Wednesday, 02 December 2009



  • Today :
    Finishing up Urban Lily layouts before going to Kuala Lumpur,
    writing up a lesson plan and sketches, checking the kits.





     
    I love how Urban Lily is fresh, clean and sophisticated with a modern twist, without the cute-sey. The papers are easy to work with, great for scrappers who want a change from scrapping vintage or heavily embellished paper.



    The day has been rainy. Both Stasha and Augs are at work, Nura is at the dance camp and old enough to get to dance classes herself as the CC is near our home. The last few months has seen her becoming more independent, more aware of doing stuff for herself, better at making sensible choices, she's past the kid phase and so far seems to be managing fine.

    Have a pleasant evening all !



  • GDT projects done with Vanilla Frosting Kit from Scrap-Tastic.
    Visit their site to have a look at how pretty it is !

    This is the mini book made with papers by Webster's pages and Basic Grey, the brass buttons are the kit add-ons.




    The details of the side ......

     


    The blues in the Webster's Pages reminded me of Boy's handsome eyes !





    An artsy styles layout using Basic Grey in the kit and  Glmmer misted.
    The brass button was altered to look vintage.





     


    A mix of Webster's Pages and Basic Grey.





    The details ......





    Thanks for dropping by, I hope the projects have given you ideas on what to scrap next !!


Tuesday, 01 December 2009


  • December's Cocoa Daisy kit, it's packed with goodness, not too Christmas-sy, great for other projects too !


    Nura LOVES the Jurong Bird Park !
    The basic Grey woodsy paper was just the thing for this layout.





    Soar !!! November was a great month for me Scrappy-wise !





    Beautiful ...... like all teen girls can be !!





    Something for Christmas !





    Hope you liked them and got some ideas on how to work the kit, have fun !!!



Saturday, 28 November 2009



  • For Made With Love

    These two girls were in the same ballet class as Stasha and we've known them for quite a while !






    Product details are * Here *


    For Imaginisce using their Polar Expressions paper and cute polar bear stamp :






    Thanks for coming by ! Have a fun weekend, hopefully rain-free for those in Singapore !!!




Friday, 27 November 2009


  • You know me and my obsession for making mini-books right ?

    Here's one for  ScrapTastic,  it will be on the site 1st December !






    Hari Raya Eid al-Adha was a quite one. We spent the morning at mom's home, had a delicious brunch, talked and laughed.
    Mum looks happy and our relationship has gotten progressively better these last few years. After that it was home to spend a rainy afternoon relaxing. Augs is luxuriating on the couch, oblivious to anything else,  glued to soccer matches on TV. Gosh, a Man U game from long ago, Eric Cantona was the reigning hero, David Beckham must've been all of 18 years old (pre-soccer millionaire, pre-Posh Spice, pre-metrosexual).

    Nura is happy with the PSLE results ! She did her best, got good grades for English, Math and Science and now has a confirmed place at SOTA.
    Much thanks to friends who sent their best wishes, they were truly appreciated.


Thursday, 26 November 2009

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

  •  
    Oh .......... My ........... Goshhhhhhh !!!!
    Thank you Lori and Imaginisce, this was so much more than I imagined, what a fabulous package !






    It's time for a Made With Love December class sneak !
    It's the Crate Paper Bliss pack, yep the WHOLE paper pack and for this workshop you will complete 3 layouts, plus one bonus sketch to finish another layout at home. The colours are wonderful - purples, greens with hints of lime-mustard.

       



    No rain today but it's cool with a fresh breeze blowing through the flat ...... nice !!

    PSLE results wll be out tomorrow and we are all anxious to find out how Nura did. Yesterday the Chinese language tutor Mrs Toh phoned from Australia as she made a mistake about the result day ...... it was so sweet of her to call, but she has been tutoring Nura since she was five years old, so I can understand her attachment.

    Let's all hope for good news, for Nura, her classmates and friends.



     

Tuesday, 24 November 2009

  •  
    We went to the dental clinic for the first of regular appointments to get Nura fitted for braces. Her teeth overlap in the front and having them straightened was important, better now over the holidays so she has time to get used to having metal on her teeth. Did you know having braces usually means extractions because the mouth is too crowded ? Nura needed to have two molars taken out. She was a little nervous, but both of us were surprised it went very quickly, the dentist Dr Zhou was calm, very nice which helped tremendously. After very clear instructions about care and hygiene, we headed to Tampines Mall.


    How hard is it to find containers to fit 12 X 12 papers ?? In Singapore, ONLY ONE place sells decent ones : Popular.
    I might have cleared the shop *LOL*
     



    Twice a year Popular gives its loyalty card customers discount coupons and they came at a perfect time as the all the patterned paper and cardstock needed sorting out. I have stackable wire racks but they don't seem to work for me and am hoping to return them to the very nice scrapper who gave them to me.


    Working on a layout for the Kuala Lumpur class ........ maybe I'll teach this, maybe not ..... we'll see how it goes.



     

    This week is starting out good for us ......... hope yours is too !



Sunday, 22 November 2009


  • This was fun !!  Celine is very funny in real life and she does not take celebrity status seriously.





    Jasmine altered these little boxes, they are so, so cute !!





    I mean seriously ........... WHO doesn't love these mists !





    Incomplete work,  will finish it when I can.





    The mini album cover, Stasha will have to fill in the rest herself.



     


    Primary school holidays are here, the PSLE results will be out this Thursday and I'd like to wish good luck to all moms and their  kids who are waiting.

    I have to admit, with Nura's school taken care of next year, I'm not as anxious.

    She and her two friends who are heading to SOTA are very excited about it all, they can't wait. It's good that she has a few familiar faces to have recess with, at least to bridge the gap for the first week before making new friends, it won't be so scary. We are all curious about the new school building, it looks amazing and will have a chance to go inside for the first time on 23rd December for registration, buying of books and school uniform. To think that the kids will be right smack in the city, next to the Museums, five minutes from the Esplanade and the arts organisations who are partnering the school which will hopefully make the learning experiences vibrant and relevant.

    Hope your Sunday is shaping up good ? We are having a slow day, I'll finish more layouts, just potter round the home, doing this and that, probably tidy up my scrap space.



Friday, 20 November 2009

  •  
    Yesterday's Cosmo Cricket mini album class was so much fun !!
    Thank you ladies for joining me and I hope you all learnt a few tricks about minis and now know they are easy to do, not at all intimidating.

    Tomorrow Celine and Karine  start their workshops, I hope to see you there !






    It was raining so heavily that visibility was cut down to about 100m, I could not see the buildings in front of my flat, imagine that !!  Nura had gone to the movies at Tampines Mall with some of her classmates and luckily had gotten on the feeder-bus before the downpour. The cooler tempretures are a welcome break from the heat, made staying in today to scrap really pleasant, am so happy I managed two layouts and will soon be starting on some cards.

    The weekend's here *yaaaaay !!* !!

    For a change I am taking a scrap workshop and I'm REALLY looking forward to this.
    Celine has got such a quirky sense of humour and Karine is so elegant *very model-tall too*.




Wednesday, 18 November 2009


  • Ummmm ...... this smells so beautiful !!
    It's light and fresh with hints of green apple. I love Sasa, a popular Singapore chain of stores selling all manner of beauty products and going in is like being at a fairy wonderland with the sweet smells and pretty colours. There is something for every budget from sweetly packaged, affordable Japanese perfumes to the sophisticated Elizabeth Arden or Versace.

     




    The mail-lady came by yesterday with a fabulous package from Scrap-Tastic where I am their guest December Girlie.  Thank you Becky, you are da bomb !

    Wanna a sneak ?

     





    This morning after getting Nura off to school, answering a few emails, a mug of tea ...... I was hit by a wave of tiredness. Weird, but I decided to listen to my body and took a mid-morning nap, something I've not done for a long time ! I did feel better after and am back on track, my mind alot clearer.

    I took Nura to her ballet class where it started storming madly just after we reached the CC. Waited for 30 minutes, it let up a bit and I headed to Tampines Mall. As much as I grouse over how crowded Tampines is now with three malls, occasionally like today when I needed to buy a couple of things, it's nice NOT having to head downtown in the rain, NOT having to waste time travelling, NOT having to dress up too much. I'm getting more familiar with Tampines 1, the latest mall here which has most of the mid-priced items we see downtown, with enough glitz to make you feel like it's Orchard Road. Of course if your budget is Vuitton or Prada it won't do, but for the 'burbs, it serves it's purpose.



Tuesday, 17 November 2009



  • A sneak for December Cocoa Diasy .....





    Now I need to get to other projects,
    and thank goodness the class samples for December and January are done !
    *.... phew .....*


    Nura's Primary school days are almost at an end. I asked if she was sad and she replied " .... a little .....".  In my mind I cannot remember how we survived this far, suddenly she's all grown, taller than I, how quickly time went ! Bringing up Nura was much easier, second kids usually are as with experience, parents are less pre-occupied with details that don't matter, we learn to pick our battles. Mostly I am relieved and thankful both the girls are well adjusted, almost level headed aside from teen quirks like being completely messy, occasionally egocentric with selective hearing when it comes to the things we tell them.

    As a parent I've realised I'm more an *older* child person. The younger stages in kids do not fascinate me neither do the repetitive (sometimes mind-numbing) actions and reminders required to teach kids good habits or reinforce values. Now that the girls are older, I love going out with them, I love our conversations and even when we disagree or argue, it's easier to deal with it logically, accept as part of their personalities and both of us working out how to understand each other better.



    Hope your week is progressing well !!!



Monday, 16 November 2009



  • How do you live daily ?

    This is my home in it's moments of tidy - it's simple, uncluttered and feels peaceful.





    The layout is an attempt to explain this need for peace and mental freedom in my life.

    ** Using Cocoa Daisy's November Kit **




    The last week had me mulling over cliques and social groups.

    How do you deal with people who can be unconsciously destructive ? They don't mean to be bad or to influence unduly, but as a friend, if you are part of the clique, it's hard not to be pulled into a certain mentality or way of thinking. You get blind-sided and you find it's easier to think like them than to keep your own counsel, to trust your own instincts or believe in your own decisions. I'm not a fan of cliques and prefer to hang out at the fringes, more familiar or friendlier with some than others, but not wholly part of the group. Perhaps having to manage my time between working from home, family and not wanting to get into the politics of *Best Friend Forever* has made me more choosy and careful about who gets near me.

    Am soooo totally past the drama every moment phase of life ..........



Sunday, 15 November 2009


  • Morning everyone !  Are you planning on staying home today ?





    Hop over to Cocoa Daisy for the Fall Crop and be amazed at the techniques tutorials, online classes and challenges. It's all free, with photos to help you along. Ronda Palazzari's Loads of Layers v.2 will rev up your paint and misting skills, it's chock full of inspiration. My Fabric mini class is already there, with Kim Watson's cute mini coming up as well as lots of great challenges with the Daisy Divas. There are lots of prizes to be won, yes, international winners will get the prizes shipped to them and you do not have to use a Cocoa Daisy Kit to participate in the challenges.

    All your layouts must posted on the threads by 22nd November,
    please register with the message board to post at the challenges.

    Come and play, I promise you it will be fun !!!


Saturday, 14 November 2009


  • A fabulous prize to win, so don't wait !!! And YES, they will ship anywhere if you are the winner !!!

    Be a fan of Imaginisce and GlueArts and win! To celebrate the launch of both the fan pages, we're running some friendly competition to see who can get to 1,500 fans first! Visit the Imaginisce fan page, click to become a fan and post on their wall: "I'm a Fanatical Facebook Face-off Fan!" for a chance to win one of two gift baskets of Imaginisce & GlueArts products each worth over $300!

     



    Go, go, Gooooooooo now and sign up............. !!!



    The Cocoa Daisy Fall Crop has started and my online class is in a few minutes, see you there !!!
    The new site is up *WOOOOWWW !*







Friday, 13 November 2009


  • Here it is ........ Urban Swank for Urban Lily !!!
    And I got on the team !!




    When I first started scrapbooking, Urban Lily was one of the HOTEST scrapbook brands around ! The Design Team then was full to bursting with talent likes Alexis Hardy *whoaaaaa* ......... and I used to think how wonderful it must be to design for a popular, exciting brand. Well, hold on to your tools scrappers ....... Urban Lily is back to rock with a new team, new products, new directions !!

    This is all so amazing, thank you Becky for noticing my work.
    *Hehehe* am working again with Miz Gaby (that's Gaby Alcantara) *waves !!!*




  • I love Mrs Incredible !! Her desire to create a *normal* life for her super-powered family in a humdrum everyday society, made it essential for her to be quick at adjusting to changing situations, she was sensible and realistic, she had to be mentally and emotionally strong to steer her extraodinary family through society's expectations.






    Was reading Kristine McKay's Blog, an amazingly creative person who had a post about Defining herself and how in I'm Just a Simple Girl she felt about the hype surrounding elaborate, embellished *professional* work for Design Teams, using very expensive tools and products. The Blog has not been updated for a while now, but there are still nuggets to glean.

    She speaks from the point of having been through some Design Teams and knows how it all works,
    I can totally see where she is coming from.

    Well, what I think is : it's important to do all this with your eyes WIDE open and to make the experiences as positive for you as it is for the owners of the Design Teams. Bottomline, no one is going to give you expensive products and then get shoddy work in return or put up with missed schedules without notice. In addition, you have to be independent ..... you have to be savvy at managing the personalities in the team ...... and you have to be low maintanence, not needy, or take situations too personally.

    For now, I am still enjoying the ride, there is something to learn everyday ......... yep it's still fun !!!



    One wonderful piece of news : I am Scrap-Tastic's December Girlie !!
    They have a fabulous, talented Design Team and it's a real thrill to be able to put my work next to them. Thank you Becky for this opportunity, I am so looking forward to working on the projects.






    There's still one more news to share ........ that will have to wait just a teensy bit longer ......



Tuesday, 10 November 2009


  • All the Cocoa Daisy Divas are so excited !!
    The Fall Crop is almost here !!





    We've got fun challenges lined up, door prizes, you will have a blast !!
    Times are all EST New York, Singapore is 13 hours ahead.
    Please register with the Cocoa Daisy Forum to play along !!


    A peek of my project .....
    .
       
     



Monday, 09 November 2009



  • Hey ..... I got featured in Aussie Scrap Source !!
    Thanks for showing the Basic Grey tags ! 






  • The tune *you got to move it move it ..........you got to move it move it ..........* kept playing in my head because Nura was humming it the whole of yesterday ! And YES, I have to get stuff moving and organised again. Frequently I tell scrappers who purchase die cut systems about accessibility, of keeping everything within easy reach as they will use it more often and this is the real truth. If it's kept in the cupboards, it will not be used as it becomes too tedious to set up. For instance, I rarely used the  Zutter before but when  I moved it to an arm's reach away, I began to use it so much more. Scrappy equipment is meant to be used, not hoarded




    Hey ..... I found more Caterpillar pens !!!





    *Sighhhhh .......... laundry is an endless fact of life ...........*





    Am kitting these for a class in Kuala Lumpur .....
    Cosmo Cricket's Nutmeg, BG's Nook and Pantry, MME Life Stories and
    a bit of MM's Vintage Findings. Love mixing and matching brands !






    That's it folks ! I have some news to share, but not just yet.

    Have a wonderful week ahead !


Hello, my name is Aida

{ Stuff about me }

. live in Singapore .. wife .. mom ..
. love my cats .. addicted to scrapbooking ..
. wish I could read more ..
. forever an optimist .. always hopeful ..
. to have faith in the decisions I make ..
. learning to live with genuine intention ..
. trying to simplify ..
. amazed with the everyday ..
. counting my blessings ..
. refuse to sweat over the small stuff ..
. love to cook .. am a Canon D450 fan ..
. enjoy theater and dance ..
. fan of Midsommer Murders ..
. dislike mean people ..
. loves warm, sunny weather ..
. wishing for a kinder world ..
. Designing for :
. Made With Love ..
. Cocoa Daisy Kits ..
. Imaginisce ..
. Urban Swank for Urban Lily
. GDT December Scrap-tastic

A-HA ! words :

* Hearst CEO Cathie Black *
..... there is no science to
managing life. You just have to know who you are !

* Suze Orman *
Freedom and Power lies in the Truth of who we are, so stop lying to ourselves !



Aida Haron Designing for :

Made With Love



Tel : 6837-3464

November 2009

**NEW** Intermediate Level
Cosmo Cricket Mini book
..Saturday 14th..
..Thursday 19th..

Photobucket

Basic Level
Chatterbox Eclectic Album
(10 pages, 12 x 12 )
..Sunday 29th November
..Thursday 3rd December