Craft Day

My friend Ruk and I spent last Saturday afternoon working on various projects that we have been putting off. It was a nice sunny weekend so we were almost tempted to just lay out in the sun and drink some wine. In the end, we got off our butts and crafted. I added doily applique to a lampshade and also managed to make a yoga mat bag. Ruk worked on her cross stitch project.

We used a glue gun to attach the doilies to the lampshade.

I managed to sneak in a yoga mat bag

Ruk's cross stitch in progress

ceramics class report + finished products

I took a ceramics wheel class in April and May at Ruby's Clay studio in Noe Valley in San Francisco. I'm trying out several creative outputs and since I never took any arts and crafts class in school (besides embroidery), I figure now's the time.



At the beginning of the class, I was being hard on myself. I couldn't figure out how to center on the wheel and could not remember the steps to make a bowl. I started talking to my classmate who have taken several ceramics classes before. She said that I shouldn't get frustrated, that I was doing well and that it's important to practice a lot. This made me feel a bit better. I started coming into the studio during drop in hours to practice.

I placed a tea cup beside it for size comparison.

I put too much glaze on this one so it ran.

Unfortunately, my instructor was not particularly instructive. I learned mostly by asking her questions (sometimes she was helpful, sometimes not), talking to my classmates, watching videos on you tube and practicing on my own time.

My husband says this one is his favorite, because it was one of a kind. This was supposed to be a taller cylinder but I had to cut the top off because it became too wobbly.

In the end, I enjoyed ceramics and have decided to take another class later in the year. I think this is something I can grow to love and enjoy over time.

friday favorite!

Yay! Just a quick post cuz I'm at work ;)

Mixed Plate blog Friday Favorite - flowery yoga mat bag.

a new yoga mat bag

I miraculously made a yoga mat bag after work last week. I honestly have not made one in months so I was glad for this burst of energy. I was able to finish the whole thing in very little time too. It made me miss sewing. I really like my new sewing machine. Everything is so much easier, the threading, the back stitching, no snags, everything went very smoothly.

The yoga mat bag is in my shop now. This is a fabric that I bought from Purl in New York and is one of my favorites.

shop update!

After months and months of procrastination I've finally re-opened my shop. There are a few vintage finds and a couple of handmade things available. I am also giving away small lavender pillows to everyone who buys from the shop. Please take a look!



I have to say that my favorite portion of the "getting the shop ready" process is the picture taking. Hope you enjoy shopping.

sprucing up

We're slowly working on sprucing up our bedroom which is just really drab right now. The closet has no doors (and thus exposing my almost embarrassing huge collection of clothes), we only have ugly plastic blinds on the windows and no art on the walls. So I started with the easy part this past weekend, I made curtains! It was really nice to work on my sewing machine again. I've forgotten how much I love making things. Last weekend's project has definitely put me back in the sewing mood again, I even made a tote after I finished the curtains just because I was having so much fun. I hope I can keep this up!

The curtains are up in the sewing room right now, we'll see how long it take for us to move them over to the bedroom.

I made the tote for my flickr friend, hanssolo, to belatedly thank her for sending me her wonderful art .

model no. 2

Momo is wearing her new harness. I used vintage fabric that I bought in Portland a few months ago. This harness is not only fashionable but easy to take on and off. She tends to get excited when she knows it's time to go out for a walk so this makes it super easy for us to put it on her. What a stylish dog!

my very first model

My friend Jen sent me over pictures of their baby Shayla wearing the bibs that I made for her a few months ago. Isn't she just adorable? I love how she has her hand on her heart in the second photo. Or is she reciting the pledge of allegiance?

the mural at apartment therapy

The biggest, bestest news of the week was I found out that Apartment Therapy blogged about my mural! Happy, happy, joy, joy! Thanks, AT.

wrapping up 2007

I have a lot to be thankful for this year :

1. I started this blog
2. I opened my etsy store
3. I sold my first creation to a person that I don't know
4. I started a new job after almost 5 years at the previous one
5. We bought our first home
6. We met our lovely and loving dog, Momo
7. I finally found the creative side of me that I have been looking for for years
8. I conceived (and finished!) my first, and hopefully not last, mural

The list can go on and on.

I am one of those people who write down their resolutions for the upcoming year. I allow myself a maximum of 10, it's a good, accomplish-able number. I print out the list and post it up in my closet so that I am reminded of my goals each and everyday. Here's a few that I care to share:

1. Learn how to silk screen and/or gocco
2. Practice drawing more
3. Visit a new country
4. Be inspired by everyday things
5. Make more and sell more on etsy
6. Take more photos



On a different note, my birthday is coming up in a few days. For some reason, I have this memory of having very sad birthdays for the last few years. I think it's because it always rains on my bday. Even last year, when we celebrated my bday in a different country, it rained there too! So far, there is no rain forecast for this year's shindig so I'm pretty excited about that. I hope I didn't just jinx it! No matter the weather, I vow to have fun, so far we have dinner with friends planned.

Happy New Year to all of you!

present

Just a quick post as I'm off to hang out with the family. I made this tote for a co-worker friend of mine. I picked her name for our gift exchange. I thought it would be nice to make something instead of buying something. She almost cried when she opened the present, that was so sweet. When I told her that I made it, she stopped talking and gave me a huge hug. Aaawwwww...

the sewing and craft room

It's finished! I am very proud of this accomplishment especially since at the beginning of this year I was very certain that I cannot draw or make any kind of anything for that matter. I have been working on this mural in my head ever since we moved into our new home. The idea lived in my brain for a few months and then it made its way onto my Moleskine sketchbook. A few weeks ago, I finally had the guts to actually make the real thing. I have to say once I started, I just kept going and going. It turned out fabulously, if I may say so myself. I am loving this room, I want to hang out in here all day everyday. Hopefully it wont be the first and only mural that I make, I want there to be lots and lots more to come! Please click on the image for a bigger view. You can see more pictures of the mural on my flickr page.

Drawing and painting

I'm a bit weary of heights but after the mural was done, I was not afraid of that ladder anymore.

The finished product, a perfect backdrop for my new Janome sewing machine.

coming up for air

I have been MIA from this part of my life. The job has been taking up all of my time and energy these last few days. However we have from today until the New Year off, which is great because I need a break from all the madness even though I already know that the first 2 months of 2008 will be crazy as heck. I surely plan to spend the last few days of this year relaxing, recollecting, spending time with my family and getting some use of the other side of my brain. I do have new creations to show which I am super excited about. I plan to post images and write about them within the next few days. Stay tuned!

kaput

I finally got off my bum and decided that I'm going to sew today. Alas, Murphy's law kicked in and my Singer decided to break. I think it's time for a new one. I don't know if I've written about this before but a friend of mine actually gave me this machine. It's her mom's old one and has been sitting in her basement for years. I gladly took if off her hands and brought it to the shop to get tuned and repaired. It has worked well for me for the past 2 years and it will last for many more years to come. However, I think that instead of spending more moolah to get it repaired again, it'll be more cost efficient to buy a new one. It'll make for a great combined Christmas/Birthday present for me, hint hint ;).

Luckily my sis in-law actually bought a machine from a garage sale a few months back and decided to leave it in our house. I can use that for now until I get a brand new spanking one. Ok back to sewing.

shop update!

Finally, it's here the long awaited (by me, at least) shop update! I've managed to produce 3 new yoga mat bags yay! I have more on the way but who knows how long that will be? They are now available at my shop. I especially love the red one, I've also made it so that the fabric lining inside contrasts with the outer fabric. Small things like this make me happy.

tgi (summer) f

One of the perks that we get at my new job is Summer Fridays. We each get 4 fridays off between Memorial Day and Labor Day (isn't that awesome?). Today was a Summer Friday for me. The goal was to make as many yoga mat bags as possible. Alas, I was too distracted by the gorgeous weather and my new neighborhood, I was only able to make a grand total of 1 bag. Oh well, 2 more weekend days to go, right?

Mati's yoga mat bag.

My breakfast, rice cakes on a pretty plate.


I spent most of the morning hanging out at our porch and making the bag. After lunch, I took a walk around the 'hood and did some grocery shopping. I'm planning another yummy dinner for the hubby tomorrow night. Here's a pic that I snapped during my walk.

Weeds can be pretty.

Ok, I'm off to happy hour with some friends and then maybe dinner somewhere afterwards? Tomorrow is the 14th Annual Hillwide Garage Sale. Hopefully we'll score some wares, I'll post them here if we do. Have a great weekend!

weekend report

I made some claims about grand plans for the weekend. Unfortunately, there is no finished product to show - yet. There are beginnings though, and they are promising ones.

Priming the walls.

Cut fabric, getting ready to sit down and sew! The 4 on top are my purchases from Pearl Purl (doh! thanks Lenny) during my recent NY trip.

Creativity of a different kind. I made dinner a few nights ago and this was the finished product. I used our new deep fryer which was a christmas gift from a friend.

the burning question

Well it's not really "burning" but that chair has been sitting at our house for a few months now. AT:SF posted my question that I wrote about the chair that we picked up from the street. I still haven't had time to research this at all what with all the moving, unpacking, travelling and working long hours at my day job lately.

In other creative news, the plan for this weekend is for us to paint my sewing room and the living room. I'm so excited to go to the paint store and pick the colors! Not so much excited about the manual labor, but it's part of the deal. I will definitely post the finished product here and on flickr. If I'm lucky enough to have time, I am also planning to make a few yoga mat bags to sell and also one to give to a new friend. My shop has been very empty lately and even if I don't sell any, it'll make me happy just to have more than 2 things there. I also just came back from NYC with my dear lenny, we stopped by the Purl Soho store and bought a few yards of ultra adorable fabric.

Stay tuned for finished products!

going, going, gone

I'm out of yoga mat bags! I've sold them all. I'm so happy - it's time to make more. Yipppeee. That's it, just a quick note :).

(cool) grandma goes to market

Right after working on the the yoga mat bag (see previous post), I proceeded to work on this bag. The experience of making it was the complete opposite of what I talked about in the post below. Everything just clicked in my head and I was going at it, stitch after stitch. It was a very fulfilling experience.


I actually thought up the concept of this bag in my head on my bus ride to work last week. The idea came out of nowhere, sometimes the best ideas are the spontaneous ones. I decided to call it grandma's bag because the fabric makes me think of a shawl that a very cool grandma would wrap around her shoulders. This bag is now available in my shop.