waking up

Dear friends,
Today, Our Beautiful World goes online for the very first time!. Exciting :). Congratulations, Kirsty!.

This week, we're sharing photos that depict the meaning of 'waking up'.

For me, two words popped up; gratitude & prayer.

These multi-facets glass are my prayer beads. 

I used them at dawn (fajr), just before sunrise. [yup, before coffee or tea]. It is always so beautiful to start the day, feeling gratitude and welcoming higher help to manifest perfection in everything I think, say or do. It helps to get on with my day, come what may :). 

And then, coffee!. And feeding the cats. When the sun is up, I would peek out the window and just breathe ... it's going to be a great day when I can see clear blue sky and hear the birds sing.

I love to peek into your 'waking up' moments, do share with us @ Our Beautiful World!. Hugs.

new adventure with photography

Hello all,

My friend Kirsty, had invited me to contribute in her new photography blog called Our Beautiful World. How lovely!.

If you love photography, and eager to share what you see through your lenses, do visit us and enjoy the beauty of it all. Hope you'll have fun with our weekly prompts at Our Beautiful World starting June 30th!.

Thanks, Kirsty!!. This is perfectly what I need now, to expend my contemplative photography ideas and learn from all the masters out there :). 

So, see you there soon!. Hugs.

Summer of Color 3 - Week 3

Dearest friends,
Did you have a good weekend?. I've been praying for rain so much, here in Kuala Lumpur we have the worst haze ever!. You can smell the smoke, even when the forest burning is happening across the ocean. Really missed going out walking in the park :). The blessing is, I got to do more art!. And watched the super moon rising from my window. I saw this the other night;

I don't own a super camera, so the perigee moon looked tiny and blurry. Seen here, rising above tall fig trees in the backyard.

The winning colors for SOC Week 3; Lime Green & Purple. With great anticipation of the new colors, I started my work earlier. I knew, I have to create a tiny mysterious, Midsummer-ish book this week. Summer Solstice just passed. How did you celebrate the Summer Solstice?. Do tell :).

The front. It measures about 2" X 3".

The back.

I used pieces of old lace table cloth, linen and a velvet ribbon to make this book.

First, I dabbed the lace with purple acrylic paint. 

It hardened when dried, perfect for making book pages.

Like previous books, I folded the lace up and sewn in the middle to hold them together. Then, sewn two pieces of ribbon bows to the spine to cheer things up.

Some folded goodness.

Imagining myself as Fae, adding pixie dust in a tiny bottle and sewing magical beads to the cover, making a spell book of sort.

Never skimp on magic :). 

Added moon & star charms, just for fun.

Many circle fabrics used in this book to accentuate the Summer moon theme.

Painted daisies in watercolor. Highlighted the petals with white acrylic ink.

  

Clay flower beads for additional dimension.

The tulle netting was originally white. To add some color, I drenched it in purple acrylic ink.

Trailing leaves in watercolor, doodled over with black pen.

Inspired by Lets Get Trendy Now!3 (Sequins), I decided to add some on my 'moon'. 

Love these crepe layers :).

My tiny book is now, all chunky. I never envisioned it to have a steampunk look at all. It takes a life of it's own and I just enjoy the ride :). Have a nice time playing this week!. HUGS.

P/S: Come join the challenges at Let's Get Trendy Now!3. Learn a trendy tip or two, link up your creations by end of the month and win cool prizes!. Good Luck.

Summer of Color 3 - Week 2

Sweet friends,
It's Week 2 at Summer of Color, and I'm loving the color prompt this week. Orange & hot pink!!. Reminds me so much of last year's Strawberry/Orange Sorbet :). I need badly one now. Hope the weather is improving from being so hot, dry and hazy the last few days.

This week I made a tinier gratitude book :). Dedicated to the beautiful tropical flowers we have here, especially the hibiscus. Do you know, hibiscus is the Malaysian National Flower?. Yup, just like Hawaii.

The front. This book measures only 2" x 3".

The back.

I used a strip of wide-cotton lace, a small plastic tag holder and fabric-scrap ribbon to make the book.

Folded lace ribbon a few times and sewn in the middle to make it open like a book.

Sewn the pages to the plastic tag holder, then embellished with pearls. [I had first stamped the plastic tag holder with gesso].

Gesso'ed front cover.

Read about how to stamp gesso on plastic, here :).

Secured the ribbon closure with cross-stitches at the back.

A simple bow for closure.

Let's take a peek inside my book;

Greetings from a hibiscus!.

Painted with watercolor (orange & fuschia), then doodled over with a black pen. Back-stitches for the stigma, gold & pearl beads for the stamen :).

Running stitches to highlight the words from old book pages.

Handmade embellishment; gauzy linen peppered with gold & pearl beads. Easy, does it?. You may already have them in your stash :). I'm all inspired by talented artists @ Lets Get Trendy Now!3. So many ideas of making your own embellishments and you could win cool prizes if you play along their challenges too!. 

Add tiny pink beads on the circle for dimension.

Another hibiscus, to end the pages with.

The very last page.

That's it. I hope you'd try making these tiny books, they are so FUN to make :). Thank you for visiting and your sweet comments on my gratitude book last week. It's wonderful to see what everyone made, will come to see you again soon :). Until then, have a great week!. HUGS.

p/s: Let's Get Trendy Now!3 challenges is running till end of the month, come join us! :).

Summer of Color 3 - Week 1

Dearest friends,

Summer Of Colors 3 starts this week!. I've been waiting a year for this. I had a great time at SOC last year, which themed around colorful, yummy ice-cream flavors. 

This year, Kristin of Twinkle - Twinkle, allows artists to vote for colors they love to work, every week. Hence, "Artist's Choice" :). Read about the details on her blog's here. Fun times!.

First week's theme is Citron Green & Turquoise. Here's what I plan to do for the next 6 weeks;

1. I'll make a tiny 'Gratitude' booklet each week.

2. Each week, I'll journal about one thing I'm thankful for.

3. I'll use enough muted colors for the background to allow ample space for notes. The accents, embellishments and details will follow the color prompt of the week.

4. On Week 6, I'll display all booklets that I've created. [Can't wait!]. 

5. Maybe, I'll make some kind of storage for those tiny books on the final week. [Fingers & paws crossed].

Okay, on to the next. My first week's gratitude book;

The front. This book measures only 2.5" X 3.5".

The back.

As some of you may already know, I live very close to a small forest. I enjoy listening to the birds every day, especially in the mornings. I dedicate this to the lovely birds :).

Accordion folded linen, bound in the middle with a fiber.

A simple knot for closure.

 I sewed turquoise & white lace ribbons on the covers, lined with citron & white beads.

My first attempt at using neon color beads & thread (citron green). I'm just a little braver, following tips from Let's Get Trendy Now!3 - Neon!. [Yvonne, you got to love me for trying, *wink]. 

Used the tiniest neon beads I could find in my stash.

I stamped with gesso on a few pages, mostly to add layers & texture. Can you spot it here on the linen?

 Sewed white beads on some other pages, for dimension.

Let's take a peek inside the book;

I wrote the notes with black pigment pen.

I love stitching on plastic, so I added a clear pocket with tiny silk flowers. It's like looking at nature from my window :).

Read here and here to see how I made this.

First drew a bird in pencil, colored in with watercolor, then doodled over with black pigment pen. 

That's all to it. I can't wait to visit you all & see what you created this week. Have a great day!. HUGS.

P/S : If you're looking for more fun things to do;
Look no where else, check out amazing projects, trendy tips & play along the challenges at Let's Get Trendy Now!3 workshop.

Link up your projects by the end of June, AND win yourself some trendy prizes too. Good luck!