With Love for Cardabilities

It's the eve of the Chinese New Year! Looking forward to a yummy reunion dinner tonight with my in laws. My son will enjoy all the attention from the grandparents, and this year is extra special as we now a new addition; my little niece who is 3 months old and joining the reunion dinner for the first time! :D Well, even though the reunion dinner is a big and happy event, there's always a poignant nostalgic feeling in me when this day comes. Why? Well, in our Chinese custom, once a daughter is "married out", she will no longer join her own family for the annual feast, like for forever. I'll always remember those rowdy crazy and fun dinners at my mum's place with her maternal family, all the uncles and aunts and cousins will come together and turn the house upside down! I enjoy reminiscing those busy afternoons spent with my dear mum preparing food, cooking and decorating the house. At times we even experimented new dishes to show off to the folks hehehe :D My in-laws on the other hand, don't cook at home so we eat at a restaurant, the food is wonderful no doubt but it lacks that raucous merriment and uninhibited chaos of a home setting. Sigh. Anyway, as long as the old folks are happy I guess. Here's where I envy my Chinese girlfriends who are not married to Chinese husbands, they still get to spend the reunion feast with their own families.

Anyway, enough ramblings for the day... here's a little something for the upcoming V Day; using Sketch #47 from Cardabilities. I made this simple 6' x 6' card with some old American Crafts Romance papers bought at a clearance bargain from a LSS *heehee* There are basically lots of fussy cutting here with some liquid pearls and gem accents.

Thanks for looking! If you're Chinese, part-Chinese or part of a Chinese family somehow, have an awesome reunion dinner tonight! See you again after the Lunar New Year celebrations! XOXO

Always Remember

In my last post, I alluded to some major changes to my current circumstances, so here's my reveal; I'll be going back to full time work! Yes, after over a year of being a stay-home-mum I'm returning to the corporate world. Right after CNY (Chinese New Year), I will be joining a multinational beauty company in the marketing capacity. This means I will see much less of my dear Lucas and also alot less scrapping time. However, I'm looking forward to my new role and the excitement and challenges that comes with building a career. While I do enjoy my precious moments with Lucas all this time, there's always a part of me that miss the adrenaline rush and drive of being in the game, all the challenges and accomplishments of my past ten years of work are what made me who I am today and I look forward to picking up where I left off.

So without much ado, let's get into today's post. These 2 weeks are especially poignant for me as I mentally and emotionally prepare my heart to be strong when I'm away from my son, I came up with this layout to remind myself and him, that no matter what, he'll always be my reason why. Why I chose to work and be away from him is ultimately good for us both. And when I go through rough patches, I'm motivated and comforted knowing that I do all this so that we can both have a better life in the future. I sometimes worry if I can cope with the challenges of being a working mum, I look around me and see alot of successful women who maintains a balanced family and work life, I'm encouraged. Also, I hang on to the promise of this verse; "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" [Philipians 4:13 NKJV] And to top it all off, I'm thankful to have a supportive husband and a super helpful and supportive mum who will be vital in caring for Lucas in my absence.

My sweetest darling boy.

I'm playing along with Bird is the Word with the challenge word Remember. My layout is created mainly using Kaisercraft's Sweet Nothings with lotsa Prima flowers and leaves. I just love this Kaisercraft collection with their delicately whimsical and ethereal feel, very midsummer's night dream :)

Thanks so much for dropping by and reading my ramblings :) Have a glorious weekend ahead, and to my Chinese readers, may you have a happy and blessed new year filled with joy and abundance. And remember, say NO to sharksfin and go easy on the cookies hehehe :D

Gong Xi Fa Cai! 
Xin Nian Qwai Ler!

Happy 2012!!!

Hello scrappers!!! I know I've been so quiet since Christmas, and I didn't even manage to post a proper New Year greeting but hey better late than never; so here I am! Hope everyone had a memorable and wonderful New Year celebration. As for us; we stayed home with lil Lucas and watch the amazing fireworks display at The Curve (neighborhood mall). Yup, we're blessed with the most awesome front-seat view minus the crowd, traffic and parking madness on the eve of New Year.

Anyway, I haven't had time to scrap at all, been busy with some commissioned jobs and cards for the upcoming Chinese New Year (CNY). Also, some major changes are coming up to my current circiumstances, 2012 will indeed be a great year of change and fresh new beginnings for me so I've been really occupied with alot of preparations etc... I will announce this major change soon heehee. Stay tune then :P

On top of that, I've been busy working on a Valentine's Day project which will be a class somewhere in February, here's a sneak preview, details will be announced soon :)

Sneak peek of upcoming 'V' Day Class project!

As not to keep this crafty loft of mine empty too long, I'd like to share some of the CNY cards I've been busy with here.

That's all for now. Thanks for dropping by! Have a great week ahead!