Looking forward to JUNE

MyBotanG 2nd Anniversary

And so it has been 2 years since I started making and selling my handmade items online. I started with making few bags (Bento, Bag Set, Odekake) and selling to my college friends and contacts  on FB only. I'm grateful to my friends who trusted my judgments (though art or design was not my major) they paid and allowed me to play around with fabrics and patterns. Since then I've added many more items to MyBotanG line up, including kitchen, baby and kids and various bags. 

In the 2nd year, MyBotanG has expanded to a separate shoppe blog to sell fabrics and notions and recently MyBotanG page on FB has also been launched to cater for a larger audience. 

In accordance to that, I'm having a SALE in the shoppe throughout the month of June and there'll also be a Giveaway sometime soon. 

MyBotanG's little helper busy at work preparing for the Anniversary Sale

Thank you for being there for me.. Hope you'll remain by my side in the years to come.. Pin It

Itty Bitty for a Cute-y...

You might remember the panels I bought (here) and the sweet baby quilt I made from the panel (here). Since I couldn't get enough of the sweetness, I bought 2meters of the soft pink Itty Bitty fabric by Marcus Fabrics and it has been sitting there on my shelf looking pretty for quite sometime now, until a customer requested an all-in-one pouch using the fabric.

I was about to say NO to using my precious but decided against it and agreed to cut into the sweet fabric...

It turned out beautifully (more pictures).. and it was so fun to work with such soft fabric 

I lined it with brown polka dot fabric which I've decided long ago was the only perfect match for this sweetie. 

Then came another commission for a baby quilt using the fabric and I jumped with joy at the prospect of creating something SWEET *grin*

A simple quilting on the centre panel with name embroidery

A homemade binding using a soft pink cotton in my stash

MyBotanG baby quilt size is 110cm x 90cm

A soft pink flannel for the back 

After all these, I still have some of this lovely fabric left *HAPPY*

Do you have any precious in your stash..?

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Cuppy fabric by KOKKA

A recent indulgence purchase

Linen blend medium weight cotton by Trefle KOKKA

I was attracted by the party theme and the simple colour combination

It reminded me of the recent carrot cup cakes I made

Recipe: Joy of baking

Have a good week..Pin It

Sew along - Appliqué Week 4 - Final Stage

Week 4 (2 - 8 May) task - Appliqué the pieces

It was kind of nerve wrecking at first to get the balance between the speed of the machine and moving the fabric especially when using black thread where all the Oooppss will be magnified. It has been a while since I last used my darning foot to do the free motion (ABC quilt using darning foot) but I was very excited throughout the process. 

Though the result is far from perfect (lots of shaky and uneven stitches) I had a wonderful time working on this project and would like to thank each and everyone who were directly involved in the sew along and those who cheered and supported us all the way. THANK YOU to all the sew along members for taking the time out of your busy schedule to participate in the project *HUGS*

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Sew along - Appliqué Week 2 & 3

Just to refresh our memory, week 2 (18-24 April) task was to trace the pattern on the interface, iron onto the fabrics and cut the pattern out while week 3 (25 April - 1 May) task is to arrange the cut pattern onto the background fabric and iron. 

Here's my progress for week 2:

Though the instruction was to trace the pattern onto the interface first, I obviously went and did it the other way around *silly me* It was messy when I tried to iron the fabric onto the interface before cutting the pattern out *long sigh* but it did turn out OK in the end - cost double the amount of time actually needed if I had followed the instruction properly *roll eyes*

Anyway, I traced the pattern onto the fabric and cut it out first. A point to remember is to have the right sides of both the pattern and the fabric facing together. 

I used my scrap interface collected from all my previous projects (bag making mostly) for this purpose instead of the double sided fusible web

Week 3: 

While arranging the interfaced pattern onto the background fabric, it would be wise to have a copy of the whole pattern underneath the background fabric, as it helps with the placement of each pattern.  

I used handcraft bond (as suggested by Mila) to secure each pattern onto the background fabric. *It was really fun and Sofea was green with jealousy as I didn't allow her to `help' *

And so here you are, all done and waiting for the next and final stage - to appliqué the pieces (2 - 8 May)

Visit our beloved Kak Dee to see the complete project - She turned hers into a wall hanging *lovely* 

Do drop by to see Mila, and as everything with this diligent lady, she did not just make 1 but 2 *OMG* of the appliqué tops with an added little something. Can't wait to see what she will turn them into.   

Visit Ariza, Suzie, Anic and Bea who have completed stage 2 and/or stage 3 of the sew along.

Have a wonderful weekend and happy crafting..     

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Diaper Keeper

A clever lady I know requested if I could make a case to hold few diapers and wipes. She even did her research and printed out a sample pattern she found on the internet and lend me 4 pull ups and a new case of wipes for when I make the case. 

Using my sewing case as a guide, I came up with the Diaper Keeper. It has 2 deep pockets inside that fits 4 big pull ups in one pocket and a packet of wipes with a room for something small in another. The case is fully lined and padded and is machine washable. It has an elastic loop for closure. I used Ikea cotton for the exterior fabric and Japanese cotton for the lining.  

For more pictures and information about the Diaper Keeper head over to MyBotanG FB page.  Pin It

Project on the go

You might remember my travelling pouch made a year ago. It is my most trusted travelling companion. I have it packed and always ready for a trip. It is packed with the essentials i.e scissors, pins, threads and the current obsession a.k.a project *grin* 

At the moment I'm obsessed with making flower brooches. After the success of making a flower brooch for the reversible bucket bag, I've made another one but this time with 5 petals and adding lace for the backing (as in the Lace Flower) and am now hooked on making more. They are so easy to make and I am able to use up the fabric scraps in my stash. 

Besides trips, I have my pouch with me while I'm lounging in front of the TV or while waiting for Sofea to complete her homework or Kumon and even in the dentist's office. 

What do you do on such occasion? Do you make a list (used to do that as well..), read a book/magazine or plan the weekly menu? Care to share..? 

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Fabric Find Friday - Paris oh la la!!

You might remember this fabric listed in the shoppe a while back. I saw this fabric in few colours - white (as in the picture), red and blue, but ended up only purchasing one colour and even then only a 2 meter cut.. 

It didn't strike me as a very interesting fabric.. It would definitely look great with black and the Eiffel Tower was a plus point. 

But I was quite wrong, 1 meter was grabbed the moment I listed it and since then I have received various commissions using the remaining 1m fabric. 

I've made a bag set and few Curvy Clutches and have some left for something small..  

Wished I could have gotten the whole bolt when I had the chance.. *sigh* 

Have a lovely weekend everybody.. 

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Sew along - Appliqué Week 1

For week 1, 11 - 17 April, our sew along task was to print the pattern and instructions from here and choose fabrics that we were going to use. 

I was giddy with excitement to see few of the participants have already completed the task (Anic and Mila). Anic has progressed till the third stage of the sew along and she has blogged about it here. 

After much contemplation, here's my fabric selection for the project. 

Next task for week 2, 18 - 24 April - To trace the pattern onto the fusible web, iron onto the fabric and cut out (Instruction 1-2 on instruction page)

How are you progressing ladies..? All the best!!  

Sew along - Appliqué project introduction

Ooooppppssss!! Edited

Missed mentioning Nadia who also has completed task for week 1.  

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Button Loop - How to

Do you make button loops? 

I first made them for our reversible bucket bag sew along, the button loop was big and easy to make. The technique used didn't involve any turning through small openings, which was a relieved. 

Next, I made a button loop for a pencase and found the technique used for the reversible bag button loop didn't really work here as the loop had to be smaller and needed to curve nicely. So, here's a simple how to on making a button loop on a bias cut.  

I love them, but the smaller they are the peskier they get

Button Loop - How to

1. Cut a 3" x 3" square (adjust the size of the fabric depending on the length you need)

2. Fold it to form a triangle and sew a straight line along the folded side (adjust the width depending on how wide you want your loop to be)

3. Cut the excess fabric

4. Use a loop turner to turn it inside out 

5. Turn and press

6. Edge stitch

7. Attach 

Now you have a nice and naturally curvy button loop. 

Do you make your loops differently? Care to share?   

Sew along - Appliqué project update

Visit Anic for fabulous links to various aspects of the appliqué  techniques. 

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