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Documenting life in Shanghai

  • hello!
  • Online Courses
  • #the100dayprojects
  • Art Journal Projects
  • Creative Happenings
  • hello!
  • Online Courses
  • #the100dayprojects
  • Art Journal Projects
  • Creative Happenings
  • Portugal in My Sketchbook
  • A Short Trip to Taipei
  • Relics of Nature: My First Art Retreat in Porto
  • Documenting Rome: A Travel Journal Filled with Memories
  • Travel Journal | Singapore
  • Crafting adventures

    Tutorial: Specimen Tags

    April 17, 2021 / No Comments

    A mini tutorial for embellishing your projects.

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    Get Messy Season 8 MessyList

    Art Journal | Get Messy Season 8: Messy Lists Part 1

    April 20, 2016

    Relics of Nature: My First Art Retreat in Porto

    October 29, 2026

    Art Journal | Get Messy Season 8: Messy Lists Part 4

    June 4, 2016
  • Currents,  Shanghai living

    2021 Thrive

    February 4, 2021 / No Comments

    January 1 rolled in quietly just like any day. I guess there was the sense of uncertainty as to what is in store for the new year after the ‘epic’ 2020 that we all had. Since 5-6 years ago, I started choosing a word to help me navigate through the year. 2020 was so strange that I never even got to choose a word until around end of October when “the word” popped up and with it came my word for 2021! Nevertheless, 2020 was all about feeling grateful for a lot of things in spite of all the “bad” things that happened, so it was no surprise that the…

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    Join the Adventure!

    August 28, 2022

    500 Colored Pencils: Fun

    June 26, 2017

    Currently…in April

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  • Art Journals

    #the100daysofnoticingtogether

    January 12, 2021 / No Comments

    For 2020’s #100dayproject, I did a project together with @craftymue based on @aliedwards The Art of Noticing. When Ali posted on Instagram about this concept and the kits that she was introducing, there was a lightbulb moment for both Lea and me and we talked about how this could be a good project for the #the100dayproject. So when the start date of the project rolled around, we went into this project together as a way to support each other, to show up and to give each other a boost to finish the project. So in my Instagram Highlights and IGTV, I have posted all my process videos and pages for…

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    watercolour challenge

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  • travel album
    Documenting Life,  Travel journals,  Travels

    Travel Album | Wuyuan + Sanya

    August 10, 2020 / 2 Comments

    [This post is a bit long as I’ve decided to combine a travelogue and sharing with you the mini travel album I made to document the trip.] It’s summer… and the itch to travel has kicked in. My dearest friend, Kristina and I  have been brainstorming about where to go and because of the ever-changing regulations due to the new cases that happened in Beijing back in June, it was not easy to make real plans. With so many things I have been dealing with, personally and professionally,  I decided, I really needed a break, so I finally gave Kristina a definitive “yes” to travel. We came up with a plan…

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    Destination | Melbourne+Sydney

    May 11, 2017

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    January 19, 2023

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    December 1, 2022
  • Art Journals,  Currents,  Documenting Life,  Scrapbook

    Currently…in April

    April 17, 2020 / No Comments

    Over a month since the COVID-19 virus made China stand still, we are still taking precautions and even with almost zero new cases, although now the new cases are from overseas. Shanghai has started to have some normalcy and right now feeling a lot of gratitude that we can experience Spring even if it is not like the way it used to be. These days have been different, not just in China but I’m sure everyone else in the world. My kids have been e-learning since the beginning of February and so grateful how the school put these all together in such a short time. But 2 months of e-learning,…

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    #the100daysofnumberedbits Part 1

    May 17, 2018

    Art Journal | Get Messy Season 8: Messy Lists Part 3

    June 3, 2016

    Book Launch

    May 10, 2024
  • Chinese New Year
    Currents,  Documenting Life,  Scrapbook

    Currently…in February

    February 5, 2020 / No Comments

    The Year of the Mouse started in a blur… or pretty much the entire January was a depressing one… Chinese New Year was especially since it was overshadowed with the novel coronavirus that has now gripped the world. A truly depressing one especially when this is the most important holiday for the Chinese. To be told not to go out, not to see relatives, not to travel, has been on the top of each government WeChat posts. No one could have known how this virus has impacted everyone and how serious it was. So yes, we have been in home quarantine for pretty much over 2 weeks. And work is…

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    Join the Adventure!

    August 28, 2022

    What I’ve Been Making (and Where I’ve Been!)

    May 14, 2025

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    December 5, 2022
  • Finland TN
    Documenting Life,  Travel journals,  Travels

    Travel Journal | Finland

    January 29, 2020 / 1 Comment

    Part 2 of our Europe 2019 adventure was to Finland. After Russia, we took the train from St. Petersburg to Helsinki. The train was not full and we saw the wintry white landscape as we cross Russia into Finland. In a way we were excited to see what is in store for us in Finland where we have only a few days. Helsinki was full of snow when we arrived and we were fortunate that the AirBnB was not far from the train station although we took a taxi there. It was not difficult to wander around and find grocery nearby. The full day we had was spent with my…

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  • Documenting Life,  Travel journals,  Travels

    Travel Journal | Russia

    November 14, 2019 / 1 Comment

    A long time coming, sharing here the travel journal I made for our trip to Russia. Actually this is part one of a series of 3 journals from our big trip to Europe last January-February of 2019. A big trip that took us to a lot of places in the dead of winter! Our first stop was Moscow. We flew in from Shanghai and arrived same day with heavy snow marking our arrival. We spent a couple days in the city and took in the important touristy sights, of course (!) like the Kremlin, the History Museum, St. Basil’s Cathedral, and more. Really cold and kids were pretty hyped to…

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  • Currents,  Documenting Life,  Shanghai living

    Happy Little Moments X Postcrossing Crossover

    August 30, 2019 / No Comments

    Last Sunday, 25 August, 2019, was the Happy Little Moments and annual Postcrossing Shanghai meetup crossover event, held at the Shanghai Mass Art Center. The event was originally slated for 10 August, 2019, unfortunately, was postponed due to typhoon Lekima that hit Shanghai. As this was the third year running, the number of people coming to mingle, buy, browser, write postcards, listen to the talks and more has doubled since the first one was held 2 summers ago. What an amazing turnout that was! Feeling so grateful that some friends came to the event and I even managed to grab a chance to chat with old and new friends alike.…

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    [May ’22] Around here…

    June 4, 2022

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    August 28, 2022

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    September 4, 2021
  • Documenting Life,  Travel journals,  Travels

    Travel Journal | Nagoya, Japan

    August 8, 2019 / No Comments

    Our recent company trip to Nagoya, Japan, last June was a good quick escape for everyone. Before the trip, I have been dealing with deadlines and juggling kids’ activities and finals hence I was not even sure what I wanted to do in terms of documenting our trip. I had planned on bringing along a TN insert which I have been doing a lot on trips. At the last minute, I changed my mind and ended up bringing a watercolour sketchbook my friend Jessie has given to me late last year. This sketchbook along with my other sketchbook dedicated for #the100dayproject (2019) went into my backpack. This is the very…

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    [May ’22] Around here…

    June 4, 2022

    Documenting December 2023

    December 12, 2024

    Project Life 2021

    June 7, 2022
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Latest Instagram Post
🎨 I received a set of Faber-Castell 24-colour Semi-Dry Watercolours the other day and was curious to try out this “semi-dry” feature.

Member of

Shanghai Sketching Groups

Blogposts

  • Nov 11, 2026 Portugal in My Sketchbook
  • Oct 30, 2026 A Short Trip to Taipei
  • Oct 29, 2026 Relics of Nature: My First Art Retreat in Porto
  • Oct 15, 2026 Documenting Rome: A Travel Journal Filled with Memories
  • Jul 02, 2026 Travel Journal | Singapore
© 2025 Arlyna
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