Saturday, May 29, 2010

Creative Craft Fair Decos - Pipit

I love long weekends! I get to hermit up at home and craft craft craft! So far I had created enough items for a total of 11 listings, and I'm probably going to make 1 or 2 more tomorrow. When motivation and inspiration hits, you really can't stop crafting!

But this post is not going to be about the items I made, it is actually the report about Pipit Wonderful Market 4 that I keep putting back to submit lol. I blame it all on my lazyness!

Pipit Wonderful Market is a local craft fair for handmade goods. It was held two weeks ago (I'm very late in posting this I know) and it was a rather inspiring event.

It was held in Annexe Gallery this time, and to tell the truth, the place is REALLY CRAMPED!! It's just on one long hallway as you can see in the photo above. There was another exhibition in the other hallway, I guess that's why there's only one. A few booth owners actually had to share booths. Because of the amount of human in the vicinity as well, it was difficult to take good photos of the booths. I tried my best, but please forgive me if my photos weren't very good.

Yue Jun Mei of Beanipets. This booth wins the best deco IMO! I don't know how, but she actually moved a bed to the hall to put her super adorable pillows plush on. Impressive! I had always adored her plush pillows, I might just buy one for myself in the future :D

I find this badges display on egg cartons very creative. It adds a unique touch to the badges themselves. Plus it's free! Good way to reuse trash.

I don't know if this was actually allowed lol, but I found this doodle on the wall very cute. Attracts attention and people would come to your booth. Although I hope they managed to rub them off later hahaha.

This booth display for prints is very nice as well. Clean, attractive and clever. I like their name card display too by the plant, very professional looking. Although I assume the name cards were all taken hahaha.

Interesting use of levels in this doll booth display. The smaller dolls in the basket is a nice touch.

Simple and clean display, I like the fact that they grouped their badges collection together on doilies. I always loved doilies!

I like the name card display of this booth too. But I assume they ran out as well, or forgot to restock. You can see on the top left corner is another wooden tray that was used to display small plushies. Very cute, looked like they were left in an 'adopt me' card box.

Another way to display badges, just pin them on a pillow! (or a bag filled with... pillow stuffings I assume in this case, hahaha)

Best way to display magnets yet! People were free to pull them off and sticking them on again. I was so tempted to get one magnet for myself.

Just look how delicious they are! But I was already quite broke then (and even more broke now!!) so I'm actually thankful I didn't buy anything in the wonderful market.

I like this display for photo prints as well. Very free-formed and perfect for nature shots.

Another display that made good use of the wall space, since floor space was so limited! I really like this too, people were free to touch and feel. Although they probably won't dare to take them off the wall hahaha.

I really like this display too! So creative! I never thought of using cross stitching cloth for jewelry display before. They are perfect with holes in them, good for hanging earrings and if steady enough, can hang bracelets too. So clever!

And that's it for craft fair displays. The next craft fair would be Urbanscape next month, but I'm not sure if I will be going. Since the venue is a little difficult for me to get to, not to mention I have no idea where it is! It's still too early for me to join craft fairs I think, I still need a bigger inventory first. Yosh! I just need to continue crafting, crafting, and more crafting!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Weekly Word Picks - Write

I had a bit of free time on my hands today so I decided to do this week's word feature. I think I will do this every Tuesday because it is one of the 'safe' days where I won't be too busy after work, hahaha. Picked by another close friend of mine, this week's word is...

WRITE



For a complete treasury, please follow this link : Write

I hope you like! What shall be next week's word?

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Mega Update!

Do you know that McD double burger patty promotion? The Big Mac is called Mega Mac with 4x beef patties, scary I know... my mouth is not even big enough to bite down on it. Anyways, my point is... I kind of missed the weekly creation update last week lol, so I'm going to make up for it by having 2x week's worth of updates today! Items made last week (which most of them are up for sale in my shop already) and items I made this week which I will list gradually over the week. So you're getting a first sneak peek! ;)

First up is the only bookmark I did all this time.

Title : My Little Pony
Price : USD12.00

I first saw this adorable charm on eBay and immediately thought of my friend who loooooves horses. When I saw it in a supply shop I frequent, AND found out that it is double-sided, I got it immediately! It's just sooooo cute!! I used to watch My Little Ponies when I was little, although I don't remember most of the pony's names, but it is still very nostalgic~

Now on to the earrings!

Title : Drops Of Gold
Price : USD30.00

I had been trying to find an excuse to use Czech fire polished glass beads for a while, because I think they are so unique and beautiful. And finally I did! These earrings are so long and gorgeous (7.5cm) and would be perfect for formal events! I still have a lot of those bright yellow round faceted citrines too, courtesy of my mom ahaha.

Title : Purple Dream
Price : USD15.00

A more subtle, purple version of my sold Sparkling Blue earrings. I used some new pearls I acquired that are nickel free, neat! :D

Title : Celtic Blue
Price : USD15.00

My wire-wrapping class mentor Mastura from Whimsical n Quirky made one of those closed spiral thingies during my class 2 weeks ago, and I decided to do something with it. :D So partial credit goes to her~

Title : Whale Spout
Price : USD15.00

I found these quirky little whale charms at the shop where I bought the pony charm too! :D They were double-sided too and quite thick, has a nice weight. (the shop had some really nice new stock this time!) And I decided to get them~ Hey you don't see whale charms all the time right? And I have an affinity to aquatic creatures hehe. These earrings are supposed to emulate the whale spouting.

Can you see it?? Can you??

Title : Black as Night
Price : USD15.00

New experiment on crystal rondelle beads, making that what I would call a 'hamburger belt' in the middle. (I don't know the official term for this!) Took me two tries to get it right, the key is to make very very small loops, but not too small! It needs to be just right.

Title : Blue as the Ocean
Price : USD15.00

Light blue version of the earrings above. These are very shiny and sparkly!

Title : Lavender Pearls
Price : USD15.00

Simple purple dangle earrings. Was experimenting with the middle portion with layering (below the two purple pearls)

Title : Rubies in Ribbons
Price : USD20.00

I bought these pretty teardrop swarovski crystals to practice wire wrapping on, and I think I didn't do too bad for a first try. :D The teardrop crystals are so pretty though! But quite pricey sobs sobs.

8 pairs of earrings! Whooo~ that took me a while, now on to the bracelets!

Title : Woodland
Price : USD20.00

The color combination for this is kind of accidental too, I was picking out colors to restock and placed these three colors together by coincidence. It makes a nice, soft hue~

Title : Calypso's Treasure
Price : USD23.00

This was actually the first bracelet I ever made, note the keyword 'was'? It was my failed first attempt for a bracelet haha, I did not know whether I should make a charm bracelet or a cluster bracelet at that time, not to mention using the wrong chain... I finally got around to take apart that bracelet and made a new one that I dare to show people! I love those swirly beads, I should use them more often :)

Title : Citrus
Price : USD23.00

I was all sneaky sneaky and read up on Etsy's June Merchandising Desk (I'm sure a lot do too!) and realized that in June the trend would be citruses! So I got busy and made this adorable citrus themed bracelet. >u<>

Title : Vampire's Kiss
Price : USD22.00

Following up from the bracelet above, apparently the Twilight Eclipse movie will be premiering in June. Although I don't read nor watch the movies (I'm afraid that I will be staked by some of my writer friends if I do) I thought I should ride along the hype and make something suitable for goths. This color combination was pretty fun actually, maybe I will make another similar one in the future. :) Gotta milk those Twilight fans muwahahahahaha!

Title : White Lily
Price : USD22.00

A (nearly) pure white bracelet suitable for brides and brides maids. I thought I should try making some bridal jewelry to appeal to a broader audience. I added some shinies into the bracelet so it would have more bling as well.

Title : Patriotism
Price : USD20.00

Also inspired by the June Merchandising Desk, red, white and blue will be in trend. I assume because of 4th of July? These colors are based off of the American flag, looks very patriotic, hence the name. I might make another variation in the near future, we'll see. :)

Whoo~ that's all for the mega update! That took me a while, phew~ Remember the giveaway for a FREE bracelet and cobweb earrings by your's truly is still on-going on LisbonSky's blog. 279 comments as we speak!! Wow, I am quite surprised by the outcome. She also mentioned that this is probably the most popular giveaway she had to date, so that makes me pretty happy and proud. :D There are still like... more than 10 days left for the giveaway lol, I wonder what would be the number of entries be when it ends? Sooooo excited!! >u<

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Weekly Word Picks - Courageous

I had this idea for a while now and finally got myself off my lazy bum and actually DO it! No use with only the idea swimming in my head, no one but only me could see it. So here it is~ I want to do a weekly feature of items on Etsy by searching for a random keyword.

The word can be anything at all, chopsticks, panda, danger, or even something abstract like confusion. I will then type in this keyword in the Etsy search bar and attempt to build a complete cohesive Treasury with the items that showed up from the search. This is to challenge myself as well as featuring some awesome artists on Etsy! And who knows, I might find some awesome new artists to stalk, teehee.

But there is a catch, I will not be the one picking the keywords. I like to accept challenges, so I am letting my blog readers or friends pick them! If you want me to find and feature your item in my blog, suggest a keyword where I could find you :)

So enough talk, down to the feature! Because this is my first week doing this, I had asked one of my close friends to suggest a random word without telling her what it is for, and she suggested...

COURAGEOUS



For the complete Treasury, please follow this link : Courageous

So what's the next keyword for next week?

Monday, May 17, 2010

Giveaway - Bracelet and Earring combo


I'm having a giveaway for one lucky winner to win not one, but the TWO items above! It is hosted by the ever gracious Lisbonsky at her blog. Just click on the links to go there. It is very easy and absolutely FREE!! No need to pay for anything at all, shipment is also covered. There is a short interview about me as well at the link. Good luck and have fun! :D

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Creative Craft Displays

KL Design Week 2010 had come and almost gone. It lasts from May 1st to May 16th, so if you want to go for any one of the exhibition, you still have a chance! Although I only went to the exhibitions and craft fairs in Capsquare KL, and did not attend any conferences, it was a pretty inspiring event :) It's nice to see this amount of talent in the local indie art market too. Here are some photos I took of the exhibition in Capsquare KL. Some of the photographs are pretty crappy, because my digicam sucked badly at indoor shots, I hope you won't mind~

This is from the same booth as the jewelry designer that I featured majorly in my previous post about creative jewelry display. This year their display was more... simple. It's just sticks and plates like this interlinking over about 6 to 7 feet. It is pretty interesting if you look closely at how they link the entire thing, but compared with last year's this year they seemed a bit... lazy.

Their jewelry displaying on the plates. They actually sell a lot of 'couple jewelry' where two pieces come together as one.

A display with the tropical/tiki theme. Simple things like shells, rocks and a mini paper umbrellas are effective to bring in the tropical feel. Better if you have orchid flowers, fake ones preferably lol, wilting flowers isn't a nice sight to see.

Ah, this artist is one of the reasons I went to the exhibition - Gigi Gee. When I saw her work in the super thick KLDW'09 booklet last year, I got instantly HOOKED!! Her design sense is just fab, and her work is just so intricately beautiful. I custom ordered a green colored bracelet from her last year, and although it was fairly pricey, I never regretted the purchase! Still loving it to itty bitty bits and pieces!

Her work are more colorful and bright this year, an improvement!

Her earring display rack. I was circling around the rack admiring all the intricate designs, I WANT TO TAKE THE WHOLE THING BACK HOME!! Alas, that would probably eat up one whole month of my paycheck.

Her bracelets display, pretty simple and straight forward. This would work for jewelry like her's because they were chunky and not exactly cheap, so she can put fewer up like that.

Unfortunately Gigi don't have a website, blog, etsy shop, or even a facebook account. (at least, not that I know of) You can read an interview of her work - Playing with Clay via the link. And if you're interested to purchase or know more, you can e-mail her at gilin68@gmail.com. Be sure to mention that I refer you kk? ;D

This is another one of my favorite booths! Oh&Ah~ Which I also featured in my previous post (although only one photo) I didn't know that my lecturer from college is part of this team, what a pleasant surprise. :D Their products are so cute and quirky. Here they are selling little badges in a mini luggage bag, very fun to sift through in.

Their other items. They make cute unique accessories, toys, quirky home displays and stationaries.

This bunny necklace is SOOOO CUTE!! But SO PRICEY SOBS! *wipes a tear* Apparently it's made of paper clay and takes a lot of time? I'm not too familiar with the art of paper clay unfortunately. You can see clearer pictures of their items sold at their booths on the Oh&Ah blog. When I first saw it on their blog before I went to the exhibition, I was quite sure I would be getting the bunny necklace if it was within my budget. But alas, it was double of that.

Little table and a smaller crate to display handmade notebooks and sketchbooks.

This wire work is just... breathtaking! This is a student work I think, it was in the student work exhibition area.

A horn bill by the same student, I also really love the little details he/she did at the base of the display. Just look at the details, I can't even fathom how long he/she took to do this! Unfortunately... I forgot to grab a name card although it was right there...

More student exhibits, this corner featuring all sorts of weirdly painted weird items. Toilet covers, lamp shades and mannequin bodies. The mannequin with the yellow face and eyes on the boobs disturbs me so...

This student work is very intriguing too! :D Little light boxes with interesting silhouettes, very sweet and unique.

Some of the boxes even look 3D-ish and layered, very pretty!

These ruffled sneakers are so cute! I wonder if it would be suitable for tomboy brides ahahaha.

Some simple displays of phone charms on a board standing on an easel.

I missed a few booths, like the sugar art display booth and the wall sticker one. I don't know why but I guess I got brain fart and just forgot to turn on my camera although it was hanging around my wrist. I didn't go home empty-handed though, hehehe.

I couldn't resist not buying something from Gigi's booth, so I bought these cute violet red earrings. Although unfortunately I don't wear earrings lol, so I made it into a necklace :) The details on the bead is just so intricate and pretty!

A quirky wooden display I bought from the Oh&Ah booth. I had lovingly named it Mr Pickles! :D With his four eyes, giant moustache and hairy chest, he is not to be fooled with.

Mr Pickles has a split personality honoes! This is Selkcip, Mr Pickles's double. Sporting an equally hair chest and a horrifically hairy face, I'm not sure if I should be disturbed by Mr Pickles or Selkcip...

Tomorrow I'm going to another craft fair - Pipit Wonderful Market 4! My oh my, what a busy month this is, and a good month for me to go broke because there are quite a few indie artists I like attending Pipit Market. I will be sure to take pics and post them soon! Till then, adios.