Courage

It is nerve-wracking to see your child in any form of competition.  Clarissa took part in his first swim meet this Saturday and I have to say that it was very hard for me to watch her.  For me,  it was easier to watch Sean play football as its a team sport and the results come from the teamwork.  As for swimming - its more nerve wracking as its her and she alone who can pull in the results.

She has been training since late August and I guess she is a late bloomer in terms of swimming.  She did not win any of the events but the consolation was that she did improve on all her times.  Even before she went into it,  I had warned her that this would happen as most of the girls start swimming really early and they had more experience than her.  I was just glad that she did not back down in spite and tried hard.

Oddly enough - I found this beautiful quote by Thomas Krause which depicted her whole sentiment going into the meet:

"Courage is the discovery that you may not win and trying when you can lose."

Here is the mismatched layout:

Materials used:

Sassa Fras Lass pp,  Scenic Route pp,  Cosmo Cricket pp,  Hambly Transparency,  Notepad from Scarlet Lime Kit,  Fontwerks Scalloped Cardstock Stickers, Pink Paislee Sticker and Alphas,  7 Gypsies Sticker sayings,  Basic Grey Sticker Flourish,  Chatterbox Brads,  Prima Flower,  Zig Journalling pen,  Beacon Glue and 3d pop up foam.  

Layouts todate:  77 

Wacky Tacky 2010

It really seems like ages since I have blogged.  Combination of school activities and my daily routine has made my days seem so much shorter and I just did not have the mojo to scrap.  I must admit I do go through episodes whereby I scrap a lot and then whoosh - I stop for a while.  Tonight I have tried to stop being lazy and start scrapping again so that I can accomplish my 100 layout target this year.

I chose some very old papers from 2005 again - Junkitz and some Autumn Leaves Mod Citrus Paper kit.  They have been in my scrapbooking closet for like forever and I have not yet touched them.  Sigh... That seems to be the story of my life.  

I have decided to combine the 2 papers together and achieve a wacky tacky layout for Clarissa.  Nothing fancy - just cut and paste.  :)

Materials used:
Junkitz paper,  Bazzill cs,  Autumn Leaves Mod Citrus pp and Epoxy Stickers,  Momoyo Sticker Trim,  Chatterbox Chipboard sayings,  buttons and butterflies,  Making Memories Glitter Alphas and and Sticker Alphas,  Thread from Studio Calico,   Brilliance Inks,  Beacon Glue,  Pearl Blings from local shops and 3D pop up dots.  

Layouts todate:  76

Bad Blogger and Positive Attitude

Yes,  I know I have been slacking with the scrapping and the blogging.  I have been so busy the past few weeks with getting sick,  the school trip with Sean,  football etc - everything just went by with a blur.  I have decided to try and start scrapping again as I have just realised that its October and I haven't achieved my target of 100 layouts this year.  At present,  I am still at layout no 75.  Another 25 more too go - GULP!

Here is another simple layout featuring Clarissa when she went to get her braces done.  I have to say that her demeanour was very pleasant and she endured the pain from her braces very well.  I have decided to add a couple of different manufacturer items,  recycled the doiley packaging from Prima and use up some of my laces and papers.  

Materials used:
Scarlet Lime Kit papers and  3D stickers,  Provocraft Chipboard scallops,  Momoyo Stickers - small flowers and butterflies,  Cutout flower from AC Dear Lizzy paper,  Making Memories Noteworthy Diecuts,  Recycled Doileys from Prima Packaging,  laces and trims of haberdashery in Johore Bahru,  Beacon Glue,  Zig Pen for journalling and 3D pop up foam.  

Layouts todate:  75

What Is In My Bag Scrap-It-Lah October 2010 Challenge

When Jessy came up with this challenge,  my face literally turned pale.  I was quite afraid to show the mess in my bag.  On normal days - I would have tons of receipt,  wrappers etc in it and what???  I am supposed to tell the whole world what a slob I am???  Well - I have to be strong and embrace the truth and hence,  my layout this month is titled aptly,  "Such a Mess in My bag."

Dug out some of my Scarlet Lime kit and used the papers and embellishment.  I love SC kits as they really do pack a lot in there.  This Autumn kit had a purple mist which I used on the tag,  all the papers here and the Prima alphas.  I have also added some of the new Momoyo sticker trims and buttons,  do look out for them at Kinokuniya,  Isetan (stationery department),  Popular and MPH book stores.

Do join us here for this challenge.  I loved how the rest of the DTs interpreted the challenge and most of them had very organised and neat handbags unlike me.   LOL....  

Materials used:
Scarlet Lime Autumn Kit (all patterned pps,  Mist,  Tag, Prima Alphas and pearl blings),  Doiley from Bangkok,  Trims and Buttons from Momoyo,  Beacon Glue,  3d pop up foam and purple ribbon from local haberdashery.)

Layouts todate:  74

Mid-Autumn Festival, Mooncake aka Lantern Festival

The Mooncake aka Lantern Festival is around the corner.  For more information on the festival,  please go here.  This year it falls on Wednesday,  22nd September,  2010.  We decided to celebrate it early and walk around the condominium for fun.  I bought the kids all these traditional candle cellophane paper lanterns.  Of course you can buy the battery operated ones but I still prefer these.  

Here are the kids amidst the glow of their lanterns.  Love this picture very very much.

I can't wait for Wednesday when I hope we have time to do another walkabout around the pool again.  :)

U And Me

The Momoyo ladies dropped by today to pass me some of their latest stickers.  When I saw these sets of beautiful puffy stickers,  I was over the moon.  I couldn't wait for dinner to be over and time to use them.  I decided to use them simply and a bit layered.

Finally took out my Tim Holtz stamps and I used the Jo Sonja white acrylic paint to stamp the backgrounds.  I kept it simple so that you can appreciate how 2d the stickers look.  Don't you love them all?  The stickers will soon be available at Isetan (2nd Floor Stationery department),  MPH,  Art Friend,  Kinokuniya and Popular Bookstores.

Materials used:
Momoyo Puffy Stickers (Flowers,  Doilies, Lace border and Alphas),  Making Memories Sticker Alpha, Buttons and Pearl Blings (Artists's Own),  Tim Holtz Stamps,  Jo Sonja Acrylic Paint,  Bazzill White and Kraft Cardstock and DMC Thread.

Layouts todate:  73

Chinatown Walkabout

I have been yearning for years to taking better photos.  Cameras have come and gone and yet I find myself not taking better photos.  I have come to the conclusion that one does NOT need a good camera to take nice photos - its more knowing your camera,  having the eye for the  photo and lot and lots and lots of practice.  

I have decided to take up photography just to fill up my time.  Glad to have found him here.  I had a great time with him taking photos at Chinatown today and also generally just to learn how to use my camera.  Yes,  after 3 years of owning a DSLR, I am still stuck on the AUTO mode (*very shamed faced*) .  It was nice to get out of the rut and try to use the functions on my camera.

Alas,  the technical metering,  shutter and aperture was daunting enough for me and picture composition wise - I was very much lacking.  However, I should view this experience as a first and I should prevail and start using more of the manual mode and get over my fear  and I hope to take better photographs.  

If anyone is interested on going on these walkabouts in Chinatown,  Kuala Lumpur David is contactable through his website here.  I leave you with some photos that I have taken today.