[creativity - a rant]

How does one define being CREATIVE. It's a question that is super baffling for me, both on my professional grounds as well as being in this online community. How do you define designing something - is it the act of making something from scratch? In the most traditional form, the artist is the person that puts pen to paper, paint to canvas. He does everything from the first masterstroke to the very last drop and dab. In my professional work, it gets a bit more complicated. Is the design of a building the masterstroke of 1 single person? Who is that 1 person and do you then discount the work and time and effort of the entire construction team - the people who run the site works, the people who spend 24/7 on the building site, choosing materials, managing the site staff, the people (often faceless and nameless) who are the actual people BUILDING. We often overlook all of them, with the rush to claim that the building is the sole authorship of THE architect. In all the previous places that i've worked in, it is this faceless firm that takes the credit. It is not the individual, it is the firm that is claiming the right of authorship. No matter you spent the majority of work (and often then not personal) time on that particular project.
In the crafting front, i love looking at design blogs. I love the amount of talent out there that is being uploaded every minute, every second onto the www. However, along with all this talent, and also being part of the street fair, these questions invariably pop up:
1. does crafting and handmade means totally made by you? Not handmade by your helper or other family members for example....
2. if you stamp another persons stamp onto a handmade pouch constitute YOUR design? does putting on another person's embellishment onto your handmade bag constitute YOUR design? i'm not sure - i've purchased a few appliques from ETSY, but have yet to put them onto anything, and i think i would never have the audacity to sell it, much less post it on my blog claiming the whole work is soley mine.
3. where does technique (which can be done by anybody) end and where does craft (and with it originality) begin?

These are difficult questions to answer, which i've been dealing with all the time. I feel that it is all about originality, all about being the 1st one to think about a way to present the work, a way to put things together, a way to define what is YOUR style.

On a lighter note.... thanks for introducing me up HERE! :)

[happy pressies]

Here's my latest batch of baby blankies - love how they all look together... so snugly and soft!

I took them down to the pavement just outside of my office to photograph - yup, that's a busstop you see in the background!
close up of them all rolled up :)
Yes, yes, i've been trying to make a few more 'masculine' options, but somehow, even though the base is khaki, they end up all looking more girly than boy boy! :P
doesn't the pink heart remind you of some icing on a cupcake?
another pink-ish one. This time with a row of fine daisy-stitches around the applique.
an abstract "tree" shape
more view of that pavement!
closeup on the heartshape piece - thanks to M for the bunny scraps!
I recently took part in the Functional Felt Swap group at FLICKR, and this is what was sent to me! 
It's lovely in real life and is now following me all over the place as my portable sewing kit... love the subtle colour differences and i love the colour combi! :) Thanks so much K!! :)
Another online friend (whom i met for lunch since she's just moved to Singapore) spoilt me with a little handmade gift! You shouldn't have! I really enjoyed our lunch and it was fun to chat about crafting and little ones over some yummy food! :) - we really should do it again A. 
funny how this blogging world is right - this could never have happened 5 years ago! :)

[waaaa]

Here's the reason why i've a huge smile on my face when i turned on the internet this morning :) Yup, a bit like that manical expression that G drew in the previous post... heh heh...
I knew there will be a review like this in Heart Handmade, as Marichelle has written to me sometime ago for me to type my responses. But only after reading the post, and also the really sweet comments, i had the whole impact of being featured registering.. Ah... thanks so much for featuring me!!! :) And thanks to all you cyber friends who make my postings and craftings so much more enjoyable to me..
a mini album that's made with a collection of past and present papers :)
a simpler back page.

[swaps + G's sketches]

okay, so it's only the blogger.com that's on my mac that works in mysterious ways - it simply refuses to allow me to swap the pics and the words around! anybody with this same problem? Arrggh.....

Owell, these pics are for an ATC swap that's going on now HERE. Sorry i know i'm late on these girls!! They're on the way right NOW! :P

the theme was "relax" and i basically wrote all the ways i did that on the cards...yup, 12 reasons!
The next is a little sketch that G did of me -
That's Me in the picture, with a slightly manical grin, really long arms and note the addition of "high heel shoes"!!! I fell down a few days ago, sprained BOTH ankles (yup, it's possible) and little G has been super sweet abt it all, keep trying to hold my hand when i walk in case i fell again. So basically, i guess the fall really did leave a strong memory as she said she's drawing me before i fell in this picture - with high heels. After that, she told me - i think you should wear flats mummy, no more high heels.. Yup. i agree :P
The funny things she's been saying these days - 

1. Coffee - it's like farmer Fee (that's a character in her fav cartoon - Tractor Tom)

2. i don't want this, nor this Either! (first time she used the words Nor & Either)

3. G's very into telephone conversations nowadays, she loves calling people up - especially her cousin eleyn (who's 6), and they basically have their own little people conversations - so cute!

All K wants to do is bite them!
A very sad story abt the above few pages - these are all made with the brand new "detour" line from OA - i woke up before 6am so that i could have some uninterrupted time working on them this morning. Unfortunately, little K decided that she had to be an early riser too - and was up by 630.... well, to cut the long story short, having a squirmy baby, a cup of hot coffee, and a scrap project all at the same place was a disaster waiting to happen :(

So, i guess i should see the silver lining in this cloud! 

1. No coffee was spilt onto the baby

2. coffee stained scrap projects are very fashionable right? (but can anybody tell me how to get rid of the smell???)

3. i still have the rest of the yummy papers and embellies to play with! 

[street fair]

this is the stall - i loved setting it up and putting my little stall up! (yup yup, you can tell 'masak masak' (that's playing house in malay) was my favorite game as a kid!)
all set up and ready to sell!
me and my first sale! Customised blankie for L's sister's friend! :) i hope she likes it!
Dearest L - one of my greatest and sweetest supporter :)

A big thank you for all friends and family that visited my little store that was up the last 2 weekends. I think it'll probably be the last time i will be actually putting up a physical store - it took too much effort and sadly, the sales and exposure do not really make up for all that time spent manning the store! (good thing i had really good stall partners, who ensured that i didn't have to give up 2 weekend's worth of time)  

Okay, blogger is driving me nuts - i have lots more pics but this is all it'll allow me to upload for now.....

:( check tmrw for another update! toodles......

[catching up part 2]

more pics of the trip back up north to Tumpat, Kelantan:

Here's the extended family, my aunt, grandma and grandpa. Look at K trying to escape!

More pics of the beach - this is Kuantan - midway between Singapore and Tumpat - on the beach in front of Hyatt Hotel. It's a great hotel by the way - so convenient!
Watching the waves come in....
At my grandparents - G just completed construction of a fire truck!

That obligatory shot of the little one in a makeshift plastic bathing tub :)
The holiday also coincided with the birthdays of V and my dad - the 2 most important men in my life. Happy birthday! And also Happy Father's day to you both! Thank you for being in my life and all that you are and have always been... :)

[more crafting]

In a haste to get things up and running for the flea market weekends, i've been busy crafting. But no time to get them photographed. Anyways, here are some the things that i've recently made:
snuggly soft baby blankies - now in the more conventional girly pink colours :)
Go HERE to buy them, or pop by my stockist

And! Tada - if you happen to be in the Arab street / Kampong Glam area, just behind the Uber hip street Haji Lane, please do pop by my stockist - Maki Square Patch - 33a Bali Lane - they're open everyday, except Mondays, from 1pm -8pm :)
cute shelves inside the shop
those blankies sure make friends fast! :) all lined up on a cute settee.

This weekend, i'll be HERE - do drop by if you can and help spread the word around!

[catching up]

G playing at the beach - this girl could have stayed on the beach the WHOLE day if you let her!
going to the waves to wash her hands
smoochy smoochy
a very difficult to capture family shot!
running away!

K taking to the water for the very 1st time - she loves it!
with grandparents :)
family shot
say cheese!

Hmm... blogger doesn't allow me to post the pics AFTER the text, so here they are at the beginning :(

Thanks for the encouraging words ladies! Now i know i'm not the only lagging behind blogger... heh heh...

The weekend fair was pretty dismal, not much crowd and pretty bad sales! And to have to stay there the whole 2 days as well... luckily i shared the stall with 2 other crafty friends, and only had to mind the stall for half a day. Well, i'll be doing another weekend this week - for those who missed this one! :) Hopefully there'll be more interested people in the heartlands!

Anyways, pics of that will have to follow.... the following are of my 6 day trip back to the north of Malaysia, to visit my grandparents, who were meeting K for the 1st time. It was quite an arduous trip - 16 hours in total of driving, but split over 2 days. It was still a long time to be cooped up in the car for the 2 little ones, and the constant screaming and crying did take a toll on us adults too. But the stopovers at the hotels along the way, the beach, the time spent with family, the sumptious food, the abundant tropical fruits that were all in season, the looks of joy and happiness in the old folks faces, these more than made up for the long journey back. :)

[blogging break]

Sorry for the long break between blogs! Sometimes this blogging thing comes really easily and the posts just flows out quite quickly. Other times, like now, i'm constantly thinking of things to blog about, and there are MANY pictures! But.... somehow, there is this inertia to do so! :P Anybody out there with the same experience?

Anyhow, no pics today, but i'll be HERE holding my 2nd street booth if anybody is interested in popping by to say 'hi'!

Promise i'll post a post with pics real soon :)

[another week older]

Time really passes so quickly! K will be 7months old in 1 week's time... She's really very quick, now she's crawling all over the place, and just a few days ago, has started to pull herself up. She can even manage a few baby steps while holding on to my fingers.
Here are some recent pics:
O and she's got 4 little teeth now.... although still quite little hair.... haha

standing up in a box.... we just put her there for the photoshoot... she doesn't really live there! :P
weekend trip to the park - check out K's bored expression!
and i just completed the angpow box for an upcoming wedding...