My first hand knitted shrug!!

Last blog post for 2019! Alhamdulillah, finally get to blog about this knitted shrug I made for my Mom. Started this project about 2 years ago when I first fell in love with knitting. I did a couple of knitted shawls for my friends and then I wanted to make something that I could wear and that's how I ended up knitting a shrug which is the most simple outerwear for newbies like me! I am clueless when it comes to reading or following a pattern for knitting or crochet so since knitting a shrug does not involve reading a pattern so, it was an easy choice for me to make at the time.

I used the dot yarn to make this shrug which was perfect because it is so soft and comfy. Easy to knit with as well. I really enjoyed knitting with it. Will definitely get more of it in future. This shrug is actually a mix of knitting and crochet. I crochet the finishing to make it look more neat. 

My Mom loved it, I actually made this shrug for her as a birthday gift. Managed to complete it before her birthday this time! Yay! :D She's been waiting for it for so long.

I have one more shrug to complete and this time it is actually for me but I'm using a different type of yarn and it is a lot less thick compared to the dot yarn. Not sure when I can finish it though....hopefully I can complete it before 2021. I started knitting it about the same time as I knitted for my Mom. But I decided to complete my Mother's shrug first as I wanted her to have it for her 70th birthday. 

I can't believe today is the last day of 2019. I feel like I haven't completed a lot of things this year. I really hope my health will improve a lot more next year so that I can do more. That's all I hope for every year. To create and share more of what I love with everyone around the world. In Shaa Allah....may Allah fulfill all my wishes....aminn.

How to sew Square String Art on paper - Craft Tutorial

Hello there!

I have another craft video tutorial for you this month! Yay! Probably the last one before the year ends. I have a few more videos to make and one in the making but I'm not sure if I can get them done before 2020 arrives. There's just so much to do before the new year and I'm just trying to find some balance in it all. I don't want to stress myself too much.

Anyways! Back to the subject! Haha! Yes, I have been getting a lot of requests from my followers ever since I blogged about the Square String Art Quilling birthday card I made recently. They wanted to learn how to sew the Square String Art on paper like that. Well....I just had to do a tutorial for them....I can't leave them hanging like that right? Gotta pass the knowledge to those who want to learn new things. 

I used a big square frame die as a guide to sew the square string art. I'm sure a lot of people out there who don't own one. So for those who don't have it, you can make the holes for stitching yourself just by piercing the holes with a needle all around the square paper. Just cut a square shape paper with the measurement I gave in the video tutorial, and then you have to measure the spaces between the holes so that the spaces equally spread out around the square.

I haven't the chance to make a lot of these although I do want to so badly. Especially using other colours and combinations. Can't wait to try that out. Hope you will too! It's easy once you know how to do it. So let's do it together! ;)  Happy crafting guys! Enjoy the video! 

Square string art on a quilling birthday card

Hello everyone!

Yes! I have another birthday card to share with you today. This time around I tried the square string art technique! Been wanting to do this one for quite some time now. Many more I wish to try out soon! 

I used white glittered yarn to do the string art technique and it was easy because the square die already have holes that I can sew through it. As always I learned how to do it from YouTube tutorials. There's so many to learn from. 

I also used dies from In Love Art Shop for this card, one is the big square die which I used to do the string art with and the other one is the arrow die for the birthday sentiment. Love them both! ;)

The quilling Fan Flowers was fun to make! I haven't made any for a long time so to do it again recently brought back good memories! I do have a video tutorial on how to make them so you can check it out at my YouTube Quilling Tutorials playlist :).

I made this birthday card for my Aunt Noraini and I also made a personalised mug which I ordered from Printcious.  I love customizing mugs with Printcious. It's so easy to do it and their service is good too! :)

Had fun celebrating her birthday today, chatting and eating with good company is always a good thing and I'm happy that I get the chance to do that today with her, my Mom and her family. May God bless her always with good health and a happy life.

If you are interested to learn how to sew the Square String Art on paper too, do check out the video below. I've also attached here a video of how to make the Quilling Fan Flower, like the ones I made for the birthday card. Happy quilling and crafting!

How to make your own stamping tool | CHEAP and EASY!!

Hello everyone!

I'm so excited to share with you about this diy stamping tool I just made! This really helped me with stamping again. I rarely stamp anymore but with this new tool I'm stamping like crazy once again! LOL! I have a lot of collection of clear stamps that I bought or received from friends over the years and recently I'm getting free clear stamps from a craft company, so I am thrilled that I can use them now and decorate the stamped images on my handmade cards!

A lot of people are so hyped about the MISTI Stamp Tool that's available in the market. I love it too! I've seen a lot of crafters online using it to stamp images for their handmade cards. But since it's super expensive to buy, that's why I decided to make my own. Hopefully one day I can afford to buy a good quality stamping tool like that.

Most crafters face the same problem when it comes to stamping images on paper. We never seem to get enough amount of ink the first time we stamp a particular image. But layering the image with an inked stamp again and again might spoil the image if you don't have a steady hand. So that's why it's every crafters dream to have that stamping tool. Luckily we have an alternative to that now!

Hope you will check out the video tutorial I made and have an idea of how I made the diy stamping tool so you can make one yourself! Thank you for watching! And have fun stamping!

Spirelli or Dutch String Art on card!

Hello everyone!

I'm absolutely in love with this Spirelli or Dutch String Art that I've just tried for the first time a few days ago. Been wanting to try this technique for quite some time now because it's a super easy technique that everyone can do and the result is pretty awesome when used as a decorative little embellishments on scrapbook pages and cards ! All there is to do is wind the thread, string or yarn around the circle scalloped shaped die cut or star shaped die cut. I really had fun with this one. One thing great about it is that you don't need special tools to make it other than the dies and the die cut machine. If you don't have a die cut machine, then you can trace the shapes onto card stock and cut them out with scissors. Just remember that the shapes must be symmetrical in shape with scallops or points.

I learned how to do this technique from a few crafters on YouTube. Didn't realize how easy it was to do this until I saw the tutorials. Since then I have been "SPIRELLING" non stop! LOL! At the moment I've only been doing it on the circle scallops die cuts. It is also possible to do it on oval shapes, triangles or squares. But since I only have the circle scallops die cuts, I just focus on that shape for now. 

I used this technique to embellish a birthday card that I made for my ex school teacher, Cikgu Sabariah, who is also my Mother's good friend. She was super happy about receiving the customized mug from PRINTCIOUS and the birthday card.

If I'm not mistaken, Cikgu Sabariah and my Mom have known each other since 1972! That's a pretty long time! They always celebrate their birthdays together and I am always in charge of making the birthday cards, hahaha! :D Her birthday was actually in August but they decided to celebrate it in November because she, my Mom and her other good friend wanted to celebrate all their birthdays on one selected date since her friend has not for been well for almost a year now. They are all retired school teachers :). 

If you wish to learn how to make the flower that you see on the card, do hit the play button on the video below to learn how to make your own Triangle Twist Quilling flower. And for those who are interested to purchase the Happy Birthday dies that I used for the card, then click on the link below the photo. Apply the discount code ----> FSAZLINA to get 15% off. Worldwide shipping if you have orders over more than $25.00 at their website. Ok!Thank you so much! :)

Happy Birthday Decor Edge Dies

SKU: DMZH337

http://bit.ly/2WB0qzY

Blue baby boy card

Hello again!

I wanted to share with you guys another handmade card I designed that's made mostly using dies from In Love Arts Shop. Basically the card was very easy to make since all I had to do was just cut the selected papers with the dies and paste them on the card. No special skills needed to make this card, LOL! :D It's just a matter of choosing the right colour of papers that goes well with each other, cut them up and arrange them in an artistic manner.  

Stitched Note Tags Dies

SKU: DMZH621

http://bit.ly/2WyiUkg

English Letters Alphabet Dies

SKU: DMZH194

http://bit.ly/2WudYNy

Hollow Star Frame Dies

SKU: DMZH436

http://bit.ly/36r9hbJ

Arrows Tag Dies

United States

SKU: DMZH075

http://bit.ly/336lf8M

The photos above are all the dies I got from In Love Arts Shop and I selected some pieces from these dies to be used for the card. As mentioned in my previous posts, I have no problem at all with all the dies I received. They all cut really well just like any other branded dies I've bought before. I really love how the "new" and "boy" words look like in this card. In my previous post where I first used the die cut letters, I was not that good at joining the die cut letters together, but after much practice, I got the hang of it and managed to make the letters join together like they are supposed to be thus looking like hand lettering technique. I love that!

Basically, if I wanted to make the same design for a baby girl, all I have to do is just use a colour combination that's more suitable for a baby girl and also change the word boy to girl. I love simple card designs like this one where I can play around with different colours but maintain the same layout. :)

If you guys are interested to get yourself the same dies you see here, do click on the links that I placed under each photo of dies above. Apply the code : FSAZLINA when making the purchase to get 15% off every purchase. Worldwide free shipping on orders over USD25.00. 

This way you can recreate the same design that I made here by using your own choice of patterned papers make it your own by adding your personal touch to it. Whatever it may be, just have fun making your handmade cards, because when you have fun, that's when the magic happens! ;)

Rainbow coloured birthday card

Hello everyone!

Here's another stitched card I made for the craft product review recently. The arrow tag die cut is made using the arrow tag die I received from In Love Arts Shop. I've been wanting to get me that arrow tag die for the longest time. LOL! I don't know why but I just love to use that arrow tag for my handmade cards. I used to cut my own arrow for my handmade cards but why cut it myself when I can use a die for it right?? It looks so much better too compared to the one I made on my own. There's something about cutting with dies that is just so much more professional looking I suppose. I'm sure a lot of people would agree with me on that. :D

If you guys are interested to purchase the dies I used for this card, do click on the links I placed below the photos of the dies. Apply the code : FSAZLINA when you make the purchase to get 15% off every purchase. Worldwide free shipping for orders over $25! Thank you so much! J

Arrows Tag Dies

United States

SKU: DMZH075

http://bit.ly/336lf8M

What I love most about this card would have to be the rainbow coloured background made by stitching several coloured embroidery threads on the card. I sometimes gets confused when stitching because there's too many colours involved, LOL! Great thing about stitched backgrounds is that when the stitches itself is already covering a big portion of the card, there won't be a lot to do other than adding just a simple touch to complete the design. Which in this case, I just added a flower and some leaves plus a sentiment. Done! 

I don't have a tutorial for the rainbow stitches but I do have quilling tutorials for the leaves and the flower. But not a rainbow flower though, it's the same quilling flower design but with different colours. You'll get the idea how it's done when you view the tutorial. Do check out the videos below! Thank you so much for watching :).

Rainbow heart pop up card

Hi there!

I'm blogging again today about one of the cards that I made using dies from In Love Arts Shop. I love this one especially because it has a pop up heart inside.

I've made a rainbow heart card like this previously but this one is a little different because the quilling rainbow heart has many more loops than the one I did in the tutorial. A bit more complicated and time consuming as well. I didn't really enjoyed myself making this one, LOL! It maybe my last time making it hehehe!

Anyways, I did however love doing the cross stitch! I think this pattern suits the card the best. Love stitches like that on cards. It's simple and pretty. Pretty simple to sew too.

Of course the die cut letters are the best! It was a little harder to cut that gold glittered paper because it was really thick but managed to cut it after rolling it through the die cut machine 4 to 5 times. The glitters made it difficult to cut through easily. But I really love the results. Really suits the card. I purposely glued the letters on a coloured plastic sheet so that it would look like the letters are floating on the card.

The pop up is just a simple one. I didn't want to make it too complicated. It's a small card anyways. Not much space to do a complicated pop up there. I made sure the heart pops on the left so that there's a lot of space to write wishes on the right side of the card. If you wish to learn how to make that pop up, do let me know so that I can do that tutorial for you.

If you guys are interested to purchase the dies I used for this card, do click on the links I placed below the photos of the dies. Apply the code : FSAZLINA when you make the purchase to get 15% off every purchase. Worldwide free shipping for orders over $25! Thank you so much! 

English Letters Alphabet Dies

SKU: DMZH194

http://bit.ly/2WudYNy

Love You Heart Arrow Decoration Dies

SKU: DMZH186

http://bit.ly/2ozWlPJ

Blue stitched card with blue quilling flower

Hello everyone!

I am excited to share with you today this handmade card because it has both the things that I love doing which are stitching on cards and quilling! 

I made that quilling flower a while ago but never used it for any of my handmade cards until recently when I got that happy birthday die from In Love Arts.

The various stitches on the card was made earlier too when I was experimenting with different yarns and threads for stitching on paper. It's like a stitch sample kinda method. I really love the results and it's a great method to use if you have many leftover yarns or threads that you can't use anymore for big projects but they're just enough for decorating on a card. 

The paper I used for the happy birthday die cut was given to me by a friend in USA long time ago and it was perfect to use with the die. It has this thick shiny like glaze on the paper with some glitters on it too. When cut, it looks like I heat embossed it! LOL! Love it! 

Although it looks like a simple card to make but actually it's not! It super time consuming and difficult to make especially the quilling flower. I love the big quilling flower but it sucks the energy out of me. So I can't make a lot of it at any one time. You can learn how to make it from the video below.

This is an easy card to assemble once all the stitching and quilling is done. I wouldn't mind making it again with a different colour combination. :)

I gave this card to my Aunty Hamidah who is my Mother's good friend  since primary school. We're good friends with her family as well. So we go way back. She is such a darling. Love her! :)

String art on quilling card

Hello everyone!

Here's another card I showcased in my recent YouTube video where I used one of the dies that I received from In Love Arts Shop. 

I really love this banner type of die as I don't have to think much about writing the sentiment/wishes. when I want to make a handmade card. I just cut the paper with the die and paste it on the card and it's done! The die is sharp too, can cut a 230gsm paper easily with my Sizzix Big Shot die cutting machine.

I tried applying string art on my handmade card this time around, using it as a background decoration for the quilling flower. I really love the effect! Especially since I used a glitter type of yarn that makes it even more attractive. 

I definitely can make more of this card in different colours. I love making simple and fast cards in smaller sizes nowadays because it's easier for me to handle. I am just not into making overly complicated ones at the moment. Maybe when my health has improved a lot, then maybe I'll consider it.

If you would like to learn how to make this card, just let me know in the comment section below. I'm thinking of making handmade cards tutorials, so I would like to know what card designs you wish to learn from me. Let me know your thoughts!

And...if you wish to learn how to make the quilling flower on this card, just click on the video below to find out how. The flower in the video is in a different colour but I'm sure you'll  understand how it's done once you've watched it. :)

Simple Hello card using square vortex coils

Hello everyone!

Gosh, can't tell you how great the feeling is to make square vortex coils again this year. It's been years since I made any. The last time I made multi-coloured squre vortex coils, I used shredded papers and the results were not as good as I would like them to be. I was lazy to cut them properly back then and the manual paper shredding machine was an easy and cheap way for me to make quilling papers. To make vortex coils, I believe that we should use standard commercial quilling papers or we cut the papers using a good paper cutting machine. I cut my papers using craft knife and a metal ruler. I don't enjoy doing that but it works for now. Then the design of the vortex can be clearly seen and admired. 

For this Hello card I made recently, I had the opportunity to use standard quilling papers that I got from In Love Arts Shop. So I didn't have to cut any papers to make the quilling papers for this one. The paper itself is a little thicker than the type of paper I use to make my quilling creations. Usually I use 80gsm A4 papers. But this quilling paper is probably 90gsm or 100gsm perhaps, I'm not sure because the weight of the paper is not written on the packaging. So I have no clue. 

I've never actually used my square vortex coils as decorations on my handmade cards before. I used to make so many of them and kept them in a box. But from now onwards, I want to explore more of what I can make with them, starting with this Hello card. My first try.

Since I only got one pack of quilling papers from In Love Arts Shop, I didn't get the chance to make a lot of square vortex coils with it. I'll experiment more with my own quilling papers to make more square vortex coils. I already have a few ideas I want to try out for my handmade cards.

I've been making a lot of smaller size handmade cards lately. No energy to make bigger ones. Small ones are easier to handle and gets done faster I would say. I need to make a lot of cards soon for birthdays so smaller cards is a better choice. :)

If you wish to learn how to make your own square vortex coils, do check out my quilling tutorial at the video below. Thank you!