May Newsletter

My "Siewleng's May Scrappy News" went out yesterday. Did you get your copy? It only goes out once a month. I don't sell nor do I share your info. It has info on where I'll be in the upcoming months, new kits and products and links to good stuff on my blog. Sign up is easy...just type in your email in the window at the top right hand corner where it says subscribe to my mailing list :)

And since a post isn't complete without a pic, here's a funny to share.

Weekend Wrap-up

Spending the weekend with the Scrap-A-Way ladies in Warwick, RI. The vendors are in a separate room and it has been way too quiet in here this weekend. Getting quite a bit of work done but missing out on the social aspect of it. Made up for it by making frequent trips into the crop room to chat ;)

Class was great...THANKS to all who joined me. I hope it was as painless for you as it was for me. As always, it was a great time and am looking forward to the next one!

Around Here

I am...
scrubbing baseball pants daily.
prepping for a crop this weekend in Warwick, RI.
looking forward to being able to sit outside on the deck or at a game without long coats, wool socks, gloves and blankets. 
listening to the "Laid Back Beach Music" station on Pandora.
reading "Love and Logic for Teens"...yup I have teens in the house. And we have some things we need to work on. Love what I'm reading here so far.
running again. I am so happy to be done with the 30 day shred!!!

watching season 4 of The Unit...I know I watch a lot of random stuff.

celebrating 16 years married to my wonderful husband.

planning for my upcoming trip to my hometown Penang, Malaysia (more on this in the upcoming newsletter)

Weekend (Spring Break) wrap up

Did you have the week off? We did and didn't plan anything special...no trips, nothing fancy, just me and my boys home working on re-upholstering our dining room chairs while running around to games/practices and meet-ups with friends. They each had school projects they had to work on during the week...D even had to work with a partner. Despite projects, games and practices, we did also get in a movie, a couple of meals out (Fire & Ice and a local sushi place) and some shopping for much needed stuff for the boys. We also celebrated my brother's wedding (held in Melbourne, Australia) via pictures :(

I will be traveling back to my hometown for their traditional ceremony next week. Is it really next week? Eek! I'll try to get some posts up but no promises. It will be a whirlwind trip...there and back in 11 days and it's a very long way to go. I will be posting on Instragram (@siewlengH) if you'd like to see what I'm up to plus a traditioncal Chinese Baba Nonya Malaysian wedding ceremony.

Spring Break

School's out for the week and it looks like blogging is out too. There are things I want to blog about but don't quite have it together to get them on here. I will pick it back up next week. Meanwhile, I will be enjoying a break from the computer (as much as I can) and spending time with the family, outdoors as much as possible even if most of it is at a ball field.

 I'll leave you with a pic of my veggie garden...just some spring and cold hardy plants to start with. Happy Earth Day!

Weekend Wrap-up

Happy Easter to you and yours!

We enjoyed a wonderful Living Stations mass on Good Friday.

Saturday started with a breakfast meeting w Jean plus a little trunk shopping. We meet up to brainstorm and exchange products...plus we get some time to hang out and chat.

 It was followed by a triple header...there was some overlap and one game went 3 hours so I ended up watching 2 games. It was a beautiful day but the wind was chilly. It was so nice to be home for another weekend and get to watch my boys in action. This is D coming in to relief pitch...

 

 and J running out a throw. Getting to watch them both pitch and play short stop this weekend was amazing...they are both so much fun to watch, them and their teams.

 

 Easter was spent at church for the early mass, some time at home to prep for our annual framily gathering before we headed over. Sitting on the deck chatting while the kids ran around playing...couldn't ask for a better weekend. So grateful!

Sneaky Sunday

I'm sure by now you've heard about the weekend crop I host with Jean of The Crop Shop twice a year in Westborough, MA. Did you know that part of the crop fee includes a FREE 2 page layout class?
Our sold out May crop is coming up soon and after the snowy cold day we had on Wednesday, I headed to my scrap cave and got my scrap on :) The result is this 2 page layout for our May weekend.

If you were lucky enough to get a seat at the crop and would like to have pictures on hand for the class, this layout uses one 4x6, three 4x4 and three 3x4 photos. See you at the end of May...and don't be surprised if I tweak this layout ;)

100 Days of Summer

We celebrated our younger son's 12th birthday a few weeks ago and hubby mentioned they weren't kids anymore...that at events and in our travels, they now counted as adults. Four adult tickets, please! Where has the time gone? How is it even possible that they have grown so much?    

My boys Jan 2005

I know I didn't miss much of it...I am a stay home mom after all but it's been busy the last few years. And yet lately it feels like a different kind of busy. What I mean is, when they were little it was about caring for them, diapering, bathing, feeding, monitoring, entertaining, etc. Now we are busy with our own lives...it feels weird to type that out but it's true. The boys have their own interests, friends they would rather hang out with than with mom and dad, their own activities and soon they'll be on their way out into the real world. I would like to hang on to these last few years and the best way is to document it. This summer I am going to start a project called 100 Days of Summer (#100daysofsummer) and document our summer. We'll still be spending most of our days together this summer...next summer I'll have a high school-er and a middle school-er, and hanging out with mom won't be as much fun anymore.

So how exactly am I going to execute my 100 Days of Summer project?
1. The boys and I will sit down and brainstorm a list of things to do this summer. We've done this the past few summers.
2. Take a picture of the activity.
3. Post said picture to Instagram #100daysofsummer.
4. Print photos and compile it into a 100 Days of Summer album. Looking at two options...

• Digitally - a BLURB album, starts at 12.99 for 20 pages
• Paper and glue - We R Memory Keepers has some new Instagram Albums on the market. Alternatively, Project Life albums would also work for this. Instagram photos would have to be printed in polaroid style but there would be room for journaling. Also, 12x12 layouts could be added into the album for major events with multiple photos.

5. Print photos into a poster. Persnickety Prints has a 24x36 Insta Print that I am dying to try out.

Won't you join me?

Experimenting with Gamsol

I have copic markers, zig markers and wink of stella markers but love to play with color pencils. I bought myself a kit and played with Gamsol while at a crop and on Tuesday while it rained cats and dogs. What is Gamsol?  Gamsol is the best blending medium for colored pencils and a perennial Inky favorite! Gamsol is a brand of artist-grade odorless mineral spirits, which we've packaged into a convenient, sponge-top dabber bottle. This "magical" liquid results in a pretty, almost watercolor-like look since it essentially melts the pencil lines and erases their grainy appearance (from Inky Antics website). It's a fun product to use and I love the look of it. I think I need more practice with it especially with how much color to add and working on the blending and shading. This photos in this tutorial is awesome...too bad I can't read it.

Want a kit for yourself to play with? I don't currently have them in stock but if you're interested, let me know and I'll get some in.

Getting crafty w air plants

Another project inspired by pinterest and etsy. Pins kept popping up on my feed of airplants hanging in shells, stuffed into shells, in bowls, jars etc.

Looks easy enough, right? I bought 5 air plants from TwistedAcres on Etsy and they came in a box on Monday. A nice selection and one that was perfect for a project I had in mind. I played around with them while it poured yesterday and baseball was cancelled.  Here are the results of my craft time...

I just plucked off some of the dried pieces on the ends and stuffed them into the shells we had laying around the house. The bigger shell took 2 plants. These are in the bathroom and won't need to be watered, the steam from our showers should take care of it.

This alien looking thing...this will live in Darin's room. He found the shell so it's his and if the plant is going to live in it, well he's got the perfect spot for it or so he claims. A little fishing line around the plant threaded through the natural holes in the urchin shell and we're good to go. Cool, eh?

Time2Scrap Layout Kits

One of my favorite parts of this business is, naturally, making scrapbook pages and sharing them with you. My business is based on selling the products to make these said pages as well as teaching and selling layout kits. In the years past, selling products and teaching classes have been my mainstay, thanks to all of you, but the kits are a part of the business that I want to expand and yet have trouble keeping up with. I just didn't have the time...it wasn't the purchasing and designing part, those were easy for me. The hard part was the photo taking & printing, the written instructions and the kitting.

At the beginning of this year, I decided to change things up. It's ridiculous to try to sell a product I didn't have. I committed to producing at least 2 kits a month and the interest has been amazing (thank you). I picked up an eye-fi card for the camera to make uploading pictures from my camera to the computer a breeze. Typing instructions...well there's no help for that...just get it done and I did, sometimes when I'm sitting in my booth at an event. The kitting part, well I hired myself a helper. He works on commission and I do spot checks. So far it's been working out for me.

Kitter in training ;)

Lately, there has been a push towards me selling the kits online...so I looked into the logistics of it. How to mail them without damaging the 12x12 papers. The best way to ship them. The costs involved etc. It's a work in progress. I had a few orders last month and there were some glitches but I'm learning. Today, I would like to introduce you to my LAYOUT KITS 4 SALE page here on the blog. It's old school...see something you like, email me, I paypal invoice you, you pay me, I mail it to you. I will keep the page updated, and I doubt things will sell out too fast for me to update. Check it out, and leave a comment...feedback is always appreciated!

Weekend Wrap-up

Saturday, Darin and I got on the bus (school fundraiser) and headed into NYC.  We spent the day poking around Times Square and Ripley's Believe It or Not museum.  It was exhausting but so much fun to hang out just the two of us.

Sunday, we were supposed to divide and conquer between the two kids and two games at separate fields but Jori came down with a fever so I got to watch Darin play (hubby helps coach the team) while Jori slept off the fever at home (the field is 5 minutes from the house). D was the starting pitcher and I was a nervous nelly but he did awesome :)

Awesome weather for my first of 3 weekends off...couldn't have asked for more, well maybe a healthy kid but it all worked out and he's better and in school today! 

Hope you had a great weekend too!!!

Around here

I am...

enjoying the sight of the first flowers of spring pop up despite the up and down temps
soaking in the warm sun

exploring the nearby woods with D to check out his hangout spot complete with a shelter he and a friend built
struggling to let D spread his wings further than I'm comfortable with. He on the other hand is so ready and pushing for it. Picking my battles for sure with this one.

loving that my boys and the other neighborhood kids are out daily playing on the street right outside my window. And that mine are the oldest ones out there and they keep an eye on the youngest ones.

driving my boys here, there and everywhere for baseball has begun in earnest.
knitting up a a shawl with the yummiest yarn
planning a day trip to NYC with D just the two of us
determined to follow through with my 30 day green smoothie challenge as well as getting through the 30 day shred video for the month of April
grateful for technology that allows me to stay in touch with family, especially my parents who are halfway around the world

Mini Project Life Album

We traveled to Puerto Rico for 10 days last summer. My favorite way to scrapbook a trip is to use the pocket page albums, starting with the Everyday Stories album from my "I Remember When" days and now using the Project Life albums. I haven't gotten into the 12x12 albums but do love this mini size. 

It was easy to plan the photos, resizing some to fit the 3x4 pockets...perfect sizes since I could fit 2 onto a 4x6. I planned it page by page, choosing which photos I would use and getting them printed. When I got the photos back, I slipped them into the pages.

I filled the rest of the pockets with patterned paper from the Bo Bunny Key Lime collection,Elle's Studio Saltwater collection, Project Life lined & grid 3x4 pieces and Jillibean Soup's alphabean letter stickers. The Saltwater collection bits and pieces were an easy add-on to the photos - I glued some right on to the photos and stapled others.

 Lots of photos and words in this album. Memory preservation at it's best - quick and simple.

Journaling is in progress. There are still areas that need to be filled out by me and my very reluctant boys, all 3 of them. 

Photos, photos, photos...words to come soon. Love that I can now show off the album, the trip is scrapped and DONE! (Well you know what I mean, right?)

ps. If you would like to see the whole album, I do bring it with me to events. I try to get a little journaling done at each event.

Baby Blanket update!

Remember the baby blanket I blogged about way back in February? It's done...just have to weave in the ends, wash and send it off.  It came out beautifully albeit a few mistakes here and there...I can tell, can you? Don't look too closely, k? Not bad for a beginner knitter...it only took me 4 months to complete.

 From the back...looks so neat and tidy! Gosh am I proud of my handiwork ;)

And it looks so inviting, this girl stopped by and thought about it until I shooed her away. No cats on the new baby blanket!!!

Project Striped Chevron Baby Blanket --> Nailed it!

May Just Scrappin' is SOLD OUT!!!

Jean and I are pleased to announce that our May/June weekend has sold out! Whoo hoo! We are looking forward to the weekend and seeing everyone who signed up! We will take names on a waiting list in case of last minute cancellations.

We DO have plenty of space available at our September weekend (September 26-28) and Jean is taking deposits/payments for that weekend now as well, so if you want to join us, please let us know!

Here is a re-cap of info for the crop

Your crop fee includes…

• Crop Room open beginning Friday at Noon and close on Sunday at 4pm.
• We will close the crop room from 3am -7am to get some sleep.
• 2 night accommodations
• Saturday morning breakfast
• Saturday dinner buffet
• Sunday brunch
• A  6’ x 30” table all to yourself
• Full use of Tool Table – 2 Cricuts, Big Shot, and more!
• Free Make and Take
• On-site shopping
• Welcome gifts, door prizes, games and daily challenges
• On-site massage therapist (for an additional fee)

Rates:

$395 single occupancy

$295 per person, double occupancy

$195 Commuter, everything minus the hotel room

Registration forms can be found HERE in the files tab 

or by emailing me at sluvs2skrap at yahoo dot com.

Weekend Wrap-up

Another wonderful weekend with the Cool Crops Crew in Portland, ME.  The theme of the weekend was "Toga Party" and it was so much fun to have toga wearing ladies shopping the booth on Saturday evening...some were even nice enough to wave for pictures :)

Not everyone dressed up, I didn't either...togas are just hard to pull off. Those that did dress up, you gals looked gorgeous and wore them togas well!  Also, loved the super creative "I survived a toga party" shirts.

Meanwhile, on the homefront, I missed a hockey championship game complete with (fake) bubbly to celebrate the win and a bout of stomach flu for the other kid. Have to give my hubby a shout-out for holding down the fort and then some! Never a dull moment for sure!!!

Welcome Home!

"What is the first thing you do when you get home from a crop?" This was one of the questions in the family feud game at the SAW crop I was at this past weekend. And it got me thinking. What is the first thing I do when I get home from a crop?! Some answers from the game were...

"Kiss my kids" - um nope not my first thing. To be honest the husband yes but not the kids. 

"Unload the car" - yup my boys, including the husband, takes care. They're awesome this way. 

"Make dinner" - LOL definitely NOT!

"Take a nap" - never happens. 

"Show off my finished pages" - since I don't get any scrapbooking done, this is a no-no for me too. 

This past weekend, what did happen the minute I walked in through my door was...

• Refereed a squabble between the kids.  Then got hugs and kisses a little later.
• Noticed they didn't eat anything I had prepped the Thursday before I left, I'm nice that way but seriously? I did take my share with me to Scrap-A-Way and ate it all. 
• Took Darin to hockey and froze my butt off, followed by dinner just the two of us. We had a great time chatting at dinner just the two of us and looking through photos on my camera from his game, birthday party and play.
• Helped hubby and older son pick out clothes for the baseball gala they were attending in 2 hours.  Also helped them find shoes, really? Son borrowed dad's since he didn't for in any of his dress shoes. My hubby and older son had a great time at the gala they attended.

And that is what life is about, isn't it?  Ups and downs, good with the bad, wouldn't have it any other way. So, what is the first thing you do when you get home from a crop?

Fave Pinterest Finds

Loving my Nailed It Wednesday posts but it's hard to keep finding new projects as well as the time to accomplish them. Some are easier than others while some take more time to complete or to gather the "ingredients".  Saw a post about her favorite finds of the week and thought I'd mix it up...favorite finds and nailed it projects. So here's a few of my fave finds from the past few weeks.
 
Carrots & Dirt Cupcakes - these are stinking adorable and looks easy enough.  Going to have to try these for Easter and maybe for a bake sale at the school.

Baseball Mom shirt - LOL...just the perfect shirt for me and the 100+ games I'll be sitting at these next few months!

How to Look Awesome in Vacation photos - some great tips here and a pic of my boys and their cousins :)

Honey Beer Bread - I've made this before and it's a family fave. Thought I'd bring it up again.

And this Image, love the message...it's what we're doing at crops, right?

Siewleng's April Scrappy Newsletter

View this email in your browser Upcoming Events Apr 4-6 Cool Crops Portland, ME May 2-4 Scrap-A-Way Warwick, RI May 30 - June 2 Just Scrappin' Westborough, MA Blog Facebook Pinterest Instagram Hello Sunshine!      It is so refreshing to walk out and feel the warm sun on my face. I don't know about you but I am so ready for some warmer weather. Plus I just plugged in about a hundred baseball games into our calendar. With 2 boys on 3 teams, we will be spending a good chunk of our time at the ball field.     Backorders and pre-orders are still filtering in and there are some really neat new products in stock.  Make sure you stop by the booth to check them out. Graphic 45, Carta Bella, Echo Park, Imaginisce and even some of the themed Project Life cards. These themed cards are great even for non-Project Life layouts. I've got some ideas up my sleeve and can't wait to play with them. Maybe, just maybe sometime this week in between running a school-wide fundraiser, practices, the daily grind and work ;)      If not, I already have some scrapbooking time scheduled...two Just Scrappin' weekends. I may be running these crops but somehow I manage to get a bunch of pages done while I'm there. Love the hotel, love the girls...so looking forward to it. Dates are May 30 - June 2 and Sept 26-28 at the Doubletree in Westboro MA. More information on the crop can be found HERE and the registration forms HERE.      Meanwhile, I have been stocking up on papers and products to make into kits...2 boxes full as a matter of fact...and have been slowly working my way through them. My goal is to get a kit done, designed and kitted, per week. Currently, I have 2 new kits available and ready to go - Disney themed kit (6 pages $22.50) and a Fishing kit (2 pages $10). These kits and previous ones, can also be shipped to you for an additional shipping fee of $5 (up to 3 kits) and $10 (4 and up).   Cool Crops Portland, ME and Scrap-A-Way Warwick, RI scrappers, this fun class will have you playing with wet glue, twine, bunting, drink umbrellas and glossy accents. Join me for this 2 page layout class, only $8. As always, if you need a special item for a project or layout, feel free to contact me for a special order. Enjoy the sunshine! Siewleng Copyright © 2014 Time2Scrap, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for my mailing list at a crop (Cool Crops, Ready Set Crop, Scrap-A-Way Retreats, Lexie's Retreats, etc.) or an event (CT Women's Expo, Creating Keepsakes). Our mailing address is: Time2Scrap 26 Brewster Rd. Worcester, MA 01602 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences