PAPER BAG BOOK 2......

This PBB is for Teresa of CEM. She is one awesome lady!!! Last year, about this time, 2 other friends and I were doing some shopping at her online store.... we confirmed our order and I was just waiting to be invoiced before making payment.... Due to some illness in the family, I could not get online to make payments. Days were spent at the hospital and by the time I got home, I was too tired and drained to do much. When things settled somewhat and I was able to get online..... I discovered that she had sent my order out already.... before I even paid. I wrote to her and she was already in the know about my situation bec my 2 dear friends also wrote to her about it. She wrote me a very encouraging email that touched my heart. I have never met her, but here was someone who reached out as a fellow sister in the Lord, across many oceans, to bring encouragement to me by her words and actions.

Tian, went over to the US mid this year to visit her daughter and this same dear lady sent gifts of paper and stuffs to us through Tian!!! Once again, I wondered at her generosity and kindness!

I had some of the handmade paper through Tian. They were quite interesting in design and texture. Not the usual cardstock that I usually play with.... They were soft and stick to the "snail" tape.... so it's either glue or roll tape to get them to stick! Most of the papers were very pretty and sweet and glitzy! I LOVE glitzy! But (LOLS!) there are a paper or two that were a tad challenging for me to use... the prints were good enough to give a person hypnosis!  @@

BUT! I thought it turned out quite nice..... I was playing with my paper bags and then got caught with with the whole project.... not bad... finished in 3 days....  I know..... I am still working on my first PPB... short attention span I think..... tee hee!

Each page features a bible verse. Most of the verse stamps were from OUR DAILY BREAD DESIGNS and Stampin Up stamps. I hope she will like the book and may she also be encouraged by the words of scripture.

PBA NUMBER ONE.....

I FINALLY broke out my MARIPOSA DCWV papers.... Took like 10 whole minutes before I finally brought myself to cut them down to size to fit my Paper Bag Album!! The papers are just SO PREEETTY!
What's more, I have only ONE sheet of each pattern.... ( I was going thru a SAVE-$$$ phase and decided to share a stack with Adeline....ugh!)
Anyways, I was so InSpired by ROBYN~injoystampin that I started on my PPA... something for my coming 20th anniversary.
SO here's the work in progress.... I've constructed the paper bags into an album and adhere my papers onto it.... I'm going to work on the pockets and tags next... i'm excited about this!

first page

second page

page 3 

page 4

page 5 Is a gate-fold page

page 5 with the left flap closed

used my Nesties to cut out the circles!

page 6

page 7

page 8

my dear son hard at work studying (PSLE)... while mommy is de-strssing 

LIFE'S A MANY ALTERED THINGS.....

The past month have been slow. Family had this flu-ish bug that had such a fun time with us, it wouldn't leave! Yet in the midst of all that, crafting had been interesting. I just altered things.
First, there was my good friend Adeline's birthday.... what do you get for someone who has more crafting stuff than you???? A very difficult problem that one.... So I had to do something that you can't buy elsewhere.... she has been winning card challenges... so making a birthday card was kinda scary...
Finally after much hmmming and aaaaahing, I decided to alter a 7" box for her to keep her beautiful cards in.. and a birthday card that's a mini scrapbook as well.... to scrap her special day.
She was screaming and hopping in delight at my home when she got it.... so I guessed she liked it! *wink*

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Last week I went out with Flo for lunch, we had to go by Courts for her to exchange her phone......As we walked to the Cashiers..... I spied with my little eye.... there in a corner..... this perfect table for my Big Shot machine! I've alway had a soft spot for tiled tables.... was $69, now $49!!!! Aiiiiiyah! must buy...... There looking at it, I was already making plans to altered the sterile white tiles.... The 3 pull out baskets and wood strip shelves were also just what I would have wanted!!!! HOW!?? I asked Flo.... she said "BUY!" SO both of us lugged a table each out to the car.... that was one of the quickest decision in my history of furniture buying! LOLS!

I've forgotten to take a picture of the before (altered) try to imagine white tiles and plain wood skirting..... but here's the finished table.... 
The paper used was WEBSTER'S PAPER ~ Sweet As Cherry Pie Collection!!! SO VERY VERY PRETTY!

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After altered a large area like that I'm ready to do something smaller. My friend HH wanted something for her very first Primary 1 class who are taking their PSLE this year..... After scouting around (Daiso) for alterable things... I found these cute "pill" boxes.... actually I think those are for fishing stuff, bec I found then in that section....
The idea was to encourage them in the Lord, to trust in God for this stressful period of exams..... so I thought the bible verses stamped onto the double-sided paper would be helpful and appropriate. The boxes would be filled with mint sweets.... so that they may take time to RELAX, TAKE ONE (mint)!!!!
Did I mention I LOVe LUV my GYPSY!? It's truly one of my best buys decision.... where was i? Oh yes, the names were designed on the G and cut on the C (ricut) machine. The AC glittered cardstock paper is so so NICEEEEE for this project. I had to cut over each design 4 times, before it cut all the way through! Gotta change the blade soon too. That's the thing about glitter stuff... they do blunt the blade real quick! O my Xyron sticker machine finally came to good use.... I ran the glitter cardstock through first before I cut out the name.... super quick to stick on the names after that!

whoa! talk about being done with alterables for a while.... just got a call to do a wedding "angpow" box..... hmmmming and uhmmmmming now...... kekeke!

A Wedding Tin and Mini Album

Wow! What pretty wedding pictures.... I had enjoyed creating the simple wedding album and the altered tin. It is also the first time I've used Prima's Say It In Pearls/Crystal on my projects and they are really easy to use and so pretty too!

8 X 8" SCRAPBOOK ALBUM for MR & MRS TRIPP

The month of June have been particularly busy..... school hols, church camps, night seminars, women conference..... I'm TIRED out but, there's a new sense of purpose and gratefulness to the LORD for He is Good ALL the time!
This month have zIppEd past so quick .... I need time now to re-group and re-assess my priorities and purpose... sometimes we go round and round in circles because we only focus on things around us..... It's like getting lost in a city.... walk in circles if you only look at what surrounds you.... but if you look up and head for the tallest building... you'd actually GET somewhere! I find the need to look up, to FOCUS on the Sovereign Lord, to find my satisfaction and enjoyment in Him alone.

I'm thankful to the Lord for bring the Tripps to Singapore. Listening to them share is like getting my SOUL-GLASSES (perspectives) cleaned.... As I looked into my soul, I SEE the the Ugliness CLEARer and it's terrible, terrible. i FIND i NEED the LORD. I can never be grateful enough for Christ dying in my place for my sins, so that I can be made clean and whole in the sight of God. Praise to the Lord!

IT IS TIME .... to use my stash that I squirrel away and hoard like precious treasures... for they are just but paper and blings of the (scrapping) world.... I'm trying to not let my hobby "create" me.... but to use my hobby to bring some joy to others and yes.... the joy is mine too!!

BEFORE & AFTER

I ATTENDED a scrapbooking class (Paper Market, Plaza Singapura) with me gal pals last week and had a roaring great time! We stayed 5 hours!
However, I realised that though it was fun to scrap like this.... I was just too distracted to do a good job on my pieces.... ugh!

I spent some time plucking apart the pieces and re-arranging them again... the photos were too big too and so I resized them.

Much happier with the end resultS!

before:

after:

            

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before : 

I just didn't like the frame..... 

after:

so I designed a scalloped frame using my Gypsy and paste it over the original........ much better... in my opinion....

OPERATION SHANGRI-LA!

Here it is.... MOSTLY- done but for some titles and embellishments... 52 pages 200 over photos printed and too many scrapping (happy) hours to count. Pleased with this very first COMPLETED album....
Many thanks again to Nicole Lim, Jonathon and ZhuTing for their photos... without which this album and it's memories would not have been scrapped!

A GYPSY for my Cricut...

From Cricut G

I kept telling myself that I dO Not NEED another tool.... it was launched at about the price of my Cricut 3 years back.... almost $300 USD... Yipes! But the price have come down somewhat and for $145 off ebay... I did not resist long... KAKAKA! It has 2 preloaded cartridges Gypsy Font and Gypsy Wanderings... really really NICE stuff in there... it's like 60 bucks for a great accessory to the Cricut.

So glad now that I did not get the Design Studio earlier to link to my Cricut... The Gypsy is SO SO MUCH more versatile! I bring it with me and can play, plan and design my cuts anywhere, anytime. TOO COOL.
Ooooo... and the welding of letters and shapes together is the BEST!
The search feature is so handy and time-saving.... now I do not need to go through every handbook to look for what I want!
No more having to switch carts between cuts or find space to store carts... everything in the G!!
I'm using my Cricut ALOT more too! And it's even more fun and easier now to scrapbook!

(sorry to the non-cricut friends... who can't understand what i'm raving about.. ;P)

Yes, I've been busy working on my son's China trip last Dec.... I'm only up to day 10.... The photos are awesome (credit goes to NICOLE LIM). I realised that well-taken photos can really inspire one to scrap and the overall finish layout is just SO SO.... YA-hoo! lols!

I hope to finish scrapping the trip soon.... I just need to add the appropriate titles to each layout and I'll be almost done.... haiz! almost....

TIC-TAC-TOE mini album for Sheryl Ann

I wanted to do something different... something simple, yet practical.... makes use of left-over scrap paper and cost saving....


ASIDE: i did a rough est. of what a 10 page + front & back covers, 8x8" scrapbook album would cost.... paper, photo-mat, adhesive, die-cuts, embellishment, binding... (labour cost and photos excluded) ==== about $50 bucks!!! Yikes!

How much would this cost? about $15?

My friend said it looked like a tic-tac-toe grid.... hence, it was dubbed :
TIC-TAC-TOE mini album

Andre's Trip

I FINALLY got started on this.... Andre's trip to China, Shangri-La last Dec. Photo credits goes to Nicole Lim (cute girl in the front row, 1st photo)

When I bought the OLD WORLD DCWV Stack.... I never thought it would be so wonderful to use! I love the distressed look and muted colours so much!

Hope to finish this project soon.... I have 3 half-finished projects lying around... yipes! ....short attention span... my teachers said so too... (hangs head in shame) hahahaha!

Angela's New Niece!

So! Angela and I, had a 3-n-half hr scrap session yesterday... her sister finally sent her photos of the new baby.... she is SO CUTE! So scrap-able!

I especially LOVe these 3 photos... the colour, pose and subject all came together in the way that inspires me! I had to snatch these off Angela's hands to work on them myself.... tee! hee!

I "happen to have" (wink!) the DCWV Green Stack with me and these 2 sheets of pattern paper were just perfect for these photos! Cut the titles on my Cricut (Storybook Font)... done I think..? Just can't decide which way to display the 2 pages.... what do to think?

DAVID"S CARD

MAde this ACCORDION card last night... It's a great way to use up the beautiful scrap papers left-over from other projects! And ooooo the deep-edge punch- Garden Trellis by MS is simply gorgeous to use! (I bought it from CEM recently... Teresa is theBEST!!!! with her prices and shipping rates)ENJOY!

CALENDAR FRAMES

FOR THE LONGEST TIME.... I had these frames on easel bought at Daiso for $2. Didn't know what to do with them!

Yipeez! Now I have another thaaang to alter!

I especially like the small printed calendar that I had downloaded and printed off the internet.

So very easy todo and so PRETTY!