Silicone Stamp - How to..

Have you used silicone stamp before? 

They function like any other stamps you might have tried, the only thing you need to remember is, unlike rubber stamps where you stamp with all your might to get the design perfectly stamped onto paper, with silicone stamp you need to be gentle and not put too much pressure when stamping as it might cause the ink to spread and distort the pattern.. 

*click the picture to animate*

Here's a simple how to:

1. You will need silicone stamp and a clear stamper 

2. Peel a desired design from the sheet - For first time use, the design might be unyielding and may require some pressure to remove from the sheet 

3. Mount the design on the clear stamp - Unlike rubber stamp, you do not need to fix it permanently onto the mount, and no glue is required

4+5 Stamp away - Try it out on a test area before you stamp onto the desired place, remember that not much pressure is needed

*To change design, wipe the design with tissue for excess ink, remove it from the clear stamper and place it back onto the sheet and repeat step 2 to 5 

I have listed the silicone stamp in the shoppe if anybody's interested.    

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Tracing made easy

Until recently, tracing for me meant finding a big enough tracing paper - with the thin tracing paper on top, trace the pattern once, turn it over and transfer it onto another piece.. talk about waste of time!! That is why I always procrastinate or in many cases pretended that I forgot to trace some cute new patterns I found especially in the library books (which eventually I have to return *sigh*) or from books or magazines where the patterns look like a maze (YIKES!!!)        


When I 'discovered' the use of serrated tracing wheel (bought a while back from my local 100yen shop) I was elated. Gone were the days of my procrastination (or so I thought.. But that is a whole different blog entry *roll eyes*   

Here's a simple how to

1. Gather all your materials: tracing wheel, cutting mat, pattern, paper

(I get a roll of good quality white paper from my local hardware store - it's thicker and sturdier and lasting) 

2. Place the white paper (or any color for that matter) onto the mat, place your pattern on top of it. 

3. Use the tracing wheel to trace around the pattern (straight lines, curves, waves whatever pattern really) - just a little bit of pressure is enough to transfer the pattern 

4. Remove the pattern and wallah you can see tiny little dots of puncture on the paper (Click the picture for a better view). You can now cut along the dotted lines and store the pattern away for another day (this is where another problem arise for me - I've so many cute new patterns stored away waiting to be tried out.. HELP!!!) 

*Sharp object - Keep away from the reach of young children and safely store away after use. 

Try the window tracing method

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Tapes

An essential item in my studio.. 

I have never run out of tapes and am always on the prowl for some cute prints.

The FAVOURITE with my customers are of course the Matryoshka print (notice the different sizes *HEART*)

I tie them together using a hemp string and hang them in my studio - always in view, easily accessible and variety of prints to choose from depending on my what I'm packing.

In a nutshell, I'm NUTS about my tapes *roll eyes*  

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What's new in the shoppe...

1. Books - Felt craft, patchwork, bag making, kids clothing, baby items, sewing for home

2. OLFA Rotary Cutter - 28mm, 45mm and 60mm

Note - I've been using a rotary cutter (as pictured above - code name: 03) for over a year and I'm very happy with it. I cut all my fabrics and interfacing - straight, curves and up to 2 layers with ease. It has definitely save my cutting time to half 

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When I'm not sewing...

I do not get to sew much on weekends, so while lounging with the family, I make these.. 

MyBotanG Thank you tags

They are very simple to make;

precut name cards (I got mine from Tesco Malaysia) 

DIY label set (tutorial, shoppe)

hole puncher

hemp strings (100yen shop)

And you are ready to stamp away *grin*

What do you do when you're not sewing..?

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Eraser Carving

We didn't have any plans for the weekend. Hubby just got back from a conference, and the weather was not very cheerful. So we decided to stay in. However, with an 8 year old in the house we couldn't just sit and do nothing (which is what hubby and I would have preferred) *sigh*

So, we did some amateur eraser carving.. well Sofea did most of the carving actually, I was just there to make sure she didn't cut herself and fussing over the tremendous amount of mess she was making... *grin* 

I'd have to say, she is quite a determined child, though she made quite a number of mistakes, and at one point was at the verge of tears, she didn't give up. She continued until she was happy with the result of her work

Her completed pieces included buta-face (piggy face) and two hearts. They turned out quite nice for her first attempt. 

It is an interesting activity you can do with your older kids. All you need are:

1. A block of eraser (special for carving projects) (1st pic)

2. Carving tool (3rd pic)

3. Ink (2nd pic)

For professional eraser carving, feel free to visit: 

Euphoria craftwork

Mangosteenskin 

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Polypro Webbing Strapping

Sounds like my hubby's chemical stuff or something.. yucks!!

Well minus the name, they are actually very useful and with a bit of an attitude and some bling-bling, they can be rather dashing..

What am I talking about..??

Description:

Polypropylene webbing

works with buckle, slides, hooks and other fasteners

suitable for sports bags, purses, cases, belts, leashes, collars, backpacks, suitacases and straps

So far, I've used them in my KINOKO Slings and on a wristlet

How to do it..??

1. Match your strap with ribbons or lace

2. Pin them in place

Did you know you could sew over these pins (as in pic)??

(But make sure they are attached width-wise) 

3. Use matching threads and sew

4. Tadaaaaaaaa... how easy is that..? *grin*

I just got the webbing straping in 3 colourways - pink, beidge and dark blue (as in pic above). Would you be interested in them if I list them in the shoppe?? Pin It

Fabric Labels - how to

I stamp my own label for 2 reasons mainly;

1. It is too costly too order fancy labels here in Japan and

2. I love stamping my own labels, it hardly takes more than 10 minutes to stamp, cut and store about 50 labels..

I'd like to show you how I do it..

Here's what you'll need

1. Ink - make sure you have ink suitable for fabrics, I use Versa Craft and so far I have not come across incidents of the ink running or fading with wash or exposure to sun 

2. Tape - decide on the width you need, mine is 12mm

4. Stamp - you can carve it yourself (here) or have it custome made (here) or like me just buy the rubber alphabets, arrange them and paste them on the mounting block.

(You need to make sure that your stamp will fit your tape's width)

5. Start stamping away, leave spaces in-between for cutting, folding and sewing 

Once you have the ammount you need, stop.. admire *grin*

Cut and store - I put mine in a tin box.

Ready for use

There are also some other methods to make your own labels - Laurraine from Patchwork Pottery shows us how here and another similar one could be found here.

So..how do you label your work..??

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Magnetic purse snap closure for SALE

I use magnetic purse snap closure for many of my projects and I have some extras to let go if anyone's interested.

Description:

Silver / Nickel Magnetic Snaps. These include 1 Male, 1 Female, and two metal backing washers to fold over the prongs to secure the snap to your application.

Each Snap is 18mm or 3/4" in diameter, and are brand new.

code name: MS

Price: RM3.50 each set

Postage: FOC to Malaysia

*will start mailing from mid-July onwards*

Steps:
1. Leave a comment with the amount you need.
2. Please include your e-mail address.
3. I'll send you an e-mail with further information about payment and shipping.Pin It

LACE anyone..??

LACE in various sizes, minimum cut is 10cm.

FOC delivery to Malaysia

*will start mailing from mid-July onwards*

1. code name:LL1

colour: beidge

width: 4cm

price: RM12 per meter

status: 2m available

2. code name:LL2

colour: beidge

width: 2.5cm

price: RM6 per meter

status: 10m available

3. code name: LL3

colou: beidge

width: 3.7cm

price: RM8 per meter

status: 10m available

4. code name: LL4

colour: white

width: 3cm

price: RM4 per meter

status: 10m available

5. code name: LL5

colour: white

width: 5.5cm

price: RM10 per meter

status: 10m available

6. code name: LL6

colour: white

width: 3cm

price: RM3 per meter

status: 10m available

7. code name: LL7

colour: white

width: 2.3cm

price: RM3.00 per meter

status: 10m available

Steps:

1. Leave a comment with the code name and the ammount you need (smallest cut is 10cm).
2. Please include your e-mail address.
3. I'll send you an e-mail with further information about payment and shipping.

*Look out for fat eighth, fat quarters and 2 scrap bags to be uploaded at around 12pm Malaysian time today.Pin It

OLFA Rotary Cutter

OLFA rotary cutter.

sizes: 28mm, 45mm and 60mm

FOC delivery to Malaysia

*will start mailing from mid-July onwards*

1. code name: O1

size: 28mm

Price: RM56

2. code name: O2

size: 45mm

Price: RM68

3. code name: O3

size: 45mm

Price: RM76

4. code name: O4

size: 60mm

Price: RM83

Steps:

1. Leave a comment with the code name and the ammount you need.
2. Please include your e-mail address.
3. I'll send you an e-mail with further information about payment and shipping.

I have loads more stuff to upload..
Things to look out for tomorrow: fat eighth and fat quarters.Pin It

Fabric Scrap series - Tape

I hardly use store bought bias tape for binding. I make my own out of the scrap fabrics in my collection. 

The width of the tape depends on your need, you could cut it to specific sizes or like me just find the ones with similar sizes and lay them out. As you can see below, I have been working with blue(s) lately (more here). Rearrange the line up until you are somewhat happy with what you have.   

Sew the pieces together

Next, open the seam and press (iron). You could straightaway fold them like bias tape or..

.. just fold them neatly to be used for many different purposes later like as tie backs, handles, binding, borders, patchwork.. anything actually..

I used the blue tape as binding for my baby quilt truck

What do you do with your scrap fabrics..?

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NUTS about thread

How much thread do you have in your sewing room..?? Do you think I've gone overborad if I have this much.. *giggles nervously*

I just hate the idea of being out of THAT particular thread in the middle of my sewing.. and besides I might just need THAT particular shade sometime soon.. ehem..

Tell me I'm not alone in this obsession.. 

So, how do you store all those threads, I hear you ask.. well I shade code them and put them in ziplock bags..

How do you store them?

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Blunt scissors...arrrgggghhh!!!

Among the worst thing that can happen to a sewist..having non-working scissors around the house.. don't you just hate it when that happens. Imagine being all eager and ready to cut your fabric to make something oh so fabulous and WHAM!!!! blunt scissors.. yikes!!! I was at witts end and ready to sucumb and throw out my ol scissors (present from my mom 6 years ago bought from Costway) when I stumbled upon this lovely tutorial about scissors sharpenning by the talented Tini (read about the tutorial here). Though  sceptical, at this point I had nothing to lose and so I gave it a try.. and walllaaaaa.. it worked!! so I gathered other blunt scissors of various sizes and got to work.. Thought I'd show you what I did following Tini's steps..

Gather all your blunt scissors and get a glass bottle, as you can see I got two..just in case, I had this notion that I might break the glass or something.. but let me assure you, the whole process doesn't harm or leave a mark on the glass..

Attempt to cut the bottle *grin* (meaning put slight preasure and move forward and backward a couple of times) repeat few times as neccessary. 

It even worked on my petit thread scissors.

The scissors feel a bit stiff after the sharpenning process, I have this idea that the particles/residue from the glass got stuck to the blades.. but scientifically I have no clue. But it works and I hope to add another 6 years to my ol scissors life span *grin*

Full credit to Tinihani for the great tutorial *HUGS*Pin It

Around my sewing studio - Part II: NOTION

You have seen how I try to set some kind of working system in organising my fabric in my tiny sewing studio in the last post, today I'd like to show you how I deal with notions. These things are harder to handle as they come in various sizes and types.

Ribons, laces, homemade bias tapes in basket (tute here)

Pins, zipper pullers, fabric markers, cutter, bias tape maker, lighter??

in a small case bought from 100 yen shop

Threads and bobbins in Ikea cases

Velcro, elactic bands in popcorn box

magnetic snap buttons, prongs, flex frames, handles,

etc (I dont even know what's in there) in fabric box (tute from Sew,Mama,Sew)

Buttons in milk bottle and machine needles in felt box (tute here)

Handmade labels in cookie tin from Disneyland

Laces in cookie tin from Hokkaido

EMS forms, address book, tapes, strings, thank you cards on wall hanging

So, how do you manage your sewing supplies?

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