scrap-cycling

I moved from paper to digital scrapbooking 4 years ago but I still have a whole stash of pretty scrapbook paper. They're so pretty (and expensive) so I could never bare to just throw them out. They're too small (cardstock is too thick too) to be used as wrapping paper. So they're rotting away, albeit prettily, in one of my closets.

But maybe I can put those scraps to good use... As wall art...

As a clever shelf-turned-dollhouse, if Isabella were still a young child...

Or as pretty tiled wallpaper for my workspace.

It's perfect! We have the exact nook in between the closets in our room. It is currently used as a dresser. But my mom has been bugging me to cover up the mirror: "it's bad feng shui", she says. I never sit down and use the dresser as it is meant to be with my 10-second morning regimen anyway. So that nook might be of better use as a workstation. And prettified with my old scrapbook papers! Ooooh, I smell a new project brewing...

Photos from here, here, acupofjo and amischmashedlife (photo cropped to call attention to the wall instead of the labeled trash bins. Check out her post on this & other pretty workspaces here).

a secret NYC subway station

Who would have thought there was an underground cathedral in New York? Right within the New York Subway System! I'm not really a fan of taking the subway - largely due to my motion sickness here, but also because there's nothing beautiful to look at through the windows of the moving train. So it's a good thing there are glimpses of beautiful art in some stations. Like this mosaic at the Spring Street station...

And these humorous sculptures scattered all around the station at 8th Avenue and 14th Street.

In fact, I see the mosaics of the station names as a delightful break from the rapidly moving (read: dizziness-inducing) walls I see through the view-less subway windows. I think this one is especially pretty...

But imagine something much more majestic than these glimpses of subway art... with tall arches lined with tiles, brass fixtures and skylights.

The City Hall Station, which opened in 1904, was meant to be a showpiece and crown jewel of the new subway station. Sadly, it was closed down in 1945 and is still closed to the public today.

But a few blogs I've read say that in-the-know subway riders can still catch a glimpse of the architectectural station. They say we should take the 6 train. But instead of getting off at the last stop, which is Brooklyn Bridge, you need to stay in the train as it makes a turnaround through City Hall Station to start its trip back uptown.

Am not sure if they still allow people to stay in the train after the Brooklyn Bridge station, but if I were in New York, I'd definitely get on the 6 train to try and view this hidden underground cathedral. Oh, I wish I could fly to New York!!!

Photos are my own and from here, here and here.

Click here for New York captured in beautiful moving pictures.  

sandwich art

Who would have thought one could make art out of sandwiches? Well, that's what Brittany Powell did! Inspired by well-known masterpieces, she made art out of sandwiches! The Mondrian above is quite obvious.

It took me a while to recognize one of my favorites, Gustav Klimt's The Kiss - in sandwich form.

Here is Jasper John's Target.

Georgia O'Keeffe.

And one of Damien Hirst's Spot paintings. 

There are also other sandwich artists out there with adorable subjects like this cute giraffe and Tow Mater of Disney Cars!

Just google "sandwich art" and you'll find a Spongebob, Pooh and Sid (of Ice Age) sandwich which your kids will surely love! One of my favorites though is this Wall-E sandwich which comes complete with a step-by-step how-to here. 

Can you imagine how happy your child will be when he opens his lunchbox to find such intricate sandwich art?

And speaking of sandwiches, thanks to Lady's Choice for the goodie bag they sent me! It was filled with Lady's Choice sandwich spreads - bacon & ham, Lady's Choice mayonnaise, an apron (which Noah already brought to school), and a recipe book of sandwiches.

Let me end this post on sandwich art with this elaborate Nike-running-shoe sandwich. I can make out cheese, tomato slices, hamburger patties and ketchup!

Isn't it absolutely amazing?

Photos from here, here, here, here, here, here, here.

Click here for the down-in-the-dots version of this post - how you can prevent anyone from stealing these amazing sandwiches. Click here for previous posts from the Art series.

super paper powers

Remember in my Tribute to Summer here, I promised to write a post about Noah creating handmade magic over the summer? Well, he did display a very specific super-power: a power over paper. After watching The Avengers movie here, he made costumes out of paper. Admittedly, Isabella helped him with his Ironman mask.

But he made the gloves himself with paper, crayons and oddly, some electric tape in his art bucket.

A week later, Noah made his paper Captain America costume.

Still with crayons and the stray electric tape...

Then later that night, he made Thor's hammer out of a leftover carton and the Tesseract out of paper.

The following night, he made Hawkeye's bow and arrow.

This time, he also used popsicle sticks and yarn.

Then my friend gave him a non-minimalist poster of The Avengers and he insisted on dressing up in his paper costumes and posed in front of the movie poster.

I love how he imitated each hero's pose... Which led to the need to make Nick Fury's eyepatch (with Isabella's help) at 11pm. Oh, he refused to sleep without a Nick Fury photo.

The following day, he made Hulk...

... and completed The Avengers. All out of... paper!

Yes, Noah certainly displayed super paper powers this past summer.

Photos are my own, edited via pixlr, and from here.

Today, I am loving...

Summer is really over. The rainy season is here again. As you know from here, I've been unperturbed by the rain since I got my Plueys rainboots. I used to hate the rain for getting my feet (& shoes) wet & muddy. But now, with my Plueys, I feel invincible in the rain! I delight in the idea of being able to stomp in puddles if I wanted to. I don't think I've ever done that, but gone are the days of walking slowly and on tiptoe to keep the wet feet or shoes to a minimum. Now, I don't just live with the rain, I actually look forward to it. So today, I am loving... that it's the season of rainboots once again.

I've always been a lover of prints. So part of the happiness of wearing rainboots is the fun print accent that my Plueys give to my work outfit. But for a while now, I've been obsessing over these solid-colored Hunters.

I don't know if it's because I find the woman so attractive and so long & lean. I also really like the matte gray-green color and wouldn't mind it in a matte grayish navy color either. Plus, solid-colored Hunters might allow me to wear my rainboots all day at work (because I change out of my printed Plueys to my regular shoes when I get to my cubicle. The prints don't seem office-appropriate.). After all, I see a lot of foreign celebrities sporting Hunters even when it doesn't seem like it's raining - like one of the Olsen twins here.

And if the quirky Aquarian in me gets tired of solid Wellies, maybe I can draw on them with a Sharpie like Jo did (remember Jo's inky Starbucks cups here?).

Awesome, right? She tested it by standing in the bath to make sure the ink doesn't run. So it's really possible! :)

Print or no print -- today, I am loving... that it's the season of rainboots once again!

Photos from annnniegirl, acupofjo, here and here.

Click here for the down-in-the-dots version of this post - why despite the obsession above, I cannot buy another pair of rainboots. Click here for previous posts from the Today, I Am Loving... series.

pretend play

You know how people can't resist capturing (on cam) an illusion at certain tourist spots? Like pretending to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Or pretending to catch the water spewing out of the Merlion in Singapore. Or even just pretending to hold the Madhatter's giant teacup in Disneyland by its handle. I myself have a photo where I am "nose-to-nose" with one of the giant statues of a Hindu god in a Siem Reap temple. I guess people just never outgrow pretend-play.   

Imagine how fun it is for the people in Le 104 in Paris with this installation by illusionist Leandro Elrich called Batiment - which is French for building. A gigantic tilted mirror reflects the huge building facade laid out on the floor where people can pretend they are hanging from ledges or make like Spiderman and crawl up the 4-storey house.  

How fun is this?

Photos from blackeiffel and here.

Click here for a previous post on my Siem Reap trip.

Jo's Starbucks red cup

Johanna Basford, an ink illustrator who prefers pens & pencils over pixels. She feels "computer-generated graphics can feel cold and soul-less whereas hand-drawing captures a sense of energy and character which no pixel can ever replicate".

She started drawing on empty Starbucks cups as early as September 2010. 

I suppose her big ambition of illustrating a Starbucks red cup was born then.

So in January 2011, she started her campaign for the Starbucks Christmas cup by sending this parcel to the Starbucks UK people.

She even added an ink illustration to her letter.

By February, she was asked to send another parcel to the Starbucks HQ folks in Seattle, USA. 

Unfortunately, by March 2011, the design for the 2011 Christmas cup had already been decided on and was in fact, already in production! The 2011 Christmas cups have been out for a while now. But in case you want to sip your coffee from Jo's inky red cup, click here for a downloadable artwork you can cut out and tape onto your Starbucks cup. Watch the video of how she hand-draws and inks her Starbucks Christmas cup illustration here!

As of November 2011, Jo was still in touch with the Starbucks HQ Creative Director for other potential inky Starbucks projects which I personally hope push through because I kind of like the black ink better than the red (I wonder if green ink will look better?). Isabella is loving this particular inky cup with the owl and skulls.

What about you? Which of Jo's inky cups do you want to see mass-produced?

Am rooting for Jo's dream to come true. But even before it does, I have to say I admire how...

I certainly hope the Starbucks folks grant this Christmas wish in 2012!

Photos from here and johannabasford.

some polka dots i spotted...

Swiss photographer and comedian Ursus Wehrli is releasing a new book called The Art of Clean Up. The book features photographs of everyday scenes of disarray straightened up into neatly organized rows - sorted by object type, size and color.

Now, "where are the polka dots?", you might ask. Well, here they are...

I find it totally hilarious that Wehrli also organized the polka dots on the bowl into a row!

Photos from here via A Cup of Jo.

Click here for previous posts from the Some Polka Dots I Spotted series.