Papercutting Tutorial

I've been doing some papercutting lately. It's so fun and easeir than I thought. Just takes some patience is all.

For this project, I used a small paintbrush and sumi ink to write the word "love" onto a book page. I made sure that all the letters were connected to each other so that when I cut it out, the letters would all be connected. Then I taped that page onto a piece of sheet music. I placed the layers of paper onto a self-healing mat and then very carefully, used my sharp craft knife to cut the word out.

So here's what the book page looks like once the cutting is done. So cute, right?


But what's also cool is that because I placed a layer of sheet music beneath the book page, I end up with two sets of cut-outs that I can use in my artwork.

Here's what I did with one of the pieces ... I added it to one of my art journal pages. So happy with how the page looks with the addition.
And onto a different art journal page this cut piece goes ... just a beginning. It'll evolve more from here I'm sure.
Easy peasy.

Happy crafting. :)

Baker's Twine & Hemp Scallop Crocheted Cuff Tutorial

Oh how I love crocheting with baker's twine and hemp yarn. This is the latest cuff I made. Super cute and easy. Here's how I did it:

Materials Needed:

• 3-ply baker's twine (Yarn A)
• 3-ply hemp yarn (Yarn B)
• Crochet hook: US B/1 (2.25mm)
• Tapestry needle

To begin: With yarn A, ch 7, turn.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across, turn (you now have 6 sc).
Row 2: Ch 1, sc in each sc, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until the piece fits the circumference of your wrist, turn.
Button Hole Start: Ch 1, sc in first sc, ch 4, sc in last sc, turn.
Button Hole Finish: Ch 1, sc in each sc.
Fasten off.

Edge Trim: With right side facing you and button hole at top, draw up a loop of yarn B at upper left corner of the cuff, near the button hole; ch 1, sc evenly spaced around, join with sl st in first sc.



Scallop Edge: Ch 1, *3 sc in next sc, sl st in next sc; repeat from * to end. Fasten off.

Use yarn B to crochet a heart using the pattern found here. With tapestry needle sew it onto one of the short edges of the cuff. Weave in all ends.


Easy Peasy.

Happy crochet. :)

Crocheted Heart Bracelet Tutorial

Check out my cute little crocheted heart bracelet.

Start by crocheting a little heart using baker's twine. The pattern for the crocheted heart can be found here. With a tapestry needle, thread a piece of red perle cotton through the middle of the heart.

Tie both layers of the perle cotton close to one side of the heart.

Do the same thing to the other side.

Tiethe ends of the first layer of perle cotton into a loop.


Thread the other layers of perle cotton into a vintage white button and tie the ends close to the button.
Trim excess and it's ready to be worn!

Expressions on Canvas

The question of who I am has been on my mind as I have been working on my canvases for the upcoming October 6th show with my painting colleagues.

Who I am ... at least as represented by these canvases is: minimalist, lover of fibers, Korean, lover of music, explorer of melancholy ...

I've completed 4 canvases and I have a few more in progress that I hope will be finished by the October show.


Aside from exploring and expressing who I am, I've been guided by the concept of jeung which has become my muse ... and am happy to see it expressed in all of these pieces.
I've also been able to explore positive and negative space with these works, which is endlessly fascinating to me.

The process of making this collection has been empowering because I feel that I am authentically represented it. This is who I am ... scars, wounds, and all.
Korean words and fibers are my roots. And as they interface with paints and canvases, I am struck by how emotional it is to examine who I am, where I come from, how I was raised, what I experience, and where I am going.

I look forward to continuing this process of exploring, expressing, and sharing.

If you're able, I hope to see you at Studio CRESCENDOh on Saturday October 6th for art, music, wine, conversation, and friendship.

To art.

Altered Papier Mache Houdstooth Love Box Tutorial

Love houndstooth, don't you?

To start, I took a round papier mache box and painted the top of the lid with a pink acrylic marker by Montana. Read my review of these awesome markers here.

Next, I adhered houndstooth-patterned Duck tape to the bottom portion of the box.

I took another strip of the tape, and attached one end to the other to make a ring.


Then I flattened that ring so that it would stick to itself.

I used this tape to cut out letters that I glued to the top of the lid.

And I also painted the edge of the lid with a green acrylic marker by Montana.

To finish, I glued the cut-out tape letters to teh top of the box and added doodles with a fine-point black pen.

Happy crafting. :)

DIY Chipboard Book Tutorial

I'm so excited to be welcoming Danita this week as she teaches her SOLD OUT class in Studio CRESCENDOh. While she is visiting there will be a small group of us who will be throwing her a potluck/pool party. For the craft activity, I made everyone a handmade chipboard book.

I took chipboard sheets that I happen to have a mountain of, which measure 5 x 7 inches. I used my Crop-a-Dial to punch holes on the short edge, at the 1-inch and 4-inch marks. The Crop-a-Dial allowed me to punch a whole stack at a time.


Then I took my Fabriano watercolor paper panels which are slightly smaller than the chipboard panels and placed a stack of them onto a chipboard panel and punched the short edge at the same marks.
Then I stacked the punched chipboard and Fabriano and secured them with two 1-inch metal rings.

For my cover, I painted an oval with Golden Titan Buff Fluid Acrylics.


Then painted little petals with coral acrylic paint.

And then added line work with a fine-point black marker and lettering with Sumi ink and a small watercolor brush.

The activity will be one where after everyone decorates her cover, we'll turn some good music on, and pass around our books so that everyone can get a chance to make their marks in the pages of our books.

Can't wait to see how they turn out!

Studio Explorations :: Instagram Blind Contour :: Java with Milk and Honey

Studio Explorations :: Instagram Blind Contour :: Java with Milk & Honey

Oh how I love Instagram ... don't you?

Lately, I've been having fun picking out one of my instragram photos now and then and then doing quick blind contour drawings/paintings of them. Like this one ...

The exercise is to just look at the photo and without looking at the paper that you're drawing on (well ... maybe with an occasional peek here and there), to just go for it and draw what you see. The idea is to not worry about the drawing to be realistic or accurate or perfect ... and by allowing yourself the freedom, you can discover the beauty of distortion/exaggeration that blind contours can give you.

The thing about Instagrams is that they are so small on the iphone screen that it feels not so intimidating to try and sketch one of them onto paper. And if your paper is too big, then create a smaller frame first, so you can still feel the compactness of the exercise.
Happy creating. :)

Foam Stamping Tutorial

Check out my cute little doodled flowers with texture stamped centers. So cute, right?

The way I did the stamping is first to take these cute little foam stamps I picked up from Michaels the other day. I had no idea what I'd do with them but I thought they were so cute ... little foam marshmallow shapes.

So the first thing I did was to heat up one side of the foam shape with a heating tool until it got nice and soft and pliable. And then I pushed the heated side of the foam shape into a piece of crochet that I had made a while back.

Which caused the foam shape to take on the texture of the crochet.

Then I inked the foam shape and stamped it. The great thing about foam stamping like this is that they keep the shape until you heat it up again and then it becomes nice and soft, ready to be pushed into something else to take on different textures.

So cool, right?

Happy foam stamping. :)

Painted, Lettered and Washi-Taped Wooden Cutlery Tutorial

Wooden cutlery is available almost everywhere. On etsy, amazon ... just Google it and you'll find loads of sources that sell these simply lovely objects ... perfect for embellishing.

For these, I started with a light application of acrylic paint on the handles of a fork, spoon, and knife.

Once dry, I wrote words with Sumi ink and a very small watercolor brush.

On the backsides, I made little raindrops.

To finihs, I wrapped each piece with two different colors of washi tape. So sweet.

Happy crafting. :)

Studio Explorations :: Watermelon Applause

Studio Explorations :: Watermelon Applause

This journal page was inspired by the watermelon from last night. It was so sweet, so cold, and so good. So good there was no need to take it from the sink to the table. Over the sink I started eating it ... and before I knew it, the whole family joined in ... all of us hovering over the sink, devouring the perfect specimen of this summer fruit.

To paint it, I started with a bit of pink paint for the flesh. I used a sponge brush to paint a half circle shape.

Then I used a light blue paint to paint the rind.

Too light blue. So I added a bit of darker green.

Much better once blended.

And for the seeds, sumi ink with a small watercolor brush.

In Korean, watermelon = 수박 (say: soo bahk).

Interestingly, applause = 박수 (say: bahk soo).

I thought it was funny as I started writing 수박 수박 수박 ... it became a mishmash of watermelon and applause.

Well, the watermelon that we ate last night ... it was so good that it did deserve applause.

To summer.
To restless late nights.
To sweet summer fruit devoured over the sink
To everything good deserving of appluase.