Art Books and Journals

We've been experiencing much wet weather these days..

I love the rain and the cool weather it brings..

and while we are busy preparing

for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year (next Thursday)

I was inspired to sew 2 art books/journals.....

putting together materials I love....

such as laces and old book pages....

Well I hope to be able to take some pictures of the festivities 

to show you in the next few days...

let's hope that Mr Sun will come shining on us again....

I'll be posting my T Tuesday post on Thursday (if it's alright) :))

as it'll be about a very special occasion..

I love the eve of the  Chinese Lunar New Year and the day itself as we have a tradition we practice

and I'll be sharing on that...

Till then...

Stay Happy!

steph

The power of the mind...

"It is our mind, and that alone, that chains us or sets us free"

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Happy weekend!!

~steph~ 

Most Prized...

Indeed he is...

I first met him last May  when we were in Yunnan, China

He was nine years old then....

After our meeting, I went away feeling really sad

that I wasn't able to help him.(in my current capacity).

He lived in the rural areas in Yunnan

and he grew up in a farm...

He is a child with a special need

and there is no school around his village suitable for him...

I remembered how my heart ached when I saw him....

and when he walked away that day...

I was determined to ensure he gets a decent education

at some point...

(The title prompt is from the Sketchbook challenge)

Happy Midweek to you and yours!!

always...
~steph~

Plum tea mix and art on Tuesday..

I was given a box of plum and green tea mix,

an interesting concoction indeed...

and so with tea on the side..

I had my favorite brush and glue and before I knew it

I was into a project

making signatures and cutting fabric and laces..

and putting them together..

for what seemed to be the most enjoyable moments..

totally lost in the process...

Happy T Tuesday Kimmie and everyone!!

steph

Trust

Happy Monday everyone!!

here's a tag to share and

do hop over to Betty's as she is giving away ATCs of "love"

I may have shared this quote previously but it stood out amongst others as I was leafing through my notes...

"Once we conclude that the basic nature of humanity is compassionate

rather than aggressive, our relationship to the world around us changes immediately.

Seeing others as basically compassionate instead of hostile and selfish helps us relax,

trust, live at ease. It makes us happier."

The 14th Dalai Lama


~steph~

this and that...

managed to wrap some handmade art this morning with sewn collaged fabric,

 some WIPs

and a quote to share:

"Impermanence is a principle of harmony.

When we don't struggle against it, we are in harmony with reality."

Pema Chodron

Imagine this....

Chinese contemporary art.

Stay happy!!

steph

It's Tea Tuesday!

and I'm having this concoction..

(from left to right) Chinese wolfberries, dried longans and red dates

light and refreshing and yes calming...

Hope you've had a good day be it at work or home...

Visit Kimmie and my tea buddies for good tea company..

stay happy!

steph

And the Giveaways goes to......

Jean from "Bluebirds living in the meadow"

and

Sharon from "Livewire"
(realized I couldn't find your email, dear Sharon, could you email me? cheers)

I'll be writing to you shortly to complete these envelopes with your snail mail addresses

and 

THANK YOU! everyone for dropping by.

I'll be visiting your blogs and catching up with your artful life! :))

cheers!

steph

Ginseng flower on Tuesday..

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!

I've just been to Caterina's and she's having "sari tea"
and my other Tea Tuesday friends will be sharing their tea adventures too...
So, hop over to Kimmie's and you'll find them..

My tea story today is about 2 owl (Japanese) cups and Ginseng Flower tea..

which health properties are equivalent to the Ginseng plant (of course :)
"strengthening the Qi, promotes restfulness, etc...." < I need them ;) >

The owls? well I lugged them back from Florida!!
ah well when you love tea, there are no limits to buying tea paraphernalias... ;)

By the way, remember to drop your name into the "Giveaway" hat right before this post, below
to receive Asian theme collage and art materials with the Somerset mags...
The owners will be announced next Tuesday (18th January)!
(PS I'm actually sourcing these materials and packaging them especially for the giveaways ..after all I'm here in Asia :)))  )
 Happy Tuesday!!!

~steph~

Giveaway!!

As promised...

packages will be given away:

One:

Two:

and each of these packages will be accompanied by

collage/art materials

with an Asian theme and more.. ;)

All you need to do is , leave a comment and tell your friends.

Owners of the 2 packages will be announced on:

18th January 2011!!

HAPPY Sunday!!!

~steph~

Untitled..

gosh.. I'm not too sure what to call this...

Intention?

well I did have an intention to put my intentions

on an art piece....  ;)

collage on wood panel

( duh I didn't measure its size...you know I'm sure..:)) )

"In 2011

I want to learn how to sketch:

portraits (gotta dust off my notes from Suzi Blu's class)  LOL!!

sketch and paint birds and flowers...

(I pray for patience.... ;))  )

see that bird on the left? I'm responsible for that but my fingers 

were somewhat "arthritic" after I finished it... :(

While I love love those beautiful line sketching of birds and architecture and painted portraits

from my favorite artists and imagined my own masterpiece....

I've been giving excuses ...."

..

and so my dear blog friends...

I'm going to move out of my comfort zone and do what

I've always proclaimed I can't do...

SKETCH

and start with a "beginner's" mind...

Secondly,

I've learnt some lessons from today's collage and one of them:

never make art when my brains and body are both out of sync...

I just felt this piece is a little "overdone".. LOL!!

and I was trying to salvage the composition... Ha ha...

ah well...  :)))

I'm still happy....

AND 

Thirdly

in my next post, It'll be entitled:

GIVEAWAY!!!

Yay!!

so stay tuned...since it's my first, I need to :

** photograph everything I'm giving away???

Nah...I'll put in an element of surprise.... ;)

so, it'll come.....

and I hope Mr Postman will be able to cope, now that

the festive season is over..

did you know it was reported in the news that the local postal service couldn't cope during 

the festive season and as a result I suspect my pressies to my friends were delayed...

I hope they'll get their now belated pressies sooooon...

Happy weekend and stay happeee...

best wishes and warm hugs...

meeee...

May you be happy.....

A new year...

most have new resolutions..

renewed hopes....
and
a new "page" to start....

create opportunities for sharing, kindness and generosity,
create opportunities for wellness...

create happiness...

create joy....

create the art you love.....

and

stay happy.

steph


(PS I won't be at tea tomorrow, have been rather busy, cleaning and "purging" stuff..
however, something's brewing...so stay tuned..be back very soon"