Lovely Mondays

I feel so hipster :P

Mondays, are Mondays! Still working on my project though I have been quite sluggish lately. Need to back up! Though so far, I quite like my typeface. I will update more on about it later. I still need to retake pictures, retake this and that and darn it lotsa stuff.

But overall, getting there!

Recent finds

My experimental, work in progress typeface :)

This was the earliest, beginning work of it.

So the shocking aftermath.

Well, I wasn't going to blog about it but I am feeling quite off.

I honestly have no words to describe yesterday. I have none. Speechless and it occurred to me that you know, I really do love what I'm doing.

But I just didn't show it enough.

Time to buck up and put some love in it.

White Valentine

After a month of not photoshooting, I finally picked up camera, props and tripod for this shoot. I had so much fun with the shoot and I just love a lot of things about it. The people who modelled for me are absolutely lovely people. I am just in love with them so much! In love with their kindness, their modesty, even little awkward gestures made things so much more beautiful. 

I haven't had much fun in a while but to be honest, I just love working with them :)

And the fact that I need to update my photography blog, yes. Hahah. 

I'll do it soon :) So after the shoot, we went back to my place and because they were so incredibly wonderful. I just couldn't help but make them dinner. So I made them:

1) Salmon Terriyaki

2) Granny Smith Baked Potatoes

3) Terriyaki Mushrooms with Onions and Milk

and the result?

:)

It wasn't hard to make any of these. It was fairly quite easy and I'm glad it turned out great! For the baked potatoes and salmon was sort of my first try. I cooked mushrooms numerous times (because my love for mushrooms NEVER DIES)

I was glad everything turned out great :D Photoshoot, good dinner food and amazing company! :)

Realising the fact

Alot of people are discussing over this Adele and Karl Lagerfeld issue, which honestly to me, quite pointless. It's not that I don't care about the news, it's just all this weight concerning issues and such is quite a pain in the ass. Everyone has different sizes. And everyone is different. You can't expect everyone to be all skinny and another to be all fat?

I have my weight issues too. I used to be fat and it affected me deeply cause I knew I wasn't eating healthy. When I went for the army service, I took care of my weight, try to exercise regularly and now? I feel much better about myself. I read a blog entry regarding Xiaxue's take on the story and I have to say, I do agree with most of the things she said. Except, well minus the f-bombs that is.

I am to say, Karl Lagerfeld was merely stating the obvious but of course he did it in a crude and straight forward sort of manner. But he respected her still which doesn't mean he insulted her. Perhaps the words were too harsh and straight forward but it doesn't mean he was being disrespectful. I mean, there are times people call me fat but I don't call them names back or make them pay and eat their words. Cause well they are merely stating a fact.

I think sometimes people are very self conscious about what others had to say. They can't accept the truth because they do know it is true but they just can't accept it themselves therefore, putting the blame on others for the wrong doings. Sometimes, there are truths where you have to learn to accept it and either embrace it and be yourself, be who you are and never let anyone down or for that matter, use that truth as a reminder and work hard for it. Work hard for not a slimmer looking body but a healthier body, a healthier lifestyle.

And who says people with make up are sluts, whores and such other filthy words which I shall not speak?



This woman is Michelle Phan and she is beautiful even on the inside. She does the best make up tutorials and giving really nifty tips about how to improve your skin and such. She's not vain but she nurtures and takes good care of her skin because it IS important to have healthier looking skin. Like any other girl, she was a normal teenager and her only goal in life was to teach women all around the world how to be beautiful and to take good care of your face, skin and what not. Cause she believes in one thing: everyone is beautiful in their own way. And it's true :)

She's definitely my inspiration.

And of course I have beautiful friends :)

oh yeah, btw :)

Just a thought. Coming soon :)

Brandy Mushrooms on toast

Today I was in a mood to cook something special using mushrooms again. But this time round, I followed a recipe and innovated to make this awesome dish. One of my best dishes so far to be honest. It's called Brandy Mushrooms on toast :) 

The recipe's pretty simple. All you need is, some parsley, brandy, matches (to burn the alcohol), lotsa mushrooms, garlic, shallots, butter and cream. What I love about cooking is that you can always be innovative. I mean really always. If you're missing an ingredient, find something to replace it! 

Like I didn't have parsley so I used pesto leaves and it worked! :) 

I am planning to cook something tonight for the fam :) Not sure what is it yet but definitely something :) Maybe baked potatoes? :D

My own story

Don't ever treat Valentine's as just another day. Treat it special just like how you would every single day with your loved ones. Birthdays, weekdays, weekends, what not. Appreciate your partner for all the things they do, accept their flaws as they accept yours, and most of all to love them for who they are. Forgive each other and learn from your mistakes. Fights do not just ruin a relationship, but they make you stronger and strengthen the bond of two. Learn to tolerate and love. You won't know what you had until you lose it.

You always make me happy, even when things seem bleak and upsetting. The reason why I keep posting mushy stuffs like this it's because I want you to know and remind you that someone over 7000 miles love you so much. 

And that she prays for your safety, your love and most of all she loves you for who you are.

:) <3

Breakfast is golden

Breakfast is golden :)

I simply can't live without it :) It's so good! I woke up around 9 ish? And I whipped up myself some good ol breakfast! Toast with an egg and some lovely fresh tomatoes. :)

Wonder how's your breakfast like? :)

Slow day

Today was rather busy. I had to go out on an emergency for the sake of my sister to buy some ink for the printer. After that, I had to go to college to collect my portfolio and had some lunch at home. After that, I decided to well, take a break and go out shopping for stuffs. I was almost this close of not buying anything because nothing interested me, until I went in Zara and I saw this lovely mint blazer. It was just so pretty :) Couldn't resist so I had to get it.

:) Well, I haven't been able to update my lookbook but definitely tomorrow, I will update with something :) Though I am not planning to wear this baby anytime soon. This Weds, I'm going out again so maybe I'll get a top to match with this lovely? Or I could always dig out something in my closet. Haha.

See ya :) xx

:'D

For my boyfriend :) Because I love this cartoon SOOOOOO MUCH :)

As promised

Here are my final products for my first ID project :D Overall, I was quite amazed by the outcome of this project. As much as I was struggling previously, I'm glad everything came well together. Yesterday's critique was nonetheless good. I had a great time looking at people's work and the best of all? We had to vote for which one we liked the most! It was definitely a tough choice. There were really so many good ones but in the end, decisions had been made and the final decision stands. I had one vote out of the many people in my class and honestly I didn't mind. I was actually quite happy because, somewhere out there, someone picked mine out of the rest of the people.

Maybe to alot of people, one isn't enough. But bear in mind, we could only vote one. So everything had to be taken into consideration. Everyone had to go through the designs one by one and I'm not kidding when I say everyone's work was really good. They were all fantastic and one wasn't enough to do justice for all! It was a tough choice for everybody.

So when it came to my design, Samara who voted for me, explained why she liked my design and I was honestly very happy. Because whatever she said was true. The design itself was very personal. The choice of colours, the choice of patterns and the design itself evokes alot of my personal ethic as well as my design ethic. I was equally happy to know that everyone else loves it as well. Adelina praised my work, Inka and Briony as well. It was quite amazing really. Cause I honestly was never confident in my design work, which is why I always hid it from the public's eye. Samara's comment made me happy and Willie's comment made me happier cause she really loves my work despite needing to change a few things and such. She was surprised as to why not many people liked my work haha! But it didn't matter cause I have achieved what I wanted though I know it could always be better, and the best part? I was able to get through the message of spreading my Malaysian love through Bubble and Squeak. I was happy to know that it wasn't only exotic among the other Bubble and Squeaks but it was bringing out the essence of where I come from. I am happy :)

Of course, throughout the whole critique, I learned so much about Corporate Identity. It's not just the stationaries and such that counts. It's about consistency. It's about giving your company, your brand a personality, a life and most of all, you. You need to give your brand your own set of personality in other to evolve it. It's not always about creating logos, or logotypes. They're just really minor matters to what you really need to know about Identity. Surely enough, I've done it for 8 weeks compared to those who have like the whole semester to do it but during those 8 weeks, I've learned and gained so much about it!

So these are the final products. Could be better but I am pleased :)

My packaging carrier bag :) I screen printed the acetate!

The envelope :)

And when it unfold, it becomes a letterhead!

See what I mean by consistency? Compliment slips and business cards :)

Another nice envelope :)

That folds out into a menu :D

Napkins/Serviettes :D screen printed on tissue paper :D

Bubble and Squeak :D (by the way, I did NOT come up with the name T_T)

My packaging spice box :D

The inside :)

A clearer view of my bag :)

I'm sure a lot more people can do better than me in this but I'm just really happy mine turned out great :) I am excited for my next project! :D

Annoyed.

I only have one more thing to print tomorrow and man, this project will be over. I'm sorta gonna miss this project but definitely, it taught me a lot about corporate identity and how companies are build and made. It really isn't all about the logo. It's more of the attitude, the personality of that company that makes one famous. It isn't easy at all. There are many things to consider, many things that should be understood and many things that make up the whole system of the identity and how it works. All I can say is that, it isn't easy. Even at a level like this, I'm already learning stuffs like that. When my friends at Advertising just started about Corporate Identity this year, I'm beginning to learn it at term 2 of my short course foundation. Not bragging or anything but I believe if I actually had given more time to build this identity, it would have been superb. But at such a short notice, I must say I am quite impressed and happy with the outcome. 

It's been a long 8 weeks (yes this project is probably the longest) because during the holidays, I did research for this project and 4 weeks of this was genuinely a strain to the eyes.  I am taking a much needed break before I proceed on with my work.

edit:

I am finally quite complete! The only thing that needs to be done is my Menu and it's going good so far, going good :) I'm gonna take a nice break before I proceed with my menu cover and such so that I can get it ready for tomorrow.

As well some would know, I am going to dye my hair blue :) Well haha, I hope we'll see. 

I'll post some pictures up soon :)

Morning light

Woke up this morning to a beautiful sunshine! :) But then it got cold after that -.-

Anyways, today was my off day but no, me being so 'hardworking' decided I should go in for printing to  make extra prints for my packaging. I went in with the papers I had and then started to print. The first few bits were fine. Only then I start to realise that I mixed up the colours way too much and the blue turned out looking bland. The worst took over. My printing went uneven and it made me upset. I tried to save it, salvage it, but nope, it turned out bland. Of course, there were some good prints but still, I wasn;t satisfied. And the next thing I know, I was doing it again with a new set of papers and finally got what I wanted. Sort of but still the colour was much better. I know I sound like an overachiever, always constantly changing and doing it again but at times like this, I needed to be perfectly accurate. My mind kept thinking, "YOU'RE GONNA SEND THIS IN FOR PORTFOLIO. DON'T SCREW IT UP." So with all the energy I had left, I did that second time of printing and it worked pretty well. Now packaging on other hand is a different story -.-

I STILL don't know why I did packaging. My carrier bag looks alright for now. (Though the base part is YET AGAIN a problem), my box can't close this time! I guess I have to settle for another material tomorrow and work on it. 

Still a bit bummed I can't do it properly but there isn't much time left. :(

At least I've done the letterhead, slip and business card. All that's left is just those two :(

Oh god.

I am drained. Seriously. Today, I went into class, did my work (tweak around with the layouts) and did screen printing for the rest of the day. Nope, it's not only that, I found out that I didn't have enough paper to work with ( I divided the two big papers to 4 small parts and only had enough for the letterhead, compliment slip, menu and business card) or so I think.

Ended up going all the way to London Graphic Centre at Leicester Square to purchase two more papers, and oh yeah including another big paper for my menu and packaging. Upon realising this, I didn't have ink at home so I walked all the way to Covent Garden and take a tube to Holborn, changed to Oxford Circus and bought the freaking ink cartridges. At this point, I was dreading to change anymore lines, so I took a one way line back to my place which required MORE WALKING.

Now here I am, taking a breather, a break before I proceed with my work.

I guess everything falls into place nicely. I am liking where everything is going now. Tomorrow, I will continue to move on with my work and this pace.

So tired.

Will rest till 8.