Townsville, QLD, Australia

a trip to a small town by the sea

during the week between my previous post and the post before that I went on a short trip to Australia to a small town called Townsville.

So what does a small town like that have to offer?

1. Dogs.
My dog passed away this year, so I have this dog-shaped void in my life. So now I grab every single chance I have to interact with a pooch (not that I didn't before :P )

and... Meet Harry ♥ he was at the RSPCA's adoption booth. Sweetest little pup ever, I swear! I really hope he finds a loving owner.

2. A really cool aquarium.
Reef HQ  is an aquarium supported by the Aussie Govt and it contains the largest LIVING indoor reef in the world. Not those fibreglass monstrosities, but an actual living, breathing, photosynthetic reef. The main tank gets the bulk of its lighting from the sun and is exposed to all the elements. Oh all the critters in there are from the GBR too :D

3. Quaint little teahouses.
A 45min drive away from Townsville's city centre, Hervey's Range Heritage Tea Rooms is located in the oldest known building in Northern QLD. Besides beautiful surroundings (set atop a hill) they had awesome cakes and pastries. The country-style scones were to die for! ♥

4. Really nice photo oppurtunities.
As you can see from the post.But I shall let my last photo speak for itself. :)

a few little embellishments

the great singapore sale

yes, SALE! :D

a friend of mine texted me saying that Papermarket had this amazing offer.
50% off for every 3 items of the same brand (selected products only)!!!

Brands on offer were Prima, Maya Road, October Afternoon and Little Yellow Bicycle.

We bought a collective load of 6 items from Prima and 2 from LYB, then realized we needed one more. Coincidently, we overheard a lady next to us who just wanted to buy 1 item from LYB and tadaaa problem solved. :D

I didn't buy very much, but I think they were worth the (sgd) $15.85!

~my little stash~

Prima Flowers, Dollhouse Collection "Dawn" and Prima 'Vintage Trinkets' Metal Flowers

Little Yellow Bicycle Dimensional Pop-up Stickers (Butterfly)

on a closing note, it was really fun shopping for scrapbook materials with a friend instead of alone. =)

work in progress

what happens when one rushes

First of two pieces. Not nearly even half done, which makes my overall progress 1/8 and what am I doing?

Updating my blog.

well-wishes and lots of luck

backlog No.2: the senior's graduation & prom


I was quite close to my seniors, so naturally I had to do something for them before they left.
Though they graduated last November, I started prep wayyy ahead. I scouted the few scrapbooking supply stores here for accents and embellishments that were grad-themed, but to no avail.

And this is when Amazon.com comes in reallyyyyyy handy. I found these cute cap & scroll stickers from Jolee's Boutique and ordered them straight away. When they arrived I was DELIGHTED. The tassels and bows were tied and not just glueedddd~

Even though I started early, I ended barely on time thanks to my short attention span and tendency to procrastinate (well, i did plan Prom and have an art portfolio to rush too). I was tempted to craft everything from scratch, but it was a paramount task. Thankully I found these really pretty "Class of 2010" Hallmark cards. White on the outside with a embossed effect, and eggshell blue on the inside.

foreground: a peek of one of the scroll stickers on the said cards. background: printed Prom invitations with each person's name written in gold ink, designed by me.

So what I did was use the cards as a template and personalized each card, writing my friends' names on the scrolls then adding more things to the interior.

Fangyi's: chirimen 'Doraemon' stickers, Treble clef sticker from a set (from Cat Socrates ), Jolee's Boutique graduation cap, limited edition Hello Kitty greeting card.

Beryl's: American Crafts' Thickers Letters (in Niki Riki), Prima Flowers, Lucky You Journal Lists from Colorbok, random brads and accents.

And for Beryl, I made another gift.

A semi-customized Scrump plushie!!  The removable cap was sewn out of felt  with a pink button, gingham tassel &  a stitched heart. Photo courtesy of Facebook. :P

The last big event was Prom. I happened to land myself in the planning committee so there were a few other things I had to make.

It was "The Best Prom Ever", and the night went on quite well though there were hiccups here and there. This guestbook features BasciGrey paper, Pebbles Inc. Chips (glitter), Hambly Screenprint Stickers, and a paper tag with rainbow-colored watercolor ink distressing.

So the day came and they became graduates and alumni, and it's been half a year since then. The rest of the backlogs after this should be from 2011, so here's to all the memories =D

Cheers.

giraffes with long lashes

an afternoon at the zoo

On Wednesday (8th June), I headed down to the zoo for my 10-12 volunteer duty as per normal.
Except that unlike the usual rainy weather, it was actually sunny... Sunny is probably an understatement though
Attired in my Conservation Ambassadors polo and a pair of jeans the heat was SWELTERING. Even the bunnies I handled were grouchy.
Well, at least I met some nice visitors that day. Actual conversation besides the usual random questions that get thrown at me. For once, no scared children that nearly threw the bunnies off their laps!
At 11.30 I put the bunny back,m because I couldn't find another one from the hutch that would be suitable to bring out (all of them are handled in 1/2 hour rotations) and continued my duty at the Kampong House, a tour guide of sorts. There I bumped into two of my fellow CAs trainees that failed their spoken test the first time around. I stood there to listen as they were presenting to the Education Dept staff, though I got shooed away after giggling at a small mistake they made.
I stopped by the stables to look at the horses. Belle, a brown mare, let me give her cheek a rub and a pat. 
At 12 on the dot I packed up to head back to Corporate to sign out for the day.
After that however, I headed back into the Zoo to spend an afternoon snapping photos and walking around with some friends (bringing a change of clothes didn't cross my mind, and I totally paid the price for it. the heat was unbearable)

BUT... I GOT TO FEED THE GIRAFFES! They have such long lashes and delicate faces and purple tongues! I think I might have a new favourite animal. Sadly I don't have a nice photo of me feeding them

Here are my best shots! Take a look at my Photostream for all the rest =)

lazy lunch

a yummy concoction for a slow afternoon


The first week of my June break went along quickly, having almost every day filled with one activity or another.
This week however seems rather lazy. Monday was spent on the computer. And grocery shopping, which was really enjoyable. No family members with me to sway my decisions. ;D

Well the reason why I went grocery shopping alone was that I NEED TO EAT HEALTHIER FOOD. The first week of my holidays, besides being busy, was filled with rich, sinful food (example: buffet at Seoul Garden) that made me feel a bit...

pudgy.

So for lunch today I had something i'm quite proud of.

Country Rye loaf with wild rocket, tomatoes, and hummous and a slice of lean champagne ham. 


The ham is a really odd scallopy shape though, don't you think?

not-so-itsy-bitsy-spider

orb weaving spider

this lady made her home just between the bus stop & where I live. Finally had my camera with me so snapped a picture of her.