Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Pink Paislee's Bella Rogue Collection

Last week, I finally received the prize I won in Pink Paislee's IG giveaway... The entire collection for Bella Rogue! I am super happy girl! Here, I made a short video of what was in the package... Enjoy!

Christmas is coming

Do know that Christmas is just a few weeks away? Can't believe that the year is coming to an end so so soon. Way to soon for my liking... I know that a lot of you have started your Christmas projects. I create a christmas card. Recently, I've been hit by the black & gold bug. I just can't help it.... Here's my take. I absolutely love how this shaker card turned out!

Here's a close up of the card.  I painted black strips on a white card stock.  The word "Merry" is cut on the Chickaniddy Gold Foil Paper & it cuts like butter. I used Number 4 blade on my Cameo in case you would like to know. Christmas is from Hero Arts wood mount stamp.

Since it's the season of giving, I would like to share a Christmas Cut file I have designed. If you love the "Merry" cut file I used in the card, you can download the .studio file here.

Hope you love it. Do share your work with me if you do use the file! :)

With much love, Josie

First halloween Layout

This is my very first halloween layout. We don't exactly celebrate Halloween in Malaysia. Recently there are more people dressing up for the occasion. Last week, we showed Lucas what a Jack-o-lantern looks like when we came across one while cafe hopping. He was a good spot posing with the lantern for us. :) So, I came out with this layout. Been wanting to do a black & white layout for sometime now. Never had the chance. So here's what I did. And oh, Happy Halloween to you if you are celebrating...

Supplies : 
Maggie Holmes Styleboard 6x6 Pattern Paper Pad
Crate Paper Portrait 6x6 Paper Pad
Amy Tangerine's Plus One Pattern Paper.
Black & White Cardstock.

Working with My Mind's Eye

Finally, I'm using one of my favourite patterned papers from MME - Lost & Found 2 collection (*which I have been hoarding). I did a layout for my cousin using a picture of her mum when she was a teenager. Over all, I used mostly MME products. I have also added some embellishments from Maggie Holmes. It took me only 15 mins to put together this layout.

Next up, is some Project Life spreads I did for May, June & July. Still lots of catching up to do but I'm almost there :D Definitely enjoying the process although I am very much behind. Just took some snapshots of the spreads I have completed.

Mei Li Paperie September Inspired by Challenge

This month's inspired by challenge is selected by Kim Jefress. 

 I am inspired by the colors, the picture tells me to enjoy the journey...

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New Workspace Tour

So far, September seems to be my favourite month yet! One of the reason is because we finally made our vision into reality. A new and organised workspace! * Doing the happy dance *

After a few weeks of back breaking cleaning, and stressful moments when things didn't turn out right, we finally have the workspace all done.

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Bye August, Hey September.

August oh august, what a whirlwind it has been. You have been so hard on us. I will never forget the face of my uncle looking at my aunt for the very last time before they close the coffin. I will never forget the teary faces of my little cousins from that moment. Her trembling hands when she dress up her mum for the last time, having her quiet moments away from the crowd, the moment when the coffin was incinerated before our eyes. Each and every moment impacted me so much. So many questions why. Too many questions why.

Then, just two weeks after, I was mourning again. Hubby's grandma passed. Although, it wasn't as painful to see, as grandma lived a really fruitful life till 92. There was a glimpse of tearful moment when part of the ritual, Alex's uncle had to walk with kneels over to pay his last respect as soon as he got off the plane and reached grandma's resting place. The grief of a son for his mother... but in many ways, we try to celebrate a wonderful and strong lady she has been. Being able to live pass 90, to many is considered a great blessing.

Even when it all has passed, I'm still very much thinking of my aunt, & constantly, wondering how my cousins are doing. ALS/MND is just too cruel. It just is.

Just like that, time just flew by again. Wish there was a rewind button to go back where it all didn't happen, but there isn't. I'm trying my best to be strong and trying my best to be their big sister they can turn to and helping them whenever I can. I just celebrate my birthday but this year my wish is for time to be able to heal wounds & for everyone I love to have good health. Hoping September will be a better month.

Inspired by...

They say inspirations can come from anywhere. Somedays it's the colours I see, sometimes it's a pattern I observe. Today, I would like to share a layout which I did which was inspired by Studio Calico's Main Page. I scraplift the sketch and use some of the elements which inspires me from the page...

Here's my take!

Thanks for dropping by!

The hardest week...

Last week, I grieved for my dearest aunt. What seems like the shortest time, seems like the longest battle for her with MND (Motor Neuron Disease). She had such strong will to keep fighting even till her very last breath. Even as each hurdle came, she never gave up. We really do wonder where all her strength came from to be able to fight through it all. Our fond memories of her will forever be cherished and she will be remembered for the strong woman she is. You are dearly missed, my dearest Sei Kim.

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A Layout Finally...

Yippee, so happy to be posting this after a long hiatus. Did a layout for Mei Li Paperie's July Color Challenge. I love the color inspiration very much... :)

Scrapped the cutest picture of A and L taken during our visit to the Butterfly farm last week... 

I created a simple layout using the colours of the challenge as background.

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Treasure everyday moments...

How has your journey been for 2014? Sorry I am kinda disconnected for the past few months. Just last month as i have blogged earlier, DH had a bike accident and was admitted & had to go through some surgery. A month has passed and he's now doing much better. He recuperated well at home. Few days back, my mum was back in the hospital again as well... This is one of those events in life that makes you think a lot and appreciate life each passing day. I am trying to stay positive and I often joke with my friends that I'm now an expert in packing hospital bags. Well, truly, events like this help us grow. I think that I was calm and was able to handle the situation well when I was heard the bad news.

 Last week, we celebrated 5 years as husband and wife. I did a little gift for him. A gift that would be a reminder of the journey and good times. Treasure moments spent together each day.

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Layout for Lucas' first birthday

I have been putting this off for over a year now. This is a picture of Lucas' 1st birthday. I was suppose to create a layout for this milestone but somehow, it got delayed. Finally, while taking a break from work and all, I manage to create this with mostly Dear Lizzy's day dreamer collection. Hope you like it.

Guest Post @Mei Li Paperie : One Paper Pad, Three Projects + Promo Code

Up on Mei Li Paperie's blog, I blogged about one of my favourite scrapbooking product, the 6x6 paper pad & how versatile it is. Also, I have a promo code at the end of the post, just for you, up on the blog for a 15% off 6x6 Paper pads (excluding those on clearance). Code expires Midnight on Sunday 25th May (Hong Kong Time). 

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Inspired by Challenge by Mei Li Paperie

Sorry for the delayed post. It has been a hectic week as DH met with a bicycle accident and had to be admitted to the hospital for surgery. He's now back home after a week at the hospital and recovering. Hopefully, all will be well soon :)

Without further adieu, let's talk about the new challenge which is still ongoing at Mei Li Paperie. The challenge is simple. How am I inspired by this picture to create my project.

I did a layout using pictures from my travel adventures around the world. I was inspired by the colours in the image so I used grey & bright colours like red, yellow & blue in both my photos & embellishments. I used multiple photos on my layout as it reminds me of the hanging gondolas on the ferris wheel. Heidi Swapp Magic Chipboard alphas were the perfect addition to represent the lights on the ferris wheel and I inked these with gold ink. I also love the chipboard stickers from Pink Paislee Hello Sunshine Collection.

Find the picture inspiring the creative mojo in you? Find out how HERE & submit your creations by May 30th and stand a chance to win a Heidi Swapp Prize Pack!

Tutorial Post at Mei Li Paperie Blog

Find out how I create this layout with a few misting techniques & a free cut file design just for you. More details at Mei Li Paperie's blog. Do check it out.

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Mei Li Paperie's Color Challenge

It's 3rd of May & it's National scrapbook Day in the US. Happy (Inter)National Scrapbook Day to all fellow scrapbookers out there! I'm so happy & inspired to see so many talented scrapbookers posting amazing scrapbook layouts on Facebook & Instagram! Most of them really Wow-ed me.

Do you scrapbook or do any form of memory keeping? To be able to create, design & record memories at the same time is truly a blessing for me. I'm really loving every moment of it. I hope I could continue doing this for a very long time... :) Sometimes while creating, I do love to check out for challenges to inspire me. If you are looking for something inspiring to work with, do check out the Color Challenge that Mei Li Paperie is hosting this month.

I totally love the colour pallete that they have chosen!

For this challenge, I made a layout which is more graphic than my usual style. Using papers from Dear Lizzy's lucky charm collection as well as Amy tangerine's Yes Please collection. 

Do join in the fun & you could stand a chance to win a wonderful prize too... More deets on how to enter the challenge here.

Guest Designer For Mei Li Paperie

This month is a pretty exciting month for me, as I will be guest designing for Mei Li Paperie. I will be there for the month of May. Yeay! :) They will be having some fun challenges lined up for you monthly. Do visit their blog regularly so you don't miss out the fun. You will stand a chance to win some great prizes too! See you there.

Layout : Sweet

I did a really simple layout for this precious photo of my DH and my son. Hearts are made from vellum. I used a blending tool/sponge with Distress Ink (Tattered Rose) & Tattered angel Glimmer Mist (Mel's dinner). For the mist, I sprayed it on a palette, and a few drops of water to lighten it. Just dip a bit of colour  & blend both colours over the vellum to create a sweet pink texture... (** if you dip too much, it might be too wet and vellum will start to curl during the process) 

I hand cut out all the hearts in different sizes. Splattered some gold mist, adhere the vellum & photo & Wala!

Close up of the vellum hearts...

Thanks for dropping by...

Free Printables for Mother's Day (Updated)

This is my first time designing project life cards. I was playing with my DH's new toy the 53Pencil and started scribbling. Played with photoshop and came out with some of this. Since mother's day is just around the corner, I did some Mother's Day quote cards. Just click to enlarge image, then right click and "Save image as" to save to your PC, then print on A4 sized paper. Hope you will like it. Will design some for daddy, too :)

*** Sorry updated the file as the measurement of the first file was not accurate. >.< so sorry. Hiccups on my first free printables... pls forgive me. Hope this works for you. Let me know if you have any feedback. Thanks! ***

Layout with Polaroid frames.

I have kept these polaroid frames for quite sometime now... :D I was intending to hoard them actually, but I figured, argh, I should use them, it will be wasted to just chuck them aside. Created a layout of my trip to Sabah during my birthday last year. Using mostly embellishment from Crate Paper, The Pier collection. I might have sprinkled too much mist (the one at the bottom was accidental) >.< 

I love to create dimensions with pop up dots for most of my layout. For this layout I layered the frames with different "heights" with pop dots. Love the dimension it created. I also mat the "Fun" wood veneer from Freckled fawn behind the frame. It fits nicely behind the polaroid frame... :)

Thanks for dropping by!

Workspace Wednesday

My dear friend, Sharon, blogged about her beautiful space. She's doing such a great job documenting about her space... So envy of those who have really clean & neat space. My craft room is often in a mess! @.@ I spend almost two weekends to clean up starting from a smaller area and working my way through.

The mess was intense. (keeping it real) Everything was everywhere and this was just the beginning of me organising my stuff. Rearranging everything from scratch.

I cut out all the phrases from Crate Paper's accent paper and stick them to transparency paper. That way I can use them like stickers afterwards, and they are all in one place.

Finally, I have a small area which is no longer an eyesore.

Hopefully, it will stay this way for a while.

Documenting February & March

This time around I'm using a different layout for my spreads. These are a few of my favourite pocket design as well.

Some journalling on the pictures for a change.

A little bit of this and that on this spread, less journalling.

The last spread for February... Yeay! 

P.S. : The sweet lil baby is Cindy's newborn, Annabelle. She's finally here.

Kicking off March by highlighting my recent Taiwan trip. I really wanted the trip to be summarised in a glance, a whole 9 days would be too much, hence, I decided to use the square pockets and place the pictures by days. I have also pre-labeled the pictures before printing as well, that way I know where the picture was taken on which day. :) Nothing fancy, just simple titles.

There are too many street food in Taiwan. I did the same layout for street food as well. I love how they turned out and how I can see everything in a spread.