Decorative Items for sale
I have created a special blog to display my decorative items for sale. You may view them at www.norastouches.blogspot.com (link below)
Please feel free to drop by and browse through. New items will be displayed as and when they are ready... what I have on display are items that are already in stock.... unless stated sold :)
All items shown are hand-painted personally by yours truly. I do take orders... but the queue is long... sorry :( .... but if you are willing to wait in the queue... I'm more than obliged to paint for you..... It would be an honour!!!!
It's fruits and veges today... Azma these are yours :)
Strawberries painted on a utility holder made from galvanised tin. Made it look rustic with strawberries on both sides. Simple though...
Next was the killer haha. Took me a loooooooonnnggggg time to complete this huge picnic hamper. It was a feat trying to make the veges look real ... am actually quite happy with the outcome. I have no formal training on painting veges, so what you see is the outcome of my trial and error style based on the various techniques I'd learned in the past hehe.... *pat pat patting myself on my shoulders.... yeay*
The base I painted to make it look like a basket. That too I'd taken time to paint...Aida was my critical consultant ... she'd go... " ma....your basket does not look woven,
too much space, not enough shadows ...... " urghh!!!! but thanks anyway honourable daughter #3... your comments are most welcomed :)) These 2 items I have finished but not yet varnished .... so Azma... call me 2 days prior to collection ya hehe...
Currently, I'm simultaneously preparing 2 items... Azma's metallic bread bin and Salmi's glazed earthenware pot. Both items need thorough preparation prior to painting .... otherwise it would be a wasted effort since the paints won't stick well on such surfaces unless pre-primed ....
... wait for the results.... whenever that would be hehehe.... have a great day ya...
Another personal item to show off today. Had this stool done pronto as I needed more stools for a fish bbq gathering last Oct 31. Had the stool base-coated ages ago and left it under my table waiting to be painted one fine day. Well... the day finally came... and again it took me only an hour to complete the stool... the things I can do ...when i need to ... muahahahaha. Anyway... I do have a few more stools in stock... but one was all I could do due to a tight schedule*sigh*
I am now currently painting for Azma.... I'm almost done with your picnic hamper :) ... pray that I do not get interrupted ya.... interruptions get me off-the-painting-mode..... *sigh again*
That's it for today ... more to come later on :) ...have a good day y'all
Just a small item, took just an hour to finish 2 days ago...but it took ages... AGES!!! ... for me to start on it. Bought the empty plaque ...errmmmm maybe 6 or 7 months ago hehehe. Had leaves and a nest with eggs painted on it... not doing flowers here.
I have decided that I will only paint roses when I need to complete PRONTO haha ... like for instance, I'm having guests in the evening and I have maybe 2 hours left to spare ...haha... did just that for my hand-soap dispenser .....
Right... that's it for today... seems to have lost my flair for words... writer's block!!!
Take care ya...
Hehe... wanna see my shoe cabinet? It's unfinished (details are missing here and there) thus it's unvarnished ...BUT .... it's already outside with shoes in it !!! yup!yup!yup!Struggled to get some trompe l'oeil effect there .... getting ideas from everywhere and finally decided to just put in minimal drawings because I didn't want to hide the faux finish that I'd created and loved ....muahahaha. "Not finished?...and why is it outside and used?" you asked??? Weeellllllll ...that's because I had to clear the house for Raya ...wouldn't want to have an unfinished shoe cabinet in my hall, would I ???(because that's where I painted the cabinet...in my living room hahaha) Anyway ...here is more of it .....
I have yet to put in details on the piece of note paper "attached" on the door. At the moment it appears to be just an empty aged yellowing piece of paper pinned onto the door... so we shall see as to when this piece will really really really be completed .....*sigh again*
....have a great day y'all....
Last post was 8 Sept... today is 2 Nov...oh wow!!! Have I been away THAT long???? Was I THAT busy or was I THAT lazy huh??? Haha never mind... hey, I'm back ...True I've been BOTH lazy and busy. Took a long break from painting to catch up with other things that I'd neglected whilst painting. I'm finally back in the mood... but unfortunately the old habit is still there. That much of me is still asking to be changed... when will I ever learn to finish one project before I go to the next ????? Never??? May be hahahaha.... oh welllllll....I have a collection of latest UFOs ... finished the main and major part of the painting, just needing the final touches here and there ... which of course (I think! You think?) will eventually finish and be varnished.... Yeah!yeah! I know... I have pieces from umpteen years ago that I'd still not completed ... *sigh* Anyway ... here goes ... will show you just 1 project per posting ya... the internet is rather slow. Uploading the pics take ages!!!! ... good suspense for you too yes??? muahahahahaha
This tea-pot I bought at a reduced price from Ikea... sometime last year. It was a reject piece as the cover was broken. I saw it as a potential flower vase, but it was only recently that I managed to sit down to paint on it. Toyed around with various design ideas... and this was the outcome... a simple monotone design (actually... it was a good excuse to do a quick cover job... muahahahaha!!!) 
A simple country-side scenery on one front and a kerchief dropping from the rim on the other... a real lazy-man's job hahaha... but I like the effect. It's mine... and I'm not complaining :)
sooooo... that's it for now ... another project on another post ya...nite-nite muah....
Zie had these kendi and colander cleaned for her mom... but somehow somewhere it didn't turn out as clean as expected ... so that's how they came to me... for a makeover ;)The kendi has a beautifully curved metallic handle and an elegant body to match. I felt that it would not do the piece any justice if I were to just paint roses on it. So after 3 days of pondering, mulling and fretting over it, I finally gave Zie a call to inform her of my decision to make it look rustic and classic. Alhamdulillah she agreed. I'm happy with the outcome... I hope she is too ....
I painted the surface in a rustic manner ... and had gold trimmings with gold strokes and dots to complement. It is actually a very simple design but it adds elegance to this classic piece.
The colander was another story altogether. I didn't m
ak
e it pastel as I wanted the fruits to stand out. It would look just as good on a pastel background with some effect work around it ... but I had to consider that the colander is very "holey" ... hehe... the holes make it difficult to paint on, as paint keeps on seeping out on the other side!!! It wasn't easy but it was fun ... and again... I'm happy with it.
These 2 will be handed over to Zie this Sunday... and as usual ... I'm apprehensive as to how my work is accepted ... *sigh* when will I ever get rid of this feeling huh? Anyway .. I'm starting on Noorazma's bread bin and picnic hamper soon ... but in between sessions .. I see progress on my shoe cabinet :))
Have a great day ya....
The past week has been for my other customers ... on items other than huge furniture. It's a good break since I do need to allow my creative juices to flow. It sets my brain on a thinking mode when I have to paint other than roses! I do enjoy the challenge :) ...painting just roses makes me dull and go on auto mode hahaha ...
Anyway... I painted teddy bears on a storage bin for Mala ... finished it last week but kept it on hold until 3 days ago. I felt that there was no zest in the painting ... so I put it aside, stared at it daily for 4 days, cracked my brain ... and still saw no solution to it. Finally ... took it to Aniza and had a sort of brainstorming session with her .... and the outcome is what you see here. All it needed was more highlights on the fur and dashes of red here and there to give it some zest. Thank you Aniza, the bin is now with Mala :)
This magazine rack was also painted for Mala. As much as I love to paint hydrangeas ... like roses, I will go on auto mode again. No challenge here ...
I finished painting for Roziah too ... but I will show that later in my next post. In between sessions of painting for Mala and Roziah ... in those moments when I got stuck due to lack of ideas ... I continued with my shoe cabinet. Now that's another story altogether... so till my next post ... goodnight y'all
There is a saying that the customer is always right :) It is something we service providers have to stand by all the time ... regardless the consequences ...
I discovered today that my paintings were not up to expectations ... I misunderstood the specifications and did it my way as I usually do unless specifically instructed. I happily announced in my last 2 posts that the lady was happy with my work ... when unfortunately she was not. I understand the feelings of dissatisfaction when what we want is not what we get ... so here I have to remind myself to make sure the customer gets what he/she wants.... but again... oh well... *sigh* ... there is another saying... one man's meat is another man's poison... you just can't please them all...
So till my next post... have a great day.... ;)
Yup... to continue where I left in my last post.... no new stories but just what I'd painted the past 2 weeks ;) Unfortunately... at the moment, I'm lost for words... ya ya I surprised myself too haha!!! ... so I'll just let the pics do the talking ....
Apart from the green furniture set, I was commissioned to paint on white furniture too. Ita's husband, Tarmizi, is an excellent carpenter. Just give him your specs and dimensions to anything you fancy... and he'll have that built!! Anyway ... here are the pics ...
The white buffet hutch sent to me was without legs. It was an urgent order, to be sent outstation ... so Mizi sent it to me in pieces to be assembled later upon completion hehe. On this set, I painted brilliant pink roses as per requested. I was told the lady
was pleased with my effort .. and I'm very happy she's satisfied :) It just made my day when my work is appreciated. I'm always at jitters as to whether my work is up to expectation ... not good for the heart though!!! :(
These were painted on the sides of the buffet hutch... huge pink roses with blue-violet blooms. Took me a total of 7 hours to complete this piece ... exhausted with pain in the thighs upon completion haha. Had to paint it whilst standing and in every other position to accomodate the angle to paint the design hahaha ... top, sides, bottom, along the shelves ....
I'm currently rewarding myself with this custom-made shoe cabinet. I've not really painted on anything big for myself ... oh wait!!! I did.. I painted on my old fridge hehe... the fridge??? ... nope... not completed... it stands outside as it was since I last posted it here ... muahahahaha ... one fine day.... one fine day hehe
To this I bid thee ... fare thee well my friends ... till we meet again ... need to continue on the shoe cabinet ... ;)
Next was the killer haha. Took me a loooooooonnnggggg time to complete this huge picnic hamper. It was a feat trying to make the veges look real ... am actually quite happy with the outcome. I have no formal training on painting veges, so what you see is the outcome of my trial and error style based on the various techniques I'd learned in the past hehe.... *pat pat patting myself on my shoulders.... yeay*
too much space, not enough shadows ...... " urghh!!!! but thanks anyway honourable daughter #3... your comments are most welcomed :)) These 2 items I have finished but not yet varnished .... so Azma... call me 2 days prior to collection ya hehe...
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