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 Blue Fern Studios Tag and Cash Gift Holder

Hi crafty friends! It's three more days to our family holiday and I'm so excited about it! But before I go, I have two projects to share with you featuring Blue Fern Studios chipboards.

The first is a tag which I made for a friend. 

I recycled some product packaging and leftover pieces of scrap paper by distressing and layering them. 

I then brushed gesso on a piece of BFS' graduated circles chipboard (the smallest piece) and Gabrielle butterfly. I misted the circle piece with some Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst, while I painted the colors on for the butterfly chipboard. For the circle, I went on to heat emboss with purple-tinted clear EP, and finished off the butterfly with some Stickles. 

The second item is a cash gift holder, or what we Chinese call 红包 (red packet). It is usually a red rectangular envelope where cash is placed as a gift for weddings, birthday and for children during Chinese New Year visitations. I was attending a colleague's wedding and instead of using the generic red packets lying around, I decided to make my own.

I did a little bit of mixed media fun for the background with LSG sprays and EPs.

For this item, I used the Page Chain and snipped into two pieces. Both were brushed with gesso and misted with some LSG Starburst. This was followed by some random stamping with Versamark and sprinkling clear embossing powder over. The result is a glazed textural effect on the chipboard.

 That's all I have for you today. Don't forget that I also have a giveaway happening here! One lucky random winner still stand to receive a US30 gift certificate from C'est Magnifique Kits.

Until then, happy crafting!

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,

A double challenge and a little video tutorial!

Hi there friends!

I'm so excited about this post because I've finally gotten a video tutorial up! It's only just a short one on background techniques, but I had so much fun doing it. This time, I've tied it in with a double challenge from Scrap Around the World and 13 Arts.

Here is the mood board from SATW:

I love the grey and blue skies, as well as a tinge of peach in the colors. The gangway to the lighthouse, bunting and jute cord give such a rustic feel which made me pull out a photo of an old jetty from Georgetown in Penang, which is an UNESCO heritage site.

And the sketch from 13 Arts:

The rule is to use the word "Time" in the layout and also to use one medium.

This is my take on it:

A little history of this place. The jetty is one of many along the coast named the Clan Jetties. Each jetty is inhabited by an entire clan with the same surname like Tan, Lim, Ong etc. It's a piece from the past nested amongst the rich colonial backdrop of Georgetown, in the fast-developing state of Penang, Malaysia. Look at the skyline, and you see the old and new juxtaposed together. Hence the title, "Lost in Time".

Some close ups:

I rested the photo on a piece of Shabby brick bit, which I embossed with distress EP from Blue Fern Studios and another piece from Film strips which I used Lindy's Stamp Gang's EP for embossing.

A metal clock trinket which I painted with some patina paints for an aged look. 

Some metal gears from Tim Holtz which I treated the same as the metal clock. 

The doily bunting from BFS which I snipped into half, brushed with gesso and painted over and stamped randomly. 

And last but not least, a little video on how I created the background. Enjoy it!

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,