I have succumbed!!!

In the real world, weekdays are spent coordinating advertising materials for our shoes stores and designing for our slippers. In the real world, I spent more time with my laptop than sleeping. Adobe Photoshop CS2 and InDesign, along with Photos.Com, DeviantArt, Clipart.com, Computer Arts.com are my virtual barkada to name a few.



So when I return home, I can't wait to spend time getting my hands "dirty." Sticky glue, pulling rough twine, twisting wires and cutting up paper is my element. I sprinkle my digital skills on enhancing photos and printing out titles or journaling but often I stop there . . . after all, how much virtual-ity do i need (if there ever is such a word!).

I had spent the weekend in Tagaytay, it was cool and raining. I wanted to get some tennis in or any physical activity while we were out of town, but the weather was just enough to keep me in bed or stuck to my seat in the coffee shop. My digital camera was at the ready to capture at a moments notice and my little notepad along with scrap mags for instant inspiration for later scrapping. But in the end, as much as I was in a very relaxing atmosphere, I wanted to scrap! I didn't bring any of my scrap materials with me, and so I found myself staring at the ceiling . . . and deduced that I am dang bored! What to do, what to do . . .

Hmmmm, I haven't "cleaned" up my laptop in ages so I started arranging and re-arranging my folders when I happened upon a folder aptly named "DigiScraps." After clicking, I realized I had downloaded a couple of free digital scrap kits which I totally forgot about. Heeeey, now I CAN scrap! Oh, I didn't stop there. Luckily the country club had free wifi, so in true scrapaholic fashion, I whipped out my trusty (and squeaky clean) credit card and bought a couple of digital elements to add to my free ones.



Now if I can just keep myself from making digital scrap pages at work :-)

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LO: Sis
DIGITAL ELEMENTS: (Digitaldesigners.com) Kim Pertiet, Curled Photo Frame / Ecuts, Romantic Rose Frame, Tags and Notepad / Notepad, twine, blanket stitch and tag, Kim Hill, Juicy Fruit Elements / Bacnground paper Seasonal Sampler, Buttons, Smarshmallows & Amore, Shabby Princess (shabbyprincess.com) / Polka Dot Scallops, Rhona Fahrer, Spring
FONTS: Ballpark and Enchanted Prairie

JOURNALING:
Growing up apart was quite difficult, I remember how we used to trade handprints and even cut locks of hair before we parted. We never failed to keep in touch and despite the growin pains and gaps we've had in the past we've proven --- that being sisters is thicker than water.

Another day . . . another Hoard (sort of)

I've done my research, gone online to the Myscrapworks site and checked out the scrap stores they suggested for both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur; I also googled just to be safe. Upon arriving in Singapore, i couldn't help but get antsy about taking half a day to go scrap shopping. We were to stay in Singapore for 5 days before moving on to KL, day 1 passed, then 2, then 3 . . . omg! I was getting really nervous! I told my family that over my dead body am I leaving Singapore without going to at least ONE store! Thank goodness we had a "free" day, we all pretty much went our own ways to shop.

First stop was MADE WITH LOVE, http://www.madewithlove.com.sg Address: 68 Orchard Road Plaza Singapura Unit 03-21 Singapore 238839

According to an email from one of the MWL staff directions follow: "take the underground trains, you could always pop over to the Orchard Mass Rapid Transit(MRT) station which is just opposite the Marriot and stop at Dhoby Gaut MRT station which is just 2 stops away. Alternatively, you could walk over to the bus-stop in front off the Marriot Hotel and hop onto any bus that you find there that matches the ones that we've stated arrive at our door-step. It's just one straight road down to where we are from the bus stop at Marriot"

As long as you're on Orchard Rd. you can't miss it, or if you do get lost just ask a local and you'll easily find your way.

MWL was most impressive, the selling area was well utilized to store as much supplies as they could. And take note, MWL has new stuff arriving every week! So far, this is the sweetest store i've been in. The black walls are actually storage for paper! I was thinking, the paper choices were so few for such a big store. Then this lady (a customer) just slid the cabinet door and voila! more paper goodness. Not to mention the rows of embellys and stickers! I was going gaga! But I had to hold back as well, since I knew that the exchange rate in Singapore is much higher.

There also was the MWL Cafe, according to one of their friendly staff the wives usually have their husbands or kids stay in the cafe while they shop. How cool is that? After all, how can we shop seriously when we're constantly rushed. But then again, Plaza Singapura is a good sized mall so I told the fam to just leave me in MWL and text me when it was time to leave :-)

Next stop was LAINE'S PAPETERIE
http://www.laines.com.sg
510 Orchard Road Wheelock Place #03-13A

The great thing about Laine's is that it is on the upper floor of Borders! Another favorite haunt of mine. Laine's is much smaller than MWL but they did have items which the previous store did not carry, and that's where I saw a demo of the Quickutz Revolution. . . I had to stop myself from drooling.

Laine's had a nice selection of one of kind emebellys and punches which I really liked.

And so, I ended my day in Singapore by carefully storing all my paper in a Cropper Hopper and my embellys safely tucked in a shoe box. On to Kuala Lumpur . . .

KL was most impressive, the architecture and historical landmarks were remarkable. But as always, I was getting fidgety since we were going to be in Kl for a week. Day 1, day 2 . . . Day5!!! horrors! Finally, by day 6 we had another "free" day so I gathered the gang up and headed to One Utama shopping mall.

One Utama was HUGE! We weren't able to cover the whole mall but I was able to make a stop over at one scrap store.

Last Stop, CRAFT HAVEN
2nd Floor, One Utama
Kuala Lumpur

Craft Haven reminded me of SMILE here in Manila, although with slightly more craft related items along with the scrapbook supplies. I really didn't get a butt-load of stuff, just a couple of stickers and embellys. At least enough to make me satisfy my curiosity as to what KL can offer a scrapaholic.

And so, another summer has passed as I had ventured to my scrappy cravings. I know I lack the prices, soon as I find some of my receipts i'll post them. I guess they were too expensive for me to look at, more so remember haha! Hope you enjoyed my "tra-vails" :-)

BackSCRAPping Exposed!!!

A seasoned traveller will always lay out his or her clothes upon arriving at the hotel . . . a seasoned scrapper will always fish out her (or his) scrap box amid the tumbled toiletries and shoes. . . to my experience anyway :-)

Like clockwork during our vaca i find myself dragging aching, albeit *throbbing*, feet back to our hotel room after a day of sight seeing and other touristy stuff . . . after i've donned my PJ's i quietly settle myself on the hotel desk and commit to my adventure full of BS (that's Backpack Scrapping to you :-)

Sure I was tired, and the humidity of both Singapore and Malaysia didn't help either. But once I was in the scrapping zone (all scrappers know the "zone"), aches and pains were gone! I never knew scrapping could be so therapeutic . . . forget Bengay and Salonpas!

But i have to be honest, I snuck in a couple more supplies at the last minute. Additional rub-ons, a couple more papers and extra glue tape (for the Tombo) which i'm so thankful for since I ran out during the process. One of the hitches you may encounter is delayed scrapping. As much as I had wanted to make my pages real time there were just days I missed out and had to catch up but it wasn't as difficult as I thought. Not having to follow any "rules" it was quite fun and liberating.

The best part was that my family was so supportive, they contributed to my collection of ephemera and photos. It really helped having a Selphy around but even if you didn't have a compact photo printer the brochures, postcards, etc. were enough to convey your latest adventures.

So here are some tips to those who are willing to delve into BackScrapping :-)

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare. But then again, don't bring your entire scrap room either. Bring the essentials like your camera (forget everything else just not your cam!), scissors, glue, ruler, stapler, pens, mini puncher, embellys (brads, strips of ribbon), rub ons, stickers, scraps of paper, and your mini scrapbook ofcourse! I also brought a magazine along for instant inspiration, the only problem was chosing which one! If i missed out on anything, please refer to my previous article. It really helped I had a sturdy plastic box to store it all, i highly suggest it.

** A side tip, if you have a trip in a nearby place like Tagaytay, La Union, or even if you're spending overnight at a hotel or a friends place, I suggest you "practise" when you can. Luckily I had an overnight stay in Tagaytay prior to my flight, this helped me warm up somewhat. And that's when I knew i lacked some other essentials for my backscrapping.

2. Upon arriving at the airport of your destination, head on to the nearest tourist display where they hold maps, brochures, etc. The best part is, they're all free! Same goes for the hotels too.

3. Keep in mind wherever you are, try to take a couple of ephemera with you. Wrappers of candy, coasters, table napkins, matchbook covers, I even took the stickers they place around the luggage.


4. Be trigger happy! Other than the touristy stuff, I made a mental note to take shots of our luggage, signages, our feet dangling in the bus, I even took shots of the texture of this exquisite wall in our hotel. All those little things which we soon forget once we return home are just as essential as the landmarks.

5. Enjoy! I wouldn't want you to pay so much attention to your scrapping you forget to enjoy your whole trip. Both should be symbiotic, after all, that's why we scrap isn't it.

*** For more photos of my travel journal, please click on ONLINE ALBUMS (BackScrapping)