Tick Tock

Being a busy person who works from home, I need a clock in every room to keep me on track. Yup, that means one clock in the bathroom, one in the kitchen, one in the living room, etc. I need clocks everywhere! I know wearing a watch could easily solve the problem but as I craft for a living, a watch usually gets in the way so I've fostered a fixation on clocks. Here's my little wishlist of clocks I found on Etsy…

This would be perfect for my craft room or future kid’s room - It’s My Forest by Decoylab


For the kitchen - Teapot clock by Decoylab

For the toilet - Tiny Scallop clock by Uncommon

For the living/dining room - Modern Colonial clock by Uncommon

For the family room - Home Sweet Home clock by Iluxo


For the bedroom – Vintage USSR alarm clock by ClockworkUniverse

Resolution

I’ve lots of things in store these next couple of weeks folks! Helping a friend/soon-to-be cousin-in-law (if there is such a thing) with a small part of her wedding receptions, another exciting collaboration, an event or two & lots lots more! I really wish there were two of me but as the poster above bravely emblazons, I’m going to make it (all) happen!

Poster by Marco van Zomeren.

Dominique Falla

1,000 nails & a whole lot of threads were used to create like this piece by artist Dominique Falla as an entry in the Positive Posters 2011 competition.

”For too long, people have viewed themselves as separate and I wanted to represent a multitude of individuals using the nails, and then coloured string to show how we are all interconnected, and that together, we can make something beautiful.”
I’m in awe.

Craft Room Envy

 



If you’ve been following me on twitter, you would’ve heard by now that my husband & I are on a house hunt. We’ve been renting the same apartment for the last couple of years & although it’s in the perfect location (close to his office & closer still to my mother) & we’re very comfortable, I’ve had enough of living with the furniture that came with the house & having no freedom to decorate as I want. I really can not wait to create our HOME & these pictures of a very lucky lady’s craft room has just fueled my desire to move. I have admit though that the room is a little too frou frou for my taste but I really like all the vintage knick knacks & overall shabby chicness.

Via The Drifter & The Gypsy.

Cinemagraph

 


Remember I blogged about animated gifs or better known as cinemagraphs by photographer Jamie Beck & Kevin Burg? Well, looks like they now have a website filled with lots of cinemgraphs for you to marvel at. Go have a look!

Webify Me

Do you ever wonder how your Web looks like visually? Well, quite honestly I've never really thought about it until Mozilla Firefox created this fun quiz called Webify Me. It's just a simple 20 question quiz about your online habits & once answered, it will create a custom mosaic of your web life. You can then click on the items of your mosaic to reveal the pop-up results for a little in-depth look of your web habits.

My webified life is the mosaic pictured above. It's pretty accurate except for one or two little things (I’m not based in USA & I’m only half Chinese) but all in all, I still say take the quiz because it’s fun!

Here’s a little breakdown of what some of the items in my mosaic represent:

Sock Monkey - Everything's better with a monkey in it. Monkeys are fun, smart, and optimistic. You got this crafty monkey because it reflects your own delightful optimism and playfulness. Or maybe you like bananas?

Friendship Bracelet - Your buddies will be overjoyed to learn that you've drawn the Friendship Bracelet. It stands for sociability and your talent for making each friend, online and off, feel special. So very special.

Crayons - The symbol of unpretentious creativity and art. You are almost certainly imbued with a child-like curiosity and an unfettered imagination, enjoy self expression and bright colors. You are child-like, or may actually be a child.

Paintbox - A symbol of risk and reward! You're no stranger to chance, to taking a walk on the 20-sided dark side. In the game of life, you're +10 Geekiness.

Mahjong - You make your own luck, for you know fortune favors the fun loving! To you a day without a quick game is a day wasted. Life's too short to sulk, when you bear the colorful mark of The Player. (You're also possibly Chinese or a Grandmother)

Tarot card - Aha, The Magician! You possess unusual powers, and can conjure up the truth from any situation. Also, you can turn the world on with your smile.

Friendship Pin - an unbreakable bond between you and your BFF. It shows you are loyal, willing to wear your love on your sleeve (or sneaker).

Memory Card - Behold, The Memory — life is your field of study. You hunger for new thinking, knowledge and information. You know how get it, and how to hold on to it.

Letter Game Tiles - You like your fun and games on a cerebral level. Stretching your mind and beating your friends is as enjoyable to you as zoning out in front of the TV is to the hoi polloi.

Carabiner - You have drawn the Mark of the Connection; Active, strong and reliable — that's you. People count on you to keep grounded at all times, even up in the air.

Transit Pass - The symbol of travel, of paths taken and untaken, of sleeping upright in a middle seat. You are The Traveler.

Perfume - Appearances are not limited to the visible sphere — you are well aware of that, for you are The Aesthete. Beauty in every sense is your lofty goal, and no detail of that is too small to escape your scrutiny.

Upcycled Vintage Pet Beds

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that our cat Hassan doesn’t have a proper bed & these adorable upcycled creations by Miles & Aimee really put me to shame. Turning vintage suitcases, televisions & computer monitors into these awesome little beds, Miles & Aimee’s “army of cats” (as they describe their pets) must be the luckiest little “army”! I want that beige tv for Hassan btw.

Via Happiness Is.

Booktrack

Have you heard of Booktrack yet? Being the bookworm that I am, I’m really excited & while I type this, I’m downloading a copy of Sherlock Holmes that comes complete with a Hollywood score, synchronised music, sound effects & the best thing of all? It’s paced to your own reading speed while constantly changing to match the plot in real-time! Tell me that doesn’t amazing, I dare you.

Description from the iTunes Store: “Unlike traditional audio books, Booktrack is a soundtrack that will match what you are reading, AS YOU READ (Note: no one is reading the story to you). You can now truly hear what it’s like to be back in Holmes time with the suspense of Dr. Watson helping Holmes solve a case, horse’s hooves beating against the pavement while the tension rises in the air & when they site before a fire you will hear the wood crinkling in the background as Holmes & Watson solve another mystery. The personalised sound effects & composition makes the story more powerful & immersive than it has even been heard before!”
I can’t wait to try out my free copy of Sherlock Holmes but I’m most especially excited about the upcoming release of Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre & Romeo & Juliet! I also can’t help feeling that Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart would be awesome for this app & would download it in a heartbeat (excuse the pun) if it were made. In the meantime, have a look at the Sherlock Holmes preview below.

Concrete & Honey

This is a blog I just discovered & I just love the blogger’s eye for design & detail but most especially, I just love the little corners of her & her sister's home captured in these shots above. I’m such a sucker for a clean white palette with little shots of whimsy & pretty. I honestly can’t wait to buy our own home & to start decorating!

Photos via Concrete & Honey. 

DIY: Batu Seremban

When I saw this tutorial by Mai of Okinokiyo, I knew I HAD to share. When I was in primary school, my classmates of all races (yup, all the girls & some of the boys) & I would play this every chance we could get & made our own “batu-batu” to our individual preferences. We even had a little championship league going so yeah, you can imagine we took it a tad more serious than most but it was all in good fun.

In case you don’t know what it is, Batu Seremban or five stones is a game originally played by girls of all races in Malaysia. You only need five stones or five small objects to play with & the objective of the game is to throw one of the stones one at a time and sweeping another on the flat surface simultaneously catching the one you threw earlier on. The game continues to advance in stages & gets complicated. Here’s a video by I Heart Malaysia on how to play it:




I’m so happy that Mai shared this tutorial. It brought back lots of great memories & I really hope batu seremban is still played in schools. I’m going to make a few using Mai’s simple tutorial using fabric scraps & give them out to my friends’ kiddies.

EDIT: Mai is making the Batu Seremban for sale! They're a mere RM5 (not inclusive of postage) & all proceeds will go to charity. How cool is that? Drop Mai an email if you want to get a set (or several).