How to assemble invitations

Dear Mamee,

I know you have received the "parcel"!
Here is how to assemble the invitations.
Please write out names on each side - Chinese side and English side - before assembly. Please write out carefully as there are only 35!



Take out the different zip lock bag pouches from the parcel - you should have infront of you:
-sample invitation already assembled x1
-Chinese papercut invitations x35 including sample one i have assembled
-brown DL envelopes x40
-information leaflets at least x35
-red robbin loops at least x35



i made the ribbon loops, each loop is held by fabric glue & should fit tightly around invitation & leaflet...



put invitation with chinese papercut side up on top of one information leaflet...
it will be easier for the ribbon loop to go in if you "concave" the sides of the paper up like this...



make sure the "glued side" of the ribbon is facing the back, not right on the chinese papercut surface...
slide the ribbon loop in the middle...



then flatten the paper... it would be much harder to move the ribbon loop once the paper is flat, so make sure the ribbon is in the middle before letting the concave sides of the paper go...



put invitation in brown envelope...



seal and done!



one more thing! please don't get papercut wet - the red colour will "bleed"!

Thank you!

Cheers, :)

DIY chinese papercut invitation

while mcduck has been watching sports into the wee hours of the night... i have been operating my factory in cardmaking...
a must would be the "glue brush" i bought at the art shop for 95c... just a cheapo paint brush to spread the glue out evenly...

papercut mounting takes time...
glue to use: hobby or craft glue or clear gum or rice glue if you are really authentic
how to spread the glue: brush a thin layer on the paper, glue cannot be too thick, but if one thins out the glue with water too much, the papercut will "bleed" - not a pretty sight
laying the papercut: with TLC! light fingers

securing the papercut: rub with greaseproof paper lightly in circular motion over the papercut... don't rub too hard otherwise the papercut will stick on the greaseproof and will get torn! then you are stuffed...

the papercut mounting took ages and ages...
so did the paper-tearing (for the natural rough edge look)... and the hole punching (double duck motive)...

for a neater, classical look, a ribbon loop to secure the invitation & other attachments (ie info leaflet)is in order...
ribbon loops are individually hand-looped and glued to secure...

yep... mass production, just like a factory...


pretty sitting on the window seal

the coloured "double happiness" papercuts are nice... the red "double happiness" papercuts too...
i have stock from 2 suppliers... they look a little different...
















if you want papercuts too visit http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/Gao-Fu-Collectibles ebay store where i got mine from...

coloured chinese papercut invitations

thank god for ebay, i could get reasonably priced chinese papercuts rather than getting ripped off by the local thrift shop... instead of forking out $10 a packet, i could get 3 for $10...

once i have received the "parcel"... card making went underway... all featuring "double happiness" in various scenes...

... with peacock ...with fish in lotus pond
...with mandarin duck pair
... with phoenix
with double piglets in front of double doorway
... with flowers and butterflies
... with more flowers and butterflies
... with double chooks
... with dragon and phoenix pair
lovely! and they were all handmade papercuts!

HP6 : HP and the HBP

haven't seen a good movie for a while...
i don't know if i would classify coco chanel as a really good movie... it was def not as good as i thought would be...
but i had high expectations for HP6... afterall, i know the storyline would be good and it will be about the HBP! my fave HP character!
even after hearing margaret giving it 3 stars "for the fans" (and david a 2 1/2 i think), i still wasn;t deterred...

so off we went and saw it... the cinemas were packed... full of adults and kids alike...
and the verdict?!
UNDERWHELMING, massively underwhelming...
i mean it wasn't bad...
but it was FLAT - eg where is the tension and chase in the last segment when HBP finished dumbledore?!? wasn't like that in the book!
FLAT (in execution of the storyline) & FLAT (in its colour palatte)

... thanks ING, we didn't pay for the movie tix, thanks to my thrifty self that i brought dinner boxes capped off with banana cake as dessert (and didn't have to fork out for dindin) & thanks for free parking (even though we exceeded 3 hour free limit)...

the next book will be split into 2 movies... a bit like the horcruxes really! in actual fact the HP movie franchise has split into 8 instead of 7 horcruxes! greedy guts!

yoga challenge

northside bikram yoga is doing $20 for 10 days...
that was what i have been doing the last few days or so...

v interesting... i've never had my shin in sweat b4!
holding postures in a heated room has been challenging, but rewarding also... i had so much energy after the first class, i couldn't get to sleep...
after the past 1/2 week of daily class... my muscles are firmer and lower back straighter! unfortunately my Rt shoulder is also sorer.... for now...
the next challenge would be the $99 30 day kick start (noramlly $160)...
see how it goes...

final zinc plate prints & bargain frames

I had my last printmaking class for the term... quite sad... cos' there would be nothing to do the next 4 monday nights...
I loved the class, cos it had been fun and I could get "in the zone" and concentrate on things like "burnishing the plate with essential oils" which was very meditative! (much easier focus my concenttration this way than listening to my meditation tapes etc etc)
... so i already put my name down for next term!
here are the finished products (zinc plate etching... the "finals" after numerous proofs previously)

"mandarin duck pair" - kindly inked, a la poupee, by karen

"midnight possum" - in a shade of velvety deep green (kindly mixed by our teacher)


"midnight possum" - in black purple (also mixed by our teacher)


on a diff note, i made a visit to this curious shop, full of beautiful papers, cards and the like the other day...

http://www.willsquills.com.au/

and I found some real bargains!
photo frames - glass & clip ones, made in italy


(nothing like the flimsy ones @ ikea... each clip actaully sits in a striaght trench at the back of the frame and is slided into position... the good thing is there is also an add on one can buy, a support stand, that can turn it from a walll hanging glass frame to a desktop picture frame... v cool)

and v cool prices too - small frame $1.50, large frame $2.00, desktop supprt add on $0.50
as the man said in the shop as I was paying, "cheaper than the $2 shop!"
i concur!

coco avant chanel

went to cheap tuesday movie with snowflake the other day...
since SATC, the next anticipated fashion chic flick

coco avant chanel

we went to cremorne orpheum for the experience... the clientele of mostly well to do baby boomers (or older) - they consisted of either lovely dovey date pairs, old husband and wife couple, groups of women 2,3,4.

and a curious observation - 80% of them had boought a choc top! (that didn't include me, though that was what snowflake did the first thing she got there)



there was live piano music while we waited to get in...



and the theatre like stage and curtain...



the decadent lighting...




as to "coco avant chanel"?
margaret was right, 3 stars... i thought it was worth 6/10 too...
the fashion came the last 5 min of the film... audrey T was v elegant, but I prefer the dress sense of her character after moving to paris... the DIY refashioning she did was too "peasant" & baggy for my liking...