This week in eye drawings

 

Back to having fun with the eye drawings...adding a black brush pen for the lashes to the mix. :)

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Make Stuff Monday - upcycled black paper bag

 

Been really diligent about using up packaging in my projects these days...can you spot the packaging bits? *winks*

1. The white tab...cardboard packaging from skincare.

2. The patterned base paper with lace design...packaging from art supplies

3. The fussy-cut girl...packaging from art supplies.

Did you get them right? :)

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Pages from the 2025 gratitude journal

 

Kuriya Dining is my fave Japanese restaurant in Singapore so I always enjoy my meals there. Especially since the dining experiences are far and fewer in between these days. I only head to town once a week to run errands and the restaurant is small so advanced booking is required. Sometimes the stars just don't align. *melancholic music plays in the background*

And sometimes we need to support the local guys too. Like this small restaurant called 8picure. The savoury dishes were great though the dessert left us wanting. This place is even smaller...only seats 10. So I've only been there once. 

Ahhh... last year's stay at the Shangri-La KL. Really love this hotel. The best breakfast buffet spread, Loccitane toiletries, swimming pool and sauna (my must-haves) and of course, a free upgrade to a suite (if that's available)...but not always my choice because of its location sadly. Traffic in the city area in Kuala Lumpur is often one way so it's just faster to walk to places. And who wants to walk 20 minutes in the heat instead of 5 minutes right? How many of us have given up cozy comfort for convenience? *LOL*

Also got my new iPad last year on the same trip so it was a happy experience. :)

Happy weekend friends!

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The one about last week's day out shopping

 Last week I had to head to town to make full use of my birthday month vouchers and rebates. Of course, I had to bring the folks. *winks*

We had lunch at a foodcourt, did some shopping and then sat down to a lovely dinner at a Peranakan restaurant....here they are happily waiting for the food to arrive. 

Here are the folks again with the food and dessert photos. :)

Used lots of packaging boxes as tabs for journaling spots on this layout. Can you spot them?

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Mixed Media Monday - finally back to eye drawing practice

 

It's been a long while since I last drew an eye...last October actually. Strong armed myself back into it last week...and drew again this week. :)

A little rusty but still enjoying the process...

And this little travel tin of watercolours was awesome to have in my travel art kit....which needs to be downsized further because my new travel haversack is a lot smaller.

Do you travel with an art kit?

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First trip to Danang - pages from the 2025 gratitude journal

 

Last January I finally made a trip to Danang. Apparently, they have fine-dining restaurants too. :) Also made it to Hoi An (about 45 minutes away)...I love the UNESCO-listed ancient town. So pretty at night. Super touristy though.

Also did the whole Bana Hills thing to see the Golden Hand Bridge. It was quite expensive for a tourist spot in Vietnam. And the Hand is made of concrete and really didn't look that great. 

New place means exploring new places to eat. Found a lovely steak place (or two).

Also got my beach-inspired nails done. I stayed in a hotel just across from the beach so I was doing my grounding every day. And the flowers there are so cheap that I bought a bouquet on the first day to enjoy for the week I was there. :)

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This week's really sweet upcycled paper bag project

 

Really love this paper bag from Nespresso for their 40th anniversary...a lovely coral shade.

Decided to try the "add stuff as you go" approach so that's my excuse if the embellishments seem random. *LOL*

Got some packaging bits in..used up some of my stash...and this bag is on its way to its recipient....so all is good. :)

Hope your week is going well. We can't control the chaos in the world right now...the only thing we can do is make every living day a little better than the last, right? :)

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The one about dinner at a nursery

 

Two Sundays ago, we went to have dinner at a restaurant located in a plant nursery. It's a short drive from home and boasts of cosy outdoor dining surrounded by beautiful plants.

Of course, the folks and sister have to take a photo with the horse and fortune god. *LOL*

I actually didn't take any photos of the plants so I added some potted plant stickers. *winks*

Despite the rave reviews, we were kind of disappointed with the food. The portions were small and the food was just okay and not worth the price. We did end with a slice of yuzu matcha cheesecake which my sister said it's my birthday cake (this was 3 days before my birthday) and that was really good. But that was not done in-house. So I guess we're not going back.

Just another day in the life of the Yams. :)

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Another Friday...another quick paper bag project

 

Happy Friday friends! Friday's quick project was all about using the butterfly patterned paper..*winks*

Enjoy your weekend!:)

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Jan 1-7 2026 in my gratitude journal

 

Hello friends! So excited to share my 2026 gratitude journal (er...2025 still needs some dressing up at the moment..*winks*). The Canon Selphy Square sticker photos were becoming wee too pricey for the gratitude journal...so I've decided to use packaging to help with that problem. And it's been super fun!

The January 1st page features packaging from a new serum I'm trying out this year. I also wanted to document my first purchase from Island Living (a local homeware store). The cute frog sticker came with a purchase and seemed apt to ring in the new year. *LOL*

January 2nd was all about the samgyetang (Korean ginseng chicken). Tried out this highly rated Korean restaurant and loved it. Love that we can get pretty authentic Korean food in Singapore these days.  :)

January 3rd was the day my first Issey Miyake Bao Bao bag arrived! I've always wanted this iconic bag but was iffy about how things were going to sit in a bag with no base. Then they designed one with a base and I got it. It was hard to photograph the slouchy bag so I just used the bag tag.

I took a photo of the goodies my bestie bought me from Italy and also used the perfume packaging. In case  you were wondering, I tear the packaging and only incorporate the top most layer of the cardboard...else the gratitude journal would get too bulky.

January 6th was about the Jim Thompson tote bag that mum and E got me on a trip to Bangkok many years ago. I didn't really like the beige colour so I never got round to using it. But this year, I decided to just use all the stuff I own or get rid of it. So I cut off the bag tag and used it. And love it. It is perfect for shopping days! 

January 7th was the day my trench coats from Mango arrived! I love trenches. Not many opportunities to wear them locally (except for those cotton ones without lining) but great for travel. 

And there you have it. 1 week in January in my gratitude journal. What do you think of this new format?

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The one about the Lego Lion

 

So my sister E spent quite a bit of time putting together this CNY Lego Lion...

And I figured we should have it in the family scrapbook while it's still intact (I tried moving it and promptly lost 4 pieces at the side...LOL*)

I got some of these horse red packets from Vietnam..they are perfect for the CNY layouts. :)

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Thursday's desk - another altered paper bag

 

I recently attended a Caudalie skincare event and got this really sturdy purple paper bag. Needless to say, I got right to covering up the printed brand name on the paper bag and making it my own...*LOL*

Using bits from packaging as always...

Went with a white mat to coordinate with the base patterned paper.

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Workspace Wednesday - Meet the 2026 gratitude journal

 

Yes...we're back with the 2026 edition of the gratitude journal. Still using the Hobonichi Techo A6 because I love this size.

Previously I did my gratitude journal the year after so that I can remember snippets from the past year. This year I've decided to keep up with my gratitude journal as life happens. So I'll be sharing my 2025 and 2026 gratitude journals this year. :)

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