Monday Blues
Michelle
I've got the Monday blues real bad today. Today the winner of the ScrapStreet contest was announced. Congratulations to Janneke who won!

I was trying out for the ScrapStreet magazine team too... Unfortunately, I wasn't chosen. Boohoo... :( Oh well.. I'm sure there's another chance again next time. I really enjoyed this contest. It really pushed me to step up with my scrapping and thanks to it, I've created some of my favorite layouts during this contest, met amazing new friends and learned a lot of things.

Finally finished all my CJ commitments for the moment. This one's for Donna's CJ. Her topic is About Me. I enjoyed doing this double pager.. different from my usual style.. but still I loved the fact I tried something different.



This one is for Gina's CJ - Her topic is Girls and she requested double page pre-made layouts. So here's mine.



Have a few projects in mind to do this week.. and I need to scrap my April review. So will post more layouts soon - hopefully! Stay tuned and have a great week!!!
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Friday, Saturday, Sunday...
Michelle
Woohoo it's the weekend! I came home to more happy mail! :D Today(Friday) I got one from Erin in the US. She sent me pretty green AC thickers and a Creative Imaginations chipboard book and new Prima flowers!!!



Yesterday(Thursday) I came home to 3 packages. I was in total mail heaven! A huge box and an envelope came from Athena for my happy mail.. OMG that girl spoils me so! Check out what she sent me?!







And then I also saw an envelope from American Crafts. I had emailed their customer service when a set of my chipboard thickers had come off the backing and a lot of the alphas were sitting at the bottom of the package. So Debi from AC emailed me back and asked me if I wanted the same ones or I can choose to have the foam/felt ones sent to me as replacement. I asked for the Green Champagne foam thickers.. these are so pretty! And to top it off, she sent me a set of alpha stickers too!





Okay... so I didn't make it to the last round of ScrapStreet Star contest, but I still did the last challenge because I wanted to apply for a spot on their magazine team. One of the rules to apply is that we have to complete all rounds of the contests.

So for the final round, we had to write an article and a layout to go with the article. Here's mine. My article is Free Yourself which can be found here---> Article


My layout - man, my fingers, especially my thumb were soooooo sore after doing all that stitching! All worth it though.. I am really pleased with my layout.






Saw this on Sharon's blog.. really cool! So I went and got one too. :D




Saturday's weather was pretty miserable... just raining all day and really cold. But really perfect for staying home and chillin' out. :D Sunday is just another lazy day... scrapped a double page layout for the Glam Girls CJ... will post that later.. and played at the weekend fair on ScrapStreet. There you go... my weekend update! :D Thanks for visiting!

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Caution : Epic post ahead
Michelle
Okay despite all my intentions to update on Monday about my weekend, it didn't happen. Life got in the way... LOL! I don't even know where to start... I had a huge weekend and a lot of little things to share... so be warned... this will be a crazy long post!

1. Friday night I stayed up all night scrapping Round 4 (check 2 posts down for layout).

2. Saturday morning - Just when I just about dozed off at around 8am... someone banged on my door and I saw that it was the courier guy... YAY! :D But I just didn't have energy to check what I got.. so went back to sleep. Woke up a few hours later and opened the box to find this:


Just how beautiful are these??! Got them from the Netherlands.. my friend Silvia helped me get them. I just LOOOOOVE the colors.. and a bonus... they're FELT!

3. On Saturday afternoon I started my first class for Freestyle Down Under organised by Kiwiscraps. Thank goodness my class started at 2.30pm so I could sleep in after staying up all night! My first class was Rhonna Farrer's Art Attack. This class was really fun and intense at the same time. Rhonna is just sooooo much fun. I really enjoyed her class. We used manila folders to make a mini album to house artwork or photos. I've not quite decided what to put in mine yet actually. For the art journal, we used Autumn Leaves products - Rhonna's designs.... and also the new stamps. You really needed to concentrate hard in this class due to the way the album is assembled.

Each page does not match on each other but the next set of pages matches the first one. Confusing right?! Oh.. it helps if you have spare glue! I ran out of gluestick towards the end of the class... OMG! Anyway... I haven't fully finished this one yet... so will post the completed photos when I do finish it! LOL!

4. After class, my dinner plans somewhat got changed.. so I went to a bookstore and got some more glue stick and an extra roll of adhesive and went off to Starbucks for coffee and some sort of dinner. And I still had over an hour to kill.. so I went to Jay's work (he wasn't there yet) and played pool with his boss/friend. Pretty fun.....

5. Met up with Jo, Donna and Gina and went with them to get dinner 'cos they just finished class at 6.50pm. That was quite a rush.. and we went back to the Duxton Hotel for the crop.

6. At the crop we started off with prizes. David got us to stand up and to check under our chairs. Anyone with a ticket under it had to then check for a number. Mine didn't have a number.. but everyone who had a card still got a prize. Got a paperpack.. :)

We also got to watch short videos of each artists' scrap space... it was really cool and interesting to see where they create and how they organise their supplies! Emily's movie was like a doco from Animal Planet! That was a really fun take on the movie. Tried to take pictures of all the tutors together - it was really hard to get a shot where everyone was looking at the camera (almost anyway)... so here it is....after 7 takes!

Wendy Redhaw-Bruhns, Tia Bennett, Rhonna Farrer, Zina Wright, Kim Henkel, Emily Falconbridge

After that, the tutors all came up the front to show their make and takes.. they weren't staying and just showed us what the make-and-takes looked like. I did get them to sign my Freestyle book... and a photo each with Rhonna Farrer & Tia Bennett. :D
Me & Rhonna


Me & Tia Bennett

Jo, Donna, Gina and I then went around the 4 different tables and did the make and takes.. had lots of fun laughing and chatting.. and of course no other scrapping done! Went home really tired but had an awesome time!


Gina, Michelle, Jo & Donna

Got home and prepared the things I needed for my class the next day. 8.30am on a Sunday! Insane! :D Practically crashed around 12.30am.

7. Sunday morning 8.30am - Emily Falconbridge's class - Wall Art. This was sooooooo much fun! I really enjoyed this class... it really took away all my fears of using fabric and paint.. and feels really liberating! Emily brought 2 canvases that she did and showed us in class. Here they are:

Emily's Canvases




The start of my canvas

My completed canvas - I really really LOVE my canvas.. it's done in colors that I really like and a quote that I believe in. This canvas is now mounted on my bedroom wall! Makes me really happy looking at it everyday!



Emily & I - after class


8. Finally got the Look Book and the Designing with Color book - both from Autumn Leaves. I've had my eye on these 2 books since they came out last year.. finally got them at CC07! I am slowly savoring each page of the books... :D


9. Happy Mail Monday and Tuesday

A beautiful handmade card from Marie Starr


Yummy goodies from my Happy Mail partner Vee

10. New scrappy goodies from 2Peas...Hambly, Bazzill Scallops, AC Greenhouse Felt Flowers, Queen & Co Felt trim, Queen & Co bling and buttons and alpha dots and brads, KI Memories Surprise Heartfelt Blooms, epoxy alphas and Surprise Cardstock Essentials, Surprise Color Lab, and Hambly Journaling overlays! YAY!


So there ya go! My epic post! I promise that I'll update sooner so that I don't put you through so much to read! :D If you've made it all the way to here.. CONGRATULATIONS and thanks for reading!

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Disappointment hits hard!
Michelle
I just found out that I didn't make it to the top 10 of the ScrapStreet Star contest.

Somehow, deep down I kinda had a feeling that I may not make it through this round but I did hope that by praying fervently, I would still somehow make it through!

I'm just truly gutted .... and I just can't quite find the words to describe what I'm feeling right now.

I'm still going to finish this weeks challenge as I still want to apply for a position on the ScrapStreet magazine team.
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Round 4!
Michelle
Okay... slightly overdue post since the results of Round 4 will be out in less than 24 hours!

For Round 4 of ScrapStreet Star, our assignment was to post a challenge, scrap your own challenge and to get a friend to do your challenge too!

My challenge was called Scrap By Numbers Scrap a layout with:

 1 song lyric (the whole song or a part of it)
2 types of Chipboard elements - alphas or flowers or swirls (you can use as many as you want of each type)
3 transparent products (Ghost shapes, transparencies, clear buttons)
4 different types of patterned paper (Does not matter if they are from the same manufacturer, they just have to be different)
5 ribbons/fibre
6 different manufacturers' products (For example, your embellishments and patterned papers in total should be from 6 different manufacturers)
7 colors on the actual layout

I enlisted my dear friend, Amy's help to do my challenge. Here's her take:

The Good Stuff
Fellow Glam Girl, Debbie asked me what I had to do for Round 4 and when I told her, she so kindly offered to do my challenge too! Here's her version:

We Are Family

Sorry I can only post links as I don't have the original photos. I had a bit of problem with this round... not so much with the challenge... but just had a crazy week which caused my mojo to go into hiding. I did get my layout done though.. here it is:



Thanks for peeking! Will be back to update about my fun-filled weekend tomorrow... and by then I'll probably know if I make it to the final round of the ScrapStreet Star contest or not. Keep your fingers and toes and everything else crossed for me okay....
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7 Random things
Michelle
Okay... Nicole over at ScrapStreet tagged me.

Here's the deal, I list 7 random facts about myself and then choose 7 people to tag to do the same thing on their blog.

1. I am a camera whore! I love having my photo taken! :D

2. I work for a private investigation company. No, I'm not a detective. LOL!

3. I love pretty things - bags, shoes, jewellery, makeup - but I've always had a love affair with paper.

4. I am a big sucker for chick flicks and chick lit!

5. I am quite a picky eater (especially when it's meat)

6. I am a pretty good pool player.

7. I don't like Tuesdays because it's not really the beginning of the week, not halfway through the week, and definitely does not bring on the weekend!

Okay... let's see who I can tag...

Ruey, Cheryl, Amy, Breanne, Jazz, Pandachu, Debbie

Okay girls... get blogging! :D TGIF!! Will be back later on with more updates.
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Totally worth it!
Michelle
Yeah! I made it to Round 4 of the ScrapStreet Star contest!

OMG I was on pins and needles waiting for the results this morning! And when I saw my name on the list, I nearly couldn't believe it!!! All that lack of sleep and gazillion cups of coffee were totally worth it! :D

I didn't actually do much scrapping after completing my Round 3 projects. I was kinda all scrapped out! Saturday night I went out to dinner with a couple of friends and then went to play a few games of pool (I kicked ass!) and went home and pretty much crashed.

Yesterday I spent most of the day & evening cleaning, purging and organizing my apartment. Feels great to have most of my things organized.. still need get all my scrappy stuff in a better order. I have the habit of not putting papers back where they should go... when I scrapI usually pull out a whole bunch and then do my layout and all.. and when I finish.. sometimes I just keep them all together without sorting them back to where they originally belong. Bad.. I know... 'cos when I need a particular piece, it takes me forever to find it! LOL!

Caught up with a couple of friends I used to work with over dinner just now.. it was a hoot! We just laughed so much and it was great to see them again. We might go out dancing this Friday! :D

Came home to find another Happy Mail package waiting for me.. from Elise. Thanks girl! Love the ribbon and the clips!

Well.. I have totally no energy to do much today.. just going to have a lazy night.. will be watching Desperate Housewives and Men in Trees (the guy is just soooooo dreamy!) and will be calling it an early night! :D

As always.. thanks for popping by.. drop me a comment so I know you've stopped by and I'll visit your blog too!
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Exhausted... but happy
Michelle
OMG I'm exhausted! I stayed up all night Friday and whole of Saturday morning getting my Round 3 project for the ScrapStreet Star contest completed. Started earlier in the week but mojo went missing for a few days.. only came back like early Saturday morning! What's up with that?! Anyway... I got my entry completed and uploaded on time.

For Round 3 we had to design a scrapbook class to teach - a layout, a technique or project... I chose to teach a class called 1 Year in 12 Layouts. To see my class and instructions, go to: Class: 1 Year in 12 Layouts

Cover of album



January



February



March



Now that I've got this super fun album all made up.. I'm going to make sure that I scrap my monthly review by the end of the first week of the next month! Check on me will ya? Make sure I do remember to do it! LOL!

On another note, I got the new HAMBLY yesterday! OMG it was an awesome mailday! First of all, I got my goodies from the music swap. Lisa sent me the pacakage on 27th February.. but I think she might have gone with the slower mail option as I only got the package yesterday! Almost 6 weeks later! Both of us almost gave up hope and thought that it had gone missing in the mail.

When I came home, I saw my order from Scrapgal on top of my mailbox! I was sooooo excited. The moment I got into my apartment, I didn't even bother changing out of my work clothes... tore right into the package and sniffed the yummy goodness of HAMBLY! :D Yup.. you heard right.. I sniffed them! They smell like vanilla.. how can you resist that?!

As you can see.. I actually used some of them already in my layouts above... I was a little nervous about cutting them up at first... they're sooooo pretty to look at!

Ok.. I'm off to bed for very much needed sleep! Have a great day!
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Happy Hump Day
Michelle
Today is indeed a HAPPY hump day! :D

First of all, I got a layout requested for publication for the ScrapStreet monthly e-zine... not sure if this one's for May or June. I have 2 going in for May! YAY! :D

And I came home to more happy mail! Today I got happy mail from Gigi in the US. Thank you Gigi! Love those magnets! They are soooo cool! Don't think I will be using them for what they are intended to be. LOL!



Anyway.. mojo went missing tonight when I really needed to work on my round 3 project! Ugh!! Mojo.. please please come back!

Well.. off to bed now.. Autumn is definitely here! It's soooo cold today! And it's raining right now.. been really windy all day too! Perfect sleep weather! :D

YAY! It's Thursday tomorrow!
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HAPPY Mail Day
Michelle
Today is pretty much a happy mail-related day! What's Happy Mail? Well a group of us on 2Peas signed up to the Got Spirit blog and Cynthia and Breanne who started it all up, came up with the idea for Happy Mail. Face it.. all of us love happy mail. It's better than bills in the mail anyday right?! :D

So we were assigned a partner each whom we send happy mail back and forth to.. just small things in the post... and then C & B started a RAK list where we can send stuff to other Happy Mailers as well.. most of us have a wishlist posted on a Happy Mail RAK thread and we just send little somethings to whoever we want to on that list... it's a really nice feeling to give.. and to receive happy mail. For someone who has had a really bad day or week.. even the smallest happy mail can make things soooooo much better! So there you go... that's what Happy Mail is about. :D

I posted out 3 more Happy Mail packages today... and I came home from a long slow day at work to find 3 Happy Mail packages waiting for me!! OMG I was jumping for joy! That was totally the pick me up I needed after the first day back at work after a 4-day weekend. I was sooooo sleepy at work today! It was torturous!

Jennifer from the US sent me these yummy Hambly and scalloped Bazzill (In my favorite colors!)! And the handmade card is just soooo pretty! I haven't had the chance to play with these scalloped papers yet.. so this totally made my day! Thanks Jennifer!! :D



Silvia from The Netherlands nearly sent me to heaven with this yummy package full of purple flowers, a cute little crochet coaster flower, felt flowers (in colors I LOVE), cool yellow felt trim and the best part.. the HOT PINK felt trim! It's sooooo pretty and I've been coveting them for a while now! Silvia.. thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!



Tammie from the US sent me Queen & Co beadifuls, an assortment of buttons, cute MM flat clips, chipboard tags and the gorgeous Doodlebug flowers in lime green (the color that I don't have!).... *sigh* I'm soooooo lucky! Thank you so much Tammie!!



Well.. this has been an awesome Tuesday!! :D

I need to scrap tonight.. quite a few little projects to finish.. and I need to get on with my ScrapStreet Star assignment for this week. Oh yeah.. I made it to Round 3! LOL! I'm quite nervous about this week's assignment since they'll be cutting 20 people from the group down to the top 20 continuing on to Round 4 next week! OMG! Keep those fingers and toes crossed for me okay.. I really hope I can make it to round 4.
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ScrapStreet Star Round 2
Michelle
Woohoo! I've finished my round 2 layout for the ScrapStreet Star Contest. Hope I can get into round 3!!! This time I didn't slide in at the last minute.. I'm actually done with a day to spare! That's a huge improvement for my own records!! :D



This layout is inspired by a quote that I really like (also where the numbers are!)
Title/journaling: There are only 3 colors, 10 digits, 7 notes; it's what we do with them that's important. -Jim Rohn-
Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill, Patterned Paper - Urban Lily, Alpha stickers - KI Memories, Chipboard numbers - Heidi Swapp, Flower Rub ons - KI Memories, 'Celebrate your life' rub on - Urban Lily, Pens - Uniball Signo, Sakura & American Crafts

Well.. now comes the excruciating wait to see if I make it to Round 3.. but I need to get started on my Round 3 project... we've been assigned to teach a class! Hmmm.. need to put my thinking cap on...

Have a good Easter weekend!
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It's Tuesday! Good mail day & Scrappy work
Michelle
I got my prize(HM in the Lucky contest) from Capella at OPAAT today! OMG she's soooo generous! I got a whole lot of yummy goodies to play with!



Now on to scrappy stuff....

My first time scrapping with Basic Grey! Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a hard time scrapping with Basic Grey's style of paper. Don't get me wrong... they've always been really beautiful to look at, but I just don't know how to use them in my layouts. When the recent CHA release came out and I saw Scarlett's Letter.... I knew I had to get my hands on some to scrap with! It's not daunting at all this range... here's my first layout created with Scarlett's Letter:



Journaling: TODAY I willl forget about all my worries and focus on everything good in my life... -23 March 07-

I am soooooo loving the new Urban Lily papers and urban cuts... they are soooooo easy to work with and all the color is totally up my alley!

New Urban Lily:

Photo of my cousin and I taken at my aunt's wedding last December. Everything from the new Urban Lily lines...

Journaling:Understands me...is really fun to hang out with...is full of life...is a sister I never had. -December 2006-

New Urban Lily & Queen & Co



Patterned Paper:Urban LilyBeads, Brads, Fab flowers, Sassy Sequins: Queen & CoRound Chipboard: Urban LilyAlpha Sticker: Doodlebug

Journaling:Novotel Benoa Bali, Nusa Dua, Bali7 January 07This trip to Bali was the first holiday I've ever taken with someone who isn't family. Jay and I got to do the whole tourist thing - sightseeing and lazing around in the sun. On the second last day, we moved from the cuty to Nusa Dua - a quieter part of Bali. It was very different compared to busy Kuta. This photo was taken on our last day in Bali. We spent the day enjoying the sun and cocktails on the beach.

Old Urban Lily & KI Memories



Photo of my cousins and I on Christmas Day.

Ok.. enough for today... will update again soon! Have a happy day!
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Overdue Update
Michelle
Wowser! I didn't realise I have not updated my blog for so long! Quite a bit to share... hope you can make it all the way to the end! :D
  • A week ago, I went and got a new hairdo. So.. what do you think??
Before:


After (not a very good picture of the hair style):



  • I had a GREAT mailday on Thursday last week! My little brother sent me a bunch of really cool clothes and a really nice Guess purse! :D He went to LA and Las Vegas over Christmas.. and got me all these goodies! He's great isn't he?! :D I got cool t-shirts from Juicy Couture, Guess, DKNY and Armani Xchange.. and a nice shirt from Burberry and of course my new Guess purse! Check it out... Totally made my day!!
  • Started the ScrapStreet Star contest over at ScrapStreet . I stayed up all of Friday night creating my layout for round 1. Here it is:



  • On Sunday I spent the day with Laura and Lies. We went for high tea at Grand Chancellor Hotel - NOT impressed at all! We then wandered around the shops.. got a few photos with Easter decorations in one of the shops. We went for a late afternoon tea/early dinner at Parade Cafe. The food was great!!! Really satisfying especially after our unimpressive high tea.


Laura



Lies & I



Kumara (sweet potato) chips with Salmon Dip



YUMMY Caesar Salad



Shoestring fries with garlic mayo (to-die-for!)


  • Today - I found out that I made it to round 2 of the ScrapStreet Star contest! YAY!!! I've got my idea for the second round challenge... just need to get it all on paper.

Well.. if you've made it this far... CONGRATULATIONS... I haven't bored you to tears yet! LOL! Thanks for stopping by and I promise I will update again soon!

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