Explore the Untaken Path Art Journal Spread

Earlier this year, I bought myself a hardbound sketchbook with a plan of turning this into an art journal after viewing so many beautiful works on Pinterest as well as on various social media platform... But I didn't make my first attempt the moment I bought this sketchbook... I placed it near my work desk and let it collect dust for months... 

It's till recently I find myself in the mood to make my art journal debut... This very first art journal spread is greatly inspired by Singapore's founding Prime Minister & Minister Mentor Mr. Lee Kuan, whom had passed away this Monday morning... His state funeral will be this Sunday... While emotions still run high throughout the nation this week, his demise and his legacy puts me into deep thoughts... He was one such great leader who had taken the untaken path; a path that he courageously took and brought Singapore to where She is today... Because that was the way he was; a man who was truly himself, his bravery and courage to challenge the uncertainties during those days were indeed commendable... I deeply admired this spirit of his... 

Reflecting on myself especially in my current perusal to be an artist, this is something I find a need to learn from him... This journal spread not only serves as a memorial on the great work of Mr. Lee, it also serves as a reminder for myself to look at things from a different perspective and explore the untaken path...   

List of supplies:

• Gesso
• Gel Medium
• Vintage Dictionary Pages
• ScrapFX Chippies (Explore the Untaken Path phrase)
• ScrapFX Foam Stamps (Dolly Stamps, Shoe Soles)
• Shimmerz Products (Coloringz - Night Moves, Shimmeringz - Heavy Metal, Spritz - Rock-a-fella Blue, Vibez - Snow Storm, Texturez - Gritty Graphite, Dazzlerz - Spun Sugar, Inklingz - Tarnish Treasure, Creameez - Ride the Tide)

To receive some freebie from Shimmerz, remember to mention my name (Katie Zoey Ho) during Paypal checkout under "Instructions to Merchant" when you place your Shimmerz order should you want to shop something there...

Paying my Last Respect to MM Lee Kuan Yew

This week is a sad and solemn week for Singapore... On 23rd March 2015, at 3:18am, our country's most beloved and respected Minister Mentor Mr. Lee Kuan Yew had passed away... The nation wept and I myself am deeply sadden by his demise...

I woke up at around 10:30am on Monday and I was the probably the last few who got to know about MM Lee's demise via Facebook... I was indeed shocked to see my Facebook feed flooded with news of MM Lee's demise... Waking up with a mind in calibration mode, I find this piece of news a little too shocking to be true... At that very moment, I find it hard to believe... As a Biomedical grad, it was at my best knowledge to comprehend the fact that at MM Lee's old age of 91, to win the battle and recover fully was a very unlikely event to happen given the fact that a new course of antibiotics was administered and there was no signs of improvement... Despite knowing his days were numbered, most Singaporeans hope he could pass through the ordeal and celebrate Singapore's 50th birthday this August... Very unfortunately, after a battle with pneumonia infection, he passed away peacefully on Monday morning...

There was an outcry of sadness and people across the nation are grieving... The truth didn't get sink into me till yesterday as I watched MM Lee's procession to the Parliament House (where his body will be lying in state for the public to pay respect) live on the national TV... I finally shed my tears in respect for this great leader... The government has declared a period of national mourning for this entire week and his funeral this Sunday... Emotions will run high in the air and this Sunday will be one excruciating day, a day where people of Singapore will cry for his final departure...

I myself have paid my very last respect to MM Lee this morning at the Parliament House and handwritten my tribute to him... In memory of this founding father of modern Singapore, I made this placard with a quote behind as a tribute to him... He was one such individual who was truly who he was and it was his lifetime privilege... Indeed a privilege that had benefited the people of Singapore and what he had left for us is his legacy and unwavering love for the country that will always be remembered...

Marie in Wonderland Tea Party Topper

On this week Alpha Stamps newsletter highlight I'm sharing this tea party topper as a topper decor for my cupcake stand... This month kit Marie in Wonderland is currently available at Alpha Stamps website...

It's quite a small topper stands at ~6" tall, I built the base by stacking 2 of these tiny paper mache boxes and put a Marie on top... Using paperclay, I molded some teapots and cups as well as mini bows out from the silicon molds, painted them and use them as decorative elements around the base... So here is what I've gotten.. I wanted to keep it simple and straightforward for the sake of easy display and keeping...

Here is a list of supplies for this project:

• March 2015 Kit - Marie in Wonderland
• Marie Takes Tea Collage Sheet 
• 27mm Resin Tea Party Heart Doilies 
• Die-Cut Chipboard Panniers Dress 
• Creative Paperclay 
• Tiny Paper Mache Box Set 
• Mini Bows Silicone Mold 
• 3D Tea Party Silicone Mold 
• Stitch leaf Ribbon in Pink

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!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! Be Lucky!!!

Today is St. Patrick's Day, it's a day to get luck... Here today on Graphic 45 blog post together with Lori Williams, I've made this dimensional card just for this St. Patrick's... Not something entirely green, I'm using purple together with green to make this Good Luck Card... I wanted it to be a little "flowery", hence added some miniature violets around the card...

Wishing everyone a lucky day today... Not only for today, but I also do wish everyone good luck every day...