In Love with Mason Jars

its been a long time since i’ve last updated – 2013 has been a very crazy year and in the blink of an eye its already september -o- there’s been a lot of ups and downs (that’s what life’s all about isn’t it?) – sadly i’ve lost 2 family members within a short period of 4 months which was a big hit for me … but because of that I think our family has grown much closer than before. grieving is such a complicated process – shock, regret, sadness, anger, reason, accept, treasure, grateful … i think the most important thing is to have friends and family around you to talk to and to support each other through this hard time in life. life is very unpredictable isn’t it, it always struck you when you least expect it … so treasure all that you have, don’t ever take it for granted, and live a healthy and happy life.

i haven’t totally forgotten/ put away my handmade zakka projects, still managed to made some from time to time. lately i’ve been picking it back up more and i’m working on a diy project for mason jars. when i first found out about mason jars it was love at first sight. i loooooove preserving fruits and veg (altho i’ve only just started trying) and i looooooooooooove glassware. mason jars are so versatile – you can use it for preserving, canning, drinking, candlelight, pen holder, flower vase, anything holder, shaker, food storage, lunch “box”, decoration, etc. etc., basically anything you can think of! the jar itself is dishwasher safe although it is recommend to clean the lids by hand with soapy water. here’s a few ideas on what you can do with mason jars –

vases.

lights.

yoghurt and gran

lots of mason jars.

stay tuned for my diy mason jar project :) would love to hear from you what colors and sizes you are after. happy to ship to anywhere in australia and overseas.

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bondi beach.

my first sewing machine

how’s everyone’s weekend been? mine went in a blink as always …

bought my first ever sewing machine on saturday – a brother ds-120 – which is a computerized 20-stitch machine. my excitement has not quite fade away yet hahahaha very excited to see what i can make with this machine. started on my first sewing project …

sneaky peek ...

sneaky peek …

not quite finished yet, still have to finish the handles. and because this is my first every sewing product (not including those i did for fun before of course) it took me 5 hours just to get this far … but considering i made this up completely on my own i think i did pretty good? (didn’t use any samples/books/reference at all)

on sunday i had a day off from my craftmaking project and went to iceberg at bondi beach to have lunch. it was an amazingly cool sunny day.

bondi beach.

bondi beach.

please note : before you say that’s very romantic, i need to tell you below the “i love u” is a small line saying “maya i am sorry”.

so there goes my weekend.

first stamp :)

my first handmade stamp.

do you like winter? what do you usually do during cold weather?

personally i don’t like cold weather, makes me want to curl up in bed with my laptop with a hot cuppa chocolate and tonnes of marshmallows.

sydney has been harshly cold this year, with lots of rainy days too so my gumboots had been handy.

the rocks - winter

winter @the rocks.

one of the good things about this city is that people are very encouraging & active in promoting arts – vivid sydney has been amazing this year.

vivid sydney - customs house

vivid sydney – customs house.

been doing a lot of research (and shopping haha) on home products/handmade crafts. a lot to absorb at the moment and have been trying out different things. i’m not a very arty person but i do love home/handmade products a lot, so hope to show you more things i’m working on soon.

my work station.

my work station.

woooohoooooo my first handmade stamp was born yesterday!! so excited!! it was easier then i thought.

for beginners you only need the following things:

  • a block of rubber
  • a cutter (don’t even need the carving tools if you’re not planning to make a large batch)
  • some tracing paper (you can get that at craft shops)
  • a pencil
  • a rubber
  • a ruler
  • ink pad
i’m sure you have all of these things at home (maybe except for the tracing paper).
what you need to do is:
  1. draw the shape/design onto the tracing paper with a pencil
  2. turn over the tracing paper and put it on the rubber block
  3. use the end of the pencil to scratch the design onto the rubber block
  4. and then start carving!
it’s as easy as that.
first stamp :)

first handmade stamp.