Do-it-yourself for someone special

Personalized presents -- mementos from the heart

Susanna Tjokro, Contributor, Jakarta

For many people, a gift is more than meets the eye. The idea and the work behind giving someone the best present possible deserves appreciation. If you are of this opinion, you may want to try making your own presents. The blend of hard work, thought and, of course, love makes handmade gifts something truly special.

Whether it's ceramic, polyester clay, paper tole or a scrapbook, your gift will be valued as a piece of art. Just be creative and surprise your loved ones with gifts from your heart!

Ceramics, As You Wish, Kem Chicks Supermarket, 1st floor, Jl. Kemang Raya 3-5, Tel. 71793284. Opening hours: 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily

I never thought painting could be so fun, until I went to As You Wish (opened Sept. 14, 2000). As You Wish offers various ready-to-decorate ceramics, from cute heart-shaped mini-boxes to fancy mugs.

The shop provides almost 100 color plates to paint your pottery. From pastels to bright hues, you will be spoiled by the choices! The friendly staff is also a plus point -- at least for me.

You can start by sketching a picture on the bisque that is sure to please whoever the gift is intended for. You can choose from a whole menagerie of animals, flowers, stick figures, etc. Then paint the ceramic in the fave colors of that special person.

If your girlfriend loves cats and bright colors, just sketch a cute cat figure (Garfield, perhaps) on a mug and then paint it.

You also can write your and your friend's names on the mug (don't forget to use the heart-shaped sponge stamp to make some perfect heart images). Whenever he or she drinks coffee or tea from the mug, you will always be on his or her mind.

For inspiration, this mini-studio provides books, sponges and samples (most of them painted by customers and waiting to be picked up). Brushes and paints are available for free as well. Basically, you just pay for your pottery, or the bisque.

But don't worry if you can't sketch. Just trace a figure and apply some sponge stamps, which come in such shapes as a tulip, heart, star, fish, etc.

From among the dinnerware, tiles, little boxes and cute figurines, I finally chose a plate and some colors to paint it with.

I combined tracing and sponging techniques to decorate my bisque. I used a carbon and tracing paper to copy a floral pattern from a book, and then painted it with some pastels.

I found tracing the easiest technique. Just select a color, pour a little of the paint onto a plate/tile. Afterward, soak your sponge and cover the entire bisque with paint. Leave as little white space as possible. Let it dry. Then repaint your pattern and use the sponging technique again to cover the rest of your bisque.

It's done. Leave it at the studio. They will glaze it, using a food-safe, non-leaded glaze, and then bake it. You can pick up your finished work at the studio the following week.

All paints and bisques at As You Wish are non-toxic and imported from the U.S, as explained by Vonny Liando, the owner.

Prices start at Rp 40,000 for a petite heart-shaped box. Mugs cost from Rp 90,000 to Rp 250,000. Plates from Rp 70,000 to Rp 295,000. Figurines of cats, dogs, a bride & groom, photo frames and jugs are also available.

"I like giving my painted ceramics to my friends. I can write our names on the pottery, it gives it a very personal touch," said Patricia, a customer.

Polymer Clay (PT Milan Kaoshikii), Inside every Toys 'R Us (Pondok Indah Mall, Pasar Raya Blok M, Puri Mall), Tel. 5761278, 7204269, 5822708. Opening hours: 12 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily

Remember Chicken Run, the popular claymation movie, with Mel Gibson voicing Rocky? Well, you can make your own chickens using polymer clay! Not familiar with clay? Let the friendly staff teach you; it's not as difficult as you might think.

Polymer clay is made of fine particles of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) suspended in plasticizer with filler, colorants and other additives, making the non-toxic imported Korean stuff as supple as clay.

You can make all kinds of different gifts with polymer clay. You can create refrigerator magnets, key chains or cute hair clips for your friends and children. You can also make beautiful, colorful necklace beads, the perfect gift for jewelry aficionados (check out these books for the best designs: The Art Of Polymer Clay by Donna Kato and Making Polymer Clay Jewelry by Sue Haser).

Especially for your kids, you can mold their favorite cartoon characters from clay. Bart Simpson, Batman, Sinchan or Doraemon; it just depends on your creativity. A sculpture of Superman will put a smile on the face of any fan of the superhero.

For some people, it is not easy making even the simplest cat figurine (let alone a Garfield). However, you can always ask the staff to guide you. From where I was sitting, it seemed like the staff could make 1,001 things from polymer clay very easily and very quickly, be it a mermaid, snail or a teddy bear.

According to them, anybody can do it. Yes, my little cousin made a Snoopy sculpture quite easily. As for me, I had to take several practice runs just to make a "perfect" kitten. Anyway, it was very fun and it brought out the child in me.

PT Milan Kaoshikii started importing "Aladin" polymer clay in October 2000. Ten colors (white, green, pink, yellow, violet, scarlet, blue, red, yellow-green and black) are sold here. And you can combine some colors to come up with a new hue.

If you're a clay lover, some new products will be released (hopefully) later this year. Fluorescent colors, metallic (silver, gold and bronze), Pearl (very glossy) and Photoluminescence (glow in the dark) are on the waiting list.

A pack (one color) of 30-gram Aladdin clay costs Rp 10,000. You can even frame your sculpture, just like a painting. The frame goes for Rp 42,000 (medium size) and Rp 60,000 (large).

"I enjoy sculpting cartoon characters with polymer clay. They're great as little gifts, my friends think they're cute!" raved Andrew, a youngster.

Paper Tole, Plaza Blok M, 5th floor, Block 535A, Tel. 7209153, Mal Taman Anggrek, 4th floor, #E17, Tel. 5639655. Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

Paper Tole is a paper craft that combines cutting, shaping, sculpting, gluing and elevating various cutouts obtained from five or more copies of the same print, to create a three- dimensional paper picture.

Paper Tole is another good idea for a personalized gift. After being varnished and framed, your paper tole will look elegant. The recipient can put it in the living room, kitchen or bedroom.

However, to make a perfect paper tole will take time. Most people will not be satisfied with their first attempt. But, usually, after several trial-and-errors, the finished paper tole will be fascinating. As they say, all's well that ends well.

To get started, you must buy a kit, though there is no course fee. At Hobby Land (opened in 1992), you can get a basic starter kit (cutting mat, cutting pen, shaping pad, shaping tool, tweezers, silicone glue, gloss varnish and paintbrush) for approximately Rp 300,000. They can also teach you here how to combine paper tole with paper clay to make a striking piece of art. For example, if you create a fruit shop paper tole, you can make some of the fruit from paper clay.

The pleasant staff will show you how to "elevate" your cutouts (correctly) by using silicone glue, or how to rub the cutouts with a shaping tool on the pad, to give your paper tole "the breath of life". It was fun. Anyway, my Little Angel paper tole didn't live up to expectations. In other words, I need some more practice to perfect my skills.

"I like giving paper tole as birthday gifts. Usually, I choose the picture based on the recipient's favorite thing, such as cats, flowers or angels," Lisa, a customer, said.

Scrapbook, Ratu Plaza, 1st floor, Unit 104-105, Tel. 5711062. Hours: 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily

Scrapbook is about placing pictures in an album in a decorative way. Most of the photos are cut into various shapes. Colorful paper, die-cuts and stickers enhance the album (which is acid- and lignin-free, so it will last for a very long time).

Taking pictures is the best way to capture the precious moments in our lives. You can use these pictures to create your own scrapbook, with a few pages of decorative or colorful papers, all bound together with a ribbon.

Here's one idea; crop some pictures of you and your lover in heart shapes, glue them onto a decorative sheet, stick on some die-cuts and stickers. Write an eye-catching title with romantic or humorous sentences below the photos, and then frame it. A sweet gift for your sweetheart!

Also, you can give your loved ones a laminated "scrap-page" and even frame it. The theme can be as varied as "Cool Beach Party" to "My Groovy Grandmother".

I've never seen a scrapbook-cum-sticker shop as big as Treasure Box in Jakarta (opened in 1998). You can find tons of scrapbook-related items here, from the necessary tools to stickers that come in various shapes and sizes. They are imported from various countries, such as Japan, Finland and the U.S. All of the goods are lignin and acid free, as explained by Irene, the owner.

To make at least one scrapbook page, you need to buy the background paper (from 5,000 to Rp 10,000 each). Some of these papers are so cute that you may hesitate to cover them with pictures. Then you choose the stickers. Need some inspiration? You can get some ideas by looking at some scrapbooks available at Treasure Box.

Oval or circle cutter guides (Rp 49,000), rolling ball embossers (Rp 108,000), Fiskars soft grips ("on sale" for Rp 15,000), glue pens (Rp 35,000), acid- and lignin-free photo albums (Rp 300,000) and paper crimpers (Rp 156,000) are among the wide range of merchandise on display. Funky stickers start at Rp 4,500.

If you don't want to buy the tools, just come to Treasure Box. For groups of at least five people, they provide a free private lesson on scrapbooking, and lend you all the tools (paper edgers, embossers, punches, templates, paper crimpers and so on). You just have to bring your photos, buy the decorative paper and stickers. Then ... happy cropping!

"I like making scrap pages for my friends as little gifts. I'll crop and stick our pictures onto a cute decorative paper, write some hilarious sentences and then laminate it. I hope my friends will keep them forever," said Yuni, a teenager.