Have trust in your art

Hello there! Today's post is about me having trust on my art journalling. I have seen a lot of art journals around and they are so good even when they say they make mistakes while doing it.

Here is one from me and it's dedicated to the big, round, orange sun that I've noticed for the past few days late in the evening. I've also included a small black dot on the sun and it's actually to remind me of the recent Venus transit. A little tissue decoupage was done at the bottom; to resemble the undulating hills ( did it worked? Hehe)

The journalling around the sun reads " for the past few days you looked so sad but big. I wonder if you ever feel lonely out there all alone. You never fail to shine your light on us . Will we ever know when you decide not to?"

( when I used instagram to filter the photo, I get the moon instead! How cool is that?!)

Lastly, the birds. When I was schooling, I never had good marks in my art class. One day during an art test, we were given 3 choices to do the art. I can't remember the exact details now but I remember I chose to draw a scenery simply because I just had absolutely no idea on how to do the other two! And I thought, well, ok. I could do scenery. Then, I started to stare at the blank paper for what could be almost like half an hour!! S$&t!! I realized that I could'nt even do a scenery!

Frustrated, I stared outside of the classroom and I could see the sky and flocks of birds flying high. And I thought, can that be a scenery too?? Clock ticking away and I had to make a decision fast. I took my brush and dipped in pastel blue paint and started to work on it. I Painted the whole paper in blue with spots of white depicting the clouds. Then, I dipped in my brush with grey paint ( Emm.. I think it was grey); and did the birds just like the ones in this art journal. And then, that was it. My scenery!

I knew somehow, I would fail this. I have never received marks on my art anything more than 60%! And this painting?? I had the feeling it would give me my lowest mark ever. So anyway, i was prepared for that. When it was time to receive the results, I wasn't excited at all. The painting was returned to me by the art teacher and she was smiling though she didn't say anything. Ok. That smile looks fatal, I thought. I flipped the painting over and my eye balls almost popped out when I saw the red marking on the bottom right corner of the paper. 88%!! Really??!! Oh my gosh!

Lol! Who would have thought! Just when I was about to give up, I opened my eyes to see something very simple; used that as an inspiration and voilà!!

So if there's anyone like me out there, trust yourself and in the things that you do. And always BELIEVE and PRAY that at the moment you feel like a door is closing on you, there will always be another opening and showing the way for you.

Thanks for stopping by! Ciao!

 

Alice - jewellery vintage box

Hi there! Its KL marathon day today. It's almost 5pm now and I guess the roads are clear now. Good time if you want to drive around in town. We didn't join in the marathon today but instead, we just finished watching a marathon of Harry Potter movies at home. All eight of them! I'm a big fan of Harry Potter! ( and managed to influence my son too! ) Always loved magic, wizards since the Dungeons and Dragons ( or maybe even before that!) Lol!

Today, I want to share with you a work on Kaisercraft tic tac toe box that was given to me to play with by Scrapbook Memories. Emm....and yeap, it's no longer a tic tac toe box! Lol! Here's how the box was like originally.

I have covered the top lid with a patterned paper by Pink Paislee and layered with Bo Bunny and another patterned paper, which has Alice In Wonderland prints on it. ( and of which I forgot who the manufacturer is)

I have painted the box in crimson red with Folk Art acrylic paint after applying the primer first. Faiz also helped in the painting, though his brush stroke was very damaging. Lol! Scary! After I have demonstrated the brushing technique ( based on my gut feeling ), he started to enjoy the process. Not bad.

On the bottom lid, I have glued the Alice in Wonderland prints onto the 'gaping' squares and leave some uncovered to insert the butterfly, crochet flower ( my Mom's magic! ) , the word sticker with book tag and the coiled beaded string around a love shaped felt sticker.

On the inner base of the box, I have layered the same paper with the Alice in Wonderland prints.

 

On the lid cover, I have also added a burlap, which is layered with the patterned papers, Kaisercraft flowers in pastel green and a string of pearls.

A gold metal box handle was screwed on the edge of the lid for ease of opening.

The box is now displayed at Scrapbook Memories for viewing. Most of the items I have used here can also be found at the shop or if not; you can pre-order and they will be glad to get it for you.

 

 

 

Materials used:

Patterned paper: Pink Paislee, Bo Bunny

Punch: Martha Stewart

Box: Tic Tac Toe Box from Kaisercraft

Flowers: Kaisercraft

Book tag: Momoyo

Dimensional paint: Ranger

Acrylic paint: Folk Art

Black lace sticker: Cristina Re

Thanks for stopping by! Have a nice day! Ciao!

A 'Short' Circuit journal - circuit board

Hi there! Hope you are in the best of health! As for me, well, i just recovered from a stomach flu. It's contagious and four of us at home had it on subsequent days. You don't ever want to get it. It's horrible.

I had this work as a sneak peek probably more than a week ago? Well here it is, finally. Lol!

I'm calling it a 'short' circuit journal.

My father is a very handy man. He does most of the equipments repair; from tv, plumbing, washing machine, the mixer, the blender, the iron, etc..even the computers, himself. He's our engineer at home. When he repairs things, sometimes, he needs to replace some of the parts inside of the equipments. Those things that he took out from the equipments to be replaced, he always keep them aside for other use later or for disposal. That was how I got this circuit board. He has plenty and I'm practically swooning over them all! Lol! He gave me a questioning look when I asked for it for I never asked for these things from him; let alone helped him in all of the repairs before. Hehe...

So, the journey of my 'short' circuit journal then begins.

I have used a lot of watch parts here and I simply love them! I have used glass beads gel to stick most of the loose parts including Tim Holtz's gears and the apothecary bottle.

I have secured the circuit board by tying it with a string, which was secured into holes that I punch onto the cover. I have used a burlap beneath the circuit board first. Reason? Well, just to add dimension and I like the look of rawness and roughness on a burlap.

I have tied in the Tim Holtz metal key and bauble on the ring binder along with ribbon lace and black suede strings.

That wooden padlock is from Kaisercarft.

I splashed a bit of gesso before spraying inks and acrylic paints. Once the inks and paints are dry, I applied the glass beads gel and added on the watch parts, gears and bottle.

That word 'Specimens' is from Graphic 45 chipboard - I find it suitable for the title of this journal, somehow.

the baubles by Tim Holtz is secured with a hook on the string.

Above, watch parts and gears.

 

Can you tell which is resistor, capacitor and a transducer? Hmm...

So there you are. Hope I have inspired you to do something out of a circuit board today. ;)

Thanks for stopping by! Ciao!

A simple mini journal for Papier

Hi there! Happy Wednesday! Today, I would like to share with you my work on a mini journal. The papers that I have used here are Ambrosia from the Bo Bunny collections. The papers, buttons and blings are all from my DT kit from Papier. The blings by the way is from Webster's Pages Dazzle Me Gems.

I have tied in the buttons with a twine and secured them to the ring binder. As I moved the journal around, the clicking of the buttons makes a lovely soft 'chime' like sound. I didn't expect this at first but it sure was getting interesting as I just add on things to this simple mini.

Another patterned paper from the Ambrosia series is the one with full of colourful lace doilies. I have cut these doilies and arrange them inside the mini journal, creating an array of fan-like doilies.

On these colorful doilies, you can also stick page tabs onto it as well; if you like.

Inside this mini journal, I have used Martha Stewart punches to create few personalized pages.

 

I have used an EK punch for the above page.

I have used Ranger's Distress inks on this mini journal.

Just by dangling them, I can hear the soft lovely chime-like sound. A small apothecary bottle is also tied to the ring binder for fun.

Most of the items above are available at Papier; except for the journal book ( I bought that from Daiso for only RM5 ) and the ribbons. Come and get your supplies!

Thanks for stopping by! Ciao!

 

Liebster Blog Awards

Hi! Just want to share a good news I received few days ago. I received the Liebster Blog Award from a very creative soul Shahrul Niza from Such Pretty Canvas. Thanks Shahrul! I'm very honored even though I feel like I don't deserve this. Lol! But hey! Do check out her blog! Her works are totally amazing!

Anyways. Curiosity killed the cat. Haha.I tried to google this blog award and amazingly there was nothing in Wikipedia! I can’t believe Wikipedia doesn’t have Liebster Blog Award in its library even though seems that this award is being passed on and on to many bloggers out there, I suppose.

Here's what I found out too. Some say the award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers though some say 100. ( in any case, I qualified in both! Lol!) AND; upon receiving the award, you need to pass it on to 3 bloggers of your choice though some say 5.

Without further ado, I would like to pass on this Liebster Blog Award too:

1) Lai Yoke from Walchow Design. She creates beautiful and too cute cards!

2) Denise from Green Crafting Her Eco-friendly craft works are amazing.

3) Anna Karin from Layers of Ink. Love her water colours works.

Congrats you lovely ladies!

So, lemme see, below is a checklist I found to the recipient of this award. Let's go through the list.

"If you receive the award, you should:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you
2. Reveal your top five or three picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Hope that the people you’ve sent the award to forward it to their five favourite bloggers and keep it going! "

Okay...thanks for stopping by! Ciao!

Traditional Malay House - sharing is caring

Hi there!

I went to the southern part of Malaysia recently to a town called Simpang Renggam for a cousin's wedding reception. We went for a day trip since we have decided not to stay overnight. But what I would like to share with you today is a photo of a traditional Malay house newly built for home-stay purpose.

I was informed that the Owner once own a shipping yard/company ( maybe still is ) and he has then built this beautiful home-stay resort. I didn't take good photos inside because earlier, I forgot to take with me my flash. What a shame!

Some of the columns are being renovated and I think they are making a good business out of this because of the beautiful architecture. So, if you happen to be in need of a place to stay in Simpang Renggam, this is definitely the place to be.

Ciao! Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sneak peek

Hola! Here's a sneak peek of my current work. A circuit board and burlap. Hmmm.... Stay tune!

Canvas Resist Journal - in the making

Hi there! I didn't do much crafting lately. My crafting room is still in a mess; (some extra reno works are still being done), and I'm kind of low on mojo lately.

I started on this canvas journal few weeks back and still building it up. Still quite empty. The canvas resist is from Prima and I think they come in several designs. It was originally clear white with faint designs marking but when you applied distress inks onto the page, the designs will appear as they are resisting the inks. This canvas resist is available from the local scrapbook store Scrapbook Memories ( the album and die cuts) and also at Papier (the die cuts).

above is my own doodling. It's taken from a song lyrics Live Your Life by Yuna; a Malaysian artist. No paints inside yet cos I can't get hold of my paints ( they are still stuffed somewhere in the next room due to the reno. Im currently searching high and low for them. Hehehe!)

'the world is but a canvas to the imagination'. I like the phrase.

left-over from the dusty attic chippie.

Brown paper bags added in between the papers.

 

stuffs from my stash. I just add them on and on.

Above is the back cover.

I think i have way too many journal and mini album in my collection now. I just love doing them.

Thanks for stopping by! Ciao!

Venus Transit in KL city

{Faiz on Meade LX200 - looking out for Venus}

Hi there! It was a very spectacular day, yesterday. Why? Because we got to watch the Venus transit right here in KL city. Here are few snapshots for the album.

{can you see the tiny black dot on the big orange ball of fire there? - that's Venus.}

A telescope with attached dslr for astrophotography. Supercool!

{Faiz on Meade LX60}

{the solar scope}

" Mommy, does this come in my size?"

Ahmad Faiz Muzaffar with Sheikh Muszaphar

well, maybe someday...

Faiz and Muszaphar....lol!

A random image downloaded from the Internet. Such a beautiful sight!

The next transit will be in December 2117. See you then. (lol!)