Crafty Venture: Letterpress

I have recently attended a simple Letterpress class.

During the class, I was shown how to use the letterpress kit to press and print. It was so much fun.

After the class, I decided to buy a few letterpress plates (since I have already gotten the letterpress bundle kit from Studio Calico) and try it out at home.

There was a missing item from the bundle kit which I received and in the end, I was not able to achieve the desired effect I wished to see. I search the net for help and yes, I was able to replace the missing platform with a few pieces of chipboards. And voila, problem solved!

1st attempt at letterpressing at home.

Since the hubs and BIL birthdays are coming, I decided to print and make a birthday card for them using letterpress. After a few tries, the results were awesome.

A Bday Card for BIL whose bday is in Sept

I used a variety of papers (normal print paper and water color paper) to print beside the letterpress papers (to cut cost :) and I guess I am the happiest with the watercolor paper. The deboss effect was good and the texture of the water colour paper gives it a different feel. I have yet to water colour it, but that will be my next projects.

I have so many ideas churning in my head with this new tricks I learnt, just need more time to get into materialising it! Xmas cards and prezzies for sure!

Crafty Venture: Handstitched Books

I was always attracted to hand sewn books. The colours, the textures and the stitching. After trying out coptic stitching on my own (youtube is a great help), I wanted to attend a formal book binding class so that my foundation are right.

So on one of the Fridays, I went all the way to Siglap Centre and attended my first bookbinding class from Justina. I was the only student there. Justina was really nice and taught me the basic of bookbinding. The 3 hours class flew by.

At the end of the session, I was hooked. I bought papers, waxed thread and awl (I didn't know what was that prior to bookbinding) and are all ready to sew more books.

And after several nights of sewing and pasting, I am seriously addicted to this new crafty hobby. Well, I am learning new stitches on the internet now and trying to practise my stitching.

Crafty Venture: Project Life Week 30, 31 & 32

Baby A has been rather demanding the last few weeks thus the lack of time to scrap my PL. So I am really glad to find some pockets of time here and there to finish 3 weeks PL spread. So here there are.

Week 30 Highlights
The girls were coughing badly so I brought Astria to see Doc to get her cough medicine.
Made my first hand sewn book using Coptic Stitch. Loved it!!! Going to learn how to sew others.
Inspired by Amy Tangerine and DIY some fabrics Yo-yo. Super fun and easy.
The girls took part in a SAFRA Sprint Run for kids and each got a medal. Haha... Thats was really fun!

Week 31 Highlights
Astria used up the whole tub of QV cream and gotten a good scolding from the hubs. Ha..
I made it to MT Expo at Ion. Realised I have not been there for very long, so feel like a mountain turtle.
A breakfast date with the hubs at one of the yummy food store "The Art of Meepok".

Week 32 Highlights
Brought the girls to SAM for the Children's Season "Arts Garden"
Celebrated Singapore's 48th National Day and had a super awesome gathering at Mum's Pl over good food and manjong (esp for the hubs).
Bought a pink Crocs Mary Jane over National Day as they were having a ND Sales.
In the midst of organising my so called "scrap room" and its in progress still (It will be a while)
Completed a Scripts Arts and Beanie. Another 2 DIY projects that I have been wanting to try.

Well, it had been a wonderful and awesome 3 weeks full of activities, good food and company and even a little time for my creative venture.

Weekend Wanderings: SAM Arts Garden

Over the National Day holiday, the hubs and I bought the kids to SAM Arts Garden. This is an Arts exhibition catering for the little ones and this is our 3rd visits.

We love to go to SAM, especially during the Children's seasons. The exhibitions are colourful and there are always plentiful hands on activities for the girls to dabble in. This year, we are pleasantly surprised to know that SAM offers free entry for all Singaporeans and PR for the month of August, and all you have to do is to flash your ID.

The girls had fun at the various exhibition centres, such as The Enchanted Garden City and Around the Day in Eighty Worlds and the crafty activities were really a hit with them especially Atria.

The exhibitions were very colourful and reminded me of all the fairytale we heard while we were young. This is so apt now as the girls are just learning about the fairytale such as Little Red Riding Hood. It was really heartening to see them running around and exclaiming in delight when they spot a certain scene from the storybooks they have read.

However, we were not able to stay longer as I developed a bad migraine half way through the tour. I left the girls with the hubs to continue on their tour while I brought baby A down to the lobby to rest. The migraine did not go away and we had to leave pretty early which is quite a waste.

All in all, it was still a good trip and we might be making a trip there again.

Motherhood Ups and Downs: Baby Reflux

Having 3 kids does not guarantee you know everything about caring for a baby. Baby A presents totally new sets of "problems" different from his sisters.

Baby A regurgitates after almost every meal starting from week 2. His regurgitations gets worst as days and weeks passed. Several times, he threw up huge amount of milk curd which frightens the hell out of me. I was thrown into a panic mode. I surfed the net for information about baby reflux and regurgitations trying to look for a cure for baby A. 

After consecutive incidents of projectile vomit, I brought baby A to see the PD. The PD assured me that it is very common for baby to regurgitate, even with large amount of milk, as long as baby is gaining weight. The situation will improve when baby A gets older. 

With the frequent regurgitation, baby A also develops rather bad milk rash, which is a totally new set of problems. :( 

Anyway, after reading so much on baby reflux, I have devided to cut down on diary products (mainly cheese and milk) to lessen the occurrences of regurgitations. It seems to help baby A so this mummy going to go without milk at least for another 2 months.

Keeping fingers crossed that the situation will improve. 

Crafty Venture: His and Hers

And since I managed to knit the blanket for baby A, I thought I could do something easy for myself and the hubs. So after surfing several blogs and youtube for inspiration and tutorials, I finally came up with 2 patterns for knitting a simple cowl for the hubs and I.

Super easy knitting instruction for both, although I took more than a couple of months to complete the projects. I am glad to have completed them and not give up half way (which I almost always did in the past).

I am just waiting for the right occasion to put these on. Hopefully soon.

Crafty Venture: Project Life Week 28 & 29

Finally caught up with PL till week 29. No Sweat!

I'm having a dilemma maintaining my Project Life as well as traditional scrapbooking. I love documenting the daily stories using Becky Higgins PL, especially now with 3 kids. But I miss the creative outlets I have while scrapping a traditional layout. I tend to keep everything simpler doing PL so that I will have more time to play with other scrappy stuff with my layouts. Am I making sense?

Anyway, here is the week 28.

There is not so much happenings this week so I decided to just scrap one page for this week. 

Highlight of the week: My scrapping supplies from Mapletree House finally arrived. I am so happy with the Gelatos from Faber Castell and I started to play with it immediately. 

And this is Week 29. 

As opposed to Week 28, I dedicated one whole page for Alkes god parenting ceremony at T2 Changi Airport, making up to 3 pages for week 29. 

This week, I used my favourite PL core kit - Midnight Edition.  Love love love Midnight Edition. Have been hesitant about getting this kit (I have both Clementine and Seafoam core kit too), but I am soooo glad I bought in the end. It is absolutely awesome! 

Besides Becky Higgins PL core kits, I also used Studio Calico Project Life Kit and Add On as well as Kelly Purkey Project Kit. Love both SC and KP kits. They added so much more fun embellishments to the whole PL spread. 

Thanks for looking! 

Crafty Venture: Daddy's Girl

It's been a while to scrap a layout. So glad I did as I seriously missed the creative process and definitely the product. So here this LO that I did with Studio Calico Planetarium Scrapbook kit. Loves all the papers inside the kit.

Atria adores her daddy. I'm glad they have the time to be together on Sunday. It's has been rather hard on her after Astria and Alkes arrival. Just hope we will be able to find time to be with here more often. 

Besides the kit, I also break into SC Noah alphabet stamp set for the title and used distress stain to color it. Loved the effect. Will be doing this again. 

Thanks for looking. 

Motherhood ~ Ups & Downs: The Last Few Days of Confinement

This is probably the LAST confinement I will experience given I'm already have 3 kids and I'm almost 38. So I like to document the experiences I had for my 3 confinements.

First and foremost, I am very thankful to my mum for being the confinement lady for my 3 deliveries. Without her, I don't think I would have gone beyond 1 kid. Ha. 

Food.
My mum is a good cook, so naturally, the so called confinement food is GOOD! My mum knows exactly what I like and need *more soups*, and thus I enjoyed my mealtimes tremendously. My favorite is fish soup with stir fry pork kidney slices. I can even make requests for more soups or bee hoon and even dumplings on some days. And because I'm also rather picky on food, I'm so thankful I'm not subjected to the traditional confinement food (read: vinegar pig trotter) that other confinement ladies would insist. Phew! 

The only not so good about meal times is I tend to perspire a great deal during/after meals. It is like having gone through the sauna. They believe that this is the time when the body will expel all the "water" accumulated in the body during pregnancy. 

Bath Time.

When I had Jiejie, it was in October. The weather was cool. Not having to bath everyday was not too bad an option. After meals, I gave myself some time to freshen up with HOT water and rice wine so that I'm clean and doesn't smell. I think this is important as I'm breastfeeding, and do not want my baby to resent me. 

Fast forward to Meimei and baby A, both happened in May. The weather was HOT. I was bathing at least 4 times daily during my pregnancy and not able to bath was TERRIBLE. I perspire just sitting down. But my mum was adamant about NO BATH matter, so I just have to stick to that. To combat the heat, I resorted to constantly sponging myself whenever I feel sweaty.

However, not having to bath is still not as bad as not having to wash my hair. I constantly feel the need to scratch my hair and the feeling is horrid. So to save my sanity, I have to tie my hair up 24 hrs 7 days a week.

Fan Vs Air Con
The heat is THE biggest issue I need to tolerate during my confinement. I am so lucky to have air con at my mum place. When the heat is unbearable, I would hide inside the room with the air con turn on full blast. With the recent haze issue, I have all the more reasons to hide in this air con room. Ha!

"Trapped" at home
I don't really feel trapped at home this time. The inability to go out is okie to me. With advanced technology, I can still be connected to the outside world through various social media. In fact, I realised I spent a lot of money through online shopping. From the girls' kids crafts, nursing wear, my scrapping supplies to whitening products, I can get only anything under the sun with just a few click. Time to curb my insatiable shopping needs.

Downtime
I am actually very thankful for this period of time. Yes, it is tiring. Yes, I am constantly lack of sleep. But I am glad for this time to reflect, to think about what I want for the future. And the time to plan for the future. My work, the girls' studies, home learning. Hopefully, at the end of the confinement, I can have a better sense of what I want.

 Girls and the Hub
As I am staying over my mum place during my confinement, I do not get to go home. Although I am grateful for the peace of mind I get at night (the girls can be rather noisy at times), I do miss the before bedtime cuddling with the girls. It is a dilemma that I am facing, which I am not too sure how it will turn out.

So, these are just some of my experiences of my confinements.

Weekly Blessings

It is time to revive this weekly blessings post.

This week, I am thankful for:

My mum.
Who is a great great help especially during these trying periods of time. Not only does she is my confinement lady, she also helps to care for the girls when I am physically not able to. She is a incredible great mum to me and granny to the girls.

The hub.
The hub who is incredibly helpful. No matter how tired he is after work, he still finds the energy and time to play with the girls, read to them and attend to them before bedtime. I used to worry whether he is able to take care of them while I am away, and he has proven himself. He has shown so much more patience, love and care for the girls when I am obviously lacking.

Technology and Social Media.
Social Media especially for enabling to be connected to my friends and the other world although I am physically "trapped" at home.

Once a week Bath Time.
For keeping me clean and dry in this perpetual hot weather.

What are your blessings this week?

Getting Crafty: Project Life Week 22

As I mentioned earlier, I started Project Life in 2012 as a way to document our daily life as a family. For weeks after weeks, I capture photos and complete my PL weekly spread, until September. 

It was then I found out I was expecting Baby A. During the initial period, I was too tired to do anything else, including PL. Thus, my PL for 2012 stopped at week 38. Thereafter, I do not have the time and energy to carry on. 

Come 2013. I want to start all over again. Since work has taken a backseat, I deliberately planned for every Thursday to be a PL day where I catch up on my PL. The plan was well executed, until Baby A arrives. 

It is almost a month since Baby A arrives. I have managed to catch up on my PL. 

So here is my spread for Week 22. 

I kept the spread pretty simple, using minimal embellishments. And I love the PL kits from both Studio Calico and Kelly Purkey June/July Project Kit. I am also using Clementine and Seafoam Core Kits from Becky Higgins. 

Hope you enjoy it. 

Thoughts on Motherhood - On Breastfeeding

As I just started my 3rd time at Breastfeeding with Baby A, I thought I just shared some thoughts on breastfeeding. I am by no means any experts in this, but since I managed to tbf my two girls previously, I like to share some thoughts on this.

1. Don't give yourself additional stress!
I witnessed many mummies crying in despair (both my sisters included) as they worried they do not have enough milk for their babies. This is worsened by the constant crying of the babies.

When I started breastfeeding Jiejie, I did not tell myself I need to exclusively breastfeed Jiejie. I also comforted myself that babies do not need to really drink milk for the first 24 hrs, so that give me some reassurance if I am not able to "produce" enough milk. For the 1st 2 days at the hospital, I sleep/rest when I can, and get up to breastfeed my girl when the nurse brought the girls to me. Simply put, I just did what I can.

2. Block out the "noises".
I am really blessed to have my mum staying with me during my confinement. Although my mum was not too supportive towards TBF, she did not "encourage" me to supplement with formula. But I think it is important to learn to block all the "concerns" of the naysayers.

What worried me most was Jiejie constant crying for "milk". I had to tell myself I needed the time to freshen up, I needed to be away. I was lucky I had all the aunties and uncles around to carry and pacify my girl when I steal some time away.

3. Persevere through the first week
Everything seems to be fine during your stay at the hospital. However, things start to go haywire the moment you stepped into your house. Speaking from experience, the hardest time to carry on is during the 3rd day. This is the day when you just settled back at home, and just when you want to settle to sleep, the baby starts screaming every other hour. My best advice is to PERSEVERE. Once you get through this stage, things will be much smoother.

4. Latch on and/or Express as often as you can
I know this is not easy as I typed here. But I do find the benefits of latching on often. Latching on (even  so for comfort sucking) helps to stimulate milk production and is also great bonding between you and your baby.

Although expressing can be very rather troublesome, it is important to continue expressing if your baby doesn't latch on (even if it means getting out of bed in the middle of the night with half closed eyes). Expressing helps to stimulate milk production and it is important during the 1st month to "stabilise" milk output.

Of course, breastfeeding is not always a bed of roses. I had my fair share of down time with all my 3 munchies.

There are problems of cracked nipples (ouch!), super bad engorgements (Urrgh!!!), silence cries in the bathroom, unsightly leaks etc. And having to lug the ultra big breastpump with me everywhere I go for 12 months,  the constant lookout for a nursing rooms is nothing I looked forward to. But I have learnt to cope with it.

Getting a good (& dual) electric pump saves time (total blessings) and a chic and cool nursing covers add that special touch when you do need to breastfeed in public (I feel the "high" when other mummies comment on how cool my nursing covers is) and being not too paranoid on the "hygiene factors" on the places you express helps too. I have tried to express many times in shopping malls toilets as nursing rooms are not in existence yet. Of course, I tried to clean my hands as best as I could before I start expressing.

Of course, getting the support of your hubby is KEY! I am so glad my hubby supported my decision to breastfeed exclusively. He even bought me the expensive breastpump. During the early days of engorgement, he tried his best to massage all the sore spots to ease the pains. Communicate to your hubby constantly and get his support, and psych yourself and him, "You can DO it!"

Having said all these, breastfeeding is getting more popular here in Singapore. Nursing facilities are more commonly found in shopping malls compared to 5 years ago. And all these helps to make breastfeeding in public much easier.

All in all, I have enjoyed my breastfeeding journey. It is a special bond between you and baby that nobody can share. And I am way on my third round with baby A.

Just my 2 cents worth.

I'm Back.

It's has been a long while.

I promised to blog more often, but yet again I had to succumb to the constraints of time.

Baby A is here since the last post. In fact, he arrives three weeks ago. And thus its also time for me to rethink what is important to me right now. What I want to do in the future. 

So I guess it is also THE RIGHT TIME to revive this blog. As I imagine a lot of what I wanna do (if successful) will largely be dependent on this.

We shall see. 

  

Getting Crafty

I always like to dabble in all sorts of crafty projects.

Since young, I tried cross stitching, paper quilling, knitting etc. But I know I'm not good in arty stuff so I tried to steer clear off drawing, painting.

Since I have started scrapping after my 1st born in 2008 and more regularly after my 2nd in 2010, I have never looked back. Through scrapping, I realized I can be creative too. Ha!

Anyway, fast forward to 2013. I'm waiting for my #3 to pop in 6 weeks time, I'm getting all crafty! During the term break that I had, I made a quilt blankie, a knitted blanket, a lined pouch and a laptop sleeve. Super happy with my efficiency.

I'm now onto knitting (and catching up with PL 2013), and I hope to be able to complete a simple cowl for myself and a matching one for the hub. I don't expect us to be using the cowl in Singapore (it's been super duper hot), but we are planning our big family trip to Aussie next year. Hope they come to use.

It's Time.

A couple of my good friends are exchanging SMS. And here we are talking about pursuing our dreams and passions.

Well, although we met at our work place, but each one of us are at different phase of life. Time, commitments, etc are often the reasons cited not to go ahead and pursue our dreams.

Since starting my scrapping journey and hoarding more and more stuffs, the hub has been very encouraging. He encouraged me to go ahead and pursue my passions -- to start my little online biz selling home made stuffs. I'm so very tempted. But the question is, CAN I?

There are just too many things I need to consider. Kids fees, daily expenditures, etc. But if I don't do it now, will I ever get the opportunity again?

With baby #3 on the way and the much looked forward NPL, this will be THE time or never. After this, I'll be stuck in the old rut of doing same things day in day out.

So perhaps, it's really time!

And to share a little LO I did yesterday to document the inspirations I had after the exchange of conversations with my kakis.

A year has gone by

Time flies. Almost a year has gone by for me without posting anything on this blog.
I'm not a frequent blogger. I blog only when I have the time (1st priority) and have something to blog about.
I have had plenty to blog about during the last year. But time, is simply not on my side.
Reading through my past posts, I realized I missed blogging. There is so much I can document through blogging. Although I started blogging to document my scrappy adventure, blogging has helped to document my journey through motherhood too. I really wish to blog more often.

Perhaps, I should set a routine to remind myself to blog more often. And perhaps, that will be my mid year goal for 2013.