I met up with two dear friends yesterday. Mommies and kids all had a great time. After a delicious lunch of noodles for the children and nasi lemak for the adults, we rummaged through L's stash of rubberstamps and cranked the diecut machines to whip out some cards. Our girls participated too, with C making several clay items and HZ finishing a card. The boys were more interested in the computer, mixing in some energy-expending boxing sessions. E was flitting between the girls and the boys, undecided whether to colour with J or to run around cheering the boys.

Looking back, we have been friends for a long time. L and I were classmates in Primary 4 while F and I knew each other in secondary school. Then in Sec 3, the three of us were in the same class and the friendship thickened.

Despite different career paths, our interests seem to converge over the years. Each time we meet, we have endless things to talk about and do. Yesterday was no exception.

I am deeply grateful for our friendship. Though we don't meet very often, they are always in my thoughts. Wishing L a gratifying job next year.

E is just full of surprises!

Here she is, with her hand on a water jug, making a whirring sound.

Seconds later, she offered a cup to J.
But what's in the cup ?
Vegetable juice made from these ...
E offered another larger cup this time ...
And walked away with a cheeky grin ...

Downtown East Kids

These four kids had a whale of a time at Downtown East this morning.

First the Ball Pool.

Then climbing and sliding for more than an hour.
Finally cooling off and goofing around before lunch.
It's a wonderful way to start the week. Hope your week goes well too!

We celebrated Grandma's birthday yesterday with a wonderful dinner in a cosy setting.
She looks absolutely radiant, happily surrounded by eight grandchildren (1 absent) and four great-grandchildren!

A second layout with the BG Bittersweet collection.
This time, for texture, I creased the strips of paper at different angles and inked the creases.
To the left of the photo, I cut and stacked several blocks of paper scraps and scattered some dew drops around. Journalling lines created with black thread in backstitches.

Although the white space gave the layout some breathing room, I didn't like the flat colour, so I spritzed several types of mists - Stewart Superior Memories Mists come in dye-based as well as pigment-based colours, which show up subtly on dark cardstock. Don't you love mists? I mean the scrapping kind!

I love the reds and oranges in BG's Bittersweet collection. This layout tells part of the story from here.

After cutting the striped paper into waves, I made slits along the wavy edge to create a fringe which I then curled to add texture.
The flower centres are brads topped with blings. Can you spot the little owl? It's a brad too! Too cute!

Did you try to guess what E was saying?

Itchy Colour Ubi actually refers to the song lyrics 当我们同在一起　齐快乐无比

This girl cracks me up all the time.
See if you can make out what she's trying to say:

"Itchy colour ubi"

No, it's not Malay, but it's not English either. That's your clue.

Be back tomorrow for the answer and some layouts.