Down the Alley there's a little Poison Shopee

Months past... Back with a miniature project today for this spooky October - a little poison shopee owned by an old druggist down the alley.

How this came about?

I was trying to decluttering my crafting suppliers and found I've several "experimental" crafts such as broken frames cast from paper clays, an old old mini tin, some leftover miniatures stuffs and paper collages from Alpha Stamps which I was once their DT member years ago. And it so happen I've quite a substantial amount of Halloween and dark spooky stuffs. Well, upon looking through those paper collages, the idea of this rather old shabby abandoned drugstore came to my mind. And I ended up piecing everything together!

The druggist's poison shopee on my palm

Since it has been a while I've yet to upload videos on my YouTube channel, decided perhaps a short orientation in motion of how this little shopee looks like might be useful. Pardon me for the poor resolution, somehow the camera couldn't adjust itself to focus.  

When the shopee is open on my hand...

When it's opening...

Some nerve pills to curb your nervousness?

The skeleton hand is a last minute addition to this project, thinking having something to hold the little shopee will spook up the whole thing. Anyway it's Halloween, so why not?

Butterfly on the skull; an added "pop"!

Apart from those gigantic poisons at the bottom, pile of books, scrolls, an old clock with some dies are at the druggist's workstation. There's even a little signboard there! And a squid or maybe an octopus? Skulls and crystal balls at the very top, wondering is any apocalyptic going on besides being apothecary?  

Mystical eye with wings of a butterfly

Loads of details here and unfortunately there're limitations in making attempts to snap deeper into the shopee. Just click the image to enlarge to view if that helps. I'd think this will be better if view physically. Hmm... perhaps I should list it in my Etsy shop for this. Any takers?

I've taken tons of photos and I do hope these pictures can showcase how this little poison shopee well enough though missing some details. Most items used in this project are mostly from Alpha Stamps and one of the collages I used can be purchase here. 

Nonetheless, I hope this has been inspirational and I look forward to share more of such projects. Meanwhile, take care and stay safe!

Deck the Halls!

Lately, I'm into something new, something I wanted to do since late last year - to learn how to wool felt. I bought myself a reindeer kit to get myself started, however I ended up hoarding it and didn't manage to attempt. In view of this upcoming holiday season, I thought it'd be a good time to clear my stash. And yes, I've finally attempted!!! If you guys have been following me on my Instagram, some of you probably have seen a couple of my wool felting posts. Took me some time to get a hang of it and I'm still learning to get hold of the technique correctly. 

Though the pictorial instructions on the kit seem relatively easy to follow, I faced difficulties in getting the reindeer in shape. Then I got to realize the kit is probably a little challenging for a pure beginner like me. I should have started on something more straightforward and simple before moving on to more difficult ones. But heck, Christmas is here and I couldn't wait to get the reindeer done. At the end of the day, after struggling through I manage to finish off this bugger...

Apparently I had made this reindeer a little smaller than what was expected. I'd think it looks good for its size and to make it more adorable, I made him hug a Christmas tree with a jingle bell. Too cute! Just for that I had to make something to house him. And I made a hall just for this reindeer, my virgin wool felt!! Can't think of a better way than to deck the halls!

I used one of the boxes from Tim Holtz's vignette boxes as the hall. Painted a layer of crimson red over and finished with a touch of gold paint at the edges to tone down the already rustic look of the box in order to cater for this holiday season. This would seems like the hall has been refurbished. Decking the halls with boughs of holly wasn't easy. Certainly I find Graphic 45 St. Nicholas paper collection the perfect choice for this project (I still love working with Graphic 45, undeniably). Together with all my previous Alpha Stamp Christmas stash and Petaloo pine corn picks, everything just fit well into the theme. I had indeed spent hours digging through my stash to find these holly-related elements. And finally I managed to get the look I want.

How can I miss the little reindeer? He gets to sit in a bed of vintage Christmas flower soft bed!!

Added branches at the sides with some holly leaves hanging down to complete the entire theme. I thought it'd be nice to add some creature in the midst of a landscape and there it is, I found a miniature deer charm!!

And so forth, this hall for the reindeer is just this small, handy enough to hold. I hope you guys have been spending some great fun time in decorating your halls for this Christmas. I had so much fun (from juicing my creative brain cells) in decking this small little hall.

Here is a list of Supplies I had used for this project:

• Graphic 45 St. Nicholas paper collection (6" x 6" pattern & solids, 8" x 8" paper pad)
• Tim Holtz Idea-ology (vignette boxes, Christmas word band, mini plaquettes)
• Tim Holtz Alterations (Sizzix mini holiday greens thinlits)
• Ribbons (black & white checked flat braid, golden brown sweeper fringe, advent calendar tag ribbon set) 
• Flower Soft (vintage Christmas)
• Holly Elements (gold holly berries mix, holly & berry picks, pine corn picks, dark red holly berries)
• Acrylic Paints (Golden quinacridone crimson, Daler Rowney pale gold & rich gold)
• Charms and other stash (miniature deer, fleur dresden, 1/4" mushroom plugs, jingle bells, miniature Christmas brush tree, metal branches, wooden 2D trophy antlers, reindeer wool felt kit)

A Harvest Gnome - Give Thanks

It's Thanksgiving today; day of harvest and giving thanks! For this year thanksgiving and just in time for today, I made this very last minute Thanksgiving project - A harvest gnome using wine cock.

Please do not underestimate this little gnome for he knows how to give thanks in every situation. Life might not be as wonderful as we seem to be. For this harvest season, just Give Thanks and life will be grateful...

As little as he looks like, he's just small enough for me to hold him with my hand. He's just a handful big. 

 A stump of his harvest. Happy Thanksgiving!

A Fairy Nimble - The Poo Fairy

As such is life, besides quoting myself being so busy that I do not have enough time, my life has indeed been quite a turmoil especially for the past 2 years; mainly dealing with people around me. It's always the people who often make the situation(s) worse and difficult to handle, hardly the other way round. The occasionally negative side of me certainly brought me into various moments of despairs. While I don't deny the tough life I had been leading thus far, it had somehow made a rather nice side out of me though I didn't really talk about it most of the time.

Sometimes you wish you can simply let the steam off freely but when comes to facing people, often in a lot of situations you'll need to keep your cool and be clear-minded on the kind of people you are dealing with. Yes I've been facing a lot of nasty and unreasonable people and some can seriously send series of triggers just to turn on the anger button. Yet I'd have to stay in composure on the outside while not letting my anger shows. I believe we all have such moments. Talking about being real here, we are mere humans and we are all emotional beings. While we wish we have the true freedom to let our steam off as and when we like, by doing this once is still ok but doing this twice and thrice will immediately warrant us a ticket to the DerangedLand.

In view of my past 2 years of  turmoil life, I decided to create series of Fairy Nimble showcasing various fairies voicing out any sorts of unhappiness, quirkiness and curiosities; speaking of things humans would love to do and talk about yet it's somehow against the norm. We are always told to control our anger no matter how pissed we are but we are never taught how to release them effectively. 

The Poo Fairy is available for sale here.

Life is way too short to get angry, agitated, frustrated, and unhappy over people, even those who might be of concern. It sounds like a cliché. We probably hear it a lot, yet the irony is that we still want to vent our anger and/or frustrations out through some sort of ranting channel. 

When life gets tough, "fart" it off might be better. Staying constipated for too long is unhealthy. Oh well, The Poo Fairy doesn't literally means you can just fart your anger anyway you like, however do it subtly with class. A nimble food for thought.

Fairies are seriously honest creatures, aren't they? They probably speak the truth most of the time. 

Holly Jolly Twenty-16

It's 2016!!! Seriously, why does time flies so fast? Does he really slow down? Alright, I believe everyone feels that way except for children. They are dying to grow up fast and wish time will fly fast, but definitely not for grown ups. I regretted making that wish when I was a child. Damn!

These pair of fairies are available for sale Here

So the little child in me and very much wanted to still stay in the Christmas mode, I made these 2 little fairies, namely Holly and Jolly. They had been receiving presents, and very much of them that they need a sleigh to ferry them. But the naughty Jolly ditched the presents aside and wanted to parade with the sleigh instead!!!

Winged up with ornate wings and dressed in little puffy skirts and white bloom millinery, they seriously look very angelic here. Oh well, it's still winter. Certainly the fur over their skirts do keep them warm. 

Oh look at how beautiful the ornate wings are!!! And how can I ever miss out glitters? They sparkle the wings so well!!! 

See how petite the are in my hand. Love 'em!!!! Off they go with their sleigh. They will be busy opening the presents when they reach home. 

Holly and Jolly hereby wish everyone a very Happy New Year and have a Holly Jolly Twenty-16!!!

A Christmas Carol Advent Tags in Library Box

Wow! It's December 2015! I can't imagine how fast time flies and 2016 is just nearby! Goodness! I wish time can don't move so fast. Oh well, Christmas is round the corner and while everyone is busy doing up tons of Christmas projects, for the past 2 weeks I was struggling to finish up my advent tags. Shouldn't tags be the easiest of all? Not really for me, it's an Archilles' heel for me!!!

Doing up the library box is an easy-peasy task for me and I completed it within a few hours! But for one tag, I can take up to 2 days! For the holy sake of Christmas and Jesus Christ, I prayed hard to complete these advert tags... Thankfully, with a little non-tag materials on hand, those library pockets and tabbed dividers simply "lighten" my tag-load. Hallelujah! As I completed these advent tags and housed them into the box just makes me a happy camper! Yeah! 

I simply can't make things un-3D, even on these tabs. The stubborn me just had to create a mini wreath with berries-pine corn picks on no.25 even I know the bulkiness won't fit pretty well into the box.

Alright, I ran out of tag ideas, and wanted some variety in my advert project so I went for some Christmassy hunting. After a hunt back, I found some Christmas elements. Here there are, pockets well stuffed with some snowflakes, a berry garland, some holiday greens and a S-N-O-W garland with some twigs! I particularly love no.7. Not 'cos of the deer but it rings! Yes! I placed a tiny jingle bell beneath the resin wreath. 

As scary as it seems, I actually completed 13 tags as part of this advent project. Seriously! I did that! Never in my life I've done up so many tags before. Despite not being a forte of mine, I'm proud to announce that I've survived the ordeal with perseverance (though it's taking me 2 weeks). So here is my constellation of my advert tags for this Christmas!

~Happy Christmas!~

List of Supplies:

• Victorian Christmas Tags Kit
• Christmas Favourite Collage Sheet
• Winter Fun ATCs Collage Sheet
• Winter Kids Collage Sheet
• Snow Collage Sheet
• Graphic 45 A Christmas Carol 12" x 12" Paper Pad
• Graphic 45 A Christmas Carol 8" x 8" Paper Pad
• Graphic 45 A Christmas Carol 6" x 6" Patterns and Solids
• Graphic 45 A Christmas Carol Tags & Pockets
• Graphic 45 A Christmas Carol Decorative Chipboard
• Advert Calendar Tag Ribbon Set
• 1-1/2" Fancy Lace 
• Library Pocket Organizer Box
• Library Pocket Tabbed Dividers
• Manila Library Pockets, Cards and Tags
• Faux Metal Number Plates 1-25
• A Victorian Christmas -Rudolphs Nose Paper Flowers
• Lacquered Holly & Berry Picks 
• Mini Red Pip Berry Garland
• Stitched Leaf Ribbon - Moss Green
• Wired Pine Needle Stems
• Holly Berry Garland
• Fancy Red Holly Berries Mix
• Botanica Holiday Pine Cone Picks
• Wood Snowflakes Cut-Out Set
• Tim Holtz Holiday Greens Thinlit Die Set
• Tim Holtz Snowflake Rosette Die
• Tim Holtz Snowflakes Thinlits Die Set
• Tim Holtz Staked Snowflakes L Die
• Tim Holtz Mini Snowflakes Set
• Tim Holtz Snow Flurries Embossing Folder
• Tim Holtz Christmas Typed Tokens
• ScrapFX Chipboards (Bauble E Merry Christmas, Bow Frames, Music Symbol Collage, Musical Heart, Heart Swirl, Small Squiggle Frame)
• Snowflakes Rubber Stamps
• IndigoBlu Noel Dinkie Stamp
• Tattered Lace "Let it Snow" Die
• Shimmerz Paints (Texturez- tidy widy)
• Own Stash (royal medallion dollies, laces and trims, jute twine, burlap, wood frames and floras, twigs, SNOW acrylic letters, tinsels, jingle bells, felt tree and reindeer, Christmas resins)