Paper Crafting Workshop at Anna Patchwork House

I conducted a paper crafting class at Anna Patchwork House, Oasis Ara Damansara, Malaysia today. It was wonderful to see mothers and daughters come and create stuff together. Both mothers and daughters were very artistic with a good eye for colour coordination. Anna, the owner of the business was very encouraging and friendly.

We did 2 things today: a layout and a trinket box.

A photo can be transformed into a beautiful memory box when you mount it on a layout and embellish it with flowers and jewels.

A trinket box can be used  to keep your precious bling bling or any other small momentos. Or you can fill it with sweets, chocolates or miniature pieces of soap and give it away as a present.

Samples of my work

Products of the workshop by the participants

You can find instructions to make these boxes on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkYqDiACEXg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQNABRvb_c0

Create T-shirt prints

Just learnt how to transfer cute pictures onto T-shirts and bags. These pictures are actually cut from serviettes. Just peel off the topmost layer and brush it onto the t-shirt with deoupage fabric glue. Handwash only

Baby Shower for Sep

The International Women's Organisation in Limerick had a baby shower for Sep, a nice Iranian lady, this morning and I had left with Sarita a present for the new baby. 

It was a lovely morning...20 ladies were  there.  It is only 2 weeks since baby Lillian Alice was born.

Sarita tells me that my present was MUCH admired - see Sep's smiling face peering round the side.....

                                          The Noah's Ark quilt that I made for Sep

And here she is, little baby Lillian Alice!

The pink flowers heralding the new mother's arrival...

Theresa welcomes  Sep to the baby shower

Sue had knitted a sweet little pale lemon coloured jacket, Sarita had knitted a lemon and white shawl and I had created the blanket. Sep made particular mention of loving that some of the gifts were hand made. 

Nothing like having good friends and making everyone , wherever we are from, feel loved and at home.

Mirror mirror on the wall

I can't leave mirrors alone....

The first one is basic decoupage with a distressed background from gold and blue acrylics.

For the second mirror I used Deco Art transparent Ultra Frost glass paint. The different sections are separated by Redi-lead strips. The strips are flexible and self-adhesive, so creating the outlines of the stained glass design is quick and resembles the lead in a real stained glass project.

Graduation gift pack

This is a graduation gift pack that I've put together for my son Samuel who will be receiving his scroll on 18 May. A bit of everything - the quintessential graduate bear, hand made flowers, chocolates and cash in the bag.

The tag inside the bag

A tribute to my mother

 I want to thank my mother for all that she had done for me. Most of all, for all the values that she had taught me, the example that she was - the very essence of a self-sacrificing soul. I can still hear her voice and I still wish I can run back to her for answers. She was my pillar of strength, my support, my inspiration. Nothing can ever surpass that.

Black and White Mini album Workshop at Scrap.n. Crop.

i had the pleasure of conducting a class today at Scrap.n. Crop. (Malaysia) .

Mini albums make fantastic scrapbooking gifts for friends or family - something that they'll love and
treasure always. You can showcase only the best photos of any major event and the pages have lots of pockets, tags, 

pull-outs, doors and little hidden treasures. Making your own mini album gives you such a sense of

accomplishment.

So the theme that I've chosen for this album is Black & White: Contrast and Harmony.

When people speak of opposites, it is usually in terms of black and white.

Black, and its opposite white represent polarities. 

Black is cloaked in mystery. It symbolizes protection, power and elegance.
Its dramatic presence denotes strength and authority. A black Mercedes, a black suit and a
little black dress all evoke strong emotions.

White on the other hand is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and safety.
 It is considered to be the colour of perfection. Remember the days of the black and white
photography and films?

Though different, these two colours co-exist in perfect harmony. 

                                                A group of enthusiastic and creative ladies

                                                               Laughter all the way

                                                               Busy..... busy

                                                  Trying to put the pages together\

                                                           More cutting and sorting

                                                                   Precision and concentration

                                                   Until we meet again....

                                 

                               THIS IS THE COVER OF THE MINI ALBUM

A generational tribute

I've done a layout showing Michael through 3 generations. The grandpa , the son  and the grandson . All handsome men in a fabulous strong piece . 

Painting wooden spoons in Vietnam

I conducted a 5-day teacher training session with teachers in Vietnam. This was a collaboration project between the Ministry of Education, Vietnam and Global Education and Development Agency. Upon arrival at the hotel where I stayed, government officials greeted and presented me with a bouquet of flowers.

Then I was whisked off to the school where the training was held.

Secondary school teachers came from surrounding towns on their motorbikes to attend the workshops. They had to wear face masks because of the dust from the laterite roads.

The teachers were all ears as I shared with them classroom strategies and management ideas.

To break the monotony of the five days of teaching, I incorporated a fun session of exploring creativity....in this case, painting wooden spoons.

And I was amazed at what they did!

Beautiful spoons to bring home to adorn the walls!