Time for Craft

The 2nd time into the Sony Creative Science Award 2011 competition, and we grabbed away the Merit Prize with this recycled project titled - Pursuit of happiness. Months of researching, brainstorming seems worth it. We're considered the 'lucky' (when opportunity meets preparations) ones, out of a few thousand pieces of projects submitted, we were shortlisted. The whole idea was inspired by the karakuri , automata concept. I started building the 3 seagulls with popsicle sticks. Duplicating a few copies of the same body shape on the popsicles, three pieces were glued together to get the thickness (body) of the seagull. Small little piece of white felt were sticked at both sides of the body as an extension from the wing to the body to give it the flexibility to flab. The whole setup was a A4 paper carton box, waves pieces were cut out from trash cardboard, wine cork was used as the t...

On my lifetime to-do list, is to volunteer my skill and contribute in a meaningful oversea project that benefit the less fortunate. ACTS  started as an initiative of Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Singapore in 2007, to share the joy of Christmas with other less fortunate in Cambodia. ACTS is a year round program, a mission outreach that involved some 180 to 250 participants from different parishes as well as non-Catholics. ACTS participants have come from as far away as Mauritius and include Malaysians and Australians amongst other and some have moved on to start their own projects to assist the less fortunate. After months' of preparation for the art and craft curriculum and the mural wall paintings, I finally embarked on these 8 days mission trip at Cambodia on 7 December 2012. As the resources are very limited there, I faced difficulty even at the initial stage of planning my eco-craft curriculum. Recycling...

One of the great way to bound is through crafting! Put away the demand of our daily commitment, take time out to sit down with our loved ones and enjoy the therapeutic experience of creating a masterpiece together. This is a time to smell the flowers! It's encouraging to see more and more dad attending this Parent-Child Craftogether workshop with their kid at a neighbourhood family service centre. Like in any relationship, a visual & tactile activity will stimulate and build bond. As they work together towards a common direction, team spirit is brought to another level.

A fun-filled school term that I immersed myself with these kids doing craft, craft and craft at PAP Community Foundation, PCF Kindergarten. It reminds me of the days when my son proudly brought back his artwork to show his happy mum, every piece are just so precious to me. To facilitate these kids in this stage of their life, teaching them the art of turning trash into treasure, it's an Amazing experience!! Even the one who's the hardest to handle among them, give in when it comes to crafting. Parents feedback that their kid start busying with their hands at home, one gal turned a calendar into a photo frame as a present for her maid without any guidance. That's how contagious crafting can be, isn't it? When you get creative, there is no limit! Give them paints and brushes, watch them have fun!

Look what I found browsing through my albums? A simple cupcake stand I made for my nephew for his full month celebration! He's 6 years old now my goodness! Nevertheless, this will give you a reason to keep those cake board the next time you have a birthday cake, lol. You can make use of 4 recycled cake boards, all different sizes for this project. 3 commercial toilet paper roll were used with some aluminium foil to wrap them. Hot glue them together, layer by layer. You can add some decoration to dress it up for that special occasion. And hey, you have saved a hundred bucks with this DIY cupcake stand!

To start the ball rolling, coming up is this, yet another craft from the trash - a treasure box! (not a trash anymore) Materials like the commercial toilet paper roll and scotch tape inner paper tube must be with matching circumference. Besides, you'll need unused CDs, cardboard, paint and UHU glue. Cutting CDs into tiny bits and pieces to create the mozaic effect on the surface is beautiful indeed. You may want to wear a glove during cutting or give another cut to the sharp edges. I tried with black, white and maroon color backgrounds, they turned out equally great. A heart shaped motive was added on the cover. You can cut out the entire shape first, followed by cutting them into smaller pieces or gather the pieces together to form the shape you want, just like a puzzle. I end this post with this write out which I saw on a friend's posting on FB... ‘Maybe life is a mosaic. Count...

I'm finally back to the bloggers' world after years of absence. It brought back lots of memories flipping through those posting and comments that are accumulated over the years. Reminding me of how I started this blog 'Time for Craft' to where I am now. Feeling grateful! For life is like a stage, some people will appear on our stage for just a single scene, and for some that might have walked with us for a longer distant. People come, people go, may my gratitude be with you for dropping by or have stay through... I didn't leave my crafting spirit behind nor the dream to impact lives. Instead, I've brought my crafts to a new height, integrating crafting with a social cause as my business mission. I teach crafts to the less fortunate endowing them a skill and be self-reliant to earn a living through making gifts like plushy toys, fashion accessories, home decorations, mosaic art and wedding favor etc... I ru...