Category Archives: Smorgasbord Sundays

Smorgasbord Sundays: My Wreck This Journal Completed Circles Page

SwatchAndLearn Wreck This JournalRemember near the end of December in this post, I expressed my excitement about starting the Wreck This Journal project?

Well, since then, I’ve done a few more pages, and today, I’m going to share with you one of the Wreck This Journal activities that I completed nearly 2 weeks ago.

The instruction said to “Fill this page with circles”. I’m just going to call this the Wreck This Journal Circles Page.

At first, I was going to do a watercolour design with interlocking circles, but then I decided to try out the new Crayola markers I purchased specifically to use in this book. (You may remember me showing you how, unfortunately, the Sharpie markers I used initially bled through the pages. So, that’s why I had to buy new markers.)

The result of this Circles Page was very spontaneous and took me about 2 hours to finish.

All I planned was to use colours in the same order of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

Instead of making it look like a literal rainbow, I thought it would be neat to draw circles of all different sizes and even circles within circles. (It ended up reminding me a little of what you might see under a microscope, haha, but way more colourful and psychedelic!) 😉

I also ‘hid’ a smiley face. Can you spot it?

This activity was so fun because I never really get to do arts and crafts much these days, but it’s so relaxing. While doing this, I was going through a pretty stressful time. (Actually, I’m still stressed out as I prepare to move to my new place.) So it was nice to do something like this that is calming and enjoyable. There’s no right or wrong way to complete this page, and you can just express yourself in any way that you see fit.

I encourage you all to check this book out. But, even if you don’t, it doesn’t mean you still can’t have fun. Just try it out on a piece of paper! The only advantage of having this book is that all your art will be bound together in a book. You could get creative, though, and use a 3-ring binder to store the pages of your artwork or even use a sketchbook instead. There are lots of options.

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Smorgasbord Sundays: Wreck This Journal & Quick Update

Wreck This Journal SwatchAndLearnIt has been ridiculously long since I did a Smorgasbord Sundays post, and you know what? I sorely missed writing posts that shared another side of me that isn’t beauty-related (like my knitting posts)!

Okay, so I won’t be able to go back to posting these each week like I did before, but I’m ready to bring it back every once and a while.

Things are very hectic on my side of the pond, and it’s not just because of Christmas coming (although that has made things busier).

I’ve been juggling a lot of things – a full-time job, freelance work, hanging out with my boyfriend, general holiday craziness, and a new chapter in my life!

I bought my first home! This is a huge deal to me because I’m done with renting and paying someone else’s mortgage.

I’m looking forward to it, even though there’s so much packing and a lot of work before and after the move. It seems very daunting right now since I’m in the initial stages of preparing for the move in 2014, but, as with any challenge in life, you just have to step up to the plate, take it on, and come out the other side. It’ll all be worth it in the end.

Now for the real reason for today’s Smorgasbord Sundays post! 🙂

I picked up Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith recently because I think it’ll be a fun, carefree project to relieve stress and tap into my creativity. (You may have already heard me mentioning this if you follow me on Instagram and saw the Wreck This Journal video I posted.)

The premise of the journal really speaks to me because the focus is on happiness rather than perfection. If you follow Swatch And Learn, you’ll know that philosophy is one I heavily promote because I believe in it and try to follow it in my daily life.

There are written instructions on each page that ask you to do a lot of random, fun things. You can be as creative as you dare, and there’s room for interpretation, which is what art is all about.

As you complete each page, you add your unique spin and personality. Check out YouTube videos about Wreck This Journal to see how this project really lets your inner artist shine.

I’m very excited about this project, and I’ll be sharing photos each step of the way. I’ll probably show pages on social media, but I plan to revive my Smorgasbord Sundays posts with some of my Wreck This Journal completed pages.

Check out the rest of this post to learn more about it and to see a couple of pages I’ve already worked on.

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Smorgasbord Sundays: Hello Kitty iPhone Case

Hello Kitty iPhone CaseWow, it’s been a long time since I’ve done a Smorgasbord Sundays post, hasn’t it?

Today, I’d like to share with you my new Hello Kitty iPhone Case!

You may remember that in a previous Smorgasbord Sundays post, I showed you the devil iPhone case. I really loved it, but after about a year of using it, the silicone stretched, and every time I pulled my phone out of my purse, the case would just fall off.

So, it was time for an upgrade, and after seeing cute 3D Hello Kitty phone cases, I knew I had to get it.

There were quite a few choices: blue, red, light pink, medium pink, and this pink I ended up going for. Haha, the funny thing was that even though I didn’t do it on purpose, I picked the same shade of pink that my devil case was!

In this post, I’ll show you some more photos of this cute case.

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Blog News: Back to Blogging Again

In my previous post regarding my temporary hiatus, I told you about how there were some technical issues in the back-end of my blog that needed to be fixed.

If you’ve followed me on Instagram or Twitter, you’ll have seen that I still shared photos of my manicures and kept in touch regarding the blog’s progress.

I’m pleased to inform all my dear readers that a lot of changes and improvements have been made to the point where I’m now comfortable to resume blogging again!

You may have noticed that the layout was slightly tweaked so it’s more mobile-friendly. The other changes basically just affect me as a blogger, so they won’t be too noticeable for you, but they were indeed mandatory.

Thank you to all those who have been patient with me! I always appreciate your support, and I’m happy that even though I took a short hiatus, many of you sent me encouraging words saying that you’d wait for my return. That meant so much to me! 🙂

Considering that I’ve been blogging daily for quite some time, it felt extremely strange to not blog. So I’m excited to be back in action.

One Major Change Going Forward

I am fully committed to blogging, however, I’ve made the hard decision to cut back a little, so as not to spread myself too thin.

Instead of blogging 7 days a week, I want to try blogging 5 days a week (Monday to Friday). This keeps my weekends free, and it also gives me some extra time to prepare posts. Additionally, it gives me time to do some blog maintenance.

If that’s still too much, I may need to blog less, but I want to try for 5 days to start. (Of course, if I have something very important to share, I may post more. But I want the standard to be 5 days per week.)

My full-time job takes up the majority of my time, but after hours, I keep an extremely busy schedule with freelance jobs and socializing. I fancy myself a great ‘juggler’, but I can’t ‘burn the candle at both ends’ for too long.

But What About Smorgasbord Sundays Posts?

Those who regularly follow my blog are probably wondering about the Smorgasbord Sundays feature where I post random things.

Even though I plan to blog Monday to Friday, occasionally, I may add an extra post for Smorgasbord Sundays. So it won’t be the end of that completely – it just won’t be a weekly thing. (I had fun going off-topic for that feature, so I couldn’t chuck it aside!)

Thanks, Again, Dear Readers for Sticking By Me

Without dedicated readers who have heart, a blog just isn’t the same. You all have brought a smile to my face, and I’m very appreciative!

I look forward to blogging again, reading your wonderful comments, and replying to you all.

Something VERY Exciting Is Around the Corner

Also, I want to take this time to let you all know that I’m currently working on something pretty huge that I can’t wait to unveil! It won’t be much longer before I let the cat out of the bag. (Hehe, what a terrible saying. Poor cat! :P)

When you read my announcement about it later, you’ll know it’s the big news I’m alluding to. 🙂 Basically, if you love nail polish, you’ll be excited along with me. It’s going to be something really special for my readers, too. Andddd, that’s all I’m going to say so far! 😉 More details to come!

And now, let’s get this blogging show on the road!

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Smorgasboard Sundays: Snacks I’m Munching On

Wasabi Green Peas SnacksThe other day, I was grocery shopping at Loblaws and was struck by an intense craving for some salty snacks.

At first, I was going to reach for a bag of all-dressed chips or dill-pickle chips, but then I walked by the health-food and Asian sections and found some yummy snacks I wanted to try instead.

In this post, I’ll show you 3 of the Snacks I’m Munching On.

They’re all considered junk food, so don’t expect to see anything healthy. 😉

(In my defence…hehe, because I feel the strong need to ‘defend’ my snacking choices, I did buy a fresh-veggie platter for myself with broccoli, cauliflower, celery, and carrots. But when I went to put it in my fridge right after coming home from the grocery store, I tried to put it on the top rack. Thought it was secure, but I didn’t push it back far enough. Guess what? The platter fell onto the ground, the plastic lid popped open, and there were veggies all over my kitchen floor! I was frustrated because I didn’t feel right about rinsing them and eating them since they touched the dirty kitchen floor, so it’s a waste of food. Plus it was my only healthy snack…)

P.S. I’ll also show you a really cool frying pan I bought recently. It’s the cutest! (Yes, a frying pan can be cute – you’ll see!)

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Smorgasbord Sundays: I Love Kes the Band & Reggae Music

Kes the Band Tuesday on the Rocks Reggae MusicAs you know, I love all music genres. I think my most recent posts about music were on Lana Del Rey (who I still very much love) and some other artists.

Lately, though, I’ve been listening to a lot of reggae. Of course, Bob Marley is a must, but I’ve also been spinning songs by Peter Tosh.

And I’ve recently ‘discovered’ Kes the Band. I’m so in love with the two singles: My Love and Tuesday on the Rocks. (I’ve included links to their YouTube music videos later on in this post.)

I’ve also purchased an album called Gyal Season Riddim, which features various reggae artists. It’s soooo good that I’ve literally been listening to it daily for over a week now.

The thing I love about reggae music is that it’s so upbeat and, of course, it reminds you of warm weather. When the weather’s dismal, play reggae music, and you’re transported back to a summer beach party. Reggae always puts a smile on my face.

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