Last weekend I crossed another “I keep saying I want to do this” thing off my list  – we had a flea market stall as part of the Great Purge.

I’ve had a bag of clothes under our guest bed for a while now with the classic  “I-don’t-really-like-this-but-I-can’t-bring-myself-to-part-with-it-because-it’s-still-in-such-good-condition” clothes alongside the “I-can’t-fit-in-this-right-now-but-someday-maybe?” outfits. Like many other people, 20% of my wardrobe   Given the impending move (and the need to acquire winter great- polar vortex yikes!) I decided it was finally time to take no prisoners in my closet.

We trotted down to the flea with a suitcase of clothes, some handbags,  a basket of books and some assorted games and kitchen stuff.

Since we’re getting close to Chinese New Year here, I hung my brightest and most festive dress right in front to act as a siren call. She did get a fair bit of attention but sadly I didn’t close the sale on that one, I really should have cajoled the nice lady who bought 2 other dresses!

Our initial outlay was $85 (leaving sweat cost completely out of the question of course..) – booth rental were $50, I bought a rack off Craigslist for $15 and we paid around $20 cab fares – so I was hoping to sell $100 worth to make a bit of cake money. Thanks to John’s old violin, we managed to make a bit more than that so I was glad, but the flea market was a good illustration of the importance of location to retail. The mall was in a quiet part of town, and we found out later from another vendor that there was another flea in another mall less than 500m away which had better footfall.. At the end of they day I think the only person who made a profit were the organisers, but I’m still glad we did it before January ended!

Once it became clear that no one else was coming, we packed up and headed straight to the Salvation Army donation centre. They have a very clever “drive through” donation concept where large trolleys are cling wrapped on 3 sides, with 1 side left open for the donations.  We offloaded nearly everything ( although I did save that red dress… I know, I know) and headed home with our near-empty suitcases.  I managed to donate another bag today  to our local recycling bins so we’re on a roll, but I suspect the c. 200 books left will all be moving with us..

We’ve eaten all of the Christmas pudding, the turkey leftovers have been turned to soup and frozen and we’re out of champagne – 2015 is here!

I realise it is already halfway through January, but it feels like the new year has just started for us – we’ve had a succession of visitors and the last family member left yesterday. The guest sheets have now been washed and I have reclaimed the Girl Cave, so in keeping with the general tradition of the retrospective/goal setting first post of the new year, here goes!

2014 was a busy year for the Husband and I. We made separate trips to the UK to see family, visited 3/4 new places – Philippines, South Africa,Macau and Hong Kong (a repeat visit for me) and were lucky enough to have lots of our wonderful friends and family visit throughout the year, culminating in both sides of our family coming together for the first time ever for Christmas dinner – 9 adults and 2 kiddywinks, ages 14 months to 70!

Professionally, half the year felt a little bit like being in a waiting lounge since I knew in February that I would be leaving the lawyerly life behind to join our credit research team in September. I think I probably stopped working on new PE transactions in June, and thereafter it was lots of tying up of loose ends, clearing emails (oh the emails…) and trying to ensure I left behind good handover notes – no one wants to be That girl! On the creative front, I felt that my painting skills had a growth spurt over the course of the year. Although Project 48 wasn’t exactly a resounding success (but seeing as I subsequently decided to take exams and change jobs, I shall cut myself some slack :)) I did manage 24 projects in the end so depending on the curve perhaps I scraped a pass?

As I think I’ve said before, the idea of Project 48 was to try and make Making a fixture of daily life – i.e. elevate it to the status of tea and red wine, instead of something I did when I had spare time. Out of the 24 projects, I think my favourite projects were without a doubt my first original works – the giraffe and rhino paintings. After almost 5 years after my first introductory painting class, I feel like I have crossed some invisible line where it wouldn’t be entirely illegitimate to refer to myself as an artist, even if I might add the qualifier “weekend” in front.  I kept to a steady schedule of roughly 6 hour-long weekend painting sessions until the final months of intensive revision had to kick in. I did go on the odd weekday, but generally I don’t like painting at night as I feel the studio lighting isn’t bright enough for my myopic eyes. Making more effort to have a specific plan for what I wanted to achieve at each studio session also made a difference. Of course, there were many days when things didn’t go quite to plan. Sometimes my colour-mixing mojo was absent and it was was two steps forward, three steps back. Sometimes my hands shook and I couldn’t get the level of precision I aspired to (Hint : I learnt that that fine, short handled brushes were essential). Sometimes the textures or shadows or contours just looked wrong. More importantly, taking the time to plan was a different approach from the days that I would turn up and spend the first 30 mins prepping and staring at my canvas trying to decide what to do. At the end of the day, looking at something that I had dreamt up and made all by myself was really satisfying – especially since it looked exactly as I wanted it to – something I can’t always say about my baking or sewing projects! This year I’m excited to start painting at home – the Husband got me a lovely easel for our anniversary which shall be set up in the Girl Cave this week.  Another highlight was the SG Maker Faire. I had so much fun preparing for the fair with mum, that it did make me feel a little sad that we do not live closer together, and indeed I’ll soon be moving further apart.  To a different continent as it happens..

2014 was also the year I turned 30. Whilst I am not gnashing my teeth at the thought that the “Things to do before I Turn 30″ bucket list is now gawn, gawn, gawn ( just like the fifty dollars), but I do feel a little Jack Bauer-y. So given we’re not getting any younger etc etc *yawn*, and more importantly, the fact that 2015 is going to be The Year We Move to New York (!), I figured I’d best encode some lessons in me before we start our next adventure.

1. Get On With It: I suppose this was a lesson I should have learnt years ago from Monty Python, but I’ve lost count of the number of times I had a project idea but prevaricated for ages before I Got On With It – case in point, Mod Podge Heels. Making excuses for yourself is too easy, but I know that every time I do that I diminish myself a little. It’s always been important to me to try new things in life, but somewhere along the way I think I let myself become a little complacent. I want to make the most of this special time of our lives where we’re living in a “2 Person World” ( direct translation of a mandarin colloquialism that refers to a married couple with no children) so I’m going to set a timeline for myself  – Every idea I have will be attempted within 2 weekends. I think this is a goal that is specific and achievable so fingers crossed!

2. The Importance of Disciplined Unplugging : Donning my studying cap again after a 5(?) year hiatus reminded of the amount I can accomplish when I deprive myself of an always-on internet connection. I didn’t actually switch off the router, but I removed my ipad from my room and sat very strict break times when I would be allowed to pop on Netflix or spend 30 minutes checking my usual blogs. The experience brought home the fact that I really do spend a lot of random online time, time that I could spend reading the books I’ve been meaning to read, or working on the projects that I’ve been meaning to do. Of course, I would not want to switch off permanently (life without the cat pictures is not worth living) but I think there have been too many times where I reach for the internet out of force of habit, rather than some genuine need or desire to acquire a new piece of information – I will be more intentional about the time I spent online. I think this one is going to be harder, but the idea is to be more aware about my screen time so I can check myself before looking at yet another blog or BBC News article.

3. Own Less Lost Stuff : I couldn’t think of a catchy phrase for this. The old William Morris chestnut was an obvious choice, but I still want room in my cupboards for things-that-may-be-useful-so-they-get-a-short-reprieve. Like any crafter, I have a collection of trims, paper scraps, bits of fabric etc which I am not willing to part with, so the idea here is that I will pare back stuff that is floating around the flat with no purpose or meaning in life – Lost Stuff. Some examples of Lost Stuff are clothes that have not been warn in a year, books I have no intention of reading but somehow acquired, and yes – even half-finished projects that I have lost interest in.  Not everything is worth the DIY effort, and there may be better avenues for my creative energy than to wrap a free box in fabric I don’t love. In the spirit of Get On With It I am not overthinking this, especially since the impending international move is already a good motivating factor. The Great Purge started on 1 Jan and the “body” count so far is 5 pair of shoes to the bin, two bags of clothes to be donated and another rack + two bags of stuff that will go to this weekend’s flea market(my first!) Anything that survives the flea will then be donated.

3 is a good number I think so I shall stop here and go poke in the odd sock drawer for something to throw..

I’ve not felt much like blogging since starting my new role in Sept.. it’s an exciting opportunity and a big change of direction in my career, and I’ve felt like it’s taken up more of me than I initially expected. It’s been 2 months and I’m feeling much more settled, so in a bid to get back on the hobby horse (oo triple pun score! :)) I’m squeezing in an October post.

September was mainly taken up by my Rhino painting which I have finally finished! I am really quite pleased with it and think it deserves its own post. I also baked a batch of brownies (calling that #21) which were a little less successful as the recipe was a tad sweet, and made 2 sets of blackout curtains for our bedroom and the girlcave (#22).

October has been a funny month. There has been the thrill of finishing the Rhino and inspiring conversations about the viability of art as a career somewhere in the future. I have hosted my incredible sister and brother-in-law and my wonderful nice and nephew, and in doing so experienced in some small measure the joys and terrors of parenthood. I know I am not ready for that responsibility yet (eek!), but it is a piece of a future I hope we will be blessed with.

I have also watched a lot of Great British Bake-off, cooked 3 meals ( I think that collectively counts as #23?) and started a new painting.

When I was little we would go back to my father’s kampung (hometown) every Chinese New Year. It was a 5-6 hour drive before the highways/depending on the traffic, and I remember how my paternal grandmother, Ah Mah and all my aunties would conspire to keep my paternal grandfather, Ah Gong in the dark about when we would actually be arriving. This was before the days of mobile phones, so Ah Gong spent many an hour sitting on the porch waiting for our return. One of the many highlights of Chinese New Year was the fireworks. It meant staying up way past bedtime, and we would file out in our semi-pyjamas made by my aunt and joined our cousins and half cousins in a pyrotechnic extravaganza. There were pop-pop (screws of explosive powder – I used to think it was gunpowder!) that you would throw on the ground – it was a favourite game of the boys to throw them at your feet to make you jump; sparklers in slim blue packets with a black cat with large eyes on the front; spinning tops that, once lit, would spin round in a widening gyre. daring you to come near and jump away shrieking as they spun in your direction; and the magic wands that you held up the sky from which coloured balls of light would shoot out in a shower of sparks and light up part of the night sky.

The wands were particularly exciting since you held on to them for the entire performance and unlike the sparklers, there was a sense of conjuring since you never quite knew how many sparks there would be and what colour they would take. I have vivid memories of my Dad holding my hand over the wand and directing it away from us. As I write, I feel I can smell the mix of matches, joss sticks, mosquito coils and what I assume is gunpowder ( or perhaps cordite?) wafting around me. I remember how the wand would get hotter and hotter as it spewed ball after ball of light. I remember the thrill of excitement married with the certainty that with Daddy holding my hands, I would not get hurt.

It’s not finished yet, but this one is for you Daddy.

Sorry for the delayed post!

The Faire coincided with the last weekend of my Mum’s visit (26-27 July)  which was providential as it meant I could “conscript” Mummylabour to help with the Faire.

As my Mum doesn’t live in Singapore, we don’t get to spend much time together so this was a rare opportunity. We had a lot of fun making 2 bags together, some yarn pom-poms as well as the sign for the Tinker Tailor stall. Along the way she told stories about her perfectionist sewing teacher Ms Gan (I think) and how she would mercilessly reject anything with the slightest of flaws.

The bags took some planning and were,how shall we say, experimental bags as I didn’t have any plain cotton that was suitable for lining the bags, nor did I have any webbing or other stuff for the straps so those were cut out and sewn from scratch.The first bag was a simple tote made using a graphic apple print based on an existing tote. The second was a small satchel loosely based on a small and old Esprit bag I own which is the perfect size for quick dashes to the shops.

Execution was entirely down to Mum. She even helped recover my mannequin with an old gray t-shirt!

We made the pompoms using Dana’s tutorial. I’ve made pompoms before using a different method that involved cutting cardboard Os but this was much easier – thanks very much Dana for the clear instructions!

Using the measurements for the allocated table, I drew the letters for Tinker Tailor out on cardboard and we used paper and fabric to cover them. I thought about using Mod Podge again, but since it didn’t really matter what the back of the letters looked like I stuck to UHU stick and sellotape. I’m very pleased with how they turned out

Voila – our booth!

Now that I’m back on my yoga 3x a week mission, plus the fact that I’ve just started spin classes, I find that my stinky laundry generation rate is beginning to get a little silly. In addition, since I sometimes skip the shower queues and head home, I try and bring an extra top to change in to and be a gracious commuter hence more laundry. (Hm, I’d probably get more space in the train if I did get on in sweaty gym kit..)

Now I do appreciate that proper sports kit is probably made out of special sweat wicking nano tech green plasmoid fabric, and it does make a difference when you’re already overheated. However,  yoga stuff just seems to be extra fashionably expensive.  US$60 for a top without any built in support?  Although perhaps it’s still too low a price to pay for some dignity (although the saga was 2013 so perhaps QC has improved?).  I don’t need magic fabric when I’m just getting on a train, but I was aiming for the “post-gym semi-fashionably dishevelled” look, rather than the “rolled out of bed and pulled on scrappy clothes for the market” look. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted – something crossed back, drapey, loose and soft to  cope with the post-workout heat. Nevertheless, I consulted google images to see if there was something else more interesting that I thought I could make in a short time.  I did find something I liked, but In the end, I stuck with my original idea for ease of execution.  I  also found some interesting sportswear patterns – I still haven’t tried sewing with patterns yet as the packages always seem so intimidating?  I bought 3 sets in a pattern sale though so I’m committed to the cause now! But I digress.. Poking through my wardrobe revealed a slouchy pink Asos t shirt that was past its prime- perfect candidate for an up cycle. The top already had a wide neckline which gave me space to cross the straps across the back , thereby narrowing the neckline. Does that make sense? This was quite a simple project which involved 5 steps.

1. Remove sleeves
2. Mark the drop at the back of the top
3. Slice the back of the top down to the mark
4. Take the sides in
5. Cross the straps at the back and attach to the body of the top

I did all this by hand as my sewing machine wasn’t set-up post-surgery yet.  It’s not perfect as I didn’t hem the straps, but no biggie and it’s already survived 2 washes  It’s nice to do one of these no pressure projects – if it fails it was just an old t-shirt anyway and it would gets consigned to the rag bag for wiping surfaces etc.

Conclusion- a soft sleeveless top that’s great to throw over your crop top after your preferred form of exercise.  I’ll  include an after photo in the next post – the Husband is away and I can’t photograph my back

An unplanned hiatus! Things just got really hectic at work, and since I started CFA revision free time has been rather elusive to say the least. I’m not sure if I’ve completely rescued Project 48 yet  (how is it May already??), but at least I’m almost at double digits!

I have still been painting regularly and am averaging 5 hours each weekend,  so dear Rhino has been progressing well.   Also my giraffe whom I have named Molly is hanging, perhaps slightly self consciously, alongside the works of other artists in the studio I go to  – my first exhibition!

First let’s see how the as-yet-nameless Rhino is doing. My last update was in February, and since then I have made quite a lot of progress on the table, face and hands.

Fast forward to May and this is how he looks now!

I’ve changed the shade of the blue numerous times through lack of planning and am a little unsure about the wallpaper, but will see how it evolves. The hands have actually been a lot of fun after the tough time I had with the John and Ollie portrait. The funny thing was that as I was essentially using my own hands as a reference point, despite being  very conscious that I’d need to make all limbs beefier, he still ended up having very feminine hands in the first round. The ruff is proving to be quite a challenge, but I bought a new set of short and very thin brushes that I’m loving for the detailed work. You get so much more control compared to conventional long handled brushes.

For Project 9  I repainted an ikea shoe rack we have been using for plants. It was red and is now  pale blue as I’m trying to create more of a restful vibe in the living room.  Project 10 was a little terrarium.  Some may say it’s a trend that has passed it’s prime, but I do like them and am hoping the contained environment will reduce the suicide risk. I think I should probably go to a nursery again – some of the shortcuts like buying potting mix from the market which contained more charcoal than soil haven’t really worked out.  Unfortunately despite living in the tropics and sneezing distance of the equator, our flat is actually quite dark thanks to the tinted AND recessed windows – what were they thinking.. The shape of the terrarium isn’t quite right either as I wanted a much bigger container,  but it’s still quite sweet and can serve as a reminder to water plants as it sits pretty on the coffee table.

Are what you get when you have one bikini that’s a bit too big, and another that’s a bit too small

Since both bikinis were in a similar colour palette, I decided a bit of surgery wouldn’t look too obvious. Unpicking the stitches did take a while and it wasn’t my neatest bit of sewing, but then I was also watching Husband John play XCOM and offering helpful advice like “Reload, Reload!!”

It’s pretty obvious that the position of the clips on the green bikini will not be symmetrical, but I needed that extra bit of fabric for the paisley’s add on. It isn’t a very elegant solution, but they both fit much better and I never intend to let anyone take a photo of my back view in a bikini so I’m cool with number 8.

After my successful shoe refresh, I thought I’d give fabric dye a shot as Project 6. Since my wardrobe had spilled its bounty all over the guest bed as part of spring cleaning efforts, I picked out 2 well-worn denim skirts to act as my guinea pigs, and a packet of Dylon powdered Indigo Blue.

The before pictures are a little washed out, but the difference was quite marked.

The instructions on the packet were pretty straightforward, all you really need is something to dye, 250g of salt, rubber gloves and a stirring stick ( I used an old paintbrush).

It felt a bit of a shame not to use the rest of the dye bath, since it doesn’t really lose its pigment after dyeing a few garments, so I looked around the flat with a hawkish eye, and came up with 2 bathmats. They were quite a faded gray, and are now a more pleasing blue:

I washed all the items in the sink a few times before popping them on a quick wash in the washing machine. I must admit I’m not sure how colourfast they are (don’t think I should be sitting on any white leather sofas yet..) so I may do another salt bath. The whole dyeing and rinsing process does seem to use quite a lot of water so I’m a bit wary of repeating the experiment. I’ve since rinsed out the washing machine with the added protection of baking soda and run a dark wash so I think laundry is safe, but must confess to some curiosity about placing dye directly into the machine – wouldn’t that be a recipe for pink socks/uniformly gray shirts??

This past weekend also involved another mammoth painting session (post to come) and I felt I was justified in making Project 7 a sewing medley of removing belt loops from a dress; taking a pair of pajama trousers in for Husband John, and taking in the lining to “de-poof” a dress. More smoothies were made and dinners  cooked so it was a pretty good week!

I had this weekend to myself as Husband John was out of town, and it was quite a satisfying Get’er Done weekend. In addition to boring stuff like 3 loads of laundry and loo scrubbing, I manage to go for morning yoga and start the first Great Wardrobe Cull of 2014! Trying on all the clothes you have not worn in the last 12 months is a highly effective (and visual..) reality check if you have the niggly feeling you are a teeny tiny bit heavier than you should be :p But I digress..  I still need to work blogging into my weekly schedule, but I feel I’m getting better at not over-thinking the whole process. Stream-of-consciousness writing works fine for now!

In reverse order : The cheeky five was a berry smoothie. I added some muesli (sidenote: I always feel like it should be spelt meusli..) as a trial, but I don’t think I’ll be doing it again as it detracts from the sharp tang of the berries.

Four was proper cooking – A few weeks ago Husband John invented what he calls Meatestrone soup – basically it’s like minestrone but with beef mince and mixed pulses. Soup is such a good way of using up the good intentions veggies that are languishing in the fridge and we usually get at least 3-4 freezer meals out of our beloved Le Creuset.

Ingredients this time were :  Some garlic, onions and 1 chilli, 2 carrots, 1 fresh tomato and 1 tin of plum tomatoes,  1 beef stock cube and 1 veggie stock cubes, some dried mixed Italian herbs and extra rosemary, 150 grams of mixed pulses (pre-soaked) and 300g beef mince.

The mince looks extra brain-like in this shot..

The 2 dots in the top left hand corner are raw lentils, not spills. My kitchen counters are quite clean, promise!

Despite pre-soaking the mixed pulses for almost 18 hours, some of the larger grains were still a little crunchy after an hour of cooking. Note to self  – look up name of the crunchy grains to see if they are actually meant to be crunchy.. Hmm, also look up side effects of eating partially cooked pulses.. 

is worth two in the bush?

Anyway.. I knew Rhino would be holding something in his hand and looking at it contemplatively, but at first I wasn’t sure what it should be.

A crystal ball felt too obvious, although I did consider the possibility of it showing an image of Giraffe in the room(?) next door. Other alternatives were

• a pocket watch ( but maybe too Alice in Wonderland?)
• a cameo?
• baby giraffe?

Finally it hit me  – an egg!

Life in hand!

Husband John suggested that the egg could have a few cracks as if it’s just about to hatch, but I’m not quite sure yet. I think I like the idea of anticipation –  of not knowing when the egg will hatch or indeed what’s in the egg ( dragons would be very cool – oo brainwave, maybe that will be the next creature in the series!).

Ignore the placeholder furniture(fireplace?) in the corner

I also decided that the floor would be made of wooden planks, but I wondered if the planks should all be a uniform colour – that could make it more realistic (but with the potential for monotony), or to have it alternate colours which would be more theatrical and could relate better to Giraffe’s parlour. But then I worried that the stripes/chequerboard reference might be too literal?

I’m still not sure, but I’m rolling with it for now.

The next step was to incorporate the patterned wallpaper that had been part of the plan from day one. I considered repeating the entire pattern across the background – cue hesitation- but once the sketching started it was clear that a pattern on every grid would have made the background too busy

This is where I am now. I’m pretty pleased with my progress, but I think I do need a piece of furniture in the corner. Not a fireplace since that would mess with the lighting, but maybe a glass fronted small cabinet with something on top. One of the other artists suggested a clock so as to invoke some movement to what is essentially a static composition. I like the idea, but am not sure if it should be one of those goldy-baroquey clocks with the spinny-bit-in-place-of-a-pendulum, or whether I’d prefer to have an hourglass with shimmery sands falling through ( but would the hourglass be half full or half empty?)

I’ve considered incorporating a plant instead, but green doesn’t really feature in this series and I’m not sure if it would work.

Double studio session tomorrow so I’ll need to make some decisions asap!