Supper Club Crest

I haven't done any art in awhile, but J asked if I could create a dinner party invite crest for him, so I spent a study break doodling. I've recently been obsessed with vintage flatware, so I used it as a framework. Next, I needed two tasty animals to sit on the crest, but I wanted something more exotic than a chicken and cow, so I decided to work in a pheasant and a bull. I love how distinct the tail feathers of a pheasant are. 

I added some random herbs to fill space in the crest, but J found my choice of chervil too feminine. He kept the thyme and mint though. Finally after photoshopping for symmetry, I gave him a working prototype to play with so he could pick the colour and shading for himself. I'm curious to see what he'll pick in the end.  

Hand-Painted Floral Cards {Belated Mother's Day Post}

This nifty little paint set was given to me by the mother of a close friend who brought it back from Japan. She told me it was same type of paint set used by the artists who worked on the landscaping of the movie "Up"(amazing film!!) when they were scouting locations and getting inspirations. I could easily see why it would be the perfect painter's road companion- it was tiny, compact, convenient and genius! 

I remember having art palettes in primary school which came with dry paint pots and a cheap brush. You'd get a cup of water and get paint by rehydrating the pots. This usually created a water-colour effect, although this was not always by choice.. some paints were so poorly made with thin pigments that you'd be lucky to get any colour out at all.

The clincher in this Japanese design skips the need for an open cup of water by integrating the water into the brush like a cartridge. As a result you have a brilliantly portable, non-messy and on-the-go paint kit. Well, not that I'm going to be hiking up mountains or anything like that, but the set suits my busy student lifestyle well. 

I wanted to share the cards I made for Mother's Day (I would have made more but mid-semester exams were upon me) and I will be posting tutorials soon on how to make these cards (simple brush patterns for flowers and leaves) and how a round-edge paper cutter is probably the best investment of your craft life EVER.

To my mum: I'll get you real flowers next time, these are the best I can do from here in Sydney. Thank you for life, guidance, support and love. You're the best, love you!

And if you're interested in getting your hands on the paint set, you can find it here!

Blast from the Past!

So I opened up my old laptop and pulled out a whole bunch of pictures from my old jewelry collection! The website above is now inactive :( I sold these in a little boutique stall in Haji Lane. These were painted woodcuts, and they were pretty popular, but just were too time consuming to make. I would have to prime the wood, paint two coats, the pattern, then two coats of lacquer and repeat the whole process on the other side. It was the first time I sold my jewelry (as opposed to giving them away..)!

I started these necklaces by painting goldfish wood-cuts, like the ones below. I felt like I could get more creative and play around with the shapes a little more than the ponies. Ling was hard to part with. I started incorporating the wood textures into the patterns I was painting in the fish, and I really liked how it turned out in Tanya, Halle and Ayane. 

I also had a few other random creatures.. (Feli the Bunny was named after my friend Felicia who was as gentle as a bunny.)

I even created an whole lot of really cheesy ads with my necklaces and made them into stickers to give away at the shop. Not the most cost-effective, but I really enjoyed the whole process.

Anyhow, I just thought I'd give a little glimpse into what I used to make.. The Farmhaus was my first jewelry-art baby and I really appreciate the support and friendships that kept me in business then (you know who you are- thank you again!) Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Stay tuned for other random things I've dug up ;)

MAGIC FLATWARE

So much dinner magic with these babies from Blue Leaves. Can't wait till I can afford more of their collection. 

x

Have You Met Miss Jones?

I apologize for my lack of updates, but I've been pretty caught up with school and assignments. They are making me sad. But I always get cheered up by little quirky things in my house (thus the forever search of adding to curious collection I have) and I'd thought I'd introduce you all to my cat vase.

Ahhh. My cat vase always makes me smile. I picked him up at a pottery sample sale by Have You Met Miss Jones where I believe he was produced as a watering jug, and I brought his rabbit friend back to hold my pens and paint brushes. I believe he was supposed to be a candleholder or planter.  

There are so many reasons why I fell in love HYMMJ.. the crisp, clean white matte porcelain is contrasted with such intricate textures and details.. the adorable slant of the bunny's bowed head is complimented with perfectly formed ears.. the surprised expression on the cat's face with it's mouth doubling as a water-hole... Oh HYMMJ I would buy all your things if I had a permanent home here!

If you weren't quite sold yet, I will show you the last piece of art that I own from them: A bunny night light. He keeps the monsters at bay with his brave glowing heart. 

Check them out if you have time- the critters they have there are definitely worth the trouble. x

Grounded

When I saw the paint peeling off this wall I immediately knew it was going to make an awesome picture. The white plaster had shaped itself into a gorgeous set of wings when viewed at the right angle, so I decided to make the most of it. I never pass up the opportunity to look like some celestial being with wings- I blame Romeo and Juliet for that.

Given that the wings were low, I felt like a grounded angel. Possibly freshly fallen from heaven, which explains my pained expression. 

Behind Hipster Confetti Photos

Confetti pictures are the best. It's almost like rejecting gravity by capturing the suspension of coloured bits of paper in the air which.. will never come down again! I don't mean literally but you know, in some dimension. It's making something so temporal and fleeting permanent, which makes confetti photos just ethereal and pure magic..

But I thought I'd do a post on how incredibly hard these confetti pictures were to take, because it was just hilarious the lengths we went to. Some confetti photos are completely spontaneous and natural, like wedding confetti photos. The crowning of the bride and groom as they emerge from the church, with the sky raining with patterned papers. Then there's the staged confetti photos, like these. After this post you'd probably laugh when you see other pretentious confetti photos, and you are WELCOME. Well since this is my blog, I usually pick the photos which I feel I look best in, or captures the moment. This is a rare post that I'll include pictures that make me look mentally challenged.

So it begins with an early morning in Venice, the second day of Carnevale 2013. It's beautiful weather as J and I attempt to wander from Dorsoduro to San Marco Square for the parade, and we chance upon a few children playing in a pile of confetti.

They were having all sorts of fun blowing it and jumping around in it, so I naturally decided to join in. Harmless as it seemed at that time, my days in Venice were about to be monopolized by the desire to capture the perfect confetti picture.. 

As per pictures above, blowing handfuls of confetti didn't quite work out, so I tried tossing it. I'm not entirely proud of how many pictures I made J take of me flinging little bits of paper in the air while I looked like I was worshipping in some evengelical church or asking for rain, but after awhile I decided I wanted my own bag of confetti (and J wanted breakfast). There are some things you can't share for too long without feeling bad. 

Location, Location. Location..

So with my bag of own confetti, I picked what I thought was a deserted and quiet street in Burano, with the aim of taking the perfect confetti picture. Several problems quickly surfaced:

1) Not so quiet or deserted. Turns out we were right outside a daycare center. 

2) The Confetti : Person Ratio is almost impossible to maintain..

3) One bag of confetti doesn't last long.

Cameraman/Janitor J

4) Jump + Confetti = Impossible???

Missed the Jump

Missed.. Both. Lol.

I hope you've all had a good laugh at how ridiculous the photo process was. I shall leave you with a better visual than the one above, and wish you all the best in your hipster-confetti-picture endeavors!!

Don't You Talk Back To Me

Somebody needs to create a real heater-creature.

Graffiti isn't all bad.. Taken in Florence and Venice.