Hi guys!
Day 1 of 365! Happy New Year to everyone! All my best wishes to all! Here's hoping that 2020 is going to be a really great year for all of us. It's a new day, new beginning, a fresh start!
Said my good-byes yesterday to 2019 and even though I wish I could have accomplish more, I'm still thankful for what I have accomplished in 2019. So today I'm just going to talk about my TOP NINE most favourite of 2019!
To start off, I want to talk about the quilling flowers first! There were 2 quilling flowers I created last year that I was so happy about. They both have that vortex twist to them which a lot of people were interested in and wanted to learn how to make. I'm glad I could make video tutorials on them and share them on my YouTube channel for all to view and learn from. I gained more quilling fans from these flowers too! Because it was something new and exciting for them to learn. The Triangle Twist quilling flower was my favourite between the two. I made more of that compared to the Teardrop Swirl quilling flower. At first it was just a single colour, then three colours and the last was rainbow colours! I just had to make it in rainbow colours, LOL! Just because I love the colours of the rainbow a lot. I never actually made a card with them until later in the year because earlier on I was not in the best of health, so I was more focused on making a lot of quilling stock instead of creating something with them.
I also did a lot of stitching on my handmade cards last year. Like a lot!! Haha!! And yes, I'll be doing more of that in 2020 too. Watch out for that. It's just so therapeutic and it's something I enjoy doing during commercial breaks while watching TV! Not a time wasted in a day guys! LOL! :D It's not like I never stitch on cards before but last year, I went all out man! Like really came out of my comfort zone to stitch like I've never stitched before. And it was all worth it. I learned something new from that experience too. It was great! To be honest, one of the reasons why at one point in my life last year I stitched a lot on paper was because of my ill health. I was spending most of the time lying down. So stitching was a lot easier to do at the time. Not a lot of tools needed and I could basically do it anywhere in the house. I don't really need a special place to do it. Since I didn't like to waste time doing nothing and crying about my ill health, I turned to sewing to keep me sane. Because I can't imagine a day without creating something artistic with my hands. I didn't have the energy to knit or crochet at the time....but sewing on a small piece of paper was enough to make me happy.
Still on the stitching subject, I tried the string art for the first time last year. Man... there's just so much to explore with this one. I've only managed to try two types of string art and I can't wait to do more in 2020. Just like stitching on cards, with string art, I could use different types of thread and yarn too to sew different string patterns on paper. I did managed to make a video tutorial on my YouTube channel for the square string art and it was because so many of my followers requested me to do so. Usually people would do string art on a piece of board with nails. But I don't fancy doing that and prefer to do it on paper instead. If there is a possible method to alternatively do string art on paper, then I'll do it on paper because I just love working with paper! ;) Yay to all paper lovers out there! :D
One good news for me in 2019, was when I was offered to do product reviews for 2 companies at the same time! One from Malaysia and the other from China. And to my surprise after the first review I did for both companies, I was offered again by them for the second time in December of 2019! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do the review immediately in December because to make a review actually takes a lot of time and so, therefore I'll be doing it in January 2020 instead. So watch out for those two reviews this month! ;) I love doing reviews for both companies, so I hope to be able to do more in 2020 if given another opportunity. I can't really choose which product review I love doing most because each one has it's own specialty. But as a designer, the review I did for the craft products really suits me the best because it's what I deal with almost every day. Getting free craft products is like a dream come true for me and also for a lot of crafters out there. I've had the opportunity given to me years ago, so it was nice to get it again last year.
There was one thing that I discovered on YouTube that really blew my mind in 2019 and that was the stamping tool! For many years I've had issues with stamping that was unresolved until I saw this stamping tool that could solve all the issues that had been lingering in my mind for years. I never knew that someone invented the wonderful MISTI tool a few years ago.....never heard of it here in Malaysia. But thank God for the internet, now I know! And I even made a DIY video tutorial on my YouTube channel on how to make the stamping tool that actually works really well for me. I really love the stamping tool a lot and ever since I made it, I've been stamping almost every other day! Thank God I didn't sell off my stamps and gave up on stamping! Life is beautiful when one can stamp again! LOL! :D
Ok, still on the subject of stamping....with stamps, I was able to stamp images that I could quill on! Yes, that pink red roses on the photo above says it all. The minute I quilled on the stamped rose, the rose looks so much more exciting to me. And that gave me an idea of what I want to try next in 2020. Stamping and quilling together! Hope to be able to do that! :)
Last but not least.....knitting. The last topic of 2019. I started knitting like mad in 2017. Clueless yet hyper excited about it at first. Was willing to go through lengths to get the tools and yarn anywhere in Alor Setar or outside my state. Anyways, I started knitting a shrug that year but was only able to complete it last December. It was a tough journey but I was persistent. I never gave up on it. This first shrug is actually for my Mom. Made it with a special yarn I bought from Pinky Frog Shop. I really love the dot yarn a lot. It's so soft and comfy. It's definitely one of the best yarns I've worked with. As if I've worked with a lot of yarns already! LOL! I'm just a beginner! Yes, I have not worked with many varieties but the dot yarn is one of my favourites. I can't believe that after two years, the shrug is done! I did combined the knitted shrug with some crochet finishing. I do have another knitted shrug that I need to complete. That one is for me! Haha! Of course I will make one for myself too right?? But I'm using a different type of yarn for that one and it's not as heavy as the one I made for my Mom. Can't wait to finish knitting that one this year. Hope that is possible because I do have another project that has been postponed for too long. So that's two in the oven. Who knows maybe I can get both done by year end! ;)
OK! That's all I think is worth mentioning about from my crafty life in 2019! Let's create more and write new exciting stories of our adventures in arts and crafts in 2020. Let the fun begin!:)
