Puppy Steps, Jumbo Leaps

Online Shopping And My Current Craze.

It's finally Friday! TGIF! In between crazy work hours and mad weather recently, i've been doing some online shopping. Some of my favourite items to buy via the internet are dresses, bags, books and scrapbooking products :) I've always been a big fan of online shopping - firstly because i hate crowds, and secondly (and more importantly) i love the anticipation and excitement that comes with the wait for my purchases to arrive in the mail!

In recent weeks, i've been browsing a few online sites, sourcing for a new work bag and wallet to replace the 'lao-kok-kok' ones that i've been using since light-years ago. I know i want a white bag, or at least one that is not boring-black, and i'm really not a fan of monograms, so i would like a plain wallet this time. I also need classic designs that will last me at least two to three years because i don't relish the idea of splurging on a new bag or wallet every few months. Most importantly, brands like Gucci and Coach are seriously a little out of my range (and league!)

So anyway...i narrowed my choices down to two sites...this and this. And gosh, the Kate Spade designs took my breath away! So pretty, so girly, SO GORGEOUS!

Check out the new bags...

And the wallets and cases...

 
(All pictures taken from KateSpade.com)

I'm 101% converted! In fact, i placed an order from their site last night using vPost's shipping service (since Kate Spade doesn't ship internationally). I was so excited all day, until i logged on to Hotmail and found this in my mailbox...

 

What disappoints me more than not being able to get the item i ordered was the fact that they didn't even bother to explain why my order could not be processed. Now i'm sad :(
Anyhow, i've emailed them to try to get things sorted out, hopefully i do get my purchase eventually...anyone here with similar encounters? Please share your experience with me!

On a different topic, i've actually uploaded all the photos of my Chiang Mai trip to a draft blog post last Saturday - over a hundred of them! I'm about halfway through the post, and i will get it up, i promise! Somehow, recently, i've been busting all deadlines except the ones to do with work...at the end of each work day, i'm really only running on 10% residual energy :( Friday nights and Saturdays are all i live for right now! (Amongst many other things of course, hehe!) Enjoy your weekend!

I'm Back! And Last Two Weeks Of March...

Chiang Mai was fun, and i'm relieved i got home before the Thailand government declared a state of emergency on Bangkok and the surrounding areas. I didn't manage to blog about my trip daily when i was there, mostly because any time i had on the internet was spent on video-chats with my sister and Fluffie :) But i do have the pictures up on Facebook! And i will blog about my trip in the next two weeks, i promise!

Before i left for Chiang Mai, i mentioned that i had some updates for March, and here they are! The last two weeks of March were rather eventful ones for me...

Firstly, i celebrated my 28th birthday :)

 

I received loads of well-wishes from many people i love, including my family and friends, and my sister and cousin bought me a cake each! I felt so blessed :)

Secondly, it is no secret that civil servants and public officers in Singapore receive their performance bonuses in March every year, and this year, i was looking forward to mine, because it was to be my very first full bonus from SLA! I received my notification letter from my Director the day after my birthday, and was pleasantly surprised to find that i had been promoted :) It feels great to know that my efforts are being appreciated!

Thirdly, the Saturday after i received my PB, my sister and i went to town! It's been some time since we'd gone out together, just the two of us :) And we bought ourselves some P.Osh brownies from Dhoby Ghaut Exchange! YUMMY-LICIOUS!

 

And on Sunday, we packed our bags for an outing to Marina Barrage! I managed to snap some shots while the rest of them were busy flying kites (literally!)

 

 

 

 

 

After the kite-flying, i gave everyone a dinner treat before we came home to get ready for the start of a brand new week :)

Then, on Monday, the 29th, i gave myself a little treat as well! Tada!

 

Got my EF50mm portrait lens :) It works great on Fluffie!

And that's all i have for March :) Be back again soon!

Got My Scrapping Fix!

After a long hiatus of more than a month, i finally had some time this weekend to get back into the scrapping groove. So, my entire Saturday was spent completing 3.5 layouts! I say 3.5 because this first one had been left half-done since six weeks ago...

Layout I: In 2008...

 

This layout contains all the leftover pictures from 2008 that i meant to scrap but never got down to doing so. See, i have a scrap-list that contains the names of all the photographs to be scrapped, but at the speed i scrap, i am never able to keep up with the speed at which the photos are taken. This year, i have resolved to cut down on my backlog so that my scrap-list will contain only pictures taken in the current year and the previous year (at most!)

Layout II: Beauty Manifested

I chose to keep this one simple, to showcase the beauty of the background and photograph. I'm lovin' the Tattered Angels Timeless Romance glimmer screens, and the American Craft Dear Lizzy puffy thickers used here. What do you think?

Layout III:  Greatest Love Of All

 

A vintage look for this third layout, to match the sepia photograph taken during last year's Mothers' Day celebration at my grandma's.

I added some yellow and red using the Prima blooms and Jenni Bowlin butterfly you see in this close-up below:

 

Layout IV:  Home...Where Our Hearts Are.

Details...

 

This is my favourite of the lot! It's my very first try at an animated layout, which the American Crafts Dear Lizzy Spring collection was so perfect for.

I would love to whisk Fluffie away to a wonderland with green pastures and fluffy clouds set against clear blue skies, and live in a little pink house with her forever. We would wake up to rainbows and flowers, spend countless hours racing across lavender-filled fields, and look up to sparkling, star-lit skies each night! It's a little dream i indulge in every now and then :)

Now it's off to some photo-editing for my next album, before i spend the evening with Fluffie and start dreading the looming start of a new work week! Have a good rest-of-the-day!

My Camera Is Home!

A couple of weeks ago, i had to send my 450D and kit lens to the Canon office at Harbourfront for servicing because the autofocus stopped working. Thank God the set was still under warranty! At first i was concerned that they would take a long time with the set and i wouldn't be able to get it back before the Chinese New Year break, but they were really quick! Less than a week after sending it in, i received a text message informing me that the camera was ready for collection, with zero charges! Yay :)

So...TADA! Made a detour down to the service centre after my course at NUS today :)

The collection process was painless and fuss-free, and the autofocus is working good as new again! I'm a HAPPY girl now :) :) :)

A 12-By-24 Canvas Display...

...for my living room :)

 

 

And Another.

Busy. Busy. Busy.

My resolution to make every single day count seems to be going well so far, especially if you consider working-your-ass-off as a part of making each day count. I clocked in a daily average of 13-14 hours at the office for the whole of last week, much to the dismay of a very-neglected Fluffie. By the time Friday arrived, i was so deprived of Fluffie-time that i felt like a heroin addict placed under cold turkey treatment :( Keeping my fingers crossed that this is not a sign of things to come for the impending months, or else i may end up with no time for myself at all!

I'm far behind time on my blog entries. There's a lot i want to share...our Christmas dinner, Fluffie's first countdown experience at Mount Faber, some upcoming events that i'm extremely excited about, and so much more. But right now i'm just so short of time! I promise to update more regularly once the mad rush is over...for now, i'll just share some of the projects i'd been working on in the last few weeks.

Hugs and Kisses - a layout of Fluffie and my sister...

 

Journals and notepads with covers that were made using a new technique i'd chanced upon (clockwise from top left: a wedding planner for my best friend, cute Sassafras work planner for my sister, work planner with a luxurious cover for myself, a pair of notepads for Pooi)...

For my cousin...21st Birthday Party 6x6 Mini Album!

Loads of Sassafras goodies for this one, in sync with her cute and pleasant personality! Some of my favourite pages...

 

More details...

My favourite view of the mini...

I absolutely {HEART} the shaped edges of the Sassafras papers. For this mini, i chose to combine papers from a variety of collections. Totallly loving the effect it gave the album! Hope my cousin loves it too, loads of effort and time put into this cutie :)

One more...Us. 2009. This album is a record of my moments with Fluffie in 2009, one page per month, one picture per page. I used lots of paint and distressed ink for this one - not something i'd usually do, but overall i'm happy with the effect :) The Cosmo Cricket NUTMEG collection was a wonder to work with!

Pages of the months here...

 

 

My favourite page - the cover!

 

The picture of the girl and her little white dog is so apt for my album! Fluffie blesses my life in more ways than one, and i'm looking forward to what lies ahead for us this year.

That's all i have for now. It's already Sunday night, another long week to come, and my priority for the coming work week? To work smart, and to create more happy moments with my very loving dog :) Have a good week ahead!

Canvas, Leaves And Some Random-ness!

Yayyy, i can post this now since Pooi has seen it :) I totally love the colours...hope the recipient likes it too, hehe. Have a magical Christmas! The whites and blues on the canvas are inspired by falling snowflakes on a fine winter morning. Too bad we don't get snow in Singapore, because i sure would love to see Fluffie prancing about in the fluffy snow!

Whilst experiencing a snowy Christmas would remain a dream for now, Fluffie did get the chance to run around and sniff some Christmas trees in the Singapore Botanical Gardens last Saturday! We took over a hundred shots and i haven't sifted through them all yet, so for now, just sharing one of my favourites of Fluffie and me, thanks to my sister:

 

Feels like autumn, doesn't it? I think it's time for us to take another holiday :)

This last part is completely random and unrelated to the above. On my way home today, in the MRT, i saw the following slogan printed on a carrier another passenger was holding...

Raffles Institution. 185 Years.
Past Continuous, Present Intense, Future Perfect.

Too cool? Or too 'chim'? Hehe.

One More Canvas for Christmas!

It's my last (individually-made) one for this year! I went with a wintry Christmas theme for this...lots of blue and white, with hints of pink for variation. This is a gift too, and i hope the recipient will love it as much as i do. I'm a little stressed about this one, heh.

Sneaks of the canvas below...i'll update with pictures of the entire thing once she's seen it!

 

 

Christmas is drawing near, and amidst the joy of the festive season, i'm getting hit with little, random moments of melancholy. I'm also missing Chloe more than ever, wondering what she would be doing on Christmas Day, and wishing she was here with us.

Have you ever had people (animals included!) or things in your life that you've let go or lost touch with along the way but never stopped thinking about? They are the ones who leave invisible footprints (or pawprints!) in our hearts. We can't see them, but we know they're there because we can feel them, every step of the way. This Christmas, let's be grateful for those who have left such prints in our hearts, because they are the ones who have truly made a difference in our lives.

Loads Of Creations To Share!

Just wanted to share some of my recent creations - including a brand new 2010 diary, two canvas projects, four cards and a brand new layout :)

My 2010 Diary

 

I am sooooo proud of this! Made from scratch with Hamblys, cardstock, mists, rub-ons and painstakingly printed pages for daily notes. Most importantly, i sewed the cover myself using the vintage sewing machine my aunt fixed up for me and the Alice In Wonderland fabric i bought off Etsy! And guess what? The seams are perfectly aligned :) *Beaming with pride*

Love Canvas - A House Is Not A Home Without A Dog

 

I never realised this before 2006, but now i know that it is true - a house will not be a home without the presence of a dog. At least in my case, it is so. The arrival of Fluffie transformed my family. Fluffie is the reason everyone thinks twice before spending nights out and the one who plants smiles on our faces and makes us want to reach for the keys before even reaching the doorstep. Since Fluffie came into our lives, there has been more laughter and more sharing, more joy and more love. She is simply magical!

More details...

 

This is my first canvas project since attending Kelly's A Scrap Artist's Canvas class last year, put together with a little help from Pooi :) It's so girly, pretty and just perfect in my eyes!

This next picture shows a sneak of another canvas i just completed. This was more challenging than the one above because it was of a bigger size and i worked with multiple photographs for it. I won't be showing the entire piece here because it's meant as a gift. Just hope the recipient loves it as much as i do :)

Next, a layout...

Merry Merry Christmas!

 

The festive season is here again! This year, we'll be having a big Christmas dinner at my aunt's, complete with turkey, log cake and a gift exchange! I'm totally looking forward to it...pity not everyone will be there since my brother and eldest cousin will be in India and Vietnam respectively. I'm sure they'll miss us and the food, hehe!

Back to the layout...it was put together using papers from the new Fancy Pants FROSTED collection, combined with a glitter snowflake die-cut from Creative Imaginations, embellishments from Prima, Maya Road and K & Company, and most of all, white paint and silver ice stickles from Ranger. I am immensely proud of the glittery sliver rings printed on the blue patterned paper because they were created using nothing more than bottle caps of different sizes :) :) :) Don't laugh, but this was really a stroke of genius for the usually un-creative me!

Catch a closer glimpse of one of the rings in the picture below...

Finally...the cards!

My Dear Fawn...

Little Owl...

 

Baby Elephant...

 

And...Snowflakes On A Sunny Day!

 

Okay, those are not the actual names of the cards, i just made them up for purpose of this post. Heh. All four cards were made using scraps left over from the layouts/projects done over the last three weeks. Scrapbooking and crafting make me feel sooooo goooood!

I'm feeling slightly better today, keeping my fingers crossed that this is a real sign of recovery from flu and that next week will be a good one - work and scrapping wise. Next Saturday's pay-day and that means shopping! I think Fluffie and i may make a trip down to the Botanic Gardens for a Christmas photoshoot sometime in the next two weeks :) In the meantime, we wish everyone a merry-licious December to go!

My First Christmas Present...

...is AWESOME!

 

After receiving this gift, i'm so inspired to get make my own fabric album too! Fluffie and i LOVE it to bits! This is my favourite present of the year :) A BIG THANK YOU to the boy and his mummy! Fluffie and i are glad to have you in our lives too, thanks for being a part of our growing up :)