[shop update]

Some work in progress:

More lavender satchets with sayings :)
a very belated w-i-p for a camera strap
some gift bags - stamped and ready to be filled!
Finally finished up these albums to stock up my SHOP. 
nice leaves motif
i did a few of these - HAPPY is embroidered on the bottom left corner
more tree/leaf motifs

Posting more regularly now... hopefully once a day?

[sleep patterns]

For a just turned 10 month old, K sleeps really little! She's been napping only about 45min blocks twice a day (if i'm lucky, otherwise it's only once in the morning), and just today, she just refused to fall asleep at night, even after 9! (this is really unusual as she normally goes to bed without much fuss around 8ish). As soon as we go into a slightly darker space, she will start protesting (loudly!) and will only calm down when we move her out of the bedroom. She's been also really vocal at demanding whatever she wants - be it things that she wants to grab, or just places that she wants to be carried to. I do hope it's a phase, as i didn't remember G being the same way. 

I'm scrapping madly away with my new OA papers, but in the meantime, also found some time to make the following for my local LSS - MWL :

i love the deep black of the hambly papers - and that felt matte- isn't it gorgeous! :)
a little shiny silvery LO - lots of hambly, lots of flowers. Just the right balance for a girly dressy LO! :)a few quickies - ATCs that had the chipboard shapes as accents. I love how the little red button looks like the owl's 'heart'!

Lots more to share on the scrapping front soon. 

[new october afternoon]

Been busy creating with the new hometown range that arrived late last week..... no sneaks to show yet (they are all off for pub calls) but, to whet yr appetite, here are some images of the full range released at CHA, courtesy of fellow DT - thanks emily! :)

[vocabulary is]

.... to know what are the words to say

Design is ..... to choose which colours to use

Digital Clock is ..... the long rectangular one with numbers on it

Irritated is .... when you don't like something

Love is ..... when you like someone very much and always kissing them

Dilly Dally is.... when you do things really slooooowly

- words as understood by gracie, age 3 yrs 4 months

Over the weekend, we visited the newly opened, award winning, Hort Park. 

It was really enjoyable, being in modern, yet not overly done up spaces.
G loved being able to play with her skipping rope. She didn't want her photo being taken, but didn't say no to her belly button being in the pictures... :)
happy smiley K, who would be content as soon as we are out of the house and car!
Map reading
posed- sibling rivalry?
G with her 2 litle ponytails and a clip. She insists on this hairdo everyday now, sometimes with 2 clips.
Love this shot of K

On the scrapping front - OA released some new lines at the recent CHA - don't you just love the fall colours!!! :) Images courtesy of Katrina Simeck's blog :

Can't wait to play with them!

[back to paintpots]

 for 2 pieces of commissioned artwork by a customer for her bestfriend's wedding - completed over the weekend:

the bride is a fan of 'sex and the city', the quote on the upper left reads - "ever thine, ever mine, ever ours" - beethoven
a little 'tree of life' at the bottom.
the 2nd piece is inspired by mondrian's colour blocks, the concept was to 'house' each of her favorites in each grid - the 2 guinea pigs, 1 poodle, and of course the wedding couple - silhouette with their prize scooter. 
I love the look of a painted piece of work. I remember how much time i use to spend at art classes, mixing paint, choosing the right paintbrush, pencilling the rough outline and then finally painting in the colours. There was something in the smell of oil paints, the decadence of sloshing on a huge dab of paint onto canvas, the knowledge that it's the most primary form of art. All these sentiments came back to me over the weekend, when together with my 3 yr old helper, we did 2 large wedding artworks that were delivered today :)

Little things G said over the weekend:

1. when i asked her who was her favorite friend in kindie - "mark.... because he is so cute, he will always ask me if i love him".... awwww....

2. when she was doing a #2 in the loo - "wait, lemme check and count how many poo poo i did - 1, 2, 3..... " all the while squirming about in the seat and looking into the loo - sigh, the disgustingness of toddlerhood

3. when we have our nightly pre-sleep conversations - "you know mummy, you're my favorite mummy" (me - i'm your only mummy) "but you're still my favorite!" 

[it's up!]

Always excited to see the gallery up HERE :)

[so grateful]

For a wonderful family and time to spend together at the national history museum:

So Grateful~

For quiet time in the car to and fro from work to continue with my crafting.....

brand new colours of blankies to add to the collection
some variations of the same fabric and felt combinations - visit my flickr site for more images of the lot....
How they look on the blankie

So Grateful~

For OA - for sending me a huge box of stuff to play with! :) 

Here's some sneaks...... 

Also, there's going to be 4 (yup! 4!!!) new lines to be debutting at CHA for OA - keep your eyes peeled! I've got 1 sneak so far - HERE.

And the previous ranges is up for sale HERE.

Finally, but with so much impact on my life ~ So grateful.....

For a brilliant post about my work to be found HERE. My flickr pal - eydie (shebrews) is so eloquent and absolutely spot on in introducing my work in her post. I am amazed and so grateful for her to be able to say what i've always wanted to say when creating the work. To put it in such a manner - "quiet loud" - brings tears to my eyes as i realise that is exactly what this is all about. Thank You!

[creativity - a rant]

How does one define being CREATIVE. It's a question that is super baffling for me, both on my professional grounds as well as being in this online community. How do you define designing something - is it the act of making something from scratch? In the most traditional form, the artist is the person that puts pen to paper, paint to canvas. He does everything from the first masterstroke to the very last drop and dab. In my professional work, it gets a bit more complicated. Is the design of a building the masterstroke of 1 single person? Who is that 1 person and do you then discount the work and time and effort of the entire construction team - the people who run the site works, the people who spend 24/7 on the building site, choosing materials, managing the site staff, the people (often faceless and nameless) who are the actual people BUILDING. We often overlook all of them, with the rush to claim that the building is the sole authorship of THE architect. In all the previous places that i've worked in, it is this faceless firm that takes the credit. It is not the individual, it is the firm that is claiming the right of authorship. No matter you spent the majority of work (and often then not personal) time on that particular project.
In the crafting front, i love looking at design blogs. I love the amount of talent out there that is being uploaded every minute, every second onto the www. However, along with all this talent, and also being part of the street fair, these questions invariably pop up:
1. does crafting and handmade means totally made by you? Not handmade by your helper or other family members for example....
2. if you stamp another persons stamp onto a handmade pouch constitute YOUR design? does putting on another person's embellishment onto your handmade bag constitute YOUR design? i'm not sure - i've purchased a few appliques from ETSY, but have yet to put them onto anything, and i think i would never have the audacity to sell it, much less post it on my blog claiming the whole work is soley mine.
3. where does technique (which can be done by anybody) end and where does craft (and with it originality) begin?

These are difficult questions to answer, which i've been dealing with all the time. I feel that it is all about originality, all about being the 1st one to think about a way to present the work, a way to put things together, a way to define what is YOUR style.

On a lighter note.... thanks for introducing me up HERE! :)

[happy pressies]

Here's my latest batch of baby blankies - love how they all look together... so snugly and soft!

I took them down to the pavement just outside of my office to photograph - yup, that's a busstop you see in the background!
close up of them all rolled up :)
Yes, yes, i've been trying to make a few more 'masculine' options, but somehow, even though the base is khaki, they end up all looking more girly than boy boy! :P
doesn't the pink heart remind you of some icing on a cupcake?
another pink-ish one. This time with a row of fine daisy-stitches around the applique.
an abstract "tree" shape
more view of that pavement!
closeup on the heartshape piece - thanks to M for the bunny scraps!
I recently took part in the Functional Felt Swap group at FLICKR, and this is what was sent to me! 
It's lovely in real life and is now following me all over the place as my portable sewing kit... love the subtle colour differences and i love the colour combi! :) Thanks so much K!! :)
Another online friend (whom i met for lunch since she's just moved to Singapore) spoilt me with a little handmade gift! You shouldn't have! I really enjoyed our lunch and it was fun to chat about crafting and little ones over some yummy food! :) - we really should do it again A. 
funny how this blogging world is right - this could never have happened 5 years ago! :)