Shalini's Sewing Space

Guest room prints Digi, I have missed you!!! I did these prints today for our Guest bedroom. The size is 16x12 and the frames they'll go in are 20x16. I print at Costco as the bigger prints are way cheaper than anywhere else. They'll be ready tomorrow. Can't wait! &copy Michelle Coleman, Medith Fenwick and Nancy Rowe Jaitz I also printed this years Christmas cards. I had started a baby book for Mehul that just got printed. He is now reading so it should still be useful :)

Quick update I will be going to India in a few days for work purposes. Life is quite hectic right now. I will be there for 5 weeks. Will be back in the middle of July. There is some vacation time in there but mostly it will be work work work. I also wanted to show the London Photobook that I've ordered. I made it using ArtsCow interface i.e. it was quickly put together on the site. Here is a peek! London Photobook ** Requires Microsoft Silverlight.

Some layouts I'm only doing CT layouts for now. I quit my other 2 CTs and am only on Microferk Designs now. I don't remain on the computer long enough to really get into digi-scrapping these days. I still have to finish 2 of Mehul's scrapbooks this year - First and Third year. Now that there are great options on photobooks available, I should think of finishing at least these two. Shutterfly now has padded cover option which sounds great. I heard about VioVio which does books comparable to shuttefly in quality, only cheaper. The Digi-Scrapping industry is expanding.. Credits: Miki Ferkul's Kit - Beltane Credits: Miki Ferkul's Kit - Spring Linens Ribbon element - Brouhaha Credits: Miki Ferkul's Kit - Brouhaha

Another Scrap Cherish Love I don't know this puffy eyed person in the picture below. That's not me. LOL! Glad I'm not working like I was then anymore! Credits: Everything is by Miki Ferkul. I have used her Ancient Celt and Penchant kits. Both available at Scrapbook Elements. Dreaming Credits: Miki's Winter Weather Warning kit Michelle Coleman Graphic Brushes NRJ Bits of History Brushes

Scrapping again! I have a great backlog of pictures since last fall. Here we go with the first layout done this year! Credits: Miki Ferkul's Ancient Ways Imbolc ~ Available at Scrapbook Elements Nancy's ATC cards at Scrapartist

I'm alive Just have had the week from hell. Everything's fine but I'm just tired and cranky. Not sure I want to bore everyone with details but it is work related again. Few LOs of the Toronto pics I had done earlier.. Top of the World Credits: Papers from Meredith Fenwick Various Elements from Michelle Coleman, Lori Wile, Lie Fhung, Lori Barnhurst Rainforest Cafe Everything from Lie Fhung Soar Evening at Niagara Everything from Lie Fhung

Busy weekend I took 'Work from Home' day today. There are about 6 loads of laundry to be folded. I didn't get time to do it last weekend. I also need to get to the library at some point today as 2 books are overdue. The weekend activities include - house warming party at a neighbor's, a birthday party at ChuckeCheese for one of Mehul's classmates, and Car puja (rites) for the new car. Busy busy. Work is thankfully very light at the moment so I don't feel guilty about staying home.. This morning, I put Mehul in the new 'Cars' underwear. So far we've been in Training pants and now we're trying the next step! So the conversation went something like this - Me: Mehul, you've got Lightning McQueen on your underwear! Mehul: Lightning McQueen! Kaa-Chow!! LOL! He's so cute. We've been doing ok on Potty Training. He's had one accident at the daycare so far and a few at home. Daycare is much better about regular potty breaks. Whenever he has...

Couple of LOs Splash! I made this one last night from Miki Ferkul's newest "Freezy Pops" kit yet to be released to Scrapbook Elements. I just love the summery feel of it. Yes, this is the kid pool I was talking about in the last post. Credits: Miki Ferkul's newest "Freezy Pops" kit to be released on June 24th at Scrapbook Elements. Staples from Jenn Patrick available at The Digi Shoppe. I call them "The Best Staples Ever". Milk Mustache Who can resist this face?? Credits: Paper: Lisa Whitney's A Beautiful Mess (I still love this kit) at ScrapArtist. Cardboard Flip: Linda GB at ScrapArtist Star: Lisa Whitney Buttons: In Memory of Miles kit Flower: Christina Renee Urban Buds freebie on her blog Stitches: Lisa Whitney Ultimate Stitches II at ScrapArtist. Photo Frame: In Memory of Miles kit (pretty sure it is) Swirl: Lori Wiley at Scrapbook Bytes That's it from me today. I have to get back to work. I have a special LO that I've saved for a...

Summer is definitely here This weekend was so relaxing. We did not have anyone over, we didn't go errand-running (except a trip to Walmart - Diaper Emergency!), heck I didn't even clean the way I usually do. Mehul and I went to the library on Saturday but that was a short trip. Mostly, we just stayed inside or played in the backyard. Saturday - DH helped us setup the Slip-N-Slide in the backyard and then he went to get the car fixed. Mehul and I stayed outside for about 2 hours. I put my chair next to him and continued my reading. He really enjoyed it. After this, trip to the library. I am so impressed by our Library's Collection. So far, there are *very* few books I've wanted to read and haven't found at the Library. There are actually 6 branches and I can request books from other branches too. Their catalog and request system is online as well, it's very convenient. Sunday - Father's Day. I made DH one of his favorite dishes - Puri Aloo for lunch. I also ...

I scrapped I scrapped Thanks to my Canon Rebel, I have a renewed interest in scrapping now. Love the pictures it takes. All my beach photos were taken with it. It also helps that all my CT designers are coming up with such great products. I scrapped some of them. Be an Original Credits: Everything from Diamate Designs by Lori Wiley. Available at Scrapbook Bytes and Scraptastics Background: Glamorous Midnight Edge Overlay: Graph Tears Swirls: Glamorous Decorative Swirls Red Flower: Schones Blumen III Fabric Loops: Tye Dye Knots Bling Flowers Just Me Credits: Miki Ferkul's Mellow Yellow at Scrapbook Elements. Big swirl - Diamante Designs Swish at Scrapbook Bytes. Love Dream Grow Credits: Everything from Miki Ferkul's Penchant kit at Scrapbook Elements. Beach Boy Credits: Lisa Whitney's Love Blossoms to be released at ScrapArtist Lisa Whitney's Ultimate Stitches #2 at ScrapArtist 'B' alpha Lisa Whitney's Graph Paper Stitched Alpha at ScrapArtist Diamante Design...

New Layouts Hopefully I'll have more time to blog and scrap from Monday. I've been busy at work. Our project is being launched on monday. I started working at 6 this morning and am still fixing up some things. I am relatively new to this project and filling someone else's shoes while he's on vacation. Not fun to say the least. Hopefully things will be better from monday. I have to work a couple of hours tomorrow as well. On to the good stuff, here are a few LOs I managed to create- A two pager! Can you imagine how it will look in a photobook! Credits: Credits: Following is by Lori Wiley of Diamante Designs. Available at Scraptastics and SBB. Background from Essential Classics Vol 2 Set 5 Swish Brushes Wrap Brushes Frames by Welli Designs (In memory of Miles kit) Flower made of flowers by Tiff Brady (In memory of Miles kit) Credits: Credits: Everything except the frames is by Lori Wiley of Diamante Designs. Available at SBB and Scraptastics. Rainbow of Color kit Swish Br...

Second Year Book Busy at work. No time to play. Hrmphhh. I got my book from Shutterfly . It looks AWESOME except one glitch. Where the spine meets the front and back covers, there is a 1/4 cm thick white line that shouldn't be there. I think I did my spine correctly, so I'm going to call the today and ask for a reprint. And I ordered the second book from Shutterfly. They gave me 20 pages free (was a promotion with the first book) This book has a total of 38 pages plus covers. Looks AWESOME! I liked the idea of adding full size pictures besides the LOs. So I added them every other page, in B&W so they go with the LOs nicely. DH likes this one better :) Nothing matches in this book, it's all random LOs from his second year! Here are the front and back covers - Click to view the entire book. *link fixed* Took me around 3 hours last night to arrange/upload everything. Needless to say, I barely watched the 2 hour Grey's Anatomy last night. I don't like the 'Add...

ScrapArtist Michelle Coleman is leaving ScrapArtist along with her sister Lori. I know most of you don't know about this store, but this is my first 'home' for digi-scrapping. I posted my first digi-layout online at SA. I bought my first digi- kit from Michelle Coleman - Chelsey's Dream. I *heart* ScrapArtist. I found awesome freebies on ScrapArtist, which made me 'practice' digi before I spent a single dime. I remember downloading one freebie after another when I found them. When I posted my layouts, I got praise on them. Sucky as they were, someone always had something nice to say about them. Made me think maybe I *can* do it. They are the creme-de-la-creme, Michelle and Nancie, the co-founders. Nancie is staying and apparently has some changes planned for the site. I'm happy for all of them, I'm sure it is for the best, but ScrapArtist won't be the same without MCO. Sigh. I'll follow them wherever they go, that goes without saying. I think t...

Mehul's Birthday Photobook So I got an offer from Shutterfly 2 days ago to create an 8x8 inch photo book and get another one free. As some of you might know, I had created Mehul's first birthday album pages already. I had been reading about this photo book concept and really liked the fact that it was cheaper and much more durable because of being in a book format. I was thinking of going with full 12x12 format but that's HUGE for a book. So I had almost decided on getting an 8x8 book made. And then I got this offer. So I took the plunge and resized my pages the last two nights, uploaded them and ordered! Offer expired yesterday at midnight so I had to finish it yesterday. No procrastinating. Now it's done done done. If you're curious, I've shared the photobook and you can check it out by clicking here . I deliberately did not use the mirror images of the layouts on facing pages, but kept the similar angles. I like it better this way. I hope it'll look ok i...

Books Books and some more I've been reading like I have to give an exam next week. In the past 2 weeks (?) I have finished reading 5 books! I used to be an avid reader back home but haven't done very much since I landed in the US. Other things always took priority somehow. Now that I've visited my local Library I'm bringing dozens of books home! And DH and Mehul are totally addicted as well, though sadly, DH is still into comic books *snicker* Asterix I'm still trying to find what genre I like best so I've read a couple of different types. Juvenile Fiction Far Traveler by Rebecca Tingle Circle of Magic - Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce The Hobbit (Reread) Suspense/Thriller Warning Signs * by Stephen White Romance Night Shield by Nora Roberts * - The timing of my reading this book kinda spooked/disturbed me a little. The VA-Tech shootings happened a day or two after my finishing this book. The story revolves around a Psychologist's patient trying to ...

Boys and Flowers A question came up on the digi-scrapping board I visit regarding Boys and floral layouts. The poster inevitably uses flowers, ribbons, etc. in her LOs of her son, and was wondering if this was weird. Most people responded that they use them too, without thinking. I do the same. In fact, I looked in my own gallery and found that most of my LOs (featuring him) have atleast one flower, or a floral paper in them. I don't do it intentionally, ofcourse. And I found that there isn't a single typical boy layout featuring cars, trains or airplanes. Maybe he'll be mad at me when he'd look back at the books (the books that I will one day print for him. That not really the point :p) So, here I bring you a watermelon pink, flowery and glittery LO featuring my only son. Maybe it's more of my personality that shows through in what I do, rather than his. Points to ponder.. Out of Stock I asked DH if he got the message in the LO, he said he didn't get it. So, th...

Another boring Weekend Recap So, we started the REAL potty training this weekend. That means the diaper is OFF. I have mentioned before that we're taking it slow with Mehul as we don't want to pressure him. Another good reason is that we don't own a Steam Cleaner and we have lots of carpet ;) We started training him because, well, we don't have much to do rightnow! LOL! It's true. No home improvements, nothing exciting, really. Plus, I want some good stories for scrapping and blogging. LOL! M is usually very good about telling us when he has to use the potty for poop (sorry if it's TMI). He doesn't tell us about the waterworks, but that's because he always has diaper or pull-ups on. For the non-US residents, pull ups are really just like diapers but are easier to pull up. They function like diapers and can hold really well. They're supposed to train the kids and give a wet feeling. Except that it doesn't really work that way and parents start tr...

More sickness.. Can we please just fast forward to April? I'm tired of being sick and taking care of sick ones. Thankfully, the 2 guys are now on a mend, but I'm still not. In fact, I had to go home early yesterday because the sinus pain was unbearable. And I didn't have any medicine at hand. The right side of my head, sinus cavity and teeth was hurting. Today it's a little better. DH gave me night-time sinus medicine around 4, and I slept until 8. He woke me up for dinner and I watched American Idol. These night time medicines make me loopy. I don't like them. Anyhow, I have to say Fiona's comment made me laugh. I'm telling you, the day this boy turns 17 (or heck 16), I'm going to keep a stick handy. To ward off all the girls. LOL! When he was younger and had a lot of hair, people used to think he was a girl. I was tired of correcting everyone. But one day I realized it's better than the other way round. My friend M has a GIRL whom people confuse fo...

Cupid! Fresh out of Photoshop. Introducing - Cupid. Credits: Miki Ferkul's New kit Ancient Celt coming out this Sunday at Scrapbook Elements Hearts - Miki's Hearts Afire Wings - Paper Moon March Madness

Nothing like a Challenge There is nothing like a challenge to get my butt kicking. I did 5 miles this morning. Yeah! My longest run/walk ever! Don't ask how long it took. It's not pretty, I'm working on it. :) I do know that M is in his THIRD year, not Second. Corrected below. Reminds me of the time when we went to get Life Insurance for both of us, the agent mentioned me being in my 31st year of life and I was caught off-guard. I had just turned 30 a month ago! I am NOT in my 31st year. LOL! Ok, I am. Yeah, it's one of their tactics to get people feel awful about how old they really are by bumping it up one year. I made soup and salad for lunch today. There was some lemon-grass stock I had made earlier in the freezer. Quick recipe - Heat oil. Add ginger and garlic. Add thinly chopped carrots and mushrooms. Add stock and greens (I used raddish greens). Then I added thin wheat noodles. Turn the gas off when the noodles are done. Add salt and lots of lemon juice. It's...