Of winner and Boardwalk

• Thank you everyone for sharing your childhood memories with me in the last post. I must say I really, really enjoyed reading them. A few chuckle, a few tears even. I'm sappy when it comes to childhood memories. Doesn't matter if they're mine or not. :)
• The winner for 6 x 6 Autumn Press paper pad from Studio Calico is Kimberly B. Congrats girl. Your info has been forwarded to the good people at SC headquarters.
• Time to share my Boardwalk layouts.

Desaru - it was such a fun, spontaneous trip that I really want to remember. I had fun stitching all those lovely circles, loving the grey as well. I embossed the brown alpha chipboards with Mustard Zing. Such a pretty yellow.

*I can never photograph kraft properly!* I cut apart the 'happy graduation' stamp from Sandcastle add on and just used the word happy. And I stamped the stars with Versamark. *i love that ink* You already know what's the story about. LOL.

And this one, is my favorite right now. EVER. I love love love how happy this is. I love the colors and of course I love my inspiration from Pinterest (below). I used Clover and Lemonade for the two die cuts at the side. Die from MFT - Leafy FLourish.

Source: etsy.com via Sasha on Pinterest

• If shipping is not a killer, I really would like to buy this for my house. Alas . . . :)
• Running out the door for family visits! I'll see you soon!
• This gotta be the fastest blog post I've ever composed! I only took half an hour!
• I love you!

Studio Calico Summer 2011 CHA Blog Blitz

So CHA is over and done with. I kinda miss the 'craziness' of it all. Even from afar, you can feel the 'buzz' .

And of course I'm biased but I think Studio Calico has the best release. *grins* Have you seen them all? I have been flipping this catalog a lot lately. .

Open publication - Free publishing - More catalog

So much goodness, I can't wait to get them in my hot little hands. Obviously, I can't pick one or two as my favorite.. so here we go! *in no particular order*

6 x 6 paper pads from Autumn Press collection.

Scarf - Autumn Press. red & white polka dots and grids, are you kidding me? ♥

New Mister Huey - Memoir. Come to mama. :) I wanna mist my wall with that Clay and Barnwood. So in love with grey now. If you were in the live chat I hosted the other day, you know I'm only half kidding. LOL.

Teal chipboard alphas. Be still my heart. ♥

Love Notes - Memoir. Another staple for my stash.

Cupboard - Memoir. That yellow, got my heart. ♥

Book Jacket - Memoir. Another teal love. Can you see a pattern here? Teal and yellow and grey and teal and yellow and grey? LOL.

Flower bed - Memoir. This one reminds me of home and comfort. Maybe because it looks like a quilt? Love it anyway. And the yellow B side doesn't hurt.

The new Calico Shine. How cool is that? I love that it can be used alone or on top of other mist. ♥

Plano - Classic Calico. You know what? I can see myself stitching the lines. I really can! And I can't wait! ♥

• On a more personal note, I'd like to share this old photo with you.

• I still remember this. Falling asleep on my papa's back while he's working. He's a sportswriter and he used to start writing in his notebook or on pieces of paper, while watching sports, no less, before he commit everything to the typewriter. I still remember.
• Now, my papa has a laptop and I can't lie on his back unless I wanna break his bones. LOL.

Do you wanna win a 6 x 6 paper pad from the Autumn Press collection? Just leave me a comment with a childhood memory of yours. Anything at all. I'm sure you remember something.

You have until Wednesday night. I'll close the comment section then, so as usual, as long as you can comment, you're in the drawing.

*Please take note that prizes might not yet be available and will be shipped out as soon as we get it at Studio Calico headquarters*

Right now. . . July 20th

feeling : fat, but happy. Is that even possible? I have not been working out since the last 10k, my knee is feeling okay and just when I thought of starting my brisk walking programme again, I accidentally kicked some kind of product display at the gas station on Sunday. That thing punctured my right foot, somewhere between the fourth and pinky toe.Punctured, for real. Needless to say, I still have a little bit of a limp now. *i have photos, but I really don't wanna gross you out. LOL*

wanting : some sizzix dies - this one, this one and this one. As usual, I have plans for them. When will the plan be kicked into action, I have no idea.

reading : still so much absorbed with the life of Sookie Stackhouse. So much, that i dream of vampires and weres and shifters. *shivers* LOL.

craving : iced mexican coffee with cafe de olla. *sigh*

• And oh, I got a few email about stitching hearts on layouts, I thought I should point you to this tutorial I posted on the Studio Calico blog. But don't let that stop you from emailing me! I love getting your emails :)

Project 365

194/365

Homework. We have tables and chairs, you know? I'm not sure why she prefers to kneel beside the bed.

195/365

Teatime for one. :) Those are fish crackers + chili sauce. So so yummy.

196/365

Grandma time. FYI, my mom hated that massage chair. LOL. I'm not sure why/how she got on it. Must be the kids.

197/365

Desaru. We were there for a little while after visiting our beloved tailor. That's my baby sister and the two guys in the background, they were hitting on her and it was hilarious to watch. LOL.

198/365

Candies galore. *sigh* Gummy bears by the sackload? Why the hell not? My children are not climbing walls yet, so bring it on. haha!

199/365

My horror. Everyday. They're building new elevators for the buildings around here. The constant drilling and knocking off walls are driving me crazy. Or should I say crazier, since I'm already a little bit insane. :P

200/365

Resin flowers. Remember the 50 pairs of earrings for the goody bags I said I was gonna make? Done. I regret not getting more... um.. for myself. LOL.

201/365

The gorgeous sun this morning. Taken on the way back from our breakfast date.

• Okay, WOW, I just realized, over 200 already. Another 164 days and we're done with 2011. Where is the pause button?

Studio Calico/Hero Arts Blog Hop!

Day 3!

I bet by now you're all enjoying all the eye candies put up by the awesome ladies from Studio Calico and Hero Arts. I must say, I'm so excited! I mean, c'mon.. Studio Calico and Hero Arts? What could be better??!!

Not that I am a stamping genius or anything like that. LOL. :)

Here's what I did with the new stamps from Hero Arts.

• Pictured here are about 12 stamped kraft paper bags. I did 50, for Neha to giveaway on her birthday next month.
• I really, really love how the stamping transformed the simple and cheap kraft paper bags. I used the 'girl silhouette' from Silhouettes ST512 set and the 'woodgrain circle' and herringbone border stamp from My Happy ST508 set.
• A closer look below

• I punched little hearts from the woodgrain circle and really loving the look. And the combination of kraft, turquoise and yellow really make the black silhouette stand out.
• What's inside, you ask? Well. . .

• I bought little wooden cubes from the dollar shop (not sure what's the original purpose of those) and altered them into magnets. I got the magnets from the dollar shop as well.
• What else is inside? For now, nothing yet. . I'm waiting for my order of tiny resin flowers. I'm gonna make 50 pairs of earrings, then get 50 chocolate bars and 50 blank notebooks I can customize. I'm sure we're gonna be adding more stuff to the bags.. let's hope they hold till August!
• We're giving away 5 Studio Calico + Hero Arts clear stamp sets for each day of the hop. (Monday through Wednesday). Just leave a comment on each stop on the hop and Hero Arts will pick a random winner from all of them :) The more comments you leave, the more chances you have win!
• I really hope you like my stamped kraft bags and magnets. They're simple to make. You can make some in an afternoon too! Now hop along to Emily Pitts!

An avalanche . . .

of photos. If you're not doing Project 365, you might not be interested in this. :) I apologize in advance.

176/365

Chili and onion. We're superstitious over here. This combination, I believe is to stop the rain/bring out the sun. LOL. I can find them (actually, I go around looking for them) at most running event, sometime at more than one place! :)

177/365

Dinner, the day after 100k race. He didn't even eat much, too tired I guess. I on the other hand.. . . .LOL

178/365

Something borrowed. I've read the book, so.. predictable. But I love that Colin boy. :P

179/365

Junk market. I think I will be able to find some treasure here, if only the crowd smells a teeny bit better? Ha!

180/365

Something different. Sunrise. Mornings are always so rushed. We were early for once, and I get to be home to catch the sunrise after sending the kids to school. :)

181/365

Bedok Reservoir. A few days before this photo was taken, they found a body in here. *shivers*

182/365

Simple lunch for myself. I love that plate from the dollar store.

183/365

Fish porridge + Steamed chicken rice. :)

184/365

Great Eastern Women 10k. My last event for a while, it seems. I hurt my knee and can barely walk afterwards. Am still experiencing slight pain now.

185/365

Hokkien prawn noodle.

186/365

I didn't take this one. I found it in my phone after she fell asleep with my phone under her pillow. LOL.

187/365

I didn't take this as well. But I love it very much. This is my life, on the move always. Nidhi must have taken this when we were on the way home from school.

188/365

Replacing their school/bus/library card. Neha's was completely tattered - it has been in the washing machine more times than I would like to remember. Nidhi lost hers. I told them this is the only time I'm paying, next time they're gonna pay for the replacement. LOL.

189/365

Homemade ice lollies. Rose flavored syrup. Right now, we have chocolate ones in the freezer as well.

190/365

I have no idea what are those.. but Nidhi was pretty fascinated with them. *sigh* I had to work hard to convince her that it's just a generally better idea not to bring them home.

191/365

5 minute nutella cake + whipped cream. Need I say more? I imagine it will taste better with a drizzle of chocolate and caramel syrup. Next time.. next time.

192/365

193/365

I had to admit, when I found 192, I was like - which of my girls is this? LOL. Turned out they're both Neha :) As you can see, the girls love self portraits! I can foresee a layout about this soon!

And that's it.. the end of the avalanche. Thank you if you're still here. I'll be back with something scrappy real soon! *hugs*

xoxo