Handmade Cards - Chinese New Year Tag and Birthday Card

Thank you Aida - Made With Love ... the Chinese New Year Card and Tag I've created for my family and friends were featured in this week's "23 Jan - Layout of the Week"...It came as a wonderful surprise on the first day of Chinese New Year... :)

I've also created a Birthday Card for my mum whose birthday falls on the Chinese New Year's Eve this year...

We celebrated her birthday together with the Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner this year. She was surprised and happy over the Shou Tao/ 寿桃 (replaces the normal birthday cake) we have bought for her too this year :)

Hmm... shall try to model after this to craft some miniature .. :)

23 Jan 2012 Chinese (Lunar) New Year Celebration

狮舞龙腾庆丰年
福禄寿星来报喜

祝大家 ：龙年行大运，恭喜！恭喜!

Chinese New Year Festival is based on the lunar Chinese calendar. It begins on first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar and it ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day of the first month. Chinese Zodiac (Chinese: 生肖 / Sheng xiao ) relates each Chinese calendar year to an animal, based on a 12-year cycle, and this year is the Year of Dragon.

Chinese New Year is the biggest annual event for the Chinese where families would gather for reunion dinner on the eve, children would collect (Hong Baos /红包) and friends would visit each other. Markets, shopping centres are abuzz with activities and many beautiful ornaments weeks prior to the festival.

In Singapore, in addition to the sumptuous food, we celebrate this beautiful festival with performances including lion dances, acrobatics, enchanting Chinese dances; fireworks, Chingay Parade - A Great Street and Float Parade.

Today is the first day of Chinese New Year 2012 (Chun Jie / 春节 2012) and I would like to wish all a Happy Lunar New Year fills with bountiful Good Fortune, Good Health and Abundant Wealth ! Gong Xi ! Gong Xi ! ^_^

2012 - New Year New Start

December has been a wonderful month ! A month that has lots of fun, lots of presents, lots of delicious food, lots of meeting up with friends; had an enjoyable and memorable trip to Dubai with my parents, my sister's family and my family and lots of hand-made stuff for Christmas :) It has rounded up 2011 nicely..

And yes, 2011 is a busy year but a great year ! A year I started with a new job, new experiences...meeting new people and picked up a new craft => "Le Cartonnage".

Cartonnage is the French Art of crafting Boxes, Folders, Picture Frames, Trays and a whole list of creative and functional items from Carton or Cardboard. It can be from a basic square or rectangular boxes to more complex octagon boxes with drawers etc.. the possibilities are simply endless.



Inspired by the Japanese teacher who taught this craft at the "The Art Republic", I improvised the technique learnt and tried to incoporate photo frame with handmade card and these items will be available at The Art Republic .

Entered into 2012 without much preparation... still making plan for things to be done or achieved in 2012 -> polish my skills on miniatures creation, more handmade cards etc etc.....Hmmmm, I think I really need time to think about it :) .. I will signoff for now with sharing of the following quotation I have read from the newspaper:

"One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this : To rise above the little things." ~ John Burroughs, American naturalist and essayist :

Have a good week ahead and may your dreams come true in 2012 ! Cheers ! ^_^