I Love My Purple Onion Stamps

I finally got around to organising all my Purple Onion stamps in this file folder I bought at Popular. I filled it with little plastic pocket inserts (from Daiso) and decorated the outside with some of my favourite Purple Onion stamps.
The folder is already bursting at the seams and I've got some larger stamps that won't fit (I refuse to cut them apart)....so it looks like I might need to start another folder. Especially since Michele's got more yummy yummy new stamps out!

These are too too cute:


Perfect for Valentine's day!

Smurf Eggs and Other Blue Things...

Blue Thing Number 1: Smurf Eggs
We had fun making these at home today - blue jelly eggs - aka Smurf eggs! (or Avatar eggs if you want to be more current)

Everything tastes better when its weird coloured right kids?
Blue Thing Number 2: Denim Album (aka Harley Davidson album)
Designed this for a class too and now that class is over Nancy gets to take this home and fill it up with journaling for her little cutie.
Would you be Blue If I didn't Tell You?
1. How I got the photos looking like that: photoshopped to sepia, laser-printed on textured side of cardstock
2. How I got the brick print on the page corner and cover - stamped repeatedly with paint (for cover) and ink (on page) using packaging from Tim Holtz metal rectangle tags.

Incidentally, I'm done with classes for February and class sneaks are up at laines and Papermarket! Lots of new fun ideas to check out from Yanni, Merdrey, Jaz and Felicia

Be sure to drop by so we can wish you happy valentine's day next month and spread some scrappin' lurve!

Benny is seven

Happy birthday my son! You have grown so much - in so many ways....we love you and thank God that He gifted us with you!

(He's listening to Ricky Astley)

Mini Envelope Book in Box - My Boy Ben
I made this quite a while ago for a class at Papermarket and today is the perfect day to revisit it.

(altered box - see the frogs? Love those frogs)(envelope book)

(one of my favourite shots)

Good to Know if you're a Scrapper:
The mini book is made of about 12 (same sized) envelopes. All you need to do is
1. tuck the flap of one envelope into the 'mouth' of another envelope,
2. glue flap in place
3. Insert the free flap of the 'mouth' envelope into the 'mouth' of another envelope.
4. Keep repeating this as many times as you wish.

The thing with this kind of book is that as you put more envelopes together, you'll find they don't 'line up' nicely so I tore the 'inner' envelopes so that everything 'fits' together within the 2 outermost envelopes.

This is seriously hard to describe in words....but after you try it, you'll know what I mean....I hope. (Otherwise you'll just have to turn up at Laine's with a bunch of envelopes and a frustrated look - haha)

Mid Month Status Update

We are about halfway through the month and...

So far I've finished some layouts (I've got a few more to finish this week):(Butthead the cat is my quality control - if she likes it, she sits on it. Hmm...or maybe it means she doesn't like it)

and I have one last layout from December's layout class to show you:

Layout Title: "Khoo Family"

Interestingly enough, this Purple Onion stamp looks very Peranakan (i.e. Straits Born Chinese) - which is what my mum is. (My father is Hokkien and my mum is 'baba' so I guess that makes me 'hokba'?)

Nonya Bits:
1. Picked papers that reminded me of my grandmother's sarong. (She wears sarongs all the time)

2. Used the Martha Stewart edge punch to make a 'mask' which I rubbed ink over to create the lacey edge on the right side (supposed to look like the lacy kebayas (blouses) nonya's wear)

3. Cut patterned paper to make 'tiles' - sort of like the square patterned tiles they have on peranakan houses.

4. Love the Purple Onion stamp (from the Ornamentals Set)- it reminds me of the intricate gold jewellery nonyas use to fasten their blouses closed - its called a kerosong I think...(the blouses have no buttons!)

The final layout is a little 'noisy' (for me)....but then, that's kind of what peranakans are like too...heh heh

New Ways of Being and Doing

We have settled into new routines...

(Benny coming home from school)

Made new friends...(one of Beth's many new feline friends)

And me? I have been trying to make sure I meet all my deadlines and finding it quite a change to work at home. Always seem to be missing that little something when I am designing (like paint or glimmer mist of a certain colour, or that certain colour of brads) but I am learning to make do and find ways around things - more likely to have happy accidents that way!

Here's another layout from December class to share:

Layout Title: "Seasoned Travellers"

I used my current favourite technique again (spraying glimmer mist then sprinkling embossing powder on) but for some reason it ended up looking like sand on this layout...would have been cool if photos had been of us in Egypt or something....but this was Japan - erm....which has lots of sand because it's an island? Heh heh.

I love when this happens...

Some days you feel an idea take over and you just go along for the ride.

This is my favourite layout from December's layout class because it was just like that.

From this:

The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai

To this: Layout Title: "I Want My Very Own Snorkel, Mask and Fins"
We had a fun time in class flicking paint to create the ocean 'spray' - some of us had a bit too much fun and some ended up with tiny bits of paint in their hair and clothes....oops.

Stuff Scrappers Might Like to Know:
1. This is a fun way to use up your scraps. Tear lots and lots of strips of paper. (nice to have some vellum as well), cover a shape with glue, then glue strips of paper all over the shape. Make sure to twist and turn the strips as you glue.

2. The stuff around the word "fins" is Ranger Dimensional Pearls.

3. The reason why I have one paper fish and one transparency fish is 'cos they are different breeds of fish. haha. Kidding. Nah, its just that if you stamp on transparency you can make the fish turn a different direction instead of having all your fish face the same way.

4. Yes, those are satay sticks and no they didn't used to have satay on them.

What Life is Like Now...

a little bit of him in the morning,

(He's studying Chinese.....can you tell?)

a little bit of her in the afternoon,

(cat companion compulsory helps study time)

all of us together in the evening,(Benny was asleep)

and a little bit of work thrown in now and then:

(one layout for February class)(mini album's halfway through - I'm using purple!!!)

Still trying to find balance...

And So it Begins....

The new year that is. I'm psyched and looking forward to my new 'arrangements'. You could say I'm resolved:

Layout Title: Resolutions (featuring "2010 Vintage Calendar" and "Date Me" from Purple Onion)

This layout was inspired by Ronda's amazing "Colors" layout (follow the link and you'll know which one I mean - you can't miss it)
"more awareness, less auto-pilot....more steadfastness, less compromise....more gratitude, less complaining...more reliance, less self-dependence...more 'people', less things....more of You, less of me"

Still Corny in 2010:
1. The months 'fade out' just as the days of the month slip away one by one (wah, Sharon, quite poetic today - heh)
2. There's a row of pencils 'cos this is me writing down my resolutions
3. The 'o' is a clock 'cos its the right 'time' of the year to do resolutions.

So....what's up for you this year?