Not quite done yet ...

Just thought I'd share a few pictures of the preparations for Mei Mei's wedding.  There were the table numbers, menus, place cards, coupons, flowers, tags ...

 

 

 

Oh and here's a pic of the production line and completed bonbonières ... BTW, no chocolates went missing during this process ... that's probably  because Mei Mei and I were handling this ... hubbie was outside battling the weeds :)

To be honest, I had no clue how we were going to set things up except for 2 menus at opposite end of the table and the place card in front of each place.  Mei Mei, my mom and I arrived at the Maple Pavillion a couple of hours before the ceremony to set up.  Initially, we did not know where the bonbonières were, and the stands for the table numbers were missing.  However, things always workout somehow ... even if there are some early arrivals as you try to set up the place :)

Dah dum ... all done!  Not quite ... still have the thank you cards to do for both weddings!  I've made samples for my brother's thank you card and mini album for my grandparents and great aunt since they could not attend the wedding.  Got the ok to go from Holly ... just waiting for the final count and pictures then I could start the production line :)

It's already over a week ...

Time sure goes by quickly!!  Initially, I had started a post and it read 8 weeks left to go ... then I modified it to 4 weeks ... then 2 weeks ... then 9 days ... now, it's been over a week since the wedding!  The bride and groom are now on their honeymoon ... hopefully, relaxing and enjoying the sun!  Congratulations again Mei Mei!!  

I'm not sure what happen between the 8 and 4 weeks ... honestly, it seemed like I lost 4 weeks in a blink of an eye.  The week before was also a blur.  The wedding was fun ... Mei Mei looked great and survived being the center of attention :)  Everyone seem to have a good time!  It was a smaller wedding than my brother's, so I got to catch up with family and friends ... it was great!!

Of course, we had some fun after the wedding and I learned that my aunts are quite crafty ... my Wah Biu Goo and Aunt T did some crafts.  They not only demonstrated their craft skills but their team work as well :)

Baby card ...

My co-worker in Australia is having a baby, so I thought it would be nice to make him a card from the team.  Initially, I was going to bring it with me to Australia in June; however, I didn't take the trip since I wasn't feeling 100%.  I thought of circulating the card throughout the team, which means ... Montreal, Salt Lake City, Perth, and Melbourne.  Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time, so I got the team to send it their messages ... it didn't turn out too bad. 

I really love this little hedgehog ... such a cutie!  I love making a card with the same character stamped throughout the card :)

It actually looks like they signed it ... amazing what you could do with computer these days, huh? :)  The 2 empty boxes were for co-workers to sign since I didn't get their text in time.

More space ...

Sorry for going MIA ... it's been rather busy at work and been too tired to post anything.  Let's see ... what can I share?  Oh, about 3 weekends ago, hubbie and I took a trip to Ikea to get a CD/DVD bookcase for The Paper Room.  It's a nice addition to the room giving me more storage space ... just when you thought nothing else could fit in here, there's always a way ;)

Within an hour of putting it up, I reorganized and filled it up :)  Hubbie was impressed ... ok, it was more like disbelief!

Where does the time go?

Hubbie and I celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary a couple of days ago!! 

Where does the time go ... hubbie usually replies "out west" when I ask that question ... I'd give him a "that's not what I mean" look and he'll reply "Wha?  It's true ... it goes west."  That's one of the things I love about him ... he makes me laugh ... guess what I actually mean is I married one silly guy!

Here's the card I made ... yup that's it ... just a simple heart with a message.  It's been so hectic at work I haven't had time to make a proper card ... actually, my brain was so tired.  I cut out this heart with my Quickutz machine since I wanted to use it in the card I was going to make.  Well, I sat there for a good 30 minutes staring at this heart ... once it hit midnight I realized I was just too tired.  I decided to give him "my heart and love again" ... yeah, kind of corny I know.  I actually stuck the letters in the morning right before I gave it to him ...

Hubbie liked it ... he thought it was simple and straight to the point.  He wish he had thought of that ... I guess that would have been the one thing he would feel comfortable doing in my paper room ... no stamping or colouring required :)

Happy Birthday ...

It's my brother's birthday! Happy Birthday big brother!  Here are a few pics of the card I made for him. 

I think this is be best part :) ... it's a turning point for me!  In the past, I would never dream of putting something like that on the back of my cards ... now, I'm even thinking about having a stamp made.  Hmmm... I guess this means that this blog is here to stay for a while.

You've probably noticed a few of the earlier posts now have my name in the picture ... I was playing around with that and decided I'd put that on my pictures ... then it got me thinking about making a stamp again.  I previously thought about it but guess like the blog wasn't ready yet ... not to mention I thought it would be silly just to have my name :)

Just love this stamp ...

Remember the Delicate Blossom stamp by Hero Arts from a previous post?  Well, like a lot of my other stamps, I still haven't gotten this one out of my system.  To be honest, I'm not sure I ever will ... I love this stamp!!  When hubbie asked me for an anniversary card ... my first reaction was "Am I making my own card?"  Our anniversary is coming up, so I thought he was planning ahead and pretending to ask for a co-worker.  Nope, it really is for a co-worker :)

So this is what I made ... you've already seen this stamp and technique in the previous post ... but here the card is put together.  What do you think?  I printed the text in a matching colour.  He's co-worker provided the text ... they've been married for 30 years! 

Starting summer camp soon ...

When we were kids, our summer camp was going to Cleveland to visit my aunts, uncle, great aunt and great uncle ... good memories ... fun times :)  Guess what!?  I've registered for summer camp, and it's starting on June 27 ... Summer Card Camp 2011! 

It's a 4-week online card class with Jennifer McGuire, Kristina Werner & Friends ... isn't this just the best idea!!  I'm so looking forward to this :)  With how busy things have been preparing for the weddings, I honestly did not think I would have time to do much craft stuff other than for the wedding ... I'm glad I was wrong ;)

Here it is ...

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks, and it seems like some of my aunts have received Mei Mei's invitations last week, so I guess I can now post them :) 

Initally, when trying to match the border with the bamboo, green was suggested to me ... but I thought it may look too Christmassy ... you know with the red and green thing going :)  So, we decided on brown and kept the stems of the bamboo brown ... even thought bamboos are completely green.  Anyway, here are the pics ...

The envelopes were suppose to be red ... the same paper as the invitations.  However, the store would have to order 1000 envelopes from the supplier ... eeeek ... I would have needed 60 of the 1000.  The other option was the same paper as the brown border ... it looked ok ... then it all came together ... natural white ... same colour paper the invitations were printed on.  In the end, it was the better choice ... I was able to print directly on the envelope, which was nicer than sticking a label on a red or brown envelope.  And I was able to add a little something ... I thought a double happiness symbol to seal the envelope would be a nice touch ... seems more completed.

Quick share ...

Here's a card I made with one of my Papertrey Ink stamps ... the "In Bloom" stamp set.  I used colouring pencils and odourless solvent to color the flower and leaves ... I so love this technique!

Oh and I stamp the sentiment on left over scraps from making Mei Mei's invitations ... the sentiment is also from a Papertrey stamp set.  Did I ever mention how much I love using scraps?  Some may think I'm silly, but I don't like to waste anything ... especially PAPER!!  Here's some more sentiments on the scraps all ready to go on a card, and as you can see, I have a quite a bit of scraps to use up :)

Mei Mei's invitations ...

Yaaay!!  I've completed Mei Mei's invitations!  Things are on schedule ... actually a little early ... and I even had time to add a little something to finish off the invitation :)  I had fun making the invitations ... I guess I had more time and was able to enjoy the moment.  They were all packed up in what is becoming my traditional way for invitations ... using the Sushi Shop bag ... those bags are great for invitations not just for carrying sushi ... see ;)  Hmmm, as I'm looking at this picture, it's kinda flat ... should have taking it at an angle ... oh well.

Mei Mei came over today to pick them up, so they should be in the mail next week.  Now, I have 12 weeks to work on the other stuff ... plenty of time.  However, I should probably make a list to ensure I don't forget anything ... time has a way of going by quickly as I saw with my brother's wedding, so the list will help me keep on track.  Luckily, I had Mei Mei to make sure I was ready for my brother's wedding!  This time around I think I'll look for a dress, shoes, etc. earlier on, so we won't be shopping the day before the wedding :)

One down, one more to go ...

Just a quick share ... with all the other things, I didn't have time to make my brother a wedding card; so I did the next best thing ... I made a red envelope.  It turned out to almost be the same as making a card ... LOL.  Mei Mei thought it was a card when she first saw it, and Aunt T said it was nicer than the ones you would normally buy :)  I think I'll turn it into a card and make a bunch of red envelopes as suggested ... family can be inspiring ... maybe I could make a few sales during Mei Mei's wedding ... LOL ;)

Well, my brother and his "wife" :) are probably at their honeymoon destination by now.  They had a beautiful wedding day ... it was a nice warm day, and they were surrounded by family and friends wishing them well.  It was great ... definitely less of a blur for me than my wedding ... I got to catch up with a few people :) 

Time sure goes by quickly ... my aunts from the US came for the wedding, and the "kids", who are not really kids stayed with hubbie and I.  Geeez, I feel old ... my brother, sister and I were once the "kids" not that long ago ... ok, maybe it was a while ago.  I still remember those summers we spent in Cleveland with our aunts ... ah, the memories :)  I was able to spend some time with Aunt A before she headed back ... we ended up not sleeping and talking all night ... I was a bit tired the next day but was well worth sacrificing my sleep ;)

Well, that's one down and one more to go!  I took today off to rest up and planning on working on Mei Mei's invitations tomorrow.  I'm going to review the text again when I'm more awake, so I can check the date, time, address ... when I showed Aunt A, she noticed an error that no one else noticed ... oops!  Thanks Aunt A!

Almost done ...

Well, it's almost done ... I just need to go and get some gold pens today for the wedding.  I've completed pretty much all that I had set out to do for my brother's wedding with the exception of the sign-in book.  Since I didn't have a chance to get the paper for the cover, I just cut the cardstock for people to sign and will put the accordian book together afterwards. 

My milestone after the invitations were the boxes, which I completed on Tuesday ... 115 boxes made, filled with chocolate, tag added and tied with a ribbon ... as you can see, all already for the celebration!

 

Last night I finished the 11 menus ... it only took me 9 hours!  I was suppose to just print it and stick it in the venus paper (same paper as the invitation and boxes) and put the table number at the top.  However, I got this "brillant" (to be read in a sarcastic voice) idea to do something else ... meaning something more complicated!  I like the result better than simply printing it out ... and I guess I wouldn't have been able just to print it out like that ... it's just not me ;)

Now, I just need to get the house and myself ready!  With all the wedding stuff and work being so busy, I have not had a chance to go shopping early on ... also getting sick Sunday night didn't help.  However, my brother did give me his blessing to show up in my pajamas :)  Don't worry, if anything I would be in a dress and bunny slippers ... I just need some shoes.  BTW, I don't own bunny slippers, but they would probably be easier to find and very comfortable ... LOL.  Anyway, I just have to keep it real and remember a lot of stuff is just detail and things will come together and somehow get done ... that's when you enlist the help of hubbie ;)  Actually, he offered to help, so no bribing, begging or anything was required ... and he didn't ask for any brownie points :)

Isn't this cool ...

Last week, I received an email from Aunt T, who was in Dubai ... she sent me what I thought was one of the coolest pictures.  Is that not just the coolest thing!?  Ok, maybe not for you all, but for someone who just doesn't have much of a life beyond her crafts.  :)  I think I need a sign like that for my room!

More Paper ...

Guess what!?  I got more paper!  On Saturday, hubbie and I went to pick up the paper and envelopes for Mei Mei's invitations.  I think hubbie wanted to ensure we got them home safely ;)

 

I didn't put together the tags for my brother's boxes on Sunday, but I did punch out 100 tags and then punched holes in them.  I'll put them together tomorrow night ... I was way too tired last night.

Remember me!?

It's been really busy, so I haven't had a chance to post.  Sorry, I really didn't mean to go so long without posting.  Let's see ... what's new that I can share ... well hubbie's order from Papertrey Ink came in :)  Unfortunately, I haven't had time to play with all the goodies :(

Also, I bought tons of paper for the weddings and of course a little for me ;)  See, I'm not kidding and that's not all of it.  You probably cannot tell but there's about 700 sheets of cardstock and paper in that picture.  I still have to pick up the 350 sheets of cardstock I ordered for Mei Mei's wedding invitations.

Last week, I had a nice long weekend ... 5 days.  We went to see my mom on Friday ... before she forgets who I am.  Worked on the boxes for my brother's wedding pretty much the rest of the weekend ... with some household tasks in between as a break.  I took last Tuesday off in hopes of starting on Mei Mei's wedding invitations ... unfortunately, raking the lawn ... well actually more like raking the rocks off our "grass" ... and I use the word "grass" loosely ... really tired me out.  My arms were a bit sore, so I didn't get as much as I would have like done with the boxes Monday night. 

It took pretty much the whole day, but I finish putting the boxes together!  Yaay, all that's left are the tags, which I aim to finish this weekend or at least before the next weekend.

Dum Dum Da Dum ...

As you know, invitations for my brother and Holly's wedding have been completed.  They've been sent about 2 weeks ago ... so, I can finally post the invitations :)  Here they are:

Here's a picture of the invitations I created for the destination wedding.  I had based the idea of the actual invitations on the destination wedding invitations, so I did not want to post them early and ruin the surprise.

 

 

Oh, before I forget, if it was up to hubbie, the title of this post would be Hum Dum Da Dum ... he's so silly!

Order has been placed ...

Guess what!?  I finally place an order for Papertrey Ink stamps yesterday ... it's only been a bit over a year that I've been wanting to purchase their stamps.  I guess I'm not an impulsive shopper ... either that or one can say I'm just slow :)

I love their stamps!  I purchase 9 stamps sets, 1 die set and some kraft cardstock.  You know I actually cut my order in half ... yes, that wasn't the initial order ;)  Here's the stamp set that made me fall in love with these stamps ... "In Bloom".

I guess some my not understand my excitement in seeing that ... so check out a card by Nichole Heady, Designer & Co-owner of Papertrey Ink.  Isn't it gorgeous!?

I was telling hubbie that I was writing about my order on my blog, and his reply was ... "You mean my order of Papertrey stamps." ... the reason he's saying that is because we put the order through his paypal account.  I would tell him that he will be ordering from there more frequently; however, I think he knows that already :)  I can't wait until "his" order comes in!!

Yaaay!

Well, it's finally done!  I finished my brother's wedding invitations ... it was after midnight when I came out of The Paper Room and announced to hubbie it was all done!  Hubbie was busy doing his own crafting ;)

Hubbie told me to go to bed and pack it up in the morning.  Yeah, I listened to hubbie and went to bed ... he is right ... well at least some of the time :)  Got up aound 7 this morning and packed them all up ... I didn't have a box to put them in, so I got creative with the packaging.  Most of them fit perfectly in the Sushi Shop bag.  However, there were some I could not fit in the bag, so I put them in another bag.

Then everything went into a bag and was ready for delivery!  I even printed out the guest list ... all I needed was a form for them to sign that they received it ... LOL.



Gave my brother and Holly the invitations tonight, so I can now cross this off my to-do list and move on to the next task ... Mei Mei's invitations :)

Colouring is fun ...

Well the wait for the details for Holly and my brother's invitations is finally over ... wedding date is officially May 21!  I can now continue production :)  I'm aiming to complete the invitations by next weekend, so they can send them out.  While I was waiting, I worked a bit on Mei Mei's invitations and did some colouring.

In my last class, we used colour pencils, an odourless solvant (aka gamsol or mineral spirits) and paper stumps to colour the images.  Well since then I've been colouring at lunch time in the office or in front of the TV ... it's quite relaxing !  The colouring brought me back to my childhood :)  The Delicate Blossoms stamp is the perfect image to colour ...

What do you think?  I'd show the coloured image to hubbie and ask "Nice?" ... "Yes" he would reply ... then I'd go on to ask "I'm good at colouring, huh?" ... "Yes, you stay within the lines."  Isn't it cute how he humours me?  I think I did that with each one that I coloured ... and I don't think I'm done with the colouring  :)