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Documenting life in Shanghai

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  • hello!
  • Courses
  • #the100dayprojects
  • Art Journal Projects
  • Events & Press
  • Snippets

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  • Crafting adventures

    Outgoing ATCs

    February 11, 2024 / No Comments

    Do you make and exchange ATC or Artist Trading Cards? Have you made an ATC before?  I’ve been making ATC since probably 2015. I learned about this via swap-bot.com when I joined in 2013. I’ve been curious about these and got the courage to sign up for some international swaps. These were quite fun, and I regret not making extras for each card I made for my collection. So, there are other variations for the standard ATC (2.5×3.5 inches). One is called inkbox cards, which are square 3×3 inches and have rounded corners, just like the Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads, hence the name. The lesser-known one is the ATC coin, which…

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    Get Messy Season 8 MessyList

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  • Currents,  Documenting Life,  Shanghai living,  Urban Sketching

    Adventures of the #fiveoclockclub

    November 23, 2023 / No Comments

    My frend, Tõnis (@vanishing.shanghai), calls our mini “group” the “Five o’clock Club” because we used to get up early to go out sketching. In a previous post, I posted about our early morning sketches, which is how we enjoyed these crazy morning hours. However, we can’t do it as often now because of our busy schedules. I have to feed the cats and kids before I leave for work, and Tõnis is busy organizing his exhibits. But we still try to grab any pockets of time we can to go out and sketch, and we call them “mini adventures.” Adventure 1: Anren Street One morning, we had an impromptu sketching…

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    Currently…Starting 2018

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    March 20, 2015
  • Art Journals,  Documenting Life,  Shanghai living

    Golden Week ’23: Part 2

    November 14, 2023 / No Comments

    In the previous post I shared my urban sketching adventures around Shanghai. I thought there was too much to share on that post so I decided to do a part 2 but this time focusing on the other type of creative stuff that I was able to get done. Starting off with a big highlight from our holiday is the exhibit called “Beyond the Streets” which we were fortunate to see before it ended. I thought it was a really cool exhibit about graffiti, how it became an art form and all the different artists who started off as graffiti artists before they became well-known. And the best part? My…

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  • Art Journals,  Currents

    2024 Artist Almanac

    November 8, 2023 / 12 Comments

    The 2024 ARTIST ALMANAC: ONE (1) part calendar + ONE (1) part inspiration = a whole LOT of collage material. 18 talented artists bring you 365 days of collageable artsy bits of paper.

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    get messy Messy Lists

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    February 23, 2023

    #the100daysofnumberedbits

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  • Art Class

    This Weekend Only

    October 28, 2023 / No Comments

    BIG NEWS! If you have missed the Early Bird Special and the Wanderlust LIVE! special sale, don’t worry. Wanderlust 2024 is on offer THIS WEEKEND – 27 October to 31 Oct at sale price of $109* USD instead of $175*! For a year full of video lesson in mixed-media. Don’t miss out on this bargain! If you are still wondering what Wanderlust 2024 is all about, let me fill you in! It’s a year-long course in mixed-media art journaling, offering a whole year of learning and inspiration. What you get: And guess what? Exciting bonuses are already waiting in the classroom! *local tax calculated at checkout So excited and am…

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    An Early Christmas Gift

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  • Documenting Life

    An Invitation

    October 27, 2023 / No Comments

    Let's take a moment to pause and truly notice what surrounds us this November. What are we grateful for in this very moment? Together with Lea, let's embark on a journey of journaling.

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    happy little moments

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    May 5, 2016
  • Documenting Life,  Shanghai living,  Urban Sketching

    Golden Week ’23: Part 1

    October 13, 2023 / No Comments

    Experience Shanghai through my eyes with early morning urban sketching during the "Golden Week."

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    Lifescape of Old Shanghai

    March 9, 2023

    What I’ve Been Making (and Where I’ve Been!)

    May 14, 2025

    Artist-in-Residence at Alila Anji

    August 8, 2018
  • Documenting Life,  Shanghai living,  Urban Sketching

    Urban Sketching: Zhenru Temple

    September 28, 2023 / No Comments

    08:45 am | Saturday My sketching adventure last Saturday was at the Zhenru Temple (真如寺) in Putuo District. When my friend, Lily, suggested this place to visit instead of the venue designated by Drawing Shanghai / Shanghai Urban Sketchers, my curiosity was perked. So good that we went to the historic Zhenru Temple, I don’t know why I did not know about this temple before. Originally built in the Song Dynasty (960-1276), the temple has undergone several changes throughout history between the Taiping Revolution to the Cultural Revolution where a lot of relics were destroyed. There is one temple within that is the original structure but most are rebuilt due…

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  • Art Journals

    Back into Watercolours

    September 26, 2023 / 1 Comment

    So great to be back into painting with watercolours are spending lots of time with other medium in my art journal. I joined Ohn Mar Win (@ohn_mar_win) and Clare Therese (@claretheresegray) on Instagram with their #7DaysofAutumnFlowers. I used a Fabriano Leporello Accordion Journal because of the size and I wanted to try this format of journal again. My watercolours are a mixed of Daniel Smith, Schmincke and Holbein. Finally, I decided to purchase a couple of local brands of watercolour brushes to see how they are against the international brands. Honestly, I am loving them! In the photo below (in the foreground) you will see 2 types of mop brushes…

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    #the100daysofnumberedbits Part 3

    July 18, 2018

    Watercolour Explorations #51 to #75

    July 22, 2017

    Nearly Christmas season…

    August 29, 2022
  • Art Journals

    MessyMay 2023

    September 8, 2023 / No Comments

    Time… where did it all go? Last year’s Messy May, we were house-bound due to COVID lockdown in Shanghai. We were on our second month then and creating my pages in a mini outdated diary was the one of the things that was keeping my mind busy. This year’s Messy May crept up on me and fortunately I had an empty mini bound journal I made for Wanderlust. I found it was a fantastic size to work on. If you are following me on Instagram, you would have seen these. I’m sharing some of my favourite pages from this challenge. And you can check out the flip-thru of the entire…

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Latest Instagram Post
🌼🌸 #FlowerMagicArtFest2026 — I made 2 pages in my journal for @ciciandcompanystudio “Joyful Paper Blooms” lesson. The first page focused on creating a “garden collage,” while the second page was folded to resemble a bouquet of flowers. 🌸

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Shanghai Sketching Groups

Blogposts

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  • Nov 13, 2025 Sketching Rome: Two Sketchbooks, Ten Days, Countless Moments
  • Aug 21, 2025 A Whirlwind of a Summer
  • Aug 09, 2025 I’m Teaching at Fodder School 5 — and You’re Invited!
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