Guess who I met at Typo?

The other day, while passing through a mall to get to my destination, I was distracted by the huge "up to 50%" SALE sign outside Typo. I HAD to go in obviously. Right? *winks*

Guess who I met at Typo? Only the two cutest boys ever...[Totally bias because they are my nephews...*LOL*]

So, this Typo obsession may be a family thing. The boys did get to choose something from the store. Something that was on sale of course. Bargain hunting is a family trait. :)

Playing along with Stuck?! Sketches. 

Cardboard = tag

Whenever I get my hands on some sturdy cardboard, I tend to make tags. Big ones. *winks*

I added patterned paper to the front and back of the cardboard, then distressed the edges for texture. Then I had a field day embellishing with neutrals and a pop of colour - aqua. :)

The cluster is a mix of soft and hard textures - paper, clay, fabric, chipboard, metal. :)

Playing along with the mini challenge at More than words.

A birthday celebration

I usually celebrate my sister's birthday with her by taking her out for a meal and movie. This year, I included my parents.:)

Of course, we went to a restaurant where my sister got a free birthday dessert. Which she enjoyed before the main course. You can see how happy she was. *winks*

I took a photo of them in front of the movie poster. You can see that the folks were all bundled up....cinemas in Singapore are notoriously cold. *lol* 

Playing along with Stuck?! Sketches and The Studio Challenges.

Current faves on a mixed media canvas...

Sometimes, a girl just needs to put all of her current faves on a mixed media canvas. *winks*

I am currently obsessed with this The Crafter's Workshop stencil which I used here with light modeling paste. And check out the pretty lace trim my bloggy pal Mitra sent me. :)

Also got to use the suede tassel I've been hoarding for a few months too.

Playing along with Le Tresors De Luxe challenge.

5 ways to jumpstart your creativity in 2016

It is the first month in a brand new year. Perhaps you were raring to go all-out in the new year but two weeks in and you are feeling a little unmotivated. Trust me, you are not alone. I had grandeur plans to sketch, journal, write, paint...and the list goes on.

Guess what? I've only done one thing on my list daily for the last two weeks. Whenever creative productivity dips, I like to:

1. Find external inspiration.

Go visit a museum or a gallery for some inspiration. 

My go-to place is the national library. I grew up with my dad telling me that mastery of any subject matter is reading a dozen books on it. Here are some of the books I picked up recently from my local library. 

2. Get organized.

Clutter can sometimes block your chi and affect your creativity. My workspace is always a work-in-progress. But I did a little spring-cleaning...threw out some old cloggy pens, packed up some stuff to give away and assessed the additions I needed to make my creative process more efficient.

3. Add useful tools to your art supply collection.

For me, I've been obsessed with colour pencils for the last 9 months. So I finally splurged on a battery-operated automatic pencil sharpener that I'd been eyeing for months. I was pleasantly surprised when I was inspired to draw again once my coloured pencils were sharpened. [Of course, I had to ask everybody at home if they needed to sharpen any pencils first..*lol*]

I've a list of "useful" things I would like to get but always wait for a sale to get a good deal. I had a $5 coupon for this sharpener. *winks*

4. Think of new ways to use existing supplies.

Sometimes we don't use a particular art supply because it is too troublesome. Okay, it could be a me problem. 

I wasn't using my bottled inks because I didn't want to have to get a paintbrush and a palette and then clean up after. Last year, I saw that several artists were putting their inks in water brushes which was a total time-saver [minus the $5 price tag on each brush] so I finally got mine in Pentel Aquash water brushes. Perfect to practise my calligraphy...you know, when I finally get to it...it's on my list! *winks*

5. Just do it!

Throw paint, make marks. See what comes out or what doesn't. My art journal pages always go through several iterations of "ugliness" before I like them. The important thing is to keep at it. Doing something gets you closer to achieving something at the end. And the process can be therapeutic and fun! :)

There you have it. 5 ways to jumpstart your creativity in 2016. Totally do-able right? Especially the part where you get to go shopping to add to your art supply collection. *winks*

Designing to showcase products...

My style of scrapbooking is really about sticking random stuff down and then tying the pieces together. Somehow. You know, the way scrapbooking should be. :)

However, my design is a little more deliberate when working on design team projects that require me to showcase products. I actually plan a little more and try not to include weird stuff. *LOL*

Like on this layout for Maya Road. Since it would be on display at CHA 2016, I tried to work in as many Maya Road embellishments in as possible [without cluttering the page] to showcase the new products [the numbered clips, the trim, the wood frame the tulle bloom, the button, the diecuts].

I did however, stick to multi-photos, bright and happy colours, machine-stitching for texture and added a little mixed media play with the treatment of the chipboard title. It can't be a layout of mine if it didn't incorporate some of my go-to style elements right?

The one where a drill was involved...

So I had a project in my mind that involved door knobs. Which meant I had to learn how to use a drill to secure them. Can you spot them? *winks*

I had so much fun putting this project together using the new Maya Road goodies. :)

The base of the canvas was covered with vintage lace fabric, gessoed and then misted with ColourArte Radiant Rain sprays. I added Silks Acrylic Glaze in gold to enhance the lace details. Then it was embellishment time! 

My mixed media canvas is now on the cover of the Maya Road Winter 2016 catalog! And enjoying itself at CHA 2016. :)

A super quick gift bag for Maya Road

It's my sister E's birthday today! I got her a bunch of gifts and whipped up a super quick gift bag to store them. :)

The brown paper bag was in my stash of reusables. I cut the corrugated cardboard and ran it through my Xyron Creative Station for an even layer of adhesive. Then I added the cute owls and embellished with Maya Road twine cording and button.

The base was decorated with Maya Road trim for texture and pops of colour.

In the hanging jar, I added a Maya Road heart diecut.

A really quick gift bag that can be stored away easily for re-use or make a cute storage display on my sister's desk. :)

Inspired by a piece of wrapping tissue...

Hello there friends! Hope the year 2016 has been amazing to you so far. Today I'm sharing a 6x6 mixed media canvas for LESSology Challenge #54: Candy Land. 

I don't know about you but I have a hard time throwing things out. I want to keep EVERYTHING in my "save-it-for-a-rainy-day" box [actually, I have 3!]. Like this lovely black wrapping tissue with floral print that came in the box with my Betsey Johnson shoes. What can I say? At least after two years, the wrapping tissue has been utilized? *LOL* [The shoes are ridiculously high platforms that I like to admire from time to time...*winks*]

And that tacky bracelet from OPI was just the right amount of pink bling on my canvas. The green bling was from an old choker.

Crazy fun with the selfie stick

So I passed nephews #1 & 2 a selfie stick + remote...and watched them have a bit of crazy fun taking photos together. :)

Yeah...somehow fun with these two always involve guns...*LOL*

I went with bright bold colours to match the boys' happy personalities and t-shirts.

The chipboard title pieces were coloured with a black Sharpie and outlined with a white gel pen.

Playing along with More Than Words.