Going teal and aqua!

Hello friends!

What a crazy Easter weekend! I'm back today to finish up the second part of my share for Green Tara.

This is one of my favourite photos of youngest. Isn't he adorable? I think hubby and me are really very blessed to have him and his brother; both of them have been such joy to us. 

Some close-ups:

Double-stamping with my Technique Tuesday word stamps - first in aqua mist then with black ink.

The beautiful Damask flower paire with a tutu flower and apple blossom. There's also a berry stem chippie from Blue Fern Studios which I find just perfect for accenting floral clusters.

A sweet little bicycle chippie and title from BFS. I misted the title words with Lindy's Stamp Gang's Bachelor Button Blue and heat embossed the bicycle with two different coloured EPs to give a tarnished metal look. 

And that's all I have for now. Until then, happy crafting!

love,

Blog Hopping Fun with Off The Rails Scrapbooking!

Happy Friday lovely readers! Aren't you glad the weekend is here? 

The husband and me are going on a movie date later to catch 300: Rise of an Empire. With the boys still growing up, it's so hard to get some time off on our own. What do you do on your date nights?

I have two really exciting news to share today. Firstly, it's the fantastic news that I've been invited to join the team at Off the Rails Scrapbooking! The girls on this team are phenomenal and all stars in their own right. So, so honoured to be working alongside them! But because there are still some loose ends to tie up, I won't be contributing to the blog just yet. I will definitely update again when I start being useful.

And the second piece of exciting news is that Off the Rails Scrapbooking challenge blog is having their very first blog hop!

And the rules to win a prize at this blog hop are very simple:

1. Create a layout based on any 4 embellishments from the DT members' favourite in the blog hop list (see below).

2. Link up your creation back to Off the Rails Scrapbooking.

3. In your blog post, mention which 4 embellishments you are using, and the DT members that you got the inspiration from.

4. Follow OTRS and all of the DT members' blogs.

5. Leave a comment on your blog post, as well as OTRS' that you've completed the blog hop.

And this is what you stand to win from our lovely sponsor Graphic 45:

The entire By the Sea collection!! Which includes the following:

One 12x12 Pad

One 8x8 Pad

One sheet of stickers

One sheet of die cuts

One set of chipboards

Graphic 45 is an award-winning scrapbook and paper crafting company. We offer vintage inspired crafting products that capture the flamboyant style of the 1920's and 30's - with vibrant color, irresistible texture and imaginative design to create products with decades-old appeal that's both fresh and familiar. Let our products inspire your next scrapbook layout, card, album or home decor project.

And this is the blog hop list:

1. Off the Rails Scrapbooking 
2. Narelle Fasulo
3. Deena Otway
4. Erin Manz Reed 
5. Diana Rivero Gonzalez 
6. Carol Theng 
7. Gayle Gordon 
8. Fiona Paltridge 
9. Felicity Wilson
10. Sue Plumb
11. Rose Andrew 
12. Jelissa Mei - you are here!!
13. Wendy O'Keeffe

14. Catie Kennedy

Other than the grand prize, I have also a little RAK for one lucky random person who follows both my blog and my YouTube channel. So do leave a comment below to say that you've done both. The blog hop runs from 14th to 21st March so you have plenty of time. I'll be drawing a random winner and announcing it on 22nd March.

So without further ado, this is what I've created for this blog hop using my favourite chipboard from Blue Fern Studios.

Admittedly I'm not very good at card-making and this is one of my few attempts to. And of course, it has to be mixed media :p

Some close-ups:

Using the circles group panel from BFS. I find panels absolutely perfect for matting photos, creating layers as well as incorporating them into backgrounds. And some lovely Green Tara flowers and ribbon for a feminine touch. 

Some masking with texture paste, stamping and misting.

Yes, you guessed right. Whenever I have scant details it means there's a video tutorial in the post. And you can watch it here to see how I created this mixed media card.

Well, before I sign off, don't forget the blog hop! The next person after me is Wendy O'Keeffe so please drop by her blog and leave some love! That's all for now, happy hopping!!

love,

Love comes in Green

Hello beautiful people!

February has been such a busy month and I barely had time to catch my breath. With so many things going on - youngest starting child care, DT assignments, Chinese New Year gatherings, job hunting (oh, did I just say that out loud...), I'm just stretched a little thin. But what better than a beautiful wedding to lift up the spirits eh?

One of our young friends in church is marrying a wonderful lady, and our eldest has the honour of being their page boy. The bride is an avid paper crafter like myself and she is immensely talented, so I had to work very hard to meet her expectations for some of the wedding items I offered to hand make for her, using of course Green Tara goodies.

The bride wants a rustic mint-green wedding and didn't like the original ring pillow that came with the jewellery so I tore out the old stuff and replaced them with this sweet little ensemble comprising of some Gold Mesh, Burlap and Glitter Organza Hearts ribbons. I topped it up with a bow made from the Double-sided Vertical Stripe Satin ribbon and a Wild Rose. Eldest is very shy about bearing the ring (his name is not Frodo by the way) so we are still trying to convince him. He did say that mummy's creation is nice but he's afraid. 

I made this flower crown from scratch and wove the flowers into the skeleton. The flower arrangement wires came from two shops - Spotlight (the thick one) and Daiso (the thinner ones) and it was quite therapeutic doing the weaving (I also happened to be watching "Sherlock" while doing this). The apple blossoms came in white, so I painted the centre with the Pale Green chalk spray I got from 13@rts.

These are my personal favourites because I've such a soft spot for mason jars and quaint little bicycles. I spotted the bicycle in the stationary shop near the food court where we always have our lunch after Sunday service. The minute I saw it I knew I had to do something crafty with it. The mason jars were recycled from my dessert adventures - there's a neat little shop at Everton Park where their sponge and mousse cakes come in mason jars. The bride had the really beautiful idea of using them as table deco so I tried to make something out of them. 

For the jars, I first used a layer of Gold Mesh ribbon before layering them with either the Natural Jute Ribbon or the Off-White Flower Lace. I misted the large White Flower Lace with mint green spray and used it as a piece for the Heirloom flowers, which I painted the centre using the same mint green spray. I also used the Silk Flowers with Crystal and Mini Rose to highlight the jars.

 For the cluster on the bicycle, I layered the Natural Jute Ribbon, the Herringbone Ribbon, White Flower and Off-White Flower Laces, Pearl Trim and the Satin Leaf Garland.

That's all I have to share for now. After a day at work with barely enough sleep migraine is setting in and I really need my bed. Until then, happy creating!

love,

A Dreamy Canvas

Hi lovely people!

I'm here to share a canvas from my DT work for Green Tara, where I used a lot of Lindy's Stamp Gang products as well.

I've printed a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt and framed it with the Tuscan window from Blue Fern Studios. For the background,  I've used texture paste over a stencil and colored it with Lindy's moonbursts in Summer Lovin', Mango Madness, Cathedral Pines, Pink Ladies' Pink and Peony Scarlet Red. I also did some stamping in black ink with a butterfly stamp. Beneath the Green Tara flowers I've also some yummy honeycomb bits from BFS. 

Some close ups:

Some of my favourite blooms from Green Tara which I have left in their original form because of their brilliant colors. What you see here are the apple blossom, Primulas and a small cherry blossom. 

A satin bow with a mini-rose.

An apple blossom with the pearl tutu flower from Green Tara.

I used a script stamp and applied Versamark ink to it. Then I sprinkled embossing powder from LSG and heat set them. 

Well I hope you like what I have created. Do remember that I've just launched my YouTube channel and there's a giveaway going on till 7th February. To win a gift certificate from C'est Magnifique Kits valued at USD30, just complete the following:

1) become a follower of my blog

2) subscribe to my YouTube channel

3) leave a comment here to say that you've completed (1) and (2).

I'll be drawing a random winner on 8th February so get it done today! Until then, happy creating!

love,

A Happy Layout and A Sweet Surprise!

Hi everyone, how are you doing?

So excited to be bringing you my first share of the year for Green Tara DT, and I've got something wonderful in store for you!

Here is a mixed media layout I created using lots of Green Tara and Blue Fern Studios goodies:

This is a favourite photo of mine of my two darlings and I just adore their smiles. The heart panel in the background is from Blue Fern Studios, and I've used a variety of techniques to create the background.

Some close ups:

Going all crazy with the misting and stamping.

A cluster of Wild Rose and apple blossoms from Green Tara, together with a chippie.

For my title I used the "Happy" word chippie and you can also see the "Remember" frame from the Memory frames set. The little wooden button was really an after-thought after I finished photographing the layout!

Now you probably would have realised that I'm a little skimpy on details on how I created the whole thing. Well, that's because I've put together a little start-to-finish video for you! I'm so proud to have made it - it's actually one of my resolutions for this new year. And to celebrate this big milestone, I'm having a giveaway for the launch of my YouTube channel. The prize is a gift certificate from C'est Magnifique Kits valued at USD30.

All you have to do to enter this giveaway is to:

(1) Become a follower of this blog

(2) Subscribe to my YouTube channel

(3) Leave a comment here to say that you've done both.

Easy peasy yes? You have till 7th February to enter for this giveaway, and I'll draw a random winner on the 8th.  But for now, sit back and I hope you enjoy what I've put together for you.

love,

First DT reveal for OUAS January

Hey friends! We are well into the second half of January 2014 and I pray it's been good for you so far! I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to a nice holiday in Japan in just 2 weeks' time. Meanwhile, I wanna share with you my very first DT reveal with Once Upon A ... Sketch. You know, this is so surreal, I was so surprised to make it onto a team with some of the most talented ladies in the industry, including my idols like Limor Webber and Elena Olinevich. It's a real dream come true and I'm still pinching myself! A big shout-out to founder Nadia for this awesome opportunity, thank you so much babe!

So anyway, here's the beautiful sketch for January:

Journalling Theme: "Lesson learnt..." 

You are free to interpret our theme ANY WAY you like. It is for your inspiration and this theme word DOES NOT need to be part of your title or journalling. But please make sure your layout is based on the sketch below and includes journalling (hidden journalling is fine). Acceptable journalling is MORE than just a sentence, or generic writing such as date/place etc. It needs to be present and at least 3 lines long. Remember, hidden journalling (under a photo/tag or behind your page) is perfectly fine but please DO let us know in your post where your journalling is! 

Wonderful sketch isn't it? And here's my take on it:

One of the most important lessons I've learnt for 2013 is to know when to let go; letting go of expectations, of things that aren't meant to be, letting go of things I want but are bad for me, and letting go and let God take over. The real story behind this is journaled at the back of the page. It's pretty long so I didn't want to clutter the page. The photo wasn't my own - I got it off google search and it was done by an artist from deviantart. 

Some close-ups and techniques:

I've used Green Tara flowers here and they are amazing! The tiny roses and cherry blossoms were colored by misting some colors on my craft sheet and gently dabbing the flowers to lift up the ink. I've torn apart the velvet rose and layered a Blue Fern bird cage in between the two pieces. The chipboard was heat-embossed with Lindy's Stamp Gang's EP. I'm falling in love with those!

Have I mentioned before the "Graduated Circles" are my mostest favouritest chippie? They are just perfect for framing photos, sentiments and if not, just for making your project a little more funky. Well here, I coated the chippie with a layer of gesso and randomly sprinkled some more LSG EPs all over and heat set them. I then went over with gesso near the end to soften any edges. 

For the bird chippie, I primed it first with gesso before coloring it with Faber-Castell gelatos. I dabbed on just a tad more water near the wings so that when I heat-dry the paint, there would be a nice gradient of colors. This was followed by some stamping and I finished it off with a coat of crackle paint.

For this cluster, I did a big bow with the polka dot organza ribbon from Green Tara. Absolutely love how pliable this ribbon is and I've used it more in other projects. For the Dandelion chippies, I coated them with chalk ink and highlighted the ends with Liquid Pearls from Ranger.

I hope I've inspired you with my take on the sketch, do hurry over and link up your projects. Rules have changed a bit and the challenge now closes at the end of the month instead of the 25th, so you've some extra time to get in your entry. Good luck to all!

Love,

First sketch at Blue Fern Studios!

Happy New Year crafty friends!!

In a blink of an eye it's another new year. For me, it's a year of challenges ahead and with a lot of changes coming up. What's your new year going to be like?

I'm in today to share my very first reveal for Blue Fern Studios based on their January sketch challenge, designed by the talented Michele Singh. Here's the sketch:

And here is my take on it:

I used their Winter Page Dangles according to the sketch, which are really adorable. Below are some techniques I used to treat the chipboards.

For this heart dangle piece, I added a layer of gesso and misted the heart shape. I then stamped some script in grey and black inks and coated it with a layer of crackle distress paint. For the bows, I used the polka dot Organza ribbon in pale blue from Green Tara. I also colored the rest of the dangle with light grey chalk ink and some Perfect Pearls. I also accented the loops with Sticklers. I then rested the heart dangle piece on some lovely mesh ribbon in silver, also from Green Tara.

For the snowflake and star pieces, I did simple embossing with EPs from Lindy's Stamp Gang. For the snowflake piece, I accented the ends with Sticklers and brushed gesso lightly over both the chippies.

Close-up of my title. So in love with textures!

Well, do hop over to BFS and play along with this month's sketch. This is what a randomly-picked winner stands to win:

In addition to our prize winner, we will also select a Top 3 to feature in our winner post!

Some details for participating in the challenge:

1.) Feel free to interpret the sketch as you please by means of taking it as-is or flipping/turning/mirroring it to suit your needs! **Please note that you can do whatever type of project you please- a layout, card, tag, canvas, altered item- whatever suits your mood and style! We would love to see the different ways our sketch can be used.**

2.) You must use at least one piece of Blue Fern Studios chipboard- but you do not need to use the pieces featured in the sketch! You can find the store nearest you HERE. {Do not use any other brand of chipboard on your project please!}

3.) Upload your project using the Inlinkz tool by midnight EST on January 31st, 2014.

How's that for something fun to do for the new year? Can't wait to see all your lovely entries!

love,

close to my heart

Good day everyone, how has your weekend been? I'm back for my final share on a lovely Saturday before I head out for some last minute Christmas shopping.

This is an altered clothes hanger I've created for Green Tara. Now this is really special to me 'cos the hanger is somewhat of a relic I got from my dad's little dry cleaning shop. The business has been around for more than 60 years, my dad inherited it from his dad and now my husband is helping out with the biz, hoping to bring it to the next level. Strange how things turn out, and what they say is true - the man you marry is often very similar to your dad. If so, then I'm a really lucky gal 'cos my dad is one of those fathers who don't say much, but are smart and extremely hardworking to make sure that their children (my brother and me) are well taken care of. He believes that the key to success is hard work and prudence, and his joys are simply his twice weekly badminton game, a cup of hot Milo before bedtime, and my two sons. Dad is also extremely down-to-earth, and easy-going despite having really wealthy customers (one of them is an ex-President of the country, several are CEOs of multinationals). Sadly, they don't really make men like that anymore. Anyway, there are about twenty of these hangers in the shop and I've stolen one of them. Dad's not too happy about it actually. The inspiration actually came from SATW's December mood board:

Love the shabby patina frames and the pinks! The ring reminded me of those family heirlooms passed down from generation to generation and I can't help but think of my grandfather and my dad, and how the business has been passed from father to son. And that's how I ended up stealing something from the shop - in the name of art!

So I've done some masking with texture paste and misted it over.

 

 The beautiful ladies from Green Tara. They have just enough texture and yet soft enough to match the shabbiness of the hanger.

 

Hidden behind the Damask and mini-roses is a Gabrielle butterfly from Blue Fern Studios. This is a really sweet butterfly motif which I misted with the same colors as the rest of the hanger.

 

One of the grande bird cages, also from BFS. I had intended it for another project but found that it is the perfect accent for this. Very simple embossing with Ranger's. I've recently received my shipment of EPs from Lindy's Stamp Gang, and I can't wait to see how they work with BFS chippies.

Now that I'm done for December, I'll be back soon to share more new reveals for the new year. Until then, happy holidays and may the new year be full of new joys!

love,