Birthdays according to the kiddo

Birthdays. Some of us dread them, some of us love them, and some of us, like me, can't really be bothered either way. Kiddo, however, like most kids, love birthdays. To her, it represents cupcakes, candles, presents, a surprise party, hats, balloons and of course games! Last year, she insisted we give her a surprise party. She dictated the cake, the decorations, where we were supposed to hide downstairs whilst Por Por entertained her upstairs, and to shout out surprise when she came down. Naturally, it wasnt a surprise (after all the precise instructions and practice runs) but she had such fun, she wants to repeat the same thing this year. What joy!

Here is a collection of cards for your viewing. To all the April babies, happy birthday!

OCC046 view 1 & 2 (pic above and below)

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OCC050 view 1 & 2 (pic above and below)

 Huey bookmarks

 BDC026 view 1 and up (pic above and below)

 OCC052 view 1 and 2 (pic above and below)

 OCC051 view 1 and 2 (pic above and below)

 OCC045 view 1 & 2 (pic above and below)

I love my bookmarks!

If you have been following our FB page, or our sadly neglected blog (except lately, thank goodness); you might have noticed I kind of have an obsession with making bookmarks. It started out as a lark. I came across it on Dawn Griffith's blog and I totally thought "what a fun thing to do".

The 1st generation was simple, then we decided more layering and any 3D embellishment would make it pop out even more. We've received  very good responses to our bookmarks, and sis is always joking that I should be the bookmark lady. :0

There are many more variations to the humble bookmarker, and I hope to try them all one day. Meantime, we have another small order for a little someone special's birthday. Look out for those later.

Catch you all later. :)

On the subject of dogs and puppies

Recall that we adopted 3 stray pups a couple of months back or so? Well, the strangest thing is happening. And it is seriously SPOOKING me out. We got 2 pups, then the mummy dog abandoned the next pup at our gate, right? She also abandoned 2 other pups at the neighbour's house. So 5 pups in total!

A few days after that, the mummy and daddy dog started staring at our car when we drove past their haunt. I thought that was weird, but it got weirder. One morning after sending kiddo to school, they ran after my car and just stared at the house as I was reversing back in. They've even taken to sitting outside at night and barking. I think they miss their pups. Oh, I feel awful when I see them there. Since the pups have gone to the farm, I see less of mummy and daddy outside our gate, but they still occasionally park themselves out there, and make mournful howls. I feel awful about the whole situation, but the pups surely have a better life than living as strays, right?

The upside of this entire situation: the neighbours are now alternatively feeding mummy and daddy. I note that they look much better, and I even have a suspicion that someone gave them a bath - they both look well groomed now! They are mostly stationed along our row of houses, looks like they might just have turned into our neighbourhood guard dogs!

Personalising a notebook

I've seen on many blogs and vlogs how many scrappers personalise their notebooks, or files. I've never done anything like that, seeing as to how I am not much of a notebook person. Sis, on the other hand, is absolutely bananas over notebooks. She perhaps has a journal or diary or just loves to write, doodle or scribble away on scraps of paper. If you think I have a lot of papers, you havent come across her stash. Its INSANE!!! But I love you anyway. :)

So out of boredom and wanting to make something for my two nieces, I decided to experiment with decorating two small notebooks for the girls.

Turned out they were quite nice.

When sis saw the pics, she called and asked me to make her a couple (I could imagine the gleam in her eyes). Out of love and great affection for her, I made two notebooks when she was down for a visit. She chose the colors and the theme, and we loved it. So much so I was tempted to keep them for myself. :P

Bitten by the blog bug

Yes! the 5th posting today. I'm on blog fever all of a sudden. After the many months of silence, its a definite overkill, dont you think so??? Let's see how long we can maintain this momentum huh?

Just caught kiddo watching Power Puff Girls. She's not allowed. Guess what was her answer when I asked her why she's watching? ''I am too sleepy and having a bad dream here. I am not watching PP''. Oh the cheek of the little fella!!!

So a couple of months back, we ordered a batch of papers from Eunice in Singapore. It was the complete DCVW Black Currant set. It was simply to die for. This is just a sampling of what I used the papers for. I am hoarding the rest of the stack - I love them that MUCH!

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The next few cards were also made from my stash of favourite colors/shapes. If you haven't notice by now, I am totally in love with Black/White, paisley, birds, circle cards, and according to my sis - abstract themed papers. Hope my cards will brighten up your day or perhaps even inspire you to make one yourself!

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Puppies!!!

Our neighbour informed us about 2 months back about a litter of stray pups in the semi-constructed house along the road. Hubby dearest, who had been thinking and thinking of getting some dogs for the farm was then naturally quited piqued to learn more. So off we went on a treasure hunting expedition to track down the pups. Guess what? We ended up with 2, and then the mummy abandoned another 1 in front of our gate the next morning.

Let's see..

The little one with the white triangle on his forehead is Butter. He behaves like a baby: he whines, he seeks attention all the time, he loves to be cuddled.
His brother, Vanilla, has a long slim rectangle white mark on his forehead. Now this little one, I call Vanilla the Houdini. Put him in any confined space, and he is sure to find his way out. He's smart, he's round, and he is the cutest little fur ball you can imagine.
Brownie is a little lady. She eats at a slower pace, she is quiet, and she is one smart cookie. She can sit on command, and occasionally gives me her paw when I say hand.

So, mummy dearest here had 3 new babies to take care of. Blissful heaven, except when having to clean their enclosure of poop and pee!

Unfortunately, we had to part. Hubby has sent them off to live at the farm. Thank goodness one of our farm hands love dogs, and they are being well taken care of. We still have yet to take them to the vet for the vaccination - the horrors of all horrors: the vet has no vaccine in stock! So here's to hoping the stock gets replenished soon.

I'll try to make my way to the farm one of these days to see how my little ones are doing. Hubby says they've grown, they look strong and stout. I'll post up some pics after I've seen them. Oh I hope they still recognise me!

PS: Kiddo was brave enough to pet them until one of them (believe it was Vanilla) climbed her legs. She has since grown fearful. Sigh.

All things beautiful

Recently, the family came down for a visit. Now, its a pretty big precious moment for us, as we dont often get to spend time together as a whole unit. The kiddo had great fun bonding with my sis (she was literally her shadow for the entire time - practically abandoned her dad, which ticked him off considerably). Part of their great affection was influenced by Facebook and the wonder of games, namely Pet Society. I had no idea the kid would be insanely attracted to owning a digital pet. Personally, I found it the most boring game ever, but she spent hours in front of the laptop with her Ee Ee. Oh the horror of it! Mummy dearest will have to play Pet Society with her once Ee Ee leaves. GASP!

Naturally, since the whole gang was here, kiddo wasted no time in insisting we did some baking together. She's always asking, and mummy dearest here always reject her by telling her we can only bake when POR POR and EE EE is here (note to othhers: por por being grandma and ee ee being aunt).

And so the great baking experiment ended. Kiddo had the most fun - she was involved in almost every step of the process but at least she had a lark of a time.

Ironic really...:0

I'm not a bloggy type of person, if there is even such a term. Its ironic, though, seeing as to how much I love to read other  people's blogs. In fact, its shameful to note that I havent even updated our blog for half a year. I'm surprised it hasnt gone dead on us!

I'm not sure if anyone out there has this same thought as me. What could I possibly write on my blog that might even be remotely interesting to others out there? I mean, come on! Who on earth would like to know what I did today when nothing much happens, apart from the insanely funny antics of my soon-to-be 5 year old girl? And how she bugs me everyday to make a card, or some type of project with her?

So, here's my resolution (yes, its 3 months too late, but what the heck - better LATE THAN NEVER, rite?)

I'll religiously update the blog. I'll write about the mundane, asinine things that go on in our lives, and hopefully, sometimes, we might get some exciting dramas to brighten up the day. :P

Signing off with determination.
Carpe diem, peeps! Carpe diem