Tell us something about yourself.
Hi, I am Lois Loo, an independent illustrator based in Kuala Lumpur. I am currently working full-time in my little home studio. I founded “Wonderkitten” in 2006. I love telling stories through my illustrations using animal characters. I have 6 cats at home and the one of the tuxedo fat cat is my logo. He is the funniest cat I have ever seen in my life. I hope my creations inspire people to appreciate every little thing in life. I really love seeing people who like my work ,wearing them and talking to their friends about the little thought behind the drawing. Sometimes I also apply my work into some smaller items like postcards, badges, stickers, etc.

What do you do other than your Etsy craft?
I am a full-time illustrator now but I do freelance graphic design too. Sometimes I work in a small children’s daycare centre during the day. I love kids. They have an innocence about them that is cute and real. They give me inspiration, too!

So how did you get started in illustration?
I graduated with a Diploma in Multimedia design but I found I didn’t really fit in. I found myself more interested in doing characters and spending hours on a piece of illustration. Illustration is like the easiest way for me to know myself and is a diary of my different stages of life. Sometimes I just sit down and start drawing, it amazes me when I find it was actually what I was feeling without realizing before I started drawing the piece of work.

What inspires you when creating any of your products?
There are many things that inspire me like my cats and people I’ve met, but for the moment I am creating most of my products by a motto – “inspire people to appreciate every little thing in life”.

Fun Facts about Lois Loo of Wonderkitten:

What is your current obsession?
Planting my own veggies.

Who is the one person, dead or alive, that you would like to meet the most?
Goku from Dragon Ball. I’ve been drawing him since young.<

The last concert you saw was…
Sammi Cheong in Genting. Not impressed….

With an ‘al fresco’ or indoor dining option, Botanical is intimate and stylish with that classic + retro + industrial decor the group is very well known for and I absolutely dig – I could live in their supermarket, for example. Personally, I liked the indoor seating option, with its dark walls, plant-themed plates and chairs I hope to have in my dining room someday.

Lovely decor aside, the food is equally good – if not better. The Big Group’s fairly expansive range of restaurants serves food that range from ‘ok’ to really really good, and to me, the quality and taste of the dishes I’ve had at Botanical falls into the latter category. Everything was tasty, cooked to perfection and served in generous portions that I seriously recommend sharing if you’re planning on doing the full three courses! I’ve been there thrice so far and have not managed to make it to dessert! And since I enjoyed the food so much, I am glad I made the effort to snap pictures of just about everything we ordered the first time around.

I’ve also tried their Four Cheese Toastie and Botanical House Salad and have no complaints so far. Their Tropical Comfort drink was also very good, but I was too thirsty to take a pic of it first.

The prices at Botanical are also fairly decent. Even if all you order is a single starter or main meal you’re bound to get pretty full. As I mentioned earlier, sharing is definitely recommended so you get to try more of the dishes they have on offer. The service is good and the wait staff quite friendly and knowledgeable, which are further plus points for me.

But will I go back? Of course. I have yet to try their dessert or any of their local dishes! I just need to convince more people that the vegetarian food here is far from boring – you absolutely won’t miss meat at Botanical!

Note: definitions of vegetarian tends to vary. Botanical serves egg and dairy in a number of their dishes.

PS: I also shared this on my own blog – yes! I actually have my very own blog now.

I used to carry cutesy handkerchiefs with me from kindergarten through high school. Being an extra sweaty person, it was an essential for spending hours in stuffy classrooms and being outdoor in the hot and humid weather of Malaysia. Unfortunately, disposable facial tissue had somehow out-cooled the traditional handkerchief and only grandpas and grandmas use hankies these days.

If you or someone in your family still have vintage hankies, don’t toss them! Since old is new nowadays, here are some simple things you can do to make handkerchiefs cool again:

Vintage Hankie Bunting by Vintage Resolution.

Tissue Holder by Beach Vintage.

Hankie Pillow Covers by Noodlehead.

]]> http://etsymalaysia.com/2013/03/07/tips-old-hankies-repurposed/feed/ 0 http://etsymalaysia.com/2013/02/25/tips-diy-bannerbunting-style-signage/ http://etsymalaysia.com/2013/02/25/tips-diy-bannerbunting-style-signage/#comments Mon, 25 Feb 2013 01:24:44 +0000 huey http://etsymalaysia.com/?p=13 Continue reading →]]> When selling at craft markets, it a helps to have an eye catching display and your shop’s name prominently displayed.  I usually lug a pair of 7ft tall poles with 2 heavy tin cans to hang my shop banner up, and I used this set-up for a year before seeing a much easier to transport version at *bisou* bonbon’s stall!  Shelby had a pair of spring clamps with a nifty holder to hold thin poles, which simply clamped onto the table – why didn’t I think of that before?  After a couple of unsuccessful hunts at Ace Hardware, I decided to DIY.

What you’ll need:

• A pair of G-clamps.  Easily available at any hardware store.  I had a mini pair lying around, with a maximum jaw opening of 1 inch.  Small is neat, though larger G-clamps would mean not worrying about whether the clamps can fit the table provided. 
• A pair of poles/sticks 3 to 4ft tall.  They should be thick and sturdy enough to hold up your banner or bunting.  I like the look of unfinished wooden poles, and found 3ft tall, 3/8 inch diameter rods at Art Friend.
• Cable ties
• Your banner or bunting

Directions:

• Take the cable ties and tie the sticks to the clamps. Snip off the ends of the ties.  
• Attach clamps to table and hang up your bunting! It’s that easy

I know many don’t like to use commercial detergents so here are some cheap, effective and natural kitchen essentials that you can use to clean the house:

1. Lemon juice: This is an amazing soap scum dissolver, perfect for cleaning the shower closet, bathtub and wash basin. If you have clogged shower heads, mix lemon juice with some water and baking soda in a plastic bag, tie the bag of solution firmly to the spray head making sure that the tiny holes are fully immersed and let it soak overnight, your shower head will be good as new the next day!

2. Baking soda is a natural and harmless deodoriser and degreaser. Generously sprinkle some soda on carpets before vacuuming will remove grease and odour. Make a thick soda paste with some water and use it as a powerful degreaser for tough grease stains on microwave, oven and stove top. You can also pour a cup of baking soda into the sink drainage and chase it with plenty of boiling water to unclog and remove grease and dirt, just remember NOT to breathe the corrosive fume!

3. Distilled vinegar is almost an all purpose stain and grease remover. Use it straight or dissolve with equal part of water in a squirt bottle as an all-round household detergent. Just be careful NOT to use it on marble or surfaces that are prone to discolouration.

The three common kitchen ingredients above cost less than commercial detergents and are safe for your family, especially those who have babies and young pets that would put almost anything in their mouths

I hope these simple tips will help you clean better and safer this year.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a happy Chinese New Year and be safe on the road if you’re driving somewhere for the celebration!

O&S assam laksa has the perfect balance of sour and spicy, with lots of fresh onions, pineapple, cucumber and mint to garnish.  The thing that I really like about it is that the fish comes in big, meaty chunks – none of that mysterious mushy stuff that might be rumoured to be toilet paper in the soup!  At RM5 a bowl, O&S assam laksa is true quality at a great price!

O&S Restaurant is at 39 Jalan 20/14, Taman Paramount, 46300 Petaling Jaya.  Open everyday for breakfast and lunch.

ps: If you’re not a fan of assam laksa, the curry laksa here is also excellent!

I thought it was time to take matters seriously the moment I found bite marks on one of the rail guards of baby’s crib – the paint actually came off! Although I am very sure the paint is non-toxic (we sanded and repainted it ourselves), the thought of my baby eating paint just turns my stomach!

I’ve seen rail guards sold before and it was pretty pricy for a piece of rubber, so I decided to do it the frugal way. Over the New Year weekend, I did some googling and finally decided on a method and made my baby a teething guard rail!

I loosely followed this lady’s method because it looked easy and there were pictures. She used a quilted fabric but I used what I had at hand, which was some cotton fabric, leftover batting and some grosgrain ribbon. You can see I used what I had because they don’t really match perfectly, but I WAS trying to be frugal!

I wish I had taken step-by-step pictures but I was so into the project that I thought of writing a tutorial about it when I was more than half done. But very simply, here’s what I did:

1. Measure length and width of rail guards. For the width, just put the tape all around the rail until it meets at the bottom. Add 2″ to your measurements. E.g. My length was 38″ so I penned down 40″. Thankfully, I only have one side to cover, the other side sits next to a window so it doesn’t get any chewing time.
2. Cut desired fabric according to measurements. I wanted to be able to use both sides so I had two cotton fabric cut at 40″ x 7″.
3. Iron a 1″ hem around the fabric.
4. Measure the insides of the fabric after ironing the hems and cut the batting according to the measurements. It’s ok to cut a little less because it will have to be inserted into the cotton fabric later. For the measurements above, you should be cutting roughly a 38″ x 5″ batting.
5. Now cut up some grosgrain ribbons according to the length and quantity you require.
6. Next, lay down one fabric rightside down and insert the batting inside.
7. Pin your ribbons on the points you want them sewn on. You might want to put it on the guard rail to gauge where the right points should be.
8. Lastly, pin the last fabric rightside up over the first fabric and sew around the edges. I decided on a zigzag pattern and a contrasting thread colour for my plain coloured fabric to make it fun.

Here are some pictures to give you a rough idea. Next project, a skirt for the crib perhaps?

By day, this writer is a full-time maid to an active baby boy named Jared and a small biz owner by night (or at least once the baby is asleep). You can follow their daily adventures here and here. 

Things you’ll need:

• PVA or white glue
• Glitter in your choice of colour
• Paintbrush
• Spray on varnish or clear coat spray paint (optional)
• Items you want to glitter

How to:

1. Using the paintbrush, cover your item evenly with a layer of glue.
2. Over a piece of paper, sprinkle glitter all over your item til it is completely covered.  The leftover glitter can be funneled back into its container for further use.
3. Let it dry, and touch up any un-glittered spots if necessary.
4. If you want to minimise the glitter fall-out, you can spray a layer of clear varnish or clear spray paint after the clue is dried completely.

So,  what would you glitter?  Check out the pics below for some ideas.

Wishdaisy on Etsy has a whole menagerie of glittered toy animals, and these moose are perfect for Christmas

Clear glass baubles get dressed up – just paint patterns instead of covering the whole thing with glue

Candlesticks: 

Seashells for your Christmas tree maybe?

It’s the perfect time for a spot of Christmas shopping, and the market features lovingly handmade goods, clothes, art, supplies, yummy things and more, perfect as gifts or for your own personal retail therapy

There will be four bumper packs of lucky draw prizes to be won every two hours, so come early and join the fun! Limited tickets are available per lucky draw entry, but there’s heaps of ways to enter to increase your chances (see the details below).

See you this Saturday and spread the word!