Another week, another upcycled project from the scrap pile

 

Hello friends! Another week, another upcycled project from the scrap pile! :)

I started with this sturdy kraft envelope that was filled with sachets of skincare samples in a recent skincare purchase.

In case you were wondering...hmmm this gal buys a lot of skincare. Yes I have only ONE face and body but I have to buy skincare supplies for THREE - myself, mum and nephew #1. I'm always on the hunt for a good promotion to stock up on supplies because those 2 will tell you they are out of something on the day it finishes. Apparently, I'm the skincare fairy. *LOL*

Just the usual mish mash from the scrap pile. I think it turned out quite pretty. *winks*

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The one about the wonderful bowl of noodles

 

So nephew #1 was on a week-long school break last week and on one of those days, I made him cook lunch for grandpa. Yep...grandma was not at home. *winks*

I've taught him to cook simple fare like eggs a couple of ways (so that he can "survive" when he is away from the comfort of home) and of course, the elevated instant noodles. You know, with lots of extra good stuff because we eat real food. *LOL*

Now, I prepped all the ingredients for the noodles. And I gave him instructions on the order of ingredients to add in and how to serve. He was actually very proud of his 4 minute effort and I even got a photo to put in my scrapbook album (he has not been letting me take photos of him of late...teenagers can be so difficult for memory-keeping...hahaha).

After that, he had to cook his own "wonderful" bowl of noodles. You know, to reinforce what he just learned. :)

Playing along with Stick It Down.

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Another mish mash card using happy mail bits

 

Hope this mish mash card using happy mail bits brings a little smile to your face as a cheerful start to the weekend. :)

Yep, I tore up an envelope and built my own collage with a fussy-cut bear and a bird on a mushroom. I did forewarn you that it is a mash mash card. *winks*

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Using my watercolour painting as patterned paper

 

Yesterday I shared how I framed my watercolour artwork. Today, I'm using a watercolour painting as patterned paper for my layout.

The practice piece when I was painting it... 

And here as patterned paper...

You know I've recently been enamoured with the muted wet on wet technique...kind of lots like faded vintage paper. *winks*

Anyway, let's chat about the layout. We went out to a sushi restaurant for dinner last week. We are at 80% vaccination rate and currently only vaccinated people are allowed to dine in restaurants and air-conditioned eateries though unvaccinated individuals can still do takeaways. Yes, we have an app/digital token that is scanned for entry/exit to places...so that the government will text you when you've been in close proximity with a positive COVID-19 person and to self-isolate. 

Playing along with The Studio Challenges..recipe challenge. :)

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Workspace Wednesday: Frame Your Artwork

In case you were wondering about my watercolour practice pieces and what I do with them...here are two of my early abstract floral pieces...all framed up. :)

They were done in July 2021...15-20 minute abstract floral pieces. Don't they look somewhat decent all framed up? And seen from far away? *LOL*

P/s: Apologies for the wonky photos...I was trying to capture the artwork without the reflections but only succeeded for one of the paintings. However, I know you are too distracted by the cute birds to notice anyway, right? *winks*

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Tuesday's quick card using scrap bits

 

Hello my friends! Just sharing Tuesday's quick card using scrap bits - some cut out from recent happy mail and some packaging bits...you know, the way I love to put random stuff together in a somewhat cohesive manner. *winks*

These days I try to use packaging bits on my projects ASAP (usually in a few weeks) else they have to go to the recycle bin. Which I try to avoid as often as possible. But I have learnt to let go a little more during this pandemic. Because of all the online buying and massive amounts of packaging that they come in (sometimes to the point of being excessive), it is impossible for me to try to hold on to stuff for future projects...without feeling totally overwhelmed. 

What about you? Do you have a timeline for when to stop hoarding packaging bits?

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This year's mooncake box

This year marks the second year in a row that we have a really scaled-down sale of mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival because of the ongoing pandemic. Prices are higher and you have to pay extra for the fancy boxes with the drawers/ unique box designs. Plus you are not allowed to sample the products. So the safest bet is to go with the mooncakes from a 5 star hotel that has a reputable Chinese restaurant.

Meet the Yam family's first box of mooncakes for 2021! 

The round tin box has cut-out windows with some lovely bird and bloom designs. And the 4 mooncakes sit on a 2 -tier tray. The mooncakes are individually wrapped for freshness. Yep...you get 4 mooncakes for US$45. The only upside is that each is so rich and decadent that the whole family shares 1 mooncake...and that is enough. *LOL*

And here is the matching paper bag for the box of mooncakes.  The paper bags for mooncakes are specially designed with wide bottoms to fit the box snugly so the box stays put during transportation. 

The paper bag is so pretty! I'm going to fussy-cut the images and use it on a layout. :)

As for the tin box...I was thinking of making it a lantern. How fun! *winks*
 

P/s: My wrist is much much better...I'll play catchup on your blogs this week.  Meanwhile, have a great week ahead!

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Friday's floral doodles

 

So I finally started painting again this morning. Just some floral doodles. No planning. Just 10 minutes of play with some vibrant watercolours. I know it looks like a 3 year old's painting but I had fun and it doesn't look half as bad when I squint. *LOL*

Enjoy your weekend friends! :)

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Sunset watercolour painting

 

Hello friends! Recovering from a bruise to my right wrist so I haven't painted in a week! *sad music plays in the background* 

Here's a sunset watercolour painting I did last month.

Happy Thursday! 

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Quick card on a Wednesday

 

I hit my right wrist against the door latch last Friday (yep, right after I made those yummy bao buns) and it's been aching quite a bit because there's a big bruise. Having sprained the same wrist as a teenager and gone through countless acupuncture sessions to strengthen my wrist, I've been taking it easy and just avoiding any repetitive actions....and using my non-dominant hand instead. Which has been working well except for the cutting of meat and veggies part. Because after a year plus of cooking at home, my knife skills with my dominant are still questionable. *LOL*

Anyway, here's a quick card using already-cut elements in my stash. Happy Wednesday friends!:)

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It was a bao bun kind of day

 

Last Friday, I woke up in the morning and decided that it was going to be a bad bun kind of day. I've made the meat buns several times (they were yummy but really ugly because your gal hasn't quite gotten how to pleat them properly yet) and also did the sweet custard buns. But I never tried making the flat sandwich bao buns.

And apparently last Friday was the day to try. Yep...your gal can be spontaneous sometimes. And also because her bao flour was expiring soon. *LOL*

Anyway, I did time it so that I could serve them for lunch..which included two proves and time to steam the bao buns in batches in my really small steamer. You would think that I own one of those bamboo steamers with several layers right? Nope. I can only steam 5 buns at each time. They need to steam for 12 minutes, then the fire is turned off and the buns have to stay in the steamer for 5 minutes with the lid on. Apparently if you open the lid too soon, you would get flat buns. Instead of fluffy soft ones. 

I did have trouble getting them to be the same size because the dough stretched during handling. But I was   really happy when I opened the lid to see fluffy buns! 

(I know you will share in my excitement friends...*winks* my family will just be like, "why didn't you just buy the frozen ones from the supermarket?" *hahaha* Yep, they will eat the processed stuff if I gave it to them but I like to make stuff from scratch..with better ingredients...and no preservatives).

I used the steaming time to stir-fry my pork loin and cut the cucumber and tomatoes. And make my sticky gochujang sauce to go with the filling. They turned out really yummy. And I would say make the buns...they are so much better than the frozen supermarket ones.

Lots of upcyling bits cut out from packaging and happy mail. 

Have you tried making bao buns?

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Make Stuff Monday - more happy mail bits using packaging

 

Still working hard on my pink and green themed happy mail package with more upcycled packaging bits.

The base is a Kiehl's kraft envelope for skincare samples. I also used Kiehl's kraft box packaging as a mat...love the in-built rounded corners...I just added a row of pearls to "pretty" it up. And of course, the rest of the cluster are just random bits from my stash....that's how I roll. *winks*

The base for this one is a Fresh receipt holder. Some patterned paper bits, washi tape, pearls and buttons. :)

Happy week ahead friends! :)

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Friday's Florals: This week's abstract florals

 

Happy Friday friends! Didn't get much painting done this week.  Didn't get much decent painting done this  week and found myself spending a lot of time trying to salvage pieces. *winks* 

Like this one. I wanted to paint some coneflowers and got carried away and just painted a lot of them. And then tried to salvage the piece by making the ones at the back look faded and the front 3 more prominent.  Did it work? *LOL*   

Enjoy your weekend!

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