Halloween 2007

All printed papers by www.geta2z.com - Junk Drawer by Nicole Iehle. Journaling font John Handy downloaded from the internet. Hero Arts alpha stamps. MM large foam stamps. Ribbon from my stash. Used the Basic Grey tool to cut the pinking edge. I put the word 'Spooky' in the photo before I sent it for printing. However the printer zoomed in too much and so the 'S' and the 'Y' got cut off partially. On a whim I decided to add the word back again after finishing the scans of the layouts.

.... YIKES! I just realized that I made a mistake with the dates on both layouts!! They should say 'Halloween 2007'

Halloween 2007: Ricky told me that this year he felt he was too old to go trick or treating. And neither him nor Lily wanted to dress up. So instead we decided to go see other folks all dressed up for Halloween. The best place to do this is in the evening (special Halloween timings) at the Hong Kong Ocean Park. The park is transformed for almost a whole month into a spooky place, full of scary characters - both real and props. They also have mazes you walk through where all sorts of things jump out at you. Weird sounds and a smoky haze in the dark make this an ideal outing for Halloween. Joe, Lily & I loved it. What we did not anticipate was how scared Ricky would be! Even though he is almost 12 this was still a bit too much for him. He was stoic while we were in the park because it was his idea. But by the time we exited, the poor guy was white with fright! Let's what he suggests next year :-)

And now something to make all of us feel good about ourselves!

Year of the Rat

Cardstock from Club Scrap Orient kit. Printed paper from Sassafrass Lass. 'Rat' stamps from Ko Do Mo stamps. 'ChowMein' font downloaded from the internet. Ink is Adirondack Rust.

This Chinese New Year we had nothing planned. Then at the last minute we decided that we should do at least a dinner. I called the China Club, not sure if they would have a table at the last minute. they did and so we went for a fun dinner with our friends. I love the Peking Duck at this Club. This was our way of bringing in the Year of the Rat.

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In this video an elephant appears to paint a self portrait. The video is heavily edited and it is not easy to tell if this is real or not. However, it is an entertaining way to spend 8 minutes. And if you ask me ... I like to think it is real! I like to believe ... :-)

A Blue & Yellow setting

Paper is from Club Scrap Friendship kit. Ribbons & flowers are from my stash. 'Memories' and the swirl are UM stamps. The yellow center of the flowers is something called 'Diamondz' - small little bits of something plasticky that sparkle.

This is the terrace of my home where we have our BBQs. Stairs lead down to our very own private beach. It is really lovely. The whole 'Blue & Yellow' color combination was something I had always wanted to do. I had great fun making the sunflower centerpieces from scratch. The layout is called 'Memories' because we may have to move soon and this is one of the aspects of this house that I know I will not easily find anywhere else in Hong Kong. Just being prepared :-)

And here is something very interesting that I read today. Dawn from SS Reflections shared it with members of the group and now I feel that I must let everyone who visits this blog read it too!

[Act as if you're on top of the world...even if you're not sure]

by Victoria Moran

IRREPRESSIBLE is my favorite adjective - and possibly my favorite word. I just love the idea that we can perpetually draw on our own unconquerable spirit. One that's buoyant, effervescent, and utterly unstoppable.

Adept at bouncing back, the irrepressible don't see the surface of their lives as solid rock, harsh and unforgiving. Instead, it's more like a trampoline. Sure, they go down; everybody does. But they don't stay there. Rather, their low moments propel them to greater heights.

Some people seem to arrive on earth with a degree of resilience and optimism that's immune to even the harshest pedagogy of the school of hard knocks. As for the rest of us, we can still develop this outlook. It starts by acting "as if." You go about living as if you're on top of things...even if you don't know this for a fact. You surprise your adversaries by showing up for the race, even though they counted you out of the running. You respond to rejections with "Next!" and "Something better is on the way"...even when it sounds like self-delusion, if not an outright lie. You model your actions after the congenitally irrepressible, doing what they do, no matter how initially awkward you may feel.

Sometimes I'm reduced to "Woe is me!" by a major blow or, more often, a series of tiny ones. I first wallow in the agony with all due melodrama. But soon that gets tiring (and a little embarrassing, to be honest). That's when irrepressibility starts to marshal its forces. I feel it inside, growing from a mere spark to a serious flame that burns away "Everything is hopeless" and instead fuels "It ain't over yet." It pushes me out into the world where opportunities and serendipity and miracles of various sizes lie, waiting to be claimed.

Be irrepressible:

Surround yourself with positivity. Feed your spirit with the company of upbeat, land-on-their feet friends.

Find inspiration in biographies. Read books or watch movies that celebrate people who overcame the odds.

Draw strength from songs that tell us nothing is impossible. Musical theater is full of them.

Write the word "Irrepressible" and leave it in places you'll see when you're feeling stressed...your dashboard, your bathroom mirror. This word describes you.

Imperial Cities Gift Album

This is a gift album for my mum, as yet unassembled, made with all the photos leftover from when I did our Summer vacation album. I also used a lot of things from my old stash like Fresh Cuts, 'Travel' stickers, rubber stamps, BG & 7 Gypsies rubs ons, and a couple of those really large metal brads that I never liked because they were so difficult to set.

Digging up Potatoes

Papers by Christine Adolph design for CI. Chipboard letter by Prima Marketing. Alpha stamps by gel.a.tins. & Stampendous. Basic Grey tool for the scalloped border. Also Basic Grey swirly rub ons.

The first layout is Ricky with his Great Aunt Albina. She turned 93 last summer. And she is still so full of energy! And has the sharpest mind ever. Nothing gets by her!

And then there is Ricky digging up potatoes in my vegetable garden. Potatoes are the only veggie that Ricky will help dig up because those are the only veggies he will eat voluntarily ... lol! he absolutely will not help picking anything else.

Ben Ten Birthday

Again, layout design copied from the March CK. Printed paper from ki memories. Alpha stamps are by MSE ( My Sentiments Exactly). Chipboard numbers are by Heidi Swapp. Ben 10 clip art downloaded from the web. And I used the Basic Grey tool to make the scalloped edge for the journaling block.

This year Ricky had a special request for his birthday. He informed me that he was not interested in a party. He wanted instead an 'all you can buy' shopping spree at the Ben 10 counter at Toys R Us. How could I refuse? And so on his birthday Ricky spent a whole afternoon at the Ben 10 counter. He studied every toy, read every word written on the boxes, peered intently at all the displays. At one point he was on the floor surrounded by Ben 10 boxes. And he finally exited the store with bag loads of yellow green boxes. I do believe he bought one of every type of Ben 10 toy!

44th Birthday

Layout design copied from the current CK magazine. Papers & other embellishments from Scrapologie. the number stamp at the bottom of the page is by Club Scrap.

This year, after a lot of thinking and debating and pondering (because it would mean a lot of work for me going up & down stairs - our garden is in 3 levels and the kitchen is on the upper floor too!) I got Joe what he had been asking for for a long time - a barbecue. Of course this means more work for me but it is worth it all to see the look of pure enjoyment on Joe's face when he is grilling that meat. What is it with men & BBQs? I cannot imagine being so thrilled about cooking - be it indoors or out! lol!

Make 3D Pictures From Any Digital Camera! - video powered by Metacafe

Kenya Safari (Set 2)

Layouts done with Club Scrap Safari Kit & Down to Earth UM stamps. Also used Gel.a.tin 'Roman' alphabet letters, QK Abigail alphabets, fuzzy Rub-ons and lots of doodling.

And this concludes the 'Kenya' album. Hope Lily fills in her journaling soon ... :-)