Little Girl's Summer Dress

These were yet two other commission projects.  It's the DDA's first attempt at dress making. The pattern proved easy enough to follow and the outcome rather satisfying.

The only drawback using patterns from a Japanese pattern book is having to make up the missed translation for specific instructions. Despite being able to read Kanji (similar characters to Traditional Chinese), the DDA still felt some what lost when trying to figure out the Hiragana and Katakana characters.

The book is titled Handmade for Children by 奥山千晴

It does make one wish either of the below:

a) that one can read Japanese

b) the pattern book was translated

Cuddly Bunny

This is a super easy to make cuddly bunny. The template is from a Japanese pattern book that is extremely cool.

They were commissioned by a friend as gifts for her friend's children. So some personalisation went into them for names to be embroidered in the back.

 The chosen fabric is 100% organic cotton canvas; filling is made up of lambswool.

Homemade Lampshade

Making a lampshade is so much fun and quick! It lets you add a special touch to the finishing of your living space and is rather satisfying to see when complete.

Finding the lampshade rings was not that big a job in the end. The DDA and the Finn took longer to decide on the right fabric. They're just... too fussy, and like to take their time! :D

They found the suitable fabric just stacked in a pile of used project fabric stash. It was enough to make two 149cm wide x 29cm panels. Perfect!!!

The outcome? Two beautiful drum shaped lampshades:

Furoshiki Inspired Wrapping Cloth

This is the DDA's first post since a long long looooooooooonnnnnnggggg looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnggggg time away. Haha! Lots has happened on the home front in 2011.

The DDA is happy to be back and she awoke from her hibernation from craft making to some recent creative efforts to kick start 100 Creative Items for 2012!

Her favourite is in fact the Furoshiki Inspired Wrapping Cloth. Two pieces of very simple creation which looks good and very useful. It'll save a lot of wrapping paper too.










To catch a glimpse of what other items the DDA has created recently, check out her 100 Creative Items for 2012 on Facebook.

100 Creative Items 2010

Merry Christmas to all! 2010 has gone very fast, and the DDA would like to round it up by reminiscing the creative items she's put together this year. Here's a link to view the full album on Facebook. Hope you enjoy!

The Handmade Marketplace

This the DDA found on one of the blogs amongst the crafting community. It was a recommended read. So seeing that it was priced under £10, the DDA went to buy it as she is doing her bit of research. It is definitely worth a read for those who are interested in selling their crafts.



Although the DDA cannot say she's finished the whole book, she finds there are already bits of question she would probably not find answers to in this book. Such as:
1) Where do you source for better value materials / how to source at a cheaper price to lower production cost?
2) Whether to adapt on design patterns and free templates or at which point do you come up with your own?

Oh well, the DDA is still researching! If you happen to know of some good ideas or read some worthwhile tips, the DDA would love to hear.

Wonky Handmade Heart Deco

Not so successful attempt it was if you take a closer look at the shape of the heart!





The DDA was disappointed with the outcome, then again has nobody to blame but her impatient self. She is forgetting that many craft projects require planning and patience in execution.

This project started out as a little hanging heart shaped pillow for baby Cara. It was meant to go together with the burp cloths as there's the matching fabric. However when the pillow didn't take shape (the turning after sewing the seams didn't give the desired result at the meeting points of the heart's curves in the top centre), the DDA had only to improvise with sewing down both sides with a piece of cotton wadding. Even then, the improvisation turned out rather disastrous. The DDA isn't good at turning the curves and making sure the seams were tucked inwards nicely.

She's wondering if there's a better way of doing both:
1) the heart shaped pillow
2) the improvised heart shaped hanging

The outcome she was hoping for for the 1st, should be more like this one below

which obviously is not her creation! Haha...

Quilts 1700-2010 V&A

The DDA was lucky enough to visit the Quilts 1700-2010 exhibition at the V&A in London just on the day the exhibition closes.

It was an eye opening and extremely inspiring exhibition, worth every minute and penny!

Thoughts the DDA took home after the exhibition:
1) Quilting is a rather impressive art and craft form that requires detailed planning and patient execution
2) Quilts are made from varied sewing techniques - patchwork; embelishing; freeform... and much more
3) Quilt working in the old times reflects status, in a way similar to the delicate craftswork of the gentile Baby & Nyonya
4) Quilts were made by both men and women - there was a very impressive piece of quilt on display made by a soldier serving in India
5) How do you make a quilt that reflects cross border and cross cultural stories?...

The DDA left the exhibition much inspired, and on the way out purchased some limited edition quilting fabrics inspired by vintage prints. It appears now the limited edition prints are only available for purchase online over the V&A online shop.

The DDA bought only two prints:

Baby Burp Cloth

The DDA and Finn were invited to a baby visiting last Saturday. It was baby Cara's 3rd week celebration with a treat to this traditional Cantonese specialty confinement dish of Pig's Trotters with Ginger and Vinegar.

For the Chinese, when you have a new born, there is usually a full month celebration where family and friends gather to celebrate a baby's one month mark. However due to the fact Cara's grandparents were heading off the following day, the gathering was brought forward.

The DDA raked her brains on what to give Cara for this special day. After searching around for ideas, landing upon some but had to abandon them as she found out they were not as suitable nor practical, she landed upon a tutorial from Chickpea Studio on making baby burp cloths. A brilliant and practical thing to have indeed.

Below are a few shots of the finished products:








If you're wondering about the beautiful fabric for these burp cloths, they are from Beyond Fabrics, the DDA's favourite supplies shop. They source their fabric from Moda.

The first (with red) is from the series called Tweet Tweet by Keiki. Keiki sounds Japanese. The other (pink and brown) is from the series called Hushabye by Tula Pink.

Homemade Bento

So here's a little shot of a homemade lunchbox using the brand spanking new bento the DDA bought for the Finn. It's a lovely lovely lunchbox with three layers of containers enclosed within a thermal outer case with a nice snap clasp lid. The bottom tier is a soup container, the middle tier for rice, and the top tier comes with a divider for dishes.

Thanks to all the DDA's friends and family for sourcing price, purchasing, and delivering the bento boxes to her hands!!!

And to not disappoint those who come by this page thinking that they might draw some inspiration on bento making, the DDA thought she'd share links to some inspirational sites on making Bento below:
1) Just Bento - all about making bento and how to equip oneself
2) Bento - more Japanese food guide than a bento making guide

Hope you enjoy!

Wonky Amateur Quilting

The quilting project was completed last weekend when the DDA finished the sides. Sewing down the three layers wasn't that easy job in turned out. It took much longer than expected and much stitch adjustments went into the work too, not to mention the many wonky sewing!

Nevertheless the DDA completed the quilt and feels rather pleased if not 100% satisfied. It was a first, and it gives such pleasure to create such a big project from scratch. She'll most probably make other attempts at making more quilts in the future.

Here are some snaps of the completed quilt that will be presented to her friend as a belated birthday and thank you gift.







The DDA really appreciate all the help given by Silvana and Eduardo from Beyond Fabrics in choosing fabrics to formulating a strategy to putting the quilt together. Not to mention the valuable tips they've shared with her on the type of thread, to the stitch and the finishing!

Have to say the DDA started out with an ignorant attitude, thinking that she could take on such a large project with so little knowledge. After this exercise, she's definitely taking a different approach the next time! More planning and even more patience to match!

Amateur Quilting Project Underway

The quilting project has since commenced with much vigour and enthusiasm.

Yesterday, the DDA went along to Beyond Fabrics to gather some more supplies. She was given some pointers on how to improve her amateur quilting efforts. Thanks so much to all the help from both Silvana and Eduardo!

Below is where she is with her project so far. There's the backing to be done before the wadding can be sewn together.

The DDA realise that quilt work requires certain amount of good planning and massive amounts of patience!

She's having fun :)

Patched Cushion Cover

The DDA had a commission from the Finn - to make a birthday cushion cover for a friend. So she dug up some fabric material from a bag of giveaway materials from friends and whipped up a very quick and dirty amateur cushion cover in less than 2 days!

The only thing that is left hanging in the air and in need of answer is if the cushion cover will withstand a good washing in a washing machine... the DDA's guess is that of a negative answer.

New Craft Project

The DDA went shopping for fabric today for a new craft project. She's really pleased with her find at this little craft supplies shop called Beyond Fabrics.

This little shop is stocked with many fabulous items! The moment you step in, you will be inspired with many many projects you'd want to embark on. Not only do they stock crafting materials, they also sell finished hand made products from their workshop. The owners Eduardo and Silvana are both most helpful with their suggestions too.

The DDA came out of their shop smiling from ear to ear. She'll now need to start with treating the fabric purchased before embarking on the composition and production!

Can't wait!!!

100 Creative Items VI

After creating Pötkö with its dreamy smile, the DDA had to create a girlfriend for it, and its name is Pätkä.

These stuffed soft toys were created within less than 3 hours each. Their shapes and looks were inspired by the left over fabric that gave life to them!

The Finn gave names to them as they took shape. Pötkö and Pätkä, and so the DDA gave them their Chinese names too so they correspond as such = Pötkö "一枝" and Pätkä "一段".

The DDA just can't help but want to share these as they mark the rounding up of 100 creative items for 2009! Not sure if she did achieve 100, but hey, she enjoyed every single one of them.











These fun loving creature creation was inspired by a project the DDA found online whilst surfing Julochka's blog. Here are links to strings the DDA found, and she's very thankful to these ladies for the inspiration.
1) Julochka
2) Tollipop
3) Molly

And to round it up, the DDA presents the photo album that captures all the creations for 2009.

100 Creative Items V

Up to this point, the DDA is thinking that she'll just cheat and count each and every cupcake and cookie she's made for the year (not by batch as one item, but by piece) to get the total number of creative items made in 2009!


2009 has been a very challenging year to start. Yet it is filled with bursts of creative madness. There was the fun and exciting summer holiday with the parents, no doubt tiring but it was worth all the time spent.

The DDA is very thankful for all the lucky stars and angels that watch over her and her family!