Three things I'm loving right now...

As you know, this art thing is pretty time-consuming so I'm always on the lookout for things that can make my life a little easier. *winks* Here are three things I'm loving right now. 

1. Atelier Airtight Peel-off Paint Palette

So I was pretty skeptical about this Korean-made paint palette at first. After all, a normal plastic paint palette is about $1 or so and this was $15. But I wasn't maximizing the colour potential of my acrylic paints by colour mixing simply because I HATED to clean my paint palette.

I know lots of artists like to show off their well-used and dirty paint palettes. But I like mine to be clean and pristine. *LOL*

Then I read about how bad acrylic paints [they are essentially plastic] are for plumbing and the environment and decided to give this a go. I LOVE it. Seriously, the paint stays moist for days and when they do dry up, just peel the pieces off and dispose them the proper way instead of down the drain. Less cleanup and better for the environment. Can't beat that. :)

2. Making my own art journals.

If you art journal, you would know that it is extremely difficult to find an art journal that you like. Sometimes you like the paper but you don't like the way it has been bound. And vice versa. Believe me, I've tried some really expensive ready-made journals. They were designed for pen/pencil sketch artists and not for people who enjoy wet media.

Having to prep your pages with gesso and sticking pages together to get them sturdy are not things I enjoy doing. And it drives me crazy when papers buckle up! My only solution is to make my own art journal.

It is easier than you think. There are lots of YouTube videos teaching you how to make your own art journal. All you really need is paper, a bone folder, anawl and waxed thread [they come in a variety of colours but I used dental floss].

The type of paper is dependent on what you like to play with. Do you like smooth surfaces or slightly textured surfaces? For me, I went with hot-pressed watercolour paper because I like the smoothness. If you like a little more texture, you can go for cold-pressed watercolour paper.

Experiment with the papers and see what you like. For some media, you may still need to gesso the pages to create the effect you want. I buy large pieces of watercolour paper and cut them down to size [about $2.70 a sheet]. Instead of having a thickly-bound journal, I have thinner journals that I can carry around. Eventually I will bind them in a book that I'm proud to show off [errr..minus the ugly pages of course!]

3. Prismacolor pencils

These were in my Amazon cart for over a year. [Okay okay, I always have something in my Amazon cart. *winks*] And I finally checked them out in February this year. :)

I LOVE them. They are so soft and waxy and blendable. You can even blend them with your Copics for a paint-like effect. I love drawing with them on top of a matte acrylic paint base. :)

Do you need all 150 colours? No you don't. This is the only set of colorants that I actually have the entire collection of...I usually buy the 12 or 24 colour set. But having the whole set makes me happy. :)

There you have it...three of my fave things. What are yours? Tell me so that I can add them to my Amazon cart...*winks*

Pin It

Handmade invitations....

When was the last time you received a handmade invitation card for an event? The Creative Crew at Canvas Corp Brands are sharing handmade invitations this month. Since I don't do duplicates, I kept some elements on the cards similar so they have a cohesive feel. :)

I love the Postcards from 7 Gypsies so I did a little distressing at the edges and ran a teabag over it for vintage feel. [Yes, I drank tea just so I could use the teabag for the cards...ahhh..the things I have to do for my craft! *winks*]

Then a cluster of fun elements....mini wood spool with thread, camera charm, buttons and wood veneer..

Here's another...again with the tea-stained background...

These could totally be invitations to a fun scavenger hunt eh? :)

Pin It

My current obsession...

Hello friends! Recently I've been obsessed with drawing and painting faces after taking an online workshop by Jane Davenport. Of course, she draws realistic-looking faces while mine at the moment look very cartoonish...but would totally work on a comic strip, right? *LOL*

I share how I drew and painted this blue-hair girl in a step-by-step tutorial over at the ColourArte blog. I would love for you to check it out! :)

Pin It

Best day ever...for J.

It was nephew #3 J's birthday last week and his grandma went to surprise him at school! :)

Mr Popular was immediately surrounded by his friends who all wanted to be in the photo. I reckon these must be his closest mates at school.

And then more friends joined in...and grandma couldn't capture all of them in the frame...*LOL* 

A layout featuring the use of fonts for LESSology Challenge #46: Typeface.

Pin It

Flattery works ....*winks* and a mystery box giveaway winner!

So I took a photo of my mum's friend and her family when they came over during Chinese New Year. She told my mum that I was a very good photographer because it was the best family photo ever. 

As you know, flattery works on me right? *winks* I had to make her this mixed media canvas with the best family photo ever right? *LOL*

I did some stamping at the edges, then added some stenciling work to "frame" the photo. 

I found these cute felt cherries at the textile centre and just HAD to use them!

________________________________________________

A big thank you to those who left me sweet birthday wishes. The winner of my mystery box is...

Reusing Cards & Quilling! Congrats Pooja! Please send me an email with your mailing details. :)

Happy weekend friends! :)

Pin It

Embellishments for my planner...

So, if you have been following my Facebook Fan Page, you would have seen my recent stationery haul...yep, March was stationery madness month. But since it was my birthday month, I get a hall pass right? *winks*

But since a paper clip on its own is just tooooooooo plain, I had to make it pretty right? Out came the Maya Road embellishments and hot glue gun! 

And of course, there must be some paint involved right? [Yes, that would be new paint markers* I love them!]

Look how cute these paper clips are now after a little makeover....next to my cute sticky notes. :)

And it was time. Time to use ONE kraft envelope. [I have been hoarding these Maya Road ones for a really long time.] I added some reinforcement rings, outlined the envelope with a white pen and added a chipboard sentiment. Now I have a pocket to hold little bits in my planner.:)

Pin It

You make my heart sing!

Oh yes, Pilot Twin Markers, you make my heart sing!

I must have been sleeping under a rock...because I only discovered the Pilot Twin Markers last week. They come in a rainbow of happy colours with a fine point on one end and an extra fine point on the other. Since I can't get the fine point Sharpies locally, these are the best alternatives. Bonus: they are xylene-free! :) [Errr...with all the mixed media I do, one less chemical is a good thing right? *winks*]

They write well on glossy photos and the extra fine-tip is perfect for outlining...[Now, you know how much I LOVE outlining...*LOL*]...and they are half the price of my previous fave - the Faber Castell Pitt Pens. :)

I've been hoarding these Sassafras felt monsters for a long time....aren't they cute?

 
Playing along with ARTastic challenge.

Family photos taken during Chinese New Year courtesy of Timothy Isaac. :)

Pin It

Pastel colours and bling!

So pastel colours are growing on me. I love the subtle hint of soft colours in a whisper [you know, versus the loudness of bold colours ...*winks*]

I started with light modeling paste and The Crafter's Workshop stencil on a 6x6 canvas panel. The effect I wanted was random and abstract so I did not apply the paste on the whole canvas. I also misted water into the Shimmerz Inklingz containers to activate them.

Since the colours were so pretty...I had to include them all of course! :)

The colours turned out so shimmery and sweet....so I just added a bling tulle bloom from Maya Road and some bling on the bloom centers in the background to complete my mixed media canvas.

Happy weekend my friends! :)

Pin It

Giving the phone case a new lease of life....an altered project for ColourArte

Hello friends! Today I'm sharing an altered phone case over at the ColourArte blog with a step-by-step tutorial. If you have time, please pop by and take a look at my tutorial, okay? :)

Pin It

How I am organizing my travel pages in 2015....

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the layouts/albums accumulation is growing at an alarming rate and I'm taking steps to curtail its growth...*winks*

This year, my travel pages will be in Midori traveler's notebooks. I love the flexibility of these notebooks - they can be brought along with you on your travels in a leather holder or stored at home in a kraft binder. There are lots of people selling what they term as "faux-doris" online which give you much more colour and material options than the standard black or brown leather offered by the Midori company.

You can purchase the refills which include diary versions so that you can use them as a planner. There are also tutorials online that teach you how to make those notebooks yourself which are much more economical.

I love the quality of the papers in the notebook. There are thin but there's no bleed-through when I write on them. I'm not big on paper curling so I have not tried any wet media on the pages. I did use some Faber Castell gelatos on them, blending with my fingers and I love the effect.

One of the reasons why I've decided on these notebooks is because if you keep them relatively flat, you can store quite a bit of layouts in them. The bonus is that I get to use up my flat embellishments like washi tape and stickers and paper scraps.

I'm also enjoying old-school mess-free scrapbooking just using paper, tape glue, washi tape and stickers. It's great for times when you want to get creative but don't really want to clean up after...we all have such days right? *winks*

Pin It

The case for flatter and fewer layouts....

Not sure if you've noticed, but I've been cutting down on my layouts of late. And making them really flat. Apparently switching to only multi-photo layouts 2 years ago isn't enough. My album collection is growing at an alarming rate....*LOL*

And to think I started as a digital scrapbooker! But I so want to document fun things that might be awesome to reminisce about years from now. And I LOVE the tactile feel of actual layouts instead of flipping through a digital album. What about you? Are you drowning in albums like I am? *winks*

Playing along with Stuck?! Sketches.

Pin It