Thainie Crafty Field Trip

I have been wanting to check these shops out for the longest time and finally got a chance a few weeks ago when I had to find some items for a project I'm working on.  Also any kind of craft/stationary shop, I'm in for an outing!  All these shops are located on the 5th Floor of Central Rama 9.

Somjai http://www.somjai.co.th/

(website in Thai only)

I love this shop, it reminds me of the stationary shops when I was growing up in San Francisco.  They have a good selection of paints, pens, stamps, paper, the list goes on.  

Doesn't the shop front already look inviting??  

  Sharpies!!!!  And not Sharkies or Starpies!!

 *** Update, you can now find an assorted array of Sharpies at most B2S stores!

 Assorted craft paints, glues, glitter, etc...

More paint, vinyl stickers, papers, canvases, etc...

Cheap assortment of stamps. 

Mind Memory http://www.mindmemorystore.com/

(website in Thai and English) 

 A very nice store for your scrapbooking needs, has a good selection of Martha Stewart items, Cricut and other brands.  But the most important....they have Mod Podge!!!!

 Now if you're not acquainted with Mod Podge, try doing a search and if you are interested in experimenting with it, I suggest you get the originals to play with, which is the Mod Podge Matte or Gloss.

Komonoya http://www.watts-th.com/ 

(website in Thai and Japanese) 

I'm always torn between Daiso and Komonoya but they both have their own items distinctive in their stores.  But at this Komonoya, I found some really nice felt items.

Happy Crafting!

Thainie Places: Elvira (and not the Princess of Darkness)

A lot of people always ask when and how did I get into sewing, well I started sewing about 5 years ago, just after my daughter was born.  I wanted to make Halloween costumes for her as well as other crafty projects.  I looked around and checked out Elvira's sewing center at Taisin Square (right off the Phra Khanong BTS Station).

A couple of years ago the cheapest machine was 4,000 baht but now they start at 8,000 baht, other brands in the malls are cheaper but the thing about buying Elvira is that it comes with a membership that gives you discounts off sewing supplies, a subscription to their sewing magazines (with patterns and projects) and the best thing is you can get free lessons there as much as you like, they are very happy to help, even in English --- since it's more seeing than saying anyways.  I still remember breastfeeding and then popping out to an hour sewing lesson.  Other brands are usually the same with giving lessons but at times (also when there's only one staff attending) in the malls the space is not adequate for lessons so it's nice that you can pop into here anytime.

So I suggest if you want to give sewing a try, research the machine you want and also look at your budget.  You really don't need an expensive all automated machine (even though they're really cool and easy to use), you can even bring in a project that you want to work on and test the machine out with it.  

There's also so many videos and how to's online nowadays when I didn't have the time or when I needed a refresher course on sewing different projects.  Let me know if you have any more questions, happy to help!  Happy crafting!  

Quick Tip: Happy Feet

Do you always find a great deal on kids shoes but your kids are not with you and the sale happens to end that day??  I got a great tip!  Trace their foot size on a piece of paper and cut it out to keep with you!! 

Bag and Store It

Wanted to share this find from IKEA, it's the SKUBB Storer and it worked out perfect for storing my bags and purses!  And best yet, it was 229 baht !  Oh how I would so marry you IKEA if I could!!!!

Have a good weekend everyone!

New Places: Asiatique The Riverfront

Noo Yoo: Piercing, Perfected.

Images from Thainie

I've been waiting for this day and it finally came!!!  Baby daughter got her ears pierced!  My husband and I didn't really expect it to be so soon since she's not even 4 years old yet but we stumbled across this cute shop at CentralPlaza Rama 9 the other day and decided to give it a go?!  She was so excited, we tried to inform her as much as we could on what was "going to happen" before getting there but she could only think about how pretty her little ears will be just like Mommies, her big sis and her aunties!  

The shop is called Noo Yoo, their website is www.nooyoo.com and they have shops in The Mall Ramkampeng and CentralPlaza Rama 9 and soon at Mega Bangna.  Very nice and clean with all the pretty earrings on display.  They also do nose and belly piercings as well.  Prices start at 490 baht for a simple pair of stud earrings and the piercing service is free.  They have tons of cute earrings to choose from too but the most perfect was that they had a great selection of children appropriate small earrings for children (and all earrings are made of surgical grade stainless steel).    

So we first had our daughter pick out the earrings and then she was seated to do the piercing.  The Noo Yoo staff was very nice and patient with our daughter, she first carefully marked the holes with a marker and let us see if it's good to go.  Once the holes were confirmed it was time for the piercing.  The piercing gun was kinda cool, I was use to the gun looking kind but this was just a square looking metal tool and the earrings were well packed in these medical like packaging and so when it was ready to be used, she didn't have to touch each earring but just used the gun tool to insert and load the earrings.  (Now I wished I took pics of each thing!---sorry)  Well I'm not going to lie, after the first ear piercing she cried but after a little comforting we did the other ear and she was back to being overjoyed with her pretty ears!  If you are interested in getting your child's ears pierced, I would probably suggest to try asking them if they can have both ears pierced at the same time (2 staff assisting)  so that it's done in one go, forgot to think about this.   My daughter is still gushing about her beautiful earrings!!!

Cool Finds: Sprinkles at Top's

Was at Top's Supermarket the other day and saw these sprinkles, 

were also priced really good too.