I ❤ Events: Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is practically over and with that Breast Cancer Awareness Month is close to an end. This month, I attended various events held in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness. I was treated to a spectacular high tea, and even took part in a 5km charity walk. This disease is tragic and can be averted if detected early.  

I'm always looking for new projects, so when I was commissioned by fabulous ladies, Fehmz and niQi to create my signature heart brooch pins for the 'Pretty in Pink' competition in aid of Breast Cancer Month, I jumped at the opportunity, donned my pink fairy wings and waved my very pink wand! 

I decided to use pink beads since we're in the midst of Breast Cancer Month.

I 'upcycled' a broken pink necklace and used the pieces to create a scarf/hijaab pin for a segment of the prize hamper.

So what do you think?

❤ Lucky Packet Design: Customised Moleskine notebook

A friend of mine recently purchased a brand spanking new Moleskine notebook for work purposes. A bit bored with the exterior of her new notebook, she asked me to 'do something with it'. Knowing that she loves simple designs and keeping in mind that she will be using it in the workplace, I stuck to a few colours and blinged it up to the bare minimum.

The end result was simple, yet fun.

❤ Lucky Packet Design: Clay name tags

After a relaxed start to 2012, I am delighted to announce that The Lucky Packet will be supplying a few of the upcoming niQi living luxe workshops with clay name tags.

If you would like to attend any of these workshops, please check out the website here.

These workshops are wonderful and you'll be able to grab a Lucky Packet freebie while you're there :)

Photo courtesy of Saaleha

I ❤ Workshops: NiQi | living luxe workshops

A few weeks ago The Lucky Packet attended a packaging workshops hosted by Naqiyah of NiQi | living {luxe}.    I love creative things, but I must admit, I tend to hide my gifts in a box or sad looking gift bag instead of presenting it beautifully to the special people in my life.  

The class at NiQi took me out of that mindset and altered my view on gift-giving.

Here are some tips that I picked up on the class:

• Choose a few items which match up for your gift.
• Choose a stunning box which match your items colour.
• Arrange items in the box around a main focal point.
• Decorate the box with chocolates, flowers or whatever 'fillers' you may have.
• Don't forget to use the double-sided tape to ensure that everything is secure.
• Decorate some more :)
• Cellophane cover your entire box and over your gifts (more double sided tape is indeed your friend here)
• Don't be afraid to decorate on top of the cellphone.  Use gorgeous ribbons, sticky diamante's, etc to embellish your gift
• Add note or gift tags.  Go crazy.  Use stamps and punches to achieve a beautiful overall effect.

There's no denying that any gifts that have some sort of time and effort invested in them, will a lasting effect between those who give and those who receive.  Presentation is a major factor in gifting and it can create bonds between people, and, as we have noticed from the traditional South African-Indian-Muslim weddings,  the tradition of gifting is a huge point in the festivities.

The best part of the entire hamper-making process?  The treats Naqiyah provided AND the look on the face of the receiver afterward.

I've recently applied the same techniques now for a dear friend of mine, and my friend informed me that she refuses to open her babies gifts (yes, babies! she has twins) because they look lovely wrapped up!

Judging from that result, I will definitely pay more attention to presentation of gifts more.

NiQi is currently hosting a class on 26 November 2011 in Johannesburg on table decor, menu planning, handmade paper decor, and makeup & personal styling lessons.  

The very creative Saaleha from Soul&Paper will be presenting elements on decor and Rowena from Secrets & Stilettos will be presenting on personal style and makeup.  A HUGE bonus: One lucky attendee will win a free makeover from Rowena!

If you would like to attend the class, please check out the details here.

Update:  Due to the high demand, ANOTHER workshop will be held on 10 December.  Please contact NiQi for the details!

❤ Lucky Packet Design: Post-Ask Nanima Expo

Soul & Paper, Oranges and Lemons Health and NiQi were my co-expo stall holders.
We had a lot of fun for a dry, dusty and windy day.  Some of my scarf pins did not survive thanks to the wind blowing my display over on several occasions.  Shireen, my good friend, procured a rock from some odd area of the school and it helped secure my scarf pin stand.

Thanks to Saaleha of Soul & Paper, we have some lovely pictures of items from our stand!

The Lucky Packet 
Scarf Pins

The Lucky Packet
 clay brooch pins, pendants and fridge magnets

Soul & Paper
Stunning gift cards

Oranges and Lemons
Bath salts made from pure essential oils and
dried flowers (rose petals, lavender, etc)

NiQi
Handcrafted tea towels

Please note that you can still order many and any of these items from the various links that I have posted above.  Otherwise, leave a comment below and I'll make sure the ladies all get your order! 

❤ Lucky Packet Design: Sneak peek - Hijaab/Scarf pins

The Ask Nanima Expo is the first time that The Lucky Packet will be selling goodies.
I am both nervous and excited at the same time.

Here's a sneak peek of some of the handcrafted hijaab pins that are up for sale at the expo.
Please visit our stall to check them out!

Unfortunately a special lady's work that I was supposed to showcase for the expo was withdrawn due to unforeseen circumstances.  However, like the Princess Charming's that they are, Saaleha from Soul&Paper and Naqiyah from NiQi have agreed to allow me to showcase their amazing pieces of work at my stall.  Yes, you can buy Saaleha's gorgeous cards and shweshwe notebooks and Naqiyah's beautiful tea towel sets from me on the day of the expo!  Please note that there aren't card facilities at the expo, so cash is a must.  If you don't have cash, some of the items might be available for order afterward (depending on what gets sold or not).

See you on Sunday, 16 October 2011 at Greyville Primary School, Lenasia.

❤ Lucky Packet Design: Playing with clay and ASK NANIMA EXPO

There go my hearts, all in a row...

Playing with clay is such a stress reliever.  The cool texture instantly calms you down as you knead and mould the medium into whatever you wish.


This time I played around with making tiles, tags, brooches, fridge magnets and little odds and ends.

In OTHER NEWS...

The Lucky Packet is getting ready for...

SURPRISE!  The Lucky Packet is finally debuting at the Ask Nanima Expo.  Come visit the stall to check out the new products and to also see the special category of 'Nisaa' (meaning Women in Arabic), where I will also be showcasing the amazing talents of other ladies in the community.  There will be some amazing Islamic artwork, paper products, clay products, some handmade scarves (my favourite item on show), handmade hijaab pins, etc.  I will be showcasing with Zaheda from Oranges and Lemons Health, who will be selling her herbal oils for special blends for oil diffusers, massage, and of course, her special bath salts.  Saaleha from Soul&Paper will be displaying her amazing creations as well    Please pop in to say hello! :)

❤ Lucky Packet Design: Sumi-e and other surprises

I have a whole bunch of project's in the works.  Today I'll talk about just one.

Last year, while in Boston, I attended a few Sumi-e classes, just for fun.

This week, I felt the need to paint something, so I dug out my brushes and my ink stick, ground up some ink and tried to paint something, anything, if I could just remember how.

My ink stick and grinding stone :)

I struggled, made a huge mess on my kitchen table, but eventually came up with this...

Bamboo Sumi-e painting

It's supposed to be a Bamboo plant.  Terrible, I know, but maybe with a bit of practice, I can actually make something lovely!

Sumi-e is the art of Chinese Brush painting which the Japanese added their own twist too.  The artist grinds an inkstick into a grinding stone with some water to create ink which one would then use to paint.  It's very minimalist, doesn't require much detail and can sometimes use colour, or maybe not.

One day, just maybe I could become as talented as this piece of work by Haji Noor Deen:

Haji Noor Deen is a Master Calligrapher and sometimes uses Sumi-e to portray his work in Islamic and Chinese calligraphy.  I had the pleasure of meeting him in Canada and buying some of his beautiful work.

❤ Lucky Packet Design: Altered bag

I do love messing about with fabric. Check out this plain canvas bag that I altered at Hobby-X run by the lovely Elna of Between Cupcakes and Tea, with some paint and gel medium from Dala. I adore it! :)

❤ Lucky Packet Design: Shweshwe brooch

The latest addition to The Lucky Packet.

Shweshwe, a proudly South African fabric, is amazing to work with. I acquired some fabric samples from Shweshwe and decided to create a simple brooch for an old denim jacket just to liven it up a bit.

I'm quite pleased with the outcome.

❤ Lucky Packet Design: This is so...HeartFelt :)

Felt. It reminds me of primary school days of messing about during art class, collectively incurring the wrath of the art teacher and just having fun.

Today I found a few scraps of felt hidden away in my little collection cupboard and decided to experiment with it.

I decided to make a brooch and a few hair clips as I'm always in need of these items.

What do you think of them?

❤ Lucky Packet Design: Flower Garden

I love going scavenger hunting at my mum's home. My mum was/is a seamstress and would even do amazing works of embroidery before her trio of nuttiness came along. However, she still has this love for material so she's got a LOT of it.

I used to wrap myself in them as a kid and prance around the house pretending I was wearing some big fancy ballgown :)

I found quite a bit of plain cotton/linen blend material so I decided to claim it as my own (thanks mum!) and decided to make this:

Check it out! Wee little fabric roses

I added a few odd beads and sewed a bit and voila! My first bag! It's perfect for travelling, storing linen, socks, your precious items and other odds and ends.

❤ Lucky Packet Design: Linocutting and Rubber Adventures

In the midst of the paper cutting project, I got a bit distracted and decided to fiddle about with some rubber and a lino-cutter.  I started off with the pattern that I was playing around with in my paper cutting project, but then decided I'd like a regular old flower instead.  

By the way, I've cut myself at least 3 times.  In Ramadaan it was hard for me to control my frustration and not yell out, 'S#!^' every time I stabbed myself.  Linocutting is not for sissies.  Keep band-aids nearby - and perhaps some protective gloves.

After creating my rubber stamp, I decided to test it on a piece of fabric (which is somewhere around) and as it turns out, I'm pretty pleased with my first shot at lino cutting and printing.  I'm going to fiddle a bit with the design and once I find a trusty roller, I'll (hopefully) create some designs to share on here! :)

Psst...

Me: "Psst!"

You: "Yeah?"

Me: "It looks like I'm getting it back..."

You: "What back?"

Me: "The crafting/artsy mojo back!"

Watch this space...

I ❤ Workshops: Letterpress and bookbinding...

This weekend I indulged in a bit of letterpress printing and bookbinding at Albertine Press in collaboration with Carta Inc in Somerville, MA, USA.  I was immediately smitten by the large machinery which creates such intricate works with old fashioned letterpress, and of course the beautiful works that bookbinding results in.

We created our own pages filled with haiku and different forms of poetr, typeset them and printed them on paper which we then collaborated to create a 'lotus book'. That was a lot of work, but tons of fun!

I was surprised to find out Bookbinding and Letterpress is a massive industry in the US, with Book Arts centers dotted all across the country, with the first one establishing itself in New York.  One of my co-workshop attendees was actually studying towards her Masters Degree in Book Arts and Education!  As the books came into fruition, I really wished that we had short, weekend courses like this in South Africa.

Update:  I'm sorry, but it seems like Blogger has misplaced my photos!  I'm trying to find them on my hard drive so that I can upload them once again!  I apologise and hope you will bear with me.