The Lady of Extraordinaire

"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for when a face is sad a heart may be happy."

~ Ecclesiastes 7:2-3 ~

This was me presenting this specially handmade box of memorabilia to sis Baby Tan during her 90th birthday on 30th July 2017. During that time, I was considered the youngest baptised member within the church. I recalled what one of our church elders bro Jimmy Lau said; this was the very moment the youngest present this to the oldest within the church. This was indeed an event that was quite unique to me. 

I'm very honoured and blessed to be able to create this for sis Baby as a new babe of Christ prior to her demise. Even till today after seeing her final days, I'm still very marvel by the journey I had with her even it's short-lived. Upon receiving this handmade gift from me, she touched my hand and said to me, "May God bless you." I was very moved by this... 

The news of her passing came in the morning of 1st February. I read it on my bed as I woke up. Took it as if it was like a normal reading routine I had in my mornings, this piece of news didn't quite sink in. As information of her funeral and cortege started to flow in throughout the week, that's where I realised... she's really gone... Even my birthday was within the week, I couldn't bring myself to feel happy about it. I was thinking when will be the day I'd be gone for good. 

Life is just like a vapour that appears for a little while and then vanishes away; you do not know what you life will be like tomorrow (James 4:14).

As Christians, we'll gather and sing a capella during funerals to ease the sadness we've within. It's also a hope we have within that one day we will see each other in Heaven after running a good race. This is a source of comfort for each other and also a way to cope and grief. Because of the pandemic, we're forbidden to sing by law and have to be masked on. As I watched sis Baby final moments during the cortege this morning... Seriously! This was really really hard! Tears rolled down and went under my mask. I couldn't unmask and wipe those tears and had to control my snot. The only thing that's perhaps thankful for is the cotton layer beneath the mask; it somewhat absorbs most of my tears.

It's hard not to feel sad given she had been an inspiration to many. Her story still put us to awe even till today. A role model and loving lady everyone respect and adore, it can be hard to see her go. With that special moment I had with her in 2017, I'm so glad that my creative hands have finally served a purpose for good; this memorabilia will be a source of good memories for those who are left behind by sis Baby. Her daughter and son-in-law are grateful for this that they've something to remember their mother.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the LORD, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day; and not only to me, but also to ask who have loved His appearing." 

~ 2 Timothy 4:7-8 ~

sis Baby, may your soul Rest In Peace.

Buxom Garden Fairies Trio; From the Little Garden

Few years back, I bought a bag of mini wooden sconces thinking perhaps I may use them for some of my miniature work. As usual, there's always a grand scheme of plan at the back of my mind hardly get executed for whatever reasons. Many years has passed, it's only very recently I managed to recall I still this bag of unused mini wooden sconces. Well, it's always not good to hoard, and I feel it's time to use them. 

And here I am, using them for this month Ephemoire's project with a video tutorial. Bringing you these cute little buxom fairies!!! Aren't they whimsically cute?

Each of these little buxom fairies has their very own colour to represent themselves, as indicated by the various rose colours attached to them, as if each of them is in charged of the colours they are assigned to. They are like the guardians of the little garden they're in, ready to prune and sow the seeds within their little garden in order to be fruitful. Oh! How fun and delightful they are? 

Here is the video process in how I create them... 

A little close-ups of these lovely buxom fairies. I'd suppose they'd need extra wings, hence the bigger ones behind them so that they can flutter and dance as they sing.  

I hope these little buxom fairies have made your day and have given a little inspirations. Below is an extensive list of supplies I used for this project with links to where to get them if you're interested in getting them:

• Ephemoire digital images (French vintage ephemera overlay, Marie Antoinette style buxom ladies)
• Finnabair Art Basics heavy gesso in white (Amazon, Scrapbook.com)
• Finnabair muscial notes acrylic clear stamps
• Ranger multi medium in gloss (Amazon, Scrapbook.com)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink in brushed corduroy (Amazon, Blitsy, Scrapbook.com)
• Knotted wood edger chalk ink
• Docrafts acrylic paint in Linen
• Graphic 45 Botanical Tea rubber stamp
• StazOn midi in spiced chai
• Dusty Attic mini flourishes
• Acetate sheets
• Wood fillers
• Own stash (mini wooden sconces, floral stamens, green foliage, miniature roses, toothpicks)

What's Cooking in my YouTube Channel?

Just 2 days ago, I received an email from YouTube about some important update (or I should say changes) to the YouTube Partnership Programme which is also reflected over at their blog. I was told that my channel has no longer meet the new eligibility requirement for monetization, i.e. I'll not be paid via those little advertisements you tend to see popping up in my videos. My channel will be free of advertisements after 20th February and no longer a YouTube partner. 

Alright, perhaps it's not exactly a piece of good news to most of the YouTubers who didn't meet the new requirements (which has set to a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000hr watch time within the past 12 months). The moment I read that I'm one of them who will be affected by the new change, I was indeed shocked at start and have a sense of injustice within. First, making videos isn't an easy job to begin with and I believe everyone who does it put in a lot of effort in making those videos available online. Second, it's only natural for YouTubers (regardless how small we are) to get some form of revenue for the work we do, and monetization is one such channel to get paid in a way. Therefore, when YouTube announced this new change, it's only within common expectations that most of us will get upset (or even angry) over it.

However to me, after reviewing and assessing the new change, it turns out to be rather mix - neither good nor bad. We are given a notice period before our partnership with YouTube gets terminated unless we are able to meet the new threshold requirement within the next 30 days. As I looked into my channel stats, even I could gather everyone within the community to subscribe to my channel, to hit that 4,000hr watch time mark within the next 30 days is far TOO unrealistic (and close to impossible) because I was in hiatus for close to 2 years and it's only in recent months I started to upload new content to my channel. I do feel an "Arghhhhh" within my heart and wished I had been more regular previously so as to maintain my partnership with YouTube. But that's too late to cry over spilled milk. Before I start to get my emotions running high like most affected YouTubers and jump on the bandwagon, I took a step back and look at this issue practically. 

There's always 2 side of the story and people in general don't make decisions suddenly without a basis. For the benefit of doubt, I trusted that YouTube has been actively observing the market and had done series of surveys and market studies before making such changes. And it's only natural for them to make decisions that won't hurt their interests while preserving the interests of most YouTubers. There's isn't a one-size fits all policy; some will benefit while some will certainly lose. I guess such a move is likely to encourage YouTubers to create more original and engaging content, which I think it's a push factor to get people to work towards a goal rather than just setting up a channel to make money. The positive side of this change is that the termination of partnership is not going to be permanent, and YouTube is making this open to everyone who meets the new threshold so it's not the end of the world. 

Should anyone of you ask me did I really earn from monetizing my channel? The answer is NO. I only earn like a few cents and dollars till date, not even close to $5! In fact, I earn more via my blog in comparison to my YouTube channel despite I get more views and followers on my channel than over at my blog. As I did some ground research on some of the crafty YouTubers who monetized their channels, one of them earn an estimate amount of $40 for ~100,000 views for one of her videos that went viral. But that's like 2 years ago, things might have changed. Some only manage to earn between $100-$200+/- monthly after obtaining 20-30k subscribers after working on their channels for over a period of 4-8 years. Seriously, after looking at all these, I honestly don't see a need to be upset or angry with YouTube for such a change. YouTube don't just merely pays you solely on your subscribers base, they also look at your engagements with your audiences, in particular how much time your viewers stay on to watch your videos. Meaning to say, the more hours your viewers stay on your videos (better if they stay through the entire video and finish it), you will likely be paid more. It only makes sense in this way and that's the whole purpose of making videos. You want your viewers to watch your entire video (from beginning to the end) otherwise what's the point of making videos?  

Right after this has been announced, a lot of YouTubers actually called out for help. I don't deny I did try by placing my links in the comments section pleading for help. I do get some subscribers at the end, but not view time. Some even spammed on some of my videos without watching the content, that I need to delete off some of the comments. Honestly, I don't really like it. Simply because even I might meet the new threshold by 20th February to maintain my ability to monetize my channel via this means, I do know deeply within there might not be genuine subscribers who has the intention to follow me through. That's not what I want. I do want to engage with my viewers and that's the main reason why I want to create more videos to inspire and encourage people via the work that I do, not just getting more subscribers and views. Though I deeply appreciate the level of support and help within the community, I decided not to do any form of shout out for this further. Rather, I want to take this positively and build up my channel genuinely even it's back to scratch again. Even is to win, I'd want to win my viewers' hearts legitimately and sincerely. 

After much thoughts, I decided to create this very short trailer/teaser for my channel after taking some of the useful lessons and tips from the YouTube Creator Academy. As I was planning on my trailer video, I have an intention to create some cinematography by filming some nature scenes within my area. At the end, I decided to use one really old video I took while trying to film one of my fashion teabags in action. Very seamlessly, I manage to blend it into my Botanical Teapot Wardrobe project, which is one of my Graphic 45 2014 DT Call Final Submission projects. This makes it even more significant because that's how my very first YouTube video came about. Botanical Tea is just one of my favourite paper collections and Graphic 45 is launching them as deluxe collector's edition pack!!! How could I ever want to miss this (though I still have some of them)?

Since I've set my mind and heart to do this, it's only natural for me to want to do it well and give in my very best. It's ok that I don't have 1,000 subscribers for now, what's really important is my inspirational content and that's what I'm aiming for. Going back to ground level it's not really that scary, rather it's more about taking this journey all over again and not be afraid to fail. The ability to learn how to get up and bravely take on the journey is what makes your life interesting.

"Courage is not simple one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." 

~ C.S. Lewi's Screwtape Letters

Join me and embark on this creative journey together. Subscribe if you love what I do and would want to get inspired and encouraged. I look forward to live, learn, love and laugh together with you...

A Special Box of Memorabilia

First of all, for people who has been faithfully following my various entries in my blog even till this point of time... Thank You, sincerely from the bottom of my heart. I know it has been a long long time ago I last posted on my blog. I'm terrible sorry and equally guilty for unable to update as soon as I could. Nonetheless, I've finally made a serious effort to come back despite all my procrastination and those busy hours.

Before I start introducing my latest project (not exactly new because this was completed on late July. Oops!!!), I'd like to share a small fraction of my current life story that forms part of this project. There has been turmoils in my life that I'd have to put my various crafting projects and teaching plan on hold. Such a halt actually ended up close to a 2 years hiatus. Seems long, yet I felt as if I had been living for almost a century. Indeed, a lot of things happened, with some still feel like a never-ending event. Not to dwell into the details of the issues I'm facing, perhaps going straight to what led me to do up this project will be more meaningful.

A couple of you have probably read some of my life events that I had recorded down in my past entries. To begin as an introduction (to most whom don't really know), I was a "Christian" for the past 13 years and seriously, I thought I was really one though not a very pious one. As life wasn't very promising for me during those period of difficulties, I decided to renew my faith with Christ. The journey begun somewhere between last Winter and beginning of this Summer, I found myself starting to develop an immersing interest towards the Bible, on how historical facts and evidences coincides so well with the Bible. And since then I embarked into a remarkable journey in Searching for the Truth that led me to know the One True God and become a Christian legitimately. 

Currently, I'm serving and worshiping the LORD at my local Church of Christ and got to know this amazing sister-in-Christ Baby Tan who is one of the earlier Christians who planted the seeds in Singapore. Without her, my local congregation would not have started. It was my greatest honour and pleasure to be invited to do up a memorabilia for her as a special gift on her 90th Birthday this July. Without much of me saying further, here is the finished project... 

It's a big 12" x 12" box, which I altered it using the shadow box from Graphic 45. Because I want to make it last, I tore down the outer structure of the box and rebuilt it using some muslin fabric to reinforce the edges before layering some Melange tissue paper from Tim Holtz. The entire deconstruction and reconstruction took me a day to process before any mixed media and decorative work could be done.

I learned from various members within the Church that sis Baby Tan loves purple, flowers and butterflies. And this really narrows down to the colour choice and theme for this project. Without much thinking, immediately I know which paper collection to reach out to - Sweet Sentiments and Botanical Tea from Graphic 45. 

I deliberately chose one of her younger days photos and created a vintage layout for her at the front of the box. As I had done up a notable amount of stenciling, stamping and painting work on the entire box, I tried not to over-embellished the layout and kept it really simple with her picture as the main focal point. 

At the back of the box, I further embellished it using this "inspiration" wordlet from ScrapFX over an ornate flourish frame I found in my stash which I had bought it many years back. This is probably one of my favourite portions of this project.

This is where all the treasures are, all kept safely inside the box. As you pull the drawer, you will be greeted with 2 albums and a scroll.

At the base of the drawer inside, I covered the entire surface with this very sweet floral paper from Graphic 45 Sweet Sentiment paper collection. And I fussy cut the main thematic "Sweet Sentiments" scroll image out and placed it at the center which blend in quite well with the entire theme and purpose for this project.

These are the two albums I did; one hand-stitched photo album and one tag album with all the hand-written messages. 

I had handwritten some Bible verses and had use a couple of them throughout the albums' covers. Some were nicely contributed by our preachers in our Church. 

The scroll is actually a written biography of sis Baby by our late brother-in-Christ Ira Rice. I was reading it for several times on the night I was formatting the font and text after extracting this article out from a book. Her story really inspires me greatly and certainly put me to awe. She's one seriously petite godly woman who truly belongs to the LORD.

And so that's me presenting this special box of memorabilia to sis Baby during her 90th Birthday celebration on 30th July this year in the Church building.

We managed to take a short video of this project, filmed by Rachel Poo (our fellow sister-in-Christ) and here is the orientation video.

List of Supplies used for this project:

• Graphic 45 Botanical Tea and Sweet Sentiments Paper Collections
• Graphic 45 Staples (12" x 12" Shadow Box, Ivory Regular Tag Album)
• Tim Holtz Melange Tissue Wrap
• Decorative Chipboards (Scrapiniec Park Avenue Layers Sign Frames 1 & 2, ScrapFX Mini Alphabets, Inspiration midi, Dusty Attic Mini ABC Upper, Blue Fern Studios Layered Frame, Twiddleybitz Ornate Flourish Frame)
• Finnabair Art Basics (clear gesso, heavy gesso in white, modeling paste)
• Clearsnap Smooch Pearlized Ink Accents (cherry chocolate)
• Daler Rowney System 3 Acrylic Paint (pale gold no. 708)
• Martha Stewart Craft Paint (hailstorm)
• StazOn Midi (spiced chai)
• Prima Marketing Flourish Stencil
• Assorted May Arts Ribbon
• Petaloo Flowers
• Own Stash (golden fleur dresden, crochet lace, scripts & wood bark clear stamps, chipboards, purple glitter, purple & cream cardstock, pearl accents, faux pearl strings, eyelets, yarns) 

Caring Karie and Charming Mel Fairy Tooth Door Shrines

This month is not really a very smooth month for me as I was suddenly held up by a lot of unexpected things recently. My mind was very packed with quite a number of stuffs and have been taken up part of my time which prevent me to keep my projects updated on my blog. I hope I'm able to plan my time well enough. Nonetheless, I managed to find some time to update one of my DT project for Graphic 45, which is featured on yesterday blog post.

The inspiration actually comes from various shrines projects I've been seeing on various social media platform especially on Pinterest. That caught me thinking. Instead of finding stuffs to build the shrine up, I decided to use the various tags to create one. Something toy-like with a little whimsical fairy touch. The original intention was to do up something for my friend's daughter's birthday and this idea of building a fairy tooth door shrine popped up... And here I present, A Caring Karie tooth fairy for my friend's daughter. I've done up a video tutorial for this as well which I had further explained the inspiration behind this project.

I created another fairy tooth door shrine for my other friend's daughter using the sample I used for the tutorial demo in my video. I named this fairy the Charming Mel tooth fairy. The whole idea for this was Frozen inspired. I made the shrine that looks like an ice palace instead, especially build for a girl who has a cool personality. The whole shrine was actually glitter-ized, making it look "icy" and I added a little dish at the bottom for other treasure keeping.

Graphic 45 Design Team Audition 2015

Yes it's the Graphic 45 Design Team Call; one of the most exciting event ever!!! I was very glad to make it into this wonderful team for 2014/15 and I should say my experience with Graphic 45 was truly a heaven one... I love my fellow teammies, the amazing people behind Graphic 45 and truly enjoy the cohesiveness and support we had together as a team... It made me feel like a family... As much I'd like to wish we could never part, I know I'll miss my current team dearly... 

Sieving through my past Graphic 45 projects from my last audition to being on the team till date, I've seen myself grown artistically, evolving into a different creative level; an experience that I'll truly treasure for sure... Though I'm still searching for an identity as a budding artist, I'm very grateful for this wonderful opportunity that have brought me this far... Here again, I'm trying out for another year, in hope I can have this opportunity again to share my works in a brand new different level...

And here is my entry, featuring some of my favourite projects...

Project #1 - Come Away with Me Stacked Suitcases

This was one of the biggest projects till date; building all these suitcases from scratch and took me almost a week to complete everything... Wasn't an easy job but due to my obsessions on stacked suitcases, I wanted it so much that I just went crazy to build this mini version...  

More details about this project can be found here... 

I guess I can never had enough suitcases, these little matchbox suitcases are just part of my addiction that I had to create a tutorial...

Project #2 - A Snowman's Baggage & Christmas Suitcase

In sequel to my matchbox suitcases, I did these suitcases for last Christmas... It's a sudden inspiration coming from Disney's movie Frozen and my niece, after hearing her singing the snowman song to my dad... 

More details about this project can be found here... 

Project #3 - Botanical Tea Violin Display Stand

I tend to keep things and when I found my violin, I felt old... Those were the days; bringing me memories... Each time I dug things, there'll be something that caught me and I'll always get inspired somehow... Nevertheless, making this stand for my violin was a result from digging old things... Spring cleaning don't sound that scary after all... It became one of my inspiration sources...

 More details about this project can be found here... 

Project #4 - A Christmas Kaleidoscope

This was one such recycling project that I put in extra effort to conduct some research in making functional kaleidoscope... I've seen quite a number of tutorials online but not all are able to attain favourable results... I tried and made several attempts before finally make this into a tutorial...

More details about this project can be found here... 

Project #5 - Come Away with Me Altered Postbox

I'm always a big fan of Nicola Battilana and love minis and little things... I altered this post box piggy bank and revamped into a vintage one with failing parcels and mini mailbags... Away from the traditional red postbox, I decided to make it blue to match the paper collection... 

More details about this project can be found here... 

Project #6 - Time to Celebrate Patina Box

This was one of my Graphic 45 newsletter assignments using the 5" x 5" mixed media box... I was tasked to alter the box with stenciling and stamping technique on the exterior of the box only, strictly no papers but only in the interior of the box... This challenging assignment had actually pushed me one step further, putting my creative brain cells into a new level.. And finally I came up with this Patina look which a tutorial is available...

More details about this project can be found here... 

Project #7 - Precious Memories Baby Boy Patina Keepsake Box

For this Winter CHA, I revisited my Patina tutorial and create a pastel blue version of Patina together with Precious Memories paper collection... This keepsake was especially made for a friend of mine who is currently residing in Chicago and just had a baby boy last December...

More details about this project can be found here... 

Project #8 - Typographic Grunge Altered Bookend

This wooden bookend was built by my youngest sister as part of her school project and has been kept in one of the drawers for more than 10 years... We managed to discover this one day when I was doing some spring cleaning at home... Again, another "digging" inspiration, I altered this bookend for her using a great amount of Graphic 45 staples and other metal embellishments I had in my stash...

More details about this project can be found here... 

Project #9 - A Thanksgiving Card

I made this card during the last Thanksgiving; my very virgin attempt on the Big Shot machine... Owning a Big Shot was never at the top of my mind despite I crafted a lot... It's because of the various dies given to us as part of our DT package, this indeed had changed my mind... 

I had penned down my maiden voyage with this virgin trial here...

Project #10 - Time to Celebrate Birthday Pop-Up Card

Never once in my life I attempted to make such a big card... This was my first attempt... Stands at A4 in size when close, this card will pop into a bouquet of flowers when open... This birthday card is especially handmade for a 98 year old granny...

More details about this project can be found here...

Though I managed to get into the DT last year, my Graphic 45 teaching opportunity at The Art Republic (AR) ended shortly... Very sadly, due to the rental hike they are unable to sustain the business and was forced to close shop... Here are the final 2 projects I had taught before AR close shop...

Project #11 - Botanical Tea Spring Duet Album

An album full of pockets and all pages are hand-bound together using modified saddle stitch which I put in an extra effort to explore and modify the stitches just for this album...

More details about this project can be found here...

Project #12 - Wanderlust Mixed Media Shadow Box

My very last class project for The Art Republic using Come Away with Me paper collection and 8" x 8" matchbox staple... This project was inspired by the 90s sitcom Friends' Central Perk fictitious coffee shop, just that there's no coffee served but more towards a travel shop...

More details about this project can be found here...

Thank you so much for viewing this entry of mine and I hope my projects have been an inspiration... I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Charee, Joanna, Aimee, Diane, Jeff and all people from the Graphic 45 family for providing me a great year in the DT... I hope to work with this amazing team again very soon...

Last but not the least, I hereby wish all applicants Good Luck for this audition... 

Thank You!!!