Paper beads are inexpensive, easy-to-make and attractive to look at. You could use them in many types of projects such as jewellery making, curtain beading etc. Turn those colourful pages from old magazine or unused wrapping paper into beautiful piece of art.
This week, I was putting together an instruction sheet on THE HIVE "HOW TO..." series. Below is a video on "HOW TO MAKE PAPER BEADS".
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We had new features and adjustments added to the Zone. We have new "toys" to play too. More to come...
Card-making is a big business out there. We should draw up a price list and start charging people. The Baby Shower We recently had a lovely baby shower for one of our colleague from the Senior Library, Azlinda. She is heavily pregnant right now and will be delivering any time soon (I have a feeling that the baby would arrived early April). Baby shower won't be so complete without a card. A simple card with a lovely dress for the Aries baby & mummy (the mummy is not an Aries; Az, which horoscope star are you?!). She might be a Taurus if baby decides to pop much later. So, either Aries or Taurus, we still have to deliver a baby shower before the baby arrives. The Card The card was a simple design inspired from creations by creative individuals on Pinterest. I love the idea of a dress on the card. It took me quite a while to put all the elements together. The idea of the dress, the paper-clip hanger, the word "enjoy the fuss" and colour scheme were inspired from various Pins on the highly admired social media. It only made card-making very easy when you have all the materials ready, especially when you have a well-stocked makerspace. You just needed to mix and match the papers, the sequins, buttons and ribbons. Don't forget your handy scissors, glue and a dash of creativity; and you are set to go. Just remember to get your colleagues to sign the card before it makes it way to the new mummy and baby. You don't want to give them an empty card, do you? You have no idea how handy these cardboard boxes are. They might be quite ugly-looking but they are sure to make a pretty sturdy furniture!They might be ugly, boring looking and just plain brown. But do you know that it can be transformed into a furniture or any other useful tool in times of need? For example, during the recent passing of Singapore's legendary statesman, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, our fellow SIngaporeans came down to the Padang to join the 8-10 hours of queue & be on their way to pay respects to the great man. They make used of cardboards as make-shift mats and handy fans. Too bad, they didn't go the the workshop that we went last 2 Saturdays. Otherwise, they would have made a comfy sofa. Now back to the #upcycling workshop....
It was a lovely Saturday morning, 21 March 2015. Hot breakfast was waiting and I was very excited to start. Upcycling cardboards into furniture was something beyond me. Imagine me making a furniture, REALLY? I do not have any carpentry skills and I had not done any D&T lessons during my secondary schools. Well, does making a keychain count? Nah.... Hui Ching and me were back again in the Central Singapore office and were ready to start. That Saturday was extraordinarily packed and excitement was in the air. Most probably because it was still the March local school holidays. And that is why the room was crowded with kids and their mums as well as the same batch of elderly aunties from the previous weekend. I must thank Hui Ching for saving me a good seat which was near the breakfast table. Hui Ching and I had armed ourselves with cardboards (precut from the office) and penknives. And off we went planning, exploring and making. Once we started, we can't seemed to stop ourselves. So there, we thought about the problems that we had and the majority of us had the same problems; storage problem = lack of space. From drawers made out from pizza boxes to lingerie organiser using towel rolls; these inspiring "future cardboard extraordinaire" individuals do have a high level of substance in making. I was blown away (well, not so blown away by my skills though). I was impressed with the young ones, they were very adventurous and went the extra mile to make something unique. Unlike the other aunties like myself who weren't so daring to venture outside their comfort zone. I spoken with one of the mums there whose boys made a games table. Later on, during the presentation more functions were revealed, The table could doubled up as a storage for the games. There was one little girl made an art table with an adjustable legs and storage space. Amazing!!! And what did I create? A boring cabinet unit for charging my handphone and a footstool. Boo!!! I hope that there will be more opportunities like this. I don't mind stealing a couple of hours away from my munchkins on a Saturday morning to learn something new & network. Well, we had fun and were inspired to sell our furnitures (as if...), I donated my creations for the upcoming Central Singapore community event which will be happening on the 11th April 2015 at the HDB Toa Payoh hub. All for a good cause! Your newspapers especially the old ones have more to offer than disseminating information and getting us the news.
I knew that I missed out on something when I received only S$0.50 from the "karung-guni man" when I sold away my three months old newspapers. A "karung-guni man" is a rag-and-bone entrepreneur who would buy your old wares for a paltry sum of money. You could sell your old television, broken telephone, wonky washing machine, many-months-old newspapers, outdated electronic devices like computers and many more. The amount of money you'll get from your sale will be so negligible that you would rather tossed them in the recycling bins located underneath your HDB blocks. Or if you have bulky items, look out for your friendly Bangladeshi housekeeping custodian and pay him a generous amount to have it moved from your home. Just don't throw them out of your window and become a serial killer litter bug. You have been warned!!! Upcycle Workshop Hui Ching & I attended a free workshop on "Upcycling" organised by the Central Singapore last Saturday morning, 14th March 2015. It was located at the HDB Hub, smacked in the middle of Toa Payoh bustling shopping district. We had to search for this peculiar lift lobby that services the office. It was tough to locate it as there were many lift lobbies serving different parts of the hub. Nonetheless, we managed to find it and were rewarded with a simple array of breakfast. A free workshop with a free breakfast is the way to go to start a Saturday and I have my old newspapers stashed in my bag. Central Singapore oversees many aspects community activities and initiatives targeting various groups like the youth and the seniors. Apart from the 3Rs (Re-Use, Reduce and Recycle) they are also keen on harnessing the Maker Movement and getting the community involved in making stuff. They are gearing towards the 'Smart Nation' campaign which the Singapore Government endorsed recently. The workshop was quite a hit with the elderly women and primary school kids. There were about 50 participants took part in this upcycling workshop led by a Dr from the Singapore Science Centre (I couldn't remember how to spell her name so lets call her Dr K). Dr K and her team were there to facilitate with our learning and she led the workshop in a non-traditional classroom way. The session was run like a store style. You like what you see, you stay to learn more for about 15 mins. After the see, look and learn, it was time to sit down and do. So, what do you normally do to your old newspapers? Based on the responses from the elderly aunties, most of them have pet dogs. They used the old papers as a potty for their beloved paw-friends. The non-pet owner like myself would either sell or toss. This is the reason why Central Singapore had this upcycling workshop; it is to educate us on how to make old stuff useful again. Do you know that upcycling is not the same as recycling? Upcycling vs Recycling Recycling is to categorise your stuff into paper, plastic and glass; bring them to your nearest recycling bins; authorised organisation would bring those bins to the recyling plant and processed them to become other materials (of course following with strict environmental procedures). Upcycling is to turn your old wares into something more useful like turning an old jeans into a bag; bottles into creative decoration; old sweaters to socks and many more. It is simply turning old, unused stuff into something useful and giving it a new lease of life. Inevitably giving a spark to entrepreneurs to sell their creative wares made from upcycled materials. I love this idea of entrepreneurship and maybe I might sell something in the future; something made from my old newspapers; making a sale worth more than $0.50, maybe; giving the 'karung guni' man a run for his money *evil laugh*. And so my adventure to turn the old newspapers into a piece of art began. I have to thank Cheryl Lee from the NYP GeoCouncil for her ideas and guidance. Hui Ching and I simply took instructions from this younger, more experience maker. It was a breath of fresh air and we learned a great deal. I learnt how to handle a hot glue gun. It was amazing. The inventor behind this device was simply a genius. A handy tool that melts plastic (aka glue) and safe enough to use for kids as young as 5 years old (And safe enough for a Little Miss Clumsy me!). Therefore, bye-bye UHU Twist&Glue and hello hot glue gun; you and I are going to be "bestfriends" (for now). So, here are some photos that I managed to snap and pose with the glue gun. Some of you might have seen them on the Maker Faire SG FB or on my twitter feed. It was sad that we had to leave our little art project behind. But it was all for a good cause. It will be displayed in a community event in Toa Payoh HDB Hub next month, April 11th. Nonetheless, enjoy the photos and hope that it would inspire you to start making something. Who knows, it might be you selling upcycled stuff off the Amazon.com or Facebook! The students are quite happy writing onto the glass window using the liquid chalks. More will be explored, maybe with whiteboard marker perhaps?!
Our collaborative zone is coming together slowly. We have been opened to students for about a month and the zone has attained a stream of regulars.
Valentine's Day is coming soon and so the making of pop-up card, I decided to try out. Not bad for a first attempt.
As for the display, I played with large decorative font and a huge heart featuring the covers of romantic novels. Our team must thank Mrs Susan Peart for her expertised in scotch garding the chairs. It was not an easy job, I have to say. (She was on her knees and elbows in her white overalls and face mask! Azizah witnessed the whole process)
Well, I've invested a great deal of time trying my hands at new crafts. It was a good learning curve (the sewing part). Sewing on felt is so tough. Baby shoes didn't look nearly like one on my 1st attempt. Nonetheless, I am so pleased with my plushy owl.
Today, we (Jacqui, Suzanne, Nadiyah & I) went to the German European School to check out their D&T department. Their workshops were located in quite far away from the main school. We had to walk quite a distance to get there but it was a great walk after the rain. We had to cross a long wooden bridge which suspended across a jungle and a little stream. The experience was as though we were trekking in the nature reserve. We saw spiders, squirrels and other creepy crawlies (I shall not further elaborate). Nonetheless, it was a good walk (have I not stressed that earlier?!). The teacher who greeted us there was very friendly and helpful showing us around. We also witnessed their students in action and learned a thing or 2 about some of their projects and equipment. It was about lunchtime, so Jacqui & Suzanne has to go back to school to attend their Christmas lunch. Nadiyah and me headed off to the Science Art Museum to see Living with Leonardos. It was an exciting day for us. We silk-screened, learned to hologram, tried out the 3D doodler and (my favourite) got our heads 3D printed. We might introduce some of the things we learnt at the museum to you during our upcoming HIVE launch (dates to be confirmed). Nadiyah & I went 'crafty' yesterday at the Little Academy, POMO. We had the whole Wednesday making stuff with Tin. Oh, Tin was our art teacher for the day. She called it our Makenesday. Actually, the workshop were meant for kids (so we were the biggest kids in class - buahahahaha *so shameless*). Nonetheless we were pleased with ourselves as we went home with our crafts. We were as happy as 5-year-olds but without our mothers to fetch us home (haha).
The photos below are taken by Tin. We were too busy making so forgotten to take more photos. You could find more of her crafts and photos on FB. Nadiyah & me went to NDC for our first makers network meeting last Friday, 5th Dec 2014 (7pm). We were overwhelmed with the reception and it was an eye-opening experience. The makers community in Singapore is quite big with diverse skills, areas and interest. It includes hobbyists, free-lance makers, entrepreneurs, technopreneurs, selected government agencies, private organization and schools. Many stakeholders come together to initiate the makers movement helmed the William Hooi, the founder of this community.
Many issues where discussed and we found it quite informative e.g. safety of certain projects, funding from government, pro-activeness of new hobbyist and lastly the new initiation for Smart Nation . All these issues were facilitated by one of Singapore ministers, Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (link from William Hooi's FB) One of their event photographer took a snapshot of the event. Could you spot Nadiyah & me? It was a hit and a miss day for me and Nadiyah. I was expecting to see a crowded hall with booths of makers of different sorts like the recent Maker's Block. However, we were welcomed with a low-key reception by Sathia from the One Makers Group (OMG). He was kind to show us around the workshop, talking about the makers movement, the function of the workshops, the different tools & machinery and the possibilities of us working together. It was quite an eye-opener and we learnt quite a great deal from Sathia especially from a real, experience maker like himself.
We left NDC with a great sense of learning and brought home a valuable advise from Sathia, 'We are learning everyday and we are learning from each other. I started off my day with one of my favourite things to do by defeating the absurd Monday blues bug. I did this by searching for crafts on Youtube. There were so many crafts and I am tempted to do all but I have to stick to several basic criteria in selecting the crafts for the Collaboration Zone.
Well, I did succumb to the temptation and tried several crafts, although I do not have enough materials with me at the time. I used recycling paper instead and I turned out to be decent. I am sure (when the resources are available) that these crafts would looked fabulous after several practices. Below are some of the crafts which I've bravely ventured. Do try them out. You will need: - A bottle of glue - A pair of sharp scissors - Few sheets of recycled paper This is a snapshot from the new TLRC newsletter - a weekly update on what all of us have been up to. Yes, I will be busy crafting until the Collaborative Zone and the MakerSpace is all ready for 'business'. And yes, there is a new space called the Collaborative Zone and there will be a MakerSpace where students come together to make things.
One of the things that we are going to make is a simple circuit to be embedded into clothing or paper etc. As you could see in the picture above, the experiment does not require many things. It is a simple project and not too challenging. This is the first step as how to light up the LED. Step 2 is to transfer this circuit onto a clothing or paper or photograph. I am new at this so it will take a little practice and some creativity to make this work especially making your clothes 'bling bling' with the LED lights. You might see me struggling in sewing the circuit sometime next week. Anyway, there are so many new things to try out and new 'toys to play' with (toys like copper foils, battery, paper clips and LED lights). On top of that, I will be planning a new calender for the library display. So watch this space to see what's new for display in 2015. Meanwhile, any ideas for Christmas decoration anyone? |
Who am I?An autism SAHM. Mommy to #3kiddosunder5. A wife to an adoring husband (a.k.a a Trekkie & a hardcore LOTR fan). Currently taking a break from my full-time job (as a Librarian and maker) to taste the livelihood of a 'tai-tai'. Categories
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