Been too long!

HELLLOOOOOO!

Oh my goodness! Why did I leave my blog in cobwebs for so long? Honestly, I haven't been up to much (sadly). BUT! I'm setting up a booth in the next Public Garden market at Artspace @ Helutrans and I'm super excited about it. It's on 11 & 12th July, from 1pm to 8pm. I'm thinking... pouches (duh), clutches, totes, clay ring dishes and maybe a couple of terrariums :)

Just some stuff that I've done recently:

I'll be back with updates on my first Public Garden as a seller!

love, n

Travel Kitties are back!

I had quite a few requests for this fabric so I finally bought more and completed a pending order for a friend..

Makeup Pouch!

I love this photo. I should have taken one long ago so that I can easily answer questions such as "how big is it?" and "I need to put a lot of stuff, is it big enough?"

This is M size, only $20.

:)
Love, n

Time management

I need better time management. Or maybe just be more disciplined. Or maybe a craft studio with no bed around!
When I'm at work, I get inspired by my Pinterest feed. But when I finally do get home, I just feel so exhausted from the entire day of working on excel coatings that I just want to sit and zone out.
I get motivated when I get orders like this wristlet which I haven't made for a while.
But this shouldn't be the way! I want to make new things! I need more weekends!

Love, n

Hand-stamped laptop sleeve~

In my excitement to post an order out to this awesome loyal customer, I forgot to snap a photo before sealing the envelope. She has kindly sent me a few shots when I asked her to help!

She wanted both fabrics so one side was the kitty fabric, and the other was one that I specially stamped for her.
The A5 mousepad was also a customized one which I sent to her as a gift as a thank-you for being super patient with me when I was busy and took a really long time to complete her order.

Have a good week!
love, n

Cny is approaching!!

It's been kinda insane at work recently. You see, I work in an industry where seasons are the most important times of the year. The phones ring all day long, you get questions of all kinds, you are glued to the computer clucking frantically. Then when you get a breather, your mobile starts ringing and you can't stop until you get home... Or when your phone dies.

So as you can see, when Saturday finally made its way here, I really enjoyed sewing stuff at my own leisurely pace.

Christmas 2013 Giveaway Winners

Merry Christmas!!!

Let's choose the winners for the 5 giveaways :)

Giveaway #1 - Drawstring Bag in Owl Prints
1. Labelle
2. Alvinder
3. Sharon
4. Tracy
5. Juliah
Congratulations, Juliah!

Giveaway #2 - Rounded Base Pouch in Blue House Prints
1. Audrey
2. Labelle
3. Shawna
Yay, Shawna!

Giveaway #3 - Cardholder in Daisy Prints
1. Shi Qi
2. Juliah
Congrats, Shi Qi!

Giveaway #4 - Coasters in Triangle-Stamped Prints
1. Ileana
Haha - no need for Random Generator, Congrats, Ileana!

Giveaway #5 - Drawstring Bag
1. Sarah
2. Stefenie
3. Ileana
4. Cherie
5. Limin
Yay Sarah!!

Ok time to contact the winners!

love, n

Drawstring bags

I enjoy making drawstring bags because the feeling of pulling the strings/ropes when it's done, and it works perfectly, is of... Great satisfaction.
Ok I probably don't really make much sense, but this is why I enjoy making things. I'm usually very focused when I'm sewing or creating something (unless, of course, I'm distracted by Sherlock, my latest addiction), I find myself zoning out to everything else. When it's done and it fits what I had in mind, I would want to show it off to Mum right away.
Anyhooo... These drawstring bags are ordered by a supportive customer. I consider myself extremely lucky to have these customers, always coming to me to get customized stuff, and thus, forcing me to experiment and try new things! It's very important because sometimes I do need some motivation and this works just fine for me :)
Love, n

50 pouches = crazy me

It's been craaaaazzyyyy. 50 pouches sounded daunting when I accepted the order.. And it really is when doing it. I'm still short of 10 more and I'm kinda exhausted!
But this is a great experience for me, I do hope something like that drops in again!
Love, n

Busy elf

Busy busy busy! This is my favorite season of the year, but it can get a little overwhelming sometimes.
Orders are coming in and I can't be happier :)
It makes me wish that I didn't have to go to my day job and stay home to work on those orders and my own set of gifts for friends and family.
Love, n

Repeat purchases are the best compliments.

I have been working on a big order from a very supportive customer these few days. It's almost 2am and I have work tomorrow, and I have just finished her entire order, packed and ready to post! Feeling accomplished :)

I need to relook at my pricing for my products. I'm probably not making alot to cover my effort and time. It's tricky because every item is different, more or less. But most importantly, I want to keep it affordable with good quality.

Alright good night folks!

Customized rubber-stamped items!

I'm having loads of fun with rubber stamping! I think up of some designs (or just blatantly copy off the web), carve out and stamp on every thing that I can find.
My sister wanted something that she saw on Etsy...

oops. I should have cropped a little here... *sheepish smile*

So then, I decided to give it a try, since it's just a simple Triangle stamp!

I bought some new colors!

 Ta da!!!

Looks great on coasters too! (This pair is in my Ready Made collection! $6/pair)

love, n

Adding to Ready Made collection

Slowly getting ready for Christmas... :)

Origami Drawstring Bag! I really enjoy making this type of drawstring.

For this piece, the interior fabric is Pink with White Polka Dots.

$28!

The standard drawstring bag - I haven't made this in a while. Someone customized one recently, and I decided to make a couple more :)

This measures about 8" square, going for $15 (limited offer).

love, n

Rounded pouch!

Rounded, just like apples!

I bought this apple-printed hankerchief when was in Guangzhou last year. Well, I don't use hankies, but the fabric was too pretty to resist.

I finally took it out today and decided to make a different style of pouch. I wanted to try pleated at the front, but it didn't quite work out. So I tried this way instead. I'm gonna give the pleated one another try next day.

I still have 3 other different fabrics to use... but this apple print is the nicest. My cousin saw it and immediately ordered from me :)

Do you like it too?

love, n

Origami Drawstring Pouch

Oh, it's been a looooooong while... but I'm back! I can't promise constant blogging though, but at least I'm still sewing :P

I've made this Origami Drawstring Pouch a long time ago for my sister, and she used it for her Fujifilm Polaroid camera and it fits snugly. So when my brother's friend needed something for hers, I decided to do this again.

I love the pockets on the outside. It's made from a huge piece of cloth, so after folding and sewing into that 7" pouch, it's actually rather thick - good enough for a camera, but of course, it's not meant for any real protection except from scratches. In fact, I always tell my customers that even though the laptop sleeves are padded (some even ask for double padding), that it's not enough to protect the laptop should you drop it.

I'm selling it at $28.

 This is for my brother's friend. I really hope she likes it. She chose the exterior fabric herself.

This is an order from a repeat customer - Janna, an instagram friend and bunny lover. Hey, any animal-lover is my friend :) That said, no compliment is better than a repeat customer. I'm really lucky to have such support! Fabrics chosen by her as well. Turned out really well, yay!

love, n

Embroidered!

Hello you!

I really enjoy embroidering / handstitching words and little designs like this bee here... I used to think it was quite a daunting task. But I guess it's the same for every thing you do, you get better as you practice :)

I really like the bee.

I've tried to iron this pouch to no avail. :( I wonder what's wrong... Why won't the fabric straighten up and look pretty for my camera???

Notice that this pouch has a metal zip instead of the usual colorful normal ones? It was my sister whom gave me the idea that metal zips might give a pouch an entirely different look, and I think it does! (of course, it's also more expensive!)

Do you like this? If you have a design you really like in particular, and would like it embroidered and made into a pouch, let me know! I can customize ;)

<3, n

Something that made me smile.

Last year, I made a pouch for a friend who lives on Railay, Krabi (Thailand)

She was our rock-climbing guide, a few years back, and we became friends. We've always been going back to where she works whenever we're there to climb.

She made these chalk bags for us!

We haven't used them yet because they are just too pretty...

So when we went back a few days back to Railay, I noticed that she was using the pouch everyday! She carried it everywhere she went. It made me really happy :)

See how dirty and worn-out it got to! Haha

Needless to say, I'm making her another as a gift!

love, n

Embroidery!

I've been wanting to start on some embroidery recently, after seeing beautiful works like these:

how cute?!

maybe i'll try out more embroidered pouches...

i've done this so far:

love, n

2012's first Giveaway!

You can read all about it here...

Basically, all you have to do is:

1. Like "love, n" Facebook page.

2. Check out the ReadyMadeItems album.

3. Leave a comment on your favorite item there. In the comment, tag 2 of your friends!

4. You're qualified!

5. If you're the lucky star, you'll be notified via Facebook message after 31st Jan 2012.

Join now!

love, n

a little of this & that...

will keep you busy like a bee!

love, n