Blog Hop | Elle's Studio Sycamore Lane

Hello all! Today Elle's studio and the DT girls have a fun inspiration blog to showcase the new collections : Sycamore Lane and Good Cheer. I am loving the geometric patterns in Sycamore lane so I decided to use this collection in one of my favourite photo + layout here. 

I like the tribe; / geometric pattern of this pattern paper so I want to use it to make a bold background. I cut the pattern paper into 4 triangles and piece them onto a piece of white card stock. Then I place the photo in the centre of the layout to make it pop.

Loving how the Bits and Pieces matched with the pattern papers from the collection so well. 

The next Elle's Studio monthly kit launch is  November 10th at 8:00 am PST. And above is just a tiny peek at what will be available! Mark your calendars now so you don't miss the exclusive November kit, four add-ons, printable &

cut files!

And now it's the fun part of this blog hop!  Do leave a comment here to be entered to win a $15 Elle's Studio gift
certificate to spend at their shop! Check back here on November 7th to see if you are the winner! And, don't forget to check out the rest of the stops on our hop - you can leave a comment at each stop to be entered to win!

Here's the list of this blog hop -> Do check out the blog links below for fun, inspiring projects ;) 

Elle's Studio ->> Start here!

Becki Adams
Daniela Dobson
Jennifer Chapin 

Juliana Michaels
Kay Rogers
Melissa Mann
Meghann Andrew
Patricia Roebuck
Valerie Bishop
WaiSam Ho  ->> You're here
Yuki Shimada ->> Next stop ;)

Happy Blog-Hopping!

Edited: Congrats AnxiouslyHavoc! I draw a #3 using random.org generator from all the comments below. Drop me an email waisam.ho@gmail.com to claim your $15 gift card!

Xoxo,

Blog Hop Happy NSD & An InstaScrap Giveaway *Prima Marketing*

**Giveaway closed**

Welcome to the NSD Prima Blog Hop! Prima Marketing has a fun-packed day planned with the wonderful Ambassadors, the talented Design Team, and our amazing Educators! We hope the projects inspire you to dig out your crafty supplies and have fun along with us.

Prima will be giving prizes away all day long on ALL of their social media outlets, along with a stunning main prize hosted on the Prima blog, so make sure you hop around and then comment on Prima's blog here! Not only do we have TONS of inspiration, but we are offering free classes too! Want to learn new techniques? Join in on the marathon of "Live With Prima" classes filled with gorgeous projects kicking off at 7 am PT! Click here to watch!

And here's the list of the blog hop:

Prima Marketing

Olga Vasilieva

Adrienne Ford

Magda Bolinska

Kasia Krzyminska

Kasia Tomaszewska

Felicity Wilson

Delaina Burns

Louise Nelson

Brit Sviggum

Jennifer Snyder

Solange Marques

Kelly Foster

Keren Tamir

Sharon Laakkonen

Patricia Fernandez

Elena Olinevich

Alberto Juarez

Frank Garcia

Maiko Miwa

Trina McClune 

Janine Koczwara

Misty Olsen

Sarinda Jones

Ramona Downing

Candace Hagler

Erin Reed

Sam Ho  >> You are here now!

For this year NSD blog hop, the DT girls are asked to make a simple 6x6 layout with some inspirational quotes. I love making mini layouts with inspirational quotes which I could hang it on my Inspiration wall or gift it to my girlies. And also, making one of these mini layouts would only take up about 15-30 minutes of my time. I pull out my supplies from InstaScrap collection by Leeza Gibbons and completed this under 15 minutes. Love the various sizes of the ATC cards in this collection and also the water-colour effect + calligraphy on the cards.

I made a layout with the quote 'Keep Going' which is very suitable for my current hectic schedule…. I just gotta breath in and out, and keep going =)

P.S: Just in case you are wondering, this pink vintage tappy of mine has really amazing cursive fonts! And no, I don't see myself destashing this in the long run, it is PINK, and it is in pretty cursive font! No way I could sell it!

When we have a blog hop, it normally comes with a G-I-V-E-A-W-A-Y right? I love Instascrap collection so much that I would like to share some of the goodies with you. All you need to do is to leave a comment on my blog post to win this prize pack that includes a Julie Nutting cling stamp, 45 ATC cards from InstaScrap collection and some random Prima flowers. 

Happy NSD and have fun blog hopping! Remember to leave a comment to stand to win the prize pack pictured above!

EDITED: I will pick a winner on 11 May 2014 8am PST and post it on the blog! Thanks again for leaving lovely comments =))

XoXo,

Blog Hop ⎪ Mini Love

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Today we are having a cute, informal blog hop showing our love for mini books.  It all started with Sam who made a mini book and decided to get a few girlies from Instagram to join her in making one also for this blog hop.

Here's the list for blog hop:

WaiSam Ho  <— You Are Here!

April Joy Hill <— Go here next!

Cathy Vee

Evelin Tee

Piradee Talvanna

There was no set theme for the mini's.  Instead, we all worked with a few prompts to get us started.  The three prompts were:

1. Use white card stock as background

2. Use numbers for the inside pages

3. Use a ring to bind the mini album

We are so excited to see everyone's take on making an album in their own style. I made this mini album for my brother using tonnes of Elle's Studio Love You More collection goodies. This is a mini mini album that sized 4' x 6' and with only 2 photos. The rest of the pages is as per prompts - centred around huge numbers with negative die cut. I also made a muslin bag with some stamped heart to make it even cuter ;)

I stamped the hearts from Elle's Studio with different pigment inks - Archival Ink from Ranger, VersaCraft and also Memento Luxe Ink. I even hand washed the bag to see if the ink stay after my vigorous rub and scrub. After the test, I love Archival Ink from Ranger the best ;)

And this is the album just bound with a ring + tied with chevron ribbon.

Every page of the mini is decorated front and back + added machine stitching around the border for some extra texture. I actually die cut 10 pieces of 4x6 white card stock from 1 to 10, added machine stitching around the border, and then back the negative die cut with numbers then glue two pieces of papers back to back. If that makes any sense to you? It is actually quite time consuming as there are total 16 pieces of white card stock to be stitched. 

Totally love how this album turn out! Simple, airy and also in my favourite pastel colour. Tee Hee! 

And here are the close up of the pages: There are so simple right? once all the die-cutting and machine stitching is done, the rest is just layering bits and pieces from Elle's Studio, wood veneers and also ink splatter as much as I could.

I stapler the LOVE wood veneer with my tiny attacher because I was running out of liquid adhesive.

Oh, and BTW!  We will have a mini giveaway from each blog also!  Hop to each blog and leave a comment for a chance to win by Sunday, Feb 16!  Winners will be chosen and announced on Monday, Feb 17!  Easy peasy! :)

Here's my humble giveaway that I pull from my stash - all are my favourite type of embellishments - crystals, metal embellies, chipboard stickers, flowers, wood veneer, brads and buttons. I hope you would like the giveaway and leave comments below. *Internationals are welcomed too! I will bear the shipping, no worries! I am happy to share some love <3 *

Have fun and now hop over to April Joy's blog!

——
Uh-oh! Before you go, I also have a fun announcement for my little shop! I hope you guys love the cork embellishments as much as we do and to say a little thank you for your support we have this special set just for you.

When you purchase at least 3 cork embellishment sets, go a head and add this FLUTTER set to your cart. (we wanted to make this free for you guys but unfortunately Big Cartel is not letting us list with zero price).

 Buy at least 6 cork embellishment sets and get Love Note for $0.01 (Again we wanted to make this free for you guys but unfortunately Big Cartel is not letting us list with zero price)

Disclaimer:
Please note that if you purchase this item without meeting the requirements (purchase of at least 3 cork embellishment sets, excluding this set) we reserve the right to not send you the item, although you've paid $0.01. No refund will be given. Thanks for your understanding.

XoXo

Blog Hop⎪Elle's Studio X Gossamer Blue Blog Hop

Hello there! February is truly a blog hopping month for me eh? This month Elle's Studio and Gossamer Blue DTs are going to have a blog hop sharing their creativity to inspire you in so many ways.

This is the very first time I play with Gossamer Blue kits and voila! I have created a total of 3 layouts with their awesome kits! And I really have so much fun creating with the kits. I am in love with the valentine theme in February kit and also the exclusive cute wood veneers. I love the heart shapes, the mint elements and all the envelopes in this month kit. I know the kit is full of valentine goodies from Elle's Studio and Crate Paper, but I made 3 layouts that aren't too lovey-dovey ;)

Here's what I have came up with:

1. You Make My ❤ Sing - Using Main Kit only

I started layering papers and photo on this patterned paper that has dictionary pattern. I am so in love with this photo of me and my boy holding a flower. So I decided to cut the word ' You Make My Heart Sing' from one of the Elle's Studio patterned paper and substitute the heart with a chipboard ❤ - To shorten the title in order to match the height of the photo.

I also added moulding paste to the background with my new love - Heidi Swapp heart stencil ;) So much LOVE on this page!

Just gotta love all the embellies & stickers from the main kit so I clustered them in this corner.

2. A Little ❤ Note To You

This layout is inspired by the envelopes that came in the add-on kit. I asked my husband to write a letter to my boy and I tuck it into the envelope. I would show my boy this love letter from daddy when he grows a little older ;) Since this layout is all about a love letter from daddy to son, I fussy cut the cute envelope patterned paper from Elle's Studio and create a border under the photo. I also added more heart shaped transparency and the cute badges  (from Crate Paper)  to add more texture and layering. This is my favourite layout that I created from the Gossamer Blue kit.

Just gotta love the transparency pack that came in the Add-on kit ;)

This Thickers is not from the kit but it is from Crate Paper Love Note Collection. Love love love the cute heart shapes and I just stacked two different sizes together ❤

3. Obsession

This layout documented my current obsession - Crochet. I don't crochet sweaters, hat or scarf, but I crochet stuffed dolls - amigurumi. You can see some of my amigurumi creations here. I wanted to create a multi-photo layout so I printed 3 instagram photos in 2' x 2'. I also break away from my normal habit of using white card stocks as background - I used cream colour card stock to match the color of my pom-pom purim (the pudding dog in the left photo)

Die cuts using my Craftwell eBosser x Lawn Fawn dies.

Typed title: Obsession with my vintage typewriter. Simply love the script font.

Love love love clustered embellies around my photos as usual ;)

p.s. The word JAN is from my own stash ;) I put the month : Jan 2014 instead of date because this is my current obsession in the month of January. If you squint your eyes, you might notice I also machine stitched along the triangle patterned paper - to make it like a quilt. I love adding subtle texture to my pages.

Phew! I still have a tonnes of goodies left from my Gossamer Blue kits after making 3 layouts. Will definitely come back to use them up when I am done with my other assignment. And now, hop over to Yuki's blog next to see what she has came up with the Gossamer Blue kit!

Adrienne Alvis
Anabelle O'Malley
Becki Adams 
Cindy Liebel
Emily Spahn
Evgenia Petzer
Heather Leopard
Jenny Evans 
Jessica Lohof
Jill Cornell
Jina Jean
Juliana Michaels 
Kasia Przybyt
Katie Ehmann
Kim Moreno
Magda Mizera
Michelle Wooderson
Michiko Kato
Naomi Atkins
Nicole Harper
Patricia Roebuck 
Stephanie Bryan
Valerie Bishop 
WaiSam Ho   —> You Are HERE!
Yuki Shimada —> Drop by Yuki's blog next!

And lastly, don't forget to stop by the Elle's Studio blog and the Gossamer Blue blog! Each company is giving away some great prizes on their blog. Leave a comment on their blogs telling us what inspired you along the hop to be entered! XoXo

Blog Hop⎪How Do I Organise My Scraproom *Citrus Twist Kits*

Welcome to Citrus Twist Kits Organizing Blog Hop!! We have some fun inspiration, great organizational ideas & awesome prizes! Each of our designers will share a fun organizing tip with you to help you get your crafty space organized and more functional. 

Now for the Prizes: Two lucky commenters who hop to ALL design team blogs will be entered to win a $10 GC to the Citrus Twist Store, plus we are also giving away one main kit.

You just need to leave a comment on EVERY designer's blog to be entered to win. Come back to the main Blog Hop blog post and comment that you hopped to each blog and we will pick a winner from those that commented. (place link to main blog) Comments end Tuesday February 4th. Winners will be announced on the main Citrus Twist kits blog by Friday February 7th.

Let's get started:

Amelie Mordret

Angie Gutshall

April Hill

Eve Limacher

Evelyn Yusuf

Gina Rodgers

Jen Boumis

Jennifer Chapin

Kasia Tomaszewska

Melissa Stintson

Nathalie Leonelli

Nina Ostermann

Sandy Ang

Tanya Batrak

Waisam Ho  <— This is me!

Shawna Saucier  <— Visit Shawna's blog next!

Citrus Twist Kits

Here are pictures of my scrap room that I have newly set up since September 2013. Huge thanks to my dad & brother for the customs-made work desk and shelf. 

Sneak peak of Citrus Twist February 2014 Pocket Life kit. I had so much fun working on this month kit, love that it is not very valentine-themed as I have been working on too many Vday's project. And you know, we don't really celebrate Valentine's day after baby Ivan is here =P

Another picture of my work-in-progress work desk. Normally it gets messier than this if I am not working on a kit. If I am pulling my own papers and embellishments + stamps, my supplies would be all over the desk and floor and I would end up scrapping on the floor.

Let's have a scrap room tour, shall we?

We start from the left side of the room. This is what you see when you enter the playroom / scrap room. It is actually a guest room that I converted it into Ivan's playroom. The only natural light for the room is on the left window, so I don't get much natural lights here! Thank god the room is very well-lit.

I have a 2x2 expedit shelf in this corner that I keep my fabrics and all my albums. I am hoping one day I would always sit Ivan down and flip through the albums and tell him story. This wall is not done yet, I have so many ideas that I pinned from Pinterest but just couldn't decide what to do ;)

This is the main wall of the room. I put a 1x5 expedit shelf and place my 3  typewriters on it. This shelf is supposed to keep Ivan's toys and book but its been occupied by my yarn for crochet and bookbinding. Sooner or later I will purge some stuff and put his toys + reading materials here.

This is the main view of my scrap area with my huge L-shaped work desk. Loving this huge desk because I didn't have a desk for my first 2 years of scrapping life! I place all my main tools and supplies on and under the desk.

I normally sit in front of the desk for at least an hour a day, that's my me-time that either I scrap, I PL, I watch youtube (China matchmaking show =P), I edit photo and blog. And this is also the desk where I normally take my instagram photos. I love using the white desk (with a litre wood grain) as my Instagram background. I have my beloved sewing machine on my left, a baby monitor gifted from my brother above the sewing machine. I put a lot of stuff in the cubes that I requested dad to customise for me - mostly stuff that be sent from all my instagram friends and scrappy friends.

Sitting right inront this wall makes me happy. All the handmade cards that have been sent all over the world made me feel so blessed and inspired ;)

The other side of my desk - I put my Silhouette Cameo, Craftwell eBosser and Canon Printer MG6370.  I gotta keep them really handy and easy to reach for so that I would use them more often. The 1,2,3 baskets are from Ikea Children's department and I keep all my embellishments, bookbinding threads and adhesives here.

Under the table: More 1,2,3 baskets - to house my stamps, ink pads, punches, sequins, Accessories and stickers for my planners. And papers + sticker sheets are on the right shelf - with bigger plaster boxes that can keep 12x12 papers.

Sorry that this photo is slightly over-exposed. I have all my electronic tools here. Super love my Canon Pixma MG6370 - I normally print my photos in A4 sized or 4R sized semi-gloss paper. This side of the shelf keeps all my washi tapes (on the bottom left), my card stocks, sewing tools and random tools like trimmer, circle cutter, stamp press, eraser carving tools etc.

Close up of the right shelf - I place my Color Shine mist here so that they are more accessible and I realise this method works for me. I used them more as mist and splatter on nmy pages ;) So the key to use you stash is to keep them accessible, and you get to see them so that you use them as frequent.

Close up of my die-cutting machine. I might do a review on these two machines soon ;) Soon, I promise.

I normally place layouts and PL pages that I have completed but yet to keep in album on this rack that I got from Typo. Mini albums are kept here too before I photo'd them. I have yet to find a good solution to keep my mini albums, any ideas?

And this is my favourite spot of my room. This wall has most of the postcards, letters and cards that been sent by all my instagram friends + scrappy friends from all over the world. This reminds me that I am so loved and blessed with so many good friends that I got to know online and share common interest. 

I have just framed this poster from Studio Calico recently. A reminder for me to remember to chase my dreams!

Lastly, I found this very very old stamp rack in my father-in-law's office and this is just perfect for my roller stamps! Love that it is perfect for the stamps but hate that I need one more to keep all my stamps! I have more than what this rack could hold!

Phew! Such a long blog post! I hope you had fun having this scrap room tour with me! Let me know and leave a comment if you have any question.

Happy blog hopping! And  remember to visit Shawna Saucier's blog next! XoXo