Be Thankful for The Story Matters Weekly Challenge/ So Tell Me Ur Story Challenge

Close- ups

The challenge from The Story Matters is themed on being THANKFUL. This is indeed a timely reminder that we should all be thankful as we approach the end of the year. Another year flies by and we are hopefully another year wiser, but with the financial crisis and bad news everyday, all I hear are complainings and grumblings. The hubster warned that his bonus will definitely be cut and is sad that his hard work in the initial part of the year during rolling good times is probably down the drain. I receive smses from my banker friend worrying about her customers and relationship managers... ...and even the young gal at home complains that she can't get to see her favourite uncle and auntie all the time.

Ephesians 5:20- Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

I am indeed thankful for everything God has blessed our family with. The kids, Papa's job (his bonus may be cut but he's not jobless) which allowed me to stay home (and watch the monsters grow), the quarrels which strengthen us, the laughter and the joy!

Most importantly, I am thankful that I have the 3 of them in my life! And that's my journalling. Btw, I love that cutsie pink clock button that I found in a market here... ...

**Updated on 29 November **

I really like this theme cos' its so meaningful, so i'm submitting it for So Tell Me Your Story challenge as well! I like this blog. Go check out this blog, it has simple and meaningful themes for challenges. Personally, I like the 'All About Me' challenges cos so often, we get caught up in scrappin about others but never about ourselves!

My First Project

This is my very first project- a 'scrapped' wedding album for my brother and his wife, SJ. Both of them dotes on the two monsters a lot, especially Adah. They helped to take care of Adah during the days I was alone in Singapore, during the 2 months when the hubster first came over to Shanghai. This is really a token of appreciation for them and my brother whom we have always regarded as a small boy. He's finally grown up now, with a family of his own.

It was no easy feat rushing through 22 pages of layouts in just 3 weeks. Thanks to Asher who came down with a high fever and ear infection, I stayed awake for several nights and managed to rush through a number of pages. I was too afraid to fall asleep cos' I wanted to check on Asher every hour.


You can tell how 'raw' my works were then(and probably still are)... ...but it was really fun putting the album together and showing it off later!

First Day of School for Creative Scrappers Weekly Sketch Challenge #25

This is for the weekly sketch challenge at Creative Scrappers. I like this layout a lot and since I took up scrapbooking, I like taking pictures and ended up developing so many (in fact, too many) photos of my two monsters! This layout enabled me to include more pictures that say of Adah's school life. The fishie that the class reared together, the school diary which I thought was the most fantastic way of communication with her teachers (since I dun get to speak to them as often as those parents who pick up their children from school as Adah takes the school bus... ...It would have been perfect if I was able to create different sizes of circular punchouts but I only had one circular punch and it is so difficult to get scrapbooking supplies here in Shanghai even though almost everything is 'Made in China'.


This is about Adah and her first day back to school in Kindergarten 1. She moved up to K1 from Toddler class instead of Nursery. She was put in a stream younger than that she would have been if she had studied in Singapore because of the school's academic curriculum and her birthday. But we had the teachers assessed her abilities and moved her to K1 instead, cos she did not seem to be learning much with the younger kids, some who are still in diapers and on pacifiers. We had to constantly tell her that she's going to a different class from her best friend, Lily and wow-ed about how mature and grown up she is now to be in an older class.


She was quite prepared and settled well in the first morning when I sent her to school and is happily adjusted now, 2.5 months down... ...

Wedding Layout- New Life Together

Made this for my brother in law, Khai Chyuan and his wife, Xin Pei. I later got to know she has an English name, Omi. I have been married to hubby for 7 years now and had been a frequent guest at their home since we started dating in 1997, but I hardly spoke much to KC. Nonetheless, I really wanted to present a gift to the new couple as a welcome to the new addition in the family. Also, we couldn't attend the wedding luncheon in Beijing cos' both kids were down.


I must say this is one LO that I spent the most efforts on and I am very proud of the results. Look out how cute the chipboard couple are! (Credits go to this fellow scrapper on TSL who first dressed up a chipboard couple and gave me inspiration!)

Another long time friend

This is for another long time girlfriend. I have known her since we were 13 years old. That's more than half our age! In between those years after secondary school, we drifted apart as we went to different colleges, universities and chose different career paths. But we do try to meet up every few months and I think its our similar life experiences that pulled us together again. I recall her confiding her relationship issues occasionally.


Thank God for MSN now cos' we chat almost everyday about our babies, families and experiences. I had the opportunity to do these layouts and pass them to her when she visited Shanghai recently with her hubby. Her baby is too cute and I can't decide which photos to choose, so I took the nicest and scrapped them.

The Child in a Diva

This is for my girlfriend whom I have known for 14 years, since college. She had been there all these years for me, especially during our uni days when she was my roomie as well. We had jogged at midnight through the campus together, grilled nuggets in that small toaster oven we shared and drank ourselves silly on New Year's day celebration, went to midnight movies and clubbing together then. Most importantly, she was there listening and comforting me when I had my heart broken.


She's one mixed up lady. Sophistication meets kiddish-ness, that's her. (I refused to use childish ness cos she's not immature). She's into clubbing and bellydancing and she likes My Melody cartoon character and those olympic mascots. Call her smart but she's equally blur. I used to hate the way she studied, with music blasting away, reading magazines while we are mugging away. She sleeps by 12 and wakes up at 8, whereas Lixin and I would be brewing coffee to stay awake till the wee hours, cramming in those lecture notes. Yet she scored and graduated with 2nd Upper honors. But she can get so forgetful and careless at times too, losing her camera, ipod and mobile once too often.


This is for you, my friend, who has always been there for me. Over the years, lifestyle changes has caused us to meet up and communicate less often, but whenever we meet, we still have loads to share and giggle about. And between us, we know we will still be there for each other when the need arises.

Innocence for The Story Matters

This is the layout for The Story Matters.

I got to know this talented lady, Claudia through Linh. She's really artistic, photographs well, paints well, design cards well, scraps well and her works are just so nice!!! Claudia and her husband got together to take some pictures of Adah and her best friend, Lily. This was captured of them at play, making funny faces at each other.

The two girls are the best of friends and the worst of enemies. They can be playing so well and chatting with each other like long lost sisters this second and suddenly turn into nasty little girls tearing each other's hair out the next!