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  :)

A short break from invitations ...

Last weekend was another busy one ... running around from store to store ... yup, still working on those invitations!  Here's a run down of that weekend ... on Saturday, hubbie and I  went out for breakfast ... in other words, got the fuel we needed to run the errands of the day.  Then it was off to store #1 to pick up the paper I had ordered for the invitations ... and a couple of other items ;) ... went to store #2 to pick up another pack of invitation envelopes (this was a quick stop) ... and last stop, store #3 for more paper and RSVP envelopes.  On Sunday, I cut and embossed the paper and made a slight adjustment to the invitations ... it looks better ... don't worry, I got approval :)

This weekend, I ended up taking a break from the invitations.  On Saturday, I had my class and afterwards hubbie and I went out for dinner.  The class was fun ... I had 2 ladies from my An Asian Touch class attend this one (An Asian Touch II).  It's always nice to see familiar faces :)  When I got home, I fell asleep on the couch pretty early ... I was pretty tired ... couldn't keep my eyes open.  Today, I did some long over due cleaning around the house and made a birthday card for a friend, which I needed for tomorrow.  Usually, I'm not that last minute but it's been hectic ... thankfully, inspiration hit and I think I'll be make this card in a class :)

Bought a few stamp sets on Saturday from a new company ... Heartfelt Creations.  I didn't have a lot of time to shop after the class, so I was good ... only got 3 stamp sets ;)  I can't wait to play with them!

  

Iguana Love Stamp Set ...

Got this Iguana Love stamp set by Stampendous a while back.  My plan was to use it to make a Valentine's Day card for hubbie.  I thought it was quite cute ... I don't have any iguana stamps so thought it would be a nice additon to my stamp collection :)

Here's the card I made for hubbie.  This is my attempt in making a film strip ... it's not perfect; picture's a little fuzzy ... but I think you can tell it's a film strip, right ? :)

Here's what hubbie got me ... what a delicious sight ;)  Yummy!  It came with specific instructions ... imagine that this is chocolate.  Nah, I'm a chip girl so definitely prefer this to chocolate :)  

Busy, busy, busy ...

Sure been busy ... where to start ... let's continue where I left off from my last post.  Oh yeah, that was on Chinese New Year ... wow!  Well, we were at my mom's for dinner the next day (Feb. 4) ... dinner to open the New Year ... so I brought the final version of the mock-up invitation for my brother and Holly to see and confirm that this is it.  The design and paper are finalized ... yaay!  Went to get the RSVP envelopes and paper for the invitations last Saturday ... they were having a sale, so that was cool :)

This weekend I started working on my brother and Holly's invitations ... at least what I was able to.  I'm waiting for some paper to come in and some details regarding the wedding before I can begin the real work.  However, I did redo the RSVP template and got all the embossing done :)

Let see ... what else have I been up to ... been playing with the Delicate Blossoms stamp set.  Just love this Hero Art stamp set!  Don't you think it's gorgeous?  I finally got it back in November ... I did use it to make a sample invitation for Mei Mei.  However, it didn't make the cut :) 

Here's a card I made for hubbie's co-worker last week.  Nothing fancy ... I wanted to make a simple card to emphasis the simplicity of this stamp.   I'm planning to make a card set with these stamps later when I have a bit more time :)

 

Here's the birthday card that a friend asked me to make for her.  She told me the person likes black & white and flowers ... so of course I had to use this stamp ;)  The top card was my inspiration for this one.  She also asked me to make a gift certificate.  They're doing a collection to give her to go on a shopping spree ... I know what I'd be buying if I received such a gift ;)

 

Initially, I was going to make a gift certificate.  However, these days gift cards are the way to go!  I had a lot of fun making this matching gift card!  I would have put a magnetic strip on the back of the gift card, but there wasn't any room.  Next time I'll make it with the magnetic strip; however, I think it still looks ok.

  

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year!! It's the year of the Rabbit ... I wonder if it says that the year of the Rabbit will bring those born in the year of the Dog one really busy year!!!  It seems that will also be a busy year for those born in the year of the Dragon ... who happen to be married to a person born in the year of the Dog.  This is my attempt of providing hubbie with a subtle warning.  Hopefully, I won't drive him too crazy ... just a little ;)

Work's been even busier than it was before the holidays!  I thought I'd be able to catch up when I got back from the holidays ... nope!  However, I'm not stressing out on things ... I did promise myself to focus more on family and friends ... basically ensure work/life balance.  In order to ensure work/life balance, I've taken a few days off for Chinese New Year ... initially, it was to just do a few things and relax.  However, things have a way of changing.  Yesterday, I was busy cleaning the house, finishing my card samples to be displayed for my class at the end of the month, and going through a snow storm to get to my mom's for New Year's eve dinner.  It would have been a good day to stay home.  However, the trip to my mom's allowed hubbie to rack up some brownie points since he was weathering the storm for me ... of course, he'll be using those points to do his own crafting ALL DAY LONG!  I think he already picked the day in which he will be doing this!

Today's been a bit more relaxing ... at least so far.  I'm taking a break to post this before continue things I need to get done in The Paper Room :)  Oh before I forget, here are the samples for my class with Ketto stamps.  BTW, I've done more than 4 cards, but these are the ones that will be displayed at the store.

I've been so busy with the invitations I do wonder if I'm crazy trying to fit in a class!  Oh and I agreed to make a card for a friend by February 25 and one for hubbie's co-worker for next Wednesday.  Ok, gonna get back to the card required for next week ... and start on the other one.

Wedding updates ...

Finished the mock-up invitation for my brother and Holly's wedding with the actually papers to be used for the real invites ... however, they won't be needing it ... at least not that one :)  There's been a change of plans!  They won't be having a destination wedding ... it'll be a ceremony at City Hall, off for the honeymoon, and then a dinner afterwards.  I don't have all the details ... I think they're still getting married in May.  All I can say is:  "Don't do it in July during the Carifiesta weekend!  The streets will be blocked, and you may not get to City Hall on time."  Yes, I'm speaking from experience!

So, I guess now I can post pictures of the invitation on my blog and not have to wait until after they've been sent out.  Sorry, but you will have to wait a bit longer since I haven't taken pictures yet :)

Save the Date!  Mei Mei has a date for the big day ... August 20!  They've booked a place for the ceremony and reception (BTW, both are held at the same place) ... so it's really official now!  Next on the list ... finding a dress and everything else!  I guess I better get a move on finalizing the wedding invitations ;)

Back at work!

Nothing new to share today ... just wanted to check in. 

Been back to work now for about a week ... you can probably tell from the long gap from my last post.  However, it's just not due to work ... been busy on the weekend working on my brother and Holly's wedding invitations ... actually, more like hunting for paper!  We went to at least 5 places looking for a specific paper in hopes of finding paper that I bought about 10 years ago ... I knew I should have stocked up!  The good thing about all this running around is that hubbie can now say that he played a part in helping with the wedding invitations ... all that driving around from store to store :)

Well, 3 packs of paper later ... I think I found a suitable replacement to what I used in the mock-up ... yaaay ... I'm sure hubbie's happy about that.  Here's the winning pack of paper:

What a mess ... but loving it!

Normally, the house is clean when I'm on vacation ... not the case this time around.  Still on vacation ... and The Paper Room is a real mess!  However, it's a good thing ... I've been playing :)

Started working on my Ketto stamps class samples and took a break and worked on my brother's wedding invitations.  I've haven't gone back to finish my samples for my class ... I know I know ...

  

Wha?!  The invitations are a priority :)  Anyway, tweeked the mock-up of my brother's wedding invitation a bit more and completed the RSVP card ... I did have to stop myself because I've found other things that can be tweeked.  Moved on to Mei Mei's invitations :) 

As you can see, I did not lie ... it's a mess!  However, to be fair, it is a result of 3 different projects!  This side is not too bad ... BTW, the picture's dark, so you can't see too much of what I'm doing ;)

When hubbie saw this side of the room, he said "It looks like a bomb went off in here!"  Yes ... a creative bomb!  I need a longer table!  The one I have is not long enough ... I had to work on part of the process on the floor.  However, if I got a longer table, I'd need a bigger room :)  Maybe hubbie will have a light bulb moment and want to finish the basement and let me use it as a huge craft room ... now wouldn't that be cool!  Ok, back to reality ... but it's nice to dream ;)

Lots of fun ...

What a great day I had today!  Mei Mei came over this afternoon (oops, I mean yesterday afternoon ... just notice the time ... it's after midnight), and we talked wedding stuff ... and had a lot of laughs in between.  I always have a good time with her ... she's so wacky; it's hard not to have fun!  Yeah, ok ... I'm a bit wacky too ... what can I say; she has rubbed off on me over the years ;)

I've been having fun working on my brother and Holly's wedding invitations ... pretty much most of the day on Sunday and a bit yesterday morning ... I think I got a mock up that I'm ok with ... next I have to finish working on the reply card.  Then I could show them and get feedback.  Can't wait to start working on Mei Mei's invitations :) 

However, I should finish my cards for my class ... at least for one of my classes.  I'm almost there ... I do take long to prepare since I tend to go a "bit" overboard.  Hubbie would leave out the "bit" in my sentence :)  Here's a peek of what's in progress.  Please forgive the mess ... I actually tidy things up a bit and zoomed in, so you don't get distracted by the messy room ;)  I'm planning to make 4 cards with a different Ketto stamp showing different techniques.  Some of the cards require cutting the outfit after stamping it on pattern paper or pattern's that I made ... I feel like I'm a kid again and making clothes for my dolls ... I had fun doing that back then too :)

The cards on the left are for the class I'm working on ... the 8 on the right you may recognize are from my last class.  I like to have them out there for inspiration ... and so I don't make any cards too similar or the same :)

It's 2011!!

Just a quick post to wish everyone a very Happy New Year.  Wishing you health, love, happiness, prosperity and all that good stuff :)

Hope everyone had fun ringing in the New Year!  This time of the year is usually one of reflection for me ... the lessons learned and memories from the previous year and the goals and opportunities of the new year!  I'm really looking forward to all the new adventures this year will bring ... and of course all the new stamps, papers, inks, tools, embellishments to be discovered ;)

Hope you'll continue to share in my creative journey in the new year!

Reflections ...

December 31, 2010 ... wow, can you believe 2010 is coming to an end?!  "What happened?!" ... that's what I usually ask hubbie after falling asleep on the couch ... however, I definitely did not sleep through 2010.  Actually, I think I was a bit sleep deprived this year.  Looking back, it's been a year of learning and new challenges ... started a new job and learned a lot this year about myself and what I'm capable of.  I did focus a lot on work this year ... adjusting to the job, working in a virtual team, and team changes.  I'm happy to say that after all that's happen, I do feel like I'm at the right place at the moment ... for me and the company. 

Also, I'm thankful to hubbie, family and friends who have kept me sane through the year!  It's funny though ... I always get reminded in some way of what's important in life ... paper, stamps, inks and all that fun stuff ... LOL ... just kidding but my crafts are a part of me! 

Anyway, I will focus on ensuring a balance in 2011.  I already know it's going to be a busy year ... there's already 2 weddings that will be happening ... my brother is planning to get married in May and my best friend will be getting married later in the year!  The weddings will certainly help me achieve a better work/life balance!

Ok, let's end 2010 on a creative note!  Here are cards from my Creative Kickstart class with Jennifer McGuire.  I really enjoyed this class and the techniques we learned.  One of my favorites is using the Ranger's Pearl dabber paint as a resist (middle pic).  Just  love that butterfly stamp and the shape of that card!

  

Got to play with some sticky back canvas (left pic) ... was fun to use something other than paper and really like the result.  And love those mini frames ... BTW, the reason I have 2 is because one was from the Hero Art make and take that Jennifer did in Framingham (one on the right ... in case you wanted to know).

  

Hopefully, this class as well as the other classes and experiences will help me kickstart the New Year with some new crafts to share with you :)  See you in the New Year!

Festive Techniques ...

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas.  Hubbie and I had dinner Christmas eve with the family at my brother and his girlfriend's ... oops, I mean fiancé's.  We had turkey, stuffing, potatoes ... lots of food and desserts!  I was sooo full!  On Christmas day, we had the usual family dim sum get together with my mom's side of the family ... 4 tables ... which is basically about 40 people!  The evening was nice and quiet ... just hubbie and me :)  The past few days have been really lazy days!  I guess hubbie was right ... needed time to re-energize.

Hubbie and I don't get each other gifts ... this has been the case since we bought the house.  However, we do get each other things throughout the year for no reason.  To be quite honest, I prefer those moments ... I still remember working in The Paper Room one morning and turning around to go cut some paper ... when I see a box on the stool, it was an airbrush compressor!  I've been thinking about getting one and had not quite decided yet, and hubbie went out and got me one ... it was in The Paper Room for a couple of days before I discovered it!  I was so touched by this surprise ... I had to wait to thank him since I didn't want to wake him up at 7 a.m. on a weekend!  This Christmas I did have something to open ... to help me start my lazy days :)  Apparently, Santa brought me a bag of Miss Vickies Crinkle chips ... yummy!  Hubbie ... I mean Santa set it on the dining room table and "borrowed" one of my stamps "a merry Christmas to you" (actually the one in the card below) ... he leaned the stamp against the bag.  Sorry, I didn't think of taking a picture of it ... I should have ... it was really cute!

Keeping with the current theme, here are the cards from the Festive Techniques class with Jennifer McGuire.  I really like the technique we used on the transparent card.  We created the background with an arcylic block, some Distress inks, and pearlized water ... really simple!  I also changed it a bit and used one of the Christmas greeting stamps I have from Penny Black.

I love the music background stamp used below (middle pic) ... could also use it for a birthday card.  BTW, it is suppose to be a tag where you could slide a gift card in.  However, you also have the option of using this for the front of the card.  I haven't decided yet, so I hid the hole behind the music background layer.