Guess who's afraid of Aunt E?

My nephews and niece are generally very afraid of my sister, their Aunt E. She doesn't hug them when they come or kiss their boo boos plus she really gives it to them if they misbehave or do stupid things. [The maternal instincts haven't quite kicked in yet...*LOL*]

So it was great to catch shots of her playing with littlest nephew J. Such a rare occasion totally deserves a page right? *winks*

Time taken to glue down all the elements: 10 minutes
Time taken to thread the sewing machine and bobbin and sew: 30 minutes  *LOL*

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

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5 of my fave things on a 10x14 canvas...for Made With Love

Hello friends! I've always declared my style as being eclectic because I seem to like everything out there. *winks*  I did attempt to break it down in my Exploring Style series [The minimalist, Clash of the patterns, Eclectic freestyle]. But this year, I'm throwing out any preconceived notions about style and just having fun incorporating my fave things on my projects.

Like this 10 x 14 mixed media canvas for my LSS Made With Love.

1. Mix of cute & found stuff, vintage-inspired elements, handmade embellishments and textured blooms

I love to mix things up in my embellishment clusters by incorporating a variety of elements in various textures. Include soft and hard embellishment to titillate the senses. And make you want to reach out and touch them.

Like the light white feathers. The lace and pearl blooms. The leftover thread. The woodchip vintage-inspired clock. A little lightbulb. Handmade stickpins. Fabric buttons. Cute plastic strawberry. Bling.

2. White/clear mica flakes and something from my "save-it-for-a-rainy-day" box

Mica flakes add sophisticated and subtle glimmer to your project without being "loud". Perfect for romantic and classy projects. Yum.

I feel a sense of accomplishment when I incorporate something from my "save-it-for-a-rainy-day" box. As a kid, I was called a "rubbish collector" because I needed to "save" all the little mementos from friends and trips. Everything had a value to me. The stuffed pig was from an old scrunchie...:)

3. Resist canvas and chalk edgers

I recently discovered Prima resist canvas and chalk edgers. Totally smitten.

The resist canvas does the "heavy-lifting" for you. Choose a pattern you like and just sweep a chalk edger over it. More if you want an intense colour. Used too much? Take a waterbrush to the canvas to create a watercolour effect.

4. Chipboard 

I love dressing up my chipboard. In paint. And especially in see-through lace. 

Yes, I can't wear see-through lace without getting arrested for indecent exposure but my dressform sure can...*winks*

5. Photoshopped photos and playing dress-up

If you have been following my journey through the years as a overzealous aunt to 3 nephews, you would know that I'm really enjoying playing dress-up with my niece. Finally, an excuse to buy all the pretty and girly things I wanted as a child...*LOL*

Saturdays are fun days with lots of hysterical laughing [read: me] and imperfect photo taking [Have you tried laughing hysterically without moving? *winks*]. So it's Photoshop to the rescue! :)

There you have it. 5 of my fave things on a 10x14 canvas. What are your fave things right now?

P/s: If you are in Singapore, you can get these supplies [except for my "save-it-for-a-rainy-day" stash *winks*] from Made With Love. :)

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The story about the mid-sleep position

I look forward to Saturday afternoons when my niece and nephew are off to afternoon dreamland... I get 2 - 3 hours of creative bliss. :) I prefer to stay in the room because they tend to wake up mid-sleep and if they don't spot an adult, there will be some ugly crying...*LOL*

I'm always amused when they switch to their mid-sleep position...at about the same time. *winks* 

Maybe they were having the same dream? *winks*

Playing along with 123 challenge.

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Playing with some vinyl...

Do you know that SRM Stickers now sells vinyl? I put some gold ones work to work with my new Spellbinders die. :)

Perfect for a gift box filled with yummy chocolates. :)

I created an insert which I covered with lace [love my Xyron 5" Creative Station for this..:)] for texture and interest.

It's a great way to "hide" the present. *winks*

Please check out the SRM Stickers blog for more ideas on using vinyl. :)

P/s: Happy weekend friends!

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A pretty canvas using Ranger Distress Stains

It's fun to experiment with mediums on canvas just to see what kind of effect you can get. When I first started using Ranger Distress Stains, I didn't like them very much because they were very fluid and the colours were not intense.

But the colours dry to a soft dreamy finish...perfect if you love pastel colours. :)

The key really is in Ranger Distress Stain in Picket Fence. It's pretty much like adding milk to a thin batter for a richer texture. :)

My suggestion is to let the stains dry naturally and be surprised by the outcome.:) Here I just added some white embellishments and mica flakes to complete the dreamy feel of this pretty canvas.

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Meet my yum pan...

I LOVE pancakes. So I was a little sad to retire my Tefal pancake pan because it was so badly scratched. Fortunately, the pan got put to some good use by being the play toy of the nephews+niece. Of course, they used it as a "weapon" and not for "cooking". *LOL* 

I decided that it needed to be "rescued" and made into a decorative signage for the kitchen/dining area. Meet my yum pan. *winks*

Lots of yummy layers and textures with my "save-it-for-a-rainy-day" stash. And using clothespins for LESSology Challenge #34: Laundry Day.

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Learning to love my sewing machine...

It's confession time. Any machine stitching you saw on my projects prior to Christmas 2013 was done by someone else [hangs head in shame]...I went with the "free rider" approach. If my mother or sister was sewing something, I'll just swing by with my layout...."Could you just do a row right over here?"

The reason is pretty simple actually. I HATE threading the machine. It drives me CRAZY! *LOL*

So now I'm learning to love my sewing machine...*winks* 


Just a layout about a fun morning walk with the niece and nephew.

Playing along with the mood board at Inkido and Scrapfriends.

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Decorated box and matching tag with Xyron and Miss Kate Cuttables

Hello friends! The team at Xyron is having a fun product swap with Miss Kate Cuttables this week. I decorated a box with a matching tag. :)

I started by choosing the Hot Air Balloon SVG from Miss Kate Cuttables and cutting the pieces with my Silhouette Cameo.

Then I cut patterned papers from the DCWV Chickadee Mesange Pajaro stack to fit the A2 Clear Box from SRM Stickers and ran it through the Xyron 9" Creative Station.

The patterned papers were adhered to the box as shown.

The cut hot air balloon pieces were ran through the Xyron 3" Sticker Maker for an even layer of adhesive and assembled.

The smaller cloud pieces were ran through the Xyron Mini Sticker Maker for an even layer of adhesive.

Then I sprinkled some mica flakes for a glittery effect on the clouds.

Adhere the assembled pieces to the box.

Then I adhered an SRM Sticker to a piece of doiley and ran it through the Xyron 3" Sticker Maker.

This was then adhered to the box. A strip of SRM Sticker was added to the base. Repeat similar steps to complete matching tag.

Hope you've enjoyed my tutorial. Don't forget to check out the Xyron Facebook Page for other fabulous project ideas!

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