You make my heart sing!

Oh yes, Pilot Twin Markers, you make my heart sing!

I must have been sleeping under a rock...because I only discovered the Pilot Twin Markers last week. They come in a rainbow of happy colours with a fine point on one end and an extra fine point on the other. Since I can't get the fine point Sharpies locally, these are the best alternatives. Bonus: they are xylene-free! :) [Errr...with all the mixed media I do, one less chemical is a good thing right? *winks*]

They write well on glossy photos and the extra fine-tip is perfect for outlining...[Now, you know how much I LOVE outlining...*LOL*]...and they are half the price of my previous fave - the Faber Castell Pitt Pens. :)

I've been hoarding these Sassafras felt monsters for a long time....aren't they cute?

 
Playing along with ARTastic challenge.

Family photos taken during Chinese New Year courtesy of Timothy Isaac. :)

Pastel colours and bling!

So pastel colours are growing on me. I love the subtle hint of soft colours in a whisper [you know, versus the loudness of bold colours ...*winks*]

I started with light modeling paste and The Crafter's Workshop stencil on a 6x6 canvas panel. The effect I wanted was random and abstract so I did not apply the paste on the whole canvas. I also misted water into the Shimmerz Inklingz containers to activate them.

Since the colours were so pretty...I had to include them all of course! :)

The colours turned out so shimmery and sweet....so I just added a bling tulle bloom from Maya Road and some bling on the bloom centers in the background to complete my mixed media canvas.

Happy weekend my friends! :)

Giving the phone case a new lease of life....an altered project for ColourArte

Hello friends! Today I'm sharing an altered phone case over at the ColourArte blog with a step-by-step tutorial. If you have time, please pop by and take a look at my tutorial, okay? :)

How I am organizing my travel pages in 2015....

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the layouts/albums accumulation is growing at an alarming rate and I'm taking steps to curtail its growth...*winks*

This year, my travel pages will be in Midori traveler's notebooks. I love the flexibility of these notebooks - they can be brought along with you on your travels in a leather holder or stored at home in a kraft binder. There are lots of people selling what they term as "faux-doris" online which give you much more colour and material options than the standard black or brown leather offered by the Midori company.

You can purchase the refills which include diary versions so that you can use them as a planner. There are also tutorials online that teach you how to make those notebooks yourself which are much more economical.

I love the quality of the papers in the notebook. There are thin but there's no bleed-through when I write on them. I'm not big on paper curling so I have not tried any wet media on the pages. I did use some Faber Castell gelatos on them, blending with my fingers and I love the effect.

One of the reasons why I've decided on these notebooks is because if you keep them relatively flat, you can store quite a bit of layouts in them. The bonus is that I get to use up my flat embellishments like washi tape and stickers and paper scraps.

I'm also enjoying old-school mess-free scrapbooking just using paper, tape glue, washi tape and stickers. It's great for times when you want to get creative but don't really want to clean up after...we all have such days right? *winks*

The case for flatter and fewer layouts....

Not sure if you've noticed, but I've been cutting down on my layouts of late. And making them really flat. Apparently switching to only multi-photo layouts 2 years ago isn't enough. My album collection is growing at an alarming rate....*LOL*

And to think I started as a digital scrapbooker! But I so want to document fun things that might be awesome to reminisce about years from now. And I LOVE the tactile feel of actual layouts instead of flipping through a digital album. What about you? Are you drowning in albums like I am? *winks*

Playing along with Stuck?! Sketches.

The washi tape obsession

So two years ago, I started my MT tape "collection" after a trip to Taiwan. Now I never took to washi tape prior to that because the ones I had [read: made in China] didn't stick very well and I had to add adhesive! 

But the obsession wasn't that bad....I think maybe 60 rolls? *LOL* I bought acrylic drawers for them and promised myself that ALL my washi tape had to fit into them. Which meant the only way to add to the collection was to use up my existing MT tape. 

Guess what? With the drop in Yen and the readjustment in MT tape prices [about 30% less], I'm doing less hoarding and more using! Can you tell from this layout on the niece and nephews with their great grandma?

Okay okay, so I cheated and bought a new set of acrylic drawers for my new MT tapes...*winks*

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

Happy birthday to me! :)

Hello friends! It's my birthday today! Yay to another year of being alive! *high fives all around*

A 4x4 mixed media canvas using my current obsession - ColourArte Radiant Rain shimmering sprays. They are a unique blend of watercolours and acrylic with mica. Totally yum. [Oh well, you know about my long-standing affair with mica...*winks*]

The background of the canvas was created with medical gauze and Golden fiber paste applied with The Crafter's Workshop stencil.

P/s: I have a mystery box of goodies to give away to a lucky commenter. I'll pick a winner next week! :)

Using leftover letter stickers on my mixed media canvas....

So my letter sticker collection is driving me crazy because the ones I have left are random numbers and alphas...which take up a LOT of space but they don't help with the title works on my projects. *grunts*

*Lightbulb moment* Since they have a bit dimension, I thought I could treat them like chipboard and add some textured interest on my mixed media canvas background.

I adhered them to the canvas with matte gel medium, added a layer of gesso, then played with Ranger Patinas. Even though they are paints for metals, I love the thick consistency and they dry with a semi-glossy slightly raised finish. *yum*

I also added some light modeling paste with The Crafter's Workshop stencil for more texture and interest.

The photos [my mum & niece] were matted on white cardstock with a MT tape border. I finished with some Maya Road chipboard and vintage trim, buttons and outlining with a white gel pen. 

If you are located in Singapore, you can get all the supplies from Made With Love. :)

A mixed media canvas for ColourArte

Hello there friends! I'm sharing this mixed media canvas over at the ColourArte blog with a step-by-step tutorial. I would love for you to stop by and take a look! :)

Using existing stash....

Ahhh...it feels good to use up existing stash...like the SET cardstock stickers I used on this page as "patterned paper"...

and my MT tape [which I mostly hoard...*LOL*].

The machine stitching was to keep everything flat....I don't know if it's the humidity in Singapore or the poor quality of the adhesive used but those cardstock stickers don't stick at all and drive me crazy!

I was happy that I had matching Sharpie colours for my chipboard pieces....why yes, I have Sharpies in every colour, don't you? *winks*

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

Someone has a crush....

So when we were celebrating Chinese New Year last month, someone was totally enamored with his aunt Vanessa...a little boy's crush...*LOL*

Yes. My nephew J was perfectly content to sit next to her and hold her hand. All afternoon long.

See how he is beaming in this photo because she's holding his hand? *winks*

I cut out the words "watch" and "boy" from a rubber wrist band...and coloured some Maya Road chipboard letters with a blue Sharpie [yes...my fave way of colouring chipboard because it dries instantly...]. 

Playing along with Stuck?! Sketches.