Friday's Workspace - the race to bake cookies

 

My first batch of 20 melt-in-your-mouth peanut cookies

Well my friends, your gal is officially in panic mode because she has 3 days left to bake her CNY cookies. She was taking her own sweet time because no visitors except for her brother's family was coming. So she was planning to make a small batch of cookies of various flavours. 

Except that she didn't factor in that neighbours will start giving her CNY gift bags of baked goods. And now, she has to quadruple the amount she planned to bake. And think of creative ways to whip up yummy stuff that is less labour-intensive so that she can actually survive the next 3 days. And did she mention that she still has to cook lunch and dinner for the next 3 days as well? Including the feast that is the reunion dinner? And that she has the teeniest oven and can bake like 20 cookies each time? *LOL*

Yep. *insert dramatic music*

Happy weekend friends! :)

Workspace Wednesday - still obsessed with the blurry look

 

So I haven't been able to sustain the daily painting practice I've been hoping for as I navigate my schedule for 2022. But I've been able to do it every other day. Which I'm going to claim as victory because doing something is better than doing nothing right? *winks*

Just a work-in-progress piece...still obsessed with the blurry look. *LOL*

Hope you are having a great week so far friends! I bought all my baking stuff today so the CNY baking starts tomorrow! 

Tuesday's quick decorated paperbag

 

So it's exactly ONE week to CNY 2022 and your gal hasn't even started baking yet. But of course she had some cute stuff lying on and around her desk (no butt getting out of chair movement required...*LOL*).

And a sturdy paperboy to upcycle.....

As usual, I had fun putting the random bits together. :)

Happy Tuesday friends! :)

Make Stuff Monday - a layout using packaging as inspiration

 

In today's Make Stuff Monday, I'm sharing how I used packaging as inspiration to pull the pieces of my layout together. Can you tell which is the packaging on my layout? *Go look...I'll wait for you.*

Maybe a little closeup will help a little??? *winks*

Yep...it's the cardboard packaging from an eyeshadow palette (nobody is surprised...*LOL*).

And here's the palette in case you were wondering...yeah bright vibrant colours are so up my alley...:)

Anyway, back to the layout...My sister's friend sent her a bunch of purple balloons for her birthday so I had the right prop for the photo background. Which went well with the harlequin design on the packaging. Then I just pulled random stuff from my stash to finish up the layout.

I think it turned out quite lovely, eh? *winks*

Friday's desk- real life versus fantasy life

 

        Me: I want to have a desk by the window so that I can paint in natural light. 

        Also me: Plant babies take up half the desk space.

Yep, my friends. Real life is a far cry from the fantasy life *LOL*

Happy weekend friends!

The one about steak day

 

It was my sister's birthday and she brought the folks out for lunch to celebrate. So it was just nephew #1 and me. Well, you know how I love to spoil "my" kid.

We had a steak day! I also tried out a recipe for baked potatoes (crispy skin and fluffy insides) which I served with butter and melted cheese. And lots of veggies (gotta have a well-balanced meal).

Of course, I got the obligatory kid smiling at the camera photo too. :)

The kid was very happy with his steak and mine (he ate 1/3 of it...). Yep, teenage boys are expensive to raise because they eat so much. (Later that night, we had roast chicken, a cheese plate and a birthday cake to celebrate my sister's birthday....no prizes for guessing who ate the most...*LOL*),

Happy Thursday friends! :)

Meet my new friend - my first Le Creuset

 

You know your gal is serious about cooking when she invests in her first Le Creuset French Oven. Isn't my new friend so pretty? I decided to go for the classic Volcanic Flame...deep red at the edges bursting into a bright orange. So far she's been on the stove ONCE but hasn't set foot in the oven yet. *winks*

They say you never stop at just ONE Le Creuset once you've gotten one. Well, I would need to use her more to find out. Next up I will try a French classic - Potatoes au Gratin (Dauphinoise).

What about you? Do you have a French/Dutch Oven? Do you have any recipes to share?

Workspace on a Tuesday - trying out the bokeh effect

 

Eh...so I may be a tad obsessed with the bokeh effect. Because it takes my fave technique of wet-in-wet watercolour painting up a notch and makes my painting look ethereal and somewhat dreamy (let's leave out the covering up of mistakes part shall we? *winks*)

What do you think?

Mixed Media Monday - pages from my art journal

 

I really wanted to do a reflections post on 2021 because it was a really challenging year for me on all fronts. But I didn't know how to share my personal journey without sounding like a total baby. Because there was lots of crying and feeling sorry for myself involved. *sombre music plays in the background*

I decided that I could just "throw" them all in my art journal....so I scribbled my 2021's life lessons on my art journal pages, then went crazy with mixed media madness as a reflection of my chaotic year.

The many layers of paint, ink, oil soluble/water soluble crayons, stencilling and doodling reflect the multiple challenges I had to face. Added responsibilities at home because of my mum's health issues. Having very little me time. Being a "parent" to the teenage nephew who is experiencing the usual teenage angst. Being stuck at home nearly every single day because of COVID restrictions. Having to prepare and cook lunch and dinner (almost) every single day. 

The bright and vibrant colours on the page reflect the happy bits that shone through despite the difficulties.  Like better organization of my time and taking ONE day off a week when my kitchen is closed for the day.  Or switching up my exercise routine to keep it fun. Like having a morning routine of watercolour practice or journaling. Or just getting my makeup done even though I'm just going to be at home (when you look good, you feel good). ;)

On hindsight, 2021 was a great year for me. It was challenging no doubt. But it forced me to be stronger in both mind and spirit. I no longer get stressed up over cooking meals. Or get upset when I get complaints about the way I hang the laundry/clean the kitchen/organize the pantry etc. With the exception of that "time of the month" when I might cry a lot because of hormonal fluctuations (hey, I'm only human..*LOL*), I am pretty chill these days. 

Playing along with More Than Words. 

Friday's painting practice - an abstract seascape

 

Happy Friday! How about an abstract seascape painting? I've been good this week and have been painting every day (yay me!). Hope you are getting into a lovely routine for yourself in 2022.

Enjoy your weekend friends! :)

Fussy-cutting a paper bag for my layout

 

Even though I usually bring my own reusable bags when I go shopping, sometimes I do have to take a paperbag from the retailer if the item I buy doesn't fit into my reusable bag. If it's a really sturdy paper bag, I would decorate it as a gift bag. 

This one, from a Japanese retailer usually tears by the time I get it home. But the floral wreath design is really pretty....

So I fussy-cut the floral wreath and used it on my layout. :)

Perfect for a layout with 3 gals...just me and my cousins catching up last Christmas. 

Playing along with Stick It Down.

Workspace Wednesday - watercolour abstract florals

 

I have been really good so far with the watercolour practice....3 days in a row! *high fives all around* This was this morning's 20 minute messy practice. :)

Just saw that this year's #the100dayproject will be staring on February 13. Not sure what I want to do this year though...should I do watercolour florals? Or portraits? So far, I've only successfully completed the challenge 2x and both times, I did mixed media eye paintings/drawings. 

Any suggestions for something fun that I could do for 100 days without getting bored (and losing momentum)?

Making sugar cookies with the niece and nephew

 

So I made a batch of sugar cookie dough and brought it with me when I went to my cousin's for Christmas lunch...

As a fun activity for the niece (age 3) and the nephew (age 5). :)

Of course their mothers had to "help" the kids with the cookie cutters...and the kids had to wait for the cookies to be baked and cooled before they could decorate. 

Just look at their cute faces as they ate their cookies! :)

Still having fun with my fussy-cut banners from Christmas wrapping. :)

Happy Tuesday friends! 

Make Stuff Monday - 3 items = coordinated gifting set

 

What do you do when you have 3 very different items to upcycle? 

Like a Kraft envelope, a white box and a black paper bag?

How about making a coordinated gifting set? Of course, they can also be utilised separately. :)

I did want the box to fit into the paper bag so I kept the embellishments on the flatter side. :)

I repeated some of the elements (patterned paper, ribbon, washi tape) across the 3 items to ensure cohesiveness as a coordinated gifting set.

What do you think?