I bought this fantastic kit from a Chinese indie seller I found on Red Book (Xiao Hong Shu). Fortunately, it arrived before the holidays. I figured this would be great to send to family and friends and include in my swap mails all year long. So before the Spring Festival, I printed a few of this stunning Qilin on delicate rice paper. 🐉✨ Qilin, a revered mythical creature in Chinese culture, is often depicted as a majestic blend of a deer, dragon, horse, and lion—a symbol of good fortune, prosperity, and wisdom. According to legend, it can tread grass without a trace and even breathe fire! 🔥 In Chinese mythology,…
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Do you make and exchange ATC or Artist Trading Cards? Have you made an ATC before? I’ve been making ATC since probably 2015. I learned about this via swap-bot.com when I joined in 2013. I’ve been curious about these and got the courage to sign up for some international swaps. These were quite fun, and I regret not making extras for each card I made for my collection. So, there are other variations for the standard ATC (2.5×3.5 inches). One is called inkbox cards, which are square 3×3 inches and have rounded corners, just like the Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads, hence the name. The lesser-known one is the ATC coin, which…
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My frend, Tõnis (@vanishing.shanghai), calls our mini “group” the “Five o’clock Club” because we used to get up early to go out sketching. In a previous post, I posted about our early morning sketches, which is how we enjoyed these crazy morning hours. However, we can’t do it as often now because of our busy schedules. I have to feed the cats and kids before I leave for work, and Tõnis is busy organizing his exhibits. But we still try to grab any pockets of time we can to go out and sketch, and we call them “mini adventures.” Adventure 1: Anren Street One morning, we had an impromptu sketching…
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In the previous post I shared my urban sketching adventures around Shanghai. I thought there was too much to share on that post so I decided to do a part 2 but this time focusing on the other type of creative stuff that I was able to get done. Starting off with a big highlight from our holiday is the exhibit called “Beyond the Streets” which we were fortunate to see before it ended. I thought it was a really cool exhibit about graffiti, how it became an art form and all the different artists who started off as graffiti artists before they became well-known. And the best part? My…
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The 2024 ARTIST ALMANAC: ONE (1) part calendar + ONE (1) part inspiration = a whole LOT of collage material. 18 talented artists bring you 365 days of collageable artsy bits of paper.
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BIG NEWS! If you have missed the Early Bird Special and the Wanderlust LIVE! special sale, don’t worry. Wanderlust 2024 is on offer THIS WEEKEND – 27 October to 31 Oct at sale price of $109* USD instead of $175*! For a year full of video lesson in mixed-media. Don’t miss out on this bargain! If you are still wondering what Wanderlust 2024 is all about, let me fill you in! It’s a year-long course in mixed-media art journaling, offering a whole year of learning and inspiration. What you get: And guess what? Exciting bonuses are already waiting in the classroom! *local tax calculated at checkout So excited and am…
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Let's take a moment to pause and truly notice what surrounds us this November. What are we grateful for in this very moment? Together with Lea, let's embark on a journey of journaling.
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Experience Shanghai through my eyes with early morning urban sketching during the "Golden Week."
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08:45 am | Saturday My sketching adventure last Saturday was at the Zhenru Temple (真如寺) in Putuo District. When my friend, Lily, suggested this place to visit instead of the venue designated by Drawing Shanghai / Shanghai Urban Sketchers, my curiosity was perked. So good that we went to the historic Zhenru Temple, I don’t know why I did not know about this temple before. Originally built in the Song Dynasty (960-1276), the temple has undergone several changes throughout history between the Taiping Revolution to the Cultural Revolution where a lot of relics were destroyed. There is one temple within that is the original structure but most are rebuilt due…
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So great to be back into painting with watercolours are spending lots of time with other medium in my art journal. I joined Ohn Mar Win (@ohn_mar_win) and Clare Therese (@claretheresegray) on Instagram with their #7DaysofAutumnFlowers. I used a Fabriano Leporello Accordion Journal because of the size and I wanted to try this format of journal again. My watercolours are a mixed of Daniel Smith, Schmincke and Holbein. Finally, I decided to purchase a couple of local brands of watercolour brushes to see how they are against the international brands. Honestly, I am loving them! In the photo below (in the foreground) you will see 2 types of mop brushes…
