Monday, September 29, 2008

Happy Anniversary

Time goes by really fast.. it seems like we just got married yesterday... but here we are, many years later, with 2 kids and a whole bunch of baggage. Good thing life is not like airlines these days.. it doesn't charge extra fees for baggage.. or does it???

So how did we manage to weather the stormy days? Obsessions, my friend! He has his photography and I have my scrapbooking! That and with many many blessings and prayers from those around us .... :)

Anyway, I fell in love with the K&Co Blue Awning collection. (Yes, I admit it, I am hopelessly in love with blue. If you have to pair it with something else, it's got to be green or purple.) I thought the blue and green and beige will make a perfectly masculine card!


This is my first time making a gate fold card. I had to add 1/2 to the total width of the card, and then trimmed the fold to give it the diamond shape. I added the blue strips to the outward facing side of the card and then added the triangle onto the front. I added a lighter colour patterned paper to the inside of the card so that I can write a message in there.

Double-sided patterned paper works really well in a gate fold card. When you fold the card, you get different patterns without having to glue another layer to it. I also love the fact that the double-side papers are usually colour-coordinated.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Special Delivery

It's been a great couple of weeks. Our friends have given birth, brought back adopted babies .. there are just lots of babies and lots of love... and we have 3 more friends who are expecting! Can you say Baby Shower? Bring on the cake, the confetti and the shower goodies!

This is the 4th diaper cake I've made and it is a bit more compact because I needed to transport it in my car. So I used #1 diapers. Just one package, plus some goodies such as burb clothes, wash clothes, onesies and 2 sets of outfit. There is a baby blanket that's wrapped in the center to give it more 'volume'.

I love Michael's $1 ribbon spots.. that's where I get most of my ribbons! :) However, even after that, it looks a bit plain. Since I don't have time to fully embellish the cake, I took a short cut!

I found that the K&Co tags (or any tags) work great as a simple embellishment. I already have a set of baby girl tags from my last creation, so this time I have to buy a set of baby boy tags. And I'll get to use them on 2 more cakes. Good deal!

Simple Pleasures - Tea

I was so excited yesterday! My order from Stash Tea has arrived.. and I know I'll get to enjoy some really good tea for a couple of weeks... until my cup runneth dry ....

I enjoyed the YMY Chrysanthemum tea so much that I ordered some loose tea to try. I am so pleased to find that the loose tea also has a great, light taste! I have never found any 'Western' companies that make such a good mum tea, this is the first time. So besides the YMY Special Occasion Green Tea (with matcha), I now have another green tea to enjoy.

I still have an abundance of black tea (Stash Earl Grey is still my favourite) so I didn't order any more. Besides, I like the fruit flavoured black tea from Ahmad a little better than Stash.

I did order some black peony tea (and discovered that I have some white peony too.. I'm such a hoarder). I can't wait to see how this beautiful tea brews in a glass teapot.

And best of all, I received a fantastic sampler. I am not sure what chocolate mint Oolong or coconut mango Oolong is going to taste like, but it's worth trying. I hope it'll be a better tasting experience than any of the flavoured green tea. I really like my green tea, well, green. :)