[happiness is.....]

2 rounds of fever later, I'm finally blogging again! (i've missed the constant blogging, reading comments, etc.... ) I hope i'm back, bar work submissions, kiddies sickness, my own fever bouts... Will definitely try to keep up on the blogging!

Here's some little snippets of little happiness:

Freshly laundered sheets, all nicely folded and stacked (and not by me!)
An afternoon of play with some craft, pegs and hanging rail
Lovely :)
Watching this little one try her hardest to wear her own shirt (she absolutely refuses any help!)

Finally wearing it! (with a little help from mommy)

A breath of fresh air - we took the kids to the playground after 2 weeks of being indoors nursing colds..
The delight is obvious
G helping K on the slides - K is a real scaredy cat, totally opposite to G, who is as daredevil as they get. She looks absolutely terrified here! heh

Love this shot V took of K, she's doing her trademark "where's mei mei?", giggling with delight whenever we roll our eyes and say "there!" She's growing up so fast now, stringing words out into whole sentences, definitely progressing into the terrible twos as she mimes out her older sister's tantrums ad verbatim, right down to the foot stomping! 

[Blog post from phone]

The iPhone has seriously revolutionised the way we surf the net and how we go about our work... At least for me! As a good friend told me, she can now type furious emails to clients or contractors while on the tube to work! (and knowing how inefficient the London tub system is, I'm sure she had loads of time to do so!) so, yup, another wonder of the iPhone is now I can update my blog using my phone! :) hopefully it'll make me post more...
Anybody knows if there's a free app to upload pics with the blogpost? Mine is called blog lite and only allows text postings.
So, the end of the school hols, but unfortunately the 2 girls are still yo-yo ing with their temperatures. Sigh.. So, not all clear yet n what with all the vigilence with the flu virus, we thought it best to keep them indoors.
* okay! Let's post** :)

[fever marathon]

It has been a most tiring weekend....... the flu / fever virus first struck G, then slowly but surely went it's rounds across every member of the family. Only my dad and V, surprisingly, didn't get it's full blown effect. For myself especially, it was a real struggle, the tiredness of looking after sick little ones while well, and then the infinitely more exhausting task of looking after well little ones while sick. Thankfully, the worst of the bug is over (i hope!) and we're all on the road to recovery.....
The whole episode only lasted 5 days as it's worst, but it felt like a loooong week, with lots of sleepless nights and a whoozy drug-induced semi-consciousness. Of course, it meant that the whole Father's Day event just passed by in it's entirety, nobody had the inclination or energy to celebrate it at all. (sorry dads!)
Through the trying times, we really couldn't have made it without the help of our support system. I would really like to thank all family (my parents, sil, mil) who pitched in to help when help was most needed. It was much much appreciated.....

To V, the best daddy the girls could ever wish for. Here's a shot of how he usually looks on the way back home - lots and lots of bags! We could never figure out why it is that we have so many things to carry, but here's the proof......! Our bags-carrier, our driver, our playmate, our lego builder, our game inventor, our you-tube screener, our temperature taker, our packer, our milk and cornflakes maker, our mr super clean (g's phrase), our bed sacrificer (when G refuses to sleep on her own bed) - HAPPY FATHER'S DAY - we love you..... xoxoxoxo
And to my dearest daddy - HAPPY FATHER'S DAY too...... this is coming as a belated pressie to you..... :)
Some random pics of the girls before we all got sick......
At the ball place.
At the newly opened compassvale park.... (don't go cos there's nothing to do there!) hee....

[more birthdays!]

This week has been full of bdays, first, my dad's, then V's, and finally G's good friend Giselle's bday this morning.
Firstly, a very very belated bday to V - my partner, my closest confidante, my bestest friend. Lots of other stuff, but i've already written that all down in an old fashioned love letter... :)
K is talking lots now, here's a clip of her wishing her daddy a happy bday:



Today, we had so much fun at Fidgets, which is a huge indoor playground, targetted at children from the ages of 18mths and up. The girls had so much fun! Here's the pics:
This litte one turned 4! I asked her what she's going to be, she said "a Princess!" haha....A great big hug between best friends!
Check out the expressions!
All hot and sweaty......
A little bit wary at first, but after awhile, it's all systems go!



some vids of the slide actions!

Remember an earlier post HERE, i finally had some time to prep up the rest of the pages of the album, here they are - still without pics, but that is coming up soon!
A page about our favorite things / parts of the house
About occassions with K and G - 1st month celebrations (G + K), 2 yr old bday party (G), Baby parties.....
Lots of Happy moments, just chilling in the bedroom, lots of tummy time on the floor and lounge.....
Playdates! Through the years, lots of kiddies have traipsed up and down our built up furniture. Everyone that comes over treats our living room like a huge indoor playground! :)
To be Continued.........

[Happy Birthday Papa]

I read somewhere about a father putting all the important documents in easy to find files, so that his wife and daughter's (who are not the most conscientious) lives will not fall apart should he not be around anymore to take care of that aspect. That poignant description is exactly what my father will do, he is the most organised and methodological male i know (with V coming in a close second), and the things that he does for mum and me belies the easy going nature that people often associate with his personality. They say that fathers and daughters have the best relationships. I totally agree and have always thought that of our own relationship. My earliest memories are full of fun times, dropping mum off for her weekend shift (she's a nurse) and then off to the beach for hours... sometimes just the 2 of us, sometimes with my cousins.
It is a real blessing for us that now my daughters have the chance to enjoy these times with my parents. Happy Birthday Papa, we love you!

[commitment]

So..... on the home front... we've finally committed to our next home. Really really hard process, it was a nailbiting few days where the negotiations were bandied round the table (or rather, handphones) and finally, we came to a settlement. We do feel that we have paid (a little) more than we should, and i guess the seller probably thinks he should be getting (a lot!) more than he is, but ultimately, i suppose as my parents keep saying, if it's something we like and that we are set on getting, a little premium is not a big compromise. (i just hope my banker agrees! The amount of money that goes into this new place sends me into spasms of panic and stress everytime i think about it!)

Now, the exciting part starts! We're planning a complete overhaul of the place, so it's down to the drawing board - to conceptualise and start the design process of our very own SOHO. I'll be tracking the whole process here, so let's see, probably every friday i'll do a little "haus" update (ala holly here) In the meanwhile, a little HINT.....

In the meanwhile, remember i've started this little project of recording G's sketches in my embroidery? Here are the latest ones that i've completed and turned into lavender satchets for the wardrobe!

need to work on the poofyness of them!
but i'm really liking the frayed edges....



Also, 2 more commissions from SIL for these photo albums. :)

i love the retro colours in these ones! :)

[playdates and the startof the june hols *many pix*]

It was officially the end of school last friday for G. She still doesn't get the hang of timeframes, so she was absolutely thrilled to be told this morning that there is no school! Heh, to top it off, end of school term was even more fun as she had a sleepover at her grandparents place, PLUS a trip to the singapore flyer! :) She was definately all smiles last week in anticipation of Friday and the weekend. Also, we had a playdate lined up with her favorite friend from school - G. This time around, we went to the zoo!
We've heard about the new renovated kiddie land and all the fantastic new attractions. Poor K, this will only be her 2nd time to the zoo! We decided that we'll definately have to make it a point to bring her out more! haha..
So, here are the pics:
Firstly, as BJ said, the 2 CEOs had to confer on where to go......
as with big board meetings, the rest of the staff stood around while this very important discussion was taking place.....
it was then conveyed to secretary mummy......
And off we went! Of course the 2 CEOs had to be able to talk the whole time they were pulled along by the daddies....
Notice how the younger ones always get the 'less prime' seats... not that they were complaining! haha...After some cursory animal viewing, it was the highlight of the day - the waterplay area! Luckily we brought change of clothes for all!
Look at the delight!
Getting dunked by a sibling is no fun, but K took it all in her stride!
hee...
K was happy to just fill up cups of water, we can just about see the 2 older girls in the background!Perfect weather to get wet! :)
After the soak, it was off to the petting zoo while the 2 older girls played on.
I think they were having a little conversation...
Sweet smiley girls
then the monkey faces started....
the age-old favorite - the carousel - a perfect end to a perfect playdate!
:) Thank you to CEOs G and G for a playdate well organised!!! :)

[just about]

On the brink of moving.. on the brink of buying... on the brink of being unsettled.

You know that feeling of immense excitement, of settling into a new place, of designing your very own little cosy nooks, of creating new memories..... then immediately the feeling of impatience, at how there are all these other moments of uncertainty and temporariness to get past! I'm now at the beginning stages of that impatience, the house we're looking at are not ours yet (blaming the volatile property market for this!) and we're starting to look at other possibilities in case this deal doesn't come through. In a way, it's pretty fun, snooping at other people's homes and dreaming up design solutions to suit our own needs, it's like a neverending design project!

In the meanwhile, reality bites and we try to still bring the kiddies out for some weekend play trips, to the park or swimming.... I'm not sure they know that we're moving yet, but every week there's new things to be given away and packed up!
I saw these pics and just HAD to use the OA papers for it! Doesn't the yellow just pop!! And the right hand side panel of labels? They're canvas stickers from a long-ago stash, which i HAD to use quick cos K decided to peel them all off!
So nostalgic, these pictures were taken on our trip to HK with just G. K was just newborn and we brought G to Hkg without her little sister. It was a great trip!
This page is a start at combining some of my embroidery/fabric collage work with scrapbooking! I think i need to look at how it can be done more seamlessly, perhaps i'll start to use other more textured elements like thick paint or gesso next time. In the meantime, this is my entry for this week's OLW. Love that site!
A quick one about how G is soooo much a reflection of myself. Whenever she is acting up or being a prima donna, i check myself from screaming out at her too much, as it is SO much like looking into a timewarp mirror that it's uncanny. I still remember throwing tantrums and thinking that the whole world was against me when i was young.. haha, just desserts?

Do go HERE to check out my stuff for sale. Updating it often. There's new pics of my SB stash that i've divided into lots. They're mostly for newbies that want to get started on SB and would want a cheap headstart on materials!

[mini album - tutorial coming up!]

Started working on the mini album. I'm thinking of documenting a step-by-step process and putting together a little tutorial. What do you think?
I'll probably be sharing the tutorial over at the OA blog.... will let you know when it's up!

In the meantime, I have been steadily decluttering / destashing. This afternoon, i'm busy taking pictures and posting furniture, toys, books, magazines and other items up for sale. Thank God for Craiglist!!! Here's a glance at everything that's for sale. Do let me know if anybody is interested!! :) Also to come, quite a bit of Scrapbooking and Crafty stuff! Watch out for it.... :)

[crazy hours]

Work has been crazy busy the past few days. With 2 presentations falling on the same week, we were surviving on only about 3-5 hrs sleep every night! It was good though, now that the weekend is here, we are finally back to our regular sleeping cycles. :)

Haven't had much chance to craft, hence the lack of blogging too! But, yesterday, managed to put together the start of 2 mini albums. The 1st one, is to document the various parts of this house. I want to put down all the different nooks and crannies that we all loved, the different house traditions, so that we can look back in future and reminisce.

Lots of OA papers, i LOVE the houses!
One of the inside pages, I've got to get some photos to complete them.


The 2nd book is really a re-worked photo album. I have been meaning to recompile my wedding pictures for quite awhile now. The OA chipboard album is great for doing that, there's little tabs that can divide the different events of the wedding, plus enough space on each page for 2 pictures! I'm going to slowly embellish each page with thoughts and little snippets of trivia..... will show it here when it's completed!
A pile of old pictures and the OA Tag album.
All compiled! Now for my favorite part, the embellishments!

O, and i'm making more stuff! :) Next week, hopefully there'll be time (in the car most likely!) to create some craft which i've been planning in my head. A little hint - it will be based on G's sketches.... :)


Love the illustrations of my old nursery rhymes book. It is really very wonderful, lots of victorian little girls and boys playing outdoors. I'll take more pics of them in the next post! G and K loves reading them! (thanks mum for keeping all my books in such good condition! They are great treasures :)

[giveaway winner]

Hi!

Just dropping by to say that the winner is..........

SANDRINE (from Toulouse, France)!!!

Thanks so much for playing along.... Sandrine, please email me your address :) (jacqvic@gmail.com)

It's been fun... to have more chances of winning OA goodies, do head over to the BLOG now, there's a contest for Mother's day cards. :) Good luck!

[quiet weekend]

Well, kind of. G had a sleepover at the newly renovated room of sil P, so it was a quiet start to the weekend. This will be another long weekend, with Monday a bank holiday for most people. Unfortunately for us, we'll be working through the weekend as we've a presentation due next week! :(

Anyways, lots of responses to the giveaway! Thanks sooo much for your comments, it's been really inspiring to read what are the items that you like :) I really have to get back to my crafting, it's been lagging a little bit.... In anycase, stay tuned, i'll draw the winning name out of the hat when the girls are awake.

Lot's have been happening as well on the home front. The days and hours are ticking towards the day that we've to move out of our home. It's been a good almost 5 yrs that we've lived here, and it's the only home the kids have known. I do hope it will be a good transition for them to the new place (which we haven't found yet! Yikes..) and I've decided to create a little book for us to keep our own memories of our favorite spots in the house. From this month onwards, i'll be keeping a lookout (and the camera ready) for photo ops of the children doing stuff around the house. I think it'll be a great way for them to remember what they did in the house! I started it today, all K as G wasn't around in the morning.
This is the face that greets us every morning, always super cheerful and grinning :)
The little corner for drinking her morning milk (there's a few of G doing this too at about the same age!)
Climbing onto the sofa by herself and looking at V working.
Just before her morning nap (which incidentally didn't happen! lol)
Remember i did a swap sometime ago? This was what i received in return...
2 really wonderful silver + stone bangles for the girls - they look so good and fit so well. :)
SEI treasures - L, you're so lucky to be so close to these! :)

[challenge giveaway]

Hey! :) I'm sure you've all done the NSD (national scrapbooking day) challenges and are pretty tired out after them all! :P I have to confess that i had grand plans to take part in quite a lot of them! But work and the playdates zapped up all the energy, especially since the weather has been scorchingly exhausting as well. Anyways, here's the belated giveaway challenge that i've been meaning to post....
The full line of "Night Light"
The sticker set...4x4 Heidi Swapp large masks (these are SO versatile) - one's a fluer and the other is a white dove.
And a special giveaway - one of G's drawing made into an embroidered piece.
So, to be entered into the draw for the above giveaway, please go HERE, and tell me which is your favorite item!
AND .. if you really want a challenge (well, only if you really want to, and it's only a teeny weeny challenge :P) - do post a link to something that is Altered! Heh, told you it was easy! It can be anything - reused packaging, penholders, photoframes, mirrors... just not a LO! lol.....

So, you've until the end of this week - 8th May, and i'll draw the name on Mother's day!

:) thanks for playing! :)

[looooong weekend]

It is a long weekend here in Singapore, and G had 2 playdates lined up on consecutive days. On mayday was the much anticipated playdate with G at the East Coast Park. We haven't had a beach excursion in a long while and they obviously had a whale of a time! K didn't quite like the feeling of sand on her toes, but she still sat primly on the picnic mat and had a lot of fun scooping the sand from 1 container to another.
G + G trying to get into a big sand hole together... then falling over each other and giggling like crazy :)
G in the sand hole
Doing what little girls do best - jumping about and laughing out loud...
sand and fun!
It was playdate x 2 with the younger set too..
Snack time!

K's little toes, trying to brush the sand off..
The 2nd playdate was a birthday party at Bakerzin kids.... :) It was G's "boyfriend's" 4th. They had a lot of fun! Baking up a storm at the venue, and coming home with lots of decorated (lots of pink icing and marshmallows!) cupcakes.
Birthday Boy - M
G busy decorating her marshmallows and cookies
All the ingredients- all the kids look SO adorable in their chef's hat and apron.
Here's the 2 pressies for M & M.
Loved using the "nightlight" range of papers from OA to make these super cute boyish cards!
And today the weather was WAY too hot to go anywhere, so it was a fun day just staying home and scrapping the afternoon away, while K napped. :)
We rummaged through the stash, and it was a fun NSD activity to de-stash with old products. :)
Also did my first mist 'mask' effect.

Finally, another commissioned altered piece:
It's an altered "love" wall hanging.Had a lot of fun altering it, i think i might do one for our own place :)Adhered a KI memories lace CS to the surface, then misted the whole piece. Luckily i had it in the requested colour! Backing paper is OA.

Next post will be about the Giveaway challenge! :)

[girl's night out]

In the last week, i brought G out, just the 2 of us, to a girls' lunch out, and then to a girls' night out! It was really great, she was totally thrilled to be going out for an 'adult' outing. My friends were thrilled (well, at least they looked thrilled :P) to see her. :) After both outings, i realised that i've totally enjoyed myself with my 1 to 1 time with G. She's so different, no jealous tantrums over her little sister, no vying for attention, no naughty behavior (well, almost none!) and lots and lots of indepth girlie conversations. It was so fun! I'm a lucky mummy....
Anyways, here are some pictures of the dinner (courtesy of auntie j - priceless moments indeed!)
G with Aunties J and SP (we all shared an apartment in the early - mid 90s, it was soo great to meet up after all these years! Thanks to FB :)
me and G
haha, hippo and G :)
my lil 4 yr old.


Here's a LO done with all October Afternoon, in the DT intro over HERE.


I'm in love with the rubons and stickers for OA. You HAVE to also check out the cloud paper.. so versatile and super cute! :)

[photo box tutorial]

A little tutorial about the photo box. This will make a great gift for friends or family, or just use it as a way of sorting out your photos!Step 1: Begin by scoring your paper. I used OA papers, but any 2 sided patterned paper will do. Mark and score on 1 side - 4x6" rectangle , then add the thickness of your stack of paper (for mine, it was 1"); Allow at least 3" on all sides after that for the cover. Cut through as shown.
Step 2: Flip the paper around and start to fold them together based on the score marks.
Step 3: Fold in the sides and glue them down.
Step 4: This is what the assembled box looks like.
Step 5: Wrap your stack of photos with a ribbon and insert into the box. It should fit quite snugly, otherwise just use a tissue to wrap up the photos, it will hopefully absorb a 'too loose' fit.

Fold up shut and then embellish with tags.
I used a few layers of patterned paper and then a printed out tag, inked them up and then affixed to the ribbon.
That's it! :) Perfect for gifting...Did this LO this morning, I LOVE these pics of G and V. She really really is a Daddy's Girl. Just the pics tell it all!:)

At G's insistence, we also made some play-date invite cards:

Love the OA papers - sooo cute right!
:)

[free weekend... ]

It's our 1st 'free' -ish weekend in a LONG time! heh... it was good to take a break finally and have that full 8 hour sleep every night (well, except last night, when K insisted on milk every other hour!)
Here's what we've been doing during the week...

We created a little cardboard house using a corrugated cardboard box. :) G loves doodling on the box, she drew in the door, windows and even a doorbell with a person hanging on to it.
V made the "furniture" with her using the lego pieces. There's a TV (with lightning mcqueen show no less!) and some wardrobes
A scooter and a baby car


Here's K roadtesting my MM cutter!A dear friend of mine was visiting from the UK, so i bought this from HERE and "tompang" her freight! :) They make the cutest kits and for all that know london, these are the infamous trellick towers - an architectural gem (something like the pearlbank towers in singapore)
Remember my box tutorial HERE? I made more....
This is a newborn baby giftbox. Papers, rubons are from October afternoon, Hambly and Heidi Swapp.
K sitting and watching the telly...
Getting bored and playing with her playdoh (without the dough, cos mama's too lazy to clean up!) icecream maker
Lastly, i've been making some prototype bags for a convention in July. :)
Yup, up-cycled T-shirt sleeves with some lace and satin ribbons! How's that for earth-day love!

Also, pop by HERE *2peas and Hambly contest* and HERE *lots and lots of OA* for more recent LOs.

Have a GREAT weekend!!!
:)

[videos]

Some videos of the playdate. :) So funny watching their little conversations.

[playdate!]

G had her 1st ever self-arranged (well, with lots of mommy help of course) playdate! It was sooo cute, watching her talk to her best friend from school (also G!) and to arrange to come over to our place over the weekend for a playdate. :) She was SOO excited, counting down the days to the weekend, every morning she will declare - it's .... many sleeps left before G comes over to our place! Haha... according to the other mom, it's the same scenario over at their house!
The girls were at first a bit shy (i guess it's a different environment after all) but after some cookies and juice, the ice was broken and it was 3 and a half hours of solid play before we managed to drag them apart!
It was definately a fun morning for G and she was so upset that it had to end. We left with promises for more playdates and perhaps a different setting of the beach or pool. :)

Here's some pics of what they did:
putting up a puppet show called - "the Bananas Cooking Show!"
Getting all sweaty and warm playing INSIDE *roll eyes* of my walk in wardrobe....
look at how many toys they managed to stuff in there....Eating brownies fresh out of the oven.

Just completed this card - i think it's pretty apt in this post!
Lots of October Afternoon, Heidi Swapp and Hambly rubons :)

[not forgotten!]

Sorry for being not up-to-speed with my blog posts! I've missed putting down my thoughts here....
Life has just stepped up a notch, work got really busy and the little kiddies had lots of playtime with each other over the long weekend. Unfortunately, this means that there are less computer time!
Anyways, been doing lots of crafting, plus 2 more good-mail days, here's some pictures of what has happened!
lots of crafting. This is translated from G's drawings. I LOVE her drawings! She's getting really good at them and i'm constantly amazed at all the little details in them. I'm definately going to embroider her sketches of houses, people and dollies :)
Here's another photo box + Tag = i'll be putting up a tutorial of how to make the box soon (nope, it's not from a diecut)
A fabric / craft swap.... :) Can't wait for mine to arrive!!

PUBBED!! :)
2 projects have been featured in this latest issue :)
happy happy dance - 100% cute.
Wedding box I made some time ago....
Here's the bounty that came with the 2 magazines - soo generous!!! :)
plus, another package came from a spree that i was tempted into joining at HS! :) Imagine, it was sooo cheap that my postage came up to be 3 times the cost of the products! hahaha.....

So, lots of goodies for more giveaways! :) Take note of it... it's coming.. i promise *wink*

[GOOD mail day!!!!]

You should see my face when i received this from the unsuspecting postman! heh heh.... i was ALL huge smiles and dancing about.... especially AFTER opening the package!! look at this!


I know it's a few shipments rolled into 1, but it's enough to make 1 hyperventilate right!!!! So much OA goodness, so much OA love!!! They are a really swell company and i'm 1 lucky girl!!! :)
So much goodness = instant mojo! Heh... here's what i've done.
For some Pub calls.. it's a bit strange doing Xmas projects soo early in the year, but strangely liberating too!



A little pressie for close friends or relatives - this will be great for grandparents who are not tech savvy enough to keep browsing online!

For a swap - i'll post more details of this soon - but these are soo darling right! You know what they are?? Heh.


Okay, so, given that i've been given SO many yummy goodies from OA, i will be definately sharing the love here on my blog. Thanks for the comments at the previous post, i am so happy to hear from my readers and always so humbled and thrilled to see what you like and get inspired by. Thanks so much for commenting!!! :)

Watch out for some OA giveaways coming right up soon!

[personal reflections....]

Inspired by the blog post of fellow OA DT - S, whose blog is so simple and genuine, indulge me while i share some of my personal reflections.

Back to basics, these should be the REAL reasons why:

i blog -
I started this blog when G was about 7months old. Reading back on one of my first posts, i was truly skeptical about jumping onto the whole blogging bandwagon! I was so new to the whole internet community then - there was no Facebook, no Friendster, only a few straggly blogs here and there, but a very active local mom's forum! I was intrigued by the blogs that i started reading, one of the very first few craft blogs that i read was a very personal (but sadly defunct) blog by the super talented Stephanie Congdon barnes. From there, i started branching out into reading lots of other (mostly craft related) blogs. Then i was chosen as the DT for SOMO, which meant reading more and more scrapping related blogs! It was really fun, i popped by daily (and still do) into these blogs -
Jamie,
Kiesha,
Michelle,
Stephanie,
Alexis
I admire these girls sometimes not just because of their scrapping styles (of course that's a big thing to me too!), but also somehow, we've something in common - our kids are the same age, i love their style - personal and scrap wise, they come across as really genuine people. Through reading their blogs, i learn a little bit about their lives, about what makes them tick, about what they are LIKE.

There are also blogs of friends that i read.... they are often the ones i check first - sometimes these are blog friends, some are close friends who have moved overseas, some are friends who i meet occassionally, but blogs are a great way of keeping in touch!

So, my blog has been a platform for me to share the way i think, my interests, my loves, and also to document the lives and times of my 2 little girls. I realise that it is not so private anymore, but i would also like it to remain really personal. So, because there is an audience, it brings me to a related question - why do you read blogs? Do you think there should be anything i should be doing more on my blog?

i scrapbook -
More and more, it's not about the techniques or the products (although shopping is always nice :P ), but it should be really about the MEMORIES, about documenting the moments. I want to be able to look back at the albums and REMEMBER the events that happened, i want to remember the moments when the pictures were taken. I totally don't want to just remember what particular technique was "hip" or which products were in season at that time!
Why do you scrapbook? Are techniques and products important?

i make stuff -

It has been a therapeutic journey for me whenever i start making things. I guess i've always had the inclination towards craft. Even as a young child, i was the one that was into making dresses for my dolls, creating elaborate concoctions out of 3ply tissue paper! i had lots of ongoing crafts growing up (must to the chagrin of my mum who always had the ardous task of packing up and also to complete all the half done projects!) heh, but i can't imagine life without my crafting inner self.
Fellow crafters, what inspires you to craft? What are your favorite things to read about in crafting blogs?

i design -

I truly love my job. I'm truly lucky and blessed that i really enjoy my work.

Heh, gosh, that i think it's the longest blog post ever! :) I do hope you all will comment! :)

So, can't blog without pictures right? here they are:

How many writing positions can one have?
this way?
this way? look at her chubby hands!
Doodles, this one LOVES drawing...
So cute!
A LO done about us, love how the papers match the my dress!
Look at the 2 of them learning together......
G teaching her how to point at the right pictures

Some new fabric albums that i've completed:Okay! Have fun with the rest of the weekend!

[again!]

Hmm.... my macbook has broken down AGAIN! arrrgh.... previously, it was due to a faulty hd, which has since been replaced. This time around, it is probably some sort of software problem, as i've no problems looking at the harddisk from V's comp. In anycase, i'm not back to regular blogging until it is fixed.. sigh.

Owell, I've lots of pics, lots of ongoing sewing for those fabric albums coming up!

AND, i've just started out on this new site - www.emmalinebride.com - do check it out if you (or someone you know) is planning for a wedding! I'm under 'lovenest' category (the price is wrong, but the link is working!) There are some really cool finds there.... :)

check back soon!

[long weekend]

Well, it's not along weekend for everyone, nope, not a public holiday, but as my parents took G along with them for 3 days up to KL, we had a self-imposed long weekend here with just the 1 child. It was a great weekend, even though K missed G and i think G missed K too, it was very fun to be able to plan activities around only 1 child. When K fell asleep, it was just the 2 of us again. Verdict - life with only 1 child is definately alot easier, quieter and less tiring! :P
here's what we did :
Sent my big little girl off with my parents at the airport. She looks sooo grownup here!Big hug for her big sister
Playing with "e-go" in the car. She loves stacking anything....
Getting all sweaty and yucky runnin around the house
playing with toys all by herself
going shoe shopping with mummy early on saturday morning! This one is as crazy about shoes and bags and me! hah....
spending lots of time on my lap doing scrapbooking. I'm reminded of how G used to do that when she was this age. She really liked doing all the rubons, the stickers, looking at the pictures and basically just enjoying herself.Love using Kraft cs as the background!
Close up detail
this is my DT LO for my LSS. LOVE love love the hambly onesies transparencies. And that little pop up bubble from Prima :) Pps are from SEI - aren't they the most darling little girl type of papers - with glitter too!Also did lots of embroidery while the little one was napping :i love the colours. And i've got clouds in my head!
here's one of K trying to pull out the buttons!
i'm not much of a card maker, but surprisingly, these came together pretty quickly!
long ago papers from SEI, circle edge trimmer from LSS.
Hambly onesies - so cute!!! AC stickers for alphas. Brad is MM
POP dots from Prima. Hambly frame with OA alpha rubons. Paper is SEI lovebirds range.

[handstitched albums]

Been working on a few commissions lately. The latest one that i'm so happy doing is this embroidered guestbook / wedding album.


I just need to add a scented Lavender heart bookmark and i'm done! It's off to the bride-to-be just in time for her May wedding :)

This is still up for sale....

Sorry for the colours being a little bit washed out. I will replace them as soon as i can get proper sunlight to take nicer pics! :)

[dressmaking]

So happy to have finally gotten over my dressmaking phobia and made dress #2 for G! Here she is modelling the dress. (she chose the fabrics herself, but would actually have liked the skirt portion to be the amy butler's lotuses)
this photo is too funny! i have no idea what she was doing! She's actually holding playdoh in her hands, i was so worried she'll be leaving some behind on the dress! hah.
Chickened out of making the back with a zipper like the pattern called for. Instead, did 2 loops and buttons. The dress looks better with an inner t-shirt layer anyhow :)
This is the '100cm' pattern. I think i'll make one longer next time.
Going to tackle pants next! :) And who knows, i might even be brave enough to attempt a pattern for myself.... heh.

[CROP!]

It was a really enjoyable 'serious' meeting at the LSS to finally meet up with the rest of the DTs (some of them for the 1st time!), to brainstorm about new ideas, to discuss about scrap-related goodness (read = more shopping!) and to mull through lots and lots of hilarious suggestions! Thanks girls for being such a fun bunch, i really enjoyed myself. Faced with such a cool crop, how not to crop? heh. I went totally empty handed, with just my photos. Which was great as it was a Friday and most of the new arrivals from Thursday were still around. Fell in love with the flocked Prima papers (i just love the colours - teal and burgundy) Here's proof that you can definately complete a few scrap pages with just a few products!
The other essentials i bought were the "pop" dots Bazzill, the Lily Bee Design tags (the big scallops), MM glitter alphas and of course thanks to IG, AM and L for the embellies - prima flowers, die cut felt flower and Maya road pearl pins :)Came home to embellish further and complete the LO with some rubons from Hambly and AC, plus title stickers from JB.
The 2nd LO that i did during the crop, this was a super quick one! used the lily Bee tags again, this time both the negative and positives (money saving tip!) and then embellished with stickers - JB, HS, MM.
Then, i got home and had to scrap even more as i had all these new stuff and just had to justify them! haha.... so, head over here for a fun scraplift. I did 2 interpretations of it.
Papers are a mix of GCD, SEI and again the lily bee tags (a really nice size to use) The top circles (also my previous post - the princess crown) are stickers from the HS large sticker collection. Lots and lots of October Afternoon rubons - they are the best!A commissioned piece (Guestbook) for a wedding in May. Just piecing together the various fabrics, it's still half-way done, i've made a lot more progress on it today. :)this little one was all snotty and runny this morning, but i think it's cleared up since.
this makes my heart smile. The 2 of them really enjoying each other's company. They played for quite awhile with each other this afternoon. G will pretend to be Mummy while K is the lil baby daughter. G kept going - "ok, mummy needs to work now, go and sleep by yourself ok!" haha! maybe i've been doing that too often? But it was seriously cute to see her mock feeding her sister with the toy spoon and bowl, patting her to pretend sleep, waking her up with a hug and kiss, and then reading a little book to her! Of course, after about 20min (a record!) there's the usual snatching and all the crying and tantrums appear.... :P Owell, it was good while it lasted....
These 2 pics show the dynamics of the 2. G will pull the book towards herself and read out all the words, while K sits quietly next to her looking at the page. Then K gets her turn to touch the letters and pictures in the book. All under the watchful eye of big sis. :)Finally finished up the dress! pretty poor lighting but i'm quite happy that i managed to complete the whole pattern... heh. Will take more pics tomorrow with G in the dress :) Now i'm off to make another one!

[sewing is HARD!]

Heh, so, i've started sewing G a dress from this book. It looked simple enough, but i didn't know how hard bias sewing is!!! I've just frogged all my handsewn bias around the sleeves and collar. Sigh, it's all furled up and yucky. (any advise?) I'm going to try 1 more time, if it doesn't work, it's off to mum's for a rescue! heh. It's good to have a perfectionist mum.. :)

to cheer myself up that i'm not all THAT bad, have started on these other 2 sewing projects :) happy happy colours!
I love the mixing and matching of colours the most. It's got all that excitement and anticipation of a dessert not eaten. :P
This one is reading lots and lots....
this one is all about stacking and playing with dollies.
I started clearing my comp's harddisk (cos it ran out of space AGAIN! i really need to get that server system all figured out... *reminder*) and came across these pics. These are my 2 closest girlfriends, we've known each other forever and are lucky enough to have kiddies all about the same time. These are pix of us BEFORE the kiddies happened! It was (and still is) always so great to meet up, chit chat, giggle at silly jokes, talk about nothing or anything, leave off and finish each other's sentences. I don't really know why we had so much to talk about, but i always leave each lunch / tea / dinner in a state of happiness, that we are so lucky to have each other :)

So, S & P, do we share more wrinkles than calories now that we've added 6 little ones to the 'entourage'? heh......

[happy]

baby announcement cards to be added to the "baby2go" etsy shop. :)
I'll do another mini-tutorial again on 'how-to' make these cards.... watch out for it!

[box tutorial]

Hey!
I've writted a brand new tutorial for creating that little box that i've posted some time ago.
Just go HERE for the free download.

All products for the box are from MWL.

I had a lot of fun making it! :)

Also, i've been tagged by a delurker :) heh. nice to meet you sina - she makes the most fabulous looking blooms ever! Gotta reveal 5 wierd addictions ... hmm......
1. I've an addiction to BLOGLINES. It's really terrible. I've about 100+ blogs on it and it keeps increasing. Sigh. I seriously get blog withdrawal symptoms if i don't get at least 1 fix a day. It gets almost stressful when i go on holiday and come back to 100s of unread entries! heh. And i've since gone a step further as i downloaded iblogs for the iphone! The interface is wonderful and i've spent many a happy day parked on the sofa / bed surfing and drooling.

2. I have a serious sweet tooth. i almost always have something AFTER meals. it's not even funny. I was in a really rotten mood for the last 2 months of my last pregnancy, where i was diagnosed with preggie diabetics. I was prescribed no sugar at all. you can imagine how awful i felt! The silver lining was that i gained hardly any weight for the 2nd pregnancy. Let's hope they stay off now that i'm back to my aftermeals meals!

3. Addicted to the computer - it's so bad that i've to physically shut down in order to get some crafting underway. Yup, don't get me started on the iphone! It's another of technologies menacles. :P

4. Love toasts. Especially with Nutella. Actually i will be happy to just survive on bread. It's my chosen carbohydrate. Of course i'm cutting down. :P

5. Addicted to buying fabric (re: #3) heh. It's not really out of control yet, but only barely. I've now decided that i'm going to make my own fabric. Something tells me it might not be a better idea :)

Don't know enough people to tag. But if any of you want to play along, please do so! Or maybe i should delurk on 5 people on my bloglines and tag them.. we'll see :)