Under the Mistletoe Christmas Display Decor

Oh well, yes I know it's Christmas' Eve!!! Seriously?!? I haven't had enough time to whoop up enough Christmas projects!! While trying to get my life re-organized (for which I'm still struggling for months), I managed to bake one display decor project out for this Christmas. Fresh from oven!!! Piping hot just in time for Christmas!!!

I'm heading for a rustic vintage feel and love to add some warm for this Christmas. Not too warm but just enough to feel a little love. Using one of the cameos from Sandra Evertson's Relics and Artifacts as the centerpiece, I created this "Under the Mistletoe" layout using several flowers, berries, stamens and pine corns. 

I deliberately want to link the floras and the cameo together, yet somehow as if it's "under" and "house" within. Certainly this big bauble frames and link the entire layout to perfection. Of course, how can I miss out burlap!!! This just gives the entire decor a good old rustic look. 

There's a number of stories about the meaning behind "Under the Mistletoe" and this is practically the idea behind. Emblem of love that conquers death. Well, Christmas is all about Jesus Christ and He's the reason why love exists. Love more, kiss more and Merry Christmas...

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)

A Soulful Heart

Lately, there was quite a number of unpleasant things happening around the world. There was the Paris attack on Friday the 13th, with a few terrorist and tension events that happened previously. These events are likely to be ongoing events. Years of tensions, conflicts built up and things don't happen overnight or instantly, and they happened for a reason and mainly due to human pride. When one becomes soulless, one don't feel and empathize. It seems like all humanity is gone at point of violence and evil acts.

I tend to question, when one returns to his rightful mind, will he be able to feel? To some point, I believe everyone does. Your heart will at least ache a beat when you are at your most soulful state. We are spiritual beings; souls covered with flesh and blood. There's a reason why we feel pain when we bleed. It's a real truth that humans are soulful beings.

As I feel so intensely about current world events, I tend to ponder how sad and discouraging the world has become. We have become more judgmental, opinionated, discouraging and uninspiring. Each individual gradually becomes an opinion of others. I wish the world can be a little more soulful.

Taking all my feelings and put them together I created this little soulful assemblage artwork using shades of gray as the base. The option of using dull grayish base represent the world; for the world is always that gray. It seems like everything sounds right yet look so wrong on many levels. Humans are unable to judge what's absolutely right or wrong correctly. True black and white don't seems to exist. While the addition of subtle warm colours within the grayish base represent the various soulful hearts of all mankind. I believe humans can be soulful, it's a matter of choice.

Setting this heart as the main focus among a pool of grays, I used a variety shades of red, white and tarnished brass to paint the resin heart making it as if it is a real flaming red heart. This is the main soul of this project.

This piece of art is available for sale in my shop here...

A Fairy Loo Shed

Today is Thanksgiving!!! Wishing all my American and Canadian friends the merriest Turkey Day!!! Oh well, I wish I could celebrate thanksgiving here in Singapore so that I could eat turkey 'cos I've never eaten one before. It's not a common poultry here, neither is thanksgiving an official holiday. Besides turkey, there're far more things we can be thankful for... 

And... For me, for the very least I'm thankful for having a toilet... 

Yes it's the loo I'm thankful for!!! I'm glad to be able to have at least a toilet to use at home for my convenience. There’s actually a lot people defecating in the open. November 19th (which was last week) is World Toilet Day, a day marked to let us know that billions of people in the world do not have access to proper sanitation including toilets or latrines. I had been to rural Vietnam before and seriously the villagers don't have proper toilets and they just pee and poo in the open. Owning a toilet there is consider a luxury. 

So here is a little thought from the poo fairy for mankind, using natural elements she could find in the wilderness and built a toilet bowl in a shed!

 And the fairy left a golden poo!!!

Admit One ONLY! No threesome! No hanky panky!

~Enjoy the little things~

List of Supplies:

• Graphic 45 Botanicabella DCE
• House Shrine Box Kit
• Stackable Labels
• Gold Fleur Dresden Borders
• 3mm Brass Flat-Back Studs
• Golden Rod Stickles
• Shimmerz Paints (Texturez - Arti-choked)
• Daler Rowney Acrylic Paints (Burnt Amber #223, Pale Gold #708)
• ScrapFX Chipboards (Blossom Stems, Mini Bouquets, Mini Alphabets)
• Own Stash (seashells, pearl strings, wood stumps, greens & glitter, mulberry flowers & leaves) 

An Eerie (Fairy) Tale Shop

Yes I know Halloween is over! But it doesn't mean dark stuffs only can be made during Halloween! You’ve probably known a lot about Fairy Tales via Walt Disney since young. All those princes and princess stories, princes falling in love with a beautiful commoner, etc. etc. etc. and the endings are always happily ever after. So sweet! Makes you wanna fall in love. Who doesn't want to marry a handsome prince or beautiful princess? Thou shalt not deny. Somehow everyone has such thoughts at least once. Harmless to fantasize, and it does feels good to have a little taste of sweetness. When you picture your ideal prince/princess with a face of your favourite actor/actress, it will just bring the sweetness to another level and before you know it, you are already submerged in a pool of dopamine.

Alright, POP! Bubble burst! Back to reality. Though Walt Disney has shown us the very sweet and beautiful side of fairy tales, they seems to be somehow originally intended for adults. I always have an interest to understand how tales and folklore came about and how they eventually get passed down to become the versions we all hear today. So there’s actually some dark side to it, and some parts are pretty gruesome which Walt Disney had sanctioned them to cater for children. I shalt not talk about them, but here is article which speaks the truth. ~For your reading pleasure~

So, here is a masterpiece of various Fairy Tales elements that consist of some dark sides which you probably didn’t really know. And certainly, Graphic 45 An Eerie Tale paper collection fits in this project perfectly. Beware as you enter, there's always Once Upon a Time. Before we enter, we shall have a peep through from the outside...

A peep through via the window. Notice a fairy tale book, some pumpkins, Cinderella's bucket and broom, some hair locks, and a bottle of Rapunzel's tears. Besides stood a tree..

Route round the tree, there's more pumpkins with some of the juices flowing!! Does the pumpkin carriage made from these pumpkins? And a Raven sitting on the tree...

Enter and looking up from the tower, there lay Rapunzal's locks running all the way down to the ground  where Snow White's coffin and the Evil Queen's apple can be found. Of course, the spindle that pierced Princess Aurora's finger. 

Supposedly golden eggs? Has someone turned them into robin eggs?

Magical top view and as the sign plate stated within, it's An Eerie Tale Shop!!!

There's so much to look at and pictures just don't do much justice. Thanks so much for reading and I hope this entry is entertaining enough. Final note... Please don't curse me for ruining your childhood, and don't go around scaring kids away.

List of Supplies:

• Haunted House Kit
• Haunted House Black Chipboard Set
• Black Chipboard Windows Set
• More Old Windows Collage Sheet
• Tiny Little Coffin Boxes - Newer Collage Sheet
• Little Library Collage Sheet
• Graphic 45 An Eerie Tale Enchantment
• Graphic 45 An Eerie Tale Banners
• Graphic 45 Claw Feet
• Glittered Mini Seed Pods
• Glittered Gold Berry Clusters
• Thin Looped Dresden Border in Black
• Miniature Rustic Brooms
• Set of Miniature Books
• Tiny Glass Bottles
• Robin Nests with Eggs
• Pumpkin Pods
• Sheet Moss
• Leafy Green Underbrush
• Clump Foliage - Fall Mix
• Golden Rod Stickles
• ScrapFX Chipboards (Gnarly Tree & Crows, Nature Masterpiece, Rustic Tendril Corner, Mini Alphabets)
• Own Stash (wooden plank, apple, yarn, rustic tin bucket, hat pin, twine, straws, sticks, ferns & greens)