New Releases from Elzybells

Elzybells Art Stamps has released some new sets of clear and rubber stamps today. You should really check them out. I like their stamps for their simple and clean cut lines, and yet their stamps are so fun to color in. Also, the sentiments thought up by Elizabeth are so witty, humorous and fits the themes of the stamps so well.

There are a total of 20 stamps released- 6 clear and 14 rubber. My top 3 favourites have got to be the 'Hey Cupcake', 'Just Desserts' and the oh-so-cute 'Gingerbread Man'. 'Hey Cupcake' for its versatility. Imagine the number of combinations u can get from combining the different stamps available! Check out Elzy's blogs and her fellow design team members' for inspiration. ' Just Desserts' has such cute sentiments with Elzy's trademark girl that I just burst out loud laughing over them at the laptop. My sis has to give me that weird rebel teen look! And of course, that gingerbread man looks so cute and yummilicious! Sigh!!!

On another note, being back in Singapore meant I went into a shopping frenzy. I am at the 2 LSS every week, checking out their new arrivals and every week I swore to myself that I will not be buying anymore and yet I am back the next week! All these, on top of my online sprees. I have amassed such a collection of stamps over the past month that I dunno how to face myself even when I look at the amount of stash in my luggage to lug back to Shanghai. And here I am still blogging away about Elzybells' new stamps and hoping to score at winning all 20 new stamps! Check out her blog for more details!

And I am returning to Shanghai this sunday. Sighs...

Blog Candy

Wow!!! I am finally back in Singapore. It's our 4th day back and the warmth is definitely a nice change from the cold back in Shanghai. The weather has been good- windy and sunny. Adah even asked me on the first day why I was not dressing her in jackets and socks! LOL!

Some blog candy from nice people.
1) Steph is giving away some blog candy to commemorate having 1000 hits on her blog! Click here to check it out.

2) Also Steph is giving away blog candy to celebrate the launch of her blog. How sweet and nice of her!

3) Marlene is celebrating her blogoversary here and she has some yummilicious goodies to give away too.

4) Jeanette is sharing some Stamping Up stamps here. Very generous of her.

5) Crafty Coo is also giving away some candy here.

6) Debby has blog candy for grabs till 30th January.

7)Heather is also giving away some stamps and other craft supplies to celebrate her birthday.

But what I really want to say is these people are not just sweet and generous, they are talented designers and their cards make me drool and so want to improve my craft skills. I am ashamed at how shabby my cards pale in comparison to theirs which are made with love and creativity. So check out their blogs for inspiration!

Laugh using Pencil Lines Sketch #118

This is a layout I did for my girlfriend's new baby using the sketch from Pencil Lines Sketch #118. All babies look so happy and innocent especially when they laugh like that, without any worries, so carefree. Of course, they are still too young to understand. What do they know about the financial crisis that's going on? What do they understand about terrorism? Just gimme my milk and cuddle me! Chensy was a small baby when she was born but she has grown so much and I can't wait to see her and pinch her cute cheeks!

A simple card that I put together in half an hour using 2 seperate Unity stamps. I needed a simple card to go along with a gift for my friend's newborn. (Yes, yet another new baby!) And hubby likes to issue last minute requests for my cards. I was packing for our trip back to Singapore last night when he asked for another card. I have lost count of the number of friends giving birth and having new additions to their families in the past 1 year. There are another few more couples I know who are also pregnant. Woo hoo...but even with so many friends I know who are having babies, the figures for Singapore's reproduction rates don't seem to be improving much.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge Week #33

Woo hoo!!! Went all bling on this one. I enjoyed myself making this card last night. The challenge is to create a frame on your entry. I just had to complete this one last challenge before we set off for home. All participants get a discount at 7kidstocollege.com! I used a Unity stamp to create the frame and rhinestones to fill up the circles which were part of the stamp's design. I then stamped my favourite Penny Black's character, the hedgie, onto the card and another cardstock which I later cut it out and mounted on the card using foam squares for an elevated look. The rhinestones made the card look so bling and I didn't want to overwhelm the feel of the card, so I found a simple rub-on and added it to the right hand side of the card. Do join in the fun at Penny Black Saturday Challenge!

Cupcake Craft Challenge Week 23

Made this card for Cupcake Craft Weekly Challenge. I wanted a generic card, so no sentiment was used and I will add my own later on in the card once I find an occasion for it. I had in mind when I was putting this card together as a card of encouragement for a friend who just delivered and is facing some stress in handling her baby, but I was contemplating doing a cutesy- welcome- baby- new mum- new life- kind of card for her too. Since I can't decide, the card stays generic.

I used my Unity stamps for these- the flowers and the butterfly. I like this sketch a lot as it is easy to piece together and probably will come up with more using this sketch, once I have more time on my hands. I dunno when though, with our upcoming trip, teaching Adah to read, getting Asher to toilet trained and to speak more...I am getting a bit spooked out by the education standards and expectations in Singapore. My hobby may need to take a little back stand now. After all, I am a mother and a wife first before any other indulgences.

Back to the card, I like the unity stamps I have used cos u can easily embellish it with a rhinstone or faux pearls or u can even pop out the flower part. The butterfly image was meant to be embossed but I have yet to find a good heat gun that gives me the effect I want. I snipped off the feelers of the butterfly cos I did a terrible job at cutting around them. Sighs...will need more practice here!

My Valentine

I made this card using the sketch from Sketch Saturday! I am enjoying stamping more and more and there are so many 'pretti-ful' (In Adah's language, its pretty and beautiful combined together) stamps out there, designed by talented ladies. And since there are so much hearts in my card, it just fits the challenge at Secret Crafter too! So, I'm submitting this for their latest hearts challenge!

Elzybell stamps are one of my favourite, and they have just launched a new set for Valentine's Day. I like their stamps except that I find them a bit small. Then, there's whiff of joy, Sugar Nellie (which is only available on funkykits.com only), pink gem designs, etc etc...so a large portion of my scrapbooking expenses now goes to purchasing stamps. I have to control the temptation to just go online, surf and buy now! And I thought being stuck in Shanghai means I will be spending less than my SB friends in Singapore.

Bundle of Joy for Your Scrapbook Stash Birthday Week Challenge

This layout is submitted for Your Scrapbook Stash Birthday Week Challange. I wonder if I am still in time, but it has been a bad week, with Adah sick from last Friday till Tuesday, and then now Asher. I am indeed aging, I remember I used to have the stamina to get up several times to check on the kids when they were babies (even when they started sleeping through the night at 5 weeks), but now when I only have to wake up twice in the night to check on them, I get giddy the next morning.

The picture above was one of the first few photos we had of Asher. I was extremely irritated with the business manager of this particular photo studio which was allowed to call on new mothers who had just delivered in the hospital, when I had Adah. She came every morning, as punctual as my gynae to 'encourage' me to take up their package which includes one shot of the newborn. I was pissed off by her persistence but I caved in the end for Adah. With Asher, I wanted to have his photo taken to ensure both kids are treated fairly, but I could not locate her until the day I was due to be discharged!!!

Asher was such a sleepy baby then. He could hardly open his eyes. The paediatric nurse had to undress him to the skin to wake him up for breastfeeding, so I wonder how the photographer managed to wake him. His eyes looked so small and barely open in the picture.

Back to the challenge, we had to go to the gallery of yourscrapbookstash.com and find a layout that inspires enough for u to scraplift. So, I scraplifted Ericia's one here. I was inspired by the stars used for the little boy. I always seem to have difficulties with boy layouts, cos u can't get all pink and girly, so I really went all out on the stars here! LOL

On a side note, we are due to go back to Singapore for a month!!! Woah...one month back to my sunny island, without the cold and layers of clothing...but without my scrapbooking supplies, so I will be out of action for a month. Maybe more mojo will return after this break.