Graphic 45 2018 Brand Ambassador Audition

The moment is finally here... Despite of my rather tight schedule recently, I managed to get this posted in time hoping I'll get a chance to be considered to be part of Graphic 45 again. Missing all the fun I had previously, it was a good rest in between and I'd want to take this opportunity to come back and provide more creative inspirations. Heading straight ahead, here are the projects I created for this audition.

Project One: Cafe Parisian Candies Paper Jar (step-by-step tutorial)

Earth day is approaching (22nd April) and I think it'd be good to do up some upcycling project and transform them into daily useful items. Besides being a "junk collector", I do keep quite a number of disposable items which I find them as potential upcycling objects. And those jumbo toilet rolls are one of them which I kept many of them. For they are sturdy and hard enough, they provide very good bases for jar making. 

Notice a little butterfly among the flowers?

May it for your pantry storage or even as a gift, it doesn't cost that much to do up one. Trust me, it's not going to be that difficult. You just need to be a little patient while working on it. I decided to do up a step-by-step tutorial which is more clear than video tutorials.

Supplies List:

• Graphic 45 Cafe Parisian Paper Collection (12" x 12" paper pad and 6" x 6" pattern & solids)
• Prima Marketing Royal Menagerie Flowers (blue sprays and velvet leaves) 
• I Am Roses Mulberry Flowers (roses and lilies)
• Trims (fabric laces and pastel blue organza ribbon)
• Bazzill Basic Walnut Cream Cardstock
• Spellbinders Shapeabilities Fancy Tag Dies
• Upcycling Materials (jumbo toilet rolls, assorted think and thick cardboards/chipboards)

Project Two: Nature Sketchbook Merci Beaucoup Butterfly Duo Cards

The very next project I created are these duo thank you cards for a lovely couple who is coming to Singapore from the USA this week. Using the Nature Sketchbook paper collection, I made these dimensional cards using a pair of butterflies denoting the loveliness of the couple onto the contrasting patterns of the papers.

Supplies List:

• Graphic 45 Nature Sketchbook Paper Collection (12" x 12" paper pad and 6" x 6" pattern & solids)
• Graphic 45 Core'dinations Signature Series (ColourCore Cardstocks in dark cashmere and spring green)
• Tim Holtz Kraft Stock Metallic 8" x 8" Gold & Silver Cardstock
• Conqueror 100gsm High Quality Woven Finish Paper
• Spellbinders Club Kit Dies (Holiday Frames, Welcome Autumn Wreath)
• Trims (gold foil organza ribbon, double satin green/yellow ribbon)

I hope these have been a good source of inspiration and pleasing to the judging panel for this audition. I also wish all participants the very best for this year audition as well.

Cheers!!! And keep on creating to inspire!!! I shall see you all very soon again for subsequent creations and tutorials...

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)

My Canvas Corp 4" x 4" Canvas Art

One of the requirements for being part of Canvas Corp Crew is to do up a 4" x 4" canvas that best represent yourself. It was a rather busy week for me last week, however I manage to get my canvas all done up! Can't wait to share it around and here I am sharing this today! Yeah!!!

It was indeed my very first time doing such a small canvas art. Though I felt I might not have enough to work around with, I managed to come up with a composition that's within the context I'd want to express. Using various Tattered Angel's mixed media products as well as Finnbair's old mechanicals, this is what I came up with. As the canvas itself requires no priming, you can pretty much work straight to it. I die cut out a few florals from some of the papers within 7gypsies Architextures 8.5" x 11" Mix and Match Book using Tim Holtz' Tattered Floral Bigz Die, distressed the edges and layered over the canvas to create some texture before all the misting and painting comes it. 

Those pretty lace I wrapped around the canvas is from 7gypsies which unfortunately it's a retired item. To give it a little rustic and ragged look, I misted some bandages with Tattered Angel Cork glimmer mist to go over the lace, and secured it with some Prima jute straw.

Not wanting to spare the empty space at the back of the canvas, I decided to do up a miniature Art Room within. That cute little frame is from my paperclay try outs using one of my Martha Stewart silicon moulds, which is of a good size to fit within. 

Nonetheless, it was a rather fun process to do up such a small mixed media canvas work. I'm pretty please with the final composition though I was a little concern about the small space given. Below is a list of supplies I used for this project with some links to various sources should anyone of you are interested to get them:

• Canvas Corp 4" x 4" Canvas
• 7gypsies Lace Trimmings
• 7gypsies Architextures 8" x 8" Paper Pad
• 7gypsies Architextures Parchment Rub Ons - Inspire
• 7gypsies Architextures 8.5" x 11" Mix and Match Book -Bee
• Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists (Cork, Vintage Pink)
• Tattered Angels High Impact Paint (Antique Gold)
• Tim Holtz Tattered Floral Bigz Die (Scrapbook.com, Sizzix)
• Tim Holtz Tiny Tattered Florals Thinlits (Amazon. Scrapbook.com, Sizzix)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink in brushed corduroy (Amazon, Blitsy, Scrapbook.com)
• Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mini Plaquettes
• Martha Stewart Frame and Flourish Silicon Moulds
• Copper Metallic Papers (Cardstock Warehouse, CutCardStock)
• Prima Marketing Finnabair Mechanicals
• Prima Marketing straw jute
• Creative Paperclay
• Own stash (miniature red roses, tiny glass bottle, brass key, green foliage, golden studs and sequins)

I hope this has been an inspiration in how to work within small canvas spaces. I shall see you all very soon with a tutorial.

Dressing Up Tools with Washi Tapes

I've this pair of pink Cutter Bee scissors which I bought as my very first pair of scissors when I was at the U.S. in 2011 (7 years ago! That seems like a long long time ago!). I clearly remembered I bought it at Target in Union City, San Francisco. It was on discount and I bought it at quite a good deal. Before I bought the other precision scissors, this pair is the only pair I own for fussy cutting and it has cut tons of designs that assisted me in many projects. 

Though I used other precision scissors interchangeably, this pair however was hardly used ever since the rubber from the handles kinda came off, making the grip uneasy to feel on hand. I was pulling out my drawer of washi tapes yesterday morning and instantly I thought this would probably a good idea to put these washi tapes into good use. Without hesitating, I went ahead and started to "dress up" my Cutter Bee. And this is how it ended up. Nicely dressed up and it seems I've a new pair of scissors!!! Yeah!!!

I was really enjoying dressing up my Cutter Bee that I felt like dressing up my other tools as well. Looking at my other Graphic 45 and Tim Holtz washi tapes in my drawer, I knew it wasn't the end of this fun session. I ended up dressing up my other precision scissors and Sharpie pen. They look so cool and I'm loving it!!!

Well, sometimes we just have tools on hand that we bought initially that we just simply can't bear to throw them away especially they're still functional. I still have my very first paper trimmer with me when I first started crafting which is more than a decade old and I'm still very much prefer to use that old trimmer of mine despite I've a better and newer trimmer which I bought as a backup. Though it doesn't seems feasible to dress up my trimmer like what I did for my Cutter Bee, I still find a great sense of satisfaction that I manage to revive a pair of scissors that I might consider throwing 'cos of the worn handles. 

Beautiful Magic Wishes Treat Bags

 "Wishes are the magic in your heart that cause beautiful things to happen..."

What a sweet sentiment that will make your heart flutter! Everyone loves to make wishes and wish for some beautiful magic to happen. It's a natural kind of hope humans have instinctively which make us wanting to wish for beautiful things to happen; somehow or rather.

Wishes do come true when you really hope for it and wanted it so much to happen. Things do happen and sometimes way beyond you could ever imagine. For the past year or so, some amazing things did happened in my life! One important event was the day I found myself added into the LORD's Church which led me to discover a lot of wonderful people around the world; a universal church that's so true and pure that transcends all humans' doctrines and creeds. It was also through a wish I had since young that I had finally found reconciliation with the ONE & ONLY true God that creates this universe, after decades of searching.

Beautiful sunset at one of the villages in Bacolod I visited. 

I was trying to "pinch" the sun away! 😄

In last September, I was on this unique privilege to be on a mission trip with some of brethren within my congregation to the Philippines. It was through this trip I got to see the beauty behind the LORD's Church and why we are so spiritually bonded via Christ regardless of our social status, background, culture, ethnicity and language. The young and old, men and women all gather together because of one unifying reason. It was because of this reason, we encourage and edify one another to grow. 

I personally had a wonderful experience via this mission trip which I learn so much about the LORD's Church and got to appreciate even more the beauty behind this Truth that binds us together no matter where we are. Prior in coming back to Singapore, I decided to buy some goodies from the Philippines and gifted them to some of the brethren within my local congregation. I packed them inside these brown paper bags where I stamped this sentiment from Tim Holtz Good Thoughts onto the front, and secured the bags with some jute twine.

Disclaimer: No nicotine was packed within.
It's actually a combination of the names of a lovely couple Nicodemus and Christine.

To ended off the packaging interestingly, I punched some small little round tags to get them to untie the magic here! Pretty much sums up on the message that's printed in the front.