Hand painted... everything/anything

Whilst I was in Chiang Mai (Thailand) recently, I visited a handicraft centre just outside of the main city. 

The focus there, is on handmade paper items, mainly umbrellas and parasols, but there are some other items like the mulberry paper flowers I used in the card in my recent post.

As well as paper there's the opportunity to meet with local artists and choose a hand painted design for them to adorn whatever item you choose.

Many people were just getting items of clothing they were wearing decorated. If I had thought far enough ahead I would have brought items that I could use as gifts for family and friends, although I'm not sure how I would have carried them all home...

Instead, got my bag painted. It's one I acquired a few months back after the one I left home with fell apart. It's just a cheap one I picked up in Bangkok but I'm hoping it will last a bit longer as I'm likely to be treasuring it after my trip, now that it has been painted :).

This is after a couple of months of wear and tear, but you can still see the glitter (not too clear in the photo).

Check out more details of the places I visited where paper handicrafts were everywhere - over on my travel site if you are interested: Paper handicrafts in Laos and Thailand.

Beading bracelets on the road

I'm not entirely sure how this all came about, but at some point whilst in Thailand I acquired some cord and beads. 

With limited internet and in need of a crafting fix, I got busy making a few bracelets. 

A sample

There are many tutorials on the web showing how to make things using macrame knots. After a few goes I was in my element creating new designs :).

The question is what do I do with all the bracelets I have made... any ideas?

Mulberry paper from Thailand: Happy Birthday Mum!

No, I didn't forget! Happy Birthday Mum...

...all the way from Thailand!

Being on the road (see my travel site for more about my trip) really doesn't make it easy to find opportunities to get creative and crafty. However, with my mum's birthday approaching and being in Bangkok (Thailand) last week, I had to get my hands on some crafting stash. 

Fortunately, there were many places where I could stock up on a few bits to make a card and I found some lovely mulberry paper flowers and silk flowers at the weekend market in Chatuchak.

There are also numerous shopping centres around the city, which almost made me feel like I was back in Singapore or even the UK, so getting my hands on some card and ribbon was no problem.

Making Krathong - banana leaves boat

If you have been following my travel blog (here), you will know that I am currently back in Thailand.

Every opportunity I get I'm trying to do or see something crafty, to fill the empty hole created by being on the road and without my craft stash ;).

Last weekend, I experienced 3 days of Thai celebrations for the festivals of Yi Peng and Loi Krathong. 

When my Thai friend offered to show me how to make something traditional myself, to join the celebrations, I jumped at the chance!

'Krathong' is a small raft made from a section of banana tree trunk. Today specially made bread 'flowers' or even Styrofoam are also used. Thai people decorate their Krathongs with elaborately-folded banana leaves, flowers, candles, and incense sticks. Some people also add hair or fingernail clippings.

The act of floating Krathongs on rivers, canals or any other body of water symbolises letting go of grudges, problems and anger so that one can start life afresh – a cleansing tradition of sorts. The idea being that all people should prepare suitable offerings to present to the river spirits in order to obtain pardon and the absolution of their sins. In doing so the Thais are also welcoming the spirit of good fun or 'sanook' – something they know a lot about.

Here's my finished Krathong:

There are lots of tutorials on the web that show you how to make the different pieces from banana leaves to decorate a Krathong, but I thought I'd create a quick one of my own to show you just how easy it it was to make something similar to the one I made.

I think, with a bit of tweaking this would work with paper and card too. Some DSP would create some beautiful pieces, and these would be great for table decorations or small dishes maybe.

Materials:

You will need 1 or two fresh banana leaves, a stapler, pair of scissors and some pins.

1. Tear or cut the banana leaf down the centre and then cut into strips of approximately 2 or 3 inches; any excess can be trimmed later.

2. Take each strip lengthways and fold in one side to create a corner.

3. Then repeat the fold on the opposite side.

4. Fold each side inwards again to create a sharper point. Fix with staples.

5. Once you have made a few, they can be trimmed and then used to layer up.

6. For the upright pieces step 2 and 3 are the same, then take the folded piece and pull one side towards you to create a petal shape. Fasten with a staple since you have created the desired size. These will also need to be trimmed a little before fixing to the base.

7. Cut a piece of leaf to fix to the banana trunk base and pin this in place.

8. Then you can start to decorate with the other pieces. I chose to fix each piece in layers to create a star shape.

9. I also cut some brown leaves and created some pieces to fill the gaps a little.

10. Once I finished the base I added the petal shapes to create the centre piece.

11. Have a play and arrange your pieces differently, just lay them out until you are happy and then pin in place. Once you have finished, add a couple of strips of banana leaf around the base to cover it and then you can decorate with flowers.

Here are the finished Krathong from our little craft session. We then headed off to the river to release them with thousands of others.

Limited stash, personalised baby card

What do you do when a very good friend has a new baby and you're out of the country and have no craft stash to hand?

You search out a craft or stationery shop and do your best to ensure the occasion doesn't go without a handmade card.

I'm not sure whether it ever arrived in the post as I sent it from Singapore, but it's the thought that counts.

Here is what I came up with...

... I hope they liked it :S!