Just a short post

Hi everyone. Just popping in to show you a pic of the bag I mentioned in my Polka-dot Tie bag post. The one I made for a sister of a friend of mine.

The first pic shows the real colours of the bag. Somehow I couldn't get the lighting right in the second one. So, let me know what you think about it:)

5+1 months:)

My little baby bump just turned 6 months and I’m not feeling little anymore. My bump is growing bigger day by day. Quiet an active baby I must say. Though the doc said that my baby is a little smaller than “normal”, considering all the kicking he/she(haven't checked the gender yet) is doing, I think my bundle of joy is doing just fine. So apart from being totally pregnant for the first time, I’ve been trying to sew a few bags and other stuff. Here are two bags I finished last week.

It took me more time than usual to make these coz I had to get up and walk around a bit every fifteen minutes to reduce my back pain. I’ve also been looking through the net for sewing tutorials for the nursery and for the baby. Glad to say that I found really helpful tutorials, here are just few of the great links.

Lots of Tutorials at All Crafts

Soft Baby Shoes at Picking up Threads

Soft Baby Cubes at Picking up Threads

Scandi Mei Tai Baby Carrier Tutorial at Picking up Threads

Video tutorial to sew a Baby Gro at Videojug

Nursing Cover Tutorial at Sew much Ado

Tons of tutorials at Make Baby Stuff


It's so sweet for all of them to share these great tutorials, don't you think? I hope these help you as much as they helped to me.Hope you all have a great day,ta-ta:)

Polka Dot tie bag:)

I know I’m a bit careless with posting on the blog but I’m trying to get better at it. However the good news is even though I’m not blogging I’ve been a bit creative the past few weeks:)

So, I’d like to share with you a bag I made. I’ve been meaning to make a black bag for me for sometime now and finally got to making it yesterday. It’s a small evening bag with pleats in the front and back. I also included three pockets in the inside for my phone, lip gloss and my office entry card. I used corduroy for the lining and velvet as the outer fabric, both black color. Finally I added a polka dot tie to the front to complete the bag. I think it turned out good. What do you think?

I’m sorry that the pictures are not that clear. Last week I read in something that using natural light in your pictures makes it look way better. However I used flash in my pic, maybe that’s the reason why it’s not that clear. So I’ll be sure to use that advice next time:)

I also made a pink bag yesterday. It was for a sister of a friend of mine. I used a heavy weight linen kind of fabric. I don’t have a picture of it at the moment but will post them soon. Was a bit busy making the bags so couldn’t take more pictures.

Hope you all have a nice day. Ta-ta:)

Glass Painting

I did a bit of glass painting last week. Seeing as I had some empty jam jars around the house I did not have to buy anything. I took some pictures while painting so I thought I’ll write a little “how-to” of the process.

At first I cleaned the jar thoroughly. The paper label came off easily but I had to scrub for some time to wash off the remaining glue. It’ll be easier if you keep the jar in some soapy water for 10 to 15 minutes before scrubbing.

If you want to draw a certain cartoon or a design it’ll be helpful if you attach the image to the inside of the jar using double sided tape or blu-tack. I skipped this step since I just wanted to do some free hand drawing.

Using a glass paint liner (I used Fevicryl glass paint liner in black), draw your preferred design. You can draw on the whole jar or draw on one side, leave it to dry and draw again. Since this will avoid accidental smudging.


Next add color to your design. Here too I wait until one side dries before adding paint to the other side. I used Fevicryl solvent based glass color but water based color will work as well.

After the whole thing dried I wasn’t still satisfied.

So I added more paint (red color) to the top and bottom but this time I sponged color without using a brush. This saves paint and time as well.

There it goes, from a simple jar to something beautiful. You could use it as a vase or pen holder or just as deco.

I’m not much of an expert in glass painting but I hope this little tutorial helps anyone who’d like to glass paint.

Hope you all have a nice day=)

Glitter fabric paints

Last weekend was all about fabric painting. I actually got these glitter fabric paint bottles and thought I’d do a bit of creative work.
This one I did for my younger sister. She had a plain red top and since I didn’t have any color that goes with red, I chose to use silver. As she loves butterflies I drew her one on the right hand side of her top.

The purple one I did for a cousin of mine. She wanted something more like a floral design on her knee length dress. It’s a deep purple shiny satin. So I used silver together with purple glitter and added rectangular sequins kind of thingy to it. I love how it turned out and I’m glad she did too!

It took me only one hour to finish each dress. I also drew the famous Naruto character, Sasuke Kun for my cousin of four years. I’ll post some pics of it sometime later. So since then ta-ta! Have a nice day=)

I'm back!!

After a long break from blogging I wish I had some great projects to show you. Atleast some pending projects but I'm sad to say that I got none. However I'm glad I'm back. You see, I've been very ill for the past two months. Barely able to get up. It's a great feeling, to be able to walk again, talk again and actually laugh again without having the feeling that your insides are being ripped out. I had severe Hyperemesis for the past two months.However, MashaAllah I'm feeling better now.

So to whoever who visited my blog during my break, thank you so much. Hopefully I'll be blogging more often and will be posting up more projects asap.

Till then bye bye!!

Blog break!!

I’m taking leave from office till early August. Unfortunately this means I won’t be able to blog because the internet connection at home was disconnected last week( something to do with a damaged wire, and yes we don’t get wireless network from our place) so I’ll be back to blogging as soon as I get back but till then I’ll keep myself occupied with all sorts of crafting. Specially sewing. I’ll update everything when I’m back.

Before I leave I’d like to thank everyone who’s taken the time to stop by and read my blog. Specially to those who’ve left wonderful comments. I’ll surely be back asap=)
Till then ta-ta!!

I'll be sewing again!!

Feeling lonely my sewing machine stays in a corner of our living room. It’s been almost a week since I last sew something. And for me that is like a hundred years. I normally squeeze out time to sew. Life has been so hectic that I’ve been completely avoiding my faithful friend; my sewing machine. And I’ve been waiting for some inspiration or a splurge of energy to kick start sewing again.

And now, after having a fun time going to the beach yesterday, I feel energized and lively. I’m certainly going to sew tonight and hopefully will post some pics of my work. Till then ta-ta!!

But because I can’t leave without showing a pic, here’s one from long ago. A small evening bag for everyone who likes stripes=)

P.S.So sorry about the dirty ironing board cover, ive changed it now=)

"Me" time

It’s not everyday when I get some quiet time to sit back and enjoy. But fortunately last night was such a night. Hubby and I went to the beach, which is very near to our house. There were plenty of people there, barbecuing out doors and having a good time. We sat a bit far from the crowds, just admiring the natural beauty of the world. The sky spread far and beyond imagination. The white clouds, hovering above like light feathers. The ocean like a black carpet spread in front of our eyes. From a bit far we could see the lights of the safaris and the lights of a nearby tourist resort. Like fire flies floating on the ocean. It was so beautiful and breathtaking. Adding to all that, a slow wind was blowing. I felt like the stress of the whole week was just blown away by the wind. It’s amazing how much we ignore of this world while going through our day to day hectic life routines.

Ever since I got a job it’s been nearly impossible to have some time for myself. Life has become quiet a routine for me. And I can imagine just how it would be for mother’s out there. Looking after kids, home plus going for work must be pretty tough. Now, I know I don’t have a lot of advice to offer but why not do something for your self? Go for a walk, or a jog, or do anything that makes you feel better. Do it with a friend or with your spouse or if you’d like just do it alone. So that for a few seconds, your not a wife, a mother or an assistant to an impossible boss (like mine). You’re just one single person trying to enjoy sometime for yourself. For sure it’ll be hard, but it’ll be worth it!!

I had a dream...

Of buttons, lots of them in beautiful jars

Scraps of fabric, some flowery

Some stripy

Of lots of brooches, and vintage curtains

Of sewing machines, and needles

Of making bags, more bags, and a lot more bags

Then I woke up,

And hubby asked me what I dreamt of

And I say, I dreamt of a

beautiful fairy tale!!

A bit of this and that.

I made these chocolate balls yesterday and they were yummy. Hubby thought so too.

I also found some time to make this little gift for a cousin of mine. It’s a bit long, more like an American football. I hope the little guy likes it, he turned one last week=)


That’s all I got for now. Hope you all have a lovely weekend. Ta-ta!!

Three steps to reality!

I’m not someone who normally carries a notebook and a pen around. But I guess I should now because nowadays ideas pop into my head regardless of where I am. If I don’t get to record it, by the time I get home I don’t remember what ideas I had. Or I remember very little of it. Its not that I have short term memory loss or anything (if you’re thinking that) but it’s because I’m inspired by a lot of things and they influence my designs.

So, let’s get to the real story. Two weeks ago I went to a restaurant with a close friend of mine. While we were waiting for our food to come, I asked the waiter for a pen. I started drawing on tissue, just random stuff. Then I came up with this bag idea. This is how the initial design looked like.

My friend really liked it and urged me to make that design a reality. Thus I went on to the next step. I made the pattern and chose the fabric. I wanted the bag to be maroon, so I chose corduroy for the bag and satin for the flower. Both were almost the same shade of maroon. I chose corduroy for the bag because I didn’t want it to be too sloppy or too stiff.

Lastly I sew the bag and attached the flower. I’ve known how to make this flower for sometime. There are lots of tutorials around the web how to make them. Here’s one wonderful tut. And voila, the bag came from my head to paper and finally to the real world. I love that it looks so girly which is why I'm calling this bag "Girly Girl"

Lovely tutorials around blogosphere.

I’ve been spending a lot of time searching for bag making tutorials all over the web. I’ve found dozens of helpful hints and tips and picture tutorials too. Here are a few of them. I found all of them really helpful, so nice of them to share tutorials, don’t you think?

Green wool+brown plaid handbag

Lindie bag

Buttercup bag

Tote bag

Hobo Bag

Little boxy pouch

Market bag



I've been ignoring my sewing machine for the past two days and have been enjoying reading all the tutorials and great blogs. Maybe this weekend I'll be sewing a bit. I'm also looking forward to a trip to the beach on Saturday.

Ta-ta for now. Hope you all have a lovely weekend=)

Little N

My youngest brother N is a very curious little lad, just like every other 5year old I suppose. The following conversation went on between us yesterday. (FYI: he calls me mommy and he calls mom, “mom”)

N: Mommy is it raining?

Me: yes honey, it is. Why?

N: I want to go play in the rain.

Me: you already have a cold; you can go some other time when you’re feeling better.

N: but I’m feeling better now.

I give him his coloring book

Me: why don’t you go color this?

N: Mommy are the trees still outside?

Me: (Dumbstruck by the question) yes honey, why?

N: Then why don’t they catch a cold?

I didn’t have an answer to that, do you?

Bzzzzzzzz…is it a bee?

Yup it is, and it stung me this weekend. But don’t worry, its just a crafting bee and I’ve been having a sewing frenzy. Yippee.. just what I needed. I’m feeling a lot better now, not that my problems just vanished but I’m learning to get along. So, here’s what I sewed yesterday.

This one is a small sized bag for my lovely little cousin. She turned 5 last month and since she lives in another island I wasn’t able to give her a gift. But now she’s staying at my mom’s place for the school holidays. She was overjoyed to get her gift. I put a little "S" next to the flower because her name starts with "S". I like the idea of personalising bags. Plus this is the first time I made a bag with side pockets. And I like how it turned out. Will be making more in the future.

This is a little ipod cover I made for hubby. His old cover was so worn out so I made this for him. It cheered him up so it made my day=)

And here are the two bags I made the week before, the ones I made for orders. In a previous post I promised to show the pics. So here they are. One is black with red flowers and the other is red with a white snowflake.

That’s all I have for now. Hopefully I'll post soon. Have a great day!!

Rough Times.......

This has been a pretty rough week for me. And you all know that its hard to craft when your thoughts are occupied. So I've got nothing much to show here, but I did these bits of art this morning awhile ago. Hopefully I’l be crafting soon and I’ll post some pics.

Till then, bye bye!!

Bag orders!

I’ve been a bit busy this week, sewing bags. I got two orders on Saturday which I have to finish by Tuesday. Both bags are pretty big and carry all style. As requested I’m using corduroy for both of them. Here’s a little sneak peek at what I’ve been up to.

I’ll show the finished bags soon. I’ve also been looking for a bag design for me. At the moment I’m thinking of making a black bag using velvet. Since I don’t have a black bag which is the kind of accessory that goes with any outfit=)

Apart from sewing bags, I was going through some pictures i'd taken last year and found this! A pic of my youngest brother. He’s 5 now and loves wearing other people’s clothes and acting all grown up! Here he's wearing my shades and hubby’s jersey=)Bye bye for now, hope you all have a great day!!

Wall Art.

It’s been raining the whole week and the sea is pretty rough. And because I have a minor case of arthritis, my bones go bonkers the minute it starts to rain. So on Sunday, I stayed at home without going to office. At home the internet connection is slow, so it left me with nothing to do. Finally I ended up doing this….a bit of wall art for our room.

It’s an easy project any body can do. All you need is glass nuggets(one side flat marbles) and some blu-tack.. I got nuggets for my project at a pet shop, where I buy aquarium deco.
Anyways, here’s how I did it. First draw your design on the wall. I put little dots using a pencil. I used an HB pencil so my dots are light and will not be seen through from the nuggets. Next using some blu-tack place all the nuggets on your design. Be sure to press and hold for a bit so that the nuggets won’t fall off.
Ta-da! You’re all done. Don’t forget to stand back and admire your work!!

Have a happy day all of you=)

Phone Cozies

I recently got two orders from a friend of mine to make phone cozies. She wanted to give them to two of her friends for their birthday. And considering that by now they must have received their little gifts, here are some pics of them.

Sorry that the photos are not that clear, because actually they look a lot better. I’m working on getting a proper camera;)

Have a nice day=)

A place i'd love to go...

Today while going through some of my magazines i found one my brother had brought me sometime ago. It's about Conrad Maldives Rangali Resort. A beautiful place i'd love to visit.

And then there is the exotic underwater restaurant "Ithaa"

As part of his job, my brother went to work at the resort for a week and he got to see all of it. I wish I could go too!!(*_*)

Butterflies

I love butterflies. I love butterfly brooches, bags and tees that have butterfly prints on them. However so far i've only made a few butterfly bags. Here is one i made for my cousin sometime back. It's balck corduroy with a red corduroy tribal butterfly. The bag is also lined with black corduroy. There are two inner pockets and a velcro closure. It's approximately 13"x9". To complete it I used silverish green glitter fabric paint to outline the butterfly.

I'm thinking of making more bags with butterflies in the future. Pics will come as soon as i make them=D. So till then ciao!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Happy mothers Day!!

To all the women out there, I wish you a very happy mother’s day. You are truly appreciated for the encouragement you’ve given throughout the years. For being there and guiding us every time we lose our paths. And most of all, for the unconditional love you’ve gifted us.
Thank you mothers for the beautiful crafty inspirations you’ve passed down generations. The world would not be a happy place without you=D

To make the day more special, why not make your own handmade card, homemade cookies or sew a bag for your mom. If you don’t have the time to make her a gift, buy her some flowers. Whatever gift you give just be sure to add some love to it!