Do-it-yourself for someone special

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.