[Hongkong trip - Day 02]

It's been a bit of a hectic week, with the children being off school and we've to run lots of errands with regards to the renovations for the new place..... plus we're all getting sniffy and been taking lots of early nites. So, better late than never! :)
Here's the rest of the trip pictures (although most of you would have already seen it on FB!)..
We stayed HERE, there is a deal now with Cathay Pacific - it was pretty good- we only paid for 4 for a party of 6! :) This is complete with all transfers and entry to the park. So that's the annual holiday budget sorted!!
The hotel itself was pretty good - generous space, lots of pretty grounds. (see my last post on the cons.. )
U can just about make out G in the background running away!
My little princess with Mickey, she was a bit upset that there wasn't any Minnie figurines to take pictures with....
the travelling party
G being a bit grumpy with K cos she had the choice seat....I love the pics that V took of the girls at the playground
K running after somebody else's remote controlled car..
K at the playground... she looks tiny here!
Me and G, i love her smile!
G's favorite Princess....My own little princess...
In love! She was sooo thrilled to be taking pictures with these princesses.... we had to wait half an hour for their appearance but it was soo worth it, as we were first in line and had a great time posing and talking with them... (side note - they were about the only few characters that "talked", the rest of the characters were quite mute)
K LOVES minnie.... she was really thrilled to be here....
G all flushed and being cranky in the queue
Waiting for Mickey...
G looks super grown up here, i can almost imagine her in her teens..... boohooo.... growing up too quick!
K loves Mickey, sometimes she will choose Mickey over Minnie! She was a little bit shy about meeting the characters, but she did tell me that the Mickey was a bit ugly... haha, not sure why? I think it might be cos he wasn't wearing yellow shoes... lol....
Our one and only decent family pic..
The 2 girls waiting in line....
G and the super playful Pluto, he scared K away, so it was only G here.

Okay! More pics soon to come...... (next time with links of good eats and shopping places we enjoyed in this trip)

[Hongkong trip - Day 01]

We were invited to attend an award ceremony in Hongkong for one of our projects (more on that later...) and so took the oppurtunity to bring along the family for a short holiday. Even though our last trip was at the beginning of this year (jan 09), it was amazing how much the girls have changed since then! For G, it was all about Minnie mouse, everything had to be pink, she was still in her cutesey stage where it was all about cartoons. NOW, she only cared for the princesses, especially princess Aurora (the pink one) and we queued for ages just to meet them! K who just turned 1 at that time was pretty much still a baby, nothing really registered with her, in fact, i don't think she even remembered the trip! This time around, she absorbed everything like a sponge. It was so joyful to see her relating to Mickey and Minnie, she LOVED taking the plane, she now has her own opinions on everything, a real change! It was still good to bring along both prams though, thanks to my cousin for the loan of the 2nd pram once again... it was indispensable. This time around, besides the little date night we had for the awards ceremony, it was totally kid-friendly as we stayed at the Disney hotel. The kids of course absolutely LOVED it, and as parents, we have mixed feelings about being there. First of all, everything and anything was merchandising and all about exhorbitant fleecing. Secondly, in the land of glorious food, the meals that we were forced to take sucked big time!! We were so relieved to finally get proper hongkong food when we moved to the city hotel on our 3rd day there. That said, the hotel had a wonderful outdoor heated pool that was blissfully toasty in autumny temperatures, it boasts a fully equipped childrens' playroom (that was thankfully free of charge) and K especially loved visiting the "cooking" corner. There were bedtime stories, mickey shaped food, really lovely inhouse toiletries and robes and mickey emblazoned slippers, and the best of all had to be the grounds that were truly spacious, lots of lawns to run around on, a nice and clean playground...... aesthetically though, it is a sad day for us to be staying in a "themed" hotel.....yup, mixed feelings indeed!

So, here are the trip pics (will just do Day 01 as we took about 900+ pics and i'm still editting them!):

itinery (Day 01):
CX flight to HKG
Disney Hotel
Disneyland
Disney Hotel
G totally absorbed in her inflight entertainment - another 1st! I don't think she enjoyed it much the last trip.
K and her own headset! She was thrilled to be using her own set of earphones, but didn't really get the hang of watching the cartoons...
G writing her list of names, she was our "guide"
Disney bedroom slippers - so cute that there was the kiddie ones too!
G at Disney
K, her 1st real experience of Disney
She loved all the sticker freebies
Wide - eyed and wondrous
With some scary looking elves
They loved the teacup ride, i think G remembers it from her last trip.

G volunteering to spin the tops
Chomping on the enormous baked turkey drumstick!
K was terrified of the carousel ride, she refused to even go near it the next day....
G loved it, we sat on it twice the next day!
G and K, in the long bath, another fun part of being on holiday!

to be continued.........

[another school year gone!]

Gosh, time flies by so quickly!!! :) It's end-of-school yearend concert time for G again! I love her school's concerts. The little ones are so motivated and they usually put up a little sketch with lots of singing and dancing. This year's theme was "Snow White and the 7 dwarfs"... when you think that these are little 6 yr olds doing the acting, it's pretty awesome. G was by far the tallest girl in her class and looked so confident and happy bursting out in song on stage, SO proud of my little girl.... :) She was so pretty too in her pink fluffy dress, and so was K in a similar one. (thanks to my parents for the splurge!) They absolutely loved twirling and skipping about in them, although K's combination with rubber duckie boots were a bit strange.... heh.
Singing Head n Shoulder Knees and toes - K kept going "Look! K for Knees and Katie!" next to me.. lol....
K in her nice white dress. I'm hoping this will last for awhile yet! She looked so adorable in them.

Over the weekend, we brought the girls to check out some offerings from the Design Festival 2009. We were quite ambitious, thinking we could cover all the downtown venues starting at City Hall and finishing up at Lasalle.... Of course it was impossible for the girls, we only made the first venue, but it was really nice to see them enjoying the exhibitions and G even wanted to be a gallery helper! hah....

In the morning, we had breakfast at Safra again, so nearby so it's becoming a fast favorite!!! The playground is really fun and the weather was gorgeous!
K in her new "newbalance" shoes that were perfect (purple and on sale.... haha) She loved them and would insist on wearing - those purple shoelaces that daddy bought - it's always daddy that bought them, never mummy! hehe, what does that mean abt shopping habits in our family.......
Happy girl.... K enjoys running round and round the play equipment at the playground instead of climbing on them as she's terrified of the slides.
The entrance steps at the old City Hall venue
G doodling on one of the activity corners at the exhibition
Us at the polish exhibition in the "restaurant" at the courthouse, you can almost imagine lots of wigged baristors having their expressos just before their hearing, and many dramas being played out in this space right! :) Love the decor....
The little banquette seat podium in the middle, which G and K immediately transformed into their "castle"Ceiling detail - i love the gold and black!
Here's G in one of the galleries. She was hilarious! She decided to be one of the ushers and actually sat there herself next to the attendant for a good 15min! We all crept out although i hid round the corner and eavesdropped on her conversation. She was really indepth in explaining our house renovation situation and why we're staying at "tai-gong's" place instead of our own place (all because she was asked "where's your home?") lol.....
On Sunday, there was some time in the afternoon while they napped, so i made these! A little album in preparation for our upcoming trip - the OA travel range is PERFECT! :)And, starting on my xmas cards early!!! :)

[bi-weekly inspiration kickstart]

I LOVE the library.... ever since i was a little girl, and there were not the multitude of local libraries around, I love going into the central library, down the musty smelling corridors, to read books over in the tiny tiny children section. Our children do not know how lucky they are! There is now a local library in each little precinct, all with their own "specialty" sections. We have our favorite branches and the kids have as much fun choosing out their books for the week as I do! I totally remember the entire "mr men" collection from my younger years and now my own children are enjoying the same series. So, i was overjoyed to find that the nearest branch from our place now has a huge collection of Architecture and Design books. I have been meaning to read this book - Midwest Modern by Amy Butler for the longest time, and finally checked it out today. (much happiness!) :)
So much inspiration for the new home! Amongst them:

Art display along the living room / dining room wall....
Love the floor boards! so much character!!!
Studio / office space... drool.... I love the plywood walls, i think we NEED a pinup wall for sure!A little completed piece of sewing in a long while - guess what it is? (only singaporeans would know actually - hint - it's something for drivers!)

[photo effects]

For all you professional + amateur photographer mummies out there, do you use Photoshop on your photos? Do you edit your photos at all? I used to think that PS was "cheating", but not anymore! I've been seeing some really stunning pics on various blog sites, most of them are by professional photographers. They use PS not to "correct" the photo, but to enhance it and to create a certain mood that is not really present. Found this website via another website on my bloglines - and i'm totally sold on the photos! really really gorgeous, this is a momma of 3 and she looks SOO good! :) There's also a little tutorial in there for some vignetting..... which i tried out..
So, after fiddling around with PS a little bit, here are the images of our previous weekend at (guess where?) heh, the beach. This time around with S and her girls:
K looking a little bewildered at the absence of the waters..
Gorgeous E so enthralled by the spouts!
Unfortunately our 2 older kids decided they didn't really want to play with each other.. sigh....
K and her buckets... :) hee....

[a movie screening-UNDER THE SEA]

We have been given some tickets to watch the latest Omni Max movie at the science centre courtesy of the lovely people at Mead Johnson + Science Centre, via a fellow blogger and media firm - 24seven. :) This movie and launch party is to mark the launch of a strategic tie up of Mead Johnson and the Science Centre to further enhance learning for young children. From now till the 30th Nov, at all NTUC Fairprice outlets, every purchase of Enfagrow A+ / Enfakid A+ / EnfaSchool A+, will be rewarded with a complimentary Free Science Centre ticket (Child). Not only that, adults accompanying children will also receive a discount voucher for entry into the Science Center. The voucher includes discounts for other attractions like the Snow City as well as the Omni Theatre. I would really like to visit Snow City too, so I guess it's a pretty good deal!

It was with much anticipation that we bundled the girls for the drive all the way to the science centre. I can't remember when the last time i visited the science centre and watched a movie at the Omnimax, i think it must have been when it was first opened, more than 10 yrs ago! Anyways, i remembered it being something pretty surreal, as the vast screen makes everything appear much nearer and bigger than it is on a conventional cinema screen. I was also interested to see the girls reactions. (although i wasn't really optimistic, as the last movie I brought G to watch - "G-force" - she only sat through about 20min (or how long the popcorn lasted) and pronounced it too tiring to continue).
So, here at the pics:
The excited duo, although K kept going "I don't want to go up there"....
This is the reason why, as we stepped into the Omnimax, the first thing we were greeted was this fun Simulator ride. I would have love to go take a look, but G although being of the requisite height (gosh she's tall!) refused outright to go onto it...
My 110cm tall 4.5yr old.
Looks so fun! the other luckier people who got to experience the ride.
After some finger food and refreshments, it was time for the show!Settling into the comfy seats
Happy happy!
K was fascinated with the chairs that flipped up!

Initially was worried that being the scaredy cat she is, K might take quite adversely to this giant screen! It was her first time into any movie, but she really was very fascinated with the whole show, she even danced when the soundtrack got lively! :) hee....

I would definately go again to the science centre, i think it has made much progress over the years and i've been hearing pretty good reviews of the exhibits in the main building. The Omimax experience has also been really fun, the girls really enjoyed the show, except for the last 10min, where their attention span has already been maxed out. Thank god for the trusty iphone (for G), and the milk bottle (for K) as a distraction! :)

[Playdate at the Beach]

Hehe, are you all sick of looking at the Beach pics? Yup! We brought the girls again to the beach over the weekend, it was touch and go at first as the weather was stormy and rainy the whole of saturday, and sunday morning started out pretty dismal as well. After much fervent praying (G), we were so happy that the skies cleared around 9, which was when we settled in on our fav spot at the beach.
G of cos was delighted to meet G again, they greeted each other like long lost friends and it was heartwarming to see them embrace and talk nineteen to a dozen the whole morning! The younger set couldn't really play together yet, but they were starting to get curious about what each other was doing. The funny thing is, both #2s were so squeemish with the sand, gingerly circumventing their more boisterous older siblings and sitting quietly in their little sand pits.
Here are the pics:




Well it got a little bit too much at the end and there was the famous meltdown... nothing a bottle of warm milk and a little nap couldn't solve!

[Sundays at the beach]

Since the last visit to the beach, we have decided that it should be a weekly / bi-weekly feature for the girls. They absolutely love the sand, the water play and the general chill out factor of being at Sentosa. This weekend, although we had a scant 4 hrs of sleep previously, we managed to bring the girls way before the hot sun came up! Even so, they managed to get all rosy and flushed.... :) All the better for mama's photos!

Cheeky little girl....
Look at her rosy cheeks...
This little one was content to sit on the sand, heaping sand into her purple bucket. *note that she insisted on sitting on my slipper!*
K loved "catching" the water in her bucket
After the sand play, they cooled off at the water fountain.
G was thrilled with making the plastic cups "dance" on the water spouts
Pure Joy....

That night was my little kid cousin's wedding.... It was a great oppurtunity for the girls to wear their twirly skirts! :)
K with cousins J and J
2 sets of sisters
twirly K...

:) A good weekend!

[Recent creations]

Have not been able to sit down properly to complete LOs and scrapbooking lately. I think the "temporariness" of our life is really affecting the creative Mojo, especially for scrapbooking! :( I hope it all comes back when the new space (and new craftroom) is ready! Another few more weeks, I'm eagerly anticipating organising and kitting out the new home.
So, here's some of the work that I've been making, over the past few weekend, when there is some free time (usually while watching over the kids in the playroom!)
Together with the OA goodies, I've been given 2 big stacks of paper from Core'dinations cardstock to play with. The good thing about these papers are that they are a single colour on each side, so that when you tear through it, there is a great contrast between the both colours. And the colours, they are just simply Yummy!!! There is a chalky richness that is quite different from my regular cardstock.
I loved cutting up the back of the packaging for the Wild Cards, which gives me these eensy teeny baby wild cards. Super cute right! :)
For my dear parents, who are celebrating their 37th wedding anniversary this year!!
Thanks for having such a brilliant marriage, and by consequence a great example to aspire to for my own!
I love how these pics are, G is so grownup looking, esp in the 2nd photo!
I used the SEI rubon for the heart shape on a giant bazzill brad. :)
All LOs are also up on the October Afternoon blog! Go there for much more inspiration, I love how the other DTs have used the latest collection of pps and rubons.

[Katie's 2!]

With Facebook and Flickr accounts, it is difficult to keep track of photos that I've already posted and those that I haven't. :) Realised I have not posted the pics of K's birthday over here, so here they are!
Looking at a handmade card from her sister...
G's drawing of a princess
look at those faces! :) They love opening pressies...
Wonderful twirly skirts that i bought from HERE...G printed this out from the computer and wrote the words herself :)
Playing with new pressies!
She loved her skirt!
G and my mum, G absolutely loves her popo...
K flouncing around, i think G was upset because she didn't want to twirl with her...
Happy again, my parents with the girls :)
Getting winchy....
Finally! K and her own selection - Barney and friends cake...

Family photo.G, looking super grownup for a 4.5 yrold.
K, no longer a baby at 2, but since she's still so chubby and small, I'm allowed to pretend she's still a baby!

[Talking Thursdays]

Back to the regular schedule of Talking Thursdays! (on a late saturday.. but better late than never! heehee) :)
I've been inundated with work lately and it didn't help that both the girls and me fell sick! So it was literally a whole week of sleepless nights over here. Anyways, this didn't stop me from starting to think about how to create a nice interior space for the new place. The problem i feel with architects is that we tend to think much more about the configuration of spaces - ie. where the walls should be placed, which spaces overlook each other, what should the overall flow through the spaces be like etc. We seldom ponder very much over what sort of furnitures to purchase, what should the soft finishes be, what sort of decorative lights look better in the space. Of course, with our own home, we are our own clients and have to look into all these things too. Which is very fun, as a lot of it is to do what we love best - shopping! hee......
So, here's what's top on my list of items to purchase (or already purchased)
Some Simple Furniture - especially the clothes trees (which has also a junior version!)

Cute Wallpaper - anybody going to the UK soon?
Ikea's new PS collection ..... especially this wonderful side table!!
Been also dreaming of the perfect sofa, you know, the type that is nice and comfortable enough to fully stretch out and lounge in, yet looks totally presentable and pristine in a more formal setting.... I'm in love with leather sofas, but I really doubt it will be super comfortable to lie in on a hot humid tropical afternoon! (thinking of wet sticky patches... eeeks)
But, if i could, this is what i would get (or something similar):
image via emmas designblogg

sigh.... so many things on my wishlist! Luckily I've already bought all the essentials - sanitary fittings; kitchen equipment etc... hee....

[Happy Birthday K!]

Dearest K,
You are the happiest little baby that we have been so blessed to have! Before you were born, we worry that it will be difficult to cope with 2 girls. We worry that we will not be able to give you the same amount of attention and love that G had. Of course, you always had to share us with G, but I think that really shaped your personality. From the day that you were born, you have been such a joy! Your calm and cheerful personality was the perfect counterpoint to a more feisty older sister. :)
At 2, you are able to -
. Speak in complete sentences, although u can't quite pronounce S or F yet.
. Eat on your own (but you're still not on full solids!)
. Play all your games on my iPhone
. Surf your favorite websites on my computer (you esp love YouTube and will ask to watch Hokey Pokey everytime!)
. Play independantly on your own if there are enough things to keep you occupied (a life saver when both me and V are busy at work but need to babysit as well)
. Give spontaneous hugs to us all the time

Most of all, we love how you are so much your own little person, and at 2, you have such a strong personality and we love you so much! Happy Birthday little K! :)

1 day old
7 days old
2 months
7 months
9months1 yr old
13months

15 months18 months
22months


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! :)

[lanterns and birthdays]

Handmade card from G and V. :)

I have been thoroughly spoiled this year for my birthday! Thanks to my parents and sis-in-law, the start of my birthday weekend was a 'child-free' date night out with Vic to try the infamous Morten's steak sandwiches. Together with Lychee martinis, it was a great way to start an adult's night out! :) Part 2 was a great dinner of grilled lambchops and rosemary baked potatoes at the English Pub venue Queen & Mangosteen, Vivocity. The girls then had a nice walk about the rooftop carrying their lanterns. On my actual birthday, we went to the nearby Colbar, a really quaint little part of the Wessex / Portsdown cluster, with ample space for the girls to run around. Now I'm pigging out on mooncakes and coffee..... having a perfect weekend indeed!

Some pics:
Choosing what to have for lunch
cute little overalls :)
Doting grandpa
lunch! Western / Hainanese grub in rustic canteen settingK and me
Me and the girls, not really cooperating for a nice photo
Playing mastermind with Grandpa
Sharing a joke
Peek - a - boo!
Sweet sweet K
Hahaha, this was the look she gave my dad when he called her K.

[Talking Thursdays]

Heh, for want of a better title....
I know i posted sometime ago about putting up house related postings every friday once the house reno got underway. Unfortunately, those best laid plans have gone to nought... :P Anyways, i was thinking about what to post, how to post it and realised that there isn't a real "theme" running through all the stuff that I wanted to talk about. Hence the title.
So, to start off, i thought i would post some pics of our new house (in model form):


I love making models and in school, i made lots of them! Especially models that can double up as dollhouses for the kids. The girls are thrilled when they see words like "girls room" and "playroom" in the model.

Also, I thought i would do a little review of some products. Recently, we bought 2 sets of drawers from IKEA. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE ikea for many many reasons. However, we realised how wrong we were when we bought these:

It's the "Antonius" set of drawers and frame, which are quite the staple at IKEA. We were sold by the attractive price tag, and thought that the simple construction meant that little could go wrong. Unfortunately, even though it was simple to put together, the slanted drawer sides meant that there wasn't as much room as it looked. Also, the drawer tracks were constantly skewed, depending on how we pushed the drawer in, it is never a smooth opening or closing. I guess it might work for lesser used drawers for storage, but for daily use, it is super frustrating and is really getting to me!

Compared to this:A set of similar drawers called "PP" from MUJI, which was a good three times the price tag. Of course, we learnt our lesson this time. Sometimes it is better to pay for a better quality product than to be frustrated with it every single time I use it.
For an item that i use at least 5 or 6 times a day, multiplied by the number of days a week, by the number of days a month, I think I will go for the MUJI drawers from now on!

Hope you like the 1st Talking Thursday post! :) More to come next week (hopefully)....

Some interesting links i've been looking at:
CARDBOARD FURNITURE
WOODEN FURNITURE
NICE FELT STUFF

Happy Thursday... and a fun children's day to all the children out there!

[midweek blog]

Commissioned phone pouch going out to it's new owner. :)
Some pics of the girls enjoying a pre-dinner bike ride around the terrace
I love the patina in these shots
So cute...


Look at them go....

Another commissioned bible cover going out to it's owner... :)

[Beach Breakfast Bonanza]

Now that the beach is only a 5 min drive away, we've been wanting to take advantage of being so close to have lots of breakfasts there, but due to work commitments and the unpredictable weather, it has been difficult to do so.
Finally, this morning, the weather was bright and sunny and we decided to take the troops out for a morning sandcastle play session cum breakfast. It was so fun and we decided we definately should do this more often! Here are the pics:
While they enjoyed themselves with my salad tools (cos we couldn't find the beach toys anywhere... probably packed up somewhere....)
I caught up with my embroidery work..
This is a commissioned bible cover.
K got tired of playing with the sand after awhile, she was a bit upset with the feel of sand on her feet.
This one, on the other hand, was more than happy rolling about in the sand, digging and building a "volcano castle" that erupts!
Smiley K
Cheeky cheeky....
After that, the easiest way to clean them up is to let them play at the water fountains....
look at the joy!

happy happy


Gotta do this again.....

[Baking]

We had a really fun morning going to auntie K's home. :) K is one of my SIL's oldest BFF and her home was incidentally a project that we finished a few months ago (but unfortunately have not had the time to document) The main focus of the space was the island kitchen, and it was really fun to try it out this morning!!

Here are the pics :
These are some early morning shots of the 2 girls. Somehow, it's so difficult to wake them up every weekday morning, but come the weekend, you can be sure 1 or the other is up before 7am!
They love taking their "favorite colours" and stenciling shapes with the plastic rulers onto paper.

Baking process step-by-step:
1st, you have to be properly attired! Here's the 2 of them in Ben & Jerry's signature aprons, courtesy of Auntie K, whose brother used to work in what has got to be arguably the best (at least for a person with a sweet tooth!) company - Ben & Jerry's!
2nd-ly, you need to do lots of warm-up exercises...
Jumping about and shaking your bum bum are an absolute must!3rdly, do lots of smiley faces for the mama - razzi....
Of course you need to lay the cupcake liners on the chair as a tryout first..... while the big people rush about getting the REAL ingredients weighed and measured.....
Whist waiting for the cupcakes to be ready, munch on any edible ingredients (like the yummy mangoes and juicy peaches).
Cupcake batter all ready for the oven!
Smiley auntie K, thanks for putting up with us and the mess that inevitably follows!Rest and Relax, why do we have to wait for the cupcakes to cool down before putting on sprinkles?
In the meanwhile, do other more interesting things like setting up a mini cupcake shop by the windows....
All fresh from the oven - there's something about the smell of freshly baked cupcakes that is sooo divine!
Taste test 01
Taste test 022nd batch of cupcakes!
Clowning around at the mirrors
Preparing the cupcakes for sprinkles.....
Finally! Our rainbow coloured sprinkles peach + mango cupcakes! :)

It was a really great activity for the girls, they had a lot of fun watching the cupcakes bake in the oven, cracking the eggs into the batter, lining the muffin trays, putting the sprinkles on the final baked goodies...

[V's new phone]

Somebody's got a new phone.. heh, the look on the girls' faces when we showed them the 2 phones side by side was priceless! G of course asked immediately "where are the games daddy?" while K was happy there's Youtube! hah.
I love this pic of G... that smile :)
saying "cheese" for daddy
i love it when they play happily side by side... unfortunately, that rarely happens!
G and K in the "kara kara wee" room (kara-ok), actually, nobody does kara-oke in there now, it's just been turned into the gigantic playroom for the girls (and visiting cousins) and is the only air-conditioned respite which we all escape to during these hot afternoons.

Not much happening on the crafting front, although I've just received my latest batch of OA papers *insert happy dance* and have been raring to go on some creating....

O, and we've started work on the house! Lots of last minute work as we discovered some structural elements that cannot be removed....

[making things]

I'm happiest when making things, whether it's a scrap page or something in fabric. These were completed over the weekend, a few scrap pages using my new batch of pictures, and a commissioned fabric pouch. :)

Here's the pics:
2 pics on my little princesses. I had a blast making the little envelop. Basically it's just baking parchment sprayed with some mist.... fun!
Love combining fabric, pins and buttons
the heart shape was cut out from the gingham i had in bulk.
A quick LO, used the red hambly because of the picture... just wanted that punchy look!
Love the wild cards from OA. :)





My long ago started little project which i've finally completed with the pictures and journalling.
A little embroidered pouch for an etsy customer.
Katundu is african for "stuff". :)
Had a lot of fun making it and I hope she likes it!! :)
O, these mermaid fabrics were from HERE.

:) thanks for looking!

p.s. the restaurant we just completed is open, do check out the pics HERE.

[this and that]

Some pics of weekend activities....
Mahjong...


These 2 crack me up with their funny antics everyday. These following pics are a testament to that! heee...Hilarious!!

G's fav teacher just had her 2nd little boy, and i did another diaper cake! this time around, a 2 tiered one... I hope she liked it! :)

A commissioned blankie.... for a guy no less!


That's all for now! :)

[remembering grandpa]

As I fly home, these long few days of grieving seem distant, a slight blip in my memories of grandpa. I can even start to pretend he is still around, as ours is a long distance relationship, there is no familiarity of an everyday closeness. And yet, as his eldest grandchild, I wish to think that we had a special relationship. Grandpa (or ah kong to all of us) had always been a pillar of strength and solidity. He was a person people turned to for advice, an organisor of events, a connector, a village leader, and a very loving (in his own way) husband, father and grandfather. All through my childhood into adulthood, he has always been extraordinarily proud of all my little accomplishments. After any major event in my life, the person that is right after my parents whom I will speak to would be him. Across the distance, he will shout out his pride, his approval and his encouragement. We will miss his annual phonecall on all our birthdays (he learnt the time difference between here n London just so he could call at the right time!), where he will wish us and we will exchange pleasantries. It was not in our personalities nor culture to be expressive about our feelings, but I hope ah kong understood how much he was loved by all his many children and grandchildren. On the day the phone call came through, all of us dropped whatever we were doing to fly back to send him off. It was a going away party he would have been proud of, a huge sending off with friends and family from near and far. We love u ah kong and may you rest in peace.


p.s. thanks so much to my dearest sil P for always being there and taking care of the girls, it was a huge help to V, who would not have been able to cope otherwise as i was gone for almost a week....

[HO(r)T PARK}

We took the girls off to Hort Park again yesterday, O, the delight of being SO near to one of the nicest parks in Singapore. No 45min car journeys to and fro, no squabbling and meltdowns on said long journeys, out and in the park in 20min!
Even though it was predictably hot, it was still a good break, a chance to breathe in some fresh air and to let off some of their pent up energy....
This is K with G in the foreground, but doesn't it look like K has a flouncy skirt?
K and G trying to take a picture with V
So difficult to get both to look at me at the same time!
Trying out with me now...
I love these candid shots
G + K
K on the hippo/dino.... scared of it as usual! haha
G balancing on a toadstool
K with her favorite "purple-coloured flower"
Super happy G

Took some time in the "kawa ore woom" while the kids were playing to make a little album. The album is from HERE, and the papers are from OA. Lots of internal pages and accents to be filled with photos and notes of the built of our new house.


We're having a big cookout here at new house today, so will check back later to post up more pics! :) Have a great weekend!!!

[in the making]

Lots and lots of ideas for new projects are waiting to be completed.... they are all swimming in my head right now! So, for prosterity, I will list them out here, so that they are OUT THERE somewhere! haha....

1. Some NEW gumdrop pillow to replenish the ones that are in the K-room at new house. Inspired by THESE lovelies

2. Recently been commissioned to make a more masculine blankie for a 23-yrold... hmm, challenging!

3. I'll be doing a Guest DT slot over HERE next month, so lots of ideas brewing for that!

4. Remember my cheque book cover from long ago, been wanting to update the design for other items - including my "mobile accounting ledger" - Receipt books, Payment vouchers etc. which i always seem to lug around in my bag!

5. Last but not least, the design for the new place has gone through it's double digit re-look and re-evaluation. Somehow, it takes 10 times longer to design your own house than it is for a client! sigh.... Inspiration abounds on the internet, been looking at These, These and These.... nice :)

[weekend roundup!]

Another post! heee, hoping to be getting back to the blogging groove. We had a great lunch and catchup session with G's favorite couple... :) Unfortunately, we didn't bring out camera, but they did! So i'm patiently waiting for the pics.
In the meantime, here's what we did today:
I made my very 1st diapercake for SIL's good friend K :) It was really fun putting it together, more of a trial and error, but definately will continue making them! They're really cute!! :)
A little accompanying card with the super appropriate range of paper from OA.
A LO in progress, i'm planning to paint those alphas.... will update!
Found this pics of the 2 girls with ku ku P, hee, perfect for the Wild Card from OA!
An LO of me and G at New House. Documenting the times we're spending here....
Haha... a little reminder that we ought to be going for another vacation soon!
To work off the humongous buffet lunch / tea we had with YK + P, we brought the bikes up to the terrace to let the kids have a cycle..... o, the advantage of an outdoor space!
G gramps looking on in delight.... he is sooo into the girls, it's incredibly sweet how he looks forward to seeing them everyday.
G on her bikeK, not really pedalling yet, content to just push the trike around.

[1st weekend in limbo]

It's been fun staying at 'newhouse' so far... the 2 girls have adjusted remarkably well to the move, and have so far not had any huge meltdowns or displayed too much homesickness to date. We even felt safe enough for G to revisit Punggol this morning as we swung by to pick up some residual mail.
Despite the sporadic drizzle and gloomy skies, we had a good morning at SIL's family day, by the reservoir supporting her company's annual dragonboat race. Heh, although by these pictures, you would hardly see any dragonboats or any supporting for that matter! haha....
A good start - yummy breakfast!!Hah, that's G's appetite for u! I'm so thankful for at least 1 child with absolutely no problems at all in the eating department. She relishes food and can be constantly eating in any given occassion.This one on the other hand, is not really that keen on food, although she loved walking about discovering new sights and sounds.Oooo.. the wonderful cold milo from the milo truck!

Anticipation......
Look at those faces!
A pink one please!
Happiness.
This one requested in that "o so shy" voice for a purple coloured teddy bear.... heee
Candy Floss!G went back for 2nds and of course i couldn't resist as well....
we love our pink candy floss
check out our expressions... haha
The end of her 2nd stick of floss...

Some face painting - hearts for K - purple of course!Butterflies, hearts and flowers - all in pink...
Me and K
Chubby cheeks... :)
All in all, a GOOD day....

[pictorial journal]

Just to keep a little journal of our move, thoughts, little things that make up life.
Here's a few snapshots of what we've been doing:

Detail of bag.


Just embellished a little bag with fabric scraps. :) Yup, it's those little elephants again! From HERE, and i've still half a sheet left!! heee.


A little bit of greenery is great to look at while taking a break from the computer screen.
Our little home office campout. It has that 60s office-y feel to it somehow! :) I'm so into the chairs, i'm wondering if we'll be able to reupholster them into something like THIS or THIS
:)

[moved]

Finally moved. It's night #02 in the "new house" (nope, not OUR new house but V's granddad's place. It's been called "new House" for the past 20 yrs or so!)
So, it's been a hectic few weeks of living out of increasing boxes, but finally, within a few hours, all our worldly belongings were transported and are now living in the garage of "new house". It's great that there's all this space in the house and we've our own little space in the family hall upstairs. The kids are of course jubilant at having a whole big playroom at their disposal night and day.
Here's the pics of the move:
This one was a little weepy and slightly morose at having to leave Punggol. She was insistent that we have to take pics of 'every little corner'.
A little bit of TLC was needed to restore the cheerfulness.
Instructing me which angles to take, which toys and which furniture to pack.
The actual move..... all our stuff!
Boxes, boxes and more boxes!!!
This little one was in her own little world, she was sooo happy to see all her toys appearing as if by magic from the boxes, transforming an entire floor into a gigantic playroom.
Of course, this kept them suitably entertained and happy for the rest of the moving day!
I love this pic, the classy chinesey decor, totally clashing with the garish girly toys, but somehow, it works! heh....
Meanwhile, we were at the almost empty home...
All gone! Back to the original condition...

We will MISS YOU punggol..... Thanks for all the happy happy memories..... :)

[Packing Packing]

We've been furiously packing away the last few days. The last of the boxes have been sealed and labelled. We're now living in a "walled" flat - albeit cardbox walls. :) The kiddies are enjoying clamoring over the new infrastructure, and we hear sounds of protest whenever we pack any current playthings away.

Some random pics of the past week:

K capping the pen after doodling over all the packing boxes...
G bright and happy after her trip back from Malaysia with my parents
K, all yucky after Ben & jerry's choc chip cookie dough icecream....
Heh, at least she's eating!

A pro at the comp now at 20mths...
Scrapbooking with mummy...

One of the 1st pages with the new OA papers that arrived the other day....

I'm in love with this paper! Maps and ladybirds... sweet....

I took down the fridge magnets, this is one of the pictures that was on our fridge. I guess it only means something to me. :) Writing down all the thoughts of the move, what we're expecting... the unsettling temporariness, but the HUGE excitement.....

Completed a commissioned embroidered album cover. This is for a 2-yr old in France.... I hope she likes it!! :)

The inside flap with pocket slot for storing other memorabilia
The back
I LOVE the elephant fabric - from HERE... It arrived last week with a bunch of other stuff, which i definately have lots of plans for!!!

The complete album :) this time round, the "hand" was traced from K's hand. (the original design uses G's hand when she was 2)

[and the little one said.....]

....roll over! roll over!" ... hehe, this is one of the many songs that K absolutely LOVES from youtube. It's a very cute series of songs, all sang by little japanese kids at a music class. So cute!
We took advantage of the 1-child only status (G has gone to malaysia with my parents) over the weekend to get started on the packing. Thanks to P, (who is the best help ever) we managed to get most of the things in the kitchen and living room into boxes. It was great that G wasn't around, as i believe moving most of her toys into boxes will be pretty traumatic for her. K wasn't too fussed, just really curious, and kept asking "what's mummy DOING?" "what's this?" "packing packing?" haha.
We also had her first ever playdate with my good friend S's daughter C. It was really great! They started out having lunch together (we learnt that peer pressure is great for fussy eaters!) and managed to get through quite a bit of soup, bread and banana without too much probing. After that, K of course decided that she had to wear C's crocs, and basically took possession of it throughout the playdate... lol. It was a real difference between C&K's playdate and their older sibilings E&G's playdates. This was altogether a more peaceful and happy one, full of good vibes and lots of smiles and toddler babble. There was no shouting, no snatching, no vying for attention, no "this is mine!". In fact, at the end of the playdate, they actually packed up together!! Me and S were pleasantly surprised and very very pleased.... lots more morning playdates are planned! :)
peeking out from the box
K can't resist the boxes once we started, and V couldn't resist putting her in them! She was really funny, when she went into her "House", she started asking "where's the door, where's the door?". Heh, then we flipped it over and made a "tunnel", with the flaps as doors. She was really pleased.
A pleasant surprise came in the post last week - I was asked by Scrapzstudio to do a little guest DT skint over at their blog - look at the pile of goodies they sent me!! What got me really really excited were these 12x12 fabrics - see!!! How cute are those elephants!! :) And soooo affordable too! Perfect for the little pieces i always use. No more waiting for long shipping times for me. Go HERE to check out other cute fabrics on offer.
Look at the little Piggies and Lambs.... adorable!
I'm definitely visiting there often to check for new fabrics!! :)
*watch out for my new embroidered album featuring these fabrics in the next few days*

The next day, guess what else came in the post!....
droooool.....
My favorite part of them all - the little wild cards! They are soooo cute! And the perfect CS weight too.
More stickers.
I HAD to make this almost straightaway (well, actually at 5am the next morning), even though there is a huge backlog of work that needs seeing too.. heh, hence the ungodly hour of crafting...
These are from the "ducks in a row" and "cherry hill" line of products. LOVE the colours!
:) More creating in the next few days!! :)
Remember this little book? I've started adding more embellishments and journalling to the inner pages.
The "Road trip" diecuts and stickers are PERFECT for this album all about my 'other' wedding celebrations in Malaysia.
Lots and lots of journalling, mostly about who were there, what we did etc.
O, this album definately brings back memories almost 6 yrs ago! :) we were so young then (without the kiddies who added a lot of wrinkles! haha)
leaving you with a few pics of my Little miss bedhead on Sunday morning....
We seldom dress her in 'matchy matchy' PJs, but i think we should! :)

[musings on creativity]

In a weblink post from good friend PE, the Reggio Emilio philosophy of preschool education talks all about instilling and nurturing creativity into preschool children. As I embark on my own search and journey for a good way of educating children in an art course designed for preschoolers, i marvel at the way the little ones look at the world. Like what the philosophy teaches, i truly believe that young children (and even adults) will thrive better creatively in an aesthetically pleasing environment. The way that childcare centres and kindergartens are put together here, they are usually converted houses and parts of commercial buildings. Often converted on a very low budget, these places are as far from the aesthetically pleasing environment that is ideal. Perhaps this is why there is an inherent design sensibility in some nationalities and an almost blase non-existent indifference in others. The crux of creativity stems from a need to make something original, something that is not a copy or an acquisition. In putting together our art program, we try to impart to the preschoolers the delight in creation, by teaching them techniques and methods, so that they can use the acquired knowledge to create something totally unique and personal.
As the girls grow up, we too try to impart them with as much knowledge of crafting, of making things and to expose them them as much as possible to beautiful spaces.
Little pieces of an installation work done by G, sitting next to me while i'm typing up this blog post. :) I love how the opportunity of the coins structure formed the basis of this work, how it provoked different emotions to the maker (G) and viewer (me). It made me look at the coins in a different light, and i think all successful art pieces should do that... :)