Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Merry Christmas + Happy New Year! | Go to post ➜
Hello!
I hope everyone has been having a lovely holiday! :D I have been so so busy, catching up on the backlog of commissions and stuff from the school term (and school starts again in a couple of weeks, gosh.)
Here are some christmas things - macaroon tree, handmade gift tags, presents, nails ♥
And this is a darling little thing I made for myself during the stressful exam weeks, I really really wish I could make more of this style, but it's really time-consuming and I have so much work to finish before school starts. It's really beautiful and fulfilling (to me). But it's not really something that I can make to sell, and although it's a bit selfish sometimes I just want to make things only for myself. So it stresses me out when people want them because they are too precious to me, aha.Or, I feel like I should be working instead of indulging in selfish things and wasting money and time making things when I don't intend to sell them.
The loveliest thing so far this holidays was actually going to the aquarium (S.E.A Aquarium in Sentosa) although I live here and it's a terribly touristy place but oh, the aquarium was so utterly amazing, I was in there for hours mesmerized by the animals. Manta rays + jellyfish ♥ Planning to visit again this month ^_^
I hope 2013 brings everyone much love and happiness! ♥
♥Jasmyn Labels: DIY, handmade, wire wrapped
7:05 PM
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Merry Christmas + Happy New Year! | Go to post ➜
Hello!
I hope everyone has been having a lovely holiday! :D I have been so so busy, catching up on the backlog of commissions and stuff from the school term (and school starts again in a couple of weeks, gosh.)
Here are some christmas things - macaroon tree, handmade gift tags, presents, nails ♥
And this is a darling little thing I made for myself during the stressful exam weeks, I really really wish I could make more of this style, but it's really time-consuming and I have so much work to finish before school starts. It's really beautiful and fulfilling (to me). But it's not really something that I can make to sell, and although it's a bit selfish sometimes I just want to make things only for myself. So it stresses me out when people want them because they are too precious to me, aha.Or, I feel like I should be working instead of indulging in selfish things and wasting money and time making things when I don't intend to sell them.
The loveliest thing so far this holidays was actually going to the aquarium (S.E.A Aquarium in Sentosa) although I live here and it's a terribly touristy place but oh, the aquarium was so utterly amazing, I was in there for hours mesmerized by the animals. Manta rays + jellyfish ♥ Planning to visit again this month ^_^
I hope 2013 brings everyone much love and happiness! ♥
♥Jasmyn
I hope everyone has been having a lovely holiday! :D I have been so so busy, catching up on the backlog of commissions and stuff from the school term (and school starts again in a couple of weeks, gosh.)
The loveliest thing so far this holidays was actually going to the aquarium (S.E.A Aquarium in Sentosa) although I live here and it's a terribly touristy place but oh, the aquarium was so utterly amazing, I was in there for hours mesmerized by the animals. Manta rays + jellyfish ♥ Planning to visit again this month ^_^
I hope 2013 brings everyone much love and happiness! ♥
♥Jasmyn
Labels: DIY, handmade, wire wrapped
7:05 PM
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
DIY Watercolour Tutorial: Glow in the dark galaxy nebula stickers | Go to post ➜
Hello! ♥
So I occasionally do things completely unrelated to jewelry, and last night I made a bunch a glow-in-the-dark nebula stickers. Had the foresight to snap pictures while I was doing it, so here's the tutorial to make your own DIY galaxy stickers! :D (I used stickers, but I guess you can use this to paint cards and other things as well.)
Materials needed:
If you don't already have these, they are available at any stationery/craft store. If you live in Singapore, I bought them all from Popular for under SGD$10 altogether.
-Sheet of plain white labels
-Watercolours and brush (I used one of those cheap kiddy trays where you add water to cakes of paint)
-Toothpicks
-Silver paint marker (optional)
-Glue
-Glow-in-the-dark glitter
Difficulty/Time taken:
-Easy, 1 hour
Basically the watercolours do all the work for you, so artistic talent isn't really needed. It's really fun and even kids can do it, and there's a list of tips and modifications at the end of this post on how to make things easier :)
Start with a plain sheet of white labels - any size will do, really. These are 1 1/4" circles
Lay down a quick wash of diluted black paint - work quickly because it dries fast! Don't flood the labels with too much paint, because excess water will make them curl and peel off the backing sheet. And don't worry about leaving small gaps or messy strokes - watercolours are very forgiving :)
If you like, you can then put on another layer of dark blue paint - shown here on alternate rows
Working quickly, drop a bit of light blue paint onto the stickers - make sure your paint is quite watery or the next step won't work!
Drop a bit of pink paint onto the stickers, overlapping the blue paint a little. Since the paints are both wet they will blend together on their own, no need for you to do much work :D
Closeup!You can see that the two colours will start bleeding together :) Note that watercolours are more vibrant when wet, so when they dry the colours will be less vivid.
Do the same for the rest of the stickers and let dry.
To make the stars, load your brush with white paint and flick it off your finger so that it splatters over the stickers. You can use an old toothbrush as well. (If your paint comes off as fat blobs, it's too thick. If it flicks off properly but there's barely any white showing, it's too thin!) If you're not sure, practise on a scrap paper first :)
Use a toothpick to create bigger stars and comets - Snip the tip off, a blunter tip will give bigger stars. Drag the toothpick to create shooting stars!
Use a silver paint marker to add metallic accents if you want to.
Let all the paint dry, then use glue to draw a line across each sticker.
Sprinkle on the glow-in-the-dark glitter.
All done! :D Let the glue dry and brush off excess glitter and you have your own set of pretty nebula stickers!
Tips/Modifications:
-I used pink and blue for the nebula cloud because that's the most common colour, but you can use other colours like orange or green too :)
-For astrology geeks or cool horoscope gifts, you can paint on the stars in the shape of actual constellations.
-Instead of splattering paint, use a white paint marker for less mess and drying time.
-Instead of glow-in-the-dark glitter, which usually comes in tubes and is a bit messy because you need to apply glue and then the glitter goes everywhere - Use glitter glue that comes in tubes. I've seen regular silver and gold glitter as well as the coloured glitter or "pearly" ones that look really great, and glitter glue is also a lot easier for kids to handle.
One last snapshot! Used a sticker on one of the packages I'm sending out today - brown paper, twine, handstamped glassine bag sealed with a nebula sticker and a bit of scrap ribbon. I have an unhealthy obsession with wrapping things. Anyway, I hope the tutorial made sense :)
♥JasmynLabels: DIY, galaxy, glow in the dark, nebula, packaging, stickers, tutorial
5:01 AM
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
DIY Watercolour Tutorial: Glow in the dark galaxy nebula stickers | Go to post ➜
Hello! ♥
So I occasionally do things completely unrelated to jewelry, and last night I made a bunch a glow-in-the-dark nebula stickers. Had the foresight to snap pictures while I was doing it, so here's the tutorial to make your own DIY galaxy stickers! :D (I used stickers, but I guess you can use this to paint cards and other things as well.)
Lay down a quick wash of diluted black paint - work quickly because it dries fast! Don't flood the labels with too much paint, because excess water will make them curl and peel off the backing sheet. And don't worry about leaving small gaps or messy strokes - watercolours are very forgiving :)
If you like, you can then put on another layer of dark blue paint - shown here on alternate rows
Working quickly, drop a bit of light blue paint onto the stickers - make sure your paint is quite watery or the next step won't work!
Drop a bit of pink paint onto the stickers, overlapping the blue paint a little. Since the paints are both wet they will blend together on their own, no need for you to do much work :D
Closeup!You can see that the two colours will start bleeding together :) Note that watercolours are more vibrant when wet, so when they dry the colours will be less vivid.
Do the same for the rest of the stickers and let dry.
To make the stars, load your brush with white paint and flick it off your finger so that it splatters over the stickers. You can use an old toothbrush as well. (If your paint comes off as fat blobs, it's too thick. If it flicks off properly but there's barely any white showing, it's too thin!) If you're not sure, practise on a scrap paper first :)
Use a toothpick to create bigger stars and comets - Snip the tip off, a blunter tip will give bigger stars. Drag the toothpick to create shooting stars!
Use a silver paint marker to add metallic accents if you want to.
Let all the paint dry, then use glue to draw a line across each sticker.
Sprinkle on the glow-in-the-dark glitter.
All done! :D Let the glue dry and brush off excess glitter and you have your own set of pretty nebula stickers!
Tips/Modifications:
-I used pink and blue for the nebula cloud because that's the most common colour, but you can use other colours like orange or green too :)
-For astrology geeks or cool horoscope gifts, you can paint on the stars in the shape of actual constellations.
-Instead of splattering paint, use a white paint marker for less mess and drying time.
-Instead of glow-in-the-dark glitter, which usually comes in tubes and is a bit messy because you need to apply glue and then the glitter goes everywhere - Use glitter glue that comes in tubes. I've seen regular silver and gold glitter as well as the coloured glitter or "pearly" ones that look really great, and glitter glue is also a lot easier for kids to handle.
One last snapshot! Used a sticker on one of the packages I'm sending out today - brown paper, twine, handstamped glassine bag sealed with a nebula sticker and a bit of scrap ribbon. I have an unhealthy obsession with wrapping things. Anyway, I hope the tutorial made sense :)
♥Jasmyn
So I occasionally do things completely unrelated to jewelry, and last night I made a bunch a glow-in-the-dark nebula stickers. Had the foresight to snap pictures while I was doing it, so here's the tutorial to make your own DIY galaxy stickers! :D (I used stickers, but I guess you can use this to paint cards and other things as well.)
Materials needed:
If you don't already have these, they are available at any stationery/craft store. If you live in Singapore, I bought them all from Popular for under SGD$10 altogether.
-Sheet of plain white labels
-Watercolours and brush (I used one of those cheap kiddy trays where you add water to cakes of paint)
-Toothpicks
-Silver paint marker (optional)
-Glue
-Glow-in-the-dark glitter
Difficulty/Time taken:
-Easy, 1 hour
Basically the watercolours do all the work for you, so artistic talent isn't really needed. It's really fun and even kids can do it, and there's a list of tips and modifications at the end of this post on how to make things easier :)
Start with a plain sheet of white labels - any size will do, really. These are 1 1/4" circles
Lay down a quick wash of diluted black paint - work quickly because it dries fast! Don't flood the labels with too much paint, because excess water will make them curl and peel off the backing sheet. And don't worry about leaving small gaps or messy strokes - watercolours are very forgiving :)
To make the stars, load your brush with white paint and flick it off your finger so that it splatters over the stickers. You can use an old toothbrush as well. (If your paint comes off as fat blobs, it's too thick. If it flicks off properly but there's barely any white showing, it's too thin!) If you're not sure, practise on a scrap paper first :)
Tips/Modifications:
-I used pink and blue for the nebula cloud because that's the most common colour, but you can use other colours like orange or green too :)
-For astrology geeks or cool horoscope gifts, you can paint on the stars in the shape of actual constellations.
-Instead of splattering paint, use a white paint marker for less mess and drying time.
-Instead of glow-in-the-dark glitter, which usually comes in tubes and is a bit messy because you need to apply glue and then the glitter goes everywhere - Use glitter glue that comes in tubes. I've seen regular silver and gold glitter as well as the coloured glitter or "pearly" ones that look really great, and glitter glue is also a lot easier for kids to handle.
♥Jasmyn
Labels: DIY, galaxy, glow in the dark, nebula, packaging, stickers, tutorial
5:01 AM
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Oxidising/Antiqing method comparison - Gilder's Paste vs. Liver of Sulphur | Go to post ➜
While on holiday in Hong Kong last year I bought a few pieces of raw brass filigree from a small shop that only sells untreated brass, so I've been trying to find a way to give them the appearance of oxidised brass without having to invest in expensive chemicals or equipment. I think I've found my solution now - in Gilder's Paste. It's a wax based pigment that can be used to permanently colour metals.
Gilder's Paste
I'm very pleased with how fast and effective it is - as you can see below, the original raw brass is in the middle, with an attempt at Liver of Sulphur oxidising on the right, and a piece worked with Gilder's Paste on the left. Liver of Sulphur is not as effective on brass as it is on silver or copper, and only darkens the metal a little - heating the solution and leaving it in for almost an hour produced the piece on the far right, which is more defined than raw brass but nowhere near the look I was going for.
Left: Gilder's Paste
Middle: Raw brass (untreated)
Right: Liver of Sulphur
Gilder's Paste is a bit messy to work with, though you could probably use a cloth or cotton bud to apply it, I like using my fingers. It's a fairly simple process - just pick up a small lump (it has the consistency of soft polishing wax) and rub it into the filigree piece, making sure to get it into all the recesses. Rub excess paste off with a tissue and burnish to highlight the raised portions.
Progress shot
You could probably finish the piece with wax polish or sealant to keep the colour exactly as it is - but since I used only black paste, and want it to look as antiqued as possible, I left it alone to oxidise naturally. The finished piece doesn't actually look exactly like oxidised brass - it has greater "clarity", and looks more sharply detailed, with greater contrast between the blackened parts and the highlights.
Contrast shot
Quite a success, all things considered - I'll probably use this on any raw brass pieces I acquire in the future. The finished piece has a sort of depth and warmth that looks absolutely lovely compared to the untreated one :)
Jewelry aside, I've been listening to the classical covers done by Aston. Utterly gorgeous soundtrack to be working to!
♥JasmynLabels: DIY, Product review
1:52 AM
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Oxidising/Antiqing method comparison - Gilder's Paste vs. Liver of Sulphur | Go to post ➜
While on holiday in Hong Kong last year I bought a few pieces of raw brass filigree from a small shop that only sells untreated brass, so I've been trying to find a way to give them the appearance of oxidised brass without having to invest in expensive chemicals or equipment. I think I've found my solution now - in Gilder's Paste. It's a wax based pigment that can be used to permanently colour metals.
I'm very pleased with how fast and effective it is - as you can see below, the original raw brass is in the middle, with an attempt at Liver of Sulphur oxidising on the right, and a piece worked with Gilder's Paste on the left. Liver of Sulphur is not as effective on brass as it is on silver or copper, and only darkens the metal a little - heating the solution and leaving it in for almost an hour produced the piece on the far right, which is more defined than raw brass but nowhere near the look I was going for.
Gilder's Paste is a bit messy to work with, though you could probably use a cloth or cotton bud to apply it, I like using my fingers. It's a fairly simple process - just pick up a small lump (it has the consistency of soft polishing wax) and rub it into the filigree piece, making sure to get it into all the recesses. Rub excess paste off with a tissue and burnish to highlight the raised portions.
You could probably finish the piece with wax polish or sealant to keep the colour exactly as it is - but since I used only black paste, and want it to look as antiqued as possible, I left it alone to oxidise naturally. The finished piece doesn't actually look exactly like oxidised brass - it has greater "clarity", and looks more sharply detailed, with greater contrast between the blackened parts and the highlights.
Quite a success, all things considered - I'll probably use this on any raw brass pieces I acquire in the future. The finished piece has a sort of depth and warmth that looks absolutely lovely compared to the untreated one :)
Jewelry aside, I've been listening to the classical covers done by Aston. Utterly gorgeous soundtrack to be working to!
♥Jasmyn
Gilder's Paste
I'm very pleased with how fast and effective it is - as you can see below, the original raw brass is in the middle, with an attempt at Liver of Sulphur oxidising on the right, and a piece worked with Gilder's Paste on the left. Liver of Sulphur is not as effective on brass as it is on silver or copper, and only darkens the metal a little - heating the solution and leaving it in for almost an hour produced the piece on the far right, which is more defined than raw brass but nowhere near the look I was going for.
Left: Gilder's Paste
Middle: Raw brass (untreated)
Right: Liver of Sulphur
Middle: Raw brass (untreated)
Right: Liver of Sulphur
Gilder's Paste is a bit messy to work with, though you could probably use a cloth or cotton bud to apply it, I like using my fingers. It's a fairly simple process - just pick up a small lump (it has the consistency of soft polishing wax) and rub it into the filigree piece, making sure to get it into all the recesses. Rub excess paste off with a tissue and burnish to highlight the raised portions.
Progress shot
You could probably finish the piece with wax polish or sealant to keep the colour exactly as it is - but since I used only black paste, and want it to look as antiqued as possible, I left it alone to oxidise naturally. The finished piece doesn't actually look exactly like oxidised brass - it has greater "clarity", and looks more sharply detailed, with greater contrast between the blackened parts and the highlights.
Contrast shot
Quite a success, all things considered - I'll probably use this on any raw brass pieces I acquire in the future. The finished piece has a sort of depth and warmth that looks absolutely lovely compared to the untreated one :)
Jewelry aside, I've been listening to the classical covers done by Aston. Utterly gorgeous soundtrack to be working to!
♥Jasmyn
Labels: DIY, Product review
1:52 AM
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Handmade business card tutorial | Go to post ➜
Business cards a one of the must-have things to remind customers who you are, yet oftentimes people simply pounce on the goodies and toss out the card. I confess I'm one of those unappreciative customers, mostly because I find most business cards tacky/plain/mass-produced/badly-designed. I'll only hang onto a card if it's exceptionally well-designed or handmade - I'm a sucker for thoughtful things like that.
So when I whipped up my new batch of Sodacrush business cards, handmade was definitely the way to go. I don't have time spend creating miniature works of art, but stamping is easy and fast, and makes for a unique handmade card your customers might just hang on to.
My cards:
Materials:
1. Self-arrangeable stamp - Get the biggest one you can, so you can include as much as possible. Mine came with two different sizes of letters, and I arranged it to include my shop name and URL.
2. Accent stamp - Can be anything you want, really - birds on a branch, a pretty floral motif, etc. I went for a lip print because I wanted something bold and simple.
3. Blank business cards and ink - Again, any colour you like.
Arrange the words on your stamp and test it to check alignment etc. My accent stamp is actually a hand-carved kiddy eraser, you can definitely make your own logo if you like.
Stamp on text.
Stamp on accent.
Use corner punch to round off corners - not exactly necessary, but I think it's a nice finishing touch :)
And there you have it - lovely handmade cards, handstamped and far more thoughtful than monochromatic mass-printed cards.
♥JasmynLabels: business cards, DIY, sodacrush, tutorial
8:57 AM
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Handmade business card tutorial | Go to post ➜
Business cards a one of the must-have things to remind customers who you are, yet oftentimes people simply pounce on the goodies and toss out the card. I confess I'm one of those unappreciative customers, mostly because I find most business cards tacky/plain/mass-produced/badly-designed. I'll only hang onto a card if it's exceptionally well-designed or handmade - I'm a sucker for thoughtful things like that.
So when I whipped up my new batch of Sodacrush business cards, handmade was definitely the way to go. I don't have time spend creating miniature works of art, but stamping is easy and fast, and makes for a unique handmade card your customers might just hang on to.
Materials:
1. Self-arrangeable stamp - Get the biggest one you can, so you can include as much as possible. Mine came with two different sizes of letters, and I arranged it to include my shop name and URL.
2. Accent stamp - Can be anything you want, really - birds on a branch, a pretty floral motif, etc. I went for a lip print because I wanted something bold and simple.
3. Blank business cards and ink - Again, any colour you like.
Arrange the words on your stamp and test it to check alignment etc. My accent stamp is actually a hand-carved kiddy eraser, you can definitely make your own logo if you like.
Stamp on text.
Stamp on accent.
Use corner punch to round off corners - not exactly necessary, but I think it's a nice finishing touch :)
And there you have it - lovely handmade cards, handstamped and far more thoughtful than monochromatic mass-printed cards.
♥Jasmyn
So when I whipped up my new batch of Sodacrush business cards, handmade was definitely the way to go. I don't have time spend creating miniature works of art, but stamping is easy and fast, and makes for a unique handmade card your customers might just hang on to.
My cards:
Materials:
1. Self-arrangeable stamp - Get the biggest one you can, so you can include as much as possible. Mine came with two different sizes of letters, and I arranged it to include my shop name and URL.
2. Accent stamp - Can be anything you want, really - birds on a branch, a pretty floral motif, etc. I went for a lip print because I wanted something bold and simple.
3. Blank business cards and ink - Again, any colour you like.
Arrange the words on your stamp and test it to check alignment etc. My accent stamp is actually a hand-carved kiddy eraser, you can definitely make your own logo if you like.
Stamp on text.
Stamp on accent.
Use corner punch to round off corners - not exactly necessary, but I think it's a nice finishing touch :)
And there you have it - lovely handmade cards, handstamped and far more thoughtful than monochromatic mass-printed cards.
♥Jasmyn
Labels: business cards, DIY, sodacrush, tutorial
8:57 AM
Friday, April 1, 2011
Motivational inspirational matchbox handmade diy gift | Go to post ➜
MOTIVATIONAL MATCHBOXES.
(in 10 easy steps!)
Pretty, no? :D This is a really quick walk through of how to make these simple matchbox gifts for a friend! All you need is some imagination, and lots of love ♥
1. Start with a plain matchbox. (I made my own using this template)
2. Take a sheet of decorative paper. You can use scrapbook paper, but I decided to go simple and use a grid lined paper from a notebook.
3. Trace out the shape of your matchbox tray.
4. For this, I decided I wanted a pop-up 'STAR' to be part of the quote, so I cut two small pieces of craft foam, smaller than my sticker.
5. Mark out the placement of the quote with pencil.
6. Ink with pen, let dry. Erase pencil marks.
7. Double-sided tape, stack up and stick foam cut-outs.
8. Place sticker to complete 3D effect!
9. Cut out quote.
10. Trim to fit matchbox tray. Glue into tray.
For the cover, I just glued a strip of grid paper around the cover and put a matching star sticker on it :)
And there you have it! Quick, simple, and something meaningful that will definitely brighten up anyone's day. You can put in quotes that mean something to you and your loved one, or even tiny trinkets or mementos of a special trip.
♥JasmynLabels: DIY, handmade, matchbox, motivational, tutorial
9:21 AM
Friday, April 1, 2011
Motivational inspirational matchbox handmade diy gift | Go to post ➜
MOTIVATIONAL MATCHBOXES.
(in 10 easy steps!)
(in 10 easy steps!)
Pretty, no? :D This is a really quick walk through of how to make these simple matchbox gifts for a friend! All you need is some imagination, and lots of love ♥
1. Start with a plain matchbox. (I made my own using this template)
2. Take a sheet of decorative paper. You can use scrapbook paper, but I decided to go simple and use a grid lined paper from a notebook.
3. Trace out the shape of your matchbox tray.
4. For this, I decided I wanted a pop-up 'STAR' to be part of the quote, so I cut two small pieces of craft foam, smaller than my sticker.
5. Mark out the placement of the quote with pencil.
6. Ink with pen, let dry. Erase pencil marks.
7. Double-sided tape, stack up and stick foam cut-outs.
8. Place sticker to complete 3D effect!
9. Cut out quote.
10. Trim to fit matchbox tray. Glue into tray.
For the cover, I just glued a strip of grid paper around the cover and put a matching star sticker on it :)And there you have it! Quick, simple, and something meaningful that will definitely brighten up anyone's day. You can put in quotes that mean something to you and your loved one, or even tiny trinkets or mementos of a special trip.
♥Jasmyn
Labels: DIY, handmade, matchbox, motivational, tutorial
9:21 AM
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About ★
Currently on HIATUS but leaving this blog up for those who are still looking at old tutorials/process shots :) Will be back one day maybe!
About ★
Currently on HIATUS but leaving this blog up for those who are still looking at old tutorials/process shots :) Will be back one day maybe!