An unhealthy obsession with watercolours...

So I may have an unhealthy obsession with watercolours....*winks*

I can pinky swear that I have not bought any watercolours since my trip to Japan earlier this year .... but that's because I bought a whole lot when I was there *see picture for evidence*.

Yes, that's just the stash I got in Japan...I also have the German Schmincke, the French Sennelier, the American Daniel Smith...and a whole lot of those craft-grade stuff too. Hence, an unhealthy obsession with watercolours.

What watercolours offer is the captivating interplay of brilliantly transparent pigments in water spreading over white watercolour paper. Sometimes you lose control of them like in my eye painting when I spilled water over the iris when it was still wet...*dramatic music plays in the background*.

Purists say that it is an unforgiving medium because when you go too dark, it is hard to "lift" the pigment off the paper. And that the white should not be painted in as an afterthought, it should be the white from the paper. Yes, you have to control the amount and flow of water, the transparency of the pigments and keep parts of the paper white.

Luckily, I'm a mixed media kind of girl so I saved my painting with coloured pencils and a white acrylic marker....who has time to apply masking fluid, right? *LOL*

What about you? What is your unhealthy obsession??

This week's quick card from the scrap pile...

Hello friends! Meet this week's quick card...a residual misted watercolour card base, Sassafras patterned paper (that I've been hoarding like forever...), the infamous Basic Grey birdie, layered Maya Road diecuts and bling. :)

This card came together quite quickly because there were so few elements involved. Layering and gluing the diecuts took the bulk of the time. The bottom layers of the diecuts are orange while the top layer is gold to create a little more depth.

3 more Basic Grey birdies to use up! *fingers crossed*

Playing along with Fusion Card Challenge. 

So we won tickets to see Kooza....

Last month, my sister and I participated at a local mall contest and won tickets to see Cirque du Soleil Kooza! :)

Check out those excited faces before the show started...and of course, I made my sister try on the artificial floral headband that I immediately told her I could make her if she wanted it (Why pay $12 when I have flowers and a hot glue gun at home right? *winks*).

Since we watched a very colourful performance, I went a little crazy with my mix of patterns and colours as well. And yes, a die-cutting machine came into play.

I incorporated my actual ticket stub by cutting it up...perfect for location and actual day details.

Playing along with Stuck?! Sketches.

8 Ideas for decorated gift bags

I find it extremely "life-saving" to have a few decorated gift bags on hand for that last minute gift-giving emergency. Like the other day, when I was binge-watching Designated Survivor on Netflix instead of wrapping up baby gifts for my new niece.... you know how it is, I really needed to know who the bad guys were! *LOL*

Anyway, here are 8 ideas for decorated gift bags [click on links to see original posts and closeups].

Diecuts and paper scraps on a paper bag

Another decorated paper bag

Decorated paper bag for Maya Road

The decorated paper bag

The super-quick gift bag

An upcycled paper bag

An upcycled brown paper bag and card

Do you have a burning craft-related question?

I've kept my designs to just the front panel of the bags so they can be folded flat for easy storage/retrieval.

What about you? Do you have a ready supply of decorated gift bags for that last-minute gift-giving emergency? :)

Just another 5 minute card

Hello friends! Just sharing a quick 5 minute card I made the other day from the stash in my infamous multi-slot file of paper scraps + box of diecuts. *winks*

This card came together in like 3 minutes... which made me feel bad about the lack of effort so I proceeded to poke holes to add texture and interest. *LOL*

So there you have it...just another 5 minute card. ;)

Hope you are having a great week so far...I'm looking forward to catching this performance with my sister tonight.

Travel journal pages January 2017

Why yes, I finally got some of my travel photos printed...and *drumroll please* scrapbooked in my Midori Traveler's Notebook. Yay, go me! *High fives all around*

Let's not dwell on the fact that I'm years behind on my travel journal...and focus on the positives. Like 2017 might actually be a year I document ALL my travels. *winks*

So grab a cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate and join me as I recall *very sketchily* my first trip out of the country this year to...Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), Vietnam.

Since I've been to Saigon like 6 times in the last year (for my other life), I finally found my fave hotel (to date) - Caravelle Saigon. It's a local establishment at a great location in District 1 (within walking distance of local landmarks), a fabulous international breakfast spread and an excellent concierge service.

I incorporated the map that I took from the hotel by cutting it down and adding a washi tape border.

You know that I've been mostly scrapping out of my multi-slot single file of patterned paper scraps so I was really happy that I got to use the really little bits and pieces. Did you spot the infamous Basic Grey bird? And of course, check out my lousy stamping. I can't stamp straight to save my life...*LOL*

I went with washi tape in the center to try to unify the two pages. 

You can tell that I was a little overzealous with using my scrap bits because I didn't leave much space for journaling...haha.

So I left a whole lot of space for journaling on the next pages. :) Like a quick summary of the places I went and things I did. 

I always make time for a facial, body massage, a manicure and pedicure when I travel to a less developed country because you get really good service at affordable prices (US$40 for all four). I like using TripAdvisor to pick out the good ones nearby. 

I also go with a list of fine-dining establishments I want to try out. Lunch time is great for eating at these places because you pay about 25% of the cost of dinner. 

If you have a strong stomach, try out the street food vendor stalls. Those are reportedly cheap and good. For me, I stick to restaurants because I've had food poisoning a few times and they were not pleasant experiences. 

I went a little tag crazy on these pages (I have so many of them!) but they were perfect for my small photos. :) 

There you have it, my travel journal pages from January 2017. Next up is February...which will feature a lot more photos because I was in Japan! :)

P/s: Happy week ahead friends!

The one about the four-layer cake

So for my mum's birthday, I wanted to have an afternoon tea spread complete with a four-layer birthday cake.

Things were looking rosy in the morning. I had my Earl Grey Tea cookie dough done and chilling in the fridge. My Cranberry Almond Blondie was out of the oven and smelling really good. I had plans for a crustless quiche for a savoury treat and of course, the main star - the four-layer Sea-Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake.

Well, things didn't go as planned of course. Perhaps one should not be trying out all new recipes on the event day. *winks*

By teatime, the birthday cake was baked, cut and waiting to be decorated. That was when things fell apart. Where to start? Making buttercream icing for the first time? Making caramel sauce for the first time? Making chocolate ganache for the first time? Having no icing skills whatsoever? *LOL*

Well, we had afternoon tea with everything but the birthday cake. I was icing it all the way up to dinner time! *hahahaha*

So we had it as after-dinner dessert.

And that my friends, is the story about the four-layercake that took forever to decorate. But mum said it was good. She never says anything I make is good. Ever. Yay me! ;)

P/s: Just a mish mash layout using my scrap bits.

Coloured pencil eye drawings

Hello friends! Just wanted to share some coloured pencil eye drawings I did recently. :)

Yes, if we ever meet in person, please pardon my intense gaze into your eye...I'm just checking out your iris! *LOL*

I wasn't one of those kids who drew and coloured everywhere they went but I'm an adult who does that now. How's that for a delayed childhood activity? *hahaha*