much ado about nothing.

been feeling kind of restless lately, especially with the blog. HAHAH. oh dear. time for another one of those transition periods where I abandon this website? I don't know... ... ...

Anyway, been way too busy anyway, what with working 7 days in a row (illegal!!!) and going crazy marking at ungodly hours... but it's been good as well since after all this recent mayhem, things have been winding down... and I've been able to spend some quality time with my friends as well. 

Around 3-ish weeks before I leave Hong Kong for good and go back to my motherland... (well no, not China, although I suppose I came from there originally once upon a time?).... I shall be flying back to Canadaaaaaaaa in a very short time...

Things to do before I leave:

1) force as many people as i can to hike up that mountain with a guitar in hand and sing at the top of our lungs when we get to the top!

2) again, force as many people as i can to have a LORD OF THE RINGS marathon... (pretty please? It's my dying wish?)

3) Possibly go to Llama Island, although I don't know what's there - I just want to go because it's called Llama Island but I bet there are no llamas....

4) FINALLY go to SHAM SHUI PO to take a look at all the fabrics/buttons/lace/DIY materials (can you believe that I've been here an entire year and haven't even made the time to go there once?) I think I got discouraged because the one time I ventured down there it was a holiday and everything was closed. Failure.

5) Make MOUSTACHE T-SHIRTS and prance around on the rooftop of our school proudly. (Again, with forced participants).

I highly doubt that I'll be able to fit all that in before the end, but we shall try mightily hard.

On another note, I watched THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN in 3D yesterday, and it was SOO GOOD!!!!!!!! So much better than the Tobey Maguire series.... so... much.... better....

Best part? the Stan Lee Cameo. 

Don't worry, no spoilers here. Everyone knows there's a Stan Lee cameo in all marvel movies anyway.

GO WATCH IT! 

okay bye.

inspiration: Erin Bradley designs

Today I was looking for online clip art and patterns when I came across Erin Bradley and her digital illustrations. Her prints are so cute and colourful, and perfect for customizing your own cards and labels. Here are some samples of her designs below!

To see more of her online designs for personal/commercial use, visit her website here!

Doodle of the Day: warm summer days

...ironically, I drew this on a cloudy day spent inside an air-conditioned room because for me, summer hasn't officially started yet. haha. one can dream.

summer

bike rides

flowy dresses

wheat fields

music

sun

hours of nothing

Won't you be my neighbor?

HEY all you 90's kids out there! Do you remember Mr. Rogers? I didn't watch too much TV growing up but I do remember always watching his show... I think he's so inspirational, and will always be a part of my childhood memories. 

At first I thought this video was a parody... but it's actually a tribute to Mr. Rogers. haha. Watch it and you decide...

Did you ever grow anything in the garden of your mind?

PHOTO of the DAY: thrifting in HK!

Today, my friend and I were near the Tsim Sha Tsui area and we found a thrift store!! It's the first real one I've been to since coming to Hong Kong (which means I've gone a whole year of my life without stepping into a thrift store...!??!?!?). It was interesting - the styles are quite different from the usual Value Village I frequent in Canada... and this particular store was actually pretty pricey for a thrift store (I guess shopping in Hong Kong is ridiculously cheap to begin with, so the prices at this thrift store were actually around the same price as new clothes!).

Even though I didn't get anything, I had so much fun rummaging through all the racks and lurking around every corner of the store. My friend found a nice DKNY denim button-up shirt for around $15CDN. Hurrah for good deals!

And... here is the photo of the day... of me trying to squeeze through the racks. My arm looks mightily mangled! But I was mightily ecstatic to have a chance to go thrifting! =)



doodle of the day: henna inspirations

Today's doodle is inspired by Indian culture with its bright colours and elaborate henna designs. I'm still hopeful for a little Bollywood infusion when I get married next year! I just love all those colourful suits and saris, and if I had my way, every guest at our wedding would be wearing one. hahaha. even the guys... even the guys.

These pictures were from my good friend's wedding last year... I miss you weirdos!

...indian-inspired doodles...

a typical day at work

It's exam time at the moment which means we've got hundreds of papers to mark... and since we know we're all nearing our impending doom in the form of approaching deadlines (they ARE called DEADlines for a reason...) we cope with the stress by being SILLY. 

This is my desk... well behind this bookshelf (aka. makeshift wall/barrier against the rest of the world). Ironman makes sure that no one intrudes on my personal space.

Today I brought my beloved burger hat to work!

Just like the little red bowtie from yesterday's post, we all took turns posing with the burger. I love how all the coworkers in my department are such GOOD SPORTS when it comes to stuff like this. hahaha.

(From left to right)

featuring:

first row: the pirate eye-patch, the shoulder pad, the "Chun-Li"

second row: the bulging burger bicep, the original burger, the delusional Thor, the Burger Hat

third row: the pageant sash, the loser fanny pack, the burger bunny

fourth row: the delusional Captain America, burger headphones, and the creepy puppet chef.

haha you guys are the best.

DIY: the little red bowtie

Today at work, I made a little red bowtie out of felt and embroidery floss. 

Someone said it reminded them of Hello Kitty (ew... I'm sorry but I don't like Hello Kitty...) but then some of my coworkers and I started thinking of different ways we could wear the bowtie (or in some cases, how to clip it onto people without them noticing). HAHA. Can you tell which pictures below feature WILLING subjects and which ones feature unsuspecting victims? hahaha...

Personally, I think the Dirty Sloth pulls off the best bowtie look.

OH and if you notice in the background, there's a box that says "ADULT CHICKEN FLAVOUR". Somehow, that just sounds creepy and kinda PG13.

DIY: Hamburger Hat!

Ever since I drew this little self-caricature below, I've been wanting to make a HAMBURGER HAT just like that one.

So... with materials in hand (felt, scissors, needle, thread, and highly amateur hand-sewing skills), I set out to attempt the making of a HAMBURGER HAT!


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 For the top burger bun, I bought a mini body-sponge and covered it with fuzzy orange fabric.When I was finished making all the different burger sections (patty, lettuce, tomatoes, and buns) I added a red ribbon so I could tie it around my head. Overall, I thought it turned out quite well... and I'm ready to prance around and wear my new creation proudly in public! =D

...and now... it's time for another weird kwok comic. 

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Moral of the story:


THE BEAST MUST BE FED.

obsessed with oxfords

I love OXFORDS. Maybe it's because I like to add "manly" elements to every outfit to prevent over-girliness, or maybe it's because they're just so darn comfortable. Whatever it is, I know that one pair of oxfords gets more wear than my entire heels collection COMBINED. I don't know... I just think they really suit my style. 

Ever since I wore my oxfords (seen below) to their ultimate DEATH (to the point where there were multiple holes), I've been searching for a new pair. This past pair was only $10CDN but they  only lasted 5 months, so I wanted to find a more durable pair. 

Well, today I found a store called Elegance Gallery, a shoe store that I happened to stumble upon while walking aimlessly along the streets of Causeway Bay, HK. They have a wide selection of shoes in stock - BUT, if you don't like what they have, you can actually CUSTOMIZE the shoes and change the fabrics/colours (for an extra $50HKD - approximately, $6-7 CDN!!!).

I saw a pair of GREEN cloth + leather oxfords and I liked the style but I wasn't too fond of its leprauchan shade. So I got them customized in two slightly different shades of camel + brown leather. Super standard "boring" shoe colours, but I wanted to have a really wearable pair that I intend to wear for years... YEARS!!!!!!!! They'll be ready in 3 weeks and I can't wait to see how they turn out!

I was also thinking though of getting some crazier customized oxfords: dark turquoise/teal leather or suede for the tips and back of the shoes + a multicoloured woven ethnic print for the middle (cloth) section. What do you think?

Here's a little "inspiration board" I created to visualize the design...

Like? Dislike?

Speaking of ethnic prints, here are some Peruvian-inspired iPhone case patterns from Schatzi Brown. It's actually things like this - being able to make my own customized iphone cases - that make me want an iPhone... not the phone itself. HAHA... I think I just like customizing things.

iPhone cases by Schatzi Brown

Anyway, I'm curious what you think about the shoes... OR, leave me a comment and let me know how YOU would design a pair of oxfords (with two tones/fabrics/colours). When I was at the store, there were pages and pages of fabric swatches to choose from including floral prints, glitter fabric, polka dots, stripes, and canvas in all colours.

 I'm curious to know your design ideas! =P

DIY: vintage rings

After an hour of extreme supergluing (along with extreme glue inhalation), my little collection of vintage earrings and brooches was transformed into a newly re-created collection of rings!

Let the photo roll begin!

Which one is your favourite? Leave me a comment! =D

DIY: vintage ring

A long time ago, I posted a DIY about making your own rings (found HERE). Since then, I've basically been carrying around a little heart-shaped box full of vintage earrings, brooches, and other potential knick-knacks that can be refurbished into rings and just haven't gotten around to busting out the superglue to finish the job. Well, A YEAR LATER, I finally took the time to make the rest of them. 

This one here is the first one I made. I had a vintage earring that just happened to fit perfectly into this large, round ring-blank I had. (You can find some simple instructions below).

Instructions:

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1) I used pliers to take off the back of the earring.

2) I cut out a round piece of leather to fit into the ring blank.

   The ring blank was quite deep so I used the leather

   to fill up the extra space and to "cushion" the earring.

3) After gluing in the piece of leather, I glued the

    vintage earring on top... and TA DA!

    

The vintage ring is done! 

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