25th Week of Craft Activity (20th & 27th September 2015)

Ok...I must admit, I lost count of the week plus now I don't introduce new craft as frequent...reason is because my Craft Instructors are having a tough time catching up my demands! Hahaha...guess my bossiness still follows me...

Anyway, since that is the issue, we shall call it Craft of the Week or Craft of the Fortnight or Craft of the Month!

I think month is too long, maybe I'll stick with Craft of the Fortnight...hm...but it sounds weird! Oh well! I will call it Highlight of the Week for 2 weeks in a row!

Ok... Here is the new craft for the 25th week...

So, which one is your favourite? Mine is the Owl!!!

Hanging Sheep

Recently, I got an order to produce 26 units of Hanging Sheeps. It is to be hung on the ceiling of a mall in Klang Valley.

It took me almost 2 weeks to finally conclude what & how I want to make it. You see, since this is for hanging on the ceiling, certain important measures have to be taken:

1) It can not be too heavy, else it will damage the ceiling or worse, it fell & hit the patrons.

2) It should be visible to see from the ground & must be eye-catching.

3) The Sheeps must be cute enough to be eye-catching.

4) It has to be sturdy enough to withstand the wind & not fall.

Honestly, I have not done anything huge before so it took me 2 whole weeks, back & forth, researching & trying out all sorts of materials. Finally! After 2 weeks, I have come to a decision: 

Option 1: very expensive

I use styrofoam ball & white pom-poms

I experimented with 2 sizes, 10in & 12in. 

12in too heavy. So, I chose 10in.

Option 2: more reasonable (half the price of option 1)

I use plain coloured lantern & cotton balls

Again, i selected 2 sizes, 10in & 12in.

Still, 12in is heavier. 

I showed it to my client & we confirmed to make option 2 since it won't be able to recycle...the next Sheep year is in 12 years. By then, the whole thing would have fallen apart...LOL

Here's what I made...

Batch 1: 18 units of 12in Lantern Sheeps (couldn't get all same size)

Batch 2: 9 units of 10in Lantern Sheeps (I gave the sample together since I won't be needing it.)

Took me about 4 none sleep nights to complete it. I'd say it is pretty fast...LOL

I used Black Foam to cut the head & legs. Thanks to hubby that helped with the cutting. Mind you, it took me several trips to different shops to get all the quantities that I want...Then for the eyes, I used White Felt & Black Foam for the eye ball.

Lastly, I tied the lantern with ribbons.

It was a great experience as it is so different from my normal orders. I can consider this as bulk order, in a much bigger size than what I usually do...

Let's just hope it will look nice in the mall...:)

Oh yea, after I completed the sheeps, guess what my younger son wants? He wants 1 of those sheep in his favorite color! So, we will have an Orange Sheep in da house very soon! As soon as I get a can of Orange Spray Paint! LOL 

I shall post it on the blog once the Orange Sheep is done...hehehe

Chinese New Year is just around the corner...

With CNY just around the corner, I'm sure everyone is busy doing spring cleaning, shopping & more shopping.

I did my CNY shopping thru out the year...this is to avoid the last minute rush.

As for the CNY decorative items, I can't recall if I ever buy them, as I always make them myself. Reason being, well, those over the counter decorative items are either too expensive or too common. Imagine having the same lanterns as your neighbors! LOL...

Hand make lanterns are unique, uncommon & even if you buy them, it is so unlikely you will have the same unit as most of the people.

My CNY decorative items last for years...the last time I made the decorative items for my house were 4 years ago, when we 1st shifted to our own house.

Although the decorative items are still useful, I've decided to add some new items this year...since it is my year...LOL...

Below are the item I made for my house this year:
Giant Golden Gourd x 2

According to the Chinese, the gourd is popular as a charm symbol to ward off evil spirits and disease because its first character (hulu 葫芦) has the same pronunciation as the word to "protect" or "guard" (hu 护) and also the word for "blessing" (hu 祜).
In some dialects, the Chinese word for gourd (hulu 葫 芦) sounds the same as fulu (福 禄) which means "happiness and rank (as in attaining a high government office)".

Gold color is a symbol of abundance & prosper...didn't we Chinese love gold?

I plan to hang this 2 giant gourds at the verandah, to replace my fire crackers.

Everytime I make lanterns, I will make for 3 houses, mine, my mom's & my in-laws'. Hence, I will get busy for a few days just to finish off the items. For all of the items that I made this year, it took me a week to finish, with some body aches & sore legs, but I guess the end results are rather satisfying...:)

This is what I made for my mom:
1) Mandarin Oranges basket

A little small, but I like the shape. Was wondering whether I should make this for everyone when we go house visiting. I can put all the gifts inside this basket. This can be something different rather than the usual paper bags. Hm...the problem is...I'm not sure if relatives would appreciate them as much as I do. It will be very heart broken to see it end up in the rubbish bin after CNY...what do you think?
Oh, mom puts Oranges in it since we have yet to get the Mandarin Oranges. But it still looks good. Mom puts 10 L size Oranges in it...

2) Fishes (for both my mom & in-laws)

The Chinese character for fish (yu 鱼) is pronounced the same as the Chinese character for "abundance" or "surplus" (yu 余). The fish symbol is, therefore, frequently associated with other symbols and Chinese characters to symbolize the wish for "more" in the sense of "more" good luck, good fortune, long life and children.
Usually, Chinese will put 2 fishes, as it means double of everything....we Chinese can sometimes be very 'greedy' huh...lol

3) Revolving Lanterns x 2

I never thought this can turn out so great! I was contemplating whether to make this as I felt it is too simple; but I was wrong. It is not simple at all. I finally decided to make these because my mom's house ceiling is rather low & I can't make such a big lanterns. So, this is the perfect size.

I think the choice of Ang Pow packets also make a lot of difference too. I purposely choose this ang pow packets because the flowers are almost the same as the picture on the packet...can you see?

This is what I made for my in-laws' house:
1) Big revolving lanterns x 2

This is another favorite of mine. Sometimes, you just have to make it to appreciate it! By looking at the picture, it wasn't so appealing, but when it is done...I'm abit surprise as it turned out this pretty. But this is abit big, so you need higher ceiling in order to hang it, otherwise, it won't look nice. Good thing my in-laws' house has high ceiling.

Planning to do somemore if I have time. But these are the main items that I made so far...