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!

K&E Victorian Display Placard Décor

Talking about wedding gifts, most often they're generally gifted in either white or colours that depict happiness and purity. For this instance, I chose a something different. As I didn't get to attend one of my friends' wedding last year due to the pandemic where large scale event was prohibited, I didn't manage to gift her something. Took me this long, and I decided to repurpose and customize one of my past artworks to do up this simply placard décor for her and her newly-wed husband.

I die-cut several of the first letter of their names, "K" and "E" using Tim Holtz alphanumeric dies and glue them together to make it thicker; as if they're chipboard thick. Bend them a little to fit into the slightly curve surface of the heart. Added more glitter, some mica from Prima and top it up a little golden crown. Finally, add a strip of Bible verse (Ephesians 4:2-3) for them at the bottom of the placard. 

The corners of the glass are pretty sharp and I don't think it's wise to gift something that will likely prick your finger. In order to protect them, I covered them up using Graphic 45 ornate metal corners and glide them with some gold gilding paste. 

I added the lovely couple names and their wedding date behind within this little ornate plastic frame I've in my stash. Took me some time to figure out how to mount onto glass without a need to break the glass to fit. Glossy accent is the key and they do hold well without changing the colours and design elements I've done on the placard. This is part where I adhere the placard onto the glass using plenty of glossy accent. They dry clear without leaving much residue unlike some solvent based glue. Plus point is they're actually quite strong!  Added some golden flat pearls and ornate corners that I die-cut from Graphic 45 policy & decorative die.

Oh well, I might be sieving through my past artwork and will try to repurpose them as gifts or other projects. For now, this artwork of mine has finally found a home for a newly married couple. I wish them all the best in their marriage!

 

A Bunch of Bohemia Bazaar Thank You Cards

Graphic 45's Bohemia Bazzar is actually quite an understated paper collection. Perhaps it's due to its very vibrant and geometrical colours and designs, it can be hard to balance the elements and colours together in a single project. I do think so. However, when comes to making cards, it might be a little easier. Making use of it's vibrancy, I made 4 cards that's strikingly vibrant with each of its distinct colours.

Prior to the start of the pandemic, I've been making cards for various preachers from the USA when they're here to preach to local congregations. Well, these cards are made in 2019 just before the outbreak of COVID-19. 

As usual, personalised messages are printed and pasted on the back of the cards for each of them.

Well, breaking away from the vibrancy, I decided to make 2 cards from the collection with a more pleasant colour palette; practically can't really tell it's from the same paper collection. And this comes with choice of colours and design elements which I decided to use just green and blue only. Apparently, it's not that scary to work with this collection and I was actually quite pleased with the outcome.

These cards are well gifted and I hope they love the vibrancy of these handmade cards. Due to the pandemic and several travel restrictions, I think it's going to be a few more years before I can meet them again in person.

Talking About Mood Boards for a Recycling Project

It's almost 2 years! Ever since my last entry till we're in a pandemic situation, I decided to get myself back into crafting to ease the stress and tension that's related to COVID-19, as a form of outlet. There were some projects done in midst, however I simply didn't take the time to get myself active in blogging. Well, I'd reckon perhaps only a few will read.

Nonetheless, in today's entry I'd like to talk about mood boards; something many creative individuals will know what I'll be talking about. Please pardon me as I'm not a trained creative artist, as I'm mostly self-taught. This is a 2019 project class I've devised for a group of ladies, teaching them about recycling and how creating a mood board will help to facilitate ideas. 

And this is my mood board for a recycled project I had in mind, which took me quite some time to research on. Decided to use some felt, paper scraps and some embellishments from my stash to create this cactus penholder.

To make the penholder more interesting to use, I actually adhere pins at the back of the wooden embellishments and poke through some felt balls. At least there's some fun elements in place to play around with the cactus!

In a nutshell, these are the various recyclable materials I've used for this project.

Well, click HERE to download my notes for the class if you'd like to know more about mood boards and how to use them as guides to build a project. Feel free to let me know how this will benefit in creating recyclable projects at home. Meanwhile, have fun and I'll be back for another entry soon. 

Many Thanks to a Friend...

Everyone will have a least a friend that means a lot to them. Ever since I join as a new member in my local Church of Christ congregation, I got to know a lot of amazing and inspirational people there. Given that I didn't know anyone in the church before I came in, it could be a rather daunting experience to face so many unfamiliar faces. Eunice is one of many unfamiliar faces among the crowd who had extended her very warm welcome on my very first Sunday there. And this is very unforgettable.

Alas, for the past Graphic 45 #G45lightside challenge that happened in May (which was also my very last ambassador post with therm 😢), I'm presenting this gift set idea for Eunice. Took me this long to settle down to blog this entry. As much I know I'm rather late in updating, I decided to just to get this done...

Knowing how busy her life can be as a doctor, I decided to gift her a book about balancing life. It's a book written with biblical principles in mind to aid Christians in finding and keeping balances in life. I have this book as well and I thought this will make a great gift to Eunice. 

Decided not to just merely wrapping up the book like a typical present, I made a book sleeve as part of the gift wrap. Learned that green is Eunice's favourite colour, I decided to pair up the book with a personalized bookmark that bears her name.

Graphic 45 Garden Goddess is perhaps one of the paper collection that mainly features various women within the entire collection. And this makes creating female-related gifts a much easier choice. Eunice is someone who has this positive and kind vibe in her that I find this sunflower goddess a good fit in her personality. Instead of presenting this with a "Happy Birthday" title in front of the gift packaging (which is what this gift is intended for initially), I chose a "Many Thanks" diecut frame to thank her as a friend to me. 

Oh well, it's better late than never in updating! I hope this can keep myself within the loop even I've been rather quiet recently. I hope to come back really soon, actively whenever time allows me to. Nonetheless, this won't be the last entry of the year (I promise!) and there'll be more to come; for the least with some level of consistency (I hope!)...

Below is the list of supplies I've used for this project with various links to purchase if you are interested to get:

• Graphic 45 Garden Goddess Collection
• 12" x 12" collection pack (Blitsy, Scrapbook.com)
• 12" x 12" patterns and solids (Blitsy, Scrapbook.com)
• Ephemera cards (Blitsy, Scrapbook.com)
• Clearsnap Decades Dye Pad
• Venetian Lace (Scrapbook.com)
• Spellbinders Past Club Kit (December 2018)
• Many Thanks (big die of the month)
• Warm Wishes (small die of the month)
• Aleene's Always Ready Tacky Glue (Blitsy)
• Tim Holtz Thinlits Alphanumeric dies (1/2" tall) 
• Green, yellow and brown cardstocks
• Paper dollies and assorted ribbons