Happy holidays!:)

Hello friends! Just wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays! Enjoy the rest of 2016 and I will see you in 2017! :)

A Christmas tag project for kids...

Late last month, my aunt was looking for Christmas craft project ideas for kids for her church's Christmas charity event in Hong Kong. It must incorporate one upcycled item, be doable for kids of all ages, use minimal supplies and be economical. Challenge accepted! ;)

I went with a cardboard tag and diecuts. :)

And of course some sparkly bits in the form of a glittered snowflake and bling.

An afternoon date with my die-cutting machine and Maya Road dies....

Photos courtesy of my aunt.

And here are some kids with their Christmas tags! :)

My modus operandi for a mixed media canvas...:)

One of my fave things to make is a mixed media canvas. It allows me to think of creative ways to use up things that would otherwise end up in the trash. Here is my modus operandi for a mixed media canvas...

I like to start with a layer of wrapping tissue  (from packaging) which I adhere with matte medium. It provides visual and tactile texture without being bumpy. Then I adhere remnant lace over it. When that dries, I go over it with a layer of gesso to prep the surface for colorants. If I want to retain the original colour of my background, I go with clear gesso, otherwise, I go with white gesso.

Next, I choose 3 colours that I want to play with and start misting my substrate. I spray water to "move" my colorants along the canvas. You can tilt your canvas to get the colorants into the grooves of the textured substrate and use a paper towel to soak up the excess. Here I used orange, yellow and pink.

When you are happy with how the canvas looks, let it air dry.  

Next, I add a little gesso to the raised surfaces to allow the patterns to "pop".  And yes, I wear gloves for this! :)

Then it's time for my fave part of the whole process - auditioning embellishments! This is where the advantage of using 3 colours comes into play. I could go with different shades of the same colours or pick contrasting colours.

Since the pink was very subtle in the background, I used a bright pink tulle bloom as my focal point.

I chose elements of different dimensions and textures to create visual interest in the piece - there's shimmer cardstock, chipboard, sequins, paper blooms, resin and fabric.

To unify the piece, I sprayed a pearl mist for all-over shimmer.

If I were to give the piece away, I might consider adding a quote or a monogram to personalize it.

Happy week ahead friends! :)

Let's make it fun...:)

Have you missed seeing these two [littlest nephew + niece]? Well, these days, it's hard to get them to do anything without making it fun or appealing to them. *winks*

I only got these halfway decent photos when a movie of their choice was on the bargaining table. *LOL*

Playing along with The Studio Challenges.

The 10 minute decorated bottle

Well, it's the last month of the year and I've been busy "decorating" all the stuff I've amassed this year to "upcycle".  Like this Eiffel Tower bottle. :)

It was a quick and easy project - a little remnant lace, a white feather for a texture, paper leaves and bloom, bling and my hot glue gun....the 10 minute decorated bottle. :)

Happy week ahead friends! :)

A tag for the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop...:)

I've really been enjoying mixing and matching the Maya Road diecuts on my cards/tags and slipped one in for the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop too.:)

I started with a cardboard base which I covered with lace from an old bra. I added some sparkly glitter paint for a festive vibe.

I really wanted to add the deer diecut on my "overdone" tag....but had to settle for a deer head on my coffee cup because there was no more space! *LOL*

Happy weekend friends! :)

When I went crazy with my Maya Road dies...

Remember 2 weeks ago when I was in panic mode because I hadn't made anything Christmassy except a Christmas tag? Well,  I went a little crazy with my Maya Road dies (and putting all the diecuts together) that now, I have a surplus of Christmassy stuff! *LOL*

As with most of my tags, I started off with a piece of cardboard. I tore off the top portion to reveal the corrugation underneath. I love how it adds texture and helps to tone down all the bling. *winks*

Can you tell that I had so much fun with the diecuts? :)

Hope you are having a wonderful week friends! 

Current obsession: Sennelier Oil Pastels

My current obsession are these yummy Sennelier Oil Pastels. These small sticks of pure pigment and wax are super creamy and blendable. 

The story behind these oil pastel was that back in 1949, Parisian painter Henri Goetz approached Sennelier, a famous artist materials manufacturer, about creating a wax colour stick for his friend, Pablo Picasso. Picasso was interested in a medium that could used on a variety of surfaces without fading or cracking. The successful collaboration produced the Sennelier Oil Pastels.

I reach for these whenever I want to do a quick sketch in my art journal.

I would love to collect all 120 colours in the Sennelier collection. I only have a measly 26 sticks. (#artsupplyjunkie)...*LOL*

These eye sketches took like 10 minutes each. Seriously. Go get some. 

A day out with grandma....:)

So last week I got to spend a day out with my grandma and parents. We had a quick lunch at the airport [I had to pass stuff to an aunt who was headed to Hong Kong...more on that in a later post]...and then it was shopping time. :)

Now my grandma really loves shopping. Some years back, I brought her to South Korea and every day, she would ask the tour guide if there was shopping on that day's itinerary. When it was just sightseeing, she would be so disappointed. *LOL*

Anyway, I noticed that my grandma was walking very slowly and her slippers weren't supporting her feet. She said it was because her knees were weak. I wanted her to be comfortable so we went shopping for a new pair of shoes. But the woman was fussy. It had to have adjustable straps in the front and be black. We tried on soooooooo many pairs of shoes! 

But the pair we found was so comfortable that she wanted to wear them immediately. And guess what? She walked much faster in her new shoes...turns out that her footwear made it difficult for her to walk! *LOL*

It was also lovely to see my dad holding his mum's hand...:)

Playing along with Stuck?! Sketches. 

The decorated biscuit tin

A couple of weeks ago, I did a batch spray-painting of found stuff (to minimize clean-up)...including this lovely Harrods biscuit tin. Which looked pretty good as is but how can I resist not "decorating" it, right? *winks*

After a coat of gold spray paint, I covered it with remnant lace fabric...I love the gold bits peeking out through the lace. I added some washi tape along the edges which served as a great decorative border but really is to prevent the gold paint from chipping off with repeated openings of the lid of the box.

I finished off my decorated biscuit tin with Maya Road embellishments. For now, it is storing all my diecuts...until it needs to be a gift box for somebody.:)