Flowers again

Completed three items recently... hydrangeas on a pair of lazy susans for Kak Nomi and a bouquet of flowers on a cutlery set for Siew Bee. Nothing much to really show-off here ... but it felt good to be able to finish something without added stress hahaha



Oh well... I actually lie if I say no stress added doing the cutlery box haha. Siew Bee gave instructions with no specific pics or photos as reference. Must admit... I'm no artist that can just imagine something off-the-cuff ... I need pics and photos. She said she wanted "undefined" wild summer flowers on a red-wine base ... err come again...WILD summer flowers? on a red wine base? ouh ok... gotta do some research now ...

Took me 2 weeks just to mull over what to paint ... anyway... what you see here is the outcome of my stressed thoughts *sigh* I actually had laces on the three sides of the base with daisies and dandelions on the inside of the cover .... but I was soooo relieved that the painting was done that I forgot to take pics of the base and the inside cover!!!!!!

However... this is one job I'm not too happy with as I felt that it's not my best. Fortunately... Siew Bee texted me yesterday and told me that her sis-in-law loved the box. Thank you Siew Bee's sis-in-law ... you made my day :)

To all you guys out there ... here's Nora wishing you a Happy New Year. May 2010 bring you abundant goodness, lots of joy and great health. Take care you hear ... thank you for visiting my blog....

Hey Kitty kitty....

I was at Kak Masnah's to deliver the ring-box some 2 weeks ago when my roaming eyes fell on an old rusty tin that she had tucked (or chucked away...hahaha) in a corner. Being a tin collector, I couldn't resist asking her to spare me the tin ... hahaha.... was just trying my luck ... and oh-boy! She gave me the tin... on one condition... that I paint her the same design on a stool... hehehe. The challenge ... and the old rusty cookie tin ... I took, but of course!!! It's a rare tin... don't think there are many of the same around anymore!!!

<------ Soooo.... from this tin.... it became that stool ------->

Kak Masnah loves it... and I love it even more :)))

Close-up of Kitty in bowl :)

Yup! That's it for today... back to my messy studio ... errr... maybe back to facebook first hehe. My poor garden has been neglected again *sigh*

Have a great day y'all ... taa

The Ring Box

I have the utmost admiration for people who can make something out of nothing ... it's just amazing how the creative minds work. Here is a classic example... I painted this small box for kak Masnah (view "The Ring Box" posted Nov 7 2009) as requested ... but just look at how she has decorated this item... simply lost for words!!!!



A small box can be simply but elegantly dressed ready to be presented as a gift fit for a queen!!! Kak Masnah... I salute you!

The last post said I was off to my studio... yup I did... but nothing materialised. All I did was to base-coat a few items :( I thought I'd paint on the stool ... or the cutlery box. .. or the bread bin ... or the book stand .... or the utility holder .... but nope!!! My brain switched off *sigh* ... all base-coated but still empty .....

Anyway... today... out of sheer frustration and an urgency to complete something ... I painted a very simple one on a wall plaque ... a design by Jamie Mills-Price from her book "Between the Vines" (vol 7). It's something I'd never done before ... but I quite like the look.... clean and fresh in contrast to my usual styles. My Aida said that it looked like a child's painting ... but haha. .. if any child can paint like that ... I take my hats off to her/him .... yup!yup!yup! Probably it would look better varnished ... but hehe ... I'll do that later ;)


Good night people... sweet dreams

The tempayan make-over

Tempayan?..... tempayan? ...tempayan ???? ...eyh...what's tempayan in english huh??? Been trying to recall what's it called (and too lazy to go look for my malay-english dictionary... actually can't remember where I last placed it... muahahahaha) ... *sigh*

Anyway... this tempayan here belongs to Salmi's grandmother ...errr or is it great-grandmother ??? (oh dear ... memory failure ...again!!) I had painted 3 different topiaries around it with butterflies and bees flying in between. I antiqued it to give it added value hehe ... not realising when I did that, the tempayan is already actually THAT old... a real piece of antique!!!! Only knew that it's an antique when Salmi came to collect it haha.... honestly... the tempayan looked very new... just smooth and shiny!!! Credit to the good old days when things were made to last forever !!! I'm satisfied with this piece ... did some research to get ideas for the topiaries hehe.... look see at the other two topiaries ya.

Salmi is happy... I'm happier ... I still have that nagging fear that my artwork is not up to expectations :(

That's it for now... off to the studio whilst I'm still in the painting mood. Need to get a few pieces ready for Christmas :) Have a great day ya ...

The Batu Gang

As a young child up to my teens, I led a nomadic life. Abah was with RISDA and was always on the move... getting transferred from one state to the other every few years. We, the kids, had to tag along... uprooting ourselves from one school to the next. It was hard to bond with anybody... but on the plus side, we made many friends ...yup!yup!yup!

Recently in the past few months...as destiny dictates our lives... I've been blessed with the past... meeting up with friends who remained fresh in my memories but have no inkling where they are. Names that I can recall... faces that are still young and fresh haha ... and sometimes just situations or events I recall but can't remember where they occurred (hahaha ... that's of course due to this thing called m-e-m-o-r-y ... which sometimes I forgot where I put.... muahahahaha) Anyway... yesterday was a great day.

After 36 years... I managed to catch-up with another batch of friends. Mashita found me in facebook... then came Liza and Aini. The biggest surprise was when Amin showed up at Lake Club where we gathered. Thank you all dear friends ... I am blessed. Alhamdulillah....

May Lee's ...

I mulled over the design for May Lee's gift box... toyed around with sooooo many ideas... none of which I found satisfactory. It's just not May Lee!!! ...until one fine day... I just let go and let the brush take control. Started base-coating with one colour... didn't like it... then changed to another... and another... until it became a colour that I didn't know what to paint on with *sigh* ... but God is Great!!!... I remembered that May Lee loves to scuba dive... and the dark blue background is perfect for a sea-bed scenery with colourful coral reefs... and that's what I did. May Lee... this is for you... happy b'day dear :)


The inside cover of the box says it all. I treasure this long-lost-found-again friendship. After Form 5 in 1975, we went our separate ways ... only to meet again last year at a reunion of Assuntarians '75... and from then on, the rest is history. We were never even close in school, not even in the same clique ... but the bondage that we have now will last forever... God Willing. May Lee .. thank you... for everything :))

Jati Furniture

A friend would like to sell her current almost brand new Jati furniture set. They were used solely for guests thus are still in great condition. Please feel free to contact Pn Rohaina (013-6134567/ 06-7632906) for further enquiries :)




PRICE : RM500.00 only
NEW UPHOLSTERY






4 PIECES
PRICE : RM250.00 each
NEW UPHOLSTERY

Buy the whole set and get 2 SIDE TABLES for FREE!



Cost is exclusive of delivery. However, delivery can be arranged at extra costs.

The Gift Box

Just a short note this time .... a gift made to order by friends for a very special friend... happy b'day Boon Kee. We love you....


Painted sweet lilacs on the cover







... and more lilacs on the inside ...



...sorry... everything seems so fuzzy this time... hands were not steady I guess.... :(


Nighty-nite ....

Great grandma's ....

Nope... no paintings to show-off today... nothing is finished yet hehe... BUT I do have something else to show off. I've been blog-hopping these past few days ... (hmm... THAT actually explains why I can't complete my paintings... muahahahaha)... feasting my eyes on the many beautiful items that are collected and cherished.

Anyway...I see sooooo many bloggers that are really into porcelain antiques. Well ... I am not a collector per se ... but I do have some that I'd inherited from my grandma. They were her mother's..... so you can imagine that these items are at least 100 years old. Grandma passed on at 93 and that was way back in 1999... great grandma had them even before grandma was born!!! You do the maths....

Just 2 items for today... will show more later when I have nothing else to show but have the mood to blog hehehe. First item is a small pot .... the body is just slightly bigger than my palm (and my palm IS small!!!) I'm guessing they might have used it as a milk pot ... should have asked grandma what it was used for... but I didn't *sigh*

The back has shown some wear and tear where parts of the gold trimmings had faded. Must have been a well-utilised ware here hehe...

The other item is a butter dish with a lovely domed-top and a delicately serrated dish. I see no trademarks on both the milk-pot and the butter dish... so I'm guessing they were made to order. *sigh* I wish I'd asked for details ... now it's too late to know the truth behind these antiques :( I was too elated to have them that I didn't bother to ask more.... !!!! ... or maybe I was too naive to understand antiques except for the fact that hey... I have something from great-grandma that my cousins don't hahaha...

Anyway... that's all for today... antique lovers have a feast :) My antiques are family heirlooms... I treasure them... and I hope my kids will cherish them too.... good day y'all

Fruits n veges ...

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...

The Ring Box....

Kak Masnah's baby is getting engaged sometime next month. Being a very creative lady she has tons of ideas that we normal mortals won't even think of!!! hahaha. Anyway, she has commissioned each of us (Aniza, Zaitun and I) a task to complete. I am to do the boxes and the trays for her son's engagement and wedding. So far... I'd completed the ring box and the basic marbled top for the 7 trays (for "hantaran"). In this post... I will show just the ring box. The trays will be shown later when I complete the whole design after the engagement. The other boxes?... yet to start :) The box is a normal MDF box ... painted and made to look like woven mengkuang to match the rest of her decorated gifts for the son's fiancee-wannabe. On it I'd painted lilacs since purple is the theme colour for the engagement. As for the base I'd done some very simple textured design with basic strokes at random. The box is with her now...

The grape stool ...

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

On small items ...

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...

My Shoe Cabinet

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....

Hellooooo... :)

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's mum's antiques

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 make 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....

Meet Teddy :)

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

The customer is always right ....

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.... ;)

And so we continue...

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 ... ;)