The laksa and matchstick story...

Back in August, my sister and I made our first attempt at laksa, a popular spicy noodle soup of Peranakan cuisine, supervised by mum. :)

The spicy broth requires a gazillion ingredients that need to be cut into millions of pieces [I am exaggerating here of course! *winks*], pounded in a mortar, grinded in a food processor and then stir-fried for an hour before it gets to simmer in coconut milk for another hour.

It was a lot of hard work and even tears for my poor sister...until my mum got her to put the wooden end of a matchstick between her teeth. Apparently, the match head absorbs all the vapours before they get to your eyes... so no more tears when cutting onions! *LOL*

I'm still working hard on dwindling that scrap pile! 

Playing along with Stuck?! Sketches.

Happy weekend friends! :)

Standard operating procedure: make a tag....*winks*

These days, the standard operating procedure when I receive a box parcel is to make a tag or two....you know, after I put away the goodies from the box of course. *winks*

Somehow, cardboard boxes inspire me to make shabby chic tags. :)

I had a monochromatic tag using neutrals in mind when I chose the kraft patterned paper and added the beige lace [from an old bra of course...*haha*].  But an orange flower beckoned me..."Use me please!" and you know how I am when my craft supplies talk to me right? *LOL*

Hope you are having a great week so far!

A little love for my sister....:)

My sister has been really sweet to me of late...leaving sweet (chocolate) and salty (chips) treats on my desk. So I decided to return the favour in a less fattening way...with her fave toiletries from L'occitane. Of course, they needed to be prettied up in a decorated brown paper bag. *winks*

Nothing like diving into my scrap pile for the right pieces! Since I wanted to send a little love, I thought the "love" printed fabric would be appropriate. Then, I found a fun speech bubble and some fussy-cut cute elements (deer, mushroom and tree). I also added some twine and a button. To finish, I used a Maya Road "Question Mark" clip to add a little mystery as to the contents of the package. ;)

It was a fun and quick project to make...and I'm sure my sister will recycle the bag to send a little love to someone else. :)

Happy week ahead friends!

Another 9 ways to give a new lease of life to household items

Last year, I wrote 2 "Tips" posts for giving a new lease of life to household items. It's time for a new edition! Here are another 9 ways to give a new lease of life to household items. :)

Inspired by a piece of wrapping tissue

1. Use pretty wrapping tissue and broken/tacky accessories on a mixed media canvas.

Upcycled perfume bottle

2. Turn an old perfume bottle into an accessory holder.

Come join me for afternoon tea

3. Decorate a clear marker box and create a one-of-a-kind invitation.

An altered bottle

4. Turn an old juice bottle into a statement pen/brush holder.

Your weekend project: cupcake trinket pin holder

5. Use an old sponge as a base to make a sweet cupcake trinket pin holder.

Beer can turned mug for paintbrushes

6. Turn a sturdy beer can into an altered mug to store paintbrushes.

Fabric tag

7. Use denim and lace fabric from used clothes to make a tag.

The one where the princess refused to smile

8. Use a decorative box cover diecut as a mat for your photo.

A shabby chic magnet

9. Turn a small wood packaging frame into a shabby chic magnet.

There you have it....another 9 ways to give a new lease of life to household items. Which one is your fave? 

P/s: Have you seen 9 ways to give a new lease of life to household items and 9 (more) ways to give a new lease of life to household items? 

The cost of messing around...with a finished project *winks*

The other day, I picked up this "open" wood sign from my local Daiso store and thought I could make it look a lot prettier with some Maya Road embellishments. :)

I chose some Maya Road embellishments, fiddled with the placement of them a little and then proceeded to adhere them all down with a hot glue gun. All done in 10 minutes.Whoa! I was happy.

Of course, days later, when I was about to photograph my project, it just looked way too plain. Like it needed MORE. 

I spied some lace that I just cut out from an old bra [I did an Amazon bra spree recently and had to purge the same number of brassieres I purchased to avoid massive overload in the undergarment drawer...come on, you understand right? *LOL*] and thought I should add that for a little more visual interest.

It might not have been such a great idea since it took ages to glue it all down and then trim along the letters. So a 10-minute project took over an hour! That's the cost of messing around with a finished project. Now, I think the lace is a little too much texture!  *LOL*

This project was created for Maya Road and first appeared on the Maya Road Design Team blog.

Guess whose birthday it was....

A couple of Sundays ago, we paid a surprise visit to my brother's with a birthday cheesecake for a member of the Gangster Gang. Can you guess whose birthday it was? 

Could it be niece S's birthday? Or nephew #1's birthday? *winks*

Yeah, the shy birthday boy did not want to pose for photos...in fact the rest of the Gangster Gang were far more excited about blowing out the candles and cutting the cake than he was! *LOL*

It was the first time I made a topping for a cake so I was crossing my fingers that my mango gelatin layer stayed intact since I made up my own recipe [less sugar, fewer calories]. On hindsight, I should have gone with a no-bake cheesecake. Oh well, the verdict from The Gangster Gang was that it was "super delicious". :)

Playing along with Stuck?! Sketches.

The paper towel card...*winks*

So the other day, after a mixed media session, I found some lovely patterns on my paper towel and thought to myself, "Such a pity to throw it away...maybe I should try to use it on a card or something..." *winks*

I cut the paper towel to size and used dry adhesive on the card base before gluing the paper towel to the card. The paper towel is a little delicate so you have to be careful when handling it to prevent tearing.

Then I added my fave Maya Road embellishments with a hot glue gun.

The paper towel looks like lovely patterned paper, right?

What do you think?

The redone canvas

I don't always like my completed artwork. About 99% of the time that is. Really. *winks*

Most of the time, I think it's an okay project...and then I cross my fingers that it photographs better than it looks to me. 

Lace canvas

Anyway, this particular canvas has been bugging me since 2013. It looks okay in the photo but the Silk Acrylic glaze colours started to bleed out after a while and it turned into this yucky purplish magenta hue. And I never really liked the word stickers I added. 

So I decided that I could wince every time I walked past my gallery wall or do something about it. 

I added some fiber paste to create a little more texture to the canvas, then painted it with two coats of white gesso. 

Once the gesso was dry, I added some Liquitex inks and manipulated the colours with a spray bottle filled with water.

Once I was happy with the colours, I finished off with a pearlescent mist for a subtle all-over sheen.

I like it a lot better now. I think.? *LOL*

Happy week ahead friends!

Look! I actually used a stamp! *winks*

Sometimes the challenges I come up with for LESSology are really set for myself...to "force" myself to use items that I own but have neglected for a really long time. Like my musical notes stamp. Which was buried in a sea of other "oooh I have to have it" stamps. [Can you relate?*LOL*]

I started with a Kikki K box [let's not count how many planners I actually have..*winks*] and a sheet of Fancy Pants patterned paper. I cut the paper  to size and ran it through my Xyron Creative Station before adhering it to my box cover. I did a little subtle stamping at the edges so that they blend in with the patterned paper design.

Then I decorated with my fave Maya Road embellishments at the bottom...

And also at the top. I recycled the plastic birthday token that came with the purchase of a cake.

Happy weekend friends!