the whole layout...

In the 5 years that I have been scrapbooking, I have never been able to post a whole layout because all the pictures looked distorted, that's why all my photos are of a certain section of the layout. Thanks to Josie, (and alex) I am able to post these 2 layouts, featuring the oh-so-beautiful Stella & Rose collection from My Mind's Eye. =)

It's been a busy time, as Post CHA usually is, and that's on top of all the other commitments and fires to put out. I'm so glad to be able to do any creating at all . When I first got sick, I would not take more than one appointment a day. And that would leave me exhausted. Now, my days are packed right up to nighttime and while I still 'dislike' last minute postings to my agenda, I'm trying to take it all in my stride without tipping the scale.
Loads to rush before a spring break with the family. I am grateful for the elves in the store who will take care of everything during my trip.
I wonder if I'll have time to create anything before I go, maybe one last play date with Stella & Rose or, maybe just a tiny dip into Crate paper's new Emma's Shoppe and Portrait...

Stella & Rose (i'm in love...)

Stella & Rose! Oh how delightful! We haven't had a collection that moved us to creating this much in a long time. maybe since MME's Tres Jolie. Crate Paper's 'Restoration' must have been the closest we got to unlimited inspiration, but now, Stella & Rose is shaking off the cobwebs in our creative chambers, mine anyway... and it's all I can do to resist staying up late or waking up early to get my hands on the lovely stuff! It's addictive , I tell ya! =)

So, this is the third layout I've made with Stella & Rose treasures. I forgot to photograph the other two, but anyway, some early morning scrapping was just the thing to chase the sleepies & the aches away. Please tell my desk, I heard it calling and will be coming to it in a tiny while.

I revisited an old style that I used to love doing. Like a patchwork collage, these papers fit in beautifully into this old stlyle. This time in 2x2 squares. I can't believe I did not use a single Prima flower on this LO. Not one. But i did stick in some swirly bling. (not shown). I'm loving all that chipboard, which makes for a pretty heavy and bulky page, but oh, they're fun.

Squares must be on my mind, I just remembered I made this little card for Mei Mei, who just turned, yup... 27. Had fun with the stamped squares, although (here comes the disclaimer) I'm so not a cardmaker. :) Still, special occasions call for special exceptions. Ok, to the desk, then. And maybe I'll meet up with sweet Stella & Rose a little later. Have a great Tuesday!

of pink & yellow

Maybe I'm going a little crazy with this sweet , unlikely combo... pink & yellow. Who would have thought, especially me. But I love the unlikeliness of the mix, inspired by Pink Paislee's 'sweetness' collection. I scoured the shop and found some other pinks & yellows, and tucked away in my studio, an hour here, 10 minutes there, started some projects.
This layout of my mum's 80th features yellow & cream dots from Cosmo Cricket & pink , slightly oriental geometric floral print from October Afternoon. The doily is misted with glimmer mist and I love the sheen.I tried not to distress at all, but could not leave flowers out .
It's been an unlikely combo of events and emotions this week, pink & yellow,
except maybe a little muted. I finished this layout early today, and as I was working with this happy occasion , I couldn't help but feel sad. My cousin Swithin passed away suddenly. We lived next door from each other when Ming & Mei were growing up, his son Justin would come over and play football with my guys. he made huge tracks in his career, first with the press (serious writing genius) and then in the music & PR field. He headed the act to help local musicians get paid royalties and many other achievements, mostly with the aim to help. Good fella.
My son turned 30. That makes me old. *half sad smile* But more than that, I celebrated the day giving thanks for the things I learned from him. And I needed to dig into the bag when i had some disappointing news. I remember asking him,' Do you get mad at people? When they break their promises, mistreat you, betray you or just any reason?' He thought about it and said that even if they were wrong , he understood where they were and why they did that. Ming, I'm not there yet, but I'm trying.
So Pink & yellow, unlikely & yet looking ok. In fact , pretty good. Scrapbooking makes you appreciate your life. Makes you smile. Makes you happy. even when you're sad. looking at all the bits of your life that are worth remembering. The hard things that continue to mold & shape you. The choices you make, because it's the right thing. Choosing how you're going to feel.
Mama turned 80. So graceful. In her polka dotted dress. Living the last 18 years without Daddy. Surviving the ravages of cancer.Taking care of Misha & Dante. Never quitting. Never even thinking of it. (shame on me for even thinking it)
I sometimes say to Philip that we're an unlikely couple. Different in huge ways. Pink & yellow.
And yet, fitting. Really, really. So the show goes on. Hopefully & thankfully, for the ones of us that remain. Bumps, potholes and clear water. I read a book once, being sick is not your whole life, it said. True. Mama thinks so. I do too, now. And onward, then. Detour here. Rest stop there. Embracing all the colours.

My littlest baby turns 18 this Sunday.

Short sentence, big meaning. Much emotion.

All said & done, I am grateful for my life.
Have a colourful weekend.

Class peeks

While revamping our basic Scrapbooking classes, I thought I'd have some fun with an altered project, since we're having a challenge tight now. I'm so loving the mix of pink & yellow, who would have guessed but Pink Paislee put it together perfectly in their 'Sweetness' collection.
The Maya Road pink rose trim goes really well with this collection , too.


This one's part of a new 'finding your style' class.

It's Monday, another day off, which means, replying mail, and catching up with work at my desk uninterrupted as opposed to hopping from desk to shop to desk to shop on normal work days! I'm seriously thinking of moving my office into the classroom to cut the commute and be more productive. Shuttling my 'office in a bag' is really getting old. My tiny office just isn't big enough to hold everything. Any suggestions?

l o v e

I'm not so sure about St Valentine but since this is a day when everyone celebrates love , I decided to make some cards. I'm not a natural card maker, so it took a ridiculous amount of time to make these. The 'you are loved' cards are for my girls, red for the practical one & vintage for the romantic one. I do now realize that I don't have the address to send the card to, so Mei Mei , you'll have to wait til you come home, or you could give me your address *wink*

I wish I could spend all my time creating, Sarah & Philip were away that day and I may have stayed in my studio all day if it weren't for them coming home in the evening. I imagine that's how an artist or musician must feel. So immersed in their craft that the world outside fades away. What a gift!

Well anyway, to all who love and are loved, (that means you) happy happy Valentine's day! And to those who are waiting for their prince to show up, believe it, he will!

flesh of my flesh, bone of my bones

We went out with a man, the first night of Chinese New Year. He likes his glass of wine, we don't, not so much but in an attempt to work at our relationship, we thought that we would do this. After trudging up and down, looking for a place to settle we ended up in a German restaurant/ bar. We sat there and talked , the lot of us and we didn't realize we talked until 1.30am. And then we left, everyone to their respective homes.
Something troubled me. This man ,who analyzes everyone, including those who weren't present, did not know what happiness was. He said he was non emotional. Even when he won awards for his achievements , he just expected it.

I wondered if he did not feel just a tiny bit happy when he married his wife, after waiting for 20 years. Or when his son was born. When someone brought him his favourite food ? Maybe? Just a tad? It troubled me and made me sad. I tried to imagine living to 60 and not knowing ...

I'm reading a book. For a long time I've not read a book. Usually my nose is stuck into a trade magazine or Oprah. I start books I never finish and I have to stop myself in a bookstore, so as not to add another unread tome to my already overcrowded bookshelves. But lately I've been feeling somewhat lonely, like I'm surrounded by people who don't share the same goals as I have, that I'm doing what I'm doing all alone. I missed God. And I wanted to commune with someone who knew what I was about, who knew my thoughts and my dreams and I wanted to be reminded of His gentleness and His majesty. So I went and bought a book. Ming recommended it. It's called , "Searching for God knows what" by Donald Miller.

Having been extremely busy to the point where working at our desks until 3am is a necessity , my senses and perception have been dulled, so reading a book is one more task, one more' to do'. One of my favourite verses ever is this: 'You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart'. God, ever true to His character, found me. He heard. And I found both His majesty and his gentleness in the pages of this book. After 3am, after the paperwork, sitting out on the terrace, even for 10 minutes before the workday begins and today, one ordinary Sunday, being moved like I've not been moved in ever so long by the beauty of Donald Miller's words and the gentle instruction , first a soft wind and then a huge gush that lifted me out of the tired depth of my overcrowded, unbalanced existence . Words have power, especially when He bends down to breathe His spirit into those words.

I write this blog for no one. I don't expect an audience and I don't mince my words. I write for me. Because I like to write. So if someone is reading, this is going to be a long one because I'm in the mood.
Some things in the book struck me. Almost like a lightning bolt. One, 'make every effort to keep the bonds of peace...', hey, I know this one. I say it a lot to my kids. make every effort to be at peace with ALL men. and yet... Then, 'love one another...' seems to be a theme here. Stirring to say the least. But today I was transported to the time when God created Adam, when he was lonely and God did not immediately make him a helpmate. Instead God told him to name the animals , which I realize wasn't as simple as all that and might have taken him at least a hundred years, all the while being lonely. I felt the vibration of the mighty river that fed the Cush and the Euphrates, the beauty of the very place that God chose for His much loved creation, man. But still I was not prepared for the way I felt when I 'saw' how He put Adam to sleep , took one of his ribs and made for him the perfect mate.
How Adam must have felt when he first saw her, and he said 'flesh of my flesh, bone of my bones...(Gen 2.23) Wow! That God created for Adam a perfect mate. Would you look at the person that was created for you, after the loneliness and the longing for such a person, would you look at that person with carelessness? After He went and chose the most perfect being exclusively for you, would you not cherish that person to your very last breath?
I stopped reading my book. Some things take a while to process. Some things need to be thought over. I am happy just having these thoughts swirling around for a while.
I've also been thinking about all the floods and the storms and the governments being overthrown. All these things happened when I was a child. I was afraid then. I would worry about my Dad when he traveled. I would have nightmares about him being hurt. Now these things are still happening, only more frequently. I wonder what it means and while I'm not sure, I know that in these times, the things that matter is loving one another, loving your brother and your sister and your neighbour... and fearing God, even though He says that He loves us ,because He is so awesome , so 'other' . I pray His hand of protection will never leave you, or me.

work in progress

I wish I could create everyday! Working on March classes and I'm loving these word stamps and am having good fun die cutting flowers from fabric with my Sizzix Big Shot. A couple of crafting sessions right around the corner. =)

class with iris

So happy that Mum's birthday was a day before Iris's class. I love attending class and learning. She made us work hard but i was good fun. MWL has a great classroom & Elvira was so sweet, bouncing around wanting to help us all with our projects.

waiting for tomorrow

Back in the store. Today will be a long day. I teach a class this afternoon and Saturdays are usually hectic. But, tomorrow I will rest. Finally a real day off with no visitors, no travel and no forgotten appointments. When you work everyday, days off are like a gift , to be cherished & savoured. I never really understood that until now. So hats off to all the working ladies out there. =)
I did clear my desk but yesterday I left it in total disarray, until tomorrow. I wonder if there 's anyone else who is decidedly delighted to spend their free day tidying up & organizing. I can't wait!

mini mini

Sometimes you can be tired and refreshed at the same time. My weekend was a rush. Mum's birthday party on Saturday. Class with Iris on Sunday. It was a long one and by 5pm I wanted to sleep. It wasn't boring, but I was exhuasted. I stayed, and too tired to shop, went home right after and was in bed at 8. Monday was doctor day and we flew home in the afternoon. Back to work on Tuesday. And on and on...
And yet I must have been inspired. And refreshed. Not my body, for sure, I am aching like crazy, lifting my arm hurts.
So today, I woke up, sketched an idea and went straight to work. A mini mini. Sort of a cross between a mini book and a card. Very simple. No layering, no serious techniques. Just the words.
An easy , no stress gift in just over an hour.

Sometimes you just don't want to glimmer mist & layer & crumple & emboss & all that stuff.
=)

Time flies

I have finally finished the class sample for my 'my wish for you' minibook class. The class is on the 22nd so I've cut it quite close and spent most of yesterday cutting and punching and preparing the kits. It seemed like a lot of work and I was wondering to myself how come I have so much to do and people around me seem to have a lot less. I leave work after 10pm and my IN tray still has stuff in it.
Tomorrow my mum turns 80. She is a brave one. Even with stage 4 cancer, she 's still a trooper.
It's amazing that her pain has left her and she seems to be in good spirits. Which is much more than I can say for me. Ha ha!
I haven't written in my journal since the store opened. Journals are like dogs. They don't give you advice. They just listen. Absorb. They let you pour out and in the end, you feel better.

Musings in general: 'You made your bed, now you have to lie in it'
It should be mandatory for doctors and employees to go through a period of being patients & employers. 'Come unto me all ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest'

I made the book for Sarah. My wish for her on her 18th birthday. Time flies.

soundtrack

You know how in movies there is always a scene, where the music plays, and a lone actor walks through a crowd, maybe in New York dwarfed by the grey stone buildings. Sometimes, there are scenes playing through his mind, and sometimes the soundtrack is enough to say all that he feels. Orchestra, voices, lyrics, volume, now loud, bringing the viewer to the height of the actor's emotion, then soft as he walks on, snow or rain falling, triumph, victory or sadness conveyed in that short space of time...

Does your life have a soundtrack? Do you feel , sometimes, like you're in a movie, right now, where you are? "Christmas time is here, happiness & cheer, ...carols everywhere, ... and ancient rhymes of love & dreams to share...beauty everywhere... a song starts to play and you're transported to another time, another place ,

another birthday,
another Christmas...

Philip bought a Christmas CD yesterday. Mariah Carey! I went, "What?" and he said , we don't have any new Christmas music. And we don't. So in the early morning at the store, Mariah sings and my heart rests on this song. This is the soundtrack of my life this season. 5 days before Christmas, 3 days before family unites and 1 day before another birthday. This is the track that's playing, as the people come in the store, as I scramble, an hour here, 2 there, to buy gifts for the ones that rock my world, this is playing as I toss in bed, 2am, 3am as sleep eludes me...

Mariah sings,

" O come all ye faithful, joyful & triumphant, oh come ye, o come ye, to bethlehem. O, come & behold him. Born the King of angels, o come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, O COME, LET US ADORE HIM, (crescendo)...Sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation, sing all ye citizens of heaven above, Glory to God in the highest glory, o come let us adore Him...
and the choir comes in with Handel's Hallelujah chorus, "He shall reign...

I started this post this morning and I've only , now, had a chance to finish it . The music isn't playing. No actors. Only real life. Day & night. Morning and evening. Contrast. I'm tired and I can't think to make sense. If I could have one wish? Two days off a week. Sounds so simple. But maybe it would take a lot of rubbing on that brass lamp and a huge perspective shift for some.

12 days to Christmas (okay,11)

I only realized that when my friend Michelle asked if I wanted to order cakes for Christmas. Gasp! So last night we put the decorations on the tree. Just me & Sarah. Then Philip joined in at the end. We talked about the history attached to the different decorations as 'vintage' Brian Mc Knight played. We remembered the year we went driving around town looking for the 'man with no shoes'. And now, a different time. Too busy, way too busy.

Quiet moments are rare and to be cherished. Sitting in the rocking chair, if only for a short reprieve. Watching sleepyheads on the sofa, enjoying the quiet and missing the noise of all the family together. Silliness and horsing around. Big grins. Anticipation.

We've missed the point completely this year. I have. Completely. I've done 1 page of my December log. No presents have been bought. No plans for the season. No trips home. Only long days at the store. Spending most of my waking hours working.

Still, there are moments. You do the best you can with the choices you make. And you find the extraordinary in the everyday. Surely we weren't meant to be like this. Too busy to remember the things that matter. Thankfully there will be prompts. Tugs at your heart. And thankfully there is still time. To prepare. To anticipate. And to celebrate.

hallelujah

It was a quiet Wednesday morning at the store and I enjoyed the stillness, listening to Take 6 singing Xmas, acapella. This , this, is Christ the Lord, la la la la la, la la la la, this , this is Christ the King, do do doo do doo do doo doo... Nice start to the day.

I sat in the filled chapel , that evening, where the high school kids performed their Christmas concert. First the jazz band, then Mr Merusi's band, very impressive, and the vocal ensemble. They sang Mary did you know. 'Mary did you know, that your baby boy, would someday walk on water...that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters..." and that brought tears to my eyes, thinking of walking on water, ... sons & daughters, mine all touched by this very baby boy and blessed abundantly by His hand. Far away and right here, walking in His light and with His hand just below their soaring selves, just to catch them if they fall. And right there before me singing the Hallelujah chorus, a glorious sound of praise for that baby boy. Halleujah indeed!

hello there, december!

you seem to have 'snuck' up on me when I wasn't looking. how could i let it pass, without at least trying to capture some of the joy you have in store. no promises, but I will give it a go. so, welcome!

what we remember

If I were to page through my journal, I'm sure I would find many entries about the new store, especially about the decision. To do or not to do? Funnily, it's been 9 months since the nonsense started, and it almost feels like I've given birth. We opened on Thursday and I forgot to take any photos, until yesterday. I didn't take a shot of Sarah & her friends horsing around behind the counter. Or I-Mei giving a class, flying home for just one day exams notwithstanding. Or of Sin Yee carrying all those boxes of cardstock. But I remember those moments. (teary smile)
I remember savouring our last normal weekend, for a while at least. Celebrating family by the pool with a mini picnic. Philip and Sarah with their shoes off on the stepping stones, appearing to be walking on water.
I remember feelings. People. Expressions. David poking his head in everyday, bringing people in to the store. Little girls who tell their moms they want to stay here, in the store. How I felt when the 30 foot tree downstairs lit up.
I remember being overwhelmed by the inventory and slowly chipping away at it until it was all done.
I remember driving up and down, sourcing for {fine things} and Philip heaving them home and then to the store. Displaying all the cushions on my sofa to take a photo and wishing I could keep them all. Our house looks empty now.
I remember this look. The whole project was as much his as mine.
I remember the day they took down the hoarding and the new store was twinkling from behind. If a store had feelings, I'm sure this one would feel really loved.

I remember the disappointments in the beginning, the things I've learnt. I remember learning to forgive. Healing. And this truth, I could not have done it without Him!

The Monday Before

Oh dear, it seems like the calendar now revolves around the shop opening hours & days. Hopefully, things will quickly settle into a groove & I'll be able to go for my walks again. We made good progress today . Most of the shop area is clear except for stack of boxes holding paper. The classroom, however is another story. (grin) Oh, then there's the display and the decorations, fine things, the art... breathe.
Elswhere in the mall, there seems to be lots of activity as other people hurry to meet the Thursday deadline. Christmas decorations are going up in the building and out on the boardwalk by the sea. So pretty.
We visited Dad last night, and Sarah asked when we were putting up our tree. Ooops! Gotta think about that. Christmas tree? It's almost December! Presents & December days and familly gathering and Xmas supper and , oh, it's going to be another challenge trying to fit it all in.

=)

Oh, and it rained.

this life

Lately my perception , or awareness of life has been sharpened. The last few months have not only been packed with things to do, meeting deadlines, stretching ourselves, learning but also with quite a number of significant & poignant moments. The day I signed the agreement for the new store is the day I found out that my mum's illness had returned. The day was bittersweet and my heart was torn.
The day of the handover was the day I attended the funeral of my sister in law. We talked in the car after, about how we 'get' to be here. What a huge gift it is and how life is at the same time easy & hard, fragile and amazing.
In between I have made many trips to see Mum, and when I'm there , the excitement of the new store wanes as I long for the freedom to be with her , to be close at hand so she can just call out whenever she needs to. I think of the path that leads us to where we are, sometime far away from the ties of family . If I have any regrets that would have to be it. Being far from kin.

Yesterday we moved all our stuff to the new store. Some may think , 'what's the big deal?', to a large company with a huge staff, probably nothing. But this effort was a 'pouring out ' of everything I had and probably didn't know I had in me. A stretching, you know ,like how a weak baby bird stretches it's tiny beak to receive the worm from mama bird. Or how the man with the withered hand, stretched out what may have been a stump of an arm when his Teacher said "stretch out you hand and I will heal you", and him ,the man, thinking, in his head & in his heart
'I am stretching, as far as I can' and at once experiencing a transformation.

I'm planning to take it easy this weekend. On Monday we set up. By some stroke of sheer luck and a little help from the few dozen time management books I read in my younger days, and a lot of help from Philip, Ming, Mei,Sarah, Sin Yee & Teng Hooi, ( and Alma! God bless her) I am almost ready. Woo hoo!! Proof that you can say to a mountain, "Go throw yourself in the ocean..."

yesterday, today

There was some confusion at the new store yesterday. Some things went wrong, people not taking responsibility for errors, passing the same responsibility from one person, to the next, to the next...
So frustrating. Things got settled in the end, not without compromise. What is compromise? Someone wins, someone loses, someone gets what they want, someone doesn't, someone gives and does so happily. Or as happily as one might be under the circumstances. People. The most important thing the world needs. The hardest thing to deal with. And yet, that's what it's all about. "Love one another as I have loved you". Seriously hard stuff. I know I fail miserably each day. But what really is missing? Integrity. Delivering what you promise. Just like you said you would. More seriously hard stuff. Really. Are you guilty of not doing that? Whoops, there goes my hand shooting up. (sheepish grin) Funny, a new thought flew through my head, wasn't even going there, but here it is, "Judge ye not lest ye be judged". Yikes! Wouldn't the world be a better place if ...
You know how something you've known all along just surfaces as if it's a major revelation? Like if you've been telling your kid , 'drink more water , it's good for you' and it just flies over her head and one day she comes home and tells you all about the benefits of drinking water. And, you're thinking, that's what I've been trying to tell you. But never mind. Whichever way the message gets through.
I started off wanting to say people have less integrity than they should have, which may be true, but in the end it made me look at the one or two times, okay, million times I may have suspended mine, so, I guess it doesn't matter how it gets through as long as it does.

The photo above was taken at the new store at about 9.30 last night. These guys,(and about 6 or 7 others), were still working. On a Saturday night. They probably didn't go to some fancy school but they had a deadline, so they worked late. So simple. So cool.


So yesterday went by, ending with more inventory, more coughing and hardly any sleep. Still we managed to drag ourselves to the car at 7.30 am and drive to KL to pick up last minute stuff, including Xmas decorations for the store and get back home in time for dinner. Whenever anyone in our family is away on a road journey, when we hit the bridge we send a text message to whoever is home saying ,"I can see the sea". As we came onto the bridge, there was that great 'coming home' feeling and we caught a glimpse of the sun just before it dipped behind the hills. That reminded me of art class in school, you know, where you draw two hills, the sea and the sun between them.(smile) Funny, the things you remember.

Hope you had a great weekend & have a fantastic week ahead. I just thought I might leave you with this quote'
"What in your life is calling you? When all the noise is silenced, the meetings adjourned, the lists aside...what still pulls at your soul?"
-Terma collective, the box
Also hope you have some time to do that thing.

reaching the line

11 days to go. There's still much to be done and being sick doesn't help. All of us have been having the flu for the past 2 weeks and it doesn't seem to be getting better. Every night a battle between the evil cough and sleep, leaving us zombies, trudging through the tasks instead of enjoying them. Sigh.Ever the true creative soul, (ha ha),poor health could not deter me from one late night scrap, this one for a December class. We're moving stuff in to the new store on Thursday, if everything goes according to plan , so have to speed things up the next few days. Exciting is an understatement...