The Hunt for Mason Jars etc.

Hi, my name is Ryn, and I'm addicted to glass jars. It's true. I indulged again today when I purchased yet another set of Mason jars (the cute short one on the far right)! In this post, I'm going to indulge myself even more by TALKING about buying jars. It's like having your cake and eating it too!

Say hello to my precious lovelies. From the left:

1. The Vintage Coke Bottle 

2. The Milk Bottle 

3. The Ball Mason Jar (Pint Size)

4. The Pudding Cup

5. The Ball Collection Elite Mason Jar (Half pint)

I don't know if this is common knowledge but the only place in K.L. where I have been to find a true Mason Jar, is ACE Hardware. ACE sells a small range of Ball brand jars in several shapes and sizes. They're beautiful and hardy and amazingly photogenic. They're also crazy expensive for little pieces of glass. For a carton of 12 Pint Sized Mason Jars, you'll fork out RM90 (something!) . For a set of 4 half-pint sized Elite Mason Jars (right), you'll begrudgingly pay RM42.90. Compare this with my little glass Pudding Cup (left), purchased from QualityPack a small shop lot in Puchong, which costs no more than 30sen/piece. 

Why then would I purchase a Mason Jar you ask?

Well, first, a Ball Mason jar is made out of a much sturdier glass which can withstand most oven baking and freezing without cracking. So far, I've made baked macaroni and chocolate lava cake in my jars without any incidents. They're also perfect for storing homemade ice cream. Meanwhile, the lady at QualityPack advised me not to bake their glass jars unless maybe in a waterbath but I'm too chicken to try. And second, LOOK AT IT! It's sooo pretttyyyyyyy! I rest my case.

Having said that though, these non-branded glass jars have served me well too. The Vintage Coke Bottle (left) I've used for parties to serve individual portions of drinks. The Pudding Cup (right) is great for desserts that don't need to be baked like Chocolate Mousse, homemade beauty products and gifting. Both these glasses are from QualityPack and didn't cost more than 50sen each. They also come in many different sizes so are very versatile. The downside is that you'll have to purchase a minimum of 20 or 30 at a time.

Read this post for details on where to get the Milk Bottle (center).

My Pint Sized Mason Jar in action. It's carrying some homemade chocolate ice cream all ready to be gifted.

Here are the addresses and contact numbers of where to get these jars and more:

QualityPack

No. 52, Jalan Puchong Mesra 1,

Plaza Puchong, Batu 7 1/2 Jalan Puchong,
58200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: +60 3 80763800
Fax: +60 3 80753687

Ace Hardware

Check out their website to find a store near you. I bought mine from the Publika branch but I would call ahead to check if they have the size you're looking for as they often have limited quantities of each type or they may bring in new ones.

DIY: Graphic Tee

I did another one! This time for myself. I bought a Tshirt from Forever 21 again (only RM19) and got out my sharpies. It hardly needs explanation but a step-by-step follows nonetheless:

Le T-shirt and le markers de fabrique.

With Tshirts that are too opaque to trace on, start with a practice draft. Place it on the shirt and position it until satisfied.

A close-up for good measure. 

I usually do a light outline first before going over it again. 

Tip: buy a t-shirt with tight knits rather than loose knits. The softer and stretchier the Tee the more bleed and the more difficult to get crisp lines on.

The finished product: A geeky tee for the social scientist is all of us. I added a box around the words. You may notice that its also slightly off-centred. damn.

Tip: Don't draw it off-centre!!!! Also, try to make sure the pattern is smaller than your chest area so that it's visible at all times.

DIY: Fabric Marker Gifts

Over Christmas I did a few of these personalised T-shirts with Sharpie fabric markers and they turned out great! So easy to do and perfect for when you need something personalised but haven't had time to shop. Most of these only take about 20 minutes to do and that's with my non-existent drawing skills.

This was for a friend of mine who is getting married soon! The plain cotton tote is from MUJI and I can't remember exactly but I think it only cost about RM4 on average depending on the size. The fabric Sharpies you can get from almost any stationery or craft store. I bought mine from Art Friend and Popular Bookstore. They come in a set of 4 colours and cost about RM17 a set.

You can freehand it or draw (with a regular sharpie) on a piece of paper first. Some T-shirts are too thick for the paper to show through so you'll have to freehand and hope it all turns out OK.

                             

Place the piece of paper and something thick inside the bag and trace. The marker does seep through sometimes so the backing is a must. Lefties will know why I'm tracing upside down.

It's probably best to press the design with a hot iron to "seal" in the ink but there's no indication on the package that you have to.

I don't know how to match colours without making things look tacky so I almost always go with black. I like these markers because the tip is brush like and very fine so its possible to do very detailed drawings like this cartoon ball-and-chain.

DIY Jewelled Sweatshirt

A while ago I became obsessed with rhinestones. Not the cheap plasticy ones they're always using on clothing at department stores but the real, sparkly, jewellery quality rhinestones. I looked at a few craft stores in KL and PJ but in the end I purchased mine from China via Ali Express. The price was not so much different than purchasing the acrylic ones here (sometimes cheaper compared to stores selling them in packets of 5 or 6) but the quality was so much better. 

Here is an easy DIY to bejewel (be-rhinestone?) your sweatshirt with rhinestones that look 100x more expensive than those you'll find in a mid-range store.

You'll need:

A sweatshirt (I bought mine from H&M for RM49.90)

Rhinestones of different shapes/sizes preferably 

Needle and Thread

Scissors 

Fabric Chalk (optional - you can just wing it)

First lemme show you the stones up close. This photo doesn't really do it justice, but can you see how the light catches it at different angles? At night if you move them around slowly they refract light almost like a disco ball. I'm not an expert on rhinestones but looking at these, I feel certain that they are not acrylic. The acrylic ones in the store are much less shiny and they usually have scratches on them that can add to the dull look. Blegh!

When searching for these on Ali Express, I specifically looked for crystal rhinestones (not acrylic or glass) and I wanted them set in this way with the claws so I looked for sew on and claw setting. In the end I paid something like RM65* for 200 rhinestones including shipping. 

The first step is to spend some time marvelling at your beautiful stones and arrange (and rearrange and rerearrange) them onto your sweatshirt. When you're satisfied with the design then mark some guides with the chalk. Another way to do this is to stick them down with some fabric glue before sewing but I didn't.

The next step is just to hand sew them on one by one. This can be a tedious process. I sew them on individually instead of stringing them all on one thread to avoid puckering and minimise the risk of losing rhinestones.

In the photo above, I'm just showing you how the needle goes through the little holes in the claw setting. You would of course normally sew from the wrong side of the garment up.

Done! You can barely see the white thread.

If you want to order these same rhinestones, follow the links below. The store name is Yiwu XinZun Crystal Accessories on Ali Express.

Mixed Colours Rectangle Crystal: 
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/100pcs-lot-6x8mm-Mix-Color-Crystal-Rhinestones-Rectangular-Octagon-Glass-With-Metal-Claw-Settings-Sewing-On/1591561772.html

Clear Coloured Oval Crystal: 
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Wholesale-5x10mm100pcs-lot-Flatback-Clear-Marquise-Crystal-Diamond-With-Metal-Claws-Settings-4-Holes-Sew-On/1811471669.html

Spotlight Haul

This week Spotlight, an Australian bed, bath and craft superstore, opened their first store in Malaysia. No biggie... just 50% discounts on sewing machines that's all. 

Needless to say, I shopped. The place is amazing for craft supplies especially for those into sewing. I bought two types of scuba (neoprene?) fabric that I've been seeing everywhere and hopefully will make these into something wearable. I don't know how to sew but I've been thinking about learning and getting a simple sewing machine for a while now.This sewing machine normally costs over RM800; I purchased it for RM549 :O

I'm thinking though that some things are pretty pricey maybe because they bring in aussie brands. Thank goodness for the SALE! 

Things I would get here: 

Fabric (they have a more modern prints and fabric selection than places like Kamdar)

Party supplies (they have a bigger selection of cute things like chinese takeout boxes and cheap things like paper straws for RM8/20pc)

Assorted washi tape, ribbon, twine packs 

Things I would not get here:

Certain basic art supplies (some things like Mod Podge and Stretched Canvases are cheaper at Art Friend*)

Bed and Bath supplies (mainly because I think IKEA is cheaper and I don't mind their quality)

*I saw a sign that said they would match the price of any item found to be cheaper elsewhere. Need to check if this is true for all items or just the fabric.

I have so much hope for this fabric. Please be wonderful.

Assorted ribbon packs with all the mandatory colours and patterns.

Washi tape! Really good price I think.

More ribbon and baker's twine packs. 

My 1.5 metre cut of Scuba Knit in a bright aqua blue.

Iron-on patches. Probably the most adorable and overpriced thing we bought. 

DIY: Canvas Art

A friend of mine is moving into a new apartment so I made her a housewarming gift! Her job requires a lot of creativity so I thought this would be a nice addition to her room. This project was super easy and took only one night to complete (with the help of my sister). It looks so good against my blackboard wall :( Must make one for myself too.

First things first, off to the craft store! We bought a 18x18 inch stretched canvas, Mod Podge, a bottle of regular craft glue, and a sponge applicator. I think we paid around...RM50 total? Mod Podge is a little expensive and I couldn't find my last bottle so I had to get a new one. If you have glue and Mod Podge already though then the canvases are a fair price. Our large one cost probably RM26 +-.

I was paranoid about using pencil on the canvas in case it wouldn't rub off so I drew out my letters on artblock first, cut them out and then arranged them on the canvas. When I was happy with the positions I stuck each letter down with a layer of Mod Podge. Somehow I still wasn't careful enough and if you look closely you'll see that it's slightly off-center and tilted. Boo. Next time I'll use a ruler.

Once the artblock guides are stuck down its just a matter of sticking layer upon layer of newspaper (or whatever filler you have around) until you get to the thickness desired. You can also just start with the book shreds but I wasn't sure at first if I wanted to use book pages or magazine pages so I did something neutral to fill it out. 

At this stage, I use the cheaper regular craft glue. Shred - Glue - Stick - Repeat.

How many layers of paper you do depends on the thickness you want. I wanted a little 3-D effect but got lazy after a while so I think we ended up doing three layers of newspaper and two layers of book shreds. If you want a more embossed look then more layers, MORE LAYERRRRSSS I SAY!

Once the last layer of book shreds was done, I covered everything in a layer of Mod Podge using the sponge applicator. The photo above was taken just after and you can see that it's glossy and the pages have a white-ish coat over them. I made sure to coat the edges too so that all the letters are extra secure and sealed in. 

Overnight, the whole thing hardens and dries clear.

My sister says that there's no order in decoupage but I disagree. Certain words or fonts you can pick out and place strategically for effect. Also, I found that it looked much more cohesive when I worked from one corner to another instead of randomly pasting all over and then going to patch the holes later.

Pretty...

This project was not only easy to do, it can be made so many different ways. My sister and I had so many ideas, like using our old Archie comics and Harry Potter books. In the end we decided against ripping apart good books though so we used some old old cheesy horror/sci fi books instead. Next time.

We bought our supplies at Art Friend. They have one of the largest craft supplies selections in KL.

Art Friend
Lot T-213, Level 3
The Gardens, Mid Valley
Opening Hours: 10am - 10pm
Tel: 03- 2284 7777

Earl Grey & Caramel Macarons

My third try making macarons. The first time - total disaster. The second time was better but I was so tired I didn't fill them. This time was okaaay. They're no TWG Macarons but after all that hard work I thought I should at least take some photos.

The hardest part - blending the almond pieces into almost powder consistency. WHY does no one sell Almond Flour in Malaysia??

Earl Grey tea leaves give the batter an interesting speckled look

I stopped shortly after this stage but I think I should have mixed more

Little blue pancakes resting before they get chucked into the oven

Yummy! Not too sweet thanks to the Earl Grey and salt in batter and caramel.

Results: Some of my macaron shells cracked and some did not develop feet. I think overall I was more successful using the Italian method. This time I wanted to try the French technique because it seemed easier but next time I'll definitely do the Italian. They weren't as temperature sensitive I guess. These macarons were baked at too low a temperature at first (around 125 celsius) and failed to develop much feet. The second batch I baked at 150 celsius and they were fine. By the last batch I'm thinking my oven had gotten too hot and almost all cracked.

Also, I suck at filling - gah! Next time I'm just going to pay for my favourite TWG macarons. 

I used a combination of these recipes:

Basic macaron recipe from The Macaron Diaries

Earl Grey Macaron recipe from Nasi Lemak Lover