...

Okay, you know something's up when there's three blog posts in one day. =P. But you probably know the answer by now.

Gaah I am boooored. If the saying being bored to tears is not a metaphor and a literal statement, I'd be sobbing by now. I'd go out if I was not being held back by assignments, seriously. Which is really odd since I am up to speed with all my assignments, nothing is not on schedule. I just know that if I leave them all to the last minute by gallivanting around, I would most definitely be sobbing later. 

A change of scene would be nice, however. Anything besides dirty hostel floors or black campus walls. Anything but those, please. 

It's being cooped up in the same environment for too long. I have not seen anything besides hostel and campus for two weeks. You see if you don't feel a tad bit restless seeing the same things for that long.

Maybe it's also because March is ending and I want to squeeze as many posts as possible before April just because I don't want March to end. Lol.

When I can find the time to free myself just a little from assignments, I shall go shopping. Or to the zoo. Or shopping. Or a food spree. I feel like spending recklessly on random shoes and accessories and books and markers and bags and foods and candies. Up to you to decide which of the aforementioned items I really mean, lol.

Speaking of accessories, I've realized that I hardly ever do wear accessories. The only kind I have on at all times are earrings, but even then I never change them to something else. I guess I'm just afraid of messing up the outfit or ending up looking like a Christmas tree. I do like looking at accessories though. I love the idea of stacked bracelets, sweeping earrings, chunky rings and a waterfall of bead necklaces. Maybe not all at once, haha. Or maybe some quirky necklace or charms! Or what about something like this?

Poketo Art

Aren't they cute? And you can actually draw with them too! Though they would probably be a bit of an inconvenience if you're wearing white and you happen to rub off on your clothes.

I did wear some accessories the other day in Melaka: a dreamcatcher necklace and some turquoise Indian bracelets.

Those bracelets have a bit of a history actually. Three friends all wanted the whole stack of 18 bracelets, but none wanted to give in. In the end, the bracelets were split between the three friends, like forever friends necklaces. When I first read Midnight by Jacqueline Wilson, when Violet and Jasmine go halves on bracelets, it reminds me exactly of what happened between the three friends.

I wonder where the other 12 bracelets are.

And that was rambling ol' me again. Happy April Fools' Day everybody! March was fun while it lasted.

End of March Lunch

 On today's menu: teriyaki salmon steak with seaweed and black sesame rice.

Yeah, it's the time of the month where I feast like a king. As the month progresses the meals will be frugal and you'll notice my posts about food become scarce.

I love sesame, by the way! I sprinkled sesame seeds into the rice while it cooked, with a drizzle of sesame oil and a pinch of salt. The result was soft, fluffy gray rice. Very fragrant and delicious :D. It's a  nice change from plain rice.

Back to inking! Farewell for now <3

Soothing Saturday

 Last day of March friends! And here I am peacefully alone for the day again. I love being able to have some time to myself during the weekend. Of course, too much of it will sour my mood and just turn me into an unfeeling crabby person, but it's nice while it lasts =).

I actually want to go out shopping, but I'd have to rush for assignments and cry later if I enjoy myself now. So I've decided to be a good girl and work on my assignments quietly. Here's a few shots of what I'm working on!

You'll probably see a new story in my other blog soon enough =D. Or should I just upload the completed 4 pages of comic up there as a short graphic novel? What do you think?

And here's the beginnings of my blog header! I'm also trying to design the little buttons and sidebar headers as well. Also (heroically) planned to try my hand at designing a font to be used! But maybe if it takes to long I'll do the header first then work on the whole font later XD. Right now I'm very eager to get this header completed and up! What should I have in the background? Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm starting to have far more simple tastes than I had in the past, so maybe just a solid colour with a light canvas/paper texture to it. 

The marker streaks at the bottom are not colour ideas, they were practise for Illustration class when I finally unearthed my magical Copics and decided to see if I still knew how to hold a marker XD. I'm not sure if I'd still want a pale pastel theme (told ya! =D) but I'm quite sure I still want turquoise somewhere.

I was reading a post on Oh, Hello Friend! and I was brought to this game called Kern me! It's a fun little game that trains your eye for kerning! If you're on your break from your fun Saturday, you might want to give this little game a shot =).

Have a good day, folks! 

Of Beddings and Mirrors

Aromas Bedding from Aussino

Hello everybody, March is drawing to a close! I can't believe it; the time is just whizzing past with so many things to do. It's such a change to have each day packed with tasks, instead of mouldering at home with nothing to do and feeling completely unaccomplished. 

Anyway, here I am with another ramble. And on one of my very favourite topics- sleeping! XD. Oh come on, admit it that you love sleeping and that on most days you'd rather be curled up on your comfy bed than face the harsh world, lol. I know I do anyway, haha. 

One of my pet peeves, I realized, is the first world problem of mismatched beddings. It just throws my mood to snuggle and snooze off completely. It's obviously completely different from mismatching on purpose, because if you do intentionally mismatch, the result would still look co-ordinated. But I absolutely abhor having to have the bedspread in one colour and pattern and the pillowcase in another. It's  awful! I never understood how such a problem could happen. You only ever use one bedding set at a time, and when it's time for a change you strip it all off and throw the whole set into the wash. Where on earth did the other pillowcase from the other set pop out from?

Oh oh, I just found out something interesting. I've always been fascinated with these little embellishments I see on eclectic and Indian-themed decorations. Never knew what they were called until today! 

1. Erratic Needle, 2. Victoria Anfield Smith,  3. Little Works of Art

Shisha mirrors! Not to be confused with that sickly sweet concoction that people smoke out of those pretty glass hookahs. Otherwise known as shisheh, it literally means 'little mirrors'. It's a kind of embroidery where you attach little mirrors to fabric. There are no holes on the mirrors, so you need to use thread to hold the mirrors in place. I've always thought they look so pretty, especially how they capture and reflect little bits of light. I've decided to add this as in as another heroic feat when I've completed that rainbow blanket I was planning on making many moons ago. Now that I have money saved up, I shall maybe place an order for them fancy yarn then get seriously knitting before the next rainy season! It's amazing what you think you can accomplish when you're feeling industrious :D.

Falala, anyway, it's the weekend again for me! That means another 3 days filled with finishing assignments and preparing meals and chilling. I'll have to put the blanket project aside for a while more still and work on inking that comic assignment of mine. Based on a true story, it's actually my very first serious comic. I shall post piccies soon when it's all completed! In fact, I realize I don't ever post my assignments up here. Not to say I am not proud of them. In fact, I'm happy with what I've produced so far this semester. I feel as if I've improved, both in execution and mindset, when doing my assignments. So, yeah, I'm happier now :D.

Have a hap-hap-happy weekend everybody!

To-to-to-to-totoro! ^O^

Yeah, it's beginning to feel like a Ghibli movie marathon XD. What can I say? I have a buncha movies to watch during dinnertime so I might as well go through them all. But if Miyazaki's films are all so lovable, I'm going to love falling in love every single night XD.

Like tonight! Or should I say yesterday night since it's already today? =P. I watched My Neighbour Totoro! I once saw a mini keychain of the Neko bus in a store and I wondered where it came from. Now I know 8D. The movie was just adorable. And so magical!!! The movie felt so fresh and back-to-nature with all the lush scenery. I especially loved the green sanctuary where Totoro slept. So fairytale like and dreamy ^_^.

Dangit, now all I can think about is getting a big cuddly Totoro plushie. Preferably an official Ghibli plush, lol. But those things cost a bomb. Maybe if they were priced in acorns it wouldn't be so bad XD.

Tomorrow I shall watch Spirited Away! Whee! ^O^

Moving Castle Dreams

I guess many fans have already watched Howl's Moving Castle by Studio Ghibli, but how many of you have actually read the book? It's an awesome awesome book by Diana Wynne Jones, whom, I just realized, died this day last year of lung cancer. How odd does the world turn?

Rest in peace, oh wondrous authoress! You gave the world many a good dream.

I remember watching Howl's Moving Castle when it just came out, which was a long, looong time ago. Long enough for me to not remember much of it. I remember buying the book after watching it, though (and it's sequel: Castle In The Air). Both books are absolutely amazing, really. I don't know, but it's just one of those books where scenes and images come to mind very vividly, with plenty of details. Some books tend to have hazy pictures, but not this one. 

And so, I watched Howl's Moving Castle again today. Well, technically I got back to it, because I watched a bit of it yesterday when I was testing the video out, but okay you didn't really need to know all of that, lol. All I'm saying is, it's amazing! Don't expect it to be a 100% like the book; it is an adaptation after all. Though sometimes the character's expressions tend to be a bit unnatural, they are all endearing in their own way. And maybe it's because I have a soft spot for small old women, but yeah. I giggled watching old Sophie and the ancient Witch of The Waste just because they looked so cute. 

And OHMAIGAWD the attention to detail! From the clumsy castle to the decorative mess of Howl's bedroom, each scene is just gorgeously packed with details. It made me feel like pausing at each new scene just to take in all the little details: the cluttered kitchen table, the bustling towns, everything. It just creates such a magical mood and sucks you right into the movie. If only it stayed truer to the book! But enjoyable nonetheless, haha. 

The only other Studio Ghibli movie I've watched is Spirited Away, but now I can barely remember anything. I shall re-watch it, and the other movies too! Which one is the one with the catbus? It looks so adorable, haha.

I guess it's all the little attention to detail that makes things magical. I guess I'm on the right track then :D. And one day I'm going to have a room just like Howl's! ^O^

Beat the Monday blues everybody~! It's Toosday in another 2 hours or so.

Christmas related ramble :D

Hello everybody, how has the weekend been? Mine has been quiet but quite full of assignments. I had a whole Saturday by myself so I had the music on loud and I just lost myself in the realms of assignments, working from afternoon till bedtime. I'm happy with the fruits of my labours, though I still have a long way to go before completion for some. I'm right on schedule, so that is something =D.

The weather now is nice and grey. One deep sniff tells me that rain is hovering close by. It's one of those cool days when the sky is cloudless and colourless. It makes me think of the nothingness in The Neverending Story. Skies like these are as close to what I can imagine what the Nothing would be. It "feels as if one has turned blind/ because the eye cannot stand to look at absolutely nothing".

It also reminds me of Christmas, for some odd reason. Lol. Oh dear, sweet Christmas day. I don't think I can ever get out of this love-hate relationship with you, ever. 

It just occurred to me to read back all my December posts, and I realized, much to my disappointment, that none of them were very lighthearted or joyful. Not to say that I did not have a good time on the day itself, of course. I did, to a certain extent. But somehow I seem to rant more about Christmas than I do burbling and getting all excited about it.

Probably the nicest Christmases was when I was a lot younger, when Christmas actually felt real. It feels to me that Christmases of the more recent sort are about hopes and disappointments and frustration. And I'm not talking about presents. 

It's still a beautiful time of the year, though. The very best, if I could say so. But maybe it's only so much more beautiful because it is gold gilt and cinnamon-spiced in my mind's eye. It's not quite as seasonal as that in my reality. 

Why, though? Why is it that I get all emo when I should be celebrating the time my life began? I used to think it was because my birthday served as a reminder that I had to return to school for a new term. I'd always always thought that once I left high school my life would be perfect and I could celebrate my birthday in peace. Not that I did not expect university, but I'm enjoying uni life, so what is there to hold me back? 

Maybe it's because my birthday is too close to the end of the year, and I don't like to be reminded of times ending. Maybe I need to remind myself more often that 'beginnings are good times', as Dodie Smith wrote.

It's too early in the year to have a Christmas related post, haha. It's the day of gray I'm having. It'll pass.

On the bright side, inspiration has finally bit me in the bum! I now have a fairly good idea of what I want to have for my blog header =D. Now all I need is to find time to make something out of my rough sketches and this blog will be looking pretty in no time.

I wonder how this year's Christmas will be. I shall resolve to enjoy this one if I can. After all, if we can celebrate Christmas this year it means the end of the world has been avoided =D. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, everybody. 

O^O

I feel this great longing to work with markers now. To do something light and airy-fairy with the smell of Copics up my nostrils. I may be addicted to that nostalgic scent, lol.

Sordid | 2010

Looking back at my artwork, I am very much drawn to Sordid for reasons I can't quite fathom. I actually like the composition and the soft colours, though the background could've been a tad less cluttered. I'd like to try something similar again! A soft central focus with accompanying random and repeated elements. Only maybe this time I'd like a to have some sort of colour palette, lol.

Today I shall work hard at completing my assignments, then I shall attempt to work on something 

marker-y! ^O^. Go Joanne go!!

Hope it'll be a productive weekend for everybody~! Cheereeooo!

Pok Chop~!

Warning: This post about my dinner is not halal. You have been warned.

I went grocery shopping today and found 3 pork chops for less than 6 bucks. I've never cooked pork before though. But I went ahead and bought them and when I got back I slapped one into some garlic and salt and pepper and herbs and tabasco and popped it into the fridge. Then when it was time for dinner I spread a coat of corn flour mixed with basil on it before it slid into a nice hot pan of garlic infuzed oil. 

It was a splendid dinner today, that's for sure :D. I haven't eaten pork in a while, simply because it's just not so readily available in my current situation. It never actually crossed my mind to begin with until I ambled into the non-halal section of Carrefour today. 

Then there was that retarded mix-up about the price of two packs of sausages and I feared missing the bus back and having to wait for another hour. My God, Malaysians are just blardy slow. Blardy blardy blardy slow. I wish I could clone myself just to double the attendants' speeds but...yeah, I didn't. But after a long while I was refunded my measly 2 bucks and I shuffled over to the bus stop at top speed despite being weighed down by much groceries. The miracle was that the bus was late and didn't come round till 1.16. So much win! :D.

Ah, broccoli. And potatoes. And ketchup and mustard. The world is so beautiful with things like these around. 

I'm broke though, lol. But at least I won't starve till April ^O^. Don't you just love food? Screw not being slim and pretty. Eat and be happy! I think the diet doctrine is completely ineffective to me, unless of course by diet you mean a well balanced diet and not an 'all-of-one-thing-and-none-of-the-other' diet. Listen to good ol' Buddha! Live a life of moderation! Too much is not good; too little is bad too. Tis be a life of moderation for me. Amitābha. 

How was dinner tonight everyone? Hope it was as yummy as mine, halal or not. Have a happy Friday night!

Pretty Little Trinkets

Good morning everybody, it's Friday at last! It's been a pretty busy week, and now I have the weekend to work on my assignments and make em pretty. 

Oh dear, everytime I open my blog up I am met with the splashes of red that remind me constantly of the makeover that is loooong overdue. Well done Joanne. Well done.

I'm not sure why I named this post Pretty Little Trinkets, lol. Trinkets! What are they? Things you collect? Little items you just can't tear your eyes away from? Funny how sometimes you go shopping and you see little things you don't really have use for in your life but you just want them! ^O^. But if it makes you happy why not eh?. It's nice to be surrounded by little items like these, so that you can pause in whatever you're doing sometimes to look at one and remember the time you bought it, or what attracted you to make the purchase.

Nicer still if the trinkets were gifts from friends or a loved one. Not only does it remind you of some special occasion, but it makes you feel appreciated, no? To be able to cross someone else's mind when they were out doing their own thing. So the next time you go out, think about getting a trinket for someone! Your best friend, your mother, your dog, anyone! Maybe you'll see something that reminds you of your lover, or there's a store with awesome sales and you know you have to get just something for your sister. It doesn't have to be anything huge, even a bar of chocolate would be awesome, maybe even a handmade bobble thingy you made and it reminds you of that friend that makes you laugh for no reason.  You'll be making someone happy, and then you'll be happy too =).
It's pretty normal for people to want to receive presents and gifts from others, mainly because they want to feel appreciated and loved. And when they don't they're apt to feel disappointed or unwanted. When was the last time you received a gift? When was the last time you gave one?

It's like being reminded of someone and why you love them, and when you give them a trinket you remind them of that love. And who's to say no to a pretty little thing like pika-pika Domo-kun? XD

Pika-pika Domo-kun says 'Give A Trinket Today!'

Go give a trinket and make someone happy folks! And have a happy happy weekend!

Markers, Glorious Markers~!

So I went out and bought myself these two new babies:

And ohmaigoodness I began to wonder why I stopped expanding my collection of markers.

Then I went to the counter and the guy totted up the bill and I was gently reminded the very reason why, lol.

And, yeah, with the whole digital era coming down on us, markers and every other traditional media is more of a hobby than a means of generating revenue. Of course I can still rattle off a string of artists that still work off traditional media, but they and almost everyone else also use digital besides. 

 But with Illustration class this semester, everyone will be needing markers, right? I'm just lucky to have a working set beforehand, the same way some people go to Photoshop/Illustrator class with knowledge on the tools and whatnot already. Still, I will never consider myself to be a master at markers. Never. I just enjoy using markers, and I am a very enthusiastic collector of them. That be all. 

There is still some good in all those years of me using markers though. I've tried quite a few, enough to know them quite a bit. And I think, safe to say, that Copic markers are still by far the best of the lot. Of course, you'll probably need to starve yourself a bit (or sell a some of your soul) to get the cash to buy a decent set, but yeah. If you have the money, you get the best. I'm not saying that other markers are bad, though. But I'll get down to that later.

...Yes, I bet you didn't know that I was going to start lecturing on markers XD. But once I get started I can't seem to stop, lol.

Here we go: Copic markers! I actually did a presentation on them for Communication Studies back in foundation, don't know how many of you remembered that, lol. Anyway, Copic markers come in three different kinds: a square bodied one (top), an oval bodied known as Sketch (middle), and a smaller, round bodied Ciao (bottom). Price differs, it's around 13/14 bucks (yeah, I know) for the regular/Sketch, and the Ciao is cheaper, I think maybe 10 bucks or so. Simply because it's smaller.

The nibs on them are different as well. With the regular Copic you'll have a Broad nib on one end for large surface areas, and a Fine nib for precise corners and whatnot. The fine nib is firm, but it can flatten if you press too hard down on it. I actually have a G05 (Emerald Green) marker that has a flattened fine nib. Still usable but, well, it's just weird, lol. The Sketch and Ciao markers both have Medium Broad nibs on one end and a Brush nib on the other. The Brush nib is firm yet flexible and you can get very good feathering effects with them, besides covering moderately large areas and tiny areas with the tip of the brush.

There are a few reasons why I say Copic markers are best. One, they come in a good variety of nibs, and all nibs are replaceable. So if you do press a bit too hard and flatten a nib, you can get a pack and pop a new one on. And there's the amount of colours they come in; last time I checked Copic Sketch markers came in 358 different colours, and I'm not sure if that's with the new 2011/2012 colours included ._____. . Not only that, all Copic markers are refillable, unlike Prismacolors. They don't smell bad, unlike Prismas. The colours, I find, are more translucent compared to other markers like Kurecolour or Letraset. Event the more vibrant colours are a bit...lacking? In body. Not sure how to express it, sorry.

The downside of Copics is of course its price. God are they expensive, lol. And they're also hard to come by. Before Art Friend opened in The Gardens I only saw them in Kinokuniya, but now even Kino doesn't have Copics anymore so it's just Art Friend. And only the Sketch markers come in each and every colour. Regular Copics come in 214 colours and Ciao 180. 

If one is planning on using markers to complete an assignment and be over and done with, I wouldn't really recommend Copics. Because you'd be spending a fortune and then said fortune would be mouldering in the corner after you're done. Also, if you are on a tight budget I can assure you your heart would crack in more than one place if you're going to cover a huge area of colour with your Copics, even if you have re-fills =P. Which is why, I'd recommend some other markers to satisfy your alcohol-pigment needs:

The one on top is Kurecolour. Fat, round body with two nibs: a flat broad and a fine nib. Both nibs are harder than Copics but if you're doing precise work it's an incredible advantage.  They are also refillable, though they don't come in as many colours as Copics. Very nice to use, though. I like them for their vibrancy, especially when I'm working on one of my drowned in colours drawings =P. 

Prismacolours (second from top) is probably the next best to Copics. Although not so many in colour as Copics, I think they put quite a lot of thought into which colours to produce, so that there is really just about every colour you'd need, be it for human portraits or architectural rendering. I really like the Deco   series; very pastel and dreamy! I have not tried the skin tones, but I've seen many works out there and the results are pretty good, though it looked just a bit more artificial or 'plastic' than how natural skin would look. 

One of the downsides of Prismas, I realized, is that they tend to turn yellow after time. I was flipping through my swatch book and I realized that some of the Prismas have a yellow halo around them.

Only the oranges and the yellows have them, though. The reds, blues and greens seem to have no effect. 

I can't remember where I got the Letraset markers from. They are pretty much like the Kurecolours, except that they are slimmer. Letraset also produces Tria markers that correspond to the Pantone colour system, though I have yet to try those out. Yoken markers are nice and cheap, and the art shop in Limkokwing sells them along with the Prismas. I got two whole sets from someone, and they are pretty nice. They have a very light scent. And the greys are pretty good. 

What I usually like to do is use cheaper markers for large areas of colours when I can, and use Copics for medium/small areas. Most of the markers blend well with one another despite not being of the same make. So it boils down to the nature of your work. Whether you want something to grab-and-go or something longer lasting and permanent. 

So...there you have it. My long long ramble on markers. Hope it was a bit informative, if not entertaining at the very least. I need to practice my marker $k!lLZ, will you believe that I have not touched markers for almost 4 months now.

Happy markering~!

Cherry Bomb

Hello there, everybody. How's things? Coming back from a weekend in Melaka made me sick T_T. It was windy at the bust stop and the rain was splattering right in my face. Yesterday night was teh shitz- all I could do was toss and turn and alternate from a human broiler to a refrigerator. Hope tonight won't be as bad, or better still be wonderfully refreshing.

Anyway, the weekend in sunny Melaka was pretty all right. Went shopping and bought things. And, amongst them is the new addition to the growing camera family. Yeap. Here you go:

Presenting baby Chewwy, or Cherry for the conformists, lol. She's your regular Canon A2200 compact. Seriously, after experiencing the load of the DSLR, one will definitely realize that a DSLR is completely out of the question when wanting to go for casual shopping and snapshots. It's heavy, cumbersome and annoying in just so many ways. Unless you were planning on going for a photowalk or taking more than just snapshots, just...don't bother. Really. Kids, you think it's all hip and cool to be toting a 600g+ camera with a bigass lense (or lenses for those who don't deserve to be rich =P) but really, it's just a show-and-tell contest, maybe with no tell and just all show. 

Anyways, the A2200 is a really nice, lightweight (120-ish g, almost featherlike compared to Dee) with almost all the functions you could ask for in a compact. It has a semi-manual mode, where you can adjust settings like ISO and white balance. There's your auto mode and even an easy mode, though I can't quite tell the difference between the two. Then there's the regular lot of scenes to choose from aaaaand, my favourite feature: the funky effects =D. You can choose from lomo, miniature, poster, monochrome and fisheye. Not too bad effects, I must say. 

I went about Melaka town with Chewwy and managed to get a few shots along the way. Here they are:

This is the lomo effect. It really just darkens an image and adds a vignette effect to it, but it's pretty cool.

Miniature effect blurs the top and bottom areas, besides brightening the overall photo.

Fisheye bulges the photo, though I can tell this photo is not too good an example, lol. I'll take another when I've the time.

And here's a happy family photo! Deedee unfortunately could not be in the photo, since she was the one photographing it =P. And, yeah. It's been less than a year and yet Esmond and I have collected a pretty substantial amount of cameras, new and old. Oh, the joys of life. 

That be all for now. Happy days, everybody. Have happy days.

Sherbet Dreams

While I was still in the swing of things and I still have time to breathe, I decided to make my sister a dreamcatcher. And here it is!

I found a gorgeous string in a paper craft store. It's made of twisted tie-dyed paper in this gorgeous pastel shades of pink, yellow and blue. So pretty! My sister likes a lot of white (think Ayumi, hence the previous almost-all white collage I made for her a few years back) so I decided to use white embroidery yarn instead of the blue cotton I used for myself. The white feathers, silver and white beads go perfectly with it =D.

This one was fairly easier to do, but a more fiddly because it is an inch smaller than the previous one. Somehow or other I still messed up the middle a bit, and the whole weave is slightly off centred from (what I believe) pulling the yarn too taut. The next one I do I'd like to try waxing the thread before weaving. I hear that it will strengthen the thread as well as make it less flexible. 

  I still couldn't find a pretty enough bead for the middle. I'm trying to find a gold star bead, but though it spawns aplenty in my imagination, they appear to be scarce and almost impossible to find in reality. Does anyone know where I may find them? I've tried searching most jewellery and bead stalls in shopping malls, but with no luck. 

I did find a pretty stall in Mid Valley that sells vintage-ish  charms, but talk about pricey! They seem light enough for dreamcatchers, though I don't believe I'd get them unless it's for someone really special =P.

The little blue beads I bought from Daiso are lovely though! I love how they look so pearly and iridescent; they remind me of mauve bubbles. So pretty <3 And this time I stuck three gold stars on the middle feather just for additional magical luck =D.

These past few weeks have been so full of events I can barely remember what happened. But it's been fun and annoying and frustrating and silly altogether so yeah. Story of my life =P. 

I wanna go shopping and give my wardrobe a makeover. Which reminds me I have a blog makeover that is long overdue and I should shoot myself for procrastinating, lol.

Have a good weekend everybody~! *waves*

Catcher in The Night

Good morning everybody =D. Today I woke up exceptionally early- 9.30 am! XD. I usually sleep in on weekends, but somehow I woke up today and all the things I need to do were already booted and running in my mind so I just couldn't get back to sleep. I always have a hard time sleeping, and dream-filled nights and waking up at odd hours at random intervals throughout my sleep is not something unusual. So I decided what I really needed was a dreamcatcher!

Dreamcatchers are of Native American origin, and in the original name for them they are known as spider or dream snare. They look like spider webs, and usually a bead would be strung in the middle of the web to represent a spider. They are hung above beds and are thought to protect the sleeper from nightmares. It is common belief that good dreams would pass through the dreamcatcher and slide down the feathers to the sleeper, where else bad dreams would be caught in the web and disappear at the light of day.

I actually wondered where to buy a dreamcatcher, but upon running the search engine in my mind for any relevant shops or stalls, no results were found =P. So, I thought of the next solution: make it myself. And as you can see from the photo above, I actually did it. I made myself a dreamcatcher =D. I Googled and followed a couple of tutorials, and I bought the materials and went straight into it.

The feathers, beads and light blue cotton thread I got from Daiso (yay for five ringgit items! =D). I still have plenty left over even with all the first attempts. The suede laces I found at some random jewellery stalls in malls. I searched hardware stores for metal hoops/rings, but was unsuccessful. I almost got Esmond to make one for me in the workshop, but surprise surprise I found just the very thing I wanted in Art Friend =D. All things considered, I think this little baby was constructed under 20 ringgit =D.



It was so much fun to make =). I had a hard time at first, having to cut away the thread and start over a few times before I got the hang of it. The thread had an annoying habit of getting all tangled up even if you barely touch it and it got fiddly as I went closer to centre and the loops became smaller. I would actually like it to be a bit finer, with more loops, but for a first time this one seems intricate enough =). I'd like to get some waxed thread for the next one I make and maybe experiment with different laces for the frame =D. I saw some online that used yarn instead of suede or leather and they looked more contemporary and colourful.

On a side note, Copic provides a .ase file for Illustrator. You can now have the entire colour swatch of Copic markers to use for your digital works =D. Just download the file and drop it into your Presets > Swatches folder. You can download the file and other Copic thingies at the Copic website.

I'll stop here for now. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday everybody =D. A new week of work and play ahead of us! Here's to sweet dreams and good days =).