in a retro print, I made one :-)

Have a blessed day!

ps: Library's closed today 'cos it's a public holiday but it'll be open tomorrow :-)

pps: If you have a Passion Card, please go activate your free premium membership. More books!

Fusion

These are twin totes made from Northcott laminate. I like laminates 'cos of it's waterproof feature but they're not easy to handle. I can't pin 'cos there'll be holes and this fabric doesn't feed well into the sewing machine. It's rather stiff as a fabric and turning it inside out is a challenge. I still like laminates though.

Have a blessed day!

Colour combinations

I didn't think these would go together but these 2 colours were what DD requested. Six braided green and brown. After braiding it like that (3 consecutive green, 3 consecutive brown), it seems quite pleasant. I might try another that is green, brown alternates. I might try an 8-braid, or a 10? I think it's the same method as the 6. I'll need to find the corresponding ribbon ends first though.

 

Remember the top-most gift bag? I used it for the tutorial. Made some more out of Christmas colours. 

Would you have guessed that all these came from a single piece of cloth? It's those 'cheater' patchwork types. The sizes are just nice for these 27mm buttons. Dual loops elastic hair ties.

I just remembered that I'm supposed to update the Pre-Christmas Sale 2012 page with these than post here.

Oh well.

Have a blessed day!

More kits

These 3 are available as a kit. I've just posted them up on Facebook. Found 3 double-sided heart charms to go with them too :-)

These are 3-braid single wrap ones. I don't have other colours at the moment nor others long enough for double-wrap.

It seems that

3-braid, single wrap needs 1 yard,

3-braid, double wrap needs 2 yards,

6-braid, single wrap needs 2 yards and

6-braid, double wrap needs 4 yards.

Anyway, have fun with these :-)

Afternote: I forgot to include instructions (no picture tutorial at the moment)

1. Cut the yard of suede into 3 equal strips. At 12" and even with braiding, this should be long enough for most wrists.

2. Clamp 3 ends with the ribbon end with a pair of pliers. It doesn't matter which end you use, lobster hook or heart charm.

3. Braid

4. When it's long enough, cut and clamp.

Three suede cuffs ready for braiding (18cm, 20cm, 20cm). Affixed with antique bronze rose snap. Make your own following the tutorial I learnt from here.

Have a blessed day!

Braids

Three and six braided suede bracelets. I've yet to attach the lobster hooks and jump rings. There are some other colours that I've yet to make, pinks and purples etc. Two yards are needed for the 6-braided else 3-braided but double-wrap ones. I think I only have 5 2-yard suede strips. There's also the issue of the ribbon ends. I suppose I can sew suede ends so that I can fix a snap onto them but, not now. Not yet, at least? A shipment of delicious fabric arrived yesterday. We were almost home from the iLove Singapore Walk (were you there?) when I saw the Speedpost van. My first thought was, why is it here on a Saturday? My second thought was, what if it's my shipment? We ran to catch the delivery man and lo and behold! It was for us.

Talk about just in time :-)

Have a blessed Sunday!

Green suede bracelets

Braided these two green suede bracelets and crimped the ends with ribbon ends (or what do you call these?). The fixed length one I used a stainless steel lobster hook and rhodium-plated jump rings but the other I used ribbon ends that came with the extension chain. I prefer the extension chain 'cos of the tiny heart but I can't remember where I bought these from :-(

These are so fun to make that I think I'll go back and buy other colours.

Have a blessed day!

Not exactly the first one

It's kind of strange, actually, when I just realised that this is probably only the second wallet I've made. Odd. You'd have thought after more than two years of this blog and making all sorts of stuff that I'd have made some wallets? I can only recall one other at the moment, the red leaf linen one.

Oh well.

I think I'll make more of these. Rather challenging and lots of room for improvement though I like this one lots. It has 6 card slots on one side and a zippered compartment in the middle. One large slot on each side of the zipper and everything kept neat and tidy with this metal clasp. I don't know what sort of clasp this is. Pretty and functional.

Have a blessed evening!

ps: don't mind the shine. I can't seem to take nice pics at night but after struggling with this for so long and finally completing it, in between Spiral Knights sessions, LOL!

Happy friends

I like Lecien's prints, especially this one from the Happy Chihuahuas range. These come in the 'right' size for 27mm cover buttons or even 18mm where you get the animal up close. These are dual loop elastic hair ties. Packaged as a set of 4 so I don't have to bother about inventorising how many cats, dogs, piyos or hams there are, LOL!

Have a blessed day!

Same, but different

Made these two antique bronze shepherd's hook bookmarks with box weave chainmaille and the largest owl charms I have. The left hook is a plain hook and the right one has patterns etched on both sides.

DS and I prefer the left one, DD, the right.

Have a blessed evening!

Go green this Christmas

Go green this Christmas and make your own gift bag rather than use wrapping paper that will be ripped and thrown away.

Anyway, if you haven't noticed how I make stuff by now, I'm winging this. That's why there are no specific measurements. This also means that you can make it any size you like as long as you know the ratios and what to look out for.

Material

• 4 pieces of fabric - outer (1pc), lining (pc), top (2pcs) - the outer and lining are large rectangles, twice the size of your final bag when you fold breadthwise, meaning breadth meets breadth and length is halved. The top parts are as long as when the outer is folded half, as wide as 4 times the cords / ribbons you're going to use. Please remember to include sufficient allowance for sewing.
• cord or ribbon for drawstring top
• bells, charms (optional)
• label (optional)

Method

1. Prepare the materials above
2. Fold in the breadths of the top pieces and sew near the edge. This is so that the ends won't fray. See yellow arrow.
3. Take the lining and fold half breadthwise (breadth meets breadth) and crease it along the length. See red arrow. Fold both top pieces into half lengthwise (length meets length) and place them along the edge of the lining, one on each side of the half where you just creased. All frayed edges need to be aligned.
4. Place the outer piece on top so that you have a sandwich. Bottom - lining, middle - top piece folded half lengthwise, top - outer piece. Sew along the frayed edge of this 'sandwich'.
5. Open the 'sandwich' and top-stitch near the edge. See red arrow. You may wish to add a label at this time.
6. If you want squared off corners, open them up and fold them 45-degrees across. Think tetra packs or milk cartons. Same concept. Trim off the excess. See red arrow.
7. Fold the whole thing such that the outer is folded half on itself, and ditto the lining. Sew round the 3 edges. Remember to leave an opening for turning. Trim the part where the outer and lining meets. See red arrow.
8. Turn it proper way out and sew the hole closed. Cut 2 pieces of cord or ribbon. These will be longer than the length of the outer or lining. Thread one through one of the top pieces and out  the other and knot it. Thread the other through the other end and knot it. Add charms or bells, if you like.

Have fun!

Do you like puzzles?

This suede bracelet was made from a single piece of suede. Not 3, not more. Just one. It looked simple enough yet I struggled with it for a while. It's fun so I think I'll make more :-)

I finally started using the antique bronze rose snaps. The one that the supplier shipped only 1 part out of 4 parts of each snap and had to re-ship, LOL!

Have a blessed and very breezy evening.

Afternote: made another one (actually 2 but only 1 pic)

Pretty, dainty thing

I made this corduroy-topped covered button first and was deciding between silver or bronze ring base. While I can't do anything about the button base which is aluminium, I can stick anything I like below. Chose the antique bronze one in the end. It seems to go with the dainty flower print. Silver would have been a clash, fighting for attention. Happy :-)

Have a blessed day!

ps: I've been thinking about the (private) pre-Christmas sale on 23 November. I'll be selling some items at clearance prices but I'll be introducing some new items as well. Hopefully, the material'll arrive in time for me to make by then, LOL!