Zohre's farewell

It's not everyday that you meet a nice person who then becomes your friend. Then before you know it, she has to leave for another city. I met Zohre at the International Women's Organisation in Limerick. Hailing from Iran, together with her husband Ali, Zohre was with us for a while before Trinity College offered Ali a post doc scholarship.

So we decided to have a little farewell coffee morning for her at Valerie's house.

No gathering is complete without a lovely cake. The Iranian flag made all the difference!

It is in the details that warmth is spelt.

So I made her a memory box because she is so very loved by Ali and by all of us....

And a card so we could all sign and wish her all the best for her future...that everything she dreams of will come true many times over...

I will surely miss Zohre because she is such a lovely person...so talented and artistic but most of all she has a good heart.

Christmas bags and memories

My friend Sarita mailed me some shots of creative looking bags and said, 'I bet you can whip something up as well'. So I went to my collection of paper bags (I know, I collect all sorts of things...) and tried my hand at 3. I subsequently gave them away to loving homes.

I enjoy Raymond Briggs' stories and hand drawn cartoons. So here is my version of The Snowman on a bag.

Then I tried my hand at paper folding to create a Christmas tree

And finally, a Santa suit complete with a satin bow tie and a belt buckle which can be adjusted, in case he puts on more weight what with all the cookies and milk

Once the bags were completed I moved on to create memory boxes as Christmas gifts. Beautiful memories are precious.

Graduation Fun

My son Samuel graduated recently and I decided to make this fun layout for him. I think he must have been inspired by Patch Adams to do something hilarious on this occasion. Well, kudos to his creative spirit. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Framed Memories

I have been so busy entertaining guests on their first visit to Ireland.. Now that they have crossed over the Irish sea to visit London, I have some time on my hands again for crafts again!

I put together some old photos and then dug out both new and old embellishments from my stash to give it a vintage look. Memories are arrested in time..so I thought that the wooden clock would be most apt. In the 70s - 90s, letters were handwritten or typed and the wooden typewriter came in handy. We also had scrabble tiles and board games were simply so engaging...

Gave this chipboard frame a makeover. Decoupaged and embellished it with things from my kitchen (chillies, star anise...) from the garden (leaf, fern) and from the beach (sea shells)

Paper Crafting Workshop at Anna Patchwork House

I conducted a paper crafting class at Anna Patchwork House, Oasis Ara Damansara, Malaysia today. It was wonderful to see mothers and daughters come and create stuff together. Both mothers and daughters were very artistic with a good eye for colour coordination. Anna, the owner of the business was very encouraging and friendly.

We did 2 things today: a layout and a trinket box.

A photo can be transformed into a beautiful memory box when you mount it on a layout and embellish it with flowers and jewels.

A trinket box can be used  to keep your precious bling bling or any other small momentos. Or you can fill it with sweets, chocolates or miniature pieces of soap and give it away as a present.

Samples of my work

Products of the workshop by the participants

You can find instructions to make these boxes on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkYqDiACEXg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQNABRvb_c0

A tribute to my mother

 I want to thank my mother for all that she had done for me. Most of all, for all the values that she had taught me, the example that she was - the very essence of a self-sacrificing soul. I can still hear her voice and I still wish I can run back to her for answers. She was my pillar of strength, my support, my inspiration. Nothing can ever surpass that.

A generational tribute

I've done a layout showing Michael through 3 generations. The grandpa , the son  and the grandson . All handsome men in a fabulous strong piece . 

Decorate the wall

This is my son Samuel. He loves and composes music on the keyboard. So I thought I would put everything that he loves on layout for a memory box.

Spring is here...so seed sowing begins. A quilted wall hanging. My daughter Sonya did the cross stitch and I did the rest.

Winter scene in a village: Another piece of cross stitch by Sonya

Memory Box

My friend Harriet likes this picture of the Shannon River in Killaloe. It was taken by Michael, my husband. So I decided to make a memory box for her so she can always remember the spot where she had hours of fun.

        I've waited forever for a puppy so in Sept 2012 we decided to get Hachiko, a beautiful labrador. Hachiko has graduated from obedience school and he is now a great dog that obeys both English and Chinese commands. Hachiko is named after the famous Akita, whose statue now stands at Shibuya station in Tokyo. There is a movie called Hachi: A dog's tale starring Richard Gere. If you haven't seen it, get a box of tissues ready.

Michael and I were married in Malaysia in 2010. We were penpals when we were still in our teens and God re-connected us after all those years. In the memory box you can see a mixture of Irish and Malaysian coins, stamps and flags. There is also a snippet of an article about our love story in Ireland Own's Christmas 2010 issue.

  Michael and I come from two different parts of the world with different cultures, customs and childhood. What unites us is a love for God and for each other. The Chinese character on the lantern hanging from the cherry blossom tree is 'Ai' or love.

 This was done when I completed my doctorate in the field of education. It was a long, lonely and arduous journey but at the end of it all I could say that it was a proud moment and God was with me all the way through that journey.

These are my lovely Polish friends. They invited me to their house for a wonderful Polish meal. I love diversity and if we open our minds and hearts we can only become better people. Black and white are my friend's favourite colours. Her daughter loves performing arts and her husband is a great chef.

This is my American friend who's such a lovely lady. We've had great times together, sharing the big and small things of our lives over coffee and scones.

This is my daughter Audrey who came with me to Ireland. She is presently studying in a secondary school. She is a lovely girl, very obedient, God-fearing and disciplined. I can't ask for more. She loves beautiful things and has an eye for design. Faith in God and in herself brought her through the early months of adaptation to a new culture and a new school.

This is me as Pepper with my friend Salt in the musical Beauty and the Beast, a Nenagh Choral Society Production in 2012. Audrey also took part and she was a napkin.We practised for 6 months but we had a wonderful time on stage for 8 nights. There was standing ovation every night.

These are my three friends who were also in the same musical production. I made this for my German friend (extreme right) who was in Ireland for an exchange programme and had to go back to Germany after the production.

   This is for a lovely Canadian and Irish couple who had their first baby shower. I created a space so that they could insert the baby's photo.

This is our first grandchild who arrived in  February 2013. An adorable little sweetheart. May God's choicest blessings be on her and may she grow up to love the Lord and follow in His ways.