Tea and Octopus in One?

So I've been on a stamp thinking spree. Sketching madly which ones I should make. One day I made a little octopus with a bowler hat though it did seem to be missing something so my friend suggested I do tea set and voila! I made the little stamp above of a tea serving octopus. The color was suppose to be purple but I only had blue ink and I think it turned out pretty darn good! I've got a few designs in mind and planning on doing a giveaway of a set of one of every design on cards soon. So stay tuned and watch out if you want to snag some a set of free block print cards. =D That's what I did this weekend! What were you guys up to this weekend?

Stamped and Cards

It's been a while since I made a stamp and I've been oh so so so lazy to get more supplies. I had drawn a little fennec fox with "I'm Listening". Lucky for me I had a 20% off on my entire purchase at DickBlicks where I stocked up on more rubber, new precise carvers and some itty bitty easels. I think I'll be using those easels to for my craft show display =). Anyways it took me about 2 hours to carve the details. The words were required slow patience strokes and all in all I think they turned out fantastic! I used Speedball ink and used the method of block printing to stamp it on some blank cards I had. Spreading black ink thin on a plastic sheet I used a rubber roller to spread the ink onto the rubber stamp and laid the paper on top, then using a light wooden block to smooth the ink onto the paper. It gave this ink texture and each one turns out slightly different.

I haven't decided whether I should put them in my shop LiPeony since its very different from that style. Or whether I should even sell them. I think they're perfect to give to someone to show that you're listening and you're there for them... =)

It's A Raining Cupcakes!

It's A Raining Cupcakes Print @ LiPeony

Mmm I don't know why but my roomie from college is crazy over cupcakes! I think it's starting to rub off on me if it's not obvious from my newest print above. Living in NYC it's very easy to find cupcakes .. in fact there are these dessert trucks... Dessert Truck that I sometimes find around Aster Place on the 6 train line and Cupcake Stop that can be usually found on Broadway around Spring-Prince street. They are delicious and perfect pick me up when you need energy to continue shopping and traveling around the city. You can check out more traveling dessert trucks. Here's a list of some of the best cupcake places in nyc with reviews =) YELP.

I really enjoyed reading other peoples comments and it amazes me on how supportive people are and how creative they be. I'm also glad that I'm wasn't the only one that was inspired by the rain yesterday! It's amazing how people can see the same thing differently. I do have ideas that bounce in my head at night and I try to have a pen and notepad next to my bed. This sweet cupcake post is for you folks out there. Any favorite dessert that just makes your mouth water?

Rainy Day and Rainbows

Rainbow Painter Print @ LiPeony

Today's is raining cats and dogs! But one great thing I love about rainy days is that its perfect to sleep in and perfect to stay at home and create! Today has been no exception I have a lot of sketches that I need to scan and finish in photoshop. I notice how my style has become more defined. I used more color and made it more bold like the one above. I normally don't like to use so many colors in one sketch but I love how it really focused on what I wanted the art to be about.

Where Ideas Come From Print @ LiPeony

The above piece of art is exactly how I feel when ideas all of sudden pop into my head. That somewhere out of the sky when I least expect it light bulb ideas parachute out right into my brain and get those creative juices going. And with me like the rain outside when it rains it pours so tons and tons of ideas are just bombarding me. Never constant and blows me away like a hurricane. After wards I'm left with the beautiful rainbow outcomes of the torrent of ideas that comes and goes. I smile... that's also a nice thing about rain... =) it gets me creative ... how do you get your creative juices flowing ?

Love is on My Mind

Cocoa Bunny Felt Pin @ Lipeony

It may seem far away but Valentine's day is right around the corner! But to be frank you don't need a holiday to show your love to someone it should be shown everyday. One thing I do like about the holiday is the candies and chocolate and thus I made the little heart cocoa bunny pin above. I have a bunch of little Valentine inspired pins and prints coming up so stay tuned!

On other news my bf texted me that he's safe and his new phone number. Using a calling card I called him last night but since China is about 13 hours difference it was 11am to him. It was very bizarre as I'm getting ready to sleep and my bf is up and about in the Friday Market place in the remote village he is in right now. The people live high high in the mountains and they grow tea in these huge carved tea terraces.This is an example of how these tea terraces look like. I've never been to China (being there when I was 2 years old doesn't count as I don't remember anything) so hearing it from him was great. He laughed that instead of pigeons on the streets like New York City they had chickens and dogs roaming the streets. Once a week everyone comes down the narrow dirt road of the mountain and form farmer's market where they sell their wares. Cars are few since the streets aren't paved and it's quite crowded but there is an abundance of bikes. This area (he didn't say where it was except that it was South China) is rather remote and while people still practice the ancient tea farming techniques and lived relatively untouched there was also a blending of technology such as Internet cafes and etc. Also he said everything is extremely cheap but that's comparing U.S dollar to the Chinese currency.

Our conversation was short but he was so excited to describe to me China and I was eager to hear about it. He asked me to call him tonight I wonder what new sights he will tell me about today =)

Until next time... show your love everyday =)

Forget Me Not =D

Forget Me Not Chibi Girl Print @ Lipeony

So yesterday my boyfriend and his family boarded the plane for their two month vacation around China and Vietnam and I'm very much missing him. The few days before his flight I drew quick sketches of how I feel one being the new print in my shop "Forget Me Not Chibi Girl" I really love how the flowers look like blue blue stars caught on a slender green stem. I worked very hard to put in subtle shadows and keep it as simple as I can to convey that feeling of missing and thinking of that special someone.

We're going to keep in contact though daily emails which he suggested to my surprise. He didn't want to miss out on my day to day life even if it's just mundane things. He'll be sending pictures of the places he'll go and food he'll eat. I hope he got me my souvenirs which are airline snacks (I know weird... but I love airline snacks like peanuts) and anything else he can think of. =D

On happier news The Tiny Fig had set up a January Design challenge to decorate a box. Just go follow the directions here and you can use your creativity to make a gift box and the winner chosen on February 1st gets a $20 gift card to her fantastic lil shop! I was so excited as I know exactly what to do! Here it is:
I directly designed the box template on photoshop with chibi girl surrounded by gifts and envelopes. The same design is also on the bottom of the box. One the front side and two sides are drawings of mail van, a ship and an airplane with little blue dots showing how gifts and packages are delivered. I love to send letters and snail mail to people and this is the perfect box =)

Until next time... snail mail all the way!

Hot Pot equals Good Hot Food

Winter vacation for me is just about over since work starts as soon as winter sessions starts. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday. Over at my home we decided to do something called a hot pot. It's basically a steaming always cooking bowl of soup where you dip in various food and leave it in there to cook till they're ready. This year it was my boyfriend, my mom, dad, cousin, aunt, grandparents, little sister and brother for Christmas. Though generally we don't celebrate Christmas but it is a great time to get the family together.
A hot pot is the perfect type of meal where people cook, share and can converse over good hot food on a cold cold day. It's a very rare moment since all the kids are off to college in different states.
In the center is a large bowling bowl of soup usually chicken broth or beef broth is fine. There are special hot pots that run either by electricity or gas like the one above I got from my boyfriend. Whats so great is that the little burner is portable and comes with a split pot. One side is for spicy soup base and the other side is for the non spicy. I've also done this with a vegetarian side and a meat lover side.
All the food there are food that doesn't require a lot of time to cook like thinly sliced beef, chicken, sheep or any meat. We also have thinly sliced squid, beef tripe along with dumplings and tons and tons of various fish balls. My sister loves loves fish balls. I personally love these special ones that contain a tiny piece of meat in the inside my friends call Fuzhou fish balls. They are just so juicy when cooked. We also have thinly sliced tofu skin, straw mushrooms, watercress and other quick veggies. You can basically use any type of soup base and any food that's easy to cook... I've tried shrimp, lobster, cuttlefish etc.
We usually eat rest/chat then eat some more... rinse and repeat and this time we spent about 4 hours in this cycle. By the end we were all stuffed and suffering from food coma. If you've never tried it you might want to... there are few places in NYC that really gives you the full scope of what can be done with hotpot. The only place I can think of is in Flushing Queens in this tiny out of the way underground restaurant. I forgot the name... unfortunately they speak mainly Mandarin so ordering can be a hassle.
If you have the time and want to try something new that's easy to do at home try hotpotting =D