Some new junk I found at my office compound. Off cuts of wood, fabric and foam. The thrown out guni sheet is one I see with most potential.
I have not been making anything for the longest time. Can't wait to get my hands dirty again! Threadzoo is organising the Climate Change Bazaar with YTL that will be held at Lot 10 on 16 June and Closetcrafty will be taking part, woohoooo! I've collected a crazy amount of cool scraps waiting to be transformed. Don't have anything in mind yet but would like to attempt an artist sling bag.
Stay tuned!
This is Utando the eco orang utan travel pal made out of used glove, tennis ball, synthetic filler from a torn cushion, fabric scraps and two Malaysian 5c coins.
I made this especially for my friend Stani who's doing a world tour by BICYCLE with her hubby Richard. They're called the Velomads. A truly inspiring couple who cares more about the Earth than anything else in the world. It took them 7 years to get to Malaysia from France! Go to their website to see which part of the world they're at now, and if you do, say hi to her and Utando for me ;)
Another garment from a bolster case! Think I can consider myself a qualified bolster surgeon now, hehe. I hope surgeons don't get the same kind of high I do... when cutting people up!?
This is not exactly recycling as the bolster case was brand new but after doing my feasibility studies it IS more environmentally friendly to transform something redundant at home to something functional instead of buying new.
YOUREKA is a campaign by Yahoo aiming to cultivate a DIY/customization/personalization culture. The other vendors were eightyfourcube, Justin Yap, They TLG and Kitch.
Created these bizcards just before the YOUREKA event by Yahoo. There were some leftovers of notebook covers which was perfect size about 7cm x 10cm big hehe. Oh, I forgot to put a note to say 'Don't chuck it, this can be a postcard!'
Whoever got one and reading this you know what to do ;)
This block of paper stock was scraps saved from an offset printing factory. All it needed was closetcrafty's label to pretty it up ;)
This bookmark is perfect for your coffee table books.
I was invited by Freeform to take part as a vendor at YOUREKA's finale party on 25 Nov, Wed, 7pm - midnite at KL Live. I said yes. Well, party's not quite my scene but I thought it'd be a good outlet for me to create awareness about the impact of junk on the environment. The vendors chosen are mainly DIY vendors, that's one good reason to support!
Well, do pop over if you're in that area!
I found this at an antique stall at Takapuna sunday market in NZ. I didn't realize how crazy I am about rubber stamps until now. Also, I've been looking for a more sustainable way to print my work as commercial printing uses way too much resources and not to mention the pigments are extremely toxic to our people and the environment.
This piece of fabric is from a very old bedsheet salvaged from my Godma's house that has already been re-purposed to an ironing sheet. It's my first time stamping ink on fabric...feels really good.
Lined up for photo shoot
Really happy with the outcome, I didn't think the staple like fabric very much but it sure did like this one.
Wooden clips saved the day! I was struggling to keep the stack of paper in place while holding the fabric and carefully sliding it under the stapler making sure nothing slips out of position, it was almost impossible to keep them all together with my 10 fingers.
Covers waiting to be stuck/sewed on... haven't decided. Mom has an electronic sewing machine.. oh that reminds me! I need to work Ah Ma's antique sewing machine... yes yes I will do that tomorrow first thing. *Fingers crossed*
Lucky me, I found a cigar box that's of a perfect size for my babies.
SAVE THE EARTH... one pretty garment at a time
This bolster case has been hiding in my wardrobe for a million years. As an environmental practice I try not to shop for new clothes so the only way is to make my own from whatever I can find in my house.
The scalloped choker came as a surprise when I was fiddling with the remnants of the bolster case. You'd be amazed at what you'll discover in the process of creation...discovering skills you never knew you had!
The top two images are showing the front and back of this multipurpose travel skirt. Bottom two images show the flipped side of the skirt. Basically, it can be worn any way you want really. This was created when I was desperate for a travel pouch and couldn't find one that suits my needs as I wanted something where I could hide my money, passport as well as store my travel docs, notepad, stationery, maps etc etc etc..
Balinese in Ubud have the best sustainable designers and patient teachers. I learned how to make disposable plates and small dishes out of coconut and banana leaves. Who needs paper plates!
Baby Patch was created as a thank you gift for little Chloe who drew me a thank you card after we met on Earth Day Carnival. *chirp*
Follow her little mission here
Article by: KL Lifestyle by Dian Pasquinal Kaur
In the world of Closetcrafty, junk doesn’t exist. Everything can be recycled and reused. Blog owner, Penny Yuen, is one environmentally conscious lass who claims to dig (literally) scavenging and transforming junk into useful things which she aptly calls ‘trashure’. She assumes the name Pokok and her alter ego eco warrior plays the role of a story teller cum educator who emphasizes the importance of saving the environment. Penny puts her creative knack to use and creates little cushions, soft toys, pencil cases, pouches and key chains from leftover fabrics and other materials. Her antique stationary collection is a marvel to look at and they are in great working conditions too. She also takes you down memory lane whilst reacquainting you with really old phone indexes, paper clips, sharpeners, rulers and more. If only there were more environmentally-conscious human beings like her, the world would definitely be a better place and we will never have to make absurd plans like sending our junk into outer space. She is also a common feature at The Weld’s Joujou & Shugi Toy Art Mart.
This design is 50% green because I need to use heat to fuse the plastic bags. Not so much because I'm using energy but the stuff that gets emitted through the heat process is not so good for the brains I reckon. Felt a bit nauseous after the workshop. There were about 15 of us in the room that's why. But it's still a lot greener than sending plastics to recycling centres as apparently plastics that are labelled above 3 are not recyclable.
So if you're going to try this make sure your windows are all open with fan at high speed.
This is a super cool technique!
This was a fun one to make! I just love the hot oatmeal boxes, it has a wholesome organic feel to it and the graphic of Dovex organic apples makes me smile.
Mei and I were cracking our heads on how to reuse brown boxes for the panels at Earth carnival. I came up with the drawer idea and Mei transformed it in minutes, how cool!
