A double page spread - Christmas 2025

 

Haven't done a double page spread in ages. Here's one from Christmas 2025.

Had to send my sister to the airport for her mini vacation on Christmas Day so decided to make an outing of it with the folks. And yes, I brought the Santa hats for photo taking. *LOL*

Very happy to finally use up my Christmas stash from 10 years ago. Woohoo!

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Make Stuff Monday - another bubble wrap mailer

 

Remember last week's bubble mailer project using the fancy Bacha biscuit box? Well, I had some leftover and incorporated it into this week's bubble wrap mailer project.  :)

Still trying to include as much packaging as possible...

This one came together quickly and I love how it turned out. :)

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Friday's desk - 5 pages from the gratitude journal

 

I was supposed to meet my cousin F for her birthday dinner but she fell ill. Instead of staying home, I decided to just have a fancy dinner by myself at this Italian restaurant called Prego. Haven't been there in ages...the food was still excellent. :)

Apparently I really like Italian because 2 days later, I was in Ho Chi Minh for another Italian dinner. Opera at Park Hyatt Saigon serves the best tiramisu ever. The food is on the pricey side but always yummy.

On Tuesday, I went with French cuisine at Le Corto. If I have no lunch appointments, I will usually have lunch here..the lunch menu is changed daily. "Are you here for lunch again?" "Yes!" *winks* Fine dining at lunch is always a whole lot cheaper. Plus this restaurant is a five minute walk from my hotel.

Then on Wednesday, I had my nails done. Also at a nail salon about a five minute walk from my hotel. Basically, I like to walk to all the places I frequent even though taxi rides are cheap because sitting in traffic is no joke. Especially if you have a driver who likes to honk a lot. 

On Thursday I ordered the French toast at the lounge and it came all fancy and obviously needed to be in my journal. *LOL*

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Celebrating E's birthday 2026

 

So we celebrated my sister E's birthday last week. 

She got her pressies 2 weeks prior so it was just cake for the actual day. 

Can you tell that the folks are happy to have cake? *LOL*

Lots of cardboard packaging used. I even incorporated the bakery's happy birthday signage on this layout.

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A red upcycled decorated paper bag

 

Got this red paper bag and thought it would be fun to play with reds and pinks. :)

Created a fun little "scene" with a girl cutout sticker. 

My fave ribbon tab element, along with an embossed seal sticker in hot pink to contrast against the red background. 

Happy Tuesday friends!

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Make Stuff Monday - this week's upcyled bubble mailer

 

These days I've been getting some really fun coloured bubble mailers from my online purchases. So I've been upcycling them for happy mail. Since it's a new year, I've decided to do more with my packaging materials.

Like this Bacha biscuit packaging. I love the design of the borders with the gold trim. Such a waste to just put it in the recycle bin.

Here is how it looked midway. I love using box flaps as tabs on my projects (have you noticed? *winks*)

Added some scrap paper to cover the text on the box.

Created a space for the recipient's name and address. And finished off with cute stickers that match the colour of the bubble mailer.

What do you think?

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New Year's Day dinner

 

So we went out for dinner on New Year's Day....

Here are the folks acting all cutesy with the food. *LOL*

So I went all in with the cute elements...*winks*

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Another 6 pages from the gratitude journal

 

Filling up my gratitude journal with bits of my life brings me immense joy.  I'm waiting for my 2026 journal (Hobonichi Daily A6) to arrive from Japan. :)

I wasn't great at taking daily photos in 2025 so I'm switching things up for my 2026 gratitude journal. That would mean using my stash and ephemera in different ways. Which allows for more creativity. Definitely looking forward to that.:)

What about you? Are you keeping a gratitude journal for 2026?

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Make Stuff Monday 2026 - decorated bubble envelope

 

Happy new year friends! Hope you've had time to rest, recalibrate and set to make 2026 the best year yet. :)

Of course with all the holiday buying, the girl has a stash of stuff to upcycle...like this pink bubble envelope. The pink patterned paper is actually thin cardboard packaging. Added a ribbon tab and washi tape. And went crazy with the stickers in my stash. 

I think it turned out really sweet. What do you think?

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Happy holidays...see you in 2026!

 

Hello friends! Just sharing a last family layout before taking a break from blogging to enjoy the last few days of 2025. 

My cousin came over with her boys for a Christmas gathering.

The nephews love ice-cream so I made my first batch of vanilla ice-cream for them using my new WMF ice-cream maker. I got the two thumbs ups (plus big toes) from the boys! *LOL*

 And also the obligatory photos for my family scrapbook. :)

Happy holidays friends! See you in 2026!

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5 pages from the gratitude journal

 

I love keeping a gratitude journal to remind me to appreciate things in life. Like the 5 days I spent in Ho Chi Minh last July. First up, glam nails. Bling, glitter and all. :)

Then there is this matcha tiramisu that I really enjoy. It's always sold out so I am always happy to get to eat it. 

Then of course, I love all things bunny so I was happy to pick up this pink cutie!

Also decided to get a haircut and highlights. 

And lunch at my fave Vietnamese restaurant - the best elevated Vietnamese cuisine.:)

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