Tuesday, 27 May 2008

Artist Trading Card





I never use watercolor pencil before but I find it very convenient to produce drawing with watercolor effect. No need to premix color on pallete. I bought a 36's Faber Castell recently and found that it has quite strong color and soft lead, easy to blend. So both the ATC above are my initial attempt on using this new media.

I really don't know what to do with the ATC's. I afraid it is not good enough to be swapped. I almost throw them away because I'm not satisfied with the outcome. But my hubby suggest me to make and album and catalog the ATCs. Hm, good suggestion darling.

Wednesday, 21 May 2008

She is Pickle

Saya jalan-jalan. Nampak warna pensel. Murah. Harga 12 batang untuk 36. Jadi saya beli. Saya simpan warna itu dalam beg. Beg itu saya bawa pulang. Seperti biasa, saya pulang ke rumah.

Hari ini, saya sambil-sambil lukis pari-pari manggis. Saya pakai warna baru itu. Saya tidak berapa suka.

Kawan-kawan, ini Pickle.

Tuesday, 20 May 2008

Done---20/20!

I was tagged by Fara and Faisal (Hehe. Adik beradik ka nih?). Well I don't really follow (or believe) the instructions. Let's just do it for fun!

Instructions:
Remove ONE question from below, and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag 8 people in your list, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged. Whoever does the tag will have blessings from all.

1. Do you believe in love at first sight?
I believe it is not impossible.

2. Have you ever felt stupid? Why?
Of coz, we do stupid things everyday in our lives. We only realize it when it becomes history. When we already realize that we shouldn't do that particular stupid things, somehow we tend to make new ones.

3. Where is the place that you want to go the most?
Hm, for me it's not important where i want to go. It would mean less without the person i love.

4. If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be
To have my endless love---offsprings. Insyaallah.

5. Do you believe in seeing a rainbow after the rain
Yes. God knows better what's the best for us. Just never lose hope and faith.

6. Do you like being who you are today?
Yes, and no. I still have a lot to improve

7. If you win $1 million, what would you do?
I will never forget u. hehe. But my parents are on top of the list. Save, and maybe donate some to orphanage or open an orphanage. But first, I want to buy new notebook and DSLR for me. A new handphone and massage chair for hubby. Maybe, I'll buy his dream home as a gift. Hehe. Ahh..sweet dream.

8. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her
I believe if he/she destined to be belonged to you, no matter what you do he/she would be yours one day. If not, it's vice-versa.

9. Who are the top five people in the world you would wish to meet?
I believe who we are meeting in our lives is written in our destiny.

10. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
Love, of coz. It's the root of everything else.

11. Which type of cars I love the most?
Sporty?...whatever. For me cars are just for transportation.

12. Which do you prefer from your other half? hug? or a kiss?
Both, please. Hehe.

13. If you have faults, would you rather the people around you point out to you or would you rather they keep quiet?
If they don't, it means they don't care about me.

14. What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
L, and O, and V, and E.

15. Are you a shopaholic or not?
No. I'm a careful spender.

16. What kind of electronic device/gadget you own that you like most?
Camera and laptop.

17. If you have a chance, which part of your character you would like to change?
The part that I like to procrastinate. And, I want to be a better organized person too.

18. What makes you feel disappointed
I think I'm not much different with other people in term of this.

19. If given a chance, do you want to see your future
No, unless it means I can correct any fault that I might do.

20. Would you still be friend your best friend whom had betrayed your trust?
Yes, but things would never be the same again.

Now, I'm tagging Myrna, Rizal, Debbie, Kak Ida, Marylyka, Mariuca, Ezooone and Moeha.

Saturday, 17 May 2008

Her Name is Petal

Remember my mangosteen fairies? Well, this one's named Petal.

I haven't finished working with the other two but I can't wait to show her pic in one of the outfit I designed for her. Of course, mangosteen fairy only wears purple. Hehe.

Her face reminds me of my beloved nephew--->Faris.

I've been trying to find Faris's photo in my hard-drive but maybe I've transfered it to somewhere else. So I just use these photos which I put in flickr a year ago, maybe. I haven't took much photos since I started doing stamp carving and illo early this year. And too lazy to upload new photos to my flickr. So guys, this is Faris; my mangosteen fairy in the real world. Apart from macro, children photography is my favourite. Kids are always photogenic.

Sometimes he just so quiet, and look as if a lot of thinking going on in his mind.


Two mangosteen fairies learning to set up camp. Faris and cousin, Shahir.

Wednesday, 14 May 2008

Electricity : IF


"Bulb-fireflies", Color pencil on paper

"I forgot to recharge my batteries last night".

p/s: No matter how many portable modern device we have, we still bound to the power plugs.

Friday, 9 May 2008

This Taggy Thing (a game for dedicated bloggers)

Tag #1 Japanese Name Tag

I was tagged by MaryLyka.

For the instructions, add your name on the list and simply spell out your name using the given Japanese letter- translations below. Tag six of your friends and inform them of the tag. Have fun.

TRANSLATION:
A - ka -----G - ji -----M - rin -----S - ari----- Y - fu
B - tu -----H - ri -----N - to ------T - chi -----Z - zi
C - mi----- I - ki -----O - mo -----U - do
D - te----- J - zu -----P - no ------V - ru
E - ku-----K - me ----Q - ke ------W - mei
F - lu-----L - ta ------R - shi ------X - na
*********************************************
1. OSWALD - moarimeikatate (sounds like american and states har….har…har…)
2. JUNELLE - zudotokutataku (Thank God I’m a Filipino! sounds like sadako. nyay! hehehe)
3. JACQUELINE - zukamikedokutakitoku (Ayay!! Unsaman ni perti mang taasa..wa ko kasabot nyahahaha)
4. LIRA LUZ - takishika taduzi ( sounds like a title of an anime show) it’s cute!
5. NOVA JOY - tomoruka zumofu [nakakaluka, ano bang sounds ito? parang ang bantot naman…]
6. LERMA - takushirinka (I’ll use this name if I’m in Japan!)
7. BREGIE -tushikujikiku (Wah….ang sagwa hehehehe)
8. SHENG - AriRiKuToJi (forget it! LOL!!!)
9. LYNN - TaFuToTo (Hahaha! It sounds like… Are we thinking the same thing? Hahaha!)
10. GOJI - Jimozuki ( hmmm ano ito? parang true Japanese name nga…)
11. DARLYN - Tekashitafuto (maganda sana kung dar nlng name ko kc tekashi lng.... surname na cgro ung tafuto parang pagkain na yan puto...)
12. MARYLYKA - RinkashifuTafumeka (Hahaha! So disgusting. I don't even know to uttered the word...waaaaa!)
13. MANGOSTEENSKIN - Rinkatojimo Arichikukuto Arimekito (Haha! sounds like somebody's mumbling nonsense) "......Fujimori tu dari mexico?!" Bila pula aku kata macam tu? Aku bagitau nama akulah! Haha!

Now I want to tag Along, Megat, Cima, Rizal, Jiwasintetik, Pupu, Ida, Fara, Abgjas, Tafteh and Faisal!!

Tag #2 Now Let's Get Famous

I was tagged by Faisal.

~~Begin Copy~~

This is the easy way and the fastest way to :
1. Make your Authority Technorati explode.
2. Increase your Google Page Rank.
3. Get more traffic to your blog.
4. Makes more new friends.

Rules :

1. Start copy from “Begin Copy” until “End Copy” to your blog(for bloggers paste on the “compose” not the “edit html” part in posting blogs so it will be linked automatically).
2. Put your own blog name and link.
3. Tag your friends as much as you can, the more the better!

List
1. Picturing of Life
2. Juliana’s Site
3.Hazel-My Life, My Hope, My Future.
4.Jeanne-The Callalily Space
5.Starz in De Sky
6. My Charmed Life
7.Denz Techtronics
8.Denz Recreational
9.Life’s Simple Pleasures
10. My Blog
11. Because Life is Fun
12. In This Game of Life
13.Scribbles of my Life
14.Changing Lanes
15. anna
16. joytoy
17.Surviving deployment
18. The Deviant
19. All I want is Everything
20. Shadows of love, fate and destiny
21.Tasteful Voyage
22.A mom’s note
23. Bittersweet Collide
24.Jackie Simplypinay
25.Jackie’s Everyday Life
26. Parisukat
27. Ang Sponge ni Bub
28. ee-ey
29. Life is too short to be ordinary
30. mangosteenskin

YOU’RE NEXT

~~ END COPY~~

I'm tagging you:

Ida, debbie, helmi, megat, along arman, bella, cima, carol, emila, ezooone, idham, jiwasintetik, jasmine camelia, mary lyka, myrna, cikdaun, pupu, rizal, tafteh, fara, jenz iggo.

Thursday, 8 May 2008

Art Attempt with Handmade Stamps!


Actually I have no idea what the rooster is saying to the peacock. Do u?

As I said before, I want to try making handmade stamps of more complicated motifs. So this is my attempt with image of rooster and peacock derived from Batik semen design from Java. Batik semen is a group of batik patterns representing various organic motifs, usually incorporating a background of tendril designs. Of coz, there's alot more interesting motifs that caught my attention but I will only choose a few. The size of the rooster and peacock are approximately 4 x 3 cm and it does take a lot of patience and extra care when using the knife. Not only to avoid cutting my own fingers but also to get the image accurately shaped. Usually when it comes to the tiny details, I need to breath in and out very slowly, and sometimes I even hold my breath! Anyway, I find this hobby very mind relaxing. :)


Stamps & ink on paper

Above illustration was created using my handmade rubber stamps. You may have seen the leaves and butterfly in my previous post but the flowers and ants are from my latest collection.I gave the original ants and daisy to Rizal and Linda. But no problem, I can always make the duplicates. Other new stamps as you can see below (not that many, actually).

Background pic. credit : Abd. Hakam from Ampang (DCM-oct'07)


This is how I keep these rubber stamps to protect them from damage. Complete with the sample image and mangosteenskin's sticker. They look like they are ready for sale, right? Haha. Owh, I juz bought the magnifying lense yesterday but i feel uncomfortable working with it. Yes, I need time to get use.

Monday, 5 May 2008

Seed : IF


I accidently spilled my drink on these seeds. My actual plan was, to draw these seeds for this week's Illustration Friday submission. While cleaning the spills, I realized something coming out. At the beginning...I saw green things moving. Then a face, later bluish golden wings! They're fairies in purple gown and green shoes! How cute! I'm not good at giving names...so it'll take time for me to find names for them. For the mean time, I'll just call them----mangosteen fairies! Hehe.

p/s: Please don't wake me up.

Friday, 2 May 2008

A meet with IKN ambassadors

Thank u rizal!

A beautiful garden!! We love it so much!

Rizal; my dear friend from Rest n Rileks, Linda (his colleague from Institut Kraf Negara and my new friend) and En. Zainal (Director of IKN, kl---err, sempat berbasa-basi dan bertukar lambaian juga dengan incik Zainal nih) was in KK from 29th April-1st May to interview the applicants for IKN 2008 intake. Rizal was the second blogger that I met in person. Me and hubby met them twice (only rizal and Linda), one for a spoiled dinner and another one on their last day in KK before taking off to Tawau. I received a beautiful framed rattan flowers and butterflies, which Rizal told me was done by Ifa, his student. Proud of u Ifa! This is gorgeous! I was the second lucky person to receive this awesome gift (along with other IKN goodies) from rizal. The first receiver is Emila. I thought the frame was small, to my suprise, it was huge! Thank you so much Rizal and Ifa! Rizal also brought along his ATCs (each card accompanied with a pretty red rattan butterfly) and sponsor three IKN envelops for the swap. Hehe.

I had a good time accompanying them shopping at Philipino market. It was very pleasant to have the chance meeting them in person. Rizal had been a helpful and supportive blogger friend since the day we exchanged link (that was during 2008 CNY). And Linda, come, join us in blogosphere! Ifa...u too!

Monday, 28 April 2008

Sand Fantasy

This is an amazing artwork by Ilana Yahav. I am totally speechless and stunned to see these video clip. Thank you Lily for the first video. Kau buat aku jiwang awal2 pagi. Hehe.



Saturday, 26 April 2008

The Age That I Wish To Go Back To

Age 7 : 1989

*Peringatan: Ini adalah satu tag yang mengundang nostalgia

Untuk ke sekolah, kena berjalan kaki lebih kurang 2.5 km. Aku biasa lambat balik rumah sebab selalu menyimpang ke rumah Angel, kawan baik kepada kawan baik aku nama Baizurah. Rumah dia beeeeest...atas bukit, berangin sungguh dan nyaman sekali. Sudah puas main getah, batu seremban, main teka-teki atau lawan mengeja baru kami pulang. Ohya, sebelum ke rumah Angel, aku dan Baizurah selalu singgah kedai Pacik Mohammad---->hutang kerepek pedas, mi goreng dalam plastik atau aiskrim milo, jagung atau kacang hijau buatan isteri pacik itu. The next day, baru datang bayar tapi agaknya ada juga yang tak terbayar kot. Masa tu sepeket mi, sebiji kuih dan sebatang aiskrim baru berharga sepuluh sen. Seingat aku paling tinggi hutang aku yang terkumpul adalah 2.30. Pacik, harap2 pacik halalkanlah hutang saya masa zaman budak2 dulu tu okay! Baizurah, kau yang ajar aku berhutang kan! Hahahahahaha!!

Kadang2 sengaja ikut jalan menyusur tebing sungai untuk sampai ke rumah, terpaksa melalui semak-samun sikit lah. Pernah juga sengaja pergi ke seberang sungai dan jerit, "Mummy!!! Ambil saya!!!". Kadang2 my mum memang tengah cuci kain di sungai. Jadi harap2 dia boleh kayuh perahu ke seberang. Kadang2 waktu air cetek, boleh jinjing beg dan kasut atas kepala dan berjalan saja menyeberangi sungai. Kalau air surut, boleh sampai ke takat pinggang saja. Haha!! Seronok! Seronok! Lepas tu, apalagi...terus mandi sungai lah. Beg boleh campak ke atas pelantar kayu dan my mum boleh cuci sekali baju sekolah. Hehe. Tapi bukanlah perkara asing kalau bab-bab kena marah tu.



Okay, kalau pagi2 pula, bagus2 boleh ikut jalan bertar, tapi kadang sengaja melencong ikut sawah padi Macik Piut. Kadang2 tersilap pijak, kaki masuk dalam lumpur. Terpaksa pergi ke sekolah dengan kasut yang berkerak lumpur kering. Bau kerbau. Haha! Biasanya kalau dah dekat2 sampai kawasan rumah Macik Piut ni kami (kadang2 jalan ramai2) cuba untuk tidak buat bising. Degup jantung aku akan bertambah laju, adrenalin akan bersedia untuk memancut2 keluar. Heeiii...sampai ke hari ni aku masih ingat perasaan itu. Bukan sekali dua dikejar angsa dan anjing!!! Ces, macam fear factor.

Waktu itu, gigi depan aku yang atas jarang-jarang, yang dua biji paling depan tu lebih besar dari yang lain. Jadi aku rasa mesti time tuh aku nampak macam rabbit. Kadang2 sengaja kejutkan my mum lebih awal dari biasa semata2 hendak minta tocang atau ikat dua. Time tu aku panggil fesyen rambut camtu, "ikat tanduk".

Aku nak balik masa tuh sebab aku rasa seronok sangat pergi ke sekolah. Aku x sabar bangun pagi dan pergi sekolah sebab dapat jumpa cikgu dan kawan2 (Ohya, aku juga jadi ketua kelas dari darjah 1-3, darjah 4-6 jadi pengawas). Aku heran juga sejak darjah dua guru kelas suruh aku yang isi rekod kehadiran---bukan itu kerja guru kelas kah? Tengahari lepas hantar buku2 dan laporan ke bilik guru, aku x sabar2 hendak pulang. Dah pikir2 hari tu nak cuba route mana pulak. Masa tu bunyi loceng sekolah adalah "ting! ting!", bukan "kriiiiiiing". Sekali sekala cikgu suruh aku tarik loceng.

Darjah satu paling seronok!!! Ada kawan yang tiap hari mak dia pinkan saputangan di baju, ada yang penakut sampai nak minta izin ke tandas pun takut dan terkencing ditempat duduk, ada yang jahat mulut suka cari gaduh dan mengejek, ada yang suka minum air bekal orang sampai habis, ada yang sikit2 lapor sama makbapak..macam2!! Ada yang ludah beg pensil aku. Aku tau siapa buat tu, tapi aku diam jer dan lap air ludah dia yang berbuih2 tu. Dalam hati aku memang marah, tapi..."biasalah budak2". Dan ustaz Bidin pernah ketuk aku dengan pembaris putih yang besar gajah tu sebab x berhenti2 berborak. Ustaz nak ajar alif ba ta ni, tengok depanlah!! Haha!! Hoi kawan2!!! Korang semua kat mana sekarang hah?!! Aku rindu!

This is actually when I was in primary 2---my sister in primary 1 (1990)

Instructions :Title: The Age That I Wish To Go Back To
Requirement: Write about the one age that you wish to go back to and why?
Tag Mode: 5 bloggers
1st - You leave their blog and post link and add to the list below.
2nd - Let the blogger you want to tag know they been tagged by comment in their blog or etc.

The Age that they Wish to Go Back to:
Sweetpea wish to go back to, actually, just thinking about 17.
Jean Chia wish to go back to 14 years old.
Rizal wish to go back to the age of 7 - 7 super wonders of my world .

I've been tagged by emila. Thank you dear, this is a good meme. Now, I want to tag tafteh, cikdaun, ezooone, Helmi & Baizurah. Hey, buat cepat2! jiwasintetik,...kau pun!! abgjas pun...

Tuesday, 22 April 2008

Handmade Art Stamps

click photo to get larger view

Never done this before but I was inspired by gennine's stamp carving tutorial. This is fun!! I can do it anywhere at anytime! I am addicted to rubber stamp carving! Would love to try more complicated motives next time.

It was a long blackout last night. So I took the chance to finish my 8th stamp, lit by only the candle light. My hubby was busy with his laptop. Good, I can do my carving without interference. Hehe. Done with carving, I took my camera and play with light. It's been quite some time, I've been forgetting my photography hobby. After a couple of shot, my hubby came and said something like this, "Orang modify lah sikit2 (You should modify a bit)"--->he meant the subject. I was done with a new setting and about to take another snap, when he suddenly dashed some talc on the glass surface. Aiyooo...pengacau!!

Before---1/15s, 3.2f

After---1/3s, 3.2f

Sunday, 20 April 2008

Projek Swap Kita : atc#1 Identity


Aku rasa honored kerana diberi kuasa untuk memilih tema acara bertukar2 Artist Trading Card (atc) yang pertama. Mula-mula aku bagitau Rizal, tema yang aku pilih akan bergantung kepada mimpi. Sebab aku bagitau dia, aku malas nak pikir. Sebelum tidur, aku bagitau diri aku untuk alert kepada mimpi yang best2. Tapi pagi tadi aku terjaga dan berpikir2 panjang...sebab aku x paham mimpi aku yang merapu2.

Jadi aku ambil kamus, dan baca niat. Perkataan terakhir pada mukasurat yang aku bukak itu akan jadi tema. So, inilah perkataan itu------identiti! Bila aku timbang2, oleh kerana ini projek atc kita yang pertama, so memang sesuai jugaklah tema identiti nih. Hendaklah melambangkan diri pelukis----kiranya macam ni lah...bila orang tengok saja lukisan tu akan membuatkan orang teringat pada kita. Contoh, macam aku, mestilah aku lukis manggis kan!! Ooops! Gunalah apa2 lambang atau objek, atau apa2 saja!! Anda cuma perlu jadi kreatif!

Syarat:
  1. Setiap peserta hasilkan 3 original ATC (bukan print).
  2. Saiz kad adalah 2.5" x 3.5". Sebaik2nya gunakan kertas yang berkualiti.
  3. Untuk tema Identiti ini, poskan atc anda kepada saya (emel saya di mangosteenskin@yahoo.com untuk request alamat. Deadline untuk poskan atc kepada saya adalah 20 may 2008. Anda akan dapat 3 kad daripada orang yang berbeza.
  4. Kos sampul dan setem saya belanja!! Tapi ingat, buat cantik2 ya!! Haha!

Participants (so far):

  1. mangosteenskin
  2. emila
  3. rizal
  4. debbie
  5. megat
  6. ida
  7. cecima
  8. pupu
  9. jiwasintetik

Friday, 18 April 2008

Give Second Life

Sometimes, I don't feel like throwing away the empty bottles and boxes. I often feel like..."oh they're cute...macam x sampai hati mau buang". Look at these---they suppose to be dispossed long time ago but now they all safe and sound on the shelf. A bit innovation and creativity---u'll feel like giving a second life to things often seen as wastes.

Now..who wants to call them rubbish?

My dad's herbal remedy box . The wrapping paper used to wrap a present for hubby. After he unwrapped the gift, I rescue the wrapper. Can be used to keep small things like paperclips, safety pins, hair clips, toothpick pun boleh.

Thousand's Island bottle. Last time they were glass.Nowadays, plastic. Can be use as decoration or dust trap. Hehe.


HP sauce bottle. Never finished this one. Too lazy to continue. :-P

Tuesday, 15 April 2008

Fail : IF

Pastel on paper

One of the ladybug never fly because he scared of falling.

"I will fall and die. I rather just crawl on this beautiful flowers for the rest of my life. I still can enjoy fresh air from here", he said. But inside, he honestly felt that it would be great if he could fly---he want to be like a bird, a bee, a butterfly, a dragonfly---and most of all----a ladybug. A true ladybug.

"You just have to try. See! just spread your wings like this! Believe in yourself. It's okay if you fail but don't ever stop trying. Atleast----never fail to try!!"