Holiday Break!

Pictures says it all. Had an enjoyable time with the family and I'm glad we get to spend quality time together. Moments count. Every single one of them.

Card Making

It's easy really. You don't need anything much. Just papers, watercolors, paintbrushes, water, palette. And of course, an enthusiastic heart. I've always believed that we can do anything we want as long as we believe in it hard enough and work hard for it. Nothing's impossible, right? And all things are possible as long as we keep the faith.

Exam's coming up. Stress is piling up and deadlines to meet draw nearer and nearer. Only thing to do now is to take a deep breath and don't let life overwhelmed you. Do what makes you happy. Smile. And be with loved ones. At the end of the day, when you think back to what really matters, simple small things, people we love, it's all worth it. Life.

Have a great weekend ahead friends! :)

Season of Goodwill

It's the first Sunday of Advent. Time to reflect on what does Christmas really mean to us (not presents, not decorations, and definitely not Santa Claus!) and start preparing ourselves for the birth of Christ.

This time of the year, my most favourite season of all. If it wasn't for stress of exams and Christmas cantata, I'll be enjoying this season to the max! But oh wells. All things come together in their own good time huh?

How's your preparations for Christmas coming along? Am trying to find simple ways to decorate my room to make it more Christmassy. Would love it if you've any ideas to share. Cheers! :)

Good Morning

Did I ever tell you how much I love watching the sun coming up at the beginning of a new day? I have? Good. Because I really love it. As in, really. Somehow or other, it just has a healing and calming effect in me, and I bet I'm not the only one experiencing it either. When the world is still sleeping, when all is quiet and still, when everything is still new at the dawn of a new day, somehow, magic of it all, the silence, and the sun coming up in silence, it's just awesome :)

Time Off

Sometimes, the best things to do when you're stressed are the things that are simple yet delightful. Like drawing, for instance.

Moon Episode

DIY Bleach/ Faded Jeans

Morning guys! Hope you had a great weekend and all ready for the week ahead! :)

Just want to start this week with something I love, yep, DIY (and I hope it'll turn out well). Firstly it was originally the plan to bleach the jeans to ombre shade but I'm only halfway there for now and I actually quite like the colour of the jeans now so I thought why not I do a post on how to bleach it to a lighter (or faded) shade :)

First off you'll need an old pair of jeans (you don't want to ruin your newly bought ones just in case it doesn't turn out the way you liked). Scissors (really sharp ones with small pointy ends) and sand paper (optional - for the worn out look). Not forgetting also bleach, warm water, and bucket.

Cut your jeans to the desired length and small holes where you preferred it to be. Started fraying them by using the pointy ends of the scissors to pull out small threads at the end of the cut edge (this might take a while depending on how frayed you want it to be).

Optional step: Use a snadpaper to brush it along your jeans for a really worn out look.

After you're satisfied with the way your jeans look, time to fade those colours! I preffered mine to be quite faded so I soak it in 1 part bleach, 3 part warm water for quite sometime. Remember to check the progress once in a while to see how far it has faded.

Note: The water might turn pale yellow but it's okay you can wash it out afterwards (works for me! maybe it'll have to depend on the type of jeans you have).

After you're satisfied with the colour, take it out of the bucket using rubber gloves and wash it a couple of times in the washing machine to remove the bleach and the yellowy stain. Dry it in the dryer and you've got yourself a new pair of lovely faded short! :)

Ps: For a clearer bleaching process/ instructions, google would help. That's how I learnt mine :p Good luck! xx :)

Winds In The East

Seasons changed. People changed. Have I changed? Maybe. I've read through all my past posts in this blog and I've found out that it is mostly about the things I love to do and very little about me, well no, not personally. Maybe I feel uncomfortable about sharing my thoughts and musings publicly, or I just haven't found out who I really want to be yet.

A lot of maybes, I know, but life is full of uncertainties no? Well I've thought about a lot of stuff lately and I'd like to share with you more personally about myself, and what I think about stuff that I to me, really matters, like my faith for instance.

This blog is mostly about the superficial part of me and I'd like to start another new one, making it more intimate in a good kind of way. For those of you who'd like to read about it, you can find it at whimsical lady and follow for more, but for those who are more comfortable with this one, I'll still keep it for updates once in a while but unfortunately my focus would not be on this one.

Too long have I been hiding behind a shell, not daring to step out of my comfort zone, not daring to voice out my opinions for fear of what others will think of me. Well today, I'd like to change that and I hope I'll grow to be the person God wants me to be.

Thanks for being patient with me and for those who took time to read my blogs, I sincerely am grateful. This doesn't necessarily mean an end, no, surely it means starting with a new beginning and with the help of God and loved ones, I will get there.

Lately {9}

1. Appreciating simple things life to brighten up my Monday!
2. Enjoying the summer and all that it brings.
3. Parents' 25th wedding anniversary.
4. Morning breakfast yum!
5. Dining out with family.
6. Another item off my bucket list! Happy day indeed!

Lately life is kind of simple and happy. Did nothing productive much lately, except for jogging in the mornings (if you call that productive). Am planning a few DIY-es next week though to use up a few grey cells. What have you been up to lately? Remember to link up! :)

Simple Things

Hello everybody! It's Monday again and I know for some it may be a blue Monday but for me, today, no matter how blue things may seem to me I'm going to make sure it's a great day! Yep simple things in life is enough to make us happy if we only stop for a moment to take notice of them.

What kind of simple things to make me happy? Hmm that's not a hard one.
Things like jogging in the morning breathing in the fresh air and feeling the gentle touch of the sunlight on your skin, or playing piano and singing along to the melodious tunes and the feeling of piano keys under my touch, or just talking to N on the phone with the distance of the South China Sea in between us but not feeling the distance in our hearts because together we are one in spirit, or maybe just having a simple breakfast with the family.

Yeah those things make me happy. Simple, not much energy needed, nor money spent, just simple things. There's a saying that goes 'the best things in life are free' and I totally agree with it.

What are the simple things that make you happy? Would love to hear a few :)
Have an un-blue Monday! :)

Lately {8}

1. 'Now You See Me' movie ticket for two for N and I. We're having our last date together before I go back home for a month long break.
2. N smiling at me while I took pictures of him.
3. Airplane shot. Love the great view.
4. Grand ballroom attended a friend's wedding dinner.
5. Morning breakfast with family and friends.
6. Dad's special: homemade shepherd's pie!

Lately it's mostly about food, and the people I love. Am back for the holiday break and it's good I get to spend quality time with my family again. Only down part of it was I had to leave N for a month and I'm missing him badly already!

Will be looking forward to going back but in the meanwhile, am having a nice relaxing time with my family. There's a time for everything, I always believe in that. And I thank God for the people He sent into my life to help make life more meaningful.

Have a great rest of the week ahead! :)


Linking up with Heather from Honee Bee! :)

Lately {7}

1. Lace bracelet DIY

2. Jar of advice DIY

3. Mini notepad DIY

4. Leather necklace DIY

5. Leather clutch/ purse DIY

6. Jewelry stones refashion/ DIY

Lately it's been all DIY stuff as I gave myself a challenge, that is, to do DIY stuff for a week. So far I've finished 6. Another one to go and I'm done!

Hope your week is as productive as mine! xx :)

Linking up with Heather today! Head over to her blog and check it out! :)

Leather Clutch/ Purse

And so another day of challenge commence! Found this lovely idea on the internet while browsing out leather projects (yes I know a lot of leather stuff lately!) so I did it! Can't say I'm not please with the outcome. It's really simple and easy (as with all my DIY-es) and come let's do it together! :)

Things you'll need:
Leather fabric
Scissors (one big and one small)
Two faux suede strings

I used the big fabric scissors to cut the leather into a long rectangle and folded it three-ways as shown. If you prefer, just fold it in three equal parts will do too.

 This part is a bit tricky. Since I do not own a leather punch, I have to make do with just using a small sized scissors. You can either cut small slits at the side (make sure to measure first the gap you prefer) or poke holes in it using the pointy end (which I did!). After that, weave the faux suede string around the side to kind of stitch it up and make a small pouch. Start from one side, and stop when you reach the middle.

It should looked like this after you've sewn up both sides.

For this part, loop the remaining strings on your fingers and tie it as shown above. After that, cut the bottom part into a fringe.

Inside should look like this.

No sewing needed! And you have yourself a leather clutch/ purse :)

Lace Bracelet

Happy weekend! Yes I'm very happy weekend's here but one down part though, final exam is in two days' time and I've yet to study some more! :( 

Oh wells, gloomy stuff aside, let's talk about creative stuff! Finally after a week of laziness I went out for a mini shopping and also to go get some lovely fresh summer air! It's been awhile cooping up in my room because of warnings that it's not very safe to go out this week (racial stuff very bad I know!). 

This time I managed to remember to snap a few in-the-process pictures I hope they helped! One DIY lace bracelet coming right up! :)

Things you need:
Couple of beads or pearls for vintage/ boho feel
An old button to act as clasp (or something!)
Thread and needle
Scissors
Elastic band
Lace ribbon

Measure the length of elastic band around your wrist plus an inch for a small loop. Sew the loop on one end of the elastic (make sure the loop fits the button!).

Measure lace ribbon to be the length of the elastic band plus 1.5 inches. Cut two strips of the same length. Fold the end of the ribbon down a bit and sew a small tiny hem. Apply the same thing for all four ends of the lace ribbons.

Sew two ends of the ribbons just below the elastic loop, while the other ends matching the other end of the elastic band.

Decide which side is to be the top side, and sew on beads or pearls randomly. Add a small button to the opposite end of the loop-ended elastic.

Sew the two opening sides of the bracelet together (make sure you don't accidentally sew them together with the elastic band which I almost did!).

And...you're done! :)

Have a happy weekend! :)