What's in store in Markets @ Jaya One 4!

So in our last blog post, we dropped some hints as to what surprises are in store for you this weekend. Here are the answers to the hints:

Double-double

Does this pic make you want to eat one now?

As a kid, my brother and I used to call McD's double cheeseburger the Double-Double Cheeseburger 'coz it seemed so huge to us then. But don't come finding cheeseburgers on our booth! What we meant is that we will be sharing the booth with a sister shop called DeejaiSupplies which will be selling all kinds of craft supplies. It will be a double-double seller booth! Find out more about Deejai Supplies on their Facebook and Etsy page.

Keeps on giving

The gift that keeps on giving

Some of you read of the news of the Thailand flood that happened in the past few months which inundated about 1/3 of Thailand. Many people had lost their lives, homes and livelihood from the unpredictable waters and some are still suffering now. As part of this year's charity act, 10% of the sales proceeds received from this weekend from our sister shop Deejai Supplies will go to a direct fund for crafters and artisans affected by the flood. Please help us make this possible by passing the word and visiting our booth! Come get a gift that keeps on giving...

Trivia: Dee Jai in Thai means a feeling of happiness, or happy. So that's what we will try bringing to the flood victims.

Take-out Delivery

Fortune cookies, anyone?

And finally, our last hint of the day. Many of you have come to our booths and wondered if our displays were on sale. We have always replied no and encouraged you guys to make them yourselves with our easy DIY kits. But this year, seeing that Christmas is coming near, we will be selling our displays at great prices! Some of them can be seen from our Facebook album and will make beautiful Christmas gifts. Take-out delivery indeed - cooked to perfection for your enjoyment! :)

More details on where to find us this Saturday next, hopefully!

Markets @JayaOne - Christmas Shopping!

Markets is back again! It seems like just yesterday we participated in the last one. However, we do try to bring you something different each time we appear in the Market. This time, since Markets is appearing just in time for Christmas shopping, we are also going to be coming up with some new surprises! But first, here are some more details for the event:

Where: Markets at Jaya One 

Date: 17 Dec 2010

Time: 10am - 6pm

We'll let you know where our booth will be once it is announced!

And now for a sneak peek on what we are working on for this Market!

Can you guess it yet?

Stay tuned for the unveiling of what we have in store for you! Here are some hints:

1. Double, double
2. Keeps on giving
3. Take-out delivery

And that's ALL we're gonna say -for now-! *zip*

Lucky Draw Winners (Crafty Market - Oct 29th)

Congratulations to our lucky draw winners! The email has been sent out on Saturday morning notifying them of it. We had 60 participants that day but only 20 qualified for a prize with total prizes worth RM285 to be given out. I used an online random integer generator to get the arrangement of the prizes (see pic below). So, as promised, here are more details of our Early Christmas Lucky Draw.

List of winners and their prizes:

1. Norhayati Ayup - Mosaic Coaster Kit (RSP - RM18.00)
2. Nur Faridatul - MDF Notebook & 20gm tiles (M11 70S) (RSP - RM17.00)
3. Foo Jen Yin -  MDF Notebook & 20gm tiles (M11 70S) (RSP - RM17.00)
4. Pek Mun - Mini Photo Frame & 30gm tiles (various) (RSP - RM17.00)
5. Kelly Lim - Mini Photo Frame & 30gm tiles (various) (RSP - RM17.00)
6. Shirley Yong - Mini Photo Frame & 30gm tiles (various) (RSP - RM17.00)
7. Suwannee Pongprakyun - Mini Photo Frame & 30gm tiles (various) (RSP - RM17.00)
8. Evelyn Goh - Mini Photo Frame & 30gm tiles (various) (RSP - RM17.00)
9. Vivien Wong - Mini Photo Frame & 30gm tiles (various) (RSP - RM17.00)
10. Annaclare Mosiun - Animal Magnet Kit (RM15.00)
11. Merilyn Chew - Mosaic DIY Kit - Photoframe   (RM15.00)
12. June Ng - Mosaic DIY Kit - Photoframe  (RM15.00)
13. Sim Xiu Jia - Mosaic DIY Kit - Photoframe   (RM15.00)
14. Lee Tze Yee - Mosaic DIY Kit - Photoframe   (RM15.00)
15. Norsahzlida Mohd Shafee - Mosaic DIY Kit - Notebook (RM10.00)
16. Melysa Lum - Mosaic DIY Kit - Notebook (RM10.00) 
17. Lee Hui Wen - Mosaic DIY Kit - Notebook (RM10.00)
18. Chiah Siow Yen - Mosaic DIY Kit - Photoframe (RM10.00)
19. Filza Yang - Gift Voucher (RM8.00)
20. Chong Hui Wen - Gift Voucher (RM8.00)

For the winners mentioned above, congratulations! I have sent an email request for you to confirm your stated home address. I will not send the package if you do not send me a confirmation for fear of losing your gift! So hurry up and reply! :)

Markets @ Jaya One - from a different perspective

Last Saturday we participated in Markets @ Jaya One 10 under Crafty - the handmade and craft supplies section. Many of you may not know that Square Art is very much a family business, owned by a husband & wife team, packed by parents, brothers and sisters and the occasional craft booth tended by sisters and mothers. And last Saturday was no different, here is a snapshot of what Caryn, my sister, experienced in our last craft fair outing.

"Each time when Crafty comes around, there's always a sense of nervousness, making sure that our customers get the best. For a newcomer like us, it's always intimidating to set up the store amongst people who probably went through thick and thin just to be where they're at right now. But nonetheless, the show must go on. This time, I'm glad to have my mother who so willingly stayed from 10am to 6pm with me. From the carrying of stocks, to the setting up, to entertaining the customers and even to the point of packing up. It's good to have my mother there because she was a good buddy that kept me company when the crowd was slow. 

One funny incident during the market was when a sudden rush of wind swept through the stores. One by one, things from each store fell like a stack of dominoes. It was a funny sight as it went on for awhile. I even had to stand like I was modelling for a photoshoot but in actual fact, I was trying to balance my stands and the displays. It was very funny indeed."

Here's my beautiful mother helping out with the booth.

This Crafty, we had a lucky draw and introduced some pre-Christmas products.
It's never too early for Christmas!

As for my mother, she was just contented talking to the people coming to the booth and observing the young people. It did make her feel younger again!

Thanks to all who visited our booth last Saturday!

Christmas time is here!

It's the most wonderful time of the year... so the song goes. And this year Square Art is giving you more reasons to celebrate this season of giving with our Christmas-themed kits! Each kit will be given a complimentary gift wrap if you let us know that it will be given as a gift. Get one for a loved one today!

Tealight Candle Holder 1

Tealight Candle Holder 2

Mini Christmas Photo Frame Kit

Christmas Notebook Kit

And much, much more!!!

Markets @ Jaya One this Saturday!

Markets @ Jaya One is back! With the same 3 markets combined, namely, Bettr Weekends - healthy, organic food, Chic Pop - the hottest fashion apparels & accessories and Crafty - handmade items and craft supplies galore. And Square Art will be there! Come join us this weekend from 10am - 6pm!

More new kits coming up!

Hi everyone! I hope all of you are preparing to close the year in a big way. I simply cannot believe that it is October already and as I was counting off the months to December, I honestly did not know that it was less than 3 months away!

Back when I was 6 or 7, I used to do a countdown towards Christmas which always meant new dresses and shoes, and lots of presents! I used to have a McDonald's calendar colouring book and I usually X'ed out the dates leading towards Christmas. Fast-forward to the present day, even though I no longer have a McDonald's calendar, I still have the same excited feeling whenever Christmas is approaching! Oooh, presents! And never too early to start listening to Christmas carols! :D

So this year, we are preparing some new items specially for you this Christmas - a season of love and giving. Some of the kits are Christmas-themed, some of them are not. This year, if you are planning to give something to your loved ones, why not get them a DIY Kit to work on themselves? Also, if you are planning on giving it as a gift, let us know and we will gift wrap your item at NO EXTRA CHARGE!

Here's what's coming soon:

Another good news is that we are going to be participating in the next Markets @ Jaya One this October 29th. If you would like first dips on our new designs, come find us then! More details on this later! :)

What's NEW!

Hey guys, can't believe how long since I've posted on this blog. We've been rather busy gearing up for the holiday season and time just flew by like that. Can you believe it's nearing the end of the year now? Anyway, feast your eyes on some splendid, NEW items here on Square Art.

Wooden Stickers @ RM1.00 each

Choose from our ever-growing selection of wooden stickers for your projects or everything else! :) A NEW addition to the family are these lovely Christmas-themed stickers! Ready for Ho-ho-ho and ring-a-ding-a-ling?

Christmas is coming soon!

Wooden/MDF/Glass Surfaces from RM5.00 - RM10.00 at various sizes

Thinking of doing your own project? Need to break out and have some creative freedom in how you want your mosaic art to be? Good news! We have many different type of wooden/MDF/glass surfaces to work your mosaic magic on. For sizes and more info, please click here.

To order, simply send us an email (squareart.my[at]gmail.com) or fill up the Order Form here!

Product Review by KIVOGUE

Hey all, what a great time we had last weekend in Chic Pop Markets @ Jaya One. We met lots of awesome people and we're so glad some of you took back some of our items for mosaic lovin' :) If you need any help with your projects, please do not hesitate to let us know!

An exciting news is in store. We have gotten our first product review by KIVOGUE!

Screenshots of the review on their blog

They did some really nice write-up on us and even did quite an extensive picture tutorial on two of our DIY kits. The large photo frame kit - blue (RM25) and mini notebook with MDF board cover kit (RM12). Do check them out as they do have reviews on other fashion blogs as well. Do check them out here: 

Markets @JayaOne - How to make the most of it.

It's happening this Saturday and thought I'd just pique some interest by writing a fun post about it. How to make the most of your weekend outing in Jaya One? Let me count the ways:

1. Get your favourite frappuccino with an extra shot from Starbucks to get you going through the day.
2. Bring a cutesy umbrella to shield you from the sun's UV rays and don't forget the sunnies.
3. Wear comfortable yet fashionable shoes, you'll be walking around a lot and in a fashionable crowd.
4. Dress to please (yet comfortably)! There will be photographers lurking around and you might just get your 5 mins of fame on Facebook.
5. BYOB (last 'B' meaning Bag!). Most shops do give out paper/plastic bags but what's better then doing your bit for the environment whilst shopping?
6. Bring friends along. You will be trying out items and who better to give you support then your close friends.
7. Take lots of pictures and tag, tag, tag!
8. Find out more about the shops you visit by talking to the owner and getting their name cards. Most of the time you can find more information about them on their blog or website.
9. Find out in advance which stores you'd like to visit so you can better plan your time. You can find out more on participating vendors on organizers' websites:
• Crafty
• Tongue in Chic
• Bettr Weekends
10. Let loose and have lots of fun! I find shoppers and vendors alike in craft fairs to be extremely friendly and willing to share information. Maybe you can get a new friend this way? ;) 

That's my 10! What are other ways you can make the most of this Saturday's Markets @JayaOne? :)

Squared! IKEA's MALMA mirror frame

Recently, a customer asked what she could do with her IKEA mirror frames which she bought recently. It was such an interesting conversation it brought me to experiment on some of them myself! I finally finished one and one more yet to grout. Still not sure what grout colours to use - should I use white/black or beige?

Here's how it looked like initially.

I like how white grout looks on black tiles.
Sadly, the word "Love"didn't quite stand out as I hoped it would :(

A close-up. I had fun creating the heart shapes!

The finished unfinished. Not sure what grout to put. 

Now you've seen what you can do with the IKEA mirror frame, why not try one yourself? Come find us in Jaya One this Saturday (20th August) to have a look at the displays and try out some kits for yourself! :)

Being in the zone, announcements and other news.

Don't you just hate it when you are in the zone and you run out of..... double-sided tape? Here's a sneak peek of what I'm currently working on. Watch this space for the revealing ;)

Project stopped mid-way. Out of tape. 

Here's a shout-out to all our customers. How are your mosaic projects going on? Every time I meet a customer who tells me that she's using it for her photo frames, or her album or a mirror frame, I get really excited! It is just amazing to be able to share the love of mosaics and knowing there's someone out there piecing the tiles one-by-one. But here's more exciting news for you:

Share with us a picture of your project and get 10% OFF on your next purchase!*

It's that easy. Send us a nice picture with a mini caption or a description (one-liners are okay) just to describe your design, who is it for or how was it doing the project. We'll put it on our blog and also on FB for the rest of the community to share and learn :)

Finally, to cap it all off. Square Art has been reviewed by Keep in Vogue! I thought it was rather clever calling themselves that. It's a blog where they review fashion, beauty/health care and handmade crafts, among others. They also have links to blog shops coming from these categories. Do check them out! :)

*Tiles/kits must be bought from Square Art. Discounts are for one-time purchases only. Please send only good quality pictures. However, we reserve the right to edit them for clarity and cosmetic reasons. 

Must. Work. Must. Not. Be. Lazy.

Yes, I have been lazy. After Urbanscapes, all I wanted to do was sit down, prop my legs up on a comfy cushy, sip my iced lemon tea and listen to Latin Jazz. But! The show must go on. So here are some great news from us!

I'm so stoked to tell you that: Finally! We have all the pictures of our colours up and it is a total of 113 different colours and finishings combined! That hit me hard when I was doing a massive stock-check recently and the living hall looked like this. And I had 2 more storage boxes unopened then!

Orderly Chaos (Low-quality pic taken using cameraphone)

Now it is easier for you to choose your colours rather than from the colour chart. Sometimes, the colour chart can be vastly different from the actual tiles due to the manufacturing process. Also, do take into consideration different colour quality of monitors or my camera. It may differ slightly from the actual tiles :)

Another great news is that we will be in our next craft fair this coming August the 20th! Yes, we're going to be at Jaya One for "Markets @ Jaya One" which is a combination of Chic POP, Better Weekends and Crafty Art Market. We missed the last one in June so we definitely won't miss this one! Come see us then! More details to be given later...

And lastly, my order of books from Amazon.com is now in my hands! My itchy hands also clicked on 2 other books other than the one I was telling you about. It's just 'coz they has such a sweet feature called Used - Like New and some of the prices are just crazy! Gonna take my own sweet time reading them and maybe come up with some new aprons/business ideas/decor ideas or two. I'll be sure to share them with you!

I do so love crafty books!

Square Art in Urbanscapes 2011

So we've been rather quiet lately steering away from our usual one post in 2 days routine. That's coz we were preparing and now, resting from one of the largest event Square Art has participated to-date: Urbanscapes 2011. If you weren't there for this fun-packed festival, don't worry, this is an annual event. Just keep your ears and eyes open for it next year!

This is an event of many firsts for us. First time:
1) using display stands for our tiles,
2) showing sample displays on ceramic, paper and wood,
3) offering diy kits we assembled ourselves,
4) standing up for 13 hours straight!

The main draw to our booth was our Mosaic-ed Angry Birds displays (surprise, surprise!). I must admit we were leveraging on hot trends to draw the crowd and looks like it did! It drew various types of reactions, from being surprised and amused to being disgusted and "angry birds again?!" Though we didn't sell any of the kits (this crowd preferred ready-made ones), it did allow us to explain what mosaic art is all about and it being not as hard as it looks.

We met all kinds of buyers that day. Of course, most of them were ladies but there were some men lurking on the background trying not to be seen looking at mosaic tiles, that's right, I saw you! (Note to self: find out ways to market mosaic tiles to men as well). And there was the occasional sweet boyfriend buying for his girl. The most memorable one was a couple looking at our photoframe kits and the conversation went something like this (if you are the couple and you are reading this, I hope you don't mind! I thought it was really sweet!):

Him: (holding photoframe kit and looking at it) Are we there yet?
Her: Huh?
Him: (still holding kit) Are we there yet?
Her: There what?
Him: Are we ready to have our picture together in a photoframe? *grins to her*
Her: (smiles and walks away shyly)

*Melts!* I found out later they have been together for a couple of months now and I guess this is their way of taking it one step further? Anw, I wish them all the best and thank you for the warm feeling that day :)

So here's some pictures we took with some mini captions for you. Enjoy!

We are here!

Setting up shop with our new display stands and bunting.

The Marketplace- visitors started trickling in quite early.

This is how our little table looked like - most of them were our sample displays.

Stuck at the back of our booth reminding us that all buyers are our friends :)

Liyana Fizi in action!

Artists doing their thang.

This was at the 8TV booth near us which had always something fun going on :)

Our family coming to visit us - my nephew had rosy cheeks from the heat! 

How our booth looked like at night when we started packing.

Hubby was such a big help that day! I'm in the bg doing some major
action and talking to Kricia of Notbook-Notbuk fame :)

Probably the BEST highlight of the day - my nephew, Travis, born on 16 July  :)

If you have taken pictures of our booth/items that day, please send them to us too so we can put them up on our blog. Thanks and good day all!

Stay Angry, Get those Pigs!

So now we would like to reveal to you, Square Art's Angry Birds series - presenting to you the Red Bird, Yellow Bird and Blue Bird - ta da!

They look so angry! Well, except for the blue bird.

Some of you would have already seen it on our FB Wall and also seen the little hint we gave on a free giveaway. Yep, you read that right! And this post is going to tell you how to get FREE pdf mosaic patterns of ALL THREE of the birds, all designed by yours truly.

What do you have to do to get them? It's simple, just follow these instructions:

1. Like us on Facebook (if you haven't already!)
2. Follow us on Twitter (again, if you haven't already!)
3. Follow our Blog through Google Friend Connect (see the tab on the right?)
4. Share this blog post with your friends using any of the social media sites above (e.g. share the link on your wall or just RT our tweets on this free giveaway!)
5. Finally, send an email to squareart.my@gmail.com with your name and Twitter moniker with the title, "I'm angry! Gimme those birds!". 

And voila! You will receive the pdf template within 24 hours of us receiving your email (after following all the instructions above!). It's that simple! Now, start sharing!

This giveaway will go on only till before the 9th of July in respect & honour of the brave birds standing up for what's right this Saturday. 

Feature: KiraishiShoppe

The best thing about joining the crafting world is getting to know people with the same passion as you. I've yet to meet a person who did not turn out to be a "kindred spirit", as Anne would say. So today I want to introduce to you Melissa, who sells "kitschy, cute, colourful accessories and crafting supplies". Besides that, she makes some  mean cinnamon choc chip cookies, I tell ya! Here are some beautiful items from her shop:

Such a lovely Swarovski heart crystal. 

The items that showed me she had talent - beautiful peas in a pod.

And yes, she does Angry Birds coasters too! Niice!

Mel actually inspired our newest kit series on Square Art - the Angry Birds series. I thought it best to feature her cute birdies and other beautiful items on sale on her shops as a prelude to introducing our 'lil birdies. Thanks for letting me use your pictures, Mel! Watch out for our next post - freebie alert! ;) 

You can find Mel's awesome items here:

Facebook Page

Etsy Shop

Happy Days are Here Again...

Need an energy boost? There is nothing else that can speak better to the soul than music. Here's some of my selection of motivational music and pick-me-up songs to get you going through the day. Hope my age is not telling in this selection ;)

Tutorial: How to decorate a wooden frame with mosaic tiles and grout

In this post, I would like to show you a step-by-step guide on how to use our tiles to pimp up a wooden frame. If you have any questions about the steps, do submit them in the Comments section below.

1. Make sure that the surface area of your frame (or any other object you are working on) is clean from dust.

2. Proceed to stick double-sided tape on all sides of the frame, so that it fills up all surface.

3. Work on section by section for easier management and slowly attach the tiles. Leave about 1mm of space in between tiles for grout (depending on your design).

4. It is advisable to use the right tools for this. Sometimes I use my fingers, but something as common in the household like an eyebrow tweezer would come in handy.

5. Once your tiles are done, it is time for the grouting process.

6. Grouting is not difficult but it does require some attention to the mixing process. The ratio of grout to water is 2:1 or until you get a smooth batter. Too much water and it becomes too runny.

7. Use a flat tool to apply the grout onto the tiles, making sure it fills up the joints nicely. Spread evenly onto the whole frame.

8. Once grouting is done, leave it to dry for at least 45 mins or until grout is hard to the touch.

9. Don't start washing it away too early or the grout will not stick.

10. Once it is dried, prepare a small bucket of water and a damp sponge.

11. Proceed to wipe away excess grout gently over the tiles, making sure to clean the sponge periodically in the water.

12. It is advisable to wear latex gloves during this process as grout can be irritable for sensitive skin. Otherwise, make sure hands and the underside of nails are washed thoroughly after cleaning grout.

13. Once you have fully washed off the grout on the tiles, there will be a dust haze left over the tiles. Simply use a clean, dry cloth to dust the surface.

And voila! Your frame is all ready to use!









If you would like to know more about mosaic tiles and grouting or information on how to get the right tools, just write to us on squareart.my@gmail.com or visit our Facebook Community for pictures of our products. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as I enjoyed making them! :)