Louie

This is fast becoming a rather addictive hobby. You would not think so looking at it – tedious more like it – but there is something almost meditative about folding the same module over and over again. I have a friend who has already gone through this phase and she agrees with me.

This fat fellow reminded me of another friend’s cat and so I named it Louie in his honour (Although this friend will be quick to say that her cat is not fat, he’s fluffy! : D ). Like Amigo, this was also an attempt to copy someone else’s design but he did not turn out the way I had envisioned either. I ended up changing the hamster figure into a cat. The assembly is a little crooked but when I put the features on, you do not notice the inconsistencies. Ah the wonders of art and illusion : P! 

Front

Side

Back

Oblique - This shot just looked cute so I decided to add it in. : D

Dimensions: 11 x 9 x 9 cm

Materials: White paper, orange paper, black cardstock, white cardstock, orange cardstock, fishing line

Tools: knife, glue, scissors, hole puncher 

Time to Make: ~6 hours 

Twinkle, twinkle little star...

Cutting paper strips can be very tedious. I would much rather have someone or something else do it for me. Hunting through my basement, I found a wonderful old paper shredder which cut paper into even, thin strips. Perhaps not the best for paranoid people’s confidential documents (a really patient person could probably slowly piece the papers back together) but great for cutting star paper. Of course that’s only if you are okay with making tiny stars. A bit challenging and quite fiddly but very cute.

Foil paper can end up getting a stressed look when handled a lot.  Not crisp but the look has a charm of its own. 

I made these from floral wrapping paper from a present that I had given to someone. He thought I did such a nice job with wrapping that he was careful not to tear the paper and then he gave the paper back to me to wrap something else.
: P

Elephants and bunnies were the original pattern of this baby-shower-type wrapping paper. Too bad  you can't really tell now that it has been made into stars.

Dimensions: ~ 1cm wide

Materials: assorted wrapping paper

Tools: paper shredder

Time to make: Length of several movies…though I won’t tell you which ones ; )

Looks Like a Seal, Smells Like a Sheep!

Not too long ago, a friend of mine convinced me to take up felting with her. She had been seduced by internet pictures of cute animal projects and wanted a partner in her madness. Being the wonderful friend I am, of course I obliged. And the pictures were cute after all.  

Felting can be a dangerous hobby if you’re not paying attention (I stabbed myself twice) as anything involving pointy instruments can be. It basically involves taking tuffs of unworked wool and stabbing it repeated with a felting needle to shape it into whatever you want. It feels a bit like voodoo near the end when you’re jabbing a nearly completed animal.  The results can be amazing though, ranging from cute to stunningly realistic.

His name is Philly. Isn’t he cute? He was my first born in my forays into felting animals. He probably would have benefited from a couple more millimeters in length but I think he’s adorable as the short, stubby bundle he is. He looks a little lonely though… I think he needs a friend.

Dimensions: 7.3 x 3.0 x 2.3 cm

Materials: Norwegian C1 natural white wool, Norwegian C1 black wool, black beads

Tools:  40T yellow felting needle from Felt Alive

Time to Make: 2.5 hours

Stars in Jars

The classic stars in a jar. They are just so bright and colourful. They helped me wile away the time during many a boring lecture.

Dimensions: ~1.5 cm wide

Materials: assorted coloured printer paper

Tools: knife, ruler

Time to make: indefinite…whenever the mood strikes

My precious...

During my family vacation to Mainland China, we found out through a friend of a friend of family where we could find some cheap craft supplies. My main goal was beads for my beaded animals. It was a convoluted route (which I don't recommend for the faint of heart) but we found a whole building of craft supply whole sellers. There was a whole floor of stalls which sold only beads. I swear there were over 50 different stands. I was in crafter heaven! There were also pearls, chains, beading lines, etc. It was incredible - I never knew places like this existed! I so wished I lived in China for that reason.

It is times like these that I am very much aware of my magpie-like tendencies. These beads are the newest additions to my collection. Are they not gorgeous? The photos really do not do them justice. If you hold them up to the sunlight, they sparkle like rows and rows of gems. Lovely…

My sister says that it looks like I could open a store here in Canada.

Another friend suggested that I just hang them all in front of my door as a curtain.

I had not planned on buying this many. When I first began selecting colours, I was much more conservative.

Then my mother reminded me that we are not coming back to China any time soon so if I wanted something, I had better get it.

I ended up buying 16 980 beads. 

I love my mother! : D

At least I have no regrets. Nothing worse than thinking, 'Oh shoot! I should have also gotten..."

This supply should last until my next vacation to China. ; P

They are made of glass and you can really feel the weight and coolness of them when you hold them in your hand. There were also crystal beads available in China but I decided to play it safe and not purchase any since I do not know how to gauge the quality of crystal.  These glass beads already add enough sparkle to my projects. 

Card Making

Card making is in.

When I go to the library, I love checking out the newest issue of Papercrafts (http://www.papercraftsmag.com/index.html). These cards are worlds away from the 8.5’x11’-printer-paper-folded-into-four cards that we used to make in elementary school. These are professional looking die-cut-stamped-glittered-quality-cardstock cards. They put Hallmark to shame. 

Over the past year, I have amassed a healthy collection of cardstock (I am completely in love with linen texture!) and was given a variety of different embellishments (ie. Stickers, patterned paper, die cuts, etc.) for a graduation gift. I have also recently bought myself a letter stamping set and a box of ink. So really, I have everything to start my own card making empire. Unfortunately, I have just not made the time to sit down and make anything yet.

Well, that’s not entirely true. I did do an afternoon of card making with a friend a few months back (now she has a truly impressive collection of card making supplies) and these are the results.

Blue Thank you card:

Front

Inside

Back

Pink Thank you card:

Front

Inside

Back

I was experimenting with stamping and coloured pencils. A little rough but I think it’s a good start. Personally, I like my pink card better than the blue one - its brighter. It will be interesting to compare these early efforts with my later ones. Soon, I too will put Hallmark to shame!

Craft Books from China

I recently went on vacation to parts of Mainland China with my family. The itinerary consisted mainly of eating and shopping. Of course, I had to hunt for some craft books; they are so much cheaper in China than in Canada! I found some really neat new crafts for me to try. Unfortunately, I can't read simplified Chinese but luckily, I have a mother who can (parents are so useful that way ; ) )  This is why pictures are absolutely vital to a good craft book. I am so excited about what I found, I have to show them off:

Not a craft book exactly but this book shows you how to make bows and gives different ideas about how to gift wrap presents. Compact and very useful.

This was an impulse buy - I bought it because it was pretty and it was cheap but I honestly do not know what I am going to do with it. I have never hemmed anything before and do not really have anything to hem but it just looked so neat that I could not help myself. I am sure I can fancy up a few shirts and pillow cases.

Chinese knots look so complicated but also so cool. I found this encyclopedia of various types of knots to try. We shall have to see how my skills with rope are. : P


The bulk of my vacation was spent in Hong Kong and the books which I found there were several times more expensive than the ones I got from Mainland China but the selection was much better. (And I can read traditional Chinese!) Check out some of what I found:

I was quite disappointed with how few good beading animal books there were. Either I did not like the patterns but I already owned it. This was the only one new one that I bought. Some of the bears are so cute!

Clay is such a versatile medium and the results can be so adorable. I do not have much experience with clay but it is definitely on my to do list. Looking at these covers; how could I resist purchasing them? 

Music of the Stars

I love the look of music notes and generally cannot bear to just throw away old music sheets even if I no longer need them. These cute little stars were made from recycled, photocopied hymns. And the music lives on… : )

Dimensions: ~1.5 cm wide

Materials: old music sheets

Tools: knife, ruler

Time to Make: ~ 2 hours

Because Every 3D Origami Collection Needs a Swan

I have just returned from Hong Kong after visiting my family there. I did not bring any origami paper on my trip because I knew the finished projects would be challenging to bring home. However, I did not anticipate the itchy hands I would experience without a stack of paper to fold at my disposal. Luckily, we were staying with relatives and they were able to scrounge up some scrap paper for me before I went through total crafting withdrawal. I stuck to the basics (due to the limited resources) and made them a swan to thank them for hosting me. I tossed in a few lotus flowers to complete the ensemble. Simple elegance, no? : )

Coming up: I lugged a suitcase full of craft supplies and books back from my trip. Over the next few Tuesdays and Saturdays I will be sharing my finds - check them out!

Amigo

Since I intend on a making a whole series of animals, I have decided to start naming them. It makes them more interesting to identify than just ‘paper puppy’ (although that does have alliteration).  I find that a Spanish name suits him and dogs are supposed to be a man’s best friend so Amigo was born!  I had originally intended this fellow to be a Pochacco figure but the head to body proportions did not look quite right and I was also too fond of my droopy eyes to give them up.  ; )

Dimensions: 11 x 8 x 8 cm

Materials: White paper, green paper, black cardstock, white cardstock

Tools: knife, glue, scissors, hole puncher 

Time to Make: ~5 hours