The NT$19 store

So back in March, we went on a family vacation in Taiwan and had a fun time shopping in the NT$19 store [roughly US$0.65]. Yep...everything in the store was NT$19.

We bought the spectacle frames for the nephews and niece to play with... and my mum even bought "vegetables"...[sometimes my niece likes to hold the fake banana we have at home to sleep...I kid you not! *LOL* So now she can choose a radish or a carrot...hehe]

The photos really say it all so I used some SRM stickers to fill up the speech bubbles. :)

P/s: Happy weekend friends! I hope you can find time to play along with my guest Lisa's shaped card challenge as well as LESSology Challenge #28: Open that bottle!.

I love a good cup of tea! :)

I love a good cup of tea. Preferably without sugar or honey or milk. And yes, I order tea at Starbucks...*LOL*

I've been loving the look of lace on everything recently so it's no surprise lace has ended up on my chipboard pieces, eh? *winks*

Playing along with the challenge at The Shabby Tea Room.

The Squid Squad

Come meet the Squid Squad! *winks* Just a fun layout of the family enjoying Taiwanese street food - barbecued squid! 

I had a blast working on this layout [mostly giggling at the photos...hehe]...love the bright colours and the little bits I added...a scrap of trim, a flower tucked under the photo, twine, brads, buttons and lots of SRM stickers! :)

P/s: Just a few more days to play along with LESSology Challenge #28: Open that bottle!. Come play along! :)

How to create a stationery "station" with an old tray

So I got my Xyron goodies in the mail last week and created this fun little stationery "station" for the "back to school" assignment. 

I started with this old wooden tray from Daiso which has obviously seen better days...even the paint has peeled off! *LOL*

I measured patterned papers to fit the sides of the tray and cut them out.

Then I run the patterned paper strips through my Xyron 9" Creative Station to get even adhesive application all over.

Then I adhered the patterned papers to the tray. Looks so much better now, right? :)

I had some leftover strips of patterned papers so I trimmed them and adhered to clothespins using my Xyron tape runner.

Then I coloured a Blue Fern Studios chipboard with a black Sharpie.

This was backed with some red scrap paper and adhered to the edge of the tray.

I tied some twine across the top and attached the clothespins with photos of nephew #2.

When the stamps got a workout....

My background stamps are getting a workout these days after having been in cold storage for a while. Along with some lovin' for my ink pads :) 

Buying stamps and ink pads used to be a vice of mine...*LOL* Plus, well-meaning friends always send me stamp sets...I think it's a sign from the universe that I need to take them out to play more often! *winks* 

Playing along with the sketch challenge at My Creative Sketches. 

What about you? What do you collect but not use very often? Share!!! 

*Edited* This layout was featured at My Creative Sketches. :)

A sweet card and some reminders...

Hello friends! Just a sweet card to share today. :)

I thought the banner needed a little jazzing up...with some stickles and stitching.

Couple of reminders if you have some time this weekend...

1. LESSology Challenge #28: Open that bottle! 
2. My guest Lisa's shaped card challenge
3. Purple Pumpkin August sketch challenge
4. Blue Fern Studios August sketch challenge

And if you want to do some shopping, go check out the new arrivals at the Purple Pumpkin store! I have my eye on this...

P/s: Happy weekend sweet friends! :)

A lesson in messing around...

Ever thought your finished project just needed a little extra something, then proceeded to add that "extra something" and have it pretty much backfire on you? 

Well, this was mine. 

The 30-minute layout that became a 60-minute horror show....

I started with a little grid stamping with my new distress paint on the background, then proceeded to lay my photos and embellishments.

Then I thought it might be a good idea to add more distress paint [yes...I just got this distress paint...*winks*]. For some reason, I loved the circles I got with the dabber and I swear something possessed me...and before long [like 2 minutes later], there were orange circles all over my layout! [dramatic music plays in the background...]

Then I thought I should add some stamping to tone down all the orange. After the first stamping, I realized that I stamped the text upside down [yeah...it just got more messy!]. At this point, I was feeling like the lead actress in a crafting horror show...*LOL*

In the end, I added some fiber paste with a stencil and finished with distress glitter. Glitter always saves the day! :)

What about you? Ever been the lead in your own craft horror show?  Join me, I'm an A lister...*LOL*

Playing along with the glitter challenge at The Studio Challenges...I used stickles and sequins.

Why I love my Golden fiber paste...

One of my fave mediums to use is Golden fiber paste. The fibers in the paste are mineral fibers and the texture looks a little gritty but it's quite pliable. When you apply it over a colorant, it absorbs some of the colour for a slightly muted effect.

It's a little lighter than molding paste so it adds texture without bulk. Plus, it doesn't crack when you apply a thick layer [this happens when I apply a thick layer of molding paste]. 

P/s: Come play along with my guest Lisa's shaped card challenge and LESSology Challenge #28: Open that bottle! .

Mixed media wood panel

This was one of those projects that started out promising, got pretty ugly somewhere in between, was chucked into the "standstill" pile and then saw the light of day again last weekend. Sounds familiar? *LOL*

I started off with some wrapping tissue on a wood panel, some gesso and liquid acrylics. I stamped some text all over, then added went to work with a stencil, fiber paste and modeling paste. 

I painted the blooms with Silks glaze and added some glass bead medium for more texture. Thought the piece needed more colour so I added a purple colour gelato wash in the background. I finished with PearlEx for an all-over shimmer.

P/s: Come play along with the Purple Pumpkin August Sketch Challenge! You could win $25 worth of yummy goodies! :)