Attention to detail: Aida Yuhaini making cornflour handicrafts at her stall during the National Craft Day 2024 in Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: An innovative and creative couple from Sungai Petani, Kedah, came up with an idea by using cornflour dough as the basic ingredient to produce handmade craft products.
Aida Yuhaini Yusoff, 43, and her husband, Hasnizar Abdul Halim, 44, took a year trying various techniques and measurements before being able to produce the perfect dough to create beautiful crafts.
“The basic ingredients used to make the dough are a mixture of cornflour, baby oil, baby lotion, glue and vinegar that is cooked on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes before being kneaded while still hot to get a chewy, smooth and fluffy texture,” she told Bernama when met at the National Craft Day 2024 recently.
According to the Diploma in Interior Design graduate from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), she has produced various handmade crafts such as fruits, flowers and popular dishes such as nasi lemak, satay, fried kuey teow, fried chicken, air batu campur, burgers and even macarons.
Most of them are decorative pieces such as plates, cups, food containers, menu boards, spoon or fork holders and serving boards.
These intricate pieces are sold for as low as RM5 to RM800 depending on the size and shape.
Born in Kangar, Perlis, Aida Yuhaini said all the crafts that she produced are not only suitable for home decoration but are also able to be used as hijab pins, key chains, fridge magnets, party and wedding souvenirs among many other uses.
Although the process is complicated and requires a high degree of precision, this mother of three children, aged eight to 12, said that practice made perfect as she only taught herself handicraft through online tutorials, starting in 2019.
“I didn’t study the skill formally but instead made references from local and foreign craft experts such as those from Russia and South Korea through a visual search site with Pinterest images,” she said.
Having a workshop in Pekan Baru, Sungai Petani, Kedah, Aida Yuhaini said that as the number of her customers increased, she struggled to meet the demand with every product she produced based on her own creativity, according to the style and wishes of the customer.
“In a day, I can produce 10 to 20 key chains and fridge magnets depending on the size and shape.
“All these products are made by myself without using any moulds. If there is an event, I will double up production to add to the existing stocks,” she said, adding that she once received an order to make a 0.6m-tall pineapple-shaped sculpture that took three weeks to complete in 2021.
Aida Yuhaini actively accepts invitations from various groups, including schools, to teach the art of making handicrafts with cornflour dough.
