Pics do lie... hehehe

I went round every corner of my home today.... decided I need a change. After 13 years living here, the house is in dire need of repairs... nope NOT renovation!!! ...just repairs... from outside a friend once commented that it looks haunted!!!! Everything is... like giving way to age and neglect... but in spite of the pathetic dilapidated condition of my home... I do have favourite corners. I'm going to share here today... my home show-casing my own handiwork ... (but of course, one has to be proud of one's work... right????)

This is my favourite corner... spend 2/3 of my waking hours here. The mess remains a mess... it's my work table in my studio in a corner of my dry kitchen. Students and friends will converge here ... students to paint and friends to yakity-yak. Nobody else is allowed here!!!

The corner by the staircase is where I have most of my painted items displayed. Currently it is full... and I'm happy. However... not too good an idea to have the shelves full ... that's because I will become complacent and will wait for them to be empty before I start to paint more.... NOT goood!!! Anyway only half the items displayed are for sale. Others are either mine or waiting for the owners to come collect.

Nooks and corners in the house are decorated according to what I have. I have no special theme to follow. I create a corner as I see fit... haha an ID will have a fit here!!! What? ... house decor with no theme??? Yup!yup!yup!... that's my home... as spontaneous as the owner... muahahahaha

My blue and white corner was created to fit my blue and white cabinet that I painted. Had that cabinet painted when I suddenly realised I have nothing blue and white to match... so because of that I started my blue and white collection... hahaha. My kids tell me... I am crazy.... muahahahaha.... (though some of the items are gifts from them) Then... because I have that blue and white corner, I had to balance the other end of the wall. It looked kind of lob-sided when it was empty... and it gave that ...ugghhh ... uneasy feeling... so... I filled up the space with whatever I had... hahahaha. The display stand with the orchids on it has been basecoated since 3 years ago... nothing painted on it.... don't know why... just haven't found anything interesting to paint yet. Ideas come and go but none strong enough to urge me to paint!!!


So now you've been taken through my studio to my living room. Now... lets take a tour of my dining area.... hehe another messy area filled with books and what-nots on the table!!!! What you see here are displays at opposite corners of the feature wall of the dining area. Yup... I don't like empty corners!!! Empty corners give me an eerie feeling. Again what you see on the walls are works of yours truly here hehehe... except for the mirror on the right and the cabinet on the left. Here I show off my works in cross-stitch, patchwork and quilting, ribbon embroidery apart from my paintings. Yup!yup!yup! I'm multi-crafty.... thank you... thank you... thank you... muahahahaha

In another corner opposite the feature wall in my dining area... again of course...showing off my works... sits a round table and 2 chairs... supposedly it's my tea-corner hehehe. Oooohhh must tell you this... I do most of the sewing in the house too... curtains, runners, table cloths.... *wink* pat*pat*... ain't I clever????... muahahahaha.




The antique sideboard belongs to my great grand-dad. I coaxed my grandma to give it to me ... on it sits a few more of my paintings. This area here is an annex... joining my dining area back to my living room. I don't like walls... I'm not claustrophobic... but I just love to see space. However... I do regret it now... I just don't have enough hanging space to display my works!!!!! Oh well..... *sigh* too late to complain

This display table I took from my mum. I have things mixed and matched all over the house. I told you I do not have a theme... it's just me... I co-ordinate with colours. As long as it does not stand out like a sore thumb... I'm happy ;)

You are about to finish a tour of my living, studio and dining area. Lets have a cuppa ya...hehehe.... other areas are off-limits!!!!

A blessed week...

*sigh* I've been lazy this week.... at most I'd just basecoated! I have a lot of UFOs here, there, every where....on the table, under the table, on the floor, hidden, exposed!!!!... just a matter of final touches here and there... but.... I've been lazy!!! just no ooommpphhh !!!! However... it had been a good lazy week hahaha... been blog hopping, catching up with my emails and happily leaving comments on my facebook.... (lame excuse to pacify my guilt ...muahahaha) ...

Friday 20 March was especially good.... as usual Friday is lunch day for us Golden Ladies.... but this time we managed to gather many more... besides Ja, Su and I... we had Yasmin, Philomena, Siew Bee, Wai Leng, Elita, Addie, Phaik Leng and Anis. It being the school hols... Ja, Siew Bee, Phaik Leng and I brought along our juniors. It was a table of 16 boisterous females.... errrr.... please don't imagine the noise we made ya.... it's just beyond your imagination!!!!... muahahaha.


By 11.30am we started to gather in front of MPH MidValley and by 11.50am we made our way to Cititel for lunch... BUT we had to wait till 12noon for the buffet counter to be officially opened!! ... so... do we wait quietly??? Nay... never!!!! I don't think there was a moment when the table was ever quiet. We have some high-powered ladies there at our table, mind you.... but when friends meet.... there is no demarcation of status of any form!!!! Bless them all... I love you guys...

Footstools as promised....

Alhamdulillah... done... finished the two footstools as promised.... ready for collection by today hehehe. Nothing fancy... just hydrangeas and geraniums :)

Showing off (so what else is new, huh???) the tops of the stools.... I just love painting hydrangeas...esp the leaves... don't ask why!! I just love them. Geraniums? ... definitely a challenge! The blooms are easy... BUT the leaves are still just satisfacory... I have not mastered the art of making the folds look gentle and 'flowy'. I have yet to view a sample of geranium leaves in the many books that I have that I could really say... "wow!"... hmmmm!!! Oh my!!! ...don't I sound vain here???... muahahahaaha

Note to self : careful Nora... grandma said always to be humble!!! but again... how to remain humble when one is always showing off one's work huh????...

Taa y'all... catch-up with you later ya... I'm blowing with the wind ;)

I'm poofed!!!

I spent the whole day today doing paperwork for an incoming workshop to be held next month at UTM, Skudai, Johore. It has been a looooonnnggggg time since I last did any form of paperwork from a-z... oh boy!!! am I poofed???!!!! My brain cells are forced to work at full gear, full-steam ahead since after dawn till now... with short intervals in between... hahahaha.... not easy I tell you... not when the brain has been at rest a wee bit too long!!!

Since I was glued to the monitor... I also managed to get a few other proposals out for beginner workshops on decorative painting and decoupage... for full and half day courses. Kudos to me... *pat*pat*. Now, all I need is the lesson notes for the project. Everything is in my mind now... words all muddled up with notes lying around everywhere...hehehe.... reminds me of the days when I was writing my thesis to get my degree way back in 1982....

Anyway... dear friends... if ever you are interested in having a workshop with me... please let me tell you now ya... I'm available... all you have to do is to just ask ;)

I'm taking a breather now... going to my Facebook first and then back to the drawing table to paint hydrangeas and geraniums on a pair of footstools... bz bz bz... muah muah MUAH

p/s: Laman Impiana will be having beginner workshops series 5 and 6 on 25/7 and 15/8 respectively.... check it out in Laman( issue 19)... Aniza, Zaitun and I will be conducting the class (as usual)... muahahahahahaha.... see y'all

Boxes, boxes, boxes...

After the last 2 boxes shown in my last post... I had a few more painted. They were actually an in-between thingy... was in the midst of painting this dustbin, ran out of ideas... but to maintain my painting mode and mood... I had the boxes painted hehehe....

As usual I MUST show.... right???? I mean... hey, I'm an artist... I paint to show.!!!.. muahahahaha. Anyway, look away ya... here's a small jewelry box in pastel green with pink roses painted on the top and inside cover of the box. Box is for sale... any takers here?


Here's another knick-knack box but with a dark base. I had cherry blossoms painted on them... kind of liked how the pastel colours stand out on a dark base. Painted in the same tones and manner as the cutlery and tea-boxes in my last post... but because of the dark base it gives such a contast to the blossoms....



And finally... a gift box for my student from my teaching days in Hartamas who is getting married this weekend. Had part of her invitation card decoupaged on the inside of the top cover. Unfortunately... my camera does not allow me to have sharp pics to show-off!!!! Indah Wahyuni... this is for you dear.... may you have a wonderful life ahead of you ;)