Make Stuff Monday - the super quick gift wrap

What do you do when you are in a hurry and need to wrap up some pens quickly? Well, try a glassine bag!

Yes, I recycled the doliey from previously received happy mail, added some die-cuts, a paper bloom, bling and a chipboard sentiment.

I kept things simple because it is just ONE of the presents in the gift package for a sweet friend.

Happy week ahead friends!:)

The one about the best fake smile

It's been harder and harder to get a good picture of the Gangster Gang (aka niece + nephews) because they just refuse to cooperate. *insert dramatic sad music*

"Why must we take photos?" they whine.

So I told them, "Give me your best fake smile!"

Once it was a "game", I got some fun genuine smiles for a change. *insert dramatic victorious music*

So after not printing my photos for most of this year (I was using up the 50 free photos I printed at my local Harvey Norman), I actually inserted the photo paper wrongly in my printer! At first, I lamented on the wastage of the ink but decided to incorporate it was "patterned paper" for my layout. :)

Playing along with Stick It Down.

The self-portrait that drove me nuts

Yes friends. Meet the self-portrait in my sketchbook that drove me nuts for a couple of weeks.

It started well. I established some likeness at the beginning which seemed promising...

But of course, the facial tone was completely off and I had to work on that....

Once I looked less vampirish and more human, I discovered that the eyes seemed a little lopsided....

And then it seemed like the jawline was a little too pronounced. *LOL*

Guess what comes with practice is your ability to discover "flaws" in your work more readily. *winks*

I'm sure I will tweak it again some point in the future as I hone my drawing skills but for now, this one is done. At this angle, she does look okay. Hehehe...:)

A page from the recipe planner - almond cookies

Well, I'm pretty happy that my recipe planner is filling up nicely. This week's page features almond cookies.:)

These are crisp on the outside and just crumble in your mouth. Really yummy. Interestingly, I only bake them during Chinese New Year because they are traditional CNY cookies.

I kept the page really simple with some fussy-cut elements, stickers and washi tape.

Hope you are having a great week friends! :)

Make Stuff Monday - Decorated paper bag with pull-out tag

Hello friends! Today's Make Stuff Monday features an upcycled kraft paper bag that features a fun pocket with a pull-out tag. :)

The pocket was from some happy mail I got.... I just cut down the pocket with a wavy cutter for a little more added interest. Gotta say I was pretty stoked that the pocket matched my colour scheme....:)

I kept the pull-out tag portion really simple because I wanted to keep it relatively flat but also match with the overall design of the decorated paper bag.

I really wanted to use this bright orange corrugated cardboard that I've had in my stash for years...and I did! I prettied it up with some vintage lace and pearl trim. You know me, I'm such a girly gal. *LOL*

I went really minimalist with the embellishments here...because I made this bag to house 2 previously decorated items which I shared earlier this year. Can you remember the items based on the colour scheme? *winks*

Decorating a Fresh gift box

Yep, this decorated bag was totally inspired by the decorated Fresh gift box (the orange matches the corrugated cardboard perfectly...:)

Your Weekend Project: Upcycled vitamin container

And the upcycled vitamin container project.:)

Yes, these days I'm really on to the multi-projects in one gift bandwagon. It's a great way to 

1. Upcycle your boxes/containers/paper bags 

2. Stretch your creativity to come up with coordinating packaging 

3. Make the recipient feel special

What do you think?

This week's quick decorated box (a short tutorial)

This was one of those boxes that took longer to photograph than the time taken to actually decorate it. *LOL*

I started with this sturdy corporate gift box (yes, the box got me more excited than the thermal flask inside*winks*). I measured and cut some ornate and foiled patterned paper.

Then I ran the patterned paper through my trusty Xyron Creative Station for an even layer of adhesive and glued the pieces to the box.

Now at this point the box already looked 100 times better than its plain beginnings but of course, I had to "bling" it up a little, right?

I went in with some pearl trim for the top of the box...

And some purple tassel trim for the edges of the box which I decided not to cover with patterned paper...for a pop of colour contrast.

What do you think?

Happy weekend friends!

A page from the recipe planner: Choc chip cookies

Well you know that the Gangster Gang (aka nephews + niece) would queue up for my cookies so it has to be in my recipe planner! *winks*

Nephew #1 has declared that his fave bake good is choc chip cookie.

He particularly loves those made with protein powder. I have to add cocoa powder because the protein powder is sweetened. The texture is denser and more cake-like.

I really love experimenting with different flours, softened butter versus melted butter and how much healthy stuff (chia seeds, flax seeds, nuts) I can throw into the mix.

And yes, I've watched lots of videos on the best choc chip cookies...I think I might attempt Tasty's 2 day cookie.Yep, apparently you need to rest the dough for 48 hours to really marinate the flavours!

Do you love choc chip cookies?

Mixed Media Monday: Another painted eye on canvas

Hello friends! This past weekend, I challenged myself to complete an eye painting in one afternoon.

Usually I'll take my time...work on some layers one day, make adjustments another day...

This time, I had to work faster....working on another part of the painting while one part was drying...

I think it turned out quite okay for a "rushed" piece of work....

I used one of my eye sketches from my #the100dayproject as reference.

Happy week ahead friends!:)