More cards to share...

Since it's going to be Hari Raya, I decided to make some cards for my friends who will be celebrating this festivity. I just sent them in the mail yesterday, so hope they will like it! Here they are :

I also made some birthday cards for two lovely gals whom I have not seen for a long time and hope they are both doing well....

And here is a random card that I made and am thinking of listing it for sale. Do you think there will be any buyers if I were to say sell it for RM10? Bear in mind that all materials and inks used are imported and the item will come with an envelope also, of course. Let me know what you think!

Why do people steal?

I recently made an online purchase of some craft items from the United States ("USA"). This is the second time I have made this purchase from the same seller and the first time, I received the package in less than a week. This time, it has been more than 2 weeks and suffice to say, I am getting worried. The package could have been lost in transit or stolen. As the seller sent the package via US International Mail, the tracking number of the package is only useful for when the package is still located IN USA. Once the package reaches Malaysia, it is treated as normal mail and you will not be able to locate it. I must say I should have been smarter and opted to purchase insurance for the package. Alas, I did not but I will be smarter next round if indeed the package has been stolen or lost. I will keep you updated.

Update : I got both of my packages this week! Am super happy and nothing was broken!!! Yippee! Just don't know what took the Malaysian side so long to deliver the package. It was stamped cleared in August! Anyway, better late than never!

The above reminded me of something that happened a long time ago. I had just graduated from university and was packing and boxing up the stuff I wanted to get sent back home. I used a third party carrier (as it was cheaper at the time) and proceeded to send my stuff back to Malaysia. The stuff arrived a few days after I came back home and was delivered directly to my house. To my horror, I found that the boxes had been ransacked and that precious things have been stolen!!!

The thieves had gone through all my boxes and stole my entire collection of CDs. They did not want the CDs with chinese songs though. Anyone who knows me, knows I am attached to my music CDs so I was devastated. They also took other items of sentimental value and once done ransacking, they taped up the box again. I must say they didn't do a good job out of it either!

This is just a warning for the young ones who are about to graduate and come back to Malaysia. Buy insurance on the products you are shipping back through these carriers unless you are paying a hefty sum for carriers like DHL, FedEx, UPS and etc. However, a point to note is that friends who used the same carrier but lived in Singapore, had no problems whatsoever. Go figure.....

On a happier note, I have taken pictures of more cards that I have made and hope to post it on the blog soon. Am also thinking of selling these cards on my other website at Serenity Gemz but not sure if I should. Any thoughts?

New hobby!

I have not been updating my blog recently because I am suddenly caught up in all my craft hobbies! I started an ambitious cross stitch project about 7 months ago and still have about 35% to go before I'm finished! It's a picture of a fairy. There is supposed to be a pair of them but I don't know if I'll be able to start on the new one after I am exhausted with this one! Hahaha. Here is a picture of the fairy that I am stitching and what I have done so far...

Completed Picture

Picture is split up into 6 parts. I have finished 3.5 parts!

I forgot to take a picture of the other fairy that I would like to complete but you can sort of see it on the top right hand corner of the completed picture. So wish me luck! I am hoping to finish it by the end of the year! Hahaha. If anyone is interested in cross stitch, I get my materials and threads from this craft shop in SS2 called Yee Button House located at No.33, Jalan SS2/55, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. They can be contacted at 03 - 78770049.

The second and newest hobby I have picked up is cardmaking! I swore I would not pick this hobby up or even scrapbooking for that matter as I know a friend who got into scrapbooking and LOADS of money was spent on materials and tools. I do not remember what was the catalyst that brought me into the craft shop but I was doomed from there on! I thought I could control myself and only buy enough materials and tools to make simple cards. I have always been in love with greeting cards and whenever I go overseas, I would pick up lots of beautiful cards because let's face it, greeting card variety or options in Malaysia SUCK and I see the same cards being sold over and over again every single year!

For those who are interested in scrapbooking or craft material, there are only 3 retail stores that I know of that sells these materials and tools. They are Scrap Book Memories (previously located in the Old Wing at 1 Utama but moving to Tropicana City Mall, located next to Toys R Us), Papier Love located at The Curve and Craft Haven located in 1 Utama. My advice is to shop around before you make any purchases. This is because each store sells relatively different items and prices can vary quite significantly. For example, if you want to buy those Martha Stewart punches, get them from Papier Love as it is much cheaper compared to Scrap Book Memories.

There is also an online store where I find prices are quite reasonable and that is Scrap n Crop. However, I order a lot of my materials and stamps from overseas because even with delivery costs and the conversion, it ends up much cheaper than what I would get here. For example, for those who know, Hero Arts stamps sell for about say RM80 for a set of acrylic stamps. When I order direct from USA, it probably ends up being about RM20 cheaper, and that is including delivery cost!

For those who are interested to purchase items overseas or just to get ideas on scrapbook layouts and card ideas, these are some of my favorite sites to visit:

• Two Peas In A Bucket - You can get design ideas plus it is an online store
• Kristina Werner Blog - I love her cards as they are simple yet interesting

You can go to YouTube and search for their videos as well. Or maybe you shouldn't because then you'll be hooked and spend loads of money you don't have like me!

Anyway, the post is getting too long, so here are some of the cards that I've made. I will not say they're fantastic because I am still trying to experiment with different materials and techniques. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions!!