Honestly ...... I don't get Smash ? I just CANNOT Smash ........
This afternoon I sat down with a whole bunch of photos hot off our printer ...... took out all the Smash paraphernalia, sat down and told myself THIS was the day I start Smashing. After all, everybody was doing it ...... it's the latest fun thing to do in paper crafting, looked easy enough right ? WRONG !!! Stared at the book, it was pretty ..... had pages that I guess were meant to be prompts on what you could fill them with ..... cool cute tapes and journal notebooks that were supposed to make life easy for the harried, squeezed for time scrapper.
But I still didn't get it ?
I'm into meandering as I like, adding stuff as I like .... importantly : easy stuff that does not take alot of time. NOT the multi layered, plastered with mediums to make it look artsy or the highly embellished stuff (in which case I might as well do a layout ?). At this point I will say - don't get me wrong ...... to each crafter their own, they can choose how they want to embellish the Smash book, as long as they are happy. This is me relating my experience of this Smash phenomenon.
Smash books are my crafting Waterloo, truly, I admit total defeat.
Give me an art book with plain pages and I can think of dozens of things I want to fill it with. Paints, mists, paper ..... in no particular order, just spontaneously added, creating pages that reflect my mood of the moment or the photos I will add. And Wasshi tapes ? Sure.... they're fun to use but I'm not going to get all anal about them, too much to bother my head with. I mean : in addition to work, groceries, laundry, grumpy cats, always hungry teenagers who expect me to magically make a Japanese meal with nothing in the fridge and ....... I have to think about matching my Wasshi tapes too ??? Oh puuuhleeeese !
Defeated by Smash doesn't mean the end ? This was what I did, and am happier for it. It took all of 15 minutes to get right, and I was immediately chuffed at how it turned out.
it's important to try new things, newer ways of crafting simply for inspiration, for the sheer fun, for expanding your skills or just to keep boredom at bay. Perhaps what I am saying here ...... don't let trends or products bully you into straying away from what you feel most comfortable or happy creating. Never let any crafter make you feel inadequate because you've not jumped on the trend band wagon ...... we are talking about a hobby and you should have the freedom to enjoy it.
When I post a project on Facebook or on the Blog and get wonderful comments, ....... it really surprises me. Honestly, I see myself as ordinary ..... the stuff I make are experiments for future classes, whether they are good or pretty, it's a matter of personal opinion which I leave to those who sign up for the classes to decide. Getting good comments is a bonus, but I also know people are fickle in their tastes and always looking for new or different crafting experiences.
Personally I know of crafters who were very popular, whose class projects were wonderful and then one day, it all just disappears. Why ? Perhaps a real lack of inspiration ....... insufficient networking and publicity .....changing needs of scrappers ...... who can say ? It creates a huge dent in a crafter's confidence, it feels like everything is conspiring against you.
I do this for a living and have a different perspective to designing the projects. Bottom line : it has to look pretty, it has to contain enough learning points, must come with a clear set of instructions, it must be well paced so everyone in the workshop moves along together, no one feels left out and ..... it has to sell. When viewed in this frame, it does sound very calculated and impersonal, this is the practical other side of crafting. Would you spend good money on a half baked project that offers very little learning or no *look good* factor ?
Do I create personal projects ? Yes I do ...... like the set of notebooks you see above that are gifts to friends or causes. These come with the freedom to use what I love, with no budget and no stress in filling expectations or a whole host of conditions. They are my little creative oasis, boosts of fun and the time to play with new ideas.
Thank you for dropping by, weekend's almost here !!!
This is for Sanctuary House, a crisis center for pregnancies and births. If you are scrapper and can spare the time to make a 6" X 6" mini book, please help, it will be so appreciated. Click **HERE** for information.
Many thanks to Ka Ren for initiating this !!
Thank you for stopping by !!
This was what I taught in April at Made With Love Surabaya and Jakarta. The whole experience was fabulous, everyone was so hospitable and gracious, could not have been nicer ............ and we seemed to be eating wonderful food every 2 hours **LOL**.
The details :
Thank you all who made the trip so much fun including my travel mate and fellow Instructor Pooi Pooi !!
I'd wanted to work with the Ideology Burlap Canvas Panel, but as usual it was one of the crafty things on the back burner as more urgent assignments came up. Finally, it was literally pushed into my hands by Sandra ...... *am sure you can do something !*, she said. Ok .... if anything else, an arty challenge is one thing I relish.
I seem to scrap alot about streets or ordinary places in Singapore, and this is Prinsep Street.
Mostly I like the texture, the rusted, grungy feel,
Another thing occurred to me. I've been working on mediums for quite some time, but never really wholeheartedly embraced them. So why now ? Maybe working with just paper and embellishments is beginning to pale ...... there just isn't enough *meat* anymore to me, pretty-pretty just does not reflect who I am now.
I am getting simpler in my needs, my expectations more realistic ..........there's less pressure to prove myself.
And maybe that's the trick to enjoying life more ? Knowing what we are, and working on the good bits of ourselves that makes us happy ...... not on what people expect or want us to be. It's mostly common sense right ? Be kind, respect another's opinion ...... don't be a cheapskate ...... be genuine, don't pretend to be something we are not, and don't let anyone make us feel bad or lacking for being ourselves.
No one's perfect ......
This went through a few adjustments and I like it better now, the texture makes me want to touch it ! The more I work on these, the more interesting everything gets and am beginning to **S_L_O_W_L_Y** get used to the process of art journals. The background goes on, with no idea of how the page will be finished or what to fill it with. This is a huge shift for me - usually I want to finish a layout or project and be done with it, that's how I work on scrapbook assignments, there's a start and an end.
Slow is good ..... it gives me time to think, it makes me really look at my life, where I'm going, if I like where I am ........ and where would I like to be next.
One of the pages in the Art book I've started was a flat, bright, parrot green-yellow. It was an experiment, not a terribly successful outcome, and it bothered me. Each time I flipped past the page, there it was ! What was it about it that bothered me ? The page was ordinary, it was flat ...... in a colour that was not very appealing, but glued securely down as a reminder ....... of *something*.
HAH ...... then I knew ....... it was BORING !!! It was safe, it was square, it was ultra conservative ...... everything an art experiment WAS NOT supposed to be.
We keep the boring parts of ourselves away, I mean who cares if I take my tea with one sugar and milk ? I love what I do, working with craft supplies is wonderful .......... but going on and on about techniques or products is boring. Usually I keep product knowledge very low key unless I'm teaching in a class, asked specifically or posting online for the store.
The last thing I want to do is bore my friends ..... because I really do want to keep them *LOL*.
What I love about working with mediums is the unpredictability of it all. You can try the same thing twice, three times but still come up with different looks. The page above was a series of mistakes, of not leaving it well alone when it looked fine ..... of over-working and over compensating. It was a mess and if you're looking for a tip, here's one : Dimension Spray + Brown Spray = a runny looking mix sort of like baby poo, it was disgusting !!
But that's art isn't it ? Very similar to life ....... it can be awful at some stage, but even in ugliness, parts of it are salvageable. It just requires one to try looking at it (art or life) from a different perspective. Usually after a few deep breaths, a mug of tea ....... go back and you never know, It can be transformed into a piece that's not half bad.
Playing with Dylusions Sprays, they are amazing, so easy to use !!
Dylusions with Distress Stains Picket Fence ........
The Doily embossed stamp looks pretty here.
A layout about Orchard Road :
Stasha is a bassist and this was after a show where she played in the band.
Can't wait to work on more !!
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Christine Middlecamp posted on her Blog about friendships and I was prompted to give my take on it. I realise that culture and the society we live in, even our ages, has much to do with how we perceive, expect and behave in the friendship.
This was my comment :
** I have very few good friends, perhaps friendship differs at each stage of our lives depending on how much time we have to invest in the relationship. For most part I'm a realist and know that people cannot be all I want them to be, I have to accept they are can only give me so much of themselves. Family is my priority, then keeping our heads above water in terms of bills ..... and then friends. What is interesting is the social circle we are in : Most of my friends are crafters so we have alot in common and speak a common language. BUT, because it is such a competitive industry, there've been fall outs and I've learnt to just let go. What I hate is the pettiness of some of the differences ..... and in the end it's just as well ....if a friendship cannot take the stress of having differences, it cannot be honest, the person incapable of being loyal, is it a real friendship at all ?
Living in a fast paced city like Singapore gives the meaning of friendship a different shade as they are often about *what can you do for me ?*. I steer well away from these, they are usually empty and superficial, the people move off as soon as they've extracted what they need from the relationship. Not a very rosy picture I know, but there it is !
Today, I am better at picking my friends and choose to surround myself with those who are positive and encouraging.
The end of a friendship feels awful, like losing a chunk of yourself, then everyone needs the space to recover. Give yourself that time, don't over analyze, there are no answers sometimes .......... **
So, this is pretty much my current attitude. I don't push people away, am just wary of hidden agendas and sometimes puzzle over what they see in me ? Most times it's fun to be with people to laugh, doing things together and not read too much in the situation, happy to be part of the camaraderie.