ways i see my world

PORTFOLIO

2012-02-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

how do you combine 'big challenge' and 'exciting' into one word? i can hardly think of anything right, but for now, we'll leave it at those two. considering no art school and little consultations, it's a brave move leaving for art college exams. yet, here i am, quite alive, and proud of it.
just came back, it was challenging, but a great experience. i was signing up for 'visual communication'.
so here it is.
it's the first i've ever done.
it is indeed, my art portfolio.
enjoy ;)

i had it printed at 470x415 mm, on 300g paper. it was spiral bound.

+summer wedding (continued)

2011-07-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

as i mentioned earlier i designed the corsages for the wedding guests, which the brides maids then made. and finally, here is a photo :)

i also did the design for the wedding program. sadly, due to time constrain, only the black & white version made it onto the plates.

summer yellow

2011-07-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

so, i got to decorate that other wedding.
colors: yellow & white - how fun!

i was told at the beginning there was no official budget from the start, which made it very hard on me - this was the second time i did this, i had no idea how much to ask for. now, i can tell you, i'm pretty sure i know the minimum and have a clearer image of the expenses.

not only did i decorate the reception hall, but the church as well, and design the corsages. most of the decorating had to be done on the spot, so what i did the month before was pretty much just get all the supplies. good thing i had the brides maids and a bunch of other people help me out on the actual thing.

i was happy my friend, the bride to be, had a similar vision of the style and direction of all this as i did. made it a lot easier, and i was very excited to work on this more casual-country, simple, yet sophisticated look.

(from where the bride and groom sat - i want it to be pretty from where they're at too:)

tip: flowers are probably the biggest part of you expenses, but they're also probably most important. they add life to the whole decoration - plan those first.

i used a great tutorial for these puff balls: http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/tulle-or-net-pom-poms-how-to

photos by me & estera (bride:)

the wedding

2011-05-15T06:11:00.000-07:00

i was really excited about this, because i never really decorated any event. my friend had a wedding, and she asked me to decorate for the reception. so started checking sites for ideas, local flower shops and decor stores.
tip: if you can't decorate much because of any circumstances, what's important to do is the tables.
also, if you don't want to put ribbon (or in my case, can't find a thick one), you can use tool, fabric, certain decorative papers, i even considered lace at one point. i used tool. it's not very vivid, and yet it adds color.
if the dinner meal is very important and there's a lot of it, you want you centerpieces to be small - so they're not in the way. also, little details around the centerpiece make it look more abundant, and yet are not in the way, and can be moved. this would usually be something you buy in packs (like rocks, pebbles, etc). what i did was, make spirals out of black wire - sure it's a little more work, but unique. i made the centerpieces myself with the help of a friend (got the flowers from the florist). again, more work, but this way you make them the way you want. of course, you got to take off a day just for that.

another great thing to do for the guests, is to put cards on the plates - if you're not placing names. than it's a nice memory to put the couple's names and date (place too, if you want).

i wanted to make the bride and groom's table pretty from their perspective, because they're the ones looking at it most. i wanted to keep it simple, harmonic. you don't want them to be overcrowded, or hidden by some huge gigantic flowers or something. i've been to weddings, were the bride and groom were like seated behind a big bouquet or something....
-candles are great, alternative to those are lights (like christmas lights, they make the atmosphere more magical, special)
-initials of the bride and groom. i think it's just fun.
-simple flowers - you always want to have some flowers.

it was a new experience for me, kept me very busy, but the end result was great. and, i was asked to decorate for another wedding soon (which is exciting), so be on a look out for new photos :)

asian summer

2010-11-18T09:24:00.000-08:00

i know winter's almost here, i am really starting to feel that chilly winter wind every time i step outside now. but i've been busy and never managed to post this. it does remind me more of summer, but an idea can be shared any time, no?

so, this is a simple centerpiece, table decoration i did for a special family lunch we had.
for the centerpiece i used:
-a basket
-rocks
-translucent orange paper
-orange crepe paper
-glass pebbles
-origami flowers (paper+wire)*

*i used gardening wire, because it was green :)
i posted a tutorial on how to make these flowers: http://mi2x.blogspot.com/2010/08/origami-flower.html

i started with the flowers and picked the colors by default. the orange and red seemed to look so good together, and because it they were origami, i decided to go with this asian inspired flow.
of course, depending on what you have at home, any of these materials can be changed. that's what i love about these kind of crafts.
if you want to go with this organic, maybe ancient fell, i'd recommend:
pebbles: rocks, stones, paper cutouts.
rocks: spiraled up hemp twine (or any other natural string), dried beans.
basket: any older 9maybe even cracked) ceramic bowl/low pot
paper:any kind that fits the rest of your centerpiece

and, just play with it.

in addition, i filled two jars with rocks/stones and stuck a yellow candle in the middle. i also placed a circle cutout from yellow corrugated paper.
*note that the candle will melt once it's lit, and will stick to the rocks. but if the rocks are smooth, it comes off quite easily

i happened to have matching plates, to enhance the atmosphere. but if you have simple white ones (which is always useful), they'll work great. *you might want to put a place-mat or tablecloth of some kind under, if it's a white table, so they don't disappear;)
so there, a quick, effortless-looking summer table.

why not try blue?

2010-08-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

big family lunch! well, that's exciting, isn't it? and as the usual drill follows: set the table, lots of plates, need to pull up more chairs, work on the food, etc; my clever sister remembered it would be nice to put something more on the table, you know, to make it look a little more festive? so, she pulled out blue papers, all kinds, and when i walked in, i saw her busily preparing for something. the only problem was, there was little time for 'decorating' (before everyone would arrive). so, i decided to help her. as they cut out little stars and flower shapes from blue paper (you can't see these on the photos, but they're a nice detail, to just sprinkle around the table, or plates), i worked on the centerpiece.

*my advice: a centerpiece is easy to do, and it brings a lot to the table,...plus it can be pretty much anything! from candles, to baskets, to flowers, .... you can go wild with your imagination and just try and have fun.

since i didn't have much time, i just quickly tried to find pretty much anything in the house that fitted the blue place-mats.
-luckily we have a glass bowl that has a similar color and texture as do our glasses, so i thought it was the perfect way to start.
-i found an egg-shaped creamy-colored candle and wrapped it around with blue crepe paper, placed in the middle and secured it with blue and white glass pebbles.

*i know, not every one has glass pebbles in the home, but you could use anything that's small really (remember, it's a creative original piece, so you can do whatever you want:), something like rocks, marbles, crunched paper balls, ......

-and in the end, my sister found a golden sheet of craft paper, and we just placed that under the whole thing. very simple, very fast, and yet pretty.

if you have the time, and we did find the very smallest amount still, you can continue to napkins, glasses,......we had just about enough time to tie ribbons around the glasses. (basic gift wrapping curling ribbon)

so, there, a very quick decorating session, but i think it made the table pretty, and a little festive.
have fun!

origami flower

2010-08-05T11:57:00.001-07:00

many of you might know this, and how to make it, but the moment i saw it (in an origami book), i fell in love. it's a very simple origami paper flower, but it's really pretty, and it can be used for all kinds of stuff!

so i put up a little tutorial how to make one, so you don't have to go all over the net looking for it

have fun!

got no wrapping paper?

2010-08-03T02:44:00.000-07:00

So, i looked at my cell this morning: party invitation! well great, but the party was the very same day...wasn't her fault for telling so late -was mine, my phone was dead the day earlier. but i had to babysit in the morning, and then i took the kids to grandma's for lunch. but it was noon and i had no present (cause remember, i found out in the morning), i wasn't even home....

well, nevermind that! i'll figure it out, right? so, still before we left, i quickly grabbed some beads, wire and my beading tools into my backpack, because i knew i wouldn't have time to do it when i came back home.
i've been doing jewelry for a long time, so i have it in practice, quite well. since we were still at grandma's in the afternoon, i pulled out my equipment and made a pair of earrings. but, i needed to wrap it into something, right? and there was no wrapping paper to be found in the house. thankfully the present was small, so i went through the closets and pantry, found myself:
-tissue paper
-A4 rougher, maybe even recycled paper
-stamps and stamping ink.

so, what i did, was just stamped a pattern onto the paper, put the earrings in the tissue paper, and put that onto my new 'wrapping' paper. and then, of course wrapped it up. i picked this rougher paper, to make it look more natural, i think it fitted the overall look much more.

and voila, managed to get a present done, without much material to work with (or time for that matter;)

ps, if you were wondering how the earrings turned out, here :)

quick intro

2010-07-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

i've started this blog long ago, kept putting drawings here, and other creations...but then i head over to other sites for that.
but what i want to do here, is just share with you tips and ideas i come up with, or find, mostly around decorating.
my main goal is to post ideas, crafts that include material you have at home. so like i wrote up, bellow the title: smart, simple and unique (+cheap;). things you can do easily, without buying extra material, without any worrying, without any special long-lasting workmanship :)
so, keep visiting, will try to post something up soon.
cheers