Purple and Brown

I recently wrote a piece on how colour trends in scrapbooking follow those of the fashion world closely. The colour combination that I wrote about was Purple and Brown...yuk some of you might think...but think again! I saw these exact colours on Sarah yesterday ( she chooses her own clothes now, and I had forgotten that I had bought these. Or at least, I hadn't bought them at the same time) and thought I just had to capture it to prove I'm not completely colour blind.
Fashion trend setter? Maybe.
For a look at the full article, just go to the Smidapaper link, and look under Tuesday's 3T's.

Surprise!

We had a surprise birthday party for Emily on Saturday. I had invited 8 of her friends, and they were fantastic at keeping the secret...Emily didn't have a clue at all. I didn't even tell Sarah ( I think she was a little miffed that I didn't trust her to keep the secret).
That evening, the girls met me at the restaurant, and we waited for Emily and Sarah to arrive. Emily's face was priceless when she walked in the door and was greeted by a huge shout of "SURPRISE!". It was great, and to top it off, we went to Haagen-Daz for ice-cream and cake after.
To help her remember this special day ( and also cos I'm all out of ideas for a gift), I had all her friends write a little note to Emily, and I took loads of pics of her and her friends, and I'm putting them all together into a tiny 4"x4" album for her...B'Day Book, I'm calling it. Naturally, as an avid scrapbooker, I keep giving everyone 'scrappy' types of presents, my children included! They have long given up hope that they'll be getting a playstation, but it doesn't stop them from putting it on their wish list every year...

A Week in Our Lives

What a week it's been!
We've all had the flu, and a house full of cranky kids is not a lot of fun.
Grandparents visiting from out of town - presents all round including an early birthday gift for Emily ( a scrapbooking kit from Memory Makers!).
I've been working on Christmas cards ( in September? Yup, if we are thinking of making 200 of them) and experimenting with Ranger Distress Inks and Embossing Powders ( not my usual style, so it was quite challenging).
Emily was all nervous about her prefect interview ( the kids filled in an application form for the position of prefect and had an interview) and found out today that she had been selected! Hooray!
Both girls received star badges this week (a badge given out to selected kids each week for good work, good behaviour etc), so both have been beaming from ear to ear. A great start to the year!
Sarah is learning to play hockey, but realised that she had to give up cooking if she wanted to play soccer as well (a few tears there).
We had 9 girls at our house today for the scrapping farewell party...what a mess...all had fun...some very creative pages! Finished with pizza and a movie...a perfect evening.
I'm ready for a quiet weekend, but knowing this household, it's not going to happen, but one can live in hope...

The Gift of Scrapbooking

One of the girls from my daughter's class is leaving Penang to go home to Australia in a week's time, and her friends all want to do something memorable for her. Of course in true scrapbooking form, I suggested that a group of them put together a scrapbook album for her, documenting their friendship, and the great time they have had together in school.
They all thought it was a great idea, and will be meeting up at our house soon to get some serious scrapping done!
It's sad they are leaving, but it's brought home to me again that scrapbooking is a wonderful art form, a way of keeping friends and family closer in spite of the actual miles between them. Sure, we can still keep in touch with emails and phonecalls, but there's something special about turning the pages of an album, and savouring the messages others have left for you, that just can't compare with the sterility of modern technology.
I am impressed that these 9 year old girls already appreciate scrapbooking, and how much joy scrapbooks can bring, to both their creators and recipients alike!
I will be sure to take photos of the completed pages, so that each child will be able to have a digital copy to treasure as well!

Art Forms

Serenity, originally uploaded by esgeh.

I love scrapbooking, and I love making art. One and the same? I think so. Painting, scrapbooking, journalling, ...just different art forms.
After much deliberation, I'm going to take the plunge and put some of my art on public display!
My dream? To one day be good enough to hold a show...