More eye sketches from #the100dayproject

17/100. I worked on Bristol paper for this eye sketch. I totally forgot how nice wax-based pencils are on Bristol paper. :)

18/100. Channeling my fave eyeshadow colour on this eye sketch.

19/100. Clearly I was home and had a little more time for this eye sketch...so I went all out...you know, watercolours and alcohol markers. *winks*

Well of course life got in the way and I had to play catchup with eye sketch 20/100.  I chose the lazy person's way out by using a ballpoint pen. *LOL*

21/100.  This was also another catchup eye sketch so I stuck with just a few colours.

22/100. An eye sketch a day did start taking its toll on me at this point. So I decided to work on a watercoloured background base for a change.

Back to my fave eye colour for eye sketch 23/100.

24/100. Inspired by an editorial photo in a fashion magazine.

25/100.  Exercised a little restraint on this eye sketch...and I love how it turned out.

26/100. Not sure about the brows. Hahaha.

27/100. Clearly a catchup eye sketch...;)

28/100. A colourful eye inspired by the watercoloured background.

So #the100dayproject has been a little harder than anticipated. I love drawing the eye but that's when I was drawing an eye a week and enjoying the process of adding different details as the week progressed. Now that I "HAVE" to (not really...I can change the scope/type of project) produce a completed eye sketch for each day, it has become less enjoyable and feels more like "work".

Will I make it to eye sketch #100? Only time will tell [dramatic music plays in the background]. ;)

Incorporating packaging on a card

So over the weekend I was binge-watching YouTube videos on zero-waste living and learning about how much stuff actually gets recycled. The numbers are not great my friends. Actual figures depend on where you reside but the bulk of it are in landfills because it is expensive to recycle materials.

In Singapore, residents don't have to sort out the recyclables but instead mass dump the bulk of what they think can be recycled into the blue bins provided because it is supposedly more cost-effective and convenient. But the problem with the mass dumping is that "idiots" throw food waste and dirty diapers into these bins too and contaminate EVERYTHING else in there. As a result, 40% of the recyclables cannot be recycled.

Now that I know, I am taking steps to reduce the amount of things I actually bring home with me. And to try to incorporate the ones that I do on my creative projects. Like this sturdy card pocket that was part of the packaging when I was given some Fresh skincare samples. I thought it would be great for a pull-out tag or gift card.

I love the idea that the recipient could possibly rework/reuse the pocket and bring a smile to someone else's face. :)

What about you? Do you try to reuse stuff you bring into your home?

The mish mash paper bag

Recently, I've been looking through my archives and really miss the gung-ho-ness of my early crafting days. You know, when I haven't quite acquired the finesse of mixing and matching patterns and colours. *winks*

So I decided to throw caution to the wind and throw together a mish mash of scraps on a paper bag. :)

I started with this purple paper bag from my stash.

I wanted to use the fabric bloom (from my mum's dress that she didn't like), the blue lace (from an old bra), a strand of lilac iridescent sequins and some remnant ribbon scraps... so I just used them all! *LOL*

Well, it is possibly the "loudest" paper bag I've decorated so far but I kind of like the fun mix of patterns.

What do you think?

Decorated Easter eggs

So I decorated some Easter eggs (egg shells only) for the first time this year. Because mum wanted some bright and colourful ones to entertain her 7 year old kids at school. Of course, I had to bring in the big guns.... bling and glitter! *LOL*

P/s: I have actually never participated in an Easter egg hunt before...because it's just too hot at this time of the year (35C/95F). But I've eaten lots of Easter egg chocolates! *winks*

Dealing with less-than-ideal photos...

It's inevitable that as scrapbookers, we sometimes have to deal with less-than-ideal photos. Like the photos of my dad with his mum. The photos that were printed at the photo shop came out really dull (damn stupid freebie coupon.. now I have a stack of 50 similarly dull photos that I have been using for my layouts...I still have a lot more to go!) but since I don't like to waste stuff, I went ahead and used them.

I cut out the silhouette of one of them and placed it next to the other photo. I covered the background of the photo with some gold Stickles to "enliven" the photos and match the gold of the CNY piggy decorations. I also added some bright and fun embellishments to "frame" the photos and add more interest.

And of course, I covered my background with a large pig embellishment. :)

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

What about you? How do you deal with less-than-ideal photos?

An update on my #the100dayproject

Hello friends! Just an update on my progress on #the100dayproject (click link to see the first 3 sketches).

This was 4/100. Feeling a little bored with coloured pencils at this point.

Then I decided that I should probably use some neglected art supplies to prevent boredom (96 more sketches to go!). So for 5/100, I went for a watercoloured eye and finished off the details with coloured pencils. :)

So I completely forgot about 6/100 so I just went in with an expired eyeliner brush pen (you know I waste nothing! Hehe!) and did a quick 5 minute eye sketch.

For 7/10, I decided to give my Copic markers some love. And finished off the details with my coloured pencils.

I tried to be really disciplined and got my eye sketch done each morning when I was in Hanoi. 8/100.

Then I thought it might be fun to photograph eye sketch 9/100 eyeing my pomelo salad. *LOL*

Eye sketch 10/100 was done while cruising Halong Bay.:)

11/100. This one was done on the flight home from Hanoi. There was a lot of turbulence on the plane so I just used my mechanical pencil and a piece of tissue to shade and create light and dark values. I finished with a black coloured pencil for the darkest value and a white paint marker for highlights.

For 12/100, I decided to play with Caran d'Ache Neocolor II watersoluble crayons.

This week, I decided to play with different eye angles to really challenge myself. 13/100.

14/100. This was done rather quickly at lunch.

For eye sketch 15/100, I was inspired by the colours in my new eyeshadow palette. :)

And 16/100 was the one I completed last night.

There you have it, my eye sketches for my #the100dayproject. Feel free to follow me on Instagram to check out my daily eye sketches. Be forewarned that I post food pictures too. ;)

Happy Easter weekend friends!

The one about the elevated pancakes

Nephew #1 gets pretty spoiled with treats on the weekends. Like elevated pancakes. *winks*

A stack of cranberry pancakes with sliced banana pieces (plus the paper umbrella courtesy of mum who thinks all food is instantly elevated with cocktail paper umbrella decorations *LOL*) and butter and drizzled with organic maple syrup.

Went a little pattern-mixing crazy here to use up my bits and bobs.

Playing along with Scrap the boys. 

Things that most crafters can relate to...*winks*

The bench/chair in your room is more a storage bench than an actual sitting bench/chair. Because you "respect" your stuff and they shouldn't be dumped on the floor, right?  *winks*

You can never have too much pretty/glittery stuff. Especially if they are on sale! ;)

You can make flowers out of (almost) anything...even pandan leaves!

You secretly want to own the pen display at stationery store because it's so pretty!

You make your bestie take a gazillion food photos so that you may have at least ONE nice photo before the actual eating commences.

You take numerous photos of faux floral displays because they are so pretty!

You can't wait for the family to finish eating the cookies in the tin so that you can make something pretty with the tin!

You find ways to reuse your CNY/occasion decorations like fussy-cutting them and incorporating them on your layouts.

Cute elements on packaging must always be fussy-cut so that they can be incorporated in future projects. 

You seem to find bargains everywhere. Even the small stationery aisle at the supermarket is not "safe" from you.

Normal people buy earrings to wear...you buy earrings in anticipation that they will become future embellishments on your projects. :)

Are these things most crafters can relate to???? *LOL*