Monday, April 29, 2013

Flash Sale! Get Flashed!

Monday, April 29, 2013

I have been shopping with Zalora lately and I really enjoy every shopping experience with it. Not only it is convenient, but customer service is super helpful, patient with every query made and prompt in checking your delivery status. Their range of clothes are wide; categorized by colour, sizes, styles, brands, type of apparels, right down to its lifestyle products too. Being a big fan of online shopping, I am honored to be able to blog for Zalora and its products and latest fashion designer feature. This time, in conjunction with [ZALORA Singapore], the no.1 online shopping portal is having a [10% Off Storewide]. Want this? Code for this is APRIL10. You can't miss this [10% Off Storewidewith ZALORA Singapore, from 29th April 2013, ends 3rd May 2013, Friday.


*BONUS* 

There is also a FLASH SALE happening tonight (10pm-11pm tonight)- ZALORA Singapore FLASH SALE offers 15% discount just for shoppers tonight only.

And yes, when you shop tonight's FLASH SALE, you get 10% Off + Another 15% offHurry, don't miss out! Click above to check it out!

So, have you Zalora yet?


*Image courtesy of The Artsy Craftsy
*This blog post was sponsored by ZALORA Singapore


Sunday, April 28, 2013

DIY Fashion: Pretty Cool DIY Denims by Amnesty Ding

Sunday, April 28, 2013
Amnesty_Pretty_Cool_DIY_Denims_Shorts
Amnesty_Pretty_Cool_DIY_Denims_Shorts
Amnesty_Pretty_Cool_DIY_Denims_Shoes

I remember back in college, I went through a craze reconstructing almost all my apparels in my wardrobe. I was broke and wanted new garments, and I ended up painting on my clothes and taking orders from my college mates and lecturers to paint on their clothes too, opening up doors for me to study Fabric Painting and launched my fashion show back in 2006.

So, when I saw Amnesty's DIY denims, just takes me back to those days. I know how it feels like making something so awesome, as though you have created a fashion statement. Honestly, I've seen a lot of recon fashion, fashion surgery, DIY fashion, and I think it is amazing that right here in Malaysia, we have a young blood with a remarkable aptitude for Fashion X Fashion Craft. When I first came across Amnesty's creations, I said to myself, "WOW! This girl has taken fabric painting and tie-dye to the next level!" This is exactly what we need, young blood with fresh ideas. Love her creations already? You can own one too.

For more info, visit:
Facebook
Instagram
Blog









*Images by Amnesty Ding

Saturday, April 27, 2013

How to Enjoy Your Weekend Night at Home

Saturday, April 27, 2013
enjoy_weekend_homemade_chili_dog
Copyright Shia Lynn 2013

I've been meaning to write this post since last weekend, but because of the blog's April post special, I've decided to postpone it. I promised my love to post this up, plus he gave me a idea on how to post this on the blog to share it with you.

Last weekend, my love and I had the house to ourselves. We have been feeling burn out lately from all the work we've been doing on our computers. Plus, with everything so pricey these days, we thought that maybe we treat ourselves to a date at home, with a delicious home cook meal and a movie marathon. My love is an amazing cook, plus he enjoys cooking all kinds of meals and I get to try it. So for our date at home, he surprised me with a delicious home-made chili dog- easy to make!

enjoy_weekend_homemade_chili_dog_with_ruffles
Yum!



Are you feeling burn out from working too? Here's my tip on what you need to enjoy your weekend night at home.

Home-made Chili Dog
Ingredients:
Mince meat
Tomato sauce
Capsicum
Onions
Hot dog
Bread
Mustard (Try Coleman's)

I'm not sure how exactly did he cooked it because it was suppose to be a surprise, but here's the recipe that I have found.

Sidelines
Ruffles

I love having my sandwich or hotdog with potato chips on the side, just like good ol' O'Briens.


Movie, a Comedy
Madea Gets a Job

A comedy on stage by Tyler Perry, you will enjoy Madea Gets a Job like I do. It is SO FUNNY, heartwarming with an insightful and profound message to learn. Here's a clip from the show


Drinks
Lemonade

You will love SOLO Lemonade by Schweppes from Australia, it's a thirst-quencher. We were at the supermarket getting groceries, and there was this lovely lady that was picking out her drinks, and she recommended us SOLO- she said it was delicious, and damn right it sounded delicious to us too! so we grabbed a couple and just loved it!

-- So simple --

Juggling with a job, blogging, freelancing and also my personal life, I've learned to realized that you don't need to go out and spend a lot just to have a good time. Sometimes all it takes is just for you to turn off that computer and take a break in your nice home, with a home cook meal, and do it according to your time and your pace.

Friday, April 26, 2013

How to Remind Yourself to Be Proud of who You are

Friday, April 26, 2013
This is my last post and journal page for April 2013 special. You must be wondering why did I only did 3 journal pages when I have listed out more than that here. I thought that perhaps it would be great that I pick out the prominent ones to showcase it on the blog, and the rest for you to explore on your own. So, the last most prominent journal page that I have picked out is: Name Journal. Something special for you to up yourselves everyday and remind your heart about how beautiful you are.

Creative Name Journal
Like this picture? Click Save As and download it
Before I go on, I'd like to share with you a little story about my quote above. Ever since I was a kid, I have (i still do) natural dark circles, I am tan, I have natural curly/frizzy hair and weight issues- it fluctuates. To top it off, because I didn't get to make it to the dentist to remove a baby tooth; I had to live with an extra tooth grew on my gums. I spent half my life as a kid, to a teen and into my adulthood having people pass remarks at me about my dark circles, my weight, my hair, my teeth, etc. etc.

As a teenager, it was hard, because I had such terrible frizzy hair and tan skin, unlike the other youthful girls my age, some boys in highschool judged me (except one, who is now my soulmate <3) and others of my race commented about my skin colour; I had a hard time growing up as a teenage girl. One year of highschool, I had eczema grew at the corner of my mouth; some kids thought I had germs, and so I spent my entire year hiding in the library at recess because I had no friends, and I even begged supermom to let me switch schools (didn't happen). But imagine if I did, I would not have met my soulmate there in that dingy library, haha.

Back on it, my eye bags were the center of attention most of the time. At that time I felt it was not possible to love myself. And as I grew older, I started putting on weight, and again I had to bear with the judgement made by everyone about being fat/skinny (people can get indecisive). Over the years, this thing became a big part of my life, that it overshadowed everything about me, including my talent, my intelligence, my everything. It was so bad that I created my own blockage, but the people who made those judgement have moved on with their lives, but I on the other hand was still stuck.  I also ended up comparing myself with other girls; and not loving myself made it hard for others like the love of my life to love me, because I became bitter, hurtful and sad about everything. I was not fun. In the end, I forgot who I am and what makes me so special. Can you imagine, this went on for years...I couldn't even live with my Self.

To be honest, up until today, I still have people commenting about it and my imperfect teeth; but now, it is different, because I have finally understood the meaning of loving myself and my relationship with my body. I also practiced being frank with others whenever they do pass hurtful remarks- one time a friend of supermom's commented about my eyes the first time she met me, I just said "well we only live once, this body is not permanent, so its alright!" and smiled. She was shocked. Or when someone comments about the colour of my skin, I tell them I like looking as if I'm of mixed parentage (pure Chinese by the way).

The point here is: I realized, people can make as much remark as they want. And we tend NOT to look inward first before making remarks about others/the world. Moreover, I noticed their remarks vary, one moment they would tell you something, next is this. Another might tell you you are lucky for having such curly hair and maybe someone else would comment on how dry and frizzy it is. It doesn't really matter because at the end of the day, the one opinion that matters most is YOUR OWN.

Just the other day, as I was checking my face for zits, I look at myself and a thought came to my mind- if only back then I knew what I know now. It would be different, Life would be different. And I shared this with my love, and he said something very meaningful, "Well, perhaps there was a reason why you had to go through that for it to work it out for you now." and I said "Perhaps. And maybe I hope someday I would be able to tell my little girl and boy that it's okay to be You."

Well, that realization inspired this journal page called the 'Creative Name Journal'. My journey taught me how to love myself by appreciating my talent, my knowledge, my loved ones, my roots and everything else.

About Creative Name Journal

-Acknowledging who you are with your name
-Acknowledging your talent
-Acknowledging your hobbies
-Acknowledging what you are; spiritual, athletic, artistic, musical, etc.
-Acknowledging your interest/favourites- movies, colours, photography, etc.
and more...

Creating a Creative Name Journal

Here's what I used:
Technique- collage
Materials- magazine, markers, scissors and glue

It is convenient for me to use markers, but it is really up to you what materials and what techniques you use. The beauty about this creative journal page is that you can create as much as possible- like an entry for I Am Journal. Some artists also create booklets for this. You can be as creative as you can be, it is all up to you because it is your journal.

Write Your Name Proudly with Colours of Your Choice

Start with writing your name on your sketchbook. 


Followed by cutting out pictures of your choice from magazines; pictures that best define you. Collage it and arrange the pictures the way you like it to be until you are satisfied with it.

Then move along to writing. Write down what makes you- YOU. Your personality, characteristics, etc.


Like me, the few things that I love most about me is my Scorpio sign, having an intuitive ability and being a HSP. (no it's not a sickness, you can google it up)



You can even give a story to your name...

Keep doing this as often you want, and I hope that while you keep doing this, you find your own way to do it too. All I hope is that you enjoy what you are doing, and hope that this will remind you how special you are for being you.

Also, if you have followed a couple of my creative journaling posts and started creating your own pages, I would love to check out your work.


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Fellow Creative Malaysians, need your attention

Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Dear M'sian Crafters, Creative Artisans and Friends...



With fingers cross that my schedule won't be tight this week, I will be making an appearance at a major craft event this weekend- Saturday, 27th April 2013.

Want to know more?
If you are in town, drop by Parkamaya this weekend. Parkamaya is a shopping outlet located in the trendy Fahrenheit 88 shopping mall.

Organized by the one and only The Arts & Craft Guild, KL & Selangor (ACG), this major craft event is held for the first time, featuring 8 of Malaysia's talented craft instructors. These amazingly talented individuals will be conducting various craft workshops on:

Date: 27 and 28 April 2013
Time: 11am - 3pm and 3.30pm - 7.30pm
And another crafty-round on the 11 and 12 May 2013.

According to ACG KL & Selangor team, the organization's aim is to introduce the local creative community to the wide array of crafts: fast to do crafts to encourage participants to widen their creativity and serves as a therapeutic purpose.


It's not too late for you! 
DOWNLOAD E-Flyer 
(GoogleDrive) Here (DropBox) Here

Event Highlights

  • April 2013- Parkamaya's theme is the heartwarming 'I LOVE GREEN', featuring eco-related crafts
  • Handmade Market
  • Creative Exhibition by ACG members
  • A Sharing by World Wildlife Fund
  • Charity volunteers will be there to sell beautifully handmade paper rattan baskets*

The event will also be supporting a charity foundation called the SELANGOR & FEDERAL TERRITORY  ASSOCIATION for the MENTALLY HANDICAPPED (SAMH), located in Wisma Harapan, Brickfields, since year 1964. Due to the lack of funds (reported in local newspaper, The Star) the aim is to prevent the association from closing down. With every participation fee of RM100 for the Eco Craft Partee, RM10 will be donated in aid of charity. Not to forget, all sale made from selling the sturdy handmade baskets will proceed to charity too*

Give the Gift of Creativity to Charity
On behalf of ACG (and also as their lifetime member) I would like to ask for your support the event. All you need to do is purchase a table or two (10 people per table) to enjoy half a day of stimulating fun, crafting in a party and carnival atmosphere!

In light of ACG tradition, there will also be light snacks (Potluck style) Yum!
SWING BY, STAY, NIBBLE & MINGLE while you network with other creatives and share your creative interest and passion.

Join the Crafting Session Hurry! Places are limited!
Table Fee
Group discount is available for:
Every 5pax, Free 1pax
(For table of 10pax, you will be given 2pax free)
*All payments must be made at the same time. 
Maximum for each session is 40pax under the guidance of 4 instructors. 

Single/Mixed Workshops
RM35 for 1, 2 or 3 workshops
RM100 for 4 crafts from any session or day


Crafty Kids Workshop
RM35 per session for:

Ningyogami
27 April 2013 and 11 May 2013
10.30am - 12.30pm and 3pm-5pm


Kids Stone Art (with acrylic paints)
28 April 2013 and 12 May 2013
10.30am - 12.30pm and 3pm-5pm

Creative moms and dads, time to let your kids express themselves creatively!

Pre-Booking Available NOW!
For more info ON HOW TO PRE-BOOK and TYPES OF CRAFTS WILL BE TAUGHT, please refer to images here or check out the following links: acgmalaysia.blogspot.com

ABOUT THE SAMH'S PLIGHT

PAPER RATTAN BASKETS BY SAMH STUDENTS


Still unsure at all about what's going on? Feel free to contact: Jane Khoo, President of The Arts & Crafts Guild, KL & Selangor. 016-6996166 | acgmalaysia@gmail.com



*Images by ACG KL & Selangor
*Information by ACG KL & Selangor
*Images edited to suit blog post requirements

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

On Being Down to Earth

Tuesday, April 23, 2013
image source

Stay creative, stay beautiful, stay soulful.
Have a good day.

Monday, April 22, 2013

How to make everyday a creative inspiration with a mini prompt journal

Monday, April 22, 2013
Mini Prompt Creative Journal
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I know how it feels like waking up everyday feeling demotivated; I really do.

At one point in my life, I wondered why Life was being unfair to me, when really, it was me who was being unfair to myself. This went on for quite some time actually, waking up everyday to the same feeling, same routine, same job, same everything. Until one point, when I finally had enough of it, I told myself, I want to start making things happen for myself.

I will be real with you in this post; for some individuals, perhaps seeing a therapist is much more convincing. Some see professional counsellors, some read, some go into meditation.

I always wanted to see a therapist too, but I know that I can’t afford the per-session fee and plus time doesn't permit me to do so because I work everyday.

It was then I realized, I had to make do with what I have, and rely on myself to heal my Self. With my profound journey in art, at that time, I decided to use art & creativity as a way to heal myself from within.

I started by feeding myself motivations everyday so that I may get up everyday feeling Yes! Another great day! 

I started with writing every morning- listing out what I aim to feel or do. These morning-writings helped me a lot, and so with this, I have decided to share with you an example of how you can create your own mini prompts for lift you up everyday.

Making a Mini Prompt Journal Page
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Mini prompts are very simple. All it takes is for you to know what you want to:
1- Feel
2-Say to yourself as a reminder to stay positive

There are many ways to do this. For some people, they would prefer to keep a little notebook with them, and write one sentence (think twitter style) every morning. Some would keep a sketchbook and use coloured markers because it is convenient, and some would do collage instead.

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Also about Mini Prompt Journaling
DSC_1449I know some individuals use mini prompts to:
-Record their daily lives
-Document inspirations
-Record daily motivations

As you can see, it is flexible. You can explore various ways to make use of Mini Prompt journaling. It is all up to you and most importantly, how good it makes you feel when you expressing yourself.

Mini Prompt Journaling with Collage
DSC_1452Using collage technique for mini prompt journaling is easy. In fact, it is one of the easiest and fastest, most convenient ways for this quick inspiration journaling.

All you need is a:
-Magazine
-Basic tools like scissors, glue and your preferred markers and embellishments
-Sketchbook of your preferred size (I like small ones, easy for carrying around with me; hence the word ‘Mini’)

Tip: You can even look into making your own Mini Prompt Journal into a book; that means you can explore book-making techniques. It is fun!

Start Making Prompts
DSC_1453 *See images for reference

-Every morning or everyday (as often as you like) take a moment to identify how you feel or what you want to feel
-Look through magazines and cut out images or words that inspires you
-Paste them into your sketchbook page. There are no limits to pasting how many page a day, it is up to you. You can even fit everything into ONE page, making a collage composition
-Decorate it, draw on it, write on it or leave it be. It is your sketchbook, your world, your life, your inspiration and you are in control of yourself.

Now you know that it is that easy, I hope you enjoy yourself making your own mini prompts! Happy creating!

Photos via

Saturday, April 20, 2013

How to make a I Am Creative Journal

Saturday, April 20, 2013
I AM Creative Journal
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For some of you who might not know, well, I happened to work in a humble advertising agency. When I am at work, the word ‘Creative’ is often brought up or used in conversations. It mostly goes like “try to create something creative” or “be more creative in your work” etc. etc.

First of all the sentence itself is vague, second, the word creative has lost its profound status. So, I asked myself this question a lot; Aren’t we all are already Creative? How much more Creative do we need to be? And how can we BE creative when we already are creative in our own way?

As soon as I realized this, it dawned on me that it is no wonder all my life I tried so hard to BE creative without realizing it is already ME. We tend to draw that “line” separating our individual-selves and the idea of “being creative” as if it is something that needs to be achieved; when really it is already us, in us, part of us.

When we believe that we are not creative, we think that being Creative is only for those who are good in art/drawing, or one need to undergo formal education training to become a Creative person. And that idea too, has led many people to falsely believe that they are not good enough/not talented; thus, begin the journey of your everyday-routine life, which also lead to low self-esteem.

For this, I strongly recommend journaling; reminding yourself who you truly are and loving yourself while knowing it is not about being self involved for that matter.

Self Acknowledgement with an I AM journal page
DSC_1430I find journaling helpful in making myself see that I am creative in my own way. As a child to an adult, we forget who we are, what we are good at, and our important presence in this world, female or male. All it takes is for some Self-Acknowledgement of what you are, and who you are.

I AM journal page helps you acknowledge yourself.

Again, in creative journaling, there are no right-ways or wrong-ways. In fact you are not even suppose to worry about techniques or methods. In my opinion, I find that planning helps because you need to decide what sort of art materials/medium you want to use or combine.

For me I used:

1-Soft pastel, black markers and one piece of Silver Star embellishment to stick on my page
2-Plenty of colours; feel free to express yourself with colours without limitations
3-It can be a painting or words or both!


What is an I AM journal page?
DSC_1442
I AM is about self-acknowledgement

I AM helps you know who you are and what you are

I AM helps you get to know your true Self

I AM helps you remember who you are

I AM helps remind you and your dreams and ambitions

I AM helps you stay true to your Self


A little guide for you to create your own I AM page
DSC_1440When you are doing this part for your I AM page, I ask that you do not hold back from listing out things about you or your self. The idea here is to be UN-self conscious about it, because no one is here to judge you and neither should you judge your self.

1-list out what you are and your qualities (mother, daughter, woman, sister, kind, empathy, considerate, making people laugh, etc.)
2-list out your interest (cooking, painting, writing, reading, etc.)
3-list out your talents/skills (organizing/systematic, writing poems, etc.
4-start putting outlining the details: I AM Teacher, I AM Thinker, I AM Guardian, I AM Happiness, etc.

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You can keep doing this page as often as you want. You can even make it into a small booklet and go through it everyday as a reminder to you. May you find joy in doing this journal page, and hopefully will find ways to expand and explore your journaling ideas in this particular theme. Happy creating!

Photos via

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Pick: Charming Bracelets by Lily Hut

Sunday, April 14, 2013

When I was in my teens, my mother once told me that one of her favourite accessories is a Charm bracelet / necklace. She bought me one before, and I still have it until today. I love charm bracelets/necklaces too, even though I don't wear it often. Though I find that each bracelet that has at least one charm on it symbolizes the inner me and what I love most.

Local Crafter, Izzati of Lily Hut makes good old charm bracelets. She keeps things simple with her down-to-earth designs, with carefully picked out charms to fashion a sweet bracelet. Customization with affordable prices are available; you can visit more of her crafts here


Image credits: Izzati of Lily Hut

TOP Creative Art Materials for Creative Journaling

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A toolkit of art supplies is important; whether you are an artist or a crafter, this essential is like your bag of toiletries when you travel. When I started exploring with creative journaling, I learned to recognise which art material is essential and which is helpful to enhance my artwork. I also learned how to personalize my own toolbox so that I can store my gathered materials.
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From vintage toy box into journaling toolkit
There are many ways you can personalize your own toolbox; some mixed media artists even have two different set of tools ready for them- a travelling journal toolkit and the other for basic exploration activities. Some of these mixed media artists use small travel luggage (with wheels) because it allows them to store all the important items they need, and travel with it.

And when I say personalizing, I meant revamping, upcycling, redesigning, redecorate , painting over, etc, etc. You can use any bag or box that you find is the right size for you, and simply personalize however way you like it to be. For instance, (see photo above) I found a vintage plastic toy briefcase and upcycled it into a box for storing materials. I redecorated it with: colourful fabric and denim, and even used Pebeo Vitrail paint for plastic and glass surfaces to paint on the cover of the briefcase. As you can see, there are many ways to create your own storage for your creative journaling activities.

Art materials for Creative Journaling

I remember when I first started creative journaling, my materials were all over the place. And I didn’t even know what was my essentials. As soon as I got the hang of it, I learned to gather them and know which ones are my basic tools that I need to pack it with me in my creative toolkit. The idea here is to make sure that these are your basics, and these materials can help you create and enhance more creative journal pages and prompts too.

Here are my selections:

DSC_1465DSC_1461 DSC_1462
(from left: clockwise)

1. Sketch Book: I went for a watercolour paper base sketch book, in case I create with water colours.
2. Coloured paper  3. Watercolour paper: cut up into small square pieces.

 DSC_1492DSC_1466 DSC_1469

4. Basics: you definitely need a Blade, Scissors and PVA Glue  5. Patterned Scissors 
6. Craft Punchers

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7. Markers and pens: various types of coloured pens and markers, for writing and drawing ranging from calligraphy pen, sharpies, illustration markers, artline pens.

 DSC_1473 DSC_1475

8. Ready-made stencils or DIY stencils: you can make your own DIY stencils with transparencies.

 DSC_1478DSC_1479

9. Stamps with patterns and designs or with alphabets: there are many types of stamp designs you can get from your local craft store. It’s good if you can have a few with you (I have a box full of stamps, went over board). These stamps can help you enhance your creative pages/prompts. And of course, don’t forget the stamp pad with colour and it would be useful to have a bottle of stamp-cleaner solution with you too.

 DSC_1487 DSC_1489DSC_1491

10. Glitter glue  11. Soft Pastels: small and you can pocket it with you when you are travelling.
12. Paints such as Gouache: easy for bringing it along with me, they are small.

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13. Embellishments: I use from scraps of colour papers and wrappers that I’ve collected, dried flowers and recycle old playing cards

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Now with all the materials set aside for creative journaling work, I stored them away in another briefcase-like box. What’s your preferred storage and what kind of creative journal essentials you use? Feel free to leave me a comment.