the big 2-1

i seem to have neglected my blog. many apologies.

today is the big 2-1 but celebrations will have to wait as i have three papers and one quiz for this week. and spring break was too short.

i've been crafting still and will show pictures soon.

so how is your week going?

in the sketchbook...

vintage flowers by shirley lei (C) 2008

not long ago i purchased a discounted hardcover moleskine accordion page sketchbook of sorts. from half price books (my fave local used and discounted bookseller).

it was the best investment i could ever make with my $1.95 (i'm still aghast that i managed to get a hold of it and that no one else had purchased it as it is easily $10+ in retailers.) but hey, no complaints here.

so here i share with you a few of the sketches that adorn this wonderful little keepsake.


by shirley lei (c) 2008

by shirley lei (c) 2008

by shirley lei (c) 2008

wouldn't some of these images make nice stationery designs? i am obsessed with stationery! :D

tell me how your day went. i'd love to hear. and i'd love to meet new people.

a week in my life...

As a student, I spend about ten minutes a day thinking about school work and then I shove it aside for better, more interesting subjects. My mind is quite picky about the contents that swirl in my memory bank and, quite frankly, I really don't care about education or intelligence. *GASP* Did I really say that? Hmm....

Meanwhile, a typical week involves some bit of shopping, crafting, putting things in
neat little arrangements and finding cute things, for as very little money as possible!

Here's a sampling:

above is a hairclip i turned into a pendant. wasn't so hard at all! and next to it is a bright satin flower i made with a button in the middle for added effect. i'm in the process of sewing on a pin to attach it to the purse below as a brooch. lovely!


here's the purse. i found an easy little tutorial (will have to find it again for linkage). took me two hours at most. the cutting and thinking took long. the sewing, maybe 15-30 mins tops! am thinking of making more... and fyi, the blue/brown fabric came from an urban outfitter's curtain i bought on sale.


there were a bunch of jam jars going old and modly in the back of our refridgerator (this is what ensues in a house of 40 women with 6 fridges! things get lost and forgotten!) and i thought it'd be neat to put my pretty (and random) things inside it. the left holds my bits of pretty ribbon and the left holds my spool of raffia as well as a couple of necklaces. prettiness.... *drool*


fortunately for me, the nearest paper source (www.paper-source.com) in berkeley has a little box containing samples of letterpress invites, stationery, etc. from their projects. so, ever since i made this discovery, i visit every so often (it is across town, no where near the university campus) and collect quite a bunch! they're free after all and make great inspiration. sometimes i also re-use them in my projects (e.g. the vintage boxes in a previous post, matchbook notebooks in a very, very old post). i might use some of them as end papers/inside covers in futuer notebooks. i need to use up the pretty papers i've bought so i can buy more! :)


and lucky for me, near paper source is a crate and barrel outlet that sells really nice kitchen and home things for a lot less than their retail store. and i was able to pick up a couple scrap pieces of marimekko fabric for 25 cents each! would've bought more... not sure why i didn't. i'm thinking the red cherry blossom print will make a nice purse (using same design/technique as purse above).


forgive me but i just had to post about these condom wrappers. they look so modern and lovely. i'm sure it's a gimmick to get us young folks to purchase them. i've never heard of the brand but i guess i'll have to check them out. hee hee hee.


and finally, another picture of me. it's a bit blurry but i rather like the pose and the outfit i wore. the black free people sweater came from our house's free pile (a free pile in the cooperative sense is essentially a pile full of things you don't want anymore but don't want to throw away and am willing to give away for free). the green cashmere sweater came from a discounter called jeremy's department store (it's j.crew and i got it for $15! love the feel of cashmere - i've since added more cashmere pieces to my wardrobe). and the dress (not a skirt) is an ella moss piece also from jeremy's. love that dress. one of my fave. can dress up or dress down easily. and of course, i'm not a college student if i'm not in my flip flops! :)

take care folks. up soon will be pictures of my lastest endeavors in art. just quick watercolors and a sketch in my sketchbook. i would show them to you now but i'd run out of things to share with you, now wouldn't i? (although i am really excited about one of the designs and i hope i can do something with it - turn it into stationery or something - I LOVE STATIONERY!)

i love writing letters too! would you be my penpal?

toodles!

Tagged

So I've been tagged twice now but have not had the time to respond to it. (I've also been sick recently and busy with projects and papers for school -- sorry about neglecting the blog community).

So, let's see... 7 things about myself...

1. I LOVE girly panties! I have enough to last me at least 2-3 months. Never worry about doing laundry! haha.

2. I do not like change. I abhor change. Any tiny thing that changes that is not to my liking irks me to the point of death. It just bugs me. I like my comfort zone and change sometimes goes against my comfort.

3. I've secretly always wanted a career doing something public. Crafting, painting, possibly being a social worker are all great careers and all, but I've spent the majority of my life doing work that people cannot see (unless you are there at every moment). And it's nice to have people see what you do, in such fields as the entertainment industry (always wanted to be a singer despite my tone-death voice), theatre/performance art, activist (does that even count as a career? haha), etc etc.

4. I am a simple eater. Although I do enjoy the occasional "fancy" meal, I much prefer eating simple everyday items. I love a great deli sandwich. I love sweetened oatmeal. I love orange juice (passion fruit, mango, guava too!). I love plain white rice (yes it's empty carbs but it's heavily rooted in my Asian upbringing) with my meal. I like scrambled eggs, bacon/ham, and toast with jam for breakfast (none of that fancy schmancy "ethnic" breakfast that my co-op house used to serve). I take so much joy in eating really simple meals. Having food that is comprised of few ingredients. If I'm eating eggs, I'm eating eggs. If I'm drinking orange juice, I'm drinking orange juice. If I'm eating rice and tofu, I'm eating rice and tofu. Not too many other ingredients or spices or garnish. (Now I'm getting hungry)

5. I collect postcards. Not a traveler myself due to financial reasons, so it's a simple joy to add a postcard to my collection. It's more enjoyable when there's meaning to it and not just a pretty picture so often times I ask people who contribute to pick something that means something to them. At least indirectly I can garner meaning and sentiment from the postcard, some way to relating to it I guess.

6. SHOES! SHOES! SHOES! Need I say more? I cannot relate to Carrie Bradshaw's (Sex and the City) character too much, but I have an obsession for shoes, just not the money for it and I cannot justify supporting an already overrated big-profit industry. (But I love how shoes look on my feet -- you may think of yourself as butt ugly in the face or a little chubby in the hips, but shoes always make a pair of feet look gorgeous!)

7. I am currently obsessed about the color robin's egg blue. Or Tiffany's blue. Whatever. I love pale shades of blue (and green to some extent) right now. It's so serene, so elegant, timeless and classic. Oh... I can just imagine a strand of bluish-ivory pearls. Do they even exist???

I'll get back on the 7 I am to tag. But if you read this and have not been tagged yet, consider yourself tagged and write on your blog 7 things (that we do not know) about yourself.

Happy Week!