Ztampfilicious

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Inspired by a couple of Pinterest finds:
1. Use an embroidery hoop to make a clock. This is such a brilliant idea!
2. The right look and colors for a clock face.

So I combined those two ideas and went on designing my own clock face, printed it on a canvas (with my Canon Pro9500 Mark II printer at home), coated it with acrylic medium for protection, and then mounted in on a 10 inches diam. embroidery hoop. The pretty clock hands are from Etsy. This clock (the large pic on the right above) is now hanging on the wall in my computer room!

Then I just to make some more… I happened to have these little circle canvases stretch over a wooden frame: one is 10 cm diam., the other is 8 cm. So they are pretty small. For these two, I used copper sheets to create the rim, held in place with several nails. The 10 cm diam. can be displayed just as is, or perched on a candle holder like a mini clock tower. It is now sitting on a shelf in our dining/living room while the 8 cm diam. one is hung on a cabinet door in my art studio.

I can’t wait to get more embroidery hoops and to design some new clock faces!

You can download the clock faces pictured above to make your own clocks if you want: just click the image above! The zipped folder contains the clock face in 8 cm diam., 10 cm diam. and 10 inches diam. – all in high resolution JPG format. Enjoy!

Here’s what I have been doing recently: making some changes to our small dining/lounge room! I have been wanting to do this for quite some time but there was always something else that were deemed more important to get done first. But finally I got to do it!

I painted the wall and did something different with it; creating a kind of wall installation featuring my artworks and a Tillandsia airplant with the swirly motif subtly hinted at the background. The swirly motif was designed to incorporate pre-existing screws on the wall where some pictures used to be hung. I plan to change up the artworks from time to time as I have several in the storage from my previous exhibitions.

We finally gave away the old IKEA single-sofabed after holding on to it for a while. We had to admit that we will no longer be able to use it anyway. We also moved the IKEA’s Klippan sofa around and change the old worn out black cover with a new one in natural color (very cheap at only HK$200!). Then we got a recycled chest of drawers to replace the ad-hoc bookshelf – a leftover from my studio that I can no longer afford to keep, and added a couple of Hemnes shelves from IKEA. I love that this way I can easily and quickly change the display too – no mess with drilling wall!

The end result is a more spacious and airy feel of the room… at an extremely economical budget :)

What do you think of it?

Another simple and easy upcycling sewing project! Found the inspiration and instructions on cutoutandkeep.net via Pinterest and I have been looking for a little cover-up garment like this for a while now without much success and here it is… Looks like it could be just the thing and it’s something that I can make myself without costing me anything! I thought I really ought to give it a try since I have quite a few very old T-Shirts anyway.

I chose this pale grey t-shirt from U2, my favorite local brand that sadly is no longer around anymore. They produced simple and versatile clothing articles, very affordable (read: cheap!) with good quality. I am still wearing a lot of mine that I bought in 2000-2002. The one that I turned into a shrug is one of these! The pale grey color is neutral to be worn over dark or light colored dresses.

And look… Now it has been reincarnated into something much prettier with a new function and look! It is perfect to cover up some of my dresses that are showing too much cleavage. I think it looks best with empire line dresses like the one I wore here. The best part is that it is so easy that even a beginner seamstress like me can do it! Since the end result is to be gathered with a ribbon, any not-so neat sewing wouldn’t be visible. Great for an inexperience seamstress like me *grin*.

Tips: Cut the decolette/neck area into a smooth curve instead of corners like in the instructions. This would make sewing the casing much easier!

So… go look into your wardrobe and find those old t-shirts to transform into pretty shrugs! You can hem the edges with lace or ribbons if you wish too! I have a feeling that another old t-shirt will be given a new life soon :).

As many of you must have been aware by now, I just LOVE wings! I have made various kinds of wings from various materials from paper to wire to canvas to porcelain. But I have never made wings that I can wear myself! Not a long time ago I watched The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus on DVD and there I got my inspiration for a wearable pair of wings! So for Halloween this year, I decided to make some with my older step-daughter who was visiting us then.

I envisioned my prêt-à-porter wings to be somewhat steampunkish – with leather straps and brass snap buttons. The wings themselves would be made from wire-mesh sheets that I already have. So one fine day we went to Shamsuipo to get some leather straps and brass snap buttons. Well, leather straps turned out to be a tad too expensive so we got a roll of gross-grain ribbon in nice thickness instead. Then I found this ribbon that has a row of inconspicuous snap buttons already sewn onto it at regular intervals which gave me an idea on how to put the strap together!

First thing is the shape of the wings. I drew a template on a piece of drawing paper, then trace it onto the brass wire-mesh. Next I cut into shape with a pair of craft scissors. The wire-mesh sheet is soft enough so it was easy enough to scissor the shape. Next I took out my tool box to create the embossed ‘feather’ lines. You can use anything with smooth rounded head for this. A tea spoon worked perfectly to create a pillowy embossing inside the lines!

The trickier part is the straps. The black strap is the one with the snap buttons already sewn on it – and I made use of this feature to secure the wings onto the strap, and then inserting the horizontal straps into the intervals between the snap buttons. This way the horizontal straps are still flexible. You put the wings on by inserting your head through the V opening at the top. The horizontal straps open and close with thin velcro snaps at the side. They fit snugly around our ribcage, right under the bust.

Finally I prettied it all up with some jewelery findings and sparkling rhinestones! Phoebe wore the one that I made, and I wore the one that Phoebe made!

And the scary looking guy with her on the right? It’s her father (yup, my darling husband!). For the first time he has agreed to let me transform him into a ghostly, blood-thirsty looking vampire. And he thrived in the role too – scared quite a few people around! No, it was not blood that he was drinking! It’s wine and not even red!

And me? My look was inspired by a music video that Phoebe showed me the night before on YouTube: Jón “Jónsi” Thor Birgisson of arty Icelandic ensembleSigur Rós. I happened to have these black feathers fastened onto a strip of ribbon. And I have this old plastic headband with a slit in the middle. Perfect to insert the feathers in! And voilà! My birdy headress was ready! The make up was supposed to look birdy too – but I don’t think people see it that way. Never mind, I quite enjoyed it myself :). I think I looked quite scary too… especially when I stared hard with my eyes opened wide… It was quite a fun opportunity to dress up and to wear wings! That’s why I love Halloween!

In case you are wondering, the Halloween event we attended was the one in our neighborhood, down at the piazza. This year it was more festive with golf-cart parade (private cars are not allowed in the community, those who can afford it can buy or rent a golf-cart instead!). There was also a Haunted Castle – which was quite fun with kids from a local theatre group playing the ghosts. Some of them were really good too!