The day before Christmas Eve ...

Yes, we have double posts here today, the day before Christmas Eve.  I was planning to share my December Daily, but things got pretty crazy around here these days ... I only managed to take a few shots of this  instead ~ ~

Can you guess what's wrapped inside?

Yes, it's the infamous Ferrero Rocher!!  I used the Snow Day paper (Crate Paper) for this little yummy chocolate.  This Christmas collection is full of fun, bright colour and so nontraditional.

I'll surely share my December Daily after the holiday when things are back to normal.

********************

I am so thankful for your support.

You have made these past 6 months so much fun for Tiny Seed and, of course, ME. :) :)

I hope we will have tons of scrappy fun together in 2011!!

We would like to wish you and your family

A Very Merry Christmas

and

A Very Happy New Year!!! 

Happy December 17th ...

What a beautiful day today in Vancouver!  This weekend is the last one before Christmas.  I bet the malls will be super crowded in the next few days, full of people looking for last-minute gifts.  The big retailers are working so hard to get every possible sale, and they are making every mailbox stuffed with flyers and coupons.  Charles is the only person in the house who shows interest in these colourful flyers.  He carefully looks through the pile everyday, page by page.  Everyday he is able to find his new "love" - yesterday the Star War figures were his favourite; today the monster truck becomes his centre; robots may be his new interest tomorrow!  Once he's found what he's looking for, he'll hold on that piece of paper like a treasure for the rest of the day.  Sometimes he even brings it with him to the bed at night.  What a innocent life for a little kid!

Here is the little monster ~~

with his little sister Abby who loves to blow kisses these days ~~

Moving onto my scrappy life, I managed to complete 9.5 days of my December Daily Album, only a week behind. :)  I started the whole thing on Dec 6, which means I did manage to complete one page per day.  Actually it's 2 pages per day for me as you can see below.  Besides I'm also making different kinds of small gifts ... busy, busy, busy!

Here are the first 5 days of the album.  Don't judge ... it's my first one and I'm still finding my ways in the scrappy world :) :)

Here is the half page for Day 8 ~ ~

I love the rich colour in the Tradition line by Fancy Pants Designs, and the other lines' embellishments, such as Noel by Bo Bunny and Father Christmas by Pink Paislee, go along with the Tradition line perfectly.  I'm so glad that I'm doing this album this year.  I need to remind myself constantly that don't make it too dimensional which I tend to do a lot on LOs, otherwise, the album will be way too thick.  I've already started to worry that the pages can't fit into the original binding ring! :)  But I like it thick ... can't help it.

I'll share more as I complete more pages.

Any plans for you during the weekend?  I have a closest friend and her family coming over for lunch on Saturday.  Charles loves to play with their son who is about the same age as Charles.  He's always beaming from ear to ear when being with his little friend.  I'm sure we'll have great moments of joy and happiness when we spend time together.

Wish you a very wonderful weekend!!

hugs,
Yolanda

on the 14th day of December ... some sharing ...

First of all, I'd like to say THANK YOU to those of you who placed an order with us during our first-ever Christmas Sale event.  I hope you enjoyed shopping with us or browsing our store even though you didn't buy anything. :)

Secondly, there will be more yummy goodies coming in this week.  From now on till the end of December, all newly arrived items will be taken 15% off automatically.  More savings to you!

Next up is the make it {MY} style #15 reveal.  My original inspiration is Pamela Young's altered frame.  My project involved a frame, too, but I didn't alter anything.  Let me show you the details first ~ ~

Can you recognize what collection is?  And can you believe the designer can make the black and white colours so beautiful?  Here is another look ~ ~

It's the Meadowlark collection by My Mind's Eye.  When this line was released early this year, I knew it was a must-have line for me.  I mixed their two kits here, "Down" and "Dusk".  All elements in this project are from the line except for the pearls.  Here is the "big picture", nicely framed by a shadow box.

Everything came together very nicely.  I love it so much that I may think it twice to give it away as a gift. :)

Another project I want to share here is this ~ ~

I mixed the Tradition paper (Fancy Pants Designs) and Father Christmas' "Around the World" paper (Pink Paislee) to embellish a cute little jar picked up at IKEA.  I'll put treats in the jars, and hopefully my friends can make good use of the jar after the treats.  The jar can stand or "sit" as shown in the above pictures. :) :)  Cute, huh?

Lastly, but not least, I want to show you the cover of my first-ever December Daily Album.  I've actually completed several days of it, but I haven't got a chance to take pictures, too many things going on these days.  Again, I'm mainly using the Tradition paper on the album while mixing embellishments from several Christmas lines.

I'll definitely share more when I have a chance to take good pictures of it.  I like to use the natural light to shoot projects , but Vancouver keeps raining and raining ...  Well, raining is better than snowing after all - the weather is warmer, and the traffic is not jammed!

That's all from me today.  Stay warm and happy ... oh, and dry for my Vancouver friends!

hugs,
Yolanda

on the 7th day of December ...

Are you working hard like an elf now?  Lots of gift inspiration can be found on the web these days as well as for the holiday decoration.  I've done the house decoration (one thing off from the to-do list, what a relief!) after I brought two very nice poinsettia home.  The Christmas flowers were the last items to be added.  Do you know how many variations of these Christmas flowers nowadays?  I've seen white, green and light pink before.  This year there is even purple, which reminds me of Bo Bunny's Jazmyne collection ... weird, I know.  Among all the colours, I'm still fond of the traditional bright red colour.  Maybe it's because my mom loved red poinsettia.

When I was surfing the web for some inspiration for my December Daily, I saw this at Pamela Young's blog ~~

This lovely decorative frame is on sale at her Etsy shop.  I've brought two small shadow boxes at IKEA the other day and am going to alter them for a home decor.  It's the perfect timing for me to spot this lovely frame altered by Pamela.  Great inspiration from it!  This will be my inspiration for make it {MY} style #15.

By the way, I'm working really hard on the December Daily.  Got 3 pages done, including the cover.  I'll share later. :) :)

Thanks for stopping by.

hugs,
Yolanda

On the 6th day of December ...

So much is going around these days!  Yesterday we brought the kids to see the Rogers Santa Clause Parade ... for the first time.  I've been talking this for years, I'm so glad that we made this happen this year.  We got there before noon, and there were so many people already!  Luckily we squeezed in the corner of Robson & Howe, thanks to the nice family that had been there for a while.  Abby seemed to be more excited than Charles, enjoying her A&W chubby chicken while wandering around fearlessly ...

After having been waiting for about 2 hours, we finally meet ...

By that time, people were everywhere.  People didn't follow any rule at all!  I really felt fortunate that Justin could take this clear shot of Santa at last although they blew too much snow around.

We had great time!

Now I'd like to share two projects with you.  I transformed these ...

into these ...

The first time for me to see this kind of creation is on Crate Paper's blog.  They used the Snow Days line to dress up the cylinder cones.  I used the Tradition line by Fancy Pants Designs to dress up mine.  Love the colour combination of this Tradition line.  Charles helped curl some paper, but he was bored soon after a few curls. :) :)

I just felt a STRONG need to create this page ...  mom and Daniel, the cat, in the picture ...

I didn't add much detail as the paper itself is beautifully designed with the swirls, snowflakes and ornaments.  Again, it's the Tradition line.

Finally I'm curious if you're doing the December daily page, inspired by Ali Edwards?  It's such a meaningful project that I've decided to follow along this year, mainly using the Tradition line by Fancy Pants.  I picked up an album perfect for this project on the clearance shelf at DeSerres ...

 

The album has 26 pages, and its size fits what I have in mind.  The original album cover doesn't bother me as I'll cover it up with my own. :)  I'll share my progress on this project here.  It's the 6th already.  Obviously I have much to catch up!

Thanks for stopping by.

hugs,
Yolanda

make it {MY} style #14 reveal

Without further delay, here is what I did with the picture frame picked up at Winners ~ ~

I used a lot of different products on this little frame, and I love what it turns out.  Love love this picture of mom.  I always want to do something special with this picture, and here it is.

The paper I used are Lush Black flocked paper and Lush Brown flower paper.  Another highlighted elements are the wood flourishes by Kaisercraft - the vine and the key.  You can also see some Parisian Anthology embellishments.

The tag of "between me & you" is actually a brand name tag from my daughter's sweater.   I added a brad and a rhinestone to make it more fit into the picture. :)  Cute, huh?

December arrives officially today, and the counting down to Christmas has started!  Lots of manufacturers' blogs are running the 12 days of Christmas, packed with inspiration, giveaways and fun.

As it's our first Christmas here at Tiny Seed, our Christmas BIG SALE event won't begin until next Tuesday.  Details will be available soon, and you won't be disappointed!  Big savings on new products and shipping!!

hugs,
Yolanda

I can't talk, but I can blog

Yeah, I've lost my voice due to some kind of flu, which I have no idea where I got it from.  Ironically, I just had the flu shot last Tuesday, and the flu attacked me on Saturday!  Although I know the flu shot won't protect me from the regular flu, I can't help thinking it's all because of the vaccine put into my arm!  Before the flu attack, fortunately, I completed the gift set to my girlfriend's newborn girl, Michelle.  Previously, I shared the LO done for her.  In addition, I also decorated a wooden letter "M" picked up at a dollar store.

IKEA's shadow box is perfect for the 12 x 12 LO.  They also have smaller ones, fit for 9 x 9 or 5 x 5 projects.  When you have a LO that you love so much that you want to hang it on the wall, you may think of this shadow box.  It can turn out to be a very beautiful gift, too.

They are perfect for the baby's room.  Hope my friend likes it.  I also bought myself one of this big shadow box as well as two smaller ones.  Do you have the similar habit - when you're out shopping for gifts, you also tend to buy things for yourself?  :) :)   That's why I love Christmas so much ... shh, it's a secret. :)  I have so many projects to finish yet haven't really started any of them.  When I'm feeling better, I really need to roll up my sleeves and get into work!

I did one thing though with the Abbey Road leftover from my previous LOs ~~

I learned how to make this Pixie Stick Wreath from Jillibean Soup's tutorial by Cindy Liebel.  It's a kids-friendly project.  All you need to do is to roll the paper and put in lots of glue.  Charles can help me out making this, which are perfect gifts for his pre-school's teachers.  Last year, we had so much fun making snowmen for his teachers.  I really want to make this as our family tradition - making Christmas crafts together - some moments we will treasure forever.

When mentioning crafting, I promised to share some more pictures of the Halloween house we made in October.  Here they are.

Monster inside the house peeking from the window

Add caption

Charles as a knight

I bet next Halloween we will have much more fun as Abby will be over 2 years old and we can dress her up as well.  Actually this year we wanted to dress her up, but by the time we went shopping for her, everything good was gone.  We went shopping on Halloween, well, you can imagine.  Even no pumpkin left!!

Before I go, I would like to share something with you.  Have you ever Googled a word to get a good understanding of what it really means and where its origin is?  Today I Googled "XD", a popular internet expression.  And THIS makes me XD ~~

2. An internet expression that gets annoying if overused.

1. (the right way to use it)
Person 1: *tells a dumb joke*
Person 2: You try so hard that's it's funny. XD

2. (the wrong way to use it)
Person 1: I walked my dog ealier.
Person 2: XD
Person 1: Then I fed the cat
Person 2: XD
Person 1: AHH I'M TALKING TO AN AUTO-RESPONDING XD MACHINE!
Person 2: XD
Person 1: Die.
Person 2: XD

Thanks for stopping by.

hugs,
Yolanda

十月的北京广州 - 10月6日

这是我第五次去北京。

第一次去北京是在1995年的5月，感觉北京很美，也可能是心里美滋滋的缘故。直到现在还很感激许同学不辞劳苦，为朋友能两翼插刀，赴汤蹈火的精神。在许同学的“护驾”之下，我是第一次坐长途火车。第二次去北京是1996年12月，感觉到北京的冷，尝到风沙的利害，但也看到了颐和园里结了冰的昆明湖，犹如一幅油画，美极了。范同学陪我们逛长城，冬天的长城就不一样，虽然还没有雪封长城，但在寒冷的天气下，显得更加有气魄。第三次去北京是在1999年的8月。虽然是盛夏，但印象中不是特别的热。我们还坐了5小时的汽车去了秦皇岛。第四去是2002年的7月，出差性质，在北京快活地住了一个月，逛西单逛得几乎闭上眼睛也能认路了。此程，不但去了近郊的怀柔，还去了天津，感谢张博士夫妇和范同学，还有一大帮一起工作，盛情无比的女孩儿们。

我夫君在北京上了四年的学，这是他毕业后头次到北京。

我们俩都挺喜欢北京，所以这次就顺道去一趟。而且我爸爸是不知有几个世纪没有去过北京了。 我经常说他，这种情况下，他就属于没有去过。

经过一夜的折腾，我爸爸在6点多终于决定起来，不再睡了，其实他由于时差，几乎一夜未眠。我家夫君最厉害，睡得可香呢。眉豆在6点多也醒了。两个小的精神状态甚佳。

我堂哥还在酣睡中，时间还早，于是我们决定到楼下的小区走走。我几乎忘了中国是个人口密集的国家，看着高层住所是一幢挨这一幢的惊叹不已。

眉豆和花生到了新环境，甚是兴奋。眉豆已经走得挺好了，拖着她公公的手，一步一步地，走得可欢呢。

北京还是如我印象中一样，很北方。一大早， 就有一堆的中年妇女们在练习挥绸带

花生说这是“功夫 playground”，他是看Gongfu Panda 看多了。

回到住处简单地吃过早餐，就等范同学来接我们出去。本来我们想去长城的，但由于是国庆的假期，范同学打听到，如果自己开车去长城，想不堵车，就要在早上5点出发，迟点也不成，否则，肯定要在路上堵几个小时！！！可能吗？但不敢试。惟有乖乖地呆在北京城里了。

范同学接我们去参观完张博士的三层“豪宅”后，我们就一起去所谓的“鬼街”吃午饭。吃的是东兴楼，说是北京的第一饭馆。其实在温哥华是可以吃到很好的中餐，但在北京，还是想吃他们的烤鸭。

朋友都很会点菜。这回吃到了从来没有吃过的可口菜。但由于要照顾眉豆吃饭，弄得我自己都没有机会好好品尝每一道菜。到现在就只记得那什么什么鱼特贵，两百多一条；还有那小黄瓜苗特别好吃。

吃完饭出来后，范同学就开车带我们随便转一转。小孩子在中国坐车不用被绑着，花生和眉豆坐在后座，如同被放了的猴子，开心得到处摸，到处看，我这个做妈妈的，惟有提起十二分精神，一手扶着一个。唉，吃饭不得自在，连坐车，也得操心着。

北京变化很大，城市的地盘越开越大，楼越建越漂亮。但由于当时的天气奇差，拍出的都是朦胧照。温哥华这样的天气的话，早就提醒大家不要出门了。最右下角的那一副是鸟巢。左下角的是环保大厦。

晚饭范同学带我们去涮羊肉。花生在去的途中睡着了，这不奇怪，神奇的是被他爹抱来抱去的，他居然没有醒来，安安稳稳地睡在餐馆的两张椅子上，还打鼻鼾，直到我们吃完了，还在睡，直到回到住处了，还在睡。

一直到半夜两三点，“妈妈，我饿了。”终于醒了。我又得起来，给他弄吃的，陪他玩，到天亮。这是倒时差的第二个晚上！