Carseat Organizer

I pretty much love a sewing challenge! Got pretty excited when a friend suggested I make her a car seat organizer. Something she could put books and some of her daughter's stuff. This took a while to plan and execute, and had to source out materials from different places, but I must say I liked the final outcome very much ;)

I don't have photos of it in action but you just strap the buckle around the neck of the front seat (facing the back seat passengers of course) and tie/fasten the rope around the lower back of the front seat.

FREEBIE: Life as a Believer printable

Once again, we've arrived at that holy month in the Islamic calender. Alhamdulillah. So here's a little something for our Muslim friends to save, print out, and share in your attempt to conquer this year's Ramadhan. Ramadhan al-Mubarak. May Allah accept all our good deeds on this blessed month and may it be a fruitful one for all of us. Download link below:

Make sure you set your printer to-fit to A4 paper since this printable is in A3. If you've printed it out, show me how you use them, or better yet, share them with me on Instagram by tagging @dzaltastic and #dzaltasticprintables cause they'd really make my day :)

Buying US Imported Designer Cotton Fabric in Malaysia

Amy Butler, Ann Kelle, Robert Kaufman, Michael Miller, Alexander Henry. You've read and heard them all online and yes, consumed by jealousy over those gorgeous prints on craft blogs from overseas. Here's where I bring you the happy news, there are shops in Malaysia that carry those designers as well!

There are plenty of shops selling printed cotton somewhat similar to these fabric designs and cost cheaper. But really, once you're seen, felt and bought these designer fabrics of high quality, there's no turning back! Colours are more vibrant with unique patterns and thicker in weight. Currently priced at about RM40-RM50 per yard (about 10 cm less than a meter)

Here's a little list of my places to go to quench my designer cotton thirst.

Checkout that selection of chevron fabric =D

1. Yee Button SS2 Petaling Jaya
They do have a facebook page and you're able to buy online but I personally love to drop by their brightly lit fabric and craft shop just cause it inspires me! They even sell fat quarters of those fabrics, pricing about RM10 a piece. This is also your go to place to buy Minky fabric and also cashel fabric for cross stitching!

2. Shambijoux Shop
This little lady from Terengganu has quite an extensive imported cotton catalogue on her site http://shambijoux.com/ and one of my favourite shops cause there are just too many choices and yo can even ask her if she has those not on the list. But she normally takes pre-orders and it takes about 2 weeks for the stuff to arrive. That's when I drop by other places on my list.

3. Fabric Fanatics
Situated in Subang Summit, this is the go to place to get loads of craft supplies and even attend classes like book binding and bad making. They normally have zakka fabric (Japanese feel fabrics) but are bringing in the big ones like Ann Kelly and Michael Miller.


4. D'Amani Cotton Therapy
Visit http://damanicottontherapy.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/pages/DAmani-Cottontherapy/ for a list of their fabric supplies

5. Cottage Patch, Ampang
Across Ampang Point. This is a really old establishment and has a really big collection of fabric on hand. It may remind you of your granny's place but you really need to stay a while and take out fabrics one at a time to really see its treasures. Not sure if you can find recent designers there, but it's a great place for quilters an fabric lovers!

So there you are, a list of my suggested places to shop for designer cotton fabric. If you know more places, I'd love to know where. Always on the search for new fabric places.

P/S: Good news is, I'm in dealing to bringing in juicy imported Korean Designer fabric soon. So stay tuned by subscribing to my blog or on my Instagram @dzaltastic OR my facebook page :)

Toddler Bookpack DIY

Aidi's really into books and I have to make sure I have at least one kids book in my (enormous) purse to entertain him when we're on the go. Decided it's about time that he carried his own books and bags, cause really, add that to mummy's gadgets (and even dad's sometimes), it's a load too much!

Rummaged through my kiddy fabric stash and found these coordinating fabrics and a zipper to match. Score! Came up with my own toddler backpack pattern and made this square bag just the right size for his board books and his little water bottle.

That feeling you get when you make something for your kid and he doesn't want to take it off? Sheer bliss~

Much love, 

Owl Tote Bag: An Artsy Crafty Babe Pattern

Finally completed this cute Owl Tote bag after its fair share of dilemma after dilemma. From finding the right lining, buying the wrong interfacing, an unserviced sewing machine and a missing interfaced piece. Hoot hoot! Well...now I just need the right button to suit it.

I altered an Artsy Crafty Babe's free Pleated Tote pattern for this tote, as I fell in love with the pleats on her little polka dotted tote! Only customization I made was the different coloured bottom part. So I cut a 3-inch high bottom piece. Would probably add 2 inches more to the bottom piece just so I could see more of it on the sides rather than the bottom. Loving the effect nonetheless!

I'd also add another inch to the hoop just so it'll be longer and my button would be better placed. After a rough estimation, the measurement provided in the pattern is a tad short for my liking and now my button would have to be higher placed, nearer to the edge.

Besides that, I over-estimated my unserviced machine's capability and realised that it couldn't really manage the heavy interfacing on both sides of the fabric AND the thick handles. Am proud of the fella for sticking through the project, albeit slowly (more like nearly dying) making its way through the thick material. Now hoping my friend would be as happy as I am with this little piece of work. 

And finally ending this entry with a photo of my little bag model helping Ibu (mummy) with the bag. Thank you baby! 

Much love,

Freebie: Arabic Alphabet Printable Flashcards for Toddlers

As a Muslim, the Arabic language is an essential part of the religion, so I've been introducing Aidi to the basic Arabic letters at this young age. Currently Aidi's at word vomit stage and will imitate a lot of words and sounds we say. He's been counting up to 4 and jumping straight to number 10 and finger spelling his ABCs so now seems to be the right time to get him used to these unique letters.

I made this set of colourful printable flashcards (with little arrows for writing directions) and would love to share them with you (click the download button below) This download is only up to the letter seen س and I'll upload the other letters soonish.

One way to use these flashcards would be to let your toddler follow the arrows using their fingers. This will encourage their fine motor skills as well! Sometimes, I'd take little pompom balls and let Aidi arrange them according to the letters. He loves that too. You could even print 2 copies of each letter and play matching games with your kids. Too many fun ways to use them. Laminate them for durability! 

If you've printed them out, tell me how you use them, or better yet, share them with me on Instagram by tagging @dzaltastic and #dzaltastic cause I'd love to see little hands using these.

Much love,

The Malaysian Batik Purse Clutch

Malaysian batik never seems to bore me. I think they're beautiful in their own unique way differentiating itself from the Indonesian batik and the designers' popping up now a days. So I took out my stash of Malaysian printed batik, made a purse pattern for a 7 inch zip and tada! Will add on a strap to turn it into a wrislet cause my smart phone fits nicely in it.

More colours will be added to this collection cause it just looks to pretty and vintage-y. Aidi, on the other hand, decided that the purse would work better as a remote control holder.

Fastest way to make a GIF image

I love GIF images and love them even more when my son's in it! Videos take too long and hey, if people don't have the time they'd probably skip the play button. It didn't take long to make my GIFs, in fact, I only took the photos using my smart phone and copied the links to share them.

So here's what I would normally do. Photos from my Android phone are automatically updated using Google+'s Auto Backup. So whenever I want a GIF image, I would take multiple continuous photos of my son in action. Now don't lie, but I know you must have loads of photos like that, especially when they're moving photos and you're just hoping that one of them would be clear enough to be shared on Facebook. Now you have a reason to do so!

After taking about 3 to 5 photos, I'll wait a few minutes and I'll have a notification on my smartphone saying my image are already backed up and there are a few photos being made Awesome. Check those Auto-Awesome images on your G+ account and enjoy photos of your baby taking his first few steps. This was Aidi's:

Here's another effect by Auto-Awesome. Multiple similar photos made awesome with frames.

I've also gotten the same effect whenever I upload multiple continuous photo from my digital camera to G+ like this one:

If you're using an Iphone, you'd probably want to install the G+ app on your phone to use this function. Tell me how it went, would love to know!

Paperlove Blog Hop: Miniature Kite Wau. Wow!

I've been a fan of paper for the longest time. Yes, paper! The colour of vibrant printed wrapping paper, the smell of old books and the sound of crinkling torn paper. I've been fascinated with it's capabilities to transform from such a simple two sided sheet to anything creatively imagined. That's why I love making printables and decided to take part in this bloghop! 

I love how they can be intricately cut, folded into 3 dimensional objects or even as mere entertainment for an inquisitive little boy.

So for my Paperlove Blog Hop, I ended up reminiscing on my past art classes in primary school and recalled one paper project that was often a hit among the students. It was kite making! And not any ordinary kite. Our traditional kite, the Malaysian kite. The Wau!

With help from my little sidekick, I decided to make a miniature Wau as a tribute to the Paperlove Blog Hop. Made out of coloured paper, glitter paper, wooden sticks, thread and some beads.

The International Kite Festival 2014 happened just recently in the country last January. Sad I couldn't make it but I heard that there were some pretty impressive kites. So this came just in time!

Photo credited to my friend's husband, Joon Ming Photography, who has some pretty impressive photos of the event

The Wau is famous for it's intricate design and size. It's known as the biggest type of kite, measuring about 3.5 meters from head to tail. Aging more than a hundred years old, Wau flying has been a favourite past time for harvesters from the rural (kampung) areas. Creative people!

It's beautiful how people from all around the world interpret the use of paper and produce something amazing out of it. There are so many types of kites, from all parts of the world, all because a thin piece of paper can carry different meaning from one person to another. Come celebrate PAPER with us through this bloghop and visit other paper lovers (below) who have blogged about their love for this one piece wonder.

Now, what about you? What have you made out of paper today? 

The PaperLove Blog Hop is a celebration of all things paper! Follow the links to discover more bloggers who love paper and use it to inspire and delight. And if you want to explore a whole world of paper, and stretch your paper passion further with a host of creative projects, why not join the innovative new online course PaperLove (starts March 31). Led by book artist Rachel Hazell, PaperLove is a five week creative adventure for paper lovers. Find out more here.

Majo Bautista / Tona Bell / Louise Best / Cathy Bluteau / Jennifer Bomgardner / Giova Brusa / Lindsay Buck / Beka Buckley / Joanna Caskie / Jonathan Chapman (Mr Yen) / Halle Cisco / Sarah Clare / Cathryn Clarge / Dawn Clarkson / Rhiannon Connelly / Jenny D'Fuego / Molly Dhiman / Ian Dudley / Ayisatu Emore / Akmal Farid / Monika Forsberg / Claire Fritz-Domeney / Louise Gale / Chrissy Gaskell / Julie Hamilton / Emma Hawman / Rachel Hazell / Holly Helgeson / Claudine Hellmuth / Kim Henkel / Sarah Hoffman / Joanne Hus / Paula Joerling / Beth Kempton / Julie Kirk / Eos Koch / Katie LaClair / Kristy Lankford / Michelle Manolov / Doreen Marts / Rosie Martinez-Dekker / Tori Mears / Maria Mederios / Lise Meijer / Debbie Miller / MaryJane Mitchell / Suzy Naidoo / Grace Noel / Hannah Nunn / Camilla Olsson / Jo Packham / Rachelle Panagarry / Monette Pangan / Melanie Paul / Nicole Piar / Jen Pitta / Liz Plummer / Julie Reed / Michelle Reynolds / Lisa Rivas / Angee Robertson / Natalie Ryan / Aisling Ryan / Elisabet Sapena / Kyrrha Sevco / Jamie Sprague / Elizabeth Steele / Terri Stephens / Juniper Stokes / Mary Tanana / Maike Thoma / Linda Tieu / Gabrielle Treanor / Tammy Tutterow / Deborah Velasquez / Jordan Vinograd Kim / Cat Whipple / Brooke Witt / Katie Wood / Amelia Woodbridge