Calligraphy Basics

I have been religiously praticing calligraphy this month and had lots of friends interested in it. Must be all the attractive slow-mo videos on instagram haha. After a failed attempt with calligraphy last year I decided to try again! Took up an instagram challenge to work on. 

After some research online & pinterest, I downloaded some calligraphy/ lettering practice sheets. Thought I'd share them here. I'd suggest you practice the alphabets individually before starting to connect them to form words. You can download them here. The author has generously provided a number of them for free.

Step 1: Get a good brush pen. You should be able to work well with its tip and strokes.  During my practice, I used the Akashiya Fude brush pen. (Available at Clementi Artfriend)

Step 2: Print them out on hard papers to prevent bleeding of ink. I printed them on regular printing papers. It did bleed a little behind. But, didn't affect the lettering process.

**The brush tip and stroke size did match the practice sheet perfectly. 

See below for video posted on instagram when I was practicing.

A video posted by Yams (@yammyams_) on Jun 12, 2016 at 12:41pm PDT

A video posted by Yams (@yammyams_) on Jun 12, 2016 at 12:41pm PDT

With love,

Yamunah

Anyone can paint

I never thought i'd be able to draw or paint. The last time i tried, I dipped faber castle watercolour pencils in water and failed. What was I thinking? haha 

Recently, I purchased some basic items from Artfriend to kick start painting. And this post could help you pick out what you might need :

#1 Daler downey portable watercolour pocket set  Invest in a good set. They definetely have much better colour pay off. Glides smoothly and easy to blend. I love this one!

#2 Daler downey Langton Prestige Watercolour Paper Ever tried painting on papers and your colours starts bleeding or transfering. You are using the wrong type of paper. This one is small and compact. Perfect match for your water colour set too haha.

#3 Black sharpie maker  You need a good quality marker to outline your images to make them pop! This works well and never dries out! But, clean up the tip after use. 

Lastly, what works for me might not work for you. It also depends on your items and techniques.

If you are looking for a new hobby, try painting. Great way to wind down and chill.

xoxo

Yamunah

10 years

While shopping yesterday,  I bumped into an old school friend. Glad she asked me out for dinner that night. We spoke so much about school, friends and definitely all the dramas. The talk made me realise its nearly 10 years since school ended. Wow. where did all that time go?

Reflecting on the past 10 years. There's happiness, sadness and lots of lesson learnt. They say time heals,  We might have forgotten everything. But, forgiving? apologising? 

Losing loved ones made me realise to be kind, nice and forgiving. Thanks to god I had the opportunity to meet some of them. It does make you feel lighter. No more misunderstandings or discomfort. I hope to speak to many of you.

Its never too late to apologise. 

Let' s start the new year with love.

Handmade Indian Sweet Miniatures

Firstly, I would like to wish everyone's who's celebrating a very Happy Deepavali! 

I managed to ship miniature hole plates from Thailand. It was meant to be used for Christmas cookies. However, Deepavali inspired me to do a Indian sweet palette You may also view the photos on Facebook and Instargam . 

Here you go, 

#1 Miniatures are done in 12:1 ratio of real items. So, here's a photograph that shows how tiny they are.

#2 Miniature newspaper and tea to go along with sweets.

#3 Top view. Don't they look delicious? Pick your favourite!

(From left to right, clockwise) 

(Click link if you would like to see actual examples of the sweets, thanks to wikipedia and other links))

1. Pineapple tarts

2. Athirasam

3. Barfi

4. Ladoo

5. Murukku

6. Gulab Jamun

7. Jelabi

8. Chocolate Barfi

9. Middle, Almonds

Items used for creating the sweet tray:

(1) Premo polymer clay (Artfirend/ Popular)

(2) Hole dishes (Thailand)

(3) Colour pastels (Artfriend)

(4) Tea cups (Thailand)

(5) Liquid sculpey (Tinkle art n crafts)

(6) Newspaper, I found some design online, scaled them and joined together.

Do give it a try! I'm sure you will enjoy making them as much as eating them! hehe.

Love, yamunah

Its been a long time

Thankful for all the experiences.

Couldn't have gone through all these without the blessing of god. Believe in miracles, they do come true.

Sometimes, you just got to pray and wait for life to unfold. Probably not the best advise during hard times but, trust me it works. Been kind to everyone is something I have learned over the years. Give love and you will receive nothing less of it. 

Learn to forgive, forget and accept. (don't forget to smile)

I'm working on some helpful tips for crafts and shopping too. Something I believe would be helpful to you.

Thanks for dropping by. Leave a comment below to spread some love. 

Yamunah

Gif credit: Giphy

Waxing your brows

As they always say, brows defines your face. Nicely trimmed and shaded brows definitely adds a whole lot of difference. I have gone for threading countless number of times/ plucked them myself for hours/ just ignored them forever. Oh and those who share the pain of removing hair from upper lips and girls who goes for full face threading, HOW DO YOU DO IT!?

I do have high tolerance of pain when it comes to threading but with eye infection and having sensitive eyes it caused more problems.

And as I grew older, I realized pulling and stretching is going to produce wrinkles. 

To sum up alllll of that questions. I decided to try benefit brow bar. (Westgate branch)
Alice, the brow expert was very professional, informative, friendly and funny! First time waxing and I was nervous.

She did a patch test on the back of my hand to give me an idea of the process. What's even better? They explain everything you need to know. Starting from the shape, arch and even shading. 

The application of wax was smooth, not too hot and she was quick in pulling out the strips. cleansing oil and gel to cool down the skin was applied. Personally didn't feel much pain doing the brows but, the upper lip was a little pain but bearable. 

Waxing felt much effective. tiny hairs were removed and there was no stretching/ pulling need. Quick and clean finish. Must add that, benefit staffs do help you cleanup and apply minimal makeup once you are done! No pushing of products! *thumbs up

**If you are a sephora member, you have a free brow waxing service with benefit brow bar on your birthday! Check your email for updates.

So, I'm just going to add some shots of before and after,

before

I'm not going to show my bare face haha

after

That's Alice, and there's a huge difference. brows filled in with benefit brow powder.

If you are intending to try their service, do book an appointment before you go down. 

Just sharing some information to girls who needs help with their brows.

xoxo, yam

Stunner

There have been some exciting news and here it is, 

Launched the jewelry line over at the facebook store. We have been researching and planning for 4 months and finally, its up! 

Some pictures for you, 

All items are handmade and made with standard measurements. We have 5 different designs to choose from :)

We adore celebrities who have been wearing them and wanted to re-create them for you!

Stunning pieces, Ready to rock the boho chick in you.

love,

yam