flowers forever

Just back from the Sunday crop, left the ladies to have fun with I-Mei and here I am back in my studio working on a workshop for next month. I will post some peeks soon. I've been working on a series of workshops, re-defining the direction we want to take in the way of classes. Workshops that reveal and prod us into maybe taking a more positive step in our life journey. I worked on the project until 4am, happily. No complains. I asked Philip if he would mind if I worked for a week , just creating, like an artist, sleeping & eating only if I had to. "For how long?", he wanted to know. And I said, "As long as it takes. A week?" 12 hours later and I'm thinking ,"NAP!". And yet, I'm dying to get back to work. Interesting journey.

This project has no flowers in it. Not one. Not yet anyway. Which was hard since I've been on a flowery streak. I got tired of flowers on everything for a while and now the mood is back and I can't get enough. I'm using them on everything and finding new ways to dress them up. I'm having the time of my life, digging up old, less than perfect prints and putting myself in the shoes of the everyday scrapper, without the magazine quality photos, cropping the brooms and mops from the background and just having the best time. Funny how flowers have that effect on people. This layout just makes me smile! Woo hoo, flower power!

father

In the last week of the holidays I told Sarah that she could go for a movie with Mun Yee. It was Thursday and so she arranged to go the next day. I had forgotten, and so did she, that Philip had gone to buy Premier class tickets for Kung Fu Panda. Which she had been bugging him about for a while. Oops.
Philip was a little sad to be dumped. And Sarah sensed it. She told me ,"Papa's sad". I said, yeah a bit, he told me. She felt so bad. "Mama, what should I do?" I told her she had to do what she thought was right. So she went downstairs, in tears to her Papa's office and stuck the tickets he had given her at him. "Here, Pa", she said," I'm canceling Mun Yee, I'm going with you."

If you ever had a teenage daughter, you'd know just how important a day out means to her. But she chose Papa. Of course, Philip insisted she went with her friend and everyone was happy.

I wonder sometimes, how do I show my child who God is. Who He really is. The way He is to me. God revealed Himself in this. The way Sarah's Papa showed his love and grace is how she will know of God's love and grace. And I pray that her love for her Papa will be the kind of love she has for her God. That she could choose to do what she believed was right and would make her father happy, unselfishly. Wow! (sniff)

I supppose I see God as a father because of my father's legacy of love. I do miss him. And Philip , somehow, is made of the same stuff. The kids all made beautiful cards, expressing their love and admiration for this simple guy with a great big heart. I did too.

ideas, mondays & clappy the cat

I have so many ideas going around in my head at once. At least 5 are business ideas that might work. A few more, spin offs of our current business, yet more ideas for classes, marketing, creative parenting, creating order and decorating and upgrading. Not forgetting ideas for blog posts...I get all excited when a ' great idea hits me' sometimes I'll get together with Ming and we'll 'mind map' it, then wait for it to incubate. Reality sinks in, costs or time involved or prayer puts things in perspective and another idea goes on hold. Sometimes , they come back, and at the right time, take off.

Who would have thought that running a scrapbook store would put me in the busiest time of my life! It has been a crazy time and I find myself gasping for breath. Many a night, I'm kept awake at 3, 4, my mind swirling, after a few hours spent ordering or updating paper. Not the patterned kind. How much further can I go? Should I go? After all, I am middle aged. (smile) What a quaint phrase 'middle aged', and yet I am. Though I don't feel it. In fact , I feel pretty darn good, Good enough to miss my appointment with Dr Leong. Aack!

The short version of how this started? Okay, I've always been enterprising but since moving to Penang...
So I was sitting outside Dr Leong's waiting for my appointment , reading a book. 'Life after God' or something. Quite bizarre, like short stories, linked in a way . There was this story about a guy telling his kid a story about Clappy the cat, who had so many dreams , like wanting to be famous etc, but real life, bills, bla bla took over and after a while all the dreams became just talk. AHA moment, right there in the waiting room!! " Hey wait a minute', I said to myself, 'I'm Clappy the cat!' Thus ensued a search into 'possible careers for middle aged women with health issues'. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Of course, now I'm not Clappy, more like the Duracell bunny, or the monkey with all the instruments. Some of the band left... but wait a minute, I'm working it out , re prioritizing and I have really learnt so much in these past few years. Thank God for the Sabbath. Days off are super precious now. Good time to regroup, unwind. Now if only I could stop those ideas from interrupting. Although they do come in useful when you're working on classes . Here's one I'm working on for next month. How's your Monday going?
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journey book | complete

I've finished my half of our journey book from our mini vacation and Miss Sarah is going to start on her half now. I tried loading all the pages but, well, it took too long and refused to load so, here are some, for now =)

journey book

We started our book and managed to get some scrapping done on the trip. Can't wait to print the photos! Sarah faithfully jotted down her thoughts each night, we went our separate ways at times, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she saw. Just how much can you do in 5 1/2 days...

home

Even though we had a great time, we are so happy to be home. When we travel by car, every time we get on Penang bridge , whoever went away will text message the rest at home "I can see the sea!" , to which we will get a message with however smiley faces are left at home , like this :) :)...folowed by "welcome Home!"
as we crawled along the bridge I was filled with gratitude, for the people that surround me and this little island that has become my home. the other island from where I came is now a vacation place, this is my HOME!

a week | from both sides

It's school holidays and Sarah is very happy ! She had her exams right up until the last day and there was one happy 15 year old waiting to be picked up from school on Friday =) I put together a little book and we will scrap the first week of the holidays from 2 points of view. Each from the opposite cover. What you see is Sarah's book cover. Flip it around and you'll have mine. .Everything is still very raw and bare. Not embellished. Right now, all blank pages, waiting to be filled. What an interesting journey and it begins in 4 hours! Will post again in a week...join in if you like !

anniversary scrap

We've been married for a long time! This year, instead of crepe suzettes at Feringhi Grill or any of our usual ways to celebrate, Philip bought a kit from the Fontwerks Workshop last Sunday and decided we should scrap on our anniversary.Instead of "Best of you" we did "Best of Us". When I say 'we', I mean' I' did all the actual scrapping while he chose the photos , edited, printed and decided which went where and in what order. I wouldn't necessarily have chosen the same photos and I'm glad he didn't fuss when I changed some of the papers in the kit. I'm not usually mushy but I think that a marriage is like a dance and if you keep at it, over the years you know when to step back and when to move forward, and no one steps too much on the other's feet. And it doesn't matter what song is playing.

Journey of a LIFEtime

My scrapboking is sometimes restricted to the pretty & the good stuff because most of it ends up as samples or a class. Lately , though, I've started working on an album featuring 'real life' . I want to include the struggles & challenges, ups & downs, things that define us,move us , make us who we are, in these pages. I'm including excerpts from my journal. Comparing today with my thoughts a year ago & such. I ripped off the title from Maya Road's tag line, and shortened it to 'Journey of a LIFE time'.
It feels so good to just say what I want and to really tell it like it is.

inspire me with real life

I met Kah-Mei Smith of Fontwerks for the first time today, in person. We have been communicating for a month by e mail.
I love to hear people tell the story of their success and the common thread between them all is this; hard work and a 'can do' attitude.

There just isn't a shortcut!

Just when I needed to be reminded =)

monday is the new sunday

I never imagined that in my life I would become so busy that my life would look like this. Wake up, work, sleep!
I am still grateful that Sarah can be with me at work and that she doesn't seem to mind. Yesterday I sent her home early, with Daddy and the part time maid. She was still in front of the TV watching some movie about huskies in the Antartica when I got home. At 15 she still loves animals and animal shows, I suspect she has more compassion for them than for people. =)

Both my offices are piled with boxes, shipments filled with stuff for the stores. I am grateful that the business is growing but am praying for some help in managing the growth. Being in the new shop all day is a unique experience for me. with no internet and no 'desk' ,life is simple. I can focus on talking to people, keeping track of what people buy so that I know what to order, thinking , dreaming, planning. When the shop closes though, the real work begins, until my conscious and practical mind tells me that it is time to sleep... I am grateful that Philip understands.

We close on Mondays. Monday is the new sabbath. I-Mei was thinking of going back in to the office to catch up. So was I, until she said that and I realized that we need the respite all the more . I told her 'On the seventh day He rested'. And that His grace will be sufficient.

I am grateful that there is in us an inbuilt compass, a radar of sorts that shows us where we are, corrects us or prompts us. Shows us where true north is or in my case, true center.

We are going to the fishing village for brunch tihs morning, before the store opens. The lot of us. Simple pleasure. Huge payoff. Tomorrow, we will rest!

Have a great Sunday!

Bling

I'm always looking for ways to decorate flowers! I keep going back to pewter or silver brads but lately I've taken to bling.
In this layout, I found these Prima 'say it with crystals' added just the right touch of glam and since I was glamming it up decided to put some crystals & pearls on the chipboard shapes.

scrap day

I stayed at our 'island store' all day today and for the first time I scrapbooked there. Usually I lug my work along but today, I collected my ideas and a huge wheeled tote of stuff, all ready for a day of scrapping. I thought I might get some headway on next month's projects and some samples for the shop. Very ambitious!

Well, by 3.30 I had done one LO! And I'd forgotten to eat lunch =)
Did some touch ups to a mini book for class next month, but, Alas! that was the sum of my scrapbooking for the day !

I might try and see if I can schedule in another scrap day next week. :)

light & life

Sometimes, without realizing , we go back to the place that gives us comfort. I remember this from one of Mike Koh's messages, "go back to the place where He is pouring out His grace". I believe that everything you do has an effect, a lot more far reaching than you can ever see. Like a river, where it meanders and swells, what life it brings way down, miles away from the source, to animals and villages, to desolate lands. Who knows?
Who knew that a blog you go back to weekly could bring comfort? Wisdom? Light & life?
It was a quiet day at the store, crazily busy at the office. Back home, with my work bag overflowing & knowing it was not going to be an early night, I opened my mac to see what was new at MWL. These thoughts went through my head:
"I wish we could have all this stuff in our store"
"Sigh!"
"One step at a time"
And other random, end of a hard day kind of thoughts.
Then, "These guys work really hard & make huge sacrifices, persevering,staying focused..."
Of all the beautiful photos of the endless new products, this one touched me, okay, grabbed me, spoke to me, even! =)
It said this, (in local speak, ha ha), ' You wanna do, do nicely!'
Of course the inspired had to tell the inspiree what her simple photo did to a weary soul. Rows & rows of cardstock, so neat and complete. And perfect. Who would know the million steps it took to get it just so!
The simple thing you do today, your work, hanging out with your kid, a phone call... who knows what, may have a profound and positive effect way, way down. Giving life!
Who knew?? Take comfort in that! =)

(photo with permission, Made With Love, SIngapore)

balance & focus

How do you run a business (or 2 or 3) while keeping all the other areas of life in balance and focus?
Hasn't this been the ongoing theme song of working mothers since we decided to work outside the home?
My friend Brig tells me to not take everything so seriously, I try when I remember, but I guess I'm a serious kind of person.

The first solution, I suppose would be to delegate. How much would that cost? Where would you find someone who will carry out the required tasks in a committed fashion, as if it was the said person's responsibility. No corrections,no checking up to see if it was done. Someone who would make decisions, take responsibility. Someone dedicated.

And how much would that someone cost?

I was overwhelmed one day, when on a buying trip I stepped into Borders. I was surrounded by books, I picked up a few, promised myself not to buy, and left. I sat on a bench before my appointment and wrote in my journal. I wrote some thoughts and musings including, "Books don't make you smarter by sitting on your shelves!".And this, "Help wanted! Like minded individual to live my life, while I'm busy working. Must have experience organizing photos, music & e mails. Love kids, decorating, scrapbooking, reading, music, working out... "

A friend who just moved to KL calls up, "Hey, maybe we can open a store in KL?". Whoa, hold the bus! My artist friend, Ming, taught me a valuable lesson, THE TRICK IS TO KNOW WHEN TO STOP, this is one of my favourite quotes. Sometimes it evolves into 'the trick is to know when to PAUSE'. Like that day outside Borders, sit down, get things into perspective, write, breathe. Pause. Now PLAY! (note to self: stay focused)

Have a great Thursday!

I Scrapbook

We are coming around the last bend! Everyone, husbands included, is working behind the scenes, and practically around the clock to get it all together for the new store. We have committed to a date and that will be announced on the smidapaper blog very soon! Today we begin packing products that will fill the shelves...

I'm having the most fun decorating. We decided to 'lose ' the i.d. and save on the fees. Everything is taking shape and I find that I'd forgotten how much I love doing this, and how much getting lost in the details really moves me. One late night when the guys were putting up shelves, I had an idea to do a layout called "I Scrapbook" and frame it up in the new store. I wrote what I wanted to say and last night I finished the page. It's odd seeing a layout in a frame, but I think it works. I picked colours that would complement the decor and I know that every time I look at the layout, I will smile, remembering the time. I hope I-mei & Esther will do one, too. I scrapbook... because...
Maybe you will, too.

So exciting!

pause

It was strongly suggested that I slow down. Thus ensued a 5 day break. I have not seen my office since Wednesday.
Today I will re emerge. I am ready! I can only imagine what awaits, not least preparing for the sale and the new store.
We are 2 'men' short, and that leaves 2! Let's see what can be done in 2 weeks...

I'm planning in my next break right now! This one has been refreshing, now onward...

work in progress

It has been slow on the creating front. Sometimes , I just have to run upstairs, away from my office and cocoon myself in my studio. Time stands still there. I worked on a little sheer minibook for Cziplee to use as a sample. This might evolve into a class celebrating mothers for Mother's Day , maybe in April.

I also have been quite obsessed with my UTEE. I made a batch of embellishments with Maya Road chipboard pieces, inked, stamped and UTEEd. Here's what it looks like bare...
And here's what it looks like after double embossing with Utee. I love how it turns out all shiny and glazed like an enamel treasure.

I coudn't help but attach one of the 'treasured ' pieces to the minibook using my crop-a -dile. =)

Here's a peek inside...

Other materials used: 7G stickers, Maya Road sheer scalloped album, Making Memories adhesive pearls & rhinestones, Love, Elsie ribbon, Basic Grey rub ons, Maya Road scalloped ric rac, MM Love story blossoms, American Crafts thickers, Kokuyo Dotliner Hold, Fancy pants patterned paper, Hero arts stamp, Tsukineko Brilliance ink, Maya Road microchips, mini chipboard buttons.

i think i can!

I feel like an Israelite, following the cloud, stopping and starting only by instruction. The New Year rings in and we have plans. To simplify. We have plans. To grow. And yet, we aren't really in control. As we are led, we move. Amazing!
Truly.

I made a decision before CNY to do something. Something that would involve 'stretching', 'enlarging'. A project , if you will. Since that decision I have seen mountains placed in front of me. One, what my physician calls a 'query flare' , got me covered in a mad rash for a week. More drugs, some time on my knees, and the mountain and my doubts, cleared. Yesterday I practically went weak with exhaustion and pain, while having reflexology at home, til my reflexologist insisted I go straight to bed, midway! I felt like my body was there, but I had left the building. For the first time this year, I slept at 11.30, thinking to myself, can I really do this on my own?
I was up and at my desk at 7.30 this morning. As I got out of bed, my eye caught sight of little Thomas, the tank engine, sitting on my night stand. A gift I cherish. I felt that, hey, I can do this!

A month from now I hope to see the results of this project. I expect that my life will change, again. I will see a dream take shape. I expect to be stretched & enlarged . (Sounds painful) I've got my hiking shoes on and mountain climbing gear but I expect I'll spend more time on my knees than on my feet . I think I can do this.
Truly.

cny

We wait and wait for Chinese New Year, not just for the family reunion and the celebration , but also for the break.
it is the only time most businesses in Penang close for an extended period. The only time for a well deserved rest.

This didn't happen this year. Philip's parents moved house just before CNY and most of our days were spent there.
At the same time I broke out in a most awful rash, which thankfully, has subsided.
Life is always changing . A doctor who treated me in Singapore once said to me, before I was about to move house, "If you think it will make you sick, it might and if you think it will be okay, it will." Maybe not the medical advice I had expected, but wise words that stuck and have carried me through many a trying time.

Some things remain the same . Every year before we set out on our CNY rounds, the children will 'Pang Teh', and we will give them our blessings with their ang pows. Some things remain constant. Like love.