Mum's birthday 2018

So we celebrated mum's birthday this year with a home-cooked meal and cake. I made meatball pasta and a coconut mango cake. :)

I kept the layout pretty simple because I wanted to fit 4 reasonably big photos that already tell most of the story. :)

I did delve into my scrap pile for the photo mats (Go me! *winks*)...and was happy to use up some stickers too. :)

The patterned papers were pulled from a DCWV paper stack which added in the quick completion of this layout. I did add some interest with washi tape, star ribbon and lace trim...you know I need texture and dimension on my projects! *LOL*

Playing along with The Studio Challenges - This or That.

heart                     or             star
cardstock            or             patterned paper
flowers                or              butterflies
twine                   or               ribbon
blue                     or               pink

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A mixed media eye from the art journal

Sometimes I like to challenge myself by bringing some rarely used art supply with me on a trip so that I'll be "forced" to use that art supply..(currently on a "low buy" for art supplies until my stash dwindles a little...yeah, I wonder how long that would last...*LOL*).

Anyway, I was in Taipei for 6 days last week and I chose to bring my Kuretake watercolours with me. I bought this watercolour set last March when I was in Tokyo and have only used it ONCE... because I usually bring my curated set of fave watercolours (Holbein, Daniel Smith and Schmincke) with me.

This one doesn't even have a skin tone colour so I had to do a little colour-mixing...which is what watercolour purists advocate. Some of these masters just have 6 colours in their palettes - all three primary colours (red, blue, yellow) in a warm tone trio and a cool tone trio. I hope that will be me someday because you know I bring wayyyyyyyy too much on my trips!*winks*

I did most of the eye in watercolour, added some white highlights with a Posca white paint marker and finished the details with coloured pencils.:)

Happy week ahead friends!

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Workspace Wednesday: What my desk really looks like...

Yep...this is what my desk really looks when I'm working on a project. *LOL*

Mind you...I was just working on this ONE layout.

What about you? Are you "messy" like me or a total neat freak? *winks*

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Monster Curry lunch

The other day my cousin asked me out for lunch and I suggested a restaurant that none of my friends wanted to try out with me - Monster Curry. Yep, this girl loves her spicy food (and apparently only have friends who don't...*LOL*)...and of course since we are related, I knew my cousin would appreciate spicy food too. :)

There are 5 levels of spiciness and the waitress suggested that we try Level 3 given our "novice" status at their establishment. So that was what we went for.

Well, we chose poorly because it wasn't that spicy. I think I might go for maximum level next time...hahaha! Now, I will tear and sweat and mess up my makeup when it's really spicy but I will go back for more! I'm crazy like that! :)

Now about the photos...I took a photo of my cousin with the food and we were supposed to take a wefie together later on...but we forgot so I included a selfie of myself that I took that day (yes, I'm still bad at the selfie-taking...hahaha). And check out that roast beef that went with my curry rice! You know this girl needs her Vitamin B12! Hehehe!

I wanted to go with a muted colour palette of blues, beiges and browns but decided to add a few pops of red to match the photos.

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy. 

P/s: Tell me, will you join me for a spicy meal??? *winks*

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An eye from my sketchbook

Hello friends! It's been a while since I last shared a page from my sketchbook....

Here's how I started...

Here's a look before I went in with the details...

Hope your week's been great so far! :)

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A little decorated paper bag (a tutorial)

So you know that I like t keep a backup stash of ready-to-go decorated gift bags right? Well, I've recently discovered that I was severely lacking in the small decorated bags category....(I mean who wants to get a big paper bag with a small pack of homemade cookies right? I mean we have to set the expectations right!....hahaha) which needed to be remedied as soon as possible. *winks*

I started with a small Kiehl's paper bag. I measured  and cut patterned papers and ran them through my trusty Xyron Creative Station for an even layer of adhesive.

I applied some watered down gesso to create a little white-wash effect on the patterned paper.

Then I went in with some pretty lace trim and Maya Road pearl trim.

Next I went in with a piece of broad ribbon to make it a single-handle paper bag. (Okay...you got me...I didn't have enough ribbon for 2 handles!)

I finished by layering and adhering diecut words, keeping to the same muted colour palette.

I kind of like this neutral, muted colour palette even though my brain was screaming for some colour! *LOL*

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Someone just had a birthday...*winks*

So someone just had a birthday...can you guess who??? *winks*

Yep..it was my dad's birthday! And his "cake" was a homemade pineapple frangipane tart! :)

We had a fancy dinner at a restaurant too! You know my sister scored a great deal on Fave (formerly known as Groupon) right??? *LOL*

I had fun as usual working my scrap pieces in here and there....throwing in some washi tape, adding some buttons and stickers. :)

You know you've kept your stickers for tooooooo long when you have to adhere them with glue! ;)

Happy week ahead friends! :)

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7 ways to use buttons on your projects

You know I LOVE using buttons on my projects. They are a great embellishment to use for adding that little bit of texture, dimension and a pop of colour to your projects without being obnoxiously in-your-face. *winks* Plus you can never run out of buttons. Ever. Just the other day, the bestie passed me some recycled buttons.

"Where did you get them?"
"From my old shirts. Took out the buttons for you and gave the shirts to the Salvation Army. Still totally wearable. "
"Eh...thanks???"

Good intention, bad execution? Picture the folks at the Salvation Army stitching some buttons on those shirts. *LOL*

Anyway, I digressed. Here are some fun ways to use buttons on your projects.

Wood pallet for Maya Road CHA2017

1. To add a decorative element to an embellishment cluster.

Here I used a crystal flower button and an embellished wood button to add a little more texture and interest to my embellishment cluster.

Decorated paper bag for Maya Road

2. As the centre of a bloom.

Don't like the centre of a pre-made bloom? Switch it up to a button that coordinates with the theme of your project.

Every picture tells a story...or does it?

3. As the lens of a camera.

This is a quick way to add a little dimension and interest to your paper camera element.

Wet and wild in the tub

4. To triangulate your focal point.

The pink buttons help guide the eye to the focal point - the photos!

The appeal of mixed media

5.  As a base element for mixed media application.

Here I used applied lots of gesso and coloured paints to the silver buttons on my mixed media canvas.

Repurposing happy mail packaging

6. To anchor twine/thread/ribbon.

This is one of my fave ways to use buttons. Such an easy way to use up little bits of twine that you may have lying around...just twine them up and anchor with a button - instant way to jazz up a card!

This week's fun card from the scrap pile

7. Create a banner.

Use a mix of colourful buttons to create a fun banner on a card.

There you have it. 7 ways to use buttons on your projects. Do you like using buttons on your projects?

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