And I learned that day that wood stains do not come off your fingers. 

This happened at Fab Space KL located at ISETAN The Japan Store in Lot 10, KL and it was actually a workshop I happened to chance upon on a random day while scrolling Facebook. Participation costed RM 50 for 2, or RM 39 for 1. But of course being the cheapskate I was, I went with my other half. The workshop spanned across 3 hours, but you actually only need about 2 to 2 and a half hours to get it done.

New rings are a yes? 

To get ourselves started, we were given a ring measurement kit so we could pick our ring sizes. Truth be told I still don't know what's the right size for me but at Fabspace, I wear a 7 and a half on my middle finger while my other half wore the 8 and a half on his fourth. The staff were kind enough to remind us that we'd sand the rings down later so we had to pick something that felt a little tighter so it'll fit perfectly after. 

2 rings later and I still have no idea.

Rings were pre-cut to our sizing by the laser machines available at Fabspace, and the workshop mainly taught us on how to sand it down for a less square-ish and more presentable look. It wasn't much of a sawing and knocking kind of activity, but it was still pretty fun for an afternoon do for 2.

We also got to pick our designs! 

From this workshop I learned that there were essentially 3 types of sandpaper - the rough to sand down wood to a shape you truly want, the fine to smoothen the edges so it doesn't hurt the wearer, and the glossy for a shiny wood finish. I think the shining part was the most tiring effort of all, and I took rather long just to get the ideal gloss I liked. 

Laser engraving optional.

They also offered a laser engraving option to our rings for a more personalized touch, and we obviously had a little fun on it. That's my other half's ring at the bottom and the alphabets stands for his pet's names. Mine said Shneep for rather obvious reasons. 

Post wood stain. 

We were given wood stains to give our rings a final touch, and then oiled with regular baby oil for a gloss. The wood stains gave our rings a finer grain of wood texture, but it didn't give my ring the effect I truly wanted. Instead, I actually thought it looked better before the staining but what's done was done. Perhaps the best lesson here is to estimate outcomes of handiwork because nothing is perfect so you do have to think about how you want it to turn out. 

Fixing our nicks and dings.

The greatest thing about the workshop at Fabspace is that the staff are really attentive and supportive, especially the boy you see in the background. They would also help to affix a plastic piece of "gold" to our rings for a rather glamorous touch, and our rings were officially done! 

His and hers.

My other half's ring turned out pretty great with the wood grain textures just as I expected MINE to be, and he opted to give it a design of his own with extra sanding down on the 4 corners of the ring. It probably doesn't show in pictures but boy did it look fancy in real life. He also wears this almost every day now, so you could say he's pretty proud of it. 

Unfortunately the workshop only ran for a single weekend, but they apparently run activities every now and then to entice visitors to get their hands dirty on the job. It's actually pretty fun once you get the hang of whatever you're doing, and we both agreed it was better than walking around malls aimlessly. Making these rings also seemed like a good idea if someone wanted to present their other halves with something more personalized and full of love, and if we hadn't already gotten our wedding bands, we may have considered these for the ceremony. 

For more on activities that Fab Space KL runs, maybe you could keep a lookout on their Facebook page here, or be a fan of ISETAN The Japan Store here for other workshops around the store!