Two weeks ago we went shopping in Bukit Indah, Johor, Malaysia. No jam at the checkpoint at all and so we arrived within an hour of driving. Given the extra time, we explored the shopping mall more thoroughly and I was pleased to find an area with Gachapon machines!
There, each token only costs RM6 (compared to S$2), and on average every item requires one less token than in Singapore. I excitedly exchanged tokens to get a cute Sanrio baby (Pompompurin), then to my dismay found that the other trinkets I wanted are either out of stock or machine not working! So I ended up using the remaining tokens on a second Sanrio baby (My Melody).
This year is the 90th anniversary for Donald Duck, and the chain Mr DIY was selling related merchandise – again, with the good exchange rate (RM3.4 = S$1), much cheaper than those in Singapore shops! I indulged in a pack of gold-foiled stickers – at RM3 for 4 sheets, I didn’t expect good quality: the foiled areas are not detailed, but they’ll do for art journaling to record the anniversary.
Spent a LONG time in bookshop Popular, which was selling Hello Kitty 50th anniversary item collection magazines. Each issue contains a square message card and a version of the Hello Kitty merchandise that was sold that particular year. I didn’t see these being sold in Singapore, and with the exchange rate, the discounted issue 1 – containing the clear purse – costs only about S$5! Of course I couldn’t resist!!
Only the first 3 issues are available in the shop, and despite issue 3 (little square tote bag) being sold at full price of RM29.90, I decided to indulge, partly because I love the card design, partly because it also includes a folder to hold the message cards. Three items in one issue!
Interestingly, these Japanese magazines were first sold in Taiwan, then imported to Malaysia, so the main brochure in the magazine is repeated thrice: in Japanese, traditional Chinese and English! I’m keeping the Japanese language magazines for the pictures to art journal with – after I figured out how to fussy cut out Hello Kitty’s whiskers!
Trying to Craft 