mangosteenskin

Stamped Stuffs

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:24:00 +0000

Fridge magnet.

Made of shell and some buttons from last year's Christmas gift from my brother. The letters are made using this alphabet stamp set.

Bought it at RM12 something at Popular bookstore.

My mini stamp artwork! Made into a small plaque. The rooster stamp is one of my mom's favourite.

It suppose to be a keychain, but I never use it as keychain. I used it once as pincushion.

This is my current notebook where I jot down my to-do-list. I stamped my husband's name on it(hm...perhaps should add R and S behind the M, so it would become Mrs. Khairuldin kan? Hihi). He suggest that I color the background of a mounting, so I experiment using a stamp I made for him recently.

Sweet

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:19:00 +0000

Two new stamps carved on Friday night.

Trisya's!

And Nadia's!

A new experience with "khat" design (it writes Nadia & Azree).

November 8th Saturday palm reading.

Succesfully carved stamps just make my day..

Just a little mishap while cutting the wood :)

Winner of Mango's Game

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:45:00 +0000

Happy Wednesday Everybody! Today the winner of Mango's Game will be revealed!!

Participating Entries:

1. Anasfadillah - Maneki Neko (Lucky Cat; kucing sepet yang melambai2) -Malaysia
2. Trisya - Rafflesia, Sompoton or Mt. Kinabalu - Malaysia
3. Cabbiena - Two sisters - Malaysia
4. Veda - Kai Kriye, Orchid or Easel - India
5. Jiji - Her Nite wish Umbrella - Malaysia
6. Ayu - Pincushion and Needle - Malaysia
7. Sweetwannur - Lips yang mungil or Rose - Malaysia
8. Iefa - Heartshape or Buttons - Malaysia
9. Diya - Chandelier, Swirls or Damask - Malaysia
10. Nurain - Sewing Machine - Malaysia
11. Beldandy - Cake or Cupcake - Malaysia
12. Rozela - Giraffe and Elephant - Malaysia
13. Miyyah - رِحْلِة الأَلْف مِيل تَبْدَأ بِخَطْوَة - Malaysia
14. Syairazali - Frog or Lollipop - Malaysia
15. Cik Zizee - Hello Kitty!!! - Malaysia
16. Pianina - Roses! - Malaysia
17. Jom Makan - Tuck & Power of Juju or Barbie - Malaysia
18. Ciketon Fazya - Her Orange Kitty or Cocoa Tree - Malaysia
19. Elizabeth Kuang - Couple Holding Hands - Malaysia
20. Fawa - A house with Boy and Girl - Malaysia
21. Wanjah - 1Malaysia or KLCC - Malaysia
22. Wan Anis Sorfina - Moshi Moshi Mushroom - Malaysia
23. Zai Kulim - Upin & Ipin or Hello Kitty - Malaysia
24. My Rayyan - Yarn & Needle (cop mohor dia, hihi) - Malaysia
25. Msdaisy - Rainbow and Butterflies - Malaysia
26. Mimie Azim - Keta pon ponn dia...hahaha - Malaysia
27. Sikurus - Her WBL logo - Malaysia
28. Atiqah - Graduation Mortar Board or Bee - Malaysia
29. Asmieyra - Mickey Mouse or Winnie the Pooh - Malaysia
30. Anin - Papa Mama & Baby Boy or baby Boy only - Malaysia
31. Ciyou - Eiffel Tower or Mirror with Handle - Malaysia
32. Redcomel - Pout of Lips - Malaysia
33. Rai - Rose (blog header) - Malaysia
34. Faraisha - Story of heart or Flowery Garden - Malaysia
35. Me, Myself & I - Cute Little Crab, Sun & a slice of lemon - Malaysia
36. Dizzee - Tulips & Buttons - Malaysia
37. Juniza - Teddy Bear - Malaysia
38. Shakeymirza - Bear hadiah ex-bf dia...hik hik... - Malaysia
39. Em's Family - Pregnant woman - Malaysia
40. Mijiworkshop - er...er...
41. Sweetcraft store - Sakura & simple butterfly or cupcake - Malaysia
42. Segalanyer kuterima - Winnie the Pooh & Cupcake - Malaysia
43. Bethany - Guinea Pig - USA
44. Puantanah - xbox360 console - Malaysia
45. Inasepi - Cat & Rabbit - Malaysia
46. Syakila - Rose - Malaysia
47. Inahasan - Love (heartshape) - Malaysia
48. Izue - Elephant - Malaysia
49. Agnes Sim - Malaysia

I hope I don't miss anyone!!

Everybody's in? Now get ready and hold on tight!!!

I used self-timer with slow shutter to capture the spinning process.

How are you guys doing? Having fun? We'll keep spinning until one LUCKY person fall off into the slit ya.

Anyone puke? Sorry if I spin to hard, but don't worry, it's going to end soon...

Aha! Just in time!

..Tadda!! The lucky winner is here!! Congratulations!!

p.s: THANKS A MILLION TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATE!

I HOPE EVERYBODY HAD FUN!!

Handmade Paper Box

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:04:00 +0000

Apart from carving the tricolor stamp yesterday, I manage to mount a couple of my recent works. Actually I got my wood supply on Friday and went back to my hometown on Saturday. The cutting job was done on the deck by the river. So what I did yesterday was just glueing the stamps to their mountings.

The stamps are now ready, but I have always thought that my stamps should meet their owners in a nice, pleasant packaging. Before this I wrap, or make paper packet to put them in and sometimes I just don't have enough time to wrap them nicely (hehe, sorry to those who received their stamps in "nasi lemak" kinda wrapping before). I think the best is to put them in boxes, that fit each of them nicely. Problem is, sometimes my schedule is so packed, I don't have excess time to make boxes.

Anyway, I made a box this morning, to figure out how much time needed to make a custom one for a stamp.

It takes about 45mins-1hour. Argh.. got to find a more productive solutions.

From Tri-color to Monotonous

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:23:00 +0000

If somebody ask you to carve a stamp for a logo like this, how would you do it? This logo might look simple and easy, but how to create a single stamp that will give an impression of three different colours? For this kind of logo, the colors are important elements.

Another challenge is, the customer require the stamp to be in a specific measurement. My problem is, the size of the text is already small, so reducing the logo to the required size will proportionally reduce the text to something much much smaller. Again, for a logo like this, I think it is important to produce a crisp and neat carving rather than rustic or wavy cuts.

I almost say "No, it is impossible to do it handcarved", to the customer, but at the same time I still want to give it a try. It would be a new experience.

So I carried out my first attempt. I spend hours trying my best on it but as soon as I finished, I'm certain that using the cross-line (as to distinguish two different colored background) is a huge mistake. The text is also unsatisfactory.

I come up with a second solution, and this time the customer agree coz it resembles their logo better than the first one.

As usual, carving the wordings is the most challenging part. I took the longest time on it but I still can't get it perfect. Argh.. Sampai terpeleot jari masa carve "B" untuk "Bersatu" tu.

Mulung ka Ayam?

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:43:00 +0000

Today I bought a book from a second-hand shop. I don't know when will I have time for papier mache, but I just got to buy it. I love the illustrations.

Yesterday, I went to a frame shop because my hubby asked me to send a poster to be framed. While there, I took out this miniature stamped-art from my purse and asked the tauke to help me frame it. Another customer came in.

The tauke ketawa. "Apa punya ayam ini ooo?". Plus, laughing at the size of that piece of paper I wanna frame. I know, very small maa.. your bus or parking ticket is even bigger.

Told him, "It's my handcarved stamp" but of course, they have no idea what I was talking about.

The other customer interrupted, "Itu mukan ayam, itu mulung maa..(it's not a rooster, it's a bird". They laughed.

OMG. It's my miniature art or me?

Tak kisahlah lah. Hihi.

Miniature Artwork

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:27:00 +0000

Remember how matchbox labels look like?

Wahahahahahahahahaha....I feel so inspired!! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!!! From artwork, to stamp, and back to artwork again!

I experiment with one of my earliest handmade stamp. And, tadaa!!!... Mangosteenskin's original miniature artwork! It is done 100% using my handcarved eraser stamp.

My husband said I was talking in my sleep last night but he couldn't understand what I was mumbling about. It must be because of THIS, because I almost can't sleep due to over-excitedness!

e@Siswa - Translated Version by Haslina

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:40:00 +0000

See the original article in Malay here.

BIG BIG thanks to Haslina. She's the only person who answer the call and I love her translated version of the page. As promised, she will be getting a personalized stamp from me. Hehe, still owing another stamp for Miyyah, she helped me to translate this last time. Thanks so much for the time and effort guys! I really appreciate it!

Here's the translation done by Haslina! Enjoy reading to those who can't read the original version in Malay!

MAISARAH MUJIP

Generating Income from the Art of Eraser-carving

The eraser, which is synonymous with a student’s life, comes in various shapes and appearances. It sole function, at least traditionally, was to erase mistakes made in writing but over time it has acquired roles and usage that far exceed its original purpose and function. The humble eraser has become a collectible item and in the case of one creative soul, the item is used to generate income. In this edition’s Kerjaya Pilihan (Career of Choice), e@siswa features an individual who is involved in the art of eraser-carving. Our writer takes a peek at the path taken by Melannie Khairunnisa Maisarah Mujip, more popularly known as Mango in the cyber world.

How long have you been involved in this field?
I first started carving erasers to be made into stamps in February 2008 after accidentally coming across a tutorial on the Internet. I then displayed the results of my attempts at eraser-carving on my blog and before I knew it, I began receiving orders from online acquaintances.

Is this a part-time career?
For me, eraser-carving started out as a hobby. I am still in the process of learning, but because I am constantly getting orders from customers, I can say that it has gradually turned into a part-time career.

How would you describe the returns from such an effort?
Because almost all the orders I receive involve the process of creating the pattern and the design, the work is definitely time-consuming. As for the income that I get from my effort, I can say that it is rather irregular as it depends largely on the amount of time that can be used to produce the stamp. The process of carving an eraser that is to be made into a stamp takes about one to three hours, and this does not include the process of sketching, discussion with the customer, the process of tracing, cutting the wood block and so on.

Where do the ideas for the design come from?
I play around a lot with the ideas that I have in mind but of course imagination alone is never enough. I also do a bit of research on the Internet and I also refer to books. I believe that if we are keen observers, anything aound us can be used as a source of inspiration.

What are the advantages of the eraser-based stamp?
The hand-made eraser-based stamp that I produce is a unique or one-of-a-kind product. Its uniqueness also lies in the fact that I produce specific designs according to the needs of my customers. Another advantage of the hand-carved stamp is that it has deeper grooves, thus making it suitable for claywork. With hand-carved stamps, we are also able to produce different stamping effects. They are definitely not the same as machine-made stamps but they are unique.

What are the challenges you face in this field?
One of the challenges is finding erasers in large sizes. However, this problem can be solved as we can also use other medium/materials, known as Linoleum. It is available in the form of blocks or sheets. I am actually more comfortable with erasers. Admittedly, some Linoleum blocks do have the texture and surface that really resemble those of erasers but unfortunately they are not sold in Malaysia. Of course, they can be bought online but the cost is rather prohibitive as the transaction involves US dollars. Linoleum sheets can sometimes be obtained from shops selling craft equipment but the textured surface makes it rather difficult for me to make pencil markings as a guide for carving. It also has a different stamping effect compared to the use of erasers but it has its own advantages, especially in terms of size and durability.

Some WIP

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:58:00 +0000

Trying hard to do commision jobs whenever I can. These are a couple of stamps am working on but I couldn't finish them as I've run out of raw materials for the mounting.
Small fonts still make me nervous. Before I start carving these kind of stamps, I usually take time to get physically, and mentally prepared.

And, another butterfly came...

to make friends with the blue one. Maybe they need more friends, don't you think? Lebih seronok main enjet-enjet semut.

Enjoy this page of my test-chop-prints ya.

When you finish carving a stamp, you need to see whether your work turns out well or not.

Editing photos using photoscapes is so quick and easy.

Ahh~ I just love round corners. Most of photos in the late 70's and early 80's are rounded-corners.

Round corners is nostalgic and it bring back happy childhood feelings. :)

I am in e@Siswa - October Issue

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:04:00 +0000

Again, with self-taken photos. Haha.

I am featured in Kerjaya Pilihan (Carier of Choice) column. Click on the photo to read it. To those who is unable to read the original version in Malay, please read the translated version done by Haslina.

Argh! You don't know how much I really wish that "Eraser Stamp Carver" is something I can call "a carier". Like something I can officially write down on blank spaces designated for "occupation" in profile forms. So I can wake up each morning, enjoying my breakfast thinking only what stamps I'm going to make that day.

Since the article is about carier, let me tell you how I ended up carving stamps. Uhuk! Uhuk!

I wanted to be a scientist since I was 6, biasalah cita2 budak2 hehe but I carry on till I manage to get a Biotechnology degree. I thought of seeking for employment in something to do with plants/crop/agriculture development, don't mind if it is in private firms or goverment departments, or maybe at least become a teacher (preferably teaching Biology). But when I graduate, my hubby managed to persuade me to help him run the business, so he can focus more on field and train the staffs and I can take over administration affairs. I never know I would ever give up my years of ambition, I thought I'm strong-hearted, but I guess that's just how the letter L, O, V and E have changed my life direction.

I am now, holding an Admin Manager title. Self-created position, and behind it is all my husband's hard works, so nothing to be proud of (about myself).

I also love photography, but apart from an RM180 (approx. USD51.42) compact 28mm wide lense CANON analog camera which I bought during my final year in University, I can't afford anything more expensive than that to explore the passion. Later when me and hubby bought an S3IS prosumer CANON digital camera in 2006 I was so damn excited! I started to participate online photography portal and collect photography magazines only to realize that I need to upgrade my camera and equip myself with proper photo-editing softwares in order to upgrade my skills. Worse, even my laptop is out-of-date. Photography isn't a cheap hobby.

I never mean to give up on photography, but I take it as a sign for me to work harder to get what I want. There is no short-cut to an EOS or new laptop or whatsoever. In terms of carier, I love working with my husband, but it doesn't give me self-satisfaction as I don't have chemistry in construction. I am so green and introvert ~ I don't even know if I have a thing to become a businesswoman. So I tought, I must find something else...I must look deeper and find a talent to polish. I can't look for job in other company coz that will means I have to leave my current job. Well, it is different when the boss is your own husband.

In 2007, I started drawing. Just something to keep my blog goes on. I need to work hard on my skills, techniques and execution of ideas but I don't have much time for that. Following steps of talented illustrator and graphic designer, Emila Yusof and Rizal, a lecturer in Institut Kraf Negara, I joined Illustration Friday as a way to practice. At times when I'm not looking, I coincidently found Gennine's Art Blog through Illustration Friday and learned about stamp carving. So in 2008, when I found out that I'm kinda gifted with this stamp carving, I promise myself, that this is something I must pursue. Sometimes I do feel bored, but I just told myself I can't afford to quit things anymore.

If you ask me, I don't think I am eligible to be featured in this kind of article. I'm just a beginner but perhaps I got the attention because stamp carving is still something rare in Malaysia. However, it's also a good thing because before this not even my parents understand why I want to draw or carve stamps, and waste my degree. My husband always complains why do I need to juggle between spending time online, drawing, stamp-making and administrating our company. I understands why he is worry. The company is a greater commitment and responsibilities. I just hope atleast, they understand and lend me the chance to do something that make me feel good about myself. I expect nothing much, but their blessings.

I'm happy to have all the artsy-crafty friends in blogosphere. You guys never stop inspiring me and your supports make me go on. Just don't stop doing what you love and trust this, "Extraordinary People Do Ordinary Things Extraordinary Well". It works all the time.

You and I, let us be extraordinary.

Mango's Game

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:59:00 +0000

Ok, let's play it. A set of 9 mini mini mini handcarved eraser stamps as the winning prize + personalized stamp. Jeng! Jeng! Jeng!

But here's the truth. The mini mini mini stamp set was an express carving, done playfully and the workmanship is abit rough. No sketching or tracing process involved as I draw directly on the eraser surface.

Now,

1. Make a post and name an object/animal/plant etc that you want to see in a form of stamp. As an addition, if you win, I will make a handcarved stamp of your selected item, with your initial. The design, is a suprise and you will only see it when it arrive at your door. You can use it to chop the back of your handmade cards, letters, thank you tag, etc.

2. You may take any of these 3 photos to come along with your post, and don't forget, link your post to this Giveaway entry so other people can join the fun too.

3. Finally, after everything's done, leave a comment here to eligible you to enter the prize draw. Updated!!*Contest will be closed at 12 noon, Tuesday 3rd November 2009.

4. That's all. Good Luck!!

Participating Entries:

1. Anasfadillah - Maneki Neko (Lucky Cat; kucing sepet yang melambai2) -Malaysia

2. Trisya - Rafflesia, Sompoton or Mt. Kinabalu - Malaysia

3. Cabbiena - Two sisters - Malaysia

4. Veda - Kai Kriye, Orchid or Easel - India

5. Jiji - Her Nite wish Umbrella - Malaysia

6. Ayu - Pincushion and Needle - Malaysia

7. Sweetwannur - Lips yang mungil or Rose - Malaysia

8. Iefa - Heartshape or Buttons - Malaysia

9. Diya - Chandelier, Swirls or Damask - Malaysia

10. Nurain - Sewing Machine - Malaysia

11. Beldandy - Cake or Cupcake - Malaysia

12. Rozela - Giraffe and Elephant - Malaysia

13. Miyyah - رِحْلِة الأَلْف مِيل تَبْدَأ بِخَطْوَة - Malaysia

14. Syairazali - Frog or Lollipop - Malaysia

15. Cik Zizee - Hello Kitty!!! - Malaysia

16. Pianina - Roses! - Malaysia

17. Jom Makan - Tuck & Power of Juju or Barbie - Malaysia

18. Ciketon Fazya - Her Orange Kitty or Cocoa Tree - Malaysia

19. Elizabeth Kuang - Couple Holding Hands - Malaysia

20. Fawa - A house with Boy and Girl - Malaysia

21. Wanjah - 1Malaysia or KLCC - Malaysia

22. Wan Anis Sorfina - Moshi Moshi Mushroom - Malaysia

23. Zai Kulim - Upin & Ipin or Hello Kitty - Malaysia

24. My Rayyan - Yarn & Needle (cop mohor dia, hihi) - Malaysia

25. Msdaisy - Rainbow and Butterflies - Malaysia

26. Mimie Azim - Keta pon ponn dia...hahaha - Malaysia

27. Sikurus - Her WBL logo - Malaysia

28. Atiqah - Graduation Mortar Board or Bee - Malaysia

29. Asmieyra - Mickey Mouse or Winnie the Pooh - Malaysia

30. Anin - Papa Mama & Baby Boy or baby Boy only - Malaysia

31. Ciyou - Eiffel Tower or Mirror with Handle - Malaysia

32. Redcomel - Pout of Lips - Malaysia

33. Rai - Rose (blog header) - Malaysia

34. Faraisha - Story of heart or Flowery Garden - Malaysia

35. Me, Myself & I - Cute Little Crab, Sun & a slice of lemon - Malaysia

36. Dizzee - Tulips & Buttons - Malaysia

37. Juniza - Teddy Bear - Malaysia

38. Shakeymirza - Bear hadiah ex-bf dia...hik hik... - Malaysia

39. Em's Family - Pregnant woman - Malaysia

40. Mijiworkshop - er...er...

41. Sweetcraft store - Sakura & simple butterfly or cupcake - Malaysia

42. Segalanyer kuterima - Winnie the Pooh & Cupcake - Malaysia

43. Bethany - Guinea Pig - USA

44. Puantanah - xbox360 console - Malaysia

45. Inasepi - Cat & Rabbit - Malaysia

46. Syakila - Rose - Malaysia

47. Inahasan - Love (heartshape) - Malaysia

48. Izue - Elephant - Malaysia

49. Agnes Sim - Malaysia

Noko's New Home...

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:03:00 +0000

...is the zoo.

Noko's mother and his other sibling had been killed by the dog while eating fruits at my grandmother's orchard. Luckily my grandfather heard the dog barking and went to check it out and manage to save Noko's life. So when me and hubby went to visit them one day, we took Noko to live with us. We put him inside a cage, and he had been occupying our balcony for almost two years now. We want to send him back to the wild but we afraid he wouldn't survive if he don't know how to find his own food or get killed by humans. As what we have heard, many of this animal had been killed by farmers for eating their fruits. So we finally decide to send him to Taman Hidupan Liar Lok Kawi (Lok Kawi Wildlife Park).

Commonly called as "musang (fox)" or specifically "musang pandan" by the Malays (because it secretes a Pandan-like smell), Noko is actually an Asian Palm Civet or Common Palm Civet, Toddy Cat, Motit (Philipines), Uduguwa (Sri Lanka) and Maranai (Malayalam-India). The species' scientific name (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), was given in 1777 because both sexes have scent glands underneath the tail that resemble testicles. Civets spray a noxious secretion from these glands.

Do you know about Kopi Luwak (Luwak Coffee) or Motit Coffee? The first time I heard about this coffee is when I watch "the Bucket List", a movie starred by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.

Kopi Luwak is coffee that is prepared using coffee cherries that have been eaten by the animal, partially digested, and harvested from its feces.

Motit Coffee is coffee prepared from coffee beans harvested from the faeces of the Motit (Philippine Civet). Prices for this delicacy in 2009 ranged from USD$300 in the Philippines, to USD$1400 in the US, per pound weight clean.

Interesting huh?! Know what? I only know about all these informations after I googled it last night. I never knew much about Noko while he was still staying with us. I just knew that he love to eat sweet fruits like banana and jackfruits, and insects. He is nocturnal, makes weird sound at night and smell like Pandan. And oh! Noko loves spagetti too! (hehe, me & hubby fed him spagetti and he loves it!).

Oh Noko! I'm sure going to miss your cute racoon-face! Take a good care of yourself, make friends with the other animals and hopefully the zoo keeper will find you a good mate. I hope you will still remember me when I visit the zoo one day.

The first picture is taken before we depart to the zoo. I feel sad when I look at this photo.

Please google "Common Palm Civet" if you want to know more about this animal. And please, stop killing them okay!

Butterfly

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:25:00 +0000

Eraser stamp. . . Aaahhhh~~. . . .

I did a quick photoediting to this photo using PhotoScape. You can download it here.

Thanks Trisya for telling me about PhotoScape!

Bow and Rose

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:07:00 +0000

My Etsy shop is empty now coz all my product listing has expired. Don't feel like renewing my listing at the moment as I still got pending orders from my beloved local and LOYAL customers. Thanks so much guys!

In between works, I made a couple of new handcarved rubber stamps with an idea I wanted to try for so long. I love the vintage look and the additional fill-in stamps.

Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:24:00 +0000

Paintings, drawings, sketches or doodles do have hidden thoughts behind them.

Like this one I made some time last year. I was thinking of my grandma while sketching it, because traditional Kadazan/Dusun costumes always remind me of her. She was a good tailor and she once told me that she never attend any sewing course. She learnt sewing all by herself as a way to make a living. She often sew for the traditional beauty pagent (Unduk Ngadau) and for weddings. I still remember spending my school holiday with her when I was 15, and helped her sewing all the sequins for a bride's cloth.

Now she only lie on the bed all day or sit on her wheelchair. She has lost her ability to speak and half-body paralysed. And what make me feel guilty is I can't visit her often.

Agnetha Fältskog

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:53:00 +0000

If it wasn't because of Lin who had been posting link of ABBA songs in Facebook yersterday, I won't end up searching for my favourite numbers of ABBA in Youtube again (after doing it a week ago). I grow up listening to ABBA and their songs always bring back memories.

The search further led me to Agnetha Fältskog, and I fell deeper in love with her voice. Last night was the night when Agnetha's really looked into my eyes and touched my heart.

"After the release of I Stand Alone in 1988, Agnetha took a break from her musical career and completely withdrew from public life. In April 2004, after 17 years of silence Agnetha came back with a bang by releasing the album My Colouring Book, a collection of covers of 1960s classic oldies.The album topped the charts in Sweden, reached top 5 in some countries and No.12 in UK. The Times reviewer noted "her voice is still an impressive pop instrument", and The Observer noted "time hasn't diminished her perfect voice".The album release attracted major media attention across Europe, but Agnetha refused to be involved in any publicity. Despite this, the album sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide, with 50,000 of those in the UK alone.Agnetha has a fear of flying and has not been on an airplane for over 15 years. When she goes abroad she prefers to travel by car. She prefers a tranquil life in a rural suburb south-west of Stockholm, away from the noisy city atmosphere".

Here's few tracks from the album MY Colouring Book, 2004.

Sometimes When I'm Dreaming

My Colouring Book

Past, Present and Future

Allen Design Giveaway Contest

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:55:00 +0000

I am so into trinket boxes, and while I was in Genting last August, I found some beautiful trinket boxes sold at one of the shop there. They were priced RM40 each while in other place I found them being sold at RM60-80. Now I regret why I don't buy at least one piece of these cuties. But to think back, I'm sure it was because I always try to be reasonable when dealing with temptations; avoid spending money on unnecesary things.

Only yesterday, I was browsing the web for trinket boxes just for cuci-cuci mata and coincidently this morning, I found something that really, really, really gets me excited! This Goody Allen Treasure Box is something I really, really WANT + NEED!!

Michell my Belle is a new blog I am following. Her artworks and creations are inspiring and stunning! If you also want to win one of these cute treasure boxes, well...let's play (ehem! let's compete)! Just click on the photo above! Deadline is Friday, October 9th.

Below are some of my collection of trinket boxes. All priced less than RM10. Hihi.

October Kickstart Post

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:38:00 +0000

I hope you enjoy looking at my photos in bigger views. I learned doing it here.

Just some stamps completed in July. I haven't been able to make any stamp during the fasting month. Now I must get back into stamp-making. New set of knife: Check. Printer's ink: Check. Wood supply: Not yet. Sand-paper: Not yet.

I got a new material called linosoft. Linosoft is just a brand and it is not that soft, carving this lino requires greater force and patience compared to erasers but in terms of durability and long-lasting-ness, it wins.

Something made before Hari Raya, the idea just came spontaneously so I draw directly on the tracing paper and transfer it onto a small eraser. I carved...

...and played with it.

Blender

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 03:11:00 +0000

Hihihihihi...lucukan muka si Blend ni? Ada huruf M di dahi (there's an M on his forehead).

This is Blender @ Blend. Our 4 months old hyperactive kitty. He inherits late Free's safety vest and red collar.

I wanted to blend some cooking ingredients but I couldn't find it in the kitchen so I asked, "Mana blender (where's the blender)?". Everybody in the house automatically pointed at the cat.

Danger

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:14:00 +0000

Another lazy strokes to practise using the tablet

Okay, clothes are shrinking and tighter than ever but everytime I step on the scale, it shows that my weight stays about the same. Having seen the result, I continue trusting my cheap bathroom scale (for years!), thinking that I still in my ideal range of weight.

Until just now when I stepped on the clinic's weighing machine. My eyes almost popped out to see the numbers pointed by the needle!

Now I feel backstabbed!

BIG Apology

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:54:00 +0000

...especially to those who have confirmed their orders and still waiting. And also to those who still waiting for me to reply their mails. I've been struggling to cope up with plenty of stuffs this year thus at some points I can only give a little bit here and there.

I know. No matter what excuse, it would still be unfair to you. Sorry.. Sorry... Sorry. Time flew so fast, and I'm certain that some of you have waited for months just for one piece of stamp kan? I must admit this is so much of a bad service! Oh! (knocking my own head).

Then, in September. After being featured in both Venusbuzz and Utusan Malaysia, I received a sudden rush of emails and enquiries including through comments and chatbox in my blog. I feel like fainting! It's pretty scarry!

Above: Learning to use CorelDraw. Also an attempt to get acquainted with my wacom tablet!

Please, be patient okay. I am gearing up myself to get back on the track again!

Selamat Hari Raya...

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:42:00 +0000

and of course, Maaf Zahir & Batin.

Let us be thankful to God, for everything that we are blessed to have today.

For everything that we think we have it less, remember there are others who are more less- fortunate than us.

May we have a blessed and meaningful Eid Mubarak with loved ones.

Unplanned...

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:22:00 +0000

and a little further carried away again.

My husband said I am lack of discipline. I think I was born with it, because as far as I could remember, I have been fighting with it since like, forever. For example, I might stop half-way sweeping the floor to browse through magazines or books or watch TV, then stop half-way browsing mags or books or watch TV to resume sweeping the floor. I must admit that I am not good at multitasking though I do it all the time. Like this one, I am actually working on a stamp, but at the same time, I paused to sketch and install the scanner driver. Why can't I do one thing at a time?

Been Missing

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:05:00 +0000

I hope I can find my way back soon. Emails and pending jobs are waiting for me.

Uh~Oh! I haven't replied your mail yet, have I?

Megat, a (very very very) talented friend put this link on my Facebook wall. I dislike too many phrase repetition in songs (Lily you know this better kan?) but this one is a pleasant exception. I enjoy the "madad" part.

Love the beat.

My heart, let's sing.

The Article

noreply@blogger.com (mangosteenskin) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:25:00 +0000

It has been published in Utusan Malaysia, Monday, 10th August 2009, a few days after we came back from a short holiday with my parents. Apparently a few days after we lost our beloved cat; Free.

I was contacted by Noor Fazrina Kamal, from Utusan Malaysia before the holiday enquiring about my handmade stamps. After I replied with a quotation, she then emailed me again with an unexpected request for an interview and photography session. I told her I am staying in KK and unable to meet her in person, but if it is okay to carry out the interview through email, I will try my best to answer her questions and provide the photos. She agreed.

I told my hubby about me needing his hands on the photography but since he was so busy I don't bother to remind him. I prepared the setting and used a tripod. Nobody has seen the photos before they were published, not even my hubby. I am so happy about the self-taken pictures, they werent' that good, but as somebody who likes to play with camera, "satisfied" is the best word to describe my feelings when looking at the paper. My unfinished, handmade house-shaped shelf also included in the photo, but my sister said I looked like "ayam rebus" ~ pale as boiled chicken! Hahaha!

Click on the photos if you want to read ya! :)

Update:

Here's a quick translation done by the lovely Ms. Miyyah. Thanks so much Miyyah!

CONSTRUCTING CREATIVITY THROUGH ERASERS

Erasers have been really synonym to each and every one of us. We use erasers when we were in school, we use them at work, and we practically use them everyday in our daily encounters.

Melannie Khairunnisa Maisarah Mujip, 27, viewed erasers more than ordinary school stationery. With her creative background, the lady who's widely known as Maisarah sees erasers as a source of a lucrative hobby.

"I started my rubber-carving hobby back in February 2008, when I stumbled upon a rubber-carving tutorial on the Internet, published by Gennine Tzilatkis, a freelance illlustrator in Mexico and the owner of Gennine's Art Blog."

"Back then I've never heard of rubber-carving as a hobby. Even though she used linoleum block in her tutorial, I was really excited when I found out that I can use ordinary eraser for the same purpose.

"The beautiful lady who lives in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah said that she got her sources of inspirations from internet, craft books and from her daily observations.Maisarah also took the initiative to do research on online blog business and oncustomer needs and expectations, in ensuring full satisfactions for her customers.

"Coincidentally, I'm very observative. I believe that if we can channel our creativity the right way, everything around us could be seen as great inspirations."Sometimes when a customer made her/his order, I would start sketching ideas on my mind- even up to few days. Ideas would come anywhere, and at anytime - while driving, watching movies etc. That's why I would always bring pen and papers wherever I go, so when the idea strikes, I could sketch the design immediately," says the fourth child of eleven siblings.

Maisarah is also blessed with a very supportive husband and was her best source for great , original ideas. Her husband has never failed to give great suggestions in order for her to produce original and unique designs for every one of her customers.

"I usually create the designs on my own, except logos that are pre-designed by the customers themselves. I'm a perfectionist so I always tried to carve the stamps as close to the original design ordered by the customers. Sometimes, I even spend more than the allocated hours to carve but didn't even charge the customers on the extra hours."

"There is nothing more satisfying than to hear feedbacks from my customers saying that they love my hand-carved rubber stamps.' says Maisarah, a graduate in Bachelor in Biotechnology from University Malaysia Sabah.

Nowadays, Maisarah's hand-carved rubber stamps are being done using erasers, and the handles were made from block of woods, that she cut using handsaw. She mentioned that her toughest challenge was to find large-size erasers, hence she had to make the ordered designs smaller so they can fit in the normal-size erasers.

"Most of my customers consist of bloggers who have their own online shops, and they're also in the part time/ full time home businesses like cake-makers, card creators, tailors etc. For the time being, I only advertise my rubberstamps through my blog so most of my customers are currently those who have links to my blogs or the ones being introduced by my other blogger friends."

"There were also customers from America, Britain and Brunei Darussalam who bought my hand-carved rubber stamps from Etsy website."

THE CHALLENGE OF CARVING ERASERS

Maisarah further explained that the most important element in making hand-carved rubber stamps is that you need a whole-lot of patience and steady hands especially when dealing with complicated designs.

"When I first started carving erasers, I had to breathe very slowly and sometimes I even had to hold my breath in order not to mess up the design. The hardest design would be carving short sentences containing small alphabets, as one can easily identified sloppy design if it wasn't done properly."

"It's different to carving erasers with pictures as the designs. Some of the rubber stamps took up to 3 days to be done, because if there were so many intricate details on the design, your eyes and hands would easily be tired. If that happened, I would take a break and would continue carving only when I'm feeling comfortable enough to pursue," shared Maisarah.

During her early days of hand-carving erasers, Maisarah admitted that she was really enthusiastic of her new-found hobby that she would bring knife and erasers in her bag, at all times.She would carve whenever she had time, and regardless of her whereabouts: restaurants, parks, in car, and even at the roadside of parking lots.

"Frankly I never thought about it (turning hobby into a business). At first I published photos of my rubber stamps and my other crafts in my blog - because I wanted to share my passion with other bloggers of similar hobbies. But slowly afterwards, the blog started to generate money through the orders of the rubber stamps."

"I started my online business with designing logo, stickers and business cards, but nowadays my priority is on hand-carving rubber stamps business," says Maisarah, who is also talented in other types of crafts like drawing and creating hand-made key chain, fridge magnets, rock-painting and others.

Even though her artwork is really impressive, Maisarah puts her feet firm to the ground and humbly admits that there are more things that she needs to learn in perfecting herself."I plan to learn on how to use related design softwares so that I would be able to offer logo designing for my customers, and not merely focusing on rubber stamp designs alone. I also want to produce e-book and organise rubber-carving classes for interested parties," she said.