How to make pretty beaded pins!

Sometimes when I feel like multi-tasking while watching TV, I make my own embellishments. Like these pretty beaded pins.

They are super easy to make. All you need a long pin, some pretty beads and glossy accents. I decide on a bead configuration I like, then add a little glossy accents to the contact points between the beads. I pin them upside down to a cushion over an open drawer till they dry.

Add them to cards for a lovely feminine touch. :)

P/s: Happy weekend friends! :)

Social media can be so overwhelming....

 

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts about Pinterest versus blogging. It's heartening to know that people still want to read my blog...*LOL* 

Seriously though, social media has really changed the way people communicate what they like. It's so much easier to click the "Like" button on Facebook when you are on the go rather than leave a meaningful comment on a blog. I'm guilty of that too when I'm pressed for time.

The truth is, social media can be so overwhelming. It is no longer a case of "You build it and they will come."  If you want people to see your work, you've to actively promote it via all the different channels. It's called casting a wide net....and seeing what fishes get caught...*winks* I pre-schedule my posts on my blog and my Facebook Fan Page every week. Everything else is automated from my blog. And that already takes up a whole LOT of time.... without taking into consideration the time that goes into creating the projects.

I marvel at people who write long blog posts or post multiple times a day and are always "on" some social media channel. Honestly, I can't keep up. Unless I give up my other life. And sleep. And become a zombie. *LOL*  What about you? Do you find social media overwhelming?  

P/s: Just an upcycled pillow box.

The convenience factor...

So it turns out that I may be the super lazy kind of crafter. The bulk of my supplies used to be conveniently located at the doorway, just outside my bedroom. It wasn't a case of "out of sight, out of mind" since they are in open baskets which I see every single time I enter/leave my room. And yet, I find myself rummaging through supplies on my desk to complete my projects, neglecting the bulk of good stuff outside.

These days I've been using my punches a lot more simply because they are now conveniently located within my room after a recent supply reorganization [Hmmmm...I could potentially have a smaller butt if I did more "shopping" along my doorway! *LOL*]....

Just a layout of my niece and nephew. I was inspired by the sketch at Creative Scrappers and the song at Scrapping the Music.

Supplies: Basic Grey patterned papers, Crafter's Workshop template, Maya mists, Fiskars corner punch, EK Success circle punch, Imaginisce chipboard, SRM stickers, American Crafts foam thickers, Black Sharpie, buttons, black pen, white pen.

*Edited* This layout was a winner at Scrapping The Music. :)

Exploring styles: Clash of the patterns

As you know, I haven't quite found my style yet. This happens when you are afflicted with the Shiny Object Syndrome. *LOL* But I do know that I love patterned papers. They are my go-to supply when I feel uninspired. They just make me happy. Last month, we explored the minimalist style. Shall we explore the clash of the patterns today? *winks*

Vary the visual weight of the patterns.

In design, visual weight relates to how heavy elements in a design are, relative to each other. Darker colours tend to be heavier so we tend use them in small doses. They are great for creating visual contrast and drawing attention to important elements. 

In this layout, the black from the men's suits and the scallop border are used to keep the focus on the photos. The colourful polka-dotted paper, with the small patterns and lighter colours, takes up less visual weight and is used to break up the "heaviness" of the red houndstooth paper. The buttons and paper blooms add small doses of colour to create interest.

Use textures to soften a pattern.

Here the background paper was really loud and bright. Adding some lace helped to tone it down and soften the pattern. Adding elements of different textures like the pearls and buttons help to create visual harmony.

Keep to the same colour family.

It is easy to mix and match patterns within the same colour family. I mixed several collections of American Crafts and Pebbles patterned papers in this layout. 




Keep patterns within a visual triangle.

Here I mixed patterned papers from 4 different paper manufacturers. The background woodgrain patterned paper is subtle and serves as "white space".  The black bow and the two stamped images form a visual triangle where the bulk of the patterns are.

So, what do you think? Do you like mixing patterns? Let me know in the comments section. :)

I love to use mist residue to create backgrounds.

Some of my fave backgrounds are actually by-products of another project. You know how I love my stencils and mists? Well, misting on a stencil inevitably leads to some mists being left on the stencil. Washing it off is just plain wasteful so I always press a piece of cardstock on the misted stencil to soak up the mist residue. 

[pardon the phone photos]

Sometimes you get an abstract background that you get "dress" up a little....like I did with the splats! :)

I was inspired by the minimalist challenge at Kraft It Up. 

Supplies: Basic Grey patterned papers, Ranger distress stain (Barn Door), Crafter's Workshop template, mists, Jenni Bowlin stickers, brads, twine, brown pen.

Keep calm and sparkle on....

"Keep calm and sparkle on...." she said to herself. "Don't be tempted by the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales."

Will she be able to resist temptation and not get a Cameo? *winks* 

Supplies: Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps image - Your highness Lucy, Crate Paper, Copics, Ranger stickles in rock candy, silver glitter, bling, corner rounder. 

http://www.sparklecreationsrubberstamps.com/

Mahjong - the cure for a sprained ankle...

The reason why I spend so much time with the nephews and niece is because my mother, brother and sister-in-law are obsessed with playing mahjong. Yep, we are all "mahjong-trained" in this family to stave off Alzheimer's disease...*LOL* I'm what you call the "filler" player, taking over when someone else has to leave....we don't play with money though, just chips and the one-week glory of being the big winner!

So when my mother sprained her ankle for the very first time....we proposed playing mahjong to take her mind off the pain...

It worked like a charm! She didn't complain about the pain until the game ended. Mahjong - the cure for a sprained ankle. *winks*

I was inspired by the sketch at Skissedilla.

Supplies: Basic Grey patterned papers, American Crafts thickers, Ranger distress stains, Jenni Bowlin letter sticker, tags, buttons, pearls, brown pen, thread, butterfly embellishment.

*Edited* I am the winner over at Skissedilla! :)

Paper piecing is a great way to use up your paper scraps.

Paper piecing is really great way to add patterns to your stamped images and use up paper scraps. I had so much fun paper piecing this car! It would be pretty interesting to see patterned cars on the road....eye candy when there's bumper to bumper traffic...*LOL*

I added some pop dots for added dimension! :) Come play along with SCRSC 93.

Supplies: Basic Grey patterned papers, Copics, Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps image, SRM sticker.

A crazy Saturday!

So I had these two [3 year old nephew J and 1 year old niece S] for most part of Saturday. It was crazy! They really worked me like a horse. Literally! Apparently, "riding" on Aunt Y and falling onto the bed for the hundredth time is always fun! Let's just say the hips got quite a bit of a workout. *LOL*

And we had a crazy time with my phone camera! :) 

I was inspired by the chevron challenge at Scrap Africa and the sketch at Creative Scrappers.

Supplies: Basic Grey patterned papers, Crafter's Workshop template, Golden fiber paste, American Crafts thickers, EAD Designs stickers, Jenni Bowlin and Toga letter stickers, buttons, trim, brown pen, ribbon, brads.

*Edited* This layout made Top 3 at Scrap Africa!:)

My vision board is disguised as a piece of art...*winks*

So I have been largely unsuccessful in getting my vision board done. My problem is that I inadvertently find something on my vision board that I could somehow use on my creative projects. And that leaves a gaping hole on my board that needs to be covered with something else...*LOL* 

So I decided to just write everything that was supposed to be on my vision board on my canvas, then decorate over it. Love that my vision board is disguised as a piece of art! :) 

Supplies: Basic Grey patterned papers, Golden fiber paste and glass bead gel, Imaginarium  Designs chipboard, Crafter's Workshop templates, Daley-Rowney acrylic paints and mediums, pearls, lace trim, wrapping tissue.

P/s: Happy weekend friends! Come play along with LESSology Challenge #20: Barely there! :)

Has Pinterest taken over blogging?

This morning, I woke up to an email from Pinterest informing me that Cath Edvalson (Moxie Fab World) mentioned me in a pin. Curious, I clicked the link....it was yesterday's 5-minute card. :) On that same page I saw a link that said "Also from yyam.blogspot.com" and I just had to click! *LOL*

Screen grab from Pinterest

Turns out I've been unknowingly pinned many times by people who have sadly, never left me a comment on my blog. :(

The interesting thing is that I don't pin my own projects on Pinterest *LOL* Go check out who's been pinning you...http://pinterest.com/source/URL of your blog/

Has Pinterest taken over blogging? Should I start pinning and stop blogging? It would save quite a bit of time...[Hey it's hard to think of something witty to write about 5 days a week! *LOL*] What are your thoughts on this?

[This card which features the use of confetti was first shared in the Three Cool Chicks' Let's Get Trendy Now! workshop held in May.]
Supplies: Bazzill, Echo Park and GCD patterned papers, Ranger stickles in rock candy and Distress Ink in antique linen, Maya mist (for chipboard), Fancy Pants chipboard, SRM sticker (heart),twine, white pen, plastic confetti, wood embellishment, corner rounder, ribbon, trim, button.

The 5-minute card!

What do you do with the paper scraps on your table? Make a 5-minute card of course! *winks*

No fiddling with adhesive....just go with the trusty stapler! :)

Supplies: Basic Grey patterned papers, Jenni Bowlin letter stickers, Fiskars edge punch, lace, twine, corner rounder.

Can you tell that I was trying to make a dent in my Basic Grey stash?

My recent addiction to mixed media has led to complaints from the folks at the patterned paper storage bin..."Hey, have you forgotten about us? Come use us! We're pretty!" Yep, apparently my craft supplies talk to me! *LOL*

Can you tell that I was trying to make a dent in my Basic Grey stash? *winks* 

I was inspired by the sketch at C'est Magnifique.

Supplies: Basic Grey patterned papers, Golden fiber paste, Crafter's Workshop template, Maya mists, SRM sticker, EK Success stickers, Toga stickers, Balzer Designs stamp, ice-cream stick, black pen, brads, corrugated cardboard, washi tape, burlap, paper blooms, fabric butterflies, floral beads.

Can you travel light?

So my dad and sister went backpacking to India last month. Not my kind of travelling though....because I don't know how to pack light. *LOL* I mean I need everything. Can you travel light? *winks*

The background was created with a Crafter's Workshop template and mists. Then I used another Crafter's Workshop template with Golden fiber paste and coloured the circles with PanPastels.

I was inspired by the sketch at Scrap Therapy. 

Supplies: Crate Paper patterned paper, Crafter's Workshop templates, Maya mists, EK Success stickers, Golden fiber paste, PanPastels, 7 Gypsies sticker, Fontwerks stamp, Martha Stewart punch, twine, staples, black pen, brads.

Holiday wishes and mistletoe kisses...

Hey there! Today's release from Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps is Mistletoe Lucy! Remember to leave a comment at each of the designers' blogs for your chance to win this cute stamp! :)

I kept it really simple....a little paper piecing, colouring with Copics and some bling hearts! :)

Supplies: Crate Paper patterned papers, Copics, Fiskars edge punch, Ranger stickles, bling.

Be sure to visit all rest of the SCRS designers for more peeks of Mistletoe Lucy. Sparkle will be giving away to one lucky person! For a chance to win, you need to comment on all of the designer's blogs (list below). Then head on over to the SCRS blog and comment on the Mistletoe Lucy post. You have until midnight EST each day to comment. The lucky winner will be announced on Monday!

Danielle Lounds Joni Wilson Kim Yu Piali Biswas Mimi LeePang - November Guest Designer Shaela Odd Simonne Clay Sparkle Smith Stephanie Kraft Yvonne Yam