November 2019 eye sketches

Just a few lunchtime art-on-the-go eye sketches I did this month in my sketchbook. I went straight in with Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils (yeah...my graphite pencils feel a little neglected.*winks*) and highlighted with a Signo Uniball white gel pen.:)

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Make Stuff Monday: Quick Christmas gift-wrapping using stuff you have at home

Hello friends! How are your Christmas preparations coming along? I did some gift-wrapping this weekend....the quick and easy way, using stuff I have at home.:)

I got a couple of books that needed wrapping and I did contemplate actually buying some Christmas wrapping paper but decided to challenge myself to use stuff I already had at home. So I went for my brown packaging paper as the base and cut some Christmas scrapbooking paper (*high fives those who have lots of Christmas-themed scrapbooking paper in their stash*) as the mat for some simple embellishing.

Since these were all going into a large decorated Christmas box (*you know how extra I am...winks*), I kept the design flat and minimal. I adhered the patterned paper to the base using washi tape so that the recipient can reuse the packaging. I finished with a strip of vintage Christmas sticker.

I used the same supplies for all 3 books for an overall cohesive look and feel but just varied the way I used the supplies to differentiate them slightly.

I am pretty happy that some of the older Christmas-themed patterned papers finally got to see the light of the day. *hahaha*

Here they are all together. :)

Happy week ahead friends!

P/s: I was travelling last week so I will play catch-up on your blogs this week. :)

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A mixed media self-portrait on canvas

As you know, I've been practising drawing self-portraits in my sketchbook this year. I decided to use one of the sketches as my reference and work on my second mixed media self-portrait on canvas (see my first mixed media self-portrait on canvas). Of course, I chose to use the self-portrait sketch that drove me nuts because I like to "torture" myself unnecessarily. *LOL*

The background is a mish mash of scrunched up wrapping tissue, gesso, acrylic paints and inks. Then I did my initial sketch with a waterbrush pen filled with purple Liquitex acrylic ink. I like working with this ink because of its transparency (lets me build layers) and open time (even when it dries to touch, I can still lighten the colour with a wet towel and vigorous rubbing).

This was how it looked mid-point....bearing little resemblance to me. *hahaha*

Here was how it looked when I was working on the details...

Moving forward, I might have to reconsider how I do the backgrounds for my portrait paintings. While the tissue and gesso added some nice texture, it also created weird bumps and uneven surfaces which made it difficult to paint over.

Plus, I might have been too heavy-handed with my inks when working on the background. See the green bits on the forehead and cheek? The green keeps emerging even after several layers of heavy-body artist grade acrylic paint. If people ask, I shall say it's artistic style but you and I know both the truth *shh...don't tell ok?*

I hung my painting up on the wall and tweaked the details over the course of a few days. Apparently, walking past a painting every day helps you see it with fresh eyes. I think I'm going to seal this painting and move on to the next. What do you think?

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Fun with lanterns

So I mentioned that children carry lit lanterns around the neighbourhood as part of the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations. Of course, the Gangster Gang (aka nephews + niece) and their aunts (aka me and my sister) had to join in on the fun. :)

I didn't get great photos because the street lights and the candle lights really threw off the white balance on my iPhone. And I was clearly too lazy to make manual adjustments. *winks* Let's focus on the good, shall we? Photos of people were taken. You can recognize the faces. Family time was documented on a scrapbook page.  *victorious music plays in the background*

A super-quick layout because I ran out of my tape glue and the liquid glue was sticking everything on my fingers instead of the page. *LOL* How I eventually got that tissue ruffle banner embellishment to stick on the page is a marvel. *hehehe*

Not quite sure why Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz was involved in our lantern festivities but she really helped to break up the monotony of text on the background paper. :)

Playing along with Stick It Down.

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Make Stuff Monday: A decorated birdcage

So I've been on a mission to repurpose stuff I already own...and the latest "victim" is this birdcage. *winks*

My bestie picked this one up from his neighbour's recycling bin (yep...I have sweet friends who "dumpster dive" for me...*LOL*).

I've had this for years as a decorative storage piece without actually pulling out my glue gun and craft supplies to "pretty it up"....hahaha!

A couple of months ago, I picked up two small decorative pots of faux flowers (1 is pictured here). If you were observant, you would have noticed me using them as table decor for the family celebration photos.

Well, I pulled out the blooms from those pots and stuck them on the birdcage!

The large pink bloom was from the mooncake box from the other day's Pinboard on a box cover project.

I added this gorgeous blue beaded trim (which I've had in my stash for years) and pearl trim.

I think I might have gone a little overboard because I used up all the faux blooms in the 2 decorative pots...hehehe...you know, being a first time birdcage decorator. *hehehe*

I think it turned out quite pretty. And now I have a more substantial decorative piece for my family celebration photos. I'm sure I will add more to it...like some faux birds and fairy lights...;)

What do you think?

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Workspace Wednesday: eye drawings from my sketchbook

Hello friends! Happy Wednesday! Hope you are having a great week so far. Just sharing a few eye drawings from my sketchbook today. :)

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October 2019 birthdays

Hello friends! Welcome to this week's birthday layout! (Yep, this girl is determined to get 2019's birthday layouts done by the end of the year! *winks*)

There were 2 birthdays in October 2019 - nephew #2 and his mother. (Just a day apart.) So I baked 2 cakes and had a 2-in-1 celebration.

Yep...the birthday boy did not look happy in the photo. *insert sad music*

But he did wear a bright red shirt...which inspired me to add pops of red on the layout. :)

Can you tell that I was trying very hard to add as many scrap pieces as possible? *hahaha*

And yes, even the date stamp came out to play! Of course, I meant for the date to be perfectly aligned on the dog...but I missed so let's just call it what it is....artistic style. *LOL*

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

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Tutorial Thursday: Pinboard on a box cover

So I haven't done a pinboard project in ages...

But when I got this cool mooncake box (yep, that's a frame on the cover of the box!) and my cute seat cushion no longer gave me much cushioning (my poor behind! *winks*)...I decided it was time to make a pinboard on a box cover. :)

I removed the large faux bloom on the box cover, then measured the sponge from the cushion to fit into the frame on the box cover.

The underside of the seat cushion looked pretty good to me so I wrapped up the sponge with it and glued the entire thing to the box cover. I also cut some patterned paper for the sides of the box cover.

I ran the patterned paper pieces through my trusty Xyron creative station for an even layer of adhesive, then adhered them to the sides of the box to cover up the name of the restaurant. After that, I decorated the perimeter with some bling. ..(yep, couldn't decide on which one so I went with both! *LOL*)

The last step was to embellish a little....the gray bloom was from my mum's dress and I also added the "nervous" lip bag accessory for a whimsical touch...you know, long to-do list in a limited time...*hahaha*

I tested out my new pinboard on a box cover with my to-do list for today. :)

I haven't decided where to put this yet. I might use it with the actual box for storage so it serves a double function. Or use the other part of the box for another project. 

What do you think?

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