It's not about the money, money, money!

This morning, I woke up to find a very interesting article in Today, "Why the Danish mermaid is happier than the Singapore Merlion".  Apparently, the World Happiness Report ranked Denmark as the happiest nation in the world, while we were ranked at number 30.  

Creating Family Memories Through DIY

Sometimes as parents many of us will whip out the iPad in front of the kids for some peace and quiet, or when the kids moan "We're bored!".  And most of the time, there's that tinge of guilt that will forever bug us with  "Is this dangerous for my child's development?"  To be honest, I have used the magical devices, but nowadays I try to use alternatives to break the boredom, such as refashioning and other upcycling crafts. In the process it helps my child learn the importance of DIY, and it makes for good family memories too.

Upcycling Fabric to Toys

When I last posted about men being (or rather not being able to) sew, I didn't quite expect the response that I did from my readers. Apparently, our male counterparts (excluding the famous designers we see in the magazines) either do it in secret or are just lazy to do it, leaving it to their female partners! Readers have told me that their hubbies, boyfriends and friends can cross-stitch, sew leather bags, hem trousers and even draft a pattern.  Maybe they just need a little encouragement to come out of their shells.

Anyway, a French man commented and said he's a techy who sews. So, I hopped over to his blog "Un Trou Dans Mon Pantalon", and found out that he sews and upcycles toys as well!  He are a few pics of his upcycled toys.  Don't you think they are gorgeous?

 

All images belong to Un Trou Dan Mon Pantalon

Upcycled Jeans Roundup (and a bit of history!)

I was just looking back at the jean projects I had done and thought it was a good idea to put them all together in one post! Everyone wears jeans. According to Danny Miller, anthropologist and author of Blue Jeans, almost half of every countries' population wears jeans.  These garments were originally designed as work wear for labourers who toiled in mines and farms in the American west during the 19th century.   A Nevadan tailor called Jacob Davis increased their durability with rivets and because they lasted longer, the jeans became popular. Well, Mr. Davis had the opportunity to patent this design, but unfortunately, as it cost a lot to do so, he couldn't. He therefore, called fabric supplier, the San Francisco merchant, Levi Strauss, for help, and the rest is fashion history (although Levi's patent expired in 1908)! 

Men Can Sew Too!

I remember when I first met my husband, he was wearing an army jacket and he told me that he had sewn the flags on all by himself - was he trying to impress me? On closer inspection, I noticed he had used hidden stitches - okay, he had my attention!  But I think in front of his pals, he dare not admit that he does a mean hand stitch. It's probably deemed unmanly to know how to sew these days, but what's wrong with men knowing their running stitch from their hem stitch? Famous fashion designers are men, and granddads and fathers who went to war know how to sew on a button, fix a seam, darn socks and even knit too. Cross-stitch kept this soldier going during his time as a POW. Sewing was also essential to polar explorers too. Look at this sewing kit that belonged to Captain Robert Scott:

Image: Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge University

Raindrop Applique

I started to get interested in applique when I found the Alabama Stitch book in the library.  I think applique is a great way to cover up food stains, small tears and even ironing boo boos! This is my first reverse applique tutorial and it was featured on my Channel News Asia interview.  What's so funny is it's been raining buckets for the past few days (and even flooded) so I suppose you could say this tutorial is in homage to the skies!

Refashioning on Channel News Asia - It Figures Outliers

When Trinh Hoang Ly, a producer from Channel News Asia contacted me about doing an interview for their It Figures Outliers programme, I was a little nervous. This was going to be in front of a camera, and on top of that, I had to do a demonstration that would fit into the segment.  

[Update 2 Oct 2013 - Unfortunately, CNA took down all the episodes, so we are not able to view them anymore.  :-( ]  Good news! I found the video on youtube :-)

On the day of the interview, I shared my passion for refashioning, and demonstrated some applique. I'll put up the full tutorial soon Tutorial is up!  In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the interview, and I hope that it will inspire others to change their lifestyle for the better!

Thank you to Ly and Gwyn Lau (camera) for making the interview comfortable, and creating great shots!

Do check out Lee Ler Cheng's interview on how she makes her own detergent and cleaning agent from natural ingredients!