Goodbye DLP T_T it was good while it lasted.

YEAP, I fell off the blogging bandwagon...again. I think I'm just going to stop counting the many times I fall of this bandwagon and focus on the fact that I manage to come back to it pretty consistently....yes, there IS indeed a silver lining to every situation lol.

Anyhow, my crochet obsession has gone full blown - and as soon as I started to think that my "giant stash" of yarn was going down (instead of 2 giant bags, I can fit everything into ONE giant garbage bag), Michael's started their week long yarn sale.  SPEEEEAKING OF MICHAEL'S.... you know, this store was nowhere near my work or residence - or I never managed to find one. I knew one existed about an hour bus ride away and that was just too far for me to bother with. However now that I started crocheting and getting sorta serious about my arts and crafts hobby, a Michael's is in every corner I turn! one opened downtown Toronto, and there is TWO near my work, right on my way from and to work.  Although the selection in this store leaves lots to be desired as it is a smaller store, it still makes me happy to gander after the work day is over. The good part of this is, that its strengthening my spending control - since the store is so accessible now, I don't buy everything  I want at once for current and future projects I may engage in. WHICH is gggggRRRREEEAT!

ANYWAY...sorry rambled off there... lol

Earlier this year ,I had a whirlwind affair with Documented Life Project. This is a fantastic project - uses one book for 3 purposes ( I LOVE IT)and was a fabulous way to get started on the artistic journey.  I saw some from 2014 and the prompts were thought provoking and the artworks by others were just fantastic fun to look at. So I had a go this year. Although I thought it very commercial that they decided to endorse Dylusions art journal and abandon the 3-in-one book idea that originally made it popular, the weekly prompts REALLY spoke to me and related 100% to my life at the time and I was madly in love with it.   But then some point - I think mid May - I found that the prompts were not as...thought provoking. They were posted late, and I dunno - it felt like it was starting to get half-hearted. I couldn't relate to any of the prompts (which was odd cuz it was travel themed and I had just come back from travelling) and I stopped entirely by July.
I also slowly started to realize that I need to separate my journals from planners. It worked for me when I was just trying to get back into journaling and being creative; but as the juices start flow regularly, I found that I was spending more time being artsy in my planner vs. planning in my planner and I was starting to need more real estate for my creativity and stopped planning in my planner altogether  :O .  After some thought and with good dose of hesitation, I separated my planner from my creatives - I guess its true that you should never mix business with pleasure as one WILL overtake the other.  I still think this is a great project to get your juices flowing and will probably fall back to it (well ,the idea anyway, its too commercial now for me) whenever I feel its dwindling, but for now I need to say good bye to it.

The thing is, I still had tons of tip-in pages stuck to my planner....and on it I had started to write down some of the crochet patterns I wanted to try out that seemed to be within my skill level (waste not want not) - I actually now have a giant binderful of these patterns shared by generous souls on the internet XD.  Some I've tried successfully, some I have not and I really should because they are uber cute and should not be wasted. Anyhow, I thought I would start sharing these on line with my two cents as I struggle to make these, starting next week.

I have SO MANY free things I found online that I feel should be shared - so  I am going to start a Freebie Friday blog to share them  *YAY*. I'm going to start with crochet patterns because, as I say, I have a giant 3" binderful of patterns I really must try and sort through and I want to make a commitment to sharing/blogging. So along with Freebie Friday, I'm going to do a Crafty Update posts- which will just show what I'm working on now. Hopefully by committing to these two things I can follow through in my commitment to share more what I know  and help others find their creative (cuz everyone has it) and what I'm up to (and not fall of the bandwagon again LOL).  Till next time,

Love Always,
Shines.

Getting ready for the holidays.

So....I have to confess. I THINK I am addicted to crochet; I've been hesitant to say so because I only started doing this since last...November-ish time which isn't that long ago and I thought I was in the honeymoon stage in this relationship...but I DO THINK I am addicted because any chance my hands are free, my brain thinks " OOOUU!! let's do a round on <whatever I'm working on>" and this thought passes me when I'm waiting for the train, bus, sipping coffee, appointments....after work, before sleep...whenever and wherever. I even have a little travel ziplock baggie that goes everywhere with me.  Now that I travel extensively to work, this addiction has become more evident.

WHICH IS FINE BY ME.

I do my journaling at home and crochet on the go....which to me, feel like I'm in therapy all the time and I seem to be happier so I can't even complain. On top of it all, my once endless project list is getting shorter, which is also a cause for celebration :) as it allows me to add more projects such as this cute nativity set. IS THIS NOT THE CUTEST THING EVER!  I really must STOP  tinkering with it....and making little additions but the MORE I look at it the MORE stuff I want to add ...thankfully, every addition has only enhanced it - but I am so afraid that if I keep adding, it will eventually be ruined...but I can't stop adding embellishments.

This was made for a someone who recently found herself in God; I am so happy for her because she seems so much happier and more at peace - and while I don't know this person all that well nor agree with organized religion, I think the event of finding inner peace (via whatever method) should be celebrated - and I thought this would be a lovely little xmas gift to celebrate this event.

While I have yet embarked in pattern making (mostly because that scares me and there are so many free ones I want to make first I don't know if I ever will), this set can actually be found on Ravelry and on Pebie's blog which is FULL of the cutest things. She really makes these patterns with lots of love - its so organized in multiple languages which, is SUPER TIME CONSUMING (another reason I'm prolly not going to write patterns...I'm a maker ).  She has the entire scene patterned out - with the ox, donkey, the family, the sages....and OMG that baby Jesus is cute beyond words. No I didn't make everyone because I didn't have the colors that could substitute.  The pattern is easy to follow and the project is so quick I really enjoyed these patterns. ANYWAY.

Although I didn't have all the colors used (they aren't even in the same weight yarn really)but I feel like it turned out pretty well. I didn't end up putting in the eyes mostly because I sewed the head to the body THINKING that I had eyes in but, didn't...lmao. The final size - is about 3.5" - Joseph is this height and he is the tallest. My Maria's cloak is also longer (reaches her bodice) and I added some stray yarn in the basket and gave it a base so everyone can stand together. I REALLY want to try to make the whole set one of these days. Definitely for next year, I am going to make the entire set.

What I think I'm going to do is make a bunch of Xmas themed things  - December isn't that far away and neither is winter....and this little quickie totally made me want to make more Christmas things... I'll let you know how I do with that!

Update: I couldn't stop myself in the details....and added more stuff...here you see version 1-3 lol.

Throwback Thurday: Book O' Doodles

ALRIGHT. So this isn't really a throwback....its more like Oh My Lanta, what did I do!!! WHAT HAPPENED!!! LET ME FIX THIS QUICK kinda moment.

In the recent past I accidentally deleted my Youtube account - well, half intentionally because my playlists were getting out of control and I wasn't really doing anything with it besides hoarding videos about EVERYTHING so I might as well start a fresh. Since I didn't do anything with Youtube on regular basis, I totally forgot about the two videos I had on there, both I really was rather fond of making - and I wouldn't have noticed had someone not asked me about the missing videos ....!! I managed to find one of two - my favourite thankfully.

This was awesome fun.
 In 2012, I discovered bunch of talented people that gave new meaning (at least for me) to doodling and I was uber inspired and HAD TO TRY IT SOMEWHERE..... smallish in case it turns out badly. I had a tiny 3.5 x 5" ish Moleskine planner a thoughtful friend had gifted me that I didn't know what to do with(it was just such small space), and tried my hand at copying some of the awesome artworks, mostly from Maykel Nunes. This took sooo much longer and so much more work than I thought it would!! It is true what they say; the best way to learn , is to try to copy the work of one you admire.

Although I don't think doodling is quite for me - this was an excellent experiment and I love having a little record of discovering doodle art!!!

Stuck. between a rock, pointy thing and a hard place.

Well. it certainly pours when it rains...although, in my case it seems to be pouring all the time. I am so glad that August has ended finally and a new month has started - I hope this month is better than its predecessor.

I've become unemployed - and broke a personal record and was "let go" from 2 jobs in a single month! I can't barely count the times I've ever actually been let go, let alone twice in a month and that was certainly a shocker. The first was a corporate gig and I honestly think this poor man made a bad hiring mistake. I was his first helping hand to be hired - and he wanted me to overrule the 3 offices he had - more of a vice president than the "office manager/receptionist" position he had listed. I didn't have any of the required licensing or field experience as a broker and I think he thought that can be compensated via schooling - but really, experience can't be bought as we know - so we parted rather amicably even though this screwed up all of my plans.  Luckily, I got a part-time gig in a tiny gift shop I've been frequenting and then was promptly removed after training due to politics and some undue jealousy issues.... One I managed to befriend said I was overqualified and many of the staff felt that I would be the natural successor to management position ,which everyone was sort of hoping to get but not with me there. *boo*

I was told once that you should not hit to ground running in every job you do because if you outshine them all from the start they will turn and kick you out - you need to be smart about it - I'm clearly not a bright person when it comes to this sort of thing.... :(

My ego and esteem took a pretty hard hit and now I am, defeated.  I have made enough lemonades with the buckets of lemons poured onto me to last me several life times.
I wonder if I would have been better off to have stayed at a job that made me feel most unwanted but gave me a steady income than risk it all for something that seemed better.

I have spent so much time making everyone else rich for a small cut of the profit and while I wish I had my own, I am too much of a chicken to start anything of my own,  and I haven't a clue what I would do....and how would I fund myself during those first years?

 I just want to do what many take for granted; have a steady income and finally start a family with someone that loves me....and the opportunity has finally come knocking but I am not able to take it...

Why?

Because while I managed to find someone that loves me he's not in the same country and has hellova complicated history.  Communication is a barrier we can probably overcome with time but seeing that we're not even in the same country, living together and trying things out first isn't even an option....
I have good mind to pack it up and live there for a little while but what would I do to survive?  I have nothing but debt holding me here but it is enough to lock me down here...
Maybe that's an excuse? maybe I am just to selfish and scared to give up what little I have here, go there for a few months to try it out only to find that it doesn't work  than have to come back and try to restart myself from nothing again. I HATE RESTARTING , that is all I seem to have been doing.
I wish I had an answer....or someone to soundboard this off of...:(

Bookbinding is taking over ...no not really.

Alright, I AM ON A ROOOOOOOLLLL here, with bookbinding.
I have watched too many Youtube videos now to NOT continue to make my own little journals to not only use up even MORE piles of stuff I have, but to try out some funky ideas I've seen people do!

I STILL have NO room for new craft supplies....AT ALL. But the 3 little boxes full of paper is now void of all paper sheets and have been filled with tags and other goodies to go IN the books instead which provides slight more room on my shelf.  I don't have a firm goal or anything as to when I can get more supplies but currently my gut says I have too much stuff I don't use and I should really refrain from getting more stuff that I'm prolly not going to use for a long long time.

I have also discovered, that I don't think I'm a stamper...or maybe I'm just doing it wrong? I love to write, cut, glue, draw, stencil but stamping doesn't seem to yet have found a spot in my heart. I'm surprised that I even like stenciling? but apparently this is a fact.

I had made a few "naked" books - books with minimal decor so that the recipient can use it to explore their creative side and with lots of space to write. I ramble a lot and use journals for writing mostly - so I made some journals that is mainly for writing but with some decors so should you be moved to doodle or be creative, you can without feeling the pressure of the BLANK WHITE PAGE.

I've also started making the journal/planner book thing I intend to use for year 2016, using up more of my paper stash - I've been watching how people are frantic about Midoris, faudoris, Hobonichi etc. and I'm not 100% convinced? I LOOOOOVE my $3 planner from the dollar store that has the yearly, monthly and weekly set up the way I wanted....but I am super intrigued by this "grid paper planning" business ....and guess what? I found 3 packs of grid paper in my stash and decided to make  some books....I've not quite worked out how I'm going to use this so as soon as I do, I will do a video of it.

 I also started making my Book of 2015 already; I know that sounds funny but last year, I didn't get around to putting a BOOK OF 2014 until end of the year and THAT WAS A PAIN.  I mean, all it is the cover - a place to house all my "art bits" from the year but it seems to always take the longest.... I actually think I have miscalculated the thickness of the cover but we shall see and I will certainly do a flip of it for sure in the new year. I am actually super happy with how the cover turned out but we will see what happens - there is ALWAYS something with covers -_-

Anyhow, that was all for the day :)

Take care,
Love always,
Shines.

Narrowing it down, down... down to...3 things? 4 things??

My life is a whirlwind...I had written a draft update months ago and it has yet made it to public...and since then so many things has changed but I shall divide topics accordingly and keep y'all updated :)

This year my goal was try to find some solid answers to many questions, in particular what do I enjoy doing - for work and for fun. I've always done what I had to workwise and not much thought was put into it. In the recent days, I've been able to find some answers and hopefully I'll be able to share that in the future.

Creatively - this was an easier answer in someways as I can try out whatever I wanted without reservation, providing that $$ was there to fund the curiosity...but then I ended up with many MANY  interests and nooo room left in my tiny apt OR time to pursue any of them with any degree of seriousness.
Recently I have managed to narrow it down to a few - which is STILL a lot more than I want but better than endless list of things I like. I would have to send a GIANT THANK YOU  to the people of Youtube who shared their passion on line and inspired my juices to flow, organize itself and finally, come into focus....as bookbinding. I don't know if that's what IT IS really but let's call it that for now.

I love books - or maybe its paper? I had kept a journal since I was a little girl and had mountains of books that kept me company when the world forgot my existence. I've kept a large library of books for a long time but I was soon running out of space - books, journals, coloring books  - they took up more space than I did,  and was a source of pain when moving. I traded most of my collection for a digital version of them.  One thing I couldn't trade was the heap of pages from magazines, packaging and other "junk" that I'd kept because I LIKED something about it. This collection also included mountains of  the one-sided printed pages from work that I had diligently brought home because, recycling system was questionable at work and I KNEW something could be done with it. This pile grew into exponential proportions and soon took over my shelf.

After much ponder I invested in a Cinch to alleviate this issue; at least, with the one-side print outs. I made piles of  scratch-notebooks and  gave one to everyone who helped create the pile of pages at work (they loved it, thank goodness). I also use it for brain dumping and writing notes, lists etc. which seems to have a therapeutic effect to my life.

Sometime in 2013 I bumped into the super inspiring Jenniebellie who helped me justify my hoarding of the other "junk" but I didn't think much of it because I didn't really have that many greeting cards and I was certainly NOT going to buy more STUFF to add to the pile! somewhere along the line I discovered how to bind your own books - I made a few signatures from piles of Copic catalogs and started to try my hand in art journaling after being inspired by Vicky...and I found that I really enjoyed making journals!!

This grew into a full blow out project and I started to dig into my stashes of paper to make my own little books for journaling (I was going to be set for the rest of my life in journal supplies! -well at least I thought I was) and helped me reduce my bookshelf full of paper to manageable 3 little boxes of papers.  As the journals I've made have also found new homes, I don't even have any on the shelf, which is even BETTER!  This year, I discovered the planner community and the Documented Life Project, where I learned even MORE ways to use journals(which meant I could just keep making'em!!) and keep a memory of my life somehow and not feel as if time was simply wasted.
So ...I guess planners? books? bookbinding? I dunno that whole BOOK area is awesome.
Here is a little video flip of Book of 2014 holding all the "creative" things  I made in 2014:

I even made a travel journal for my FIRST out of country vacay this year to Costa Rica:

...wow.... I sound really weird on video - sorry about the shakiness and bad lighting :( they're my first few videos, I'll get better  XD

The second great love came about in Nov 2014 when I discovered crochet. My friend lent a helping hand in reading the pattern and then I WAS DONE. I was crocheting little amigurumi from dawn to dusk for friends and I could not wait to get my hands on more colorful yarn. I even sold some which was GREAT help in getting my hands on some more yarn  and continue this obsession LOL.

Anyway, I think that is about it in terms of crafting update. Its so nice to finally be able to answer the question "what sort of crafts do you do" with a paragraph long answer vs. an essay answer :D hopefully I can get that narrowed down even further but we'll see.

Take care,
Love Always,
Shines.

HELLOOOO 2015

OKAY.
So clearly I fell off the blogging bandwagon once again (it seems to be an annual event at this point) except this time, I don't feel so bad because this time it wasn't life that caught up to me and drove me up the wall (although that's still ongoing) but it was creative adventures. At last, the year started on a creative note.
The many adventures I've been involved in include the world of Documented Life Project, Amigurumi, scrap bookbinding and return to coloring; soon, I am going to explore the world of need felting. Everything I have been interested in but "never had time for" - This year is the year I will try them out ! So far, the journey has been more than fulfilling and supremely addictive.  Here is a "brief" summary of how I got to this beautiful mess.

ONCE, when I was 8 my mama (also a DIY fanatic) introduced me to the calm world of knitting. I made a scarf and that was the end of that. I make scarves annually because I just can't find scarf I like enough to buy (super picky) and knitting truly is a slow and calming activity. Unfortunately, knitting wasn't my calling. I enjoyed things that are...less functional, cute and pretty things really... which made me feel bad...then I saw this meme which made it alll better; happiness and sense of accomplishment provides priceless intrinsic rewards!

ANYWAY.
I went to my first "Stitch & Bitch" session with a friend who LOVED knitting, hoping that it would kindle a spark. I was looking for a pattern to knit until I came across this cat cave crochet pattern which looked simple enough and I randomly had a crochet hook lying around.  Unfortunately at this time neither of my cats understood the concept of cat cave ,so it ended up being a cushion after days of trying to coaxed them to love the cave. They love the cushions though!

 This sent me whirling into the world of crochet, in particular, amigurumi (which means small handmade toy in Japanese, I think). There are tons of generous and talented souls out there that share the pattern they made. One of my favourites Stephanie of Amigurumei , who makes the easiest patterns for the cutest things! This thoughtful woman has even made a Patterns page on her blog for easy access.  This new hobby turned into an obsession really, and I was a serial hooker for a while there - eat, work, crochet was a daily thing until recently - now I sleep sometimes XD
You can see all the stuff I have made so far on my Amigurumi album on my FB page, if you're curious.

The bookbinding thing isn't new. I always enjoyed upcycling scrap paper. My entire art journal last year was made from upcycled Copic Market catalogs. I work at a place where printing is mandatory and scrap pages are available by the mountains. Being a hoard, I kept a lot of scraps but I simply couldn't use them up quick enough and my little apt was getting crammed up with all sorts of junk I had saved (Youtube is REALLY a great place if you want reasons to start hoarding).  After much hmming and haaaing, I bought myself a Cinch bookbinding tool - which turned out the be an excellent investment.  Instead of spending hours hand-stitching and gluing , which left little energy and motivation to actually do the fun bits like decorating, I spent minutes binding the book and hours playing and altering cardboard covers. So far I have made and given away 4 books which are all being used on daily basis. Having less in my hoarder box is good; knowing that the books are appreciated, loved and used daily is awesome; feeling that art/crafting didn't create more garbage is AMAZING. I don't get to make them often (because they're super fat books and takes a while to use them) but I certainly have a whole pile of 'em made for the next person who wants one. You can see what it looks like here.

The Documented Life Project is something I discovered last year. I fell in love with the idea of Documented Life Project 2015 page.

having a sketbook/planner/journal all in one place (deep inside, I am a minimalist. or multifunctionalist- I like things that can serve more than one purpose). In fact, my planner was already a mix of 3 but this gave it structure that it needed. I was bent on taking part this year and although the idea has migrated to more of Art Journaling, I am having a great time playing along. It really forces you to be creative and to play, at least once a week. This project has put my art journalling to a pause but I feel like it will only enhance my love for art journals.  So far, with the exception of ONE challenge (which I will fulfill soon when I have some under paper made) I have been following along. What is most exciting is that I can already SEE myself breaking out in baby steps from the way I have been journaling and actually having FUN.  In a strange way, the weekly challenges really aligned to the experiences I was going through during the week , which makes this even more remarkable journey to embark on! To see the pages of the week you can check out my

At around the same time, I had  become super interested in Wreck This Journal project - which from day 1 proved that I was not as "free flowing" as I was hoping I was. Unfortunate this project will have to hold for a bit as I've piled a ton on my plate already. LOL

Lastly, I have returned to coloring.

I can draw - and I enjoy being able to draw; but, I have always loved coloring and if I could, I would sweet piece of work for Valentines day. I printed it, stuck it on my planner and colored it using my trusty Crayola markers. TOO FUN.   Of COURSE I had to go and buy one of those books I've been pondering on. I debated but in the end the Secret Garden is what I chose - mostly because there are pages filled with doodly flowers I just can't do without. So far, I'm working on a nice little fishy page - I'm getting lost in the details but I LOVE IT.
make a living from it. Its another meditative therapy (apparently I need a lot of therapy these days) that I couldn't get a start on for whatever reason (mostly because I was busy crocheting).  Then, the amazing Johanna Basford who inked "Secret Garden" and "Enchanted Forest" for the kid in us, released this
I forgot how awesome it was to  PAINT SOMETHING.
This book is going to last me YEARS at the rate I'm coloring them which makes it SO WORTH IT! It also put all other coloring projects on hold but OOOH well, it's not going anywhere anyways. lol