Mosque Fascination

Hi! Today I will continue with my fascination or rather obsession of making Hari Raya cards. Yesterday I had a tiny bit of problem : the net was slow and my camera has its limitations so the photos did not come out too good and of course my computer skills. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Here I would like to share a few more of the Raya cards I did. I hope you will also find the time to try making some yourself but keep in mind that the moment you are tired, you have to stop otherwise you will produce mediocre or poor products that is instantly noticed. Each time when I am tired I stopped. In fact I take a day to do just one card unless I am so fresh then I will continue with a second one. Do not force yourself to go on. Art is slow.

This mosque took me two days. It is very intricate with lots of cutting and pasting. It took 5 different stages of cutting and pasting to complete it but each step brought wonderful results.

This mosque took less time but it still needed 5 stages to complete it. I had to look for patterns for the domes. But I cannot deny the great satisfaction I got when the card was completed. This card is for a very gentle but senior Malay lady. She moves very slowly but indeed a kind person. If you must know each card is designed with the person in mind. Well this is the beauty of making cards. I don't deny that this year Raya cards are really class but I love a personal touch and thus spend crazy hours creating Raya cards.

This card is designed for a very special person and so I took three days and special care to do it. I am sorry that my camera did not do justice to the beauty of a handmade card.

Hari Raya Cards

I wish all my Muslim friends and readers "Selamat Hari Raya".

This is a photo of a new moon.

As you can see, this card has a mixed feature of a Chinese and Malay element. Beautiful right?

This season I am in the passion of making Hari Raya cards for each of my close Muslim friend. I find it truly pleasurable to create each card. Some of the cards took me two days to complete especially those that need intricate cutting and pasty enjoyed. Below are some of the cards that I have made.

This is an intricate card. It took four main steps to complete it.

This photo does not show the real beauty of the card. The card is light green and I guess my camera did not do justice to my hard work. Sigh.....

These two cards have a mixed feature of Malay and Indian elements. Interesting right? Sometimes as I work, I tend to unconsciously combine mix elements from our rich diverse culture. This goes to show that the different cultures in Malaysia have inevitably sipped into our soul and bring us together as truly 1 Malaysia.

This card looks like Disney castle, don't you think so? Hee! Hee! But I love it.

Stylish Stationery Holders

Hi, everyone. Today is a Saturday. One of the best days of the week because I get to rest and do the things I love. I got up this morning, feeling really good because I needn't send my girls to school. A mum is never off even when she does not go to work because she instantly becomes the chauffeur. This is the day when suddenly the bus would be too early and the girls are not ready or a certain text is missing and that text must be found immediately or else teacher would scold. Sigh.........It all boils down to "Mum, can you please send me to school and don't forget to pick me up after school?" And so I have changed my job! Ha! Ha! Ha! However I am not complaining. In fact I love to send my two girls to school and pick them up. I love to wake one sleepy head up, tease a smile onto a grumpy face and then see her off. And after school, I will never miss that 'Hah! Thank God you are here fast' and followed by a grateful smile. It makes the 1 hour waiting worth while. Yeah, I always go early to wait to advoid traffic, of course.

O.K. today I have something to share and that is Stylish Stationery Holders. It is a joy to see a piece of beautiful art work on your table holding all your pencils and note pads or whatever you have, right? Sometimes it is too beautiful to be put to use, don't you think so? Well, below are some I have made as presents. It is quite time consuming but art is always patience and time consuming.

This holder was my first to a good colleague's birthday. I really could not think of what to give her. Of course there are thousands of gifts I can find in the supermarket but I felt that none would be able to really convery my appreciation for her. I spent countless hours window shopping and then suddenly this idea came up and she was really happy to recieve it.

This one was given to my sister-in-law. If you notice, I have changed the design at the base. Lovely, right?

This one was for my brother. I don't quite like it because of the shine. It was an experiment to use a shining base. The shine overpowers the beauty of the flowers. It is not a good idea but one that I would like to share with you all so that you won't make the same mistake as I did.

I made this one for my husband. He didn't use it because he thought he would spoil it so I have kept it. Well.... It doesn't matter. He will surely put it to good use one fine day. I am certain of it.

Floral Arrangement

Hi, everyone. How has been your day? As for me, not too good..... but nothing to moan about. I happen to witness an extreme display of power hunger, a 'people stab people' move. It leaves me stunned and amazed. My fervent prayer is 'May God Bless that poor predator '. Well, enough of mushy talk. Let us now be back in focus : Floral Arrangement.

When I was first mesmerized by it and tried my hands at it, I remember my father throwing a quick glance at it and then hurriedly walked away while my mother felt she needed to say something but wasn't sure if her gentlest of words wouldn't do the harm and my brother's half hearted praise. I wouldn't tell you the opinion of my husband. He did not even want to look at it. And thus, that initial interests died off till now, till after endless trips to the floral shop to see how they arrange the flowers. Today I can do it. I know it isn't so perfect but nevertherless the arrangements are still beautiful by my standard. Hee! Hee! Hee! Come let me share with you what I have done.

This arrangement was for a friend's office. It certainly livens up the rather dull interior.

A close up view. I have added two birds and a lady bird. These addition will create a more pleasent effect.

Another close up view. I have added lady birds climbing up. This gives a homely effect. Right?

A white floral display. Spectacular right? I found out that such colour scheme need not be for church alone. Perhaps the photo fails to give its full richness but in reality, the flowing arrangement is really eye-catching.

Among the lushness sits a dove. Beautiful, hmm? I love it. Yes, I believe that one must loves one's work otherwise it is meaningless to even look at it, right?

Well, that's all for today. Ta-da! See you another day.

Hello everyone. Today is the 19th September. If you notice it has been quite sometime since I am involved in floral arrangement but recently I did one which I feel I want to share with you my experience. As you know my endeavour in floral arrangement is all through trial and error so in the recent process of learning, I found that a rich bouquet cannot have too many leaves. The leaves will overpower the beauty of flowers.

See the difference between the two floral arrangement. By cutting short the leaves, the effect was so much more pleasent to the eyes. Don't you thinsk so?

Tips for floral arrangement

1. Be careful of leaves overpowering your flowers. If they do, don't be afraid to snip them to a shorter length.
2. Always buy more than what you estimate. Through painful experience, I found myself sitting on hot bricks waiting for the next day to come so that I can make a dash to the shop to get more stalks.
3. One of the golden rules for using big flowers is to make sure the number is odd.
4. The vase should be small, should not be the centre of attraction unless you want it to. If your vase is big, you will find yourself buying a lot of flowers and leaves to ensure the arrangement is balanced.