Chinese New Year

First off, happy Chinese New Near to anyone out there that celebrates it! I hope you had a wonderful time with friends and family.

This year I really enjoyed CNY. We met up with all these friends and relatives of which I haven't seen in quite a while. I had so much food: lo-bak go (萝卜糕), lian-go (年糕), countless plates of dim-sum...

However I did notice a change within me this CNY. Firstly, I completely ignored the Chinese candy box (攒盒) this year. Normally I'm always surrounding it, trying to get hold of the best candies before my sisters do, but this year it was merely a centrepiece on the table. Secondly, I had a strange feeling throughout the week. I spent a lot of time reading and not really joining in with the festivities. I guess this is what people would call 'growing up' and it inevitably happens, but I was not ready for that! Nonetheless, I had fun.

CNY kicked off on Thursday 19th this year, but before that was the period of which the CNY flower markets (花市) opened. The flower markets sell all sorts of things, from flowers and plants to stuffed toys and balloons. People all over HK visit them and they are usually packed, especially at night. There are several scattered around Hong Kong but the one I visited with my friends was the market in Victoria Park.

Thank you to my friend Brittany for helping me take some of the photos!

I was looking back at my old posts and realised that I stopped ending my posts with an inspirational/motivational poster. I would like to pick that up again because it spreads around positive vibes!

source

This is something I constantly try to remind myself to do. I freak out when I've got a whole list of things to do, and it makes me feel like I'll never finish in time. It turns out that I just need to take a breath, and then go deal with whatever's bugging me. 

The start of a new Chinese year! I hope you have a nice day and I'll see you next week!

DIY: 'Always Losing Bobby Pins' Wall Art

Hey guys :)

My lateness for this post can be totally justified... it's Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year is an Asian festival which happens around the end of January to the beginning of February, depending on the calendar. There are countless traditions, such as hanging up red pieces of paper with four-word sayings in calligraphy called fai chun, or setting out a 全盒, a box filled with candy, melon seeds and dried foods, each symbolizing a different meaning. Few dos and a lot of don'ts apply to CNY, most of them originating from superstitions. For example, we can't sweep the floor during the CNY period because we will "sweep the luck away". Other things we can't do is cut our hair, wash our hair, or buy shoes. Weird, right?

We get about a week off from school, and I've been visiting relatives, friends, friends of relatives, the annual routine. It's not just about the lai see or food (which BTW, are added bonuses!), but about spending quality time with family and friends.

Yep, so cheesy but it's true!

So today, I have another jazz-up-my-desk DIY for you guys. This DIY is even easier than the silver star jar, and easy is always a good thing :D I was browsing around WeHeartIt for 'overlays' and 'transparents' to draw. If these two terms are completely new to you, they are basically tumblr-esque pictures or graphics that people layer onto their [Instagram] pictures when editing. I occasionally use them for my own pics and you can check them out on my Instagram @icygirl79. Anyways, I like to draw overlays and transparents because they are easy to draw and I can practice my questionable drawing skills.

Pics from WeHeartIt

The objects are not meant to look lifelike, which is why I tend to draw them instead of real objects. I came across this:

My mind was immediately like, um YES. Honestly, where do bobby pins and hair ties go? There aren't many places where they can hide and yet I buy a pack of 50 one day, I end up with 5 the next! MADNESS. 

I relate so much to this picture so I decided to put it on a canvas to hang up on my extremely blank wall.

My desk is messy :(

You will need:

1. a canvas size of your choice - my one is 10" x 12" and I purchased it from the New Town Plaza Phase 3 Commercial Press for $29

2. a black paint marker (or black acrylic paint and a paint brush - if you are able to handle these, I applaud you :) )

3. a pencil 

1. To start off, I used a pencil to outline the bobby pins and text. This is to ensure I don't mess up the final work. If you don't need to outline, skip ahead! If you are like me and want to be extra cautious, practice on a piece of paper. For this step, you don't have to follow the picture exactly. Be creative! 

2.  Draw on the design using your medium of paint

*extra tip: of you have visible pencil lines, you can easily remove them by rubbing the area with a cotton tip dipped in rubbing alcohol

3. You. Are. DONE :)

☆Starring Always Losing Bobby Pins, featuring Mr Silver Star Jar☆

I know, it's so easy you don't even need a tutorial. I just love this picture so much and I'm sure many girls can relate to this problem/issue/curse. 

That's all for today. Have a good day/night!

If you ever recreate this, show me on Instagram by tagging my username; I would love to see it! Leave a comment down below and don't forget to follow Love From Icy on Bloglovin!