Not My Kind of Style

I decided I would use up one of my oldest kits a wee while back using Shimelle Laine's cut it all up before you start approach. I was actually pretty enthusiastic about the whole process to begin with. As the kit has become sparser my enthusiasm has waned.

I am using papers I do not really love and making layouts that certainly do not make my heart sing. Having said that though, I am making layouts and recording memories but maybe not in a way that makes me feel good. I have found I am adding more supplies from elsewhere such as the Smash page in this layout and the glittery thickers in the one to follow. I used a sketch from the Simple Scrappers Members sketches very loosely for this layout but I think it is the colours that make my heart sink. It just is not really me.

I stretched this layout with some Smash tape, and some tidbits and lettering from the OA Cakewalk collection. 

Would I use this method again? Yes, possibly if I got very overwhelmed with my kits or had a collection that was too precious to cut. Some of my earlier layouts using this method I am more than happy with. I love the freedom I felt cutting into all the papers. It was an interesting experiment and one that I have learned a few valuable lessons from.

I struggled staying up until midnight for the Studio Calico presale last night. Singapore is exactly 12 hours ahead of the EST noon sale. I actually put three add ons in my cart and had the luxury of looking closely at them all before finally going with Twisty Slide. I was a little suprised as I thought I would probably have gone for Monkey Bars which was a much girlier kit but something in Twisty Slide spoke to me and I am quite excited about the kits arriving in a couple of weeks or so.

Right, I am off to sort my photos out into each of the weeks for Project Life now and if Monkey's nap is long enough I might even make a start on the 2nd week in May! Is anyone else as far behind as me?

On the other side of the table

Today was my first Parent Teacher Conference as a parent rather than a teacher. It was a bit of a strange feeling. Generally, Miss Monkey is going really well and her teachers are really pleased with her, especially her Mandarin progress. There are things to work on - not pushing and her speech clarity being the two majors but on the whole it went well. That is to say the interview went well. Me sitting in on her class for the morning did not go so well and I ended up leaving early in an attempt to improve Monkey's behaviour. She was just way too excited having me there to focus or listen. We had thought that might be the case but  hoped for something better.

Here are a couple of photos from today.

We had a lovely day out yesterday. We met my friend Alison and her son for a play at Jacob Ballas Garden. This is such a lovely spot with winderful playgrounds, water play and lots of child friendly information about plants in our Botanic Gardens. The children got on well and enjoyed  a treat afterwards together. 

 

 How cute are they together?

 Scarlett was really keen to take the MRT (subway/tube) for our next adventure and decided we needed sushi for lunch. We caught the train from the nearby station and headed to the Harbourfront for lunch.It was quite a long trip but she loves the MRT and she made lots of new friends with some of the older "Aunties and Uncles" on the train. We got a wonderful table at our favourite sushi spot and had a really excellent meal together. I am always wary of restaurants when it is just the two of us but she ate a lot and tried really hard to use her manners. 

The View From Our Table

There has been no crafting here the last couple of days with my husband away, but he is back in a couple of hours and all will be right with my little world again!

Back in TIme

One of the papers that really drew me to the Lomography add on with the 35 mm kit was a Heidi Swapp paper called No Limits Schematic. It looks like the blueprints for some large industrial project. I did not really have any idea of how I was going to use it but I kept it aside as a paper I wanted to use the entire sheet of.

I was flicking through my photos yesterday, mulling over which ones I wanted to scrap next, when I came across two photos of Tokyo Tower from our trip in 2011. The photos are not especially fantastic but they are really significant as we drove past there about thirty minutes after the 9 mag quake. They were taken from a moving car and show the tower at quite odd angles. At this point we did not realise just how bad the situation was although we knew the quake had been huge and were starting to worry about how we would get back to our hotel. We did know that being on the Tower during the quake must have been terrifying and there were a number of very upset people around the tower when we drove past.

The photos and the paper seemed to work in my mind so I pulled everything out and this layout came together quite quickly.

 

The Heidi Swapp paper is busy but I do like the end result. The Thickers are AC and what layout is not improved with silver glitter? The diecut is from a recent SC kit and the flair is Marcy Penner. The other font is October Afternoon and the colour does not look so jarring in real life as it appears on my screen. 

I have not done any journalling on this layout as my plan is to pair it with a page of photos I have showing all the displaced people in Tokyo that night. The lobby of our hotel and all the shopping centres around were wall to wall sleeping people and all the restaurants had run out of food. It was a pretty terrifying night as there were a number of large after shocks. 

Has anyone else completed layouts about major world events that they were caught up in? I know we were very lucky but it was still a very dramatic few days and I feel it should be recorded. I would love to be pointed in the direction of any layouts in a similar vein.

Girls Days

We are enjoying a few Daddy free days this week while the other half brings home the bacon from Jakarta. It is fun with a slightly different routine albeit with a slightly clingier wee one. She does miss her Dad when he is gone.

I tried to take some more candid photos of Scarlett at play yesterday and I was quite pleased with the result. I am definitely going to scrap some soon.

I love the second one as she was making her lion toy and her giraffe talk to each other. She is quite an animated wee girl and I think this shot captures that aspect of her personality. I love sitting and watching her create back stories for all her toys and act things out. I cannot believe the change in her play in the last couple of months!

I have also scrapped some of her playtime favourites lately.

Scarlett loves to wear her Dorothy the Dinosaur tail out and about. Dorothy loves to dance and so does Scarlett... I think that is her favourite part of the character. This photo was taken while she was getting ready to perform "on stage" at the top of a flight of stairs at our building. Scarlett cannot help herself from getting onstage and twirling if she sees a stage anywhere. I think she has a performer gene!

I used some scraps and the gorgeous MME paper from 35 mm along with the gorgeous exclusive Thickers from So Cal and a few glittery butterflies from that kit too. More dyed hexagons finished it off along with a couple of pieces of MME chipboard. There is also some hidden journalling tucked behind the photo.

Have a wonderful week! We are having a bit of a heat wave here so am off to try one of the water play areas with Scarlett tomorrow. Looking forward to sharing our discoveries with you later in the week.

Yummy Mummy

 Happy Friday! I was recently tagged to take part in this meme for and about the Yummy Mummy (or otherwise as in my case). It was quite a fun set of questions - just the thing for a lazy Friday afternoon.

The Rules
When answering the questions, give as much detail as possible.  It's all about the finer details people!
Leave a comment Here (Busybemummybex blog where the meme was created)
Tag three or more people and link them on your blog.
Tweet #yummy mummy when you share on Twitter.


What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

Usually I try and go straight back to sleep! My daughter is finally sleeping through and waking up somewhere between 6 and 7 am so I am actually waking up quite refreshed. She calls for her father first thing and then hops into bed with me for a two minute feed... (the last one and getting shorter everyday - total weaning could be on the horizon).
Do you shower Daily?  Are you an early morning shower or an evening bath type?

Living in the tropics a daily shower is the absolute minimum and I often shower morning and night.Monkey has a bath and a shower most days and she has these with her father so I only have to share my shower when he is away for work.


Do you wear makeup daily?

No. My makeup consists of about three MAC lippies and a Christian Dior glossy one which was one of my last presents from my Mum so is pretty special.


What's in your makeup bag?

I don't have one.


When you're having a slummy mummy day what do you usually wear?
Shorts and a t shirt.


Nails - How often do you get them done?
I get a pedicure once every six weeks or so but my finger nails are always a disaster. I am too rough to wear polish on my hands. It barely lasts a day. Toes are worth doing here as I am almost always in open shoes.


Your top tips for tired eyes?
Sleep and coffee.


Are you a Starbucks or a Costa Coffee kind of girl?
I am a bit of a coffee snob and make my own espresso at home with freshly ground beans but I love the fraps at Starbucks. I do have a card for there...


How many children do you have/want?
We have our one daughter and are contemplating another but to be honest will be happy with just one. We really do not want anymore than two.


Where is your favourite place to shop for babies/children's clothes?
Etsy for something a bit different, Cotton On, Target and H and M for seasonal stuff that may not last but is fun, Mothercare and Gap for better quality pieces.


Flats or heels - every day shoes are?
I have not worn heels since my wedding I don't think. Mostly I wear my Fitflops or other open sandals.

I'm going to tag these lovely ladies and even if they don't join in their blogs are more than worth a read, Brit at Live Out Loud, Caz at cazhancock.com and Lou at Sunny Side . 

Have a super weekend everyone - I fully intend to!

Another Starting Point

For once I actually remembered to take a photo of the starting point before I added my extras to it. I am so excited! Small things, I know. The original post with the starting point can be found here.

Here is my take on the starting point.

I just love that turquoise wood pattern and felt a little guilty covering up so much of it but.... All the papers are from the 35 mm Studio Calico kit and the Lomography add on. There is not too much left in those kits now so expect to see some So Cal goodness soon! One of the stickers is from an older Echo Park sticker sheet. Can I just say how much I love their sticker sheets with the mixture of pictures, journalling tags and border stickers. They are so useful when you are just looking for that little extra something.

I am sorry this photo is not so fantastic. I took it just before a storm came in the last of the available light. I had a wee experiment with the mistable hexagons from Studio Calico. I actually used my Jenni Bowlin ink pads in Weather Vane and Speckled Egg and that was a quick and easy way to get the colours I wanted. I know hexagons are super trendy but I find them a real challenge to use. I also added in a super cute Marcy Penner flair and an MME sticker on the little bag. There is some hidden journalling on a tag inside there. The photos are from March last year and it did seem surreal two days after the quake to be out on the water.

I had a little helper with my photos this time.

The Ginger Ninja aka Poppy became obsessed with the page and it was a struggle to keep her off. This is also the cat who likes to sleep in the doll's bed....

Well I must fly as Miss S will be back on the school bus shortly. They had a trip to the Fire Station today. Scarlett wanted to go without Mummy or Daddy so I hope it went well! Happy Thursday!

Shimelle's Sketch of the Week - Transparency Challenge

If you are a regular reader, you will know I am a bit of a Shimelle Laine aka Glitter Girl fan. I love her blog and her challenges and her classes.... you get the idea. Earlier in the week she posted a sketch with the added twist of using a transparency. I had a couple sitting in my stash that I bought on a whim at a Studio Calico sale and really had no idea what to do with them. I dragged them out from the bottom of a box of supplies and decided to have a go.

The idea of the sketch is to complete two layouts that mirror each other using both sides of the transparency. I have a big pile of photos from three day trips we made to Sentosa so I decided to scrap a couple of those onto the transparency. I have realised I need to start a day trips album or something similar as I have made half a dozen layouts from the photos of those three days already so there are a few too many to add to my annual album. I love the idea of these add on albums from Shimelle's Cover to Cover class - it has totally revolutionised the way I organise my layouts. It has also meant I have ordered one or two or six albums to improve the flow... oh well it is only money!

I will start by apologising for the photos. I tried about half a dozen ways of photographing the transparencies including hanging them on a clothes line and even a window but the reflections were shocking. I placed white paper under the transparency in an attempt to minimise this issue but they are still there. 

This photo was from a trip to Port of Lost Wonder, a water play park on Sentosa. On the day we went the main pirate ship was out of action so we could only play on the beach or in a foam pool. It turns out that there had been an outbreak of giardia in the previous couple of days traced back to the pirate ship so I am glad we did not go on it! This photo is of Scarlett and her best buddy, Joshua, as they approach the entrance. 

The supplies are a real mixture. The transparency is an old Hambly one. The card stock is a swiss dot style but beyond that I don't know. The papers are from the Studio Calico 35 mm kit and the Lomography add on as are the little gems. I also added some SC veneer people and a doily. The lettering comes from the So Cal add on Santa Monica as does the twine. 

The other side is a picture of Scarlett in the foam pool. I chose this transparency rather than the other chicken wire one I had as I thought the circles could be like bubbles in the foam. The colourful lettering, cloud and girl icons are all from Simple Stories. The ticket and banner are Amy Tangerine and the lettering and patterned paper strip are from the Lomography add on.

It was fun to work with the transparency but I was a bit safe in keeping all my embellishments below the transparency. I intend to use the other sheet in the next few weeks and try and get more embellishment matching going on.

Terrible Tuesday Toilet Training Trials

Nothing like a bit of a tongue twistery title on a Tuesday! If only it were funny...

We decided this week might be a good time to have a go at toilet training my daughter. She has been showing equal parts signs of interest and more than a little reluctance to the whole idea. She is fascinated by the toilet and what we are doing while we are there. She was very excited to get some big girl knickers over the weekend. On the other hand she has told us she does not want to stop wearing nappies as she will have to stop playing to use the toilet. I cannot fault her logic.

We had a short trial on Monday after her nap. Two accidents and many sittings on the potty to no avail. Today though was the day! Between her waking up at 6.30 am and 10 am we had five pairs of wet knickers and one dirty pair. After the last one she went into the bedroom and pulled out a nappy and asked me to help her put it on. How could I refuse?

So another epic parenting fail by the SAHM. My friend has twin boys, works 80 hour weeks and they are both daytime trained. There are children who are seven months younger than Scarlett at her pre school who are trained. I am feeling the pressure. The cloth nappies that I was hoping to put away have been pulled back into service. I am not bothering with training pants. If she is wearing nappies she can stick with the cloth ones. I am frustrated and she is unhappy that she cannot wear her knickers anymore. I know that when she is ready it will be painless but I was toilet trained at just on 18 months and Scarlett is nearly 28 months old. She is lucky that her school will allow her to attend in nappies as many do not here. The next school in her educational journey will require her to be fully trained and my concern is that she will miss out because she is not.

My husband thinks I am worrying about nothing and she will be trained soon enough... I will point out that he is not the one doing the cloth nappy washing! At least they look cute!

I am working on three layouts today and hope to have something finished in time to share tomorrow. I am working with a Hambly transparency for the first time and am enjoying the challenge!

So did you find toilet training a delight or diabolical? Any hints or tips? This mummy will try anything once!

Talking about the weather

There has been a lot of discussion about the weather here in Singapore lately. It is hot. Very hot. Combined with the high humidity it makes it very unpleasant to be out and about for too long. I should not complain. I love never really feeling cold but walking for any distance results in me becoming a sticky, smelly mess. Nevertheless, I went for a long walk this morning and feel better for it. I am also grateful that we have lovely clean air at present, as this time last year we had terrible haze from forest fires in Indonesia. Fingers crossed we might miss out this year.

The hot days at this time of year do impact on the activities we do with Scarlett. We try and keep her indoors during the hottest times of the day and a lot of our activities outdoors revolve around water. We spent part of our weekend in one of our coastal parks so that Scarlett could get some more practise on her scooter.

While there are a lot of smaller parks in Singapore there are only a handful with wide open green spaces. We love coming here even if it is about thirty minutes from home.

Scarlett is definitely more confident on her scooter now. It is certainly a great way to burn off all that excess toddler energy she has.

While the park is coastal it is not a swimming spot with some seriously large ships frequenting the waters. There were a number of people trying their luck fishing but we didn't see anyone catch anything.

I worked on a layout last week showing Scarlett's favourite form of exercise currently.

I based it on Waleska's sketch on the Elle's Studio Blog this week. I pulled a number of Elle's Studio bits out of my stash but this ended up being a bit of a Studio Calico May kit special combined with some MME stickers. Scarlett is obsessed with Hide and Seek at present and she and Tet had a lovely time playing among the trees at the Chinese Gardens a few weeks ago.

How are you all keeping cool in the summer heat?

Fun Starting Point

I was thrilled to see the new Shimelle Laine starting point appear in my reader this week. I had some free time this morning so I had a play with it.

I ended up keeping the layout pretty monochromatic with some pops of colour from the brighter chevron from On The Bright Side by My Mind's Eye. Most of the layout is made up of papers from my Studio Calico 35 mm kit and the Lomography add on. I also added some of the Dear Lizzy mason jars. I have saved a couple of sheets of this paper to cut out and it seemed to fit nicely with this layout.

The photo was from a casual weekend snack session at a local mall. Fresh fruit and fresh fruit juice are just what you need in our tropical climate. I love this shot of Tet and Scarlett sharing a juice. She has a really mischievous face. The title refers to something we say a lot... the you could be any one of the three of us. It is fair to say that Scarlett is a Daddy's girl though so it probably fits with this photo best!

I have another sketch on hand that I am going to start working on. This is my last day with a good chunk of crafting time this week as I am off to a goat farm on a field trip with Scarlett tomorrow and she has Friday off school. I have a feeling the goat farm could prove a great photography opportunity.

Rushing by

I had plans to write a leisurely post this afternoon while my daughter napped. Sadly she had a bit of a snooze in the stroller this morning for maybe twenty minutes. This was enough apparently. After twenty minutes of her calling out and mucking around we have given up. As a result this is a bit of a rushed effort with someone rolling around on the floor whining "I need you Mummy."  Oh the joys!

This layout is a combination of the 35 mm kit and one add on, Lomography, along with a selection of items from the Amy Tangerine Sketchbook collection. I love the colours in this collection so much. The photo was taken on the island of Sentosa which is just off Singapore. My husband took the afternoon off one day and we took Scarlett's little friend Joshua to the beach. We did not realise he hates sand so it made for an interesting afternoon. His helper Suci is also in the photo.

Well I had best head back to the mothering coal face. I don't think Monkey's good humour will last long with the lack of sleep. We made banana muffins this morning so we might make some cream cheese icing now to keep us both occupied.

Currently

 I have seen this kind of list in a number of spots but I stole this one from Lisa Dickinson and she has given credit to Tina Azmus.

eating  California Chips - Earthquake Flavour
drinking  Diet 7 Up as it will totally cancel out the chips
watching  Crime and Investigation channel - yep I love that stuff
listening  to the mynahs playing outside, the pile driver at work somewhere in the neighbourhood and The Civil Wars
loving  that our friend Alan is down staying with us for a week
enjoying feeling polished after having my eyebrows done this morning
wanting to spend the week scrapbooking
needing  to finally make a start on my CV
feeling glad to have the grocery shopping done for the day
preparing  for the July Studio Calico stamping class - I need to get all the unused stamps out of my kits!
thinking  that toilet training my very stubborn two year old is not going to be easy
searching for a part time job that would mean we don't need to get a live in helper
making  my second layout of the day using photos from a day at the beach last month

anticipating a fun trip to the goat farm with my daughter and her class later in the week

How is your Monday treating you?

And because I don't like to post with nothing to look at I thought I would share one of my favourite paintings that Scarlett has done at school lately.

Best readers ever

I just want to post a simple thank you for all the lovely comments and kind wishes for my Dad that were posted on yesterday's post. I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to know that others were thinking of him and wishing him well.

The latest update is that he has lost two teeth and had two crowned. He now needs to get two implants in to replace the missing ones. The dentist was painful but better than he expected. He is really sore today though and will have to go back to the doctor as he has really injured his wrist which has become apparent over night. The good thing is in New Zealand we have something called ACC which covers pretty much all your medical costs if you injure yourself in an accident. We all pay a very small levy in our wages but anyone in New Zealand including tourists is covered in this scenario. He will have to pay a small percentage of the cost of his dental work but his doctor's visits are free. Gotta love that!

I have been too busy getting updates from home to be crafty today so instead I thought I would share a photo from Christmas time when we were last home with my Dad. Thanks again for all your kind thoughts.

My Dad, Alan with Scarlett and one of my sisters, Anne, in New Zealand in January 2012. I really should scrap this photo!

Of snow and ladders and scrapbooking

I enjoyed a very relaxed trip into the city this morning while Miss S was at school. I was sitting enjoying an early lunch when I got a text from home telling me my Dad had fallen off a ladder and had badly injured his face. To put it in context, my home town is in the midst of an unseasonably early snow storm and Dad had gone out in the snow to try and clear snow from his spouting. He is now back from the doctor with several stitches in his chin and a number of missing teeth. Funny how a day can change from being lovely to awful with one message.

It is times like this that being a long way from home really is difficult. We love living here but knowing that there is only one direct flight home a day from Singapore and it is a ten hour flight to get there makes it hard when things are tough at home.

There is a bit of upheaval going on here too with new appliances being provided by our landlady as a sweetener for resigning our lease. We will be staying in our apartment for another two years which is a relief as we like living here. Not so great is working out how to keep all the contents of the fridge and freezer cold while they swap the new and old ones over.

I have been doing a little scrapbooking this week but not as much as I would like.

This layout is another one from the kit that I cut up last week. This paper was one that I kept intact as I knew I would find a photo that worked with it. I used an additional paper scrap from the Field Guide kit to mount the photo on and added an Amy Tangerine envelope and index card to provide a journalling spot. The sticker is also Amy Tangerine.

This layout was much more about using the scraps as they fell. I kept the lined scrap to one side as I knew I needed it to journal on. The camera stickers are Amy Tangerine and October afternoon and the brads are from Basic Grey and the wooden asterisks are,of course, from Studio Calico. I stole the letter stickers from my May kit - they are Jillibean Soup ones and I need more of them - they are so versatile.

Sorry the photos are a bit rubbish this time around. We have had a number of gloomy overcast days and I have just had to make the best of it.

Bakeries and Mondayitis

I have found, just lately, that I am getting that feeling in my stomach that I used to get on Sunday nights when I was working. You know that little pang that the weekend is coming to a close and the nose will be pressed firmly to the grind stone in just a few short hours? It is not so much that my nose is pressed to the grindstone on a Monday but more that Tet and Scarlett both head off to work and school at 7.45 and there I am in the empty house. Life really is telling me I need to get busy organising a kick arse CV and trotting it round the local international schools in the area. If only a little fairy would come and wave their wand and present the thing tied in a ribbon I would be so much happier...

We had a very relaxed weekend for a change. The only organised activity we had planned was Scarlett's gym class on Saturday morning. 

Once that was over the rest of the weekend stretched before us like a blank canvas. I had recently read reviews of a new bakery that opened not far from us run by a French Baker with wonderful pastries and coffee. We decided to head there after gym to see if the hype was justified.

I had pretty high hopes but my expectations were well and truly blown out of the water. We decided to order a croissant, pain au chocolat and a Salted Caramel pastry as we had already eaten breakfast. I added a couple of lattes to the order as we were offered a table in the very crowded restaurant by a super attentive waiter. We had thought we would have to take away so that was a nice surprise.

The croissant was delicious. Buttery, crisp on the outside and meltingly soft on the inside. Just a total delight! The pain au chocolat looked beautiful but Tet and Scarlett devoured it in record time so I can only take their word that it was delicious. The absolute triumph was the caramel pastry. It was totally moorish. Not too sweet but caramelly and delicious with a wonderful buttery flavour. The coffees were also delicious.

So the next morning we felt like going out for breakfast and long story short we headed back to the bakery. This time I took some photos of the food before we ate all of it! We ordered a couple of the caramel pastries, a chocolate brioche for Scarlett and an almond brioche for Tet and I to share. We also grabbed a lemon curd tart to go with our flat whites.

The caramel pastry was calling my name so I was halfway through before I thought to take a picture. Just as amazing as I remembered from the previous day. I had no expectation that the other treats would be as delicious but they looked promising.

The almond brioche was enormous. We definitely needed to share it. The pastry was topped with marzipan and slivered toasted almonds and a sprinkling of icing sugar. It was just delicious! The brioche was melt in the mouth and the almond flavour was strong but not overpowering. The contrast of the crunchy almonds and the squidgy brioche was perfect. Scarlett loved her more modestly sized chocolate brioche and declared it yummy and soft. The best treat of the day though in my eyes was the lemon tart. It was super tart in flavour and the creme patisserie was just perfect. Both Tet and Scarlett thought it was too tart but I loved it. We also bought a delicious loaf of fig and fennel bread to take home and it is delicious. One of the super friendly staff told me she had eaten it with goat's cheese the previous day and it had been delicious. I had the same for breakfast today and it was divine. 

So the diet is officially out the window and I plan to get fatter and fatter on delicious buttery pastry!

We discovered a great playground at Mt Emily yesterday too so Scarlett had a lovely time playing on the swings and slides. All in all just a lovely cruisey weekend.

I did get up to some crafts but this post is already a bit of a novel so will share those tomorrow. I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I enjoyed catching some of the Queen's Jubilee Flotilla last night on the telly. What a great occasion to mark 60 years as queen!

Saturday is Sushi Day

I had time for a quick layout yesterday and decided to continue working with my pre cut scraps.

I based this layout very loosely on a Shimelle Laine sketch from her current Cover to Cover class. The photo orientation, embellishments and washi are all different but the paper layering and location of title and journalling were faithful to the sketch. All the papers and washi are from the Studio Calico Field Guide kit from October last year. The stickers are from last years Amy Tangerine line. I am in love with the white ink on this layout. It makes everything pop.

Have a lovely Friday. It is grey and drizzly here - the perfect excuse to stay in and do some crafting!