Completed Project: Lynde Avenue

Uncertainty may intimidate some, but if embraced, it gives more room to trust and have faith. We can never anticipate how things will turn out while working with someone new. Admittedly, there were moments in various projects where I didn't give credence to my own work and refused to believe they were good enough, but we certainly have to learn to trust the process and keep the faith.

Some time ago, Emily from Lynde Avenue had approached me to help create a new header and style for her blog after she saw the project I worked on with Sophie from Sophie Smith. She wanted to give her blog a more creative boost and mentioned that a fresh design would be very helpful for her.

Lynde Avenue is a blog about wellness, beauty and lifestyle, where Emily shares advice about keeping healthy, tips and tricks on wellness and beauty, and occasionally some blogging and lifestyle tips as well. The posts on the blog are always concise, to the point and summarises things in a nutshell. I especially enjoy reading posts on wellness and health. They are certainly beneficial to keep ourselves in the pink of health and in good shape. Emily also has pretty impressive coding skills and has designed blogs before, so her blogging tips are helpful too. If you enjoy reading about beauty and fashion, the blog also shares information and tips about those topics, so feel free to check them out. :)

Emily was very forthcoming with her ideas and she was also open to what we both had in mind. She had an idea of the colour palette she loved - purple, pink and a pale shade of blue. She also loved a minimal, elegant and feminine style. Here's a moodboard that inspired the project.

(Clockwise from top-left) Orlando Florida Wedding (Photo by Amalie Orrange Photography) / Brush Stroke + Lettering + Heart by myself / Classic & Elegant Russian Wedding (Photo by Sonya Khegay) /  Zila Lila Nest Bean Bag / Figs & Gold Wedding Inspiration (Photo by Onelove Photography) 

We explored the purple, pink and neutral colour palette, leaving the complementary colours for some accents, and because Emily loved the idea of minimal, clean sans serif fonts, I also managed to implement them into the headers by lettering and drawing them out. All the headers were hand lettered, and most header options also included a watercolour pink heart, to accentuate the minimal style Emily was fond of.

We also discussed about different design elements that would be really unique to her blog. Since coding is also something Emily enjoyed doing, it would be very special to include this interest into the blog style as well. The additional illustrations include a running shoe and a jump rope to depict wellness, which is one of the main topics discussed on the blog. These illustrations were hand drawn to give the design a more authentic style too.

(Inspiration: From left) Classic & Elegant Russian Wedding (Photo by Sonya Khegay) / Orlando Florida Wedding (Photo by Amalie Orrange Photography) / Zila Lila Nest Bean Bag / Figs & Gold Wedding Inspiration (Photo by Onelove Photography) 

This is still, one of my first few attempts at creating a moodboard, and I am very aware that it's not the best, so I'll gladly welcome any criticisms and comments. I'd love to hear any suggestions and improvements that we can all learn from together.

This project was pretty enjoyable to work on, as with all other projects are, because each one of them undoubtedly possess a certain form of uniqueness and specialty. :) Furthermore, it's always an eye-opening experience to be able to work with someone from another part of the world. I had such a wonderful time working with Emily who was always so courteous and kind. She was extremely gracious and polite with suggestions and this certainly made the project easy to work on. It could never have been possible with her ideas as well, so I really appreciate that. :)

Finally, collaborations are perhaps one of the most interesting type of projects to work on because working with new people undeniably has unexpected paths and turns, but eventually, the results produced are relatively pleasant and satisfying. Apart from successfully completing the project together, genuine partnerships are formed as well. :) They also provide the much needed affirmation for both parties, and allow us to just believe in ourselves, a little more.

Until next time ♥

Lettering + Design elements by me, Photos as stated in links

Check out the other projects I worked on with Sophie from Sophie Smith and Bryleigh from A Little Yarn Blossom. 

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+ If you're keen on featuring your original, creative creations on The Happy Candle, check out the new post series, The Creative Minds

+ I have been incredibly busy this month and will continue to be in the coming month, with college administration and camps, but I do hope to continue contributing to this as much as I can. To make up for the reduction in the frequency of posts, I will be posting more updates on social networks. You may check out what inspires me on Pinterest and follow me on Instagram for new lettering work and extras that are not featured here on the blog as well. :)

The Creative Minds Series: Listen (+ Freebie)

Last June, a blogger from France, Elsa, from Totally Elsa, came forward and wanted to collaborate on a project together. Totally Elsa is a place where Elsa shares her very delicate and detailed nail art as well as some of her pretty impressive drawings and portraits. She was unsure of what exactly we should work on, but proposed that since both of us had a common interest of art and creative things, we could create an art piece that featured her illustration and my lettering.

The downloadable wallpaper for this July is something that both of us had created together, with Elsa's intricate and delicate illustration of a beautiful crown and jewels, coupled with my lettering. I also decided to try out something new, and created my own gold foil to use with the crown that Elsa had illustrated.

The late Princess Diana had mentioned this beautiful quote worth a reminder to all. She would have turned 54 recently on 1 July, and will be remembered for being kind and down-to-earth, and indisputably, an inspiration to many.

Version 1 // Black Background Phone (Android/iPhone) 1080 x 1920 Laptop 2880 x 1800 Desktop 2560 x 1600 / 1280 x 1024

Version 2 // White Background Phone (Android/iPhone) 1080 x 1920 Laptop 2880 x 1800 Desktop 2560 x 1600 / 1280 x 1024

From this collaboration initiated by Elsa, I also decided to introduce a new collection/post series called 'The Creative Minds Series'. After the introduction of the Loopy Doodles, it seemed appropriate to also include another series in this little getaway to go on wilder creative adventures. The series will be a type of collaboration where it will feature the wonderful work from the contributor, and where the contributor and myself will create an artwork or a piece together. :)

I'm very grateful for Elsa for her initiative to start this collaboration that sparked the idea of this series. It was very kind of her and she didn't mind if this idea was used with others. She was very accepting, open-minded and happy that she gave the idea of the series as well, so I'm very much appreciative of her support. :) It was wonderful working with Elsa, she had great ideas and it was such an amazing experience to be able to work with someone from across the globe once again.

Finally, we often listen to the voice of reality of our heads, rather than listening to our hearts that harbour the growing list of dreams we constantly wish for. Let's remember that choices lead to destiny as well. We have the ability to cross off those items on our bucket list and find solace in even the smallest of things, if we just keep a close ear and listen to the whispers of our hearts.

Until next time ♥ 

Illustration by Elsa, lettering by me. Wallpapers created by Elsa from Totally Elsa and Dian from The Happy Candle. For personal use only. Not for sale or distribution. If shared, please link back to original post.

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+ The Creative Minds Series is a collaborative collection where a contributor and myself will create an artwork or a piece together, featuring the original works from contributor about art or any other form of design, including photography, and anything creative. 

Corridor (+ IBR)

There's the familiar savoury aroma of curry from the neighbour a few floors downstairs, the indistinct tune of Hokkien karaoke music from the elderly couple across the building, the colourful blinking lights on the window pane of the family in the apartment opposite to celebrate the upcoming Eid - a variety of cultures that ignite senses.

People are moving in and out of their homes either to dry the laundry, buy their groceries or water their plants in their 'gardens'. The serenity doesn't get any more flawless than hearing children's laughter from the playground downstairs. It's a typical weekend in the heartlands of this island city-state.

Since we're a relatively tiny island/city with about 6 million people, we have high population density (as most cities do). This means we have a large number of people living in a particular area. As a result, most of us live in apartment buildings and high rise flats with no backyards.

Corridors are the common spaces that we have - spaces where we see our neighbours and their homes (about five to ten metres away from our very own front door), where children ride on bicycles from one end to the other, and even where people start their own little 'garden' at its sides. Most of these 'gardens' are healthy but they clearly weren't large - usually they were five potted plants lined along the concrete floor against the low walls of the corridor to reach over for sunlight. It seemed to enjoy the sunlight from the highest storeys in the building.

You must think that the corridor seems awfully narrow, but there's indeed a wide area for people to walk and reach the lift lobby from their apartment. Nonetheless, what perhaps is the most important aspect of this common corridor is its role to bring a particular entity together - the people.

It is certainly a different atmosphere in other parts of the world, but what remains most similar is the community that lives in neighbourhoods. There's no doubt that neighbours can come in various forms. Some are reeked in envy, others are as polished as gold. Yet it's important to realise that though there are some who might be putting us off a little, we stay courteous and considerate.

Wherever we are in the world, despite any troubles we might experience, there is indeed a little 'corridor' in each neighbourhood - something that brings people together, something that allows them to live with comfort in the knowledge that there are people who care. It doesn't have to be a place or a tangible item. We can be that little 'corridor' ourselves - the person who just remains as kind and courteous to everyone and makes that little first step towards building relationships regardless of how difficult or awkward they might start off.

Neighbours are people we need, let's aspire to be good ones, for if we love our neighbours as ourselves, we gain nothing more than home sweet home.

Until next time ♥

Lettering and photo by me

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+ The notebook with the beautiful watercolour print featured in the photograph is created by Nancy Tichborne, a talented watercolour artist from New Zealand. I bought the notebook a couple of years back at a local stationary shop, and it is part of the Nancy Floral Series Journal. 

+ This post was also written for the linkup 'Inspired By Random' (IBR), hosted by Fatima from That Delete Button. The linkup includes a writing a post based on a random book title chosen without it being related to the book. 

+ 'Corridor' is the title of a book written by a local Singaporean author Alfian Sa'at, and I picked out the book at random from my to-read list. I've always wanted to read his books because of all the positive reviews I've heard about them, but needless to say, I never took the chance. Here's me taking that opportunity - I'm making it a point to read the random book I've chosen for the linkup after this post. :)

You can also find me on Goodreads.