Mob mentality

A Japanese video, which I am sure many of you have already seen but is always entertaining. I like how a prank is used to demonstrate the mob mentality inherent in all of us. Having been in a 'mob' situation similar to the one above, while I do laugh, it scares me slightly too!

Today's very simple layout using Club Scrap Art Deco Kit. Some Hero Arts stamps and foam alpha stickers. And I used my deco scissors!!

This is a dinner party that a close friend held for his 50th birthday. Since I do not have any story to tell today, enjoy the '100 person flashmob randomly chasing after people' prank :-)

From my B.O.M

Printed papers are from Imagination Project - Center City designs. All the papers, cardstock & flowers came in a kit from Scrapgoods. 'Dreaming is free' is a sticker from my 'very old & I do not know who makes them' stash.

Summer 1984: This has to be one of the ugliest photographs of me. It was a bad photograph to start with and now it is deteriorating with time. Yet scrap it I must because it holds special memories. I remember so clearly the day this was taken. I had finished that very day the last of the Government Board exams. I had done reasonably well and I was happy with myself. I came home knowing that my school days were done with. Now I had a three month break and then I would head to college.

It was evening and we has fluorescent lights which accounts for the bad lighting. I had finished dinner and was in my pajamas. I remember discussing with my mother about everything that I would now have to do, all the changes that were to happen shortly. I would have to begin commuting by train ~ there being no colleges within walking distance from the house and the better ones were in the city. I showed my mother how I would need to carry a different kind of bag to college ~ not a knapsack anymore ~ I was tired of those from school. She said she hoped I’d do my hair differently. I wished for some nice new clothes. And then she decided to take a photo of me strutting around the house pretending to be a college going girl.

I had everything ahead of me ~ so many expectations; such happy anticipation about all that was yet to come; when I look at this photo I remember so clearly that feeling of unadulterated excitement! This would be the perfect occasion to say that the world then was my oyster. All I had to do was open it up …

Living with Autism

Here is my layout for Autism Awareness month. Except for the chipboard arrow & photo corner, everything else is from the Club Scrap Extra! Extra! kit from June 2004.

Everyday with Ricky is like an adventure, a voyage of discovery. We delight in finding something new that he has learned or some subtle changes in his behavior. Of late we have noticed he has started telling lies and quite well too - I am told that this is good! LOL!

His new vocabulary is so ‘Cool’! This little 'Dude' has made so much progress over the last year! He is making puns on words. He is cracking jokes and asking us if we ‘Get it?’ And more often than not we do! He is so funny that he has us laughing all the time. I love his sense of humor.

And it is so evident how much he loves all of us. I wait everyday for him to come back from school and give me a great big hug! Ricky is very generous with his hugs and they are something special!

Further reading:

• Aspergian Pride Celebrating the accomplishments and the inherent worth of autistic people
  
• AS-IF Information, resource links, and links to discussion groups
  
• Autism Network International A self-help and advocacy organization
  
• Autistics Need Acceptance, Not Cure An article critical of "autism awareness"
  
• This Is Who I Really Am An autistic blogger who signs herself "unashamed" writes about her love of life
  
• Asperger Square 8 "We all have labels, acknowledged or not, because the world has an unmanageable number of facets..."
  

Prank Call

This is so funny I had to share it! I did feel a bit sorry for this poor telemarketer.

And now for the page - Lily at her Activities Camp. I am always amazed at how much more fun school is these days. Nothing like what it was for us - the most we did was go for a class picnic once a year. And I am thrilled that Lily is so adventurous. She loves doing all kinds of outdoor activities. So a whole week spent doing these crazy swingings across the waves and jumping off cliffs was just her thing.

I used a page from the school newsletter in lieu of photos and journaling. Some RS embellishments from my very old stash and some Heidi Swapp rub-ons. This is the first time I used the fuzzy rub ons. I need a little more practice but I think it should not be that difficult to manage to get them placed and rubbed exactly as I want them. Any tips are always appreciated.

iL Divo

Paper from the Urban Gypsy collection by Urban Lilly. And some BG rub-ons.

A few months back iL Divo were in Hong Kong. For just one concert. And Lily being quite a fan of operatic pop music, we could not possibly miss it. It had to be a mum & daughter evening because after I made Joe sit through a Julio Iglesias concert, he threatens me with dire consequences whenever I mention certain kinds of artists.

The fact that all the four singers are so easy on the eyes does help their popularity. Not just young girls but a lot of middle aged women were screaming in the stands! These guys really know how to work it! We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly! Simon Cowell obviously knows his job very well.

A few weeks before the concert I was at Tom Lee, queuing up to collect my internet booked tickets. The rotund lady in front of me was in her early fifties, an almost severe bespectacled countenance, with a pronounced Singaporean accent. She reminded me of a reserved school teacher. Till I made the mistake of asking her if she was waiting to collect tickets for the same concert. I had opened the floodgates of fanatic adulation!

Oh the joy, the passion, the ecstasy even, of witnessing iL Divo sing from such proximity! She had paid for a first row seat. And who was my favorite, she wished to know. That would of course determine which side of the stage I booked my seat, would it not? And how could I possibly not know their names? Everyone knew Carlos and David and Urs and Sebastien!! And did I know where they were singing after Hong Kong? No? Why ever not?!

And so it went on for the half hour I had to wait till I reached the counter. And I came away not only with tickets for iL Divo, but significantly more informed about the group - enough to impress even my 13 year old daughter who previously had a dim view of my knowledge about singers and artists and such.

Summer BBQ

A big barbecue is a must every summer. More than twenty people sitting down to a meal which I did not cook! Woot!! Joe and B are the chefs for the day.

While the food is always great, the one thing I will remember of this barbecue is the 'Case of the Disappearing Wine'! As the morning progressed those of us who were not cooking, chatted with the others and drank glasses of chilled prosecco. And then some of us realised that if we happened to put down our glasses and lend a helping hand at some odd job like laying the table, when we came back to our wine, the glass was empty.

At first I thought that I had made a mistake and had actually finished my wine. When it happened a second time I was thoroughly puzzled because I had just filled up my glass and had only a sip! And there it was again - not a drop left!!

I must have been regarding the glass with a quizzical air because Kaylee came up to me and said "Happening to you too, is it?" Apparently anyone who left their glasses unattended 'lost' their wine. So I set Kaylee to the task. She played Poirot for exactly 3 minutes. That is how long it took her to discover Signora B flitting around the house and blatantly quaffing down the contents of any unattended glass she found. And she did it with such style that I simply could not say anything except hurry up the cooks so that we could all be seated at the table!

Both layouts based on the same design from CK. Very pretty - the newspaper flowers! Perhaps the first set of embellishments that I used up within a week of getting them. I have to figure out a way to make these myself. I think I have a UM newsprint stamp somewhere.

Xmas in HK

This is the first year after my marriage that we did not go to Europe for Christmas. After 18 years of living in this city, it was about time we spent one Christmas in our home!

Plus points: I had to do up just one tree and one set of decorations. I did not have to rush on boxing day to clear up and pack away everything because we had a flight to catch. I did not have to get on a plane! (Can you tell that I am not overly fond of flying?) I always wanted to make an elaborate holiday meal. In Italy the MIL still handles it all. This year I had a great time planning and making Boxing Day lunch. Christmas lunch was a relaxed affair with friends. It was nice to be able to sit outside!

Negatives: I missed the cold! Never did I imagine that the cold had become such an essential part of Christmas for me. Family and friends dropping in to visit. All the wonderful foods that one can get only in Italy during Christmas. I missed packing 300 gifts. Well, not really 300, but this year it just the four of us exchanging gifts. Usually I have to pack at least 30 different packages. And I enjoy all the different packaging ideas the Italian magazines have for Christmas.

Ricky and Lily wrote letters to Santa. Ricky's letter was in earnest, asking for an Xbox360 and a game. Lily's letter was tongue in cheek, asking to go to Italy. Unfortunately neither of them got what they asked for!

All papers from Chloe's Closet. A few rub-ons (BG & some really old border ones) and some chipboard was all that went into these quick layouts. The one for Ricky is a BH layout. Lily's layout is adapted from a CTMH advertisement.

Halloween 06

What is different this Halloween? The costumes! I designed and made them at home for the first time ever!

Lily wanted to be Mother Nature. So we had blues and greens flowing over a white dress, white daisies as accents at the waist and neck. And white daisies in her air. Lily got chosen to be the magician's assistant and she was thrilled!

Ricky had a rich purple wizard's velvet cloak with gold accents. I loved how the wizards hat turned out. The great thing about making it at home? It actually fit Ricky's head and stayed on all evening!
Even though he was very excited about Halloween, Ricky told me that this would be the last year he went trick or treating. He felt like he was too old. Poor baby! He sounded so sad ...

I am finding the Fooflala prints pleasing to work with. Both designs copied from this months CK.

4ever 2gether

The big precut shapes seem to be all the rage these days and make a great impact on the style of the pages. Not to mention the comeback scalloped egdes are making. I still have my deco-edge scissors. I do have to dust them off though ...

I must admit that I was a bit worried when I saw this big red heart in the Scrapologie kit. I have a difficult time doing romantic pages - not really my thing. But I had to use it on a scrapbook page since it was a bit too big for a card. And then I saw this photo of the two of us all dressed up for the New Year's Eve gala. Even though Joe & I do not look very romantic, it is one of the few photos where I am actually with him and not behind the camera. I turned the photo into sepia and I had something that would work with a big red heart! Of course I must mention the swirly curly rub-ons that are everywhere. I really love them. I love the swirls and the curls ... LOL!

Since this is a photo from my daughters' first photo shoot, I had to scrap it. And also because it scared me just how grown up a 13 year old can look with some make up and a dress instead of jeans. It is not good for a mothers' peace of mind ... LOL! And suddenly I am thinking maybe I should get that tummy tuck after all ;-) If I do not buy scrapbooking supplies for a year, do you think I'll save enough?

The Urban Gypsy papers are bright and funky. And I decided to do something completely out of character for me - use bright colours without trying to tone it down. I still love those Art Warehouse stickers.

I am so pleased with the way this layout turned out. I love the rub-ons, the flower, the printed paper. I like the simplicity of the layout. And I love how DD looks in this photo. I did a good job - with everything! {insert a self satisfied cackle here}

Randy Jackson is one of our more famous clients and here Joe is with him in Las Vegas. We think Randy is even cooler after he told Joe how much he loves Italy and all things Italian. Apparently he used to play with Zucchero during his time in Italy. We are all big Zucchero fans!

Again, a set of beautiful papers and accessories from Scrapologie. I copied the design from a layout in CK.

Beijing

4th May 2006: Our first ever trip to the capital city of Beijing. After almost 20 years in Hong Kong this was a trip that was long overdue. We booked a Dragon Air package and I can recommend them to anyone who is visiting Beijing for the first time.


Our first stop was at Wangfujing. There is not much difference between this area and Hong Kong - malls everywhere and brand name shops elbowing each other for window space. From Luis Vuitton to Armani - they are all here.

Since everyone was dressed in jeans and tees just like us, we took photos with some brass statues that were dressed in the old Chinese style. We heard that Wangfujing had a very lively night market and fried scorpions were a popular snack at the market. We decided to give this a pass.

Our guide was a nice girl called Ava. My mother, even though recovering from shingles, and in constant pain, insisted on not postponing the trip. She kept up with us all through the trip and I am really grateful to how much of a help Ava was with her. She kept to her side all the time and helped her along. I had my hands full with Ricky and his whining about wanting to go back to Hong Kong and watch TV.

Our first excursion was to the Ming Tombs. There are 13 tombs of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. We visited Chang Ling, the biggest and most recently restored tomb of the Emperor Yongle. The third Ming Emperor, it was Yongle who actually moved the capital to Beijing and built the Forbidden City.

The main hall of Chang Ling, where we are standing, has been turned into a museum for treasures found at the excavation at another tomb called Ding Ling - the tomb of the emperor Wanli.

Just outside Chang Ling is the Spirit Way. This is a 7 kilometer long approach to the Ming Tombs. It is set in a beautiful garden with the central path lined with 36 stone statues of various animals and officials. It is a beautiful walk but we took the easy way and rode a buggy.

Tian Tan, or the Temple of Heaven, is a Ming Dynasty creation. This temple complex is one of the largest in China. It is here that the Emperors made sacrifices and offered prayers during the winter solstice. Since the Emperor was the son of Heaven, he would ask the Gods, on behalf of his people, for a good harvest.

The round building that we are standing in front of is Qinian Dian - the main temple. The paintwork on the outside, and especially on the inside, is stunning. The hall is entirely made out of wood. There is not a single nail in the building. Unfortunately this building, because it is the highest in the area, gets hit very often by lightening.

The Lama temple is Beijing's most spectacular temple complex. Even though it was not on our itinerary we managed to visit it when we had a few hours free. The complex was built as a palace in the 17th century. It was converted to a Lamasery in 1744. There are five halls with different manifestations of the Buddha. The last hall has a Buddha so huge you have to tilt your head back to an impossible angle to see it all! It is 17 meters high and carved entirely from a single block of sandalwood.

Visiting the Great wall of China - a dream come true for me. One of the Seven wonders of the world, this was the highlight of our trip. I was filled with wonderment at just how much man can achieve when he sets his mind to it. It was quite a sensation - standing on the wall and seeing it stretch into the horizon on either side. I imagined what it must have been like for the soldiers guarding this wall. And when I looked over the edge I wondered how the Mongols had been able to scale it. There must be some parts of the wall that are not so steep.

I felt a little jealous of the Nat Geo writer who traveled the full length of the wall a few years ago. What an experience that must have been. I had to satisfy myself with a trek from one guard post to the other. The steps were pretty steep and slightly scary to navigate. And getting Ricky to even step onto the wall was a challenge. After much coaxing Joe did manage to get him to climb onto the wall and walk a few meters along its length.

Piaceri Proibiti

Another page for the Italian CJ group. This one is about things we like but cannot always indulge in. Of course I thought of food! And high quality champagne, caviar, oysters, sashimi, sake, white truffles and red wine are things I love but have to restrict myself for obvious reasons ... LOL!

I could not find any stamps or photographs for what I wanted to show so I ended up drawing them. And I am not entirely displeased with the results. I actually dug out a punch (those are collecting dust) and punched some designs.

3 Easter layouts

We did our usual thing for Easter - lunch at the club with friends. We were 11 of us but for some reason this time we did not take a group photo. I love the food at Eau. The spread is awesome, as always. The three layouts are for 3 different albums.

Green Double page layout: Printed papers are from the Paper Salon. I am really enjoying working with this line called Palazzo. The prints are classy and very versatile. This is what I hope the first of many pages that I must complete. The photos have been piling up a lot lately.

Blue Single page layout: Papers & Coasters are from Imagination Project. Sutton Place line.

Pink Single page layout: Tickled Pink by Sassafrass Lass. I still do not like these papers but since I have to use them up and they seemed appropriate for easter for DD's album, I tried my best. Wish I could find a etter font for the title but this was all I had in my stash. Scanning this page was a nightmare because of all the lumpy stuff.

Macao

Creative Imaginations paper. Not sure who makes the transparent buttons or the transparent photo holder. Sakura souffle pens for the doodles. And letters are CK Newsprint from QK.

For the journaling, read here.

Two Birthday Boys

All papers and green alpha stickers are from Club Scrap 'Bugs' kit. The large alpha for 'BOYS' are stickers from Doodlebug Design Inc; brown tag stickers from Rebecca Sower Nostalgiques; "2" is Heidi Swapp chipboard. I also used Hero Arts alpha stamps and the Club Scrap bug stamp. S.e.i. rhinestone brads used to affix the smaller tags.

Celebrating the birthday for these two is always difficult. It is on the 6th of January. And everyone is still on holiday then. After a few days school starts and everything is so hectic that there is simply no time to organise a party. By the time February comes around I always feel it is too late! I think it is also Ricky's 'couldn't care less' attitude about parties which made me not worry too much about throwing them. But next year we shall have to host a party come what may because Ricky has finally requested one.

Such a good brother!

And here is a layout from my daughter's birthday party but for my son's album. Papers and round coasters are from Imagination Project. White rub-on letters and buckle from Making Memories. And the 'Remember' sticker is 'Shotz by Danelle Johnson'.

I decided to put this photograph of my DD's birthday in Ricky's album because he really was very well behaved that evening. He stayed out of the way of all the girls and came to join the party only when it was time to cut the birthday cake. To keep the focus on him, I used Picasa to keep Ricky in colour and turned everything else into B&W.

It has been months!

It has been months since I last worked on a page. Life has suddenly gotten a bit too hectic for me to handle - Supermum I am not! I am sorely missing this hobby. And it was a nice break last weekend when I managed to finish two pages for two Italian circle journals. I am pleased with the blue page, not as much with the pink one. Somehow it did not turn out the way I saw it in my head. And I do not think I am liking this line of paper very much. I got the birds paper upside down. The flowers are beginning to irritate me. And I think I do not like pink very much. Not the singer (I love the Stupid Girls song!!), neither the blog (Trent is way cool!) - just this shade of the colour!

Drum Jam!!

One layout done with Club Scrap Fiesta kit, the other with Sassafrass Lass 'Tickled Pink'. Bazzil chipboard flower, Art Warehouse sticker and Making Memories velvet Alpha stickers.

It is three months that Ricky has been learning to play the African Drum. He has picked up so fast! At the performance the children had the cutest little African vests which set the mood for the three Nigerian songs they played. The children have been practicing so hard these last few weeks and they were all so excited about this first ever public performance. It is an amazing boost to their self confidence!

After Ricky's performance we all sat in a huge circle and with Kumi leading us, had an awesome drumming session! There were at least 200 people, each with a percussion instrument of some sort. And none of us were professional musicians. Just regular people who like drumming. It was fun, educational and we made great music.

The waterfront of Tsim Sha Tsui is a beautiful place. We went for a walk down the promenade and had to get some photographs with the Hong Kong skyline as a backdrop. It was a pleasantly different way to spend an afternoon.

Layout for Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness month. And here is my layout about Autism. I had been saving this little essay for some time now. When people ask what it is like to have a child with a disability I show them this wonderful passage. I knew I wanted to do a layout with it because it puts into words what I have always felt in my heart but am unable to express.

Journaling: When you are going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation the day finally arrives. You pack your bags, and off you go. Several hours later the plane lands. The flight attendant comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”
“Holland?!?” you say, “What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.” But there has been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland, and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place. So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for awhile and you catch your breath, you look around… and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills…and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy…and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say, “Yes that is where I was supposed to go. That’s what I planned.”
And the pain of that will never, ever go away…because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss. But…if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the special, the very lovely things…about Holland.

Source: Emily Perie Kingsley
From a Reprint in “Family Resource Committee” Newsletter

Phantasmagorical!

Just playing around with my camera!! Don't you just love the expressions on the faces of the girls?! This is the beauty of the digital camera. You get to see the results immediately! The main photo of DD was what started the whole thing. I was trying to take photographs without a flash so I had set the exposure and f stops & all those things. And as I was taking this photo, DD decided that she'd had enough and jumped up and away. And all I was left with was this ghostly image of her on the sofa. Which gave me the idea for a photo shoot:

I asked the other girls to stand very still with scared expressions - like they had seen a ghost. And DD was moving around. I think girls 2 & 4 have a promising future in drama if they do take it up!

Scenic Route papers & monogram sticker. Don't know who makes the letter brads.

The GAP ad

Again Basic Grey 'Color Me Silly' line. Heidi Swapp chipboard flowers, epoxy sticker, CK Newsprint QK font. All layouts from DD's birthday.

Journaling: The GAP ad is now very popular and so the girls had to do their version!

Legally Teen!

Scenic Route papers & stickers and Scrapworks alpha rub-ons. Could not find a nice big orange flower so a small yellow one will have to do!

Journaling: This year’s party was one that all the girls were looking forward to. An Aesthetician and a Make-Up artist came to the house. First there was a hands-on course on how to take care of the skin. Cleansing, toning, and all the other important things young girls need to know to keep their skins clean and healthy was demonstrated and the girls got to work on themselves. They had individual consultations on their skin types and which products to use. Then the Make-Up artist did half the face of each girl and helped them do the other half. Everyone loved the whole session, which lasted a full three hours. The goodie bags that they took home contained a full set of cleansing products, a lip gloss and a cool eyeshadow set. From the 'Thank Yous' I received, I think everyone had a ball!

A Passion for Riding!

This layout is done using Club Scrap paper. I have been saving it for a while till I could get a decent photo of DD riding. These photos are not so good, but I decided to do the layout anyway while I practise some more my skills for taking action photos. I also need to invest in a new lens so I think it will be a while before I get really good shots. She wanted the layout now! Heidi Swapp chipboard letters, which I painted brown & interference copper. Making Memories definitions.

Journaling by the rider: I love horses! I love to ride and jump and just be with them. I feel free. I feel one with the horse. I feel like am flying and the world just stops and I am alone in the world; just me and my horse. I can feel its heart beating with mine. When I am on a horse I think of nothing else but riding - everything else just melts away…

Whose Angels?

Love the new BG papers - the colours reflect teenage girls perfectly! And this is the first time I decided to hand stitch some thing on the layout - the flower around the yellow chipboard. This will be the last time I hand stitch on any layout. I shall stick to the machine and I have ordered some Hero Arts stitched stamps. They'll have to do! DD & her 13 year old girlfriends acting their age, I guess!!

a Monochromatic Layout challenge

I am so enjoying these challenges! This one is from Scrapologie and I was challenged to do a monochromatic layout in 8½ X 11. Layout design inspired by a layout in the April CK. Papers are from my stash of 3 or 4 years ago. Design Originals, I think.

Journaling: A play about Christopher Columbus, supported by lots of shadow puppetry, was the culmination of a whole month of 'Expressive Arts'. You made a puppet ship, were a great puppeteer, acted very well on stage and said your lines so clearly! Papa and I were thrilled and so proud of your achievement.

Macau - An Architectural Experience

Layout with the very nice new Crate papers. And some pretty alpha rub-ons from K&Co.

Journaling: Chinese New Year 2006 – We found ourselves in Hong Kong, with nothing planned. And the PB family was going to stay in town too. We realized that neither Lily nor Catherine had ever been to Macau. So we decided to visit this Portuguese enclave, which like Hong Kong, has now reverted back to China. Macau used to be very European but in the few years from the handover it has reverted back to its Chinese-ness with amazing speed! We did find a few of the original old buildings when we went walking the back streets. And of course, the main Government building is still there. Everything else has been torn down and replaced with ultra modern structures. The walk up and around the old fort was very nice, as was walking around the streets with strange shops, looking for that bottle of Old Tawny Port, which Joe insisted on buying. Food is always good and we had a nice dinner at the Pousada de Santiago, which is another old fort, built into a mountain. An interesting walk around Stanley Ho’s amusement park which has miniatures of many famous World Heritage sites like the Eiffel Tower, Coliseum and Pyramids of Giza, ended our day trip.

Birthday Layout

Scraplift challenge again. From 2 Peas and I decided to use a layout by Nisa Fiin as my inspiration. Printed paper is from Chatterbox. Stickers are Rebecca Sower. Numbers stamp is from Club Scrap. Sentiment is from Hero Arts.

Joe & Ricky share the same birthday so I always end up doing simlar layouts. This one is for Joe's album, which is why the '42' is more prominent than the '10'

Another New Year's layout

So now that hand journaling and doodling is all the rage, here is my hand journaled and 'doodled' layout! This layout is for DD's album. She dictated the journaling but refused to write it. I tried telling her how it would be nicer for her to actually write it but it's no use discussing this with a thirteen year old.

Papers are leftovers scraps from BG Skate Shoppe. I doodled on some velvet paper, then cut that out and stuck it onto the layout. The smaller flowers are punchies. I also used punched hearts to make the petals of the larger flower. I cut off the base of the heart. Both the monogram letters are matted.

Journaling reads: Margherita & Filippo joined us again this year for our New Year's Eve party at Centenaro. We had fantastic food. The cooking was all done by Mamma, Kali & Rashi. And we also had petardi and sparklers. I even got to sip a little champagne! I had so much fun!!

Beginnings 2006

This is also a scraplift from the same challenge from the pub. I chose this layout because it has been years since I cropped my photos into circles. I wanted to see what it felt like. So I dusted off my CM circle cutter and got to work! Let us say that it was a nice change but I am not going off on the circle tangent again. Papers are from an Italian paper manufacturer Hobby di Carta.

l Journaling is basically me griping about having to throw these parties for 20 people every year and not wanting to do it again! It remains to be seen who wins out this coming New Year's Eve. If I do I'll be at the Country Club with friends, attending the best New Year's Eve party in this town!!

What is in a name?

I did this layout for a challenge on 2Peas. It was fun because I finally had an idea for the next page to add in 'The Book of Me' album. I always keep putting off working on that one. And I scraplifted Gwyn Calvetti (thread on the Pub) so that was two challenges with one layout. The name is from Hindu mythology and has a very romantic story associated with it. I have always liked my name but doubt if I would go that far for any man ... :)

The journaling:

A~parna: Another name for Parvati, Shiva’s wife and the benevolent manifestation of the mother goddess Devi. A~ Parna or ‘without a leaf’ was the name bestowed on Parvati when she was living the life of a hermit and sought to win Shiva’s heart. She mortified her body through austerities, the final one being when she stopped eating the few leaves that she conceded herself and became ‘A~parna’. This won Shiva's admiration, and he accepted her as his consort.

First Ever Scrapbooking Retreat in Hong Kong!

In March, Scrapping Gals, the first Asian Scrapbooking company, organized a retreat in Hong Kong. Of course, I had to join in! And people flew in from other countries too, which was so cool! After my last retreat in the US (in 2001) I knew I loved these but could not always go so far away for my hobby. I love all the gifts we get. So many freebies ... WOW!!

Here is my page dedicated to the event. The little accordian book has the signatures of all the attendees. I am seated in the first row in the Indian top :) Love this line of papers & stickers from K & Co.

Happy Easter!

This is for a DT: The journaling on this layout says "Sweet little girl makes a very scary little bunny!" And if you saw the smaller photos in colour, you would surely have nightmares!! The paint on her face is just horrendous! I love the fact (Thanks Michi for pointing it out!) that her two front teeth are missing and the bunny seems to have taken it. A happy coincidence. The bunny's tummy is a shaker box, which was a requirement for this Easter layout. I had to search my old photos to find something 'Easterish' to make this layout. Never thought I would scrap the ugly bunny photos from 1999!

And using the leftover papers (Paper Patch easter words) and stamps from PSX & Stampa Rosa (Bunny in can - from Alesa Baker designs ~ now calls Imression Obsession its home) I made some cards for the Italian side of the family. Water colour pencils (I love Caran D'Ache) and a blending pen are my favorite colouring technique right now.