365 update! (edited)

to-do list for today started with a very tall purple inked, purple feather pen! (:

okay, round up of my 365 album so far...

cover 1 - plain, with only a "real leather" tag at the side.

week 1

cover 2

week 2

week 3

click on it to see a bigger version!

(edited*) random, i just found this picture. i miss my gold nokia. and i miss making my clay lentils and the accompanying seashore charms!

ttfn!

*sheryl

i hate dust...

hello blogworld.

sorry, i know i've been MIA for awhile. the whole new year thing kinda sparked the packing mood in me again (i know?!! like packing again?!) it started on sunday, when i consolidated the sewing stuff and didn't stop till today (at least i think i've packed enough for me to stop. mmhmm.)

SUNDAY

the sewing stuff was in 3 different places - the guest room (in an old 3 tier box), the family room (in my mother's wedding present from my grandma, which happens to be one of those vintage/antique-esque sewing machines) and my room, in the small ikea sewing box. so out came the ziplock bags and boxes and i managed to pack everything into this teal toolbox (that i used to use for my beads) and my ikea sewing box. the more expensive sewing tools are in the ikea box with me in my room, but the teal toolbox is in the family room so if the maid needs to do some hemming she can just do so without asking me for the sewing stuff everytime. 

i think the green heart felt pin cushion was made by mom.

MONDAY

andrew and i made ian's birthday present. since i'm pretty sure he doesn't read this blog i guess it'll be okay to reveal the present. anyhow, its slightly different from the picture (we added some stuff to it too. haha)

a gift tag and a small plush croc adorns the paper bag. i added an eyelet to the tail of the croc and ballchain so he can use it as a bag tag or something too. 

it was really nice crafting together with andrew. we were watching the last two episodes of Little Nonya while doing so. he made the notebook, the design and cutting and binding, everything! and i sewed ian a pencil case. its double-lined, blue stripes and brown lining. it was the only guy-ish fabric i had. the gift it of course wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine (its like the sound of music "brown paper packages tied up in string, these are a few of my favourite things!) so the gift wrap sorta had a brown-white-orange-green theme going. 

TUESDAY

packed my scrapbook paper! they were previously sorted by colour. but i realised it was hard to match. and a monotone palette gets kinda boring after awhile. so i decided to arrange them by brands. i guess its because each publisher sorta has a certain style, so sorting by brand isnt as messy as i thought it would be. and of course i had to use my post-its to tag them! its the newer type? its the one thats thicker, so they stand up well and don't get crushed as easily. 

plus its pretty easy to spot the brands too!

close-up. the boxes are from muji. love the frosted white. (:

WEDNESDAY

i packed my scraps. i don't have a picture, but basically by brand too. and i did a layout of the first week of 2009. i wanted to try something similar to the 365 project. except i know i wouldn't be able to really take a good picture every single day. so instead, i'll use either a picture or an item from the day (like ticket stubs or clothes tags). the album is paperchase (love it!) and i haven't decorated the cover yet. i quite like it just kraft actually. but we'll see. ohh, except for the "real leather" tag that was from my clutch (that i will be using for cny.)

its quite a simple layout actually. i was kinda tired from all the packing and my mindset was all "simplify simplify!!!" so the layout was simplified. 

and i had this for supper! san and i used to eat this when we were kids all the time! they got these cute animal fishcakes. san and i would wait for them to expand and count them and have a mini competition to see who will have more animal fishcakes. (: i don't know if its new, or that we just didn't notice it, but there was an udon flavour too. the udon one tastes a bit seaweed-ish. now i know i said i don't hate seaweed now, but when given a preference i'll still rather not have it. haha. so i preferred the yellow packaging, which is the instant noodles one, which had somewhat of a chicken flavour.

THURSDAY

*phew! okay, caught up to today! haha. so today i packed my scrap area (i know! again). but it seems that after awhile, dust seems to invade and settle on everything and its really annoying. i like things clean, neat. and for a multitude of reasons, i just had to pack the area again. it was just irking me. 

so its more level now? like i tried not to stack things up to much or have things shoved all the way back. and i tried to group items? like put them in a tray or a container - its easier to clean. haha. 
been using my colourful ceramic cups more too. the teacups i use for my accessories, the milkshake cups for scrap stuff. (can you spot my green bronto sticking out from the back?)

and i needed to place some items waaaaaaay up on the top shelf. and the thing was they were open baskets with no lids. so i took some food covers and used them to cover the baskets. you could use showercaps too i guess, but the food caps come in different sizes and colours, so it fits snugly. (:

okay! so what else do i have left to do:

• type out 2005 murphy's law calendar quotes for mom
• prepare sunday school lesson
• photocopy sunday school worksheets
• photocopy last night's Bible class notes for mel
• do QT
• try to read the newspaper
• eat vits
• scrub + face mask
• tidy up room a bit
• and write all this down in my diary

tmr there is ian's 21st birthday bash and a visit to the peranakan museum will be in order. (:

ttfn!

*sheryl

my 2009 vision board (edited)

i was reading ck and there was this article about presenting your new year resolutions in a pictorial form. and in particular, elizabeth kartchner's vision board struck me. photo credits go to quite a few sources, mostly taken from flickr and some etsy shops. it was a spur of the moment thing, so i didnt have time to take my own pictures, but the pictures i chose really epitomises in a way what i want to achieve. so yea. (: and while the whole outlook seems rather simple, i feel that thats the way to go for the new year - simple. essentially, my hope is the next year i will kick Procrastination's butt! so i used the phrase my dad gave to me in primary one - first things first - do the things that need to be done first, others are secondary. i guess for me that applies in many areas, like cleaning up, studying, etc. so God-willing, the new year is going to be a great year. its definitely going to be interesting...and i'll be turning 21! (:

20 things that happened to me in 2008...

1. i got my driving licence
   
2. i turned 20
   
3. i worked at a scrapbooking shop
   
4. i did relief teaching
   
5. i got my wallet stolen
   
6. i did my first MAAD bazaar
   
7. i learnt not to hate seaweed
   
8. i became a sunday school teacher
   
9. i got a new oven! (well, not me really, the family)
   
10. i realised i have a lot of tigger paraphernalia (not that its a bad thing!)
    
11. i got addicted to the second season of gossip girl
    
12. i subscribed to ck, shape and cs&p
    
13. i was in the camp committee - checkmate
    
14. i packed my room (particularly my scrap area) a few gabillion times
    
15. i ran more (but obviously not enough)
    
16. i went to hongkong, korea and genting highlands
    
17. i realised andrew and i have been together for almost 5 years...
    
18. i got my first diamond ring (can you spot the picture in the vision board?)
    
19. i have 103 subscriptions on my google reader
    
20. i fell in love with rainbow colours - ROYGBIV
21. (*in anticipation for next year when i turn 21. haha) i got a golden half camera!
    

there were tonnes more that happened of course, my 20 things i thought i'd share for 20 year old me in 2008.

*sheryl

magazines i've been reading...

scrapbooking mags and shape are like my staple. haha. its what i look forward to the beginning of each month. anyhow, my dad just got me this - teen virtue. its kinda funny, cos its for teens. so for awhile i thought it was for sandra. anyhow, will pass it to her when i'm done reading. its not too bad, but i think its really more appropriate for san, i just haven't really thought of myself as a teen for awhile now. its a book thats published like a magazine.

but what i especially like about it is the graphics! i love the fact that the typeface looks like doodles. (:

*sheryl

4 years and 6 months

it was our anniversary today! (:

andrew got me this bouquet of lilies...

it was so gorgeous! (i realise i've been using "gorgeous" alot. haha) there were so many different types of flowers along with the 3 lilies, i don't even know their names! so i decided to just take pictures, so that in the future, when i know the names, i can put the name to the flower. 

anyhow, i've decided to start trying to be healthy! I-NEED-TO-LOSE-WEIGHT! 

so i decided to start a food journal. in the past, when i tried, the "journal" was too big. so this time round, i decided to be eco-friendly and make these teensy journals from my scraps.

yea, i kinda have a thing for mini-pens/pencils....

i started yesterday. (: andrew and i ran too. so that was a good start. we didn't run today, but we didn't binge either. so thats good too. as you can see, yesterday i ate a lot of rubbish. 

so i've decided to start carrying almonds with me again. they help stave off hunger pangs. maybe an apple would be good too. hmm...

ohhHHhh! and speaking of mini stationery, lookie here! mini post-its dispenser. uber cute! and look, its in DUAL colours. i.e. the alternate pages are in 2 different colours. so its pink-turquoise-pink-turquoise (you get the idea)

and i was just thinking about what to make with my stack of felt. saw this while shopping today. shall try making softies, like that felt owl. (: i think i will name her Wrynn.

random note, after the facial today, i realise i need to stop being so lazy and start scrubbing and using my masks and so on. its all about being healthier i guess. skin and body. so we'll see. Christmas is such a challenging time for diets. what with all the candy, cupcakes, pudding, turkey, roast ham, gingerbread men, cakes, biscuits, salads, mash...oh my. i feel hungry just typing it. haha. 

everything in moderation i say!

craft&stuff

found this really cute picture by hayley. i love how fall feels. people start posting all sorts of warm and fuzzy pictures. and some with snow even. today is the first day of november! its practically the start of the whole Christmas season! (: cityhall has the Christmas tree up even!

edited this journal a little with woodgrain paper and new spanking new stamps!! i finally got the sassafras stamps that i wanted. and andrew got me the birds & nests stamp set for an early anniversary present!!!! can you believe that? how sweet is he? (:

i got this awhile back. i've always wanted a mary-jane style shoe + its suede! crocs is good cos it lasts long and its pretty comfy. although i've been getting a few small blisters. my crocs malindi gave me some too, but once my feet got used to them it was SUPER comfy. haha. i think i have a thing for quality footwear. i don't mind having only a few pair of shoes if i know that it would last long. so far, i've really liked crocs and birks. i got three of each. i cant seem to find the name or the image of the first pair of birks that i got tho, and that i really bugging me. ): 

ohh, and this was part of the decor at the vivo food republic. i really like the decor there. i think my parents especially like it because it reminds them of their childhood. the whole 1960s feel. very vintage. very cool. would love to have birdcage lights too. i'm just not too sure about the dust its going to collect tho...

december daily

i decided to try ali edward's idea on doing a december daily. this is how the skeleton looks like. will probably post more in december! shall be embellishing bits of it from now till then. (:

*sheryl

desktop & birdie stamps

hee hee. tweaked my desktop again. seems very clean and bright now. (:

and some birdie stamps that i've been eyeing...

*sheryl

hot cocoa (edited)

sometimes on rainy days like today, when its raining dinos, a cup of hot cocoa is all you need. i followed the recipe that they gave on the hershey's box and edited it just slightly. (:

• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp sugar (i used 1 tsp of brown sugar)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla (i just estimated this)
• 1 cup milk (i put the cup in the microwave for 2 mins on high to get it hot)

now i just need some mini marshmallows and a book to snuggle up and read. 

speaking of books, these are 2 that i've read recently: -
1. my best friend's girl (dorothy koomson)

thanks mabel for lending it to me! san's reading it now.

2. thanks for the memories (cecelia ahern) 

as you can see, i'm quite a cecelia ahern fan. haha. i'm looking forward to reading "if you could see me now". i want to buy the version that has the white cover. i love the whimsical artwork on it. i hate to admit it, but i do judge a book by its cover. story books that is. i take comfort that andrew does the same thing!

i know its only october, but its almost november and november means its almost december! so the year is coming to an end soon and my absolute most favourite season is coming - Christmas!!! so i decided to do a Wordle to describe what is me for this year. and i did a little mini book too. along with some design/decor that caught my eye on the web.

you can see the rest of the pages at my flickr. 

okay, i need to get back to work. i've got a professional communication test on saturday, but i keep procrastinating the studying - its terrible. and i've been reflecting. i think its the whole "end-of-the-year" mood. i keep thinking "what do i want to be when i grow up?"or more like "what do i want to do in 1 year's time?" next year i'll be 21. and next year i'll finish my mass com degree with murdoch. therein lies those pertinent questions - like what job should i look for? should i do a masters? 

blah blah BLAH. 

i should just suddenly imbibe myself with an overflow of narrative creativity and start writing novels like cecelia ahern. or become an independent artist! haha. riiiight. i read a very inspiring interview here on elsie's blog about independent artists. quite an interesting read!

oOohh!! and guess what? in lieu of me being in the whole "end of the year" mood, i've even bought my organisers for 2009 already!

hee hee. i looooove the planner esp. the pages inside are full of the woodland whimsy that i like. acorns, owls, birds, trees...and the diary is paperchase. thats like a staple for me. this one has a blank page for each day. so there's space for me to doodle and alter (: might post some pages next year. i get to start using the planner next month. it starts from nov2008 and ends jan2010.

ohh, and here's a pic from mel's birthday. i just edited the photosize, shall be emailing the girls the pictures soon! 

been trying to learn more about photoshop too. i've been trying polaroids and cross processing. love the vintage colour and feel it gives to photographs. now that i have almost the full adobe creative CS3 suite, i'm trying to bring it all together. i'm learning about InDesign in school as well. so its quite cool. maybe i'll start producing newsletters for Squiggletown!

and i've been catching Gossip Girl and Desperate Housewives! i bet you're wondering when i study. haha. shall do so now! (:

ttfn!

*sheryl

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p/s: here are some things i forgot to share. (:

a few weeks ago i posted a post about my desktop. i decided to do a screenshot instead. so here it is.

very pretty mermaid fabric. sometimes i wish i lived in the US, if only for the retail. but then when i weigh it with the conveniences of Singapore, i think i'm staying put, thank you very much. 

ohh, and this is from elsie's post about the interview. i like this idea of using clipboards and notice boards too. so clipboards and cork coasters. maybe i can have a panel of both!

okay, and i seriously can't wait for this to be released. i love the gingerbread man and the narwhal! and what i presume to be bigfoot! haha. can't wait to get my hands on these! :D 
basically, i can't wait for Christmas! (:

from the past week or so...

last saturday, my family went bowling at rtc again. i'm beginning to see that we are going there pretty regularly. hopefully as a result that will mean that my game would be getting better! haha! this time however, i decided to bring my scrap grab bag along. so while waiting for my turn, i did some scrapping! (: mom was doing her work too. i was doing some bookmarks for her as presents for the psg. i did 20 A6 notebooks and 20 4"x3" bookmarks. that was loads of fun, bowling and scrapping. i think i shall try doing this again. using the scrap grab bag more often. 
so here are the notebooks. i know its partially blocked. and the birthday card i did for mom! (: her birthday was 2 days ago. sherwin wrote in the card with me. he's at that stage where his drawings are really super cute. he did a hama beads glow-in-the-dark star for mom. so that she could wear it and glow in the dark as well. haha! and its mel's birthday today!
thats her birthday card. i'm quite obsessed with faux polaroids lately. i do want a polaroid camera, but polaroid has stopped production of film and all, so its quite pointless really. i wanted to get this other brand, that had instant photos as well. but i'm not too sure. because i know i WANT to polaroid rather than need it. its a matter of weighing the pros and cons. but at the moment, i'm staving off my desire for one by playing around with photoshop. i must say that its pretty satisfying. i think i might be able to live with faux polaroids! (:

i bought this earring stand for my mom last christmas. i think it holds more than 100 earrings. 150 thereabouts i think. but my mom has so many earrings that its not enough for this one stand! haha. i colour co-ordinated it for her. its pretty no? (:

speaking about beading, i'm getting back into the groove of it. i did 8 pairs last night. kept 4 for myself tho. i'm trying to be more daring in the colour combinations so that it won't be so monotone. still trying to define what is the "sheryl style" or "squiggletown style". but i think the tag line quite sums it up - whimsical, quirky, original. thats what i want. 

okay, shall stop the rant. leave you with this. my cappuccino from two days back. smile!

ttfn!

*sheryl