>>> More Snow Again! <<<

Just as I thought the roads were getting better, it started to snow again and loads of it! This morning, the ground was recovered, even more thickly than before and the school run became a nitemare. The boys woke up too late to walk to school so we had to go by car. What a struggle it was. The roads around the school was so thickly covered with snow that cars struggled to get on it. Not surprisingly, it caused a jam. I didn't bother and parked on the main road and walked in instead.

The Infant School decided to end early so I picked Zac after work and went for Oliver. His school was still carrying on but I just couldn't face coming back at 3.30pm to pick him up ... this would mean making 2 trips and I just didn't fancy driving on the road. It was snowing all day too! Quite a number of parents were picking up their kids as well from the Junior School too. (our Infant & Junior schools are operated independently from each other and this can sometimes cause problems if the two Heads don't coordinate with each other).

The boys went back and played with the snow in our garden. This time, the snow was suitable for building snowman and they did:

Initially they both started together but halfway they fought and smashed the snow up! So I had to send them in separate areas to build their own snowmen instead! Typical!!!

Oliver deep in concentration

Finally, his effort was rewarded! An impressive snowman, created entirely by him.

The wee one rolling his snowman base.

His li'l snowman!

We never had that much snow before and this year, it has gone on longer than expected, a week! As much as I like snow, I'm getting fed-up of it now. Novelty has worn off. A lot of stuff has been severely disrupted. Even the bin men saw fit not to pick up the rubbish today!!!  (And they only come once a week). Anyway, I took advantage and took photos of anything snowy. Here's a couple of random images of the snow.

Snow on the branches.

A ball lying on the ground in the garden. That's how much snow we have had so far!

Not sure when this arctic condition ends but I guess you just have to endure as best as possible. Looking forward to the weekend! TTFN!

>>> Mojo Monday: Week 121 <<<

Here's a sketch from Mojo Monday:

Here's my card:

Patterned paper by Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses. Stamped images from {ippity} Kissmass & Mistletoe stamp set.

Here's the inside:

Kinda like adding stamped images on the inside.

TTFN!

>>> CardPatterns: Sketch 46 <<<

Here's a sketch from CardPatterns:

Here's my card:

Patterned paper by Pink Paislee Cupid collection. Stamped image from Unity's Lollipop Tree You & Me stamp set and coloured using Promarkers. I turned the sketch to suit my design.

TTFN!

>>> Caardvarks: Jan challenge1 <<<

Had some time on my hands so joined in some challenges on some card blogs. Here's Caardvarks sketch challenge:

Here's  my card:

I turned the sketch to suit my design. Patterned paper by Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses. Stamped images from {ippity} stamps.

Here's the inside of the card:

Stamped sentiment and background images from Unity's Bright and Merry Winter Wishes.

You may be wondering why I'm doing Xmas cards now but I ran out of Xmas cards last Xmas and had to resort to buying commercial ones. So this year, I've calculated how many cards I need and it seems I need to make at least 8 Xmas cards a month in order to meet my needs for this year's Xmas. Let's see how it goes... TTFN!

>>> 365 Cards: Day 318 <<<

Today's challenge is entitled 'Home Sweet Home'. As the name implies, this requires an image of a house on the card. Using In Style image, I came up with this:

Patterned paper from Pink Paislee Cupid and Bella Blvd Honey, I'm Home collections. I cut a hole in the birdhouse and attach a little birdie, sticking its head out. The bird image is also from In Style as well. Sentiment is from Unity.

Thanks for dropping by. TTFN!

>>> On Display: BackPorch Memories: Jan 2010 <<<

It's reveal time at BackPorch Memories and this month I'm working with Medley kit. Here's what on offer:

Solo kit featuring Sassafras Monstrosity

Medley kit featuring collections from Sassafras Amplify, Pink Paislee Cupid & Bella Blvd Honey, I'm Home.

BPM Jan stamp set. Boy can I see so much uses for this set!

Here's what I've done with the Medley kit:

The stamped images in the background came from BPM Dec stamp set. Xmas tree is from Unity.

Pink Paislee papers and Honey, I'm Home embellishments, cut from a die-cut sheet. Flowers with buttons came from Sassafras embellishment.

We had had so much snow that I couldn't help document it. Papers by Sassafras Amplify. Stamped embellishment is from {ippity} Life's Little Moments set (which you can get it here).

Card created completely from die-cut sheet.

Chipboard house is from Scenic Route (gonna miss their products). Fence from MS border punch.

Have to say, created all these on the day of reveal as I was seriously lacking in mojo and desire. Each time I took it out to play, I just didn't feel like it. Eventually on the eve of display, took it out again and managed a LO. Then towards midnite, the ideas started flowing. Completed the rest the following day. As usual, I strive on stress! Without it, just no inclination to create! TTFN!

>>> H{ippity} Hop! <<<

H{ippity} hopping on my {ippity} blog today! TTFN!

>>> 365 Cards: Day 315 <<<

It's Super Sketchy Sunday today and here is today's sketch:

Today also marks the week whereby 365 Cards is sponsored by In Style Stamps. Click on the logo to check out their products.

Here's my card, using the sketch and stamped image:

Patterned paper by College Press and Pink Paislee (black strip). Card was embossed using Cuttlebug embossing folder. The gal and kitten image is from In Style and coloured using Promarkers. Sentiment is from Unity.

Check out the 365 Cards blog to see how you can be entered into a draw to win their stamps. I'll be back on Tuesday with another of their stamped image. TTFN!

>>> Unity's Friends with Flair <<<

Welcome to the first FWF for 2010! Hope the year is going well. We have had a freezing start to the New Year and my area usually don't get that much snow but we have been inundated with it.

I've played with some new sets and here's what I've done.

Patterned papers by Basic Grey Boxer and Little Yellow Bicycle  collections. The 'sweet' image is from Dec store kit. The 'wings' are from Aug 09 KOTM. (Card is also created for 365 Cards challenge Day 312 which ask to incorporate a metal piece on the card)

Here's the inside:

Here's another card created using Dec store kit:

I adore this tree trunk image... just so unique. Lots of stamping and I made use of the tone-on-tone stamping technique too. Kept this simple and rather male-ish so that it would be suitable as a male card.

Here's the inside of the card:

Luv the sentiment!

Finally, here's my last project, a page from my Journal Your Christmas album, that was run by Shimelle. Can't say I've finished the album but am slowly catching up. The scrapbooking stamp kit came in handy for this album. I made use of Nov kit. Here's my 25th page:

Front of the page. Patterned paper by Webster Pages.

Made use of the date stamp.

Here's the back page:

Made use of the journaling blocks here.

Thanks for dropping by. Have a great day! TTFN!

>>> Closure Of Schools! <<<

So I got a text this morning at 7.50am to inform me that the Infant School is closed due to heating failure. Nothing from the Junior school. Then a phone call from a friend who informed me that the Junior School is closed too as she got a text but I didn't... now that is seriously as I would have brought my eldest there only to find it was closed. Thank goodness she informed me. Sudden closure like this caused problems for working parents so I helped her out... babysit her two gals who happened to be in my boys' classes too. Looking after gals are far easier than boys... less noisy and boisterous!

The snow helped a lot as all four of them were outside playing on the sledge. Snow was too soft to build a snowman but it didn't deter the kids from throwing snowballs.

It's a little heavy pulling 2 people.

Not surprising, those kids came up with different ways of being on the sledge, with a little fairy tale thrown in too!

I'm just so glad schools were closed today. Thankfully, the weekend is free from activities too. More snow is predicted so I guess the best place is staying at home & crafting! TTFN!

>>> Big Freeze! <<<

Yesterday, the snow was fluffy, too soft to even build a snowman or throw snowballs! Today, it was hard, like ice. I took one look at my driveway especially the slope and decided it wasn't worth driving. So dug out the sledge and told the boys we were walking to school. We don't live near it but I just didn't want to risk driving. Boys were naturally delighted.

It took us 30 mins to get to school but we made it. The boys asked to do the same for tomorrow. Why not! It isn't often that we get so much snow here, in fact hardly. It's only in recent years that we are seeing more and more snow. A lot of the boys' extra curricular activities have been cancelled too. Thank goodness for that. I want to avoid driving as much as I can.

On the crafting side, major lack of mojo.... too cold I guess. The need to go to bed early 'cos once the heater is off, it's freezing cold. Sometimes wish I could hibernate till spring comes. As much as I luv the snow, I think I had enough. It's horrible having numbed fingers and toes, despite wearing gloves and thick, thermal socks! And I hate driving on icy roads.... your car simply slither and slide about.... just terrifying... and I talking about driving at 10 miles/hr! What's worst, more snow is being predicted this weekend ..... urghhh! TTFN!

>>> 365 Cards: Day 312 <<<

The challenge is entitled 'Metal Mania'. It asks for a piece of metal on the card. Great challenge as I've got tons of metal embellishments. Here's my card:

My card incorporating stamped images from Unity. The 'sweet' background image is from Dec store kit. The 'wings' is from August KOTM. The white card was embossed with Cuttlebug hearts embossing folder. Red patterned paper from Basic Grey Boxer collection, green one is from Little Yellow Bicycle Vita Bella collection.

The inside of the card.

TTFN!

>>> Snowed In! <<<

The boys are back at school today and I'm back at work too. About 10ish this morning, happened to look out and gosh, it was snowing heavily. Within 5 minutes, the ground was completely covered and within an hour, a good 3 inches thick of snow.

My driveway.

The road around the school wasn't gritted so had to park my car on the main road and walked in. I'm terrified about driving on icy roads.... had a horrible experience before. The boys simply revelled in throwing snowballs at their friends... the school ground was completely covered in inches deep of snow. When they got home, not surprising, they went into the garden to try and build a snowman!

Can't say they were successful. I believe there is an art to doing it. I was busy sorting out their dinner so couldn't help them. Beside, it was just wayyy too cold to go outside. Oh yes, snow was falling when I took this photo.

I did persuade them to post for me though, before they went to play. These days, getting them to pose requires a lot of bribery and cajoling!

Those 'dots' are falling snow!

It certainly has been snowing more frequently here. In fact quite often in the last few years. It never used to snow before. Snow does excite me... well, coming from a tropical island that has summer all year round, I used to dream about what snow was all about. I still do like seeing snow, playing with it and it does change the scenery .... like a picture postcard. However, just dislike driving in it. Fingers crossed that schools might just closed for the next few days as more snow is forecasted.

Xmas tree finally came down. The boys willingly helped. For me, it kinda signified the end of the festive season and the return to normality. Can't believe the 2 weeks break has gone. Well, as they say, time flies when you're having fun! TTFN!

>>>365 Cards: Day 311 <<<

Here's the deet: 

The challenge for today is to substitute a word with an image. So you're incorporating an image on your card with the sentiment.

Pam certainly come up with some interesting challenge. I had no problem with this one as I've got the perfect stamp images/sentiment for this: 

Fill in the blank ... the word is shopping! Hence the image of a crossword puzzle behind the handbag. All stamped images from Unity's Dec's KOTM set. Patterned papers by October Afternoon Daydream collection

TTFN!

>>> H{ippity} Hop! <<<

It's H{ippity} Hop on my {ippity} blog today! TTFN!

>>> Another Woot! <<<

We're now back from Poole where we spent the last few days there, celebrating the New Year with relatives. Two week hols are now over. 2009 has passed on and it's back to routines from tomorrow onwards. Seriously, where does time go?

Time for a blog makeover as Xmas is now over. Got this blog design from here. She does some amazing work!

Been checking out some challenge blogs and found that I had won Craft Butterfly's December challenge and this wonderful prize!

The prize was kindly donated by The Sampler

Here's the LO that I created:

Patterned papers by LilyBee Vintage Poppy. Stamped images by {ippity} Kissmass & Mistletoe set.

Weather forecast for this month is gonna be freezing cold. I'm so not looking forward to that! TTFN!

>>> 365 Cards: Day 309 <<<

Today's challenge is based on a sketch:

A fairly easy sketch to follow and here's my card:

Hot air balloon image and sentiment from Unity's Dec KOTM set. The 'love' background set is from {ippity} Because of You set (which can be bought here). Patterned paper from Crate Paper Fall collection.

TTFN!

>>> Woot Woot! <<<

This was the first magazine I bought in 2004 when I started learning about cardmaking. I got into stamping, became interested and found this magazine that was dedicated to stamping. Then I switched to scrapbooking and stopped purchasing it. Fast forward 5 years, I picked up this magazine some time in the middle of last year. There was a complete revamp of it and it suddenly became interesting. It became my monthly fix. I certainly did pick up a lot of ideas about stamping. Then one day, I received an email asking me to take part in a stamping contrast challenge. I did and it was featured in October issue. While on holiday in Singapore, I received an invitation to join the design team. OMG! I was shell-shocked but naturally delighted. Stamping is one of my passion (the amount of stamps I own is a major testament to it) and I feel naked if I don't do any stamping on my projects.

This February issue feature my first submission to the magazine as a DT contributor. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to display what I've done but I can offer a sneak peek.

I had an enjoyable time doing it and can't wait to have it back. I also want to give a shout to Alix, who created the opportunity for me. Thanks so much. I certainly look forward to more stamping and creating for my fav magazine! TTFN!

>>> Poole Beach! <<<

It's a tradition in Poole that on New Year's day, one takes a walk on Poole beach. So off we went. It was certainly crowded. The boys were delighted that they could play with sand. Weather was brilliant too, very sunny but still cold at 0℃.

Had great difficulty getting my boys to walk as all they wanted to do was play with sand:

My youngest!

We'll be here till Sunday. Luv hanging around this city. TTFN!

>>>Unity's Friends with Flair <<<

Happy New Year!

It's 2010! Gosh, have to start remembering to write that date from now on. 2009 passed so quickly and I certainly enjoyed that year! Looking forward to what 2010 brings!

It's the first day for Friends with Flair and I start with this Valentine's card (well, it's only next month)! I made use of Dec KOTM. Luv all the images on there.

Patterned paper by Sassafras.

Here's what written on the inside.

Also created 2 tags as giveaways. Made use of Nov store kit.

Thanks for dropping by. Hope you're having a great start to a New Year! TTFN!

>>> Happy New Year <<<

What better way to start the New Year with a bubbly!!! We watched the fireworks going off in London on TV and celebrated in our own way with relatives and friends.

It's a tradition to walk along the beach on New Year day and that is where we're going later in the day. I want to wish all my family and friends a very Happy New Year! TTFN!