faux glass sun catcher!

Sweet friends,
I woke up this morning to a beautiful, sunny day. Makes me happy since it has been gloomy and wet these past few days. I'm sending warmth and comfort to everyone out there, who patiently braving the coming winter storm [especially to you, Linda Kunsman :)].

I made a simple sun catcher last night, from leftovers of the transparent-book project. I'm too happy that I can set it out on the bedroom's window today :).

I LOVE the woods behind my apartment. I'm lucky to have the living room and the bedroom facing the woods. I usually open the living room's windows wide, get down on my yoga mat and do my practice facing these woods. Yes, with birds singing their hearts out :). The best outdoor yoga I could have without living home!.

The view at noon today. Beautiful day out, isn't it?.

I 'trapped' little silk flowers in between two pieces of transparencies by stitching around to keep them in place. 

With jewelry making tools, I added glass beads, jump rings and a ring binder to make this very simple faux glass sun catcher. Oh, how I wish I have a garden. Then I could make more elaborate sun catchers or even wind chimes and hang them on trees!. Someday.

Making this is super fun because you could add anything to the assemble. Charms, old bangles, origami cranes, scrap fabrics, old cutlery, beads, feathers ... endless craziness! :). I hope this post leaves you much joy. HUGS.

it's red, everywhere I look

Dear friends,
I walked to Chinatown (Petaling Street) yesterday, and all I saw was red. Four more days to Chinese New Year, the old little shops are full to the brim with the brightest decorations!. Flowers, oranges and lanterns, you name it. I got a few shots from the street :).

I wished that these flowers were real.

And I saw handsome birds in wooden cages. I feel bad for them though, but they sang so beautifully :).

This guy moved so much, I couldn't get a good picture of him. 

Then I went into an old book shop and bought me a receipt book, a Chinese calligraphy manual and some kind of Chinese payment cards. I shall like to turn them into sketchbooks!. 

My kind of treasures :).

I bind the loose green cards into a book and embellished the cover with tissue paper, some stamping and decoupage. 

I decoupaged tissue paper roses, added word strips from old storybook and used 1" coil binder (Zutter) to hold the cards together. Trying to make the cover looks oriental :).

I sponged some gold acrylic paint to the sides to make it look like the yellow tussles I often see on Chinese lanterns.

Drew Chinese wooden clogs on the very first page;

As for the receipt book; I applied gesso to the very thin cover, distressed the edges with brown Stazon, stitched pieces of fabrics and added a button. 

A fabric heart for February :).

Then made a sketch with pencil and later finished it off in watercolor.

The thin papers didn't take watercolor so well and my page crumpled so badly. Oh well, life goes on :).

I love the scenery/painting on the cover of the Chinese Calligraphy book, so I didn't do anything to it. Shown here is a lotus flower sketch I did on the first page.

Not too crumpled, good news. I shall paint on them more.

I feel good that my walk yesterday made me pick up some brush & paint again :). At the moment, I'm having too much fun making small fabric-paper collage, which I will share soon :). HUGS.